Unedited*

At the rented mansion, Edward and Harry met a few days after returning to the city.

Both were bandaged from head to toe, though they could move about without too much trouble. The wounds were healing slowly, as they had been inflicted by powerful beast masters with quite potent spiritual energy.

It wasn’t easy to heal that kind of wound, especially for Harry, who had no spiritual energy.

They were both staring at each other, waiting for the other to speak.

Perhaps neither of them had any idea what to say.

What they had achieved was a feat that would surely be heard in every corner of the kingdom. Perhaps it was already on the table of the great powers right now, but would both their names be mentioned?

They had accomplished an amazing feat. Would they be remembered as the co-authors of that feat?

"Most likely not." Although Harry felt good about the great success, he also felt bad about not being able to take credit for it.

It would be a death sentence for him if top-tier organizations found out that his small, remote family of viscounts had managed to destroy a top-tier organization like that.

Not only did they destroy it, but they also stole a lot of information that would surely be useful.

"The only misfortune is not having found all the leaders," he muttered. Without meaning to, his thoughts slipped out, breaking the silence in the room.

"The information I received recently is that the 101st Regiment didn’t let many get away. Apparently, they captured six more leaders, and now there are only four left," Edward replied with satisfaction.

Harry made a complaining face. "But that means the 101st Regiment got all the credit, when clearly we did more."

"Hahaha." Edward burst out laughing. "Not bad. They were a big help. They managed to infiltrate the area really well and get into some tricky spots. It’s thanks to them that we didn’t lose a single man."

"Places we investigated and found ourselves." Harry clearly wasn’t entirely satisfied with the arrangements.

Because he already knew the headlines that would appear when the public was told what happened: The 101st Regiment of the West Province Academy managed to destroy a clandestine organization of traitors!

Something like that.

And the entire story would only say things in favor of the 101st Regiment, praising them. But they, who also participated and did almost all the work, would never be named.

"Well, don’t worry about it. The information stayed with us; that gives us the advantage," Edward replied.

Although, obviously, he knew things weren’t that simple.

There was no way he could keep all that information with him at all times. That was why he had chosen to record all the information on his tools and carefully hide them inside his sword.

He hadn’t gone to meet Owen and hadn’t even contacted him since that night. He’d only informed him that he’d completed his mission and then gone back into hiding.

And with everything he now knew about that place they’d just destroyed, he knew trouble was coming his way. He was going to be hunted like never before.

"The only way to survive is to become the hunter," he thought, looking out the window.

It was getting dark.

Harry nodded, though he wasn’t entirely convinced. They talked for a while longer, until Harry returned to his hiding place; he planned to stay nearby for a few more days before returning to his city.

When Harry left, Edward stepped out onto the mansion’s terrace to look at the sky and clear his mind.

The crescent moon above him shone with its usual glow today. The stars were unusually bright.

The constellations he saw were not the same as those on Earth... His gaze wandered across the sky. He observed each of the stars and constellations until he found the one that had always caught his attention.

The one that was like a window with a huge star in the middle, which resembled an eye observing the world.

The Constellation of the Watching Window; that was what he had called it.

Looking more closely, he noticed that the star in the center was desolate. It was bright and enormous, but precisely because of that, there were no other stars nearby. And the other stars around it seemed to orbit it, which was peculiar.

’In a way, I think I’m a little like that.’ Edward smiled to himself.

From what he had heard and researched, returning to the academy wasn’t safe for him. There were traitors around every corner and people with that dark energy that sent chills down his spine every time he saw it.

Students and others constantly reported him for no reason, over the slightest thing. And the principal... seemed to be putting obstacles in his way.

Without him realizing it, he had been completely isolated.

And it all intensified as he became increasingly aware of his last name.

In the archives of the Red Moon Cave, he found his last name mentioned over a thousand times. None of the mentions were positive.

He was isolated not only academically, but also professionally.

"Did my father feel this way at some point?" he wondered.

It was an unsettling feeling of loneliness.

"I can’t drop out of the academy; I’ll have to be more careful and get stronger as soon as possible," he thought, reaching into his pocket to pull out a small piece of paper.

He’d received it while talking to Harry that afternoon.

He opened it and, just like the first time he’d read it, frowned.

-Student Edward, I have good news for you. The King wishes to meet you.

-The 101st Regiment will finally become an Elite Group of the Armed Forces. Since you have distinguished yourself greatly, we would like to invite you to join.

-It is vitally important to mention that we are referring to the Elite Group of the Armed Forces and not the Academy’s 101st Regiment.

-Furthermore, your friends, Aurora and Arnold, can come too. We’ll give them several options to join.

-I look forward to meeting you soon.

-Owen.

The letter was unusually long for one from Owen, but it had his seal at the bottom. So it could only be his.

"Joining the 101st Regiment, which is now an Elite Unit of the Armed Forces, huh."

He couldn’t deny that it was too tempting—an offer that, if he turned down, he might regret for the rest of his life.

Besides, it was exactly the regiment he wanted to join, and now in a more professional environment, which meant more information and more knowledge.

In a world where information travels slowly and knowledge is scarce, joining that place was of vital importance.

’But first I have to go to this place.’ He said to himself, looking at a key in his hand.

[Key to the Desolate Temple.]

It had been his goal for a long time... now was the time to go.

"Ugh." He was suddenly interrupted when he felt something jolt inside him. His body staggered backward, but he managed to grab hold of the balcony railing.

"What the hell?" He clutched his heart and quickly tried to look inside his body. He felt the pain coming from within... Yet, before he’d even closed his eyes, a sense of calm spread through his body.

The pain vanished, and instead, something vibrated mysteriously within him.

It was something... familiar. Strange. Mysterious...

Profound.

Something...

Divine.

Without meaning to, he looked up at the sky, at the shining stars, and then at a horizon full of dangers. He didn’t know why, but his gaze was drawn to that horizon.

---

At the top of a Gothic-looking fortress, a rugged-looking man in fine clothing approached a young man who looked pale but alive.

The man wore an exquisite, finely tailored suit. A black frock coat with a stiff, high collar, crafted from deep matte black leather, had a martial cut and fit snugly across his torso. The front of the coat opened asymmetrically to reveal the gleaming crimson scabbard of his sword.

A wide crimson silk sash wraps diagonally around his waist and chest, matching the lining of his sword.

His rank is displayed on his left shoulder, where an intricate silver shoulder pad shaped like a phoenix wing with a central crimson crystal heart rests.

He is the General of the Crimson Phoenix, the most respected man in the service of the Fallen Prince of Varhat.

And the man standing before him... was the Fallen Prince of Varhat himself.

"My Lord Prince, it has been several weeks since you last stepped out to gaze at the night sky. Has something good happened?"

Both were dressed in similar colors, but while one resembled a general in the service of his master, the other was a handsome, elegant young man, dressed like royalty... but a fallen royalty.

The centerpiece of his attire is a unique asymmetrical garment. It begins on the left side next to a precisely tailored frock coat in matte black with a crimson lining, the edges of which are barely visible. But it falls toward the right side and dramatically transforms into a wide, powerful crimson cape, resembling the wing of a butterfly whose other wing has been cut off.

Despite being a prince, he has few adornments made of precious stones on his clothes. He doesn’t believe he needs them.

His own beauty and extraordinary aura are enough.

The prince smiled faintly. "Actually, it seems something good has happened." He gazed at the horizon before him.

The General followed his line of sight. ’Línnava? It seems the prince has learned the truth.’

"There’s a little one over there..." The prince spoke suddenly. "It’s small, but it shines brightly. It shines so brightly that it can outshine my own radiance. Though it seems it doesn’t yet understand who it is... Nor does it understand the world. I believe we are destined to meet."

"A little one, sir?" The Crimson Phoenix General frowned... He couldn’t see anything.

But the Fallen Prince of Varhat smiled.

Suddenly, something strange emerged from his body, glowing softly. It looked like a seed.

"Soon you will mature, little one. Soon we will reign over these lands." He murmured quietly. His appearance shone in the night, with a... divine intensity.

---