Blink.
The world snapped into focus five meters ahead, the air around me barely disturbed as I reappeared mid-stride. My feet barely touched the marble before I pushed off again, muscles humming with borrowed power.
Blink.
Another silent lurch forward.
The kidnappers were just ahead, their shadows stretching long under the dim emergency sconces lining the service corridor. They moved fast but not recklessly—professionals, then. The leader adjusted his grip on the bundled shroud containing Princess Sara, her small frame limp beneath the fabric.
I slowed, matching their pace just enough to stay hidden. Too soon, and they'd notice. Too late, and they'd vanish.
Then—
A prickle at the back of my neck.
I glanced over my shoulder.
Zephyr stood at the others side of the hall, Luna cradled in his arms, her crimson-glazed eyes half-lidded. His usual cold gaze, sharp and calculating, locked onto me. For a heartbeat, neither of us moved. Then, he gave the barest nod.
So he's awake too.
I returned the gesture and turned back to the kidnappers. No time to dwell on it. If Zephyr wasn't intervening, he either trusted me to handle it or had his own reasons to stay put, probably related to Luna.
Still, something nagged at me.
This kidnapping—it doesn't look like a scenario of a story.
There was no event/scenario trigger notification, no system fanfare.
That left two possibilities:
- A hidden scenario.
- Or just an unrelated incident.
Even though I would rescue the princess regardless, I still needed to check it, just to make sure.
Blink.
I activated [Narrative Glimpse] mid-step.
But, instead of a single window, three translucent panels materialized in my vision:
━━━◆◇◆━━━
[1] Scenario: «Crimson Dream»
[2] Scenario: «The Sparrow's Fall»
[3] Scenario: «Shadow Waltz»
━━━◆◇◆━━━
My breath hitched.
Three scenarios?
Then it clicked—this incident intersected multiple storylines .
My eyes darted to option two.
That name... "The Sparrow's Fall."
Reminds of the current situation...
I selected it instantly.
The other windows dissolved as new text appeared:
━━━◆◇◆━━━
➤ [Hidden Scenario - Classification: Red]
Title: «The Sparrow's Fall»
Linked Storyline: «The Merchant Queen System: From Ruin to Riches»
Summary:
Princess Sara is stolen, her fate reaching its end.
She is the spark that will ignite the kingdom's ruin—the kindling for a Merchant Queen's rise. For if she dies here, in the dark, Cassandra will have her reason: a sister lost, a throne to burn, a kingdom to claim from the ashes.
But tonight is not yet written.
Will you cut the noose—or let it tighten?
➤ Scenario Progress: Early Phase
━━━◆◇◆━━━
I exhaled through my teeth.
I see now.
It seems like Princess Sara was meant to die according to the story, and ignite the spark which will lead to kingdom's downfall, we not necessarily the kingdom but royal family.
And, it's the classic trope where royal siblings schemes behind velvet curtains, where even a child's death could be currency for power.
And the mastermind? It had to be—
Cedric.
Even though I was sure of it, I currenly had no time to dwell on it.
Although the info wasn't that valuable right now, it strengthened my resolve to save the tsundere princess.
Swish-!
The kidnappers slipped through a narrow servant's exit, the door clicking shut behind them.
I Blinked the remaining distance, pressing a palm against the door's handle. Not locked, good.
Cold night air bit at my skin.
The kidnappers were already moving toward a waiting carriage, its black-lacquered wood blending into the night.
But as my gaze lifted, my [Observant Eye] caught something else - thin, pulsating threads of energy, barely visible in the moonlight, coiled around the academy's walls like serpentine veins. They throbbed with a sickly violet hue, their presence making the air hum with dissonance.
That's what's causing the hallucinations.
A barrier? A spell? Whatever it was, it had turned the entire building into a cage of nightmares.
I gritted my teeth.
Priorities:
- Save Sara first.
- Minimize injury. The [Winged Tyrant's Blessing] boosted my stats, but I wasn't invincible.
- Speed. Every second counted.
However, a reckless charge would risk Sara's safety. While a delayed strike might lose them entirely.
Then…
Plan:
- Disable the carriage.
- Steal Sara.
- Escape/Take out the kidnappers
I exhaled, rolling my shoulders.
Time to move.
I sped up, instead of following the kidnappers I cut them off.
I took a sharp left, sprinting parallel to their path before veering right, my enhanced speed and blink carrying me past them in a blur. The cold night air bit at my lungs, but I didn't slow.
The black carriage loomed ahead, unattended - no driver.
Perfect.
I Blinked the last few meters, landing silently beside the rear wheel. A quick jerk of my hand, and the axle bolt loosened—just enough to fail after a few meters of movement, not immediately.
Damn my hand hurts.
Then, before the kidnappers could round the corner, I Blinked again, this time onto the carriage roof, the windstaff I'd snatched it from the ballroom already along the way in position.
I also activated the Silent Veil the moment their echoes grew close.
The leader came first, his masked face scanning the darkness, he was probably using a detection skill or something.
His subordinates followed, two carrying Sara between them, the other two flanking the rear.
Now.
I leveled the windstaff and fired two consecutive shots.
Pfft! Pfft!
The compressed air blasts shot straight for the leader's head—
He twisted aside at the last second, reflexes honed by combat.
But I wasn't aiming to hit him.
And while he dodged, I quickly Blinked behind the group, hurling a stone to the far side of the courtyard.
Clatter!
The two rear kidnappers whipped toward the sound—
Crack!
"Ghkk—!"
A sharp, brutal kick to the back of one man's knee—he folded without a sound beyond a strangled gasp.
Snap!
"Urgh—!"
A twisting snap to the other's ankle—he dropped, choking on a groan.
Meanwhile, the two bolts of wind struck—not the leader—but the man directly behind him, sending him sprawling into the first snapped man, both collapsing like dominos with a pained thud.
"DIE."
My voice, slightly distorted, boomed unnaturally loud in the quiet night.
The leader and the fifth kidnapper flinched—just for a fraction of a second, but it was enough.
Blink.
I drove my knee into the fifth man's face with bone-jarring force—
BANG-!
"Gaaah!"
He slammed into the carriage door, the wood groaning under the impact.
The leader recovered faster than I expected.
"Tch."
His body rippled with sudden energy—a strange dark aura flaring around his limbs as he lunged not at me, but toward Sara, a dagger flashing from his left sleeve.
"Damn you!" he snarled under his breath.
Shit.
I threw a punch mid-step, forcing him to block with his right fist.
Boom.
Our collision sent a shockwave through the ground, dust kicking up around us. The leader's eyes widened behind his mask—he hadn't expected me to match him.
I didn't give him time to process it.
My next strike came low, then high, driving him back step by step. Out of the corner of my eye, the windstaff teetered on the carriage roof, about to fall—
Nice.
Then, a flicker of movement.
One of the downed kidnappers was stirring, his hand reaching for something at his belt, his bleary eyes locked onto the princess.
"Ngh... G-get her...!" he wheezed.
No, you don't-!
Blink.
Mid-air, the windstaff snapped into my grip as I reappeared above the stirring kidnapper. My feet drove downward with brutal precision—
CRUNCH.
"ARGH-!"
A choked scream ripped from his throat. The man curled into himself, hands clutching between his legs in agony.
But the shing of steel cut through the night.
Darn ruthless b*stard.
The leader's dagger was already in flight—a silver streak aimed straight for Sara's head.
"Die."
His low snarl reached me even as the blade tore through the air.
He's going for the kill.