Complete darkness filled the entire cathedral.

It was the kind of dark that carried weight to it, as if something eerie settled over the entire space with the disappearance of light.

Damon heard the monster’s movements before his eyes could even adjust to the sudden dark.

It came fast, displacing air around it as if its movements were about to break the sound barrier.

CLANG!

Damon raised his blade on pure instinct, blocking the enemy strike at the last possible moment.

Before the monster could pivot, he already summoned the Dark Knight, his summon swinging his own weapon the second he appeared.

Then he finally saw it, the dark plate of metal that made for its visor, its empty gaze staring right at him just as Ivy’s flames burst to life, casting a faint light across the chamber.

Its gaze held on Damon for a long moment before it turned toward Ivy, and the monster suddenly vanished, reappearing in front of her with a speed that almost matched Damon’s shadow step.

The girl evaded as fast as she could, throwing herself out of harm’s way, the glaive grazing across her shoulder, while Damon appeared beside her a second later.

’It’s targeting the weaker target!’ Damon realised as he blocked the monster’s follow-up strike, but the second their blades met, the glaive twisted and, using the second blade, it slashed at Damon, catching his torso.

The cut wasn’t deep, but it struck nonetheless.

Damon stepped back, sending shards of black ice at the monster as he created space. At the same time, the dark knight pressed from behind, catching the creature off guard for a single strike before it turned with an unnatural speed.

Using the moment of peace between the exchanges, Damon turned his mind toward the newly acquired class, the Lightning Mage. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

He reached for the Lightning Manipulation ability without even reading the description, using his experience from manipulating the Black Ice to his aid as a burst of lightning began to coalesce around his arm.

Unlike the lightning of the woman he had killed, which was blue, his appeared dark purple, as if infested by something dark. He, however, had no time to dwell on it right now as he raised his hand toward the enemy creature, which just sent the Dark Knight flying through the air and shot his new ability.

’Is that...?’ Ivy’s eyes widened as a large burst of purple lightning cut through the air.

Zzzzt!

It struck with terrifying force. The creature’s metal-plated armour shattered upon the point of impact. revealing a flesh made of the black vines that surrounded everything around them.

Damon didn’t waste a second. Using Shadow Step, he appeared right in front of the creature before it could recover and thrust his blade deep into the opening.

The monster froze as Damon used Ice Blossom to tear its insides, stopping only when its glaive fell from its arm, and a notification rang clearly in his head.

[You have slain a Level 75 Corrupted Knight of Myrlm]

[New Monster Index bonus: +15 Strength, +10 Vitality, +11 Mana, +25 Dexterity]

[You have reached Level 71. You have received 1 Stat Point.]

[You have reached Level 72. You have received 1 Stat Point.]

A moment of silence filled the cathedral after the monster’s body dropped to the ground. It lasted only a short while before Ivy stepped toward Damon.

"You copied that woman’s ability," she said, which sounded like both a statement and a question.

"Something like that," Damon replied, before turning toward the rift core. "Do you want to do the honour?"

Ivy lingered for a moment, her lips pressed as if she was debating asking more about the specifics of how exactly he got her ability, but chose not to.

"Sure," she finally replied before stepping toward the rift core floating above the altar. She didn’t waste even a single second as she raised her hand with her usual deliberate motion and imbued mana into it, shattering the core and ending the rift all at once.

Their surroundings changed immediately. The familiar smell of earth hit them the second the ruined city appeared before them. Despite the almost complete destruction around them, there was always something calming about returning.

"So," Ivy began, "What now?"

"We should head back to the citadel. We dealt a real blow to the enemy force, so I doubt they will try to make a move anytime soon. We should use this time to bring everyone’s levels up."

She nodded, sharing the exact same thoughts.

***

The walk back was quieter than the walk out.

The south western district gave way to the industrial stretches, the industrial stretches gave way to the familiar city ruins, and the ruins gave way to the central district with its recognisable skyline and the citadel rising above it.

Neither of them spoke much. It wasn’t an awkward silence, but the quiet of two people who worked best in quiet environments.

It was only once they used the teleportation device and approached the castle’s gates that Damon noticed that something was wrong.

The activity around the entrance was different from usual. Too many people moving in one direction, voices carrying across the courtyard with an urgency that didn’t belong to a normal afternoon.

He moved faster without deciding to.

Hana’s gaze immediately found them the second they stepped into the grand hall, her face carrying the particular expression of someone who had been waiting for their arrival with news she didn’t know how to deliver.

"What happened?" Damon asked, realising something had happened without being told that.

"...While you were gone, " she spoke with her usual quickness. "Victor took a small group to clear out a rift to the east. It was supposed to be a straightforward task..." She paused, her gaze trailing between Damon and Ivy. "They were ambushed on the way back."

Damon’s expression didn’t change.

"Victor?" he asked.

Hana’s hands tightened around the notebook she was carrying.

"They took him," she said. "They took him captive."