Wooosh.

A chill breeze slipped in through the slightly ajar window. Though it was a common winter wind, Logan sensed a subtle movement within it and called out sharply, “They’re coming!”

Just as Eileen nodded with a suspicious look, two shadow-coated daggers appeared abruptly above her head. Eileen’s eyes widened.

Clang!

Logan’s aura flicked out as golden lines and deflected the daggers, and the presence of the assailants vanished without a trace once more. It was an invisibility skill that was hard to believe even while witnessing it.

“Sense them when they attack! Extend your senses to their limit!”

Despite his attempt to remain calm, Logan was just as flustered. *Certainly, they seemed to be of Forceblade level… to withstand the aura?*

Normally, those struck by such powerful aura would be thrashed internally and unable to move effectively, yet somehow these assailants retained their invisibility and mobility. For the moment, Logan could only speculate that their shadowy Forceblades might contain some special magic or arcane secrets.

But there was something more disturbing on his mind. *Why hasn’t Victor…?* Was this some kind of ghost’s attack? Instead of the traditional guards, they had alternated two of the highest-ranking knights, Victor and Jorge, to stand guard. If these were really ghosts as suspected, then any knight less than the highest ranking would be of no help.

Yet even with the current commotion, Victor’s response was unusually delayed. *Could he have already been taken down?*

A bad premonition clenched Logan’s teeth just as daggers sprung forth again around him.

Boom!

Snapping back to his senses, Logan moved to deflect the attack, but Eileen’s cherished sword Frigus struck the daggers down first.

Although successful in deflecting, Eileen’s expression was not good. “They’re strong.”

It seemed it was not just a simple trick that repelled the aura.

For Eileen, who stood at the pinnacle of the highest ranking and glimpsed beyond the realm of superhumans, to be rattled after merely repelling the attack of two assailants was telling – and furthermore…

*The invisible bastards are also quick.*

Despite feeling their presence, there was nothing to see or hear.

Whether it was magic or some skill using the Force, it was definitely a formidable ability to blur vision. The rumor from a past life that they had killed a superhuman suddenly seemed plausible.

But,

*I just need to use more power.*

Concentrating, Logan’s sensory field expanded beyond the radius of the bedroom, covering about thirty meters in every direction. It was a sensory zone far wider and stranger than what his teacher had been astonished by, although not matching the extent of his maximized sensory realm trained during sleep.

And that’s when he finally sensed Victor lurking outside the bedroom.

It was a relief that Victor hadn’t been taken down yet, but…

*With all this chaos, this son of a… Ah?!*

As a hunch struck him, thin golden lines hit the bedroom wall. The transparent wall that had been enveloping the room cracked, leaving only blue streaks and letting the sound of crickets drift in from outside.

“Hurry!”

Amid the silent enemies, a firm voice broke out.

“Your Majesty!”

Together with the voice, Victor burst into the room, brandishing a gray-colored Forceblade, shattering the door.

“You’re late, you fool! They were attacking in that moment!”

Caught off guard, Victor hesitated, but as a black dagger appeared behind him, slicing through his armor, his eyes snapped alert and he began to move.

‘Victor gets two, Eileen three. The rest are all mine.’

To anyone else, even a superhuman, the enemies would have been an overwhelming match. But not for Logan, who had grasped every movement of the assailants.

Flash.

Slice.

Swooosh.

Logan’s aurablade shot out, reaching the enemy precisely.

Again, another attacker—or rather, a corpse—appeared, floating in mid-air. The enemies didn’t scream, but their movements grew more frantic.

‘Good, they’re full of openings.’

Logan’s golden aura, snaking like a serpent, started to “produce” corpses one after another.

The enemy wouldn’t go down easily though. From all directions, black daggers burst forth.

*Ugh!?*

Alongside them, an alien energy suddenly poured over Logan, beginning to bind him.

It was an unexpected and powerful magic. Even if only for a moment, it was enough to halt Logan’s movements.

In that instant, from the black daggers, shadowy Forceblades extended, piercing towards Logan.

Kwaaang!

“Huh!?”

From amid the attackers who hadn’t even let out a whimper, a short gasp burst forth as their blades aimed for a direct hit. At the last moment, Logan’s golden aurablade, like a whip, enshrouded his entire body without leaving any gaps.

Five assassins, their invisibility broken, staggered and were revealed, struck by the clash with the aura—a typical symptom for Force users colliding with aura.

Then Logan did not let them escape.

Flash.

Whoosh.

Crack.

His aurablade, zigzagging, pierced all five throats at once.

“Ga, gack…”

Before one could spew a fountain of blood, the ambiance in the room shifted starkly.

“Gasps!”

Eileen sensed the change instantly as the assaults from the three remaining unseen assassins ceased. The ominous killing intent that had dominated the space seemed significantly diminished.

Victor felt the same.

“Tch! Your Majesty! They’re escaping…”

While Eileen and Victor could perceive it as nothing more than a retreat, Logan felt differently.

“Not yet!!”

Within his sensory range, the remaining five, seemingly giving up all resistance, hurled themselves at him with abandon. To someone observing their desperate movements and the sudden drop in killing intent, it would seem like they were giving up and seeking death. But Logan remembered the act of the vanguard from a month ago.

Rustle.

Whoosh.

The reflexive aurablade immediately found the bodies of the five, forming a golden circle and diving in for the encirclement.

And before their bodies could swell up crimson with their last act…

“Begone!”

Logan’s roar accompanied their bodies being thrown out the window.

Rooooaaar!

Rrrrrumble.

The explosion above, caused by multiple assailants detonating simultaneously, was enough to visibly shake the castle with its tremors.

Witnessing the havoc, Eileen, her face white, grabbed Logan’s garment with trembling hands.

“By the heavens. These madmen…”

“Don’t worry. We’ve dealt with them all now, and in the future…”

Logan, too, eased his stiff expression and sighed in relief.

“These really are like ghosts… Ah, I apologize.”

As the king and queen consoled each other, Victor looked on blankly, belatedly realizing they were only in their nightclothes, and coughed awkwardly as he turned away.

*Gasp!?*

Logan’s back tingled and he whipped around just in time to see a black dagger emerge from thin air.

It was an ambush striking precisely when they had let their guard down after defeating the initial attackers – an eerie attack from an assailant whose presence even Logan’s keen senses could not detect.

‘ORRA!’

Instinctively, Logan activated the time acceleration of his aurablade Lux, and as his awareness and tension surged to extremes due to his heightened state, time seemed to crawl by. His burgeoning sense of peril triggered a skill.

Between the seven cores of Force in his heart, an eighth erupted, further elevating his consciousness and amplifying his power.

This time, however, that was a mistake.

The abnormally accelerated mind and the surge of power failed to synchronize perfectly, even if just for the briefest of moments, and the aurablade that should have naturally extended to intercept the enemy hesitated.

As his blade sought the foe anew in that brief lapse, it became clear: if this continued, he might survive, but his wife, Eileen, would certainly not.

‘NO!!!!’

Just as a premonition of despair twisted Logan’s features, Eileen, her eyes wide, also noticed the black dagger reflected in her husband’s burning red gaze.

She had just been on the verge of death from an attack that skirted the boundary of life and death.

Her nerves, which were relaxing in relief, tensed up in an instant, but her innate prowess had realized all too quickly that it was too late to reverse the predicament.

‘NO!’

Flashes of memories sped by her in the moment she sensed impending doom.

Some recall their entire lives, others their dearest memories at the brink — absurdly, she remembered something that had wounded her pride not long ago.

– Are you worried about me now? Me, the symbol of the MacLaine’s female warriors and the very first female chief knight? Don’t worry, I won’t be a burden to you!

She would have had their first major argument since marriage, had her husband not apologized immediately then.

The potential threat of lurking assassins was irrelevant. Becoming her husband’s weakness was a humiliation she could not accept.

From a young age, she aspired not just to be another noble lady but a knight, driven primarily by her talents but also by her resentment against Grandia’s stereotype of women as obedient and supportive only.

Though ridiculed endlessly until meeting Logan, her perseverance saw her through to this point.

Even if she became queen by some twist of fate, her mindset remained the same.

But this was the end? Dying as her beloved’s weakness?

– Absolutely not!

She refused to die in such a disgraceful manner.

That determination uplifted her latent potential. She reached beyond the wall she had endlessly refined and sought to scale as a chief knight.

– Remembering the beliefs and objectives of her martial path…

She still didn’t fully grasp the concept of ‘Trait Design’ that her husband had mentioned, but in this moment, she knew precisely what she wanted for herself and as a knight.

Unified mind and body breathed life into her creed and goals.

Unyielding.

Undeterred.

Not to become a weakness for a loved one.

And ultimately…

– To stand independently and unassailable.

In the moment her blue eyes gleamed, a red Force turned into a radiant aura that transformed her physique instantly, materializing externally and entwining around her.

A slender barrier of red aura turned into dozens of layers of defense, forming a bulwark like a stalwart fortress.

This was the first emergence of ‘Invincible Citadel,’ a trait synonymous with the MacLaine’s first female superhuman and known to be the ultimate defensive ability for generations to come.

Clang!

With a cacophony of metallic sounds, the black aurablade assailing her was repelled.

Golden aura, bursting forth, rolled over to either side, eradicating the attacker without leaving a trace.

Boom boom boom.

“Ahh, that frightened me.”

As one side of the king’s bedroom lay in ruins, Logan exhaled a sigh of relief and firmly embraced his beloved.

…Though he soon stepped back with a sheepish smile, considering the overly sturdy barrier of red aura.

“I told you I wouldn’t get in the way,” Eileen said with an air of vindication.

Logan could only shake his head with a rueful laugh in response.

As the royal couple joyously smiled, relieved and safe…

“Your Majesty!”

This time, Victor, a step late, let out a yell akin to a scream before sheepishly grinning upon realizing everything had concluded.

* * *

The king had been ambushed.

Unlike the incident a month ago, this time the rumors couldn’t be concealed.

With the royal chambers blasted apart and over ten bodies discovered there, plus an official announcement that the king had suffered serious injuries from the ambush, the word spread.

– Among the assailants were aura users specialized in assassination.

– There’s only one faction we’re aware of capable of mobilizing such powered individuals.

Unbelievable though it was, the aftermath of the incident publicized by the MacLaine royal family sent shockwaves throughout the kingdom and beyond.

The unprotected detailed announcement stopped short of naming ‘that faction,’ but it was clear what implications were.

And among all those affected, it was undoubtedly someone in the Empire to the west who received the greatest shock.