He was a figure that radiated pure, hope. He had long, flowing hair the color of spun sunlight, braided meticulously and falling elegantly down his back. He wore pristine, immaculate white robes accented with gold, completely untouched by the grime and dirt of the subterranean world.
His face was striking—sharp, aristocratic, and marked by two red, triangular markings under his eyes that gave him a slightly otherworldly, almost elven appearance. But it was his eyes that commanded the most attention. They were a brilliant, luminous gold, filled with a warmth, a deep sorrow, and an infinite, compassionate love that made anyone who looked into them want to fall to their knees and weep.
This was Licht. The master. The savior.
"Welcome back, Valtos," Licht spoke.
His voice was a melody. It was soft, incredibly gentle, and resonated with a comforting, melodic cadence that instantly soothed the soul. Despite the dark, terrifying nature of the organization he led, Licht himself felt like a deity of light and salvation.
Valtos stepped fully into the room, the heavy doors closing silently behind him. He did not hesitate. He walked forward, dropping to one knee upon the polished white stone floor. He bowed his head deeply, pressing his right fist over his heart in a salute of absolute, fanatical devotion.
"Master Licht," Valtos greeted, his voice muffled slightly by the mask covering the lower half of his face. His tone was tight with reverence. "I have returned from the surface."
Licht turned away from the ancient stone tablet, his white robes whispering against the floor. He stepped toward the kneeling spatial mage, a serene, welcoming smile gracing his features. He moved with a grace that seemed entirely divorced from human mechanics, as if he were gliding on the light itself.
"Rise, my friend," Licht said softly, extending a hand toward him. "You have been working tirelessly for our cause. The burden you carry in the shadows is heavy, but it brings us ever closer to the dawn we seek. Tell me, how does our grand design progress?"
Valtos stood, though he kept his gaze respectfully lowered, unable to fully meet the blinding, divine warmth in Licht's golden eyes.
"The preparations are proceeding exactly according to your design, Master," Valtos reported, his voice slipping into its natural, clinical precision. "My mission to infiltrate the Royal Capital of the Clover Kingdom is nearing its final stages. The arrogance of the Magic Knights and the noble class makes them entirely blind to what is happening beneath their very feet."
Licht nodded slowly, his expression turning slightly mournful, as if the arrogance of the Clover Kingdom brought him deep, personal pain rather than tactical satisfaction. "They are blinded by their own greed and the sins of their ancestors. They cannot see the truth of this world. But we will show them."
"Indeed," Valtos agreed fervently. "Over the past several weeks, I have utilized my spatial portals to slip our most trusted operatives into the capital under the cover of night. They have successfully drawn the foundational spatial runes in all of the designated, highly populated areas. The market districts, the main thoroughfares, and the perimeters of the noble estates have all been marked."
Valtos paused, a flicker of dark pride entering his eyes. His spatial magic was the linchpin of this entire operation. Without his ability to create untraceable, instantaneous doorways across vast distances, moving an army into the heart of the most heavily guarded city on the continent would be impossible.
"The runes are dormant, entirely undetectable to their standard magical sensory wards," Valtos continued. "When the time comes, and you give the order, I can activate all the coordinates simultaneously. Our forces will bypass their grand magical barriers entirely and materialize directly in the center of their capital. It will be a flawless, overwhelming strike."
"Excellent work, Valtos," Licht praised gently, resting a hand on the gray-haired man's shoulder. The touch was warm, radiating a comforting pulse of mana. "Your precision and your dedication are the pillars upon which our salvation is built. And what of the vanguard? What of our distraction?"
Valtos's posture stiffened slightly at the question. The clinical, professional tone of his report wavered for a fraction of a second, replaced by a subtle undertone of distaste.
"Rades Spirito has been incredibly busy, Master," Valtos answered.
Just saying the name brought a foul taste to Valtos's mouth. Valtos viewed magic as a precise, elegant tool. He viewed their cause as a holy crusade led by a divine being.
Rades Spirito, on the other hand, was a walking nightmare.
The former commoner of the Clover Kingdom, who had been banished and ostracized for his terrifying abilities, was a man consumed entirely by a petty, localized desire for revenge. Rades had dark, messy hair, wide, unhinged eyes, and a face marred by thick, grotesque stitches. But his appearance was nothing compared to the abhorrent nature of his magic.
"Rades is currently operating near the northern borders," Valtos explained, keeping his voice carefully neutral. "He has been invading the remote, undefended outer villages. His Soul Corpse Magic requires fresh material, and he has been harvesting the peasants without mercy. He has significantly expanded his zombie army."
Valtos pictured the grotesque scene—Rades, laughing maniacally as he wove his dark, necrotic mana into the corpses of innocent villagers, stitching their flesh together with magic and forcing their souls back into their rotting bodies to serve as his mindless puppets. His favorite, the massive, heavily modified corpse he affectionately called 'Jimmy', had been upgraded with heavy iron plating stolen from a local blacksmith.
"He assures me that his legion of the dead will be more than sufficient to draw the attention of the Magic Knight squads," Valtos said, swallowing the bile in his throat. "When we launch the attack, Rades will flood the lower districts with his soul corpses. It will cause mass panic and force the Magic Knight Captains to spread their forces thin, leaving the central command vulnerable for our true strike."
"Rades carries a great deal of hatred in his heart," Licht murmured softly, his golden eyes gazing past Valtos, looking at something unseen. The sorrow in his voice deepened. "He was wronged by the Clover Kingdom. They feared his power, so they discarded him like trash. His anger is justified, even if his methods are... difficult to witness. We must embrace all those who have been scarred by the sins of this kingdom."
"He serves his purpose, Master," Valtos agreed quickly, not wanting to contradict his leader. "His army is ready. The spatial runes are set. We are merely waiting for your command to initiate the invasion."
Valtos closed his mouth, concluding his report. He stood there in the warm, golden light of the sanctuary, but his shoulders remained tense. His hands, hidden beneath the folds of his dark cloak, twitched slightly. He opened his mouth as if to speak again, then immediately clamped it shut. His eyes darted toward the floor, a clear sign of internal conflict.
He had delivered the tactical data. But there was something else. A lingering doubt, a strategic anomaly, or perhaps a concern about the volatility of relying on a madman like Rades for such a crucial phase of their holy mission.
Licht, whose empathy and emotional perception were practically supernatural, noticed the subtle shift in his loyal servant immediately.