Winter and darkness were the unchanging tones of Spruce Forest. Several black birds flitted through the trees, and night had already fallen.
Mutilated chunks of corpses littered the ground. Only a figure wearing a black mask moved among them.
Blood dripped from beneath his mask, accompanied now and then by the sound of flesh being chewed.
At last, its footsteps stopped. It stood motionless, but its mouth began to speak—in the language of the Star Empire.
"Mm, not bad. This is the flavor I wanted, but something is still missing. Oh, right—the boy from the Archmond family."
Its previously closed eyes opened, revealing a pair of blue eyes.
"Boy of Archmond, why have you appeared here? Now you can't escape either. Heh heh—"
The blue-eyed man let out several strange laughs. With a withered hand, he peeled the black mask clinging to his face away, revealing an extremely familiar face.
A dark complexion, scarred features, and unruly, wildly tousled hair.
Without a doubt, if the elite knight Darwin had been present, he would certainly have recognized him, because this was someone he remembered down to his bones!
That was right—this man was Dark, leader of that band of barbarians!
Only, his eyes were now blue rather than the brown of a barbarian.
"This face is quite nice. Poor Dark, let me fulfill your mission for you."
The blue-eyed man curled his lips into a smile. He gently closed his eyes, then slowly opened them again.
The blue had already vanished from his eyes, replaced by those brown irises—though they now carried a hint of gloom.
"Aurelian, I look forward to our next meeting. I'll definitely give you a surprise."
His body slowly vanished into the darkness.
Aurelian looked somewhat disheveled. He stepped back, narrowly evading the golden magic power