With these words, the knights advanced slowly towards the mansion before attacking it quickly which took the mercenaries who protected it by surprise.

one of them exclaimed in rage.

Matthew, Elion and their men mercilessly killed the criminals one by one, leaving them no time to regenerate. As Lucas and his group made their way to the front door. They broke it before entering the house.

Once inside, they were attacked by a large number of them. Unlike those outside, these ones were twice as strong and much better armed.

ordered a mercenary in an authoritative tone.

Lucas took his sword and, with a single blow, cut them in two pieces while the others did the same to eliminate the maximum of them in the minimum time.

exclaimed one of his allies.

added another.

Lucas looked up at the stairs and nodded affirmatively before turning around to his group.

he ordered.

On those words, Lucas ran towards the stairs, swinging his sword in all directions to eliminate his enemies who pounced on him like beasts.

He kept doing this until he found himself on the top floor. Once he cleared out everyone in his way, two mercenaries came out of the room at the back of the hallway and ran towards him with their big axes in their hands.

they declared angrily.

Lucas exerted a manipulative power on them that pinned them in place, not letting them move. Then, with his right hand, he created a huge ball of fire which he threw at them causing them to scream very loudly in pain.

one of them exclaimed in rage.

he replied sarcastically.

He passed them and moved slowly towards the room where their leader was.

Once inside, Velthur pounced on him with a poisoned dagger in his hand that Lucas dodged with an agile movement before grabbing his attacker by the neck, along with the hand that carried the dagger and pressing him firmly against the wall.

he said sarcastically.

grunted the leader in pain.

The captain tightened his grip on hid neck and wrist even more until it left red marks on his skin.

he whispered coldly which made his opponent tremble in fear like a leaf.

he exclaimed in fear.

replied the young knight with a smirk.

he said as he inflicted a pain spell on Velthur that caused him to scream very loudly.

he shouted in pain.

The young knight released his hold on him and let him fall heavily to the ground before kneeling down in front of him and bringing his face closer to his to look him straight in the eyes.

he asked in an icy tone.

he replied trembling.

The young knight stood up before heading for the room's door to get out. Velthur seized this opportunity to take another poisoned dagger before running toward the knight to try attacking him with it.

The latter turned just in time to take the dagger from his hand and brutally stab him with it in the neck.

he whispered coldly in disgust.

The warrior mage fell heavily to the ground, his body as cold as ice. A very strong red light emanated from him before disappearing after a few seconds.

exclaimed a knight from outside.

Hearing this, the young captain flashed a big smile before leaving the room to join his allies.

══════ ∘◦❁◦∘ ══════

In a dark room which seemed like an office that was lit by a few candles, Arminel was seated on an armchair accompanied by the Grand Master who was seated upright in front of his desk, immersed in his thoughts.

On closer inspection, the latter was very tall and very muscular. When he spoke, his voice was neither too deep nor too pitched.

he asked.

This question took the former captain of the Imperial army by surprise.

he replied.

he whispered.

he asked, completely confused.

The grand master advanced slowly towards him before approaching his masked face to his.

A small click went off in the brain of the former captain. His eyes widened in shock and realisation as he parted his lips slightly.

he began hesitantly.

replied the Grand Master with a smirk.

he asked.

The former captain stopped breathing for a little while hearing those words. He nodded affirmatively.

he revealed.

wondered the Grand Master.

This reply made the Grand Master freeze on the spot.

he exclaimed in surprise.

With those words, the Grand Master nodded thoughtfully.

he answered with a hidden smirk.

══════ ∘◦❁◦∘ ══════

After dinner, Luana went up to her room to rest. She changed into her nightgown and sat down at her dressing table to brush her hair.

she thought.

She stopped brushing her hair and started braiding it before glancing at the book that Sofia brought her that was on her bedside table.

She got up and walked over to the small table to pick up the book before sitting down in her bed to leaf through it slowly.

she whispered to herself.

After about fifteen minutes of reading, she found nothing of what she was looking for, nor something similar to it.

she thought, completely lost.

She sighed heavily before turning a dozen pages to find herself in front of one that contained the drawing of a sword. A not quite ordinary sword. Its design was really special.

She fell silent when she saw the emblem that was drawn on the handle of the weapon. She widened her eyes in shock.

she whispered in choked voice.

She grabbed the music box that was on her bedside table hastily and took off the necklace that Lucas had given her before he left. She put them side by side on the bed and compared their emblem with the one drawn on the sword in the book.

She took the book again and read the paragraphs that were next to the drawing to try to find an explanation.

A few minutes later, she unconsciously dropped it from her hands, her eyes wide in shock and her heart beating like a drum. She felt the world around her crumble to pieces and spin around.

she whispered with a trembling voice.

She felt the tears run down her cheeks as she felt a burned sentation on her neck. The mark shone again with much more intensity.

She sobbed very loudly, clenching her fists and teeth. Her heart ached very badly and she could hardly breathe.