Chapter 1: The Arrival of Darkness

A golden-crowned Solazan eagle pierced through the thick cumulus clouds, riding the wind and snow straight to the City of Black Iron, Thors. As it descended into a dark alley, it flapped its wings, releasing hundreds of ink-green lights of varying sizes that fluttered like threads in the wind. With the fluttering of its wings, it landed as an old man with silver hair and beard.

Pulling his hood low to cover his entire face, the old man with silver beard crossed his hands and shoved them into his wide sleeves, slowly exhaling white breath. With slightly unsteady steps, he stepped out of the alley and headed toward the direction where voices were loud.

The sky was overcast, and the falling snow added to the chill. The air seemed to carry the moist and icy scent from the Storm Sea, over a hundred kilometers away. This winter in the Year of Frost seemed especially cold.

Yet, in the Black Iron Square at the heart of Thors City, something was boiling—people’s passions.
“Hang it!”
“Burn this damned werewolf!”
“Behead it and hang its head on a pole!”
“Damnation to the degenerates!”……

The target of everyone’s anger and curses was a young prisoner—a werewolf with purplish-red blood. His name was Nio.

More than a basket’s worth of physical evidence had been presented, along with four witnesses. The judge, with neatly trimmed mustaches and dressed in a black velvet uniform, announced loudly through a microphone Nio’s final, most serious crime: “The greatest crime committed by a slave gladiator of the Manmoris family: treason!……”

Ungrateful and repaying kindness with evil. Treasons are unforgivable!

This was the supreme law of the Aemera world, originating from the legend of Lucifer, once a radiant being, who betrayed and rebelled against the true gods.

If convicted of this crime, death was inevitable—no exceptions! And at this point, there was no sign that Nio had any chance to refute these accusations.

A woman in her forties rushed out of the crowd, pushing aside the military officers maintaining order. She rushed at Nio. Despite the two officers trying to stop her, she disregarded propriety and started tearing and kicking at Nio, screaming, “You damned devil! Give me my son back! Give me my son back……”

Bloodstains from her fingernails marked Nio’s face and chest. He looked at her calmly. He clearly remembered that among the charges of “dark corruption” leveled against him was the brutal murder of a 14-year-old boy. This woman was that boy’s only relative and the main witness to the crime.

But the problem was that on the so-called night of the murder, he was still at the Tures Estate, over 70 miles away from Thors City……

In Nio’s sky-blue eyes, there was no anger or resentment—only a distorted, monstrous reflection of the woman herself. Nio didn’t hate this woman who gave false testimony; she was just a tool. What concerned him more was the one who used that tool, because even now, Nio couldn’t figure out who hated him so much as to want him dead and humiliated before dying.

Nio’s clean and calm gaze made the middle-aged woman feel even more ashamed, her mind in turmoil mixed with embarrassment and anger. At the last moment before being pulled away by the guards, she spat a thick stream of saliva onto Nio’s face.

To the north of the square, on a makeshift platform, Viscount Ederit wore his usual poker face, his expression as stern as ever. Only those who knew him well could tell from the glimmer in his eyes that he was in a good mood, even a bit proud.

“The public trial will be a success. That mad act by this woman who lost her son is nothing short of genius. Good work, Will…”, Viscount Ederit thought to himself. He didn’t care whether the person executed was a werewolf or a human, a slave or a free man, innocent or guilty. What mattered to him was that the crime met the requirements and the political significance behind the trial. On a broader scale, what Ederit cared about was his position of power—losing a few people was nothing to worry about in order to maintain it.

Of course, there were those who did care, like Will, who worked tirelessly for Viscount Ederit. Although he was one of the viscount’s most trusted men and even received polite treatment from the baron himself, Will was still just a deacon and didn’t yet have the status to stand close to the viscount in public.

Perhaps due to his younger age, Will still had some warmth in his heart. He sighed softly and said to the noble lady beside him, “Actually, I quite enjoy watching these swordsmen compete. It’s a shame…”

The noble lady, in her rebellious phase, had boredom clearly written on her face. Rather than watching such a dull and bloody political ceremony or listening to hypocritical and pretentious words, she preferred to steal glances at the airships slowly approaching beneath the dark clouds. These new inventions that had appeared only last year seemed strange and interesting to her.

“Huh? Are the airships laying eggs?” the noble lady muttered.

“Huh? What did you say, Miss Bertha?” Will was confused. But the next moment, he understood what was happening and stood there frozen, his mouth wide open in disbelief and terror.

The airships were indeed laying eggs—or, more accurately, releasing war eggs.

War eggs! A type of airborne troops unique to the enemies of life, the inhabitants of hell—the demons!

These war eggs resembled magnified castor beans, dark green in color, covered in sharp spines, weighing over 700 pounds. When they fell from the sky, they were as powerful as hammer blows from titans.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Destruction slowly unfolded amidst thunderous explosions that shook the very soul.

In the next moment, explosions, sirens, and cries of pain filled the Black Iron Square. Hesitant figures, running figures, and those shoving and trampling each other formed a cruel tableau. Dignity was gone; the end of the world had arrived.

At that moment, Neo was being escorted by two burly military police to the execution platform. Given the severity of his crimes, he didn’t even deserve the punishment of hanging. As some fanatical crowds shouted, his head would be cut off and displayed on a pole for 10 days as a warning to others. Neo wasn’t willing to be killed so easily; even aside from the important factor of being wrongfully accused, he would never surrender to his fate. Initially, he planned to use a certain move to break free before being tied to the platform and the heavy blade descended, but a war egg changed everything. Boom! The wooden stairs leading to the execution platform were completely destroyed, with wood shavings and broken stones flying everywhere. One small piece passed by Neo’s cheek, leaving a thin cut. The fall of the war egg was sudden, yet in that instant, Neo didn’t even blink. This wasn’t some innate ability or slow reaction—it was a skill acquired through rigorous training. The two military police escorting Neo didn’t possess Neo’s iron will. The war egg had fallen less than three meters away from them, and both instinctively covered their faces with their arms. As a result, they failed to see the cracks that instantly appeared on the war egg’s shell and the deep red light emanating from within. Just like the iron bombs created by the Dwarves of Dedan Zorith, the war egg exploded violently upon hitting the ground, turning its hard shell into sharp fragments that flew everywhere with great force. In the shockwave of the explosion, Neo and the two military police were flung backward several meters like thick pieces of paper in a gust of wind. The difference was that Neo was much better prepared. Just before the explosion, he managed to complete two crucial actions: 1) He dodged to the side, hiding behind one of the military police. Though it was only for a brief moment, it eliminated the greatest threat—only a fragment of the war egg’s shell passed by his leg, leaving a thin cut, which was negligible for Neo. 2) Taking advantage of the situation, before the shockwave spread, Neo rushed sideways and backward with all his strength. This move effectively reduced the damage caused by the shockwave compared to being flung around without any defense. Boom! Clang! Clang! After rolling several times after hitting the ground, the chains of his shackles collided with the hard, rough obsidian slabs, producing sharp noises. He quickly got up into a half-crouched position, then scrambled forward. His movements were seamless, swift, and effortless, as if he had already coordinated with the person who threw the war egg. “Battle Axe!” Neo reminded the two stunned military police as he fled. It was a grand political show today, and the two military police, unsurprisingly, were fully armored. Although they were hit by the explosion, it wasn’t easy for the war egg’s fragments to penetrate their “Solid Wall II” armor. Theoretically, as long as they weren’t extremely unlucky, their injuries wouldn’t be serious.

However, from a quick glance, the reactions of the two militiamen disappointed Neo greatly. One got up too slowly and then made what Neo considered an utterly foolish decision—drawing his crosssword from his waist to confront the “Black Butcher” emerging from the battle egg. His warning was meaningless. The other was even stupider, thinking he could escape by pretending to be dead, without realizing that with hellish creatures’ keen sense for life signs, such a trick would never work. As a result, the Black Butcher simply ignored his attack and severed his head with a massive flaming chain axe; the other was pierced through by the scorching tip of the axe moments later and nailed to the ground. The “Black Butcher” was the name given to the Obsidian Guards, the vanguard warriors of the hellish army—powerful, brutal, and intelligent. Unless they were Templar Knights or Temple Warriors from the Holy Light faction, even other level 5 professionals found it difficult to defeat these fiery black giants in a one-on-one fight. Just a few months earlier, Neo had witnessed a battle involving 10 level 3 warriors against one level 5 warrior, which left a deep impression on him. That fight was extremely brutal; although they won in the end, only two survived, both of whom were carried out of the arena. Neo lay in bed for two months, while the other was injured so badly that he was permanently barred from entering the arena. Since then, Neo had a clear understanding of the combat strength of level 5 warriors. Now, of course, he tried to stay as far away as possible—after all, the Black Butcher didn’t care whether it was a militiaman or a prisoner; anyone who was still breathing was a target. Yet, Neo’s plan to escape in the chaos proved quite difficult. Whoosh! The arrows were fast and sharp, piercing the stone slabs. Solis City was famous not only for its black iron ore but also for its powerful crossbows. With their double-string design, the archers were at least level 3 marksmen. If it had been just one archer, Neo might have had a chance to dodge, but with five archers targeting him, crossing the dozens of meters of open square under their aim was extremely difficult. Neo cursed in frustration. He didn’t understand why these archers kept focusing on him despite the situation. Dozens of arrows flew at him, forcing Neo to dodge desperately, eventually forcing him back near the execution platform. The entire square had only this area with some cover, giving Neo a brief respite. While catching his breath, Neo was relieved that the Black Butcher was distracted by the ecstatic screams of the noblewomen on the northern platform and hadn’t come after him. Then, a sharp sound cutting through the air came from above. “Another battle egg?” Neo didn’t even bother to look up. Taking a deep breath, he rushed forward. While dodging the arrows earlier, Neo had already noted the positions of the five archers. He thought to himself, “This time, I must get out of this square at all costs.” Boom! The entire execution platform exploded into pieces. A blade weighing over a hundred pounds whizzed past Neo’s head at less than 20 centimeters, flying another dozen meters before hitting the black stone slabs and sparking. If not for the shackles that forced him to crawl like an animal, that blade would have severed his waist.

Seven years of arena battles had long forged Neo with an iron will, so this flying scythe wasn’t enough to frighten him. He habitually glanced back, only to lose his composure the moment he saw it.

Black flames raged, burning everything around—including the floor—into ashes. At the heart of the flames, atop the three-headed dragon-headed hellbeast, a beautiful woman clad in dark golden armor radiating the light of a fallen god stared at Neo with sinister green eyes, a mocking smile on her face.

Neo’s heart plummeted. It wasn’t anything else but the appearance and aura of this newcomer. In the Age of Fallen Gods, such a being might have been considered nothing more than a common thug, but ten thousand years later, one could only find references to them in the epic histories of the Holy Church or in forbidden demonic texts locked away in high towers. A being of this rank, like those of the Holy Church, was already a legendary existence. Neo could easily imagine that crushing this person wouldn’t be any harder than crushing a bug.

“Hehe, descendant of slaves.”

The demoness’s voice wasn’t loud, yet to Neo, it sounded like a whisper coming from the depths of his soul, right beside his ear.

This ancient and obscure language of hell, inherently imbued with great magical power, awakened the demonic imprint deep within Neo’s bloodline, making him feel his blood boil, his life burn, and an overwhelming desire to drink blood to quench his thirst.

“Bloodthirsty fury… No! Dark wolves are not demonic beasts, nor are they loyal dogs to any being or faction!” Neo knew that if he didn’t stop it, he would completely lose himself and become a brutal magical beast, unable to regain his sanity—a fate worse than death in his eyes.

His cheeks bulged forward, fangs and claws appeared rapidly, and his fur grew wild…

“Hah, howl…”

As his race transformed, Neo took on his wolf form while running.

Bang! Bang! After a brief, agonizing groan, the black iron shackles were finally broken.

“Doggy, come here,” the demoness called out to Neo with a smile. “Hm?”

After taking on his true form, Neo wasn’t surrounded by a violent red light like solidified blood. Instead, silver-blue light like moonlight shone at the tips of his fur, and his eyes were not wild red but a cold, frosty color.

“Interesting.” With a wave of her hand, a skull wrapped in green poison light and black smoke appeared in midair and flew toward Neo, roaring. No matter how hard Neo tried to dodge by twisting and darting while running, he couldn’t avoid it. It struck him, bursting into a wave of evil flames that shot skyward. The surrounding floor was corroded by the green light, creaking as it rotted into pits.

Neo fell to the ground, lifeless.

Yet, the next moment, he suddenly sprang up and ran away again.

“Hm?” A hint of surprise flashed in the demoness’s eyes. This time, Neo’s behavior was truly unexpected. To resist the influence of the ‘Curse of Evil Souls’ was something few monks below the rank of bishops in the Holy Church could do. Now, such an exception was happening to a wolf with a demonic imprint already awakened in his bloodline—it was simply unbelievable.

Sssss!

At that moment, three beams of holy light shot toward her. The intense power of that holy light caused pain in the Demon Princess’s skin even from a distance.
“Hmph!” With a slight snort, three beams of dark light were fired, colliding with the holy light beams. The black and white light spots resembled sparks scattering across the sky, blazing brilliantly.
Ahowl… The Hellbeast trembled violently, almost toppling the Demon Princess. It turned out that behind the holy light beams were two shadow arrows, infused with the spells “Holy Light Ignition” and “Holy Light Explosion,” which allowed them to break through the Black Flame Barrier. One of the shadow arrows was shot down by the Demon Princess, but the other hit its target, creating a blood hole the size of a bowl on the side of the Hellbeast’s neck, with molten blood spraying everywhere.
Having suffered a setback, the Demon Princess, filled with anger, shifted her attention to the one who had fired the arrows. Yet she wasn’t about to let go so easily of that dog that had surprised her. Raising her hand, she cast two more curses of evil souls. The two soldiers killed by the Black Butcher revived in an unholy flame, then let out painful grunting sounds as they crawled on all fours and chased Neo like wild beasts.
“You wretched children of holy light…” The Demon Princess effortlessly shot down several more holy light beams, then fired a beam of evil light at the wounded area of the Hellbeast, causing its flesh to grow rapidly as the wound healed at a visible speed.
Meanwhile, atop the spire from which the arrows came, two figures wrapped in golden light flew out and headed deeper into the academy. This spire was part of the Glory Academy itself, located to the northwest of the Black Iron Square. These two archers had been ordered to distract the Demon Princess so that the important figures on the platform to the northeast, in Sol’s City, could evacuate more quickly. But who would have thought that Neo, cursed by evil souls, could survive and inadvertently save himself?
A glint of darkness flashed in the Demon Princess’s eyes as she watched the two figures fade into the distance. Her innate skill, the Eye of Curses, meant that none of those she targeted had ever escaped before. “Killing them too quickly isn’t fun…”