Night had fallen, cloaking the city in deep shadow. Leo and the others were each in their assigned positions, ready to put their plan into motion.
The target was hidden in plain sight, an unremarkable stone building wedged in the middle of a narrow alley. No windows, no back doors, no cracks in its defenses. If they wanted in, the only path was the alley itself... which meant getting past the guards without raising an alarm.
They had spent hours refining their approach, sketching possibilities and eliminating anything too loud or too slow. With two illusionists, both possessing vampire-enhanced abilities, the infiltration was possible, but it demanded precision.
Leo began by activating his vision spells, sweeping the area in layers of magical sight. Two guards stood at the front door, but three more were positioned in the surrounding buildings, watching the alley from above. With Elna's shadow spells and Leo's overlapping illusions, they marked each sentry's exact location. Elna moved first, melting into the darkness and flanking the hidden watchers. Leo cloaked her presence in a subtle, layered Real Illusion, masking even the faintest hint of movement or aura. All three were low-ranked, too low to resist Elna's mental influence, and soon they were adrift in her Mind Control, eyes glazed and minds pacified.
The situation with the two guards at the door was different. Knocking them unconscious would have been too obvious; the sudden loss of alertness would be noticed by others inside. They needed something cleaner.
Leo cloaked himself, Briva, and Arthur in invisibility, while Elna took a more direct role. She reshaped her features under a flawless illusion, becoming the striking form of the mysterious woman they had seen in the city, Lady Navera. From their intelligence, the real Navera should have been inside the hideout right now, but that was the beauty of mental manipulation, reality was just a suggestion.
Elna approached with measured grace, hood drawn low until she was only a few steps from the door. When she pulled it back, the guards stiffened in surprise.
"Lady Navera, weren't you," one began, but his eyes briefly clouded, his thoughts bending to the false memory Leo threaded into his mind.
"Would you mind opening the door?" Elna's tone was smooth, patient, as if she were merely inconvenienced.
The guards blinked once, then nodded. "Of course, my lady. Welcome back."
Behind the scene, Leo's magic worked in tandem with hers, altering the guards' memories just enough to explain her sudden appearance. For C-rank minds, this sort of memory tampering would last perhaps an hour, long enough to get in, but not forever.
And so, with their life force wrapped in a carefully woven aura that muffled every sign of their existence, the four of them slipped through the entrance. Even for Leo, an A-minus illusionist, maintaining so many overlapping Real Illusions at once was a strain, every heartbeat drawing more mana. But until they were inside, the mask could not falter.
Elna drew her hood up, letting the fabric shadow her pale features, and glided silently down the long corridor. The wooden boards beneath her feet creaked in the stillness. Doors lined both sides of the narrow passage, each one marked by scratches, burn scars, and the faint scent of stale air seeping from within.
Through her vampire gaze, thin wisps of life force glimmered faintly behind them, small, bright threads against the darkness. A few pulsed steadily, others flickered like candles. But life force alone didn't reveal identities, and she had no way of knowing which soul they were after. That signal would have to come from Leo.
Leo followed close behind, eyes constantly moving. His twin vision spells layered information over reality, one showing heat and movement, the other highlighting life force.
After several turns, the hallway spilled into a broad chamber that served as the main hall. A few long tables sat crooked, surrounded by mismatched chairs. Abandoned plates still held the scraps of unfinished meals. Somewhere in the shadows, low voices murmured. As Leo's gaze adjusted, he spotted two men huddled in the corner, watching Elna too closely.
He knew from his readings they were near the building's center. He gave a subtle hand signal, and the group split, each member slipping toward a separate doorway.
Only Arthur stayed put, stepping into the exact middle of the room. He pressed his palm to the wooden floor. The faint golden glow of his magic spread outward in invisible lines.
When all of them were in place, Arthur looked up and gave Leo the smallest of nods.
Leo snapped his fingers. The layered illusions around them shattered like glass, reality rushing back into place. The two men froze for a heartbeat, startled, but before they could react, a wave of light burst from Arthur's hand, sweeping through every corner of the hall.
"That one," Arthur said, pointing to the door nearest Elna.
They moved instantly. All four rushed forward, boots striking wood in rapid rhythm. A short corridor lay beyond. Elna reached it first, melting into the wall's shadows, while Leo's shoulder crashed into the door, forcing it open.
His spells had already confirmed there were two people inside. Elsewhere in the hideout, nearly thirty more were scattered through other rooms, but for now, they didn't matter.
Inside stood Lady Navera, the vampire they had been looking for, her gaze sharp and cold. Beside her was a broad-shouldered man dressed in silk and velvet, the fabric weighed down by the gleam of gold rings on nearly every finger.
Both had felt Arthur's magic sweep through the building. They were ready.
Navera's form dissolved into a swirling mass of shadow bats, streaking toward a tall bookshelf against the wall. But before she could touch it, Elna surged out of the darkness, her fist wreathed in shadow. The blow cut through the enemy's spell, scattering it like smoke, and struck her clean across the body.
Navera staggered back, the air hissing from her lips. Her hand darted toward the hilt of a dagger, but Briva was already in position, bow drawn, an arrow aimed at the vampire's heart.
At the same time, the man's rings began to glow with magic. With a flick of his wrist, he hurled a fireball at Leo. The blast seared the air, but Leo pivoted, letting it fly past. The second ring's enchantment began to flare, but sputtered out before activating.
The man's eyes widened in shock. With a desperate snarl, he vaulted over his desk, swinging a punch meant to crush bone.
Leo caught it effortlessly in his palm, the force barely making his arm shift. His other hand closed around the man's throat, and he lifted the much larger figure as though he weighed nothing. The man clawed at Leo's wrist, but his grip held firm.
Arthur stepped inside, his fingers tracing runes in the air. A golden barrier shimmered into existence behind him, cutting them off from the rest of the building.
"Do it already," Navera said suddenly.
Elna blinked. "What?"
"Lucius sent you, right? Just kill me and be done with it."
"Lucius didn't send us," Leo said, tossing the man across the room. He crashed into the table, splintering its edge, and coughed hard.
"Then who are you? Why are you here?" the man demanded, still struggling for breath.
"We have questions," Arthur said flatly.
"About what?" Navera's tone was edged with suspicion now.
"About Lucius, of course."
Navera brushed at the dust clinging to her robe, her eyes never leaving theirs. "What do you want to know?"
"Lucius is searching for a city," Leo said. "Tell us everything you know."
Navera's gaze flicked toward the man. After a beat, he nodded. He stepped behind his desk and retrieved a single folded document. Dust clung to his deep brown skin, muting its natural warmth, but his eyes, deep blue and unwavering, remained sharp.
"This is all we have," he said, handing the paper to Leo. "We keep out of his business. We don't want him to find us."
"Who are you, anyway? Why are you running from him?" Briva asked, her tone casual though her fingers still rested lightly on the bowstring.
"We're the ones who refused to follow him any longer," Navera said, moving to stand beside the man. "We believe he is wrong, and that his actions will bring doom to us all."
"Anything?" Arthur asked, looking at Leo.
"From the information here," Leo said, scanning the last page, "the city they're looking for is in the Shadowlands."
"Then that's where we go."
"What's your purpose?" Navera asked, her voice low.
Leo lowered the document and met her eyes. "We want to kill him."
Both Navera and the man beside her stiffened, their eyes widening.
"Do you have any idea how powerful he is?" the man said. "He's S-rank."
"You don't need to worry about that," Leo replied.
"Then let us help you."
"Boris," Navera said sharply, elbowing him in the side.
"They might be our only chance to get free," Boris muttered to her before looking back at Leo. "Luciana Dimont, her goals may be different, but she's on our side."
"I already know," Leo said. He pulled a scroll from his coat. "And I can contact her with this."
Boris's eyes lit up. "We haven't been able to reach her for weeks. If you can…"
Leo didn't answer. He looked at Arthur. "Be ready for anything." Then he pushed mana into the scroll. Nothing happened.
He tried again. Still nothing.
Boris's brief hope faltered. "Even that can't reach her?"
"There's still another way," Leo said. "Arthur, watch my body."
He sat down in the corner, closed his eyes, and slipped his consciousness into his domain.
There, seated on his throne, he summoned the Mirror of Reflection and focused on Luciana. The glass shimmered, ripples of mana distorting the surface, until her image slowly took shape.
She was inside a dungeon. Her wrists were chained to the wall with heavy, enchanted manacles. The light in the room was dim, and shadows crawled across the stone.
Leo scanned the space—no guards. He pushed his mana into the mirror, stepping closer until he was within reach of her. Her eyes were unfocused, her expression dulled under the weight of some spell.
He raised his hand, let his mana flow, and draped an illusion over her—one subtle enough to slip past whatever had already ensnared her mind.
...
Luciana hung from the wall, her arms pulled so high the strain burned down her shoulders. Heavy, enchanted chains bit into her wrists, the metal cold enough to sting. Every breath drew in the stale, damp air of the dungeon, thick with the stink of mold and old blood. Her stomach cramped from hunger. Her lips were cracked, her throat raw from days without blood.
Her brother had left her here—left her to rot and slowly corrupt—after discovering her betrayal. The thought of him still sparked a flicker of hate, but even that ember was dimming under the constant weight of pain.
Then, without warning, the dungeon walls shivered and dissolved. The fetid air shifted, replaced by the cold, earthy scent of wet leaves. The stone beneath her bare feet softened into damp soil. She was standing now, somehow unchained, in a dark forest.
Black, skeletal trees clawed at the sky. There was no moon, only a suffocating gloom. The wind whispered through the branches, but it carried no warmth—only the faint sound of something moving between the shadows.
From that darkness, a man emerged. "Luciana Dimont," he said, his voice low but carrying. "I see you're not making much progress with your plan."
She tilted her head, recognizing him instantly. A faint, mocking smile curled her lips despite the ache in her body. "Victor Black. You came all this way just to see me? Careful—you'll make me blush."
"You're as unpleasant as always." Leo's tone was flat, his eyes unreadable. "I'm going to hunt your brother. I need everything you know."
"I'd love to give you that," she said, her voice hoarse but laced with sly amusement, "but you'll have to save me first."
"As expected. Where are you?"
Her smirk faltered, replaced by a flicker of unease. "I'm in my family's dungeon, in the Northern Kingdom. Near Reistara village, northwest side. A black castle—tall, spiked towers. You can't miss it. But hurry… I don't know how much longer I can endure." The last word carried a weight of real fear.
Leo's expression didn't change. "I'll see what I can do."
And just like that, he vanished. The forest melted away like smoke.
Luciana's eyes snapped open in the real world. The stone walls and chains returned, but something inside her had shifted. Her thoughts were sharper now, the fog in her mind gone.
A slow, dangerous smile crept across her face.