The capital of the Silverwood Kingdom, Lunargent, was a city carved from the very heart of a glacier. Under the pale, northern sun, its spires of translucent quartz and enchanted ice shimmered with an ethereal, silver-blue radiance.
Inside the Royal Palace, the atmosphere was as frigid as the landscape outside.
Queen Bellatrix Silverwood sat upon her crystalline throne, her posture as unyielding as the permafrost.
She was draped in a silver-blue gown that seemed woven from moonlight, her long silver hair cascading over her shoulders like a frozen waterfall.
Her sapphire eyes, calm and terrifyingly unreadable, were fixed on the council of ministers gathered before her.
"Your Majesty," a minister began, his voice echoing in the vast, hollow hall.
"The anomaly has moved. The adventurer known as Blade Lunaria has crossed our southern borders. Reports from our scouts indicate he has fled north, into the Perils."
A Watcher Hero of Lunargent, a man encased in articulated steel armor that hummed with ice-elemental magic, stepped forward. His cape, made of polar bear fur, brushed against the frost-covered floor.
"Your Majesty, this 'Blade' is a variable we cannot afford to ignore," the Watcher stated, his voice a low growl.
"He didn't just pass through our territory; he left blood at Port Marina's Glory. He executed one of our Watchers with a level of efficiency that suggests high-tier military training. Grant me the authority to eliminate him before he reaches the Forbidden Peaks."
Bellatrix raised a single, slender hand. The Watcher Hero silenced himself instantly.
"Not yet," she commanded. Her gaze sharpened, the sapphire depths of her eyes glowing with a faint, crystalline light.
"Blade may be reckless, and his personality may be that of a lovable failure, but his results are undeniable. A man who failed his adventurer test four times does not suddenly develop the ability to kill a Watcher unless he was wearing a mask of incompetence."
She leaned back, her fingers tracing the armrest of her throne.
"If he becomes our enemy, it is better to observe the limit of his 'Crimson Flames' before we sacrifice more of our people to his blade. Send the scouts, but tell them to remain at a distance. I want to see what he seeks in the ice."
The Watcher Hero frowned, the metal of his gauntlets creaking as he clenched his fists, but he bowed reluctantly.
"As you command, Your Majesty."
Within the deep shadows of the council pillars, invisible to human eyes, demon spies shifted in the cold air.
The Queen sensed a flicker of betrayal—a discordant ripple in the palace's mana—but the source remained hidden behind the "False Peace" of her own court.
---
Thousands of miles to the south, within the grand marble halls of the Velgrith Church, the atmosphere was thick with the scent of frankincense and the weight of divine anxiety.
Ryuto Yuzen, the Hero of Light, sat at a circular mahogany table surrounded by the High Cardinals of the Sanctum.
The candlelight flickered against the tapestries of the First Hero, casting long, distorted shadows that made the depicted "Savior" look like a predatory ghost.
"Aethelred Vi Regis is no longer just a rebel leader," a senior cardinal stated, tapping a map of the central continent.
"The Federation of United Demon-humans is growing. If they succeed in uniting the marginalized races, they won't just fracture the Demon Empire; they will challenge the Church's authority over the 'Holy' kingdoms. Ryuto-sama, we must decide our stance."
Another cardinal shook his head, his face a mask of calculated fear.
"If we support Aethelred and he falls, the Great Demon Lord's wrath will be directed solely at the Sanctum. We are not prepared for a total war."
Ryuto leaned forward, his brown hair messy and his ocean-blue eyes reflecting a maturity that had grown since his summoning.
"Then we wait," he said, his voice steady.
"If Aethelred's forces can survive the coming storm on their own, we will extend a hand and call it 'divine mercy.' If they fall, we remain silent and claim they were led astray by the darkness."
A younger cardinal looked up, his voice trembling.
"And what of Shujin? The Darkness Lord has been silent since the Zarneth incident. That silence feels more dangerous than his violence. Why hasn't he moved against the Federation or the Empire?"
Ryuto hesitated. In the back of his mind, he saw the face of Kuro Velgrith—the "average" boy who sat in the back of his class.
"Perhaps he's waiting for the board to change," Ryuto murmured. "He isn't a man who acts without a reason."
"We've received a confirmed report from the north," the senior cardinal added, sliding a crystalline scroll across the table.
"Blade Lunaria killed a Silverwood Watcher and is now being pursued by Queen Bellatrix's elite. This cannot be a coincidence. The timing aligns perfectly with Shujin's recent appearances."
Ryuto clenched his fists under the table, his divine sigils beginning to hum.
"Continue observing Kuro and the Academy. If Shujin moves, the resonance will tell us everything."
---
In the quiet, rural outskirts of Valerion, the modest wooden house of the Velgrith family felt unusually heavy.
Rei Nocturne stood in the doorway of Kuro's room, her hands clasped tightly together. She watched as Kuro packed a small leather bag with the mundane tools of a traveler.
"So... Kuro-sama is leaving again," she said softly, her silver hair falling over her face. Her purple eyes, usually sharp and protective, were now trembling with a vulnerability she only showed to him.
Kuro turned and offered her a gentle, practiced smile—the "Kuro" mask of kindness.
"I told you before, Rei. I will come back often. I am merely gathering data on the northern kingdoms. You have your tasks at the Academy."
Suddenly, Rei stepped forward and hugged him from behind, pressing her face against the fabric of his Midnight Blue coat.
"Don't lie to Rei... I can feel it. The mana in the air is curdling. You're going somewhere that even you consider dangerous. Please... come back. Don't leave me alone in this light."
Kuro's eyes softened for a fraction of a second, the cold utilitarianism of his past life momentarily eclipsed by the warmth of her 10% Shadow Core. He gently placed his hands over hers.
"I promise, Rei."
Moments later, the room grew cold. The presence of Kuro Velgrith faded, his main consciousness descending into the "Abyssal Link." Miles to the north, the physical vessel of Blade Lunaria—the crimson-haired adventurer—snapped his eyes open.
---
Blade stood at the mouth of a massive cavern in the Forbidden Peaks. The wind here was a screaming monster, carrying shards of ice that could shred common leather.
His crimson cloak whipped violently behind him, its vibrant red a stark, defiant stain against the blinding white of the blizzard.
Through his magical link, his clone had already scouted the depths. The report was staggering: Two Rank-S monsters, ancient entities that had guarded the northern poles since the dawn of the union.
"The Ice Dragon and the Colossal Ice Serpent," Blade whispered, his red eyes reflecting a fake but convincing "burning determination."
He allowed a jagged, cheerful grin to cross his face.
"Perfect hunting trophies. The Guild won't be able to call me a 'lovable failure' after this."
He stepped into the cavern.
Inside, the world was silent. The walls were made of "Living Ice"—crystalline mana that glowed with a pale, rhythmic blue.
A massive presence stirred. The very air in the cavern became a pressurized vacuum.
The Ice Dragon emerged from the shadows of the ceiling—its scales were pure white, polished like diamonds, and its eyes were ancient pools of frozen sapphire.
Each breath it took unleashed a mini-blizzard that cracked the stone floor.
WHO DARES INTRUDE UPON THE SANCTUM OF THE NORTH?
The dragon's voice was not sound, but a psychic weight that forced Blade to drop to one knee.
Blade looked up, a crimson flame igniting in his palm.
"Just a traveler... who came to put your head on a mantle."
The battle began with a roar that shook the mountain to its roots.
The Ice Dragon exhaled a glacial torrent, the temperature dropping to absolute zero.
The air itself froze into razor-sharp spears of ice that rained down on Blade.
Blade moved at inhuman speed, his movements a blur of red light.
He utilized the Shadow Shift technique hidden beneath his physical form, weaving through the ice spears as if he were a glitch in the world's logic.
"Hellfire Demise!" he shouted, thrusting his red blade forward.
A colossal crimson inferno erupted, not from the sword, but from the void beneath it. The cavern became a furnace in an instant.
The "Living Ice" of the walls began to scream as it melted into steam.
The Ice Dragon let out a shriek of agony as its diamond-hard scales cracked and blackened under the relentless, unnatural heat.
With a final, desperate surge of mana, the Dragon tried to fly, but Blade was already above it.
He brought his sword down, the crimson flames carving through the beast's neck with clinical precision.
The Dragon's massive body slumped into the boiling water of the cavern floor, its essence evaporating into ash.
"Not bad," Blade muttered, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead.
But before he could sheath his blade, a massive shadow surged from the depths of the melting glacier.
Larger than the dragon, the Ice Serpent struck like a lightning bolt made of solid ice. Its fangs, each the size of a man, slammed into the spot where Blade had stood a millisecond prior.
"So you're the partner," Blade said, his voice losing its "cheerful" adventurer tone and becoming cold and resonant.
"Fine. I have two hands for a reason."
His blade ignited once more, the crimson fire turning a shade of dark amber.
The serpent recoiled, its instinct sensing a power that surpassed the elemental laws of the world.
Blade leapt forward, his form flickering through the steam. In a single, burning strike, he severed the serpent's neck, the beast's frozen blood vaporizing before it could hit the ground.
Silence returned to the cavern. Two Rank-S corpses lay before the "Rank-C" adventurer.
Blade casually stored both massive bodies into his magic storage bag, his cheerful "Blade" persona returning with a sheepish grin.
"Not bad at all. But what do I even do with monsters even the Demon Lords are afraid of?"
His eyes lit up with a mercenary greed.
"Right. I'll sell the scales at the black market in
Lunargent . This'll fetch a gold fortune—hehe."
---
In the realm of the gods, Goddess Elmyria stood over her scrying pool, her face pale.
The water showed the cavern, now a ruined, steaming mess, but the image of the killer was a blurred smear of red.
"The Ice Dragon... and the Serpent... both dead?" she whispered.
The Elemental Gods—Ignir, Maris, Sylphar, and Terranis—turned toward her in genuine shock. Their own auras flickered with uncertainty.
"Impossible," Ignir rumbled, his mane of fire dimming.
"Even a summoned hero would struggle against those two simultaneously. Who did this? We feel no divine signature, no demonic stain... only a void."
Elmyria searched the events of Velgrith but the pages regarding the northern peaks were blank, as if the ink had been deleted.
"Whoever it is," she whispered, her voice a ripple in the fabric of the heavens,
"a new shadow is moving within Velgrith. And this one... we cannot control."
---
Back in Lunargent, inside the Queen's private solar, a guard burst through the doors, his armor covered in soot and ice.
"Your Majesty—the Ice Dragon... the guardian of the North... it is dead!"
The hall erupted in a cacophony of gasps. The Watcher Hero stiffened, his hand going to his sword. Bellatrix rose slowly, her face devoid of color.
"The Ice Dragon? That creature has guarded our borders since the creation of the Silverwood crest. Who could possibly possess the power to slay an S-Rank guardian in a single night?"
She closed her eyes and saw the image of the crimson-haired boy who had smiled as he crossed the rivers of her border.
"...Blade Lunaria...?" she whispered, her sapphire eyes narrowing with a dangerous, newfound curiosity.
---
✦ To be continued...