THE DEATH ARTIST
In the Golden Age of humanity, when every person possesses supernatural abilities called Arts, Adrian Beaumont appears to be everything society admires. A master of the elegant combat style known as Phantom Dance, he runs a prestigious martial arts academy for young noblewomen in the isolated valleys of the Astoria Kingdom. His reputation as a skilled instructor and wealthy gentleman makes him the perfect catch for any ambitious family seeking to elevate their daughters' status.
But perfection is Adrian's greatest lie.
Abandoned at five by a prostitute mother who used Mind Arts to manipulate his emotions, Adrian was raised by Master Takeshi, a reformed assassin who taught him that true art transcends mere violence. Under this tutelage, Adrian learned to move like liquid shadow, to strike with supernatural precision, and to transform combat into poetry. Yet where Takeshi sought redemption through discipline, Adrian found only a more sophisticated way to express his hatred.
Each woman who enters his estate becomes part of an elaborate performance. He studies their Arts, learns their weaknesses, and then orchestrates their deaths with the same meticulous care a composer brings to a symphony. His underground gallery preserves thirty-seven bodies in poses of perfect artistry, each one a testament to his growing mastery of what he calls the Dance of Death.
Adrian's evolution as a predator follows a deliberate progression. He begins with naive noble girls whose Combat Arts are decorative at best, then escalates to seasoned warriors whose Elemental Arts can reshape landscapes. Each victim forces him to innovate, to push his Phantom Dance technique beyond its limits. His signature move, the Death's Waltz, becomes a legend whispered in martial arts circles—a technique so beautiful that witnesses claim it resembles an angel's final dance.
The game changes when Sara Kane arrives at his estate. Unlike his previous victims, she possesses the Shield Maiden Art, a defensive technique that adapts to any attack. More importantly, she has an investigator's instinct inherited from her brother Marcus. When she becomes the first person to survive an encounter with Adrian, she triggers a chain of events that will transform his intimate murders into open warfare.
Inspector Marcus Kane wields the Truth Seeker Art, an ability that allows him to reconstruct crime scenes and detect deception. As he follows Sara's fragmented testimony into the mystery of dozens of missing women, he discovers that Adrian Beaumont doesn't just kill—he curates death like a gallery exhibition. The investigation becomes a psychological duel between two masters of their respective Arts: one who seeks truth, another who has made lying into an art form.
But Adrian refuses to be cornered quietly. As the investigation closes in, he abandons all pretense of subtlety. His killing spree escalates from careful selection to bold declaration. He targets the kingdom's most legendary female warriors, turning each battle into a public spectacle. Lady Victoria Ashford, master of the Celestial Sword Art, becomes his most ambitious victim yet—a confrontation that will require Adrian to reveal techniques he has kept hidden for years.
The kingdom mobilizes against him, but Adrian has spent decades preparing for this moment. His estate becomes a fortress of death, every room designed to showcase a different aspect of his artistic vision. The martial arts world watches in horror as he transforms their most sacred techniques into instruments of systematic murder. His philosophy spreads like poison among his admirers: that beauty can only be achieved through destruction, that art requires the ultimate sacrifice.
