"I Reincarnated But Have No System? You Must Be Kidding Me!"

"Come out and face me, Magnus of the Dark Fate. Your little scheme with that vile king ends here."

The voice cracked across the courtyard like thunder.

Wilfred stood tall in the moonlight, his blades sheathed at his sides, as the echo of his challenge bounced off the stone walls of the castle.

Dozens of armored knights and cloaked mages turned their heads toward him, uncertain whether to attack or hold their ground.

'This is bad... I do not want to die yet.'

'What should we do?'

'These are the imperial envoys we are talking about.'

The air felt thick, stretched tight as a bowstring, as if the world itself paused to see who would make the first move.

On the far end, Magnus's jaw clenched.

'Darn it... not now.'

His teeth ground together as he glanced at his bare hand.

The rings- those precious protective rings he once relied upon- were gone thanks to Austaire's rampage and Mardonio's rage.

All three of them shattered in battles past. He flexed his fingers as if mourning their absence.

'Of all the cursed times… when I am not at my peak, I must face these imperial hounds.'

He took a glanced at his remaining health and mana, both are already below fifty percent.

'Although I have items that help me recover mana and health overtime, I don't think it will cut it against the emperial hounds.'

Cold mist curled off his body in anger, the faint breath of his element. He raised his gaze, and though his face remained hard, his mind whirled at a certain person that he truly beleives can kill him.

Wilfred.

The name alone was enough to gnaw at him.

He knew exactly who this man was: one of the Emperor's infamous Hands.

Just like Mardonio, he was once a celebrated adventurer from the Khankod Kingdom, whose tales were sung in taverns, and now a dreaded envoy of Emperor Romeov whose arrival heralded nothing but chains or corpses.

And unlike most envoys, Wilfred was feared for a class as strange as it was deadly- a Moon Piercer. A dagger-wielder, yes, but one who could strike as if the moon itself hurled his blades across the battlefield.

No one else in the Empire could replicate his style, his distance, his lethality.

If Wilfred had come in person, it meant only one thing.

The Empire was finished playing their games.

"Seriously? You would arrest the man who risked his life to capture this land's rebels?"

King Auborn's voice rang out trying to defend Magnus. He stepped forward, his guards forming a wall of steel beside him. His expression carried both defiance and desperation.

Wilfred's answer was as sharp and cold as a dagger's edge.

"I think you should move aside, King Auborn. This is a matter of Imperial order-"

"I think," Auborn sneered, "that as king of this land, I deserve some respect."

Wilfred inhaled deeply. His patience tipping to the edge.

The restraint it took not to cut the insolent boy down was written across the twitch of his jaw.

If it weren't for Emperor Romeov's strict orders, Auborn's head would already be rolling across the courtyard stones.

But the Emperor wanted him alive.

Alive meant useful- a link to uncovering the kingdom's hidden ties with the Dark Fate, and the damning role the late King Aurelus might have played.

"I am here to apprehend a wanted criminal,"

Wilfred declared, his voice steady, deliberate.

"One of the founding leaders of the Dark Fate. Magnus, the Frozen Monarch. If you are aware of this, then step aside. Or I will brand you guilty of treason against the Empire."

The metallic scrape of steel filled the air as Wilfred unsheathed his twin blades.

Their silver and black edges gleamed like crescent moons, faint light catching along the curves as if they drank the glow of the torches.

His eyes, once calm, now shimmered with a merciless chill.

'Oh no..'

'This...'

Gasps rippled through the royal ranks.

Mages fumbled with their staves, knights tightened their grips on their swords. Memories haunted them- visions of another night when this man nearly killed Aurelus.

'Are we about to witness another Golrath being hunted by the empire? '

They remembered the horror of watching him cut through King Aurelus's body, severing his hand and ear, even when Aurelus had ascended into his magnificent magical form.

If not for the Dark Fate's mysterious interference that day, Aurelus would have perished completely.

Now, standing before Wilfred again, those who remembered that battle felt their throats tighten.

"This is your last chance,"

Wilfred said, stepping forward with confidence, his boots echoing against the stone. 4

"Surrender him, or your rule ends tonight."

Two shadows trailed him closely- Wardon and Tanya.

Their eyes glimmered faint blue, proof their observation skills were already engaged and watching their everymove. Neither spoke, but their presence was enough to unnerve the crowd.

Then-

"I think he's escaping." Wardon, the mage suddenly said from the back.

Every head turned.

Wilfred's blades flared crimson.

"Not this time. I won't let him slip away."

With a simple swing of his dagger, the Magnus standing among Auborn's men fractured into glittering shards, exploding into a storm of ice.

It was a clone!

Of course.

The Frozen Monarch was never where he seemed.

The real Magnus had already dissolved into icy fog, his elemental body gliding swiftly toward a breach in the courtyard wall. His mist-form swept low to the ground like a predator slinking through the night.

But before the fog could reach the opening, a shadow streaked overhead.

SHOOOM!

It was Wilfred.

He descended like a hawk diving for its prey, his crescent blades unleashing a storm of glowing arcs toward the breach.

BOOOOM!

The ground shuddered as blades of light tore through stone.

Magnus was forced to abandon his elemental form. He reappeared in human shape, ice cracking away from his body as he crossed his ice-blue swords just in time to intercept Wilfred's descent.

CLANG!

The clash rang through the courtyard, sparks flying, the impact rippling out like a shockwave.

"Going somewhere?" Wilfred said with a mocking tone while Wilfred gritted his teeth at the terrifying force coming from his foe.

...

"That's it!" King Auborn's voice cracked in fury. "I'm done being patient! Everyone! Destroy them!"

The young king's mask of civility finally shattered. He could not lose Magnus- not when his entire web of power hinged upon the man's connection to the Dark Fate.

At once, dozens of knights and mages shifted their stances, turning their weapons toward Wilfred's allies.

Tanya laughed.

"You've truly lost your mind, stupid king."

She drew her greatsword, a blade taller than most men, and her aura flared crimson. Her eyes shimmered with savage delight. She looked like someone who had been waiting for an excuse to slaughter.

Gasps burst from the crowd. Nobles and servants scattered toward the edges of the courtyard, clutching each other, torn between fleeing and gawking at the unfolding chaos.

"Do you realize," Wardon said, his voice calm but carrying weight, "that pointing your weapons at us is treason?"

"Who cares?" Auborn barked, drawing his ornate staff.

Golden light burst across his body, bathing him in a royal glow. His voice rose, brazen and unafraid: "It doesn't matter! Soon, my father, the great Aurelus, will return! With the Dark Fate's aid, he will rise as the new Emperor of the Wha-lah Empire!"

The words hit like stones thrown into water. Whispers erupted among the guards, the mages, even the fleeing crowd.

Tanya smirked.

"So you finally reveal your true intention. Truly, the son of a fool."

"It doesn't matter! It's three against dozens and I will make sure you'll die tonight!" Auborn roared.

"Oh? Confident, are you?" Wardon's staff hummed with power. "Let's see how long that lasts."

[AZURE BLAZE]

A massive blue fireball burst from his staff, roaring toward Auborn.

The mages scrambled to shield their king, conjuring a dome of golden light around him.

KABOOOM!

The courtyard vanished in searing blue radiance. When the smoke cleared, the defenders cheered- relieved, triumphant.

But they celebrated too soon.

"Let me show you what an Imperial Mage can really do," Wardon said, his voice low, dangerous.

[AZURE BLAZE!]

[AZURE BLAZE!]

[AZURE BLAZE!]

Six more fireballs materialized, each as massive and deadly as the first, all coming from different direction.

Gasps, screams. Eyes wide with disbelief.

'Impossible! How can he cast so many?!'

'A blue fireball- so concentrated, so explosive… to unleash them in succession?'

'Just how vast is this man's mana?!'

'Is this the true gap between us and an Imperial Mage?'

Panic overtook the knights and mages. They scrambled to reinforce their barrier, weaving spells desperately, their voices overlapping in chants. The golden dome thickened, layers upon layers.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The courtyard convulsed under the impacts. Towers cracked, banners tore from their poles, windows shattered across the city.

Tremors rolled through Austerra, rattling doors and waking terrified citizens from their beds.

Within minutes, screams echoed through the streets as people fled their homes. Torches flared in the night as the city descended into chaos.

Across districts, noble houses mobilized. Knights poured into the streets, banners raised high, rushing toward the castle.

"Hurry! Everyone to the castle!" their commanders bellowed.

The city became a river of armor and steel, families clutching children as they ran the other way.

In the heart of it all, Auren stirred.

The restraints binding him and his companions weakened.

'Finally.'

The enemy mages faltered, their concentration splintered by the impossible storm of fire and steel. Wardon seems to have no plans on stopping.

"We'll crush the rebels first," inside the protection of their protective spells, Auborn shouted, his face twisted with rage. "Then we'll deal with those imperial bastards!"

His army surged toward Auren's group, intent on finishing them while the chaos raged.

But Auren's lips curved into a grin.

At last. The moment he had been waiting for.

He dismissed his summoned weapon, only to resummon it with a flourish, the gleam of steel catching the fiery glow of Wardon's magic.

"It's showtime."