A cloaked figure stood atop the guard tower of a desolate noble manor in the capital city of Arazan, Kastar.

Below, guards lay sprawled across the ground, unconscious, their weapons scattered on the stone pavement. A silvery glow, cast by the split moon, traced a pale path to the manor’s massive wooden door. Above, the stars shimmered faintly, their light struggling against the midnight sky.

Without a sound, the figure vanished, reappearing at the door in an instant.

Gripping the scabbard of his sheathed sword, he struck the lock with its hilt, shattering it with a dull clang. Pushing the heavy door open, he stepped into the vast hallway beyond. Ornate portraits of the noble house’s heirs lined the walls.

Above, a grand chandelier bathed the room in a soft golden glow, its light reflecting off the polished wooden floor. The staircase loomed ahead, splitting into two paths that led in opposite directions.

"Where is it…" he muttered, rummaging through the inner pocket of his cloak. A crumpled note emerged in his gloved hand.

"Study," he mumbled.

Scanning the room, he ascended the stairs, his footsteps muffled by the thick carpeting. Reaching the study, he pushed open the creaking door.

Inside, the study was dimly lit, the moonlight spilling through a large window. A towering bookshelf filled with book dominated the right wall. Dust covered the desk in the center, and the room carried a sharp, unpleasant scent of polished wood.

Approaching the bookshelf, he scanned its shelves, running his fingers along the spines.

“Did she say the Book of Igon?” he muttered, pulling out a few volumes to check.

A reddish leather hardback gleamed under the moonlight, the word “Igon” etched on its spine in biyin, an ancient language of Kastar. His gloved hand brushed off the dust, revealing a distinct symbol of a star encircled by a crescent on the cover.

Slipping the book into his coat pocket, he turned back to the shelf. Carefully, he selected several books in a specific sequence, their removal triggering a faint tremor in the air. Dust swirled as the room shook lightly. A white glow enveloped the bookshelf, which slid aside with a rumble, revealing a stone staircase spiraling downward. Torches flickered to life along the walls..

Descending, he entered a long, narrow tunnel. It seemed endless, the torches gradually giving way to glowing white lamps embedded in the walls. One hand rested on the hilt of his sword as his eyes darted around the surroundings.

“No traps?” he muttered suspiciously .

The lack of resistance in such a place was unsettling.

At the tunnel’s end stood a metal door secured with a rune-engraved padlock. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a slip of paper inscribed with a similar rune. Placing the paper on the padlock, he watched as it glowed scarlet.

CLICK.

The lock clattered to the ground.

He stepped forward cautiously, the faint crunch of sand beneath his boot breaking the silence.

The room was pitch black, except for the faint light emanating from the center.

A faint noise of the wind, close to the left side.

Straightening his posture, he squinted towards the center. “There it is,” he murmured.

As he approached the pedestal, the air seemed to thicken, pressing against his senses. His fingers lifted the glass container delicately, and he reached for the glowing object within.

“NOW!” A harsh cry shattered the silence, followed by the hiss of blades slicing through the air.

His instincts kicked in. He flicked the glowing object upward. Sidestepping the incoming slash, he trapped the attacker’s arm, locking it at the joint. With a pivot, he used the momentum to hurl him onto the hard ground.

The impact reverberated as the attacker hit the surface. His body went limp from the force

The glowing object arced through the air, spinning. His eyes locked on it, he snatched it mid-fall.

He smirked. “An ambush?”

The figures in the dark hissed in frustration, their outlines barely visible in the faint light.

He darted to the left and reached into his cloak. Pulling out a rune-etched paper, he pressed it against the cold stone wall. The rune flared to life, glowing with an crimson hue.

BOOM!

The wall erupted outward, shards of stone raining into the courtyard below. Dust and debris filled the air, the roar of the explosion echoing through the hidden chamber. Without hesitation, he vaulted through the opening, landing in a crouch amid the rubble outside.

“Don’t let him escape!” A voice shouted from the darkness.

He scowled, muttering under his breath, “How did they even find me?”

Pushing off the ground, he dashed toward the manor’s perimeter. Reaching the wall, he leaped high, his fingers gripping the rough edge. Swinging his body upward, he vaulted over to the other side.

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Once on solid ground, he crouched low. Power surged, and in a blur, he vanished from sight.

In the next heartbeat, he was on the rooftop of a nearby building, close to a wide empty stone pavement that went through the street of the noble district.

Suddenly, something shot toward him at lightning speed. He barely raised his sheathed sword in time as the force struck him like a thunderclap. The impact hurled him off the rooftop, smashing him into the stone wall of a neighboring building. The wall crumbled around him in a cloud of dust and debris.

“Ho… You managed to block that,” came a cold, mocking voice.

Shaking off the rubble, he brushed debris from his cloak and stepped forward. His sheathed sword remained steady in his grip. Before him stood a knight clad in leitium armor, its surface etched with the emblem of the Order of Juh—one of the most elite and fearsome forces in Kastar.

“That’s quite the welcome,” The cloaked man voiced, his eyes fixed on the knight.

The knight held a slender rapier, its thin blade shining in the moonlight. Flanking him were two others: one armed with a spear, the other with a longsword.

A Knight and two squires, he noted.

The knight, unamused, leveled his rapier at him. “Surrender the item you stole, or prepare to die.”

“Nope!”

In a blink, the rapier darted toward him. He leaned just enough to the side, the blade grazing past his cheek.

The spear-wielder lunged next and jabbed at his neck. He caught the jab edge-to-edge with his blade. With a flick of his wrist, he threw the spear off-center, using the squire’s momentum to force him to stumble forward.

Before he could reposition, the longsword descended in an arc towards his head. Without missing a beat, he slammed the scabbard against the squire’s grip. The force sent the weapon backward and threw the attacker off balance.

Three? This is going to be a pa—.

A sudden gale howled through the air, rushing at him like a blade. His instincts screamed, and he stepped back just in time. The wind slammed into a nearby building, carving a deep gash into its stone wall.

“Whoa, whoa... you even brought a Magus?” his eyes darting upward.

A figure in dark robes stood on the roof.

The Rapier Knight spoke again. “Surrender, you slippery maggot.”

“What if I don’t?” the cloaked man smirked.

“I shall take your life.”

He laughed. “You? Are you serious! You can't even use Aura.”

"Shut up, you thief scum."

The Rapier Knight tightened his grip and glanced back at the magus, nodding.

The Magus carved glyphs in the air with his gloved hand. The glyphs floated and glowed in the air.

Instantly, Five glowing magic circles materialized in the air, hovering side by side. Blades of wind barreled toward the cloaked man. He sidestepped, narrowly dodging as each blade struck the stone pavement, carving deep cuts into the surface.

Without hesitation, he surged forward, leaping toward the magus. In a flash, his blade arced toward the robed figure’s neck.

The blow was caught mid-swing, deflected by the knight’s rapier. The force of the parry pushed the cloaked man back slightly. The magus, unfazed, carved Ventus Furore again.

Above him, three more magic circles materialized.

Damn it.

He jumped back as a barrage of wind blades descended, tearing into the rooftop and filling the air with smoky debris.

A sudden jab came from the haze—a spear aimed directly at his head.

The cloaked man caught the spear under his arm, locking it in place. With a sharp motion, he struck the wooden shaft with his scabbard, shattering it in two.

The longsword-wielder slashed at his side, and he blocked the blow with blade and scabbard. The scabbard flew off from the impact, and he was pushed back by the force.

“Whoa, you are strong,” he remarked.

The assault didn’t end. The Rapier Knight closed in and lunged with his weapon.

The cloaked man sidestepped just enough for the blade to graze his cloak, tearing the fabric as it passed. He trapped the knight’s arm at the joint, twisting to lock the weapon.

SNAP.

He broke the knight’s arm at the joint.

“ARGHHHH!” screamed the knight, his arm mangled at an unnatural angle along with his armor.

The squires, witnessing the scene, widened their eyes. They moved closer to the magus, gripping their weapons tightly.

Geist the magus carved with a single flick of his wrist. "Keep your eyes on him." The Magus ordered the squires

A magic circle materialized shooting at the cloaked man. He kicked the Rapier Knight away and jumped to get away.

But the magus and the spear man closed the distance in seconds. The splintered spear jabbing at him.

He dodged the spear but the Magus was already behind him. Carving Geist behind him.

This time it hit the target.

The wind blade sent him flying into a stone chimney on the roof.

“Hey… come… is this it?” The cloaked man got up, dusting the debris off his cloak. He was uninjured.

His cloak had come off, revealing his dark brown hair fluttering to the side against the dusty wind. His eyes glinted like dark emeralds.

“Khrn,” the magus muttered. “The Fifth Plague…”

“Ho, you know of me?” Khrn’s grin widened. “I’m honored, magus.”

The longsword-wielder gripped his sword tightly, his gaze fixed on Khrn. His comrade tended to the Rapier Knight.

“Who’s he?”

“He’s a high ranking member of the Rat Knights,” the magus whispered. “One of the Five Plagues.”

“…..Rat…knights.”

“Alert…don’t drop your guard.” The magus warned. “We wait for reinforcements.”

He jumped back to the next building.

Khrn’s smirk faltered as his skin started to tingle “Tch, playtime’s over.”

Suddenly, the air grew oppressive. The weight shifted, suffocating. A heavy force pressed down on them, as though the very air around them had thickened. The knights’ knees buckled, their bodies refusing to obey. Their breaths came in ragged gasps. The building shuddered under the mounting pressure, the roof tiles cracking beneath the weight.

The squires and magus were slammed against the roof as if held by an invisible hand.

Schwer

A heavy, unnatural force pressed down. The air itself felt suffocating, thick with weight. The knight's armor cracked under the pressure, but it was useless.

With a sickening crack, his head caved in, crushed mercilessly under the force. Blood sprayed, splattering against the stone beneath him. His bones shattered in an instant, the sound lost in the wake of the spell.

The building itself crumpled into nothingness, collapsing into a massive crater, leaving only a mist of blood hanging in the air.

A woman floated in the air, clad in a black one-piece dress with layered sleeves. She held a black parasol, her long black hair and eyes shimmering in the moonlight. A pale scar stretched straight from the edge of her lips to her brow.

"You waste time, You pathetic worm." The woman spat.

“Worm?” Khrn chuckled.

"Why didn't you use Aura? Could have finished them in seconds."

"Eh!! I didn't feel like it," Khrn pouted. "I wanted to stall time to fight an Sword's master."

"Ugh..." She rolled her eyes. "Pathetic."

“Scar, you're as cold as ever. Did you come to rescue me?” He smirked at her.

She was the second Plague—Scar.

“Silence,” Scar scowled. “The leader has summoned us. All five of us are expected to be there.”

Khrn's smirk vanished. “Alright, I give up.”

He sighed, patting his cloak’s inner pocket. “I got the item, by the way.”

Scar barely acknowledged his words with a disdainful look. She carved a purple glyph in the air.

There was no magic circle forming like the Magus. The air grew heavy, and an opening formed, slicing through space to create a pulsating crevice.

Without hesitation, Scar touched the crevice, and Khrn followed.

A gust of cold wind swept them in, and in a flash of violet light, they vanished from the city of Arazan.