The daylight was beginning to disappear behind the walls of the Imperial Palace.
In the private armory, Lusian silently checked his equipment.
One piece.
Then another.
He tightened the straps of his armor, checked the clasps on his sheaths, and ran his fingers along the edge of Dainslein before returning it to its place.
Finally, he picked up the black helmet.
Its surface absorbed the torchlight, leaving only a faint reflection along the edges.
It was the right equipment for the night.
Lusian put it on.
Then came the voices.
—Lusian, you can't do this!
Emily appeared first in the doorway.
Her face showed a mixture of frustration and concern.
—The Frostblight destroyed an entire legion. You could die!
Elizabeth appeared behind her.
Unlike Emily, she did not raise her voice.
But her expression was even more serious.
—It's an Omega-level creature. I'm not going to let you go alone.
Lusian continued adjusting one of his gloves.
—I'm not going alone.
Both women looked at him.
—I have Umber.
Emily opened her mouth, indignant.
—That's not what I meant!
Before she could continue, another voice echoed through the corridor.
—Then I'll go with you!
Lusian raised his gaze.
His eyes met those of the veteran.
For several seconds, neither said a word.
Finally, Lusian placed the glove on the table.
—Albert.
His voice was calm.
—I'm Duke Douglas. I'm no longer the boy you trained.
He took a step toward him.
—And you are my vassal.
The old man's expression hardened.
—My lord, it's too dangerous.
—Then obey me.
Albert clenched his teeth.
Lusian did not raise his voice.
He didn't need to.
—You will stay here.
He pointed toward the outside.
—Protect Elizabeth and keep the caravan safe.
—But...
—No.
One word.
Firm.
Definitive.
Albert slowly lowered his gaze.
He knew he would not change Lusian's mind.
—This mission requires speed and stealth. An entire unit would only alert it to our presence.
—I'm not going to face it as an army.
His eyes narrowed.
—I'm going to hunt it.
Albert remained silent.
Those words did not reassure him.
Quite the opposite.
Emily took a deep breath.
—What if something goes wrong?
Lusian looked at her.
For the first time, some of the coldness left his expression.
—Then you'll have to trust me.
Elizabeth lowered her gaze slightly.
She did not want to admit it.
But she knew she could not stop him.
Lusian headed toward the exit.
Before crossing the doorway, he stopped.
—As long as it is night...
His gaze passed over the three of them.
—No creature is safe from me.
From an elevated balcony, Naira had watched the entire scene.
Her arms remained crossed.
Those words had awakened a memory.
A night.
A war.
The Douglases advancing beneath the cover of darkness.
Hundreds of Imperial soldiers dead before dawn.
No one had understood how.
They only knew that when night fell, fighting the Douglases was a death sentence.
That was why the Empire had learned to fear nighttime offensives.
And now...
A Douglas was preparing to hunt an Omega-level creature alone.
Naira narrowed her eyes.
—Let's see what kind of monster you really are...
Lusian mounted Thunder.
The electric steed shook its head as small sparks danced across its body.
Umber appeared beside him.
The enormous black wolf did not need an order.
He knew he was going with him.
Thunder's hooves struck the stone.
Lusian passed through the capital's gates.
Emily and Elizabeth remained motionless, watching him disappear into the distance.
Neither tried to stop him.
Because they both knew something.
When Lusian made a decision like this...
it was already too late to change his mind.
Night descended upon the Imperial capital.
And with it came darkness.
Lusian moved through the forest without leaving a trace.
Umber moved at his right.
Neither made a sound.
Darkness gathered around them until their silhouettes disappeared completely.
Lusian deliberately slowed his breathing.
One heartbeat.
Two.
Three.
His body sank into absolute stillness as mana as black as the night enveloped him.
The yellow glow of his eyes slowly faded.
As the magic flowed through his veins, his body temperature dropped drastically. His pulse became almost imperceptible, and his breathing ceased completely.
Even Umber was unable to track him in the darkness. Only the bond between them allowed the wolf to know that his master was still there.
Lusian raised one hand slightly.
—Stay to my right.
Umber's ears twitched.
—Don't attack until I give you the order.
The wolf let out an almost inaudible growl.
They continued forward.
They were no longer two beings moving through the forest.
They were shadows.
Several hundred meters away, the Frostblight breathed.
Each exhalation froze the air before its muzzle. Crystals of frost floated around its face before slowly settling onto the snow.
The creature seemed completely at ease.
It did not know it was being followed.
It could not sense them.
Lusian remained motionless in the darkness, watching it.
He knew its greatest danger.
If he allowed it time to prepare and unleash its freezing ability, the hunt would end in an instant.
There would be no second chance.
That was why he had no intention of fighting it.
He intended to hunt it.
Many believed that killing an Omega-level creature required a display of overwhelming power capable of devastating the battlefield.
They were wrong.
Against a beast like this, brute force was secondary.
First, you had to understand it.
The Frostblight's weakness was simple: it had poor vision in the darkness and relied on three things to orient itself.
Heat.
Mana.
Movement.
In the darkness, Lusian and Umber advanced without making a sound until they reached the position Lusian had chosen.
Between two trees, concealed beneath a thin layer of snow, lay a magical steel cable.
Thin.
Resilient.
Strong enough to withstand a single pull.
The trap was ready.
Lusian raised one hand.
And the hunt began.
An empty burst of mana struck the rocks on the opposite flank.
CRACK!
The Frostblight immediately raised its head.
It turned.
Confused.
Then, at that exact moment, Umber emerged from the shadows on its right.
The wolf unleashed a fierce, territorial roar that echoed between the trees.
The creature reacted on instinct.
It could not detect heat.
It could not identify the source of the mana.
And in the darkness, it could barely distinguish its attackers.
It felt cornered.
The Frostblight took a step backward.
Then another.
Finally, it chose the only direction that appeared clear.
And fled.
Three strides.
That was all.
CRACK!
One of its front legs struck the cable head-on.
The magical steel snapped taut.
The creature's momentum came to an abrupt halt.
The Frostblight lost its balance and crashed heavily onto its side.
BOOM!
Tons of ice and snow erupted around its body.
The creature tried to rise.
Then it opened its jaws.
The air began to crystallize around them, forming a layer of frost that rapidly spread across the ground.
Lusian saw it.
—Now.
The sky split open.
The sky split open.
A bolt of lightning descended between the branches.
BOOM!
Thunder burst from above and unleashed a storm of electricity directly onto the monster's body.
Lightning coursed across its icy plates.
The creature's mana flow destabilized.
Its body arched violently.
For an instant, it was completely paralyzed.
Then its blue core was exposed between the fractured plates of its chest.
Lusian did not waste the opportunity.
—Umber.
The shadow wolf shot forward.
Umber lunged at the creature and clamped his jaws around the joint of its uninjured hind leg.
CRACK.
The ice plates shattered.
The Frostblight tried to turn.
It couldn't.
It tried to rise.
It couldn't.
The wolf maintained the pressure, pinning it against the ground.
The beast was immobilized.
It could not stand.
It could not turn.
It could not escape.
And most importantly...
It had no time to gather the mana necessary to freeze the forest.
Lusian advanced.
Like a shadow.
The Frostblight never saw him approach.
Lusian drew Dainslein.
The black blade traced a silent arc through the air.
And pierced the crack in its armor.
Straight into the core.
CRACK.
A web of dark fractures spread from the point of impact.
The blue crystal trembled.
One.
Two.
Three cracks.
Until the core collapsed.
The light left the Frostblight's eyes.
Its body went still.
The cold that had dominated the forest began to dissipate.
The ice crystals stopped forming.
The wind began to blow through the trees again.
And then...
Silence.
Lusian slowly withdrew Dainslein.
Not a single wound.
Not a single blow.
Umber had not been injured either.
Thunder trotted between the trees and stopped beside him.
The creature that had destroyed an entire legion and forced six Heroes to retreat now lay dead in the snow.
Lusian wiped the edge of Dainslein with a dry motion before returning it to its sheath.
He stared at the corpse for several seconds.
—It's over.
The first ray of sunlight pierced the walls of the Imperial capital.
The plaza was covered in melting snow.
Imperial banners fluttered weakly above the buildings.
Then the gates opened.
Thunder appeared first.
Then Lusian.
Umber walked beside him.
Behind them...
they dragged the enormous body of the Frostblight.
The corpse was so massive that several soldiers had to move aside to let it pass.
Silence fell over the plaza.
No one could believe it.
The creature that had destroyed entire legions...
was dead.
And Lusian had returned.
Alone.
The Heralds watched from the steps.
The Heroes of the Kingdom stood motionless.
The Imperial soldiers did not know what to say.
Lusian dismounted.
Then Emily ran toward him.
—Lusian!
She threw her arms around his chest.
The force of the embrace nearly made him lose his balance.
—You're okay...
Her voice trembled.
Lusian placed a hand on her back.
—Yes.
Emily closed her eyes.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
She simply remained there.
Making sure he was really alive.
A few meters away, Elizabeth watched the scene.
Her expression was serious.
But relief showed in her eyes.
Beside her, Naira never took her eyes off Lusian.
She was not looking at the corpse.
She was looking at the man.
Calculating.
Trying to understand what had just happened.
Because that night, something more than a creature had died.
A new variable had appeared.
One the Empire had not anticipated.
One of the Heralds finally spoke.
—How...?
No one answered.
Lusian raised his gaze.
His eyes met the Herald's.
And for the first time, the man seemed to understand something deeply uncomfortable.
They were not looking at another Hero.
Nor were they looking at a simple noble.
Lusian was someone capable of acting outside every established structure.
And that...
was far more dangerous than his strength.
Emily slowly pulled away.
—Never do something like that again.
Lusian looked at her.
—Do what?
—Go off alone to kill a creature that nearly destroyed two legions.
Lusian remained silent.
Emily tightened her grip on his hand.
—You could have died.
He lowered his gaze toward their intertwined fingers.
Then he smiled faintly.
—But I didn't.
Emily frowned.
—That's not an answer.
—It's the only one I have.
Lusian then looked toward the corpse of the Frostblight.
—Now it's truly over.
Around them, no one celebrated.
There were no cheers.
No music.
Only silence.
Because everyone understood what they had just witnessed.
The Frostblight had been a calamity capable of destroying armies.
And yet...
it now lay dead before the capital gates.
Killed by a single man.
The Heroes of the Kingdom watched Lusian in silence.
Some felt admiration.
Others felt shame.
And a few...
something far more unsettling.
Fear.