Chapter One
"Why did you hide the fact that you are a dark mage?" Anthon demanded, his voice rising. "You know that I'm a candidate to be the new hero!"
"Maristelle Valda, you wretched woman! You even gave me a daughter with dark mage blood. Tell me, how will you atone for your sins?" he continued angrily.
Maristelle held her daughter's hand tightly. "Your daughter being born in this world is neither a sin nor a mistake. Lumiya is my world—and your only daughter. You once said she was your light, which is why we named her Lumiya."
"If you don't want us to be your family anymore, then we will leave," she added firmly.
Anthon drew his sword and pointed it at mother and daughter. "Lumiya may leave, but you cannot. You must die."
As he slashed his sword toward his wife, a sudden darkness engulfed the entire mansion.
"You will pay for hurting our princess," a mysterious voice echoed before the darkness dissipated.
"Inform the King, and I want to see all high healers from the magic department immediately," commanded a cloaked figure.
"Princess, stay with us. The healers are coming," one of the King's dark mages reassured.
Running footsteps approached them.
"Who did this to my daughter?" Raviel Darkmoor, King of Veyltharion, asked, his voice filled with fury.
"Who are you, little one?" he asked gently.
"I am my mother's daughter," Lumiya said, crying while holding Maristelle's hand.
"Are you Maristelle's daughter?" he asked in shock.
"Yes," Lumiya timidly replied.
"Sebastian, who made my daughter bleed?" the King demanded, his voice barely restraining his anger.
"It was the father of your granddaughter, my lord," Sebastian responded solemnly. "I was too late to save her from his sword. I deserve to be punished."
Another group of cloaked men rushed toward them.
"No more talking—heal my daughter!" the King ordered.
"All her physical wounds have been healed, my lord," the Chief Healer reported, shaking his head, "but we cannot restore her mana core. It has been shattered due to exposure to strong holy mana."
"Sanctaris has gone too far this time, my lord," General Kleen stated. "Give your command, and we will march by the end of the day."
"We can't trigger a war right now," King Raviel said grimly. "We are at a disadvantage against them. Call Malagar to the meeting hall immediately. Take the princess and the little one to her room to rest—I will speak with them after she wakes up."
Turning to his queen, he added, "Selvaria, my love, please take care of our daughter."
"I'll do anything I can for our daughter, my dear," she replied.
Sanctaris
Sanctaris is a country ruled by a Pope, where people believe that holy magic is the only power created by their god. They consider other magic—fire, wind, earth, and water—to be mere derivatives of holy mana. Dark magic and dark mages are deemed heretics.
At the same time Maristelle and Lumiya escaped, Anthon rushed to the Holy Cathedral, where the Pope resided, to report. Unbeknownst to him, an ambush awaited him two blocks away from the cathedral.
The ambush consisted of two 11th-grade knights and two 10th-grade earth magic casters. As soon as Anthon entered the knights' range, the two magic casters activated their domains. (Domains are exclusive to magic casters above the 8th tier and vary for each caster.)
The domains created by the two casters were a Sand Prison Domain and a Poison Sand Domain, both designed to debilitate their opponent.
"Deric and Castro, you old fools," Anthon scoffed. "You think you can stop me with such weak domains?"
"Hehehe, Anthon, it's not our job to finish you," Deric sneered.
Just as Anthon heard the voice, a sharp whistling sound came from behind him. Pain erupted in his abdomen and heart as blades pierced him. As the domains dissolved, a familiar face was revealed.
"YOU!!" Anthon gasped.
"I TREATED YOU AS MY CLOSEST FRIEND—SO WHY?!" he roared in betrayal.
The man before him smirked. "You don't deserve to be a candidate for hero. That position should be mine. Heh, see? You died so easily to my sword."
"You think you could have killed me alone?" Anthon rasped.
"The winner becomes king, and the loser becomes a bandit. Ever heard that saying?" the man said, a sneer on his face. "Only one king is needed in the jungle. Since you were my friend, I'll give you a quick death."
Suddenly, a loud crushing sound echoed. A glow appeared in Anthon's hand—an instant transmission artifact.
Shock spread across his enemies' faces as Anthon vanished from sight.
"Find him and retrieve the ring on his finger! It's a dimensional storage artifact. He will die soon—we must get the ring before someone else does. Go!" the man commanded.
"As you command, my lord!" his subordinates responded before scattering in search of the wounded hero.