Before they could continue their conversation, the roar of a high-pressure engine shattered the night's stillness. It reverberated from the distance, growing louder and causing the rubble on the ground to tremble.A jet-black armored vehicle sped around the bend in the road and came to a stop right in front of the Obsidian Building's ruins. Its large tires gripped the asphalt, producing a sharp screech.The vehicle’s thick doors swung open quickly and efficiently. A dozen men in black tactical armor stepped out with swift, precise, and orderly movements. They immediately formed a tight escort formation around the vehicle.The emblem engraved on the chest of their tactical armor was not the emblem of the Hunter Association or the city police force. Rather, it was an elegant and majestic coiled golden dragon.Upon seeing the emblem, Leon Hart’s eyebrows immediately knitted together. His eyes widened in surprise."The government's special division..." Leon muttered in disbelief. "What ar

[Target detected: Lucien Voss.Status: Traitor to the Shadow King.Threat level: EX.]The deep red screen flickering before Kai’s eyes slowly faded, dissolving into flecks of light that vanished into the night air. Yet the chill it left behind did not fade.Kai froze where he stood. His fingers, pressed against the surface of the black ring inside the box, felt as stiff as stone. The name Lucien Voss sounded utterly foreign to him, but the moment it was spoken, a wave of overwhelming rage erupted from the pit of his chest. It wasn’t ordinary anger but a deep hatred that felt like it was burning through his respiratory system.A dozen or so steps above the pile of rubble, Lucien Voss stood utterly calm. The silver-haired man wore a faint smile on his handsome, pale face.Thud!Lucien drove the tip of his black sword into the cracked asphalt. The light impact sent a dense wave of mana rippling through the ground and sent a thin cloud of dust billowing high into the air.Lucien’s fiery r

[WARNING!Five Shadow Gates are currently active.Status: Apocalyptic-Level Disaster.The sky above Arcadia City blazed like an open wound. A blood-red hue engulfed every corner of the city while the shrill wail of emergency sirens pierced the increasingly cold night ceaselessly.The Hunters from the Hunter Association stood frozen in place atop a pile of rubble. Not a single one of them could bring themselves to move. In the association's entire history, two dimensional gates had never opened in the same location let alone five colossal gates, which now hung menacingly in the sky.Lucien Voss stood casually atop a swirl of dust. The silver-haired man crossed his arms over his chest and cast a satisfied gaze at the pale faces below him."Welcome to the beginning of the end," Lucien whispered in an icy, lilting tone.CRAAAK!Cracks burst open in the first gate. From the searing darkness within, a black dragon over a hundred meters long surged forth. Its dark scales reflected flashes of

"It's not Kael Draven."The whisper slipped softly from Kai’s trembling lips. His eyes widened as they pierced the shadows of the past raging within his mind.In that fragmented flash of memory, Kael Draven stood just a few steps behind the throne. However, his sword was pointed in another direction, ready to fend off an enemy’s onslaught. The sharp blade that sliced through the Shadow King’s chest and pierced his back came from a different figure standing behind the thick fog.However, before the assassin’s face could be seen clearly, there was a crash.The entire shard of memory cracked and shattered, scattering into a painful dust of light.“Argh!”Kai fell to his knees on the cold asphalt. He clutched his head with both hands, enduring the excruciating pain that felt as though it were splitting his skull in two. Small stones shattered beneath his knees, and his fingers bled from his own fingernails.Kael Draven gazed at the king from a distance. His cold gaze suddenly softened, re

"Forgive me, Your Majesty. I failed to save you ten years ago."Those whispered words echoed softly, silencing the intense chaos of the roaring battlefield. The cold night wind blew gently, carrying the heart-wrenching silence through the rubble-strewn streets of the Eastern District.Kai stared intently at the man who had just removed his silver mask. A long, jagged scar covered his face, splitting his left eye and standing out against skin stained with the dust of battle. Yet his clear eyes held no trace of cruelty or hostility. Only a deep well of regret remained.Lucien Voss’s expression, on the other hand, turned deeply somber. His eyes narrowed with a faint glimmer of hatred.“So you really are still alive…” Lucien muttered in a piercingly cold tone.The masked man paid no heed to his words. He slowly thrust his white sword into the cracked concrete and knelt on one knee before Kai.His name was Aster Valen. He was the former commander of the Knights of Light and the last guardi