Daylight was beginning to fade behind the walls of the imperial palace.
Lusian stood inside the private armory, calmly preparing each weapon and piece of equipment. His fingers paused over the sheath of his sword, then over the black helm that absorbed light—crafted for the night ahead. Every movement was measured, silent, as if the darkness itself were already waiting for him.
Voices rose from the corridor outside. Emily and Elizabeth were arguing insistently, their words echoing against the stone walls.
"Lusian, you can't do this!" Emily shouted, struggling to contain her frustration. "The Frostblight wiped out an entire legion. You could die!"
Elizabeth stepped forward, her face rigid.
"It's an Omega-level monster. I will not allow you to go alone. It's far too dangerous."
Albert, the old veteran, refused to remain silent. His voice carried the weight of iron resolve.
"Then I'll go with you, Lusian! No one lets you walk into something like that alone—not while I'm still breathing."
Lusian lifted his gaze, calm but unwavering, and fixed his eyes on Albert.
For a moment, time seemed to stop as their gazes locked.
"Albert… I am Duke Douglas," Lusian said, his voice cold, carrying unshakable authority. "You are my vassal. You will obey me. You will remain here and protect the princess."
The old man hesitated, but his pride struggled to yield.
Lusian continued.
"There is no room for discussion. This mission requires precision, stealth, and speed. No one can interfere. Not today. Not tonight."
Emily's breathing grew uneven. Elizabeth lowered her gaze, trying to suppress the worry boiling in her chest.
Lusian looked at both of them, and every word he spoke carried the weight of certainty.
"As long as it is night… no creature is safe with me."
Silence fell completely.
From a higher balcony, Naira watched with her arms crossed. The phrase struck her like a memory. She remembered the war with the Kingdom—the night of her worst defeat, when the Douglas family had slaughtered more than a thousand soldiers without anyone even realizing what had happened.
From that day forward, she had never launched another attack at night.
And now, before her eyes, a Douglas was about to hunt a monster alone beneath the darkness.
Lusian mounted Thunder at last—the warhorse crackling faintly with electricity—while Umber, the great black wolf, approached his side with the silent grace of a predator.
Thunder's hooves struck the ground. The wolf positioned himself beside him.
"Go," Lusian murmured.
Without another word, he rode into the streets of the imperial capital.
Emily and Elizabeth barely moved as they watched him disappear into the night.
The certainty of danger, the impossibility of stopping him, and the absolute confidence he radiated left them frozen.
They knew Lusian was not alone…
But his shadow alone was enough to face whatever horrors the world might throw at him.
Night fell like a living curtain.
There was no moon.No stars.
Only absolute darkness… and within it, two figures that should not exist.
Lusian moved forward without leaving footprints.
Beside him, Umber—the black wolf—moved his massive body like solid smoke.
Both were wrapped in a cloak of shadows so dense that not even the most sensitive creature could detect them through mana.
Lusian inhaled slowly, deeply, until his chest barely moved.
Just one second. I don't need luck… only precision.
"Beginning Soul Slumber," he whispered, though the sound died before it was born.
His temperature dropped.
His pulse nearly stopped.
His breathing vanished.
Umber mirrored the process. The wolf's yellow eyes dimmed until they resembled dead embers.
They did not exist.
They were not heat, scent, or sound.
They were shadows walking across deeper shadows.
"Stay on my right," Lusian murmured, his voice hollow now. "Do not let your aura awaken."
The wolf growled without sound.
Hundreds of meters ahead, the Frostblight breathed.
Each exhalation froze the air in massive arcs, forming crystals that drifted and fell like petals of death.
The cold tried to reach them—
But the darkness around Lusian swallowed it like a bottomless pit.
Forbidden magic. Dangerous. Necessary.
"Absolute Shadow Cloak."
The ice halted before touching them.
The creature sensed nothing approaching.
Perfect.
Lusian extended one hand.
The ground beneath the snow collapsed into liquid darkness.
"Inverse Pit… activated."
The trap waited.
Umber lowered his head. His fur trembled as if something moved beneath it.
"Prepare," Lusian said.
The beast suddenly lifted its head.
Something had alerted it.
A faint vibration.A shift in the wind.
But too late.
The Frostblight took a step—
And its massive hoof plunged into the viscous shadow.
A roar split the forest in every direction.
Umber moved first.
A black blur.
A silent bite.
The creature's rear leg lost stability as mana scattered violently.
Lusian emerged from nothingness.
His shadow blade did not shine, did not reflect, did not announce its existence.
A single clean cut.
A frozen tendon snapped like glass.
The creature collapsed sideways, howling, snow exploding into a violent storm.
Lusian raised his hand toward the sky.
"Now!"
A lightning bolt without thunder struck down from the hill.
Thunder appeared like a blue phantom.
Its hooves hit the ground.
The earth cracked.
A surge of thousands of volts surged through the monster's body.
The Frostblight convulsed, its frozen plates shattering.
"Umber!" Lusian commanded.
The wolf leapt for the throat.
Shadow fangs sank into frozen flesh, tearing through layers of living ice.
Lusian gathered his power.
Darkness condensed around the blade.
Invisible. Hungry. Dangerous.
"Nullification Strike."
He drove the blade into the core.
A burst of black light devoured the ice from within.
The Frostblight stopped moving.
Silence.
Dark.Deep.Final.
Lusian exhaled.
Umber lowered his head.
Thunder extinguished its electricity with a soft snort.
It was over.
They had hunted the frozen shadow of the night.
The first ray of sunlight pierced the walls of the imperial capital, illuminating melting snow and the tattered banners still hanging above the plaza.
Lusian returned silently, mounted on Thunder, with Umber walking beside him.
Between them hung the enormous body of the Frostblight elk, tied and shrouded in lingering shadows—an omen of the violence that had unfolded in a single night.
When he stopped before the Heralds, the heroes of the Kingdom, and the few surviving soldiers who had faced the beast, absolute silence settled over the square.
Not even a breath dared break it.
The creature that had terrified entire legions now lay defeated.
And Lusian stood unmoved, still wrapped in the shadow of the night that had followed him through the hunt.
Emily stepped forward quickly, her hurried footsteps echoing across the frozen stone.
When she reached him, she threw her arms around him tightly, pressing her head against his chest as if making sure he was real.
"Lusian!" she whispered, her voice breaking between relief and fear. "You're… you're alright…"
Lusian placed one hand on her back and the other at the nape of her neck, holding her firmly without losing the calm that defined him.
The shadow of battle still lingered in his eyes, but the tension softened slightly at Emily's touch.
From the side, Elizabeth watched beside Empress Naira.
Elizabeth's gaze carried respect and pride.
Naira's eyes, however, were calculating—filled with fascination and recognition.
She saw in him someone who could stand beside her… someone capable of giving her the strength she needed.
The Heralds remained still, their mana rippling as if measuring the magnitude of what had happened.
The surviving soldiers, some still covered in frost and wounds, simply stared.
The monster that had destroyed legions had fallen to one man.
Emily pulled back slightly, looking at his face with worry.
"Never do something like that again…" she whispered, barely audible, her hand tightening around his.
Lusian watched her for a moment and offered a faint smile—tired but steady.
"I won't," he said softly. "But it's done now. And no one else will suffer because of the Frostblight."
Elizabeth lowered her gaze for a moment, while Naira remained motionless, measuring the situation.
This silent victory did not only demonstrate Lusian's skill.
The Heralds remained still, their mana rippling around them like a silent warning.
They did not see a hero.
They saw a threat.
A man who acted on his own, with abilities neither armies nor gods could control.
Every move he made increased the urgency of their plans to maintain the balance of power.
Lusian had proven that he could alter war and politics with his mere presence.
The heroes of the Kingdom, meanwhile, stood visibly ashamed.
Six of them.
Two legions.
And they had accomplished nothing against the Frostblight.
Defeat and helplessness were written across their faces—jealousy, frustration, and a reluctant admiration for the man who had not only survived…
but mastered the threat they could not.