The Moon, once a sentinel over the darkened forest, now hid behind thick clouds, casting the land into an oppressive, eerie darkness.
The wind whispered through the trees, a mournful cry that carried with it the scent of blood and death.
Amid the shadows, two crimson eyes burned like embers in the night, piercing through the veil of blackness.
They belonged to Lucian, who now strode toward Drake with a slow, deliberate pace.
Drake, trembling and on his knees, his breath ragged, could barely lift his gaze to meet those terrible eyes.
His voice cracked, desperate and trembling. “B-brother… forgive me. It was… it was all Julius’s idea… he forced me to…”
Lucian stopped just short of him, his expression unreadable in the dim light, but his eyes — those blood-red eyes — glimmered with dark amusement.
Drake swallowed hard, his words spilling out in a frantic rush.
“He told me to watch over you and aunt. And seeing you and aunt Eloise grow so close, I had no choice but follow his orders!”
“You know how much power she holds… she handles all the financial matters of the Empire! He feared you’d—”
Lucian’s lips curled into a cold, mocking smile, “before I even asked, you gave me everything I needed to know. What a fool!”
Drake’s heart hammered in his chest, his pulse pounding in his ears as he stammered, “I… I didn’t… Right, se…see how useful I’m… I can help you ascend the Throne…I never wanted—”
Lucian’s voice cut through the air like a blade, low and chilling, “before you said you wanted to torture me!?”
Drake’s eyes widened in panic, his words stumbling over themselves as he tried to explain, desperate for a way out.
“No… I… I was trying to protect you. When these men would’ve left you behind, I could’ve helped! I was… I was going to save you!”
His voice cracked with each word, hands trembling as he tried to shield himself from Lucian’s looming figure, “I never meant to hurt you… I swear! It was Julius! He made me do it! I thought if I could earn their trust, I could stop them from killing you!”
His voice quivered, choking on his own fear, “I swear, I never wanted this…”
Without another word, Lucian pulled a bloodied arrow from the quiver of the dead archer and, with ruthless precision, plunged it into Drake’s thigh.
Thud–
Blood spurted from the wound, pooling beneath Drake as a scream tore from his throat.
“Arghhh!”
But Lucian wasn’t finished.
Calmly, he took another arrow and drove it into Drake’s other thigh, the sickening sound of flesh tearing followed by another agonized wail.
“Arghhhhh!” Drake’s screams echoed through the forest, mixing with the howling wind.
Lucian crouched beside him, his lips brushing against Drake’s ear as he whispered, his voice almost tender in its malice, “you didn’t imagine this, did you?”
Drake gasped, his body convulsing from the pain, “D-don’t kill me… Father Emperor, he will surely—”
Lucian let out a dark, humorless laugh.
“Do you think I care about him?” His eyes gleamed in the darkness.
Drake’s breath hitched, panic setting in as he realized the futility of his words. Desperation clawed at him.
“I can be you slave. I-I can give you information… about these men!” He winced, biting back the pain, trying to gather his thoughts.
“Yo… your talent far surpasses Julius’… they would… surely accept you if you want to join them…”
The words were barely out of his mouth when Drake’s trembling hand moved to his waist, where a hidden dagger lay strapped.
His fingers fumbled for the hilt, his mind screaming one last desperate chance.
“DIEEE!” he roared, lunging at Lucian with the dagger aimed at his heart.
Clang!
The sound of steel meeting steel rang through the night as Lucian effortlessly deflected the blade, swatting it aside as if it were nothing.
His movements were graceful, his eyes never leaving Drake’s.
Lucian’s lips curved into a cruel smile, “how pathetic! Did think I didn’t notice your killing intent?”
Before Drake could react, Lucian drove two arrows straight into his lungs with surgical precision.
Blood bubbled from Drake’s mouth as his body seized, the breath stolen from him.
Gurgle…!!
“What a pity,” Lucian murmured, watching Drake’s life slowly slip away.
Without another glance, Lucian turned, his eyes narrowing as he looked toward the direction where the obsidian-robed man had fled.
In the midst of the chaos, while he was busy killing other four, and Drake had tried to bargain for his life, their leader had already run off.
Lucian’s gaze darkened as he stalked toward the path the man had taken, leaving the broken bodies and the dying echoes of Drake’s screams behind him.
But, the night was yet to over.
…
“Huff… huff…”
The obsidian-robed man staggered through the darkened forest, his breath ragged, his body trembling with each step.
His once-pristine face was now smeared with streaks of blood, his chest heaving in desperation.
Lucian’s devastating kick had been merciless.
The moment the blow landed, several ribs had cracked under the immense force, some even piercing his flesh.
A sharp, searing pain had exploded through his chest, and for a split second, he had thought his heart would be crushed in the process.
Fortunately, though a few bones had broken, his heart had narrowly escaped being punctured.
His heart now was pounding so violently it felt like it might burst from his chest, the terror so deep that his every thought was consumed by fear.
His eyes darted wildly through the shadows, and the weight of Lucian’s crimson gaze still burned in his mind.
He could feel it, haunting him, like a hunter that had already marked its prey.
“What kind of monster is he?” the man muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.
His lips quivered as he stumbled over the uneven ground, his steps growing more frantic with each passing moment.
“That bastard Julius… I’ll kill him if I survive this. He set us all up… that wretch!”
The bitterness in his voice was tinged with pure terror. He could hardly believe it.
Lucian… that fiend… hadn’t even entered the
Body Strengthening Realm, yet he could easily slaughter someone like him — someone who had already reached the middle-stages of the Body Strengthening.
It was impossible, it was absurd!
If it had been any other time, bringing such a heaven-defying genius back to the sect would have secured his future.
The elders would surely have rewarded him for delivering someone who hadn’t even entered the world of cultivation yet could easily kill a mid-stage Body Strengthening cultivator like himself.
But now… now that he had tried to kill Lucian, offering such an olive branch seemed utterly pointless.
“He’s not a human… He must be a devil in human skin…!” the man whispered, bloody tears forming in the corners of his eyes.
Every fiber of his being screamed for survival, for escape.
He clutched a short knife in his trembling hand, his only remaining weapon after Lucian had shattered his treasured blade with a single punch.
He still couldn’t understand how could he be so strong?
Even if he truly possessed a heaven-defying physical constitution, how could he cross six minor realm to nearly kill him!?
The memory of it sent a fresh wave of fear surging through him!
Yet, no matter how fast he ran, no matter how far he tumbled through the underbrush, he could still feel those crimson eyes piercing the darkness behind him.
