The Nightwing, Nycteris, made the first move and charged at Esil. The dark elf watched the beast charge him with a bewildered yet eager expression.

"I have no idea where you came from, but I'm looking forward to how strong you are!" He declared this while charging at the Nightwing to clash with him halfway.

Nycteris expelled a screech as the two collided. The nightwing's shoulder smashed against Esil's torso while he rammed the butt of his sword into the beast's back. Before the dark elf could deliver another strike, Nycteris wrapped his big, winged arms around his torso and spun around. After a couple of rotations, he then tossed Esil to the nearest wall.

The collision caved in the wall as bits of debris fell to the ground with a loud thud and clack. Esil shook off the dust and debris on him while gripping his sword with both hands. He took a running start and kept his weapon in the air, prepared to strike him down.

Just then, Zoe and Mara appeared in between both opponents. The dark elf swung down, which was immediately blocked by the two knights, who clashed their swords against his. Straining against the combined force of the guild leaders, Esil's attention was drawn away just long enough to allow Nycteris to blitz to his side. Before the dark elf could do anything, the Nightwing drove his fist into his side. While the force didn't crack the armor, it still had enough power to throw his enemy to the side.

Esil tumbled and rolled before repositioning himself on his feet. That was when Zoe and Mara charged in, hoping to attack him at the same time. Zoe swung his torso, while Mara went for his legs.

When the dark elf blocked Zoe's attack, Mara closed in to strike his leg, stunning him for a moment. When he changed targets and attacked the black hound of Ruinvia, Zoe used that opportunity to slash his torso, scraping her blade across his armor and leaving a clean cut in the process.

Esil let out an angry roar, glaring at both opponents. Just then, Nycteris charged in and tackled Esil to the floor. This caused him to release his weapon, letting it clatter on the floor away from him. When the dark elf was slammed into the floor, a massive crack spread around them, weakening at that very moment.

Esil struggled to break free from Nycteris, pressing his arms and hands against his body to try and push the beast off. Nycteris continued to pin the dark elf down, not letting him get the chance to get up and retaliate against them. It got to the point where Esil started punching the Nightwing, ramming his fist against his body to harm him. However, Nycteris's skin and muscles were tougher than the dark elf expected, because when he struck the beast, it felt like he hit a sturdy prick wall.

Nycteris suddenly opened his mouth and brought it closer to Esil's face. The dark elf's eyes widened upon realizing what the beast planned to do. He was going to eat his face!

Using all of his strength, he raised his left arm and pressed it against the nightwing's neck, just as Nycteris snapped his mouth at him. Then, he activated a skill that caused his fist to charge with a crimson glow.

He then pulled his fist back as much as he could and punched the Nightwing, sending him flying. Nycteris dug his claws into the floor, slowing his momentum and leaving a streak of claw marks in his wake. Meanwhile, Esil grabbed his weapon and prepared to charge again before Zoe and Mara stepped in and attacked.

Just when Nycteris was about to join them, shouting and steps could be heard nearby. When the Nightwing turned around to look at the noise, multiple players could be seen arriving on the floor they were currently fighting on. There were more than ten of them, and they all appeared to be part of Dolk's faction as well.

Seeing the players, Nycteris let out a menacing growl as he glared at the enemies. Some of the players faltered on the spot, horrified by his mere presence. He snapped his head to face Mara and Zoe.

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"I'll...deal with...them," He told them before sparing a glance at Esil, who was ready for another brawl. "He's...all yours."

The Nightwing said nothing else and charged at the players that was going to attack them. A chorus of terrified screams and monstrous roars could be heard as Nycteris slaughtered the enemy players.

Briefly watching the massacre, Zoe and Mara looked away to face Esil once more.

"I don't know what that monster is," Mara muttered. "But I'm glad it's helping us rather than attacking us."

"You have no idea," Zoe said with a smirk.

The duo then proceeded with their battle against the dark elf for a third round.

...

Dolk continued to watch the battle at the hospital building unfold, watching his members flood inside the place. Considering that he hadn't received any messages about the guild leaders' deaths from the chat room, that meant both Zoe and Mara were still alive.

"They're quite tenacious," he muttered, calmly watching the scene unfold. "As expected from the knights of Briarhart and Ruinvia.

While he didn't expect it to be easy, the fact that he was likely losing many of his members while in pursuit of killing the knights was rather...regrettable, to say the least.

"Come on, Esil," He mumbled a plea. "You are practically my only hope at this point."

Dolk sent Esil to deal with Zoe Callahan and Mara Gresil since he should've been strong enough to handle them. However, nearly ten minutes had already passed since he burst through the window to attack them. The fact that he was taking so long to kill them meant that they were more formidable than he realized.

Either that or there was something or someone else keeping Esil from completing his objective. Between the two, they both seemed viable. Dolk did not know how strong Zoe and Mara were, even with his spies in both guilds. He knew they were strong enough to gather a lot of players and form a guild, much like him, so that was obvious. The problem was that he couldn't properly gauge them.

Even if he knew their levels, which he did, that alone wouldn't provide him with enough information about how powerful they were. There were still skills, armor, and weapons that he needed to know, and even then, there was likely still something that those knights were hiding.

Dolk vigorously rubbed his head, stressing over his plans not going the way he wanted them. He didn't want to kill all of his people since that would hinder his plans to take down the other guilds around him. However, he also couldn't just back out when he came this far. He needed to at least kill the two knights in that building.

None of their allies mattered at this point. All that he cared about was taking down the guild leaders. Once they were killed, the Valiant Guild and Battle Breakers Guild would crumble without their leadership. All he needed to do...was hold out as long as possible.

While intently scanning the hospital building, Dolk's senses suddenly warned him of dangers. Following his instincts, he jerked his head up, only to see something rapidly descending upon him.

"T-the hell...?!"

The dark elf dove to the side, just as the unknown figure made contact with the ground. Pieces of the roof he was on exploded from the impact, sending debris everywhere. Dolk was getting pelted with shards of the roof, forcing him to raise his arm to defend himself.

When the dust settled, he looked at what nearly crashed into him. And what he saw gave him quite a shock.

Standing before Dolk were two griffins with humanoid figures riding them. Taking a closer look at the individuals, he noticed that they possessed pointed ears. However, unlike a normal dark elf that possessed gray skin...these elves did not.

For a moment, his heart sank to his stomach as dread slowly consumed him. Could they be high elves? Have they found him at the request of Kollr? If that was the case, then his whole plan was ruined now. He wanted to keep his distance from Astrid's brother and the high elves, who were the cause of all the chaos happening in Meir. However, that no longer seemed to be the case. They found him. Which meant he would be forced to return to Kollr and his psychotic antics.

However, when Dolk took a closer look at the supposed High Elves, he noticed that their ears weren't as long as a High Elf's. Not only that, but their attire looked more forest-esque than high society.

High Elves were known for being arrogant and always flaunting their intelligence, whether it was through their success or accessories. To put it simply, High Elves possessed a very sick obsession with wearing gaudy attire. They were essentially attention seekers.

But these two elves didn't seem to possess such an arrogant and gaudy aura. Which meant they couldn't be High Elves. And since they didn't have gray skin, which was a unique trait to dark elves, that meant that these newcomers...were regular elves.

This allowed Dolk to relax for a moment because he believed that he was safe. However, what the elf said next shattered any hopes of peace he wished with them.

"Dolk Knut!" The elf shouted, glaring daggers at the dark elf. "You're hereby under arrest for being a co-conspirator in destroying the peace within the Great Forest of Meir!"

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