The morning air was crisp atop the high ground, carrying the faint scent of dust and stone from the workshops below. Luciel stood at the edge of the terrace, the city sprawling beneath him like a living creature — stone walls glimmering in the light, distant hammers ringing, voices rising in rhythm with the day's work.
Beside him stood Mino, her soft blue eyes alert and curious, and Alina, the newest recruit to his growing forces — a pink-haired girl whose natural grace seemed at odds with the warlike title she now bore.
Luciel exhaled and summoned with a low command, "Come forth — Red Ghost Spider."
A faint rustle stirred the air, followed by the unmistakable click-click of chitinous legs. From the shadows of the slope below, the Red Ghost Spider emerged — a massive, four-meter creature of crimson sheen and terrifying elegance. Its carapace gleamed like polished rubies in the morning light, and every movement was a whisper of restrained power.
