Two of the Chiropterans joined her and pushed Lith down, blocking one of his arms each. Their darkness infused claws pierced the Skinwalker armor and spread their enchanted venom inside his bloodstream while the third Chiropteran had a clean shot at Kamila.

Or so the Vampire thought until he crashed against the golden dome filled with emerald veins that appeared around her out of thin air.

Lith was still far from the skill level necessary to be considered a Light Master, but between Faluel's and Nalrond's lessons, stopping a single Chiropteran was child's play.

Lith had mixed Spirit with Light Magic, making his construct sturdier than a rock wall. The impact had broken the Vampire's claws and shattered his hands, but it was the surprise that hurt him the most.

"Surprise, motherfucker." Kamila activated several darkness wands at the same time from a point-blank distance.

The Chiropteran turned into ashes, but the volley of bullets didn't stop. Kamila kept firing darkness magic, aiming a few meters above Lith's head. He saw them coming with Full Guard and stopped holding back.

He effortlessly lifted the two Chiropterans and the Ghoul, putting them in the line of fire while flexing his muscles to trap the undead's claws inside his body. The barrage of spells killed them on the spot while War's World Mirror ability took control of the excess magic and redirected it against the nearest enemies.

Believing Kamila already dead, all the remaining assassins had converged onto Lith to kill him as well. They had no idea that Lith had left Kamila alone exactly to lure them out.

The undead tried to dodge Kamila's spells, but War turned them into homing projectiles that relentlessly followed their respective target while Lith used Spirit Magic to make them faster and Domination to add a bit of mana of his own.

The swarm of black spheres resembled an army of angry specters that circled around Lith's raised sword and attacked whoever came too close. The thralls fell first while the undead had to push their enhanced bodies to the limit just to survive.

Then, everything ended.

Just a few seconds had passed since Kamila had set up her amulet, allowing the army headquarters to receive the distress call and use the signal as a dimensional waypoint. A golden gate opened in the night sky outside the air sealing array, letting several humanoid griffons come out of it.

"The Royal Guards!" A Ghoul said before a beam of golden light killed him.

Each one of the Guards wielded halberds that shot unknown spells capable of killing the undead as if they were normal humans. They would point, shoot, and an undead would fade away like mist under the morning sunlight.

Lith didn't stop attacking until all enemies were dead and the Royal Guards erected a barrier around him and Kamila.

'Are you alright? Your crazy plan didn't mention how you would deal with the venom.' Kamila asked.

With the air sealing array blocking communication spells like Whisper, Lith couldn't afford to speak out loud, nor did he have the time for that. The undead had keen senses on par if not even better than his own, but they didn't know about Spirit Magic.

Everything Lith had said from the beginning was meant to fool the undead while he used a mind link to communicate with Kamila, allowing them to coordinate their action.

They had lured the enemies in the open and into a trap from which there was no escape.

'Don't worry. I had a detoxifying spell at the ready, but I didn't need it. My body purified the enchanted venom on its own. I knew that my resistance to toxic substances has increased, but even I didn't expect it to be this good.' He replied via the mind link.

Lith's body had isolated the venom on its own with light magic, preventing it from entering the bloodstream. Then, a few pulses of darkness magic had destroyed the unknown threat.

"Do you need a ride home?" A feminine voice coming from the Griffon armor bearing the captain stripes on its sleeve said.

"Thanks, but first I need to get out of this damn array. I have no idea if they attacked Kamila because she's a Constable or because of me." Lith replied while taking out his communication amulet.

"Fuck me sideways!" All the contact runes were still in their place, but all of those belonging to the people he knew in Lutia but Nalrond were unavailable.

"Mom never puts her amulet away and neither does Rena. The only possible explanation is that they are under a sealing array as well." Lith opened a conference call, adding Nalrond, Faluel, and Solus, but no one answered.

"Take Constable Yehval with you and don't leave her side for any reason." He ordered while preparing a Warp to the nearest city Gate.

'Please, take care of Zinya. Her amulet is unavailable as well.' Kamila managed to think before Lith disappeared in a burst of light.

***

Village of Lutia, a few minutes before the attempt on Kamila's life.

The Heavenly Wolf restaurant was just as cozy as Lith had described it and the staff had served only their best food the moment they recognized the Verhen insignia that Rena had earlier attached on Nalrond's shoulder while pretending to straighten his shirt.

Brina had turned out to be a pleasant company. She had asked him only about how the life in the Blood Desert was and why he had moved to Lutia. Brina didn't pry too much into his past, carefully choosing subjects that wouldn't make him uncomfortable.

The only problem the Rezar had the whole evening was that he had completely forgotten about the customs of the Griffon Kingdom. Brina was 21 years old while Nalrond was 25, both at what was considered a late marrying age.

Unlike the Blood Desert, where the tribe would take care of its members and guarantee them healthcare and food, life in the Griffon Kingdom was harsher and the life expectancy shorter.

In the Desert, a man could marry even past 30, as long as he had a good position in the tribe and the means to support his family. Nalrond had neither in the Kingdom, so he had assumed it was just a date.

Brina, however, had accepted the date with a completely different mindset.

Nalrond was known to be gentle, hardworking, great with kids, and had Rena's blessing. In Lutia, the Verhens were considered akin to the Royal Family which in turn was enough to make him an exotic Prince Charming.

Now that it was getting late, Nalrond had no idea how to end the evening without being rude. He didn't want to drop Brina like a bad habit but he couldn't find the right words to express his unease.

'Dammit! I'm sure that no one knows I have a share of the silver mines so she's no gold digger, but she's clearly looking for more than casual hanging out. Lith warned me about how everyone in his family likes to play matchmaker, but I never thought that Rena would include me in her plans!' He thought.

Nalrond's eyes looked at his communication amulet with hope, wishing that Selia called him for help with the kids. It would give him an excellent way out without the risk of goodnight kisses or worse.