One day, the mission board was crowded with mercenaries.
New posting in red paper. Everyone new what it meant.
Every once in a while there will be a mission quest from the knight barracks or nobles requesting mercenaries of S+ rank and above to deal with some dangerous mission.
Lysa scanned it, brow furrowing. "These weren't here yesterday."
Brunn whistled. "Deep-range hunt. Unmapped territory."
Owen read the details slowly.
Something in his chest tightened not fear but wariness.
"I'm in," he said.
Lysa hesitated. Just for a second. Then nodded. "Yeah. Me too."
Brunn grinned. "Knew it. Wouldn't miss it for the world."
Meanwhile a figure stood on the upper balcony of the guild hall. It was the guildmaster. Face shadowed but his grin was visible nobody but Owen who instinctively looked up at him. As they exchanged stares Lysa suddenly called out to him.
"He's as interesting as the reports claimed." he chuckled as he walked back to his office.
They didn't leave immediately.
That was the first mercy the world gave them.
The contract required preparation of food supplies, anti-toxin seals, preservation salts. The kind of mission that didn't forgive laziness. So they stayed in town for another week, and that week became… memorable.
Brunn discovered a love for spicy street food that nearly killed him.
"I can see the ancestors," he wheezed, face red, sweat pouring. "They're telling me I shouldn't have eaten that."
Lysa patted his back. "They're right."
Owen silently slid the rest of his portion away.
Brunn noticed. "You traitor."
They sparred more during that week.
Not formal training. Just movement. Brunn liked raw power, overwhelming pressure. Lysa fought clean and clever, mana shaping space and timing. And Owen… adapted.
Copy. Execute. Repeat
Just finding gaps where none should exist.
One afternoon, Brunn dropped to one knee, laughing breathlessly. "Okay, nah. what sort of trickery is this?"
Owen blinked. "You just slipped."
"I didn't slip," Brunn grinned. "You weren't there when I swung."
Lysa crossed her arms, studying Owen with narrowed eyes. "You're getting harder to read."
He shrugged. "Sorry?"
"Stop apologizing," she said immediately.
"…Habit."
She sighed. "We're working on that."
That night before the departure, Lysa couldn't sleep.
She sat on the inn's roof again, legs tucked in, watching the city lights flicker. She didn't notice Owen climb up beside her until he sat down.
"You're brooding," he said.
She snorted. "So are you. Just quieter."
They sat shoulder to shoulder.
After a long pause, she spoke. "I've lost people."
Owen didn't interrupt.
"Friends. Teams. People who said 'we'll be fine' right before everything went wrong." Her fingers tightened on the fabric of her cloak. "You start thinking you're cursed after a while."
He swallowed. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because," she said softly, "when I'm with you two… it's easier to forget."
The words hung heavy.
Owen stared at his hands. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."
She smiled, small and sad. "Yeah. Thanks."
They left at dawn.
The road stretched long and empty, the land slowly shifting from familiar paths to wild terrain. Trees grew denser. The air felt heavier.
Brunn cracked his neck. "You feel that?"
Lysa nodded. "Yeah."
Owen didn't say anything.
He'd felt it since sunrise.
Something was wrong.
They made camp at the edge of a ravine that night.
The stars were sharp overhead. Too clear.
Lysa traced a sigil into the ground, reinforcing the perimeter. Brunn sharpened his axe quietly.
Owen stared into the fire.
"Hey," Brunn said suddenly. "When this is over, drinks are on me."
Lysa smiled. "This again?."
"I'm serious."
Owen looked up. "Why?"
Brunn shrugged. "No reason. Just feels right."
The fire crackled.
Somewhere far away, something howled.
Too deep. Too long.
Lysa's hand stilled.
"…Ah shit isn't it a bit too late for fighting," she whispered.
Owen rose to his feet, grip tightening around Seishi.
The forest suddenly went silent.
Morning came wrong.
Not dark. Not stormy. Just… quiet.
Owen hadn't slept the whole night, the fire burned low, embers pulsing like a heartbeat that didn't want to stop. He sat up, listening. No birds. No insects. Even the wind felt like it was holding its breath.
He stood and stepped beyond the camp's edge.
That's when he felt it.
Not fear.
Pressure.
Like the forest itself was aware of something.
"Owen."
He turned. Lysa stood a few steps behind him, cloak wrapped tight, eyes sharp. "You feel it too?"
He nodded. "Yeah."
Brunn's voice came next, groggy but alert. "Ahh So I'm not the only one whose skin feels like it's crawling."
They regrouped quietly.
No jokes. No banter.
That alone said everything.
The ravine was worse in daylight.
It cut through the land like something had clawed it open, jagged stone descending into a fog-choked depth. The map said this was the route. The map also hadn't been updated in decades.
Brunn peered over the edge. "Yeah nah. I hate this."
Lysa exhaled slowly. "We skirt the edge. No climbing down unless we have to."
Owen nodded, eyes scanning the terrain. Tracks. Old ones. Too big. Too many.
"Someone's been here," he said.
Brunn frowned. "Mercs?"
"…No."
That answer sat badly with them.
They encountered the first body an hour later.
Armor split open like paper. No blood left—just dried black stains and claw marks gouged deep into stone.
Lysa crouched, hand hovering over the corpse without touching it. "This wasn't fast."
Brunn clenched his jaw. "How many teams took this job?"
Owen looked away. "Four."
They didn't linger.
That night, they camped earlier than planned.
Nobody argued.
Brunn broke the silence first, voice quieter than usual. "When this is done… I was thinking of heading south. Heard there's good work near the coast."
Lysa glanced at him. "You? Near water?"
He grimaced. "I can learn."
She smiled softly. "I'd like that."
Owen stared at the fire. "I don't know where I'll go."
Brunn snorted. "You'll figure it out. You always do."
Owen didn't respond.
Something about that sentence felt heavy.
All of it was short lived as suddenly his instincts started screaming without warning.
He moved without thinking grabbing Lysa and yanking her back as something in the ground shifted and moments later something massive tore through the earth where she'd been standing.
Stone exploded.
A beast hauled itself out of the ravine, hide layered in jagged plates, eyes glowing a sickly amber. Its breath steamed, heavy and wet.
Brunn swore. "We haven't seen a mana beast that looks like that yet..."
"Formation!" Lysa shouted.