As they advanced, the forest grew increasingly dense.
And more hostile.
It was not a direct attack.
It was worse.
The creatures did not immediately emerge to confront them.
They watched.
They followed them between the trees.
They surrounded the expedition without ever fully revealing themselves.
Shadows disappearing between the trunks.
Howls that belonged to no beast anyone recognized.
Eyes glowing from the treetops, vanishing the moment someone tried to look directly at them.
No one knew how many creatures were hiding there.
And that was precisely what was beginning to unsettle them.
The civilians began huddling closer together.
The children cried silently, covering their mouths so they would not attract attention.
Some parents held them tightly while constantly watching the trees.
The priests maintained barriers of light around the formation, but even those barriers were beginning to behave strangely.
The light flickered.
It weakened.
Then intensified again.
As if the forest itself were rejecting their presence.
Leonardo broke the silence.
—At this rate, it'll take us weeks to reach the capital.
Kara, carrying the remains of a massive rock she had used to crush a mutated monster, answered without slowing down.
—If we waste time, more people will die.
She glanced toward the trees.
—We don't have another choice.
Emily kept her eyes forward.
—The capital needs us.
Alejandro walked several meters behind them.
For several seconds, he kept his eyes fixed on Lusian's back.
Finally, he spoke.
—Not everyone here has the same goal.
No one answered.
The silence that followed was worse than any argument.
Because everyone understood who he was referring to.
Lusian did not react.
He kept walking.
But Elizabeth, riding beside him, glanced at him from the corner of her eye.
She said nothing.
Not yet.
Lusian had already noticed something.
The darkness surrounding him was behaving strangely.
His shadow.
His mana.
Even his field of perception.
Everything was reacting in a way it shouldn't.
He was not being attacked directly.
It was more like...
an irritation.
As if something were constantly brushing against his senses.
As if the forest were trying to push his darkness in a particular direction.
Lusian narrowed his eyes.
What the hell is going on?
He had traveled through this forest in the game.
He knew it.
He knew its paths.
The areas where monsters appeared.
The creatures that could be encountered there.
But this...
None of this had been in the game.
None of it.
A small vibration traveled through the shadow beneath his feet.
Lusian stopped.
Only for an instant.
Then he heard a sound.
A crack.
To his left.
He turned his head.
Nothing.
Only trees.
He looked forward again.
Another crack.
This time to the right.
Then behind him.
Lusian said nothing.
His perception expanded.
A shadow slipped between the trees.
Then another.
And another.
They were not animals.
They were moving too deliberately.
They're following us.
Lusian raised one hand slightly.
Umber reacted at the exact same moment.
The massive wolf slowly turned his head toward the forest.
He did not bare his fangs.
He did not growl.
He simply watched.
He recognized that presence.
Thunder was not calm either.
His electric mane began crackling with restrained violence.
The air had changed.
Then, suddenly...
the darkness broke.
Not literally.
Lusian felt it.
His field of perception disappeared for a fraction of a second.
As if something had passed a hand over his mind and erased everything around him.
His eyes widened.
—...
Umber rose to his feet.
Thunder whinnied.
The soldiers began raising their weapons.
—What's happening? —Elizabeth asked.
Lusian did not answer immediately.
He stared at the trees.
Something had just entered his territory.
Something that had managed to pass through his perception without being detected.
And that could only mean one thing.
They were not being followed.
They were being led.
Night fell over the forest.
The camp appeared organized.
On the surface.
The soldiers maintained their watch with discipline.
The civilians tried to rest as best they could.
The priests had erected barriers around the perimeter.
The heroes occupied different positions.
But Lusian knew that calm would not last.
Then...
a growl tore through the silence.
Then another.
The soldiers raised their weapons.
Two red eyes appeared from the forest.
Then four.
Then ten.
Twenty.
Dozens.
The creatures began emerging from between the trees.
At first, their bodies were little more than silhouettes.
When they entered the range of the campfires, they could be seen clearly.
They looked like deformed wolves mixed with insects and twisted human features.
Their limbs were far too long.
Their jaws were far too large.
Dark plates had grown directly over their flesh.
—We're under attack!
Everything happened at once.
Alejandro hurled fire toward the first wave.
Leonardo unleashed several bolts of lightning at the nearest creatures.
Kara charged directly into the left flank.
Emily raised an enormous barrier of light.
But the attack did not unfold as it should have.
Alejandro's flames forced several soldiers to move out of the way.
One of Leonardo's lightning bolts accidentally struck a barrier and caused it to collapse.
Emily's light blinded several men in the front line for a few seconds.
Alejandro's followers rushed into combat on their own.
Leonardo's did the same.
None of them waited for orders.
None of them wanted to receive orders from Lusian.
Kara saw two gaps appear in the formation simultaneously.
—You damn idiots!
She rushed toward the first.
She knocked down one creature with a single blow.
Spun around.
Intercepted another.
—Alejandro! Close your flank!
—I can handle it!
—Then do it!
Leonardo ignored the argument.
—My men, with me!
Kara gritted her teeth.
—Perfect...
She had to cover another gap.
While they did whatever they wanted, the soldiers desperately tried to maintain the formation.
And then...
Lusian disappeared.
The air grew colder.
His shadow spread across the ground.
There was no sound.
No warning.
Only a slight distortion in the darkness.
Shadow Specter.
His presence vanished completely.
The first Tracker did not even have time to react.
A shadow pierced its chest.
It fell.
Before it even touched the ground, Lusian had already disappeared.
He appeared behind another.
A second shadow.
Another body fell.
Then another.
And another.
To those watching from the camp, it was almost impossible to follow him.
They saw only brief flashes of darkness.
A creature lunging.
A shadow.
A body falling.
Another creature.
Another shadow.
Another death.
There were no unnecessary movements.
No spectacular attacks.
Only efficiency.
Lusian was not enjoying it.
Nor was he angry.
To him, those creatures were a threat.
Nothing more.
There was no hesitation.
No fear.
No compassion he could afford in the middle of battle.
Only the decision to eliminate whatever was trying to kill the civilians.
And that was precisely what had changed.
The Lusian of the academy would have hesitated.
The man he was now did not.
Umber stayed close to Elizabeth, attacking any creature that managed to breach the perimeter.
Thunder unleashed bursts of electricity at the fastest ones.
Elizabeth watched in silence.
She had seen Lusian fight before.
But this was different.
It was not the fury of someone cornered.
It was control.
When the first wave began to diminish, Lusian reappeared in the middle of the camp.
This time, everyone could see him.
—Tight formation!
His voice cut through the chaos.
—Shields to the front! Civilians behind!
The soldiers began to react.
But not everyone.
Alejandro did not even turn around.
—I don't need him to tell me how to fight.
Leonardo raised a hand.
—My men, hold your positions!
Lusian looked at them for a second.
He did not argue.
There was no time.
—Priests, second line! No offensive attacks!
The priests obeyed.
—Adventurers, cover the flanks!
The adventurers took their positions.
Kara passed Lusian.
—I'll cover the gaps those two idiots leave behind.
Lusian looked at her.
—Thanks.
Kara smiled.
—Don't get used to it.
And she shot forward.
For the first time since the attack began, the formation started to regain stability.
Not because everyone followed Lusian.
But because enough people did.
And because Kara was compensating for those who refused.
Then...
a roar shook the forest.
The trees trembled.
The remaining creatures moved aside.
Something enormous walked among them.
The Tracker Alpha appeared between the trees.
It was much larger than the others.
Black bone plates covered parts of its body, seeming to absorb the light from the campfires.
Its presence caused several soldiers to instinctively step backward.
Lusian studied it.
For an instant, he recognized the creature.
Tracker Alpha.
He knew its abilities.
He knew its pattern.
But he had learned a lesson during the battle against the chimera.
He could not blindly trust what he remembered.
—Don't separate.
The alpha roared.
The remaining creatures attacked.
—HOLD THE LINE!
The darkness responded.
From Lusian's feet, shadows spread across the ground like a living web.
They did not pierce the creatures.
They did not need to.
They wrapped around their legs.
Slowed them.
Redirected them.
Forced them to collide with one another.
The soldiers took advantage of the openings.
The priests reinforced the barriers.
The adventurers attacked the flanks.
Kara appeared again and again wherever the formation threatened to break.
Alejandro and Leonardo, meanwhile, continued fighting in their own ways.
They did not obey Lusian.
But their attacks were still enough to keep many of the creatures at bay.
And that was also a form of cooperation.
Even if neither of them wanted to admit it.
The alpha raised its head.
Its gaze swept across the battlefield.
And locked onto Elizabeth.
Lusian saw it.
—No...
The monster charged.
Umber was the first to intercept it.
The dark wolf slammed into its body and managed to divert it.
Thunder fired a bolt of lightning.
CRACK!
The impact forced the alpha backward.
But only for an instant.
The creature charged again.
Straight toward Elizabeth.
Then Lusian appeared in front of her.
Not running.
Not jumping.
He simply emerged from the darkness.
The alpha lunged at him.
Lusian raised one hand.
—Absolute Darkness.
The world seemed to go dark.
The light from the campfires grew faint.
The shadows became heavy.
The space between Lusian and the creature seemed to warp.
The alpha's leap lost its direction.
For a fraction of a second, it was completely exposed.
Umber understood.
He did not need an order.
He leaped.
His fangs sank into the creature's neck.
Lusian extended his hand.
A spear of darkness pierced its chest.
The alpha collapsed.
The remaining Trackers began to scatter.
The soldiers finished off those that remained.
Little by little, the growls disappeared.
The forest fell silent once more.
Lusian remained standing in the middle of the camp.
There was blood.
Wounded soldiers.
Destroyed tents.
People trembling.
They had won.
But it had not been a clean victory.
Then he remembered something.
In the game, after defeating the Trackers, a screen would appear.
Mission Complete.
There was no screen here.
Only people trying to gather their dead.
Lusian slowly lowered his gaze.
—This wasn't in the game either...
He did not rest.
While the others caught their breath, he moved through the camp, reorganized the watch shifts, inspected the defenses, and ordered every possible entry point to be reinforced.
He did not look like someone who had just won a battle.
He looked like someone waiting for the next one.
Elizabeth had sat down beside a brazier.
The warmth of the fire contrasted with the coldness of the forest.
Emily approached.
The remnants of her magic still flickered faintly around her hands.
—Well, Princess.
Elizabeth slowly raised her gaze.
—Yes?
Emily smiled.
—I think we need to talk.
Elizabeth watched her for a few seconds.
—About Lusian.
—Naturally.
Elizabeth turned her gaze back toward the fire.
—Go ahead.
Emily crossed her arms.
—How much of him do you really think belongs to you?
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow.
—I don't think of him as property.
—But you want to be by his side.
—Yes.
The answer came immediately.
Emily fell silent.
Elizabeth continued:
—Although you seem much more worried about that than I am.
Emily slightly tightened her jaw.
—Lusian is my fiancé.
—I know.
—We have a vow.
—I know that too.
Elizabeth looked at her.
—I remember you being calmer.
Emily blinked.
—What?
A small smile appeared on Elizabeth's lips.
—At the academy.
She settled beside the brazier.
—You were much calmer back then.
Emily frowned.
—Things have changed.
—Yes.
Elizabeth looked toward Lusian.
—Being a hero changed you.
Emily followed her gaze.
—It changed you too.
Elizabeth smiled.
—Probably.
For several seconds, they both watched Lusian.
He was still giving orders.
The soldiers listened to him.
The priests obeyed.
Kara helped reorganize the lines.
Alejandro and Leonardo continued doing things their own way.
—Not everyone follows him —Emily said.
Elizabeth gently shook her head.
—He doesn't need everyone to follow him.
—It seems to irritate him.
—I doubt it.
Emily looked at her.
Elizabeth continued:
—Lusian doesn't need obedience.
A pause.
—He needs results.
Emily said nothing.
Elizabeth turned her gaze back toward the fire.
—And that seems to be the only thing he cares about.
Silence settled between them again.
Emily finally spoke.
—He's changing.
Elizabeth raised her eyes.
—Yes.
—He's getting stronger.
—Yes.
—He's killing more easily.
Elizabeth looked at her.
—Monsters.
Emily fell silent.
Elizabeth added:
—Not people.
The distinction hung between them.
—For now —Emily said.
Elizabeth did not answer immediately.
Then she asked:
—Are you afraid that someday that will change?
Emily lowered her gaze.
She did not answer.
And that lack of an answer was enough.
Elizabeth slowly exhaled.
—Then we have something in common.
Emily looked at her.
—What?
Elizabeth stood.
—We both want to stay by his side while we discover who he is becoming.
Emily clenched her fists.
—Lusian is my fiancé.
Elizabeth held her gaze.
—I know.
—Then don't interfere.
Elizabeth smiled.
—I can't promise you that.
Emily froze.
Elizabeth walked past her.
Before leaving, she stopped.
—But I'm not going to ask you to break your vow either.
Emily frowned.
Elizabeth turned her head slightly.
—I want Lusian to be the one who decides who he wants by his side.
And she walked away.
Emily remained beside the brazier.
She had not won.
But she had not lost either.
Because they had both understood something.
The problem was no longer simply who loved Lusian.
It was who Lusian was becoming.
And neither of them knew what would happen if, one day, the person they loved stopped recognizing the boundaries that still separated him from the monsters.
Several meters away, Lusian continued working.
Completely unaware of their conversation.
As if the future he was trying so desperately to protect them from had already begun to catch up with him.