?Dawn broke over the assembly grounds, the thunderous rhythm of marching boots and clashing steel echoing through the valley. Darius stood tall upon the wooden platform, overlooking his warriors who waited with bated breath for their assignments. Standing in the ranks, Lyki’s heart beat like a war drum; he hoped, deep down, that this would finally be the day he stepped fully into the fray.

  ?"Today, we split our forces in two!" Darius’s voice boomed. "First unit, led by Cavalry Commander Titania and Oscar, head for Nefia Village. Drive out the mountain bandits who dare occupy our lands!"

  ?Lyki felt a flicker of confusion. His father had made no mention of the horrifying tales told by the survivor last night. Did he believe it was merely the work of Reich soldiers or common wolves? He pondered this silently, his gaze shifting to the female commander.

  ?"Titania, standing by!" A woman with hair as red as flame stepped forward. Though she looked barely out of her teens, her axe-play was legendary—merciless and absolute. "You take fifty men. Depart immediately!" Darius commanded.

  ?"The rest of you... follow me to the Capital!" Darius’s voice grew grim, drawing murmurs of shock from the troops. "Word arrived from the palace last night. The Reich army has seized Katen Fort with no fewer than thirty thousand men! Even the First Division under Lord Cameron—undefeated for forty years—was crushed in a single night!"

  ?Terror began to gnaw at the soldiers’ hearts; the First Division was the kingdom’s strongest bastion. But Darius roared, drowning out their fear. "Stop whining like whimpering pups! Fear only leads to an empty grave. The Reich are men just like us. Their blood runs red just like ours! An honorable death is one found fighting... so that we may truly live!"

  ?"An honorable death is one found fighting... so that we may truly live!"

  ?Lycan rode up beside Lyki. "Your first battle, eh? Don't go acting like a hero alone. On a real battlefield, you'll be surrounded on all sides. Trust only your blade and the comrade beside you."

  ?Lyki nodded. "I understand. You stay safe too, brother."

  ?Before Lycan departed, however, he left a question that chilled Lyki to the bone. "Lyki... when the time truly comes, are you brave enough to kill your enemies—and your own kin? ...Forget I said that. Just remember: don't play the hero."

  ?Before the march began, Lyna ran up, panting, clutching a rare Bird of Paradise flower. "I didn't make it in time to see Father..." she said through tears. Lyki embraced his younger sister, comforting her. "I promise you, Father will return. If you don't mind, could you share that flower with me?"

  ?"Of course," Lyna said, pinning the flower to Lyki’s chest. A spark of life returned to her eyes.

  ?Suddenly, Rin, the young survivor, stepped forward. Her eyes were clouded with sorrow but held a strange resolve. She took Lyna’s hand. "Come with me, Lyna... if we stay together, we won't have to fear the dark." Rin offered to take Lyna to wait at the Gelf house. Watching the two girls walk away, Lyki felt the heavy weight of duty settle onto his shoulders.

  ?The Gelf unit of fifty, led by Titania and Oscar, hurried through the dark woods toward the summit of Mount Onis. Everyone was braced for a brutal clash... yet, the closer they drew to the bandit camp, the more eerily silent it became, until only the whistling wind could be heard.

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  ?"Something's wrong..." Oscar whispered, leveling his spear. "No sentries, no fires... they should have known we were coming."

  ?When the Gelf force stormed the center of the camp, they found no bandits waiting for a fight. Instead, they found a "ruined camp"—abandoned in chaos. Soup pots still sat over smoldering embers, and belongings were scattered as if the owners had fled for their lives.

  ?"Did they run?" a soldier asked in confusion.

  ?Amidst the silence of the camp, Titania stared at the piles of discarded weapons with piercing eyes. She sensed an abnormality far more pungent than the smell of smoke.

  ?"Oscar! Take Lyki and scout the treeline above," Titania ordered. "And remember: if you find anything, report back immediately. Do not play the hero, Lyki. Understood?"

  ?Lyki nodded, though he felt a slight prickle of dissatisfaction at the order. "The rest of you, spread out and scout the perimeter!" Titania’s voice commanded behind them.

  ?Deep in a fog so thick they could barely see their own fingers, Oscar and Lyki rode up the rugged trail. A stench of rot—stronger than any beast Lyki had ever known—drifted on the wind.

  ?"Stoooop!" Oscar signaled, scanning the surroundings. "The path ahead is too overgrown for horses. We’ll hitch them here and go on foot."

  ?Lyki dismounted and tied his horse as Oscar advised. Normally, Oscar was playful and loved to tease Lyki during training with Darius, but now he was grim and deadly serious. This shift earned him a new level of respect from Lyki.

  ?Lyki followed Oscar's every step, but a sudden chill ran down his spine, as if something were watching them from the shadows.

  

  ?"Did you hear that, Oscar?" Lyki asked, his voice laced with anxiety.

  "Hear what?" Oscar replied suspiciously. "Did you hear something?"

  "N-no... I must be imagining things," Lyki exhaled.

  ?"It’s like this for almost everyone the first time," Oscar replied with a small chuckle. "You’re doing well; some people actually vomit."

  ?Before Lyki could respond, Oscar stopped dead and dropped into a crouch. He beckoned Lyki to his side. Before them lay a pitch-black figure, as tall as a grown man, feasting on the raw flesh of a deer.

  ?"Impossible... how did an Orc get here?" Oscar whispered. His hand tightened around his spear, his playful eyes now burning with a terrifying intensity.

  ?ROAR!!!

  ?Two massive figures lunged from the thorny bushes behind them! "Orcs!" Oscar shouted, thrusting his spear into the nearest one. The second Orc swung at Lyki, catching him off guard. With his battlefield instincts, Oscar kicked Lyki aside, sending him sprawling clear of the Orc’s axe.

  ?Infuriated that its prey had escaped, the creature turned its fury on Oscar.

  ?"I’ll handle these two!!!" Oscar shouted, his spear a blur of offense and defense against the twin axes. "Handle the one behind us, Lyki!"

  ?The Orc that had been eating the deer now stood up, glaring at Lyki with rage for interrupting its meal. It lunged with a massive spiked club. Lyki’s heart hammered against his ribs, but he remembered his father’s words:

  ?As the club swung down, Lyki threw himself off balance, rolling across the damp grass. He sprang up and slashed his steel sword across the creature's hamstrings.

  ?SQUELCH!

  ?The sound of the blade slicing through tissue was unmistakable. The Orc howled in agony, stumbling forward. Lyki didn't hesitate; he lunged, thrusting his blade with all his might into the gap beneath the creature's iron helmet. The longsword sank deep into its throat. Hot, dark blood sprayed across the boy's face for the first time... This was the "First Blood" he had yearned for, but it tasted only of revulsion.

  ?"Hah... hah..." Lyki panted, his hands trembling as he pulled his blade from the twitching corpse.

  ?"Well done! Your first blood..." Oscar began to praise, but his words were cut short. The light around them was suddenly swallowed by a veil of pitch-black mist pouring from a mountain crevice. A chilling whisper pierced their souls.

  ?

  ?Followed by five sets of heavy footsteps, five more Orcs—far more formidable than the first—stepped out of the mist. They circled Oscar and Lyki.

  ?"Damn it! They have reinforcements," Oscar cursed, his back pressed against Lyki’s. "Looks like my armor’s going to take a few dents today."

  ?Just as the Orcs prepared to close in, a bolt of azure light struck the center of the circle like a lightning strike!

  ?BOOM!!!

  ?The massive force sent the Orcs flying in all directions. A young man in a dull cloak stepped from the shadows, a short staff in his hand glowing with incantations.

  ?"Reeve!" Lyki shouted in disbelief. "You... you can use magic?"

  ?"If I didn't, you'd be their dinner by now," Reeve replied coldly, his eyes more mysterious and frigid than the friend Lyki once knew. "Quick! Get out of there!" Reeve’s shout snapped Lyki back to reality.