Chapter 32: One of you.

The heavy, reinforced mahogany carriage finally groaned to a complete halt, its wooden wheels settling against the smooth paved cobblestones of Border City.

The towering stone gates loomed high above them, casting long, protective shadows over the bustling merchant square. The journey through the treacherous mountain pass was finally over.

Inside the opulent cabin, the suffocating tension that had plagued the trip slowly began to lift.

Dori sat near the glass window, her pale face pressed almost entirely against the pane.

A rare, genuine smile stretched across her lips as her glowing crimson eyes scanned the tall brick buildings and the dense crowds of humans walking the streets.

This was only the second human settlement she had ever seen since her master pulled her out of the rotting forest, and the sheer scale of the architecture fascinated her feral mind.

The older merchant pushed the carriage door open and stepped down onto the cobblestones.

He rubbed his bruised jaw, a lingering reminder of the brutal punch he had taken from the bandit thugs earlier on the dirt road.

Despite the lingering pain and the sheer terror they had endured during the ambush, the man offered a warm, incredibly thankful smile as he looked up at Lucius, who had just smoothly descended from the roof of the transport.

"We cannot thank you enough, Lucius," the older man said, his voice trembling slightly with sheer relief. He reached into his heavy silk robes, fully intending to hand over the massive payment they had agreed upon. "But please, I must ask. What exactly happened back there in the woods? The screaming stopped so suddenly, and those terrible monsters..."

Lucius stood perfectly still, his tall frame towering over the merchant. His dark clothes rustled gently in the evening wind as he kept his expression entirely devoid of emotion.

"The threat was neutralized," Lucius replied coldly, completely refusing to answer the man’s question or elaborate on his undead army. "That is all you need to know. Our contract is officially concluded."

The older man sighed softly, understanding that the pale mercenary was not going to share his secrets.

He nodded his head, handing over a heavy leather pouch filled with gold coins. Guinevere stepped down from the carriage right behind her father, her bright purple hair catching the fading sunlight.

She adjusted her revealing emerald top, looking at Lucius directly.

Just as they were all about to part and go their separate ways into the sprawling city, the air in the crowded plaza suddenly warped.

It happened with terrifying, explosive speed. Without a single sound or a shift in the wind, a group of six men dressed entirely in deep crimson red garments materialized from the alleyway shadows directly behind the merchant family. They moved like synchronized phantoms, their faces hidden behind dark red cloth masks, and their hands gripping wickedly curved, poison-laced daggers.

’Assassins,’ Lucius noted in his mind, hisinstincts flaring violently.

Dori reacted instantly.

he blurred into a dark streak of motion. She launched herself across the cobblestones, tackling the closest red-clad man directly to the ground. She pinned him down with bone-crushing force, her sharp nails digging deeply into his shoulders as she bared her fangs to rip his throat out.

At the exact same time, Lucius leaped backward to create a tactical distance. His pale hand shot to his hip, wrapping tightly around the hilt of his steel blade. Crimson and orange flames violently erupted from his fingertips, completely engulfing the metal as he drew the weapon in a wide, lethal arc.

But before Lucius could swing his blazing sword, and before Dori could sink her teeth into her prey, a deafening crack echoed through the plaza.

The assassins slammed small, dark glass vials directly into the cobblestones. A massive, suffocating cloud of thick, magical black smoke detonated outward, completely blinding everyone in the immediate vicinity. The smoke burned their eyes and clogged their lungs, smelling heavily of sulfur and crushed rotting leaves.

Lucius swung his flaming blade blindly through the dark cloud, the heat incinerating the smoke, but his steel hit nothing but empty air.

A few seconds later, the evening wind swept through the plaza, carrying the thick magical smoke up into the sky. The assassins were completely gone, vanishing into the crowded city just as fast as they had appeared.

But they had not left empty-handed.

Lucius lowered his glowing sword, his eyes locking onto the horrific scene before him. The older merchant lay completely motionless on the hard cobblestones.

A massive, fatal slash ran directly across his throat, and a pool of warm, dark red blood was spreading rapidly beneath his body. The ornate velvet box he had been clutching to his chest, which contained the classified artifact they had been hired to transport, was entirely missing.

"Father!"

Guinevere’s agonizing scream tore through the quiet plaza. She dropped heavily onto her knees in the dirt, completely ignoring the pooling blood as she gathered her father’s limp upper body into her arms.

Her hands pressed desperately against the gaping wound on his neck, but it was far too late. The life had already completely faded from his eyes.

She broke down, her entire body shaking with violent, uncontrollable sobs. Tears streamed down her beautiful face, ruining her makeup and staining her emerald clothes.

Lucius stood a few feet away, entirely silent. He did not know who those red assassins were, but looking at the missing cargo, it was absolutely obvious they had been tracking the merchant family strictly for the artifact.

Guinevere slowly raised her head, her tear-filled eyes locking onto Lucius. The deep curiosity she once held for him was completely overwritten by blinding grief and absolute rage.

"You promised to protect us!" Guinevere screamed, her voice cracking painfully as she pointed a shaking, blood-stained finger at him. "You took our money! You have all that power, and you just let them slaughter him! Leave! Just leave me alone!"

Lucius stared down at the grieving girl. He felt no human sadness, but he understood the cold, undeniable logic of his failure. He had allowed his guard down the moment they entered the city gates. Without a single word of argument or apology, he sheathed his sword, turned his back on the broken family, and walked away into the city streets.

Dori lingered behind for a short moment.

She looked down at the dead merchant, a strange, heavy tightness forming in her chest. She did not fully understand human grief, but the old man had been kind to her.

He had offered her warm food by the campfire, he had smiled at her, and he had treated her like a normal person rather than a feral monster. She felt genuinely sad that his life had been snuffed out so easily. With a low, melancholic sigh, she turned and hurried after her master’s retreating shadow.

They walked deeper into Border City, eventually making their way into a dimly lit restaurant to escape the crowded streets.

They sat in a secluded corner booth. Lucius ordered a large plate of cooked meat, pushing it across the wooden table for Dori to eat.

Even though the feral girl felt absolutely no human hunger anymore, she quietly ate the food, finding a small shred of comfort in the mundane activity while they waited for the night to fall.

Once they were done, Lucius made the strategic decision to head straight back to the capital. The mission was a total failure, the artifact was gone, and there was nothing left for them in the border territory.

They took a late-night transport carriage back toward the central capital of Uranik. The journey back took days, the silence between the master and servant heavy with unspoken thoughts.

When they finally arrived back in Uranik, the massive city was draped in the quiet darkness of the late night. The streets were mostly empty as Lucius and Dori made their way through the winding stone roads, heading directly back to their cramped apartment building to regroup and report to the guild Chairlady.

But just as they turned the corner into a narrow, damp alleyway leading to their street, Lucius stopped dead in his tracks.

Sitting on the cold, wet cobblestones, leaning heavily against the brick wall of the alley, was a figure.

It was Guinevere.

She looked absolutely nothing like the arrogant, pristine noblewoman who had teased him in the carriage.

Her vibrant purple hair was matted and tangled. Her revealing emerald clothes were ruined, still carrying the dark, dried stains of her father’s blood.

Her pale skin was pale and drawn, making her look entirely drained, as if she had not slept or eaten a single thing since the assassination.

But it was her eyes that caught Lucius’s immediate attention.

The bright, intelligent light was completely gone. In its place was a bottomless, hollow void of absolute exhaustion, fueled only by a simmering, untamed hatred.

Guinevere slowly raised her head, looking up at Lucius as he stopped in front of her.

She did not cry. She did not yell. She simply looked at the monster standing before her in the dark.

"How do I become one of you?" she asked, her voice a hollow, desperate whisper.