"I am saying, f*cking get your shitty face away from me. It smells disgusting..."

The scrawny man’s face turned red in anger. His eyes turned cold as he released his oppressive killing intent solely onto the boy.

Alen felt the cold pressure slam over his whole body. The grip on his shirt tightened, but his face remained unnervingly calm.

"It seems you have a death wish, boy? Let me remind you who is in power here..."

The man loosened his hold on the collar and grabbed Alen’s throat instead, squeezing it hard.

Alen’s breath caught in his throat as his airway was cut off. His lungs tensed under the immense pressure, but he just looked at Hedric with cold eyes.

"Hehe... Die, you wild cat!"

The man squeezed his throat with all his strength.

*Crack!* *Crunch!*

The sickening sound of bones breaking filled the surrounding area. The atmosphere suddenly turned into dead silence as Alen’s arms dropped down limp. His body turned motionless.

The scrawny man’s grip loosened, and Alen fell to his knees on the hard ground.

Everyone watched them. The atmosphere turned into pin-drop silence for a few long seconds as they stared at his unmoving form.

Then, the crowd of bodyguards started to laugh and cheer.

"Haha... Look at that kid! He was just trying to intimidate Sir Hedric, haha... Poor guy met a bad ending..."

"Yeah... Quite a bad thing happened to him. It seems he suffered just because of his sharp tongue..."

"Haha... So innocent of him, not knowing who he was talking to. He deserves to die..."

While Hedric’s companions were cheering, L looked at Alen. His legs turned weak as he stumbled backward. His violet eyes dilated as he processed what had just happened to his companion.

His fists tightened and loosened as he glared at the scrawny man with freezing cold eyes.

The remaining companions were covering the perimeter, but their attention was caught by L as they stepped toward him.

But before the battle could unfold, a loud, agonizing scream filled the quiet park.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Everyone’s gaze suddenly turned toward the man. Hedric held his own broken hand. His shattered bones could be seen piercing right through his skin. Blood trailed down his arm as his breathing turned heavy, and thick tears fell from his eyes due to the immense pain.

"Hah... Hah... Ahhhh!!!"

Everyone’s expressions turned to pure shock at the unexpected situation. Their eyes darted toward the silver-haired boy kneeling on the ground.

Alen spat saliva onto the ground.

He clutched his throat and stood up slowly.

"Damn, that hurts, you shitty asshole..."

As he spoke, Crimson Essence started to coat his hand once again. He reached out, grabbed the man’s other uninjured hand, and squeezed it tightly.

*Crack!* *Crunch!*

The bones in Hedric’s other hand broke into pieces as another painful scream filled the park.

"AHHHHHHH!!!"

Everyone scrambled back in genuine fear. The strongest guy among them was screaming, his hands turned into bloody, wretched messes by just an innocent-looking boy.

L turned his eyes toward Alen, trying to find any hint of the weak guy who had just gotten beaten up by him during their sparring match earlier.

’Thank goodness, he is alright...’

L’s gaze then turned toward the remaining men. His eyes turned ice-cold as his silver sword appeared in his hand out of thin air. He stood there calmly.

[Luminous Ascension Art: Frost Field!]

He thrust his sword into the ground. Frost started to spread across the field, radiating from the tip of the sword touching the ground.

Slowly, it covered the entire park, excluding the small patch where Alen and Hedric stood. Many of the Awakeners felt themselves slip and fall on the sudden layer of thick ice.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

[Luminous Ascension Art: Mist of Snow!]

The mist, thick and swirling, began to materialize from the frost-covered ground, rapidly obscuring their vision and dropping the ambient temperature even further. It clung to everything, making the air feel heavy and their breath visible as small, white plumes.

Those caught in its freezing embrace shivered uncontrollably. Their movements became sluggish, and their senses dulled by the biting cold and opaque surroundings. Panic started to set in amongst Hedric’s companions. Their earlier cheers died in their throats as the playful atmosphere from moments ago transformed into a chilling nightmare. The joyous laughter was now replaced with gasps of fear and desperate shouts for their lost comrades.

But they didn’t get the time to regroup. L’s figure got obscured by the mist as the men looked around, blindly searching for their companions.

...

A man stood trapped in the Frost Field mist as he searched for his team. He heard the sound of clattering weapons echoing around him everywhere.

’What the hell happened? Where are the others?... Were they able to catch that boy? It is impossible for him to kill hundreds of us...’

’Damn, I am going to beat him to shit after I find him. I just slipped in this icy field two or three times just now...’

As he started to walk through the mist-filled field, he stumbled continuously, trying to find someone familiar. The dense mist even dampened the sound around him.

Suddenly, he heard a clash coming from the right direction.

*Clatter!* *Thud!*

He stepped forward toward the noise, wanting to meet his ally, expecting to see the bruised boy captured.

But suddenly, something caught on his heavy boot. He looked down as he felt a warm liquid flow through the gap in his pants and onto his leg.

He bowed down, flicking his hand to clear the mist so he could see. A half-headless body lay right beneath his legs. He tried to read who it was, wondering if it was the boy or his companion.

His gaze caught the name tag. It unnervingly belonged to one of his own teammates.

"Ahhhh! Hah... hah... Hah... Ahhhhh!!"

He scrambled backward in sheer fear. He stumbled as his legs hit something else. The mist slowly cleared around that spot, revealing another lifeless body rolling on the frost.

"AHHHHH!!!"

He looked around and saw many internal organs scattered across the frozen grass. Various body parts were cleanly cut. His breathing fastened as he suddenly felt a sharp chill run down his spine.

A guy with black hair and glowing violet eyes appeared silently right behind him. L leaned down and whispered near his ear, his eyes as cold as the dead.

"I told you earlier, you shouldn’t touch him. But now it is too late to regret!"

The man didn’t even get the time to react to the whisper. His head got split cleanly from his neck. It slid off and fell onto the Frost Field, rolling around before coming to a dead stop. His wide eyes paused one last time, staring into L’s eyes before he died.

As the mist slowly started to clear, the very last of their companions was dead.

Hundreds of bodies could be seen scattered across the frozen park. In the exact center of the slaughter stood a boy wearing a cloak, gripping a bloodstained silver sword in his hand, the blade reflecting the afternoon sunlight.