The road stretched far beyond what the eye could measure, cutting through dry land, scattered trees, and uneven stone paths that slowed their pace just enough to remind them—this wasn't training anymore. No boundaries. No resets. Just distance and time.
Four targets. Eight days.
Shizuma walked at the front, envelope in hand, his gaze shifting between the path ahead and the map he had already memorized once. Behind him, the group moved in a loose formation—not organized, but not careless either. It was new. This feeling of moving together.
Corjaudo broke the silence first. "…So just confirming, if I die, none of you are carrying me, right?"
"No," Kaito replied instantly.
"…Yeah, I expected that."
Jenres smirked, walking with her hands behind her head. "We might use you as bait though."
"That's even worse."
Daigo exhaled quietly. "Focus."
Arai said nothing, her eyes constantly scanning the terrain, every movement, every sound. Tetsuya walked silently, slightly apart—but never out of sync.
Shizuma adjusted the envelope again, pulling the paper slightly to recheck the first location.
"…Gokyo Village," he murmured.
As he shifted the paper, something slipped out.
A small folded chit dropped to the ground.
Kaito noticed immediately. "…You dropped something."
Shizuma stopped and picked it up. It wasn't part of the main document. Smaller. Different texture.
"…What is it?" Jenres asked, stepping closer.
Shizuma unfolded it.
His eyes paused for a brief second.
Then stilled.
"…Code names," he said.
Silence.
Then—
Corjaudo rushed in. "WAIT WHAT?!"
Kaito leaned over his shoulder. "Let me see that."
Shizuma held it slightly outward.
One by one, they looked.
A pause—
then Jenres burst out laughing. "No way."
Corjaudo grabbed the chit. "…WHAT IS THIS?!"
Kaito smirked faintly. "…This is actually good."
Daigo read his once, expression unchanged. "…Hmph."
Arai glanced at hers silently.
Corjaudo's face twisted. "WHY AM I 'SCRAP RAT'?!"
Jenres immediately pointed at him, laughing. "That's PERFECT."
"IT IS NOT PERFECT!"
Kaito tapped his own name. "At least yours makes sense."
"WHAT DOES YOURS SAY?!" Corjaudo snapped.
Kaito tilted the chit slightly. "…Flash Fang."
A pause.
"…Okay that's cool," Corjaudo admitted, then immediately frowned. "WAIT NO WHY DO YOU GET THAT?!"
Jenres grinned, reading hers again. "'Wild Hunt.' Yeah, I'm keeping that."
Daigo crossed his arms. "…'Iron Core.'"
Corjaudo looked defeated. "Of course. Of course you get something solid."
Kaito glanced at Arai's. "…'Silent Edge.'"
Arai didn't respond.
But she didn't deny it either.
Corjaudo immediately turned. "Okay, what about Tetsuya—"
Tetsuya didn't even look. "…Doesn't matter."
"…That's unfairly cool," Jenres said.
Corjaudo turned back sharply. "WAIT—SHIZUMA."
Silence fell.
Everyone looked at him.
Kaito smirked slightly. "Yeah… what's the leader got?"
Shizuma didn't react at first. Then he tilted the chit just enough.
"…Zero."
The air shifted slightly.
Jenres raised an eyebrow. "…That's cold."
Daigo nodded once. "…Fitting."
Kaito smirked. "Makes sense."
Corjaudo looked personally offended. "WHY DOES HE GET THE BEST ONE?!"
"Because he's him," Kaito replied.
"…I hate this team."
A brief moment passed.
Light.
Human.
The tension eased just enough.
Then—
Shizuma folded the chit.
"…Enough."
The tone changed instantly.
Kaito noticed. "…You saw something."
Shizuma unfolded the main sheet again. His eyes scanned the first target's details, sharper now.
"…First village. Gokyo."
Everyone focused.
"Fragment user," he continued. "…Type—Venom."
Silence.
Corjaudo blinked. "…That sounds horrible."
"It is," Shizuma replied.
He continued reading. "…Name—unknown. Status—active. Threat level—B-tier."
Jenres cracked her knuckles lightly. "Good."
Shizuma's gaze lingered on the final section.
"…Reason for engagement…"
He paused briefly.
"…The target is poisoning the village."
The air shifted again.
"Venom spreading through water sources, air contact… anything that carries."
Kaito frowned. "…So it's not just combat."
"No," Arai said quietly. "…It's contamination."
Daigo stepped forward slightly. "Then we stop it fast."
Shizuma's voice lowered slightly as he read the last line.
"…Intent—global spread."
Silence.
No jokes this time.
Corjaudo swallowed. "…So he's not just crazy… he's planning."
"Driven," Arai corrected.
Kaito exhaled slowly. "…That makes it worse."
Jenres smirked faintly. "Finally something worth fighting."
Tetsuya, who had been silent until now, spoke once. "…We're close."
Shizuma looked up.
The horizon had changed.
Something moved in the distance.
Dark.
Shifting.
Corjaudo squinted. "…Don't tell me…"
Kaito stopped walking.
"…Crows."
As they moved forward, the sky above the distant village twisted into motion.
Hundreds of black wings circling.
Layer over layer.
A living shadow.
Jenres smiled slightly. "That's not ominous at all."
Daigo's expression hardened. "…It's wrong."
Arai's voice was low. "…They're reacting."
"To what?" Corjaudo asked.
No one answered.
They got closer.
The air felt heavier.
Thicker.
Like something unseen was already spreading.
Then—
one crow cried out.
Sharp.
Piercing.
Every head snapped upward.
Then—
the entire Murder moved.
All at once.
A violent explosion of wings as the Murder of Crows scattered across the sky, breaking formation instantly, fleeing outward like something had disturbed them.
The sound echoed.
Loud.
Unnatural.
And then—
silence.
Complete.
Corjaudo whispered, "…Yeah I don't like that."
Kaito exhaled slowly. "…That wasn't normal."
"No," Shizuma said.
His eyes locked onto the village ahead.
Still.
Quiet.
Waiting.
"…It wasn't."
No movement.
No voices.
Just empty structures in the distance.
Shizuma stepped forward.
"…We've arrived."
No one joked now.
No one spoke.
Because the moment they crossed into that silence—
they all felt it.
Something was already inside.
Spreading.
Waiting.
And this time—
there was no training.
No second chance.
Only the mission.