Miss Violet sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor, her fingers gently pressed together in meditation. A faint hum resonated around her as soft blue Kendra Energy began to swirl from her core—first like mist, then like a rising tide.
Her eyes remained closed as the energy surged upward, forming a delicate stream that flickered through the air like lightning.
Suddenly, a voice echoed in her mind.
"Hello, Miss Violet. Samuel here—speaking from the Blood Hawks, Killer Squad."
Her brow twitched slightly.
"How are things on your end?" she asked, calmly.
"We were attacked by assassins," Samuel replied. "But we managed to hold them off."
Violet's eyes opened slowly, cold and calculating.
"Assassins?"
"Yes, ma'am. Something big is stirring. The attack didn't feel random."
Violet stood, brushing the dust from her coat.
"I suspected as much. Samuel, I want you and your squad back at the main gate—immediately."
"Understood."
She exhaled, ending the mental connection. Her gaze shifted to the recruits gathered nearby—Samaira, Duke, Drex, Jack, Aien, and Yein.
"We're heading to the Fountain District," she said. "Something strange is happening. Kendra is warping in unnatural patterns there."
They all straightened instinctively.
"Samaira, Drex, Duke, Jack, Aien, Yein—you'll take positions on the rooftops surrounding the fountain. High vantage. Stay hidden."
Duke clenched his fists.
"What about you, ma'am?"
Violet's voice was firm.
"I'm going in alone. You are not to interfere unless the enemy's numbers overwhelm me. If they're too strong—don't be a hero. Retreat."
Samaira nodded first.
"Understood."
"Yes, ma'am," Duke followed.
"Tch, finally some action," Drex muttered, cracking his knuckles.
Violet's gaze swept over them one last time, sharp and unreadable.
"Move. We don't have time."
The Possessed Shadow
The broken, abandoned house creaked in the wind—walls crumbling, glass long shattered. Shadows danced in the corners where light dared not linger.
"I'm good to move now," said Derius, tightening the wrappings on his arm.
"For real?" Lysa asked, still watching the boarded-up window.
"Yeah. We have to move from here," Derius replied grimly. "It's only a matter of time. If Lucus finds us while he's... like that—possessed—we won't survive."
Lysa hesitated. "Yeah, but…"
"We have no choice," Derius cut in. "Let's go, Lysa."
"Okay… let me check if he's out there," she said, creeping toward the shattered window, her eyes scanning the house's beyond.
"At first glance, it looked empty.
"Empty…" she whispered.
Then her breath caught.
"No… someone's there. Quiet—he's moving."
She tensed. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "It's him. It's Lucus. He's just standing there."
"Lucus?" Derius said, panic tightening in his throat. "Did he find us?"
"Not yet… I don't think so," Lysa murmured.
They watched. Lucus slowly turned, walking away.
But then—he stopped.
"He stopped," Lysa said, breath shaky.
Lucus slowly turned his head. His eyes locked onto hers across the distance.
A crooked smile crept across his face.
"H-he saw us…" Lysa whispered, stumbling back.
Lucus raised his hand. The air around him shimmered. Dark blue Kendra energy coiled around his arm, crackling with wild, corrupted fury.
"He's charging his energy—RUN!" Lysa screamed.
"Shit!" Derius cursed, grabbing her hand.
They leapt through the side window just as a massive shockwave exploded behind them, tearing through the abandoned house in a blast of warped Kendra force.
Lucus stood amidst the debris, laughing—low, cold, and wrong.
"Fuck…" Derius grunted, wincing as he pressed his hand to his side.
"Hey—are you alright?" Lysa whispered, crouching beside him.
"Do I look alright to you?" he snapped.
"S-Sorry…" she murmured.
"I'll carry you. I can run—"
"No, idiot. He'll catch us in two seconds," Derius hissed.
"Then what do we do?" Lysa asked, her voice trembling.
"How would I know!?" Derius growled.
The sound of heavy footsteps crunched closer through the gravel.
"H-He's coming…" Lysa whispered, clutching his sleeve. Her breath caught. "We're done for…"
Derius narrowed his eyes. "You… do you know how to use Tempest Strike?"
"What? No!" Lysa shook her head.
"What did you even learn in the Void Room then?" he spat.
Lysa looked down, ashamed. "I… I don't know…"
"Tch. Good for nothing."
"…I guess I am," she said, her voice hollow.
A pause.
Then—"Don't worry. I'll distract him. You'll get a chance to run—"
"Hey, idiot!" Derius barked. "I've got a plan."
"What?" Lysa blinked.
Derius pointed toward a large house just past the abandoned one they'd been hiding behind.
"That one."
"That's huge. What're we supposed to do—jump on top of it!?"
"Exactly."
"It's too high!"
"Nono. We're gonna fly." Derius smirked.
"Quit joking—he's almost—"
"Found you."
A cold voice rang out. Lucus stepped into view, just behind the house.
"He found us!" Lysa gasped.
Without wasting a second, Derius threw her onto his back.
"Hold tight!" he ordered.
"What!? Wait—"
Derius planted both palms on the ground.
"Tempest Strike!"
A massive shockwave blasted from his hands, launching them into the air. The force pushed them up, high enough for Derius to grab the edge of the rooftop.
"Told you we'd fly," he grinned.
Lysa stared, wide-eyed. "W-What…?"
"Get up there. Now!"
She scrambled off his back and pulled herself up. Then, without hesitating, reached down and grabbed his arm, helping him up.
They landed hard, breathing heavy on the rooftop.
"Uff…" Lysa collapsed beside him, stunned.
He's a genius, she thought. He used that technique just from a few Void Room sessions? He even adjusted the shockwave's angle perfectly for a jump…
Lysa immediately looked down through the cracks of the shattered floor.
"There! Lucus is getting up… from the shockwaves," she muttered.
"Heh… Derius, even Sir Lucus can use Tempest Strike?" she asked, disbelief in her voice.
Derius tensed. "Yeah… if he's possessed or enhanced by something, it's possible. He might try it."
Lysa's eyes widened. "He's already trying," she whispered.
"Shit," Derius cursed under his breath.
Below, Lucus planted both hands down, channeling Kendra energy into the ground. Dark blue energy surged wildly around him.
"Tempest Strike!" Lysa gasped.
But something was off. The energy overflowed—violent, unstable, untamed. A moment later, the force blasted outward uncontrollably.
Lucus was launched into the air by his own technique, spiraling like a ragdoll. He crashed violently into the roof of a nearby house, disappearing through it with a loud CRASH.
Lysa and Derius both stared in stunned silence.
"…What the hell??" Lysa said.
Derius shook his head. "He couldn't control it."
"But he used Tempest Strike!"
"Yeah, but you need refined control over Kendra energy to execute it properly," Derius explained.
They both looked toward the ruined house where Lucus had fallen.
"Whatever's controlling him… it doesn't care if he gets hurt," Derius muttered.
"Look—he's getting up again!" Lysa pointed, breathless.
"Even after that?" Derius muttered in disbelief.
Lucus stood atop the broken rooftop, swaying for a moment—then his body jerked unnaturally upright.
Without warning, he began hurling debris—tiles, wood, anything within reach—at them.
Dark blue Kendra energy gathered in his hand.
"Derius! He's throwing things!" Lysa shouted, ducking.
"Get behind the rooftop—now!" Derius yelled.
A blast of energy zipped past them, splintering the edge of the roof they were hiding behind. Lucus was going wild—lashing out, launching chunks of the house with unnatural strength.
Another piece came flying. Lysa dodged, but just barely. It grazed her arm.
"Ahh—tch!" she hissed in pain.
"Are you okay?!" Derius asked quickly.
"I'm good. Don't worry," she said, gritting her teeth. "Tch…"
Derius glanced around, eyes narrowing. "Wait a second… Why isn't anyone from the village coming out? Even after all this noise?"
His stomach dropped. "…Crap."
Lucus roared, throwing even larger chunks now—support beams and furniture—shaking the entire building.
"He's going to bring the house down!" Lysa gasped.
Derius looked down at his hand, clenching it tightly.
"Damn it… I can't use my Kendra energy. Even if I did, it wouldn't match that," he said.
"So what do we do?" Lysa asked.
"We hold on… and pray someone shows up."
Suddenly, something yanked Derius's leg from behind.
"Crap—who's there?!" he shouted, twisting around.
"It's the Class B recruits!" Lysa warned.
Two figures scrambled out from behind the house ruins, grabbing at Derius. One of them clung to his leg, trying to pull him down.
"Let go!" Derius grunted, trying to kick the boy off. "Persistent little—"
The recruit held tight, dragging him down with sheer desperation.
"Crap—he's strong!" Derius gritted out.
Lysa rushed forward and delivered a brutal kick to the recruit's face. He yelped and slumped to the ground, grip loosening.
Then another one came—this time from behind Lysa, arms snaking around her neck in a chokehold.
"Got you!" the recruit hissed.
But Lysa didn't panic. She gripped his arms, shifted her stance, and with a swift movement, flipped him over her shoulder, slamming him hard into the dirt.
"Nice," Derius coughed. "Really nice."
Before they could catch their breath, both their eyes shot up toward Lucus.
He stood on the rooftop again, Kendra energy swirling violently around him—charging the technique they'd seen only once before.
"Tempest Strike," Derius muttered, eyes wide. "He's already using it?!"
"It's over…" Lysa whispered, stunned.
Lucus smirked. Wind coiled around him like a serpent, glowing with bluish force. The moment he raised his hands to release it—
Clink! Clack!
Chains snapped around both of Lucus's wrists, tightening with sudden force and yanking his arms back, disrupting the entire technique.
"What the—?!"
Lucus stumbled as the energy shattered away, drained. A woman stood beneath the rooftop, holding the chains firm in her gloved hands.
"Miss Violet!" Lysa gasped in relief.
"Finally…" Derius muttered, collapsing onto the ground. "I need a nap…"
With a swift motion, Miss Violet pulled Lucus down, slamming him hard into the earth. He groaned, dazed, completely subdued.
"Lucus," she said firmly, kneeling beside him. "What the hell is going on with you?"
Another voice called from the road. "Lysa! What happened?!"
It was Samaira, sprinting over, her glaive strapped to her back.
"It's not just Miss Violet," Derius mumbled. "Samaira… Duke… and Drex too…"
"Hey, Duke," Drex grinned, cracking his knuckles. "Wanna fly?"
"H-Huh?" Duke blinked. "Fly?!"
"Come on, I'll throw you up there. Just charge your legs," Drex said, Kendra energy gathering in his palms.
"Uh—o-okay!" Duke stammered. He focused, Kendra flaring
faintly around his legs, then sprinted toward Drex.
With a powerful heave, Drex launched him into the air.
"Waaahh—AHHH!" Duke screamed.
CRASH! He landed—right on Derius's chest.
"AHHH! Idiot! Are you trying to kill me?!" Derius shouted from beneath him.
"S-Sorry!" Duke yelped, scrambling up. "I haven't… really practiced landings yet…"
Samaira landed beside them with a perfect leap, brushing her hair back.
"What's going on here?" she asked.
"Lucus…" Lysa pointed. "He's possessed. By a demon."
"A demon?!" Duke's eyes widened.
"Even Samaira looked surprised,"
Miss Violet stood firm, eyes fixed on Lucus, who was now convulsing and screaming wildly.
Lysa, Duke, and Samaira watched from a nearby rooftop, disturbed by the unnatural noise. Drex stood just behind Miss Violet, calm but ready—his fists clenched, Kendra energy faintly crackling around him.
"Lucus?" Miss Violet called out, her voice even.
Suddenly, the screaming stopped.
A chilling silence followed—then came laughter. Twisted. Mocking. Not Lucus's voice.
"Hahahaha… hahah!" The laugh echoed across the village square, warped and manic.
Lucus's head tilted unnaturally, as if a puppet string yanked it from above. His eyes flickered—not his usual brown, but a deep, unnatural blue.
Miss Violet's expression didn't change, but her eyes narrowed. Sharp. Cold. Knowing.
Then the voice spoke through Lucus, thick with venom.
"None of you are going to leave this place alive. Tonight will be… a massacre."
Samaira stepped back instinctively. Duke's fists tightened. Even Drex seemed to lose his grin.
Miss Violet remained still.
"Who are you supposed to be?" she asked coolly.
The voice sneered.
"I'm Dan Fisher."
The name struck like a whip.
"Leader of the Danne Group. Former inmate of Stromspire's Black Pit Prison. You remember, don't you… Captain?"
Violet's gaze sharpened.
"I should've made sure you stayed in that hole," she said flatly.
Dan—speaking through Lucus—grinned wide, unnatural.
"But you didn't. And now, I've returned the favor. I've already killed your soldiers. And your head, Captain Violet … will be the final offering."
He chuckled low.
"I'm already waiting—middle of the village. By the fountain."
"And just so you know…" His eyes flicked toward her with cruel delight.
"The Second Gate squad? They're in our control now."
Lucus's body jerked again, trembling as Dan's voice hissed:
"Come alone, Violet. Let's settle this… properly."
Miss Violet's chains began to glow—bright blue, pulsing with rage.
With a sharp snap, they lashed forward like lightning, coiling around Lucus's wrists and chest.
A surge of Kendra energy burst through them.
Lucus screamed—then fell silent. His body collapsed, unconscious, the unnatural glow in his eyes extinguished.
"Miss Violet!" Duke called from the rooftop, breath caught in his throat.
She didn't look up.
Her voice was steady as stone.
"I have to go."
"The middle of the village… by the fountain."