Rain fell over the city like a curtain of silver needles.
Rose watched it from the window of the safehouse, arms folded, the faint glow of streetlights reflecting in her eyes. The city looked peaceful from up here, almost harmless.
But she knew better now.
Power never stayed quiet for long.
Behind her, Kael was sitting at the long table, a laptop open, several maps spread across the wood. His empire had eyes everywhere, and tonight those eyes were restless.
He tapped the keyboard once.
Then again.
His jaw tightened.
Rose noticed immediately.
"What is it?" she asked.
Kael didn't answer right away.
That was never a good sign.
Finally, he turned the screen toward her.
A photograph filled the display.
A man stood in the center of it, tall and broad-shouldered, wearing a long dark coat. His expression was calm, but his eyes held something colder than winter.
Rose felt a strange chill crawl up her spine.
"Who is that?"
Kael leaned back slowly.
"His name is Arman Veyr."
Rose waited.
Kael rarely introduced someone with just a name.
"He's the man the world sends when kings become problems."
Rose raised an eyebrow.
"That sounds dramatic."
Kael's voice remained flat.
"It's accurate."
He slid another file across the table.
Photographs. Reports. Blurred security images.
Every one of them showed destruction.
Ruined compounds.
Collapsed bunkers.
Burned war rooms.
Rose frowned.
"What did he do?"
Kael met her eyes.
"He ended them."
Years ago, Arman Veyr had been something different.
A soldier.
Not just any soldier.
The best.
He was the kind of fighter who survived missions that should have been impossible. Governments used him quietly, sending him to eliminate threats too dangerous for public knowledge.
Dictators.
Warlords.
Secret weapons.
Monsters wearing human faces.
And he never failed.
Until one day he disappeared.
No retirement.
No death.
Just gone.
Rose crossed her arms.
"So now he's back?"
Kael nodded.
"And he's looking for you."
Rose tilted her head slightly.
"Why?"
Kael's eyes darkened.
"Because the world thinks you're the next disaster waiting to happen."
The sword at her side pulsed faintly beneath its cloth.
Not anger.
Recognition.
Rose felt it.
"Does he know what I am?" she asked quietly.
"No," Kael said. "But he knows what you could become."
She sighed.
"Great."
The rain grew heavier outside.
Thunder rolled across the skyline.
Kael stood and walked toward the window, stopping beside her.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Rose said softly,
"You're worried."
Kael didn't deny it.
"Yes."
She studied him.
"You've faced armies."
"Yes."
"You've fought other mafia families."
"Yes."
"You literally burned down a warlord's fortress once."
"That was different."
Rose smirked slightly.
"How?"
Kael looked back toward the table, toward the photo of Arman.
"Because Arman Veyr is the kind of man who wins."
Across the ocean, in a quiet hotel room overlooking a harbor, Arman Veyr closed a file.
Inside it was Rose's name.
He stared at the final photograph.
A blurry security shot.
A girl standing in the middle of a ruined cult temple.
Lightning illuminating a sword in her hand.
The report beneath the image had only one line written by the analyst.
"Unknown entity. Potential global threat."
Arman sighed softly.
"I hate these jobs."
He stood and slipped a handgun into the holster under his coat.
Then he picked up another weapon.
Not a gun.
A blade.
Old.
Scarred.
Used.
He slid it into its sheath.
If the reports were true, this would not be a simple mission.
Back in the city, Rose sat on the couch while Kael paced slowly.
"You're thinking too loudly," she said.
He stopped.
"You noticed?"
"I always notice."
Kael ran a hand through his hair.
"We need to prepare."
"For one guy?"
Kael gave her a look.
"Shavi—"
She laughed.
"Relax, I'm joking."
But then she leaned forward.
Serious now.
"What makes him dangerous?"
Kael answered immediately.
"He studies his enemies."
"So?"
"So by the time he attacks, he already knows how to win."
Rose frowned slightly.
"Then why hasn't he attacked yet?"
Kael walked back to the table.
"Because he's still learning."
Far away, Arman sat in darkness, watching footage on a laptop.
Camera feeds.
Satellite shots.
Witness reports.
Every strange incident connected to Rose.
Cult destruction.
Unexplained power surges.
Disappearances.
And one name appearing again and again beside hers.
Kael Veyron.
Arman leaned back in his chair.
"A mafia king protecting a cursed girl," he muttered.
His eyes narrowed.
"Interesting."
He closed the laptop.
Then he whispered to the empty room,
"If you're dangerous… I'll stop you."
Morning arrived quietly.
Rose woke early.
Too early.
The sword felt restless again.
She stepped onto the balcony, breathing in the cool air.
The city was waking.
Somewhere far away, a siren wailed.
Footsteps approached behind her.
Kael.
"You didn't sleep," he said.
"Neither did you."
"Fair."
Rose leaned against the railing.
"Do you think he'll kill me?"
Kael's answer came instantly.
"No."
She looked at him.
"Why?"
His expression hardened.
"Because he'll have to go through me first."
Rose rolled her eyes.
"You're dramatic too."
But a small smile tugged at her lips.
Somewhere in the distance…
Arman Veyr's plane touched down.
The hunter had arrived.
And for the first time since Rose picked up the cursed sword…
Someone had come not to worship her.
Not to control her.
But to end her.
The city woke slowly.
Sunlight crawled across the rooftops, turning the glass towers into glowing pillars. Morning traffic hummed below like distant thunder, and people stepped into their normal lives without realizing something dangerous had arrived during the night.
Rose stood in the kitchen of the safehouse, staring at a mug of tea that had long gone cold.
She hadn't slept.
Not really.
The sword resting against the wall felt heavier today, as if it could sense something approaching.
Kael walked in, already dressed, coat on, expression sharp and alert.
"You feel it too," he said.
Rose didn't even look up.
"Yeah."
Kael leaned against the counter.
"He's here."
Across the city, Arman Veyr stepped out of a black car.
The driver didn't speak. People rarely spoke around Arman unless necessary.
He studied the skyline quietly.
His instincts were rarely wrong.
The girl was somewhere in this city.
The reports described her as unpredictable.
Dangerous.
Possibly unstable.
Arman sighed.
"I hope you're not a monster," he murmured.
Because if she was…
He would have to do what he always did.
End it.
Back at the safehouse, Rose paced slowly.
"You're sure he's not part of the cult?" she asked.
Kael shook his head.
"No."
"So he's just… a guy?"
Kael almost laughed.
"That's like calling a hurricane 'just wind.'"
Rose stopped pacing.
"Great."
She rubbed her face.
"Why does everyone suddenly want me dead?"
Kael answered calmly.
"Because people fear things they can't control."
Rose looked at the sword.
"Same."
Arman moved through the city like a ghost.
He didn't rush.
He didn't make mistakes.
By noon he had already visited three locations tied to Rose's sightings.
A destroyed warehouse.
A burned cult hideout.
A security office with corrupted footage.
At each place he found the same thing.
Signs of battle.
But no cruelty.
No innocent victims.
Arman frowned slightly.
"That's strange."
Most threats left chaos behind them.
This girl…
Didn't.
By evening, the city lights flickered on.
Rose and Kael were walking through a quiet district near the river. It was one of Kael's safe routes, monitored by his people.
Rose kicked a loose pebble down the sidewalk.
"You know," she said, "this whole hunted-by-a-legend thing is really ruining my week."
Kael glanced at her.
"You're handling it surprisingly well."
"What am I supposed to do? Panic?"
"That would be reasonable."
Rose smirked slightly.
"Not my style."
Across the street, a man leaned against a lamppost.
Watching.
Waiting.
Arman Veyr had found them.
He observed the pair carefully.
The girl looked… normal.
Too normal.
No madness in her eyes.
No hunger for power.
Just exhaustion.
And determination.
Arman stepped off the curb.
Kael noticed him first.
Of course he did.
His posture changed instantly.
Subtle.
Deadly.
Rose followed his gaze.
A tall man was walking toward them slowly, hands visible, movements calm.
Rose whispered,
"That him?"
Kael nodded once.
"Yes."
The air between the three of them felt like a drawn bowstring.
Arman stopped a few steps away.
For a moment nobody spoke.
Then he said calmly,
"Rose."
Her eyebrows lifted.
"Well, that saves introductions."
Arman's gaze shifted briefly to Kael.
"Kael Veyron."
Kael's voice was cold.
"Arman Veyr."
Rose looked between them.
"You two sound like you're reading each other's wanted posters."
Arman ignored the joke.
His attention returned to Rose.
"I came to evaluate you."
Rose blinked.
"Wow. Not even a hello first?"
Arman's tone didn't change.
"If the reports are true, you could destroy cities."
Rose shrugged.
"Technically possible."
Kael shot her a look.
"Not helping."
Arman studied her carefully.
"You don't seem interested in power."
"I'm not."
"You destroyed a cult."
"They tried to sacrifice me."
"That explains the motivation."
Rose crossed her arms.
"So are you going to try killing me now, or are we still in the awkward interview phase?"
Kael's hand rested near his weapon.
But Arman didn't reach for anything.
Instead he asked a different question.
"Why haven't you used the sword to rule?"
Rose blinked again.
"Because that sounds exhausting."
For the first time, Arman's expression changed slightly.
Not a smile.
But close.
Silence stretched between them.
The river behind them flowed quietly.
Cars passed in the distance.
Then Arman said something unexpected.
"You're not the threat they think you are."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"And yet you came prepared to kill her."
"Yes."
Rose raised her hand.
"Hold on. Let me process that."
She pointed at Arman.
"You flew across the world with murder on your to-do list."
Arman nodded.
"Yes."
"And now you're just… changing your mind?"
"I haven't decided yet."
Rose groaned.
"Fantastic."
Kael stepped forward slightly.
"Your decision doesn't matter," he said coldly.
"If you try anything—"
Arman cut him off calmly.
"You'll try to stop me."
Their eyes locked.
Two men who rarely lost fights.
Rose sighed loudly.
"Please don't start a legendary testosterone duel in the middle of the street."
Neither of them moved.
Then something strange happened.
The sword at Rose's side pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
A ripple moved through the air.
Arman noticed immediately.
His eyes sharpened.
"Something else is here."
Kael felt it too.
A dark presence spreading through the street like invisible smoke.
Rose whispered,
"Oh no."
A voice echoed softly around them.
Ancient.
Hungry.
"You cannot escape me… Rose."
The curse.
It had followed them.
Kael's expression turned lethal.
Arman slowly reached for the blade at his side.
"Was that… the thing chasing you?" he asked.
Rose nodded grimly.
"Yeah."
Arman exhaled once.
Then he said something that surprised both of them.
"Good."
Rose blinked.
"Good??"
Arman's eyes burned with quiet determination.
"If that creature is real… then I finally have a worthy target."
Kael studied him carefully.
"You're serious."
Arman drew his blade slowly.
"Completely."
Rose stared at the two men beside her.
One a mafia king.
One the world's most feared hunter.
Both now facing the same enemy.
She sighed.
"Well…"
The sword ignited with dark light in her hand.
"Guess we're doing this together."