Raine’s POV:

In the stillness of the night, when the moon laid its shadows across the dark and most felt at their safest tucked away in their rooms, two cadets were engaged in a relentless duel within the renovated training room of the Privileged Hall.

Raine had cloaked herself in Divine Aura, her physical strength bolstered, her black vest soaked through with sweat as she squared off against Lucius. Bare-chested, sweat running down his ribbed torso, pale and slick with it, he was fighting on nothing but his own strength.

For a while now, Raine had been dueling Lucius almost every day, and not once had she managed to land a clean hit. But today, she was fighting for something entirely different.

The Great Citadel raid was only hours away, and she was determined to shed every conflicted thought before the time came.

This wasn’t a simulation, it was real, and even the smallest mistake could mean her end.

What chance did she stand against a Lord brimming with malevolent energy if she couldn’t land a clean hit on a mere human?

With a quiet smirk, Lucius beckoned her forward. She had charged in more times than she could count and always fallen short. This time, she went for something different.

She poured her Divine Aura into her legs, boosting her speed, and dashed toward Lucius, but just before she entered his attack range, she feinted a strike. She led him into it deliberately, and then, with almost inhuman precision, shifted her balance and drove a kick forward.

Her leg tore through the air in a sweeping arc and whipped toward Lucius. Something like surprise crossed his expression.

Then, almost as if this were a technique he’d seen before, he shifted his body just enough, avoided the strike, and launched a powerful kick in return. It landed square in her gut and sent her crashing into the wall.

Raine’s gut felt as though it were being torn clean out of her. She clenched her teeth against the agony and, almost immediately, drew her Divine Aura inward to begin healing herself.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Lucius gave an awkward smile, scratching the back of his head. "Why not stick with the sword? You’re already pretty good with it."

Raine rose to her feet, stretching for the next round. "No. That’s not enough. What happens if my blade fails me? I need to be prepared."

Lucius exhaled and shook his head before taking his stance.

"My fighting style isn’t about technique; it’s forged through experience. I was a mercenary before coming here, so I’ve been through countless battles. Something like that isn’t easy to pick up."

Raine settled back into her stance, confidence growing as she felt herself drawing closer to what she was after.

"That’s exactly why I need to defeat you. If I can beat you, then I’ll know I’ve grown stronger."

Lucius smiled. "Then this time, I’ll be the one to come to you."

Without a moment’s pause, Lucius charged and delivered a string of strikes. Raine narrowly avoided them all, but that only drew a smile from him.

After Lucius threw his next attack, Raine locked her attention onto his openings rather than the strike. She barely avoided it, a bruise grazing her face in the process, but it didn’t matter.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Her eyes locked on his ribcage, and she made her decision, she would hit it no matter what.

Almost as if the smallest hesitation would make her miss the opening, a frustration began to boil over, one that didn’t belong in this duel at all. She swung with a force she hadn’t known she possessed.

Lucius’s eyes widened, something close to terror crossing his face as he immediately understood that if the attack landed, it wouldn’t bode well for him.

In that split second, his gaze found Raine’s arm, and his hand moved almost at once, catching the strike before it could land with its full force.

Even so, the force sent him flying backwards. He made a swift recovery in the air and landed as though it had never happened.

"Whoa, Raine... that strike was seriously powerful."

Raine composed herself and began rubbing her head. The knowledge that the attack had still not landed was making it throb.

"Don’t be so hard on yourself, Raine. That was a guaranteed hit. If I’d taken that, I’d probably be nursing a broken rib or two."

"But it didn’t land, did it?"

Lucius forced a smile in an attempt to cheer her up. "Come on, you’ll be a knight during the raid. All you need is your sword."

Raine stared at Lucius for a moment. She realised she had no idea what his ability even was, and yet the strength he possessed was beyond anything her Divine Aura gave her.

More daunting still, she had seen him shatter an artifact made of preet metal with ease, and preet was said to be the strongest metal in all of the Naver Kingdom.

’Maybe I should feel a little better. After all, just like Leomaris, he’s a monster too.’

She stretched lightly. "I think I’m done for tonight. I’ve got a morning shift before the raid."

"Oh, really?" Lucius looked disappointed.

"I think I’ll train a little longer. See you tomorrow."

A gentle wave, and Raine grabbed her things and slipped out of the room.

—

Back in her quarters, she didn’t even stop to shower before grabbing a sheet and ink and getting straight to work on a letter to the Runerth family.

It was the fifth letter she had written since Ren departed for Sebastian to retrieve her customised weapons, and never came back. But as though someone or something were intercepting them, she had yet to receive a single response.

Without Ren, frustration was all she seemed to know. She understood it was something she had to work on, that without her maid, logical thinking escaped her, and her emotions took over every time.

But this wasn’t the moment for self-reflection. She needed to know if her best friend was alright.

—

Meanwhile, in an alley in the middle of nowhere, buried beneath silence with every plant and machine perfectly still, a young girl in shorts and a long-sleeved shirt held together by braces crouched alone in the corner.

Her body trembled as she clutched her luggage tightly against her chest. Panic ran through her, yet not a trace of fear showed in her eyes. They flicked from one shadow to the next like someone who already understood that surviving meant never letting her guard down.

Then that resolve cracked.

At first, it was distant. A single footstep. Soft, almost swallowed by the quiet, yet enough to pull her gaze towards the street and the lone strip of casting light.

Another followed. Then more. Closer each time.

Her body stiffened, but she stayed perfectly still, keeping her breathing low and shallow until she almost seemed absent from the alley itself.

Then a figure stepped into view.

Dressed in a suit. Covered in blood so heavily that it was impossible to make out who they were.

Her chest tightened. A single thought broke through everything else. Even as the man before her reeked of nothing but death, her lady was all she could think of.

"Raine."

Then, all at once, their murderous gaze began to move, slowly, until it settled squarely on her.