The scream was so piercing it sent a jolt of pure adrenaline through all three of them. Their gazes snapped instantly toward the dense thickets to the west. They knew in a heartbeat that it wasn’t the roar of a beast — it was a girl, and she sounded like she was pleading for her life.

"That’s someone crying!" Sera’s awkwardness vanished in a heartbeat, replaced by a sharp, focused intensity.

Lucian turned and asked internally:

System, is this the mission?

[Confirmed. Save Rithra. You have 1 hour and 30 minutes remaining.]

"Girls, follow me!"

Lucian sprinted toward the western thickets, with Sera and Elira following his lead. As they ran, Lucian pulled up his system inventory.

System, what items do I have?

[Current Inventory: Electric Baseball Bat, Air Pen, Concealment Mask]

He knew exactly what they needed most right now.

Buy 3 Concealment Masks.

[Purchase Complete. -600 FP.]

Three masks materialized in his hands as he ran. They were smooth, bone-white, and pointed at the bottom. Narrow eye-slits and abstract designs on the sides gave them a cold, mysterious look.

He handed two of them back without slowing down.

"Put these on."

Neither of them wasted time with questions. They took the masks and snapped them over their faces as they followed him into the dark.

As soon as they put on the masks, a dark grayish fabric began to sprout from the edges, transforming into full cloaks within seconds. Their academy uniforms and Sera’s pajamas were completely concealed.

The moment they stepped past the thickets, they froze.

Three or four knights were looming over a defenseless young maiden. One pinned her hands down, another sat on top of her, while the other two stood by, laughing.

Her black hair was matted against the dirt, and her deep red eyes were filled with tears of terror.

"No... let me go!" She thrashed against them, screaming out. As her eyes landed on the three figures standing behind them, she began to plead.

"Please — anyone — help me!"

Following the girl’s gaze, the knights turned around. They saw three unknown cloaked figures standing in the shadows.

One knight couldn’t hold back his laughter. He twirled his sword and mocked them,

"The hell is this? A Costume party? Festival is not till next month, friends."

Another knight spat to the side.

"Keep moving. There is nothing for you here."

The two who stood, joined in the laughter.

Sera clenched her jaw and took a step forward. She was about to take another when Lucian, standing in the middle, gestured his finger to her to stop.

Then, leaning forward and rubbing his hands together in a fawning, sarcastic tone, he spoke.

Lucian then leaned forward slightly, rubbing his hands together in a mockingly polite, slimy tone.

"Gentlemen..."

"Don’t you think this pathetic behavior is a bit... beneath well-reputed knights such as yourselves? Truly, it is a tragedy to see such fine armor worn by such small men."

The knight who had been sitting on the girl stood up. His face was covered in scars. He walked over to Lucian with a menacing look and stopped right in front of him.

"What the hell is your problem huh? Can’t you see some exhausted knights are just letting off some steam? We work ourselves to the bone every day... listen, I am only going to tell you one more time: get lo—"

Before he could say another word, something happened — the movement of his mouth just stopped. Then, a thin line formed from the center of his forehead down to his groin. In a split second, the line turned red, and in the next moment, his body slid apart into two perfect halves. one falling to the right and the other at Lucian’s feet.

Seeing this, the color completely drained from the faces of the other three knights. They immediately dropped into their stances and pointed their swords at Lucian.

"You bastard!" one stammered. "Who—who the fuck are you? Who put you up to this?"

The knight standing nearby glanced at the corpse, his face scrunching up in horror.

"Do you have any idea what squad we belong to? If our commander finds out about this, he will bury your entire bloodline!"

Lucian raised both hands, waving them dismissively.

"Oh no, no... not my family..."

Then he strengthened up, his tone turning icy cold.

"I mean, how will your commander ever find out when none of you are leaving this place alive?"

At his words, the three knights roared in rage and lunged at Lucian with their swords.

He dodged the knight in front, grabbed his wrist, and in a flash, struck the man’s shin. The bone snapped and bent backward. Lucian let go, and the knight collapsed to the ground, letting out blood-curdling screams.

Watching his comrade groaning in pain, both knights panicked and froze. Lucian didn’t give him a second to breathe.

"Well, well, well... if you gentlemen had just listened to me, maybe we could have settled this peacefully, right?"

He said it with a smirk, though his mind was already on the next kill. He crouched next to the knight still screaming on the ground.

"Shhh... wait, let me take away your pain."

Snap.

He broke the man’s neck.. And he died.

Seeing two companions down in less than two minutes, the other two knights began to shake uncontrollably.

The knight on the right, still clinging to his crumbling pride, spoke in a weak voice.

"H-hey... let us go, and all of this—"

He didn’t get another word out, Lucian fired a fire-bullet directly into his forehead without wasting a second. The third knight dropped dead on the spot.

Then his eyes swept over last one

"Now, what should I do with you..."

Hearing that, the last knight dropped his sword and fell to his knees and statred begging for his life.

"H-hey please... Please let me go! I promise I will never stumble upon such a mistake again."

Lucian let out a light laugh.

"Why are you apologizing to me? Ask the girl behind you. She’s the one you were about to do those disgusting things to."

He pointed at the maiden. who sat frozen in shock, her traditional clothes matted with mud.

Shrunken with fear and looking helpless, the knight stared at Lucian’s masked face for a few seconds. He couldn’t understand the intentions. Then he slowly turned toward the maiden.

"I-I’m sorr—"

Before the words could fully leave his mouth, his head hit the ground. No one could understand when Lucian had struck or when the cut happened. His corpse collapsed, and a pool of blood formed, looking pitch black in the darkness.