An eagle soared through the clear sky, a letter of ill omen tied to its ankle.

Lesta lifted her gaze and watched as the bird cut across the blue expanse.

Important correspondence was not usually sent by ordinary messengers, but this letter was to be delivered directly to the Marquis of Isden by an eagle sent under Eldrian’s command.

[The Sunrays wish to lend their aid in this labyrinth subjugation. Please delay Dominic’s entry for as long as possible. We will send word again upon arrival—have him enter the labyrinth only then, so we may join him inside. Since Dominic will likely take offense, do not let this reach his ears.]

That was what the letter said.

Still gazing at the sky, Lesta murmured.

“The Marquis of Isden will accept the offer.”

“He will. Depending solely on Blackwood’s aid must have left a bad taste in his mouth.”

Lesta turned around. The Sunray forces were already prepared for departure.

As well as Eldrian, Lesta and Leonel, this journey included ten of the Sunray family’s elite knights, Toma and three members of Ides mercenary group who had come with them to Youngdo.

Their well-rested warhorses stood ready to run.

The only one not ready was Amaranth.

“So you’re leaving again, just when it felt like you were finally back.”

“Sorry, sorry. But this is something I have to do.”

“Be careful. You remember what happened when my brother entered a red labyrinth, don’t you? Even after joining forces with another territory, they couldn’t bring down the boss, he barely made it out alive.”

Eldrian remembered that failure all too well.

A year after that disastrous attempt, the Silver Mask Dominic had succeeded in conquering the very same labyrinth.

And now, that “Silver Mask Dominic” was standing right beside him.

“That labyrinth was… difficult. I really almost died there. I failed the first time, had to regroup, and only then did I manage to clear it.”

‘I really almost died.’

The words struck Eldrian harder than he expected.

To him, Lesta had always seemed like someone perpetually hovering on the edge of collapse. No matter how pale or wounded she looked, she would always wave it off with a faint smile—I’m fine. I’ll heal soon.

But hearing her say she had almost died… Eldrian understood then just how close she must have come—how much pain she must have endured in silence.

He didn’t want to imagine what she must have looked like back then. But the image came anyway: her skin half-melted from the venomous mist; her hand calmly brushing her hair aside, as if nothing were wrong. The memory made his chest tighten painfully.

Anyone else would have been haunted by such wounds and scarred by the horror of it all.

But she had gone back into the labyrinth the moment she could stand again, because she had to.

This realization filled Eldrian with a sorrow he couldn’t put into words.

“Let’s not forget our purpose, Lesta. We’re going to stop Dominic from using Lumen. Subjugating the labyrinth’s boss would be a bonus, but it isn’t the goal.”

Instead of answering, Lesta brushed a strand of wind-tossed hair from her face and smiled faintly.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing Dominic’s face when he sees me.”

✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦ ✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦ ✦❘

The fangs of a black panther tore mercilessly into Dominic’s throat. He could only watch helplessly as blood spurted out in a crimson fountain.

Through the blood-red haze, he saw a pair of unblinking turquoise eyes watching him. The moment their gazes met, Dominic jolted awake from the nightmare.

“Haah… haah…”

It was just a dream, yet the pain from it still lingered in his body, raw and vivid.

“Nick, are you all right?”

Luciel, brushing his sweat-soaked hair back, asked in a trembling voice.

“Yeah… I’m fine.”

He was glad he had brought her along. Her gentle presence eased the fear that had taken root in his chest and softened the unease twisting inside him.

Luciel had been hesitant at first, claiming to be too busy, until he offered her jewels beyond her wildest dreams. It had cost him a small fortune, but he didn’t regret it for a moment.

Bringing her here wasn’t just for his own comfort. His father, mother and Isabella all despised her. If he’d left her behind, they might have done something unforgivable. So even if it meant dragging her into danger, he had no choice but to take her with him to this place.

“You’re scared, aren’t you?”

Luciel asked softly. She thought his sleepless nights were because of the upcoming labyrinth raid. And perhaps that was part of it, but Dominic couldn’t voice the real reason for his fear.

A hero wasn’t allowed to be afraid.

“No. Why would I be?”

“Right… You were the one who led the charge with nothing but a sword in your hand, after all.”

Yes, that’s what happened back then.

But now, that thing was gone.

Nevertheless, Dominic couldn’t allow any trace of fear to show, he couldn’t reveal the dread that anyone facing a red labyrinth would naturally feel. That silence and forced composure made the solitude even heavier.

In just a few hours, he would have to enter the labyrinth.

The Marquis of Isden had promised five elite knights, fifteen regular knights and fifty soldiers.

Even when several lords joined forces, red labyrinths often ended in disaster and now he was expected to conquer one with such a small force. Even counting his own men, it was absurd.

Yet it wasn’t as if the Marquis was holding back. After all, Dominic, the Silver Mask of the past, had cleared a red labyrinth with only that many. He had done it once before.

But that time, It had nearly killed.

When It returned from the red labyrinth, It condition was worse than ever. Usually, even the deepest wounds would heal within two or three weeks, but this time recovery took nearly two months.

If that thing, infused with a fragment of the dark god’s power, had nearly died there, then it was only natural to fear entering such a place. Even if the Lumen-driven undead soldiers could fight in his place, survival was not guaranteed.

So Dominic persuaded the Marquis to send three additional elite knights, five regular knights and twenty soldiers. This was still pitifully small, but asking for more would only arouse suspicion.

According to the original plan, he should have entered the labyrinth four days ago. However, the Marquis had postponed the expedition, saying that Dominic needed rest after his long journey. Dominic, who hadn’t wanted to go in the first place, had initially been relieved, but now the delay only made him bitter.

A rest spent waiting to die was no rest at all. Haunted by nightmares night after night, he grew more worn and hollow with each passing day.

Luciel had drifted back to sleep, breathing softly and regularly. But Dominic was still awake, his eyes fixed on the faint light seeping through the window. To him, it resembled a messenger of death.

Despite the fear pressing hard against his chest, he put on his armor, stepped outside and donned his mask, the unshakable hero and noble commander, leading his men into the unknown.

His composure gave the trembling soldiers strength as they thought of the red labyrinth. His calm, unwavering presence gave them a fragile kind of courage, the kind that keeps men standing when they would rather run.

Mounted on his black horse, Dominic looked down at the assembled ranks. His voice, low and steady, carried over the silent courtyard.

“Depart.”

✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦ ✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦ ✦❘

The Red Labyrinth was located around an hour’s ride from the castle gate of the Isden Marquisate in Youngdo.

There was once a small town nearby, but when the Red Labyrinth began to leak monsters, its inhabitants fled, leaving behind empty houses and crumbling walls. Now, only patrol knights ever came through. Yet today, the ruins buzzed with life. Word had spread that the hero Dominic was about to enter the Red Labyrinth, and people had gathered from miles around to witness the event.

Though the Isden and Blackwood families were politically opposed, Dominic was a symbol of salvation to those who were terrified of the beasts, a hero who could put things right.

When he appeared, the crowd erupted in cheers and threw petals into the air. Dominic lifted his head, accepting their adoration with practiced composure, as if it were only natural.

From a distance, Eldrian watched with a bitter smirk.

“So proud. As if he built all of this himself.”

Beside him, Lesta remained silent. Her eyes followed Dominic as he sat astride his black destrier, a sword hanging at his hip, the same kind of blade she herself had once carried.

Her gaze lingered on his hair. In the sunlight, his light brown locks shone like gold.

‘Ah.’

She remembered the time she had been forced to dye her hair that color. She had to rub a burning, blistering potion into her scalp for hours on end using harsh chemicals, and she had to repeat the process until the dye took. Afterwards, her scalp had bled, but she had been locked in a storeroom without treatment while she waited for the next mission.

Dominic Blackwood.

Lesta had been born to protect that man from the dark god’s beasts. She had performed countless noble deeds to ensure that the world would adore him.

She’d expected a flood of conflicting feelings, but only one thought crowded her mind: K*ll him.