The journey from the Royal Magic Academy's infirmary back to the lower noble district was the longest, most agonizing ride of Leon Bright's life.
He was crammed into a cheap, rented carriage that jolted with every cobblestone. His shattered right collarbone was tightly bandaged, but every bump sent a blinding flare of agony through his chest. Worse than the physical pain was the hollow, terrifying emptiness where his S-Rank Light mana core used to burn so brightly.
He was broken.
His friends, Tim and Mark, had abandoned him, smearing his name to the entire student body. The Academy professors looked at him with disdain. Even Serena... the Saintess he had sworn to protect... had walked right past his bleeding body and willingly entered Victor Nightshade's carriage.
It's fine, Leon thought, biting his cracked lip, tears mixing with the cold rain streaming through the carriage window. I still have my family. My father loves me. We have our alchemy business. I will rest. I will find a way to heal my core. I will expose Victor to the Emperor!
The rickety carriage finally rolled to a stop in front of the Bright Manor.
Leon awkwardly pushed the door open, ignoring the sharp pain in his shoulder, and stepped out into the pouring rain.
"Father, I..."
The words died in his throat. His bloodshot eyes widened in absolute, paralyzing horror.
The heavy oak doors of his family's estate were wide open. A squad of heavily armored Imperial Knights stood guard at the entrance, their swords drawn.
Thrown carelessly onto the muddy street in front of the manor were his family's possessions: expensive velvet chairs, ancestral paintings, cauldrons from the laboratory, and even his mother's antique vanity mirror, now shattered in the mud.
And kneeling in the center of that mud, completely soaked by the freezing rain, was his father, Baron Thomas Bright.
Thomas was weeping uncontrollably, desperately clutching the boots of a tall, thin man wearing the grey suit of the Iron Bank.
"Please! I beg you! Give us just one more week!" Thomas wailed, his dignity as a noble completely shattered. "We can sell the laboratory equipment! I can borrow from the mercenaries! Don't take our home!"
"Unhand me, you bankrupt fool," the bank representative sneered, kicking Thomas away with disgust. "Your laboratory equipment has already been seized to cover the interest. As of ten minutes ago, House Bright officially ceases to exist. You are trespassing on Iron Bank property. Knights, remove him."
Two knights stepped forward, grabbing Thomas by the arms and dragging him through the mud.
"FATHER!"
Leon screamed, the sight of his weeping father snapping something deep within his mind. He didn't care about his shattered collarbone or his broken core. He drew a small, cheap dagger with his left hand and recklessly charged at the knights. "Let him go! What are you doing?! This is our home!"
"Leon?!" Thomas gasped, looking at his heavily bandaged, bloodied son.
One of the Imperial Knights easily sidestepped Leon's clumsy, mana-less thrust and backhanded him across the face with a heavy, armored gauntlet.
Smack!
Leon was sent flying, crashing hard into the muddy street right next to his mother's shattered mirror. He coughed violently, spitting out a tooth and a mouthful of blood.
"Assaulting an Imperial Knight?" the guard sneered, drawing his sword. "Looks like the Bright family is eager to see the inside of a dungeon."
Before the knight could advance, the rhythmic, heavy sound of hooves echoed down the cobblestone street.
The chaotic scene instantly froze. The Imperial Knights abruptly stopped. The bank representative immediately straightened his tie, a look of profound, terrified respect washing over his face.
Through the pouring rain, a massive, incredibly luxurious black carriage pulled by four midnight-black stallions rolled to a smooth halt just a few feet away from where Leon was lying in the mud.
The Nightshade crest—a dark dragon coiled around a bloody sword—gleamed on the carriage door.
The door opened.
A sleek, black cane with a silver dragon head emerged first, tapping against the wet cobblestones. Then, Victor Nightshade stepped out.
He didn't bring an umbrella. Instead, a faint, almost invisible dome of S-Rank Shadow mana naturally repelled the rain, keeping his pristine, custom-tailored dark suit completely dry. The sheer, suffocating density of his aura instantly made the air in the street heavy and difficult to breathe.
Hidden perfectly within the shadow cast by Victor's boots, a pair of devoted, ruby-red eyes—Lilith—silently scanned the perimeter, ready to slaughter anyone who dared approach her Master.
"My Lord Nightshade!" The bank representative instantly dropped to one knee, bowing deeply. The Imperial Knights hurriedly followed suit, their armor clanking loudly against the stone.
"You..." Leon rasped from the mud, his voice trembling with sheer, unadulterated hatred. He tried to push himself up, glaring at the elegant monster towering over him. "Victor... You did this! You orchestrated this! You coward!"
Victor didn't even look at Leon. He leaned casually on his silver cane, his violet eyes shifting toward the weeping, terrified older man being held by the knights.
"Baron Thomas," Victor said smoothly, his voice a dark, magnetic purr that carried easily over the sound of the rain. "A tragic day for House Bright, it seems."
Thomas stared at the Duke's heir, his mind racing. He remembered the bank representative, the Master Alchemists fleeing... and then he looked at his son, screaming hatred at the most powerful, ruthless young noble in the Empire.
The pieces fell into place. The horrific, crushing truth slammed into Thomas like a warhammer.
It wasn't a business failure. Leon... Leon offended the Nightshade Dukedom.
"My Lord... Lord Victor..." Thomas stammered, scrambling forward on his knees, ignoring his son entirely. "Please! We are loyal subjects of the Empire! I don't know what my foolish son has done, but I swear upon my life, House Bright had no part in it! Please, spare us!"
Leon froze. His heart stopped.
"Father?" Leon whispered, his voice cracking. "What are you doing? He destroyed our family! He shattered my core! Get up!"
"Shut your mouth!" Thomas roared, turning around with a look of absolute, frantic terror.
Before Leon could react, Thomas lunged forward. He raised his mud-covered hand and slapped his own son across the face with all the strength he could muster.
CRACK!
The sound echoed sharply in the rain. Leon was thrown back into the mud, his cheek stinging, his mind completely blank.
"You arrogant, ungrateful wretch!" Thomas screamed, tears streaming down his face as he grabbed Leon by his torn collar, violently shaking him. "You think you're a hero?! You think you're special?! You brought the wrath of a Duke upon us! You ruined our legacy! You ruined everything! Apologize to Lord Victor immediately! Beg for his forgiveness, or I will disown you myself!"
Leon lay there in the freezing mud, staring up at the man who had raised him. The man who had always told him he was destined for greatness.
His father was crying, not for him, but in terror of the man standing behind him.
The final, absolute pillar of Leon's sanity cracked, shattered, and turned to dust. The 'Light' inside him died completely, replaced by a cold, hollow, echoing void.
Victor watched the pathetic, tragic display with a look of profound, aristocratic amusement. He gently tapped his silver cane against the cobblestones.
"A touching family reunion," Victor murmured, a devilish smile curving his lips. "But I am afraid apologies cannot buy back foreclosed properties, Baron. I suggest you find a dry bridge to sleep under tonight. The rain is rather unforgiving."
Victor turned around, not sparing the broken protagonist a second glance. He stepped back into his luxurious carriage.
The door clicked shut. The black stallions neighed, and the carriage rolled away down the street, splashing a puddle of dirty water directly over Leon's face.
[Ding!]
[Host has orchestrated the Ultimate Betrayal of Blood!]
[Protagonist's family foundation is completely eradicated! Protagonist has been disowned!]
[Protagonist's Dao Heart has successfully inverted into the Abyss!]
[Major Plotline Complete: 'The Fall of the Hero'.]
[Massive Reward: +15,000 Villain Points!]
[Hidden Title Unlocked: 'The Architect of Despair'!]
The carriage disappeared into the distance, leaving only the sound of the pouring rain and Thomas's pathetic weeping.
Leon Bright didn't cry.
He slowly sat up in the mud. He ignored his screaming father. He ignored the mocking stares of the Imperial Knights.
His eyes, once a bright, heroic blue, were now completely vacant.
With trembling, numb fingers, he reached into the inner pocket of his torn Academy robes. He pulled out the thick, black leather book he had found. The Abyssal Codex.
He opened the book in the pouring rain. The water didn't wet the pages; it was repelled by the dark, sinister energy radiating from the ancient text.
"Do you see the truth now, child?" a demonic whisper echoed directly into Leon's mind. "The Light is weak. Family is a chain. Love is a lie. Only power is absolute."
"Yes," Leon rasped. His voice sounded completely different—cold, dead, and utterly devoid of humanity.
"Do you accept the pact? Will you trade your soul, your past, and your flesh to become the vessel of the Abyss?"
Leon slowly raised his head, looking in the direction Victor's carriage had vanished.
"I accept," Leon whispered, his eyes suddenly turning completely, terrifyingly pitch-black. "Give me the power to tear this world apart."
The Abyssal Codex erupted into a pillar of dark, suffocating flames, completely engulfing the fallen hero in the middle of the stormy street.
Volume 1: The Shadow of the Academy — Concluded.