Black Shadows
"Black Shadows" was far more than a mere organization… it was an open wound carved into the body of the city, a hidden hand stretching through the darkness of its alleys to coil around the other half of its soul. A notorious entity that enforced its presence through fear and brute power, sharing control over the lifelines of Nektar alongside the "Lotus House."
But if the "Lotus House" drained people under the guise of law—through gambling dens, nightclubs, and methods wrapped in false legitimacy—then the "Black Shadows" never bothered with such disguises. They were the naked face of chaos itself: gangs, assassinations, thefts, and filthy operations conducted behind a curtain of smoke and blades.
And yet… both factions were ultimately two sides of the same coin—a coin forged from human greed, bearing only one name: plunder.
Each of these organizations maintained branches scattered across the continent, expanding or shrinking according to influence and interest. In some cities, they were kings without crowns; in others, nothing more than faint shadows waiting for the chance to spread.
We return to where we left off…
Following the attack launched by the "Black Shadows" against Leo and Elyaria, Leo's decision could no longer be postponed. He had made a decisive choice: the annihilation of the Nektar branch.
It was not a fleeting impulse, but rather the result of four intertwined reasons:
First: to prevent any future clashes with them during his return journey, sealing that path permanently.
Second: because he was not the kind of man who accepted "gifts" without repayment—especially not from individuals like Noctra Vayne, those who never gave anything without a hidden price. This was an opportunity to settle the debt in his own way.
Third: something within him kept pushing him toward expelling them… a strange, intrusive feeling that did not resemble his logic or his usual way of thinking. He was not a savior by nature, nor a man of heroic ideals, and yet this emotion pressed against his mind, unsettling him more than it reassured him.
And fourth… quite simply: they had dared to attack him and send assassins after his life.
The Black Shadows' Nest
At that same time, the branch headquarters in Nektar was drowning in chaos and laughter. The place resembled nothing more than a filthy tavern: crowded tables, loud voices, and nearly ninety-five members of the organization raising their cups in drunken celebration.
They were not celebrating a victory in battle… but rather the recruitment of a fifth-circle mage into their ranks, granting them greater influence and authority across the region.
Laughter, shouting, and a hollow sense of power filled the air… until the room seemed completely unaware that something outside its walls had already begun moving toward it with cold, lethal calm.
Then—
creeeak.
The door opened slowly.
The metallic groan dragged across the floor like a wound tearing through silence. Cups froze mid-air. Conversation died instantly.
Every gaze turned.
A young man stepped inside.
Slow, steady footsteps… each one measured, deliberate, as though he had already calculated every consequence of his arrival.
Leo.
The Beginning of the End
A man clearly intoxicated burst into a rough laugh and sneered:
"What is this…? When did this place become a nursery?"
He staggered forward and placed a hand on Leo's shoulder.
"Boy… if you don't resist, I'll only give you a few punches."
He never finished his sentence.
In a single instant—no incantation, no preparation…
A spell erupted from the second circle: Wind Spear.
The air twisted as if it had become an invisible weapon, piercing the distance and hurling the man violently into the wall. He crashed and fell unconscious without resistance.
Silence fell.
Then the room exploded.
"How dare you?!" "You bastard!"
Weapons were drawn, footsteps advanced—but something in the atmosphere had already changed.
Amid the chaos, the fifth-circle mage assigned to the branch stood frozen. His eyes refused to accept what they had just witnessed.
Instant activation?
A spell without chanting?
His mind rejected the possibility at once, clinging desperately to logic:
"Impossible… this cannot be… perhaps I imagined it… Only great mages can do such a thing."
He forced a faint, dismissive smile to reassure himself—but deep down, he knew something abnormal stood before him.
Leo did not waste time.
He raised his hand and unleashed a lethal fourth-circle spell: "Piercing."
A deadly magic invisible to the eye—passing through flesh directly to the heart, erasing life itself. Only fourth-circle mages of exceptional mastery—or elite swordsmen—could hope to survive it
In a single moment… dozens fell.
Gracefully. Quietly.
As if life itself had simply been switched off.
Panic spread.
This was no longer a fight… it was a hunt.
The branch leader screamed:
"Kill him! Bring the mage!"
And then he appeared.
The fifth-circle mage.
The moment he stepped forward, morale surged violently, as if hope itself had returned from nothingness.
"It's over now!" "We have a fifth-circle mage!"
But Leo looked at him with calm indifference, thinking:
A fifth circle… interesting.
The mage smiled confidently and shouted:
"I will make you regret being born!"
Leo, however, remained disturbingly calm.
"At least… I can test myself against someone of my circle."
The mage began chanting slowly, heavily, as though the world itself needed time to obey him.
But then—
Everything changed.
His smile vanished.
His eyes widened.
Shock took hold.
Before Leo, dozens of magic circles formed in a single instant… perfectly structured, terrifyingly synchronized, as though the heavens themselves had shattered into systems of controlled power.
Something he had never seen in his life… nor even in his dreams.
Leo said calmly:
"Train more… in your next life."
The spells were unleashed.
It was not an attack… it was erasure.
In a single moment, everything collapsed.
The headquarters, the organization, everyone within… vanished beneath overwhelming force, reduced to a silent trace in the void.
Silence returned.
And amid the ruins of what had once been the Black Shadows' stronghold, Leo stood for a moment… observing the devastation he had left behind.
Then he murmured calmly, as though evaluating a simple experiment:
"I may have overdone it a little…"