"I would like to express my gratitude to all of you for gracing me with such gifts, performances, and, most importantly, your presence. I understand you are doing this because it is my first birthday after the great war, as I did not receive any of this during my birthday on the battlefield," he said.

The crowd burst into laughter as they realized it was impossible to hold a birthday party on the battlefield.

After the crowd settled down, he continued, "Unlike most of the generals present here, I was just a lowly commoner—a child who had to beg for a morsel of bread to fill my stomach for the day. But today, I stand before the great king of the Lux kingdom and his compatriots as the Hero of the kingdom. Let's raise our cups and thank the mysterious hands of fate." He raised his cup, followed by the other leaders and the crowd as a whole.

"CHEERS!" they all said in unison, chunked down their wine, before continuing their merry-making.

"Master, sit back and relax; we have more surprises awaiting you," William said with a smile as he raised his cup to Francesco.

"Bring it on. Hahaha," Francesco laughed heartily as he drank, expecting more surprises.

He sensed a powerful magical energy surrounding the mansion but dismissed it, attributing it to the surprises promised by his only student.

Outside, white-robed men, the kingdom's strongest mages, chanted and expended significant energy to erect a barrier. Meticulously erected poles with intricate light element designs stood around the estate. Positioned mages chanted as magic circles enveloped the poles, gradually raising a barrier that enveloped the entire estate.

"Bring the artifact!" shouted an elderly mage in similar white robes. In response, men clad in black armor pushed a large altar toward him, featuring the image of their sun at its center, dimly adding luminance to the surroundings.

Four more mages joined him, pouring their mana into it. The image gained body as it rose, merging with the barrier. The barrier absorbed it, reacting by exuding brightness that surpassed even that of the sun.

The brilliance was so intense that I had to narrow my eyes that day.

The mages who had performed the ritual turned to dust, sacrificing their lives for the sake of their country.

"Huh, what's that?"

"Is the sun descending?"

"That's too bright."

"..."

"..."

Murmurs filled the room as they were all blinded by the intense light.

"Is this the surprise? Well, I am surprised, but can you tone it down a little?" Francesco said, also blinded. To his dismay, there was no response, and the bright light showed no sign of dimming.

"Hey, can you guys hear me?" he shouted, but once again, there was no response.

" AH!! " He screamed as he felt a sharp pain in his back, followed by the warm sensation of his blood trickling staining his robes.

" An ambush, " He thought to himself as he regulated his mana, trying to conjure his undead army, but to his surprise, his mana was not responding to his will.

" What?! " He exclaimed, " The light must be responsible," He thought as he dodged an attack to his heart.

He was now as blind as a bat and could not control his mana to call out his formidable army but he did not panic as he did not get the title of greatest hero in the continent by relying on his necromancy alone.

Dodging the attack, he threw a punch in its direction, breaking the sturdy armor and hitting the undefended body of the assailant.

Thinking he made contact, he attempted to grab the assailant but swiftly withdrew his hand, sensing an attack to his back.

"Who are you? Do you know what you are doing? The entire army of the Lux Kingdom is here..." he shouted, trying to buy time to regain control of his mana.

" ARGH!! " He screamed again as swift but shallow slashes were made all over his body.

" We got this in the bag, it seems we might win without losing anyone... I guess that witch was just a quack " William thought to himself as he watched the battle from a safe side, the enchanted goggles he wore allowing him to see despite the bright light.

He saw the battle progress in their favor as his men bruised and cut Francesco who seemed like a sitting duck waiting for its demise.

" What's that, " William thought as he felt a fluctuation in the mana in the air followed by a huge turbulence, the ground shook, breaking the grand hall's floor, causing anyone standing on it to fall into the dark basement.

"Huh, this is better," Francesco exclaimed, satisfied that his plan had worked.

While they cut and beat him, he strategically refrained from counterattacking. Maneuvering the little control of his mana, he broke the hall grounds, allowing himself to fall into the dark basement. It was dimly lit, slowly increasing in brilliance as the light of the barrier crept in, moving much slower than usual due to the basement's saturation with dark mana, its polar opposite.

"Now let's see your faces," Francesco exclaimed as he opened his eyes.

In front of him lay the corpses of all the people present, including the king. Panicked, he quickly rushed to the king's side. The king was bleeding profusely, his heartbeat stopped, and his body slowly lost its warmth.

"Cough!!!... Cough!!!... Mas...ter, Cough!!!, Cough!!!" William's voice reverberated in the basement.

Francesco turned towards him, his pitch-black eyes, an effect of his dark arts, reflected the image of his only student lying in his own blood. William's left leg was cleanly cut off, his right eye gouged out, and his right hand held the spear sticking out of his body.

Francesco rushed over, his calm demeanor completely collapsed at the sight of his student and the rest of the corpses in his room.

The corpses like William, seemed to have been massacred by assassins, limbs littered the grounds, hands peering through the rubble, their eyes filled with horror of their unknown demise.

"Don't talk; I will heal you," Francesco said as a green energy enveloped his hand. Placing it on William's chest, he tried to stabilize his heartbeat before removing the spear.

As he did this, William, supposedly dying, smiled maniacally. "We got him."

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