The cold, biting wind of the northern valleys whipped against my armor, but my mind was entirely focused on the mission at hand. After a grueling month of nonstop preparation, strategic planning, and tracing cold leads, my party and I had finally arrived at the outer limits of Lulu City. This heavily fortified settlement was the home of the infamous Dodorant Citadel, a high-security facility recently thrown into absolute chaos by the daring escape of Inmate 345.
The Capital Knights Bureau Association had sent me here with a singular, unyielding directive: investigate any and all anomalies that could lead us to the blood-sucking winged demon.
Over the past few months, that monstrous entity had become my absolute obsession. She was my only target. The Bureau had slapped an astronomical bounty on her head, and the entire continent was structurally destabilizing trying to hunt her down. But to me, she was simply the final wall standing between me and the life I desperately craved. If I could just track her down, if I could put her head on a stake and present it to the high orders in the capital, all of this madness would finally be over. I could strip off this heavy armor, renounce my titles, and finally go home. I could permanently visit my hidden family in Karama Village, returning to the warm embrace of my beloved wife, Lilith Rynd, and look into the bright green eyes of my precious five-year-old daughter, Charm. That dream was the only thing keeping me moving.
But first, I had to deal with the master of the citadel itself. The owner and overseer of the Dodorant Citadel was none other than Captain Friedrich Smith… the Captain of the Luminous Knights. He was a seasoned, middle-aged veteran with stark white hair tied back in a disciplined ponytail, piercing black eyes, and leather-gloved hands that had shaped the very foundation of our order. Though he was kind-hearted and firm, his rehabilitative ideals… like serving five-star meals to violent inmates… frequently backfired, and this recent escape was proof of it.
As we approached the towering, brass-reinforced checkpoint of Lulu City, a stern-faced gatekeeper named Kith stepped out from the watchtower, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. He scanned our approach before his eyes locked onto my distinct cloak.
"You've arrived, Shadow Walker, Toll and status cards, please."
Behind me, my current elite party members didn't waste a single second. Patricia, our stalwart Paladin, stepped forward with her armor gleaming, smoothly retrieving her official documentation and the required currency. Beside her, Catherine, our high-tier Mage, did the same, her fingers humming with a faint residual mana as she handed over her status card and the toll fee. I flicked my own card forward, the official Luminous Knight insignia flashing under the pale light.
Kith inspected the documents with a practiced eye, nodding in respect to our high rankings before stepping back toward the mechanical lever.
"Everything is in order. Welcome to Lulu City, Captain Elias," Kith said, throwing his weight against the iron wheel.
With a heavy, grinding screech of massive gears, the grand iron gates slowly groaned inward. The path to the Dodorant Citadel was officially open. I gripped my sword hilt, my jaw tightening as we marched forward into the city, ready to hunt down the demon and secure the peace my family deserved.
We navigated through the crowded thoroughfares of the merchant district, the lively chatter of traders and the clatter of carts fading into the background as we pushed deeper into the city. We made our way all the way down to the pier district, where the salty, crisp sea air bit at our faces. There, the docks were bustling with activity, lined with several high-ranking knights standing at attention, and right in the center of them stood Captain Friedrich.
My shadow horse slowed to a halt right before the pier. With a casual flick of my wrist, I activated my dark magic, causing the conjured steed to instantly dissipate into a harmless, swirling black mist that vanished into the sea breeze.
Patricia, Catherine, and I walked the remaining distance toward the veteran captain. The moment we closed the gap, the three of us snapped our right hands to our chests, parting a perfectly synchronized, disciplined military salute.
Captain Friedrich's piercing black eyes crinkled at the corners, and a hearty, booming laugh rumbled from his chest as he returned the gesture with his leather-gloved hand.
"Good seeing you here, Shadow Walker,"
Friedrich said, his commanding yet warm voice easily cutting through the sound of the crashing waves. He turned, gesturing toward a sleek, reinforced military vessel anchored right at the edge of the wooden dock.
"There is our boat. We will visit the Dodorant Citadel shortly to get you briefed on Inmate 345."
Without wasting any time, the three of us boarded the vessel alongside the Captain. A pair of specialized Luminous Knights took their positions at the stern, their hands glowing with a vibrant, emerald hue. With a coordinated shout, they unleashed a precise torrent of gale magic, channeling the wind directly into the heavy canvas sails. The fabric snapped taut instantly, providing a massive, unnatural burst of propulsion that sent the boat slicing through the choppy waters at incredible speeds.
Within minutes, the imposing, monolithic stone walls of the island fortress loomed over us. The boat slowed with a smooth drag, gliding perfectly against the stone reinforcement as we officially arrived at the high-security docks of the Dodorant Citadel.
Captain Friedrich guided me through the fortified stone arches of the citadel. I knew this place well; I had been stationed here before, spending cold, lonely weeks guarding the open seas from the high ramparts, my trusty Death Chant Revolver resting against my hip. But the usual disciplined order of the fortress was completely gone.
As we marched down the main courtyard, my eyes narrowed. Several bodies were scattered across the stone floor, now being heavily wrapped in canvas body bags by solemn medics.
Captain Friedrich stopped, his piercing black eyes looking down at the dead.
"The escaped fugitive used advanced blood manipulation, My knights who survived the initial breach reported that he literally sucked the blood straight out of his victims. Does that characteristic concern you, Elias?" he said, his voice dropping its usual booming warmth, replacing it with a grim, hard edge.
A cold jolt went through my chest. Based on my previous investigations into my primary target, I had seen the exact same calling card. The victims left in the demon's wake… including a massive, high-tier Cyclops I had tracked weeks ago… had been found completely drained of their blood, left as pale, hollow husks. I knew right then that this prison break was tied to the blood-sucking winged demon. She was either hunting down dead knights to feed her monstrous power, or her influence was spreading to other blood-manipulators.
"It concerns me deeply, Captain, It means we're running out of time." I muttered, my jaw tightening as I adjusted my vanguard cloak.
Friedrich nodded grimly and led me toward the heavy iron grates leading down into the subterranean levels of the fortress. We descended deep into the earth, the air turning thick, damp, and smelling heavily of iron and old stone, until we finally reached the third level of the subterranean prison.
"The third level of this prison is constantly flooded by a massive, high-tier mana-induced barrier, The moment any inmate steps onto this floor, their baseline stats are forcefully capped at ten. Their vitality, strength, defense, agility, and mana… all restricted to ten. It completely neutralizes their magical capabilities and levels the playing field for our guards." Captain Friedrich explained as our boots echoed down the dark hallway
Despite the stat cap, the prisoners staring out from behind the reinforced magic bars were terrifying. I passed cell after cell of the continent's most dangerous criminals. I saw Inmate 003, a massive, scarred man whose right eye had been brutally gouged out, staring at me with a psychotic, hollow grin. A few doors down sat Inmate 012, a gaunt individual with a horrific, scarred Glasgow smile carved from ear to ear, laughing silently in the dark.
Finally, Friedrich led me to a heavy, isolated iron door at the very end of the subterranean corridor. The door was reinforced with glowing containment runes.
"This is the one," Friedrich said, pulling a massive, enchanted iron key from his belt. He slotted it into the mechanism and turned it with a heavy, echoing click.
The door groaned open, revealing a dim, solitary interrogation room. Sitting chained to a heavy steel chair in the center of the room was Inmate 345… the very man whose insights would either lead me straight to the blood-sucking winged demon, or seal the fate of my family's peace. I stepped inside, the shadows of my dark magic swirling at my heels as the heavy door slammed shut behind me.
I walked into the dim interrogation room, my boots clicking against the cold stone floor as I stared down at the pathetic figure strapped to the center chair. Inmate 345… Keane Leon. He was supposed to be a nobody, a scrawny, unkempt D-rank street rat and petty thief who usually operated out of the Merchant District near the Golden Shrimp Inn. Yet, this pathetic excuse for a criminal was the catalyst for the entire citadel's lockdown.
He was completely bound by strength-dampening chains, glowing faintly with the mana-induced barrier that kept his stats completely capped at 10. Vitality, strength, defense, agility, mana… all reduced to the bare human minimum.
I stepped closer, the shadows of my dark magic swirling around my coat as I looked at his trembling, unkempt form.
"So, You're the blood-sucking winged demon everyone's losing their minds over?"
I glanced over my shoulder at the veteran officer standing by the door.
"Captain, spray some holy water on him. Let's see how he likes it."
Captain Friedrich shook his white ponytail, his piercing black eyes locked onto the prisoner with absolute disgust.
"We already tried it, Elias. He didn't burn, he didn't die. But make no mistake, he is the escaped fugitive. My men watched him wrap his jaws around a knight's throat, suck the blood straight out of him, and cast high-level blood manipulation right there in the corridors. He is highly dangerous, a anomaly, and the Bureau has ordered him to be executed on the spot."
"Don't kill him yet, I need answers first." I snapped, my hand resting firmly on my holster.
I looked back at Keane. His face was a bruised, bloody mess, his breathing ragged and shallow. The guards had clearly already done a number on him before I arrived, but his lips remained tightly sealed. He wasn't speaking a word, completely shut down from the trauma of the torture.
We didn't have time for a silent standoff. My family's safety was ticking away with every second I wasted in this damp cellar.
Without a word of warning, my hand blurred. I whipped out my Death Chant Revolver, leveled the cold iron barrel directly at the side of his head, and pulled the trigger.
BANG!
The deafening roar of the firearm exploded within the cramped stone walls of the interrogation room. The bullet grazed the tip of his earlobe, embedding itself deep into the stone floor behind him. The sheer concussive force of the blast ruptured the air right next to his head, leaving his eardrums violently ringing.
Keane shrieked, a high-pitched, pathetic sound of pure terror as he thrashed against the heavy chains, his cap-10 stats making him look entirely helpless.
"Don't kill me! Please, god, don't kill me! I'll talk! I'll talk!"
Keane's breathing was a frantic, pathetic rattle as the ringing in his ears slowly began to fade. He stared at the smoking barrel of my Death Chant Revolver, his cap-10 stats leaving him shivering so violently that the strength-dampening chains clanked relentlessly against the steel interrogation chair.
"My name is Keane Leon… I... I... I didn't kill those guards! I swear to God, I didn't kill anyone!"
He stuttered so pitifully that my veteran instincts flared. I've interrogated hundreds of hardened criminals, and this boy didn't have the stomach of a killer, let alone the aura of a high-tier calamity. I lowered the revolver just a fraction, keeping the cold iron leveled at his chest.
"Continue," I commanded, my voice dropping into a low, lethal octave that brooked absolutely no deception.
Keane swallowed hard, tears tracing lines through the dirt and dried blood on his face.
"I didn't break out of the citadel... because I never went to the citadel! Someone else did! A few days ago, back at the Golden Shrimp Inn in the merchant district, I was just trying to pull a quick lift. But this... this girl, she caught me. She dragged me by my collar into the rear alleyway and brutally beat me half to death! She kicked my ribs, smashed my solar plexus until I was foaming at the mouth, and completely knocked me out cold!"
He paused, gasping for air as the horrific memory overtook him.
"When I finally woke up days later, I was stuffed inside a disgusting alley dumpster, smelling like rotting fish. The moment I climbed out, a squad of Luminous Knights spotted me and immediately tackled me to the ground. They kept screaming that I was a wanted fugitive who had slaughtered an entire prison block using blood manipulation! Like hell no! It was my face, it was definitely me, but I was actually unconscious in a dumpster the entire time the breach happened!"
My black eyes narrowed to razor slits. Beside me, Captain Friedrich's eyebrows shot up, his disciplined ponytail shifting as he leaned closer to the chained boy.
"Who was that lady? Give me every physical detail you have."
"I don't know her name! I've never seen her before in Lulu City! But she was unforgettable. She only had a single right arm… her left sleeve was completely empty, hanging loose under a canvas cloak. She had one piercing green eye, deeply tanned skin, and a horrific, terrifying Glasgow smile carved right across her face! She looked like a nightmare... she was absolutely terrifying!"
Hearing the description, the pieces of the puzzle violently slammed together in my mind. The blood-drained victims. The high-tier infiltration. The stolen identity.
I slowly lowered my weapon, the dark magic swirling around my boots settling into a heavy, suffocating stillness as I connected the dots.
"You're innocent, you're not the blood-sucking winged demon. The lady who ambushed you is. She possesses a high-level, flawless shapeshifting ability. She didn't just break into the Dodorant Citadel... she stole your face, harvested your genetic profile, and used your D-rank identity as a perfect Trojan horse to bypass the security gates." I muttered, looking down at the trembling street rat.
I turned sharply to Captain Friedrich, my mind racing back to the safety of Karama Village. The primary target hadn't just evaded my grasp; she was a master of disguise, moving through the kingdom with someone else's skin. If she could look like a petty thief, she could look like anyone… even a knight.