Lucen looked around and counted there were six people surrounding them. He then glanced at Jay's reaction and saw his pale face.

This was a person who surely knew how strong Lucen was, but even then, showing such a reaction even with him here meant that these people weren't anything normal.

Lucen, whose senses have improved over the years, was confused. No matter how he looked at them, they all looked like third-rate thugs that he could easily defeat.

'The only reason I can think of why Jay is reacting like that is that these guys might be abnormal or are using something special.'

This was a world that had creatures that looked human but weren't, and this was also a world that had dr*sgs that enhanced one's strength.

Even Lysette, who had remained calm until now, let her gaze sweep over the men more carefully.

Her smile had not disappeared, but it had grown thinner, sharper, as if she were looking past their ragged clothes and cheap weapons and searching for what truly made them dangerous.

Lysette was already touching the hilt of the thin, short sword hidden at the back of her dress.

"Oh, it seems that you have company. I don't know who the two of you are, but based on what you're wearing, you two should be nobles."

The leader of the group spoke rather nonchalantly. Even though Norvaegard was known as a warrior kingdom that valued strength and honor, speaking to nobles with such a tone means the other party has some kind of backing.

Lucen's eyes narrowed as he looked at the leader. Beside him, Lysette was already ready to strike if the need arose.

Jay, on the other hand, looked as though his legs might give out at any moment. His face had gone so pale that he looked closer to a corpse than a living man, and the way his eyes trembled as they moved from one man to another made it obvious that this was not his first time seeing them.

"If you know we are nobles, then you should also know that stopping us here is the sort of mistake that can bury an entire gang," Lucen said calmly.

The leader grinned, showing yellowed teeth. "Normally, maybe, but things are a little different today," he replied.

"That sounds like the sort of thing people say shortly before making a very expensive mistake."

"True, that is, if there are people to tell about the mistake. As you nobles like to say, dead men tell no tales."

As the leader spoke, the men surrounding them slowly approached. Lucen then showed a confident smile as he responded.

"You're right, dead men do tell no tales, but." Lucen cracked his knuckles. "I don't plan on killing you all, and instead I'll make you sing to me in agony."

The leader's grin twitched for a brief moment, as if Lucen's words had struck a nerve. Then he started laughing, and once the laughter ended, the men holding swords, daggers, and spears lunged at them.

The first thug swung a short sword toward Lucen's neck without hesitation.

Lucen tilted his head to the side and allowed the blade to pass by him by the smallest margin. At the same time, he stepped inward and drove his palm heel straight into the man's chin.

A sickening crack echoed through the alley.

The thug's body lifted off the ground for a brief moment before crashing backward, his eyes rolling white as he collapsed on the stones.

Lucen did not stop there.

The second man came from the side with a dagger aimed at Lucen's ribs. Lucen caught the attacker's wrist mid-thrust, twisted it sharply, and forced the man's own arm upward until the dagger flew from his grip.

Before the man could even scream, Lucen slammed his elbow into the other's face and followed it with a knee to the stomach strong enough to fold him in half.

The man dropped to his knees, retching, and Lucen brought the back of his fist down on the base of his neck.

Lysette, who had already been ready to draw the thin, short sword hidden at the back of her dress, paused.

Her deep blue eyes narrowed ever so slightly, not in concern, but in quiet fascination. Every single time she saw Lucen fight, there was this kind of thrill to watching it.

Every time he fights, he always shows something new. Not only that, but sometimes it was like he had become someone else entirely.

It was not merely his skill that made her think that way.

There were moments, especially when Lucen fought, when the atmosphere around him shifted so subtly that most people would never notice it. Yet Lysette did.

One moment, he moved with the cold decisiveness of a veteran who had survived countless battlefields.

Next, there was a sharpness to him that felt more like that of an assassin striking from the dark.

Then, just as quickly, he would carry himself with the steady confidence of someone born to stand above others and lead them forward without hesitation.

The face remained the same, the voice was also similar, but the way he spoke, the demeanor he had, clearly changed.

Before Lysette could dwell on that thought any longer, one of the men lunged at her from the side, perhaps thinking the noble lady would be the easier target.

Lysette's hand moved in one smooth motion, drawing the thin, short sword hidden at the back of her dress. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

The blade flashed like a sliver of moonlight as she stepped just half a pace to the side and let the thug's knife pass harmlessly by her, then she struck.

Her blade pierced through the man's forearm with precise cruelty, forcing him to drop the weapon with a cry. Lysette pulled the sword free immediately and, with a second motion just as clean, cut across the back of his knee.

The thug crumpled onto the stones. Lysette did not even spare him another glance.

"How rude, to interrupt a lady while she watches," she said softly, as if mildly offended rather than attacked.

Another thug who was holding a spear came in low, clearly having understood that Lucen was far more dangerous than he had first appeared.

The spearman thrust upward, aiming for Lucen's stomach in a quick, vicious motion.

Lucen stepped to the side just enough to let the spearhead scrape past his coat. At the same time, his hand shot out and grabbed the wooden shaft near the middle. Before the thug could pull back, Lucen twisted his hips and yanked the spear toward himself with brutal force.

The man stumbled forward. Lucen's knee drove straight into the thug's face.

A wet crack rang through the alley, and blood sprayed across the stones. The thug's head snapped backward, his grip on the spear loosening immediately. Lucen ripped the weapon free from his hands, spun it once, and slammed the blunt end into the man's throat.

The thug dropped to the ground, clutching his neck as he choked and wheezed.

Another one came in from behind almost at the same time, thinking Lucen's back had been left open.

He was holding a heavy club wrapped in iron bands, and he swung it down with enough force to shatter bone. Lucen did not even turn around fully.

He shifted one step to the side, letting the club smash into the wall where he had been standing a heartbeat earlier. Bits of stone broke loose. Before the thug could recover, Lucen drove the stolen spear backward under his arm like a striking serpent.

The wooden shaft slammed into the man's ribs with a dull, brutal impact.

The thug coughed and staggered, and Lucen turned completely this time. His fist shot forward and buried itself in the man's stomach, making him bend over. Then Lucen brought the butt of the spear down across the back of his neck.

The thug crumpled to the ground, twitching once before going still. For a brief moment, the alley grew quiet. It had only taken a few breaths, and five men had already fallen.

Lucen stood in the middle of them as he tossed the spear in his hand into the ground. His silver hair shifted slightly in the faint wind that slipped through the alley. His red eyes remained calm, but the smile on his lips had grown colder.

Jay, who had been frozen in fear, stared with wide eyes. Even though he had seen Lucen fight before, this was different.

Back then, Lucen had simply been overwhelming. Right now, he looked terrifyingly composed, as though beating down men like these was not even enough to make his blood stir.

Lysette's grip on her blade loosened slightly. Her deep blue eyes lingered on Lucen, and once again that familiar thrill passed through her.

Every single time she saw him fight, there was always something different. It was never just a display of strength.

It always felt as though she was seeing another side of him she had not yet fully grasped. That was precisely why she could never look away.

The leader no longer smiled. The easy confidence from before had vanished from his face, replaced by something sharper and uglier.

He looked at the men sprawled across the ground, then at Lucen, and for the first time, he truly seemed to understand that the boy standing before him was not someone he could crush with numbers alone.

"I see... You are the ruby-eyed monster, Lucen Thornehart." The leader spoke almost like a growl as he took something out of his pocket.