“Because His shadow is of superior class.”

No ,originally, the White-Faced Centipede was a predator, an evolved form that had devoured hundreds of its kind among the Baekmyeon spirits.In other words, His mask and shadow are predators, and Sol’s mask and shadow are prey. At the deep echo of my voice, Sol’s rampaging shadow came to a sudden halt. I extended a hand, fingers cloaked in darkness.

“Shrrrkkk!”

The shadow cocoon that had enveloped Sol was sucked into my mask. Only then did a blinding white light burst forth, shattering the remaining shadow. Alfred was in shock.

“Just… what are you…”

What exactly have you done?He had momentarily forgotten his duty.

 It was hard to believe what he had just witnessed. In the deep night, inside a gorge filled with leftover fragments of space, in front of a writhing mass of shadow , a clearly dangerous situation.The prince stood tall, as if fear itself had been erased from him. Even when the creature had devoured half of the imperial vehicle, known to withstand all but the harshest magical attacks, he simply smiled and cracked a joke.

Was it bravado? Arrogance? Or was it…”Certainty…?” Had it all gone exactly as he expected? Alfred was confused.

He had chosen the gorge with purpose. He had seen the maze that the driver had missed. He had manipulated space without hesitation and confronted the creature as if it were routine. And in the face of the crisis, the prince remained perfectly composed. Even Alfred found his own tension easing just by sensing the prince’s demeanor.

It was… mysterious. What once was thought to be sheer madness and tyranny now served as an anchor of calm in the middle of danger. And the most astonishing part That Alfred, of all people, was moved. By a prince who hadn’t even undergone the coming-of-age ceremony. A prince who had been labeled insane, a danger. Whether the prince knew of Alfred’s astonishment or not, he simply placed the mask from his earlier hunt over his face and began absorbing the shadow mass into the darkness wrapping around his body. As though every moment had been prepared.

Light exploded across the gorge. When the light faded, Alfred could only gasp again.

“You’ve come to your senses at last.”

The voice echoed like it came from deep within a cave, steeped in savage power. Even Alfred tensed in response. The prince stood where the light had faded, radiating authority.

The white mask drawn with a ghost’s face, his platinum hair shining even brighter with the glow, and the darkness that wrapped his body felt heavier by contrast. This wasn’t even a crisis. Where had the prince acquired the power to control such a shadow , and even the ability to manipulate Steel Fortress’s very space, something even Alfred didn’t possess? Facing those violet eyes , 

“Prince… Your Highness?”

Sol stood there, confused. Why was she here? Why was the prince wearing a mask and doing all this? Was she still in the forest? She had been researching the mask gifted by the prince after leaving the Spirit Grove, hadn’t she, 

“Ah… ah!”

Her thoughts rushed back and collided. When she had been told to distinguish the difference between light and shadow, she had been examining the shadow condensed in the white mask. She had become enthralled by that deep darkness. And after that, 

“Your Highness… I… I didn’t hurt anyone, did I…?”

Her voice trembled. If she had harmed anyone, her comrades ,then… As she looked up, tears welled in her eyes at the thought of tragedy.

“You don’t even have the power to do that. How could you have hurt anyone.”

“Huh?”

“More likely, you ran here because you were afraid you’d be captured and killed by the unit.”

“What…?”

“You’re barely a 3rd-circle mage — and support type at that. You’re like a walking streetlamp. Expecting you to hurt someone? That’s asking too much, Sol.”

“Agh! Aaack! Waaah!”

“Even tragic heroines need a minimum skill threshold. Don’t you get that, Sol?”

“Kyaaaa! Stop! No more bullying!”

At the prince’s ruthless dose of reality, Sol clutched her head and screamed. It hurt. More than being consumed by the shadow, his words hurt more. Down to the bone.

The prince looked at her, then suddenly,

“Still, be glad. You haven’t committed any great sin.”

“Kyaaa—…huh?”

“No need for that dumb expression. There’s no tragedy. A new possibility has opened. Fate will shift. That’s something to be happy about.”

Power could always be developed from now on. At those words, Sol’s face went blank. Just a moment ago, he’d been beating her down with harsh truths ,now he was comforting her? Gratitude and loyalty surged toward the prince who had saved her.

“You’re not answering, Sol.”

“It’s Sol, not Shel.”

“Right, Shul.”

“Ugh! Must you make it harder than it is?!”

She puffed out her cheeks at the misnaming, briefly. Then she touched the mask placed on her head.

“Thank you… Your Highness.” 

Thank you, thank you. Truly, thank you. Really, truly, thank you. She bowed her head and whispered thanks over and over. For some reason, the eyes behind the mask , the only part of his face she could see , felt endlessly kind. She knew this prince was crazy, petty and cruel but in this fleeting moment…He had embraced her. Understood her. As she quietly sobbed and repeated her thanks, 

“Alfred. Take her.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

With a light chuckle, Aziel gave the order. As if it were no big deal, the attendant approached and placed a hand gently on Sol’s shoulder.

“Wasn’t that spatial manipulation a bit much? What if your identity gets exposed?” I tossed out the remark casually.

“That wasn’t me, Your Highness. Was it not your own ability?” Alfred dodged the question expertly. I almost let it slide, but then something odd brushed against my shadow.

“What about the one nearby? You didn’t summon that?”

“The one nearby? Wasn’t it a mystery from the shadow you command?”

His clueless reply started to irritate me. Hiding his identity was fine, but this much ignorance was suspicious. Then, 

“I speak truth, Your Highness. I’ve summoned no one. I haven’t manipulated space nor people. I don’t have that authority. Not yet.”

His sincere tone dispelled my doubt. A brief silence.If it wasn’t me or Alfred… then who? Alfred’s tense face and sharp eyes scanning the surroundings weren’t faked. Come to think of it , he wasn’t yet the head of the Dark Iron Unit. Meaning, he truly didn’t have the authority to alter space.Then who…,

“I’ve been discovered. Elimination is required.”

The premonition of dread became reality. The one who had been hidden in the deep shadows revealed themselves. Thick killing intent flooded the gorge. Only one figure appeared.

“Just one?”

He spoke as he watched.

“No. All of us.”

One became hundreds.An incomprehensible harmony.No, he had heard of this. One of the highest-ranking assassins who once tried to assassinate the former emperor. An ability to distort space and split into hundreds. Was today the day that bastard infiltrated the palace?

An assassin from the western wasteland. One sent by the desert tribe “Hongryeon”.

“Of all places.” To think he would meet that monster there. Now it made sense. The warning of death lurking in the space.Sol had never been the threat. The danger fate had warned of , was that assassin.And to confirm it,

[You have identified the worst possible enemy through the misfortune of lower fate. The enemy seeks your life.]

[Lower fate: Death approaches. This opponent cannot be defeated by your current fate.]

[Lower fate: Death has been enhanced to extermination.]

Misfortune and death loomed before him. Yet even as that cursed fate sprouted, he remained unshaken.That body — the body of a mad prince — felt no fear. And he, who has been acting within it, felt the same. Arrogant by nature. Madness in every corner of his mind. No matter the enemy,

“You dare… to eliminate me?” he couldn’t help but say it.

And before the assassin could pull his weapon, 

“If you kill me, I promise you this: Hongryeon will fall. I will see to it.”

“…”

The assassin hesitated. He wondered how he knew who sent him.

“I’ll say it again. Not just Hongryeon ,I’ll drown the entire desert in blood. Until the sand turns to mud.”

A cruel threat. Madness gleaming in his eyes, but, 

“Then I’ll just silence you.” The killing intent thickened, now sharp enough to slice skin.

He had pushed too far. But that was the goal, to buy even a sliver of time. The moment the hundreds of assassins surged in,  The letters he’d been waiting for appeared.

[You have fully digested all consumed lower fate shadows! The darkness of the shadow has deepened and expanded!]

[You have acquired a new trait: Dark Curtain! Temporarily separates space!]

[A faint light of new fate has begun to stir within the tangled shadows!]

His shadow surged, swallowing the surroundings, space separated. And in that sliver of time, within the dark, 

[All accumulated variable points have been invested in luck! Frequency and magnitude of lower fate luck has increased!]

[Your existing trait has been enhanced: Frequency and magnitude of minor luck has increased!]

[You have acquired a new trait: Narrow Escape!]

He prepared for survival. And as the notifications faded, 

“Thunk.” A cold blade emerged, gleaming in the dark.