Silence filled the hall.
Seeing a mother kill her own child was not something one witnessed every day. While stories of parents killing their babies were not unheard of, witnessing it with their own eyes was different. Cursed individuals were rare—so scenes like this were even rarer.
Elena turned toward Selene and ordered,
"Selene, as a member of the Stormgard family—and as his aunt—take this filth away and burn it on the mountain hill. Let everyone know that we do not harbor evil within our family."
'He must be alive.'
Was the first thought that came to Selene's mind. Selene, being Elena's sister, understood the hidden meaning behind her words. There was no way Elena could truly call her son filth—let alone kill him. She was bluffing.
Shadow had to be alive.
Without hesitation, Selene rushed to him and signaled two guards to carry the body.
"Put him in the carriage with the other corpses to be burned. I'll follow shortly. And don't you dare touch his body—if he comes back to life, I'll be the one to kill him myself."
She had no choice but to leave him with the guards. She needed to reach the potions hall as quickly as possible. Without immediate treatment, Shadow would probably die within minutes.
Back in the awakening hall
It was obvious to everyone present that Shadow was dead, judging by the amount of blood dripping from his body.
"What have you done, Mother?! What have you done to my brother? He's Shadow—Shadow!" Mia's cries echoed throughout the hall.
"Take her away. She's too young to understand what this means," Thorn ordered the guards.
He knew what Elena was doing—and he couldn't allow Mia to expose her.
"I believe this settles any misunderstanding. A family like the Stormgard would never protect anything related to demons," King Raven said, glancing at the EL members.
The two men clicked their tongues. After witnessing Elena's "cruelty," they could no longer accuse her. Their chance for revenge was gone.
But what they didn't know…
Shadow wasn't dead.
Elena had faked it.
Her lightning hadn't struck him directly—it detonated just centimeters away. The explosion, smoke, and light masked the truth. Still, she had no choice but to injure him severely and knock him unconscious to avoid suspicion.
Elsewhere
A carriage creaked along a narrow mountain ridge path.
Inside, Shadow lay unconscious among a pile of corpses, all bound for burning at the hilltop.
The dead ranged from criminals to sick children and servants. Death was common in this world—magic and disease saw to that.
Suddenly, the carriage stopped.
"Why did you stop?" one guard asked.
"Look ahead. Someone's blocking the road."
Two more figures appeared beside the first.
They were three awakeners.
"This carriage belongs to the Stormgard family. Think carefully before doing something stupid," the guard warned.
"Hehe… don't worry. I'm sure they'll understand," one of them replied.
Two fireballs shot forward.
The guards tried to block them—but were blasted backward, taking the brunt of the attack.
Inside the carriage, Shadow stirred.
His eyes barely opened, taking in the corpses around him.
'Sure, a nine-year-old should go to heaven… but this isn't what I imagined' was his first thought.
Boom—
The explosion jolted him fully awake, thanks to the adrenaline that spiked once he relized.
'They're here for me'
He didn't know who—but he understood why.
Hearing the fire spells, he realized they intended to burn the entire carriage.
His gaze fell on a dead child about his age.
"You can have my legacy, friend. You earned it."
He removed his mask and placed it on the corpse.
The guards' screams grew louder.
No time left.
Using all his strength, Shadow forced himself up and jumped out from the back of the carriage.
Since the attackers were focused on the front, he hoped to escape unnoticed—maybe even jump off the ridge and trust fate.
"Poor boy… if I had a face like yours, I wouldn't even try to run."
A female voice echoed behind him.
A fourth attacker.
She had been watching from afar.
Dressed in black, her clothes tightly wrapped around her body, her figure was unmistakable. She was hot, not that it matters to a nine -year-old about to die.
'I was about to trust fate… and here it is stabbing me in the back again.'
Shadow cursed internally.
She approached slowly, dagger in hand.
When she saw his face, disgust twisted her expression.
Without hesitation, she raised her dagger—
—but suddenly—
A red creature lunged forward.
Crunch~
In one swift motion, it bit her head clean off.
"I was hungry… and she looked delicious," the creature said, chewing.
"A demon…" Shadow whispered.
It was the same demon Marcus and his team had fought a week ago.
Before it could continue, a massive explosion erupted behind them—burning the carriage and blasting both Shadow and the demon away.
The three attackers had destroyed the carriage, believing their mission complete.
But when they saw the demon…
Their expressions turned to horror.
They immediately turned to flee—
—but stopped.
A red figure blocked their path.
"I said… I'm hungry."
The demon lunged.