The Grand Duke's Son Is A Heretic

Shadows flickered from the fires burning in the distance remnants of a struggle just moments before

Most of the battle was over. The others had handled their opponents swiftly, leaving behind battered bodies sprawled across the forest floor. But one remained.

Ariana moved through the trees, light on her feet, weaving between trunks and rocks, her breath steady. Behind her, the last woman—a bloodstained figure with wild eyes and tangled hair—chased her with a crazed laugh. Chains clinked in her hands, sharp iron edges stained with old blood.

"Keke…" the woman cackled, her voice twisted with cruelty. "What happened? Are you afraid?"

Ariana didn't respond.

She kept moving, ducking under a low branch, sliding past a moss-covered stump. Her s

golden eyes flicked around—calculating. The wind caught her dark cloak as she darted from one side of the clearing to the next, her boots silent against the soft ground.

"Why don't you fight back, noble lady?" the woman mocked again, swinging the chains and cracking them against a tree trunk with a loud snap. Bark flew off, but Ariana didn't flinch. She kept running, dodging left, then right, circling the clearing.

The woman twirled one chain like a whip, grinning as she chased her prey. "Kekeke! Look at you running! Don't tell me the cold princess is scared?"

But Ariana's focus wasn't on her. Her eyes were set on someone else—Prajan. He stood across the clearing, near the shadows. Unmoving.

Hands folded behind his back. That wide, unnatural smile stretched across his face. He hadn't lifted a finger.

Her gaze lingered on him for a second. That smile,it was too familiar. A sense of unease crawled up her spine. It wasn't fear. It was instinct.

Then she stopped.

She exhaled slowly and turned around, letting the weight of her cloak settle. The woman also stopped, chains dangling from her arms, her expression expectant.

"Keke… what happened?" she grinned again. "Have you given up?"

Ariana brushed her fingers through her short hair, then slowly rolled her shoulders, loosening them. Her lips curled into a sneer. "You're clearly an idiot. Can't you see what's going on around?"

The woman frowned. Her eyes darted around the field, past Ariana. Her grin vanished.

Her sisters and the other fighters lay defeated. Bodies limp, weapons dropped. A sharp gasp escaped her lips as realization hit.

"You…"

"You wanted to fight me, right?" Ariana said, her voice low and composed. "Come on."

The woman screamed and swung the chains, lunging. The links hissed through the air as she spun them in brutal arcs. Ariana didn't blink. She tilted her head to the side, letting the chain miss her cheek by inches. She stepped forward, her body moving like water, slipping past the second swing.

Another swing came low. Ariana jumped, one knee tucking up as she flipped over it, landing lightly on a rock.

The woman snarled, "Stop dodging and fight me!"

She charged, flailing the chains with both hands. Ariana stepped sideways, catching a tree for balance and rebounding off it. Her boot cracked into the woman's ribs. The impact knocked her back, air wheezing from her mouth.

Ariana didn't pause. She rushed forward. The woman recovered fast, swinging a chain again—but Ariana ducked, rolled beneath it, and came up behind her.

A quick elbow jab into the back. The woman stumbled. Another step,Ariana's boot slammed into her back again, sending her sprawling forward.

"You talk too much," Ariana said coldly.

The woman screamed and lashed the chain behind her without looking. It grazed Ariana's leg, tearing the fabric. Blood bloomed, but Ariana barely glanced at it.

In a blink, she was in front of the woman, grabbing the chain mid-air.

"What—?" the woman gasped.

Before she could react, Ariana yanked the chain hard, throwing the woman off balance. She crashed into the tree.

The bark of the tree cracked at the impact.A puff of leaves rained down.

Ariana darted forward and, with a single slash, her blade tore through the woman's shoulder.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!" the woman screamed. Her hand flew through the air, arching high before landing in the dirt with a thud.

Blood sprayed like a fountain. She dropped to her knees, screaming in agony, clutching the bleeding stump.

Ariana didn't stop.

She wrapped the loose end of the chain around the woman's neck. The iron links clinked as they tightened. The woman clawed at her, eyes bulging, coughing blood.

Ariana's expression didn't change. She looked at the struggling woman in disgust as if she was looking at some petty insects wriggling before her without knowing its place.

Without a word, she jumped up into a tree branch with practiced grace, dragging the woman along with the chain.

"Aahhhh!"

The woman screamed but Ariana ignored taking her position over a branch

The woman flailed, legs kicking wildly.

"Please..PLEASE—!"

Ariana didn't respond.

She swung forward and then yanked the chain down with her whole weight that made the woman shot up in the air and shot down after a spin.

CRACK.

The woman's body whipped violently against the tree trunk before being slammed into the ground.

The bones in her neck snapped. The sound echoed like a snapped branch in the night.

Ariana landed with a blast slamming her knees over her back with a devastating force causing the body to stamp into the ground.

A moment later, her lifeless body hung limp. Blood dripped from her chin. Her mouth was frozen in a silent scream. Her one remaining eye stared blankly

still for a few seconds, letting her breath settle. Her chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. She glanced down at the blood on her boots, then turned her eyes back to Prajan.

He hadn't moved. Still smiling.

Ariana's gaze didn't waver.It wasn't over yet.

...…

The cultists were frenzied, lashing out with crude weapons and blind faith.

Despite the fall of their lead enforcer, they fought like cornered beasts, pushing back against the guards and nobles with wild screams.

One man charged with a jagged blade, only to be brought down by Seraphina's swift spear thrust. Another hurled fire, chanting in a guttural tongue, but Vic intercepted with a wind slash that cut through the flames and flung the man back against a wall.

Ariana, still gripping the blood-slick chain from the fallen woman, dashed into the fray with a storm behind her steps. She struck fast, wrapping the chain around a cultist's arm mid-swing, pulling him off balance and slamming her knee into his chin. He crumpled before he could even grunt. The others turned toward her but hesitated—something in her eyes warned them of what was to come.

Ariana let go.The chain unraveled with a soft rattle, falling around the corpse in a heap.

Without a word, Ariana dashed through the chaos. Her boots thudded softly across the muddied ground as she locked her eyes on Prajan. He was still just standing there, hands calmly folded behind his back, the eerie smile unwavering on his face.

Ariana narrowed her eyes. She could feel that he was waiting for something.

Just as she moved within striking range—

BOOOOM!

The ground shattered like cracked glass beneath him. Prajan's body smashed into the earth with brutal force, the crater splitting wide with sharp cracks as dust and rock exploded into the air. Everyone froze. Even the screams ceased for a second.

Gasps echoed. The cultists staggered. The guards raised their weapons instinctively.

Out of the rising smoke, a tall figure stepped forth, steady and unfazed.

Ariana raised her guard, posture shifting, chain tightening in her grip.

But then came a familiar voice

"It's me... Lord James."

Ariana blinked. "Sir James? Why are you here?"

James walked forward, brushing soot from his sleeve like it was nothing. "I'll explain later. Let me tie this bastard up first."

Without waiting, he grabbed the unconscious Prajan by the collar and hoisted him up like a bag of dirt. His body slumped completely—he was out cold.

"Can't kill him without extracting the information."James spoke with a solemn expression.

James dragged him toward the others, where a group of guards stood stunned. As the realization set in, a collective sigh of relief passed through the ranks. The threat was over ,for now.

Emilia stepped forward, her gaze fixed on James. "What happened to the underground? Where is Kael?"

At that, James turned to her and gave a formal bow.

"We were tracking them through the tunnels. One of the cultists revealed they had deployed their core strike force here. Their aim was clear—kidnap all of you, especially the nobles. I couldn't let that happen, not to the Duchess." He straightened. "As for Sir Kael… I don't think we need to worry about him."

Emilia's brow tightened. "They weren't that much trouble. We took them down easily enough."

She turned, eyes scanning the broken field of fallen enemies and scattered smoke.

"Since we've handled them... let's return to the city."

Then she glanced behind.

"Ariana, Vic, Seraphina—I want you three to lead the squad and look for Kael."

Just as Emilia took her first step away.A sudden flash of light sparked ahead.

CRACK!

A loud, agonizing scream cut through the air.