Run.

—that was the man’s only thought.

Clutching the small bundle in his hand, feeling its hard edges, he forced himself to ignore the coppery stench of his comrades’ blood splattered across his body. He ran with everything he had.

*Got it.*

He didn’t know if it was real. He didn’t know why it ended up in his hands. He didn’t know what to do with it. But for this thing, every brother in his adventurer squad had died. Only he remained.

The desperate need to flee drowned out greed. Escape replaced purpose. *Run. Run. RUN.* Just get away from here—

“Pathetic. Fool.”

—the woman’s voice cut through his thoughts, merciless.

The man collapsed. He hadn’t even noticed when the living shadows had spread across the ground, coiling around anything that moved. Thin, needle-like spikes lashed out, tearing apart cells on contact. One touch meant death.

He tried to struggle. The shadows swallowed him whole. Only charred remains were left.

The shadows reshaped into a hand, snatching the bundle—the Great Secret Treasure—that had fallen from his grasp. It floated into Aelian’s palm.

Then—

“Tch!”

The shadows instantly reformed into a shield, blocking a strike from above! A man who’d been lurking nearby lunged down, his spear wreathed in fierce magical energy. Clearly a Battle Spirit who’d hidden his strength until now! Silver light from the spear clashed against the shadows, neither yielding.

“Shadows, become a thousand needles—Piercing Judgment!”

The shadows surging across the ground boiled violently, morphing into dozens of spears aimed at every vital point on the man’s body! He detonated the magic at his spear’s tip, blasting himself backward. He kicked off the air several times to create distance—

**BOOM!!!!**

“Ghk!”

A crimson light flashed before Aelian. Without hesitation, she wrapped herself in shadows. The next instant, a massive explosion engulfed her! The blast flattened the entire street in one strike. Shockwaves and flames reduced dozens of houses to rubble!

At the street’s end, a middle-aged woman stood gripping a heavy-looking staff. Her lips moved silently—clearly a Sorcerer of high rank!

“The highest-tier fire magic… Detonation Spell…”

The shadow cocoon shielding Aelian shattered under the blast. She leaped out, darting erratically to avoid being targeted. But before she’d taken three steps, a white blur shot from the side! A lightning-fast spear nearly pierced her throat! Aelian conjured a pitch-black shadow blade just in time to block the next thrust, creating space. Meanwhile—the crimson light—the Detonation Spell’s magic circle—reappeared!

“**Shadow Coffin!!!!**”

Skipping the incantation, Aelian used one of shadow magic’s highest-tier defensive spells. Seeing this, the middle-aged woman smirked coldly. She knew this hastily made defense wouldn’t withstand a full-powered Detonation Spell! The man repositioned his spear outside the blast radius, ready to ambush Aelian the moment she emerged!

Yet—

The Shadow Coffin didn’t encase Aelian.

It trapped the Detonation Spell’s magic circle instead!

“What—!?”

The woman’s blood ran cold. A Detonation Spell erupted from its magic circle. Seal the circle, and the spell was useless! She tried to abort the magic before the coffin fully formed—but it was too late!

—in the split second before detonation, Aelian kicked the Shadow Coffin straight at the Battle Spirit man!

The man froze, stunned by the coffin flying toward him. The woman frantically tried to cancel the spell, but couldn’t! The Shadow Coffin dissolved into black particles inches from him, exposing the blazing red magic circle inside! Trapped, the man activated his Mystic Armor at full power!

**BOOOOOOM!!!!!!**

He vanished under his own ally’s Detonation Spell. Aelian didn’t even glance back. “One,” she murmured, then shot toward the Sorceress like an arrow!

“D-Don’t come closer!”

Another explosion blocked her path. But Aelian sank into the shadows on the ground, reappearing right before the woman!

“Damn you!!!”

The woman cursed, readying a spell. But at point-blank range, the Detonation Spell would consume her too. In that split-second of hesitation, Aelian’s shadow blade pierced her throat.

“Two.”

Aelian kicked the corpse aside and cracked her neck. Then—

“Don’t… DON’T MOCK ME!!!!!!”

Dust from the earlier blast scattered as raw magical energy surged. The Battle Spirit man emerged, his body badly burned. Terrifying power erupted from him, straining the very spear in his hands.

“You wretched woman… You’re just… a Sorcerer! How could you defeat a Battle Spirit and Sorcerer fighting together…”

“But I already have.”

“Shut your mouth!!!!”

The man poured every ounce of magic into his spear, raising it high to throw—

“Annoying.”

A transparent box materialized out of nowhere, trapping him inside.

At first glance, its walls seemed like glass. In truth, they were paper-thin ice, polished to flawless smoothness.

The man struggled to break free—then shuddered violently and collapsed inside the box.

His skin turned icy blue-gray. Delicate frost crystals sprouted from his mouth, nose, and eyes. He twitched like a dying fish, then exploded along with the ice coffin into countless glittering shards that vanished into the air.

“Rabble like this, overestimating their worth… it makes one lose their appetite.”

At the sound of that aged female voice, Aelian snapped upright. Every hidden gaze watching the scene hastily withdrew. Frost crept across the ground as Glori appeared. Her steps seemed slow but covered distance with unnatural speed.

“Lady Glori.”

Aelian bowed and handed over the newly acquired Great Secret Treasure.

Glori examined it closely. Then—

“Hmph. As expected, you can’t judge authenticity by feel alone. This is needed.”

She reached into her robe and pulled out an object—a crystal wrapped in fine chains. She brought this Magic Trace Sample close to the Great Secret Treasure and channeled magic. Both glowed with iridescent light. Glori’s breath quickened as she studied them bathed in the radiance—

“…Tch!”

She shook her head, clearly losing interest in the “Great Secret Treasure.”

“No need to look further. It’s a fake.”

She sighed. Aelian’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.

Within the rainbow glow, the fake lost its luster. A tiny letter “N” surfaced on its surface—the mark left by the Artisan Sage on his replicas.

“Never mind… Though it’s fake, preserve it well. It’s still the work of the Artisan Sage.”

“Yes…”

After the plaza incident, the four factions—the Pantheon, Heavenward Tower, Knighthood, and Lord’s Mansion—held only a brief, fruitless discussion before each plunged into the hunt for the Great Secret Treasure.

Butcher’s death was already forgotten. No one cared about a corpse.

The race had begun.

Whoever found the Great Secret Treasure first would be the ultimate victor.

The three investigation teams’ greatest advantage wasn’t their Great Sorcerers or Great Battle Spirits. It was this—they each possessed a Magic Trace Sample. They could instantly verify the treasure’s authenticity upon claiming it.

But precisely because of this—

When people saw them now, their gazes held not just fear and wariness.

There was also a trace of greed, impossible to hide.

Like hunters eyeing dangerous prey.