The first light of morning filtered through the trees, pale and cold.
The village had survived.
Barely.
The heroes had spent the night on alert, waiting for the attack that never came. The rescued villagers rested under protection, while the Douglas soldiers maintained their positions around the settlement.
No one had gotten much sleep.
Emily least of all.
Ever since Lusian had disappeared into the forest, she had remained awake, unable to tear her eyes away from the darkness.
Then she heard footsteps.
She turned.
Lusian emerged from between the trees.
He was alone.
His armor was covered in dust, leaves, and small stains of blood.
But he didn't appear injured.
There were no cuts.
He didn't even look like he had been in a battle.
Emily immediately stood up.
"Lusian…"
He stopped in front of her.
"Where were you?"
Lusian blinked slowly.
He looked exhausted.
"Hunting."
Emily frowned.
"Hunting?"
Lusian nodded.
"The pack won't bother us anymore."
Emily watched him for several seconds.
"Did you eliminate them?"
"Yes."
The answer was so simple that Emily didn't know what to say.
The others began emerging from their tents.
Alejandro appeared first.
"What happened?"
Lusian looked at him.
"Nothing."
Alejandro pointed toward the forest.
"Nothing?"
"The pack is no longer a threat."
Leonardo came out behind him.
His gaze shifted from Lusian to the forest.
"What did you do?"
"What needed to be done."
Lusian walked past them.
"I'm going to sleep."
Alejandro frowned.
"Wait."
Lusian didn't stop.
"I'm exhausted."
And he continued walking.
Emily watched him go.
"Lusian…"
But he was already heading toward his tent.
Adela also began following him.
"Where are you going?" Emily asked.
"To make sure he gets some proper rest."
Emily hesitated for a moment.
Then nodded.
"Okay."
Adela disappeared behind Lusian.
Kara, however, remained staring toward the forest.
Something bothered her.
No.
That wasn't it.
Something didn't add up.
"I'm going to check."
Alejandro looked at her.
"Check what?"
Kara didn't answer.
She entered the forest.
The others eventually followed her.
And then they saw it.
The pack was dead.
Dozens of creatures lay scattered among the trees.
There were no mutilated bodies.
No fallen trees.
No signs of a battle.
Only corpses.
Kara crouched beside one of the bodies.
A single wound.
Clean.
Fatal.
She looked at the next one.
The same.
Then another.
And another.
Kara frowned.
These creatures were nocturnal predators.
They had waited until the darkness was complete before attacking.
In their own territory, during their own hunting grounds.
And yet, they had been hunted.
Kara slowly raised her gaze toward the forest.
"That doesn't make sense…"
She had seen Lusian fight many times.
She knew his dark magic.
She knew he could conceal himself within the shadows and attack from difficult angles.
But this was different.
Not even a Douglas should have been able to do something like this so easily.
Her eyes narrowed.
Kara slowly surveyed the scene.
"He didn't fight them."
Alejandro frowned.
"What?"
"He hunted them."
Leonardo examined the bodies.
"How can you tell?"
Kara pointed to one of the wounds.
"Look at the direction."
Then she pointed to another.
"And that one."
Then another.
"All of them were placed to kill with the least amount of movement possible."
She stood up.
"He wasn't fighting a pack."
She looked toward the darkness of the forest.
"He was eliminating them one by one."
Alejandro clenched his teeth.
"He did all this?"
"Yes."
Leonardo fell silent.
Kara remained there for several seconds, staring at the corpses.
She had fought Lusian before.
She knew his strength.
But this was different.
At the academy, she had seen a powerful young man.
That night, she had seen something more.
Someone who knew exactly where to strike.
When to strike.
And when to disappear.
Kara smiled slightly.
"Interesting."
Alejandro looked at her.
"What?"
Kara didn't answer.
She looked at the corpses again.
One wound.
One death.
Another.
Another.
There was no wasted movement. There were no signs of a desperate battle.
It was as if Lusian had moved through the forest, eliminating each creature before any of them could even react.
Kara felt an old sensation.
One she thought she had left behind.
Competitiveness.
During her years at the academy, she had challenged Lusian countless times.
And she had lost.
Once.
And again.
And again.
She had never managed to defeat him.
Then came the divine blessings.
Her strength increased.
So did everyone else's.
And since then, Kara had stopped challenging him.
Not because she had lost the desire.
But because it no longer seemed fair.
What was the point of defeating Lusian after receiving power granted by a god?
To her, it would be like cheating.
She wanted to defeat him with her own strength.
Just like before.
But now…
Kara looked back toward the forest.
This was different.
Lusian hadn't used the power of a blessed hero.
He had entered the darkness alone.
And hunted down an entire pack.
A small smile appeared on her lips.
"So you were still hiding something…"
Alejandro frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
"Nothing."
Kara straightened.
Her eyes shone with an emotion she hadn't felt in a long time.
The same emotion that appeared every time Lusian accepted one of her challenges at the academy.
"Perhaps…"
She looked toward the tent where Lusian had disappeared.
"…I should challenge him again."
Alejandro stared at her in disbelief.
Lusian rested silently inside his tent.
Adela remained at his side, still catching her breath.