The victory of capturing the Twin Mountains spread across the continent like wildfire.
For the first time since the beginning of the war, the people could celebrate a victory that was not merely survival.
The united army had not simply repelled the Demons.
They had taken back their land.
The news reached the capital within days.
The streets were decorated with banners bearing the crest of the Kingdom of Dan. Bells rang from the churches, and taverns remained open late into the night. Songs praising the Golden Prince and the soldiers who had marched beneath him filled the streets.
For the people, it was proof that the Demons could be defeated.
At the captured fortress, however, the soldiers cared little about celebrations.
They were exhausted.
The battle had taken everything from them.
For several days, the army remained within the fortress, repairing weapons, treating injuries, and restoring their strength.
Reinforcements eventually arrived from the rear.
Fresh soldiers replaced those who had been wounded.
Supplies arrived.
More Light Cannons were transported up the mountain.
The fortress slowly transformed from a battlefield into a permanent military stronghold.
By the fourth day, the atmosphere had become almost peaceful.
Soldiers gathered in small groups.
Some repaired their armor.
Others played cards.
A few sat outside the fortress walls, looking down at the land they had reclaimed.
Lucian stood among them.
He watched his soldiers laughing.
They had recovered faster than he expected.
The victory had restored their confidence.
Yet Lucian couldn't share their peace.
Something continued to bother him.
He stood on the fortress wall, staring toward the vast forest beyond the mountains.
The Light Cannons had proven devastating against the Demonic forces.
The Demons they encountered at the fortress had been unable to withstand them.
But...
Was that truly the extent of the enemy's strength?
Lucian remembered the Demon he had encountered at the Border.
The one who had appeared from the mist.
The one who had looked at him and simply said,
"You are weak."
Lucian clenched his fist.
"How many are there?"
The thought had been haunting him.
Were the Demons they had fought merely scouts?
Were the three defeated at the fortress simply another group of soldiers?
Or...
Were they actually the strongest ones?
For the first time since the expedition began, Lucian wondered whether their victories had been too easy.
Then—
BOOM.
A heavy sound echoed through the fortress.
Everyone froze.
Lucian turned.
The massive entrance gate had been struck.
Once.
Then again.
BOOM.
The entire fortress trembled.
Soldiers hurried to their feet.
Weapons were drawn.
The laughter disappeared.
A strange chill settled over the hall.
One soldier slowly approached the gate.
He carried a long spear in both hands.
"Who goes there?"
No answer.
The soldier looked toward the commanders.
Lucian nodded.
"Open it."
The soldier hesitated.
Then he slowly pulled the mechanism.
The enormous doors opened.
And immediately—
A wave of Demonic mist poured inside.
It swept through the entrance like a living creature.
Soldiers coughed.
Some stumbled backward.
Others raised their weapons.
A deep voice emerged from within the darkness.
"Well, well, well..."
The voice carried amusement.
"Quite a party do we have here."
The mist thickened.
A silhouette appeared.
One step.
Then another.
The figure emerged from the darkness.
A Demon.
It wore a long black cloak that concealed most of its body.
Its face remained hidden beneath the hood.
But its presence alone was enough.
Every soldier instinctively stepped backward.
No order had been given.
No commander had told them to retreat.
Their bodies simply moved.
Fear.
Pure instinctive fear.
The Demon walked forward.
Each step produced a faint tremor beneath their feet.
Lucian's eyes narrowed.
His hand moved to the hilt of his Melarium sword.
He drew it.
The blade shone faintly beneath the fortress lights.
"Stop."
The Demon halted.
For the first time, it looked directly at Lucian.
The air became heavier.
Lucian summoned his Light Mana.
Nothing happened.
His heart skipped.
He tried again.
The familiar warmth that had always answered his call felt distant.
Almost nonexistent.
His Light Mana was still within him.
But it was as though something had suppressed it.
The Demon noticed.
A faint smile appeared beneath the hood.
"So..."
"You are the one."
Lucian stepped forward.
"I am the commander of this army."
The Demon tilted its head.
"Commander?"
A quiet laugh escaped it.
"You have earned the right to call yourself that."
The words confused Lucian.
The Demon continued walking until it reached the center of the hall.
Then it stopped.
It looked around.
At the soldiers.
At the Light Cannons.
At the banners of the three kingdoms.
Then back at Lucian.
"Well..."
"You earned it."
A low laugh escaped the Demon.
Not one of hatred.
Not one of anger.
Almost one of admiration.
That made it worse.
Lucian tightened his grip.
"Who are you?"
The Demon remained silent for several seconds.
Then its expression changed.
The amusement disappeared.
"You cannot face me."
Lucian's eyes narrowed.
"You are weak."
The words struck harder than any weapon.
Lucian felt the soldiers behind him tense.
The Demon turned away.
It began walking toward the entrance.
Lucian didn't understand.
"Why are you leaving?"
The Demon stopped.
Without looking back, it said,
"Leave before dawn."
Lucian stared at it.
"What?"
The Demon turned its head slightly.
"This place does not belong to you."
"Not yet."
Then it stepped into the darkness.
The Demonic mist followed.
Within seconds...
The Demon disappeared.
The fortress became completely silent.
No one moved.
For several seconds, nobody even breathed properly.
Then the mist slowly dispersed.
The heavy pressure disappeared.
The soldiers looked around at one another.
The strange oppression that had filled the fortress was gone.
A breeze entered through the open gates.
Only then did everyone realize how terrified they had been.
Lucian stared at the empty entrance.
His sword remained in his hand.
He looked down at himself.
His Light Mana had returned.
But for those few moments...
He had been unable to use it.
Against the Demon at the Border, his Light Mana had at least responded.
This time...
Nothing.
He couldn't even feel it.
"What was that..."
one commander whispered.
Nobody answered.
A messenger was immediately sent toward the capital.
The report was short.
A powerful Demon had entered the captured fortress.
It had displayed no intention of attacking.
It had ordered the army to leave before dawn.
And it had departed without resistance.
The commanders gathered in the strategy room.
The atmosphere was completely different from the previous night.
One commander slammed his fist against the table.
"We cannot abandon the fortress!"
"We lost thousands of men taking this mountain."
Another commander shook his head.
"If that Demon can enter our strongest position without resistance, then how are we supposed to defend it?"
"We have the Light Cannons!"
"And they were useless."
Silence.
Everyone remembered what had happened.
The Demon had walked straight through their defenses.
The Light Cannons had never even fired.
Several commanders suggested retreat.
Others immediately opposed them.
"We cannot give up everything we have gained."
"We have spent a year preparing this expedition."
"How many soldiers died to capture these mountains?"
"Are we simply going to throw their sacrifice away?"
The arguments continued.
But beneath every argument was the same fear.
They had encountered something they did not understand.
Lucian left the strategy room.
He needed air.
He climbed toward the summit of the mountain.
Unlike the surrounding forest, the peak had almost no trees.
The cold wind swept across the stone.
Lucian stood there alone.
He looked backward.
The Border lay far in the distance.
Beyond it were the lands they had spent months purifying.
The Wall.
The fortresses.
The villages they had saved.
The lands where soldiers had fought and died.
Then he turned forward.
Beyond the Twin Mountains stretched an enormous sea of Demonic forest.
Darkness covered the horizon.
That was the territory they still needed to conquer.
Lucian stood between the two worlds.
Behind him...
Everything they had protected.
Ahead...
Everything they had yet to face.
He remembered the Demon.
You are weak.
For the first time in a long while, Lucian accepted the possibility that the Demon might have been right.
Not because Lucian was truly powerless.
But because he had only been fighting enemies who were within the limits he understood.
The Demon at the fortress had shown him something different.
A completely different level of power.
Yet retreating without a fight felt wrong.
He looked down at his hands.
Thousands of soldiers had followed him here.
They had believed in him.
If he ordered them to retreat now, their morale might never recover.
But if he ordered them forward blindly...
He could lose them all.
Lucian closed his eyes.
The wind brushed past him.
For several minutes, he remained there.
Then he slowly descended.
As Lucian approached the fortress, he saw the soldiers gathered in groups.
Some looked frightened.
Others were angry.
A few veterans were encouraging the younger soldiers.
"Don't lose your nerve!"
"That Demon left because it was afraid of the Light Cannons!"
"That's right!"
Their voices lacked conviction.
But they were trying.
Lucian stopped.
He looked at them.
These were the same men who had fought beside him at Mount Laya.
The same men who had charged into the Demonic fortress without hesitation.
They had been brave.
And now they were afraid.
Lucian understood.
Fear was not weakness.
It was information.
The enemy had shown them that their understanding of the war was incomplete.
But that did not mean they had lost.
Lucian turned toward the command tent.
The commanders were still waiting.
The moment he entered, every conversation stopped.
A messenger stood beside the table.
"The response from the capital has arrived."
Everyone looked toward him.
Lucian stepped forward.
"What is the King's decision?"
The messenger unfolded the royal decree.
His voice was steady.
"The army is not to retreat."
The room fell silent.
"The captured territory is to be held."
"Reinforcements will continue to arrive."
"The expedition will proceed according to the original plan."
Lucian's eyes narrowed.
The commander who had argued against retreat smiled faintly.
Another clenched his fist.
The decision had been made.
They would stay.
They would fight.
But Lucian knew that tomorrow would not be like the battles before.
The enemy had finally shown them its true face.
And this time...
The Light Cannons might not be enough.
Lucian looked toward the dark forest beyond the fortress.
"Then we prepare."
His voice was calm.
"We don't charge blindly."
"We don't underestimate them."
"And we don't run."
The commanders stood.
One by one, they saluted.
Outside, the soldiers began preparing for the coming battle.
The sun slowly disappeared beyond the mountains.
Night descended over the captured fortress.
And somewhere within the endless Demonic forest...
A Demon watched the lights of the human army.
It smiled.
The game had finally begun.