In the Kingdom of Arcadia, the morning began with an unusual and deceptive calm.

  The previous weeks had placed the entire kingdom under silent tension. Every strategist, soldier, and commander had their attention fixed on one name—the mysterious entity known as Kaizen. Rumors of his return had spread across continents like a plague of dread, and every major power had begun preparing for a war that no one fully understood.

  Inside the headquarters of the Black Spear, General Akaria Valerius sat alone in her office. Stacks of military reports and intelligence files surrounded her desk as she carefully reviewed the latest assessments regarding the strange hybrid monsters that had recently appeared along the borders.

  Her expression remained composed, but beneath that calm exterior, a quiet pressure was building.

  Meanwhile, far from the suffocating tension of the command center, the private library of the headquarters was filled with a far more peaceful atmosphere.

  Nico Sigmund sat across from Elara Meridian at a wooden table surrounded by towering shelves of ancient books.

  For once, Nico appeared strangely relaxed.

  He was guiding Elara through several philosophical manuscripts while discussing the deeper meaning behind certain magical theories and historical paradoxes. His voice carried the same calm tone as always, yet there was an unusual enthusiasm in the way he explained certain ideas.

  Elara listened with sparkling eyes.

  A soft smile never left her pale face. Her cheeks were lightly flushed with excitement and shy admiration as she followed every word he spoke. Being beside Nico—learning from him—filled her with a sense of joy she had rarely experienced in her life.

  For a brief moment, the world outside seemed distant.

  But peace rarely lasts long in a world preparing for war.

  Far away, across vast continents and dark oceans, within the terrifying heart of the Demon Rift Empire, an entity of unimaginable danger sat in silence.

  Kaizen the Great.

  He rested upon his dark throne in a chamber swallowed entirely by shadows.

  His posture reflected absolute authority. One hand supported his cheek while the other rested casually upon the arm of the throne. Yet even in stillness, his presence distorted the atmosphere around him.

  Invisible waves of power radiated outward from his body like silent ripples in space itself.

  Then, suddenly—

  Kaizen lifted his head.

  At the same moment, the bloody crown resting upon his head began to glow.

  A deep crimson light pulsed from the ancient artifact, as if it had sensed something far beyond the boundaries of the world.

  Something ancient.

  Something awakening.

  And at that exact moment—

  The world changed.

  The Crimson Sky

  The sky above Arcadia suddenly transformed.

  Bright blue daylight vanished in an instant, replaced by a vast ocean of deep crimson clouds.

  It looked as though the heavens themselves had begun bleeding.

  A red fog spread slowly across the horizon while violent streaks of crimson lightning tore across the sky with terrifying force.

  The thunder that followed was unlike anything anyone had ever heard.

  It was not simply sound.

  It was pressure.

  Every soldier within the Black Spear headquarters felt the vibration of that thunder deep within their bones.

  Then—

  A violent knock slammed against the door of Akaria's office.

  "Come in!" Akaria shouted immediately.

  The door burst open.

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  A soldier rushed inside, trembling so violently that he struggled to stand straight.

  "General Akaria… forgive me, but you must see what is happening outside—now!"

  Akaria did not ask another question.

  She rose from her desk instantly and moved toward the courtyard.

  Outside, the entire headquarters had already gathered.

  Soldiers, officers, and staff members stood beneath the blood-red sky, staring upward in stunned silence.

  Nico and Elara had also emerged from the library.

  Elara looked around nervously, her earlier happiness replaced by confusion.

  Akaria stepped forward slowly and looked up.

  Her breath caught in her throat.

  "Impossible…" she whispered.

  "Has Kaizen already begun his attack…?"

  Her eyes moved across the strange crimson clouds.

  "But what is this fog…?"

  Then she turned toward Nico.

  She expected the same calm indifference he had always displayed whenever Kaizen's name was mentioned.

  But what she saw instead made her freeze.

  Nico stood motionless.

  His eyes were fixed on the crimson sky.

  And for the first time since Akaria had known him—

  His face showed genuine fear.

  The young man who had faced legendary monsters without blinking… the man who had treated Kaizen's threat as little more than a distant problem…

  Was now standing completely still.

  Tension filled his body.

  Dread darkened his expression.

  His crimson eyes trembled slightly as he stared upward.

  In that moment, Akaria realized something terrifying.

  Whatever was coming…

  It was far worse than anything they had prepared for.

  The Butcher's Hell

  Inside the Independent Elven Kingdom, chaos had begun to spread.

  King Ronard Legard was already mobilizing his soldiers while palace guards rushed through the corridors issuing emergency commands.

  Yet deep within the lower dungeons, none of that urgency mattered.

  Jakar the Butcher continued his twisted rituals as if nothing had changed.

  The Scarlet Elves remained bound to their extraction machines. Tubes pierced their veins as the machines drained their blood in measured intervals.

  Jakar stood before one of the captives, enjoying her pain.

  Her breathing was weak.

  Her body trembled.

  But suddenly—

  The girl stopped screaming.

  A strange calm appeared on her face.

  Then, incredibly—

  She smiled.

  It was not a smile of madness.

  It was a quiet, peaceful smile.

  A smile of escape.

  Her chest rose once more.

  Then stopped.

  She died.

  Only three captives remained alive.

  Jakar stared at the corpse in disbelief before exploding with rage.

  "You filthy creature!"

  He kicked the body violently.

  "How dare you smile before me?!"

  "I can't believe you died this quickly… you lucky brat!"

  At that moment, a guard rushed into the chamber.

  "Lord Jakar! The King summons you immediately!"

  "There is an emergency!"

  Jakar clicked his tongue in irritation before leaving the dungeon.

  When he reached the palace balcony, King Ronard stood there waiting.

  "Look outside," the King said coldly.

  Jakar stepped forward.

  Then froze.

  The sky above the kingdom had become a vast bloody eclipse.

  Even the sunlight had been devoured by the crimson fog.

  His arrogance faded instantly.

  "What in the hell… is happening?"

  The Descent of the Red Knight

  Then—

  The lightning stopped.

  A suffocating silence swallowed the world.

  For several seconds, nothing moved.

  Jakar scoffed.

  "A passing storm," he muttered arrogantly.

  "It seems even nature recognizes our greatness."

  But the heavens were not bowing.

  They were preparing to deliver judgment.

  Without warning—

  A colossal bolt of lightning struck the earth beside the Elven Kingdom.

  The explosion shook the entire continent.

  The sound reached Arcadia like the simultaneous roar of thousands of cannons.

  When the dust cleared…

  A crater had appeared.

  Its diameter was equal to that of an entire city.

  From the burning center of that crater—

  Something moved.

  A figure slowly emerged from the smoke.

  It was a radiant crimson entity clad in legendary silver armor adorned with sharp, curved horns.

  Its body radiated a power so dense that the surrounding air trembled violently.

  High above the battlefield, Natalia and General Luna watched from their flying carriage.

  Their blood turned cold.

  The being knelt on one knee in the center of the crater.

  Like a knight descending to deliver a cosmic sentence.

  Then the figure stood.

  A halo of crimson lightning formed around him.

  With his first step—

  The ground beneath his feet liquefied into a pool of glowing blood.

  From that blood emerged a massive legendary sword.

  The Knight gripped the weapon.

  Then slowly raised it above his head.

  For a single moment—

  The entire world seemed to stop.

  Then the blade descended.

  The slash traveled faster than light itself.

  A crimson wave tore through the air.

  It crossed mountains.

  Forests.

  Cities.

  And in a single instant—

  The Great Elven Kingdom was split into two halves.

  Like parchment cut by a blade.

  The Harvest

  Inside the palace, Queen Laura stared in horror.

  King Ronard's body had been severed along with the throne room itself.

  Her scream echoed through the shattered halls.

  But the nightmare had only begun.

  Another lightning strike hit the center of the city.

  The Red Knight drove his sword into the ground.

  Immediately, demonic crimson veins burst from the blade.

  They spread across the streets like living serpents.

  They pierced the bodies of civilians.

  Children.

  Women.

  Elders.

  The veins drained every drop of blood within seconds.

  Bodies collapsed.

  Skin shriveled.

  Seventeen thousand elves died in minutes.

  Not by an army.

  Not by war.

  But by a single entity.

  Judgment

  The Knight walked toward the palace.

  The Silver Axe team led by Alfred rushed forward to defend the royal family.

  But the moment they felt the Knight's aura—

  Their bodies froze.

  Jakar roared and attacked with his legendary axe.

  The Knight caught him effortlessly.

  One hand gripped his throat.

  Then something horrifying happened.

  The Knight began drawing the blood directly from Jakar's pores.

  Jakar screamed.

  The sound echoed across the entire kingdom.

  Then his body collapsed.

  A hollow corpse.

  The Knight dragged the severed half of King Ronard outside.

  A bloody pillar erupted from the earth.

  The King's body was displayed upon it.

  A symbol of humiliation.

  Then—

  Lightning flashed again.

  And the Red Knight vanished.

  Leaving behind only ash.

  And silence.

  More than 17,000 elves had died in minutes.

  And the world had just witnessed a truth that would haunt every empire.

  They were no longer the hunters.

  They had become the prey.

  [End of Chapter 38]