The afternoon sun filtered through the trees, casting long shadows across the makeshift training ground.
Lusian swung Dainslein again and again.
Every strike made the earth tremble. Cracks spread beneath his feet as mana coursed through the ground like dark veins.
Again.
Dainslein came down.
The earth sank beneath the impact.
Again.
The air exploded around the blade, and a nearby tree split in two.
Lusian raised the sword once more.
His muscles burned, but the real change wasn't in his body.
It was inside him.
There was something different at his core.
Before, he could clearly feel where his mana reserves ended. Now, however, that limit seemed to have moved farther away until it disappeared completely.
It was as if something had expanded the space within him.
Mana flowed with strange ease, moving in and out of that new void without meeting any resistance. A reserve far greater than anything he had possessed before.
Far too great.
Lusian didn't know exactly what Umber had left behind.
He couldn't even put a name to it.
He could only feel it.
With every breath.
With every movement.
With every heartbeat.
That power was there because Umber was no longer.
And no matter how much his body could make use of it, Lusian couldn't bring himself to see it as a gift.
It was a mark.
A massive hollow that he could now fill because someone else had stopped occupying it.
Umber was dead.
And he was still alive.
Lusian tightened his grip around Dainslein's hilt.
He couldn't forgive himself for it.
He clenched his teeth and attacked again.
"Lusian!"
He didn't respond.
Another slash.
"Lusian!"
Dainslein struck the ground.
The impact sent a cloud of dust into the air.
"That's enough!"
The voice came from behind him.
Lusian froze.
He was breathing heavily.
He hadn't heard Emily approaching.
She emerged from between the trees and walked toward him without saying another word.
Her expression changed the moment she saw him.
Lusian's eyes were red.
Silent tears streamed down his cheeks.
Emily stopped in front of him.
"Please..."
Lusian looked away.
"No."
She didn't ask what he meant.
She simply stepped closer.
She took his face in her hands and gently wiped away the tears he didn't even seem to realize were there.
"Look at me."
Lusian obeyed.
Emily studied him for a few seconds.
Then she gently rested her forehead against his.
"How long have you been like this?"
He didn't answer.
His breathing began to tremble.
"I can't..."
His voice broke.
Emily embraced him.
And this time, Lusian didn't try to stand on his own.
He collapsed against her.
He buried his face in her shoulder.
"I'm not okay."
The words came out muffled.
"I know."
"Umber is dead."
His fingers tightened around Emily's clothes.
"And I couldn't do anything."
She held him tighter.
"Lusian..."
"I couldn't do anything!"
His voice escaped before he could contain it.
The forest fell silent.
"I'm useless," he continued, his voice growing quieter. "No matter how hard I try... I always end up losing the people I care about."
He breathed shakily.
Emily didn't answer immediately.
"It's not your fault... Sometimes things just happen."
Lusian raised his gaze.
There was desperation in his eyes.
"Umber is dead."
He swallowed.
"And Elizabeth... I don't know if..."
His voice broke.
"And I can't do anything."
Emily raised a hand and gently caressed his cheek.
"You don't have to carry everything by yourself."
"I have to."
"No."
"Emily..."
She shook her head.
"No."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"Lusian, no matter how bad things get... you can always count on me."
He closed his eyes.
Those words hurt more than any blow.
Because he wanted to believe them.
He wanted to stop fighting for just a moment.
"I'm here," Emily whispered. "You don't have to be strong with me."
Lusian opened his eyes.
For a moment, it seemed like he was finally going to answer.
Then—
BOOOOOOM.
The explosion shook the palace.
The trees trembled violently.
A flock of birds burst from the forest.
The ground vibrated beneath their feet.
Lusian and Emily pulled apart abruptly.
"What...?"
Another explosion.
Much stronger.
The palace windows rattled.
Emily went pale.
"The princess's room."
Lusian was already running.
No one needed to give an order.
The heroes followed behind them.
But after a few steps, Lusian stopped.
His expression changed.
He felt it.
It wasn't a normal explosion.
The mana was...
wrong.
A chill ran down his spine.
The air seemed to have grown heavier.
Every breath became difficult.
"Do you feel it?" someone asked.
No one answered.
They didn't need to.
They all felt it.
Demonic mana.
But it wasn't simply a large amount of mana.
It was pressure.
A presence.
Something that seemed to be watching them from within the palace itself.
Lusian clenched his teeth.
No.
It couldn't be.
"Quick!"
Deidara took the lead.
The corridors trembled as they advanced.
With every step, the pressure increased.
The torches went out as they passed.
Dark stains began spreading across the walls.
The air smelled of iron.
Emily placed a hand over her chest.
"This..."
Lusian looked at her.
"What?"
"I can't breathe properly."
Then he felt it more clearly.
That mana wasn't merely filling the palace.
It was forcing the world itself to move aside.
Lusian quickened his pace.
"Elizabeth!"
They arrived.
The door to the room had been destroyed.
Wooden fragments covered the floor.
Inside...
Lusian froze.
Elizabeth floated in the center of the room.
Her body was suspended several meters above the floor.
Her hair moved around her face despite the absence of wind.
Demonic mana swirled around her like a black storm.
The walls creaked.
The floor was covered in cracks.
And Elizabeth...
was crying.
Her hands trembled.
"What...?"
Her voice was barely audible.
"What's happening to me?"
Lusian felt his heart stop.
No.
No.
It couldn't be.
He had arrived too late.
Again.
Everything he had done.
Everything he had tried to change.
Every risk he had taken.
The Demon Queen.
The ritual.
Elizabeth.
"Elizabeth..."
His voice came out broken.
She opened her eyes.
For an instant, Lusian couldn't recognize them.
There was something in them.
A dark depth.
Something ancient.
Something that shouldn't have been there.
Fear tightened around his chest.
"Please..."
He took a step.
"Still be you."
Elizabeth looked at him.
She seemed confused.
Then she saw Deidara.
Her expression changed.
Fear turned into terror.
"You!"
The mana exploded.
BOOM.
A wave of energy swept through the room.
Several heroes raised their weapons.
"No!"
Lusian stepped between them.
"Don't you dare!"
Dainslein appeared in his hand.
The floor cracked beneath his feet.
Elizabeth recoiled in midair.
"Don't come any closer!"
Her voice trembled.
"I don't know what's happening to me!"
Lusian looked at her.
"Elizabeth..."
"No!"
She clutched her head.
"Get it out of me!"
The mana spiraled out of control again.
"I can't stop it!"
Tears streamed down her face.
"Lusian, I'm scared!"
Those words shattered what little resistance Lusian had left.
He slowly lowered his sword.
"I'm here."
He stepped into the room.
"Lusian!" someone shouted behind him.
"Get out."
"But..."
"I said get out!"
Elizabeth looked at him.
The fear was still there.
And then she ran toward him.
She practically fell into his arms.
Lusian released Dainslein.
The sword struck the floor.
He wrapped his arms around her with all his strength.
Elizabeth was trembling violently.
"Lusian..."
"I'm here."
"I don't know what happened."
"I know."
"I..."
"It's okay."
She pressed her fingers against his chest.
"I thought I was going to die."
Lusian closed his eyes.
He held her even tighter.
It was her.
It had to be her.
But a small part of his mind refused to accept that certainty.
He knew what the awakening of the Demon Queen meant.
He couldn't afford to be wrong.
"No one comes any closer!" he ordered.
The heroes stopped at the entrance.
Dainslein rose from the floor again, pointing toward them.
"If anyone tries to touch her..."
Lusian's voice turned cold.
"I won't be responsible for what I do."
No one moved.
Emily appeared behind him.
She looked pale as well.
But she remained calm.
She extended one hand.
A soft light enveloped Elizabeth.
The demonic mana collided with it.
The entire room trembled.
Emily clenched her teeth.
"She's trying to resist it."
"Can you contain it?"
"For a while."
The pressure began to subside.
When the others finally withdrew, Lusian didn't let go of Elizabeth.
She didn't let go of him either.
For several minutes, they remained like that.
Until her breathing began to steady.
Then Lusian pulled back slightly.
He looked into her eyes.
"Elizabeth."
She nodded.
"Yes."
"I need to ask you a few things."
She looked confused.
"Why?"
Lusian swallowed.
"Because I need to be sure."
Elizabeth's face paled.
"Sure of what?"
The question pierced his chest.
"I just need to be certain of something."
Elizabeth remained silent and nodded.
Lusian closed his eyes for a moment.
"Then help me make sure."
He began with simple questions.
Small memories.
Conversations they had shared.
Places they had been.
Details no one else could possibly know.
Then came more difficult questions.
Elizabeth answered them one after another.
Without hesitation.
Without stopping to think.
She remembered things Lusian hadn't even mentioned.
In one of her answers, she even made a small joke.
Then she realized what she had said and blushed.
Lusian stared at her.
That gesture.
That expression.
The way she looked away whenever something embarrassed her.
It wasn't a memorized response.
It was her.
Elizabeth.
Lusian slowly exhaled.
He hadn't realized he had been holding his breath for several minutes.
Emily remained nearby.
Relief showed on her face.
But so did a concern she couldn't hide.
Elizabeth finally began to explain what had happened.
Deidara had been the one to restrain her first.
After that, everything became confusing.
The mana began spiraling out of control.
Her body stopped responding to her.
And before she could understand what was happening...
she had lost control.
Lusian listened without interrupting.
When she finished, he remained silent.
Elizabeth lowered her gaze.
"Are you angry with me?"
Lusian shook his head.
"No."
"Then..."
He embraced her again.
She closed her eyes and rested her forehead against his chest.
"I'm scared."
Lusian tightened his arms around her.
He didn't have any answers.
But he knew one thing.
Elizabeth was still there.
And as long as she remained there...
Lusian would never allow anyone to lay a hand on her again.