With the hotel service completely transformed, I immediately walked over to the windows and pulled the brand-new, thick curtains shut, plunging the room into a cool, comforting darkness. Blessed relief washed over me as the burning desert sun was entirely locked out. Feeling safe at last, I unclasped my heavy canvas cloak and let it slide off my shoulders, exposing my heavily scarred body and the massive, folded structure on my back.
I collapsed onto the freshly changed, crisp white sheets, letting out a satisfied sigh as the cool fabric met my irritated skin.
Alta watched from across the room, her eyes widening slightly as she took in the full, unhindered view of my back.
"Wow... so those really are the wings of the Crimson Phantom," her deep, masculine voice rumbled softly from her beautiful frame.
She walked closer to the bed, looking down at me with a mixture of awe and melancholy.
"I'm genuinely surprised, Eirene. You've changed so much. This isn't the innocent girl I knew back in Rebelbub Village... you really have become a monster. But honestly, looking at what the world did to you, I can't even blame you. Tell me, do any of your siblings know about this?"
Hearing her question, I sat up slightly and shook my head, silently denying it. While my baby sister Evelyn had seen my true form, the rest of my family remained completely oblivious to the dark, blood-sucking reality of what I had become, and I intended to keep it that way to protect them.
Alta sighed, her expression shifting back to the focused, elite Diamond-rank professional she was.
"Well, don't get too comfortable resting just yet, Eirene. We still have a lot of work to do. I know you're an S-rank bounty hunter now, but I still have nearly a century of field experience when it comes to formal monster hunting, though, at its core, it's pretty much the same as hunting down human bounties."
With a sharp, authoritative flick of her wrist, Alta unrolled the torn Neospider contract and pinned it flat against the surface of the table. She looked over at me, gesturing for me to get up from the cozy bed. It was time to map out our strategy, analyze the cave layout, and prepare to face the breeding grounds of the colony before the desert heat broke.
I sat back down on the edge of the crisp, clean bed, my massive blood wings fluttering restlessly behind me as they enjoyed the freedom from my tight cloak. Across the room, Alta remained entirely focused, smoothing out the edges of the parchment on the wooden table.
"According to the Bureau's latest ecological data, the Neospiders completely migrated out of the damp, Mediterranean regions over the last few months. That explains their sudden, drastic extinction in those climates. They adapted to the arid wastes, evolved, and have successfully birthed a brand-new Neospider Queen. The main nest is located directly north of Sisiphon City, right where several hidden oases are scattered across the dunes. But luckily for us, one of those specific oases has a deep, personal connection to me."
I raised an eyebrow beneath my leather eyepatch, tilting my head to signal her to elaborate.
Alta leaned against the table, a soft, rare look of nostalgia crossing her beautiful, feminine features.
"There is a beautiful, hidden oasis out there accompanied entirely by elves. It is known as the Petrivna Tribe. They are an isolated, peaceful group, and the elves there have been incredibly kind to me over the decades I've traveled through these lands."
The moment the name Petrivna left Alta's lips, a violent jolt of shock ran through my entire body, freezing me in place on the bed.
My mind flashed back to just weeks ago, during my bloody four-day crusade to dismantle the drug cartel. Before I had successfully assassinated the terrifying drug lord Oksana, I had infiltrated her inner circle by disguising myself as a submissive, loyal human apprentice named Zenni. I remembered standing beside a stone pillar in a lavish courtyard, smelling her suffocating lavender perfume, as Oksana bared her soul to me.
She had told me her entire tragic backstory, how twenty years ago, she had been a little elven girl and an alchemy prodigy brewing flawless potions for her people, the Petrivna Tribe, in a beautiful, hidden oasis. She told me how brutal human traders had violently shattered that harmony, stabbing her mother through the throat right in front of her eyes before dragging her into a covered carriage to be sold into a life of torturous slavery here in Sisiphon City. That raw, unadulterated hatred for humanity had driven her to take the sacred elven lotus flowers from her broken hometown oasis to create Lotus Dust, building a multi-million gold empire purely to watch human kingdoms collapse under the weight of addiction.
And now, the very same tribe that had birthed the city's greatest monster was the key to finding our targets.
Seeing the sudden, intense look in my single jade-green eye, Alta paused, furrowing her brow in confusion as she realized the name of the Petrivna Tribe had struck a dangerously deep chord within me.
Alta noticed the sudden, tense rigidity in my posture and mistook it for standard caution regarding the reclusive nature of elves.
"Don't worry, Eirene, the elves of the Petrivna Tribe are incredibly kind people. Years ago, I managed to save their village from a devastating beast horde, so they hold a deep debt of gratitude toward me. They will absolutely help us navigate the oasis and locate the entrance to that sand cave. Now, come on, Eirene. The day is burning away, and we must leave right now if we want to beat the worst of the afternoon heat."
I forced the thoughts of Oksana's bloody demise out of my head and nodded. There was no use dwelling on the ghost of a drug lord I had already slaughtered.
I stood up from the bed, grabbing my essential gear. I pulled the heavy, dark canvas cloak back over my shoulders, carefully concealing my blood wings once more. Next, I grabbed the heavy Death Chant Shotgun. Instead of hiding it beneath the fabric this time, I deliberately strapped it securely across my back so that the cold steel barrel was fully visible to anyone watching, a clear, universal warning to any lingering criminals on the streets that I was not a target to be trifled with.
Finally, I hooked my leather purse onto my side, verifying that my fresh notepads and pencils were safely tucked away inside. With a silent look toward Alta, I unlocked the door, and together we exited the pristine room, stepping out of the Sand-Glass Inn and back into the sweltering, bright expanses of Sisiphon City.