Just as he closed the distance, Rakan's toes barely grazed the ground before he disappeared in a blink, reappearing mid-air in a graceful leap.
The moment he landed in the center of the soldiers, a massive magic circle flared to life beneath him, instantly engulfing everyone around him.
Before they could react, an invisible force surged upward from the ground.
One by one, the soldiers were lifted into the air, their movements forcefully interrupted.
By the time they regained their senses and tried to fight back, Rakan had already twirled away with effortless grace, returning to Xayah's side with a flourish.
Several magic swords now rested in his hands—spoils of war stolen straight from their would-be wielders.
Instead of preparing for another attack, the two shamelessly embraced, sealing it with a passionate kiss as if they had all the time in the world.
"That was a perfect hero-saves-the-damsel moment, don't you think?"
"Then, did you fall in love with me?"
"I've always loved you~"
"Thank you, darling. This is my gift to you—I love watching you kill."
"And I love killing for you."
"Then let's seal it with another kiss—"
Restraint? The word didn't exist in their vocabulary. Lost in their own little world, they continued exchanging flirtatious banter.
Meanwhile, the soldiers who had barely managed to regroup under Rakan's magic were met with another wave of Xayah's deadly feathers.
"Damn it! What the hell are these monsters?!"
Marius felt his mind teetering on the edge of collapse.
Everything had been going well—so why had the situation flipped so drastically? Even the elite Imperial Guard, the force he had placed his highest hopes in, had been wiped out effortlessly.
And their opponents? Just two people.
As a seasoned commander, Marius knew the top adventurers of Orario well. These two were from the Sol family—Feather-Xayah and Joyous-Rakan, both officially ranked at LV4.
But there was no way LV4 adventurers were this powerful.
He had fought against Orario's forces before. Even if he hadn't directly faced their strongest warriors, he had at least observed them in battle.
Marius prided himself on his ability to assess the strength of adventurers, but these two... their power was far beyond LV4.
Damn it! What were Orario's scouts doing?
How could they have failed to gather such critical information?
A miscalculation this severe—failing to even identify an adventurer's true level—was unacceptable.
And what was with the Sol family?!
Did they have this many high-level adventurers to throw into a mere crusade team?
According to the usual unspoken rules of warfare, monsters like these should only appear in the final stages of battle.
But these two? They weren't playing by the rules.
"You must be the commander."
A cold, razor-sharp point pressed lightly against his neck.
The edge of a feather blade.
It had already cut into his skin, sending a faint tingling pain through his nerves.
Weren't they just kissing over there? When did she—?!
"I am Marius, commander of the Ares family," he stated, his voice steady despite the blade at his throat. "What do you want from me?"
There was no point in hiding his identity—his name carried enough weight within the Ares family to be recognized immediately.
More importantly, while he was the commander, he was also among the strongest warriors in the Ares army.
And with the artifacts he carried, he was confident—at least—to break free from Xayah's control if it came to that.
"Since you're the commander, you can deliver a message of Sol-sama for us—to God Ares himself," Xayah mused aloud.
Judging by her casual tone, it seemed this ruthless woman genuinely had no idea who he was.
How is that even possible?
If I'd known this earlier, I would've just kept my identity hidden...
"What message? I'll pass it along," Marius replied, masking his thoughts.
"So agreeable. You must hold quite the status in the Ares Familia," Xayah remarked, raising an eyebrow at his immediate compliance.
"This is Marius, the commander-in-chief of the Ares Familia. Riveria showed us his profile before we set out," Rakan chimed in.
"Oh? Sorry, I didn't bother reading that document," Xayah admitted nonchalantly.
"Really now? You should at least glance at these things," Rakan chided gently, his tone dripping with affection.
"Why bother? You'll always be by my side, won't you—" Xayah teased, turning to him with a playful wink.
Marius felt as if he had just taken an emotional gut punch.
Are they seriously flirting right now?
Can you two at least acknowledge the situation?
This unbearable sickly sweetness...
When he returned to Rakia, he swore he'd find a woman of his own to drown in honeyed affection.
"Since he's such a big shot, wouldn't it be a waste to just let him go like this?"
Marius snapped out of his thoughts at Xayah's sudden shift in attitude.
What the hell?
So this is what they mean by a fickle woman...
For the first time in his life, he truly understood that phrase.
"Riveria didn't specify how we should handle him," Rakan remarked with a casual shrug.
"In that case, we might as well trade him for something useful. No point catching him for nothing."
Marius stared at them, utterly speechless.
I get that I'm a prisoner, but do you really have to discuss my value like I'm a bargaining chip—right in front of me?!
I'm the commander-in-chief of the Ares Familia! I've fought Orario countless times, but never—not once—have I been humiliated like this.
Xayah opened her mouth as if to say something but suddenly hesitated.
"Marius—" Rakan caught on to her hesitation immediately, repeating the name deliberately.
Did she seriously just forget my name?
She had literally said it minutes ago.
What kind of beautiful idiot am I dealing with?
"Marius," Xayah finally continued, "where is your god right now?"
Marius let out a low chuckle, his lips curling into a smirk.
"Heh... Do you honestly think I'd just tell you?"
What kind of absurd question was that?
Giving away his god's location was no different from handing over his commander-in-chief's coordinates to the enemy.
At that point, what was even the point of fighting this war?