"In the Kingdom of the Drakhaens… one day after the incident."
That same day, the Kingdom of Humans announced three royal weddings.
That same day, seven missing-person cases were closed.
As for the Kingdom of the Drakhaens—
Lilithia lay deep within the prison, bound, restrained, the doors sealed tightly around her, no one daring to approach her cell… by explicit order.
Daemon and Skyler— imprisoned on charges of treason and concealment, awaited the court's decision regarding their fate.
Kai— confined to his bed, no one knowing how he survived that nightmare.
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At the Drakhaens High Court, the judges were already seated.
A judicial seal hovered in the air.
In that very moment, the courtroom filled.
No one looked at the accused.
They were staring at the danger.
Six of the kingdom's highest judges sat around a circular table, ready to begin deliberation for the verdict.
Presiding over them stood the highest-ranking judge—
Kagetsu Ryozen.
Ryozen rose with absolute calm.
"In the name of the Drakhaen Kingdom… this session is now open.
The case stands before us, and time waits for no one."
The first judge spoke:
"The Black Stone has chosen the accused, Lilithia… her name alone is enough to ignite a war."
The second judge added:
"And the blood that was shed… does not allow delay."
The third judge hesitated:
"But the facts… are incomplete.
And yet, all evidence points to her involvement in the murder of Villiam Darkwell."
Ryozen cut him off at once:
"Facts are completed after the verdict. Not before it."
Silence.
Another judge spoke quietly:
"Then… do we deliver the verdict?"
Ryozen answered:
"We must end the existence of this demoness before this case reaches the higher authorities.
Everyone knows the first seal of Arkam's Pact has broken.
The seal of the Black Stone has been stolen.
Commander Kaelina has been gravely wounded.
The White Dragon has fallen, along with more than a thousand soldiers, buried without announcement.
And the fragment belonging to the missing dragon remains unfound.
If these truths spread,
our enemies among demons and sorcerers will believe our army has weakened."
And then— war will ignite.
A fire no one will be able to extinguish."
Ryozen stood.
The judges stood with him.
His voice carried no hesitation:
"In the name of the Drakhaen Kingdom… the accused, Lilithia, is found guilty.
She shall be executed at dawn tomorrow in the public square.
Villiam's body will also be burned in the same place.
As for Daemon and Skyler, their case is postponed until after the sentence is carried out."
Lilithia's name was never written in the court's official record.
Instead, one word appeared:
DANGER.
The judges sat, one by one.
The silence remained— as if the verdict had not closed a file, but opened another.
A new file was placed on the table.
One judge murmured:
"While we carry out an execution here…the Kingdom of Humans continues to bury the crimes of its sorcerers beneath the name of protection."
Another added, turning pages:
"Over a hundred disappearances have been recorded recently. Demons released into villages.
Victims erased from records.
And the same story is told: We are the protectors."
Ryozen lifted his eyes slowly.
"Transgressions left unanswered," he said coldly, "become a declaration of war."
No one answered.
Outside the court's walls, no one waited for a response.
Far from sealed tables and measured words, the truth took another shape.
A shape with fangs.
It was not a large village.
Wooden houses. Faint hearth fires.
Human voices trying to convince themselves that this night would pass in peace.
A woman clutched her child and whispered:
"They said they protect us…
They said the disappearances stopped…"
An old man answered with a hollow laugh:
"Protect us from whom?
Seven vanished this month.
No one came."
Fear lived in the village before it arrived.
Then— the fires went out.
No wind.
No sound.
A scream tore through the night.
A man collapsed before understanding why his legs no longer held him.
The thing emerged from the shadows.
No single form.
Black bone.
Shifting flesh.
Eyes without white— only hunger.
It seized his chest.
Not fast.
Deliberate.
Fingers pierced flesh as if it were clay.
He screamed.
He did not die.
Yet.
The demon pulled him closer.
Drove its hand deeper.
And tore free a heart still beating.
Blood burst— face, ground, screams.
The woman fell to her knees.
"We are not your enemies!
Why don't they come?
Why do they let us die?"
The answer was not words.
A mouth opened wider than it should.
And the scream ended.
When it was over, only blood remained.
And the stench of something that should not exist in the human world.
Then— The demon sat, devouring the woman's body, ripping her entrails from her abdomen with its blood-soaked hands…
Footsteps approached.
It stopped.
Slowly raised its head.
The door opened.
Atsuro Kanami entered— a Drakhaen carrying a massive sator etched with cold light, resting behind his back in one hand.
He glanced at the corpses.
"Looks like I'm late."
He stared at the demon, cold and savage.
"You filthy thing… your face makes me want to vomit."
The demon screamed.
Darkness split.
A blade of cold energy passed through the demon without sound.
It stopped.
Looked down.
Didn't understand what was missing.
Its body split.
And fell.
The village did not scream.
No one remained with a voice.
While blood was still warm on the ground, and files were sealed with cold stamps…
another judgment waited.
Somewhere else.
Elsewhere—the verdict had already reached the condemned.
The prison was silent.
Not because it was safe—but because screams had long been exhausted within its walls.
Skyler sat against the stone floor. Daemon stood, waiting.
Ragin entered.
"The verdict has been issued."
Daemon asked calmly:
"When?"
"At dawn."
Skyler lifted his head.
"…Lilithia?"
"Execution."
Silence struck like a falling stone.
Daemon smiled faintly.
"I told you."
Then, with deadly certainty:
"She is not guilty."
Ragin clenched his fist.
"Daemon—"
"Planted," Daemon interrupted.
He stepped closer to the bars.
"Those who understand how lies are constructed… know when one has been planted."
Skyler whispered, stunned:
"Who are you talking about?"
Daemon answered with a single name:
"Kaguchi."
Ragin staggered back half a step.
Daemon continued:
"Villiam did not die because he was weak.
He died because he saw what was never meant to be seen."
Then, slowly:
"If you seek the truth… do not waste your time here."
Ragin hesitated.
"…The Black Dragon. It has disappeared."
Daemon smiled again.
"Disappearance," he said softly,
"is not always escape."
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-To be continued...-