Aquí tienes la revisión de este capítulo. He pulido las descripciones para que tengan un tono más profesional y cinematográfico, corrigiendo las estructuras que sonaban a traducción literal. También he eliminado los signos de apertura (¿, ¡) y he ajustado el vocabulario para resaltar la letalidad de Lyra y la disciplina física de Ethan.
The city of Aleskra, once known as a symbol of order and prosperity under the tutelage of the Great Tree, was now plunged into a tense silence.
Its streets were empty and its inhabitants fearful, fueled by rumors that spread like poison among the populace:
The porter everyone deemed useless and dead had not only returned alive, but he had also somehow humiliated the Guild in its own plaza, conquered the cursed land of Volks Valley, and even challenged the Great Tree itself!
Within the highest levels of the Aleskra Guild, behind oak doors reinforced with mana, the furious steps of Inspector Marcus resonated against the wood as he paced back and forth. His brow furrowed, making his new monocle tremble.
In front of him, Kevin and Lucia remained standing, unsure of what to say.
"A city!" Marcus roared, slamming his fist onto the desk. "The scout returned stuttering about shadow castles, demonic soldiers, and an impossible mining structure! That damn brat is not only alive, but he is building an empire under our very noses!"
"S-Lord Marcus, that is impossible," Kevin stuttered, his face pale. "He was a Rank F, a pack mule without a single active skill! Whatever is in that valley must be something else."
Lucia clenched her fists tightly, her eyes trembling with genuine fear. "I saw him die. I saw the Chimera pierce him—his entrails even spilled from his body! If that... man... is alive, he is no longer the Ethan we knew."
Marcus stopped and looked through the window toward the southern horizon, where clouds swirled unnaturally over Volks Valley.
"You are right about one thing: that is not human. The Guild has classified him as an existential incongruity of Grade: Calamity. Because of that, we will not send a battalion of guards. That would only serve as fertilizer for his cursed land."
The Inspector turned toward the door, his eyes thoughtful for a few seconds. Then, he turned back to the group and said in a heavy voice: "We will send the Red Plague."
Lucia's eyes widened like saucers. "D-do you mean Lyra? The one who assassinated three Rank A inspectors just because the System's missions bored her?"
"Lyra is a broken tool that the System has not yet been able to discard," Marcus responded coldly. "She has high-rank tracking and assassination skills. But more importantly, she—just like Thorne—is a pariah. An error that only another anomaly can solve."
Meanwhile, several kilometers away, in the heart of Volks Valley, the atmosphere was entirely different.
Ethan Thorne stood in the middle of an esplanade near the Void Altar.
His tattered cloak was gone, leaving his torso bare and revealing the purple marks that throbbed constantly across his defined muscles.
For years, he had worked until his weak Rank F body was destroyed from within, leaving him unable to advance in his training. But now that the Void System had rebuilt him, Ethan was not going to settle for mere system statistics. He was going to push his body to a new limit.
"Ninety-eight… ninety-nine… one hundred," Ethan groaned, maintaining a full planche on his bare hands while holding several heavy boxes on the tips of his feet. Despite the additional weight, his arms remained straight and locked in impeccable form.
Seraphina observed the scene a few meters away, her spear driven into the ground beside her while her electric gaze never left her Sovereign.
Her eyes flashed with fanatical pride. "Your physical strength is evolving rapidly, my Lord." Her voice resonated softly, almost melodiously.
Ethan pushed the heavy boxes off and descended with agility, landing amidst a cloud of vapor. "The Great Tree taught us to depend on automatic skills. People like Kevin believe they are strong because their swords shine, but if you take away the System, they are just children."
He wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand and continued: "I am not going to make that mistake. My power will come from my dominion over myself."
Seraphina's eyes shone with devotion at his words.
They walked toward the Altar, where Malphas oversaw the processing of the first load of Blood Iron from the quarry.
The Architect of Shadows levitated over the dark metal ingots, his smiling mask fixed as his shadow fingers wove complex diagrams in the air.
Sensing his presence, he turned toward Ethan and bowed. "Sovereign." He struck his ebony staff against the iron. "The purity of this iron is fascinating. It absorbs the surrounding mana as if it had its own will. I have already begun to design the first pieces of equipment for your human legion."
Ethan looked toward the settlement, where Goran's mercenaries were being instructed by the Void Sentinels in basic defensive formations.
"If we want faithful servants, we must provide equipment superior to anything Aleskra could ever give them."
"It will be as you command, my Lord." Malphas turned back to the ingots and remained still for a few seconds. Then, he turned to Ethan again. "My Lord... the shadows..."
Suddenly, Seraphina tensed, her six metallic wings deploying with a crash that cut the air. "My Lord, I feel a presence. Its mana is... unstable. Cold. It is not like that of the Aleskra warriors."
Ethan frowned, turning toward the direction of Aleskra. His violet eyes shone with intensity as he scanned the fog. A figure began to reveal itself.
It was a woman with skin as white as snow. Her crimson hair fell like two waterfalls of wavy blood, highlighting her curvaceous figure dressed in gothic lace. Her hips swayed with each step, the valley's stones crunching under her dark leather boots.
She wore no armor, carrying only two daggers attached to her thigh straps and a cynical smile. Her emerald eyes watched him fixedly, like a predator that had found its prey.
The beautiful woman stopped at the entrance of the purified territory, completely ignoring the Sentinels pointing their swords at her. She looked at the Altar, then at Seraphina, and finally fixed her gaze on Ethan once more.
"Well, well." Her voice was soft and seductive, like an enchanting whisper. "So this is the famous sorcerer everyone is talking about. Honestly… I expected someone with more clothes."
Seraphina took a step forward, her spear flashing violently. "How dare you address my Sovereign with such insolence, Aleskra rat?!"
The redhead let out a laugh, tilting her head unnaturally. "Aleskra sent me to kill you, 'Porter Sovereign.' They promised me freedom and a supply of fresh souls if I brought them your heart."
She paused, straightening up to look at her black-painted nails. "But after seeing this place and feeling the Great Tree System's desperation to erase you… I think I'd rather see how you finish destroying that hypocritical city."
Ethan did not move. He felt the Void System warning him of the danger, but he was also curious.
"And you think I will accept you, after you admitted you came here to kill me?" His voice was enhanced by the power of the Void.
She didn't even flinch. Instead, she smiled. "They call me Lyra." Her eyes flashed with a hint of madness. "If you're going to be the new owner of this hell, you're going to need someone who knows how to handle the refuse. While your little guardian angel seems good at killing… I am better at making people wish they hadn't been born."
Seraphina roared with indignation, but Ethan raised a hand, stopping the Valkyrie in her tracks.
"Lyra of Aleskra," Ethan said, a slight smile forming. "If you want to stay in my valley, you must prove your worth."
Lyra smiled, revealing perfectly white teeth, and performed an exaggerated, mocking bow. "Then I hope you like chaos, Sovereign. Because I've brought a small parting gift from the Guild. If my guess is correct, it won't be long before it reaches the border."
Ethan looked toward the horizon. The war he had foreseen was much closer than he thought.