The words remained hanging over the battlefield.
"Traitor to the Empire."
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The declaration seemed to settle over the clearing like an invisible weight. Only moments ago, the battlefield had been filled with the clash of steel, the cries of wounded warriors, and the roar of battle. Now, after Ragnar's death and Rowan's arrival, an unnatural silence had taken its place.
Ragnar's body still lay behind Rowan.
The Immortal Blade rested nearby, half-buried in the bloodstained earth.
Yet no one dared look away from the two figures standing at the centre of the battlefield.
Leo slowly raised his eyes toward Rowan.
His expression remained composed, almost unnervingly so, but there was something sharper behind his gaze now. He had heard the judgment. He understood exactly what Rowan's words meant.
And yet, instead of reaching for his weapon or stepping back, Leo simply looked at him.
Then he spoke.
"You're not actually going to hurt your own son, are you, Dad?"
The words broke the silence.
Kieran's eyes widened.
Sasha turned toward Leo so quickly that her surprise was impossible to hide. For a brief moment, neither of them seemed to understand what they had heard.
Dad?
Their eyes moved toward Rowan.
Then back to Leo.
The man who had walked onto the battlefield and brought an entire war to a halt.
The man who had killed Ragnar in a single movement.
Was Leo's father?
Kieran's grip tightened around his spear. His gaze remained fixed on Rowan, but there was a new caution in his expression now.
Sasha remained still.
She had known Leo for only a short time, yet even she could see how strange the situation had suddenly become. The man threatening them all wasn't merely some powerful warrior from Velora.
He was Leo's father.
Rowan, however, showed almost no reaction.
His gaze remained fixed on Leo.
"It doesn't matter."
Leo's eyes narrowed slightly.
For a moment, the words were the only thing separating them.
Then Rowan continued.
"The fact remains that you betrayed the Empire."
His voice was calm and unwavering.
His hand remained around the hilt of his sword.
"And we Radiance are the loyal blades of Velora."
The words carried the weight of something Rowan had believed his entire life.
For a moment, Leo simply stared at him.
Then a faint smile appeared on his face.
It wasn't amusement.
There was nothing happy about it.
"So that's it?"
Rowan remained silent.
Leo slowly lowered his bow.
"Your loyalty matters more than my life?"
The question hung between them.
Even Kieran and Sasha remained silent now.
Leo's gaze never left Rowan.
"You know exactly what will happen if I return to Velora as a traitor."
For the first time, something almost imperceptible changed in Rowan's expression.
Leo noticed.
He continued.
"And you know how people treat cursed children like me."
The faint smile disappeared from his face.
"Especially the Emperor's family."
The battlefield seemed to grow even quieter.
Kieran's expression changed slightly.
Sasha remained beside him, her attention now fully fixed on Leo. Neither interrupted.
Leo took a slow breath.
"You know they hate cursed children."
His fingers tightened around the bow.
"And if I return carrying the name of a traitor..."
He paused.
For several seconds, neither father nor son looked away.
"You know exactly what kind of mercy I'll receive."
The words were quiet.
But they struck harder than a shout.
Leo's expression slowly hardened.
"So tell me, Dad."
There was something different in his voice now.
Not fear.
Not anger.
A challenge.
"Is your loyalty to Velora really worth sending your own son back to that?"
Rowan remained completely still.
The wind moved through the silent battlefield, carrying the smell of blood and smoke across the clearing.
Behind them, warriors from both sides watched without speaking.
Kieran waited.
Sasha waited.
Even Adrian remained silent.
And for the first time since Rowan had stepped onto the battlefield, his answer didn't come immediately.
A brief hesitation passed through his expression.
Leo saw it.
So did everyone watching.
Then Rowan slowly drew a breath.
His hand remained firmly around the hilt of his sword.
The battlefield waited for his answer.
Rowan remained silent.
For the first time since he had stepped onto the battlefield, hesitation crossed his face.
It was slight.
Brief enough that most people would have missed it.
Leo didn't.
His gaze remained fixed on his father as the silence stretched between them. Rowan knew exactly what Leo meant. He knew what awaited him if he returned to Velora carrying the name of a traitor. He knew how the Emperor's family treated cursed children.
For a brief moment, Rowan said nothing.
It was as though the words Leo had spoken had reached somewhere beneath the cold certainty he had carried onto the battlefield.
Then Rowan slowly drew a breath.
His expression hardened again.
"It's not my decision to make."
Leo's eyes narrowed.
Rowan's gaze remained steady, though the hesitation from moments earlier had not completely disappeared.
"If that is what the Empire desires..." He paused briefly. "Then so be it."
A bitter laugh broke the silence.
Everyone's attention shifted.
Kieran stood a short distance away, his spear still held firmly in his hands.
"And you people call us the bad ones."
Rowan's eyes immediately turned toward him.
Kieran didn't look away.
There was open mockery in his expression now, but beneath it was something colder.
"You can't even stand on your own son's side."
The words struck harder than Kieran probably intended.
Something changed in Rowan's expression.
The anger he had been holding back surfaced immediately.
"Shut your mouth, boy."
His voice cut through the clearing.
Kieran's grip tightened around his spear, but he remained where he stood.
Rowan took a slow breath, his eyes never leaving him.
"Enjoy these few moments I've given you."
The words were quiet.
Almost calm.
That somehow made them more threatening.
His gaze hardened.
"Before I deal with my son."
The tension returned to the battlefield instantly.
Kieran's expression changed, but before either of them could move—
"But he isn't wrong."
Rowan went still.
His eyes slowly shifted toward Adrian.
For several moments, Adrian remained where he stood.
Then he began walking.
He moved past Rowan without hesitation, crossing the small distance between them before stopping beside Leo, Kieran, and Sasha.
The meaning of the movement was clear.
Rowan watched him carefully.
"You know it, Lord Rowan."
Rowan's expression darkened.
For a moment, neither man spoke.
Then Rowan slowly turned his body toward Adrian.
"Just because I let you be for now doesn't mean I've forgotten about you, Westfield."
His gaze sharpened.
"You too are a traitor."
Adrian looked back at him.
There was no hesitation this time.
"I'd rather be a traitor than a mindless, loyal slave."
Silence.
The words settled over the battlefield.
Rowan stared at Adrian.
The air between them seemed to tighten.
Even the warriors watching from a distance could feel the change in the atmosphere.
Leo slowly leaned closer to Adrian.
"Oh my... maybe you should keep your mouth closed. You're not making this easy."
Adrian immediately turned toward him.
"What? I was just—"
"He's right."
Sasha cut him off.
Adrian stopped.
Sasha's eyes remained fixed ahead.
"Shut up, Adrian."
For a moment, Adrian simply stood there.
His mouth remained slightly open as though he still had something to say.
Then he slowly lowered his head.
His shoulders dropped slightly.
Without another word, Adrian looked away.
Leo watched Rowan for a moment.
The tension between them had already pushed the battlefield to its limit, yet neither of them seemed willing to step back. Around them, the remaining warriors stood frozen, uncertain whether the battle had truly ended or whether something far worse was about to begin.
Then Leo spoke.
"You know why the Beastmen Empire wants the Wolf Clan gone."
Rowan's expression remained unchanged.
Leo continued, his gaze fixed firmly on his father.
"And yet, just to stay on their good side, our Empire closed its eyes and decided to join hands with them."
The words hung heavily in the air.
Kieran's eyes shifted toward Leo.
Sasha remained silent.
Leo slowly shook his head.
"But... that's not what I understand."
Rowan's gaze narrowed.
Leo's expression hardened.
"Since when did the great Radiance family decide to bend their knees before something unjust?"
"Shut up!"
Rowan's voice exploded across the battlefield.
The sudden force behind it silenced everything.
Leo didn't move.
For a moment, Rowan simply stood there, his chest rising and falling as anger flashed across his face. Then he looked directly at Leo.
"When did you become so talkative?"
His voice was sharp.
A faint, cold expression crossed his face.
"I suppose staying with these beasts has turned you into one as well."
The insult hung in the air.
Kieran's grip immediately tightened around his spear.
Sasha's eyes narrowed.
Leo, however, remained where he was.
Rowan closed his eyes briefly.
Then he took a slow, controlled breath.
When his eyes opened again, the hesitation was gone.
"Fine."
The single word sent a chill through the battlefield.
Rowan slowly adjusted his grip on his sword.
"If that's how it's going to be..."
His gaze moved across Leo, Adrian, Kieran, and Sasha.
"Then we'll do this the hard way."
The moment those words left his mouth, everything changed.
Kieran lowered his stance.
The fractured violet Aura around his spear began to flicker.
Sasha moved beside him, her claws slowly extending as her body tensed.
Adrian stepped forward as well.
Leo remained behind them, his bow still in his hand.
For a brief moment—
Nobody moved.
Then Rowan disappeared.
The distance between him and Leo vanished in an instant.
Adrian reacted first.
He threw himself directly into Rowan's path.
But Rowan didn't slow down.
His free hand moved.
BAM!
The back of Rowan's fist crashed into Adrian's face.
The impact was brutal.
Adrian's head snapped violently to the side before his body was sent flying across the battlefield. He struck the ground hard and rolled through the dirt before finally coming to a stop several metres away.
Leo's eyes widened slightly.
But Rowan was already moving.
Nothing stood between him and Leo now.
Then—
A violet streak tore through the air.
Kieran's Aura spear came from Rowan's side with terrifying speed.
Rowan turned at the last possible moment.
CLANG!
His sword intercepted the spear.
The impact exploded across the clearing.
A violent shockwave burst outward, throwing dust and loose stones into the air.
Rowan was pushed backward.
His boots dragged across the ground, carving deep lines through the dirt.
Yet he never lost his balance.
He came to a stop.
Perfectly steady.
Rowan slowly raised his gaze.
Kieran stood before Leo, his violet spear held firmly in both hands.
Sasha stood beside him.
Her body had lowered into a fighting stance, claws extended, her eyes locked onto Rowan without hesitation.
Behind them—
Leo remained still.
For several seconds, Rowan simply looked at them.
Then a faint expression appeared on his face.
"Alright."
His grip around his sword tightened.
His Aura slowly began to rise.
"I won't go easy on you, then."