The fog in the valley was finally starting to thin.
As the last bits of cleanup wrapped up, the oppressive darkness hanging over the valley faded with it.
Those mutated demons didn't get away, of course.
In the end, every last one of them died under the blades of the Dauntless Vanguard.
The strange Blood Moon in the sky was gone too. The moonlight returned to its normal pale white, spilling over the valley while the soldiers finished their final headcount.
Whenever their eyes fell on the bodies scattered everywhere, hatred and disgust for the cult rose again.
They'd sacrificed that many lives just to summon some "Shadow God" nobody even knew for sure existed.
It was pure, inhuman evil.
Even in Demacia, incidents like this were almost unheard of.
A cult had targeted a royal prince—and they had nearly succeeded.
If word of this made it back to the capital…
A lot of soldiers had the same feeling: Demacia was about to be hit by a storm.
They remembered the crushing pressure when that so-called Shadow God was "descending." If the ritual had truly succeeded this close to the capital, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Luckily, the prince handled it.
Still… thinking about the ridiculous method he used to solve it made the soldiers fall into a long, uncomfortable silence.
That kind of move was downright explosive by Demacian standards.
Even Vayne couldn't hold it back anymore. "Why were you carrying pig blood on you?"
That old cult leader probably never imagined he'd die in such an humiliating way.
Luke answered casually, "Cults like that love sacrificing blood and meat, don't they? So I collected some wild boar blood, just in case."
There were plenty of boar carcasses in the city after the beast tide. He could grab some easily while passing by.
Besides—if Luke's sixth sense was as sharp as it usually was, there was no way that old man could get that close without Luke noticing.
Luke had intentionally left an opening just to set up the stunt.
Vayne was speechless. She stared at his face for a moment.
She really wanted to ask: Can you go one day—just one—thinking about something normal?
What kind of person gets targeted by a cult and thinks, first thing, "Where can I get pig blood?"
And the most absurd part was that it actually worked.
For a moment, Vayne didn't even know where to begin criticizing him.
Not long after, once the valley was fully checked, everyone prepared to head back to Edessa.
With the Shadow God cult dealt with, there was no need to rush like before.
They slowed down, riding along at an easier pace.
And now the valley seemed to have more scenery than it had when they arrived.
It was late at night. They passed a small lake, and the moonlight painted the surface like a clean, bright mirror.
Floating above the water were tiny green points of light. Those same little green lights were scattered throughout the forest, giving off a calming presence, like they were softly lighting up the world.
The riders passed through them, brushing by the small glimmers, almost like they were moving through a dream.
The foul mood left behind by the cult eased noticeably. The beautiful sight loosened something in people's chests.
Luke lifted a hand. A firefly circled his fingers once, then drifted away.
He couldn't help feeling a little sentimental.
Without realizing it, firefly season was here again.
Demacia had many kinds of fireflies—different colors, different patterns, surprisingly varied.
Luke found himself thinking that if he could draw a few into the courtyard on a night when he was moon-gazing, the view would be incredible.
They enjoyed the scenery as they rode back toward the city.
Forty minutes later, the group returned to Edessa.
After being run ragged all day, Luke felt exhausted in body and mind.
But no matter how tired he was, he had to eat first.
It was already midnight.
Whether it was Luke, Garen and the Vanguard soldiers, or the city's guards, none of them had eaten dinner.
Once they finally relaxed, the hunger hit all at once.
And considering how many magical beasts had volunteered to show up today…
Luke decided to throw a barbecue cookout.
Among that many beasts, there were plenty with tender, rich meat. Wash it, grill it, brush it with oil, hit it with seasoning—done. That was a feast.
Before long, bonfires were lit all across the barracks grounds, and the smell of roasting meat drifted through the night.
Merchants and civilians brought free drinks on their own.
Soldiers gathered in clusters, drinking and laughing, bragging about how "insanely heroic" they'd been during the beast tide.
Luke set up his own fire pit too.
He even had Yurna run back to grab his grilling spices.
Grilling skewers while enjoying the night air put him in a much lighter mood.
After they ate and drank their fill, Luke handed the remaining cleanup and follow-up over to Garen and the others.
Then he wasted no time heading back to his courtyard.
The moment he stepped inside and collapsed into his chair, his entire body felt like it finally unclenched.
Vayne, Cithria, Quinn, and Frey entered one after another. Seeing Luke already lying in the chair, they didn't even react anymore.
After the beast tide, even they felt worn out.
So no one talked much. They all went off to rest.
The night passed in silence.
The next day.
When Luke woke up, it was already late morning.
He'd slept unbelievably well.
After all, the annoying mess lately was finally gone. The Wraith Cave investigation had ended, and it had led to the Shadow God cult behind it.
Last night had basically confirmed that Luke's assignment was complete.
It left him with that loose, post-mission feeling, like the tension in his head had finally unhooked.
He lay there for a minute, then felt a small bite of hunger and got up.
In the courtyard, he only saw Yurna.
She was sitting under the tree, reading quietly. Her purple eyes were still as a lake, her hair falling naturally over her shoulders, giving her a calm, almost serene air.
The others being gone didn't surprise Luke. He figured they'd gone out to train.
Once they realized Luke loved sleeping in, the girls usually stopped training in the courtyard early in the morning.
They'd go train outside instead, not too far away.
Then once they smelled food drifting from the courtyard, they'd come back.
After washing his face, Luke felt more awake.
Then he went into the kitchen to make breakfast.
Before long, Vayne, Frey, Cithria, and Quinn returned.
They sat in the courtyard and waited for breakfast.
After they ate, Luke lay back in the chair—then casually did his daily check-in.
[Congratulations, host. You have obtained a rare exotic fruit.]
The reward was two rare exotic fruits, and it didn't move Luke emotionally in the slightest.
He hadn't been lying there long when Garen arrived.
In white armor, he had that crisp, decisive presence—like everything about him was efficient.
Garen walked up to Luke and said, "Your Highness. The capital has already learned about the Shadow God cult and the beast tide. They've sent a special envoy to take over the follow-up. If you'd like, you can depart and return to the capital now."
Hearing that, the others—still resting after breakfast—quietly perked up.
They all knew Luke came to Edessa for a Royal Academy hunting competition that was supposed to last seven days.
But the Wraith Cave incident stopped the competition, and Luke ended up replacing the demoted Kabud and managing Edessa's affairs instead.
By the calendar, at the latest, Luke would be leaving for the capital the day after tomorrow.
Now that the capital had sent someone to take over Edessa, Luke really could leave immediately if he wanted.
Vayne blinked, realizing five days had already passed.
At first, it was because her teacher Frey had agreed to protect Luke for seven days.
To be honest, Vayne didn't have a good impression of Demacian nobles or the royal family.
But after spending these days together, she'd realized Luke wasn't the same as the royals she'd imagined.
He was lazy, unambitious, shameless, and infuriating—but if you looked past that, he had plenty of strengths too.
Overall, she didn't dislike him.
Thinking that they'd be separating in a couple days, she felt that strange sense of time moving too fast, and a quiet thought surfaced: It would be nicer if it could slow down a little.
The moment Vayne noticed herself thinking that, her brow tightened as she looked toward Luke.
Staying around him too long had made her mindset soften. She was actually thinking things like that.
She reminded herself what she was supposed to be doing.
Revenge. Hunting. Becoming stronger.
The moment she thought of the demon who killed her parents, a familiar ache and hatred rose in her chest.
She clenched her fist slightly, steadying herself back into her usual state.
Separating from Luke was inevitable.
After they parted, she and her teacher would continue their journey hunting dark creatures.
Quinn looked toward Luke too, and in that moment, realized something about her own thoughts.
At the latest, he'd be leaving in two days.
It had already been so many days since he saved her from the White Rock Grizzly.
And yet… she didn't feel like she'd really done anything for him.
She thought of the invitation Luke had once given her, sighed quietly, and glanced at Cithria beside her.
Compared to Quinn, Cithria was clearly the better fit to become the prince's personal guard.
Quinn had been friends with Cithria for a long time. Her integrity, courage, and intelligence were all things Quinn genuinely admired.
Cithria also glanced toward Luke.
She had been assigned here temporarily to protect him. Once Luke returned to the capital, her mission would be complete, and she could return to her Dauntless Vanguard trainee squad.
These days with the prince had been enjoyable.
Thinking about separating from Luke, she felt a small twinge of reluctance.
But she considered it normal.
To Cithria, Luke was an exceptional man—lazy sometimes, sure, but with many qualities worth learning from.
And his mild, approachable personality made being around him genuinely comfortable.
She thought Luke was a man with real charm.
That was all.
They'd separate, and they'd see each other again someday.
Cithria had a simple, pure goal: to become a great hero.
To become the kind of figure who appeared in the stories told across the land—and to protect the country she loved with everything she had.
So she would keep moving forward and overcome whatever stood in her way.
Hearing Garen speak, Luke realized he did miss life in the capital a bit.
If the Shadow God cult hadn't caused all that chaos, his vacation in Edessa would've been pretty perfect.
But the reason he came in the first place—aside from grabbing a free couple weeks off—was the hunting competition's first-place reward: enough points for twenty full days of leave.
The competition had been paused for so long that Luke's huge point haul from day one basically locked him into first place anyway.
So yes, it really was time to return.
After thinking a moment, Luke said, "Tomorrow. I'll leave for the capital tomorrow."
Once he finished handling the last bits of Edessa's business, he could get out.
Garen didn't stay long before leaving again.
He still had a mountain of tasks—like sweeping the area and checking whether any Shadow God cultists remained inside or outside the city.
Luke didn't keep lying around either.
He got up, cleaned himself up a bit, and took the group to the government hall.
There were still last details to finalize.
And the Shadow God cult records they seized yesterday—Luke still hadn't finished reading them.
The cult itself was basically gone, but the information they left behind could still be useful.
Vayne, Quinn, and Cithria went to train in the yard.
Inside, Luke called Frey over.
"I stumbled across this yesterday," he said. "Didn't you mention you're tracking a demon? This might help."
He pulled out the record he'd read—the one about the horned demon—and handed it to Frey.
Frey took it immediately and started reading.
Luke didn't interrupt her. He stood and walked toward the door.
//Check out my P@tre0n for 30 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810