Without wasting any more time, Lucius sprinted in the direction the assassin had fled. Not much time had passed since they had left the city, so there was a good chance he could catch up if he ran, even though the guard had suggested waiting for the team being deployed to pursue the criminal.

  Although he was about to accept, his greed for catching the criminal by himself made him dash off at full speed. That's why he was now running through the desert, circulating essence to move much faster than any normal person.

  "That criminal might have already formed a core."

  That was a reality he couldn't ignore. The way the assassin had killed guards who could use essence without them noticing, and the way he vanished without a trace, almost as if he evaporated into the air—it would all make sense if that criminal had a core, making him less than human and more like a beast.

  And if that really was the case, Lucius had no real chance of defeating him. In that case, he would simply run and wait for the city's team to finish the job together. Since the criminal had been discovered, he would probably head to the next city, so it wouldn't interfere much with the plan. Plus, Lucius would still earn more credit for his name.

  But not all hope was lost. Since the criminal had fled from that visitor from Noctis, there was a chance he didn't have a core—or perhaps the inspector was at the same level or stronger and had forced him to retreat.

  Whatever the reason, it would be much better if two people fought such a dangerous opponent. From there, three possibilities emerged: first, they both defeat the criminal and wait for the city guard; second, the criminal is far stronger, they retreat, regroup, and capture him in the next city.

  Then there was the third option, the one Lucius favored least: to kill the criminal at the first opportunity. Even though he had committed terrible acts, Lucius wasn't truly ready to deliver such justice with his own hands.

  Suddenly, he saw two figures fighting in the distance. He couldn't make out many details from how far away he was, and each time they moved or jumped, they kicked up clouds of sand that made them even harder to see.

  "I'm close." Seeing he had actually managed to catch up, he sped up to get there faster.

  After a few minutes, he reached a distance where he could clearly see the two people fighting. The first was a man—he couldn't determine his height, but at a glance, he looked very tall. His entire body was covered: he wore a shirt, gloves, and a hood over his head. His mouth was hidden behind a mask, and he wore dark glasses. It was nearly impossible to distinguish any personal traits on someone who left no skin exposed.

  "That must be the guy from Noctis." He wasn't completely sure at first glance, but the fact that he carried no weapons—while the other man did—ruled him out completely as the murderer. "It has to be him."

  The second man was very different: his clothes were torn and filthy, his dark hair was matted, and his face was covered in dirt as if he hadn't washed in a long time. From where Lucius was standing, he couldn't see his eyes clearly, but the most striking thing about him were the khopesh swords in each hand, with their distinctive crescent-moon shape.

  Those swords were truly astonishing. They had an intense red hue, and their sharp edges seemed to absorb all color around them with an impossibly dark tone. They were beautiful weapons—shame they had taken so many innocent lives.

  As Lucius finished analyzing the situation, the Lunatic noticed him.

  The change was instant. His gaze locked onto Lucius; he could see the man's eyes clearly—red, glowing with madness and aggression. With an inhuman growl, he kicked the other man away and charged toward Lucius without hesitation.

  "Shit."

  Seeing the lunatic charging at him, Lucius felt fear—but he wasn't willing to become another victim. He drew his sword and prepared for the fight.

  The lunatic reached him and attacked instantly.

  His strike was fast and brutal—a downward slash with full force. Lucius raised his sword to block it, feeling the impact vibrate through his arm. But barely had he withstood the blow when the assassin struck again.

  A second blade came from the side, out of nowhere.

  Lucius reacted on instinct, jumping back to dodge the blow—but not fast enough. A burning pain tore through his side.

  He felt his skin rip open, and hot blood began to drip.

  "What the hell..."

  Lucius dropped to one knee in the sand, gasping. He knew that with essence flowing through him, his body should be much more resistant—and yet, the lunatic had cut through him like it was nothing.

  The assassin gave him no time to recover.

  He prepared for another strike, his face contorted in battle frenzy. But before he could move again—something changed.

  The other man—the masked one—intervened.

  With almost impossible speed, he appeared in front of the lunatic and grabbed his arms, temporarily immobilizing him. The lunatic growled and struggled with monstrous strength, but the masked man held firm.

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  And then he barked:

  "Get out of here. You're just in my way!"

  His voice was rough, laced with a strange accent. It wasn't a suggestion. It was a command.

  Lucius gritted his teeth, clutching his wound. Blood was pouring between his fingers. His vision blurred for a moment.

  The question burned in his mind:

  "How did he hurt me so easily?"

  This lunatic wasn't just any enemy—Lucius knew he was strong, but he hadn't expected the gap to be this huge.

  And Lucius had just realized... he was completely outmatched.

  "Didn't you hear me? I said get lost!"

  The masked man repeated his order.

  Still in shock at how useless he had been, Lucius pulled away from the fight, a sense of failure washing over him. He hadn't expected to be so ineffective against the person responsible for the murders in his city.

  And the way the stranger had dismissed him only made it worse.

  "But there's nothing I can do."

  That was what really stung—being unable to interfere in that battle. So he did the only thing he could. With his pride wounded, he moved far enough away from the fight to stay safe, yet close enough to jump back in if necessary. His wound wasn't a major problem now; it wasn't deep, and essence was helping hold things together.

  But what truly scared Lucius was how easily the lunatic had cut through him—as if he were made of paper.

  "He's too dangerous—too dangerous to hold until reinforcements arrive."

  If he had cut him that easily, it was entirely possible he could wipe out a group of people at Lucius' level with little effort. So there was only one option left.

  "Kill him here and now."

  With that new conviction, Lucius hid and waited for the right opportunity to return to the fight.

  While Lucius hid at a distance, he watched the battle carefully.

  The lunatic fought ferociously and savagely, lunging over and over at the masked man with fast, brutal strikes. He used every dirty trick he could—throwing sand into the face, surprise kicks to unbalance, feints to confuse.

  But the masked man dodged everything effortlessly.

  He moved with surgical precision, as if he already knew every move his enemy would make before he made it. No matter how hard the lunatic tried, he couldn't land a single hit.

  But then, the criminal changed tactics.

  With a quick sweep of his khopesh, he hooked the masked man's leg and yanked with all his strength. The masked man hit the ground hard.

  The lunatic pounced immediately, raising both swords high in a deadly arc, ready to behead him in a single strike.

  But the masked man reacted at the last second.

  With monstrous strength, he caught the lunatic's wrists in mid-air, stopping the blades just inches from his throat. They were locked in a fierce deadlock—muscles straining, breath heavy.

  It was the perfect chance.

  "Now!"

  Lucius didn't hesitate. He rushed out from hiding, running at full speed.

  With his sword raised high, he leapt toward the lunatic with all his weight.

  The blade pierced the criminal's chest.

  "So tough!"

  The lunatic's skin and muscles resisted unnaturally, like he was made of something more than flesh. If Lucius hadn't jumped from so high, he wouldn't have gotten through.

  Time seemed to freeze.

  The lunatic didn't move.

  Lucius felt his own breath ragged, his heart pounding.

  The masked man, still beneath the criminal, now stared directly at him.

  For a moment, Lucius thought they had won.

  "So weak."

  Then—everything exploded.

  With an impossible movement, the lunatic broke free from the masked man's grip and twisted his body at an unnatural angle.

  Lucius didn't have time to react.

  The lunatic's khopesh came down like lightning.

  The curved blade ripped through Lucius' chest, carving a vertical wound that nearly split him in two.

  But the lunatic wasn't done.

  With his other khopesh, he twisted his wrist and slashed again. The steel tore across Lucius' stomach, spilling blood into the sand.

  Lucius felt his body shutting down. He felt truly weak. He fell to his knees, gasping, his vision going black.

  The lunatic raised his sword one last time.

  "So this is how it ends..."

  But in his eagerness to kill, he made a fatal mistake—he forgot who he was fighting.

  In a blink, the masked man stood up. Before the lunatic could react, two hands caught him.

  One on his head.

  The other on his body.

  And then—

  CRACK!

  With inhuman strength, the masked man twisted his head at an impossible angle.

  The lunatic's eyes went wide.

  "W-what...?"

  But he didn't get to say anything else.

  Without a moment's pause, the masked man pulled with all his strength.

  And with a horrible sound—

  He ripped the head clean off the body.

  A stream of blood painted the sand dark red.

  The body collapsed heavily, the khopesh falling lifeless to the ground.

  An absolute silence fell over the scene.

  The corpse hit the sand with a dull thud.

  The masked man simply scanned the area. Even though his face wasn't visible, he didn't seem the least bit surprised by what he had just done.

  Lucius, still on his knees and barely understanding what had just happened, was on the brink of death—watching his own organs spilled on the ground and surrounded by a pool of his own blood.

  "So this is how I die... truly pathetic. I accomplished nothing. I didn't even make it out of the city... good luck, huh?" Feeling truly devastated, he could only watch and feel his life slowly slipping away. "Damn... I don't want... to die..."

  He knew he couldn't do anything, but he didn't want to go in silence either. At least that man was there to witness his final words.

  "Do you want to live?"

  What?

  "Answer quickly. Are you sure you want to live?" – the masked man asked, looking at Lucius.

  "What kind of question is that? Of course I want to live and not die here!" – I-I want to live – he answered with every ounce of strength he had left, even as he mentally cursed the man for the absurdity of the question.

  The man didn't reply right away. He simply stared at Lucius in silence, as if analyzing his answer. When Lucius could no longer stay conscious, the man finally said:

  "Then you will live."

  And everything went dark.

  He stood for a while, staring at the headless corpse.

  Still holding the severed head in his hand, he also looked at the boy who was practically dead, with most of his organs on the ground.

  He stood there without really looking at anything.

  It was supposed to be simple: hunt down the escaped test subject and retrieve the bonded weapons. A shame for the people who died, but the only thing he could do for the victims was to eliminate their killer.

  When he found the fugitive, he chased him into the desert. Realizing he couldn't escape, the fugitive tried to fight.

  That's why he hadn't finished him off immediately—he wanted to witness how strong he had become.

  But the boy's interference ruined everything, and now he was on the brink of death. Not only did he have to deal with the corpse, but now he had to save a meddler too.

  When he started to move, the first thing he did was toss the head aside.

  Then, calmly, he removed his hood.

  Next, he took off the mask covering his mouth.

  And then... he opened his mouth.

  His teeth weren't normal.

  They were sharp, and his fangs—long and threatening—like those of a predator beast.

  "How troublesome."