The air above the capital cracked like thunder as the sky bled into a sickening shade of violet. Hegemon's meticulous timeline—calculated to the precise minute—was violently torn to shreds. The Western Cult did not wait for the sun to reach its zenith, they breached the surface two hours ahead of schedule.Despite the early rupture, Hegemon's prior warning to High Knight Xuka Astri and Kenji had managed to save thousands. The Royal Knights were already mobilized, methodically guiding panicked streams of citizens toward the subterranean shelters beneath the inner palace walls. The streets were an absolute warzone of screaming crowds, clashing steel, and the nauseating stench of burning mana.
Hegemon and Lily stood at the edge of the central commercial avenue, ushering the final group of fleeing refugees toward safety.
"The eastern quadrant is completely clear!" Lily shouted over the deafening roar of collapsing stone, her hands glowing with informational mana as she maintained the magical barrier behind them. "Hegemon, we need to fall back to the Noble estate now!"
Before Hegemon could answer, the cobblestones beneath their feet turned to dust.
A chilling, oppressive aura descended upon the avenue, so heavy that the surrounding air felt as dense as lead. The swarm of monster suddenly halted their frenzied assault, parting like a red sea to make way for three figures walking through the swirling ash.
Alongside Relay and Helar stepped a third entity—a man who had never appeared in any previous timeline.
He was dangerously tall, draped in a pristine, snow-white coat that somehow remained entirely unstained by the surrounding gore. His long, bone-white hair flowed freely down his shoulders, framing a pale, beautiful face with crimson, pupil-less eyes. The atmosphere warped around his very boots, leaving frost wherever he stepped.
The white-haired man casually scanned the ruined avenue, his crimson eyes passing over the dead soldiers and screaming civilians with absolute indifference. But the moment his gaze landed on Lily, his eyes widened with a grotesque, childlike fascination.
"Oh?" The man's voice was melodic, yet dripping with a terrifying, unnatural echo. He tilted his head, his crimson eyes fixated entirely on Lily's silver hair and delicate features. "What a fascinating, delicate little specimen... That mana signature is so pure, so untainted by this dirty soil. Yes... you will make an exquisite pet for my chamber."
Lily froze, her breath catching in her throat as a wave of sheer, instinctual terror paralyzed her limbs.
In a fraction of a second, the white-haired man vanished from his spot, reappearing directly in front of Lily. He extended a pale, slender hand, reaching out to grab her by the throat.
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER!"
Hegemon didn't hesitate. The sheer, fiery rage surging through his veins burned away all logic, all fatigue, and all memory of his missing skills. Channeling every ounce of raw physical strength into his right arm, he pivoted on his heel and landed a devastating, full-force punch straight into the white-haired man's jaw.
"BOOM!"
The shockwave of the blow shattered the nearby glass windows, but when the dust cleared, Hegemon's heart sank into an abyss of despair.
The white-haired man hadn't even flinched. Hegemon's fist rested against the man's pale skin as if he had struck an immovable, divine mountain. Not a single scratch was visible; no damage had been registered whatsoever.
"How quaint. A mortal bug trying to bite," the white-haired man murmured softly, without even turning his gaze toward Hegemon.
With a lazy, effortless flick of his leg, the white-haired man delivered a brutal kick straight into Hegemon's chest.
"CRACK!"
Hegemon's ribs shattered instantly. The sheer kinetic force launched him backward like a cannonball, sending him crashing through two brick storefronts before slamming heavily into a pile of rubble. Blood sprayed from his lips as he collapsed onto the stone floor, his vision blurring as he struggled desperately to draw breath through his punctured lung.
Through his hazy, blood-soaked vision, he watched the nightmare unfold in agonizing slowness. Lily tried to cast an offensive pulse, but the white-haired man moved like a phantom. He struck her cleanly across the back of the neck with the edge of his hand.
Lily's barrier collapsed instantly. She let out a faint, choked gasp and went completely limp, falling unconscious into the white-haired man's arms. He scooped her up like a fragile porcelain doll, running his pale fingers through her silver hair with a dark, satisfied smile.
"Secure the perimeter. I am taking this one back to the altar," the white-haired man commanded casually, stepping into a swirling vortex of black mana and disappearing into the void.
Hegemon gritted his teeth, his fingers digging into the dirt as he tried to drag his broken body forward. "L-Lily... wait..."
"STEP. STEP."
A heavy, metallic thud echoed beside his head. Relay, the 10th High Officer, stepped out of the shadows, her porcelain demon mask staring down at his mangled form.
Without a word, she raised her heavy, steel-plated boot and brought it down with sickening precision onto Hegemon's right knee.
"CRUNCH!"
"AAAGHH!" Hegemon shrieked, a sound of unadulterated agony tearing from his throat as his knee joint was completely crushed beneath her heel.
Relay leaned down, her weeping demon mask mere inches from his contorted, sweat-drenched face. She let out a soft, mocking chuckle, her voice echoing with dark spatial magic.
"Look at you, little servant," she taunted softly, tapping her rusted pendulum against his bloody forehead. "So desperate, so utterly useless. You thought you were clever, arranging those guards... but you are nothing more than an ant squirming under our boots. Your little silver-haired friend belongs to Master Ciel now. Pray to your useless gods that she dies quickly."
She stood back up, looking down at him with utter disdain. "We won't kill you today. Live with your pathetic helplessness, butler."
Relay turned around, stepping into the shadow portal left behind by the cult, leaving the ruined street in absolute silence.
Hegemon lay crushed beneath the rubble, his chest caved in, his leg shattered, and his soul utterly destroyed. He couldn't move. He couldn't fight. He could only stare at the empty spot where Lily had been taken, his fingers clawing at the blood-stained earth until his consciousness finally succumbed to the overwhelming darkness, leaving him broken, beaten, but horrifyingly... still alive.