Matthew didn't hesitate. The regret was gone, replaced by a cold, sharp will. "Deal!"
And so, the hunt began.
...
Inside the hidden hideout of the targets, the leader's footsteps echoed as he stormed through the hall. His presence alone made the air heavy and suffocating.
"Where is she?!" he shouted. His voice was sharp enough to crack stone, and a terrifying silence followed in its wake. No one answered. He slammed his hand against the wall. "Find her! Search every corridor! Every room! Every shadow! Right now!"
His eyes swept over the men before him like a predator. "If you fail tonight," he said slowly, "I will kill every single one of you."
Fear spread through the group. Some lowered their heads; others trembled where they stood. One man stepped forward, acting brave despite the sweat running down his face. "Boss," he said, forcing a calm tone, "You're too tense. She is not that important. Just like her brother."
The leader stopped moving. The room felt as though the temperature had plummeted. He turned his head inch by inch until his eyes met the man's.
"Not important?" he asked quietly. His voice was low and razor-sharp. "Do you even know her value?" He stepped closer. The man took one step back. "She is worth more than your life!"
The man's fear turned into defensive anger. "Worth?" he snapped. "All she does is rely on us. Her brother too. And she lies in bed all day acting like a prin—"
Fire erupted.
Flames wrapped around the man in an instant. He screamed, his voice cracking and breaking. "AHH! STOP! PLEASE!" he shrieked, clawing at his own skin. "REMOVE IT! I'M SORRY!"
The leader watched coldly. The fire did not fade. "I APOLOGIZE! I APOLOGIZE!" the man begged until his body collapsed. The screams turned into weak gasps, then... silence. Only a charred corpse remained on the floor.
No one dared to move. The leader raised his voice again, his shout echoing through the halls. "Do you think you can insult me?! Find her before the night ends! If you fail, I will hunt you all myself!"
He turned and stormed into his private room, slamming the door. He paced back and forth, rubbing his temples. "Damn it. Why now of all times!" He clenched his teeth. "The Master must have warned him already. I need a countermeasure. Fast!"
He stopped. "Wait," he whispered. "He never saw my face. He does not know who I am." Relief flickered within him, but it faded just as fast. "Without her vision," he growled, striking the wall, "I am blind. These siblings... they ruin everything!"
He sat on the edge of the bed, hands trembling. "Calm down. Think." After a few seconds, his eyes sharpened. "I will run. I'll abandon this place. If they don't find her by the time the night ends, I'll leave."
A thin, cruel smile formed on his lips. "When this chaos fades, I will return." He packed his belongings and waited.
The dark night arrived, settling over the city with a heavy, calm weight. At the heart of the city stood the great time clock, its tower rising above every roof. Lucian stood at its highest point. He did not stand on the stone; his feet hovered just above the edge.
Behind him hung a pale, full moon. Lucian's eyes remained fixed on the city. He lifted his right hand to his waist. The bracelet around his wrist began to glow with a pure, white light. In one breath, the light stretched outward, taking shape from his mana.
In a second, a two-meter staff rested in his grasp. It was crafted of smooth white wood, with a Serpent Dragon wrapped around its length. At the top, six rings circled a shimmering crystal ball beneath a crown; at the other end, the staff tapered into a sharp, sword-like point.
"The Defying Staff," Lucian said softly.
The staff pulsed once. Power surged through Lucian's arm. Gravity failed to claim him. He took one slow breath and narrowed his eyes. He raised the staff above his head, the rings spinning wildly around the crystal. Then, with a sudden flourish, he spun it and brought it down to the level of his knees.
A single snowflake fell between his eyes. It was snowing.
In the heart of the city, a child looked up. "Mom! It's snowing! Look!" The excitement spread through the crowd, but no one noticed the strangeness of it.
At the Adventurers' Guild, the Guild Master felt a shiver. "Snow? Is it time yet? No... something is wrong." At the Southern Gate, Viera shuddered as a snowflake landed on her shoulder. At the Northern Gate, a tall man entering the city stopped and looked up at the sky before continuing his walk.
At the hidden hideout, the reaction was terror. A man yelled, "Boss! It's snowing!"
The leader looked out his window. When he saw the snowflakes, his eyes widened in pure fear. "What? Why is she here?! I need to hide! I NEED TO HIDE!" He scrambled to a secret door under his bed and vanished into the darkness.
Atop the clock tower, Lucian was smirking. "10… 9… 8… 7…"
When he reached one, he spoke: "Liquefaction. Solidification."
The temperature dropped. Tiny, pale blue droplets of liquid oxygen appeared, circling his waist like a living orbit. Then, the liquid gathered beneath his feet.
Complete Ice Command: Solidification.
The water froze into solid oxygen. Lucian took a step forward. A sound like a glass chime echoed through the quiet air—"Tink."
He began to move. With every step, the ice path behind him melted instantly, the water flowing back up to his waist in a swirling blue stream, only to freeze again beneath his next stride. "Tink... Tink... Tink." The rhythmic, crystalline sound was the only thing heard in the high sky.
Using this incomplete domain spell had exhausted more than half of his mana. He couldn't afford a flight spell; he needed to save his energy.
Lucian took a visible breath and smiled. "Everyone inside this snow land won't be able to escape my sight."
He turned toward the northeast and leveled his staff.
"Whooooosh!"
A barrage of spells erupted from the crystal, thirty streaks of light cutting through the falling snow.
"Ice Magic: Sleeping Barrage!"