After travelling for many long hours, the group finally arrived at the marked ruins, a deserted area that felt unnaturally cold, as though the world's warmth had been drained from it entirely. A heavy darkness pressed against the surroundings, making the air feel thick and difficult to breathe, while clear signs of corruption spread across the land in the form of black veins crawling slowly along the ground, the walls, and even the broken remains of structures scattered across the area.
The party brought the carriages to a halt, and as everyone stepped down cautiously, the head mage moved forward with a serious expression, his gaze sweeping across the ruins as if trying to measure the danger hidden within them. After a brief moment of silence, he spoke in a calm but commanding tone.
"Knights and mages, follow me. We will inspect the area."
Without hesitation, they followed him, their movements careful and measured as they advanced deeper into the abandoned ruins. The further they went, the more suffocating the silence became, as though the entire place had been emptied of life long ago. There was no wind to stir the air, no distant sounds to suggest movement, only the faint rustling of leaves and bushes disturbed by their own cautious steps.
Even the forest they had passed earlier did not feel this oppressive.
This place was worse.
Much worse.
At first, they found nothing but broken structures and spreading corruption. However, after walking nearly a kilometre ahead, they began to notice something different. Deep claw marks were scattered across the ground and carved into the walls, as if something large and violent had been moving through the area repeatedly. The further they advanced, the more frequent and chaotic those marks became, until it was impossible to ignore the sense that they were walking through the territory of something dangerous.
Meanwhile, back at the entrance of the marked ruins where the maids stayed, something was wrong with Lucius.
A sharp headache struck him suddenly, forcing him to stop as his breathing became uneven and strained. The world around him blurred slightly, and then
The flashes began once again.
Fragments of memories that were not his own forced their way into his mind. He saw animals screaming in pain, their bodies chained and restrained, as dark energy was forced into them against their will. Their forms twisted and broke under the pressure of something unnatural, their eyes filled with fear… and then hatred.
Deep, burning hatred toward humans.
Lucius staggered slightly, his body trembling as the pain intensified, his fingers tightening unconsciously as if trying to hold himself together.
At that moment, an unlucky maid approached him.
"Hey… are you alright?" she asked softly, her voice filled with concern as she stepped closer.
Lucius did not respond.
The pain only grew worse.
The corruption in the area was reacting to him.
The memories became louder.
More violent.
More overwhelming than before.
Before anyone could react, Lucius moved.
His hand shot forward with sudden force, gripping her throat tightly.
"All humans must die…"
The words came out low, distorted, and completely unfamiliar, as if something else was speaking through him.
He tightened his grip.
"All humans must die…"
The maid struggled desperately, her hands clawing at his arm as she gasped for air, her eyes wide with fear.
For a brief moment, the others froze.
Then someone talked.
"Stop him!"
Several soldiers who stayed back to keep the supporting team alive rushed forward immediately, pulling Lucius away just before it was too late.
Lucius staggered backwards as his grip loosened.
And then
Everything stopped.
The voices vanished.
The pain receded.
Reality returned.
He looked down at his hands.
Then, he slowly lifted his gaze to the others.
Fear.
That was what he saw in their eyes.
Fear of him.
Confusion followed.
Then the realisation.
The memory of what he had just done struck him all at once, crashing into his mind with overwhelming clarity.
For the first time since gaining his power, Lucius felt something he could not ignore.
Fear.
Not of the world around him.
But of himself.
Unable to face them, he turned and ran into the ruins without saying a single word.
Meanwhile, the group continued deeper into the ruins.
The claw marks became more violent and erratic until they eventually stumbled upon something unexpected.
Footsteps.
Human footsteps.
Fresh.
So they followed those footsteps, which led them to a hidden laboratory.
As they entered, a foul stench immediately filled the air, forcing several of them to cover their noses in disgust. The interior was filled with broken cages, rotting remains of creatures, scattered equipment, and numerous notes left carelessly.
It was clear what had happened here.
Experiments.
The head mage spent nearly an hour examining the notes carefully before finally speaking, his expression dark and unreadable.
"These are all failed results…"
He paused slightly, his voice lowering.
"They left this behind deliberately. We've been misled."
Before anyone could respond
A low growl echoed through the ruins.
Then another.
One of the mages had accidentally triggered something.
The moment it happened, the curse energy in the area surged violently.
The ground trembled beneath their feet.
The air grew thick and suffocating.
"They're coming!" someone shouted.
The manifestations appeared.
Larger.
Faster.
More twisted than anything they had faced before.
"What is going on here?!" Collen shouted in frustration. "Why are they getting stronger?!"
But the heroes were confident because, before coming here, all their powers had improved significantly.
Clara stepped forward first, her blade igniting with a blazing red aura as she moved to intercept the nearest creature. Her strikes were precise, each swing aimed at vital points, but the creature did not fall as easily as before. Instead, it pushed back with terrifying strength, forcing her to retreat slightly under the pressure.
Liam followed immediately, his movements fast and aggressive as his blade flashed repeatedly, cutting through multiple targets and forcing the group back, creating space between them and the advancing monsters. However, even his attacks, which once overwhelmed enemies effortlessly, now struggled to bring them down quickly.
Collen raised both hands, releasing bursts of elemental power as fire and lightning crashed into the creatures. Even after being straggled back, the monsters did not look injured at all, their corrupted bodies absorbing damage that should have destroyed them by now.
Shira supported from behind, her divine magic spreading across the group, strengthening their bodies and slowing their injuries, but even she could not keep up with the increasing pressure.
The formation began to break.
The monsters adapted too quickly.
Their numbers grew.
Their strength increased.
Soldiers fell.
One after another.
Nearly half of the army was lost before they could regain control.
Elsewhere, Lucius faced his own battle.
The monsters surrounded him.
He let out a quiet, broken laugh.
"…This is just great…"
"They keep getting stronger… and I have no choice but to absorb the curse if I want to defeat them…"
His voice steadied slightly.
"…But what if I lose control again…?"
The monsters did not wait for him to finish thinking before they attacked him.
One struck him directly, sending him crashing into the ground with enough force to shatter bone.
But the moment it happened, his power activated.
The damage vanished instantly.
He stood again.
"…You really don't give me a choice, do you?"
This time, he did not hesitate.
When the next attack came, he stepped forward instead of back.
His hand reached out, holding a stick he found on the ground.
And the corruption responded.
Dark energy surged from his body, twisting and gathering as it formed into something new.
A blade, but not formed from steel, but from pure curse energy, unstable and flickering as if it could collapse at any moment.
"What… is this…?" he muttered, staring at it with a mixture of confusion and excitement.
"…So I can shape it…"
He tightened his grip slightly.
"Let's test it."
And without hesitation, he stepped forward toward the monsters.
The strike landed.
And the creature collapsed from within, its own corrupted energy turning against it.
Lucius moved again, faster this time, his body adapting as he avoided another attack and drove the blade forward, absorbing and reshaping the corruption around him.
But the cost came immediately.
Pain surged through him.
Violent.
Unrelenting.
His body trembled as the corruption tore through him from the inside.
Still
He did not stop.
He fought.
He endured.
Until the last creature collapsed.
Then his strength gave out.
He dropped to his knees.
And fell.
Darkness followed with the shadow smiling