King Aulus took the parchment from his apprentice, his sharp, calculating eyes scanning the stark, mechanical handwriting. The silence in the grand throne room grew so heavy that the rhythmic clinking of the Luminous Knights' ceremonial armor seemed to echo against the distant vaulted ceiling. The request for total erasure and a definitive three-month retirement timeline was highly unusual for a hunter at the absolute peak of their career, but the monarchs of Caria understood the toll that hunting S-rank monsters took on the human psyche. They assumed I was simply a broken vanguard seeking peace. They had no idea I was a mother calculating a fortress of safety for a demonic bloodline.
"Very well then,"
King Aulus said, his voice deep and final as he handed the note back to his scribe to be processed into the deepest, classified archives of the Crown.
"The city knows your face and your name, Eirene, but to the public and the official records, your true files will be buried. We will call you the Bounty Hunter from this day forth. Your identity will be shrouded, tied directly to the estate of your chosen kin, far beneath the gaze of the Bureau's standard registries."
Queen Aqua leaned forward, her gaze softening as she looked upon my tattered crimson trench coat and the calcified bone mask that shielded my true visage. Her voice carried the pristine, melodic weight of old nobility, yet it resonated with a fierce, deep-seated geopolitical relief.
"Our deepest gratitude belongs to you, Hunter, by tracking the precise, hidden location of Rebelbub Castle and eliminating the Immoral Knight Commander, you have severed the viper's head. The demons will never touch our walls again. For centuries, the Triangulum Continent has revolved in a cycle of deep, unyielding hatred toward humanity, and the Immoral Knights were the absolute peak of that malice. They allied themselves with the dark forces, trading their humanity for twisted, high-tier immortality, only to be completely dismantled and beaten by a girl like you. With Cameron Gal dead and Lara Meyer rotting in the depths of the Dodorant Citadel, we are now one step away from eliminating the demon threat entirely." the Queen said, her hands resting elegantly on the arms of her quartz throne.
The words echoed through the grand hall, drawing fervent nods of agreement and low murmurs of triumph from the assembly of noblemen and high-ranking paladins. To them, this was a holy victory. They looked at me and saw the ultimate human vanguard… a peerless, ruthless weapon of justice who had single-handedly broken a catastrophic alliance and brought the rebellion to its knees.
Behind the blank, expressionless mask of Leech's Hollow, a wave of dark, profound irony rippled through my silent mind.
The theater of it all was almost amusing. The King, the Queen, and the entire high military command of the Bureau were celebrating the total eradication of the demonic threat, entirely blind to the apex predator standing right in the center of their pristine obsidian floor. They praised me for protecting humanity from the "blood-sucking fiends," completely ignorant of the fact that I was the Crimson Phantom… the very baseline, S-rank winged demon who commanded a historic 16-gold bounty in their own deep-subterranean registries. They took comfort in the belief that the Immoral Knights' dark lineage was broken, never suspecting that the green-haired commander's unborn child was currently drawing life directly from my vampiric marrow, securely anchored within my womb.
I didn't offer a single movement or sound to betray the secret. I simply stood tall, my single, sightless right eye cavity hidden in the shadows of my mask, my massive blood wings remaining perfectly compressed beneath my cloak. The entire city would celebrate their heroic bounty hunter, and the Crown would build a fortress of anonymity around me to show their gratitude. I would take their gold, I would take the deed to my private manor, and during the three months left on my clock, I would use the kingdom's own royal protection to ensure that the next generation of the Phantom would be born in absolute safety, hidden in plain sight at the very top of the world.
Nearly an hour later, the grueling royal audience was finally over. The heavy gilded doors of Caria Castle closed behind us as I stepped back into the crisp morning air of the 9th District. The marble courtyard was peaceful now, a stark contrast to the blood-slicked stone bridge of Rebelbub Castle.
Evelyn walked briskly at my side, her bioluminescent hair tips faintly flickering out as the bright morning sun completely took over the sky. She looked up at me, her sharp eyes filled with genuine concern for my battle-scarred form.
"Big sister, where are you going now?" she asked softly, adjusting her Luminous Knight cloak.
I pulled out my charcoal pencil and rapidly scribbled a single word on my notepad before holding it up to her:
"Home."
Evelyn's face softened into a warm, understanding smile, and she nodded in deep agreement.
"Sure, big sister. I know it's been an incredibly exhausting run. Handling three S-rank bounties in just three weeks... honestly, it's terrifying. You more than deserve your retirement."
Without wasting another second, she turned toward the line of waiting Bureau carriages and let out a sharp, authoritative whistle that caught the attention of the royal escort.
"Knights! Take my big sister straight to the 3rd District, house 132. And make it quick! My sister deserves some uninterrupted rest." Evelyn commanded, her voice ringing with the discipline of a Rank 3 vanguard.
The heavily armored Bureau drivers immediately saluted, rushing to open the door of a premium, smooth-riding carriage. I stepped inside with my remaining right arm, settling into the plush leather seats. As the carriage began its smooth descent from the Crown down toward the tightly packed, middle-class townhouses of the Residential Commons, I rested a hand over my abdomen.
The battle was won, the gold was secure, and for the first time in a month, the bounty hunter was going home to rest.