Saturday morning. Dark Town District.
The main street felt quieter and more tense. Residents who were out walked quickly with their heads down, not daring to make eye contact. On every street corner, a new bounty poster, a crude sketch of a plain white mask was tacked to walls and posts. The name "Starfall" and the "Five Hundred Gold Coins" reward were the main topic of every conversation.
The tournament was rumored to be postponed until the situation became stable.
Several small groups wearing all-white clothing and some city guards began to patrol the city. They moved in formation, their gazes watching every alley. Some guards were even seen entering residents’ homes. On the other hand, adventurers and bounty hunters also roamed in small groups, searching for "Starfall."
Near the ruins of the "Cracked Skull" tavern, a group of City Guards was conducting an investigation. A simple yellow ribbon was strung up in front of the shattered doorway. They examined the stiff corpses still lying inside, noting every detail on the floor, which was sticky with dried blood. The faint, metallic smell of old blood still hung in the air.
"All of them were killed by thrusts from below. Traces of shadow magic. Very strong," one of the guards said to his captain.
"Do you think this was the Starfall guy?" the captain replied, taking notes.
The guard shook his head. "Can’t be sure. The report from the alley massacre last night said Starfall used a sword. This... is different."
The captain nodded. "Well, at least the situation is a little safer now."
"Safer?" another guard asked,.
"Martis’s men are here, and rumor is he sent backup to find Starfall," the captain replied. He then pointed to a group of men in neat white clothes with white cloaks behind him. "Look, they’ve arrived."
The guard glanced over, staring at the white-clad group for a few seconds, and let out a sigh of relief. "Well... thank goodness for that."
...
At Kail’s office.
The room now felt cold and empty. Lieutenant Vargo now in command stood with his back to the door. He wasn’t looking at the map. He was staring at a large, blackened bloodstain on the floor, right where Kail had died. The sharp smell of cleaning chemicals mixed with the faint, lingering metallic odor.
The door creaked open.
"Boss!" A man from Kail’s gang ran in, out of breath.
Vargo didn’t turn. "Any reports on Starfall?!" he asked, his voice heavy.
"N-no, Boss." The man sounded nervous. "Martis and the city officials arrived this morning. They’re patrolling the whole city. They say they’re ’helping’."
Vargo turned. His face was hard and filled with anger. "Helping." He snorted. "They’re here to take over, not to help. Now those corrupt guards dare to step into our territory as they please."
He walked to the large map of Dark Town tacked to the wall. It was covered in red ink marks, noting the areas that had been searched. "So what about Starfall? Any info on him?"
"Nothing so far, Boss," the man answered. "He’s vanished. No one has seen a purple-haired man or a white mask since last night. Our people have combed the slums and the sewers, but there’s no trace."
"But..." the man continued, "about the murder at the bar... the guards have inspected it. They say it was shadow magic. Twenty people dead. Stabbed from their own shadows."
Vargo slammed his fist on the wooden table next to him.
THUD!
Dust flew from the surface. "FUCK!" he growled. "The situation is getting more complicated!"
"Do you think... it was Starfall, Boss?" the man asked, his face pale.
"No... Starfall isn’t an assassin," Vargo said, his eyes narrowing. "And that makes things... advantageous for him."
The man hesitated for a moment. "What should we do, Boss?"
Vargo walked closer. He looked at his man and said, "Our focus is STARFALL. Ignore the killer at the bar."
He roughly unclenched his fist. "Now, get back to the streets. Tell the others. Double the patrols. Remind them about the five hundred gold coins. But also tell them... if they see anything related to shadows... they are to run and report to me. It’s not their job to fight it."
In a narrow alley.
Two adventurers were walking casually, holding a Starfall bounty poster. One was a black-haired woman in tight, all-brown leather. The other was a man with messy green hair.
"Let’s go home, Leo. We’ve been walking around all this time and haven’t found him," the woman said.
The man named Leo chuckled. "Giving up so soon, Alyla? Five hundred gold coins, you know. That’ll be enough for us to get married."
Alyla sighed. Her face looked a little worried. "I’m not sure about this."
Leo raised his eyebrows. "Worried about what?"
"Didn’t you hear? The murders at the bar yesterday? What if that was also Starfall? Can we even beat him?" Alyla said, her eyes looking at the ground.
Leo sighed and gently stroked Alyla’s head. "Don’t worry. From the info I got, he’s just an adventurer below level 30. He’s not that scary. We’re a Kinetis and Hunter pair. We’ll be fine!"
Leo then smiled. "If you ask me, this is the easiest way to get 500 coins."
Alyla softened a little as Leo stroked her hair. She muttered to herself, "You... don’t know that..."
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
The sound of footsteps was heard ahead of them.
"Leo! In front!" Alyla said, her eyes focused forward.
Leo, who was relaxed just a moment ago, now showed a serious expression. He gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist and warily looked ahead.
From the end of the alley, a figure walked calmly toward them. He wore the same long black coat described on the poster. His face was covered by the same plain white mask. The hood of his cloak covered his hair, hiding its color.
Alyla’s pupils constricted. Her hands spread wide, and a faint white kinetic energy began to vibrate around them. "Leo... it’s... it’s him..."
Leo tried to calm himself by controlling his breathing. "Yeah... that’s Starfall."
Alyla quickly moved both hands and pointed at the figure.
SHRAK! SHRAK! SHRAK!
Fist-sized sharp rocks shot out from the alley walls, tearing through the air, aimed directly at the white-masked figure’s chest.
The figure stopped walking.
Just before the rocks hit him, three sharp shadow spikes erupted from his own shadow on the ground and shattered all three rocks in mid-air. Rock dust fell at his feet.
Alyla’s eyes widened. "W-what?!"
At the same time, Leo had already reached the figure. "Fire!" he muttered. His sword was instantly enveloped in a burning aura of fire, emitting intense heat. He swung his sword horizontally, aiming for his opponent’s neck.
The masked figure raised one hand. A thin shadow tentacle shot out from his sleeve and touched the flaming blade. He then pulled the sword from Leo’s grip and threw it behind him.
Leo froze in shock. He jumped back slightly.
"LEO, WATCH OUT!" Alyla shouted. She thrust both hands forward. All the trash in the alley, rotten wooden crates, empty metal barrels, loose stones lifted into the air. She created a storm of debris and shot it at the masked man.
The man snapped his fingers.
Click!
Shadow tentacles emerged from the ground and instantly slashed through all the stones and debris flying at him, reducing them to fragments.
"Impossible..." Alyla whispered, her body beginning to tremble. She looked at Leo. "Leo, run! We can’t be—"
SST!
The masked figure vanished from where he stood, melting into the shadows on the ground.
"Damn it!" Alyla looked left and right, searching for the figure in the alley’s shadows.
"Thank you."
A calm voice whispered.
Leo, who was just about to turn, froze. The masked figure was now standing right behind him.
Before Alyla could even scream,
SHUNK!
the masked man thrust his hand now encased in pitch-black shadow energy into Leo’s back.
Blood immediately splattered onto the floor.
"Guhk..." Leo looked down at the dark hand protruding from his chest. Fresh blood began to pour from his mouth. He looked at Alyla with eyes full of shock. "R... ru... run..."
His entire body went limp, and he collapsed forward, unconscious.
"LEO!" Alyla shrieked.
The figure pulled his hand back.
Alyla’s face was wet with tears, but her eyes were now filled with hatred. "I’LL KILL YOU!"
She leaped, her hands outstretched, preparing to use all her strength to crush the man.
But she never got the chance.
The shadow beneath Alyla’s own feet suddenly came to life. It rose up, forming dozens of pitch-black tentacles that instantly wrapped around her legs, arms, and torso. In a second, Alyla was bound in mid-air, unable to move.
The masked man walked slowly toward her. He stood directly in front of Alyla’s tear-streaked, enraged face.
"This isn’t your fault," he whispered.
He raised one finger, and a sharp shadow spike formed at its tip. He aimed the spike at Alyla’s forehead.
"NO! DON’T!"
The spike entered her forehead. The light left Alyla’s eyes. Her body went limp.
The shadow tentacles released their grip, letting Alyla’s corpse fall to the ground next to Leo’s.
The masked man stared at the two bodies for a moment. He then turned and walked calmly out of the narrow alley.