The night was still, the air tense with the weight of something unseen—something about to shatter. And it did, the moment the black rat stepped out of the orphanage's shadowed walls.
"There he is. Our little black rat," Sevine muttered as soon as their spy emerged, breathless and wide-eyed.
The man stumbled toward them, lungs heaving, sweat trailing down his temples.
"You got everything?" Sebastian's voice was like ice—calm, precise, and terrifying in its stillness.
"Yes, my lord. I've done exactly what you asked." The man fell to his knees, head bowed, eyes refusing to meet Sebastian's. Submission, or fear—perhaps both.
"Good."
Sebastian reached forward and removed the magic recorder stone embedded in the slave collar wrapped around the spy's neck.
"My lord, if I may… please remove the collar. I swear I'll stay loyal to you."
The spy took his chance, desperation laced in every word.But Sebastian's boot met his ribs without warning, sending him tumbling.
"You can choose," Sebastian said coldly. "Die now—or wear it forever."
Sevine looked on, half-pitying, half-disgusted. Both options are hell, she thought. But rats like him deserve it.
"Please… I beg you… I still have a family—"
Thud.
Another kick. This time straight to the gut.
"After all my kindness, you still dare question me?" Sebastian's voice trembled with barely contained fury, his eyes flashing with something dark and deadly.
Sevine rushed forward, placing a hand on his arm. "Calm down, Four-Eyes. If he dies now, who's going to answer for what he's done later?"
The reasoning was weak, but it worked.
Sebastian lowered his foot. The spy trembled, but before Sevine could speak again—Everything shifted.
Her pupils dilated in sudden panic. A cold edge pressed against her throat. Someone had grabbed her from behind.
"LADY DARCONER!"
"Don't move! Take one step, and this girl dies!" the captor barked, voice sharp with panic. A knife gleamed beneath Sevine's chin.
They were surrounded—mercenaries pouring out from every shadow. From between the crowd stepped Viscount Martin and Baron Dormund.
"Thank heavens Baron Dormund reported to me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known we had guests," Viscount Martin smirked, smug and too sure of himself.
"Young Duke Ruberius," he continued, "you've seen something you shouldn't have. Hand over the recorder stone, and we'll release the girl without a scratch."
"And before you do," Baron Dormund leered, his tongue sliding over his lips, "let me have a taste of that whore's body. She ruined my deal with Duke Darconer, after all."
"DON'T GIVE HIM THAT STONE, DO YOU HEAR ME?!" Sevine screamed, thrashing in her captor's grip.
But Sebastian… remained silent.
"Well, Duke?" Martin prompted. "Give it to us and—"
"Release her," Sebastian interrupted, his voice quiet… too quiet.
The kind of quiet that made the hair on your neck stand up.
Viscount Martin hesitated. "I… I assure you, we will hurt her if you don't comply."
"One…" Sebastian started counting.
Baron Dormund began to sweat, trembling despite being the one holding the cards.
"Two…"
Martin bit his thumb, panic rising. He signaled the mercenary with his eyes.
But Sevine was faster. With a sharp stomp to her captor's foot, she broke free—
"SEBASTIAN!" she cried, sprinting toward Sebastian.
The man grabbed her hair, yanking her back hard. "You little bitch—!"
Sevine struck him, but it was weak—barely a scratch. The knife flashed, slicing her arm.
"Ah—!" Blood dripped from her elbow.
A blur of movement—and then, Sebastian was there.
The mercenary's body flew across the street.
"Four-Eyes?"
Sebastian stood behind her now, one hand gripping her shoulder protectively."I told you," he murmured, "I gave you three seconds."
Martin and his men stepped back, shaken.
Sebastian sighed and looked at Sevine, who stared back, eyes wide and shaken.
"Lady, wear this for a moment."
He removed his glasses and gently placed them on her face. Then his hand covered her eyes.
Above them, the sky cracked open with light.
A massive magic circle bloomed across the heavens.Gasps rang out. The mercenaries knew what it was—area-wide destruction magic. And this one… was beyond anything they'd ever seen.
"Please, sir, forgive me—I'll make it right—!"
"I was only following orders!"
"Please don't kill me—!"
But Sebastian didn't hear them. He had already been merciful once.And they dared to touch her… he thought, rage simmering beneath the surface.
His hand dropped.
From the sky, thousands of ice blades rained down like divine wrath.
"Icarius… Eerter… Demirum."
The runes glowed. Amplifier stones shattered one by one on his gauntlet, unable to withstand the sheer force.
Screams followed. Begging. Crying.
Then—silence.
The earth was painted in red. Corpses, limbs, blood. A massacre.
Sevine had heard none of it—her ears still sealed by Sebastian's magic.
"Sebastian…?"
Sebastian didn't want her to see it. Not the screams, not the carnage.
He didn't want her to look at him with fear.
When did I start caring about this girl?
When did her pain start to unmake me?
One by one, the stones in his gauntlet crumbled—his magic warped by emotion, by anger. By fear.
Fear of losing her.
The old her deserved to see the blood, perhaps. They were both monsters, weren't they?
But still…
He released her eyes, and with a flick of his fingers, lifted the silence spell.
"Wha… what is this?!" Sevine gasped, covering her mouth. Horror etched itself across her face.
Bodies everywhere. Frozen blades stabbed through every one of them.She couldn't even look at Sebastian.
Psychopathic bastard, she thought bitterly.
He took back his glasses from her face and walked ahead without a word.His head tilted toward the sky… and then he looked over his shoulder.
"Lady," he said, his voice quieter now, tinged with something strange. "It seems I'm not the noble kind of great mage you admire, am I?"
And Sevine—despite herself—heard something sorrowful in the way he said it.
Like he was waiting for her to deny it. Like he was hoping she'd still see something good in him.
"Haha… What now?" he chuckled, voice breaking just a little. "You only like good mages, right?"
"…"