Orin Alpheratz (15 years old) Location: Solaris Date: Year 873 / Crow Cycle (3) / Bard's Day (9)

  It had lasted only a heartbeat, no more than a few seconds, yet when Orin’s eyes met the girl’s through the narrow crack in the door, time itself seemed to stop.

  Those almond-shaped eyes. That chestnut hair.

  There was no mistake.

  Princess Andromeda, the one he had searched for during five long years, was standing right there.

  But the elation hitched in his chest turned instantly to despair as she vanished and the door shut behind her. And Orin wasn’t the only one who had seen her. The Church soldiers arguing with the old knight had noticed too.

  "The girl! She’s inside!"

  The gray-haired knight guarding the entrance raised his blade and shield, his stance unwavering despite his age.

  "If you don’t leave now, I won’t hesitate to strike you down!"

  The soldiers faltered, caught between duty and fear. But still, step by step, they advanced.

  Orin’s pulse hammered in his ears. The Church is after her too.

  So his suspicions had been right—Andromeda’s disappearance, Nicola Papin’s resignation... they were all threads of the same web.

  And now, she was within reach.

  He clenched his fists. He couldn’t let them take her. Not again.

  "ACTIVATE HUNTER SKILL: Speed Up, 10%!"

  A rush of heat coursed through his body. The world blurred. His boots dug into the earth—and then he was running, faster than thought.

  "Orin, wait!" Aran’s voice cut through the air.

  "Orin! Come back!" Sirius and Cor shouted, sprinting after him, but he was already gone.

  Altair and Felis reacted an instant too late. Even Felis, quick as lightning, couldn’t intercept him without drawing attention. The damage was done.

  "Someone’s coming!" one of the soldiers barked, turning his head. "They’re attacking us!"

  The others wheeled around just as Orin reached them. His dagger flashed, a feint toward the nearest soldier’s throat. The man raised his shield to block—but Orin was already past him, slipping through the narrow opening like water.

  He didn’t stop to fight. He didn’t need to.

  All that mattered now was reaching that door.

  Orin had broken through the first line of soldiers, but now he was trapped in the middle of a storm of steel. Blades flashed around him, slicing through the air with deadly precision. He dodged the first few strikes by instinct alone, his speed barely keeping him ahead of the relentless assault. But more soldiers were closing in. Their encirclement was tightening.

  The old knight, seizing the chaos Orin had created, swung his blade with surprising vigor. Two soldiers fell to his strikes before he pushed through the door and disappeared inside.

  “Damn it!” Orin hissed under his breath. He could see the man vanishing into the house—and the chance slipping away. Surrounded, he had no choice but to fight.

  He pivoted to strike, his dagger flashing in the half-light, but before he could move, a soldier appeared at his exposed flank, sword raised. Orin turned too late. There was no room to dodge.

  A sharp whistle cut through the air.

  An arrow struck the soldier’s shoulder, glancing off his armor with a metallic clang. It didn’t pierce, but it broke his focus.

  Orin spun, seized the moment, and lunged forward.

  He grabbed the shaft of the half-embedded arrow and muttered through clenched teeth:

  “ACTIVATE HUNTER SKILL: Piercing Arrow.”

  A faint spectral glow enveloped the arrow. Energy surged through Orin’s arm as he drove it deeper with a burst of strength. The arrow pierced the armor clean through, sinking into flesh.

  The soldier’s scream echoed across the courtyard.

  More arrows whistled past—Sirius had arrived, covering Orin’s flanks as he fought his way forward. Behind him, Altair and Felis emerged from the chaos. They didn’t immediately intervene; instead, they watched, measuring Orin’s reckless courage with something between irritation and curiosity.

  But Orin didn’t have time to think. Three more soldiers charged him from different angles, blades drawn.

  He ripped the shield from the wounded soldier’s arm, kicked him backward, and brought the shield up just as the attackers closed in.

  “ACTIVATE KNIGHT SKILL: Total Defense!”

  A translucent shimmer burst from the shield—ethereal replicas spun around him, forming a barrier that deflected every strike. Sparks danced off the invisible wall of energy.

  Orin gritted his teeth, pushing forward. The moment the assault faltered, he countered. His dagger glimmered faintly as his eyes locked on an opening in the armor of the nearest soldier.

  “ACTIVATE HUNTER SKILL: Critical Blow!”

  He didn’t know how he knew the move—only that instinct screamed at him to use it. The dagger’s edge pulsed with a strange inner force. When he struck, the blade sank into the soldier’s side, and a concussive wave rippled through the man’s body from within.

  The soldier froze, eyes wide, before collapsing instantly to the ground.

  "Watch out! The kid knows hunter and knight skills!" one of the soldiers shouted, stumbling back as his comrade collapsed beside him.

  But it was already too late.

  Orin was no longer fighting consciously—he moved. His body flowed through the chaos like water shaped by fire, driven by an inner blaze that made every breath sharper, every step precise.

  The shield weighed on him. Slowed him down. He exhaled, shifted his stance, and hurled it straight at the nearest guard. The steel slammed into the man’s face with a crack, sending him sprawling.

  Orin ducked under another slash, rolled across the dirt, and seized the sword of a fallen soldier.

  "ACTIVATE KNIGHT SKILL: Solar Sword!"

  Light burst along the blade, flooding the battlefield with a radiant gold glow. The soldiers faltered, shielding their eyes from the brilliance that seemed to burn with divine wrath.

  "Orin, it looks like these guys haven’t even mastered basic skills," Sirius called out, his sword ready. "They’re just regular infantry."

  "I know," Orin replied without turning. "But if they won’t move—then I’ll make them."

  Altair and Felis exchanged glances as they disrupted the enemy lines, forcing groups apart to keep Orin’s path open.

  "The kid’s movements…" Altair muttered. "He’s faster than I expected."

  "It's something new even for me," Felis smirked faintly. "It’s as if he’s pushing his limits on instinct alone."

  Orin’s way to the house was still blocked. He lifted his glowing sword and leveled his dagger with his other hand. The soldiers hesitated, their nerves fraying as they realized he could cut through them in seconds.

  Then, from among the ranks, a taller man stepped forward. His armor bore insignias of higher rank, and his sharp eyes glimmered with pride.

  "I was top of my class at the Military Academy," he declared. "Let me handle this brat."

  He gave Orin a smug smile.

  "ACTIVATE KNIGHT SKILL: Solar Sword!"

  His blade ignited in the same golden light, and his companions cheered.

  Sirius groaned. "Seriously? Doesn't he recognize the Solaris Academy uniform?"

  "Let’s find out what he’s really worth," Orin said—and lunged forward in a blur of motion.

  The soldier laughed, raising his glowing sword. "A frontal attack against a knight? Foolish!"

  "ACTIVATE KNIGHT SKILL: Total Defense!"

  The familiar shimmer of ethereal shields whirled around him, a perfect wall of radiant protection. But Orin had seen it before—trained against it countless times during his time at Solaris Academy. He already knew how to break it.

  He focused, eyes tracking the movement of each shield fragment as they rotated around the soldier. Between two arcs of light—there, a brief opening.

  "ACTIVATE HUNTER SKILL: Piercing Dagger!"

  The dagger in his hand shimmered with spectral light. Orin hurled it with pinpoint precision through the smallest gap. The blade cut through the air, slipped past the defenses, and struck true.

  The sound of metal piercing flesh rang out, followed by a strangled scream.

  Orin exhaled, stepping forward as the knight staggered.

  The wounded soldier dropped to one knee, clutching his side as he gasped for air. The ethereal shields around him flickered, then dissolved into mist.

  Orin stepped forward, his golden sword still blazing. The light reflected in his eyes—cold, determined.

  "Are you the leader of this platoon?" he asked, his voice firm, blade leveled at the man’s throat.

  "I have nothing to say to you," the soldier snarled, sweat beading on his forehead as blood seeped through his armor.

  Without a word, Orin reached down, gripped the dagger still buried in the man’s side, and tore it free. The soldier’s cry echoed through the courtyard.

  "Tell your men to let me pass," Orin said, his tone low but filled with conviction. "Or next time, I won’t stop at this."

  The surrounding soldiers hesitated. The clang of swords and shouts that had filled the air moments ago went silent. Every eye turned to their wounded leader, who was trembling as he looked up at Orin.

  "I see… I have no other choice," the man muttered.

  But before he could speak further, the sound of hooves thundered in the distance. The distinct rhythm of galloping horses and the metallic clatter of armored riders filled the air.

  The soldier’s lips curled into a twisted grin.

  "Ha… forget it. You’re finished. You won’t last a minute against our superiors," he sneered. Then he turned to his men and shouted, "Hold the line! Don’t let him anywhere near that house!"

  "Tch… damn it," Orin muttered. He could already see the dust rising from the approaching reinforcements. A drawn-out fight would only make things worse.

  "What do we do now?" Sirius called from behind him.

  "I’ll break through their line," Orin said flatly.

  "Orin, wait—let’s fall back!" Aran urged, stepping toward him. "Captain, stop him!"

  But Altair, standing with his arms folded beside Felis, remained silent. His eyes followed Orin, a faint, intrigued smirk tugging at his lips.

  Orin caught that look—and understood.

  Taking a deep breath, he drove his sword into the earth, leaving it there, and whispered:

  "ACTIVATE HUNTER SKILL: Speed Up 20%."

  The world blurred. Adrenaline surged through his veins like lightning. The air itself seemed to split as he moved.

  In the blink of an eye, Orin was upon them—too fast for the soldiers to even raise their shields. They barely saw the flash of steel before they fell, struck down in clean, precise movements.

  From behind, Altair finally chuckled under his breath, arms still crossed.

  "Not bad at all," he murmured.

  Even Felis let out a low whistle. "Impressive... he’s faster than before."

  Orin didn’t hear them. His focus was absolute. He slipped through the guards like wind cutting through leaves; not a single one had time to react before he reached the door.

  He grabbed the handle and pulled hard—locked.

  "Tch..." He tried again, forcing it with his shoulder, but the heavy wood barely budged.

  “The boy’s at the door!” one of the soldiers shouted from behind.

  There was no time to waste. Staying there meant being surrounded.

  Gritting his teeth, Orin darted to the side, letting instinct guide his steps. He sprinted along the outer wall, scanning for another way in. Then he spotted it—a window slightly ajar, its frame trembling in the morning breeze.

  Without hesitation, he leapt up, pushed it open, and slipped inside in one fluid motion.

  The faint scent of dust and old wood filled his lungs as his boots landed softly on the polished floor.

  He had done it.

  He was inside.

  And somewhere in this house—beyond these quiet halls—was her.

  Princess Andromeda.

  The person he had searched for five long years.

  His heartbeat thundered in his chest, louder than the chaos outside. For the first time in years, the distance between them was no longer measured in time or memory—only in walls.

  And Orin swore nothing would keep him from seeing her again.