Fear in the Shadows
Inside Rudes's simple house, Rina trembled with fear. Her sensitive aura felt the evil power filling the air when Zenya began unleashing the full power of her lightning. Together with Alice and Rudes's mother, she took shelter in the corner of the room, her heart beating like war drums.
Han crouched beside his sister, his voice gentle yet calming. "Rina, calm down. We're safe here. Trust your brother."
After a while, Rina began to settle down a bit, though fear still lingered in her tearful eyes. "Brother... that aura... is so terrifying."
Han turned to Alice who was busy making sure the windows were tightly shut. "Alice, please watch over Rina and Rudes's mother. I'll go out to check on the others."
Alice startled, looking at him with worried eyes. "Where are you going? I... I'm worried about you. I mean, we're all worried."
Han smiled reassuringly, briefly touching Alice's shoulder. "Don't worry. I can take care of myself."
With that, Han stepped out into the night filled with lightning flashes, leaving the three women inside the house.
---
In the village courtyard, Rudes stood challenging Zenya. His Divine Mark burned his entire body with blazing blue fire. His eyes glowed red, full of long-suppressed anger.
"You, Zenya! One of the Seven Heroes!" he shouted, his voice thundering no less loud than the storm. "We used to trust you! We worshiped you! But you're only hungry for power!"
His breath came in gasps from anger. "You oppress the weak! Bringing people from the outskirts for horrific experiments in the kingdom! You're not heroes—you're monsters in holy disguise!"
Ensei, from a distance with bow ready in hand, looked at Rudes with sad eyes. His heart was torn hearing his friend's pain pouring out in the form of rage.
Zenya laughed mockingly, lightning dancing around her. "What does a brat like you know about us?" Her bright blue eyes blazed with arrogance. "You're lucky to still be alive, because WE saved this country from monster chaos ten years ago!"
"And now you've become more terrifying monsters!" Rudes retorted.
Without waiting any longer, Rudes attacked with his fire sword. His movements were fierce, fast, and deadly. Zenya, with lightning-fast reflexes, matched every slash with her own lightning sword.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Fire clashed with lightning, creating small explosions that shook the ground.
Rudes was knocked back several steps, but didn't give up. "DRAGON FURY SWORD!"
He swung his sword with all his might. Fire shaped like a giant dragon shot toward Zenya, burning the surrounding air.
From behind, Ensei released a wind-wrapped arrow that shot at the speed of sound, targeting gaps in Zenya's defense.
The combined attack succeeded. Zenya was shocked, wounded by the explosion of fire and wind that hit her simultaneously.
"You... little bastards!" Zenya hissed, blood flowing from the corner of her mouth.
---
Suddenly, Tsubasa emerged from the shadows like a living nightmare. His darkness sword slashed mercilessly, targeting Zenya's vital points.
Zenya, though wounded, was still fast enough to parry. But Tsubasa, driven by burning hatred toward the kingdom, created several shadow copies of himself to attack repeatedly.
"I will finish you, false hero!" Tsubasa shouted, eyes blazing with rage.
The shadow combination attack succeeded. Zenya was knocked back until she crashed into a pile of building wood that immediately collapsed on top of her.
Tsubasa raised his sword high. "You will end here!"
"SHADOW SLASH!"
A tremendous darkness wave shot toward the pile of ruins.
But suddenly, the sky rumbled. Lightning struck wildly in all directions. From the ruins, Zenya rose—her body wrapped in a shimmering lightning robe, her aura multiplied many times more terrifying.
"What... what is that?" Tsubasa stepped back, feeling the drastic change in power.
Rudes, though gasping for breath, immediately recognized that power. "No doubt... that's Zenya's Divine Mark."
---
As lightning shook the sky, something unexpected happened. A horde of monsters suddenly appeared from the forest, attracted by the great magical power. They attacked the village from all directions.
Ensei ran toward Rudes's house, fending off monsters with his wind-wrapped arrows. "I'll protect this house!" he shouted, struggling against the endless wave of enemies.
Meanwhile, Rudes and Tsubasa had to face Zenya who was now far stronger with her Divine Mark.
Tsubasa, driven by hatred, attacked relentlessly. But Zenya easily blocked every attack, even knocking Tsubasa back with a lightning wave, wounded and collapsed.
"My Divine Mark is the last thing you'll see!" Zenya threatened, eyes shining like lightning.
Rudes, with fire burning ever brighter, attacked with all his remaining strength. Their battle destroyed everything around—trees fell, ground cracked, air filled with smoke.
But Zenya was too strong. With one slash of her lightning sword, she managed to penetrate Rudes's defense.
Slash!
Rudes's Divine Mark fire immediately extinguished. He coughed blood and collapsed, barely conscious.
---
Inside the house, the situation worsened. Several monsters managed to break in through the shattered windows.
"Kyaaaa!" Rina screamed in fear.
Alice, with great difficulty, killed the first monster with her dagger, though her hand was quite badly injured. As two other monsters approached with gleaming fangs, Alice prepared to protect Rina and Rudes's mother with her life.
Suddenly, a flash of darkness finished off both monsters in an instant.
Alice startled, seeing a black-robed, masked figure standing before her like the angel of death.
"You... Raksha! The black-robed killer!" she exclaimed, raising her dagger in a defensive position though her hand trembled. "What do you want?"
What surprised Alice was that Rina looked at Raksha without any fear at all. There was even something like... something inexplicable in her eyes.
"Calm down, Rina. I'll protect you," Alice said, trying to cover Rina with her body. She looked at Raksha with determined eyes. "Kill me if you want, but let them live!"
Raksha said nothing. He just stood there for a moment, as if observing them. Then, with a swift movement, he vanished back into the shadows.
Alice stood frozen. Why did he just leave? And even stranger—why wasn't Rina afraid of him?
---
Outside, Zenya raised her lightning sword high, ready to execute the helpless Rudes.
"Accept your judgment, traitor!" she shouted.
Suddenly, Raksha appeared like lightning, attacking Zenya with speed that matched her Divine Mark. The darkness sword clashed with the lightning sword, creating an energy explosion that shook the entire village.
Their battle was full of calculation and deadly—Raksha attacked and defended with perfect precision, as if able to read every movement of Zenya before it happened.
"Who are you really?!" Zenya snapped, beginning to be overwhelmed.
Raksha didn't answer, continuing to press with increasingly intense attacks.
Zenya, under final pressure, unleashed her ultimate attack. "LIGHTNING DRAGON!"
A giant lightning shaped like a dragon shot forth with devastating power. A tremendous explosion shook the earth, creating a large crater in the ground.
"Haha! You are indeed dangerous! No wonder Loid lost to you!" Zenya mocked.
But when the smoke cleared, Raksha stood upright, completely unharmed. Around him, a shimmering ice shield slowly melted.
"You... how can this be?" Zenya was stunned. "My Lightning Dragon is absolute destruction!"
Raksha, without saying anything, attacked with a combination of darkness sword and fire, penetrating Zenya's lightning robe. Though Zenya used her Divine Mark, she began to be overwhelmed facing the illogical elemental combination.
Slash!
Raksha managed to cut, wounding Zenya quite badly. Blood poured from the wound on her chest.
With remaining strength, Zenya summoned lightning from the sky—an area attack that forced Raksha to dodge. Taking advantage of that moment, Zenya fled at lightning speed.
Raksha didn't chase. He just stood there for a moment, then vanished back into the night shadows.
---
Ensei, who had witnessed the battle from afar while continuing to finish off monsters, finally managed to clear all enemies. He rushed to the house, checking everyone's condition.
Alice, Rina, and Rudes's mother were safe, but Rudes and Tsubasa were very badly injured. They brought both into the house, and Alice and Rina immediately began healing their wounds.
"This will take time," Alice said, her hands glowing blue as she healed Rudes's wounds. "His injuries are very deep."
Suddenly, Han appeared at the door with a panicked face. "Rina! Are you alright? Alice? Rudes's mother?"
"We're fine," Rudes's mother answered in a weak voice. "But Rudes and Tsubasa are badly injured. Ensei is also exhausted."
Alice looked at Han with suspicious eyes. "Where have you been? The situation was so chaotic earlier."
"I was hiding from monsters in a safe place, guiding the villagers," Han answered in a casual tone that contrasted with his previous panic.
Alice furrowed her brow, but decided not to ask further. "The important thing is you're safe. Rina and I will heal them. But this might take a long time."
---
Far away in the kingdom, in a magnificent hall filled with marble pillars, Zenya staggered in with her body full of wounds. There, two figures seemed to be waiting for her—Elina with long green hair and green eyes, and Parli with an upright posture and golden eyes.
"Zenya! What happened?" Elina immediately ran over, her hands glowing green as she began healing her wounds.
Zenya coughed blood, her face pale as she looked at Parli. "Parli, you must... be careful. Rudes... he's stronger than expected. His companions are also impressive, especially that ferocious darkness user." She coughed again. "But you won't believe..."
Parli furrowed his brow, his golden eyes glowing. "What is it?"
"That black-robed, masked man... who killed Loid," Zenya hissed, her voice trembling. "His power... is extraordinary. We already knew he uses fire and darkness, but earlier..."
Zenya stopped, her body trembling. "He also used ice. And not ordinary ice—ice that could withstand my Lightning Dragon."
Elina looked at her sharply, her tone full of warning. "Zenya, I told you. If you dare hurt the people again, I won't heal you."
Silence for a moment. Elina's gaze made Zenya fall silent, while fear was still clearly visible on her face.
Parli smiled thinly. "This is getting more interesting. I'm curious..." He rose, looking at the large window displaying the kingdom's view. "Who will survive? That strange power... or my immortality?"
That night, the kingdom began to realize they were facing an enemy far more dangerous than they had ever imagined.
TO BE CONTINUED...