It's a small secret, but I've always wanted to see Elyria.
After the war ended, I thought I'd finally have the freedom to widen my horizons to see the world beyond battlefields and corpses. Instead, I was accepted into the Imperial Academy, I traded one kind of confinement for another.
During the war, I had no such limits.
I had freedom then, unrestricted, absolute. I killed all day and sometimes through the night. There were no rules, no consequences. Just orders, screams, and silence afterward.
The weight of blood on my hands was always ecstatic. Now, within the Academy's walls, I'm expected to be restrained. Civilized. I'm not allowed to kill freely anymore.
And that… is the cruelest part.
But now, on this expedition, I can kill without restriction or restraint.
Until I'm satisfied. Until the demons inside me finally quiet down.
"Master, can we buy this?" Lux asked, pointing at an entire display of assorted chocolates. "Or is it too expensive?"
I chuckled at his innocence. "Of course not." I pulled out a pouch heavy with gold and set it on the counter. "How about we buy the whole shop instead?"
I've always enjoyed flexing my wealth, buying everything I like, owning what catches my interest. I've bought several businesses over the years, and every one of them is thriving. After that, I bought a winter coat… then another. And a few more things I didn't strictly need.
I might have gone a little overboard.
What can I say? I haven't had many opportunities like this. When I do, I indulge.
Vivian had been following me for some time now, though I'd been ignoring her as if she didn't exist. I knew exactly why she'd insisted on joining this expedition. If she thought it would be anything like the carefully supervised dungeon expeditions the Academy organized, she's gravely mistaken.
When her presence finally became unbearable, I jumped to a nearby rooftop with Lux in my arms, suppressing my mana until it faded into nothing. That would keep her away.
I spent the rest of the time wandering Elyria's streets freely, soaking in the noise, the chaos, the life until it was time to regroup at the city entrance.
"Alright, everyone," Renoir said once we'd gathered. "Now that we have everything, shall we begin our journey again?"
We set off shortly after, walking steadily north. We stopped only briefly for breaks, pressing on until the trees thickened and the road narrowed, the forest looming ahead of us.
By the time we reached its threshold, darkness had begun to settle in.
"We'll camp here for the night," Renoir decided.
"Finally," Cerise and Yeshe groaned in unison as they dropped onto the ground.
"Do you have any idea how much distance you were planning to cover today?" Cerise asked, flicking a small pebble at Renoir.
He laughed, easily dodging it. "Aren't you happy? We covered more ground than I expected." He crossed his arms, amused. "And stop whining in front of your juniors. What kind of example are you setting?"
"The kind where they don't have to follow whatever their stupid leader says," Yeshe shot back without hesitation.
Renoir sighed and pointed at Vivian and me. "Look, Cecilia and Vivian aren't complaining. You two should be ashamed."
Cerise squinted. "You might want to get your eyes checked. It's only Cecilia who's not wheezing. The other one looks half-dead."
Renoir glanced over, and indeed, Vivian was bent slightly forward, breathing hard.
Pathetic.
I'd trained her relentlessly, and she was already wheezing after barely half a day of walking.
And yet, wait, why should I even care anymore?
Renoir and Yeshe began assembling the tent while Cerise gathered firewood. When they gestured for me to join them, I shook my head.
"If you're not sleeping in the tent," Cerise asked, pausing mid-task, "then where exactly are you going to sleep?"
I pointed upward.
They followed my gesture, confusion written plainly across their faces.
"I'll be on the trees," I said simply.
Before anyone could object, I climbed up, moving from trunk to branch with practiced ease until I found a spot high enough to be left alone.
Below, they settled in talking, laughing, and eating dinner together. A few times, they called out to me, inviting me down.
I didn't respond. I closed my eyes, steadying my breath, pretending to sleep while listening to the forest breathe around us, as night claimed the land.
From my perch among the branches, I watched the camp below sink into stillness. The fire dwindled to embers, voices faded, and exhaustion claimed them one by one. The forest, however, did not sleep.
Neither did I.
Cold seeped through the bark beneath my hands. Snow hadn't reached this far yet, but the air carried its promise. Then it came.
A sound.
Low. Wet. Wrong.
Lux stirred in my lap, "Master," he whispered, voice barely a breath, "something's here."
"I know," I murmured.
I narrowed my senses, letting them bleed outward into the trees. What answered was mana, not in any refined sense. It was raw instinct, feral hunger coiled tight.
A Terrakai.
I stiffened.
That made no sense.
Terrakai were pack hunters. Cruel, efficient beasts that tore prey apart through coordination. They never hunted alone, not unless something had gone terribly wrong. A solitary Terrakai at the forest's entrance wasn't natural.
So why was there only one?
Below, the creature emerged from the treeline. Its elongated body scraped against roots and stone, plated hide reflecting faint firelight. Too close. Far too close to the camp.
Where are the rest of you? I wondered.
A lone Terrakai at the edge of the forest was not bravery. It was either desperation or a lure.
I slipped down from the tree, silent as falling ash as I folded my mana inward until it barely existed.
The Terrakai sensed my movement anyway. Before the Terrakai could unleash its scream, I moved.
I raised two fingers.
A spell bloomed instantly: tight, absolute silence.
Its head snapped toward me, too fast, rows of serrated teeth parting as it hissed. I stepped forward instead of back.
The first strike shattered one of its forelimbs. It screamed high and sharp, thrashing violently, claws gouging the earth. I twisted, drove my blade in deep, and felt hot blood spill over my hands.
The beast fought like it had nothing left to lose. That answered my question.
I finished it quickly, snapping its neck with a practiced motion. The body collapsed, twitching once before going still.
Silence reclaimed the forest.
I stood over the corpse, breathing slow, eyes scanning the darkness.
No answering calls. No pack.
Which meant only one thing.
The rest were either dead…
or something or someone had made it run to the edge of the forest.
I cleaned my blade and melted back into the trees, returning to my perch before anyone stirred awake.
When morning came, they would find nothing but trampled earth and blood soaked into the soil.
The next day passed without incident. None of them hadn't noticed.
We continued on, only stopping when monsters crossed our path. Every time it happened, the pattern was the same. Renoir would begin chanting, mana gathering at his fingertips, and before he could finish a single syllable, it would already be over.
I killed them all.
Claws, fangs, limbs, it didn't matter. They fell before anyone else could act. As if I'd ever let someone else claim my prey.
I was starving.
The bloodlust twisted tight around my heart, a living thing clawing from the inside. It demanded unceasing, merciless. Steel sank into flesh, and heat burst forth, slick and heavy, coating my hands.
Satisfaction came only when I tasted it, when the metallic bitterness spread across my tongue and I drew it in slowly, deliberately, licking it from my lips.
Only then did my hunger quelled.
Day after day, the routine repeated: march, ambush, slaughter, move on until at last, the outline of Vernisul appeared on the horizon.
We reached the city by evening.
Renoir suggested we camp outside the walls, citing caution and cost. Cerise and Yeshe immediately protested, exhaustion written plainly across their faces. Vivian looked ready to collapse where she stood.
Before the argument could drag on, I spoke.
"I'll cover the cost of an inn."
Silence.
There was instant agreement. No hesitation, no pride, no objections. I only made the offer, and they rushed to accept.
We secured rooms for the night, warmth replacing the cold, walls replacing the open dark. As they settled in, relief loosening their shoulders, I watched quietly.
Tomorrow, we would enter Vernisul.
And beyond that… the Ice Fortress waited.
We only stayed in Vernisul for a few hours before setting out again toward the Ice Fortress. The closer we got, the more familiar the road became, and not in a good way.
Too familiar.
"There's no way," I muttered under my breath. "No way the place we're going is that castle."
A chill ran straight down my spine.
If it was that place, I'm running.
I kept wondering. Hoping. Wishing for the Ice fortress not to be that pervert place. But the universe, as always, is against me and chose violence.
Sure enough, when the Ice Fortress finally came into view, towering and unmistakable against the frozen horizon, my worst fears were confirmed.
It was that castle.
The pervert castle.
I was doomed.
"Alright," Renoir said, his tone turning sharp as he surveyed the fortress. "From this point on, we move with extreme caution. Any unnecessary movement could cost us our lives."
"Leader," I said calmly, raising a hand, "if I may, I'd like to take a support role. I've been here before with my master, so I'm familiar with the layout."
Yeshe turned toward me immediately. "Then you should be at the front, not be a support."
I raised my other hand without hesitation. "Absolutely not."
Everyone blinked.
"I would rather die," I continued flatly, "than walk in front, in this place." I gestured vaguely toward the fortress, as if it might hear me. "If I'd known this was the Ice Fortress you were talking about, I would have refused outright."
Cerise frowned. "Is it really that bad?"
"Yes," I said instantly. "Worse."
Renoir opened his mouth, probably to argue.
"I am perfectly capable of providing excellent support from a safe, respectable distance," I added quickly. "A very respectable distance. Preferably behind multiple people. Possibly behind a wall."
"I will guide you verbally," I said. "From afar. With enthusiasm. And warnings. Many warnings."
Their faces went pale almost in unison.
Cerise swallowed. Yeshe looked as though he was reconsidering every life choice that had led him here. Even Renoir hesitated, eyes flicking once more toward the Ice Fortress and back to me.
And yet… they agreed.
Slowly. Reluctantly. Like people signing their own death warrants.
It wasn't fear of the place itself that made me refuse the front. The Ice Fortress was dangerous, yes—but danger I could handle. Traps, monsters, cursed corridors. I'd survived all of it before.
What I couldn't tolerate was the pervert who resided here.
The very thought made my skin crawl.
He sighed. "Everyone ready?"
I stared at the Ice Fortress one last time, jaw tight.
I hate this place.
Yet something was wrong.
The atmosphere—no, the air itself—had changed. It felt disturbed, tainted, like someone had torn through the place with careless hands and walked away without bothering to clean the mess. The silence wasn't natural. It was loud, deliberate, almost mocking.
We're here. What are you going to do about it?
"Nox," I murmured, fingers brushing the pendant. "Come out. You feel it too, don't you?"
"Of course," Nox replied as he manifested beside me, his tone unusually serious. "The mana patterns here are impossible to miss. The density has shifted violently, so. This place has been tampered with. Lia, you should proceed with extreme caution."
I nodded, unease settling deep in my chest as we moved forward.
The moment we crossed the threshold, another detail struck me sharp, immediate.
The frost dragon was gone.
"It's not here…" I whispered, stopping in my tracks.
That was wrong. Entirely wrong. The dragon had never left this place. Not once. Not even when I'd offered to come with me. It was bound to this fortress by instinct, by duty… by something deeper.
I pushed the thought aside with effort.
Later, I'll worry about it later.
Right now, my priority was simple: keep these people alive in a fortress riddled with traps, secrets, and something far worse than monsters.
I exhaled slowly, eyes sharpening as I scanned the corridors ahead.
Whatever had passed through here had left its mark.
And we had just walked straight into it.
The moment Renoir pushed the gate open, cold air exploded outward in a howling rush, carrying with it the unmistakable stench of blood.
They noticed.
The scent was thick, metallic, heavy enough to cling to the back of the throat. Instantly, everyone tensed, weapons raised, mana flaring as they braced for an ambush.
Yet nothing came.
No monsters.
Nothing.
Just silence and the slow advance forward.
We hadn't taken more than a single step when it happened.
Vivian's boot struck the wrong tile.
The floor clicked.
Before anyone could react, the walls screamed. Thousands of arrows burst from hidden slits, a black storm tearing through the corridor.
"Barrier!" Renoir shouted.
Barely in time, he slammed his staff down, magic surging outward as a translucent shield snapped into place. Arrows shattered against it in a deafening hail, fragments raining to the floor as the assault finally ceased.
Silence fell again, broken only by heavy breathing.
Renoir dropped to one knee, panting, sweat beading at his temples.
I looked down at him, then sighed.
"…I forgot to mention," I said casually, "this place is riddled with traps."
I gestured vaguely at the corridor. "So watch your steps."
They turned and stared at me. None of them looked amused.
We moved forward anyway carelessly despite my warning. That was their first mistake.
Not five steps later, the floor shifted again.
Click.
"Oh, that one triggers…" I began.
A massive stone blade swung down from the ceiling.
Everyone screamed.
I stepped half a pace to the left. The blade missed me by inches and embedded itself in the floor with a thunderous crack.
Renoir dragged Cerise back by the collar. Yeshe dove. Vivian tripped, rolled, and somehow survived.
"…a vertical cleaver," I finished.
Cerise glared at me. "You could've said that before we walked."
"I could have," I agreed, utterly calm.
We continued.
Ten seconds later, the walls hissed.
Poison needles fired from both sides.
I ducked casually, needles passing over my head.
Renoir raised another barrier. Yeshe yelped as one grazed his sleeve. Vivian screamed like she'd been stabbed; she wasn't.
"Why do you keep dodging like you've rehearsed this?" Yeshe shouted.
"I have," I said. "Extensively."
Another step.
The ceiling collapsed.
Not fully, just enough to drop a rain of jagged ice spikes.
I sighed and stepped forward, letting them crash behind me.
The others ran.
Cerise slipped, Yeshe grabbed her, Renoir lost his footing, Vivian clung to him like a dying sloth.
They barely made it through.
Renoir was breathing like he'd run a marathon. "Do—do you ever get tired?"
"No."
"That wasn't a real answer."
"That was the only answer."
Then the floor vanished.
Literally vanished.
A pit opened beneath us.
I hopped backward without looking.
Everyone else fell.
There was screaming, flailing, swearing, and one very undignified curse from Renoir.
A moment later, the pit snapped shut again, spitting them out the other side covered in frost, dust, and rage.
They lay there in a heap.
I peered down at them. "Ah. Right. That one."
Yeshe pointed at me with a shaking hand. "You knew."
"Yes."
"You let us fall."
"Yes."
Cerise's eyes twitched. "You didn't even blink."
"I blinked once," I corrected.
They stood up, seething, bruised, and glaring murderously at me.
Meanwhile, I hadn't broken a sweat. My clothes were pristine. Lux was purring happily in my arms, completely untouched by the chaos.
"How," Renoir said slowly, "are you doing this so easily?"
I thought about it. Then shrugged. "Muscle memory."
"That's not reassuring."
Another trap triggered chains snapping out of the walls.
I stepped aside. The chains wrapped around Yeshe and Cerise instead, tangling them together.
They both shouted.
I watched for a second, then said, "If you pull left—no, not like that, you'll make it worse."
Cerise snarled, "STOP WATCHING AND HELP US!"
I flicked a finger. The chains froze solid and shattered.
They stumbled free, breathing hard.
Silence followed.
Then Yeshe snapped. "You're doing this on purpose."
"I am not," I said flatly. "This place just hates everyone."
They stared.
Hard.
By the time we finally reached the central inner hall, they looked like survivors of a natural disaster: scuffed armor, frayed nerves, and dignity in ruins.
I stepped into the hall effortlessly and turned around.
"Well," I said, "we made it."
Renoir slumped against a pillar. "I hate this fortress."
Cerise pointed at me. "I hate her."
Vivian groaned from the floor. "Next time… we're making you walk first."
I raised an eyebrow. "I did."
They groaned louder.
Lux chirped happily.
I patted his head. "Wasn't it fun?"
Though we had triggered trap after trap, there was still no sign of any monsters lurking within the fortress despite the thick stench of blood that had greeted us at the entrance. The halls were empty. Unnaturally so.
And worse, that pervert isn't here.
"Renoir," Cerise said, her voice echoing sharply through the vast hall, "you said this place was dangerous. All I see are traps. Nothing else."
Renoir frowned, clearly unsettled. "How would I know what happened here? I only heard the rumors, nothing more."
Those rumors were true. Every single one of them. This place was a nightmare. No one ever left with all their limbs intact.
Then a voice slithered through the air.
"Who dares crawl into my castle?" the voice thundered, heavy with malice.
"Have you come to beg for death, or shall I carve it into you myself?"
As if summoned on cue, he appeared above us.
The posture was the same. The voice, too familiar. But the moment I sensed him, something was wrong.
His eyes were cloudy, empty, like fogged glass. His mana signature was distorted, warped into something unfamiliar. And most importantly,
He didn't recognize me.
This wasn't him.
And whoever had left this imitation behind…
I would make them pay.
The air collapsed.
A violent impact split the silence as something dropped from the second floor, stone screaming beneath its weight. Frost detonated outward, shards skittering across the floor like fleeing insects. The sound echoed too long, too deep until it felt less like an arrival and more like a sentence being carried out.
The figure straightened slowly.
The pressure hit instantly.
Everyone's breath hitched. Their instincts screamed at them to retreat, yet their feet felt rooted to the ground. The figure standing before them wasn't an opponent you faced head-on unless you were willing to accept that amateurs like them had almost no chance of leaving the hall alive.
Its mana was twisted, dense, and unstable, rolling outward in jagged waves that scraped against the skin like invisible blades.
I stepped forward without a second thought. It was the only solution.
Renoir moved just as quickly, intercepting me in a heartbeat.
"Stop right there," he commanded, arm outstretched, voice sharp and absolute. "Even if you're as strong as your senior, I can't let you do this."
I met his gaze. For the first time, someone had voluntarily stepped forward in front to oppose me except for my subordinates and voluntary fight on my behalf.
Before I could respond, Cerise and Yeshe moved into position beside Renoir, forming a protective line. "As if we're letting you face this monster alone," Cerise said, her voice quiet but deadly.
Yeshe's hands glowed with restrained aura, eyes narrowing. "Not a chance."
Renoir didn't argue further. Instead, he barked orders: "Everyone else, take cover."
I took a step back, recognizing the gravity of the situation, but inwardly, I knew the imitation in front of us, though dangerous, was still far from invincible.
The three of them formed a loose triangle, weapons raised, mana flaring defensive, sharp, restrained. They knew better than to overextend. One mistake here would cost limbs. Or lives.
I stayed behind them. Because I knew.
The thing before us was… grotesque. A butchered echo wearing a familiar face, stitched together like some sadistic marionette. Its mana throbbed in jagged, uneven pulses, a sick imitation of life. Whoever had made it didn't care how much it screamed, how much it bled, as long as it moved.
Weak? Ha. It was far from that very concept.
Imitations didn't flinch at agony. They didn't hesitate when limbs snapped or shattered. They didn't pause when teeth tore through bone or claws raked through flesh. Pain was irrelevant to them; destruction was their art. And this one was a masterpiece in making.
Its cloudy eyes locked onto the three advancing figures. That slow, deliberate smile crawled across its face like black frost spreading through a corpse. Frost slithered along the floor, curling over shattered stone like icy fingers hungry for blood. Every breath it drew left the air thick, heavy, and sharp with the metallic tang of death.
Renoir exhaled, struggling to steady himself, his hands trembling as mana flared weakly around him. Cerise shifted her footing, blades catching the faint light, knuckles white. Yeshe grinned, but there was an edge of madness in it—the sort that only surfaces when the odds are terrifying.
And I? I watched.
Cold. Calculating. Detached.
Even as a fake, this creature could turn this hall into a graveyard, and it would do so with the precision of a conductor orchestrating a symphony of agony.
Oh, and the best part? It knew it.
It wanted to savor it. The way a butcher lingers on the first slice.
I could practically hear the mockery dripping from its voice before it spoke: the sort of polite, horrifically patient cadence that makes you want to run screaming into the void.
This wasn't just danger. This wasn't just a fight. This was… entertainment for it, not for us. And the curtain was about to rise. To the slaughter waiting to be choreographed, and we were the first dancers.
To be continued...