The Mistress was still deep in thought when a sudden, piercing scream shattered her concentration.
"Mama"
Little Lucas cried out, his voice trembling with fear as he flung himself into his mother's arms. She held him tight, whispering soothing words while chaos erupted around them. Knights scrambled to relay messages through communication stones, and Walbert barked orders, trying to restore order.
Amid the turmoil, TiTi—the young maid—stood frozen, her face pale with dread. The man in All Blacks… he couldn't have been defeated so easily.
"We need to leave. Now."
Her voice, though quiet, cut through the panic. The others turned to her, struck by her composure. An ordinary maid would have fled in terror, yet TiTi remained. Even Walbert noticed it—she wasn't one of the Velerion's elite maids. Her loyalty was to Lucas alone.
"I understand your fear," Walbert said, "but I've already sent word to the Velerion outpost. Reinforcements will be here any moment."
But TiTi's unease lingered. Before anyone could react further, the Mistress handed Lucas to a nearby knight and moved toward Walbert. She needed to tell him what she had sensed when she struck the man in black.
Then—disaster struck.
A ghostly aura flickered behind the knight holding Lucas. In a single, horrifying motion, his head was severed, tumbling to the ground with a sickening thud.
"HAAAAAAAAAA!" Lucas shrieked as a spectral figure materialized from the mist, snatching him up.
"You're a loud little bastard, aren't you?" the figure sneered.
The knights and Walbert whirled around, their shouts echoing in unison.
"LUCAS!"
The man in black stood before them, his lips curled into a mocking grin. "Oh, did you miss me? I was only gone for a few minutes—got a bit hungry."
Rage ignited in the Velerion knights. Dark auras flared around them as they lunged forward—only to be cut down in a blur of motion. Heads rolled. Blood sprayed across the stone.
"You'll have to do better than that!" the man taunted.
The Mistress's Myst-like aura erupted, her eyes burning with fury. "Release my son. NOW."
"Of course." He tossed Lucas aside like a discarded toy. "I'd rather he watch his mother die slowly."
Walbert and the remaining knights charged, their dark auras blazing. But the man moved like a storm—his strikes too fast, too precise. Even their enhanced reflexes were useless. Every slash carried the same devastating force as the Mistress's own attacks.
Realizing the dire situation, she unleashed her ultimate Myst technique: Body of Myst Form. Her entire being, along with her blade, was enveloped in a swirling dark mist. She launched herself at the man, disrupting his focus just long enough for the knights to strike from behind.
For a moment, it seemed they had him.
Then—he evolved.
His speed and strength surged beyond comprehension. Each clash sent shockwaves through the city, rattling buildings to their foundations.
"Weak bastards," he growled, his power swelling.
With a single burst of energy—no, something darker—he sent the Mistress flying. The knights faltered, their strength draining away just by being near him.
Walbert's eyes widened in horror."Everyone, fall back! He's not using mana—it's a state—"
A blade erupted from his chest.
"Weaklings deserve death," the man chuckled before decapitating Walbert with a flick of his wrist.
The remaining knights roared in fury, attacking with reckless abandon.
Meanwhile, the Mistress staggered to her feet, her body aching as she found Lucas and TiTi huddled in the rubble.
"Mummy!" Lucas sobbed, tears streaming down his face.
TiTi clutched him tightly, her voice trembling. "Ma'am, we must flee! Let the knights hold him off—we can escape!"
The Mistress's gaze hardened. "Running is not the Velerion way. We fight to the end."
She knelt, cupping Lucas's face gently. "TiTi, take him and run. Far away. Don't stop until you're safe."
With one last look at her son, she turned, her blade gleaming with dark energy as she charged back into the the fray
An explosion echoed through the air, followed by a pained, gurgling voice:
"You... will pay... Knight lordg says with the only power left in him "The Knights of Velerian... will find you... They will end you They'll... make you feel... true pain—"
A wet crunch silenced the knight as the blade pierced his skull.
The man in all black chuckled, his voice dripping with mockery. "Find me? What a joke...
The Mistress ran, her mind racing. Why?
No one dared attack the Velerions—especially not in AGOS. And yet, these near-mythical entities had come for them.
As she neared the battlefield, a creeping dread settled in her chest. The sounds of combat had vanished. Only silence remained.
Then, she saw it—three massive craters, deep sword slashes carved into the earth, scorch marks from explosions. The devastation was immense. She had only been gone for minutes... What kind of monster could do this so quickly?
Her steps slowed, her breath shallow as she approached.
"Seems like you're back," a voice called out.
At the center of the destruction stood the man in all black, unharmed amidst the carnage.
Then she saw them—the corpses of the knights. And among them...
Walbert.
Her butler. Her friend. The one who had believed in her since childhood—his head severed, his lifeless eyes staring into nothing.
Her chest tightened. Her vision blurred. Emotions she couldn't name surged through her.
"Guess he wasn't just your slave," the man sneered.
Something inside her shattered
"YOU... YOU BASTARD!"
A tsunami of dark Myst erupted from her body, a force so immense the man in black was forced back. The very earth trembled—mountains crumbled, trees were uprooted, the ground split as earthquakes ravaged the land.
"So this... is the power of the Dark Myst?"* the man mused, struggling against the pressure.
The Mistress stepped forward, her movements deliberate. The Myst coiled around her, forming an armor of pure darkness.
Final Form: Night's Myst.
She vanished.
Before the man could react, she was behind him, her blade descending like the wrath of a god. He barely managed to leap away as the ground beneath him exploded into oblivion.
"How—?!" He couldn't even sense her energy, let alone her movement.
She appeared in front of him—another slash. He parried, but the force nearly shattered his arm. His blade, coated in her Myst, hissed as if burning in pure darkness.
She struck again. And again.
He couldn't keep up. His absorption-type mana—useless. His tricks—meaningless.
Desperate, he retreated, landing in a ruined wasteland. But the Mistress didn't stop.
With a single swing, her blade cleaved the battlefield, turning it into a desert of annihilation.
As the dust settled, she stood amidst the destruction, her eyes burning with **unrelenting fury.
The man in black panted, his smirk finally fading.
"You..." he muttered.
The Mistress raised her sword.
"Now... you die."
The man in black came to a grim realization—he couldn't defeat her head-on.
But he didn't need to.
A cruel smirk twisted his lips as he vanished, reappearing near the edge of the battlefield sprinting to where a small figure stood frozen in fear.
Lucas.
The Mistress's son.
"Mum...?" the boy whispered, his voice trembling.
The Mistress's blood turned to ice.
"LUCAS!"
She moved—faster than thought, faster than sound. But the man was already there, his blade pressed against Lucas's throat.
"Drop your weapon," the man commanded, his voice cold. "Or the boy dies."
The Mistress's grip on her sword faltered.
Then—pain
A dagger plunged into her back, piercing her heart.
She gasped, blood bubbling at her lips as she turned to see TiTi, her most trusted maid, standing behind her—her eyes hollow, her hands stained with betrayal.
"Forgive me, Mistress," TiTi whispered, though her voice held no remorse.
Lucas screamed as his mother collapsed to her knees.
"MUMMY! NO!"