The entire festival ground had fallen into chaos.
Thousands of people stood frozen between fear and anger, their eyes locked on the blood-soaked figure standing alone on the stage.
Rai.
His body was drenched in blood. It covered his clothes, his hands, even his face. The crimson stains made him look less like a man and more like something that had crawled out of a battlefield.
The ground around him was filled with corpses.
Soldiers lay scattered across the wooden stage, their armor broken, their bodies cut apart by the fury of a single blade.
Yet Rai did not look at them.
His eyes were fixed on something else.
Slowly, he stepped forward.
The crowd watched him with trembling fear as he approached the severed head lying on the ground.
The head of the King of Yunara.
Or at least… that was what everyone believed.
Rai bent down and grabbed the head by its hair. The golden lion mask was still covering the face.
For a moment, the entire world seemed to hold its breath.
Even the wind had gone silent.
Rai stared at the mask.
Then slowly…
He removed it.
The moment the mask fell away, his eyes widened.
Silence.
This face…
It wasn't him.
It wasn't the man Rai had remembered.
The face was unfamiliar.
The features were wrong.
The man he had hunted in his memories… the man who had walked through rivers of blood in his past… was not this person.
For a brief moment, confusion appeared in Rai's eyes.
Then the truth struck him like lightning.
A body double.
A dummy created to appear in public.
Rai's grip tightened around the severed head.
His jaw clenched.
The anger that already burned inside him suddenly became even heavier.
His rage… his hatred… the moment he had waited for his entire life…
All of it had been wasted on a fake.
His own anger had blinded him.
Slowly, Rai lifted his head.
His eyes turned toward the soldiers rushing toward him.
More guards were climbing onto the stage from every side, their weapons drawn. Behind them, the citizens of Yunara had also begun to move.
At first they had been frozen with fear.
But once they realized that the fallen man was not their true king, their terror began turning into fury.
Cries rose from the crowd.
"Kill him!"
"The Ra devil!"
"Don't let him escape!"
Hundreds of soldiers and civilians began rushing toward the stage.
But Rai did not step back.
His fingers tightened around the handle of his katana.
Blood still dripped slowly from its edge.
If the entire kingdom wished to stand against him…
Then he would cut his way through all of them.
His body shifted slightly, ready to strike.
But before the first soldier could reach him—
A sudden explosion of smoke burst across the stage.
White clouds filled the air instantly.
The entire platform disappeared behind a thick wall of smoke.
"What is this?!"
"Smoke!"
"Find him!"
The soldiers shouted in confusion as they waved their weapons through the fog.
The crowd stepped back in panic.
For several long moments, no one could see anything.
Then slowly…
The smoke began to fade.
The wind carried it away across the festival ground.
The soldiers looked around.
The stage was empty.
The bodies were still there.
The blood was still there.
But Rai…
Raikaro…
Was gone.
A wave of shock passed through the crowd.
"He escaped…"
Someone whispered in disbelief.
"The Ra devil escaped…"
⸻
The Palace of Leon
Far away from the chaos of the festival, the royal palace stood silent beneath the night sky.
Inside a vast open chamber, a man stood calmly beside a wide balcony.
Leon.
The true King of Yunara.
Unlike the soldiers who filled the city streets, Leon wore no armor. Instead, a golden shawl draped over his shoulders, flowing elegantly down his back. His wrists and fingers were decorated with rings and ornaments made of shining gold.
Even in private, the king surrounded himself with wealth and power.
He stared out into the dark city without speaking.
Footsteps suddenly echoed through the hall.
A soldier rushed forward and knelt.
"My lord… the body double has been killed."
For a moment, Leon said nothing.
The soldier kept his head lowered, waiting for anger… or punishment.
Instead—
Leon began to smile.
Then the smile slowly turned into laughter.
A deep, amused laugh filled the chamber.
"So it happened exactly as expected…"
He looked almost entertained.
Before the soldier could speak again, another voice appeared from behind.
"I told you, brother."
The voice was calm.
Cold.
"That man would fall for it."
Leon turned around slowly, still smiling.
A figure stepped out from the shadows behind him.
A tall man approached with quiet steps.
Unlike the warriors of Yunara, he wore no armor and carried no weapon.
A long black coat covered nearly his entire body. The sleeves reached down to his wrists, and the coat itself fell almost to his knees, leaving only a small portion of his legs visible.
It fit him perfectly.
Sharp.
Precise.
Elegant.
His build was lean rather than muscular, giving him the appearance of a scholar rather than a fighter.
Long black hair flowed behind his shoulders, dark and smooth, swaying gently with his movement.
His skin carried a pale tone touched slightly with warm brown, smooth and clean beneath the lantern light.
His face was completely shaved, his features sharp and refined. Though he appeared to be in his thirties, his calm expression and youthful appearance made him seem younger than his true age.
But the most unsettling part of him…
Was his eyes.
They were calm.
Cold.
Watching the world with quiet calculation.
A mind that never stopped thinking.
The man stopped beside the king.
The younger brother of Leon.
The true strategist of Yunara.
Prince Lucien.
He looked toward the distant city where the festival chaos was still unfolding.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"So…" he said quietly.
"The last blood of the Ra Clan has finally revealed himself."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"How interesting."
⸻
To Be Continued…