Steel and Mana

Chapter 235 – Spinning a Web

The sun was beginning to sink below the horizon, casting the rugged hills in a deep golden light, turning the craggy stones that were sticking out of the ground and the rolling moors into a landscape of jagged shadows as two figures were walking with a brisk pace, hurrying to close the open ground between two forests. Dio felt that they were still in the maws of the beast, and he wasn't wrong, as they were still a few kilometers from the border of Goldengrove, finally escaping the Frontier. His new partner, Elvira, was keeping up without issues as the two were traveling light. What Dio didn't know was that Elvire knew precisely where they were—and, more importantly, what was about to happen.

She'd known for days since the coded message had reached her, right before they left Lothlia. An ambush was planned at the final pass, an unavoidable choke point, seemingly perfect for an attack. It was what connected Elliot's territory to his western neighbors, as well as the passage from where the carriages from Greyback entered the Frontier. It was entirely under their control on both sides, something Dio didn't know. The planned ambush would be real—arrows whistling from the ridges, soldiers charging from the rocks. But the outcome was already decided. It was all just a grand performance designed to push her partner closer to her, to make him trust her more thoroughly.

He trudged ahead of her, his pack slung low on his back, the precious magical device secure within. He had no idea, of course, that Elvira knew about it, and it was one of her main focus. Whenever Dio had his back to her like this, Elvira's black eyes narrowed, her mind analyzing how easily she could stab him in the back, slit his throat and take it from his corpse. It made her gently tuck her shoulder-length, black hair behind her ears, forming a sadistic smile, enjoying the thrill of life once again.

When she finally met her target, she spent a week getting closer to him, even showing a slight, more intimate interest in him, laying the groundwork. The ambush was her chance to elevate it with one swift move.

As they neared the border, the land narrowed ahead of them—a natural bottleneck where the hills pressed in on either side, their rocky faces creating a perfect spot for an attack. She felt the familiar knot of tension in her stomach, but it wasn't fear. It was anticipation.

"Keep your eyes sharp!" Elvira called to her partner, her voice measured, hiding her excitement beneath a layer of professional concern. "This pass should be guarded by soldiers, but I can't see any!"

He nodded, adjusting his grip on his walking staff. "You are right... This looks suspicious. Were we discovered? Or did the soldiers abandon their posts? Greyback is not a place that is much of an interest to anyone... I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't guarded."

"They'd be fools not to." Her gaze swept the ridges, knowing full well where the ambushers were already positioned, hidden behind rocks and heather. The timing was everything now. The attack had to come when they were at their most vulnerable.

They were almost at the center of the pass when she felt it—the subtle shift in the wind, the stillness that only came before violence. She slowed her pace, keeping her breathing steady, waiting for the signal.

Then it came.

A distant whistle cut through the air, and before her partner could react, arrows rained down on the two from above. He shouted in surprise, diving for cover behind a rock as soldiers rushed from the hillsides, their weapons drawn, wearing Elliot's regular militia outfits.

"Ambush!" Dio yelled, unsheathing his daggers, wanting to curse.

She could hear his heartbeat pounding in the silence between attacks, making Elvira force back the impulse to kill him and start touching herself. The arrows around them were striking stone and soil, deliberately missing their targets, but to Dio, it would seem like chaos. The perfect kind of chaos in which Elvira had to play her part—right on cue.

She dropped to the ground next to him, drawing her own weapon, a curved blade with practiced ease. "We have to move!" she shouted, grabbing his arm and pulling him up just as an arrow thudded into the rock where he had been crouching. Dio nodded, his face pale with adrenaline, trusting her in the moment, not even thinking.

Good.

She led him toward a narrow break in the ridge, where she knew a few enemy soldiers would try to prevent them from escaping. They appeared on schedule, charging down the slope with weapons raised, their faces painted with fake fury. These soldiers, for the most crucial part, were no longer Elliot's recruits. Here, at this moment, they were Elvira's sisters, old comrades, and also multiple elites from Avalon, ditching their armor for simple leather.

Her heart raced, but not from fear—this was the moment that would seal her partner's trust. With a fierce yell, she lunged toward the nearest soldier, her saber flashing as it caught the sun's light, using it to blind her target. She struck with precision, her blade slipping under the closest soldier's guard. He went down hard, clutching his side, and his fall was perfectly executed.

"Come on!" Elvira shouted, grabbing her partner again and pushing him through the gap in the rocks. Arrows continued to fly overhead, and the clashing sounds of steel on steel echoed around them. They were supposed to look outnumbered and cornered.

Dio, who knew he was out of his element, as it should be him, struck from the shadows, having the advantage. He slashed at a soldier trying to flank them, but his movements were clumsy and desperate. He was a spy, an assassin with daggers at hand, not a warrior. His breathing was ragged, his eyes wide with alarm. And that was exactly what she wanted.

Just as another soldier closed in on him from the side, she threw herself into the fray, shoving Dio aside and taking the hit. The soldier's blade sliced across her arm—just deep enough to draw blood but shallow enough to avoid real damage. She gasped, staggering back, cradling her arm, welcoming the feeling of pain, feeling she missed this way too much.

"It's fine!" she gasped, stumbling to her feet, her face twisted in pain before Dio could react. "Just keep moving!"

More soldiers closed in, but she slashed at them with desperate efficiency, taking down another with a well-placed strike. The blood on her arm smeared against her clothing, the wound looking worse than it was, quickly dissipating any inherent doubts within Dio's mind. He was fighting for her now, for both of their chance to escape.

They broke through the last of the ambush, leaving the soldiers behind, who made an effort to pursue but purposefully fell behind more and more before disappearing from view. They finally stopped after running, never stopping until it became eerily silent as the two were within Greyback's territory. The moment it happened, Elvira collapsed against a boulder, her breath coming in short, ragged bursts. Dio quickly dropped to his knees beside her, his face etched with concern.

"You never said you were such a proficient warrior!" he panted, still gripping his dagger, hands shaking.

She winced, clutching her wounded arm, the blood still seeping through her fingers. "Before all this, I was a mercenary; I grew up in a brigand group. I was taught early to earn my share..."

While listening to her, he tore a strip of cloth from his pack and began wrapping her arm, his hands trembling slightly as he worked. "That explains the scars on you... I thought I was done for. We should have seen them coming… Damn it!"

"Don't blame yourself," Elvira said softly, her voice barely above a whisper, allowing vulnerability to creep into her tone. "They were waiting for us; we lost a lot of agents because these bastards are thorough! Our luck is that the ones within Goldengrove are not as unstoppable as the monsters in Avalon. If they were reinforced by those black-armored giants, we would be dead! But we made it through... that is what matters..."

Listening to her, he couldn't help but nod, finishing the bandage. "Thanks to you."

She let out a weak smile, hearing him, her eyes locking onto his. "We're a team. We look out for each other."

And just like that, she had him. His trust. His loyalty. His life. The redness on Elvira's face, which Dio took as the workings of their adrenaline still pumping through their veins, was instead her barely controllable excitement about how she would play with her prey in the upcoming days, weeks, months, or even years. Her arm throbbed with pain, but it was a welcoming feeling. She even wanted it to hurt a bit more.

Luckily, the ambush had played out perfectly. Once they were out of sight, the soldiers fell back, returning to their posts with word of her success, leaving only her hidden sisters to keep trailing after them.

But more importantly, her partner was now firmly in her grasp. The heroic rescue, the wound, the sacrifice—it all worked to her advantage. Every step brought her closer to the heart of the organization she was going to infect, and with the device still safe in his pack, her ultimate goal was nearly within reach. As they moved away from the ambush site, she leaned heavily on Dio, his gratitude unspoken but clear in every glance and touch. Just a little bit more, and while he is sleeping, satisfied and with empty balls... she can fiddle with the actual toy within his bag.

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Dio and Elvira had been walking for hours, just as they had for the past month. The device was wrapped securely in Dio's pack, nestled among survival gear and supplies that they bought while passing through Greyback. Elvira's past nights had been spent memorizing, copying its form, studying it when her partner's back was turned when he was distracted by camp duties or asleep.

She stole another glance at him, and as their eyes met, both of them smiled. He trusted her completely. And why wouldn't he? She had saved his life during the ambush weeks ago, pulling him from the chaos and making sure they both made it out. Her loyalty had been unquestioned since, especially after they had a steamy, wild night when resting in Greyback. It was so easy to wrap him around her fingers. Whenever she wanted to take a look at the device, she just had to ride atop of him until he fell asleep, like a good little child after his hot glass of milk.

As they crested the next hill, a familiar tension knotted her stomach. This part of the route was dangerous—not because of the terrain, but because she had planned for it to be. A retrieval team would find her latest dead drop somewhere, not far off. Small, untraceable vials containing the drawings of the device she had carefully copied during their journey. She had made sure to be as careful as possible; every component she passed along was allowing her Sovereign to unlock the mystery behind it.

"Let's take a break," Dio called back, his voice strained. He dropped his pack onto a flat patch of grass near a cluster of rocks and sat down heavily. "I need to check the map to see where to go next. We should be able to contact someone from the guild after we get to the next major settlement!"

"Um, you're the boss~!" Elvira chuckled as she moved with practiced ease, nodding and sitting beside him, leaning against his shoulder.

"You think we're still ahead of them? Or if they follow us this far at all?" Dio asked without looking up, squinting at the map as he wiped sweat from his brow.

"We've been careful," she replied, her tone measured, reassuring. "We've crossed into quieter territory. If we keep pace, we'll return to base within two months, right before winter." She forced a smile, making sure to look tired but resolute. "We're out of their reach; they are not Ishillia, but just the Frontier!"

Her partner sighed in relief, nodding as he folded the map. "You are right. I'm just being paranoid."

She allowed herself a glance toward the distant crags, her mind already on the dead drop location her sisters had scouted in advance. It was a small cairn of stones, perfectly natural-looking yet hollow at its core. Her latest message would rest there, waiting for her comrades to recover it. They were always following, always in her shadow or staying ahead of them, keeping Dio oblivious that he was just a dog, led on a leash. It was a play, a game, and even if it was a delicate performance, she played it well.

"Let me check the device," she said suddenly, feigning concern. "I want to ensure it hasn't been affected by the damp. The humidity's been higher since yesterday."

Dio hesitated at first but then nodded. "Good idea. I'd hate for something to go wrong with it this close to home." He revealed its existence when someone almost managed to steal his pack, making Elvira question why he almost blew their cover within Greyback. It was just a bag... the information they were bringing was in their heads anyway! Of course, Dio didn't know that the thief was the same Number 3 who had aimed her crossbow at his head multiple times by then.

Elvira reached into his pack carefully, pulling out the bundle that held the device. It was simple on the outside but complex within—something she couldn't understand. But she didn't need to. Her role was to facilitate the study of it by copying down everything.

She began a cursory inspection, moving her fingers over the smooth surface and turning it slowly. Her partner watched her but didn't question her actions; he trusted her experience. Clearly, it wasn't the first time that Elvira was handling something like this. Over time, she'd gained the authority to handle it without arousing suspicion.

"It's looking stable!" she said after a moment, handing it back. "There are no signs of damage."

Her partner looked relieved and returned the device to his pack, tightening the straps. "Good. Let's keep moving before the light fades!"

As he hoisted his pack again, she stretched, taking her time to adjust her boots, and then casually dropped the tiny shard of casing into the hollow of a nearby stone. A flick of her wrist, barely noticeable, and the fragment was gone, hidden away.

She allowed herself the slightest flicker of grin appear on her face as they resumed their journey. Step by step, fragment by fragment, the device was being unraveled, scattered across the highlands for her contacts to collect... When Dio no longer proves useful, she will enjoy the big finale.

But, for now, she would continue to play the role of the trusted ally, a playful lover, and by the time they reached their base—if they did at all—the device would already be in the hands of her Sovereign.