Rai stared at the figure standing upon the grand stage.
He could not see the man's face.
Like the soldiers surrounding him, the king wore a war mask. But this one was different.
It was crafted entirely from gold.
The mask was shaped like the face of a lion—majestic, proud, and merciless. Under the blazing lantern lights of the festival, it gleamed like the crown of a god.
Yet Rai did not need to see the man's face.
The way he stood.
The way he moved.
That posture.
That presence.
Rai's chest tightened.
He had seen it before.
His memories began to burn inside his mind—fragments of the past he had tried to bury.
A battlefield soaked in blood.
A river running red beneath a dark sky.
And a single man walking through it like a king walking through his own kingdom.
Leon.
Even without seeing his face, Rai knew.
It was him.
Around them, the people of Yunara surged forward like a tidal wave.
The crowd was so dense that Rai and Haru could barely remain standing. Bodies pressed against them from every direction.
People were desperate to get closer.
To see their king.
To worship him.
Rai felt the strange weight of it.
These people…
They looked at Leon like he was not just a ruler.
But a god.
So many supported him.
So many believed in him.
On the stage, King Leon slowly walked to the center.
His armor resembled that of the Yun soldiers, but portions of it were plated with gold, reflecting the light of thousands of lanterns. The golden lion mask stared down at the sea of people like a predator observing its prey.
Then Leon raised his hand.
The movement alone silenced the drums.
His voice thundered across the square.
"People of Yunara… welcome!"
His voice was deep.
Powerful.
It echoed across the city like the roar of a beast.
"Welcome to the sacred night of our protector… the great god Varkaros!"
The moment the name was spoken—
The entire crowd erupted.
Cheers exploded like thunder.
Rai and Haru couldn't hear anything anymore.
It felt like the earth itself was shaking beneath their feet.
People screamed.
People prayed.
Some even fell to their knees.
Leon slowly folded his hands in front of his chest.
"We live… because of Varkaros."
His voice lowered slightly, carrying a strange reverence.
"Every breath we take… every victory our kingdom has earned… every enemy crushed beneath our feet… all of it exists because the god of war watches over Yunara."
As one, the people folded their hands.
Thousands of heads bowed in prayer.
But Leon was not finished.
After a moment of silence, he lifted his head again.
"And yet…"
His voice changed.
It hardened.
"There are those who dare defy us."
The crowd slowly quieted.
A ripple of tension passed through the square.
Leon continued.
"I have received troubling news."
His golden lion mask turned slightly, scanning the crowd as though searching for someone.
"An enemy has entered our home."
The words fell heavily over the festival.
Rai's eyes sharpened.
Beside him, Haru slowly turned his head and looked at Rai's face.
He immediately noticed the change.
The quiet fury.
The barely restrained rage.
Leon continued speaking.
"I hear this enemy belongs to a clan thought long buried in history…"
He paused.
Then laughed softly.
"The Ra Clan."
The crowd murmured.
Leon spread his arms wide.
"A cursed bloodline."
"A clan that refuses to die."
"Like ghosts crawling out of their graves again and again."
His voice became colder.
"For generations they have been nothing but killers."
"Assassins."
"Terrorists."
"The entire world despises them."
"The entire world hunts them."
Leon's voice rose with cruel pride.
"And rightfully so."
"They are people who do not deserve to live."
Haru felt his stomach tighten.
He slowly looked toward Rai again.
But Rai had not moved.
Not a single muscle in his body.
Leon continued.
"I personally wiped out the last of them."
"I slaughtered their men."
"I slaughtered their women."
"I burned their name into the dirt."
His voice carried dark amusement.
"And yet…"
"That cursed blood still crawls through this world."
Leon leaned slightly forward.
"So imagine my surprise… when I heard that the last rat of the Ra Clan has crawled all the way into my kingdom."
A cruel smile could almost be heard in his voice.
"What a joke."
The crowd erupted again.
Boos.
Anger.
Hatred.
Leon raised his voice over them.
"This enemy stands not only against Yunara…"
"But against Varkaros himself."
The crowd roared.
Leon's voice thundered like a declaration of war.
"I swear before all of you tonight…"
"I will hunt him."
"I will crush him."
"I will erase the final drop of that devil's bloodline!"
The square shook with the people's screams.
"I will cleanse this world of the Ra Clan forever!"
His voice dropped into something darker.
"And when I find him…"
"I will make him suffer."
"I will make him die slowly… just as his people died."
The crowd screamed in approval.
But among thousands of cheering voices—
One man stood silent.
His eyes burned red.
Tears trembled at the edges.
And behind those tears…
Was a fury that could burn the world.
Haru saw it.
And fear shot through him instantly.
No…
He can't…
But the crowd surged forward again.
Haru lost his balance.
People shoved him from every direction.
"Raikaro!" he shouted.
But Rai was gone.
Haru spun desperately, searching the sea of faces.
"Raikaro!"
Nothing.
Sweat ran down his face.
His hands trembled.
The crowd continued chanting Leon's name.
"RAIKARO!"
Then—
A loud sound echoed from the stage.
Something heavy landed.
The entire square fell silent.
Every head turned.
Standing in the center of the stage…
Was a single figure.
His black clothing was soaked in blood.
His chest rose and fell with heavy breaths.
His eyes burned with tears and fury.
And in his hand—
He held the severed head of a Yun soldier.
Rai lifted his gaze.
And stared directly at the king.
His voice exploded with rage.
"LEON!"
The name tore through the night like a blade.
Rai stood before the entire kingdom of Yunara.
Alone.
Broken.
Burning with vengeance.
Raikaro had arrived.
And the festival of Varkaros had just become a battlefield.
To be continued…