"SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! WHO THE FUCK DID THAT?!"
Slaaamm—!
Lucian threw a bottle of wine at the wall, a few centimetres away from him.
The bottle shattered into countless pieces. Some shards recoiled and stabbed his face.
Blood dripped down his shabby cheeks.
Adjusting his glasses, he violently scratched his face with both hands.
"Agh! I hate humans!"
Despite his bleeding face, he didn't feel any pain.
Just this afternoon, when Lucian visited his class, he heard the news about dead bodies.
The [Authorities] and even the Twilight Order were included in the investigation.
Lucian first ignored the news, thinking that meddling with matters he had no ties to would only bring his plan to ruin.
But then, the [Twilight Order] blamed all of it on a demon hiding inside Eclipse.
This made Lucian alert, because he was the only demon in Eclipse.
'How did they even find out?' he thought.
There was no way his cover could blow that easily.
From the day he took the body of the original Lucian, he had never made a move.
He even acted the same way Lucian did before.
When Lucian's mother somehow found out, the demon had no choice but to end her.
Later, just to cover it all as an accident, he killed Lucian's father, then put both their bodies into a carriage and pushed it from a cliff.
It had been years, and no one knew the truth about him.
But…
"Where did I go wrong?"
He didn't recall getting on someone's bad side.
Then that means…
"Was it all the Twilight Order's doing?" he wondered, sitting on the sofa.
'This whole situation was just too sudden…'
Something was off.
Lucian had a feeling that all of it was the [Twilight Order's] doing.
Just a few days ago, he had caught a girl spying on him, and Lucian was certain she was a member of the Twilight Order.
But…
'She didn't spout anything.'
No matter how much he tortured her, she didn't admit to working for the Order, nor did she reveal why she was tailing him.
Lucian picked up a glass full of wine from the table. He swirled the red liquid inside before gulping it all in one go.
"It's just a matter of seconds they will find me."
The [Authority] and the [Twilight Order] were after him. If they knew a demon was living inside Eclipse, they must also be aware of his identity.
But the main point was…
'Why did they decide to make their move now?'
It doesn't make sense.
As he poured himself another glass of wine, a knock came from the door.
"Lord Lucian. Someone sent a parcel for you."
It was Lucian's butler.
Opening the door, he left two packages on the small dining table opposite where Lucian was sitting.
One was a long box, and the other was an envelope,
The butler bowed and asked before leaving, "What do we do with that girl we caught yesterday?"
Lucian, looking away, answered.
"End her."
"..."
The butler paused, glancing at Lucian's bloody face, then replied,
"As you wish."
Right now, Lucian didn't have the luxury to entertain her if all she was good at was keeping her mouth shut.
After the butler left, Lucian walked over to the packages.
"I didn't ask for anything…hm?"
Picking it up, he noticed that the envelope didn't have any name.
'An unknown sender?'
Then, he picked up the long box.
Unlike the envelope, the box had the sender's name.
[Ms. Rumi Von Russan]
"What the—"
He went stunned for the time being.
Miss Rumi Von Russan was a well-known Viscount of Liora, who owned almost all the businesses in the kingdom.
Along with that, she was the one who supplied funds to all demon-related activities in the kingdom.
She was human, but her soul had been sold to a demon ages ago.
'If she sends me a package, then—'
Without wasting a second, Lucian opened the box she sent.
'—this matter must be serious.'
Miss Rumi was popular among most nobles as well as commoners.
Operating more than five NGOs and orphanages throughout the capital, she had earned the trust of the commoners.
'Her involvement is bad news,' Lucian thought, finally opening the front lid of the box.
"Ah!"
Black mist leaked out the moment the box had opened.
"Dark Mana?!"
He nearly jumped.
Just like Light Magic, Dark Magic was also a myth.
Lucian recalled studying it back in the [Demon World].
History stated that there existed an entity called the [Demon God], the only one known to ever wield the Dark Affinity.
That entity was more powerful than a [Calamity-ranked Demon].
"So, the Dark Affinity is real…"
"Have the demon god returned?"
'No, what am I even thinking…'
Either way, its aura was intimidating even for a Primordial-ranked Demon.
Losing his patience, he quickly picked up the item from which the Dark Mana was leaking.
His hand grasped a long sword, with a void-black blade and silver hilt. Two red threads were tied at the end.
"It's the Soul Eater!"
Any demon would recognise it.
The [Soul Eater].
A weapon once wielded by the Demon God. It was known as the only weapon in existence capable of channelling Dark Affinity.
He took out the long sword.
The moment his body touched its surface, it pulsed immense mana inside him.
"It's so dense," he muttered, letting the mana settle.
He felt alive again.
It was said that Dark Affinity was the nemesis of Light Affinity. They could not coexist in the same place.
And a clash between them would bring catastrophe.
'Too bad there isn't any Light Affinity.'
A grin formed on Lucian's face.
Swinging the blade twice, he attached it beside his belt.
'Wielding this would make me equal to a Calamity-ranked Demon.'
He was confident he could bring down the whole kingdom now.
"How very exciting."
His eyes fell on the envelope beside the box.
Uninterested, Lucian tore it open.
"Hm?"
He flipped the paper to both ends.
"It's blank."
There was nothing written on it.
'Is this a joke…?'
He was about to tear the letter apart when his gaze landed at the very bottom-right corner.
There, written in tiny block letters, was a single line:
[I know him. Meet me at 4th district, at 9 PM]
That's all.
That was the whole message.
"What does this me—"
BAAAM—!
A loud bang echoed around him, followed by a burst of light that illuminated the whole Eclipse Institute.
Lucian stuffed the envelope into his pocket and ran toward the balcony.
From a distance, he saw the far corner of Eclipse. Most buildings were on fire, and several figures covered in black robes surrounded the main building.
"..."
He checked the time.
9:00 PM
Lucian understood.
"It's the Twilight Order."
They have started.
Lucian watched it all from the other end of Eclipse.
Right now, he was in the third-year dorms, located opposite the main building where the attack was happening.
"The Authority will arrive any minute."
He still had time. He could surely eradicate them all if he wanted to—if the headmaster wasn't inside Eclipse.
'Raizen would be tough to beat, and the same goes for the other white-core professors.'
It would be troublesome but not hard.
'What to do now?'
Getting in a fight with the Twilight Order, Eclipse's professors, and the Authorities would be a much bigger mess to deal with.
And Lucian was not in the mood to fight either.
His hand reached his left pocket, where the envelope was placed.
"Fourth district huh…" he muttered, glancing outside.
With the attacks, Eclipse would be busy.
"A perfect time to see what this unknown person has to say."
[A/N] : Sorry for the "no updates". I got in an accident, and had to deal with the aftermath.
Anyways, the regular updates starts today, and also we are about to hit 300PS goal (we didn't yet).