Nero stood in the aftermath, smoke rising from his shoulders, breath steady.
His body ached. His arm was singed where the axe had grazed him. But more than that, something inside him had shifted.
He had learned.
No smirk. No cocky grin. Just a quiet nod to himself.
"Until I'm truly invincible, I don't have the right to look down on anyone."
He turned, stepping over the scorched ground.
The hunt wasn't over.
Back to Khione's location—just as Nero was engaging the two orcs.
High above the clearing, Khione floated in silence.
Her crystal wings barely shimmered in the light. She was completely still—invisible to the senses, her presence erased like mist on the wind.
