The border town buzzed with the clamor of reconstruction, a symphony of hammers striking stone and the low hum of enchanted tools weaving magic into mortar.
The once-crumpled walls, shattered by the recent attack, now stood tall and unyielding once more, rebuilt by squads of imperial soldiers and hired masons.
Spark crystals—rare, glowing gems harvested from the empire's deepest mines—had been embedded into the foundations, their ethereal light pulsing faintly as they reinforced the barriers against future assaults.
The air carried the scent of fresh-cut stone and sweat, mingled with the distant cries of merchants trying to salvage their livelihoods amid the chaos.
Atop a newly erected watchtower overlooking the walls, Commander Astoria Kelleth stood in her polished armor, the weight of her sword hanging heavy at her side.
Her gloved fingers toyed with a small pendant dangling from a chain around her neck—a delicate silver locket that held a tiny portrait of a man with kind eyes and a stern jaw, frozen in time.
She stared at it intently, her blue eyes clouded with a storm of grief and resolve.
A soldier approached, his boots crunching on the gravel. He saluted crisply, his uniform still dusted with masonry grit. "Commander, the wall has been completely reinforced using the spark crystals. Anything else?"
Astoria didn't look up immediately, her gaze lingering on the portrait. "No," she said finally, her voice steady but laced with quiet steel. "You can leave."
The soldier hesitated for a fraction of a second, then nodded and turned to go. But Astoria's mind was elsewhere, lost in the whirlwind of her thoughts. 'You sacrificed yourself for our home to that beast who's still roaming free,' she thought bitterly, the words echoing like a curse in her mind.
Her husband, a proud alpha warrior, had given everything five years ago, cut down by that savage Javrian in a senseless territorial skirmish.
She had clawed her way up the ranks since then, earning her commander's insignia through blood, sweat, and unyielding determination.
And now, after receiving intelligence that Javrian had finally made his move—attacking this very border—she saw her chance. With the authority of her position, she would drag that monster to justice, make him pay for the life he stole.
She had raced here with her imperial troops, arriving just in time to insert herself into the fray. But the reality on the ground was a farce.
The soldiers assigned to her were unworthy—lazy, undertrained conscripts more interested in dice games than duty.
Her vice commander was worse, openly taking bribes from the local nobles, greasing palms to overlook smuggling routes and petty crimes. Astoria wasn't blind to it; she simply didn't care. In this forsaken countryside, far from the empire's polished core, what mattered were connections.
Those greedy nobles had eyes and ears everywhere, and she needed them to uncover proof of Javrian's revolt against the throne.
Once she had that, she'd haul him to the Imperial Court, where he'd face the same merciless end her husband had—public execution, his name smeared into oblivion.
Her grip tightened on the pendant, the metal biting into her palm. 'This is the day I've waited for,' she thought. 'Revenge, at last.'
But the soldier hadn't left. Instead, he lingered, his voice cutting through her reverie with an insolent edge. "If you might not mind me, Commander, aren't you delusional?"
Astoria's eyes widened, snapping to the man in shock. She whirled around, her hand instinctively reaching for her sword.
The soldier slowly peeled away what looked like a thin, flesh-toned mask from his face, revealing a shock of vibrant green hair and sharp, cunning features beneath.
His lips curled into a smirk—it was Xen, the elusive head of the intelligence guild.
Rage surged through her like wildfire. "Finally found you, Xen," she snarled, lunging forward with blinding speed. The floor beneath her shattered in a spray of stone shards, the gust of her movement whipping up dust and wind as she reached for his throat.
But she never made contact. Four shadowy figures materialized from the shadows—black-armored knights, their movements a blur of precision.
One seized her wrist in an iron grip, halting her advance, while the other three pressed razor-sharp blades to her throat, their edges cold against her skin.
The ripple of their intervention sent a shockwave through the air, scattering loose pebbles across the tower floor.
Astoria froze, her breath ragged, eyes locked on Xen.
She had been hunting this slippery bastard for months—three long months since Victor Vasquez's death at the hands of Javrian and his wife's absence for a few days.
But when she thought she could receive permission to deal with the formality and arrest that woman.
The Avriantyia clan's main family issued strict orders: do not lay a hand on the prime suspect, Luna Vasquez.
Frustrated, Astoria had been forced to withdraw from the branch territory proper, redirecting her focus to this border town—a neutral arc of land under minor nobility, just below Victor's domain.
It was here she'd clung to hope, spurred by anonymous letters from Xen himself, promising that Javrian would strike in a week, then a few weeks more.
Those missives had extended her stay, turning frustration into obsession.
Xen regarded her with that infuriating smirk, unfazed by the near-assault. "Let me tell you, Commander, a very big truth," he said, his voice dripping with mockery. "He is not going to come here."
Her eyes trembled with dawning fury, the betrayal hitting like a physical blow. She'd been played. "Why?" she demanded through gritted teeth.
Shrugging nonchalantly, Xen replied, "Because I wanted some reinforcement in case he did. And with your presence here, he'll never come—afraid of proving my intelligence reports to the royal capital. But see, it yielded results."
She cut him off, her voice sharp as a blade. "Why have you not told me exactly how I am delusional?"
Xen blinked, then sighed dramatically. "You know right who he is?"
Astoria clenched her teeth, pulling her hand free from the knight's grasp with a forceful yank.
She knew all too well—Javrian was a nightmare, a force that even the strongest alphas in the capital feared to go against.
Her own husband had been one of them, slain by that beast's hand.
The memory fueled her rage, but she eyed the four black knights warily. "Where did you hire these people?"
Xen's smile widened, cold and calculating. "Come on, I'm saving myself from that monster. Shouldn't I be using all of my brain and power? These people are strong," he said, his gaze turning icy as he glanced at his guardians.
Astoria assessed them silently—they were formidable, each radiating an aura that matched or just fell short of her husband's peak strength.
'Four of them? They could overpower even Javrian,' she thought.
But doubt flickered in her mind. "Do you think this will be enough to stop him?"
Xen shook his head, his smile turning sly. "Let me tell you a secret, Commander. Since you stayed here, helping me keep that man away... he is right now broken."
Her eyes narrowed, confusion knitting her brow. "What do you mean?"
A visible chuckle escaped him, his green eyes sparkling with excitement, green hair catching the light like emerald flames.
He stepped closer, amused, as if pitying her for falling prey to the same madness that afflicted so many. "That beast has been taking injuries and attacks from the soldiers. When I arrived here, I heard people saying how he was like some wild animal, getting hit again and again. And you know what?"
Astoria's gaze hardened. "He went mad? But how?"
Xen chuckled again, leaning in with mock sympathy. "Isn't it obvious? He just lost someone he loves... just like you."
'!'
"Wh-what?" Astoria's eyes flickered, clearly showing the tremble as this particular realization made her confused and, at the same time, feel strange as she thought, 'That beast can love someone?'
She reached this conclusion that it would be some romantic interest simply because everyone knew that man didn't have any family. And not even someone like a mate, especially people of his caliber, can easily get.
"pfft, hahaha, I guess I will never understand you all fools." While clearing the tears that formed due to him laughing out loud like a psycho, Xen felt how stupid these people were who didn't even understand that the only love is power and money.
Yet holding so much strength, these fools took idiotic steps due to falling into emotions as he laughed out and said, "I guess those who love are really brain dead—HAHAHAHA!"