We walked back through the winding, honeycombed tunnels of the sandstone cavern, leaving the scorched bodies of the brood behind us as we headed toward the glowing light of the exit. Alta walked just half a step ahead of me, carefully carrying the Neospider Queen's heart, which was roughly the size of a human head and still throbbed with a faint, residual magical warmth.
Looking at that grotesque organ, a wave of nostalgia washed over me as I remembered the very beginning of my journey in Town Allure. It was a heart exactly like this one, taken from a different infestation, that I had dragged back to the Bureau offices years ago to prove my worth; that single achievement had instantly promoted me to a Silver-ranked hunter, launching the career that eventually turned me into the Crimson Phantom. Now, Alta was holding this massive specimen as our definitive, ironclad proof of slaying the Queen to secure our payout.
Feeling the danger pass, I reached behind me and strapped the heavy Death Chant Shotgun securely back onto my shoulder. The moment my fingers left the grip, the ominous crimson glow faded from the silver linings, the weapon going dormant once more as it stopped feeding on my mutated life force.
As we walked, the rhythmic clinking of my leather purse against my hip reminded me of everything I was carrying. Inside that sturdy bag rested my entire life and the newly acquired treasures of this journey. I had my Registry of the Condemned, the dark ledger where I kept track of my targets, packed tightly alongside my three fresh notepads and a sturdy graphite pencil. Nestled right next to them was the leather-bound recipe book of authentic elven cuisine that Chief Mona Petrivna had gifted me at the feast, along with the small, heavy pouch of glowing exotic seeds I hoped to plant one day. My fingers could trace the edges of the detailed map of Sisiphon City, the polished brass compass that Alta had handed to me for our desert navigation, my official Bureau status card detailing my rank, and a heavy, jingling pouch filled with my remaining silver coins.
With our contract fulfilled and our gear secure, we finally stepped past the threshold of the sand cave, leaving the suffocating darkness of the tunnels behind as the cool, crisp air of the desert night welcomed us back.
The moment we stepped out into the crisp desert night, the elven guards stationed around the cave entrance snapped to attention. Their eyes went wide with absolute shock as they looked at us, then down at the lantern strapped to my thigh, and finally at what Alta was holding.
"Alta... that was incredibly fast! You two went into those caves barely twenty minutes ago! Did you... did you actually manage to kill the Queen already?"
Alta offered a calm, confident grin and lifted her hands, holding up the massive, head-sized Neospider Queen heart for them all to see.
"We don't leave jobs half-done," she said smoothly.
The guards stared at the dripping, monstrous organ in utter awe. It was completely unprecedented to them that just two hunters could venture into a high-tier mutated nest, slaughter the brood, and execute the Queen in a mere twenty minutes.
"By the gods... they actually finished the contract, we must report this to Chief Mona immediately! Go on ahead!" another guard whispered, shaking his head in disbelief. He quickly turned to his companion, his composure returning.
Without losing another second, two of the elven scouts sprinted ahead into the darkness to deliver the incredible news. Alta and I followed at a more casual pace, escorted by the remaining vanguards. It wasn't long before the warm, welcoming green canopy of the oasis appeared on the horizon, and we officially arrived back at the safety of the Petrivna village.
Chief Mona was already waiting for us at the entrance of the village, surrounded by a few sleepy but deeply relieved elven elders. Since the midnight sky was thick and the burning sun was long gone, I finally reached up and let my hood fall back completely, allowing my sensitive skin to breathe in the cool night air.
Mona's eyes filled with profound gratitude as she looked at us, stepping forward with a gentle, warm smile.
"You have done our tribe a service that words can barely repay, you have avenged our fallen scouts and secured the safety of our home for generations to come. Thank you, Alta. Thank you, Eirene."
With a nod to her attendants, they brought forward a heavy, beautifully carved wooden chest. Mona opened it, revealing the prize we had been searching for: the boxes of pure neospider silk.
I reached out and touched the strands. Unlike normal spider silk, this mutated desert variety was incredibly strong, lightweight, and practically indestructible. Because of the neospiders' evolutionary traits, the silk was heavily imbued with raw, pure mana. This meant it could act as a magical thread capable of repairing and resizing high-tier magic items, including my beloved crimson trench coat, which desperately needed tailoring to fit my monstrous anatomy. If we were to take this silk back to the Bureau or sell it in the bustling merchant district of Caria City, its extreme rarity would command an absolute fortune.
I could already picture selling a portion of this haul to Olive; she would easily turn this into serious, life-changing money for us.
I offered Chief Mona and the elves a deep, respectful bow, communicating my immense gratitude without a single word.
But with the midnight hour pressing heavily upon us, we couldn't linger in paradise forever. We bid a final farewell to the Petrivna Tribe, stepped out of the emerald canopy of the oasis, and headed back into the vast, dark desert expanses, setting our sights on Sisiphon City to finally begin our long journey home.
The two-hour march back through the silent, dark sands went by quickly, and soon the massive sandstone gates of Sisiphon City loomed ahead of us once more. We slipped back inside just as the early morning chill began to settle over the streets.
Normally, I could have bypassed the mundane travel altogether and simply flown us back across the borders, but deploying my blood wings out here was a death sentence. The active bounty on the "Crimson Phantom"... the notorious, blood-sucking winged demon… was still heavily posted across the region. With the authorities and hungry bounty hunters on high alert, I had to keep my monstrous traits tightly locked away under my canvas cloak. We would have to endure a standard, two-day carriage ride to get all the way back to Caria City.
Alta handled the logistics with her usual efficiency. She navigated the transport stalls, fetched a sturdy covered ride from a traveling merchant, and smoothly flipped him a single gold coin to secure our passage.
I climbed into the back of the carriage, my right hand firmly gripping the heavy wooden box of mutated neospider silk resting securely on my lap. As the driver cracked his whip and the wheels began to churn against the dirt, we left the city walls of Sisiphon behind, officially starting our long, quiet journey home.