Chapter 126: [CHARM SHROUD]

Before Eli could even decide what to say, a sound cut through the cavern.

Not Mio’s twisted laughter. Not the hiss of threads.

A groan.

A new voice.

“Ugh… h-how long was I out? What… is happening…?”

Both Eli and Kairo’s eyes widened. Eli jerked his head up from Kairo’s shoulder, blinking through the haze of pain.

“Ah,” Mio purred, lips curling into something sharp. He brought his hands together in a slow, mocking clap.

Each smack of palm against palm sent another stab of agony through Eli’s skull, making him flinch. “One of the two sleeping beauties finally woke up. Good morning, Zai.”

“Zaira,” Kairo called, voice cold and cutting through the chaos.

“Please be direct to the point,” Zaira muttered, clutching her head. Her tone was sharp, but strained. “I’m sorry for being disrespectful, Captain, Mio, but my head really—” Her voice broke into a gasp. “What the fuck?!”

Eli felt it before he saw it.

Danger.

Not aimed at him anymore—but at her.

His head snapped toward the movement. Threads. Thin and gleaming, coiled like snakes around Zaira’s foot.

Then they yanked.

“Mio, what the fuck are you doing?!” she shrieked, dragged across the stone. She kicked, tried to tear herself free, but the silver only tightened. “Let me go! That hurts! Captain, help!”

Kairo was already moving.

Crimson flared, his blade flashing. Blood-formed edges whipped out, slicing through the threads that bound her.

The cut was clean, sparks flying as silver snapped apart.

But the instant he severed them—

Threads lunged for Eli.

“Fuck—” Eli’s whole body convulsed, his danger sense flaring so violently he thought his skull might split open. ’Fuck, fuck, fuck!’

Kairo twisted sharply, his sword already there. He slashed through the air, cutting down the wires before they could reach.

’My head hurts. It hurts so much.’

The danger didn’t let up. It pounded against Eli’s skull in relentless waves, each spike like a blade splitting through his brain.

Over and over and over—until suddenly, it cut off.

For a single heartbeat—Eli could breathe. His chest loosened, his lungs dragged in air.

Then it surged again.

Not at him.

At Zaira.

His vision blurred from the pain, but he caught the glint.

Threads surged across the cavern like silver serpents, slicing through the air with lethal precision. This time, they weren’t aimed at her legs.

Mio aimed for her neck.

“Fuck,” Kairo muttered, his tone edged with something Eli had never heard before—urgency.

Zaira froze, eyes wide, the wires flashing toward her throat fast enough to carve her head from her shoulders.

Eli’s nails tore into Kairo’s sleeve, his breathing ragged, pain flaring white-hot in his skull. ’If he doesn’t cut it fast enough—’

“AGH, I JUST WOKE UP—WHAT THE FUCK?!”

Zaira’s shout cracked through the cavern. In one swift motion, she pulled a dagger from the sheath hidden against her thigh. Eli’s eyes widened—he hadn’t even known she was armed.

Steel met silver. Sparks burst.

She slashed clean through the thread just inches from her neck, the severed ends recoiling and dissolving in the air.

The dagger wasn’t ordinary.

The way it glowed faintly, humming with some inner reinforcement, it was clearly a special-grade weapon.

Without pause, Zaira bent her knees and launched herself upward.

Her boots slammed against stone, propelling her into a desperate sprint. She darted across the jagged terrain, water splashing underfoot, until she reached them.

Breathless, trembling, she darted behind Kairo’s broad frame, putting him between her and the storm of silver.

“You can blame Elione Noa Ahn for this, Zai.” Mio’s voice rang out, mocking, sharp as broken glass. He clapped his hands once, threads quivering around him like living things. “You’re merely a victim.”

Zaira froze mid-breath, her chest heaving as sweat slid down her temple. “Eli’s fault? What?” Her eyes darted to Eli, still buried in Kairo’s hold, clutching at his sleeve, his face pale and strained with pain.

But before Eli could speak, Kairo’s voice cut through, calm and commanding.

“Mio’s being controlled.” His black eyes narrowed, scanning the darkness beyond Mio as if trying to pierce through the unseen. “There were phantoms earlier—irrelevant, but they targeted Eli. And now, whatever’s controlling Mio is after him too.”

Kairo adjusted his grip on Eli, lifting him slightly higher with one arm. His hold was steady, unshakable, as though Eli weighed nothing at all.

The other hand kept his blade angled forward. His words came clipped, precise, every syllable carrying command.

“We don’t know what it is, or where it’s hiding. But Eli’s ability is being forced into overuse. He’s in pain—drowning in danger signals because Mio is radiating constant intent. It’s eating him alive.”

Eli’s chest heaved, each breath jagged. His nails dug weakly into Kairo’s sleeve, his thoughts sluggish but still catching everything. ’He… just says it so simply, like I’m not breaking apart from the inside.’

“And Mel?” Zaira’s voice cut through, sharp despite the way her breathing still trembled.

“He’s still unconscious, just beside where you woke up.”

Zaira glanced back, her expression tightening, then gave a short nod. “Okay. What can I do to help, Captain?”

Eli blinked, stunned through the pain.

’She just understood it that quick?’ But then again, he shouldn’t have been surprised. This was why they were S-Class. Their battle chemistry wasn’t just instinct—it was discipline. They didn’t waste time. They didn’t need long explanations.

Since most of them functioned as support—tying enemies down, reading battlefield flow—while Kairo was the main carry and finisher, they all knew how to slot into his lead.

“Use your ability on Mio,” Kairo ordered without hesitation. “See if there’s a chance the dangerous intent stops, even for a moment. If it works, we can shift focus to finding the real monster.”

Zaira’s lips parted as if to question, but Kairo spoke over her before doubt could form.

“I haven’t knocked him out because we don’t know if the monster can only control one person at a time. If that’s the case…” His eyes narrowed, black irises glinting under the scarlet glow. “…either Eli or myself could be next. We don’t know how strong this monster really is.”

The weight of those words settled like stone. Eli’s pulse spiked, cold dread twisting into his gut. ’If it’s me, I’ll lose control completely. If it’s Kairo… we’re dead.’

Zaira exhaled sharply through her nose, her blue eyes hardening.

She turned her focus on Mio, threads still writhing and snapping around him like metallic serpents. “No problem,” she said, the steel in her voice cutting through her fatigue. “I’ll do my best to subdue him.”

Zaira exhaled slowly, steadying herself. Then her eyes narrowed, a faint shimmer of pink flickering in their depths.

Eli felt it before he fully saw it—a ripple, subtle and strange, like the air itself had changed texture. A faint aura seeped out from her body, threads of distortion weaving through the cavern.

It spread forward like a tide, soft but inescapable, licking at the jagged stone and pooling in the space where Mio stood.

Eli blinked, startled. “That’s…”

“Charm Shroud,” Kairo said, his voice calm even with chaos snapping around them. His weight shifted, obsidian sword still poised, and he pulled Eli a half-step back with him, shielding without thought.

Eli knew the name. Everyone in the Guild did.

Zaira’s ability wasn’t flashy like Kairo’s crimson blood constructs or Caelen’s golden aura. Hers was subtler—an influence that seeped past defenses, bending perception, warping emotion. Fear, confusion, hesitation. For just a few seconds, she could make enemies stumble, forget, or falter.

A weaponized aura of misdirection.

The scarlet edge along Kairo’s blade dimmed just slightly, enough to avoid clashing with her spread.

“Stay behind her,” Kairo said, voice flat but firm. “If we get too close, her aura could catch us too.”

Eli’s chest tightened. That was new. ’She can’t fully control it? She can’t choose who it hits?’

The thought made his grip tighten instinctively on Kairo’s sleeve. Even as dizziness pounded through his skull, he forced himself to focus. Because something was shifting.

The air thickened.

Charm Shroud expanded.

It brushed over Eli’s skin like an invisible veil, a tingle that crawled into his chest and made his heartbeat stutter. The cave seemed to tilt, shadows bending strangely at the edges of his vision.

Mio staggered. His threads quivered midair, hesitating.

For the first time, his face flickered—confusion, the barest flash of uncertainty widening his eyes. His body took a step back as if some part of him wanted distance.

Eli’s breath caught. “Did it… work?”

For a heartbeat, it looked like it had. The silver wires slackened, lowering slightly like snakes unsure of their strike.

“Of course,” Zaira said, confidence cutting through her panting.

The effect shattered.

Mio’s face twisted, fury exploding raw across his features. His lips peeled back in a snarl, teeth bared. “What—what the fuck are you doing to me?!”

The wires snapped violently, cracking against stone pillars and water alike. Each strike sent sparks flying, metallic shrieks bouncing off the cavern walls. The sheer pressure of his rage made Eli’s stomach lurch.

“I’ve done this to Mio and Mel at least once,” Zaira said with a half-smirk, dagger ready in her hand. “They both cried.” She let out a short laugh, a taunt cutting through the chaos.

Mio’s movements grew jagged, unstable. His threads lashed without rhythm, his body jerking like a puppet caught between two masters.

His hands trembled. Then one shot up to his head, yanking at his own hair as if he could tear the distortion out.

“Stop it—STOP IT!” he roared, the sound guttural, raw.

Eli’s throat went dry. His danger sense still screamed, but the overload shifted. It wasn’t just hostile intent now—it was fractured, scattered, like two blades scraping against each other inside Mio’s mind.

The aura shimmered through the cavern, spilling wider. Eli watched it ripple, ethereal, tinting the shadows themselves as it stretched out along stone and water.

It was… beautiful. Elegant, mesmerizing.

For a second, despite everything, he couldn’t look away. ’She really does have the prettiest ability…’

Then something pulled his eyes upward.

His heart skipped.

’Huh?’

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