Still holding Liana’s hand to stop her slipping away, Shed dismounted from the horse. If they stayed in the saddle, the panicked animal might make matters worse.

He helped Liana down, holding her close so she wouldn’t get separated from him. Her ragged breathing was almost unnerving in the darkness. She had been unwell ever since they reached Faradel.

“Liana.”

“I-it wasn’t me. I didn’t…”

Liana shivered, mumbling half-coherently between shallow, panicked breaths.

“Liana!”

Shed cupped her cheeks in both hands, forcing her to look at him. Even in the pitch-black darkness, he could feel her gaze meet his.

Only then did Liana’s breathing begin to slow.

‘First, we need to regroup everyone who got scattered.’

He thought coolly, keeping his head clear. All around them, voices were calling, crying out for help, searching for one another.

“Everyone, dismount and stay close to the wagons and carriages!”

Shed ordered sharply, his senses heightened.

It was only their sight that was gone—Faradel’s ground hadn’t split open, the sky hadn’t fallen. He could still feel earth, weeds, and stones beneath his feet, and the warm, gentle wind unique to Ideana brushed across his skin. Aside from the loss of vision, nothing had changed. Not yet.

He ordered those near the wagons to keep banging on the sides, making as much noise as possible.
Maybe it was the darkness, but the sounds all seemed far away.

“Let’s go.”

With Liana still in his arms, Shed began to move.

In this darkness, the only thing they could rely on was each other.

Then, Shed turned his head—into the deepest part of the night.

He couldn’t see, but he could sense something moving out there. Not where the Lester family’s group was clustered, but from the opposite direction, a presence, drawing steadily closer to where he and Liana stood.

“Liana.”

Shed pulled her even tighter against him, shielding her in his embrace.

He instantly realised that if he tried to rejoin the others, they would all be consumed by this faceless malice.

He kept his mind cold and sharp.

And in that moment—

Whiiish!

Something sharp sliced through the darkness, hurtling straight at him. Shed reacted on instinct, yanking Liana toward him and twisting his body out of the way. A cold rush of air grazed his cheek.

“Well, well.”

At last, the nameless presence in the darkness spoke. Slowly, the darkness surrounding them began to thin, and their field of vision widened little by little.

Shed kept Liana behind him, on high alert for the figure lurking beyond the shadows.

“Who are you?”

Shed aimed his sword directly at the source of the presence.

Step, step—

The enemy strode through the receding darkness, finally revealing himself.

He wore a long robe that concealed his face. He was as tall as Shed, if not taller. His eyes gleamed with a murderous violet light in the shadows.

‘Lupus?’

Shed’s expression flickered in surprise as he recognized him. Those violet eyes and that massive frame—there was no doubt. He was Lupus.

“There’s a feast tonight.”

The stranger didn’t bother to introduce himself. Instead, he bared his white teeth in a grin from beneath his hood. And then, without warning, he raised a battered, rusty sword and charged at them.

CLANG!

Their swords collided in a thunderous crash that seemed to split the world open. Even the darkness recoiled and rippled at the impact.

‘That sword…?’

As Shed deflected the blow, he glanced at the rusty blade. With an impact that fierce, a sword that old should have snapped in two, or at least lost its edge entirely. But the corroded, battered sword remained as solid as if it were made of finest flame-forged steel.

Shed noticed the black aura swirling around it. It wasn’t the sword itself—it was that sickening power enveloping the blade.

Black magic. A forbidden art—the mark of a heretic. At the same time, the hooded enemy studied Shed with a look of surprise.

“You can use aura?”

Those violet eyes, shadowed beneath the cowl, watched Shed with curiosity.

If priests wielded holy power, then knights wielded aura. Those who reached a certain level of mastery with the sword could channel energy beyond physical force—people called it aura, and those who could wield it were called Swordmasters.

“You’re Lupus…? I’ve never seen a Lupus use aura before.”

The hidden face beneath the hood let out a low, amused chuckle. And he was right. No Lupus had ever managed to wield aura.

To master aura, one had to push their body beyond its absolute limits, through both experience and relentless training. But Lupus, born with physical abilities far superior to ordinary humans, had a “limit” that was much higher than others.

Until now, no Lupus had ever found a reason—or even a need—to push themselves that far. Even without aura, many Lupus could perform on par with the greatest Swordmasters.

But Shed Lester was different.

“Aura—aren’t you going to use more of it?”

The heretic tilted his head to the side, one hand now dyed pitch-black.

‘D*mn it.’

Even as a Swordmaster, Shed rarely had reason to fully unleash his aura. As a Lupus, he could hold his own against most opponents without needing to draw on such power. But now wasn’t the time to hold back.

Still, he hesitated for one reason.

‘Liana…’

If he used his aura at full strength, there was a real chance Liana—standing so close—would be caught in the crossfire and injured.

But his opponent had no patience for Shed’s inner struggle. Once again, murderous intent shrouded in darkness lunged for him.

A roaring blast tore through the air, raising a wave of dust so strong it sent Liana’s hair whipping wildly. Even far in the distance, where the Lester family’s procession waited, the impact caused a commotion.

“Ahhh!”

“My lord! Are you all right?”

Voices echoed through the darkness, barely reaching them.

As Liana, crouched low to the ground to weather the wind, lifted her head, she saw blue light flickering at Shed’s fingertips.

From his hand to his sword, an electric blue energy pulsed—his aura, fully unleashed.

“You’re really strong, aren’t you?”

The heretic spoke in a tone of genuine interest.

“You’ll make the finest delicacy yet.”

He grinned at Shed and charged at him again.

A flurry of windstorms raged through the darkness as their blades clashed repeatedly. Shed relentlessly pursued every opening, confronting his adversary head-on.

With each collision, the heretic was forced back a little further. Finally, a flicker of surprise appeared at the tip of that jet-black sword.

Of course. Before meeting Shed, he had probably never found himself at a disadvantage.

Nor had Shed ever faced an opponent of such strength.

However, the heretic quickly concealed his surprise and retreated to a safe distance. His eyes gleamed with madness as he sized up his opponent.

‘His movements… interesting.’

That Swordmaster was certainly powerful—perhaps too strong to defeat. But his attacks followed a pattern.

The heretic’s gaze slid to the woman at Shed’s side.

‘He’s been centering his every move around that woman from the start.’

Even when he was wielding his aura, he positioned himself so that Liana was always behind him, ensuring that the heretic couldn’t get close.

Every move he made, every step he took, and every swing of his weapon made it clear that Shed’s priority was to shield Liana and keep her out of danger.

‘All this, for just one woman? He’s fighting with his whole life on the line for her?’

The heretic grinned.

At the same time, Shed grew even more alert, sensitive to the sudden shift in his opponent’s mood.

But—

“That was fun.”

The heretic’s casual farewell echoed through the darkness. At that very moment, he seemed to dissolve, being swallowed by the shadows.

Just as Shed wondered if he was retreating, he felt a chill race down his spine — a premonition so sharp that every nerve in his body stood on end.

“Shed!”

He heard Liana’s cry from behind him at that very moment.

And then—thud!

A sharp, unmistakable sound pierced his ears. With a jolt, his heart seemed to drop as he spun around—Liana was behind him.

“What… what is this?”

Even in the darkness, he could clearly see the blood spilling onto the ground.

The heretic stared in disbelief at the woman now standing in his way. A black blade had pierced her abdomen.

“Dragged along a crazy woman, did you?”

He hadn’t meant to stab her. He had merely exploited the man’s vulnerability — the very thing he had fiercely protected.

However, the woman he had tried so hard to protect threw herself forward, taking the blow in his place in a somewhat comical manner.

If the angle had been just a little different, the blade would have gone straight through her heart. What kind of madness was this? What was she thinking?

The heretic let out a snort of disbelief.

‘All his effort, undone in an instant.’

He glanced at the Swordmaster standing a distance away.

Until now, his face had remained cold and impenetrable, but that had changed. It was now twisted in shock and despair, resembling that of a priest witnessing the fall of an angel.

“Liana…!”

She saw the blood staining her torso, turning it a deep, violent shade of red. His mind froze for a moment and time seemed to stop as he processed what had just happened.

Even in the murky darkness, he could see her small body slowly collapsing around the blade as the strength drained from her limbs.

Reaching out for Liana, she held the black blade that was still buried in her body.

At that instant, the heretic’s eyes gleamed with new intent. He twisted the blade and pulled it back.

The sword, caught in her flesh like a hook, dragged her limp body towards him.

Powerless, Liana was pulled into the heretic’s grip like prey caught by a hunter.

He brought her face close, finally getting a good look at her—and then, his mouth curled into a wicked grin.

“This woman… She’s Ideana, isn’t she?”

The heretic, holding Liana in his arms, pulled the sword from her abdomen.

A fresh torrent of blood welled up, gushing out of her.

Her body convulsed once, then went completely limp.

All of it—every terrible moment—was starkly visible, even in the darkness.

Shed’s mind went completely blank.

At the same time, his heart was beating so fast that it felt as though it might burst, and he could feel hot blood surging from his toes to the top of his head