Journey to Become the Zenith

The Shadow Behind the Mask

After hearing about Gian’s death, Victor quietly stood beneath the fading evening sky, his golden eyes fixed on the horizon. The lively streets of New Fantom City suddenly felt distant. The laughter of children, the voices of merchants rebuilding their stalls, even the sound of hammers striking broken stone—all of it faded into meaningless background noise.

His thoughts had already moved elsewhere.

Gian’s death wasn’t simply the loss of an assassin.

It was a message.

Someone had deliberately killed one of his people, severed his head, and delivered it directly into the city that Victor now controlled. It wasn’t merely murder.

It was a declaration.

Victor slowly folded his arms.

’I underestimated them...’

The realization didn’t anger him.

Instead, it sharpened his focus.

He had always believed that the territory surrounding Kanal Village was ruled by an insignificant marquis whose influence barely extended beyond local politics.

Now...

That assumption had crumbled.

Last time he gathered information, the reports had been simple.

The marquis governing that territory was supposedly named Kai Elmhart.

The Elmhart Family was said to have begun as a band of mercenaries who fought beside the first king during the founding of the Skyfall Kingdom.

Victor quietly recalled every detail.

According to history, the first king had rewarded the family for their unparalleled loyalty by granting them the title of Marquis.

But more importantly...

He had granted them an extraordinary privilege.

The Elmhart Family once possessed the authority to determine whether the reigning monarch remained worthy of the throne.

If a king proved incompetent...

The Elmharts could appoint another.

Even centuries later, that privilege sounded absurd.

It represented trust beyond imagination.

Yet trust often became the seed of ambition.

Generations later, during the reign of Skyfall’s seventh king, the head of the Elmhart Family allegedly sought the throne for himself.

Before the rebellion could begin, the kingdom’s other great warrior families united to suppress the conspiracy.

By every law of the kingdom...

The punishment should have been complete extermination.

Instead...

The seventh king chose mercy.

The countless victories earned by the Elmhart Family over generations could not simply be erased.

Their military strength alone had once rivaled the combined armies of the kingdom itself.

They had defended the borders countless times.

They had conquered enemy territories.

They had shed rivers of blood for the kingdom’s survival.

Those achievements bought them forgiveness.

Not freedom.

Every special privilege they possessed was stripped away.

Half of the family’s strongest members were taken to the capital as political hostages, where generation after generation they served the royal family in lives barely different from slavery.

From that day onward...

The Elmhart Family slowly disappeared from the center of history.

Rumors replaced facts.

Stories replaced truth.

People claimed the once-glorious warrior family had become nothing more than corrupt nobles.

It was said that the current marquis kidnapped beautiful women throughout his territory.

Others claimed no true warriors remained within the family.

Some even insisted the Elmharts had become drunken degenerates living off the glory of forgotten ancestors.

Victor had accepted those reports because none of them affected his plans.

Until today.

He slowly looked toward the wooden box resting nearby.

Inside...

Gian’s severed head remained.

Someone capable of eliminating Gian without leaving a trail...

Someone capable of sending that message directly into Victor’s territory...

Was certainly not the broken, useless family described by those rumors.

His lips slowly curved upward.

"So..."

"The rumors were never the complete truth."

His eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"Or perhaps..."

"They were carefully manufactured."

The more Victor thought about it, the more everything aligned.

A family pretending to decay for generations.

A family willingly allowing the kingdom to believe they had become weak.

A family hiding beneath ridicule.

Why?

His mind searched for possibilities.

Political ambition...

Revenge...

Preparation for war...

None of them fully answered the question.

Then another thought surfaced.

If they’ve hidden themselves for generations...

Why reveal themselves now?

That single question lingered longer than anything else.

Victor rarely feared powerful enemies.

He enjoyed them.

What concerned him...

Was an enemy whose intentions remained hidden.

He turned toward Brinda, who had patiently waited several steps behind him without interrupting his thoughts.

Her beautiful purple eyes remained fixed upon him.

She knew better than anyone that disturbing Victor while he was thinking would only delay the answer he sought.

After several moments, Victor finally spoke.

"Brinda."

She immediately stepped forward.

"Yes, my lord?"

"Hire adventurers from the neighboring cities."

Her expression became serious.

"For what purpose?"

Victor answered without hesitation.

"I want experienced ones."

"Long-term contracts."

"Station them at our newly established base near Kanal Village."

"They’ll protect the village for the next six months."

Brinda nodded while committing every instruction to memory.

"What payment should I offer?"

"Triple the normal rate."

"If anyone causes trouble..."

Victor’s golden eyes became frighteningly calm.

"...tell them they’ll find a sword at their neck."

Brinda smiled faintly.

"I understand."

Victor continued.

"Use my name."

"By now..."

"...my reputation in the underworld should be enough to discourage unnecessary problems."

Brinda respectfully lowered her head.

"As you wish."

Victor remained silent for a brief moment before speaking again.

"Oh..."

Brinda looked back.

"Also increase the reward for information regarding the Elmhart Family."

"If anyone discovers something new..."

"I want to know immediately."

"It will be done."

Seeing Victor had nothing further to add, Brinda bowed once more before departing to carry out his orders.

Victor watched her leave.

Unlike many who sought his approval through words...

Brinda proved herself through action.

She had grown considerably since joining him.

Her determination reminded him of why he found strong women so admirable.

She constantly pushed herself to become someone worthy of standing beside him.

A faint smile appeared before disappearing just as quickly.

’Hmm...’

’Things are about to become interesting.’

The thought lingered in his mind only briefly before another face surfaced in his memory.

Clara.

Ever since the chaos inside New Fantom City began, he hadn’t seen her.

Something about that bothered him.

Without another thought, Victor turned and quietly walked toward the district where she lived.

The evening breeze carried the scent of smoke and broken timber.

The deeper he ventured into the neighborhood...

The quieter everything became.

Something felt wrong.

And instinct told him he wasn’t too late.

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