I reached out and pulled the heavy iron door of The Iron Ledger open, stepping out into the late afternoon air. The harsh, blinding glare of the morning sun had mellowed into a deep, amber twilight. Thanks to Elicia's active continuous-healing loop, the ambient solar rays didn't even singe my pale skin as we made our way through the bustling streets toward the northern exit of the town.
As we neared the stone archways, my gaze involuntarily drifted upward. There it was again. Looming over the entire district like a jagged tooth of dark stone, the Callus Manor sat silently on its hill. My footsteps faltered. My chest tightened as the phantom taste of rock salt and the sound of rattling iron chains threatened to flood my mind all over again.
Before the panic could take root, a soft, warm hand gently cupped my jaw. Elicia stepped directly into my line of sight, tilting my head away from the hill and forcing my dual-colored eyes to lock onto her own reassuring gaze.
"You're staring too much, Don't look at it, little Ren. Keep your eyes on the road ahead."
I swallowed the lump in my throat, my rigid posture relaxing just a fraction under her touch.
"Thanks," I muttered, offering a small, grateful nod as I pulled my hood a little lower.
We arrived at the heavily guarded northern gates of Tata. True to form, Elicia reached into my leather purse… which I had wisely hidden under my cloak this time to prevent her from throwing away any more gold… and pulled out the exact number of silver pieces required for our departure tolls. The beastkin guards, now running the gate under the town's benevolent new leadership, nodded respectfully as they logged our exit and swung the heavy iron-reinforced wooden gates open.
We walked past the threshold of the town, stepping onto the dirt path that wound directly into the dense, monster-infested northern woodlands. Once we had walked a few miles out, ensuring the high stone walls of Tata were completely out of sight and hidden by the thick treeline, I stopped.
My mind map of the region snapped into focus. Karama Village was located roughly half a day's travel north through these very woods. It was the place where I had previously taken on the high-tier contract to exterminate the Neospider Queen… and it was also the place where I had left behind a lingering connection.
I unbuckled the hidden leather straps beneath my dark dress. With a sharp, heavy thwip, my massive, crimson Phase 5 blood wings erupted from my back, scattering a shower of residual dark mana into the cool forest air.
"My goodness,No matter how many times I see them, Ren, the sheer density of the mana woven into those wings is absolutely staggering. You truly are a marvel." Elicia breathed, stepping back slightly as she admired the terrifyingly beautiful, majestic span of my demonic wings
I offered a wry, bitter smile beneath my hood.
"They're a curse, but they get us where we need to go."
I crouched down slightly, adjusting the vanguard cloak so she could mount up. As usual, Elicia stepped forward and wrapped her arms securely around my neck, her legs straddling my waist as she settled tightly against my back, completely accustomed to my method of aerial travel.
I looked back over my shoulder, the wind already starting to whip my messy hair across my jade and crimson eyes.
"Elicia, let's go to Karama Village, I want to introduce you to someone I used to know."
With a massive, rhythmic sweep of my wings, we took to the sky. The wind rushed past us, howling in my ears as I traced the familiar northern path beneath the canopy of heavy clouds. Elicia held on tight, her arms locked securely around my neck as my crimson wings sliced through the air, covering the half-day's journey in a fraction of the time.
As the dense, monster-infested woods began to thin, the familiar layout of Karama Village materialized below. The last time I was here, the entire settlement had been a horrific, ghost-town graveyard… choked in thick, sticky webs and completely overrun by the Neospider Queen and her vicious brood. But looking down now, the change was staggering. The webs were entirely gone. Wisps of smoke drifted lazily from stone chimneys, and I could see the distinct silhouettes of human villagers moving peacefully between the newly repaired houses. The village was alive again.
I angled my wings downward, gliding smoothly into the deep shadow of a massive cluster of trees just outside the village perimeter. The moment my boots touched the dirt, my wings snapped shut, compressing flat against my spine beneath my inner dress with a faint hiss of dark mana. Elicia slid gracefully off my back, smoothing down her academy uniform as I pulled my heavy vanguard hood low over my jade and crimson eyes.
Together, we walked out from the treeline and approached the newly constructed wooden gates of the village. A human gatekeeper stepped forward, leaning on a simple iron spear.
"Greetings, travelers, Welcome to Karama. That'll be a ten copper coin toll per person, please."
Before I could even reach for my leather purse, Elicia stepped up, perfectly counting out twenty bright copper coins and handing them over with an effortlessly polite smile.
"Thank you, good sir."
The gatekeeper bowed his head, gesturing for us to pass.
"Have a safe stay, ladies."
We stepped into the village. I walked with a silent, purposeful stride, navigating past the bustling market stalls and the laughter of playing children. To the common folk, this was a freshly liberated haven. But to me, every single corner of this dirt path echoed with the ghosts of the past life I had forged in this world. This was the exact ground where my first rookie party had marched in with bright eyes and naive ambitions.
I turned away from the main square, leading Elicia down a narrow, overgrown trail that meandered toward a quiet, secluded clearing at the very edge of the northern woods. Elicia followed silently behind me, her sharp eyes picking up on the sudden, heavy shift in my demeanor.
We broke through the thick brush, and there it was.
Bathed in the soft afternoon light, the clearing was completely silent. In the center of the grass sat the crude, low-quality piece of stone debris I had shoved deep into the earth with my bare hands months ago. Moss had begun to creep up the sides of the stone again, but the rough, hand-carved markings I had etched into it were still entirely visible.
The resting place of my fallen party.
The left side belonged to Den… the bright, cheerful boy whose face had been completely eroded into an unrecognizable horror by the spider's acid. The middle belonged to Chard… the quiet, gentle boy who had been brutally crushed into a pile of flesh and blood beneath the queen's massive legs. And the right side belonged to Junior… our leader, who had sacrificed everything thinking he could keep us safe.
I walked up to the edge of the grave, the cold armor of my bounty-hunter persona cracking as a wave of profound, solemn grief washed over me. I slowly dropped to my knees on the damp grass, reaching out with my right hand to gently brush away a fresh patch of moss covering their names. The day they died was the day I had completely stopped smiling. In their final, terrifying moments, they had held all the naive love and hope I had left for my future in this world.
I stared at the stone for a long moment, my voice cracking slightly as I finally broke the silence.
"Big sister, these are the people I wanted you to meet. This is where my journey as a monster truly began." I whispered softly, not looking back at her as a single tear slipped down my cheek, instantly caught by Elicia's continuous-healing light.
Elicia stepped closer, her soft leather boots making no sound against the damp grass. She looked down at the crude, low-quality stone debris, her analytical eyes softening into a deep, heavy sorrow as she read the hand-carved names: Den, Chard, Junior.
The ambient white light of her continuous-healing loop flickered slightly over my face, a silent testament to how intensely my emotions were spiking. To the rest of the world, I was terrifying,. But right here, kneeling in the dirt with my bare hands clearing away the moss, I was just a survivor mourning the friends who never made it out of the dark.
"So this is where it happened,"
Elicia murmured, her voice a gentle, soothing balm in the quiet clearing. She slowly dropped to her knees right beside me, unbothered by the dirt staining her pristine academy uniform. She placed a comforting hand flat on my back, right between the buckled flaps where my crimson wings were hidden.
"The Neospider Queen... this was the tragedy that forced you to change, wasn't it, little Ren?"
"I was weak, Junior died trying to protect us. Chard was crushed right in front of me. And Den... I couldn't even recognize his face when the acid was done with him. I was the only one who walked out of those woods alive. I took the Queen's heart as a trophy, but it didn't bring them back. After that day... I couldn't smile anymore." I choked out, my fingers tightening against the rough edge of the gravestone until the stone bit into my skin.
Elicia closed her eyes, leaning her head gently against my shoulder.
"You carry too many ghosts on your back, Ren. You blame yourself for a cruelty that belonged entirely to this world. But look around you."
She pulled back slightly, gesturing toward the distant, peaceful sounds of the village… the faint laughter of human children, the hammering of tools, the life that had returned to Karama.
"Because you survived, because you took that monster's heart, these people have a home again. Den, Chard, and Junior... they didn't sacrifice themselves in vain. They saved the girl who would save this village. And they saved the girl who just liberated the town of Tata."
I stared at the rough engravings, my breathing finally steadying as her words sank deep into my chest. Elicia reached out, her delicate fingers joining mine as she helped brush away the remaining bits of stubborn moss from Junior's name.
"They would be so proud of how strong you've become, little Ren, and I am so incredibly grateful to them... because they kept my little sister alive long enough for me to find her again."
I let out a long, shaky breath, the heavy weight in my chest loosening just a fraction. For the first time since leaving Karama Village with a bloody spider's heart in my hand, the crushing guilt didn't feel entirely unbearable. I had returned to their graves not as a fleeing, broken rookie, but as an S-rank force to be reckoned with… and I wasn't alone anymore.
We sat in the quiet clearing for a long time, the only sound being the rustle of leaves as the afternoon breeze swept through the northern woods. I stared at the crude gravestone, remembering the absolute despair I had felt when I first shoved this debris into the earth. Back then, the world felt entirely cold, empty, and bleeding.
Now, with Elicia sitting right beside me in the dirt, her warm hand anchoring me to reality, the memory didn't burn quite as brutally.
I slowly stood up, brushing the stray bits of loose soil and moss from my dark dress. I reached down and pulled my heavy vanguard hood back over my head, the deep shadow once again swallowing my dual-colored jade and crimson eyes.
"Thank you, everyone,I can walk my own path now. I can do it myself... but I promise I won't forget what you gave me to get here." I whispered toward the stone, my voice steady, carrying a quiet reverence.
Elicia stood up beside me, smoothing down her uniform with that effortless grace. She looked at the grave one last time, offering a respectful bow of her head to the three boys who had protected her little sister when she couldn't.
"Let's go, little Ren, the villagers will start wondering about the two cloaked strangers lingering at the edge of the woods if we stay too long. Where to next?"
I looked past the treeline, toward the vast, untamed northern wilderness that stretched out beyond Karama Village. The 18-million-gold bounty on my head was still very much active, and the LKBA Bureau wouldn't stop hunting the blood-sucking winged demon just because I wanted peace. But with my sister's continuous-healing loop shielding me from the sun and her god-tier mana entirely restored, I didn't feel like a hunted animal anymore.
"We need to move further north, away from the main trade routes. I have a few old safehouses from my bounty hunting days. We can lay low, gather intelligence on the Bureau's movements, and figure out how to clear my name once and for all." I said, my voice dropping into a firm, decisive octave.
Elicia smiled, a brilliant, unyielding expression that radiated absolute confidence.
"Lead the way, Ren. Wherever you go, I'm right behind you."
With one final glance at the resting place of my first party, I turned my back on the ghosts of Karama Village. We walked side by side back into the dense cover of the forest, ready to face whatever the world decided to throw at us next.