I was still inside that black dome.
Dense darkness spread in every direction—so thick that even light seemed to drown and die within it. The air felt heavy, as if with every breath something invisible was sticking to my lungs.
Then the man who had been standing on the head of the eight-foot-tall statue—black hair, red eyes, wearing a white tuxedo—calmly announced his name.
"Roshan."
The moment the name was spoken, the guards surrounding him opened fire without wasting a single second.
Rat-a-tat-tat—multiple guns roared at once.
The bullets never reached Roshan.
He touched the fourth Rudraksha bead on his rosary. Right before my eyes, his body blurred—and in that same instant, he had substituted himself with a zombie emerging from the ground.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
All the bullets slammed into the zombie's chest. Its body was thrown backward and collapsed.
And then—
Eleven Royal Knights entered the battle.
Their descent felt like an order being executed—no shouting, no panic.
Heavy armor covered their entire bodies. In their hands were swords three feet long and six inches wide. The moment they advanced, the air itself changed.
Fire burst from one Knight's sword. Wherever it struck, zombies burned and fell.
Another Knight swung his blade through the air—and zombies were cut apart like vegetables.
Yet another Knight moved at lightning speed.
Within seconds, dozens of zombies lay scattered on the ground.
Then my father's voice rang in my ears.
"This is a very high-frequency Paragon."
Something clicked in my mind.
So this is what a Paragon is…
people who use magic in this world.
Father continued, "And the Hallowed he's using… that too is high-level."
I looked again.
Roshan's Rudraksha rosary no longer looked like a mere ornament.
In the very next moment, Father leapt forward. The ground cracked—his jump aimed straight at Roshan. His fist tore through the air—direct, powerful.
But—
Roshan vanished again.
He substituted himself with one of the eleven Knights.
Where Roshan should have been, a Royal Knight now stood. Father stopped his strike just in time.
Meanwhile, Roshan kept changing position using zombies as anchors, while the Royal Knights worked to intercept him.
I wondered—why was he attacking here?
Then I realized—
This wasn't an ordinary party.
The families present here were the backbone of the entire empire:
The Zylax family, Quinthar family, Vespyn family, Oryska family, Thronikus family, Falkyr family, Elyria family, Jurandel family, Sovon family, Kryon family, Vindoma family, Aethero family, Mirandor family, Zelus family, Celestra family, Runardi family, Galix family, Tenebris family—
the pillars of the capital.
If a massacre happened here, the entire empire would shake.
That was why the Royal Knights were fighting the zombies with everything they had.
Then Father leapt again—straight at Roshan.
But Roshan spread his hands. From his fingers burst a web of lightning—like a spider's web. Father was caught in it and slammed to the ground. He was paralyzed, forced down onto his knees.
Roshan's hands transformed into blade-like shapes wrapped in lightning. His strike was so sharp that if it landed, it would pierce straight through the body. He attacked Narco.
But—a Royal Knight stepped in between and disrupted the strike. Roshan retreated.
In the same moment, that Royal Knight threw a knife.
Roshan jumped into the air—but another Royal Knight standing behind him struck the knife with the broad side of his sword, batting it like a ball.
Bang—
The knife tore through the air and pierced Roshan's back. And the Royal Knight who had thrown the knife snapped his fingers—at that snap, electricity surged through Roshan's body.
He collapsed to his knees.
People's breaths caught.
But Roshan smiled and touched the fifth Rudraksha.
"Full Heal."
Wounds closed. Bones realigned. He stood up again.
He charged toward the same Royal Knight who had struck the knife. That Royal Knight wrapped fire around his sword and moved forward to attack—while Roshan gathered lightning in his hand.
Fire and lightning were about to collide—
But just before impact—
Roshan substituted again.
He appeared in that Royal Knight's position. But the Royal Knight turned and struck.
Roshan spun at lightning speed—and drove his hand straight through the Knight's chest.
Blood sprayed into the air.
The Royal Knight died on the spot.
By then, Father had recovered. His anger was now fully visible. Under his watch, a Royal Knight had been killed.
Using his speed, he reached Roshan's face—and delivered a brutal punch.
This time, Roshan couldn't escape.
He couldn't substitute.
Blood spilled from his mouth.
But then—
He let out a dragon-like roar.
From that roar, blood poured from several people's noses. My ears rang violently.
But—one Royal Knight was different.
Black armor. Completely unlike the others.
He snapped his fingers.
An explosion erupted behind Roshan.
In the next instant, he picked up a zombie's head—and hurled it toward Roshan. Roshan didn't even understand what happened—the head exploded near him midair, dealing massive damage. He screamed in pain.
And then I realized—
The Red Moon wasn't an illusion.
It was consuming our mana.
The Royal Knights… the Royal Families… everyone was growing weaker.
Even in pain, Roshan laughed.
"This is my plan."
"To kill all of you using the Red Moon."
"And to show the world—"
"how powerful Communist ideology is."
He touched the sixth Rudraksha.
His bones began to rupture. His back split open. Four tentacles burst out—like whips—and began attacking in all directions.