The ruins of the Lion King’s nation burned hotter with every passing second. The missiles had broken the outer defenses, but the three of them—the siblings and the dragon’s lapdog—were the storm tearing through what was left.
Beastkin soldiers kept charging. Wolves snarled through broken helmets, vultures swooped only to be torn from the sky, and boar-men swung axes with blind fury. It didn’t matter. Each wave fell faster than the last. Lucy’s blade carved infernos across the field, Karl’s fists shattered bone and steel in equal measure, and Lucian—Lucian was a phantom, folding space with every step, unraveling lives like they were nothing more than threads cut loose from a loom.
The citadel in the distance shook as fire licked its walls, and the Lion King’s bellow rolled out again, deeper, louder than before. The sound made the ground tremble beneath their feet. The lesser beastkin staggered at the weight of it, their morale crumbling, but Lucian never flinched. His gaze stayed locked on the citadel, sharp and cold.
Then the pressure changed.
From the black walls, two streaks of motion launched high into the sky. Their roars split the firestorm as they descended—two tiger-shaped monsters, their bodies massive, striped in black and silver, claws glowing with condensed aura. Gamma rank. Each one hit the ground with enough force to crack the soil, sending a wave of dust and fire into the air.
Their eyes locked straight onto Lucian.
Both beasts moved in sync, launching forward with blinding speed. Their claws stretched wide, aiming to shred him where he stood.
Karl smirked, stepping into their path before they reached him. His body blurred as flames burst around his arms, and his clawed hand slammed against one tiger’s strike, sparks splitting the air. The other tiger twisted to bypass him—only for Lucy to appear in its path, Infernal Eclipse already cutting upward in a clean, burning arc. The black flames licked across the beast’s striped hide, forcing it to recoil with a furious roar.
The guardians snarled, teeth bared. They weren’t used to being stopped.
Karl chuckled, glancing over his shoulder at Lucian. "Go on. We’ll hold these trashes back."
The smirk he wore wasn’t careless—it was sharp, dangerous, the kind of grin that begged for violence. His aura flared hotter, fire coiling tight around his fists.
Lucy shifted her blade into a low stance, black flames trailing like banners behind her. Her expression was calm, but her eyes were locked on the tiger before her, sharp with focus. "Don’t waste time. We’ve got this."
The guardians roared at the insult, their aura exploding outward. The ground split, chunks of stone launching upward as the pressure shook the battlefield. Soldiers around them collapsed from the weight of it, some clutching their heads as blood poured from their ears. The tigers’ fury filled the valley, sharp enough to choke the air.
But Lucian didn’t move.
He stood where he was, cloak snapping faintly in the heat, his gaze fixed on the citadel beyond them. On the Lion King. His expression never shifted—not when the guardians dropped, not when their roars cracked the air. To him, they didn’t matter.
Kaelis perched small and calm on his shoulder, molten eyes narrowing. The dragon gave a low rumble, amused. "You heard them, brat. Trash."
Karl barked out a laugh, forcing the tiger back with a strike that flared into a shockwave. "Didn’t think you’d agree with me, lizard."
The tiger’s response was a furious roar, claws tearing into the ground as it lunged again. Karl’s grin only widened as he met it head-on, flames bursting from his arms in violent arcs.
Lucy’s guardian was just as furious, aura crackling with violent light as it launched a barrage of strikes, each one sharp enough to carve craters into the burning ground. She caught each one with precise swings, Infernal Eclipse spitting waves of black fire with every clash. Sparks and flame exploded outward with each collision, their duel painting the field in fire and light.
The guardians wanted Lucian’s head. That much was obvious. Every strike, every roar, every surge of power was angled toward him, their fury fueled by his calm refusal to acknowledge them.
But Lucian didn’t so much as glance in their direction.
His eyes stayed locked on the citadel’s looming silhouette. He raised his chin faintly, like even staring down the Lion King was beneath him, yet necessary all the same. His aura pulsed once, sharp enough to ripple the air, and then it vanished again, suppressed into silence.
The message was clear.
The guardians didn’t matter.
Karl slammed his fist against the tiger’s chest, the explosion rattling the battlefield. He twisted his head toward Lucian again, grinning through the clash. "See? Stop worrying about the puppies. Go make the big one scream."
Lucy, her blade locked against the other guardian’s claws, black fire eating into its striped flesh, flicked her gaze toward her brother. "He’s waiting for you."
The guardians snarled louder, fury snapping their movements faster, sharper. But the insults landed deeper than any flames. Their king was watching from the citadel, and yet the enemy—the one who had torn their wards apart, the one whose fire had cracked their walls—didn’t even see them.
It burned worse than the black flames cutting across their hides.
Lucian finally shifted, tilting his head just slightly toward his sister and Karl. He gave one faint nod.
Then he turned away from the battle completely, his boots carrying him forward, each step steady, aimed straight at the citadel. His cloak dragged across scorched stone as the chaos behind him roared louder—claws clashing, flames tearing, guardians howling in rage.
He only stared ahead, straight at the Lion King.
And the Lion King, from his throne at the heart of the citadel, felt the weight of that gaze like a blade pressed against his throat.
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