Inside the grand hall of Blackshade Demon Palace, Lunaria, silver eyes rimmed with impatience, paced before a throne of obsidian bone.

She had dispatched countless search parties to hunt Jared and Flaxseed, yet every team returned empty-handed, their silence gnawing at composure.

“Useless, every last one of you!” The word cracked like a whip. Lunaria’s palm slammed onto the stone table, delicate porcelain shattered, tea spraying across the marble floor.

“So many soldiers, and none of you can find two men! Tell me, why should i keep feeding you?!”

Not long ago, and retinue had ventured up to level five, only to discover that their strength counted for little there. Lunaria herself had barely escaped an ambush. Humbled, they scurried back to level four, convinced that Jared and Flaxseed must have done the same through some hidden rift.

She scattered scouts across every ravine and pass, yet the hills remained silent.

Her subordinates now knelt beneath the throne’s shadow, trembling hard enough to rattle their armor.