NOVPUBThe first time Ludger used an alias was over seven years ago.
It was when he had just fled from under his master’s tutelage and stepped into the wider world.
His first destination: the Exilion Empire.
Among all its cities, the one with the highest chance of housing a relic—naturally—was its capital.
So Ludger’s first stop had been Lindebrune.
And there, he had used an alias for the first time.
A name he used unintentionally—when he became entangled in a military coup.
<Jack the Ripper>
In one hand, a knife.
In the other, a karambit.
Ludger, blades in both hands, headed for Carlone’s mansion.
This wasn’t just Carlone’s residence—it was the very headquarters of the Silver Sun mafia.
Every servant working inside was a Silver Sun member.
And for Ludger, that meant only one thing—
There was no one in that mansion who needed to be spared.
* * *
The lights of Carlone’s mansion went out.
Darkness invaded the space where light had retreated, swallowing the interior in a suffocating silence.
“What the hell! What’s going on?!”
“Someone check the main line! If that doesn’t work, start the backup generator!”
The members who had been resting inside the mansion panicked at the sudden blackout and scrambled.
A power failure due to negligence? Unforgivable.
Knowing full well how erratic their boss’s temper could be, they rushed toward the circuit room with flashlights in hand.
And there, standing in front of the breaker, they saw someone’s silhouette.
What the—? Someone already here?
“Hey! What’s going on? What about the breaker?”
“......”
“Why aren’t you answering? What’s with the breaker?!”
One of the men cursed and shone his light forward—
And saw it.
His comrade, drenched in blood, already dead.
“W-What the—?!”
The other members recoiled in horror.
The corpse, which had been upright, slumped forward with a thud.
And behind it, something emerged from the shadows.
A silhouette—drenched in black, with only glowing red eyes where its face should be.
“What... what is that?!”
“Who are you?! Who dares lay hands on Silver Sun?!”
The shadow didn’t respond.
Its red gaze flared for a moment—and the figure stretched, elongating silently.
That’s what it looked like to the Silver Sun members.
And then, with just a sweep of that shadow, one by one they began to fall, blood spraying.
“He’s hostile! We’ve got an intruder!”
“Kill him!”
Silver Sun’s members didn’t flee. They fought.
They had survived for years within the fence of violence.
Unlike ordinary thugs, they didn’t run.
But the opponent was too powerful.
Too fast. Too strong.
No matter how many axes or clubs they swung, they couldn’t touch him.
Only the ones swinging the weapons fell, dying in pools of blood.
“Bring the guns!”
Realizing they couldn’t win like this, one of them retrieved firearms—but it was too dark to see anything.
“What are you doing?! Get out of the way!”
“M-My legs... they won’t move!”
“What?!”
The screams of the dying drew closer.
The man holding the gun hesitated.
Beside him, a squad leader shouted.
“What are you doing?! Just shoot!”
“B-But our men are right in front!”
“If you don’t shoot, we’re all dead!”
Clenching his teeth, the man pulled the trigger.
Click. Click.
But the gun didn’t fire.
“What the hell?!”
“I-It’s jammed.”
“What?!”
Guns they maintained every day—perfectly functional—suddenly malfunctioning?
The squad leader recognized the signs immediately.
“Silence of ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) Fire? Is the intruder a mage?!”
He couldn’t believe it.
Just brushing past people, he left them dead—how could that be magic?
The squad leader clenched his teeth.
“Out of the way! I’ll handle this!”
He had no choice but to step up.
Though retired due to injury, he had once been a knight.
If the enemy was a mage, he could handle this.
Drawing the sword from his hip, he charged at the shadow.
“You bastard!”
With a roar, his sword came crashing down.
But the moment he struck, the enemy raised two daggers to meet it.
“You blocked it? Then I’ll crush you with brute strength!”
In a contest of strength, his superior physique would prevail.
His arms swelled to nearly double in size.
He intended to break through the enemy’s pitiful daggers and cleave him in two.
But his sword went no further.
“What?!”
Then something flashed in front of his eyes.
Instinctively, he threw his head back.
Years of knightly experience had honed that reaction.
If he hadn’t moved, he’d have been decapitated.
He staggered back in a hurry—so fast he dropped his sword.
His eyes adjusted slightly to the dark, and he managed to glimpse the enemy’s shape.
‘Four arms?’
The strike he had blocked had come from abnormally large arms.
Two additional shadowy limbs flowed from beneath the enemy’s coat like liquid.
No normal mage could possess such things.
‘A magibeast?’
With his battle-worn instincts, the squad leader immediately grasped the situation.
If it was a magibeast, then it made sense—the power, the speed.
A magibeast wielded weapons while the mage struck during the opening it created.
Even he had nearly fallen victim to that technique.
His neck still felt cold.
“Who the hell are you? Why would someone as skilled as you attack Silver Sun? Are you not afraid to die?”
“And what about you? Were you not afraid when you decided to provoke me?”
For the first time, the shadow spoke.
The squad leader frowned.
“Provoke?”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m just here to return what I received. You people work the same way, don’t you?”
Among mafia enforcers, there’s an iron code: Omertà.
And its most sacred rule—never forgive those who threaten you or your organization.
Vendetta.
A blood-soaked principle of revenge that must be executed.
Hearing this, the squad leader’s face twisted.
“Revenge? You dare talk of revenge against Silver Sun? Don’t make me laugh!”
Shiiing.
He drew a spare sword.
Earlier, he’d been caught off guard—but not now.
“I’ll cut off your head and present it to the boss myself!”
But he never got the chance to finish.
Somehow, white frost had crept up and bound his legs.
‘Magic? When?!’
A spell subtle enough to escape even his trained senses?
“Damn it!”
He flexed his legs, shattering the frost—and the shadow rushed him.
Daggers gripped in all four hands dazzled his vision.
All he could do was defend.
Each strike from the shadow’s limbs shook his entire frame.
‘I’m a former knight—and I’m losing to a mage?!’
But reality was cruel.
Clang! His sword flew from his hands, knocked high into the air.
He stared at it, dazed—then shouted.
“W-Wait!”
But the shadow didn’t stop.
Red eyes glowed in the dark, staring down at him.
“If you’ve lived like this until now... then you should’ve been prepared to die like this too.”
And the blade swung down.
* * *
The once chaotic mansion had fallen into silence.
Footsteps echoed softly through the quiet corridors.
Creaaak.
At last, the door to Carlone’s office swung open.
“Welcome. I’ve been waiting for you.”
Carlone sat inside, smiling as he greeted Ludger.
He hadn’t run.
In fact, he flaunted his composure, sipping wine at the table.
A chair sat across from him.
Ludger stepped inside without a word and took his seat.
A trail of faint blue mist spread across the floor in the direction Ludger walked.
Bang.
Ludger set something down on the desk.
It was the bloodied sword that had belonged to the squad leader he’d just killed.
“What a pity. He was actually one of the more useful ones,” Carlone remarked with a shrug, unbothered by his subordinate’s death.
Ludger partially dispelled [Ater Nocturnus], revealing his face.
“Well now. A nobleman’s face—more charming than I expected.”
“You didn’t even try to run,” Ludger said in a deliberately provocative tone.
Carlone chuckled at the insult.
“You thought I’d run?”
“I figured you had a secret tunnel installed somewhere in this place. Just in case.”
“Of course not.”
But despite his words, Carlone revised his internal assessment.
Sharp. And clearly familiar with how this world operates.
“So you’re the one those beggars call ‘Owner,’ huh?”
“At least to them, I am.”
“To them, you say? Interesting. Sounds like you have other names.”
“You heard right.”
Ludger leaned back against the chair.
Chin slightly raised, the posture exuded a quiet superiority—like he was looking down on Carlone.
“Sometimes I’m Jack the Ripper.”
His eyes gleamed.
“Sometimes I’m James Moriarty.”
They didn’t look human.
“Sometimes I’m Abraham van Helsing.”
Carlone found himself shrinking back without meaning to.
“And until recently, they called me Machiavelli.”
“Hah.”
Carlone let out a scoffing laugh, trying to make it clear he wasn’t intimidated.
Confidence is believable only when it’s delivered with the right amount of swagger.
“For all that talk, you’re still too young. And really—coming here all by yourself? That surprised me.”
“It wasn’t much. I’ve heard all about Silver Sun’s reputation... and honestly, it was underwhelming.”
“Is that so? Well, when this is over, I suppose I’ll have to replace my underlings from the ground up.”
“No need. I’ve already cleaned them out.”
And with that—Ludger released a wave of killing intent.
“You think there’s going to be an ‘after’ for you?”
“Such a bloodthirsty man,” Carlone replied, forcing a smirk. “You think you’ve got the upper hand? That you’re holding my life in your hands right now?”
“Still denying reality.”
“Look here. We’re not like the Red Society. We’re Silver Sun. Maybe you’ve got a bit of strength, but you should’ve known better than to pick your fight without knowing where you stood.”
Snap.
Carlone flicked his fingers.
Hidden doors in the study and walls swung open, revealing the people who had been concealed within.
Every one of them wore a black suit—Silver Sun enforcers.
“All of them are knight-tier or better. Some are mages. There are twenty in total.”
Carlone couldn’t help the grin tugging at his lips.
Show the hidden cards. Drag the enemy back into despair. Nothing was more satisfying than watching their face crumble.
“Here—have another little gift. While you’ve been here, did you even stop to wonder what’s happening to your precious slum rats?”
“I don’t follow.”
“I sent more men—way more than I did earlier. What, did you think everyone was stationed here? Don’t be stupid.”
“......”
“They should’ve arrived by now. I imagine they’re happily wiping out your little rats. You won’t be able to do a thing to stop it. No one can. Violence renders everyone powerless.”
He sipped his wine, then extended the glass toward Ludger.
“I’ve been one step above you this whole time. In power and in intellect.”
“How amusing.”
Carlone’s eyes narrowed, displeased by Ludger’s lack of reaction.
“Pretending to stay calm won’t help you.”
“I just find it ridiculous. That all you’ve got is primitive violence.”
“What?”
“Let me correct a few things. First—yes, I knew about the men hiding behind those secret doors. I came in anyway. And second—this part, I actually thank you for.”
“You thank me?”
“Violence...”
Ludger’s eyes curved into a crescent moon.
“...is our specialty.”
* * *
A dark road under the night sky.
There weren’t even streetlights—just moonlight.
Hundreds of men marched in silence, weapons in hand.
“So many of them. Like a swarm of dogs.”
Alex pushed off the wall he’d been leaning against.
“So we just need to beat them all down, right? Simple.”
One by one, the rest of the group emerged around him.
The enforcers frowned at those standing in their way.
Some were women. Some were children. Some were muscular men.
“What should we do?”
“Didn’t you hear the boss? Wipe them all out.”
Their side had over 200 men.
The enemy? Barely a handful.
Exchanging brief glances, the enforcers raised their weapons and advanced.
Alex clicked his tongue as he watched.
“Really? No questions? Just kill on sight?”
“Efficient,” Phantos said, cracking his shoulders.
Arfa smiled, looking excited at the fight about to begin.
“Let’s do this, then,” Alex said, pulling a mask over his face.
The officers stepped forward.
* * *
“So then... this is the last of Silver Sun’s remaining forces?”
Ludger glanced casually at the ring of battle-ready operatives surrounding him.
They were strong, no doubt—talented. But they were born of darkness, killers for money.
No reason to hold back.
“You’ve got some nerve,” scoffed one older mage.
“Do you not get the situation? You’re surrounded. Or are you too stupid to realize what happens next?”
“I don’t know what’ll happen to me,” Ludger replied, calmly locking eyes with him.
“But I have a pretty good idea what’ll happen to you.”
The mage opened his mouth to retort—
But his senses—and deeper, his instincts—screamed.
‘What...?’
Others felt it too.
An unsettling dread clung to their minds.
What was it?
That foul, creeping sensation?
‘Wait... this blue mist... is that... mana?’
From the moment he entered the room, it had been seeping out of him.
If it was pure mana... shouldn’t he have none left for casting?
Then why this dread?
Their bodies were screaming—run.
“What did you do?” Carlone asked, staring warily at Ludger.
“Nothing at all,” Ludger replied coldly.
“I simply—”
And at that moment,
something long and black—oozing and formless—descended slowly from the ceiling.
