As morning broke, Adrian''s gaze fell upon Elena, her breathing carrying a tranquil rhythm, hinting at her newfound rxation.


    The night they shared had been filled with passion, extending far beyond their expectations.


    The remnants of their small campfirey extinguished, leaving behind only ash amidst the pristine snow.


    Carefully extricating himself from Elena''s embrace without disturbing her nket cocoon, Adrian rose, his movements gentle.


    A soft murmur escaped Elena as she stirred, her drowsy gaze catching Adrian''s as he leaned in to ce a tender kiss upon her cheek.


    "Adrian?" Elena''s voice was a mere whisper,den with sleep. He smiled reassuringly, his lips brushing against her ear as he spoke. "You can rest a while longer," he murmured, sensing her exhaustion lingering from their passionate night.


    With a nod and a flutter of her eyelids, Elena surrendered once more to slumber, the early morning light casting a serene glow upon her features.


    Aware of her need for rest, Adrian ventured outside, his footsteps muffled by the soft snow as he gathered wood from the nearby bushes, preparing to kindle a fire for their breakfast.


    As he tended to the mes, thoughts of the previous day''s events weighed heavily upon him. The signal he had sent forth.


    ''The princess will make a move soon''


    Despite Adrian''s efforts to disperse the ominous clouds with his formidable attacks the previous day, they had returned, their darkness even more foreboding than before, casting a menacing shadow over the frigid expanse of the northern wilderness.


    As he turned to face the encroaching darkness, a smile graced Adrian''s lip.


    Amidst the looming gloom, Elena remained unaffected, her presence a beacon of warmth and light in the deste night. Her radiant beauty seemed to pierce through the darkness, captivating Adrian''s gaze with its ethereal glow.


    Though Adrian had once found little significance in the struggles of others, the people of the north held a different perspective.


    To them, he was a hero, theirst hope in the face of impending doom at the hands of the encroaching demons.


    ''Adrian, they''reing''


    Came the telepathic voice of his sister, cutting through the stillness of the night.


    With a knowing nod, Adrian directed his attention to the rugged terrain ahead. Beneath the towering peaks, a cloud of smoke billowed ominously, its rapid approach reminiscent of a speeding car.


    The tranquility of the morning shattered with a deafening roar that echoed through the snowyndscape.


    A monstrous creature, resembling a bear but far more imposing, lumbered into view, its massive form dominated by an elf with dark skin perched atop it, eyes fixed on Adrian with predatory intensity. Behind them, a horde of demonic cavalry thundered forth on six-legged horses, their hooves aze with blue mes that seared the snow beneath them.


    As the sun rose higher in the sky, casting an eerie light over the impending sh, Adrian braced himself for the violence that loomed on the horizon.


    While he had anticipated a response from the demonic princess, he hadn''t expected it toe in such a ferocious manner.


    With practiced precision, Adrian traced runic letters in the air, weaving a protective barrier around himself and Elena, shielding them from the impending onught.


    Simultaneously, he invoked sound magic to dampen the cacophony of battle that raged ahead, ensuring Elena''s safety amidst the chaos.


    Even as he tended to thest preparations for their breakfast stew, Adrian sensed the tension in the air mounting.


    With a swift motion, he summoned his holy sword, its gleaming de enveloped in radiant light as he activated his divine authority, preparing to face the formidable foes that stood before him.


    "These guys are stronger than the usualbatants I''ve encountered," Adrian mused, a thrill of excitement coursing through him.


    It had been nearly a week since their arrival in this treacherousnd, and this impending battle promised to be his most challenging yet.


    With a confident smile, Adrian steeled himself for theing conflict


    Strength coalesced at Adrian''s feet, his focus honed as he channeled his aura, a radiant golden glow enveloping his body. With a surge of power, he leaped forward, leaving a dazzling trail of crackling electricity in his wake, traversing the distance with unmatched speed and agility.


    Approaching the dark elf and its sinister mount, Adrian sensed an unsettling presence emanating from the creature.


    A smile yed across its lips, a gesture that should have instilled fear in any demon confronted by Adrian''s formidable presence.


    Yet, to his bewilderment, both the elf and its demonic cohorts seemed unperturbed, their expressions mirroring the same eerie grin.


    A sudden, urgent warning from his sister pierced through Adrian''s thoughts, snapping him out of his confusion. Whirling around, his eyes widened in horror as he beheld a scene unfolding behind him.


    A figure d in pristine white armor stood, cradling Elena in his arms like a precious treasure.


    The knight''s gaze met Adrian''s with chilling indifference, and with a graceful unfurling of wings, the truth dawned upon him.


    "An angel...?" Adrian''s voice faltered, disbelief mingling with shock as he struggled toprehend the surreal sight before him. Before he could process the implications of the celestial being''s presence, agony seared through his being.


    "Where are you looking at hero~?"


    In an instant, the dark elf had closed the distance, its dagger finding purchase in Adrian''s shoulder with cruel precision.


    Painnced through him, stealing his breath as he recoiled from the sudden assault, his mind reeling from the unexpected situation.


    Reacting instinctively, Adrian twisted his body in a desperate maneuver before unleashing a burst of power, activating his authority of light.


    A vertical sh of radiant energy cleaved through the air, a crescent beam of light slicing through everything in its path with unforgiving precision.


    But his triumph was short-lived as the dark elf merely smirked, effortlessly dispersing Adrian''s formidable attack with a casual wave of his hand.


    Adrian couldn''t help but feel a wave of confusion washing over him. What was happening? Why was this happening?


    "Surprised?"


    The elf''s voice dripped with smug amusement as he addressed Adrian.


    "A friend of mine warned me about you, so I had to take precautions, you see. But it seems I overestimated your threat." The smirk on the elf''s lips widened, sending a chill down Adrian''s spine.


    As the reality of the situation began to sink in, Adrian felt a deep-rooted pain searing through his body, as if every nerve was aze with torment. He copsed to his knees, coughing up blood, his vision swimming with agony.


    The telepathic connection with his sister faltered, her voice reduced to a mere whisper in the recesses of his mind.


    With deliberate steps, the dark elf closed the distance between them, twirling his dagger with malicious intent.


    "Ian Astrea... you''re more pathetic than I thought." The dark elf''s words cut through the frigid air, dripping with disdain as he addressed Adrian directly.


    With a swift, brutal kick to Adrian''s chest, the force of impact sent him hurtling through the snow-coveredndscape, the ground beneath him shattering as he tumbled helplessly across the icy terrain, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.


    Pain radiated through every fiber of Adrian''s being, a cacophony of agony enveloping him as he struggled to rise from the ground.


    Clutching his chest, he gasped for air, his strength failing him as he fought against the overwhelming tide of torment.


    Through half-closed eyes, Adrian''s gaze fell upon the surreal scene unfolding before him.


    The angel, Ian Astrea, cradled Elena in his arms with a tenderness that made Adrian''s blood boil.


    The dark elf approached, his touch soft against Elena''s cheek, a cruel mockery of affection that twisted Adrian''s gut with rage and despair.


    "I''ll be taking your fiancée for the time being, okay~?" The elf''s sharine smile sent shivers down Adrian''s spine, his wordsced with malice as he sauntered away, Elena held securely in his grasp.


    But the moment those words left the dark elf''s lips, a shroud of darkness descended upon the surroundings, twisting and distorting Adrian''s form into something grotesque, something that seemed utterly alien to the natural world.


    His once-human shape was reced by a nightmarish visage, his eyes ck voids that seemed to devour the light around them, filled with a madness that chilled the very soul.


    The holy sword that had once been his weapon vanished into thin air, reced by ws forged from the deepest shadows.


    "Let go of her," Adrian growled, his voice warped and distorted by the darkness that now consumed him.


    The elf''s response was infuriatingly casual. "Don''t want to~" he remarked, his smirk never faltering.


    With a single-minded determination, Adrian charged forward, his sole focus on rescuing Elena from the clutches of her captors.


    Ignoring the onught of attacks from the elf''s demonic subordinates, Adrian pressed on, each blow piercing through his defenses like daggers, intensifying the agony that wracked his body.


    As the pain threatened to overwhelm him, a realization dawned upon Adrian with chilling rity.


    These adversaries were not demons; their attacks carried a purity that was unmistakably divine in nature.


    Despite the darkness that cloaked them, their assaults were infused with a holy power that tore at Adrian''s very soul.


    Though shrouded in darkness, Adrian understood the truth now.


    These beings were not demons; they were angels, sent to thwart his efforts and im Elena for their own.


    With each excruciating blow, Adrian felt his consciousness slipping away, teetering on the edge of oblivion.


    Yet, driven by an unyielding resolve, he pressed onward, shrouding himself in even deeper darkness, his inner authorities threatening to erupt despite the peril it posed to his very soul.


    Straightening his right arm, Adrian manifested a sword forged from the shadows, extending its reach like a whip as he deftly maneuvered through the onught of spears of light, each one covered in his own dark essence.


    With every step closer to the dark elf, Adrian''s bloodlust surged, a palpable aura of death enveloping him, freezing his adversaries in their tracks.


    "Hahaha, I take it back, Ian. You''re not pathetic at all. You''re the best," the elf snickered, his toneced with twisted amusement as he turned away, a sinister grin etched upon his features.


    In a moment of primal instinct, Adrian leaped forward, ready to unleash his fury upon his foe. But as his attack descended, a blinding sh of light engulfed everything— the elf, the monsters, and even Elena, disappearing without a trace.


    Descending back to the ground, a maelstrom of emotions churned within Adrian. Confusion, anger, sorrow— they mingled together, a tempest raging within his soul. And amidst the aftermath of battle, as the echoes of their disappearance faded into the icy air, Adrian was left alone


    Despite the uncertainty surrounding the sudden adversaries that had appeared, Adrian found himself ovee withughter.


    The darkness that enveloped his tattered, cracked form seemed to deepen, swirling around him like an abyss, consuming everything in its path.


    The revtion struck him with a chilling rity.


    The angel, the demons in disguise, the dark elf, and even the lingering divine mana that permeated the air— they were all manifestations of the purest form of divinity he had encountered in this realm.


    And the poisonced within the dark elf''s dagger, it too bore the mark of divine influence, a venom that seeped into his very soul.


    He was familiar about all of it after all he met the very source of that energy.


    "Goddess..."


    Adrian''s voice trailed off as he spoke the words, his realization dawning upon him like a thunderbolt.


    The goddess, was now making her move.