At first, the silver-haired woman remained motionless, not butting it and letting Jace and co take care of the Wyvern but when the burly men along with the two archer women showed great difficulties in shooting down the beast, she decided to land a hand.

Her figure turned half-illusory as she mysteriously stepped in the air, just like climbing some stairs, she swiftly made her way to the Wyvern and blasted it to the ground with the help of some kind of purple symbols that were created by her rapidly-moving hands.

The technique she used was similar to Arthur's Death Seals but instead of weakening the target, it blasted it. The Wyvern was pushed down a few dozen meters only for a second purple symbol to hit its body, causing it to fall down even further.

When the third symbol was about to hit it, it flapped its wide yellow wings and screeched loudly. It opened its grotesque mouth and spat a thick beam that directly hit the women.

Fortunately, she was more than prepared as the [Wyvern Blast] passed through, unable to hit her thanks to her Dark Void Physique.

The Wyvern followed the blast by using its eyes to petrify the human only for it to fail again. The Dark Void Physique isn't just all talk, its ability to bypass all kinds of attacks is literally a cheat.

Just like any other Physique, the Dark Void Physique strengthened its user's body, albeit slightly. Relying on her pure strength, the woman fell from the air, landing the wyvern's head, hitting it with her elbow.

It was only then that the beast finally succumbed, falling into the ground and allowing Jace and the others to attack it.

The struggling beast didn't wield even when Jace, Kelan, and Sral, started punching it with their thick gauntlets. Unlike the Stone Worms, which looked tough, the Wyvern's scales were pretty tough thus allowing it to stabilize its body and lash out with its claws and wings.

The Sand Storm intensified and the three men's gauntlets started turning into stone. It was then that Lucy joined the frey, accompanied by her 'little brother', who started casting Earth and Fire-oriented spells.

The Dark Oath made him unable to use any weapon other than Makaze, so he had to rely on long-ranged spells. The two silver daggers were continuously slashing the wyvern's body. Sparks flew everywhere yet the speed at which the daggers moved increased by the second.

Lucy would dodge whenever she's attacked, which startled Jace, who never thought she was so good at fighting. She wasn't absurdly powerful but she wasn't weak either.

Arthur, who had been timid and silent ever since they met, also helped, sending large fireballs at the Wyvern. A large prison made of jet black earth sprung from the ground, entrapping the beast for a few seconds.

"Please back away!"

Arthur shouted at the others before he mumbled a few words which caused a large explosion to occur inside the prison, which soon crumbled. From within the accumulated dust, there appeared an injured Wyvern, which groaned in pain as it viciously glared at Arthur, the perpetrator behind the last explosion.

Jace felt chills down his spines as he witnessed the explosion, never did he expect the weak-looking boy, who was missing an eye to be able to do this much.

Although the explosion wasn't enough to finish the Wyvern, it allowed his party to finish the job and kill the hateful Wyvern.

…

As the beast laid lifeless on the red sand, Kelan happily climbed on top of it and dug its core from its skull. The core was as big as his head, filled with Earth Energy, its interior pulsating with a dazzling luster.

The three men cheered as they played with the core. After a while, Jace walked up to the siblings and did a small bow while apologetically saying

"I was a bit impulsive. I underestimated you before and I sincerely apologize."

He seemed earnest in his apology so Lucy merely nodded her head without saying a word.

"I-it's nothing."

Arthur stuttered as he reassured the muscular black man. Jace seemed like a person who relies on his emotions to act, he's a bit sly but not in a bad way.

Actually, Arthur thought that he'll try something in the night as he seemed to be eyeing Lucy with a lewd look but since the sister appeared, he barely looked at his wife.

"You're strong, why didn't fight?"

An almost robotic voice entered Arthur's ears, which made him flinch. He turned his head only to see a very close silver-haired woman stare at him. He slightly backed away and replied with a flustered tone

"I-I'm not using to fights… It's the third time I ever f-fought a monster."

The woman nodded her head understandingly then asked again

"I can teach you if you want."

She very casually asked to train him only to be refused by Lucy, who sweetly smiled and replied

"It's fine, I'll protect my brother so he won't have to fight often."

Since it was his family speaking, the woman couldn't insist. After one final nod, she returned to her half-destroyed tent.

********

Back in the dark world, which is actually the courtyard of the manor belonging to Leiu, the Nameless Knight. The Joker was still training the changed Saly.

Just like last time, she was blindfolded, however, her hearing was cut off and her sense of smell disoriented. Just when she got the hang of fighting, he would give her another handicap, angering her and causing her to greatly suffer.

His blows were agony itself. Whether it's a broken jaw, bent legs or shattered ribs, she was subjugated to all kinds of pain until she became numb.

In fact, three days ago, she started disregarding her body and relentlessly attacking only to be berated by the Joker and hit so hard it almost killed her. The kick she suffered was so powerful that it caused her to remain on the ground for six hours.

He gazed at her pitiful state and said

"Ha? So you don't care about your body anymore just because you got a little hurt? Fuck! Are you dumb or what? When you attack and can't dodge an attack, you must make sure the damage you receive is decreased, even by a little bit. Foolishly ignoring the condition of your body is suicidal."

As she panted heavily while coughing a bit of blood, the little girl glared at him and retorted

"Y-you don't let me rest for some time so I can heal the injuries… How can I-"

Before she could finish, she was kicked yet again, causing her to cry in pain

"Did I tell you to answer? You listen and obey, nothing else! Bloody crybaby… arghh I can't believe I'm stuck with someone like you… my reputation will disappear if people see your state!"

He continued rambling non-stop so Saly used this time to recover a bit.

All of this happened three days ago and now, she can't see, hear or even smell, which made it pretty hard for her to even locate him, much less hit him.

…

A few days later, the Nameless Knight returned only to see a bloodied Saly laying on the ground, no one knew whether she's dead or alive.

The Joker, who had been standing a distance away, noticed the appearance of Leiu so he walked over.

"How's the training going?"

The Joker raised four fingers and answered

"40% done."

The knight frowned, clearly surprised, he glanced at the unconscious girl and asked again

"Already 40%? This fast?"

The Joker chuckled while fixing his messy costume then added:

"She's a tenacious, I'll give her that. Jack of Spades Growth, 4♦ Strength, Jack of Diamonds Combat ability, not bad, for now."

"Is that while including her awakened powers?"

"Of course~~"

Leiu pondered for some time before nodding his head. As he was about to enter the manor, the Joker stopped him and asked

"How's things in your end?"

"Death shan't be a problem. It's also about time I return Makaze."

The Joker angrily stomped his foot and protested

"I don't get why didn't let me deal with that grumpy old man."

"Because it's not your job but hers. Everything must be done properly so 'it' doesn't happen again."

The Joker clicked his tongue but didn't object. He turned around and walked toward Saly. No matter how unhappy he was with Leiu's decision, he will never go against his words.

The two were brothers went through thick and thin together. He was the second and he must and will follow Leiu's words.