Blood covered the roads, while flames danced above the ruins of the village houses.
Mark stood alone in the middle of a circle of monsters.
His injured arm hung uselessly at his side, while his broken sword remained firmly gripped in his other hand.
He took a slow breath...
Then roared.
"You have no idea... who you're trying to kill."
Flames suddenly erupted from beneath his feet.
They wrapped around his body like a living armor.
Mark leapt toward the first monster—
Then the next.
His body seemed to fly on flames that did not burn him.
They propelled him forward.
With every strike, fire erupted across the battlefield, consuming the monsters before their bodies even touched the ground.
One of the soldiers shouted from afar:
"It's Mark! The Blazing Knight!"
Then, in the middle of the battle, Mark suddenly turned.
His eyes caught sight of Nero in the distance.
He was fighting a strange, towering, humanoid creature with glowing purple eyes.
And behind Nero...
His son, Aether.
And his little daughter, Kartithia.
Mark's eyes widened.
He released a powerful roar:
"NERO! TAKE THEM AND RUN! NOW!"
Nero stepped backward as he blocked another attack.
He hesitated.
His eyes shifted between the monster before him and the two children behind him.
"Mark... this monster isn't ordinary!"
Mark tightened his grip around his broken sword.
"It doesn't matter!"
Flames erupted around his body.
"Protect my children..."
His gaze hardened.
"I'll keep this bastard away from you."
Nero gathered every ounce of strength he had left.
He thrust his spear forward.
WHOOSH!
A powerful blast of wind struck the creature and forced it backward.
Nero immediately turned and sprinted toward Aether and Kartithia.
He grabbed them and ran toward a nearby house, hoping to use the ruins as temporary shelter.
But at that very moment...
RUMBLE...
The sky trembled.
A massive sphere of dark energy appeared in the distance.
Then—
BOOOOOOM!
It slammed into the ground near them.
The explosion was devastating.
Aether was thrown through the air and crashed into the ruins of the house.
Debris collapsed around him, blocking the entrance.
Nero shielded Kartithia with his body.
"AETHER!!! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
Dust and darkness filled the area.
No answer.
For several seconds...
Everything was silent.
Then, slowly...
The sounds returned.
The screams of soldiers.
The cries of women.
The roar of flames consuming the houses.
And above them...
A sky that was no longer blue.
It had turned black, as though the sun itself had been extinguished.
Inside the Ruined House...
Aether slowly opened his eyes.
Blood ran down his forehead.
His breathing was shallow and broken.
Everything sounded distant and distorted.
Then, through a small crack in the wall...
He saw his father.
Mark.
He was fighting another monster.
This one wore dark armor, with a terrifying insignia on its chest—the symbol of the Dark King's army.
Its rank was not particularly high.
Yet its strength far surpassed that of an ordinary human.
But Mark did not retreat.
His eyes had transformed into two burning embers.
Flames poured from his mouth and shoulders.
His entire body was engulfed in fire—
Yet he did not burn.
Every step he took melted the ground beneath his feet.
His broken sword blazed as though it had been forged from pure flame.
With every strike, he unleashed waves of fire that tore through the air and incinerated everything in their path.
Aether stared at him through the crack.
For the first time...
He understood what his father truly was.
Mark was standing at the absolute peak of his power.
The Last Flame Knight.