On the other Hand three of Drex's men stood guard near the alley entrance, laughing quietly among themselves, unaware that the situation in the courtyard had already begun to change.
A faint sound echoed behind them.One of them turned."What was—"The sentence never finished.
A hand grabbed him from behind and slammed his head against the stone wall. His body dropped instantly.
The other two spun around, weapons half-drawn.
But they were already too late.A tall figure stepped from the darkness.
Alex.
His sword moved with precise, controlled speed.
One thug tried to swing at him, but Alex deflected the blade effortlessly and struck the man across the neck with the hilt of his sword. The thug collapsed unconscious.
The last one froze in panic.
Before he could even shout, another shadow emerged behind him.Richerd.Richerd grabbed the man's arm, twisted it sharply, and forced him to the ground.The thug groaned as the dagger slipped from his hand.
Richerd pressed a knee into his back, keeping him pinned."Stay down," he said calmly.The man stopped struggling.For a moment the alley fell silent again.
Alex glanced toward the center of the courtyard where Rudra stood facing Drex.His expression grew serious."Looks like we're just in time," he murmured.
Richerd followed his gaze."Let's hope we're not already too late."
On the other hand The courtyard had gone silent.Not the peaceful kind of silence — the suffocating kind. The kind that presses against your ears until your own heartbeat feels too loud.
Marrien was on his knees in the center of the ruined plaza, his body slumped forward, blood dripping slowly from his brow onto the cracked stone beneath him. His breathing was uneven. Weak. Each inhale sounded like it hurt.
Drex stood behind him like a shadow given flesh.
A small blade gleamed in Drex's hand — not large enough to kill instantly, just enough to prolong suffering. He tilted Marrien's head back by the hair, exposing his face to the dim torchlight.
"Rudra," Drex called out, his voice almost playful. "You're watching, aren't you?"
Above, hidden behind the fractured walls of a nearby building, Lumi gripped Rudra's arm so tightly her fingers trembled.
"Don't," she whispered. "Please don't."
Below them, Drex pressed the blade lightly against Marrien's arm — not deep, not fatal — just enough to draw a sharp cry from him. The sound echoed through the ruins.Rudra's jaw clenched.Another shallow cut.Another scream.Not gruesome. Not fatal.Just deliberate cruelty."You think he's strong?" Drex laughed softly. "Let's see how long strength lasts."He struck Marrien across the face. The sound of teeth hitting the stone made Rudra flinch.
Marrien coughed, trying to lift his head, trying to stay conscious.
Drex crouched in front of him and spoke loud enough for the rooftops to hear."If you don't come down, Rudra… I will make his death so slow he'll beg me to end it."Silence.
Wind moved through the broken pillars.Above, Rudra's hands were shaking.Lumi tightened her grip.
"If you go down there, you're playing his game," she said, her voice cracking. "That's what he wants. Marrien wouldn't want this. If you go now, his sacrifice becomes meaningless."
Another scream.Rudra's breathing became heavy. His blue flames flickered faintly along his skin — not blazing, just trembling like a dying star trying to ignite."I can't…" he whispered.
"You can," Lumi insisted, though tears filled her own eyes. "You have to think."
Below, Drex forced Marrien upright again."Three breaths, Rudra," Drex called out mockingly. "That's how long I'll wait."He pressed the blade against Marrien's hand. Marrien cried out, but even then — even broken — he lifted his eyes toward the rooftops.And he shook his head.No.
Rudra saw it.That small, defiant movement.Not fear.
Not pleading.A warning.Don't come.Rudra's chest felt like it was being crushed from inside."I can't let him do this," he said.
Lumi stepped in front of him now."If you go down there emotionally, you lose.
Rudra closed his eyes.For a moment, he saw fire.
Not the blue flames.But then the past came rushing in.The quiet moments when Marrien pretending to be strict, yet always leaving food aside for him. The sharp lectures that were never about anger, only about protection. The rare, stolen laughs they shared with Lumi under broken rooftops, when for a moment the world did not feel cursed.Marrien's rough voice correcting his stance. Marrien's hand steadying his shoulder. Marrien standing between him and danger without hesitation.
And now—Those memories were being torn apart by screams he could not silence.Each cry from the courtyard shattered another piece of him.
Rudra's breath trembled."No…" he muttered, his voice barely more than air. "I can't let this go."
Another scream cut through the air.That was it.
Rudra gently removed Lumi's hand from his wrist.
"If I stay," he said quietly, "I lose myself."His eyes opened.They were wet.But no longer shaking." If I go… I choose who I am."
Lumi's voice broke. "Rudra—"
But he was already standing.The wind shifted as he stepped to the edge of the rooftop.From the far side of the ruined courtyard, shadows moved between the broken pillars.
Below, Drex smiled when Rudra stepped into the courtyard.
"There you are," he said slowly. "All this planning… all this effort… just to drag you out. And in the end it was all for a mere child."
Rudra didn't answer.His hand trembled around the hilt of his sword. Not from fear — from everything he had just witnessed.
Behind Drex, Marrien barely remained conscious, his body covered in blood. His breaths were slow and shallow, like a man standing on the edge between life and death.
Rudra's voice came out low."Who are you… and why are you doing this?"
Drex's expression twisted with irritation.He stepped forward casually — and without warning drove his fist straight into Rudra's stomach.The impact echoed across the courtyard.Rudra staggered back a step, air forced from his lungs.Drex leaned close, his voice cold."Who gave you the authority to question me?"He grabbed Rudra by the collar and shoved him back."Know your place, brat. You're coming with me. If you resist…" he glanced toward Marrien, "…you already know how this ends."
For a moment, Rudra stayed still.Then he slowly straightened.His grip on the sword tightened.
"You think you can do this?" he said quietly."I was holding back… because I promised my father I wouldn't cause trouble."His eyes lifted to meet Drex's."But you made a mistake."The trembling in his hand stopped.
"You spilled the blood of someone who is close to me ."A faint flicker of blue light trembled along his fingers."And I will make sure you pay for every drop."
Drex laughed."Oh really? A child threatening me?"
He spread his arms mockingly."Go on then. Show me what you're capable of."
Rudra moved.Drex didn't even see the moment it happened.One instant Rudra was standing still.
The next—A sharp sound cut through the air.
Drex froze.A thin line of blood appeared across his chest.
His eyes widened."What—?"Another strike.Then another.The courtyard is filled with the sound of steel cutting through air.Drex stumbled backward, suddenly realizing something was terribly wrong. Pain exploded through his body as several wounds opened across his arms and torso.He hadn't even seen the sword move."How…?" he gasped, clutching his side as blood soaked through his clothes. "How is this possible…?"
Rudra stopped a few steps away.His blade lowered slowly."It's too late for you to understand," he said calmly.
Drex stared at him in disbelief.
Rudra's voice remained cold."You thought I was just a merchant's son."He took one step forward.
"You should have checked who you were hunting."
The faint blue flicker around his hand faded.
"I was trained under Captain Alex of the Stealth division."
Drex's face went pale.
"And you?" Rudra continued."You're just a thug hiding behind a hostage."Silence fell over the courtyard.
Drex struggled to stay on his feet, his body shaking from blood loss.
Rudra looked at him with quiet certainty."You never had a chance."Then his eyes hardened.Rudra stepped forward slowly.His eyes rested on Drex, who was now struggling to stay upright."If you had done this for survival… or out of desperation," Rudra said quietly, "I might have let it go."
His gaze hardened."But you didn't.""You enjoyed his suffering."Rudra's voice remained calm, almost frighteningly calm.
"Marrien is someone dear to me. If I let this pass, then my life… and everything I stand for… would become meaningless."
He stopped a step away from Drex."That's why you have to die."Drex's confidence shattered."No… wait—" he stammered, panic flooding his voice. "Please… give me one chance! I swear I won't—"
Rudra didn't hesitate.His sword moved in one clean motion.The blade pierced straight through Drex's heart.Drex's words died in his throat.
For a moment he stood frozen, eyes wide in disbelief.Then his body collapsed onto the cold stone.
Blood slowly spread across the ground around him.
Rudra looked down at him silently.Not in anger.
Not in satisfaction.Just quiet certainty.
The courtyard had grown quiet again.
Too quiet.Alex and Richerd stepped into the open plaza, their boots crunching softly over broken stone.The first thing they saw was Marrien.
He lay collapsed on the ground, blood staining the cracked floor beneath him.
"Damn it…" Alex muttered under his breath.
He rushed forward and dropped to one knee beside him, quickly checking Marrien's pulse.
"He's alive," Alex said, though his voice was tense. "Barely."
Lumi was already kneeling beside Marrien, trying to steady his breathing. Her hands were shaking.
"We need to get him to the medics," Richerd said, scanning the courtyard to make sure no other enemies remained.
Alex nodded. "Help me lift him."Then his eyes moved.And he saw Rudra.The boy stood a few steps away, silent, his sword still in his hand. Drex's body lay not far from him, the stone beneath it dark with blood.
Alex studied him for a moment."Rudra," he said carefully. "Are you hurt?"
Rudra shook his head slowly."I'm fine."But his voice sounded distant.
Richerd stepped closer, resting a hand briefly on Rudra's shoulder."You did well," he said. "But we should move. This place isn't safe.
"Lumi nodded quickly."Yes… we need to go."
Meanwhile Kael and Elden watched the scene unfold below. Kael leaned against the cracked railing, his eyes fixed on Drex lying defeated on the ground.
"Doesn't this feel strange to you?" Kael asked quietly.
Elden glanced at him. "What do you mean?"
"That man is just a thug from the slums," Kael said, nodding toward Drex. "Yet he tried to capture Richerd's trading company—a place guarded by trained fighters and connected to people like Alex."
Elden frowned and nodded slowly."You're right," he said.
Kael's eyes narrowed."So the real question is… who sent him?
But inside the ruins Alex carefully lifted Marrien's arm over his shoulder, preparing to carry him toward the exit of the ruined courtyard.But just as they began to move him?"They had barely begun to move when a sound suddenly echoed through the plaza. Laughter. Slow, deep laughter that didn't belong in a place like this. Everyone froze. The sound seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once, rolling through the broken walls like a dark echo.
To everyone else, the chaos in the courtyard had ended. But the real trouble had only just begun—something that would soon shake the entire capital.