"Nooo! Don’t come near me!""Stop!""Help!"

  Panic surged through the wedding guests as hordes of magical beasts flooded in through the cathedral’s doors, their monstrous forms twisting and lunging through the crowd like a tide of death.

  Blood spttered across the marble floors.

  The sickening sounds of flesh being torn apart, bones snapping, and desperate cries fading into gurgling silence echoed through the once-sacred chamber. Nobles, servants, and even knights fell one after another as the creatures ripped through bodies with merciless efficiency.

  A roaring voice cut through the chaos—

  "Protect His Majesty!"

  The Imperial Knight Commander’s order was like a whip cracking through the stunned knights. In perfect discipline, every Imperial Knight present rushed toward the stage, forming an iron barrier around the imperial family. Their swords gleamed under the sacred light of the cathedral, but even their presence did little to quell the growing horror around them.

  Another commanding voice rang out—

  "Protect the High Priest!"

  The Solious Padin Captain’s booming command sent the holy warriors surging forward, their silver-and-gold armor catching the flickering candlelight as they moved to shield the clergy and church officials. Unlike the Imperial Knights, the Padins were already concentrated near the stage, their sacred presence now forming a second protective barrier alongside the knights.

  But for the rest of the attendees, There was no such salvation.

  Nobles, who had once sat in seats of power and luxury, were now nothing more than prey trapped in a bloodbath.

  "Help!"

  A desperate shriek cut through the carnage as a towering, serpent-like beast with multiple glowing eyes slithered through the terrified masses. It coiled like a phantom of death, its glistening scales reflecting the crimson-stained chandeliers above.

  A high-ranking noble wielding a massive battle-axe gathered his courage and swung at the beast’s scaled body. His strike, strong enough to shatter boulders, nded directly against the creature’s glistening hide—

  And did nothing. Before the noble could even comprehend his failure, the beast’s mouth unhinged unnaturally wide.

  With a sickening crunch— It swallowed him whole.

  A split second ter, his muffled screams faded from within the creature’s bloated body, leaving only the noble’s severed hand twitching on the ground.

  The surviving nobles shrieked in terror.

  "D-Don’t leave us!""We are high-ranking nobles, damn it!"

  Their once-powerful voices used to commanding armies and dictating ws were now cracked with raw desperation. They were not warriors, nor did they have personal knights beside them. The Imperial w strictly forbade more than one personal guard per noble within the sacred halls on ceremony day.

  And now, They were utterly helpless.

  The Imperial Knights had abandoned their seats to form a protective barrier around the emperor and imperial family. The Padins had fortified their position around the clergy and holy figures.

  The high ranking nobles who were seated furthest from the stage were left exposed, their gilded robes and eborate jewelry marking them not as rulers, but as easy prey.

  To reach safety, they needed to cross the blood-soaked battlefield—but between them and the stage, monstrous creatures roamed, their razor-sharp cws and gnashing fangs tearing through anyone who dared approach.

  And worse, The only exit behind them had been broken open, and from its shattered remains, even more magical beasts poured in.

  Blood pooled between the cracks of the marble floor, soaking into the once-pristine red carpet. Torn banners and shattered gss rained down like cruel confetti. The air was thick with the acrid stench of death—flesh torn open, armor dented and bloodied, the screams of the dying mixing with the monstrous growls of the beasts.

  "Father! We need to help them! Gracie is among the nobles!"

  Benric’s desperate voice rang out above the chaos. He stood within the Imperial Knight's defensive formation, his face pale as he witnessed the carnage unfolding before him.

  Prince Landon followed his son’s gaze, his eyes frantically scanning the battlefield. His daughter was out there.

  His heart pounded as he thought of Gracie, his precious girl, trapped among the doomed nobles. His mind raced, searching for an answer, any way to save her, but no matter how hard he tried, no solution came to him. His hands trembled as he grabbed Benric’s arm, stopping him from running out of formation.

  Beside them, Maria Eldric, his wife, broke down into uncontrolble sobs.

  "Damn it!" Emperor Andrew’s voice boomed across the battlefield, his sword dripping with the blood of the magical beast he had just sin. "Push forward! We have to break through!"

  The Imperial Knights roared in response, rallying under their emperor’s command. Their shields locked together, their swords raised, but—

  A horde of magical beasts stood in their way.

  Feral wolves, their fangs dripping with fresh blood, snapped at the knights' formation. Goblins, their grotesque green skin covered in tattered rags, screeched and lunged with rusted daggers. Towering ogres, their muscur frames like living battering rams, smmed against the knights’ shields, shaking their entire defense with raw brute force.

  It was a wall of death, and no matter how hard the knights tried to advance, the monsters held them back.

  The Imperial Knight Commander, his spear piercing the throat of a goblin, gritted his teeth.

  "Your Majesty! There are too many of them!" he shouted between heavy breaths, the weight of battle pressing down on him. "We must secure your safety first!"

  Suddenly, a wailing cry rang through the formation.

  The youngest Imperial Prince, Hans, had begun crying in his father’s arms.

  Prince Non tightened his grip around both his wife and his son, his face pale with fear but his voice firm.

  "There must be an exit that isn’t overrun!" he said desperately.

  Standing beside the emperor, Baron Gray and Princess Serena exchanged a tense gnce.

  Serena’s sharp eyes scanned the battlefield, seeking something—anything—that could turn the tide. And then, she saw it.

  A single flower, glowing faintly, nestled within the grand chandelier above them.

  Her heart pounded.

  "Father! The flower in the chandelier!" she shouted.

  Emperor Andrew’s gaze shot upward. His daughter was an experienced mage—if she had asked for flowers right now, he would trust her.

  Without hesitation, he roared, "Knight Commander! Strike down that flower and get it to Serena!"

  The commander, despite the chaos around him, immediately adjusted his stance, his spear poised for the perfect throw—

  But the nobles outside the imperial formation had no such moment of relief.

  The high-ranking nobles, trapped and defenseless, were being sughtered like livestock.

  There was no order, no resistance—only sheer, unfiltered chaos.

  Screams filled the air as bodies were torn apart. A noblewoman, once admired for her beauty, was dragged screaming beneath a pile of goblins, her jewelry-studded hands cwing at the marble floor before vanishing in a mass of snapping teeth.

  A viscount's son, desperate to survive, attempted to bargain with an ogre, his trembling hands offering a golden signet ring—only for the ogre to smash his skull with a single blow, leaving a bloodied mess where his face had been.

  A baron, wielding a broadsword, tried to fight back, slicing down a few wolves—only for a serpent-like beast to coil around his legs and drag him screaming into it's jaws.

  "We need to gather the nobles in one pce!" Duke Morgen roared, cleaving a goblin in half before it could lunge at Ravenna.

  Ravenna, agile and ruthless, danced across the battlefield like a phantom.

  She leapt atop overturned tables, her twin daggers fshing as she sshed through the thick necks of ogres, their massive bodies colpsing with ground-shaking thuds. Her movements were precise, deadly, weaving through the carnage with an assassin’s grace as she yelled “Marie! What are you doing! shoot!”

  Marie took her position above Six tables stacked atop each other, a makeshift sniper’s perch—Princess Gracie stood beside her, trembling but clutching her dagger tightly.

  Marie’s hands shook, but she forced herself to breathe, forced herself to focus.

  "Y… Yes, Master!" she called down to Ravenna, gripping her rapid fire crossbow with both hands.

  Her eyes shimmered with divine energy.

  As the world slowed down before her, she whispered,

  "You all are going down."

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