Chapter 1
The air in the chamber felt thick enough to choke on.
Seated upon the chair at the center of the chamber, Ferwel Noxes remained perfectly still. Yet even without moving, his presence weighed heavily upon the ten kneeling figures before him like an invisible mountain. Not one of them dared raise their head.
An important report had just arrived.
Count Elvion Ornen, thirty-six years old—one of Noxes' insiders—had been exposed by the Kingdom of Neltan. His arrest was only a matter of time.
Without hesitation, Ferwel made his decision.
To prevent any information leak that could destroy the organization, a final order was issued:
Count Elvion must be silenced before he is captured.
"Ryudien," Ferwel continued in a firm, emotionless tone, "I entrust this mission to you. Do not disappoint me."
The mission fell upon Ryudien Noxes, a boy who was only sixteen years old. He had black hair, red eyes, and a long scar running from his left cheek to his eye—a wound that had left a lasting mark but had not taken his sight.
But in the Noxes Organization, age had never mattered. Only results.
The moment his name was called, a chilling sensation crept through Ryudien's body. His heartbeat quickened, yet felt heavier.
Not long after…
Under the full moon illuminating the courtyard of a luxurious mansion, Count Elvion had just returned from a long business trip. His face showed exhaustion, yet there was still a hint of joy.In his right hand, he carried a suitcase and a work bag.
"Welcome home, dear," his wife said warmly with a smile, taking his belongings with the help of the servants.
"I'm back," Count Elvion replied softly, relief evident in his voice.
He stepped into his private office to put away his bag, only to freeze. A young man sat calmly on the sofa, waiting for him in the shadows.
A face he knew very well.
"What brings Sir Ryudien here?" Count Elvion asked, trying to steady himself despite the growing unease in his chest.
"You failed," Ryudien replied coldly, his gaze sharp and emotionless.
Those two words alone were enough to make Count Elvion tremble.
"Give me a chan—"
Before he could finish—
Slash!
His head was severed and fell to the floor.
Moments later, his wife—who had come carrying a glass of cold water—froze at the doorway.
Her eyes widened in horror.
Her husband's head… rolled on the floor.
Her piercing scream shattered the silence of the night.
The guards rushed into the mansion. With them came a feared figure—
The Fifth Strongest warrior, Damnern Solv, twenty-four years old.
He had come to capture Count Elvion.
But… he was too late.
"Semi Angel!" Damnern shouted.
In an instant, a radiant wing of light appeared on his left side, illuminating the entire room with a holy aura. He looked like an angel—even with only one wing.
The guards attacked, but Ryudien acted without hesitation.
With a single wave of his hand, sharp weapons materialized in the air and were launched at deadly speed.
One by one, the guards fell.
Damnern activated his Judgement Eyes.
But—
Something was wrong.
There was no Judgement Thread around Ryudien's neck.
This isn't him… Damnern muttered.
In a blink, he stabbed Ryudien through the chest without hesitation.
The body crumbled into dust.
A clone.
Ryudien had swapped places with a clone he had left somewhere in the city.
Clang!
Damnern immediately flew through the glass window into the night sky at full speed.
Elsewhere…
If only my Clone Manifestation didn't have distance limits,
Ryudien thought bitterly slipping through the alleyways.
I wouldn't have had to risk going there in person.
15 minutes later…
Damnern, flying through the night sky, observed the city below. Soon, he spotted a cloaked man moving suspiciously in a quiet alley.
In an instant, he descended and blocked the man's path.
Judgement Eyes activated once again.
This time—it was clear.
A Judgement Thread was visible around the man's neck.
"You're the one," Damnern said coldly.
"What do you mean, sir?" Ryudien feigned ignorance.
"Still denying it?"
Without warning, Ryudien attacked.
He created sharp metal spikes and launched them relentlessly. But Damnern caught them with ease.
"Tch!" Ryudien clicked his tongue.
Damnern summoned the Judgement Sword—a glowing blade emerging from what looked like a holy portal.
"Other people's lives mean nothing to you, do they?" he said.
"You wouldn't understand…" Ryudien replied bitterly. "Those who have everything will never understand."
Civilians fled in fear.
I don't see any chance of winning…
Ryudien whispered in his mind.
His survival instinct took over.
Clone Split..
In an instant, he split into twenty clones, scattering in different directions.
He fled.
But—
In a blink, Damnern appeared behind him and slashed his neck.
SWAP!!
Ryudien fell to the ground while clutching his neck, watching his clone disappear into dust after being slashed by Damnern.
Ryudien barely escaped—switching places with a clone.
Impossible... Ryudien muttered as a chilling fear began to creep over him.
But the attacks did not stop.
When he blinked again, Damnern vanished and reappeared behind him.
Swap!
He switched places with his clone again, hoping it was just a coincidence.
But every time he switched—
Damnern was already behind him.
Srek…
Srekk…
Srekkk…
The sound of flesh being torn filled the air.
How… does he know?
Ryudien panicked.
Now Ryudien no longer saw Damnern as a human. In his eyes, Damnern had turned into a dark, red-eyed monster—something terrifying that he should never have encountered.
Cold sweat trickled down Ryudien's neck as panic clawed at his thoughts.
But he refused to give up.
With one final gamble, he devised a plan.
He sacrificed one clone—and appeared right behind Damnern.
Damnern struck the fake clone.
"Tch!"
Without hesitation, Ryudien summoned a large scythe and swung it.
"Die!!" Ryudien shouted loudly, hoping his attack would hit his opponent.
But—
Damnern's glowing sword reached his neck before Ryudien's attack could even touch him.
"SWAP—!!"
Ryudien desperately activated his skill again.
"…Huh?"
Nothing happened.
No clones.
No escape.
His eyes widened.
Time itself seemed to slow.
The shining blade crept closer… closer…
He could see every spark dancing along its edge.
He knew exactly what was coming.
But his body—
would not move.
Schwing.
His head separated from his body.
Even as darkness closed in, a single thought echoed in his fading consciousness:
Is this the end?
What is happiness?
Why do I exist?
Why… am I never allowed to be happy?
I just wanted to live like a normal human…
Why has fate always hated me…
Heh… I've always been unlucky…
Tears streamed down his face.
"Now… be happy."
A strange voice whispered.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Then, warmth slowly embraced him.
When he opened his eyes again—
A beautiful blonde-haired woman with gentle green eyes was cradling him in her arms.
Her gaze was warm, filled with a tenderness he had never known before.
"Shhh, my precious Elyra... Mama's here," she whispered lovingly.
"Look at her blue eyes, my lady," one of the maids said excitedly. "They're so beautiful."
"She truly is," Elina murmured, unable to look away from her daughter.
The two maids exchanged delighted smiles.
"Congratulations, Lady Elina."
"Welcome to the world, little Lady Elyra."
Ryudien—now trapped inside the tiny body of a newborn baby girl—could only cry.
"Waaah!"
His small body trembled as the reality of his situation crashed down on him.
He had died.
Yet somehow...
He had been given another life.
Reborn as Elyra.
The daughter of Lady Elina.
Born at the exact moment of his death.
As Elina gently rocked him in her arms, Ryudien stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling, his infant body far too weak to express the turmoil raging within him.
Shock.
Confusion.
Disbelief.
Countless emotions swirled through his mind.
Yet beneath them all lay something far stronger.
Hatred.
A hatred so deep that even death had failed to erase it.
Damnern Solv.
The name echoed through his mind like a curse.
The man who killed him.
The man who had taken everything from him.
Just wait.
No matter how many years it takes...
I will find you.
And I will have my revenge.
That night, sometime after two in the morning, Elyra suddenly stirred awake.
The manor was silent.
Moonlight streamed through the window, casting pale shadows across the room.
For a brief moment, she lay still in her crib, her newborn mind struggling to understand why she had awakened.
Then she felt it.
A presence.
Someone was standing beside her bed.
Slowly, her eyes turned toward the figure.
The moment she saw the man's face, her entire body froze.
Those cold eyes.
That familiar face.
Damnern Solv.
His body was covered in blood.
His eyes stared silently.
He found me already?!
Elyra panicked.
From her small perspective, a large hand reached toward her.
She cried loudly.
Trembling.
Unable to calm down.
"Oh… this little one is quite clingy," Damnern said softly.
"Don't cry, Elyra."
"I'm your papa."
…Huh?
End of Chapter 1