The night sky was gradually brightening as the first rays of dawn emerged. An orange glow spread from behind the mountains, bringing the green canopy of trees to life. Birds began chirping overhead while the cold breeze of the night gave way to the refreshing morning air. A sense of vitality washed over the waking world as clouds drifted with the wind. Flocks of birds flew freely across the horizon, each journeying toward its own purpose, searching for something to gain.
High in the air, Dhyan floated with Nitya and Vidyut in his arms, one hand secured around each of their waists. Both of them were unconscious.
Sunlight bathed his figure as its warmth spread across the land. A dark bruise had formed around his left eye, and a clean slash across his chest had torn through his clothes, blood trickling from the wound. Below, Kant lay unconscious in the arms of someone within the Knight Colony crowd. The onlookers stared in awe, their eyes wide with shock and disbelief. They stood frozen, as though they had just witnessed something beyond the limits of their imagination.
Nitya and Vidyut's masks had been removed, revealing their youthful faces to everyone. They looked like mere children. The crowd struggled to process the sight. They repeatedly tried to imagine whether they could defeat these two even if they joined forces, yet they couldn't reach an answer. After all, they had just watched the battle between Dhyan and those children.
Dhyan was the renowned Perfect-Knight of the Knight Colony—a man without a single flaw. Yet he had been punched by a girl and slashed by a boy. As the Perfect-Knight, he had never made a mistake or failed a mission. Whenever someone questioned or challenged him, he would seize the opportunity to gain new knowledge. No one had ever seen a single scratch on his body, let alone a look of defeat.
But today, they had witnessed it all: defeat, failure, and a flicker of fear in his eyes. They had even seen him direct his anger toward children who were half his age or younger. The crowd broke into a cold sweat as a troubling realization settled over them. A terrifying new generation of Pursuers had emerged, and the rank-and-file knights were far too weak to fathom the danger they represented. Worse still, these young Pursuers were utterly reckless, possessing no sense of restraint or awareness of their own limits.
"It finally ended. I was almost beginning to fear that they might actually win against Lord Dhyan," one of the Knight Colony members whispered. Watching the outcome he had banked on from the beginning, he let out a nervous laugh. "Ah, hah... What a relief. As always, Lord Dhyan has emerged victorious. And with ease, he's added another achievement to his record by overcoming a new variable like a Pursuer. Hahahaha! I was sweating, thinking there might actually be a chance they could win. Haha, thank goodness that didn't happen." Despite his laughter, disbelief lingered in his trembling eyes, and he had to take a deep, shaky breath just to finish speaking.
"Hehe, Moksh. I never even imagined I'd see Lord Dhyan lose to anyone other than our Knight Lord," another voice replied almost immediately.
She stood beside Moksh, her gaze fixed on Lord Dhyan. Her head was held high and pride was written all over her face, though she kept blinking rapidly. Moksh understood the meaning behind the tic. He knew her too well, especially since she was his rival. From the way her eyelids fluttered, he could tell she was lying through her teeth. However, he chose not to call her out. Instead, he simply turned his gaze back toward Lord Dhyan.
"Moksh, Rita. Come here!"
Dhyan had overheard their conversation. Ignoring the weakness he had displayed in front of his subordinates, he called out to the pair.
A bitter taste lingered in his mouth as he thought back to his clash with these children. He could have ended the fight much earlier, yet he had allowed them to push him to his limits. He had wasted too much focus trying to track the girl who had awakened earlier. Wanting to locate her and capture her as well, he had planted a trace of his Essence on Diya, intending to use her perspective to find the girl.
However, Diya had sensed his Essence and forcibly discarded it. The backlash had caught him off guard, and Nitya and Vidyut had seized that exact fraction of a second to strike.
As he recalled the blunder, his jaw tightened, and his fingers dug more firmly into the waists of the two unconscious children. Part of him wanted to kill them both with his bare hands. Yet he couldn't bring himself to waste their value. Vidyut had demonstrated a power that even Dhyan desired, and while the girl still had much to learn, she already possessed the raw potential to overpower anyone relying on brute strength—even someone like Moksh.
"Yes, Master," Rita and Moksh replied in unison, arriving before him.
Dhyan scanned the two of them. With a single glance, he could tell they were burning with curiosity, eager to hear what he had to say. Internally, he felt a flicker of relief that their own younger generation possessed ambition. They only needed to be pushed hard enough to break through their final limits.
"Here, take them. Let's depart. We have a lot to discuss regarding your training and progression."
He handed Vidyut over to Rita and Nitya to Moksh.
"Inform everyone that they have ten minutes to rest before we leave. The mission is complete, just as the Knight Lord foresaw."
"YES, MASTER!"
"Good. Go."
Although sunlight had reached the streets outside the narrow alley, only a faint reflection managed to filter inside. The passage remained dim, its corners shrouded in deep shadow. Two large trash bins sat against the brickwork. Rats squeezed through the gaps, tilting their heads from side to side as their beady black eyes scanned the gloom. They rummaged through the refuse, snatching whatever was edible before retreating deep into the bins.
Suddenly, crisp footsteps echoed down the alley. The rats scattered at once, vanishing into the darkness, while stray dogs nearby began barking furiously at the intruder.
SQUEAK! BARK!
Vivek was still conscious, slumped on the ground between the two trash bins with his arms limp at his sides and his back propped against the wall. Hearing the approaching footsteps and the barking dogs, he sluggishly lifted his head. The moment he recognized the figure walking toward him, his bruised face darkened with despair. His heart hammered against his ribs, and he frantically tried to duck his head to hide himself.
It was no use. The color drained from his face, and his entire body trembled under the weight of her arrival.
Why is Master here? What happened back there? Did she come looking for me? Vivek shook his head inwardly. No, it's impossible for her to have come all this way just for me. Then what am I missing? And how am I supposed to escape her wrath? What if she catches an inkling that the Pursuer vanished right in front of me, and I couldn't even uncover a single clue?
Vivek's racing thoughts froze as her shadow fell over him. He clamped his trembling lips shut, keeping his forehead pressed low toward the ground.
"Vivek, you have failed me again."
Diya's cold voice echoed off the narrow walls.
She could already piece together what had happened. Vivek had lost the confrontation, just as she had feared. She had abruptly lost track of the Pursuer's trail, but she vividly remembered those red, dot-like eyes. Even now, the memory of that terrifying presence put her on guard, especially when she recalled how a single strike from that monster had taken down Sneha. Diya had initially assumed Vivek could handle the girl with the crimson eyes. However, upon realizing that the individual was also a Pursuer, a chilling thought had struck her: Vivek would be killed if she arrived too late.
Because of that, she had struck a hasty deal with Dhyan and rushed to intercept Vivek. Yet Dhyan's prying presence had clung to her through his Essence, forcing her to waste precious time purging it and delaying her arrival.
Just thinking about that mysterious girl made Diya's skin crawl with fury. Those red, dot-like eyes had dared to lay a hand on her precious disciple. Her rage blazed outward, unleashing an suffocating wave of pressure that pinned Vivek to the ground.
"I'm... so...rr...y," Vivek choked out, drenched in cold sweat as fresh blood began trickling from his eyes, nose, and ears.
Oh, my poor disciple. You're bleeding so badly. I'll kill them—all those bastards who dared to do this to my disciple. Her protective rage intensified with every passing second, completely oblivious to the fact that her own unrestrained presence was what was currently crushing him.
"You are a disappointment," Diya said flatly. She turned and slowly began walking out of the alley before adding over her shoulder, "Follow me."
Not the slightest trace of sympathy showed on her face. Vivek stared at her retreating back, completely paralyzed. He couldn't even muster the strength to get to his knees; the ambient pressure radiating from her body was actively crushing his internal organs. He was barely clinging to life by frantically circulating the last dregs of his Essence.