The heavy iron-reinforced carriage doors of the Branch 1 transport convoy rattled with a dull, metallic vibration against the porcelain tiles of the Grand Cathedral plaza. Before me stood a formidable, highly disciplined vanguard: six massive, black-timbered carriages constructed to withstand the crushing blizzards of the frost-bound frontier, flanked by exactly thirty elite personnel. Every single one of them was an S-rank Luminous Knight, standing in rigid, flawless formation. Their uniforms formed a striking, uniform sea of pristine white and scarlet… the sacred color palette of the kingdom's divine protectors.
I stood out like an absolute anomaly among their ranks. Clad in my flame-resistant crimson trench coat, my Leech's Hollow Mask tightly fastened over my features, and my canvas hood pulled low, I looked more like an underworld executioner than a holy vanguard. Because my primary occupation was registered as an independent S-rank Bounty Hunter, the Bureau administration had explicitly chosen not to interfere with my specialized combat attire, allowing me to retain the gear that concealed both my biological mutations and the heavy arsenal hidden beneath my coat.
Pope Corneas stood strictly beside me, his long, gold-threaded pontifical vestments rustling in the crisp, mounting wind of the 8th District. He looked out over the assembled military force, his weathered face etched with deep, solemn gravity.
"Ah, this is the assembly for Branch 1, I suppose you will be departing for the Northern borders shortly, Sister Eirene. The reports from the scouting towers indicate heavy, unnatural snow is already falling across the high peaks. The region is turning into an absolute frozen wasteland." the Pope murmured, his deep baritone cutting through the rhythmic clatter of horse tack and securing chains.
I didn't answer, keeping my mouth firmly closed over the dark cavity of my missing tongue, but my single jade-green eye instinctively scanned the perimeter of the lead carriage.
Then, my heart initiated a sudden, violent sprint against my ribs. Behind the absolute psychic barrier of my mask, my breath caught completely in my throat. My entire body went rigid as a wave of profound, paralyzing shock rippled through my veins.
Standing beside the lead transport, adjusting a thick, heavy layer of fur-lined winter robes over the standard silver-and-white uniform of a High-Tier Cathedral Healer, was a woman I recognized instantly.
It was my eldest sister, Elicia Rynd.
Her striking silver hair was tied back tightly to keep it from whipping in the wind, and her vibrant crimson eyes… the exact same shade as our brother Elias's… bored into the logistics ledgers with an icy, unyielding focus. I had absolutely no idea she was even in the capital, let alone registered for active border deployment. To my knowledge, she was supposed to be safely ensconced behind the prestigious ivory desks of the Sisiphon Magic Academy, managing academic rosters far away from the blood-soaked front lines of the Bureau.
Pope Corneas followed my frozen gaze, a faint, knowing sigh escaping his lips as he gestured toward her commanding silhouette.
"Well, that woman there is the officially designated commanding officer and chief medical authority of Branch 1… Elicia Rynd, She is, if the old bloodline registries are correct, your biological eldest sister. She recently decided to take an indefinite sabbatical from her administrative position at the Sisiphon Magic Academy to personally volunteer for this border containment operation." the Pope revealed, entirely oblivious to the chaotic internal storm raging behind my mask.
I watched her through the narrow eyehole of my mask. Elicia's posture was completely transformed. The gentle, domestic older sister who used to cook me beef stew and fuss over my health in our small Town Allure kitchen was entirely gone. In her place stood a fierce, unyielding commander, her voice ringing out across the plaza with a sharp, authoritative cadence as she directed the armored paladins and mapped out the supply distribution. She looked harder, older, and deeply scarred by a profound internal weight.
"Look at how ferocious her demeanor has become, A few months ago, she traveled down to Town Allure to visit her family home, only to discover a tragic ledger... she was told her youngest sister had passed away during a syndicate crisis. She believes she is entirely alone now, using this brutal deployment as a means to drown her grief in service to the kingdom. And yet... here you stand, right beside me, alive and wielding the power of a Luminous Knight. The irony of the heavens is truly vast, Eirene. Should I step forward and reveal the truth to her? Should I tell her that her 'Little Ren' is standing right here?" Pope Corneas whispered softly, his eyes reflecting a deep sense of pastoral pity.
A cold, immediate panic flared within my chest. If Elicia discovered I was alive, her hyper-protective instincts would instantly collide with the reality of my current existence. She would look closer. She would see the missing arm, the missing tongue, the Level 8 Mana Pool ring, and the volatile, blood-sucking demonic biology currently sustaining the heretical life growing inside my womb. She would try to heal a monster that had already evolved far beyond the reach of her Divine Regeneration. It would destroy the fragile illusion she had built, and it would draw the Bureau's darkest administrative eyes directly onto her.
I quickly turned my head toward the Pope, my single jade-green eye wide with frantic, uncharacteristic intensity behind the mask. Using my remaining right hand, I gave a sharp, definitive, and absolute horizontal wave of my fingers… firmly declining his offer.
The secret had to remain buried beneath the stone. For her own survival, Elicia had to continue believing that Eirene Rynd was resting peacefully beneath the rain-soaked granite of the Western District cemetery. I was no longer the little sister she could protect; I was a weapon of the Bureau, and our paths were destined to march together into the freezing northern twilight as absolute strangers.
I kept my head bowed low, the heavy canvas hood of my crimson trench coat casting a deep shadow over my Leech's Hollow Mask as Pope Corneas and I officially crossed the threshold into the Branch 1 staging ground. The sudden silence that rippled through the nearest ranks of Luminous Knights signaled her approach before I even saw her boots step onto the stone.
Elicia strode over, her thick winter-grade robes rustling against the pristine leather of her healer's uniform. Her sharp, crimson eyes instantly locked onto the Pope, offering a disciplined, authoritative nod of her head before her gaze drifted down to my unorthodox, blood-colored attire.
"Good noon, Pope Corneas,"
Elicia said, her voice carrying a crisp, military weight that I had never heard back in our small kitchen in Town Allure.
She gestured toward me with a slight furrow of her silver-framed brow.
"Who is this girl? Why is she not wearing the standard Luminous Knight uniform?"
I remained perfectly still, my lips pressed tightly together over my missing tongue as I subtly shifted my spatial purse, letting the Pope handle the narrative.
"Ah, do not be deceived by her lack of formal attire, Commander Elicia, she is a registered independent S-rank operative, currently holding seventh place on the Luminous Knight leaderboard under her official designation: Bounty Hunter. Don't let her silence fool you; she is an exceptionally tough one." Pope Corneas explained smoothly, his deep baritone carrying an absolute air of bureaucratic finality.
"Bounty hunter?" Elicia repeated, her voice dropping into a flat, skeptical register.
She stepped closer, her analytical gaze scanning my hooded silhouette with the sterile detachment of a seasoned high-tier commander. As I stood there, keeping my left arm's mutilated stump completely tucked beneath the reinforced folds of my crimson coat, I kept my right hand resting casually near my side. Elicia's eyes dipped down, locking directly onto my exposed right fingers.
Behind her spectacles, her crimson eyes narrowed slightly as she cataloged the heavy, high-tier magical items gleaming against my pale skin… the unmistakable, volatile resonance of the Level 8 Mana Pool ring, the Level 6 Magic Enhancement ring, and the Level 5 Healing ring. The sheer, concentrated density of the artifact matrix gave away my true nature as an experienced, lethal field predator.
"I see, you definitely carry the ledger of an experienced killer. Very well, Bounty Hunter. You will be stationed in the sixth carriage for the transit. Once we officially cross into the northern permafrost borders, I expect you to use every single ounce of your strength to hunt down and kill that fallen angel. We have no room for dead weight on this frontier." Elicia murmured, her expression turning into a grim, professional mask as she stepped back toward the lead transport.
I didn't offer a single word or note. I simply gave her a slow, disciplined tilt of my masked head, accepting the directive of the sister who believed her "Little Ren" was rotting in a cold grave. Turning on my heel, the artifact rings on my hand humming with a silent, freezing readiness, I strode past the white-and-scarlet ranks of the paladins and climbed into the shadows of the sixth carriage… ready to ride into the twilight with the ghost of my past leading the vanguard.