Dust still haunted Lucas’s steps as he left the city.

  The map rested in his hand, but his mind was restless.

  “They are coming.”

  The whisper slid through his mind like a cold blade.

  Lucas stopped.

  The wind shifted. The scent of rust and ash filled the air.

  The sky darkened—not with clouds, but with moving shadows.

  He looked up.

  And then, the roar came.

  A wall of fire tore through the sky.

  The impact shattered the ground, rock fragments scattering like razor-sharp blades.

  Lucas leaped back, but the attack came again.

  A second blast.

  This time, there was nowhere to run.

  Lucas did the unthinkable.

  He moved forward.

  He ran through the flames.

  His skin burned. The stench of charred flesh filled the air.

  But he did not stop.

  Dragons carved through the sky like spears of fire and destruction.

  Riding them, knights in black armor wielded enchanted lances, each one pulsing with raw magic.

  Lucas did not need to ask who they were.

  He recognized the symbols on their armor.

  They were from the kingdom he had destroyed.

  The leader landed first, dismounting with military precision.

  His eyes were not those of an ordinary man.

  They were the eyes of someone who had survived hell.

  And decided to come back.

  “You should not exist.”

  Lucas remained silent.

  Another knight stepped forward, his voice boiling with hatred.

  “You slaughtered our king. You destroyed everything.”

  Lucas watched them.

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  The leader clenched his fists.

  **“We were the last battalion of the kingdom. We had been sent on a mission, far from the capital. We returned to find only a graveyard.”

  Something twisted inside Lucas.

  But then, the voice whispered.

  “They became what they hated most. Survivors. Nothing more than walking corpses.”

  Lucas rolled his shoulders.

  And smiled.

  “If you came for revenge…”

  His eyes burned scarlet.

  “…then come.”

  And then, hell began.

  The first knight lunged.

  Lucas did not move.

  He let the blade come to him.

  And at the last second—

  He vanished.

  The strike cut through empty air.

  Before the knight could comprehend what had happened—

  Something brutal unfolded.

  The world spun.

  No.

  His head spun.

  His body was still standing.

  Lucas reappeared behind him, holding his severed head by the helmet.

  He dropped it to the ground like nothing.

  Lucas looked up.

  Perfect timing.

  The blade descended—

  Lucas stepped aside, dodging it by a hair’s breadth.

  The knight landed.

  Lucas was already behind him. His hand pierced through the armor—and then, he pulled.

  The knight screamed.

  But the scream didn’t last.

  Lucas ripped his chest open in a single motion.

  The ground was painted red.

  The dragons roared.

  One dived in a deadly spiral, its jaws opening in an inferno of flames.

  Lucas charged into the fire.

  His body burned.

  But he felt nothing.

  He leaped straight at the beast, his hands locking around its horns.

  “Down.”

  Lucas pulled.

  The dragon’s head twisted violently.

  Its neck snapped.

  A second later, it was dead.

  Lucas jumped off the corpse before it hit the ground.

  He had no time to breathe. Another shadow fell from the sky.

  Lucas twisted mid-air and drew his blade.

  The blade screamed against the wind.

  And then—

  A dragon’s head soared into the sky.

  The leader of the knights spat on the ground, his gaze boiling with pure contempt.

  He lifted his spear.

  But it was no ordinary spear.

  Lucas felt it.

  The very air split apart around its edge.

  “That weapon…”

  “It’s different.”

  The knight saw his hesitation.

  “You can feel it, can’t you?”

  “This is the Spear of the Gods. One of the three sacred treasures granted to our kingdom centuries ago.”

  Lucas did not respond.

  “It was forged in the last war against the Demon King.”

  “Crafted from the bones of a God.”

  Lucas clenched his jaw.

  “It does more than pierce flesh.”

  The spear’s tip glowed, absorbing the light around it.

  “It erases existence.”

  Lucas averted his eyes from the glow.

  The knight charged.

  Lucas tried to dodge.

  But the air beside him disintegrated.

  The spear didn’t need to touch him to kill him.

  One mistake. One single mistake, and it would be over.

  Lucas grit his teeth.

  But before he could react—

  The wind changed.

  Lucas frowned.

  The knights sensed it first.

  The leader froze mid-strike.

  “What…?”

  Lucas felt it.

  The shadows around them shifted.

  And then, he saw him.

  At the top of the hill.

  A man with glowing eyes.

  He wore no armor. He carried no blade.

  But the knights stopped.

  They were no longer focused on Lucas.

  Now, their attention had shifted to him.

  The knight leader narrowed his eyes.

  “This is not your fight.”

  The man smiled.

  “Interesting.”

  The knights exchanged glances.

  The dragons snarled, uneasy.

  And then, the leader saw Lucas.

  He hesitated.

  Something was wrong.

  He clenched his teeth, looked at Lucas one last time—

  And made his decision.

  “Retreat.”