The border valley appeared on the other side of the mountains.
From a distance, they could see columns of smoke still rising above the village.
Lusian reined Thunder in.
"Is that the village?"
Albert rode a few yards behind him.
"Yes, my lord."
Lusian watched the ruins for a few seconds.
"Then deploy the troops before we enter."
Albert nodded.
"I've already given the order."
The five hundred Douglas soldiers began splitting into perfectly organized groups.
Alejandro approached immediately.
"You."
Lusian turned his head.
"Yes?"
"The heroes will take the front."
Lusian watched him in silence.
Alejandro pointed toward the village.
"We need your soldiers to clear the way. We'll handle the monsters."
Lusian looked toward the village.
Then he looked back at Alejandro.
"Albert."
The veteran approached.
"Yes, my lord?"
"I want three defensive lines around the village. No one advances beyond the second line without authorization."
"Understood."
Alejandro frowned.
"Are you ignoring me?"
Lusian looked at him.
"No."
"Then answer me."
"We already have a strategy."
Alejandro clenched his jaw.
"I am a hero chosen by the gods."
"And I am the duke responsible for these troops."
Lusian pointed toward Albert.
"He is the commander of my escort."
Albert inclined his head slightly.
"The Douglas troops will follow their chain of command."
Alejandro opened his mouth.
But Leonardo stepped forward.
"We're not here to take orders from a noble."
Lusian looked at him.
"Perfect."
He turned back toward Albert.
"Then don't give them any."
Leonardo narrowed his eyes.
Alejandro let out a small, contemptuous laugh.
"This will be interesting."
The two walked away.
Lusian watched them for a few seconds.
"Are they always like this?"
Albert answered without changing his expression.
"From what I've seen so far."
Lusian sighed.
"Lucky me."
A soft voice came from behind him.
"Already regretting it?"
Lusian turned.
Emily was approaching.
Her armor was covered in dust from the road, but her expression was calm.
Lusian smiled slightly.
"Not yet."
Emily stopped beside him.
"Are you all right?"
"Yes."
She looked at him for a few seconds.
"You're lying."
Lusian looked away.
"I'm learning."
Emily smiled.
"That's different."
Before he could respond, Albert approached with three priests.
"My lord."
Lusian turned.
One of the priests bowed.
"We're ready to coordinate the magical support."
Albert pointed to the map spread across a portable table.
"The priests will remain in the second line."
One of them frowned.
"Wouldn't it be better for us to be in the first?"
"No."
Albert pointed to the positions.
"The first line will consist exclusively of Douglas soldiers. If the monsters break through that line, you will fall back to the second."
"And our support?"
"Immediate healing for the wounded and stabilization of the soldiers. You will not use area-of-effect magic without authorization."
The priest seemed surprised.
"Even if the monsters attack in large numbers?"
"Especially then."
Albert pointed toward the forest.
"We don't know how many there are. A misplaced spell could hit our own troops."
Another priest slowly nodded.
"And the barrier?"
"It will only be raised when the second line is compromised."
Albert traced the positions on the map with his finger.
"If the first line falls, the soldiers will retreat here. The priests will raise the barrier. The reaction groups will cover the flanks."
The priests exchanged glances.
They were not accustomed to receiving such precise instructions from a soldier.
Albert simply watched them.
"Any objections?"
The elder priest shook his head.
"None."
"Good."
Albert folded the map.
"Then we'll operate under that protocol."
Emily watched the exchange.
Then she looked at Lusian.
"Did you know all of that?"
Lusian shook his head.
"No."
Emily blinked.
"You didn't?"
"Albert did."
She smiled.
"Then you chose your escort well."
Lusian looked at the veteran.
"My mother chose him."
Albert showed no reaction.
"Your mother has good judgment."
Lusian let out a small laugh.
"That much I know."
In the distance, a howl echoed through the forest.
The smiles disappeared from every face.
Albert raised his hand.
The soldiers began taking their positions.
Emily placed a hand on her sword.
Lusian looked toward the tree line.
Night was beginning to fall.
Only the occasional crackle of burning wood and the muffled murmurs of the survivors remained.
The village, located hundreds of miles from the Duchy of Douglas, had been practically abandoned. Those who could escape already had.
The rest remained hidden among the ruins.
Waiting.
Lusian advanced at the front, mounted on Thunder.
The electric steed walked with an unusual calmness, though small sparks ran along its legs each time its hooves touched the ground.
A few yards away, Umber sniffed the air.
The black wolf slightly raised its snout.
There was something in the forest.
Something they still couldn't see.
Behind them, five hundred Douglas soldiers took up their positions.
The formation had not been improvised.
Sofia had left precise instructions before their departure.
Three defensive lines.
Patrols covering the flanks.
Reaction groups ready to reinforce any point that came under attack.
Albert moved among the positions, checking that everything was in order.
He did not need to raise his voice.
A single glance was enough to make the soldiers correct any mistake.
Adela remained near the right flank beside her magical tiger.
Emily, meanwhile, had stayed beside Lusian since they arrived.
She didn't seem willing to move away.
"Night is approaching," she murmured.
Lusian looked up.
The sun was slowly disappearing behind the mountains.
"Yes."
His eyes swept across the tree line.
"And they know it."
Emily followed his gaze.
"Do you think they'll attack once it gets dark?"
Lusian studied the forest.
"If I were in their position, I'd wait."
"Why?"
"Darkness puts us at a greater disadvantage than them."
He looked at the shadows between the trees.
"And they've been watching us for too long."
He pointed toward the forest.
"They aren't looking for an opportunity to get in."
His gaze hardened.
"They're waiting for us to make a mistake."
Emily stared at the shadows between the trees.
She couldn't see anything.
But that didn't mean there was nothing there.
A few yards away, Alejandro and Leonardo remained near the rear.
Alejandro looked at Lusian for several seconds.
"I hope his strategy works this time."
Leonardo didn't answer immediately.
"If it doesn't, we'll have another problem to add to the list."
Alejandro gave a brief laugh.
"That wouldn't surprise me."
Kara, who was nearby, heard them.
"If you're going to wait for Lusian to fail, at least try not to let your faces give you away."
Both of them fell silent.
Kara turned her gaze toward the forest.
"We have monsters surrounding us. You can hate each other later."
A sound came from the trees.
Crack.
A branch.
Then another.
Crack.
Albert immediately raised a hand.
"Attention!"
The soldiers tightened their ranks.
Thunder raised his ears.
Umber bared his fangs.
Then they appeared.
First one.
Then another.
Then several more.
Huge creatures slowly emerged from between the trees.
They had elongated bodies, dark-gray fur, and yellow eyes that glowed in the fading light.
Their jaws were far too large for their skulls.
Their claws had left deep marks in the tree trunks.
They did not attack.
They simply watched.
Waiting.
Emily tightened her grip on her sword.
"They're bigger than I expected."
Lusian nodded.
"And far too disciplined to be an ordinary pack."
One of the monsters stepped backward.
It disappeared among the trees.
Emily followed it with her eyes.
"Are they retreating?"
"No."
Lusian dismounted.
"They're surrounding us."
Emily looked at him.
"What are you going to do?"
Lusian looked at the sky.
The last strip of light was disappearing.
Then he looked at his own hand.
Dark mana slowly began spreading across his fingers.
"Hunt."
Emily blinked.
"Alone?"
"It's easier that way."
"Lusian…"
He turned toward her.
"Don't use area-of-effect light magic."
Emily frowned.
"Why?"
"Because you'd ruin my advantage."
She studied him for a few seconds.
Then sighed.
"Fine."
"No arguing?"
"Don't push your luck."
Lusian smiled slightly.
Darkness began covering his body.
First his hands.
Then his arms.
Then his torso.
His silhouette began blending into the shadows of the village.
Emily's eyes widened slightly.
"Your magic…"
"Works better when I can't be seen."
Lusian took a step toward the forest.
Emily grabbed his arm.
"Be careful."
Lusian looked at her.
For an instant, his expression changed.
"Always."
She let go.
Lusian continued walking.
One step.
Two.
Three.
The darkness finished enveloping him.
And he disappeared.
Emily remained staring at the place where he had been.
She couldn't see him.
She couldn't even sense him.
"Can he really move like that?" she murmured.
Kara answered from a few yards behind.
"In this environment, it's probably where he feels most comfortable."
Emily looked back toward the forest.
"That's a little terrifying."
Kara smiled slightly.
"For us, yes."
Lusian moved through the trees.
He made no sound.
He didn't need to.
The darkness was enough.
Every breath.
Every movement.
Every sound reached him with a clarity he didn't have during the day.
Then he saw it.
One of the monsters was moving between the trees.
It was searching for something.
Lusian.
He remained motionless.
He calculated the distance.
Approximate level.
Speed.
Angle.
Amount of mana required.
He needed nothing else.
He slowly raised one hand.
Three small masses of darkness appeared between his fingers.
They did not glow.
They made no sound.
They were practically invisible within the night.
Lusian closed his fingers.
The three spears shot forward.
One pierced the neck.
Another pierced the chest.
The third sank into its skull.
The creature collapsed without even making a growling sound.
Lusian remained motionless.
He waited.
Nothing.
He looked toward the trees.
There were more.
Many more.
A small smile appeared on his face.
"One."
He disappeared deeper into the darkness.
"Plenty more to go."
And that night, for the first time since arriving in Kuria, Lusian stopped thinking like the character he was supposed to be.
For a moment, he became Erwin again.
The player sitting in front of the screen, with the game world spread out before him and the certainty that he knew every move, every pattern, and every possibility.
There, among the shadows, he wasn't the duke.
He wasn't the fiancé.
He wasn't the young man trying to survive a fate he didn't understand.
He was the player.
And the hunt began.