Two full weeks drifted by in the capital, each one more disappointing than the last. The Imperial Guard scoured districts, Rufas interrogated officials, Luna watched rooftops until she nearly fell asleep standing, and even Viola pressured Senate contacts for confidential information. But despite all the effort, the result remained exactly the same. Nothing.

Not a single whisper of Verk. Not a trace of the Rodericks. Not even a suspicious fluctuation of mana anywhere in the Empire. It was as if both enemies had evaporated into thin air, leaving behind only the lingering sense that something enormous had slipped through everyone’s fingers.

By the end of the second week, the atmosphere in the Torvares estate had shifted. Viola’s patience was visibly thinning, one afternoon, she snapped a quill clean in half without noticing. Gaius spent his time punching the air in the stone training area, muttering about needing a real fight. Maurien carried himself with a quiet edge, clearly frustrated by the lack of leads. Kaela threatened to “accidentally” stab a senator just to see if something interesting would finally happen.

And Ludger? Ludger stood in the garden one evening and exhaled, a slow, resigned breath that carried more weight than words.

“…We’re going home.”

Maurien nodded without hesitation. “Best decision.”

Kaela stretched her arms, relieved. “Good. I was starting to go crazy.”

The recruits practically exploded with joy. They missed Lionfang. They missed their beds. They missed not having nobles and guards suspiciously watching them from every corner. Even Derrin, usually calm, fist-pumped the air.

Conveniently, Dalan and Linne were also preparing to return toward Coria, so their departure lined up perfectly. With the tunnels, the group could move quickly and stay out of sight. Everything fell neatly into place.

But Ludger had one major problem left. His parents. Specifically, Elaine. As Ludger sat outside his newly purchased shop, elbows on his knees, staring blankly at the street, the weight of that realization finally hit him. He had fought an advanced runic warrior with thrusters and self-repair systems. He had survived a mana blast strong enough to level a manor. He had crawled out of a crater with half his bones screaming.

But returning home to face Elaine? That, somehow, was worse. She had definitely heard things. Rumors traveled quickly. Merchants talked, informants whispered, and the Torvares family certainly shared updates back home. Elaine had been uncharacteristically absent during the entire mess, which made the situation even more ominous.

Ludger imagined her standing there with that calm, terrifying expression, the one that said “I’m not angry, but you will explain absolutely everything.”

He sighed deeply, rubbing his forehead.

“I’d rather fight Verk again.”

Taron, passing by with a box, clapped him on the shoulder. “We believe in you, Vice-Guildmaster.”

Rhea tried not to laugh. “We’ll pray for your survival.”

Mira offered sympathy with a grim nod. “May your bones remain intact.”

Kaela grinned from the doorway. “You’ll be fine. Probably.”

Maurien added, “She won’t kill you. She’ll just… teach you a lesson.”

Gaius, ever the optimist, rumbled, “At least it won’t be permanent damage.”

Ludger closed his eyes. He wasn’t convinced. But with the last paperwork handled, sculptures delivered, and supplies secured, there was nothing left to delay the inevitable. The capital arc had reached its end. It was time to return to Lionfang. And time to face Elaine’s wrath, which, even after fighting a runic juggernaut, still felt like the more dangerous enemy.

Dalan and Linne were the first to pack up. Their runic carriage hummed quietly beside the manor entrance, steam drifting lazily from its vents. The pair stood before the Lionsguard group with travel packs slung over their shoulders, clearly ready to return to the Velis side of the border and resume their normal lives of overworking and sleep deprivation.

Dalan gave a casual salute. “Well, this is where we part ways. We’ll send any information we find, but… uh… don’t expect too much.”

Linne nodded earnestly. “We aren’t good at gathering intelligence. We’re good at building things and blowing things up on purpose. Spy work isn’t our specialty.”

Kaela snorted. “At least you know your strengths.”

Maurien raised a hand in farewell. “We appreciate anything you can uncover.”

Ludger simply nodded. “Stay safe.”

“We should be telling you that,” Dalan muttered before climbing into the carriage.

“Don’t die,” Linne added helpfully.

The runic engine flared, wheels sparked, and the carriage rattled away down the capital street until it disappeared behind a corner, just two engineers returning to their chaotic lives.

With them gone, Ludger turned to the others. “Prepare your things. We leave soon.”

The group gathered supplies, secured crates, and did one last sweep of Viola’s estate for forgotten items. Within minutes, they were ready, packs strapped, weapons checked, mana stabilized.

As they stepped outside, they found Viola and Luna waiting by the gate.

Ludger raised an eyebrow. “You’re coming with us? Aren’t you supposed to be working in the capital?”

Viola lifted her chin. “I received a message from Grandfather this morning. He wants me back home immediately to resume my lessons.”

Ludger paused. “…The dancing lessons?”

A split second of silence.

Viola’s glare sharpened like a drawn blade. “Do not say anything funny.”

Ludger didn’t say anything. But his smirk said everything.

Viola’s eyebrow twitched. “Wipe that off your face.”

Kaela burst out laughing. Maurien hid a smile behind his hand. Luna exhaled softly, her equivalent of a giggle.

“I didn’t say anything,” Ludger said, still smirking.

“You were thinking it,” Viola snapped. “And that’s enough.”

Gaius rumbled from behind them. “Dancing lessons build footwork. Good for combat.”

Viola shot him a look of pure betrayal. “Not helping.”

Ludger raised his hands in surrender. “Let’s just go.”

With that, the group gathered together, Ludger in the lead, Viola and Luna joining the formation as naturally as if they had always been part of it. They stepped through the streets, toward the tunnel entrance Ludger had created beneath the capital.

Their time in the capital was over. Their next steps would lead home, and straight into the next storm waiting for them.

The return trip to Lionfang was, against all expectations, peaceful.

The tunnels that had once been carved through weeks of effort now carried them smoothly beneath towns and fields. The runic carriage hummed softly as it rolled over stone rails, the lanterns flickering warm light across the walls. After everything that happened in the capital—the tension, the sleepless nights, the political traps, it felt like the world had finally decided to give them a small reprieve.

Even Ludger admitted, in rare honesty, that the quiet was nice.

The group chatted lightly during breaks. Kaela hunted for snacks. Maurien meditated in the corner of the carriage. The recruits played cards with absurdly serious expressions. Even Gaius seemed less like an unmovable mountain and more like a relaxed old man… a very dangerous relaxed old man.

By the third night of travel, they knew they would reach Lionfang by noon the next day. Spirits were high, and the tension that had clung to them in the capital had finally begun to fade.

While everyone prepared to set up camp in one of the larger underground rest chambers Ludger had created months ago, Viola approached him with her arms crossed and her sword already at her hip.

“Ludger,” she called, voice firm.

He glanced up from tightening the straps of his travel bag. “Yeah?”

“It’s been a while since our last spar.” Viola glanced toward the cavern’s open central space, where smooth stone plates formed an impromptu training floor. “I want to test the limits of my flame overdrive. Come fight me.”

Ludger gave her a dry look. “You want to use me as a field test for your self-immolation practice. No.”

She lifted an eyebrow, a spark of challenge in her expression. “Scared?”

“Of being turned into a guinea pig?” Ludger replied flatly. “Yes.”

But despite his tone, he stood up anyway. The others watched with barely concealed excitement, nothing eased travel fatigue like watching Ludger get set on fire again.

With a resigned sigh, Ludger retrieved his armguards and tightened the buckles. The metal plates still bore faint scorch marks from their earlier encounters, but they fit around his forearms like old friends. He rolled his wrists, loosening his joints, then stepped outside the tunnels.

Viola unsheathed her favorite sword, a perfectly balanced, crimson-hued blade forged with fire-attuned steel. As she took her stance, small currents of heat rippled around her, distorting the air.

“Alright,” Ludger said, sliding into his own stance. “No killing blows.”

“No promises,” she answered.

Kaela cackled as she plopped down on a crate. “This is going to be good.”

Maurien quietly set up a wind barrier to protect too much noise from leaving the area. Gaius folded his arms, eager to watch. Luna perched silently on a nearby rock like a shadow. Ludger exhaled slowly.

Troubles awaited them back in Lionfang. Enemies still lurked in the dark. The Rodericks and Verk were out there somewhere, plotting. But right now, right here, he could afford this moment.

“Ready?” Viola asked, flames beginning to coil around her shoulders.

Ludger nodded once.

“Let’s go.”

Viola inhaled, and ignited. Her Overdrive flared to life in an instant, fire-attuned mana bursting outward in a sharp ring of heat. The light flickered as her mana crawled across her limbs like living veins, circling her shoulders, wrists, and blade. The crimson metal of her sword pulsed with molten brightness, flickers of orange dancing up and down the edge as if eager to taste impact.

Her grin widened, wild, confident, thrilled.

“Try not to melt, Ludger.”

He answered by centering himself. Water Overdrive.

A cool pulse rippled outward from his core, sliding across his skin like a second, liquid layer. His mana didn’t explode outward like hers, it condensed, wrapped tight, contained in a shimmering sheath of calm blue. The air around him shifted subtly, temperature dropping. Moisture from the air condensed into faint threads of mist that curled around his arms.

Where Viola looked like she might burn a hole through the world, Ludger looked like the world itself settled around him. He exhaled. She smirked. And then she moved.

Viola exploded forward with a burst of fiery detonation that cracked the stone under her feet. She crossed the entire area in a blink, blade igniting in a sweeping arc aimed straight for Ludger’s ribs. It was a strike loaded with power, enough to set his armguards smoking if he blocked recklessly. But Ludger didn’t block. He read her. Every shift of her shoulders. Every twitch of the blade. Every ripple of flame that betrayed her next motion.

Water-attuned mana sharpened his perception and movements, letting him see the flow of her stance like he was observing currents through glass. At the last instant, he stepped a few centimeters to the left. Not a leap. Not a dodge. Just a subtle turn of his hips as the sword passed so close to his ribs that he felt the heat kiss his skin.

Viola’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re not standing still this time.”

Ludger didn’t answer, he was already shifting again as she spun and slashed downward. He leaned just enough to let the blade carve a smoking line in the floor. Her mana guttered against stone, spraying sparks, but Ludger was already slipping past the edge of the strike. His footwork was tight, controlled, every movement wasting nothing.

Viola’s grin widened. “Good! Don’t make this boring!”

She stepped in again, faster, her Overdrive burning hotter. She struck with a rising diagonal slash, Ludger dipped under it. Another horizontal sweep, he pivoted around her wrist. A thrust aimed at his chest, he deflected it with only a slight turn of his arm, redirecting her momentum without fully parrying.

His movements weren’t explosive. They weren’t flashy. They were efficient.

Every shift, every pivot, every breath kept him just one step away from her blade. Mist swirled lightly around his feet with each movement, his water-attuned Overdrive enhancing the fluidity of his footwork. Viola’s flames hissed against the cool atmosphere wrapping his body, creating a thin halo of steam where their energies brushed.

Kaela whistled from the sidelines. “Look at that, he’s actually fighting smart. It is the first time I see him fighting seriously.”

Maurien nodded. “He’s reading her flow.”

Viola didn’t back off. If anything, her excitement grew as she pushed her mana harder. Her Overdrive surged, energy bursting along the length of her blade with renewed intensity.

But Ludger stayed composed, slipping around her attacks like water flowing around a burning branch. And the more she pushed, the calmer he seemed to become.

She roared, swinging down in a blazing arc that could’ve cleaved a boulder in half, and Ludger stepped aside with a small twist of his ankle, her sword hitting only air as the heat washed past him.

“Damn you,” she said between breaths, though her smile never faded. “Stand still and let me hit you.”

Ludger exhaled, water-mana pulsing softly around him.

“Not a chance.”

Their duel had barely begun.

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