The Hunter and the Prey


    Dust still haunted Lucas’s footsteps as he left the city.


    The map rested in his hand, yet his mind was restless.


    "They are coming."


    The whisper slid through his mind like a cold blade.


    Lucas stopped.


    The wind changed. The scent of rust and ashes filled the air.


    The sky darkened—not from clouds, but from shifting shadows.


    He looked up.


    And then, the roar came.


    A wall of fire tore through the skies.


    The impact exploded the earth, shards of rock scattering like sharpened blades.


    Lucas leaped back, yet the attack came again.


    A second burst.


    This time, there was nowhere to run.


    Lucas did the unthinkable.


    He advanced.


    He traversed the flames.


    His skin burned. The odor of scorched flesh rose in the air.


    But he did not stop.


    <hr>


    The Dragon Knights


    Dragons cut through the sky like spears of fire and destruction.


    Mounted on them, knights in black armor wielded enchanted lances, each vibrating with raw magic.


    Lucas need not ask who they were.


    He recognized the symbols on their armor.


    They belonged to the kingdom he had destroyed.


    The leader landed first, dismounting with military precision.


    His gaze was not that of an ordinary man.


    It was the look of one who had survived hell.


    And he had decided to return.


    "You should not exist."


    Lucas remained silent.


    Another knight advanced, his voice boiling with hatred.


    "You massacred our king. You destroyed everything."


    Lucas observed them.


    The leader clenched his fist.


    "We were the last detachment of the kingdom. We were sent on a mission, far from the capital. We returned to find a cemetery."


    Lucas felt something churn within him.


    But then, a voice whispered:


    "They became what they despised most. Survivors. Nothing more than walking corpses."


    Lucas relaxed his shoulders and smiled.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    "If they came for vengeance..."


    His eyes shone scarlet.


    "...then let them come."


    And then, hell began.


    <hr>


    The Perfect Hunter


    The first knight attacked.


    Lucas did not dodge.


    He let the blade come to him.


    And at the last second—


    He vanished.


    The strike cut through empty air.


    Before the knight could comprehend, something brutal occurred.


    The world spun.


    No.


    His head spun.


    His body remained on the ground.


    Lucas reappeared behind him, holding the knight’s head severed by his helmet.


    He tossed it aside as if it were nothing.


    <hr>


    The Fury of the Dragons


    The second knight came from above.


    Lucas looked up.


    Perfect timing.


    The blade descended—


    Lucas stepped aside by mere millimeters.


    The knight fell to the ground.


    Lucas was already behind him.


    His hand pierced the warrior’s armor—and then, he pulled.


    The knight screamed.


    But the scream did not last.


    His chest was ripped from his body in one swift motion.


    The ground was painted red.


    The dragons roared.


    One of them dove in a deadly plunge, its mouth opening in an explosion of flames.


    Lucas advanced against the fire.


    His body burned. But he felt nothing.


    He leaped directly at the beast, his hands closing around its horns.


    "Down."


    Lucas pulled.


    The dragon’s head spun violently.


    Its neck snapped.


    A second later, it was dead.


    Lucas jumped from the carcass before it hit the ground.


    He had no time to breathe.


    Another shadow fell from the sky.


    Lucas spun in the air and drew his blade.


    The blade screamed against the wind.


    And then—


    A dragon’s head soared into the sky.


    <hr>


    The Lance of the Gods


    The leader of the knights spat on the ground, his gaze overflowing with pure contempt.


    He raised his lance.


    But it was no ordinary lance.


    Lucas felt it.


    The very air seemed to be sliced apart around the blade.


    "This weapon..."


    "It is different."


    The leader noticed the hesitation.


    "You feel it, don’t you?"


    "This is the Lance of the Gods. One of the three sacred treasures bestowed upon our kingdom by the heavens centuries ago."


    Lucas said nothing.


    "It was forged in the last war against the Demon King."


    "Forged from the bones of a God."


    Lucas gritted his teeth.


    "It does not merely pierce flesh."


    The tip of the lance glowed, absorbing the surrounding light.


    "It extinguishes existences."


    Lucas averted his eyes from the glare.


    The leader lunged at him.


    Lucas tried to dodge.


    But the air beside him disintegrated.


    The lance did not need to touch him directly to kill.


    One mistake. A single mistake, and it would all be over.


    Lucas gritted his teeth.


    But before he could react—


    The wind changed.


    <hr>


    The Arrival of the Mage


    Lucas frowned.


    The knights noticed first.


    The leader halted mid-strike.


    "What...?"


    Lucas felt it.


    The shadows around him stirred.


    And then, he saw him.


    Atop the hill,


    The man with shining eyes.


    He wore no armor. Not a single blade did he carry.


    But the knights stopped.


    They were no longer focused on Lucas.


    Now, their attention was fixed on that man.


    The leader of the knights narrowed his eyes.


    "This is not your conflict."


    The man smiled.


    "Intriguing."


    The knights exchanged glances.


    The dragons roared, uneasy.


    And then, the leader saw Lucas.


    He stared at him. And for a moment... he hesitated.


    Something was not right.


    He ground his teeth, looked at Lucas one last time...


    and made his decision.


    "Fall back."