(From ADRIAN VANIT's Point of View)
The mist suddenly ceased its movement, as if the forest itself had caught its breath.
Before us stood SEBASTIAN PLATOD, towering like a mountain; the Black Mana radiating from him possessed a physical "weight" that pressed against the nerves. Beside me, NIKO struggled to breathe, his hand trembling upon his sword.
He saw a "monster," but I... I saw only someone consuming far more energy than necessary just to prove their existence. And that is stupidity.
I looked toward NIKO without turning my head.
"NIKO, take the medallions and go to the lighthouse," I said in a flat, calm tone. "Do not stop, and do not look back. I will catch up with you later."
"But... ADRIAN... this is SEBASTIAN PLATOD!" NIKO whispered in terror.
I caught his eye with a sideways glance—a look that silenced him instantly. "I said, go."
NIKO understood the message. He hesitated for a second, then took off running toward the center of the forest. SEBASTIAN made no move to stop him; his eyes were fixed solely on me.
We were alone. SEBASTIAN surrounded himself with a terrifying dark aura, while I stood there with cold indifference.
SEBASTIAN: "Did you send your companion away to hide your true nature? Or because you know he would die the moment I start moving?"
ADRIAN: "I sent him away because I don't like an audience while I work. As for my 'truth'... I don't think someone like you is in any position to talk about truths."
A heavy silence followed. I noticed a tension in SEBASTIAN's shoulders, as if my words had struck a sensitive nerve behind his armor. Of course, I knew. I knew he was a girl disguised as a noble youth. After all, I am the one who edited this novel.
SEBASTIAN interrupted my thoughts: "You are strange, ADRIAN VANIT. Your aura is faint, yet you move like someone who has killed hundreds of times. Your mana is non-existent, and that in itself makes you a target of suspicion."
ADRIAN: "Suspicion kills no one; a sword does. You are here because you feel threatened by the presence of someone whose power you cannot measure with your Black Mana. Isn't that right?"
SEBASTIAN took a step forward, and the darkness around him grew denser.
SEBASTIAN: "HOUSE PLATOD feels no threat from the likes of you. I simply want to know... are you an ally, or an obstacle that must be removed in this trial?"
I stifled a slight laugh and replied: "I am an ally to no one, and I am not foolish enough to be an obstacle in your path for free. I am here for one purpose, and once it is achieved, I will disappear."
SEBASTIAN: "And if I decide that I want to remove you now?"
ADRIAN: "Then there is no room to escape the fight."
I began to manifest the hilt of the black Odachi, showing only a fraction of its dark scabbard. I felt the shadow mana within the blade vibrating, ready to devour any mana that came near.
"Try it. But remember one thing... your sword is made of mana, and this blade of mine... it's a bit hungry. It will be a losing battle for you before it even begins."
SEBASTIAN remained silent for several seconds, analyzing the situation. He saw a terrifying sincerity in my eyes—the sincerity of someone who doesn't make threats, but describes a reality that is about to unfold
SEBASTIAN relaxed his aura slightly, though he did not fully back down.
SEBASTIAN: "You are very confident... and that is either absolute courage or a madness that will lead you to your grave. Go, VANIT. The lighthouse is not far, but remember... next time, it won't end with a conversation."
ADRIAN: "I hope so. Talking tires my jaw."
I turned my back on him with complete indifference—a move no one would dare perform in front of the heir of PLATOD. However, I knew he wouldn't attack from behind; his pride (or her hidden secret as SERVINA) forbade it.
I walked toward the lighthouse with steady strides, all the while feeling SEBASTIAN'S gaze piercing through my back.
(From SEBASTIAN's / SERVINA PLATOD's Point of View)
I stood frozen in my place, the Black Mana still flowing profusely around me, but suddenly it felt as though it were screaming into a void. ADRIAN's presence had vanished into the mist, leaving behind not even the sound of a footfall.
'What just happened?'
We hadn't exchanged a single blow, nor had his sword touched mine... and yet, I felt as though I had lost a battle that hadn't even begun.
All my life as "SEBASTIAN," I had relied on intimidating opponents with the overflowing mana of the PLATOD family. Everyone trembles; everyone retreats. But this "Pale One" looked at me as if he were seeing right through me... seeing the falsehood I wear, and the sheer effort I exert to maintain this aura.
I slowly loosened my grip, feeling a slight tremor in my fingers.
He had been standing in a completely relaxed posture, a hand in his pocket, his eyes dull—yet they felt like a blade that had cut me from the inside. Though, I have to admit... his eyes were truly beautiful.
I felt a flash of embarrassment and quickly forced my thoughts elsewhere.
Wait... what am I saying?!
I am SEBASTIAN. I am no longer SERVINA...
Instinct and Analysis
But let me analyze the situation for a moment.
My instincts—honed through years of brutal training—were screaming at me to move away. His physical presence overwhelmed my shadow mana; it was as if I were standing before a predatory beast wearing a human mask.
"This blade of mine... it eats mana."
His words echoed in my mind, and they were enough to make me freeze. He wasn't threatening me; he was stating a fact. That Odachi, which my eyes glimpsed for a moment in the shadow dimension... it wasn't just a weapon. It was like a black hole that swallows everything. I could feel it.
I stared into the void he left behind.
He had sent his follower, NIKO, to the lighthouse with total indifference and stayed to face me alone—not because he was brave, but because he was absolutely certain I wouldn't dare to attack.
He read my pride, he read my fear... he read me completely.
Here is the text arranged into a professional novelistic format with clear spacing and paragraph breaks to emphasize the narrative tension:
....
(From NIKO's Point of View)
My breath was burning in my chest, and the three medallions in my pocket made a metallic clinking sound with every step. I was trying to focus on the path, but my imagination kept picturing SEBASTIAN PLATOD decapitating ADRIAN at any moment.
'No... ADRIAN isn't stupid,' I told myself as I leaped over a massive fallen tree trunk. 'He said he would catch up with me.'
The forest trees began to thin out, and the distant light of the "Lighthouse" flickered on the horizon like a lone hope. But suddenly, I felt something strange. It wasn't a direct attack, but a "sensation" of weight. My feet tripped over something invisible, and I fell face-first into the mud.
"Damn it..." I tried to stand, but I felt incredibly thin, cold threads wrapping around my wrists and ankles.
"Oh, look who stumbled into my webs," a mocking, high-pitched voice came from above. "It's the little 'VANIT' house dog."
I looked up and saw a young man sitting in a relaxed posture on a tree branch, wearing armor decorated in purple.
It was VALEN, from HOUSE "SILK"
a minor noble family famous for their "Magical Thread" mana. He wasn't as strong as SEBASTIAN, but he was notorious for being a "nuisance" at the Academy.
"VALEN..." I whispered, trying to draw my sword, but the threads tightened further every time I moved.
"Don't bother, NIKO," VALEN said, leaping down with agility to stand before me, a smug grin plastered across his face. "My threads are difficult to cut—almost unbreakable. So tell me... where did your master leave you? Did he sacrifice you to save his own skin?"
"ADRIAN isn't my master, and he doesn't run away!" I yelled at him, trying to muster my courage.
"This is pathetic," VALEN laughed, flicking his finger, causing the threads to hoist me off the ground, dangling me in the air like a puppet. "I heard you two gathered a lot of medallions. I'll take them now and leave you hanging here as bait for the monsters. Don't worry, I'll tell everyone you were a 'hero' for a few seconds."
VALEN began reaching toward my pocket to take the medallions. He approached slowly, completely confident in my paralysis.
At that moment, my hands were pinned, but my fingers were slightly free.
I gathered every drop of the weak mana I possessed into the tip of my index finger. Instead of trying to cut the threads, I directed a concentrated manifestation of darkness from my fingertip toward the glowing "node" on VALEN'S wrist—the point where the magic originated.
"What are you doing, you piec—?!"
Thwack!
My strike hit the mark with precision. The flow of mana in his threads flickered for a single second, and that was all I needed. I crashed to the ground.
"You... how dare you?!" VALEN screamed, his face shifting from mockery to pure rage. "I'll sever your limbs!"
The silver threads surged toward me like vipers from every side. I remembered how ADRIAN would coolly tilt his body to evade strikes. I tried to mimic him; I swung my body to the left, then ducked, feeling the threads whistle past me, leaving shallow nicks on my skin.
But I was one person, and he possessed dozens of those threads.
"You're fast for trash," VALEN said, charging his threads with toxic green mana. "But let's see how you dodge this!"
He closed the threads in on me from all directions, like a cage shutting its doors. I felt panic returning to my heart.
'Am I going to die here?'
Suddenly, a strange silence fell over the area. The whistling of the threads stopped, and even the sound of VALEN'S furious breathing vanished.
From behind me, I heard footsteps—quiet... rhythmic... footsteps that didn't make a sound on the leaves, but were felt by your heart before your ears.
"You took far too long playing with this insect, Niko."
Everything froze. I turned slowly and saw a shadow standing amidst the mist, his eyes looking with boredom toward VALEN, who was paralyzed with terror.
It was ADRIAN.