The forest had turned silent.
The mist no longer drifted.
Even the wind seemed afraid to move.
Scarlet blood dripped slowly onto the ground.
Drop.
Drop.
Drop.
Lucifer's pupils shrank.
For a moment his mind refused to understand what his eyes were seeing.
Then the truth hit him like a hammer.
"BROTHER—!!!"
His voice tore through the forest.
Lin stood before the hooded figure.
The blade meant to split his body in half… had stopped.
Not with armor.
Not with magic.
Lin had caught the blade with his bare hand.
The edge had cut deep into his palm. Blood streamed down his fingers, falling to the earth beneath his feet.
But the blade had stopped.
Completely.
The hooded figure tilted its head slightly.
"…Interesting."
Lin's grip tightened.
The metal shrieked inside his hand.
CRACK.
For a brief moment the attacker tried pushing the blade deeper—but Lin's arm did not move even an inch.
Lucifer stared in disbelief.
Even Luna, struggling to stand, froze at the sight.
Lin slowly lifted his head.
His eyes were calm.
Too calm.
Without warning—
The hooded figure pulled the blade back and struck again.
A second strike descended faster than the first.
But Lin moved.
In a single split second his body blurred forward.
The attack cut only air.
The hooded figure's eyes narrowed.
Lin had already passed it.
He did not even look back.
Instead—
He walked toward Luna… Emilie… and Sylvarielle.
Each step was slow.
Measured.
Like the battlefield around him no longer existed.
Lucifer watched in confusion.
"Lin…?"
Lin crouched beside them.
First he lifted Emilie carefully.
Her breathing was faint but steady.
Then Sylvarielle.
Then Luna.
He carried them toward Lucifer and placed their unconscious bodies into his arms.
Lucifer blinked.
"What are you—"
Lin looked directly at him.
For the first time his voice carried urgency.
"Run, Leonal."
Lucifer froze.
That name…
He had not heard it spoken in years.
"Lin… I—"
"I said run."
Lucifer clenched his fists.
"I can't!"
Lin's gaze remained steady.
"I was trapped."
Lucifer frowned.
"What?"
"During your fight… I was caught inside an illusion."
The words stunned him.
Lucifer's voice trembled.
"You?"
"…"
"You've had monstrous willpower since the academy days."
His expression turned grim.
"If even you were trapped… then that thing must be…"
Lin nodded slowly.
"The answer you're thinking of."
The air suddenly grew colder.
Behind them—
The hooded figure began walking again.
Its footsteps echoed softly across the forest floor.
Lin's voice lowered.
"That creature…"
"…is a High Commander of the Demandres army."
Lucifer's face went pale.
Years ago.
A war that almost destroyed entire realms.
Creatures born from the abyss between dimensions.
And above them all—
The terrifying elite commanders of the Demandre forces.
Lucifer slowly turned his head.
The hooded figure stopped.
Then—
It raised its hand and removed the mask.
A horrifying face revealed itself beneath.
Skin pale like bone.
Eyes glowing like dying stars.
And a grin that stretched too wide for any human face.
It laughed.
A cold sound.
Like a grim reaper discovering its prey.
"My name…"
Its voice echoed like whispers from a grave.
"VORATHRAEL — Devourer of Silent Souls."
The trees trembled.
Lucifer's heart pounded violently.
Lin's expression hardened.
"Leonal."
"It's not time to argue."
"Take them."
"And leave."
But Lucifer suddenly stepped forward.
"No."
Lin's eyes widened slightly.
Lucifer's voice shook.
"I'm not abandoning you again."
Without warning—
Lucifer charged.
His body was already battered and broken, but rage drove him forward.
He swung his sword with every remaining ounce of strength.
Vorathrael simply smiled.
CLANG.
The demon blocked effortlessly.
Then struck.
Lucifer's sword flew from his hands instantly.
It spun through the air—
But before it touched the ground—
A hand caught it.
Lin.
The moment the blade touched his palm—
Dark flames ignited along the metal.
A violent aura exploded outward.
Lucifer's eyes widened.
"Lin…?"
Lin moved.
Just once.
A single step.
His sword cut through the air.
BOOM.
The slash crashed against Vorathrael like a falling meteor.
Dark flames tore through the forest.
The Demandres commander slid backward across the ground.
Then—
It laughed.
A deep, excited laugh.
"Interesting…"
"After so many centuries…"
"A human finally entertains me."
Lin did not respond.
He simply raised the sword again.
Vorathrael's grin widened.
"Good."
The battle began.
The demon moved first.
Its body vanished.
Lin's sword swung instantly.
CLANG.
The collision exploded like thunder.
Shockwaves shattered nearby trees.
Vorathrael attacked again.
Its claws tore through the air like blades.
Lin blocked.
CLANG.
CLANG.
CLANG.
Each impact sent tremors through the ground.
Lucifer watched in shock.
Their movements were too fast.
Too violent.
Even the air itself screamed with every clash.
Lin spun sideways.
His blade cut in a diagonal arc.
Vorathrael leaned back slightly, the sword barely missing its throat.
"Faster."
The demon vanished again.
This time appearing behind Lin.
A claw strike descended.
Lin twisted instantly.
CLANG.
The impact pushed him several meters back.
Lucifer's eyes widened.
"They're evenly matched…"
Hope sparked inside him.
If Lin could stall long enough—
If he could just hold the monster here—
Vorathrael's attacks grew sharper.
Faster.
More violent.
But Lin answered every strike.
Sword met claw.
Steel met darkness.
Flames and shadows tore the forest apart.
The Demandre commander laughed wildly.
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
"Fight me, human!"
"Show me your despair!"
Lucifer clenched his fists.
"Lin can win…"
"He just needs time…"
But then—
Something changed.
Lin suddenly froze.
His hand moved to his chest.
His breathing faltered.
Lucifer's heart skipped.
"…Lin?"
Lin's grip tightened against his chest.
Something inside his body pulsed violently.
Ancient magic sealed deep within his heart began to break.
CRACK.
Pain shot through his entire body.
Vorathrael noticed instantly.
Its grin widened.
"So that is your weakness."
It lunged forward.
Lin forced himself to move.
But his body betrayed him.
The claw strike came down.
At the last moment—
Lin shoved Lucifer backward.
BOOM.
The attack smashed into the ground where Lucifer had stood.
Lin staggered.
Blood trickled from his lips.
"Run… Lucifer…"
Lucifer's chest tightened.
"No."
"You idiot…"
"I'm not leaving you here!"
Lin's voice rose for the first time.
"RUN!"
Lucifer froze.
His eyes fell to Emilie's unconscious form.
The girl the Demandres army had been hunting.
The one whose power could change the future.
If she fell into their hands—
Everything would end.
His body trembled.
Slowly…
He lifted Luna.
Then Emilie.
Then Sylvarielle.
Pain tore through his chest as he stepped back.
Lucifer's voice broke.
"Please…"
"…wait for me, brother."
Tears blurred his vision.
For the first time since becoming a lieutenant of the infernal legions—
He felt helpless.
And afraid.
He turned.
And ran.
The forest wind roared past him as he fled with the three unconscious women.
Behind him—
Lin stood alone.
Vorathrael approached slowly.
"Well then…"
"It seems the prey has chosen sacrifice."
Lin smiled faintly.
His life flashed before his eyes.
Memories passed like drifting pages.
The academy.
Battles.
Friendship.
And then—
A voice.
Soft.
Gentle.
A woman's voice from long ago.
"Lin… strength isn't about surviving every battle."
"It's about protecting the moments that make life worth living."
"If one day you must fall…"
"…make sure it's while protecting someone."
Lin exhaled softly.
"I guess…"
"…I did alright."
He raised the sword again.
Vorathrael lunged.
A killing strike aimed straight for Lin's heart.
The blade descended.
Death was one breath away.
Then—
The wind exploded.
A figure tore through the air like lightning.
Faster than sound.
Faster than sight.
Before Vorathrael's strike could land—
A new blade crashed against it.
CLANG.
The impact shattered the ground beneath them.
Vorathrael's eyes widened for the first time.
The mysterious warrior stood before Lin.
Their cloak fluttered violently in the storm of power.
The Demandres commander slowly smiled.
"…Another one?"
The battlefield had changed.
And the war was far from over.