It all happened so fast in one swift moment that no one was able to stop it. Everyone was astonished, even Nicholas.

They all stared with surprise as (Y/n) clashed her sword with Nicholas's and glared up at the man after blocking an incoming attack from him just as he swung his sword down to stab at Edward.

"(Y/n)!" Edward called worriedly, but (Y/n) neither replied nor turned to look at him as she kept her gaze on Nicholas with unconcealed hatred and rage in her eyes. And Nicholas found himself becoming excited by that look in her eyes as he let out a chuckle in surprise. "I didn't think a fair lady like you would know how to hold a sword, my lady," he commented, making the (h/c) haired girl scoff at his words as she thrust Nicholas's sword away from hers without blinking an eye, catching Nicholas by surprise with her strength.

"Think you might want to rephrase that?" she questioned with her brow raised, pointing her sword back at Nicholas right away as she challenged him. With amused curiosity evident on his face, Nicholas also did the same, raising back his sword at her. "We'll just have to see, won't we?" he replied with a smirk and with that, (Y/n) and Nicholas became engaged in a duel.

Edward and Loen were both about to jump in, both worried about the (h/c) haired girl, but Duke Castillo held them back, shaking his head at the two males when they looked at him in question. "Do not interfere, boys. (Y/n) can handle this, herself. If you want to help her, just help by getting the others out of here."

"Your grace, wha..."

"Father, what do you mean do not interfere? (Y/n) is in danger," Edward tried to reason with his father, but the Duke only shook his head back, his lips curling up into a proud smile as he motioned a finger towards where the (h/c) haired girl was, "Watch closely, boys. Look at the way she's moving."

Not understanding what he was trying to imply, Leon and Edward hesitantly shared a look before turning their attention back to (Y/n) and observed the way she moved for a moment like the Duke has suggested and then, they both finally noticed what he meant.

(Y/n) wasn't struggling with holding the sword for even one bit.

In fact...the way she maneuvered her body while dueling with Nicholas even makes it seem as if she was trained and that this wasn't her first time holding a sword. Her movements were fluid and precise as if she had experience with years of training.

Edward's eyes followed every movement she made in awe as he watched her parried Nicholas's strikes almost with ease. Nicholas may have more experience with dueling as a knight, but his (Y/n) was also just as equally skilled as he did, every strike and parry she did was was as breathtaking as it was deadly, proving her to be an adept, formidable opponent to one who would challenge her.

(Y/n) was not just beautiful, but she was also an admirable warrior- a fierce, capable, alluring and mesmerizing one at that.

And seeing her in the full bloom of her prowess, his love for her swelled even more in that moment. A proud smile spread over Edward's face as watching her now, he realized his heart was being stolen anew even when it has stopped beating.

"Who do you think has been teaching Gaelan how to hold a sword and training him to duel better?" the Duke questioned rhetorically as he chuckled at the shocked and awe looks on both Loen and Edward's face and turned to start making sure everyone is out of the way from the duel now going on between (Y/n) and and Nicholas. "And she's doing all of that in heels. Now, come help me get everyone out of their way and to a safe distance," he said and Loen nodded as he followed the Duke while Edward remained in his spot just in case (Y/n) needed a back up.

Maggot and Carlotta silently cheered from the sideways, wanting nothing more than for (Y/n) to win.

As the duel progressed on, the clash of the blades echoed through the quiet the moonlit church and Nicholas' strikes towards (Y/n) became more precise, trying to find the weak spots in her defenses. He couldn't help, but finds himself smiling excitedly as (Y/n) skillfully evaded his attacks, the unwavering determination in her (e/c) eyes to beat him unexpectedly making him find her attractive in his eyes for the first time since he met her five years ago.

With Nicholas becoming a bit distracted by his thoughts, he didn't manage to dodge ot just in time when (Y/n) pulled a swift counterattack and successfully landed a shallow cut on his arm, the pain snapping him out of his thoughts and bringing him back to reality.

He chuckled quietly in disbelief, glancing at the small wound she has managed to inflict on him and the red staining the sleeves of his clothes.

She really was a rose with hidden thorns.

"I must confess," Nicholas grinned with a hint of admiration in his eyes as he looked at (Y/n). "You are truly a natural with swords. I can see the reason for his utmost devotion to you now," he acknowledged. And then, a flirtatious smirk appeared on his face as he looked at her, the avarice to have what he wants becoming more obvious in his eyes as he did, "And it's starting to make me covet you more and more."

Annoyed and unswayed by his words, (Y/n) only narrowed her eyes at Nicholas in return, choosing to remain focused as she knew the duel between them was far from over, judging from the look on Nicholas's face.

And her guess was right.

Because Nicholas, intrigued and driven by her successful strike, began to intensify his efforts to gain the upper hand and secure victory.

The (h/c) haired girl let out a grunt as her sword became clashed with Nicholas's once again, his attacks towards her becoming more aggressive as he doubled his efforts to overpower her. But (Y/n) was still just as equally matched with him, quickly adapting her strategy to deflect his attacks. The continuous sounds of their blades clashing echoed through the church as the battle only became more fierce and fierce.

Nicholas then, saw an opening in one of (Y/n)'s defenses and didn't miss the opportunity to lunge himself at her. (Y/n) skillfully managed to parry his attack once again however, narrowly missing the sharp tip of Nicholas's blade that almost grazed her cheek.

And (Y/n), with her senses heightened by a surge of adrenaline coursing through her veins, let her instincts take over and seized the opportunity to strike. With one deft movement of her blade, she hook the hilt of Nicholas's sword and twisted it expertly with impeccable precision, successfully disarming Nicholas.

Everyone else watching them gasped with excitement and surprise as they watched Nicholas's sword flew out of his hand, clattering against the stone floor of the church. And before Nicholas could react, (Y/n) has her own blade pointed at Nicholas's neck, her eyes sharp, focused and reflecting her unwavering determination to beat him.

Impressed and left momentarily stunned by her skills to disarm him and the unexpected turns of events, Nicholas chuckled in disbelief.

"Touché, my lady," he said with a smirk, suddenly regaining his composure as he straightened himself.

With her voice cold and lacing with venom, (Y/n) only glared back at Nicholas darkly as she spoke, "Get out." The cold steel of the sword's edge glistened in the dim light as she held it closer to his throat which only made Nicholas chuckle.

"Oh, I'm leaving," he assured, his gaze falling over Edward who came to stand beside (Y/n) with a warning glare when he started circling his way around them towards the altar, (Y/n) never lowering her sword down at him as he did.

He chuckled sinisterly once more, nonchalantly walking towards the altar with his hands behind his back.

Loen stood protectively in front of Lyra as Nicholas approached near them, glaring daggers at the man who has caused them all so much pain.

"But first, a toast. To Edward!" Nicholas declared, lifting the chalice which contains the Wine of Ages into his hand as he smirked and raised it at Edward, "Always the groomsman, never the groom."

"Tell me, my friend. Can a heart still break once it has stopped beating? Hmm?" he asked mockingly, feeling wickedly delighted when he sees the way Edward's eyes flickered with sadness from his words.

"Such a shame that the two of you have just finally reunited and yet, you can't be with her, ain't it?" he added arrogantly which angered the dead around them even more than he had already did.

"Let me at him. Let me at him!" The maggot yelled furiously, inching his way towards Nicholas from the pew he was on, but Elder Gutknecht held out a bony finger to stop him. "No! Don't hold me back!" Maggot begged, trying to get through Elder Gutknecht's finger.

Edward though upset by Nicholas's words, also had to hold (Y/n) who was seething with rage back from attacking Nicholas. "Don't, love. He's not worth it," he tried to calm her down, not wanting to get any blood on her hands...though he couldn't stop (Y/n) from cursing Nicholas, "You bastard!"

"Wait!" Elder Gutknecht raised his voice, stopping all the other dead people behind him from attacking Nicholas as well, all of them being more than eager to harm him as much as he had hurt their friend, Edward. "We must abide by their rules! We are amongst the living."

"Well said," Nicholas agreed as with one final smirk, he raised the goblet at Edward and brought it near his lips to drink.

"Put that down, Nicholas," Edward warned with a growl, narrowing his eyes at Nicholas which made him paused for a moment, (Y/n) unable to believe that Edward was still warning Nicholas even after everything he had done to him.

"What? Can't take a little toast from a dear old friend?" Nicholas only sneered back, not taking Edward's warning seriously as he started drinking all the wine in the goblet down his throat, tossing it away carelessly after he finished.

He casually started strolling towards the side door to make his exit when the poison he has just drunk started taking its effect. Nicholas clutched his chest, confusion appearing in his eyes, as he suddenly began gagging.

His gasps becoming more painful as he fell against the door.

The maggot smirked evilly, realizing what was about to happen to Nicholas now.

"Not anymore~" he chuckled darkly with a twisted sense of glee just as Nicholas whipped his head around, showing everyone what has now become of him.

His skin has become blue just like any other corpses standing in the room which means that he has now become one of the dead.

(Y/n) couldn't help it. Seeing how Nicholas has just led himself to seal his fate with his very own hands and became a living corpse, her lips curled up into a mocking smirk. "He warned you, didn't he?" she said, drawing Nicholas's attention to hers, her smirk widening when she sees the panic-stricken look on his face.

"Not. To. Drink. The. Poison," she continued, deliberately saying each word slowly to make sure Nicholas heard each word loud and clear. She knew it was wrong, however, the sheer pleasure she felt just from seeing the look of horror on his face was far too satisfying than anything else she could have imagined.

"Yep, you're right. He's all yours," she heard Elder Gutknecht agreed with the Maggot and with that, he let the enraged corpses and skeletons go through as they wish, no longer stopping them from approaching Nicholas who was now dead.

Seeing all the dead people closing in on him like predators coming for their prey, Nicholas started to panic and tried to open the door behind him frantically in an attempt to escape which was to no avail. In the grip of his profound shock and a newfound sense of intense fear, his own voice had deserted him as well, failing to come out from within his throat.

General Bonesapart who has now gotten his sword back, ran a bony finger down at it meaningfully.

Once the door was open, all the furious dead people grabbed Nicholas and started shoving him through the door to take him to the Land of the Dead with them.

The sounds of Nicholas screaming and begging for his life filled in the air as everyone else remained in their spots and watched Nicholas being dragged away with a mixture of horror and shock. The scene only gets darker and (Y/n) accidentally let go of the sword she was unconsciously still holding in her hand as Edward pulled her into his arms and made her look away from the scene.

By the time she has turned her head back slightly towards the door, she saw that Mrs. Plum was the last person about to go through it.

"New arrival," Mrs. Plum announced quietly in a much more darker tone just before she closed the door and left.

🕸️💙🕸️💀🕸️💙🕸️