The morning sun spilled its golden light across the stone-paved corridors of Castle Loon, casting intricate patterns through the stained-glass windows of the Hall of Authority. Dust motes danced in the air like specters as Grand Instructor, Relshane walked briskly beneath towering arches. Her long silver braid swayed with each step, and her black boots echoed with a metallic click on the polished floor.
Her destination was the Council Spire—the highest point of Castle Loon that wasn't bound by magic wards. It overlooked the entirety of the campus grounds and parts of Lareth City, although today the haze over the horizon obscured distant visibility.
The guards at the stair entrance stepped aside instantly as she flashed the obsidian dagger badge that marked her as a high instructor. She ascended the spiral staircase quickly, ignoring the burn in her legs. When she reached the top, the heavy oak doors to the Grand Chamber loomed ahead.
She pushed them open without knocking.
The Grande Commander stood at the open balcony, hands clasped behind his back. His broad frame was wrapped in a dark crimson uniform trimmed in obsidian black, a cape draping one shoulder, flapping gently in the breeze. His short beard was trimmed with military precision, and his presence alone was enough to halt breath.
"You're early," he said, eyes still fixed on the horizon.
"I never sleep well when Castle Loon feels restless," Relshane replied, stepping to stand beside him.
He chuckled, though his expression remained stern. "Then you must sleep rarely."
"True."
Below them, the castle grounds stretched in disciplined harmony—recruits trained in various yards, instructors moved in coordinated formations, and magic wards shimmered faintly across the perimeters. But it wasn't the beauty of the campus that held Relshane's attention—it was the long path ahead for the school.
"You've read the performance logs," she said, folding her arms.
"I have."
"Then you've seen what I've seen. This batch isn't normal. Their reactions, their survivability. Even Idran admitted that more than twenty managed to strike him. That's not just potential. That's something else."
The Grande Commander's brows furrowed. "And what do you believe it is?"
"A generation born in war's shadow. Most of them were raised during the Demon Incursions. They don't just fight to win—they fight like it's the only thing keeping them from dying."
He turned to her, his piercing eyes unreadable. "And do you believe they're ready?"
Relshane hesitated. "No. Not yet. But they will be. With the right pressure."
He gave a small nod. "Then apply it."
"I want to propose private combat instruction for the top thirty recruits. Tactical duels. Ambush simulations. Real combat experience."
"Approved. Have Edwin assign them by dawn tomorrow."
She bowed slightly. "Understood."
"Seems like this school will not suffer disgrace again." he muttered calmly.
Far from Castle Loon — Lareth City. The streets were chaos incarnate.
Screams filled the air. Civilians ran in every direction, knocking over carts, stalls, and even one another. Soldiers from the city garrison scrambled to form barricades, but they were unprepared for the scale of the invasion.
Demonic entities surged out of the fissures that cracked open the roads. One monster stood twenty feet tall, its skin made of molten rock, fire blazing in its eyes.
Another slithered across the ground, a centipede-like creature with faces stretched along its body. A third flew, casting shadow bombs that imploded everything they touched. The city was burning.
A swarm of demons flared around the city, crushing any unlucky one who was slow to reflexes. Their anguish and pain hung in the air.
Then—five shadows dropped from the sky.
The assassins had arrived.
They didn't speak. They didn't posture. They simply moved.
The first, a woman in all black with a crescent tattoo on her face, leaped toward the molten demon. She danced around its strikes like flowing wind, each of her daggers glowing with runes. With a cry, she embedded both blades into its eye sockets, and the creature howled before collapsing in a burst of flame. Her name was simple – Sei Lui.
The second assassin was tall and wore no weapons—his fists were his tools. He punched through three demons in seconds, shattering their skulls with pure kinetic force. His name was, Krein.
The third, cloaked in blue smoke, blinked in and out of existence, appearing only to decapitate. His teleporting skills were wonderful. His name was, Copper.
The fourth rained arrows infused with holy poison. A poison assassin, trained with poisons that had brute efficacy. His name was as dreaded as himself. Poison Arrow.
And the fifth—
A blur of death. Hooded. Masked. Two swords, one dark and one glowing. Each representing the dark and the light forces he controlled. He was a ghost among demons.
In under ten minutes, a third of the demon swarm was reduced to twitching corpses.
But more were coming.
The assassins kept pushing. Their strikes were flawless, coordinated. They had done this before. They were part of the elite Black Crescent—graduates of Castle Loon who now served in active demon suppression squads and Guilds.
Despite the chaos, none of this reached Castle Loon. The campus, hidden behind its enchanted barriers and remote location deep in the western mountain valleys, remained undisturbed.
The instructors and recruits continued their routines, unaware of the carnage miles away.
To them, the fifth test was still the most pressing concern.
But for the city of Lareth—it was the longest night in years.