The dawn of the fourth day of the tournament arrived covered in a thick mist.
The forest remained silent.
Too silent.
Lusian Douglas watched as his men prepared the supplies while Umbra waited beside him, crouched within the fog.
The black wolf showed no impatience.
As if he knew something was about to happen.
Lusian lowered his gaze toward him.
—Find Prince Andrew.
A small amount of mana flowed through his voice, enough for Umbra to understand the command.
—Do not get too close. Do not attack. Just observe him.
He paused.
—If something changes... if something happens that should not happen... inform me.
Umbra lowered his head and disappeared into the shadows.
Lusian remained still.
He did not know if this would work.
That was the problem.
Every day he spent in this world proved that his memories of the game were becoming less reliable.
Characters made decisions they had never made before.
Situations changed.
People who had once been nothing more than names were now bleeding in front of him.
But there was one thing he remembered clearly.
The crown prince, Andrew, would die during the tournament.
And after that...
After that, the kingdom would begin to change.
Lusian clenched his fists.
He did not want to save Andrew.
Not because he hated him.
He simply did not know him.
But he also could not sit back and wait to discover what would happen when one of the kingdom's most important figures disappeared.
He had already seen enough corpses.
He did not want to find out if this one was unavoidable too.
—Albert.
The veteran turned.
Lusian climbed onto Thunder as the magical steed shook his head, causing small lightning sparks to run across his body.
—We move north. Toward the central region of the forest.
He looked between the trees covered in mist.
—Umbra will guide us.
Albert nodded.
He did not ask why.
But he kept his eyes on his young master for a moment longer than usual.
Because he knew Lusian.
He knew how to tell when an order was born from confidence...
and when it was born from the fear of losing something that could never be recovered.
The discipline of the Douglas knights was absolute.
Lusian was still proud. He still hid too many things. There were questions he avoided answering and secrets he kept buried behind that calm expression.
But there was something different...
Several miles away, Prince Andrew's group moved through trees covered in ivy.
The mist of the forest grew thicker with every step. Even the most experienced knights could feel it.
The mana in this area was different.
Heavier.
More hostile.
Richard Bourlance raised a hand.
Everyone stopped immediately.
—Something is wrong —the captain murmured—. Maintain formation.
For several seconds, the only sound was the movement of leaves.
Then a knight fell.
Not because he had been attacked.
Because something had dragged him into the darkness.
—Back!
The warning came too late.
A gigantic creature emerged between the trees.
A magical mantis.
Its body exceeded four meters in height. Its green exoskeleton shone with a strange mana, and its front limbs resembled blades of steel capable of cutting through stone.
The captured knight barely had time to scream before the paralyzing poison spread through his body.
The creature vanished back into the branches, carrying its prey away.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Richard drew his sword.
—Maintain formation! Do not let it separate us!
Edward raised both hands.
Circles of ice and water appeared around him.
—Now!
A wave of freezing energy struck the forest, forcing the mantis to reveal its position.
But only for an instant.
The creature was too fast.
Every time they attempted to surround it, it changed direction.
Every failed attack drained more of their reserves.
Every second worked against them.
—Do not lower your guard! —Edward shouted.
The mantis descended from the treetops.
Three knights fell before they could react.
The monster did not fight like a beast.
It hunted.
It waited.
It searched for the weakest member of the formation.
Andrew gritted his teeth as he watched his men fall.
—Richard.
The captain turned his head.
—Your Highness, no.
—If we continue like this, we will lose more men.
Richard understood what he meant.
This was not the command of a prince protected by others.
It was the decision of someone watching his soldiers die.
—Then let's end this.
Richard and Edward moved at the same time.
Two magic circles appeared beneath their feet.
Water and ice began swirling together, forming a storm that covered the battlefield.
The mantis tried to escape.
Too late.
One of its legs became trapped in ice.
For the first time, the creature was exposed.
Andrew raised his hand.
The air trembled.
The remaining moisture in the atmosphere responded to his mana.
A bolt of lightning descended.
The lightning pierced through the ice and struck the mantis directly.
The creature's roar shook the forest before it finally collapsed to the ground.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
They had won.
But the price was obvious.
Five knights had fallen.
Many more were injured.
The mages' mana was nearly exhausted.
Richard took a deep breath.
—Recover your energy. Treat the wounded. We move as soon as possible.
He did not finish the sentence.
Because then everyone felt it.
An invisible pressure.
A killing intent so clear that it froze the blood of everyone present.
Richard stepped forward.
—Defensive formation!
The remaining knights raised their weapons.
From the darkness of the forest, a voice answered:
—Do not waste your time.
Several figures began appearing between the trees.
—We did not come for you.
A pause.
—We only came for the life of the crown prince.
The sound of thirty swords leaving their sheaths filled the forest.