《Heaven's Wing》 Preface To the readers: Good day. This novel is a side story about a certain part on what happened in the four blank years after Merchant Li picked up Azalea. I have written this story early 2016 in my handy dandy notebook. This story will not have the entirety of those four years but it will focus on the events in Aesbyl. Back then I was not sure where I¡¯m going to place this kinda long story. All I was thinking is that I need to write this part of Azalea¡¯s past since it does put a lot of impact in her life and her character development as a person. After pondering, for like a few years about this, I decided that this story needs a whole book with full on details of the events. I think this might be a bit longer than what I first imagined it to be. This story will contain a more fleshed out details about how she became ¡°The Witch of the West¡± in the eyes of the world, and the ¡°Heaven¡¯s Wing¡± for the few that she saved. You do not need to read the main series, ¡°Defiant [Epic Fantasy]¡± or this side story, ¡°Heaven¡¯s Wing,¡± first to enjoy either of the stories. Read whichever you want first, or read both of them at the same time. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Thank you for checking up on my novel. If you want to read the main story, check out the [link below] my fictions page and look for the novel ¡°Defiant [Epic Fantasy].¡± Enjoy~ Synopsis Side Story Heaven¡¯s Wing Azalea, a young licensed Demon Hunter, is traveling from the country of Laamhi to go to the country of Westar where she is planning on looking back into some aspects of her past. Instead of going to directly to her destination, she decided to stop over in Ylam city in the country of Surus. In Ylam City, an organized hunt is called to take down an A-rank demon, Ur¡¯Yarha. Azalea decides to join the hunt to gather more experience and since it is in the way to her destination. To avoid conflict with other hunters, she promises to take only the credit of participation, leaving all other loots and monetary rewards to them. The hunt is to finish smoothly until a spoiled noble thought of a different plan after laying his eyes at her. Unfortunately, this pampered rich-boy of an influential and powerful clan in the region does not take rejection quite well. Trouble comes to Azalea one after another. Prologue ¡°Grow up, and become a good person.¡± ¡°But¡­ how?...¡± ¡Þ¡Á¡Á¡Þ Third day of Sapta¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Aesbyl Region. Arbhur City, Wave 5 Azalea stands in front of a scrappily made grave. Her only light comes from the sun that is only slightly peeking from the horizon. The symbol for the Ascendance to Heaven is drawn on an uneven piece of wood that was slightly buried on the ground to make it stand in an upright position. The foundation is weak enough that if someone steps on it, it will fall. Most of the now dried flowers on the grave have been blown by the wind. Somehow, looking at it reminds her of an unpleasant memory. ¡°You woke up quite early.¡± Mary says while walking closer. Her voice is soft and low. ¡°Is the attic not comfortable after all?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t the attic that made me uncomfortable.¡± Azalea responds without looking back. She keeps her eyes down at the old man¡¯s grave. Mary¡¯s twin, Mark, is following a few steps behind her. They are standing beside the grave. They are taking the moment of silence to read into Azalea¡¯s expression but her eyes are dead and her face shows no emotion. ¡°It would have been fine if you were only selling rags.¡± Her tone is flat. ¡°The symbols on your jackets are quite popular among those who are in the business.¡± ¡°We aren¡¯t expecting that an outsider would now about this.¡± Mark crouches down to pick up the dried flowers. ¡°And?¡± Mary scoffs. Her tone is full of scorn. ¡°You are not going to start some grand speech now, are you?¡± ¡°We are going to protect this family.¡± Mark grips the stalks of the dried flower tighter. It makes a small crunch as a dried petal slowly falls. ¡°Say¡­ How did the old man die?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t dig into this any further.¡± Mark stands up with the crumpled dried flowers in his hands. His tone has become deeper as the tension in the air rises. He makes eye contact with Mary, telling her to stay quiet. ¡°We only have each other. There is no one else that can protect us. I will not let anyone harm my siblings.¡± ¡°Even though you know that you are destroying other people¡¯s lives?¡± ¡°Everyone¡¯s the same here.¡± He responds without a shred of guilt. Mary sighs deeply. ¡°In this place, people destroy themselves¡­ because that¡¯s the only salvation they have from this nightmare you call life.¡± Azalea then suddenly turns to look at the twins. Their eyes are fixed at her. Their gazes spell the determination they hold to keep up on what they have started. She knew that something is off, but she is not expecting it to be this bad. It is true that she is just a passing stranger, and she has no idea how people live in this kind of place. She has no right to preach to them about justice and dignity based on her experiences. Still, the unpleasant feeling inside her chest is not going to just disappear. ¡°You said that you won¡¯t be staying for long.¡± Mark adds while he lightly taps Mary¡¯s back. ¡°Please leave. In exchange, we won¡¯t tell them your location.¡± ¡°I¡­ I see¡­¡± She turns her sight towards the rising sun. ¡°I guess it can¡¯t be helped. However, I can¡¯t leave without my armor.¡± ¡°Brenda and Leika tended to it.¡± Mary replies before turning her back to follow her twin.. ¡°I saw them put it in the sofa of the living room. Just take it and leave.¡± ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Third day of Sapta¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Arbhur City, Wave 5, Elteb Canyon, outside of the slums Not far from the end of Wave 5 is a large maze-like canyon. After her conversation with the twins, Azalea wants to be alone and somehow gather her thoughts. She is feeling so lost that she silently took her tattered and scraped armor before leaving without saying a word to the rest of the children. After changing into her armor, she left that small slightly dilapidated house. Her mind is recalling the events that happened in the past month which lead her into this situation. She slowly walks out of the slums and without realizing it she finds herself standing at the entrance of the canyon. She stops for a while to look at her surroundings before continuing on her way. What the hell am I doing? The sun has risen high enough. She enters Elteb canyon to look for a shaded and quiet place where she can rest and think. In her head plays the things she has done that might have affected her current situation. She thinks over and over again. Where did things go wrong? The land is dry and dusty. The towering walls of rocks are hard and rough. At this point there are barely any forms of plants around. Small critters run and hide in the tiny cracks on the ground. If she continuous to walk deeper, some larger monsters might start showing up. At the core of Elteb canyon is the territory of a demon. It has not shown any aberrant behavior yet so it is still not considered as a threat. Though there is a high chance that it is going to start leaving its territory soon and wander in larger areas. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. With these in mind, she finds a small shaded area in between the rocks and the walls. Not far from the demon¡¯s territory is a mine that no one can easily enter because of the threat of running into the demon or high rank monsters. She spends some time staring at a collection of moss that is growing on the cracks of the canyon¡¯s wall. She stands staring blankly as she remembers what Jad told her a day ago. ¡°There is a gang of reveils in their teens has started gathering the strong kids. They haven¡¯t found out that Leika is a strong contractor, so for now, we¡¯re safe.¡± She balls her hands into a fist so hard that her finger nails are digging into her palms. She grits her teeth while deep in though. This little gang seems to be involved in the Fairy Dust business. But they do not have knowledge in Mary and Mark¡¯s job, so they must be from a different faction. The problem is that they are gathering reveils. Someone wants to take control of the flow of that dust in this area. A turf war might get ignited in the future. Whoever gathers a stronger group would win. However, that is not the case for Mary and Mark¡¯s family since they are going to be dragged into it and get stuck in the middle of the conflict whether they like it or not. Being uninvolved in neither side means they may take blows from both. And in worse case¡­ All of a sudden she punches the rigid wall. She punched the rock-like wall with so much force that her knuckles have gotten skinned deep enough to start bleeding. Her passive healing immediately activates. Small magic circles are now glowing, appearing and disappearing around her injured fist. What the hell am I doing? It is clear that this is not just some kid¡¯s gang fight. The adults in the syndicate are behind it. They are starting to build a group with younger and powerful reveils. Not everyone is welcome. It is not long before they get dragged into it. Mary and Mark will be absorbed deeper into their trade and will be forced to comply with their rotten system. If nothing is done, they are just going to continue spiraling down into a future of inescapable misery. She balls her hands into fist again and then proceeds to punch the hard canyon wall more. She cursed herself¡­ for being so powerless when it comes to protecting something valuable. It is like the helplessness she felt three years ago has returned to haunt her again. She has been standing in front of newly made graves quite a lot this year. Is there a way to prevent that future? What the hell am I doing? She stops punching. She catches her breath. Her arms are trembling. Her knuckles are scraped and bleeding. Beads of sweat run down her cheeks. Her eyes are fixed at the wall that is now stained with her blood. Her hands are lit up by the healing magic circles that flickers up and away. She takes a deep breath. ¡°What choice do I have?¡± Her voice is low and rough. She lifts her head to briefly look at the sky before leaning on the rocks beside. ¡°I¡¯m tired.¡± Her eyes are cold and dead. ¡°What exactly am I up against?¡± Droplets of her blood drip down and make tiny splatters on the solid dusty ground. ¡°To protect those kids and to change their life, making it a little better¡­ What can I do? The last time I did something, it ended up becoming a huge mess.¡± She looks down again recalling the events of the past month. ¡°Everything I did was for naught.¡± There is that cloudy feeling inside her chest. As time passes by, it only gets worse. It is unpleasant and heavy but she cannot find a way to just get rid of it. It sticks inside and it is suffocating in ways she cannot physically describe. What the hell am I doing? ¡°I guess I never really put much thought into it. It was a reckless move¡­ A selfish impulse¡­ Not only did I fail to save anyone, I might have made things more difficult for many¡­ I¡¯m a mess.¡± To help them¡­ To make a change¡­ What can I do?.. I¡¯m just-¡­ ¡­ Goddamn it all!... Everything should just get burned until nothing¡¯s left¡­ If the future cannot be stopped then I¡¯ll just destroy it all! For a moment, everything has gone dark. She has not noticed how much time has passed. As if she was in daze for a very long time. The ringing of her phone snaps her back to reality. As she picks it up she notices that the wounds on her knuckles have already healed. She only holds the phone to her ear without saying a word. ¡°H-hello, Azalea?¡± A young man¡¯s familiar voice cracks from the other line. After hearing Qin¡¯s voice, some ideas entered her mind. There might be some other options. To prevent the war, then she just have to crash the forces behind that is trying to start one. Then, let the people establish a new balance of power. ¡°Why are you so quiet? You¡¯re making me nervous.¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± ¡°You¡¯re Azalea, right?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± She hears him taking a deep breath from the other end. ¡°Have you decided where we we¡¯re going to meet up? I¡¯ll pick you up and directly accompany you to Westar.¡± ¡°Actually¡­¡± Her voice is a little hoarse, as if something is stuck in her throat. ¡°Forget it. I have a favor to ask, Qin.¡± ¡°I do not like the sound of this.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you going out of that place?¡± ¡°I am not going to leave Aesbyl yet.¡± ¡°No!¡± He suddenly raises his voice. ¡°You need to leave that rotten place now. Just follow the directions I sent you and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll easily lose your pursuers then.¡± ¡°Listen-¡± ¡°I do not know what you¡¯ve gotten yourself into this time, but is it really worth risking your life?¡± ¡°Do you know why I¡¯m going to Westar?¡± ¡°You¡¯re¡­¡± He pauses for a moment before uttering the next words. ¡°Visiting¡­ your friends¡¯¡­um¡­ in Cappleasyo City.¡± She grips her phone tighter. ¡°I am going to visit my friends¡¯ graves, the people I considered as family for four years.¡± She takes a deep breath. Her eyes are soulless. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯d still have the right to go and tell them about my adventures if I turn my back at this place and run away.¡± There is only silence from the other side, as if he is at loss for words. ¡°That day¡­ I was running around the city¡­ asking for help¡­ looking for help¡­ I was desperate, it was really hard. That night while I was burying them¡­ I thought that if someone¡­ anyone¡­ if one person, only if someone had lent a hand, then maybe something would have changed. Maybe some of them had been saved and I wouldn¡¯t have to bury them alone.¡± Qin can only listen to her as her tone goes lower and colder as if all the warmth she used to possess is being drained away. He is now able to picture what she is going through, even though the situation is still unclear to him. ¡°I want to change things. I want to help save them¡­ because I would have wanted someone to save me back then too.¡± ¡°Okay, I understand¡­ but do not put your life in danger.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°I want to hear your plans. What do you want me to do?¡± ¡°First, do you have trust-worthy connections that work in the armor-crafting industry? I need some who are willing to do business here.¡± ¡°What are you planning?¡± She smiles coldly while looking far deeper into the canyon. ¡°I¡¯m a demon hunter, of course I¡¯ll go hunt.¡± 1st Lament: Blood Hunter Fifteenth day of Panca¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT. Elsyon City, Aesbyl Region, Surus The sound from the motors and gears of the train as it crosses the tracks is playing in the background along with the ringing of her phone. The fabric parts of her light armor flutters with the slight blow of the breeze. Her golden yellow hair lightly flows with the wind. With the use of magic, her spear-like staff and luggage are floating and following behind her every step. Her purple crystalline eyes move around observing the people around her. Her dead emotionless expression gives off an unapproachable aura. There is still some time before her train arrives. She makes a final check at her surroundings before answering. ¡°I plan to go to Westar,¡± she responds with a flat tone. ¡°You don¡¯t have to wait for me. I think I¡¯ll take a short detour instead of directly going there.¡± Some adults who look like they are hunters just like her are giving her piercing stares. It seems like they are trying to gauge her abilities by observing her armor and weapon. She does not detect any hostility from them, for now. They are merely curious. ¡°Fine.¡± A young boy¡¯s voice replies. ¡°If I continue on my way now then I¡¯ll be in Westar¡¯s border the day after tomorrow. My business will be done in two weeks. If you change your mind and want to hitch, you can join me.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to make a round trip. Aren¡¯t you just wasting time and money?¡± ¡°I heard what happened in your last hunt-¡± ¡°My train is here. I¡¯ll call you some other time.¡± ¡°Azalea-¡± ¡°Bye Qin.¡± A few minutes after she ended the call, her train arrives with a slight screeching sound of breaks. She enters the train with a few other passengers. About half of them seems to be a hunters just like her. The reason why they are heading to the country of Surus must be the same as her, to hunt a demon. The train car that she is in has passengers that can be counted with just the fingers of her hands. Each passenger is taking a seat far from each other. After making herself comfortable in her seat, she thought that it is a good time to rest. By rest, it means that she is going to put her mind in the minimum requirement to sense the surroundings. This is because she cannot sleep unless she is certain that there are no threats around her. She has a passive spell called ¡°Pulse.¡± It constantly sends waves of weak mana around her in all directions making it function like a radar. When these waves pass through things, it sends the information back to the source; it functions like a sixth sense that can adjust depending on the task. If something dangerous is ahead or coming, it serves as an early warning. The range of the spell is usually five meters radius but she can also extend it up to fifteen meters if she finds it necessary. She never relies alone on her eyes, she feels her surroundings. However, as much as it is useful, Pulse also has its drawbacks. It is a spell she can no longer shut off on her own, unless she is extremely exhausted. She can only be half-asleep when resting as it continuously senses and analyzes her environment. This state is the result of her training and being constantly subjected to dangerous situations. She sits by the window silently wishing for a quiet ride. This may be the most rest she can have before the next hunt. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Sixteenth day of Panca¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT. Ylam City, Aesbyl Region, Surus Surus is a small country surrounded by larger ones that are almost ten times its size. The advantage of the country that helped it hold itself for hundreds of years is the wealth they gain from different mines. The country is small but the fortune they get from pranite mines are enormous. When the Age of Chaos ended, one of ICA¡¯s Seven Noble Houses took the country under their protection. This act is the reason why the other powerful and larger countries around cannot invade them. They are able to keep their sovereignty until the present time. Ylam City is the most populated city in Aesbyl region. It is also the oldest city but the most advanced as it is the center of trade in the region. Many modes of transport to deliver and receive goods to and from different places are found here. Despite not owning any pranite mines, the city makes itself stable through commercial trading. It is the most developed which makes it the most habitable city compared to most other cities that are slowly being eaten by the desert. Azalea arrived in the city at dusk. She is able to find a comfortable hotel before dark completely settles in. ¡°Cities are great.¡± She says after closing the door in the room she rents. She puts her staff and luggage in one corner before observing the interior. ¡°Hotels are more secured compared to the inns in the villages. The room is wide enough¡­ I might be able to get some decent rest tonight.¡± She strolls to the windows, not to see the beautiful night view of the city, but to check if there is anywhere an attacker could stand on. She then taps the glass and inspects the hinges to check how secure it is. She stares into the mirror for a long while. She opens the cabinets and drawers as if looking for something. She then goes in the bathroom inspecting every nook and cranny. She checks what¡¯s on and under the bed. She casts a spell. A magic circle glows then she steps on it to elevate herself and check the ceiling. She looks into the vents. She tests the electronics. ¡°Nothing suspicious.¡± Finally, she lies on the bed and then lets out a deep breath. The habit of checking the inside of every room she stays in is something she acquired from her master. When they traveled during the time she was still in training, they often checked all around to make sure the place was safe. Now, even when or especially that she is alone, she does not feel right if she does not go through the same procedure before resting. ¡°Hm¡­ The bed is soft¡­ waaaay tooo soft¡­¡± She lies while blankly staring on the ceiling. She stays like this for half an hour. Having enough of doing nothing, she stands up to cast a spell in the room. It is a low-tier protection spell that reinforces all sides of the room to be able to absorb mana-imbued attacks. It is enough to give her time to prepare herself in case of an attack. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. She takes the phone to call the staff informing them that no one is allowed to disturb her for the rest of the night. She briefly glances at the bed before heading to the side. She curls herself by the wall where she can see the whole room. Behind that wall is the bathroom. This way, wherever someone decides to attack she will have enough time either counter or evade. The gathering for the hunt is scheduled at nine of the next morning. She wants to rest as much as she wants now because once the hunt starts, getting a rest as comfortable as this is impossible. The next day, Azalea arrives in the set meeting place five minutes early. In front of the city hall, a dozen other hunters are also waiting. The facilitator of the hunt should arrive just in time as all of the hunters are already in the meeting place. That is how it usually is. There are times the facilitator is late for few minutes due to some circumstances they did not foresee. However, half an hour passes and there is still no sign of the person in-charge. More than twenty hunters have gathered waiting in the city hall¡¯s lobby. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting here for almost an hour.¡± One clicks his tongue while looking at the entrance. ¡°Where¡¯s the bastard who called for this organized hunt?¡± The city hall¡¯s employee in-charge of welcoming the hunters comes to him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, we can¡¯t contact Mister Shilan yet.¡± Another hunter scoffs. ¡°Wow, great!¡± ¡°So what are we supposed to do here?¡± The angry hunter responds with a mocking tone. ¡°Take a nap while waiting?¡± ¡°I¡¯m very sorry.¡± The employee humbles himself again. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind we¡¯ll prepare some refreshments for you. How about some snacks?¡± ¡°Do I look like a fucking idiot to you?!¡± ¡°N-no, no sir. Please a bit of patience.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t get it do you?¡± Another man wearing full plate armor joins in. ¡°When you tell us that the meeting starts at nine, you start it at nine. Simple logic, right? Don¡¯t you find it weird that it¡¯s almost ten and we¡¯re still here bored to death?¡± A guy with red hair bursts out laughing. ¡°I don¡¯t know where all of you came from, and like¡­ you gotta understand things are different here. In Surus everyone has their own time. It¡¯s normal to be late.¡± ¡°What shit habits you have!¡± ¡°Come on.¡± The red a haired guy lowers his tone. ¡°That habit is the trademark of the powerful.¡± Someone sneers at the side. ¡°Powerful, huh?¡± The middle aged woman looks at the red-haired guy. ¡°Can this powerful person go and kill that demon, then?¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s-! You know that¡¯s not what I mean!¡± Some of the hunters follows with soft murmurs and grumbles to each other. Now it is easy to pick who are from Surus and those who came outside. ¡°There are twenty-seven hunters gathering in the lobby.¡± Azalea tells herself while observing the surroundings. ¡°By the looks of it, fifteen of them are from Surus. Nine are definitely from outside. I cannot tell which country exactly¡­ but by their accent, I¡¯m sure the full-plate armor guy¡¯s group is from Laamhi. The remaining four barely give any reaction so I am not sure where they¡¯re from.¡± ¡°Please calm down, sir hunters!¡± The employee does his best to mediate but his calls fall into deaf ears. ¡°We should be discussing the details of this hunt but we are stuck her doing nothing!¡± ¡°I¡¯d like some snacks. I thought I woke up late and skipped breakfast to come here..¡± ¡°Stop whining, it¡¯s just a bit of wait.¡± ¡°More than an hour isn¡¯t ¡®a bit of wait¡¯!!¡± ¡°Your drinks and snacks are here.¡± ¡°Nobody cares!¡± ¡°I want one!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have water.¡± ¡°Y¡¯all¡¯s faces are thick as fuck!¡± Three consecutive claps resound while everyone else is caught up in the middle of chaos. A man walks in the middle of the lobby. ¡°Let¡¯s not waste our energy arguing.¡± His firm voice catches everyone¡¯s attention. His cleanly brushed black hair has streaks of gray due to old age. ¡°If you are that upset about waiting then we should just demand added compensation. Now, quiet down. Let¡¯s not disturb the civilians around us.¡± Some clicks their tongue but says nothing. A few grumbles but settles down soon after. At last the lobby no longer sounds like a fish market. Five minutes before eleven o¡¯clock, that is the exact time of the facilitator¡¯s arrival. Half of the hunters are clearly enraged at the lackluster attitude of the man who just arrived in the city hall. He is wearing a clean white silver suit and sunglasses. Behind him are four bodyguards who are wearing black suits. They march casually in the lobby. The moment they see the hunters, the man in white silver suit waves his hand calling them to follow him. The majority are following without complaint while others are gritting their teeth. They enter the conference room. The man in white silver suit leads the way. ¡°Take a seat, all of you. We¡¯ll begin the meeting now.¡± He takes the front seat facing all of them. ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to tell us something else first?¡± The middle aged woman asks. He tilts his head to the side. ¡°Hm?.. Ah-! I have already ordered lunch. It will be delivered soon.¡± The grumpy hunter almost lunged at him, or that is what it felt like before the oldest hunter stops him. The vein in the grumpy hunter¡¯s forehead is popping out that they cannot ignore it. He is red with anger and this facilitator¡¯s conduct and response is provoking him more. ¡°We appreciate your thought of treating us for lunch.¡± The old hunter says politely. ¡°Oh, no problem.¡± ¡°But. The meeting was supposed to be at nine.¡± ¡°Right, right.¡± He nods. ¡°I overslept, and then got caught up with traffic. I almost forgot that the meeting with the hunters is today. You waited long? Sorry about that.¡± The full-plate armor guy clenches his fist. ¡°Let me hit him just one.¡± He mumbles. ¡°You¡¯re upset over a little waiting?¡± He sneers. He then gestures at one employee. ¡°I suggest you shouldn¡¯t. I¡¯ll forgive your impudence for now¡­ since I have not introduced myself yet.¡± A woman holding a tablet comes in and then sets up some gadgets. ¡°So, who the hell are you?¡± The grumpy hunter asks. ¡°My name is Brandon Shilan.¡± ¡°Shilan?..¡± They repeat in small voice. ¡°Yes.¡± He grins. He snaps his fingers then the big monitor behind him boots up. ¡°I am the youngest son of the only noble clan in-charge of this region.¡± The room becomes silent but the visible discontent in the faces of few hunters are not fading away. ¡°Now that we have settled down¡­ I will present to you the gathered data about the demon you all will hunt, Ur¡¯Yarha.¡± The monitor flashes picture of the map with marks, the demon in different angles, and the area around the demon territory. ¡°Okay,¡± Brandon clears his throat. ¡°How many are licensed demon hunters here?¡± Seven people raise their hand. Brandon looks at them one by one. The oldest hunter is wearing a light armor and a sword by his side. He has clean cut black hair with streaks of white. His name is Aaron Mandal, a hunter with over thirty years of experience. He seems to have come alone. The middle aged woman with shoulder length hair is wearing reinforced army suit, two guns, and a hunting knife in her back. She is Cassandra Vasav, originally from Laahmi. After getting her demon hunting license over twenty years ago, she started taking hunting jobs outside her country. A few apprentices are accompanying her. The man with enhanced full-plated armor is not carrying a weapon; rather a girl in her teens is carrying a spear beside him. By his side are two more teenage boy carrying luggage. They must be his apprentice. He is Gustaf Sinha, a hunter with a decade and half of experience. He started to train and guide young monster hunters five years ago. A man with brown hair and unkempt beard is wearing a light armor. He is carrying a specialized gun. His name is Fred Dimagapi, a wandering hunter. Beside him is another man with similar armor except for the more defined gauntlets. He is Carlo Garcia. He and Fred have been hunting together for the past few years. They are in their early forty¡¯s and does not have any apprentice as of yet. Far behind is a man with military-grade suit. His name is Matt and he is a hunter from this country Surus. He is over twenty years old but he is still considered to be quite young as a demon hunter. Then the last one in the lineup is a teenage blond girl with stunning purple eyes. ¡°You-!!¡± He points at Azalea. Everyone¡¯s attention is fixed at her. Azalea responds with her business smile ¡°Yes?..¡± ¡°Are you really a licensed demon hunter?¡± ¡°Yes, I am.¡± She shows them her license as proof. ¡°I got it just this year.¡± ¡°What is your name?¡± ¡°Azalea Blakewood.¡± 2nd Lament: Harmless Deal ¡°What is your name?¡± ¡°Azalea Blakewood.¡± He gestures at the secretary to cross check if this teenage girl is telling the truth. ¡°Excuse me,¡± the old hunter joins. ¡°Where are you from?¡± ¡°I am from Laamhi.¡± The old hunter is in daze for a while. ¡°I see.¡± ¡°Whoa-!!¡± Bradon Shilan opens his mouth with clear amazement. ¡°It¡¯s true! You just finished a hunt.¡± His expression changes while looking at the data, from an amazed smile to almost a frown, then he smiles again. ¡°Hm¡­ I see. I see.¡± That smile, there is something sinister behind it. ¡°You want to join another hunt without so much interval, huh?.. Are you, perhaps, in need of money?¡± ¡°No.¡± She answers frankly. ¡°Hm?,, Really?¡± ¡°Yes. All I want is the credit for participation in this hunt. I won¡¯t need any of the monetary reward or loot. The rest of the hunters can divide it among themselves.¡± Everyone¡¯s attention is focused at her. Hearing her words have peaked their curiosity. For some, her statement sounded arrogant. They have no idea who she is but she carries an imposing aura and an enthralling personality. ¡°Interesting.¡± Brandon says. His eyes are sparkling like he found a new source of entertainment that he wants to know more about. ¡°Okay¡­ Let¡¯s continue with the discussion.¡± ¡°We will be imparting the information that we have gathered about this demon.¡± The secretary moves closer to the monitor to present. ¡°Ur¡¯Yarha is an A-rank demon. According to the guide that the Bureau of International Defense and Order, the preferable number of hunters for this mission is thirty, with at least ten licensed demon hunters.¡± ¡°As you all already knows,¡± Brandon adds in a casual tone. ¡°We don¡¯t have, or like, gathered the preferred number. However, the hunt cannot be delayed any further, so you¡¯ll have to make do with it. I have faith in your ability, you can do it.¡± Matt scoffs. ¡°Sure, as long as we get the right payment.¡± ¡°All the information has been organized in those folders.¡± The secretary continues while the screen fades into an image of a map. ¡°Tomorrow, the hunting party must gather outside the city at the edge of Zone-0.¡± She points at a place in the displayed map. ¡°We have prepared a room for you in the designated hotel where you can rest tonight. Some of your supplies for the hunt should already been placed in your rooms. The key card is also inside those folders. As for the plan¡­ the hunt should last for three days at most.¡± ¡°Excuse me, demon hunts would usually need two weeks of preparation.¡± Carlos, the man wearing a light armor and gauntlets, interrupts. ¡°Why? That would only waste resources.¡± Brandon frowns. ¡°Just kill the demon and then go home.¡± ¡°The fucking idiot doesn¡¯t understand demon hunting.¡± Matt grumbles again. ¡°We need to survey the area for presence of other aggressive monsters, find a safe path into the demon lair, also ensure an escape route in case thi--¡± Gustaf gets interrupted midway. ¡°Why would you need an escape route?¡± He clicks his tongue clearly showing his displeasure. ¡°Just kill the demon. You¡¯ll be paid a lot, just do your job.¡± Matt stands. ¡°Hey, we¡¯re the experts here, not you!¡± ¡°Sit down.¡± Fred glares at Matt. ¡°Getting agitated will not help in any form of negotiation. Instead¡­ Sir Shilan, I will request another condition.¡± ¡°Okay, sure.¡± ¡°If anyone of us gets gravely injured or worse lose their life, you will give more compensation to that person or their family.¡± ¡°What?!! That¡¯s ridiculous!¡± ¡°Excuse me, we¡¯re the ones risking our lives here.¡± Cassandra raises her hand while her tone drops deep and cold. ¡°No amount of that money of yours can pay for the lives of my people.¡± ¡°Fine, fine! Secretary, make sure everything is recorded and prepare for those requirement for those conditions, just in case.¡± ¡°Ah, also add more water to our resources.¡± Gustaf requests. ¡°Fine, talk to the secretary about the supplies.¡± He clicks his tongue again. ¡°Yes sir.¡± The secretary politely nods then plays a video in the screen. ¡°Here is some of the few recorded movements of Ur¡¯Yarha¡­¡± The secretary presented and explained more about the gathered information while Brandon simply fiddled with his phone. After a couple of hours the meeting ended and the hunters are guided to their respective rooms. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Hunting is a regulated job. One cannot just hunt animals as much as they want; the same rule applies to both monsters and demons. Monsters are part of the ecosystem, and demons are like natural disasters that everyone has no choice but to deal with once it is on its way. Monsters may resemble animals and plants¡¯ appearance but their main difference is that they could use their mana to support their survival. On the other hand, demons -- like monsters, may resemble other living organisms¡ªbut possesses great amount of mana and they replenish it via killing and absorbing the mana of other living organisms putting entire biota in immense danger. There is a large gap in the difference in power of a demon and a monster. Demons usually avoid leaving their territory and only hunt sources of mana around it, but there are also times when they suddenly become aggressive and leave to quench their mana requirement from nearby villages and in worse cases, they target the nearest cities. Licensed hunters exist to protect the people from the threat of monsters and demons. There are two kinds of hunting license, one for monster hunting and one for demon hunting. Both hunters can hunt monsters and demons, however, a hunter needs a demon hunting license to claim the reward or bounty for a demon hunt. A monster hunter can help in fighting demons along with demon hunters but the monster hunter will not be able to officially claim their part of the reward. These cases mostly happen among the hunter trainees, they tag along in hunts to gain experience. In some cases a small party of demon hunters may also employ monster hunters if they are low in numbers. It is up to the party how much of the cash reward and usable raw artifacts they want to share with the rest. These raw artifacts, also called ¡°loots,¡± are parts of the monster or demon that they hunted that can be used as material to build another equipment like armor or weapons. Normally, the ones with demon hunting license will claim the reward and split it with the members of the party. The way the rewards are split will depend on what the involved parties have agreed upon before the beginning of the hunt. Each hunter can also register credit for the successful hunt which can be seen in their profile. These achievements can help the hunters gain trust in case an organized hunt is called. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Organized hunts are the ones that a city mayor or a governor calls under a state of calamity. This happens when a demon shows movements that it is going towards the direction of a city and attack. This is a situation that calls upon code red emergency and immediate action. The demon is then classified as high level threat that needs to be slain as soon as possible. Many hunters are lured to join these organized hunts because the officials that hold higher office have access to greater funds. The state of calamity funds is used to hire demon hunters and provide them with the basics necessities to hunt the demon. The number of hunters that will qualify to join will depend on the rank of the demon. In the end, the official payment along with the cash reward will be shared among those who participated, and the loot will be divided among those who contributed the most in defeating the demon. In short, when there is an organized hunt, the profit is higher, which makes the competition to be chosen to join stricter. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Sixteenth day of Panca¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Elsyon City, Aesbyl Region, Surus The demon hunting party has assembled at the edge of the city¡¯s Zone-0. They have already read the information about everyone in the hunt. The profiles provided has the basic information about their abilities and hunts they joined and completed. This gives them an idea on planning appropriately, giving each member the right role they could fill in. Of course, just that is not enough to fully gauge one¡¯s capability, unless they have experience fighting together. In this case, the more experienced hunters will have to look out for the younger ones and guide them so they will be less vulnerable in the future. When everyone has gathered, they chose a leader among the seven licensed demon hunters. After several minutes, Gustaf is voted to lead. The leader assigned tasks and then briefed the whole group about the course of the operation. After passing through the slightly dilapidated housings at the outer most part of the slums, they continued marching towards the demon¡¯s territory. The landscape as they go farther away from the city becomes dryer and dustier. The air is hotter and there are less shaded areas. The territory of the demon Ur¡¯Yarha is a large desert. The sandy environment amplifies the demon¡¯s abilities. Ur¡¯Yarha is a serpent-like demon that is estimated to be around fifty-four feet in length and may be more than fifty thousand kilos. It is an A-rank demon with skills that revolves around controlling the surrounding area of its territory which is mostly sand. Its extremely tough skeleton armor will be another obstacle that the hunters need to find a way to break-through in order to slay it. ¡°Okay, everyone.¡± Gustaf calls out to the members of the demon hunting party. ¡°It¡¯s past noon. We¡¯ll set-up camp here and rest for a while. After everyone has eaten and rested, we¡¯ll make a scout team and then survey the area around the demon territory. We need to finish before night falls so that we can make appropriate plans for tomorrow¡¯s hunt.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll survey around the camp first with Carlo.¡± Fred says while sending a hand signal to his friend. ¡°Go ahead.¡± He responds before turning to Cassandra. ¡°Cass, check everyone¡¯s condition while they set up the camp. Take Matt, and also tell them to keep their tents close enough to each other.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± She thumbs up then grabs Matt. ¡°Let¡¯s go, young man.¡± ¡°Hey! This hag- Don¡¯t grab my collar!¡± Matt screams as he is being dragged away. The rest of the group has started to set up their camp. Some are preparing meals and are eating together under their shaded tents. The heat at this time is harsh and they feel drained even when they do not move. Those who are unable to adapt to the heat are made to rest, while the capable ones volunteered to scout. They have to secure their camp first. This means they have to make sure that no monsters in the surroundings would attack them and their items while they rest or while they are away. They also have to look out for thieves that may target their possessions while they are out hunting. After all they will leave most of their stuff in the camp once they set out to kill the demon. And sometimes, their enemy is not only monsters and demons as some desperate humans may as well take advantage if given a chance. They record what monsters are around the camp area, then check the territorial monsters close to them and gauge whether they have to tendency to attack. By doing this, they confirm the accuracy of the information they have. If there are any difference or change they record for future reference or studies. As hunters started to prioritize coming back alive after every hunt, the process of ensuring everyone¡¯s safety has become more time consuming. The Hunter¡¯s Council and BIDAO has considered many protocols and implemented different guidelines. Though, these guidelines are not always followed. The final call on what to do during hunts still falls on their chosen party leader. Scouting the terrain and mapping the area has become a standard of every operation. This process includes determining how many monster territories are close to the demon territory. Know if what kind of monsters there are, allows them to plan a path to avoid encountering them as it is not necessary to fight all of them. This will also give them the idea whether these monsters are already under the control of the demon. In which case, fighting them will be inevitable and will make the hunt far more difficult to settle. This method also allows the leader to determine if they need to abort the operation and call for back up, or prepare to evacuate the people of nearby villages first. Usually, the hunters would also fight the demon just to test out its power, and check the monsters movements during that trial battle. Some demons can control or command monsters, and once they get flooded, it will surely end in tragedy. These kinds of hunts need further planning, more time, and resources. Fortunately or unfortunately, they will skip most of those processes this time as they are only given three days to finish the job. According on the information given to them, Ur¡¯Yarha cannot command the monsters. They only have to hope that it have not developed the skill after these data were collected. Sponsored hunts have its advantages and disadvantages. ¡°Everything has been accounted for.¡± Their leader, the full-plate armor man, Gustaf, announced to the rest of the party. ¡°There¡¯s not much difference from the data we have. I want everyone to rest well tonight because we will leave early tomorrow¡­ and finish this hunt.¡± ¡°Right. Finish earl and cash-in fast.¡± Matt smirks as he raises his voice. ¡°You¡¯re as load as ever.¡± Gustaf glares at the noisy man. Everyone else then laughs while joking that Matt made a good point. Cassandra claps her hands to turn their attention towards her. ¡°Listen now. We¡¯ll explain the plan. I advise you all not to fall out of formation if you don¡¯t want to accidentally die.¡± The seven licensed demon hunters gather in front, closer to the place where a board with the area¡¯s map is plastered. Aaron marks a few areas in the map using different colored chalks. ¡°Familiarize yourself with the terrain¡­ especially the demon territory, and the place where we have chosen to fight.¡± Aaron announces while pointing at different spots on the map. The hunting party spends a few hours in the afternoon to discuss the information they have and the details of the plan. They need to rest before nightfall and wake up hours before sunrise to enter the demon territory. When the designated time comes, they secured their belongings in the camp before setting out. They started marching into the demon territory while the sky is still dark. The half-moon and little twinkling stars guides them on their way and at the same time provides a beautiful view. The wind is cold and chilly as the surroundings is eerily quiet. They feel it more since they are not using any lights to avoid detection or startling some monsters. They have to heavily rely on their instinct. Ur¡¯Yarha is an A-rank demon that resembles a giant sand snake. Aside from its massive size and brute strength, its ability revolves around the sand desert characteristic of its territory. It can quickly burrow in sand, hide itself, and attack from beneath. It can make quick sands or engulf humans into the desert burying them alive. They must find a way to counter this annoying ability. Thus, they plan to lure it away from its territory, towards a most stable and harder ground, where it will be forced to use more of its mana to convert the terrain. While marching on their way, Azalea notices this middle-aged woman approaching her. She is one of the licensed demon hunters. It seems that this woman is observing her for a while now. She normally would not mind it and leave the person alone until they have their fill. However, the stare that has locked on her since they began the march is starting to make her uncomfortable. Especially now that she is walking close to her side. ¡°Excuse me, how may I help you?¡± Azalea asks wanting to get rid of the sharp stare directed at her. ¡°Hm.¡± She touches her chin, her eyes are focused on Azalea. ¡°Are you really that grumpy hag¡¯s prot¨¦g¨¦? I thought she¡¯d never take one.¡± ¡°Do you know my master?¡± 3rd Lament: At the Backline ¡°Do you know my master?¡± ¡°We hunted in the same party a few times.¡± She chuckles while reminiscing the past. ¡°Though she might not know or remember me anymore since she¡¯s the kind of person who does not care about bonding with her teammates.¡± ¡°Mhm. Yeah, that sounds like my master indeed.¡± She laughs out loud before showing a serious expression. ¡°My name is Cassandra. Kid, your record is a proof of how talented you are. Lone found a gem indeed¡­ One can¡¯t help but be attracted to¡­ How is your master faring nowadays?¡± ¡°Master¡­ She¡­¡± She mumbles then a heavy short pause follows before she takes a deep breath. ¡°Master Lone passed away more than a year ago.¡± ¡°Ah-¡­ I see.¡± Cassandra replies softly. Her expression gives a hint of surprise which is quickly taken over by sorrow. ¡°I only heard rumors of her declining health¡­ but now hearing that she has passed away without anyone of us knowing is very saddening. Her reputation was¡­ well¡­ quite down the dumps, but she was¡­ hmm¡­ Phenomenal.¡± ¡°She¡¯s gonna give you a sour look if she heard that.¡± Her voice is low and soft. Cassandra laughs aloud as she imagines the scenario. She never had the chance to be especially close to Lone, but she used to observe her. She looked up to her skills and overwhelming power. Lone ¡°The Blazing Army of One¡± is a name that almost all of the hunters know back in her youth. After earning her demon hunting license, Lone hunted a B-rank demon alone. It amazed plenty of people and some organizations. Despite all the growing interest and curiosity, just like her name, Lone kept to herself and ignored them all. ¡°How much did you hear from your master?¡± ¡°Not much.¡± ¡°She did not tell you much about her past experiences, did she?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Cassandra sighs. ¡°She¡¯s not really much of a talker¡­ Many things happened that she probably don¡¯t wanna recall.¡± ¡°You seem to know a lot.¡± ¡°I hunted with them several times. I mean with Lone, Yuren, Renan, and right, Cyan too. Yuren is very friendly and approachable¡­ Looking at them, it seemed like he was the only one who was able to overcome all the walls that Lone has built around herself.¡± Azalea listens silently as they continue to walk slowly, putting a little distance from them and the rest of the group. Cassandra¡¯s voice is low and soft but clear enough for her to hear. ¡°For Lone, Yuren was her light. When Yuren died, she was left in the dark. She was blinded. She was lost¡­ She went on a rampage. But when her rage subsided, there was only grief¡­ and guilt.¡± Listening to those words, Azalea is reminded of the days she watched her master wasting away. She thought that she was dying little by little every day, but the reality was that she had lost her spirit a long time ago. Though she understood it, there was nothing she can do to ease that pain. She was spiraling down the hell of endless misery. Her life was like a nightmare brought in reality by circumstances that were out of her control but ultimately made worse by her unguided decisions. Cassandra looks at Azalea with a gentle smile. ¡°Now, after learning that she has accepted an apprentice¡­ I¡¯ll take it as she haven¡¯t left this world as miserable as I imagined.¡± Azalea pauses for a second trying to imagine what the middle aged woman means. ¡°If you were that worried about her situation, how come I¡¯ve never seen you visit once?¡± ¡°I did.¡± Her voice trembles. She takes a deep breath. ¡°Once¡­ One look¡­ and I knew that there was nothing I could do for her. It was¡­ That moment was the most helpless I ever felt in my life.¡± Azalea can only imagine the kind of disheartening show they have witnessed at that time when her master hit rock bottom. How could someone so strong end up like that? If the time she spent with her master was a ¡°better¡± version of her, then just how miserable was she back then? ¡°During her prime, she was one of the most popular demon hunters.¡± Cassandra recalls. ¡°A lot of youngsters lined up to apply apprenticeship. Despite her unapproachable personality, many young hunters wanted to become her apprentice, and if possible, her successor. She kicked them all out and scared them away. The few that were persistent, also gave up after a while.¡± ¡°I thought she didn¡¯t have any apprentice because she was hella grumpy. Guess I¡¯m wrong.¡± She chuckles. ¡°She just sent them all back, telling them that she doesn¡¯t wanna deal with brats. Still many young hunters who aspired to be like her wanted to try their luck. She rejected them and then ran away never showing her face to them again. I thought she¡¯ll never take anyone in.¡± They are starting to pick up their pace, catching up to the rest of the group. ¡°You know¡­ that look you have in your eyes kind of reminds me of her.¡± She walks ahead without turning back. The tone of her voice becomes deeper and heavier. ¡°Hm. Right¡­ I just want to let you know, kid¡­ If you are ever in trouble, you can come to me.¡± ¡°I see. Thanks.¡± Azalea responds while following behind Cassandra. She lets out a laugh that sounds hollow. ¡°That sounded like you just agreed because it will be troublesome otherwise. Is that a habit you picked up from her? Though she always acts so rude making it quite obvious.¡± She also starts to wonder if it is indeed something she unconsciously picked up from Master Lone. She honestly thought that outright declining will be bothersome. She remembers that she did not use to think that way. Since when did she start acting like dealing with other people is a waste of time? ¡°Please consider.¡± This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Why are you so concerned about me?¡± ¡°It will be such a shame¡­ to do nothing but watch two great demon hunters tragically fall in this lifetime.¡± ¡°Mhm. If that makes you feel better then¡­ when the time comes, I¡¯ll think of your offer.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Why thank me?¡± Azalea is puzzled. Their march towards the demon territory is generally peaceful. Most monsters in the path they chose are docile. They would rather avoid and hide than engage in battle. This is because the common paths that humans use are built far away from strong territorial monsters¡¯ habitat. These dangerous areas and monsters to avoid are already marked in the map they have. With the little light they have and the silent environment, Azalea takes the time to recall their plans. The more experienced hunters like Aaron, Cassandra, Gustaf, Fred and Carlo are the most involved in the planning. They have taken everyone¡¯s ability and experience into consideration. They all agreed to give the chance to lead to Gustaf. He lead some small scale hunts before, so with the other¡¯s guidance, he could gain his first experience of leading a hunt with larger scale. Every demon hunter will someday have to experience the leading their own party. Building them up to take on that role is the older generation¡¯s duty. They will reach the demon¡¯s territory around sunrise. The battle with Ur¡¯Yarha can be tricky. It may take a lot of time, however it is a must that they slay the demon before noon, before the sun reaches its peak. One of the abilities they have to be wary about is Ur¡¯Yarha¡¯s ability to absorb energy from the sun. As the sun rises higher, the demon¡¯s power also increases. Once the sun reaches its peak, Ur¡¯Yarha will be invulnerable for few minutes. They have considered to fight at night once the sun has set. However, according to the information gathered, Ur¡¯Yarha lays various traps in his territory at night. It will take some time to know what kind of traps are there and device a way to counter them. These traps are disabled in the morning as the demon wakes up to move around. Furthermore, not everyone in their team are well trained for night battle. It will be more difficult to lure out the demon at night when it prefers to hide. Ur¡¯Yarha will be easier to lure out in the morning when it is confident of its growing power due to the presence of the sun. All they have to do is to be quick at slaying it. Easier said than done. The hunting party are divided into four subgroups, each lead by one or two licensed demon hunters. Azalea and Matt are leading the group that provides support. The group¡¯s main role is to provide healing, to cover for the frontlines, and defend the main fighters. Gustaf and Aaron¡¯s team are taking the lead in the frontline to lure Ur¡¯Yarha. Gustaf is a Contractor with a giant earth golem as his Yashou. Its main ability is that it can harden the soft sand and summon little golems that add to their man power. Every time it hardens the sand, the giant snake demon cannot burrow and hide as fast as it could. This gives the main damage dealers a way to attack fiercely weakening the demon. Meanwhile, Aaron is an Esper. He is a Sand Master that rivals Ur¡¯Yarha¡¯s abilities. He can counter the demon¡¯s attacks and anticipate its movements. He guides the other hunters on when and how to launch their attacks coordinating the movement of the teams. Carlo is a Mage. He leads the group that assist the whole party. Their role is to keep track of the whole party¡¯s positioning, and each member¡¯s well-being. They are first to defend the supports and healers group. They can either defend or attack depending on how the situation unfolds and what action it calls upon. Carlo is a Water Elementalist, God-tier mage. Currently, he focuses on softening the demon¡¯s tough armor. The group of main fighters are led by two Ki Masters, Cassandra and Fred. Their main objective is to deal damage as large as possible every time Ur¡¯Yarha surfaces from beneath the sand. ¡°This may be taking way too long.¡± Carlo backs away a few steps while taking a glance at the rest of the party. He then raises his voice. ¡°The demon¡¯s armor is tougher than we expected.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s proceed to Plan B!!!¡± Gustaf commands after careful consideration of what Carlo said. ¡°Everyone! Plan B!¡± ¡°Proceeding to Plan B!¡± The others repeat to make everyone aware. ¡°Plan B! Plan B!¡± The party members are starting to shift their positions as they hear about the change in plans. The group of main damage dealers are getting closer to the demon every time it surfaces from the underground. ¡°Are you two fine with this?¡± Gustaf looks at Cassandra and Fred. They both responded with a nod. ¡°Alright!¡± ¡°Whoever finds the chance can take it!¡± Fred declares with a confident smile. ¡°Sure!¡± Cassandra responds with a grin. ¡°We¡¯re watching your back!¡± Carlo reassures while giving hand signals to his teammates. ¡°Right!¡± Matt joins in with an enthusiastic tone. ¡°Y¡¯all don¡¯t have to worry about little wounds as long as we are here!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe the loud mouth really got appointed in healing and support.¡± Aaron mumbles. ¡°He¡¯s actually better than what I expected due to his lousy attitude.¡± Azalea says as she has been watching Matt since the battle started. According to her observation, Matt has mastered the basic foundations of casting elemental magic, as most mages would have done. Although, he does not specialize in any particular element, as of now. Some mages choose what kind of magic to master in higher levels, which could be elemental in nature or some other less defined magic forms. Elemental magic being the most popular and thus easier to learn and practice once they find a mentor. Unexpectedly, Matt is able to cast mid-tier healing spells. Most mages do learn basic healing for emergency purposes, as it can save lives, however learning higher level spells will take time to practice. Mages generally prefer learning spells that allows them to fight because they will be vulnerable with only healing knowledge. If one wants to learn higher level healing, then they will do so after mastering a few destructive or defensive spells. ¡°Does he really specialize in healing magic?¡± Azalea wonders as it is quite rare in her experience. Matt pays a lot of attention to his surrounding and teammates. He knows when to time his healing. When a hunter is injured, he uses a combination of low-tier elemental magic to cover while a couple of other hunters in support takes the injured out of the danger zone. It is basic knowledge when healing in a battle field but most often not utilized. If the injured person is healed within the danger zone, they can just be injured again and that would be a greater waste of mana. When the healers ran out of mana, that when the party starts to crumble. Because Matt has displayed an unexpected level of competency, Azalea is able to focus on support buff without worries. She is continuously casting revitalizing spell to maintain the hunters¡¯ stamina, preventing them from draining away too fast. Other buffs include heat and dust resistance. The heat around the area can add to exhaustion, just having the ability to be less affected by it helps them to fight longer. Meanwhile, the accumulated dust in the air they breathe due to the demon¡¯s attacks can injure their lungs internally in the long term. The buff surrounds them with a zone that have safe air to breath by pushing the dust particles out. As the time passes and the sun rises higher, Ur¡¯Yarha¡¯s attacks are becoming more aggressive. The range becomes wider and each attack hits harder. Evading and defending is becoming more difficult. Traces of exhaustion are starting to show in the younger and less experienced members of the party. The hunt needs to end soon, however the demon¡¯s skeleton armor proves to be extremely tough. To avoid the worst case scenario, it is the leader¡¯s decision to call for retreat. If they cannot defeat Ur¡¯Yarha before it reaches its peak strength, then they have to withdraw, regroup, and they may develop a new plan or call for back up. ¡°Secure the escape route!¡± Gustaf yells without moving his sight away from the demon. ¡°Are you serious?!¡± Matt reacts violently. ¡°We already managed to put cracks on the damn armor! All the effo-¡± ¡°Stop complaining! You¡¯re also running low on mana.¡± Cassandra cuts him off. ¡°Wait.¡± Fred joins in as he closes the distance between him and Gustaf. ¡°Give me a bit more time- no, just five minutes is enough.¡± ¡°Five minutes, huh.¡± Gustaf takes a quick look at the rest of the party. ¡°Sure, I can give you that much. What do you need us to do?¡± ¡°Nothing much.¡± He replies while a drop of sweat rolls down his cheeks. ¡°Continue preparing for the retreat, especially for the tired ones. They¡¯ll get in the way.¡± 4th Lament: Unwanted Attention ¡°Give me a bit more time- no, just five minutes is enough.¡± ¡°Five minutes, huh¡­ Sure, I can give you that much. What do you need us to do?¡± ¡°Nothing much.¡± Fred replies while a drop of sweat rolls down his cheeks. ¡°Continue preparing for the retreat, especially for the tired ones. They¡¯ll get in the way.¡± At this point, Gustaf knows that Fred is planning something dangerous. However the determination and confidence he shows is enough proof that whatever he has in mind will not be out of recklessness. Cassandra and Matt are leading some members to retreat while securing the route. Meanwhile, Azalea is staying on high alert. She has maxed the sensitivity of Pulse around her. This will allow her to act quickly any time the situation needs it. ¡°Carlo!¡± Fred calls his close friend. ¡°Prepare to follow-up when I succeed!¡± ¡°Alright!¡± He grins. If it is a way to deal true damage, then there is one. Unfortunately, it also comes with a great risk, where failure means death. Looking for an opening for the attack to be effective is already a huge challenge. Furthermore, if he does fail, then the rest of the party will be obliged to abandon him and prioritize the lives of the survivors. They are unable to find a steady pattern in the demon¡¯s series of attacks. However, once in a while, Ur¡¯Yarha dives deep into the sand and disappears from their sight. The surroundings will rumble before it surfaces again, appearing under someone¡¯s footing. It opens its wide mouth as it attempts to swallow the person whole. That is the only movement pattern they are sure of, as well as the only way inside the demon¡¯s vulnerable gut. All this time they are able to dodge it and prevent any casualty because the licensed demon hunters and few other more experienced monster hunters have extra-ordinary senses. They have warned, instructed and helped the others before the deadly attack takes them. However this time, Fred is planning to get swallowed on purpose. It is not an ideal method so they are not supposed to use this plan. They are only considering it this time because Fred is a capable veteran hunter with plenty of experience, thus he is not suggesting this just to brag or play hero. If someone like him proposes a dangerous move, it is because they have the ability to accomplish it. Will it dive or will it continue to squirm around? A couple of minutes passes before the moment they are waiting for comes. The demon digs into the sand and then disappears from their field of vision. Most of the members of the party have moved to a safe area. Only a few veteran monster hunters and the seven licensed demon hunters remain. The demon can only choose one of them. Everyone is keeping their senses open, especially Fred because he does not want to miss this opportunity. The rumbling of the ground is starting. The demon is about to emerge. But where? Fred turns his gaze side to side. He is concentrating on the faint movement from the ground that he can feel. He eagerly follows it and at the end of his sight stands the youngest demon hunter. Azalea will have to time her evasive movements as the demon emerges from the underground so that it will not back away and hide again. While she is waiting for the right moment, someone suddenly grabs her back collar and then throws her out of the way. Even though she is a little unsteady, she immediately recognizes the man that took her place just now. She watches as Ur¡¯Yarha emerges from the underground swallowing Fred on the spot. She stumbles back while the demon digs back and hides itself. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Cassandra approaches her. She felt stiff for a while but she quickly gathers her composure. ¡°Y-yeah.¡± She fixes her standing posture while dusting her clothes. ¡°That was very unnecessary, though.¡± ¡°He must have panicked a bit.¡± Carlo scoffs. ¡°What now?¡± Matt asks. The ground rumbles again. From weak tremors, it gradually grows into more violent quakes. They struggle to get ahold of their footing due to this unstoppable shaking. While they are being careful not to fall. Ur¡¯Yarha resurfaces again. The ground bursts open as the demon squirms violently, shaking its body and crawling aimlessly. ¡°Damn, look at all that tossing.¡± Carlo¡¯s eyes are following the movements of the demon. He looks somewhat amused by it. ¡°I wonder what kind of chaos Fred is causing inside.¡± ¡°It¡¯s more than a stomachache for sure.¡± Cassandra chuckles. Soon after, the demon starts vomiting blood with dark smoke escaping its mouth, all while its movements are becoming weaker. They notice that a part by its side seems have developed a darker discoloration. It is emitting thin threads of smoke. Now, they know where to focus their next attacks. Carlos and Cassandra are aiming to target the dark spot while the rest remains alert and defensive. The demon only continued to rampage like a squirming worm. It is ignoring the rest of the hunters around it. Ur¡¯Yarha is not actively attacking but its aimless struggles with that huge body still poses danger to all of them. Although, seeing that it neither attacks nor defends itself, Cassandra and Carlos are taking advantage of this chance to concentrate their coordinated attacks on the target area. It took several more strong attacks of fifth-degree ki beams and high-tier water blades to finally see a deep crack in the darkened area. Ur¡¯Yarha¡¯s moves have also steadily weakened. Then a couple beams of Ki erupted from the inside piercing through the demon¡¯s body. Thick dark smoke escapes from its mouth and other orifices of its head before its movement finally came to a full stop. Gustaf immediately orders his golem to deliver a strong blow to the cracked dark spot. The golem¡¯s large rock fists almost crumbled before the crack gave out and opened a hole big enough for a person to pass. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. The smell of a rotting fish is wafting out as they slice and dig into the flesh of the demon in order to reach its internal cavities. Aaron and Carlo lead into the inside of the demon while the others are on stand-by outside. The healers need to be ready as soon as possible. When Aaron and Carlo returns, they are supporting Fred side by side as he is full of burns all over his body and large parts of his light armor has been destroyed or melted. The both of them also came out with the same burns in the exposed parts of their body. ¡°What in seven hells happened?!¡± Cassandra asked while they carefully lay Fred down. ¡°Healers, hurry!¡± Gustaf commands and then Matt immediately follows. ¡°Argh-!! I didn¡¯t expect the acid inside would be this strong.¡± Fred explains while sitting on the ground. ¡°Still I managed to pierce its core before I get completely digested.¡± His arms and legs are covered with third degree up to fourth degree burns while his torso has some second degree burns. If he is not healed immediately, he may not be able to use his limbs properly for the rest of his life. ¡°This is bad.¡± Matt¡¯s voice is shaking. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can completely heal this level of injuries, but I¡¯ll do my best.¡± ¡°Sorry about that.¡± Fred rethinks his actions. ¡°I should have applied stronger layers of protection around myself.¡± ¡°Some accidents always happen in hunts. Bro, maybe it¡¯s time for us to retire.¡± Carlo suggests while trying hard to conceal the pain from his wounds. ¡°You can¡¯t heal it?¡± Azalea asks Matt. ¡°I¡¯m trying.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Azalea comes closer to Fred to observe his burns. Then five overlapping magic circles appears one after another. It moves from the ground up to over his head. It shines as if it is raining particles of light. ¡°Heaven¡¯s Blessing.¡± After Azalea utters those words, Fred¡¯s wounds started healing. The flesh, the blood vessels and even the nerves are regenerating back, until it is all covered by the skin again. Azalea snaps her fingers and then the same magic circles appear over Carlo and Aaron. Their burns also healed as if they were never injured. ¡°High-tier healing magic.¡± Matt mumbles, his mouth wide open and his eyes sparkles. Five overlapping magic circles appears in front of Fred again. ¡°Purify.¡± The circles glow emitting bubble-like light that pass through Fred¡¯s body and then comes out carrying dark particles inside. After Fred, Azalea casts the same spell on Aaron and then Carlo. ¡°I healed your wounds and removed the toxins that you have absorbed in your system.¡± ¡°What? There were toxins too?¡± Carlo says while looking at his body. ¡°Wow, you just saved my life.¡± Fred stands up energetically. Azalea smiles. ¡°As I should.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Lone¡¯s successor to be an expert healer.¡± Cassandra says. ¡°After all, she¡¯s one of those very few and very rare type of mages who refused to learn basic healing magic.¡± ¡°Right, my master have massive ego.¡± ¡°You really learned that magic on your own?¡± Matt interjects. ¡°Yeah, why?¡± Azalea looks at the overflowing curiosity in his eyes. ¡°You want to learn too? I don¡¯t the book with me but I can give you my notes. Hope that helps.¡± ¡°Great! You promise that, huh!¡± ¡°Y-yeah. Do you really want to specialize in healing magic? Why?¡± ¡°Why?¡± He snickers as if the answer have always been obvious. ¡°Because hospitals and medicine are expensive.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Gustaf raises his voice. ¡°We have confirmed that Ur¡¯Yarha is dead! Let¡¯s get ready to return to the camp and rest! We will report to the officials first then collect our rewards and loots after!¡± The rest of the party members also raised their voice in agreement. ¡Þ¡Á¡Á¡Þ Eighteenth day of Panca¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Ylam City Hall, Aesbyl Region, Surus After resting in their camp for half a day, some of the hunters has returned to the city and scheduled a meeting with the designated persons-in-charge in the sponsored hunt. The hunters that returned includes Gustaf, Aaron, and Azalea. The rest of the hunting party are staying in the camp to look after the area. They have to take note of the movement of monsters because the death of the demon may have an effect on the environment and the balance of power in the area. Some monsters may become partially disturbed and attack nearby villages or small human settlements. This usually happens five out of ten times and it is not the hunting party¡¯s duty to settle however since they are still in the area then it is better than doing nothing. They also have to safeguard the corpse of the demon because hungry monsters may eat it along with the important loots. Aside from monsters, bandits also exists in the desolate desert and they may come and steal demon parts that they can sell in the black market. Gustaf¡¯s group left the camp before the sun rise, and reached the city to schedule a meeting at past seven in the morning. They are only able to schedule in the afternoon, and it is already late when they are called into the meeting room. Inside, the city mayor, Brandon Shilan, and representatives from the Hunter¡¯s Council and BIDAO are present. The leader, Gustaf is the one who delivered the news of the death of Ur¡¯Yarha and success of their mission. Aaron helped in filling in the details. The representatives recorded the report and confirmed. Afterward the monetary rewards will be arranged and they can claim it after a few days. Both Gustaf and Aaron will return to the camp to discuss with the rest of the party about how the loot from the demon will be divided. Things like the armor, bones, horns, fangs, scales, and other parts of the demon can be taken and made into an item, armor, or weapon. Whoever is granted with that part can either sell it for a high price or have it made into something like high quality weapon. Azalea only returned with them because she plans to leave immediately after collecting the rest of her belongings in the hotel room that was assigned to her. She does not intend to take any of the rewards or loot because she plans to travel into the neighboring country, Westar, the next day. The sun is already setting when the meeting ended. Azalea wants to return to her room and pack her things. Unfortunately, she caught the attention of that one troublesome individual. On her away out of the city hall, Brandon Shilan approaches her. ¡°I am impressed by what I heard today.¡± Brandon says with a confident air around him as he walks side by side with Azalea. ¡°So, you can do some very high level magic at a very young age. Healing magic, right. Impressive, impressive. Isn¡¯t it too risky to be in dangerous situations all the time?¡± Azalea halts her march as they exit the city hall. ¡°I can take care of myself just fine.¡± ¡°Really?¡± He smirks while looking at her from head to toe. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll allow to become one of my people. You¡¯ll be treated well. You¡¯ll also be paid well. Name your price.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not interested.¡± ¡°Hey, hey. Come on. An offer like this will never come to you again.¡± ¡°Really?¡± She thought. ¡°That¡¯ll be great.¡± ¡°How long do you plan to be a demon hunter? One stroke of bad luck and you¡¯ll lose your life. If you decide to become one of my people, you can live in luxury. I¡¯m very interested in you, you know.¡± ¡°Well I¡¯m not very interested in you.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°If you have nothing else to say, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± Brandon tries to grab her arm but Azalea smoothly evades it. ¡°Bitch! You better listen to me while I¡¯m being nice!¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying my hardest to be very nice over here too.¡± He scoffs. His face turns red with anger. ¡°Don¡¯t get too cocky. Just because you¡¯re a little pretty and talented. If you don¡¯t choose your side properly, you¡¯re going be in a lot of trouble.¡± He gestures towards his bodyguards. ¡°Why don¡¯t you try and attack me? Heh-¡± ¡°Go to hell.¡± Azalea backs away swiftly distancing herself away from Brandon¡¯s group. She then casts a spell that filled the surroundings with white thick smoke. When it dissipated, she is then nowhere to be seen. ¡°What the-¡­ FUUUUUUCK!!!¡± Brandon screams gritting his teeth. ¡°Where did she go? Find her!¡± ¡°Y-yes sir!¡± ¡°Some lowly bitch tries to humiliate me?! Hah-! Of all people, me?!¡± He turns to his secretary. ¡°Order them to find her and bring her to me.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to mess around with the hun-¡± ¡°Am I asking for you fucking opinion?¡± ¡°N-no.¡± ¡°Then do your fucking job!¡± 5th Lament: Hide and Seek Twentient day of Panca¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Arbhur City, Aesbyl Region, Surus Azalea has left Ylam City. However, while she is passing by Arbhur City, some city officials along with a number of city police invited her to come with them. She decides to cooperate with them first. She does not think that she have done anything that is against the laws of the city or the country. If there is any problem or misunderstanding, then it should be fine if she can clear it with them through some peaceful means, like calmly talking and hearing both sides. However, it seems that they have not taken her to charge her of any violation, rather they are trying to keep her from leaving the city. They first lead her to a hotel room where she could stay in while waiting. The hotel itself does look expensive. Her room has simple and spacious design though the furniture and decorations are looking quite lavish. Outside the room are a couple of guards standing on both sides of the door. Azalea observes them and realizes that they are not ordinary guards but they are policemen. They are still wearing their uniform and badges. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s be patient.¡± Azalea tells herself. Almost a day has passed and aside form meals that are being delivered to her, she received no other news. No officials have come to talk to her and she is still not informed why she has to stay in there. ¡°Am I being detained?¡± She ponders. ¡°I have no idea what they are up to¡­ I don¡¯t wanna make trouble and deal with more complicated situations. But, I don¡¯t wanna stay here any longer either. Ahhh~ What to do? What to do?¡± She paces back and forth in the room for a while. After making up her mind, she walks to the door and opens it. The guards outside is blocking her way. ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t have any more time to waste here.¡± She says making it sound as politely as she could. ¡°Miss, you can¡¯t leave. Wait a little more.¡± Azalea smiles at them. They looked dazed for a few seconds. At that moment, Azalea passed by with her luggage and spear floating just right behind her. The guards then closes the door as if they did not see her leave and continued to guard the room. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Twenty first day of Panca¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Arbhur City, Aesbyl Region, Surus Late at night, Brandon Shilan arrives in front of the hotel with his most luxurious sports car as if bragging his wealth and privileged lifestyle. He passes his keys to the valet as he walks into the hotel followed by four body guards. He casually takes the elevator seemingly in a good mood. He goes straight to the room that is being guarded by two cops. ¡°Good evening, sir.¡± One guard greets him as he approaches the door. ¡°How is she?¡± Brandon asks while wearing an excited smile. ¡°The miss has been quiet for the past hours. Maybe she has fallen asleep.¡± He reports. ¡°I see.¡± He fixes the tie of his pastel blue suit before he gestures for the guards to open the door. ¡°Continue guarding out here.¡± He enters the room and quickly notices how oddly quiet it is. The interior is clean and organized. The curtains are down making the surroundings dim. No trash to clean up on the floor, or used plates and utensils on the table. The chairs, couch, and through pillows are in place and has no indication that they have been moved. It is too clean, as if no one has been using it. He then turns towards the unused bed. It is arranged orderly, pillows in place and blanket folded neatly. He opens the closet, and it is empty. He looks around the room one more time and sees no luggage. ¡°Where is she?¡± He says softly while turning his head around the room. The proud smile has quickly turned into a frown. With impatient steps he walks toward the bathroom. It is also empty. His mood is starting to become sour. He opens the closets one after another. With clear irritation, he pulls away the blanket dropping it on the floor. He picks up the pillows throwing it on the floor. He grits his teeth as he kicks one of the chair across the room. If he could, he would have turned the bed upside down too. ¡°WHERE IS SHE?!!!¡± He stomps out of the room. ¡°Sir?¡± ¡°This room is empty! Check the surveillance cameras!¡± ¡°Y-yes sir!¡± They immediately run to the security department. Brandon¡¯s ire clearly shows in his face. They waltz in without any prior notice and then ordered head of security to check the surveillance camera records. The head security recognized who he is and followed his order without any questions. The security personnel starts reviewing the security camera placed close to the room that Brandon just went into. The video has no sound but it has recorded everything that happened in the corridor that day. Around some time in the afternoon, a girl came out of the room. It looked like she talked to the guards by the door for a moment. Something glowed for a split second then the guards looked dazed. The girl then just walked away with her luggage. ¡°Follow up where she¡¯s going.¡± Brandon commands. The security personnel switches from one surveillance camera to the next following Azalea. They watch her get into the elevator that took her down the ground floor. She then normally walked out of the hotel. She took a cab away. From there on, they do not know where she headed. Brandon bits his thumbnail. ¡°She just walked out and nobody stopped her?¡± He turns to the guards that were placed outside her room. ¡°You two were supposed to make sure she doesn¡¯t leave. What happened? Were you bribed? How much?¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°N-no¡­ sir¡­¡± One guard answers. ¡°W-well, that¡­ She didn¡¯t leave the room.¡± ¡°WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE DIDN¡¯T LEAVE THE ROOM?!!¡± He suddenly raises his voices before calming down a little. ¡°Are you blind? Or are you taking me for an idiot?¡± His voice is low, almost like a whisper, but it contained all his rage. ¡°She did go out but she went back inside.¡± ¡°Little shit, you don¡¯t fuck with me!¡± ¡°It true¡­ M-maybe, it¡¯s magic.¡± The other guard tries to defend themselves. ¡°I heard she¡¯s a mage. S-she definitely did something to us.¡± ¡°Right, what¡¯s shown in the video is different from what I remember happened.¡± He clicks his tongue. ¡°All right, I¡¯ll buy into your excuses this time.¡± He then take his phone to call someone. ¡°Hello, James¡­ I want you to look for someone. Yes, I already sent the files. Inform all cities around Aesbyl region.¡± He then turns back to the guards. ¡°The two of you will come with me, we¡¯ll have a word with the mayor.¡± As usual, Brandon barges into the office of the city mayor without any appointment, treating the place as if he owns it. He takes the seat just in front of the mayor¡¯s desk. He makes himself comfortable while the mayor wipes the beads of sweat on his forehead. ¡°How may I help you, Mister Shilan?¡± The mayor asks politely. Brandon stretches his arm. ¡°Give me the file. I¡¯m looking for someone.¡± One of his bodyguards hands him a flash drive. ¡°I want you to trace the whereabouts of this girl.¡± He then hands the flash drive. ¡°Immediately report to me once you¡¯ve located her.¡± ¡°May I know the reason why you¡¯re looking for her?¡± The mayor adjusts his sitting position to put more space between the desk and his fat stomach. ¡°Is she someone important? Or did she offend you in a way?¡± ¡°A little bit of both.¡± The mayor looks confused. ¡°Right! How about I add a reward?!¡± ¡°R-reward?..¡± ¡°Yes!¡± He snaps his finger. ¡°Whoever can bring her to me alive, or give information on her location, will receive a cash reward.¡± He takes his phone out and calls his secretary again. ¡°Hey James, I need you to arrange something for me. You know, something like a bounty.¡± ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Azalea has noticed something unusual the day after she left the hotel. As she is purchasing a train ticket out of the city, the teller stared at her for a while before giving her the train schedule and destination. Since it is quite late, she is only able to get a seat in a train scheduled to leave the next day. She decides to stay inside the station and wait for her train. The next day, as more people starts crowding the station, she starts to get some weird looks from a number of passengers that pass by her. Just as when her train arrives, two guards along with a station personnel approaches her. It is clear from their action that they are preventing her from boarding the train. She immediately thought that it has something to do with her getting detained just a day ago. ¡°Good day, sirs.¡± Azalea greets them with a lovely smile as they are coming closer to her. ¡°How may I help you?¡± ¡°Miss, if you would please come with us.¡± The personnel asks as politely as he could. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°We just have this protocol here.¡± ¡°Oh! I see.¡± She smiles while cooperating peacefully. The people in the station who noticed the small commotion watch her follow the personnel and the guards out of the station. Or so that is how it seems. Azalea used illusion magic to make it seem like she agreed to cooperate with them. In fact she has already caught on that something is off with the crowd¡¯s reaction and the way the personnel and guards approached her. It is already troublesome that the city¡¯s authority tried to confine her for no reason. ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t have any more patience to play with you like this.¡± Azalea says softly as she finds her way out of the crowd before her spell breaks. She then checks her phone to see what big news would be up that can give her an idea about her situation. It does not take that long for her to see the root of her problems. The Shilan person has put a reward on her. At this point she figured that taking public transport is compromised. For safety reasons, she decides to take the long way and go through the back alleys where there is less chances for her to bump into the authorities. Since she cannot use public transport while in Aesbyl region, then she will have to travel on foot. She should avoid going into the cities, and must rather pass by the Zone-0 until she gets to the border of Surus country. From here on she have to travel from slum to slum, outside the protection barrier of each cities. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Twenty fourth day of Panca¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Wave 2, Arbhur City, Aesbyl Region, Surus It has been a few days since a bounty for Azalea was put online. Now, most people who has access to the internet all over Aesbyl region knows her face. Brandon Shilan has announced to reward anyone who can capture her and bring her to him alive. It is making everything very troublesome for her. She have a limited amount of pocket money on her. She cannot step foot in the city because the authorities will definitely be there to take her. Because of that, she cannot access the banks to withdraw added funds. Traveling all day while being wary of her surroundings has made her quite tired. Not that she is not used to going on nonstop travel, it just that what she needs to avoid are not the monsters that she is used to navigate around. The exhaustion is slowly catching up to her. She decides to take a rest in a small bar late at night. The place is a little crowded, most of the customers seems to be a part of a mercenary group. The news about her bounty should not have reached this place that fast. She takes a seat in one empty table at the corner. She orders a plate of meat skewers and a glass of water. She just want to eat and replenish her thirst after a hot and exhausting day. While trying to leisurely enjoy her meal, Azalea cannot help it but hear and sense the conversations and unusual movements of the people around her. ¡°Hey, that girl at the corner,¡± one man says softly. ¡°It¡¯s her, right?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ the bounty¡­ I can¡¯t believe we just received the order this morning.¡± ¡°She¡¯s just a brat.¡± Another man takes a quick look at a piece of folded paper from his pocket. ¡°Just a fifteen year old girl¡­ really?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Who cares man?¡± He smirks. ¡°That¡¯s one million rimas.¡± ¡°One million rimas?¡± Azalea keeps the random conversation in mind. ¡°Rimas¡­ huh¡­ That¡¯s this country¡¯s currency. Forty rimas is like one sol.¡± ¡°Easy money.¡± The atmosphere inside the bar is shifting into something unpleasant. The customers continue to gossip and whisper amongst themselves believing that she cannot hear them. ¡°I can¡¯t be that cheap¡­ Damn that bastard can¡¯t even price me right.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s make a move before another group does.¡± Someone whispers on one side. ¡°C-careful¡ª¡± ¡°Oooh! Come on!¡± Azalea¡¯s voice rings and breaks the through the hurricane of gossips. ¡°Quit yapping on and on. Can¡¯t I even finish my meal in peace?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk like a big shot!¡± A young man raises his voice while pulling a gun. ¡°The bounty is mine!¡± The sound of a single gunfire echoes across the bar while the startled customers duck looking for cover. Azalea¡¯s blood splatters on the table and the floor. ¡°That¡¯s what you get for being cocky.¡± ¡°What are you doing?! We need her alive!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t hit her vitals, you idiot! So shut the fuck up.¡± ¡°We still have to be careful, you dumbass!¡± ¡°What the fuck!¡± Azalea slowly stands up. Blood is dripping from her right shoulder staining her light armor. ¡°Argh-!!That fucking hurts!¡± ¡°See.¡± The young man mocks. ¡°She¡¯s still alive and cursing.¡± ¡°Seriously?? Firing a gun at me in public? Crazy son of bitches!¡± Small magic circles glows, appears and disappears around her wound. The moment she is able to stand properly, the armed men has already surrounded her. They are a mix of ubliss and reveil. It will not be easy to escape this one. 6th Lament: Kill my Memory The armed mercenaries has surrounded her while the normal customers who does not want to get involved or get caught up in the cross fire are carefully slipping out of the line of fire. ¡°Shit! I¡¯m surrounded.¡± Azalea starts processing the situation, analyzing and figuring out what her next move should be. ¡°The easiest way out¡­ should I just kill them all? I could¡­ but is it worth it? Must I carry these deaths for the rest of my life?¡± Azalea takes a step forward. The mercenaries flinch. For a moment, something glows like a tiny spark in a pitch black room. Azalea just then walks pass the people. They all look dazed, staring blankly into the air. She calmly walks out of the bar with her luggage and spear floating behind her. After getting out, she still tries to blend in with the peaceful yet grim atmosphere of the slum while at the same time picking up her pace. She walks faster so that she can get away from that dangerous place as soon as possible. They will not be able to follow her easily as the gunshot wound she received has already closed, so there will not be any drops of blood to serve as clue for them. ¡°Fuck! The bullet is still inside.¡± She grumbles as she takes a turn towards the narrower alleys. ¡°I will have to take this out later. I can¡¯t even get a decent rest now¡­ What the shit.¡± Meanwhile inside the bar, the crowd only regained their awareness a minute after Azalea got out of the door. ¡°W-what happened?¡± The mercenaries who drew their weapons looked at each other with total confusion. ¡°Where¡¯d the li¡¯l bitch go?¡± ¡°Ah-! The bounty is gone!¡± ¡°Right in front of us?! How the fuck is that possible?!¡± ¡°She used some magic?¡± ¡°They said she¡¯s a healer! They won¡¯t lie to us!¡± ¡°Maybe the information is just incomplete.¡± ¡°Fucking braindead nobles! They can¡¯t even do research?! So we have to do the information gathering on our own too?!¡± ¡°They better pay us more.¡± ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ In a dark alley¡­ Azalea hides herself in a corner, away from where people would normally pass by. There are some old boxes filled with unknown materials. Based on the dust and dirt on the boxes, these seems to have been left here for a long time and nobody has touched it since then. It looks like the perfect place to hide for a while. She starts pressing over the closed wound on her shoulder. The bullet must be lodged somewhere and she have to take it out. After pressing around the wound area, she has determined where it could possibly be. She uses ice magic to create a small, sharp ice-blade which she uses to cut and dig into the healed wound. She tries her best to ignore the pain, only focusing on getting it over as fast as possible. When she feels the bullet at the tip of the blade, she quickly takes it out. Blood pours out of the newly opened wound again. ¡°Argh-!! This is ridiculous. Goddamn it.¡± She grumbles leaning at the dirty boxes. She takes a deep breath while deep in thought. ¡°I¡¯ll have to lighten up my luggage.¡± She turns towards her luggage thinking that she should just keep the most necessary things. She does not have that much stuff in the first place anyway. In her hand is the bloodied piece of metal. She clenches it before throwing it away. I feel sick¡­ She closes her eyes. For a while she wants to rest but Pulse will not let her. Especially not in this situation. The skill that she cannot turn off has helped her a lot, be it avoiding danger or in battles. But then again, it is draining. ¡°I¡¯ll just¡­ try to rest¡­ a little¡­¡± I don¡¯t wanna think of bad things for a while¡­ She stays still in place, leaning on the boxes. The wound on her shoulder is almost closed. She wants to restore some energy back so that she can move away the next day. Seriously¡­ what the hell am I doing?.. She cannot help but overthink and recall unpleasant memories during this time. And what¡¯s greatly bothering her is something that happened not too long ago. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ It has been more than a year since Master Lone has passed away. Since then, Azalea has not returned to Yelkh Village. Ever since she got her license, she has only been hunting demons here and there without a clear destination. Sometimes she would help small villages that are close to an active demon territory. She only takes a few loots and then leaving the reward for the village chief to claim, so that it can help the village grow. She also joins small scale monster hunts as a support healer. She learns and practices her spells through these experiences. Traveling around is fun. Even though she does not have a specific place in mind that she wants to go to. Just seeing and learning more about the world while also improving her skills is all she has as a short term goal. She is just going with the flow. She got to know a number of people. They come and go. She visited many places. She comes and go. She was lost. And she continuous to stay lost. During the time when she wanders aimlessly, she stumbles upon a small village located far south of Laamhi. Roham Village is built close to the wider segment of the river Ybal that crosses the forest towards the boarder of northern region of Surus. ¡°Good day, young hunter.¡± An old lady greets her as she enter a small resto-inn. ¡°What brought you to our small village?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just passing by.¡± She answers with her usual friendly smile. ¡°I see. There is nothing much to tour about in this place. Have you decided on a place to stay in yet?¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Yes, just now.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to order a light meal and then rent a room, Granny.¡± The old lady has a very nice air around her. Most inn owner are like her, though this old lady gives off a more soothing feeling. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Revan Huenfield. He was friendly and head strong. He was decisive, which made him the leader of their group. But maybe, he was too unguided to be that head strong for his age. Sola Hanes. She was kind and observant. She always made sure to steer clear of trouble and sticky situations. I hope she just kept being like that, prioritizing safety over anything. Clayborn Lewis. His recklessness made him to be always the first one to quickly run forward. He has small build agile body that made him fit as the groups trust worthy scout. He should have known that hunt was not worth it. Aldwin Loza. He was gentle and strong. As the big brother of the group, he was always the one who took care of everyone. They should have listened to him when he warned them of the danger. Kanon Seto. She was very reasonable and smart. She knows how to analyze the situation and then find solutions to the problems. However, things do not always go according to plans. ¡°In the end¡­ they too¡­ joined my other friends, and became ghosts living at the back of my mind¡­ haunting me every now and then.¡± Still she is just going with the flow. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ While staying in Roham Village, she hears about the awakening of a demon living just a few kilometers away. It is way too close. It could be too late for this village once the Hunter¡¯s Council, or any demon hunting party, makes a move to take it out. In this case, it will not be that bad for to look into it first. The demon Lo¡¯une has been assessed to be around C or B rank once it starts to become aggressive. There is not much information about its ability because scouts form the Hunter¡¯s Council is yet to be dispatched. In this case, Azalea can take on the role of a scout and asses the demon¡¯s ability in order to inform the Hunter¡¯s Council. HC will then decide what should be the appropriate step to follow. The first thing that Azalea need to do is to inform the village chief of her plan, so that they can be at ease. Some villagers have heard about this and they are offering her their assistance. The owner of the inn she is staying insisted to give her free lodging and free meals while she stays in the village. The others asked her if she needs any resources for the hunt and they will gladly give it to her. She tried refusing at first as she does not need anything special to perform a scouting mission, however when they are very persistent about the matter she could not help but just accept their good will. ¡°Hey! It¡¯s her!¡± Clayborn shouts while hurrying towards Azalea on the streets. ¡°She¡¯s that young demon hunter!¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve seen her.¡± Revan follows. ¡°From Granny¡¯s resto-inn.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not just a young demon hunter.¡± Kannon adds. ¡°She¡¯s the youngest to pass the demon hunting licensure exam. I¡¯ve read about it a year ago.¡± ¡°Right, I remember.¡± Aldwin recalls as they all come closer. ¡°It was pretty big news.¡± Sola smiles. ¡°You must be very strong.¡± All of a sudden she has been surrounded by people who are around her age. Since becoming Master Lone¡¯s apprentice, she was almost always surrounded by adults. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that I am this popular.¡± She smiles back at them while observing their appearance. By looking at how they are wearing a light armor and carrying some weapons, it seems like they have experience in hunting. ¡°Are you hunters in training?¡± ¡°Good guess,¡± Revan chuckles. ¡°But, we are already licensed Monster Hunters.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Clayborn puts his thumbs up. ¡°We¡¯re officially a part of this village¡¯s defenders. Sounds cool, right?¡± ¡°How about this? If you need assistance in hunting then you can ask us out.¡± Revan suggests with a confident smile. ¡°You don¡¯t seem to have your own regular party yet.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not looking for one at the moment.¡± Azalea responds. ¡°How about you hunt with us?!¡± Clayborn raises his voice. ¡°Come on, don¡¯t be so persistent.¡± Sola pulls Clayborn by the collar. ¡°The elders are very thankful that the young miss is looking out for us. You don¡¯t have to annoy her.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t it be fine?¡± Revan backs Clayborn. ¡°We would be the ones to face that demon in the end, I mean if there are still no demon hunters by the time it targets our village.¡± Azalea laughs at them as if she recalls something similar from her distant past. ¡°Wow, you¡¯re around a year younger than us but you¡¯re already licensed.¡± Kanon says while scrolling on her phone. ¡°Can you teach us some pointers about hunting while you¡¯re here?¡± Aldwin¡¯s tone is filled with awe. ¡°We¡¯d like to become demon hunters too in the future.¡± ¡°Maybe you can share some stories about your adventure too!¡± Revan is enthusiastic. ¡°I¡¯m not an expert, but sure.¡± Azalea responds. They joined her on her way to the resto-inn where they properly introduce themselves. There, they converse to know each other better while enjoying some snacks and drinks. Through them, she has learned a lot about the village and the demon¡¯s sudden presence. In exchange, she also told them about her previous hunts and some of her plans regarding the demon Lo¡¯une. According to the reported sightings, it is a humanoid demon that wears a full-body armor. It¡¯s most eye-catching feature is that it has an orb embedded in its chest. The orb is usually colorless, but sometimes it glows or pulses red light. The demon territory had always been there and it has been a restricted area for the common villagers for decades now. It has been over a century since the last demon was born from that area. Because of this, the last demon hunter from their village has retired and moved with his family to live in the city. It has been over ten years since then, but the young hunters still remember the thrilling adventure that he told them like bedtime stories back in the day. It is clear from their facial expressions that they idolized this man like a hero. The other villagers that have potential to become a demon hunter decided to stay as a monster hunter because the long absence of the threat brought by a demon seemed that it will never come again. It has been easier and more profitable to keep a monster hunting license. The forest around the village is filled with monsters that they can hunt for their loot which then they can sell for cash or exchange for other goods. A demon hunter is required to join a demon hunt at least once every three years in order to maintain the validity of their license. A monster hunting license is more lenient and has no such rule. On the fifth day of Catra¡¯xahr, the day Azalea plans to study the demon territory, she receives a disturbing news. As she is preparing to leave and scout the forest, the old lady of the inn knocks on her door. ¡°Azalea,¡± The granny calls as soon as the door is opened. ¡°Have you made plans with Revan and his friends today?¡± She tilts her head wondering what it is about. ¡°No, I¡¯m going to scout today.¡± ¡°Oh god-!!¡± Granny gasps as she covers her mouth. ¡°Did you not arrange to take them with you?¡± ¡°What? No, I did not.¡± Her face turns pale. At that moment a number of possible scenarios started playing in her mind. After being in daze for a couple of seconds, she instantly picks up her weapon before dashing out in panic. ¡°I¡¯ll go look for them!¡± She says while running down the stairs. ¡°Tell everyone to just wait in the village, I¡¯ll bring them back!¡± Stories about adventures and demon hunts are very fascinating until one gets to experience the dangers that comes with it. They may be experienced monster hunters according to what she heard from them, but still demon hunting is different. It is far too different from the grandiose way of storytelling that the adult imparted to the innocent imagination of these children. The hunt has its procedures to ensure the survival of the hunters, but nobody taught them about that. None of these villagers knows that demon hunters would not just recklessly charge at the demon in its territory. What the hell¡­ What the hell!.. What the hell-!! Demon hunting have its procedures. Most of a demon¡¯s attacks can potentially kill a person in one go if they cannot evade or counter it. Their attack patterns can be recognized either by observation and analysis or through researching existing records. The surrounding of the territory must be studied as well. Some demons can control monsters and order them to attack the hunters. These monsters may be weaker but they are very dangerous with their overwhelming number. This time¡­ for sure¡­ I will make it in time! Her heart beat is increasing, not only because she is running as fast as she could but also because she is extremely agitated. She pants heavily, catching up to every breath. Her eyes are only focused forward looking for any sign of the teens. Eventually, she heard the sounds of battle close to the demon territory. ¡°It¡¯s them!¡± She says loudly as she shifts direction, going toward where the noise is coming from. ¡°They¡¯re already fighting!.. No, it¡¯s okay. They are still fighting. I can bring them back!¡± When she reached the location, she saw all five of them posed in their fighting stance. She quickly observes if they are still alive and safe. It seems that they are able to carry themselves well in this battle. Aside from minor bruises, they are fine. And in front of them is the demon, Lo¡¯une ¡­ with its right arm cut away and legs severely injured. They made that demon kneel. 7th Lament: In Pieces Fifth day of Catra¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Lo¡¯une¡¯s territory outside of Roham Village, Laamhi Lo¡¯une, a B-rank armored humanoid demon that stands three meters tall, is now missing a right arm while kneeling down on one knee. ¡°You¡¯re finally here!¡± Revan sounds proud. ¡°Look we¡¯ve almost defeated it.¡± ¡°Y-yeah¡­¡± Azalea is speechless. ¡°It looks scary but it hasn¡¯t done anything special.¡± Kanon adds as she tightly grips her dual-wield swords. ¡°We should still be careful.¡± Sola warns while catching up with her breath. ¡°Something¡¯s not right.¡± ¡°Everyone! Let¡¯s deliver the finishing blow!¡± Clayborn shouts after taking a deep breath. ¡°It can¡¯t use its right arm anymore!¡± The orb embedded in Lo¡¯une¡¯s chest is pulsing bright red light in higher intensity. That blinking red is something that usually serves as a warning, and it is making Azalea uneasy. She might have read about it before while studying about demons to pass the demon hunting licensure exam, but her memory is vague. ¡°It¡¯s an uncommon but a dangerous trait¡­ What is it?..¡± Aldwin raises his claymore. ¡°Hurry up! The demon might change its attack pattern!¡± ¡°No! We should retreat!¡± Azalea¡¯s voice cracks. Revan uses his spear to stop Azalea from taking a step forward. ¡°We¡¯ll end this quick.¡± Sola has already completed support buffs while Clayborn runs forward holding knives in both his hands. The demon raises its head to look at them with its eyes glowing red. Azalea feels a sudden shift in the flow of mana around them. It¡¯s all moving towards the demon as if it is being forcefully absorbed. Everything is accumulating into the center. Azalea stares at the flickering red orb at its chest. ¡°FALL BACK!!!¡± She screams with all her might. ¡°THE DEMON IS GOING TO SELF DESTTRUCT! EVERYONE, RUUUN!!!¡± The five teens are stunned for a moment. They can now feel the air around them that is rapidly heating up. She can feel her heart beating faster. They got themselves into am extremely dangerous situation. ¡°We need a shield.¡± Sola mumbles. ¡°Don¡¯t bother! JUST RUN!!!¡± Azalea taps Revan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Get yourself together and run! Goddamn it!¡± She then dashes forward. ¡°AZALEA-!!¡± They all shout as she takes the frontline. ¡°SHUT UP AND RUN!!! FOR FUCK¡¯S SAKE!¡± They started to retreat wearing a worried expression. Meanwhile, Azalea¡¯s mind is running with different ideas about what would be the most effective way to protect everyone. She could cast a barrier to contain the explosion, but so far she has only learned the basics. She can only cast weak barriers around one person. ¡°If I can¡¯t make magical barrier then¡­¡± She tells herself as she starts casting a spell. ¡°Anything that could block it might work.¡± A stone wall is quickly forming in front. She is hoping that it could block all of the destructive force. She need to build it high and thick enough. She can feel the enormous energy building up in the demon¡¯s glowing red orb. The moment it stops flickering, a sudden gust of hot wind followed¡­ And then everything turned white. It hurts¡­ There is a strange high pitched ringing inside her head as she opens her eyes. The sunlight from the clear blue sky is blinding. ¡°My head hurts¡­ I can¡¯t move¡­¡± She forces to move her hand with the little strength she has. Something is stuck piercing through her upper right abdomen. There are also small debris that pierced her body tiny knives. It hurts¡­ Her passive spell, Pulse, is starting to activate again. The air around her is filled with large amount of mana particles. Strangely, despite the explosion, forest fire seems to have not broken out. There are only marks of burns. However, the surroundings feels devoid of any living creature. ¡°How long has it been?... Where are they?¡± She stayed there lying on the cold ground, half-dazed and motionless. Her armor has many broken parts, cracks and scrapes. There are traces of dried blood that is stuck to her body as well as spilled on the ground. ¡°Were they able to run far enough?¡± She must have been hit by the debris of the stone wall that broke apart when Lo¡¯une self-destructed. She does not see her staff nearby. ¡°Maybe¡­ I¡¯ll just stay here¡­¡± She closes her eyes. She does not know the extent of the injuries she received but it seems that she lost too much blood. Normal people would have died. She, however, has the spell that her father casted on her when she way still very young. So young she has no memories of it. That spell, Hol, automatically heals all her wounds. ¡°No! I have to find them¡­ but I cannot move¡­¡± Hol also forces her to fall into deep sleep when she receives fatal injuries. It focuses everything on healing her and keeping her alive. ¡°Over here!¡± A man¡¯s voice rings from the distance. ¡°I found her! The demon hunter!¡± ¡°She¡¯s the last one we¡¯re looking for.¡± Another man responds. ¡°Is she alive?¡± Their voices are coming closer. ¡°I¡¯d be surprised. Looking at everyone else¡­¡± Someone runs closer. ¡°Those injuries¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯ve pretty much resolved ourselves¡­ to just recover six corpses.¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. The old man takes a look at Azalea. ¡°Everyone! Hurry up! She¡¯s alive! The young demon hunter is still alive! She¡¯s alive!!!¡± She hears several footsteps gradually come closer while she is barely conscious. They must be the rescue team. That just means that it has been at least a day since they fought Lo¡¯une. ¡°Where¡­ they?..¡± Her voice trembles. ¡°Shh¡­ It¡¯s okay. Don¡¯t talk for now. You¡¯re going to be fine.¡± While the others gather around her, another group is preparing the stretcher. Tears starts to form in her eyes. ¡°Please¡­ let me die¡­¡± ¡°No, child.¡± An old lady¡¯s voice answers. It is gentle but also full of pain. ¡°Calm down. It¡¯s going to be okay¡± She can feel her warm hands over hers as she falls back into deep sleep. ¡°Medic-!! Medic!¡± ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Twenty fifth day of Panca¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Wave 2, Arbhur City, Aesbyl Region, Surus Azalea is woken up by the extreme heat of the day. The sun is currently at its peak scorching all unshaded areas of the land. Even though she is not under direct sunlight, it still makes her feel as if she is being grilled. I feel gross¡­ A line of small black ants are passing by her side. They are carrying pieces of whatever they may consider as food. Her sight follows that line, it leads to a dead bug and a rotting fruit that she cannot identify what. She feels her surroundings to assure that her pursuers have not traced her whereabouts yet. There should be no one hiding close by that are keeping an eye on her or preparing to ambush her. The pile of old boxes remains untouched. She looks around. The mound of dried leaves, food wrappers, and various types of plastics that have accumulated in the dark alley has not been disturbed. Some unpleasant memories have played in her mind. It makes her feel terrible waking up with those sickening emotions. ¡°I should have¡­ recognized that red orb faster.¡± Even though she knows that thinking of ¡°what if¡¯s¡± and ¡°should have done¡¯s¡± will not make her feel any better, she just cannot help it. ¡°I should have warned them much much more insistently.¡± They were young and daring, very much like her. Rethinking about it, maybe they were just looking for acknowledgment like how she was not so long ago. ¡°I should have been very very firm¡­¡± The choices she made have not always lead her to the right answer. She knows it too well, the stubbornness that comes with undesirable consequences. There is no one to teach them about the procedures and dangers of a demon hunt. ¡°I should have learned more useful spells.¡± But of course she cannot learn and practice everything. Considering her age and amount of training she has gone through, mastering high tier healing magic and various offensive spell is already a feat that very few can achieve. Maybe she is asking for too much, pushing herself over the edge while carrying the ghost of her past. I just want to feel okay¡­ The scars from three years ago are resurfacing and starting to bleed again. The futility of her struggles to save her friends that only ended in tragedy will never stop haunting her. The pain brought by her helplessness as she watch them die. She stands up, dusting away the dirt on her clothes. Her luggage and spear floats behind her as she takes a step out of the shade. ¡°It¡¯s not the same.¡± She mumbles while bringing out the map to check her location. ¡°The guilt I felt for my friends in YAHO, and the guilt I feel for those young hunters in Roham.¡± She zooms into the detailed map looking for the most efficient route to take. ¡°YAHO were like family. I lived with them for four years. I always thought that I can always be with them in the future too¡­ but it¡¯s not like that¡­ it can¡¯t be like that anymore. I could have saved them if I learned magic¡­ and if I was stronger¡­¡± She moves again staying in the dim desolate alleys of that lawless Zone-0. ¡°Roham Village was¡­ We weren¡¯t that close. There was no strong bonds between us. But I respected them. I thought they could become great hunters in the future¡­ in whichever path they decide to take. They proved their ability¡­ But¡­ I should have guided them better. They wouldn¡¯t have died if I was more careful.¡± She feels responsible for her inability to prevent their deaths. For her, that tragic hunt could have been something that she can stop. ¡°Is there still any merit in thinking all about this?.. Thinking about those memories makes me feel unpleasant¡­ but avoiding to think about it makes me feel even more guilty.¡± She takes a peek out of the alley. The road is peaceful, devoid of any vehicles. She is still far from the main road so it is less crowded. There are several people sitting around, out of their humble houses. Some are smoking something while the others are drinking alcohol. A few groups of children are running around full of sweat and dirt. She returns to hide back in the dim alley, wondering if these many people could recognize her. Maybe the residents here does not have access to the news about the reward on her. But still, it is better to be careful. She takes a deep breath. ¡°Just to be safe.¡± She says softly to herself. ¡°I can use illusion magic to change the color of my hair. Normally, I¡¯d want to change to color of my eyes too but for some reason I am always unsuccessful¡­ I should practice more.¡± Azalea studied and learned at least the basics of different kinds of magic. She may not be an expert in majority of those but knowing the fundamentals will definitely help her in reading other mages in different situations, be it to coordinate with them or fight against them. It is something that her master has suggested, to learn as much as she can. Master Lone¡¯s most recommended is to learn the basics and some low-tier illusion magic. Given how her master has angered so many random people and organizations, it is a must for both of them to be able to cast illusions in order to escape or avoid their grudges. After changing the color of her hair from golden-yellow to ebony black, she walks out of the alley. She tried to change the color of her eyes to something different but after trying to change it to several colors that only lasted five seconds, she gave up and kept her purple eyes. ¡°My next hunting outfit needs to have a hood.¡± She notes to herself. The black hair will be dispelled after ten minutes. She needs to get out of the populated area and go into the alleys before the spell ends. Then she needs to continue to find her way out of the slums and move to the next city. ¡°From now on, I should move at night¡­ hiding in the shadows.¡± If there are less people who can recognize her, then it¡¯s better. She also need to get rid of some of her luggage. It is too troublesome to keep a large baggage while passing through the slums. She have to sell or exchange her unneeded stuff before she leaves Arbhur City¡¯s Zone-0. With this, her financial problems would also be solved for a while. For now, she needs to get out of Wave 2 of the Zone-0 and get into Wave 3. Every city has a powerful barrier built around it. This barrier protects it from monsters and low-ranked demons. The maintenance of this barrier costs large amount of money, so the cost of living inside the city is high as well. Unfortunately, there are people who cannot afford this cost to live within the safety of the city. In order to find a place that is still somewhat safe, these people built their house just outside the barrier. Since they are outside the barrier they are not considered as part of the city¡¯s people so they are out of the government¡¯s responsibility. This also means that everyone who finds settlement outside the barrier do not pay land and housing taxes. These lawless slums are known as ¡°Zone-0.¡± Zone-0¡¯s vary in sizes, thus they are divided into ¡°Waves.¡± These Waves are determined depending on how far they are from the end of the barrier. Wave 1 is the closes and the number increases the farther they are from the city. And the farther they are out, the worse the living conditions and environment is. The number of these Waves also differs from city to city. The sun has set and the night is ripe. There is little light from the streets and houses around. Azalea believes that it will be easier to move from here on. But fate is not on her side. As she is about to take a turn on the road, she sees a group of armed men drinking at the side of the path she is taking. She first thought that maybe they are just regular crowd having a drinking party. But looking at their built physique, she concludes that they must be trained fighters. She decides it is too risky to pass so she turns away but those men already noticed her presence. ¡°Hey, blondie!¡± One of them calls which brings everyone¡¯s attention to her. Azalea turns her gaze towards them. ¡°Y-yes? Right, I¡¯m blonde.¡± ¡°Lil bitch, I think I¡¯ve seen you before.¡± The man moves closer and everyone else follows. ¡°You have a point there.¡± She smiles. ¡°Blondes are quite common, aren¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Hm. Your eyes-¡± ¡°They¡¯re contact lenses.¡± ¡°Contact lenses? What the fuck is that?¡± ¡°R-right. They¡¯re like glasses but very small and thin. You can put them directly over your eyes. These things can change the color of your iris and improve your eyesight.¡± ¡°Oh. Fancy shits.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve never known anyone with eye problems who uses these stuff?¡± ¡°No, no, those shits are too expensive.¡± He snickers. ¡°Over here, if your eyes get fucked, then you¡¯re ¡®bout¡¯a go blind!¡± Someone says and then they all start laughing. ¡°Ha, ha¡­ What an enthusiastic bunch.¡± ¡°So, are you coming with us? Or do we hav¡¯ta go through the hard way and drag your ass back us?¡± Azalea sighs. ¡°Just my luck.¡± 8th Lament: Would Anyone Care? In the middle of the night, gunshots echo from one part of the slums. Such events are not very uncommon so most people who lives here are no longer bothered by it. They would rather not get involved and get caught in the crossfire. ¡°Shit! Shit! Shit!¡± Azalea runs and jumps around the roofs while being chased by a number of armed people. ¡°Hey, hey! Can we not be violent?! Let¡¯s talk this out!¡± ¡°Shut up! And drop dead!¡± ¡°Idiot! We need her alive!¡± ¡°How about I pay you some, so you¡¯d stop going after me?¡± She offers while still running away and dodging attacks that comes from different directions. ¡°Oh yeah?? How much?!!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t fall for it, you shit for brains!¡± Then he hits the other at the back of the head. ¡°Aw-!¡± Gunshots keeps raining on the streets. Looking at the surroundings, the ruckus that they make is highly noticeable but nobody seems concerned. The residents simply hide and continue their normal routine. The night has become livelier compared to the desolate feel during the day. There are people loitering and smoking on the side of the streets. The drunkards are singing their hearts out in some corner. Another group can be heard singing along a loud speaker from inside a slightly run down establishment. A number of prostitutes can also be seen either looking for a customer or is already clinging to one. Not far away, a group of opposing gangs seems to be on an all-out war with each other. It looks like there is chaos everywhere. ¡°Okaaayy~!¡± Azalea turns and faces them for a moment. ¡°So what do you want?¡± The leader points at her. ¡°You!¡± He is carrying a specialized gun. ¡°Aww~ I¡¯m so touched but you¡¯re not my type.¡± ¡°Bitch!¡± He grinds his teeth then he gives a signal to his men. We¡¯re getting paid with something that you can¡¯t simply get your hands on easily.¡± Someone suddenly shoots a net to capture her but she evades it easily. ¡°Damn bro, no chill!¡± She once again runs towards the constricted and dark alleys. ¡°Capture her! Don¡¯t let her get out of our area of authority!¡± She runs around, going in circles, twists and turns as if she has no sense of direction. The group of armed men chases after her. Since they are greater in number, they can prepare in advance to predict her path and block her way. Little by little they are securing the area by restricting the paths that their target can pass through. ¡°Over here!¡± ¡°Little shit, stop!¡± ¡°Why would I stop?!!¡± Azalea takes a turn. ¡°You¡¯re chasing me with guns and shit! Are you fucking braindead??!!!¡± ¡°Go around! At the back!¡± While they are running around the alleys, a man has positioned on the roof waiting for a chance. When he gets a good aim, he shoots Azalea aiming for her leg. Fortunately, Azalea roughly detected his presence so she used her floating luggage as a shield. After all, she does not want to dig up another bullet in her body. ¡°Hey careful! What if I got hit??!¡± She yells scolding the gunman. ¡°Oh, s-sorry¡­¡± ¡°Are you fucking drunk?!! Motherfucker, keep on shooting!¡± ¡°Shit-!!¡± She looks around and she is almost surrounded. ¡°I told you not to drink when we have a job.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not drunk. J-just a few bottles.¡± ¡°Tsk-! You count later how many bottles I¡¯ll break into your fucking skull!¡± ¡°It seems that everyone¡¯s already in position, huh?¡± Azalea observes their formation. ¡°How about we calm down now, and have a little chat?¡± The leader smirks. ¡°It¡¯s okay if you injure her a bit. According to the information she can heal herself anyway.¡± ¡°Crap! That¡¯s super bad news for me.¡± She quickly prepares a defensive spell. She is able to activate a magical barrier just in time when they started shooting at her. Even though her defensive spells are underdeveloped, she considers it still somewhat decent. However, some bullets managed to pierce through her barrier. It means that some of them are using magically imbued weapons. ¡°We still need you alive.¡± The leader says in a threatening way. ¡°Let¡¯s make things easy for the both of us. Surrender now before you get hurt real bad.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Azalea raises both hands. Just when her pursuers is feeling a little confident, she smiles menacingly at them. ¡°I¡¯m done playing with you. He, he. Activate: Smoke Screen!¡± A magic circle glows around Azalea and then thick smoke explodes around her. At the same time something also flashes from several places that added more smoke around them. Unknown to them, Azalea put up the smoke screen spell around the area while running around in circles. She just needs to activate it when the right time comes. All of a sudden a large area of the slums is covered with thick gray smoke. Not only does it obscure their vision, it also irritates their eyes and makes it hard to breath. ¡°What?!! When did she-?!!¡± ¡°Hey! Stop shooting randomly! You¡¯re going to hit me, dumbass!¡± Someone shouts. ¡°I can¡¯t fucking see-¡± ¡°Hurry up and get rid of the damned smoke!¡± The leader commands while coughing. ¡°The little shit is gone!¡± ¡°Boss! All paths are covered with smoke!¡± ¡°Fuck-! That bitch!!!¡± As the smoke thinned, Azalea also disappeared. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Thirtieth day of Panca¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Wave 3, Arbhur City Zone-0, Aesbyl Region These past few days, Azalea has been traveling to avoid the bounty hunters. Moving around be it day or night has been hard. If she gets found and makes a ruckus in one place, a lot more hunters will suddenly gather close to that area. She was almost surrounded a few times but thanks to her quick thinking she always manages to slip away before falling into their trap. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Acquiring food and drinks is also hard. She can only buy easy to eat food like biscuits while on the run. Staying in a small eatery to have a meal can gather attention to her, and her photo has been spread around well. If she stays in one place for too long, it quickly gets overrun by mercenaries. Just the other day, she found a wanted poster of herself being blown away by the wind. Because of this getting a decent rest has been almost impossible. If this hide-and-seek continues any longer, she will only exhaust herself. ¡°I really need to leave.¡± She tells herself while sneaking around at the back alley of slightly dilapidated housings. ¡°At least¡­ get away from places with people. God damn! How are they not getting tired? They must have trained extremely hard to become this kind of mercenaries. And here I was thinking that I¡¯m pretty resilient.¡± Azalea is counting on the natural function of the human body that needs a few hours of sleep every day. If only they would stop and rest then she may have a bit more freedom of movement and leave this Zone-0 faster. Unfortunately, it seems that they have divided themselves into groups, and they take turns so majority of their people are functional and are posted in key areas. Their number is not the only problem here. This slums are their territory, they know it like the back of their hands, so it is clear that they have the advantage of terrain. Furthermore, with the way they are operating, it is clear that they have an outstanding leader. ¡°I cannot underestimate them.¡± After sneaking and crawling around the dirtiest and stinkiest backstreets, and going up walls and roofs; Azalea manages to slip out of Wave 2 and enter Wave 3. Now she just have to get out of Wave 3, Wave 4 and Wave 5 hoping that she will not get into any more trouble while doing so. She was not expecting that passing by in Surus before going to Westar would become this complicated. ¡°I should efficiently get rid of my luggage.¡± Azalea¡¯s stomach rumbles as she talks to herself in a malodorous corner filled with random garbage. ¡°Okay, I ran out of food and I stink¡­ This is very unpleasant.¡± She goes up the roof to check the situation in the adjacent streets. The roof is a little unstable that it feels like it might crumble if she makes a wrong step. While quietly observing the streets, she almost trips on a sleeping stray cat that hissed at her before scurrying away. ¡°Holy crap! Okay, except for that cat, it seems safe¡­ What to do next? Should I eat? Or find a way to get rid of this smell?¡± The color of the sky is starting to change as the sun is setting. She swiftly and smoothly jumps from roof to roof ensuring that there is little noise as much as possible. Just to be safe, she is looking for a street that is the least crowded and close to an inn. If she could get a room to stay in even for a few hours, that would be a great help. While jumping around, she lands on a roof with a small bird nest. The disturbed bird suddenly flies in front of her blocking her view and startling her. She loses her footing, slides on the unstable roof and falls down the ground. Her weapon and luggage followed her fall with a clang and a thud. She tries to lessen the impact of her fall by rolling so she ended up in the middle of the street. All her effort to stay low profile has gone down the drain. The eyes of the few people who are passing by instantly turn their gaze at her. ¡°S-sorry about that. I kinda slipped.¡± She immediately stands up. ¡°Damn these animals been messing with me today.¡± She grumbles as she gestures a magic circle lights up for a moment and then her weapon and luggage floats again. ¡°Are you okay?¡± A girl who seems to be in her teens approaches her. She is only carrying a bag of eggs, meat and root crops. ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry about that it kinda happens often.¡± Her stomach grumbles. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Hehe.¡± ¡°Are you really okay?¡± She scratches the back of her head while forcing a laugh. ¡°Oh¡­ it¡¯s just¡­ I¡¯m still looking for food and lodging around here.¡± ¡°Around here?¡± The teenage girl looks at her suspiciously. ¡°This isn¡¯t¡­ really a pleasant place to stop by.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I can kinda tell¡­¡± She clears her throat. ¡°If you need a place to stay for a while¡­ and get cleaned up. I can lend you my place, but only for one night.¡± ¡°Wow thanks.¡± ¡°I¡¯m charging you.¡± She leads the way. She follows close behind. ¡°Oh¡­ that¡¯s fine too.¡± ¡°Our place isn¡¯t big. I have a very young sister there too. We live with our uncle but he rarely comes home¡­ but I¡¯d rather not have you and him meet.¡± ¡°Okay, I understand.¡± They arrive in front of an old small one-story house. It is made of wood and concrete, much like most of the houses in the neighborhood. The concrete walls have some cracks and the wooden parts are slightly damaged. The interior is simple with wooden chairs and stalls. The living room goes straight to the dining hall with just a wooden divider in between. After the dining hall is the humble kitchen and bathroom side by side. On one side, occupying the other half of the house beside the living room and dining hall are two separate bedrooms. ¡°Sorry, we only have bread right now.¡± The teen says while going directly to the kitchen. ¡°I¡¯ll go cook something.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine.¡± Azalea replies shyly. ¡°If you say so¡­ Then the room farther back is me and my sister¡¯s room. The other one belongs to my uncle.¡± ¡°Big sis!¡± A kid comes out of the room running towards the teen. ¡°Welcome home!¡± ¡°How cute.¡± Azalea smiles at the child who looks like she is around four or five. ¡°You can take my bed tonight but you have to share it with my sister, as you can see.¡± ¡°What¡¯s dinner?¡± The child asks. ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯ll take the floor since I¡¯m more comfortable that way. But I¡¯d like to take a bath first.¡± ¡°Okay, if that¡¯s what you really want. Put your stuff inside the room then come follow me.¡± ¡°Ah thanks.¡± ¡°Sis! Sis, dinner!¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m on it. Go play in the living room for a bit.¡± Even though the place looks like an ordinary household, Azalea keeps her wariness. Since Pulse is always active, she can feel what presence may be hiding around if there are any. So far, the house is very safe. She feels no hidden weapon or magical items. All three of them must be ubliss. There is no animosity in the air which allows her to relax a little bit. After cleaning herself and getting rid of the stink, she is invited to join dinner with the sisters. She goes to the dining table wearing a clean set of casual clothes. She hangsher light armor by the window inside the bedroom. She takes a seat while observing the kinds of food that is prepared on the table. An ordinary meal composed of boiled potatoes and an egg soup with some meat. Now that they are comfortable, it is time for them to get a more in-depth discussion. ¡°My name-¡± The teenage girl starts off by formally introducing herself but she gets interrupted mid-sentence. ¡°It¡¯s okay, I don¡¯t wanna know.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I won¡¯t tell you my name either. There is something that you want to ask from me.¡± ¡°Ah-! Well¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, but I¡¯m not very rich right now.¡± ¡°N-no¡­ That¡­ I¡¯ve saved up enough money.¡± She glances at her sister who is nonchalantly eating the soup. ¡°You look strong¡­ but not like the mercenaries around here.¡± ¡°I guess¡­ so¡­¡± ¡°I want you to help us escape.¡± ¡°Escape? What? Why?¡± ¡°I mean¡­ I want to be more independent. I¡¯ll be taking my sister with me and leave this house for good.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re that dedicated then I believe you already have a plan. I can take you on my way out of here. Do you already have a place that you want to go to?¡± ¡°For now, I just want to leave Aesbyl Region.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯m on my way out as well. I can take you with me if you want. I¡¯m going to go out the border and into the country of Uar.¡± She smiles. ¡°Sure! Any other place would be better than here.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to sell some of my things to get some cash, and I don¡¯t want to keep carrying such heavy baggage. Can you help me sell them?¡± ¡°If you can sort them out tonight then I can take them with me tomorrow.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± With that they have established an agreement. After the dinner, while older sister helps bath the younger one, Azalea goes inside the room to sort the things she want to sell. She only takes the necessary items with her, like her license, wallet, phone and an old rugged looking journal. Then she takes a few more things that she can fit in her smaller bag. Afterwards, she then cleans up her hunting outfit with magic. She makes sure that it is now free of dirt and bad odor. The little sister then comes in the room. She looks at the stranger in strange clothing before slowly walking closer to her. ¡°Are you big sis¡¯ friend?¡± ¡°Y-yeah, that¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Okay. You¡¯re nice.¡± She forces a laugh. ¡°Are you tired? I¡¯ll tuck you in.¡± The little girl nods before raising her arms waiting to be picked up. Azalea carries the child and then tucks her in the bed. She stays by the child¡¯s side until she falls asleep. She stares at the innocent child sleeping unbothered while appreciating how peaceful this moment is compared to her situation these past few days. While staying quietly in one corner of the room, Azalea is disturbed by a loud crashing sound. Her first concern is to secure the sleeping child¡¯s safety. She checks on the little girl and finds out that she is still deeply sleeping, so she moves to the door. She then casts a noise-canceling magic around the sleeping girl. She extends Pulse¡¯s range to get a hold of what is happening outside. She can sense the teenage girl along with a middle-aged man in the dining hall. ¡°Where is your sister?! What do you mean I can¡¯t take her right now?!¡± A man yells angrily. ¡°Uncle, my sister is already sleeping right now. Please.¡± ¡°Ungrateful brat!¡± Azalea ponders whether she should go out and interfere or not. ¡°Is this old man drunk?... Uncle, huh¡­ It seems that he is the owner of the other room. That¡¯s why it was not offered.¡± She stays close to the door while listening to their conversation. ¡°I might get her in more trouble if I go out there now. I¡¯ll see how she¡¯ll handle this first.¡± ¡°Please keep your voice down. What do you need my sister for?¡± The old man laughs menacingly for a moment. ¡°I got a good deal.¡± ¡°What do you mean a good deal?¡± 9th Lament: Relentless ¡°What do you mean a good deal? Uncle??¡± ¡°Why do you sound so fucking angry? I¡¯m doing you ¡®lil shit a favor.¡± ¡°What are you trying to do to my sister?¡± ¡°I got a buyer. They¡¯ll take the brat off our hands and raise her somewhere else. Less mouth to feed, and we¡¯ll get some big cash. Isn¡¯t that great?¡± ¡°W-what¡­ You¡¯re out of your mind! She¡¯s my little sister!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t raise your fucking voice at me, bitch! She¡¯s just your half-sister. The fuck do you care so much about? Nobody even fucking knows which bastard your fathers are! You just plan to raise someone¡¯s little shit like this?! What the fuck do you gain from that?¡± She grits her teeth. ¡°T-that¡¯s something I¡¯ll decide myself.¡± The sound of a slap echoes in the quiet night. The hit is strong enough to make her almost lose her balance. ¡°I don¡¯t give a shit. Tomorrow, the brat goes away. Fuck! You¡¯re putting me in a bad mood just when I got some use for that little shit your stupid whore of a mother left!¡± He kicks a chair before heading out. ¡°I¡¯ll go look for some place that¡¯s not fucking filled with arrogant little bitches!¡± After making sure that the man has left the room, Azalea walks out of the bedroom. She looks at the girl who is sitting on the dining hall while wearing an anxious expression. Her left cheek is red and swollen. ¡°Sorry, have I disturbed your sleep?¡± ¡°Honestly, yes. But I¡¯m more concerned about what just happened earlier.¡± Azalea got closer and inspects the swollen cheeks. ¡°S-sorry. How is my sister?¡± ¡°I casted noise cancelling magic around her so she¡¯s still sleeping peacefully.¡± ¡°Thank you¡­¡± She takes a deep breath. ¡°That was our uncle. Normally, he comes home very late or not at all. After working in the quarry, he drinks the night away. I wasn¡¯t expecting to run into him this early.¡± ¡°I see.¡± She then casts healing magic on the teen-girl¡¯s cheek. ¡°I assume he¡¯s the reason why you want to leave this house.¡± ¡°Yes! But I¡¯m not expecting him to make a deal selling my sister.¡± She grits her teeth while looking down. ¡°I was already planning to run away in two or three days¡­ but with this development, I¡¯ll have to hurry up. I¡¯ll have to do it tomorrow.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case then I¡¯ll have to prepare as well.¡± ¡°Can you look after my sister while I¡¯m outside tomorrow? I don¡¯t want uncle to suddenly come while I¡¯m not here and take my sister.¡± ¡°Sure, leave it to me.¡± ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Outside Arbhur City, there are several areas that have magic barrier protection. One of them is the quarry in the southern parts of the city in Wave 3. In the western parts, there is a large plantation and medical laboratory that is majorly in Wave 2 but is bordering Wave 3. Farther in the eastern parts, found in Wave 4 is a pranite mine. All of these businesses are owned by the Shilan family. The density of houses in the Zone-0 is thicker in the areas that are close to this protected areas. These are magic barriers that are made to repel monsters, so the monsters avoid getting too close to them. For those who are living outside, the closer their housing to the barriers, the safer it is. It also means that the farther one¡¯s housing is, the poorer they are. Wave 1 has the best living conditions in Zone-0, and it becomes worse as they go farther out. Wave 5 has the worse settlement and they are the most vulnerable to monster attacks. It is because of these magic barrier protected businesses outside the city that the residents of Zone-0 is surviving despite being too far from the city proper. Many of these residents also gets hired by these businesses though looking at their situation, they are most likely overworked and underpaid. Aside from their terrible employment status, most of the residents of Zone-0 also have different vices. Cigarette smoking and heavy alcohol drinking is the least of their problems. In these lawless land, there also exists illegal gambling arenas. In Wave 3, close to where Azalea is staying, there is an illegal racing arena where Devil Horn Addax compete in a race against each other while the people make bets. The Devil Horn Addax is a docile monster that can be easily found in the wilds. Yet, the most dangerous addiction that takes over majority of the residents is one related to illegal drugs. Almost all mercenaries and monster hunters are using this to boost their strength and abilities. It is popular to both reveils and ubliss. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ First day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Wave 3, Arbhur City Zone-0, Aesbyl Region The older sister leaves before daybreak carrying the stuff that Azalea wants to be sold away. According to her, she will be back before lunch and she, along with the younger sister, should be ready to leave by then. Her uncle might come in the afternoon with the human traffickers to take her sister so they have to leave before that time. For the meantime, Azalea is taking care of the little sister. They are drawing on a piece of paper using old crayons while sitting on the living room floor. Hours has passed and it is almost lunch time but the older sister still have not returned home. She does not know what might have come up on the older sister¡¯s end so she decided to take the initiative. She checks what she can make with what they have in the kitchen cabinets but there are not much to find. She just fried some scrambled eggs and then took the leftover bread. While they are eating their meal, Azalea hears someone enter the house. At first she thought that it may finally be the older sister. She gets up to check on it. As she walks towards the living room, she senses that the person who entered has the built of a grown man. She makes a sudden stop upon reaching the living room. ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡± He looks at her up and down. Azalea has heard that voice before; just last night. He is their uncle. However, she notices something off in his appearance and gait. He is sober, but he seems to be drunk in something else. But that is not the most concerning issue here. If he is already here, then is it too late? Have their plans already failed? Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t mind me. I¡¯m just passing by.¡± ¡°In my fucking house?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m actually a babysitter.¡± The man glares at her. ¡°Bitch, I don¡¯t care who the fuck you are anymore. As if there¡¯s some shit left you can steal in this damned house. Get the fuck out! Where¡¯s my niece?!¡± ¡°Goddamn it!¡± She grumbles as the man turns toward the dining hall. ¡°Did you find the kid?¡± Two men in clean black suit comes in. The uncle turns with a forced smile. ¡°She¡¯s over here.¡± ¡°What¡¯s up with this other kid?¡± The man in black suit points at Azalea. ¡°Should we take her too?¡± The other chuckles. ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous. We only take children below eight.¡± ¡°It was a joke.¡± The uncle clicks his tongue. ¡°Hey! Brat, hurry up and come here! Shit-!¡± He stomps into the dining hall. ¡°Fuck it!¡± Azalea dashes to the uncle. Before the uncle can notice her move, she has swiftly grabbed the back collar of his shirt and then kicked his leg making him lose his balance. She then throws him towards the men in black suit. Before his impact hits the men, Azalea casts wind magic to push them out of the house. ¡°You¡¯re not going to touch that little girl.¡± Azalea walks out of the house with a threatening tone. ¡°I see.¡± One man stands up while dusting himself while the other follow. ¡°I can see that you are wearing a light armor. You must be a hunter of some sort. We¡¯d rather avoid fighting.¡± ¡°Right. We¡¯re just here to collect the product that was sold to us.¡± Azalea notices that they are about to take something hidden in their back. She did not sense anything from there earlier so she thought that they are unarmed. She does not know what they have hidden, but she better take action before they can make a move against her. ¡°Sink!¡± She raises her voice as she casts a mid-tier spell. Three magic circles glows on each footing of the men. The ground then rapidly softens, making them lose balance and sink slowly. While trying to get out of the quicksand, arms made of sand grabbed them and then pulled them deeper down until they are buried neck-deep. ¡°Fucking bitch!¡± ¡°What the hell?!!¡± A few by-standers take a quick look at the source of the noise and then ignored the ruckus after knowing that it does not involve them. Some passers-by stops for a brief moment, then moves on casually. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s talk calmly now.¡± She grins at the men in suit. ¡°What are you planning to do with the kid?¡± ¡°As if we¡¯ll answer that!¡± ¡°Fine.¡± ¡°H-huh? She just gave up questioning?...¡± Azalea then turns toward the uncle. ¡°Now to confirm something.¡± She lightly pushes the back of the unstable uncle¡¯s head with her foot, then she looks at his nape. ¡°A fairy¡­¡± It is an obscure bruise that forms at the nape of the person who is using this illegal drug. ¡°Hey dealers, do you make this drug here?¡± ¡°What are you talking about? We have nothing to do with that.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. My bad¡­ Hm. What so you do then?¡± ¡°We¡¯re just here to buy children and-¡± ¡°HEEYY-!!!¡± The other man yells so loud. ¡°Aw-! Why shout so close to my ears? You almost burst my eardrums.¡± ¡°Do you have shit for brains?! Why are you telling her that?¡± ¡°Oh-¡­¡± ¡°No need to feel bad. You¡¯ve helped me a lot.¡± She smiles. The men can only grit their teeth. They are buried neck-deep and are unable to move under this insanely hot weather. They can only hope that this cheeky brat would release them soon. However all the hopeful thinking is shattered as they watch her turn her back at them and walk back into the house. ¡°Hey! Hey! Kid, let us go!¡± ¡°You cunt! You can¡¯t just go back inside my house and leave me here! Biitch!¡± No matter how much they protest, shout and curse, it all have fallen into deaf ears. They are only wasting their energy. Azalea has no plans of letting them go that easily. Roughly an hour later, the older sister returns home. ¡°Sorry, I got held up.¡± She says as she hands the cash to Azalea. ¡°I got a fair deal with your stuff¡­ But, why is my uncle and some weird men buried out the front door?¡± ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t have to mind them.¡± ¡°Are you prepared to leave?¡± She then looks at her younger sister. ¡°I also got a deal with a passing traveling merchant to take us south.¡± ¡°I packed clothes and other necessities. I didn¡¯t put much, a large baggage is going to get in the way.¡± She takes her little sister¡¯s hand. ¡°Great! I¡¯ll get ready. But what are you planning to do with those men outside?¡± ¡°Right¡­ I should take care of them before leaving. Can you go ahead first? I¡¯ll follow you, real quick.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± She says then she picks up a piece of paper that her sister was doodling on earlier. She writes something on it before tearing it to a smaller piece and folding it. ¡°Here. We¡¯ll be waiting for you in this location.¡± The older sister takes their luggage and then leaves in a hurry. Meanwhile, Azalea sits leisurely on the couch for about half an hour. She then goes out to check on the men she buried neck-deep. Fortunately, nobody in this place likes to poke their nose into someone else¡¯s business, so the three remained untouched. Their heads got darker and reddish after being under the direct heat of the sun for the past hour. They look pissed and impatient but too weak to do anything. That uncle has been showing symptoms of drug abuse. The blood shot eyes, bulging veins in parts of the body, heavy breathing, and the most noticeable is the fairy-like bruise on his nape. She noticed this symptoms in most of the mercenaries that are chasing her too. She just cannot confirm because their nape are always hidden. ¡°Uncle.¡± ¡°Bitch, I¡¯m not your uncle.¡± ¡°Fine. Hey stinky old geezer, where¡¯d you get that Fairy Dust?¡± ¡°O-old-?! You little cunt-!¡± Azalea snaps her finger then a magic circle glows before the old man gets fully buried. This time, the light in her eyes are gone. She no longer intends to play around and waste time. ¡°Hey, you two.¡± ¡°Y-yes?¡± Her cold dead gaze radiates intensely intimidating aura. ¡°Do you have something like¡­ a follow up?.. Will someone look for you if you don¡¯t return?¡± ¡°Y-yeah? If we¡¯re not back after twenty four hours, the organization will send trackers.¡± ¡°I see. Good.¡± She snaps her fingers again then the old man¡¯s head returns above ground. ¡°Let¡¯s start over.¡± The old man gasps and coughs. ¡°What the fuck do you want?¡± ¡°Tell me what you know about that fairy dust.¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know a lot.¡± He pants heavily. ¡°Just talk.¡± The old man really does not know much. He is just a client, a user that can barely afford to keep up with his addiction. Azalea can chase after his dealer but that is futile as long as the manufacturers are free to do what they want. Investigating and solving this problem is not her job. Furthermore, it is too big for her to take care of. But then again, knowing the situation is generally not a bad step because this knowledge might be of some use in the future. After taking whatever information she can, she stomps then a magic circle glows. The ground softly rumbles then spits the old man back out. He flies up and then falls on his butt. ¡°So here¡¯s what you need to do next.¡± He scoffs. ¡°Who the fuck gave you the idea that you can just order me around.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care if you do as I say. It¡¯s just that you¡¯ll die if you don¡¯t.¡± ¡°W-what?! Why?¡± ¡°You see these two men in black? Go find something to dig them out.¡± ¡°Bitch, you can ju-¡± ¡°Nope. I won¡¯t. If you don¡¯t help them, their trackers would come and then kill you. Right?¡± She looks down smiling coldly at the buried men. They desperately nod. While the old man starts sweating profusely. ¡°You already took some payment for the kid, haven¡¯t you? Use this opportunity to repay them, or something.¡± She then casts buff on herself before jumping away. She hurries up to catch up to the sisters. She checks the location one more time before speeding up. The meet-up place is located in an open area close to the boarder of Wave 4. She jumps from roof to roof not caring about the ruckus it makes. This kind of behavior seem to be casually accepted in the slums. Even if she catches the attention of someone from her pursuers, it will take some time for them to assemble. She should be out of the area by then. She thought that it is odd that traveling to the meet-up location is smooth. She has not caught the attention of anyone suspicious. No one is following her either. Maybe she is just fortunate that the mercenaries in this area are out busy with something else at the moment. However, such thought might be too positive for her situation. When she arrives at the location where they are supposed to meet up, the sisters are not there. Instead, a group of armed men are waiting for her. They surrounded her as soon as she enters the open area. ¡°Well¡­¡± Azalea looks around. ¡°I surely did not expect this. Where are the sisters?¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re still concerned about them?¡± The leader of the mob laughs. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯re safe. They are probably already on their way to a small village in Uar now.¡± The other members of the group are chattering and snickering. Azalea is trying to understand what the situation is about. Did she come too late? Are they really safe? What if these mobs are lying? ¡°Don¡¯t you get it?¡± The grin on his face widens as his voice resounds with a tone of mockery. ¡°You¡¯ve been sold.¡± 10th Lament: Say Goodbye ¡°Don¡¯t you get it?¡± The grin on his face widens as his voice resounds with a tone of mockery. ¡°You¡¯ve been sold.¡± Azalea looks at the piece of paper one more time. She inspects it and notices that there is something written at the back. It is written in a crayon colored part which makes it difficult to spot. She stares at it for a brief moment and now she understands her situation fully. The message reads, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°I see¡­ so that¡¯s how it is.¡± She says softly. ¡°If you just give up now, we¡¯ll save ourselves a lot of time and unnecessary pain!¡± Someone raises their voice. ¡°How do they fucking say this again?¡± ¡°You¡¯re surrounded!¡± They laugh. The leader fires his gun up in the sky once. He turns his men¡¯s attention back to him. ¡°Let¡¯s not make this difficult for the both of us.¡± ¡°She probably haven¡¯t planned this from the start. I even avoided giving my name¡­¡± Azalea reasons with herself while ignoring the mercenaries that has surrounded her. ¡°When did it change? This morning? That¡¯s the only time I have no idea what exactly she¡¯s doing¡­ Right¡­ While she was selling my stuff and taking the funds she hid somewhere¡­ maybe she saw my poster posted somewhere. Of course, she can¡¯t catch me on her own, so she looked for people who can¡­ and then¡­ to lure me out, in exchange of a deal.¡± ¡°Shit, man! She¡¯s just standing there.¡± ¡°Li¡¯l bitch¡¯s not going to fight? Ha, ha! She fucking knows she can¡¯t win against us!¡± ¡°Or she¡¯s just too fucking shocked after knowing that she got fucking sold!¡± They keep chattering and laughing but they are still on guard and are prepared to attack any time they are given the order. There are around thirty people surrounding her. All of them must have high level combat mastery. The group is a mix of reveils and ubliss, though there seems to be more reveils. These opponents are quite overwhelming for a single young demon hunter, not to mention all of them are well equipped with weapons and light armor. It is like they are hunting a high ranked demon. ¡°Should I just kill them all?¡± The thought slips into her mind. ¡°No, no, no¡­ I should chose something¡­ more morally acceptable.¡± They have started to come closer to her. The place is an open area close to the main highway. They are a kilometer away from the last house in Wave 3 and a few kilometers more ahead is the residential area of Wave 4. This is the road where passenger vehicles, trucks, and other large automobiles pass to get in and out of Arbhur City. It is not weird for someone fleeing to choose this place to hitch a ride away. However that is not what this mob have in mind when they choose here to lure her out. This open area only suggests that she has nowhere to hide. They have encircled her. After taking a glimpse of their formation, she notices that they are not randomly posted around her. The three men farthest out of the encirclement are ubliss that are equipped with high-tech riffles. They are aiming at her legs. They will surely shoot her if she makes a wrong move. The closest to her are wielding swords and knives. In between the outer and inner layers are carrying handguns while some are holding spears. Azalea raises both of her hands. ¡°She¡¯s surrendering?¡± ¡°I¡¯m done playing hide and seek with you.¡± Her tone is cold and sharp. Her eyes looks dead and her face is expressionless. She has dropped her pretentious mask. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll play your game¡­ You better not regret this later.¡± The orb and jewels in her spear-like staff starts glowing. It floats close behind her following her movements. The Telete Staff¡¯s main function is to regulate her mana so she will have better control on her spells. ¡°What the shit is she talking about?¡± First she casts a low-tier magic barrier around her to block the bullets that are fired at her as soon as her stance shifted. She then powers up her legs to be able to jump higher before activating a large area smoke bomb that she casted on the ground where she used to stand. The smoke almost filled the whole encirclement until a mage from their ranks casts wind magic to blow it away. ¡°I guess that trick wouldn¡¯t work a second time.¡± She mumbles. They fire at her while she is descending mid-air. She used wind magic to repel herself away from the aimed point of their shots. The she lands a distance away from the encirclement. She is no longer surrounded but she also have not gone far enough from the mob to ensure a smooth escape. As soon as her feet touch the ground, the spearmen are already in position to attack. One of them throws his spear which she blocks by creating a floating ice sword. The powerful twang from the collision of the spear¡¯s blade and the hard sharp ice reverberates as small icy shards fly. Amidst that, another man equipped with a spear attacks from behind aiming to cut her legs. Before he can complete his swing, another ice sword forms and with one slash cut off his arms. Blood splatters as his arms that is still holding the spear falls down the ground. ¡°AAAAARRRRGGGH-!!!¡± He falls kneeling in pain and shock. His comrades are stunned but only for a split second. The next man runs straight ready to strike with his sword. Azalea stomps and a magic circle glows. Before the swordsman can get close to her, the ground in front of him formed a giant knuckle and knocks him back flying with an upper cut. More men are coming to strike, one from the side with a magic-imbued spear while the other plunges from above. Azalea blocks the spear from the side with one ice sword while the other ice sword accelerates rapidly piercing through the abdomen of the enemy from above. His blood drips seeping into the ground as soon as he falls curling up in pain. ¡°It¡¯s fine! We¡¯ll heal later!¡± The spear user jumps back then a rain of bullets follows. Azalea claps her hands and then multiple magic circles forms around her. The bullets looked like they went to pass through the magic circles but in fact they have disappeared. She claps again and the magic circles¡¯ glow flickers once before spitting the bullets back out away from her. The bullets violently storm outwards randomly hitting the mobs. Some are able to block and dodge while the majority got hit though most of them are mild bruises. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. While the grunts of those who got hit is still resounding one after another, a man throws his knives at Azalea. At the same time two more lunges from behind. She uses the ice swords to block the knives while blocking the other two men with earth pillars. ¡°How the fuck is she maintaining multiple spells at the same time?¡± ¡°Boss! Didn¡¯t they say that she¡¯s a weak-ass healer?¡± ¡°Fucking bastards!¡± He looks at his men as most of them already got injured. ¡°I would have asked for bigger compensation if I knew we¡¯ll end up in this shithole.¡± ¡°Those fuckers! Her fighting skills are no joke!¡± When someone tried to blindside her, Azalea countered with wind cutter slicing off their feet. Another man falls and the land that serves as their arena is splattered with more hues of red. ¡°Don¡¯t attack like fucking drunks!¡± The leader shouts. Azalea has activated Pulse at its max output and highest sensitivity. She can feel their movements clearly which allows her to read all of their attack patterns in advance. With this she can prepare her next moves by basing her counters and attacks with Pulse¡¯s readings. Currently her concentration is at its peak. Her eyes seems to be looking far away as her mind is foreseeing a few seconds into the future. She moves in trance, as precisely as possible. ¡°Ice swords.¡± The leader observes. ¡°She maintains that spell as they get repaired every time they crack. To move and control those swords, she must be using another spell. This kid is maintaining at least two active spells at the same time. No, I shouldn¡¯t have referred to her as a mere child. We are fighting a monster.¡± Azalea has sensed the hesitation in their movements. ¡°It¡¯s time for a more aggressive offense.¡± A group runs upfront towards her while gunmen from behind covers them. Azalea casts earth spikes on their path. The spikes pierced through their soles and into the flesh of their feet, breaking their bones. While they scream in agony, Azalea casts speed up on herself to swiftly dash towards the gunmen. When they open-fired at her, it is already too late as she has moved from her previous spot. As soon as she gets close enough to them, she cuts their arms with her ice swords. This time, she creates a third sword that blocked the ki-imbued bullet of the leader. It is then followed up by fireballs from different directions. She spreads her arms while turning around manipulating the fireballs collecting them all into one. She compresses it while dodging attacks and controlling the ice swords to counter, slicing everyone who comes within range. The large fireball has become smaller and smaller until it is completely gone. At the same time, the mob that was composed of around thirty people have all fallen but one. He fires his gun with ki-imbued bullets, each one is blocked by the ice-swords. In a desperate attempt, he keeps firing until he spent all of his bullets. By then, Azalea is standing in front of him. Even though he is the larger adult, the air she radiates makes him feel smaller. Azalea stands intimidatingly in front of the mercenaries¡¯ leader. Her eyes are cold and lifeless. It is very different from the shiny crystalline purple eyes she used to show. They are the same eyes, but the impression that they carry are the exact opposite. Now, all he can see in those eyes is the dark purple of an endless abyss. ¡°Have you ever watched the people you care about die in front of you¡­ and all you can do is stare at them helplessly?¡± Azalea asks softly. ¡°W-what?¡± She casually passes by his side. ¡°I¡¯m giving you a chance... to have a taste of true despair.¡± Azalea walks pass him and then disappears. She casts concealing magic, a low-tier spell under illusion magic, on herself so that they cannot know which direction she goes. The leader looks at his men, groaning in pain while the others had completely fainted. He is the only one left uninjured. Their few mages that may be able to heal them seems to be in so much pain that they cannot cast any spells. So, should he leave and look for a healer? But while he is away, some of his men might die due to too much blood loss. ¡°Blood?...¡± He mumbles while looking at the blood that has splattered on the ground. ¡°They look weird. The blood¡­ splattered in clean lines and curves¡­¡± He stares at the blood, following the shape as it forms a familiar image. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ a m-magic circle..?¡± He looks down at his feet and notices that he is outside. He falls into confusion, wondering if it is another trap. He walks a little outside, not understanding what it really means. ¡°Have a taste of true despair¡­¡± He recalls her final words before she disappears. When he is about to step inside, the circle suddenly glows. The light it emits is so strong that it is blinding, but before he closes his eyes, he saw multiple other magic circles form on top of each other. ¡°W-wha-what now?...¡± He opens his eyes that is once again adjusting to the natural lighting. His sight slowly returns and the first thing he notices is the darker red of the smudged magic circle. His conscious men are looking at their re-attached limbs as if it was never sliced off. Everyone has been completely healed. ¡°Boss?..¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m alive¡­¡± ¡°A large area-of-effect time-activated healing magic¡­¡± The leader mumbles after realizing what just happened. ¡°It¡¯s an elite-tier healing spell¡­ used flawlessly by a teen¡­ What the hell were we fighting?¡± ¡°M-my hands! My hands are back!¡± Someone cries. ¡°B-boss?... What happened? I thought I died¡­ It hurt a lot...¡± He stares in disbelief at his confused men. ¡°Can someone really be so merciless and benevolent at the same time?..¡± ¡°Hey! You there!¡± A man with brown hair and unkempt beard who is wearing a light armor approaches them. Their gazes turn towards the source of the voice. They are still wary of their surroundings because of the battle that just ended. The man gives the air of a veteran hunter in his forties. He looks around and then notices the remnants of the dried blood on the ground. He kneels down observing a part of the now smudged magic circle. ¡°I saw a strong bright light coming from this area and decided to check it out.¡± The unknown man continuous. He looks around mumbling. ¡°It seems that I just missed the front row seat to watch an epic battle here. To control the splattering blood of the enemies and draw a magic circle¡­ She¡¯s truly amazing¡­ but at the same time¡­ Damn, she beat them up so bad and then healed them afterwards. She made them believe that they¡¯ll either die here or be crippled for the rest of their life. Even the leader watched helplessly¡­ Was this act a form of kindness?.. Or was she actually being sadistic?.. What a waste of mana.¡± ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡± The leader frowns. ¡°Are you after the bounty too?¡± ¡°Bounty?¡± He repeats while thinking deeply. ¡°I see¡­ So that¡¯s how it is.¡± ¡°Forget it¡­ it¡¯s not worth it. This many of us cannot do it. What more can a single person like you do?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m definitely nothing like you. I¡¯m a demon hunter, you can call me Fred. So, where did she go?¡± ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Third day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Wave 2, Arbhur City Zone-0, Aesbyl Region In one night that seems so silent a huge explosion has woken up the residents of this lawless land. A laboratory and a plantation are being engulfed by flames. The fire alarms are ringing loudly from the main building. The laboratory¡¯s building have smaller fires that are easier to extinguish but the warehouse and the plantation of Lumerus entus is completely covered in flames. People are running out of the buildings. They are mostly taken over by fear and confusion. Some are helplessly sitting on the ground while watching everything burn down. A person is calling the fire department while another is contacting the police station. Another man is hysterically shouting at the security officers of the lab. He is wearing a white suit that has been smeared with dirt by the dark smoke. His black hair that was neatly combed back is now a little messy. He removes his fogged glasses to wipe them while scolding another person beside him. ¡°Have you found it yet?!¡± He yells angrily. ¡°Which bastard have the guts to screw me over like this?! Hurry and check the security records!¡± ¡°Mister Shilan we¡¯ve found it¡­ just one person.¡± ¡°Just one person?! And you all can¡¯t even stop that motherfucker?!!¡± ¡°The person is a young mage¡­ We have identified her¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s a fucking kid?!¡± He pinches his nose bridge in frustration and anger. ¡°What the actual fuck! You are all fucking useless! Who that fuck is that bitch?!¡± ¡°S-she¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°WHO?!!¡± ¡°Azalea Blakewood. A demon hunter that was hired to slay a demon¡­ Later on, your younger brother ordered to find her and bring her to him. He currently is giving monetary reward to whoever can give information or capture her alive.¡± ¡°That idiot dickhead! How much?¡± ¡°W-what?¡± ¡°How much reward is he giving?!¡± ¡°One million rimas, sir.¡± He clicks his tongue. ¡°Make it five. I don¡¯t care, dead or alive.¡± 11th Lament: Fairy Dust First day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Wave 3, Arbhur City Zone-0, Aesbyl Region After the bloody battle with the group composed of thirty mercenaries, Azalea did not go directly to Wave 4. Some groups may also be lying in wait to ambush her if she carelessly takes the obvious path to the next area of Zone-0. It seems that these bounty hunters are well informed of where she wants to go. After all, it is the most common thing to do for anyone who fall in the same ridiculous situation as her. She needs to take a detour. What the hell am I doing?... While pondering in an abandoned falling apart house, Azalea receives a phone call from a close trusted friend. ¡°What¡¯s up Qin?¡± She responds while putting it in loudspeaker and holding away from her ears. ¡°YOU!!! WHAT¡¯S UP WITH YOU?!!¡± His voice thunders. ¡°I just received some really disturbing news from some of the traveling merchants who passed by Aesbyl this week. What the hell was that?! A reward for capturing you??! What did you do this time?!!¡± ¡°Excuuuuse me? Why is it my fault?¡± ¡°Because obviously you¡¯re that kind of person.¡± Azalea takes a deep breath. ¡°Okay.¡± She turns the loudspeaker off before holding the phone close her ear again. ¡°I admit that I¡¯m not that great of a person¡­ BUT! Listen! There¡¯s really nothing I can do if the other bastard is an entitled asshole.¡± ¡°What exactly did you do?¡± ¡°Nothing! I just rejected him!¡± She hears a deep sigh from the other side of the call. He mumbles a great deal of something inaudible for a while. ¡°I¡¯ll help you. Just get out of there.¡± His voice sounds calm now. She responds in an enthusiastic and grateful tone. ¡°Sure. Thanks, Qin!¡± Then she ends the call. ¡°W-wait-!!¡± Azalea turns off her phone before returning it back with her other valuables in the smaller belt-bag that replaced the huge luggage she used to have. Her eyes are still dead and cold. The mask of that cheerful person is still nowhere to be found. ¡°I haven¡¯t done anything to deserve this much trouble.¡± She mumbles. ¡°Should I give them a better reason?¡± She scoffs. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Twenty first day of Panca¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Ylam City, Aesbyl Region, Surus The Hunter¡¯s Party After the successful demon hunt, the hunters still need to claim the rewards and divide the loot so they are staying in the city for few more days. Some of them also decided to relax before returning to their respective hometowns. Right after all the rewards have been claimed and loot have been distributed, the group of licensed demon hunters has decided to bond for one more time before parting ways. They choose a humble fast-food chain in the city center. While waiting for their orders to be served, Cassandra receives a call from her village back in Laamhi. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Cassandra picks up the call and then her smile quickly curves down. ¡°Say that again without stuttering so I¡¯d understand.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Fred joins the table while carrying a tray of glasses of water. ¡°Oh, old lady seems to have some emergency.¡± Gustaf chuckles. ¡°What do you mean lady? That¡¯s an old hag.¡± Matt whispers very softly. ¡°Hm. Is that so?¡± Cassandra¡¯s tone turns grim. ¡°W-wha-! I haven¡¯t said anything!¡± Matt jolts away. She glares at him. ¡°Keep your voice down. Why are you so jittery? Huh-?.. No, there¡¯s some rowdy brat over here¡­ Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m about to go back.¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t hear. It seems you¡¯ll live a little longer.¡± Carlo whispers. ¡°Why is she treating me like a brat? I¡¯m old enough to start a family of my own.¡± Fred scoffs looking at them. ¡°Hey,¡± Aaron calls them while scrolling on his phone. ¡°Something is¡­ I think, our little young hunter got herself in trouble.¡± ¡°Why? What happened?¡± Gustaf is quick to respond. ¡°Look into Aesbyl Region¡¯s Hunter¡¯s website, right in the home page. There¡¯s a new poster that was posted recently.¡± They all heed his words. To their surprise, they see a face that is so familiar to them. Fred¡¯s brows furrow. ¡°This is¡­¡± ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Fairy dust is an illegal drug that can boost the user¡¯s power but it has bad side effects to the mana circuit once overused. However it is more known in the field of medicine as a drug that helps severely injured patients¡¯ recovery. This drug¡¯s main ingredient is the flower of the plant ¡°Lemerus entus¡± that only grows in rocky and humid environment. It looks like a cactus with tiny spikes and a few leaves that grows around its flower. Around half a century ago, the Shilan Research Group discovered a way to cultivate the plant Lemerus entus in an artificial environment. Since then, they have continuously improved the process of cultivation which allows them to mass produce the plants. This made the Shilan Pharmaceuticals become the biggest supplier of the medical drug, L-Entuxine, in the continent. To continuously produce this supply, the Shilan group constructed more plantations around Arbhur City where their main company is located. Because of this, their research team meticulously studied the plant in hopes to discover more use for it. They discovered that the leaves and roots can be made into tea and help in treating fatigue as it also has a slight healing effect. It did not take them long to learn that a larger amount of the flower extracts can boost the ability of a reveil. However, they also discovered later on that too much use of it can destroy their mana circuit. Thus, the production have been stopped and it was categorized as ¡°illegal¡± by ICA. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The Shilan Group mainly focuses on improving the effectiveness of L-Entuxine and the quality of their Le-Ent teas. L-Entuxine has a healing effect that helps large wounds close faster. It also regulates the circulation of mana in the system which allows for faster recovery. This effects are observed in both reveils and ubliss which makes it the drug of choice for post-operation patient care. Le-Ent tea on the other hand, cures everyday fatigue that people can experience after a busy day. Its healing properties allows people to feel refreshed even if they sleep less than normal. It has become an essential everyday drink for people with heavy work schedule as well as college and post-graduate students. Both products have almost no side effects if consumed in the right dosage, which made it more popular and easy to market. However, behind it all, the Shilan Group still continues to secretly study the boosting properties of the flower. Later on this research resulted in the creation of the now known ¡°Fairy Dust.¡± They distributed and sold these illegal drugs mainly to hunters and mercenaries. Then after a few years, Fairy Dust became increasingly popular in areas outside the city like the Zone-0. It is mainly being used by people who have work which requires heavy physical labor. The occasional consumption became dependence, which later proved to be devastating. In the end, despite the drug¡¯s destructiveness, many people in desperate situation would still rely on it. The illegal international exportation of Fairy Dust through the black market makes the Shilan Group wealthier and more powerful. The developing dependence of the mercenaries of Zone-0 in this illegal drugs allows the Shilan group to have some control over them. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ For the past couple of days, Azalea moves stealthily from around Wave 3 to enter the western parts of Wave 2. She is more dedicated into not getting noticed this time so she traversed the slums with the outmost caution. She set a hiding place close to the laboratory and plantation that can be found in the border between Wave 2 and Wave 3. Here, she decided to rest while observing their operations. What the hell am I doing?.. While idly watching from the distance, she cannot help it but be plague by different thoughts. It is as though she is arguing with herself in her mind. ¡°I understand¡­ She made a choice. My presence became an opportunity.¡± ¡°But still¡­ I feel betrayed.¡± ¡°She is a kind person¡­ it¡¯s just that¡­ her kindness is not meant for me.¡± ¡°I feel awful¡­¡± ¡°Running away is exhausting. Maybe I should make a little more mess around here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s like there¡¯s an accumulating heavy cloud inside.¡± ¡°What should I feel?.. Will it go away of I vent it out?..¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped¡­ people are like that after all.¡± ¡°I did help them a bit. Hopefully all of these effort won¡¯t be wasted. They better have left safely from this slums¡­ and have started a new life somewhere better.¡± ¡°But why do I feel so bitter?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter¡­ I¡¯ll just forget about it¡­ I should move on. But before I leave, I¡¯ll give them a gift. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m doing the right thing, or how much good this will bring¡­ In fact, I might be doing more harm than good¡­ to myself¡­ and the people. It¡¯s hard.¡± ¡°Sometimes¡­ trying to be a good person hurts a lot.¡± In order to get away from the mercenaries that are after her, Azalea has been keeping Pulse active on high alert for the past two days. Her inability to turn it off is already tiring, but to actively keep it on highest sensitivity is all the more exhausting. It is like feeling drowsy but being unable to fall sleep. Despite this, Azalea is actively keeping the spell on. She stays close to the laboratory and plantation for another day to observe it without getting discovered. It looks like a normal pharmaceutical laboratory, except that one suspicious warehouse. A large number of sealed boxes has been taken out of it and put inside an old looking transport truck that does not have the logo of the Shilan Group. It seems to be going farther west, maybe even going out the country. ¡°West?... Westar¡­¡± She mumbles. ¡°The port?.. hm¡­¡± She stays hidden while waiting until sundown. She is thinking over and over what to do next. She has decided on her target first. She has made up her mind about what she wants to destroy. She has also planned how to escape from here. ¡°I¡¯ll be quick¡­ and be gone.¡± Once the sky is starting to change from a mix of yellow and light orange to a mix of dark blue and purple, Azalea makes her move. She stealthily treads her way towards the suspicious warehouse. She looks around reassuring herself that there are no personnel near the area. After that, she picks a side of the warehouse then she uses the spell ¡°Wind Cutter¡± to slice the concrete wall open. She makes a hole large enough to fit herself then she casually waltz in. Inside, she quickly notices the brown boxes that are stock piled over each other. These boxes are towering and occupying over half of the warehouse space. She goes farther inside and inspects one of the boxes stock in lower columns. She pulls one box. She taps it. Judging by the sound it makes, it seems to be full of whatever¡¯s inside. She flips it around, looking at the six sides of the box. All sides of the box have a small red symbol. The symbol looks like two leaves that is made to resemble the letter ¡°S¡± and inside each leaf is the letters ¡°L¡± and ¡°e.¡± ¡°Does this symbol mean that these boxes has Lemerus entus inside¡­ and that it¡¯s a product of the Shilan group?..¡± She looks around more. She then notices that some groups of boxes have different symbols stamped on them. Several of them also have notes pasted on. A group of boxes is arranged in one area seems to be ready for shipping. It looks like the boxes are being marked as to where they are going to be transported. She cannot decode those, and it will be a waste of time. So, she goes back to the box she pulled a while ago. She uses the Wind Cutter again to slice it open. Dust-like particles burst out making her cough upon inhalation. ¡°What the shit!¡± She coughs while fanning the dust away with her hand. ¡°So this is it¡­ That Fairy Dust that¡¯s been quite popular around here.¡± The light sparkly pink powder pours out of the sliced box while the thin dust settles down. Azalea takes a pinch and then looks at it closely. This is called Fairy Dust because the powder looks magical. However taking it and relying on it is like a long lasting curse that brings one closer to death every time they use it. But still many people choses to use it. Maybe because they were fooled, or maybe they are just desperate. ¡°What the hell am I doing?¡± This powder needs to be mixed with water. The dosage and potency varies from person to person, depending on how reliant they have become to this substance. Once it is mixed, the liquid needs to be injected into the veins and circulate in the blood stream. The effect will be felt within five to ten minutes after injection, and it can last up to almost half a day. Once taken, regardless of being an ubliss or reveil, the person will experience a surge power. They will feel highly energized and powerful. If the user is a reveil, it greatly improves the flow and recovery of their mana, thus making them perform better. If the user is an ubliss, they may not have access to their mana but the feeling of being energized allows them to work more and get tired less. She then uses it to draw a magic circle on the open space. She then walks out heading towards the plantation. Her floating spear follows her movements close behind her back. She climbs up the building and finds a corner where she can conceal herself. ¡°Why am I even doing this?¡± Let¡¯s hurry and get this over with¡­ 12th Lament: Let it Burn ¡°Why am I even doing this?¡± She snaps her finger. A few seconds later, a thick dark smoke can be seen rising from the warehouse. The explosive sound of the alarms are alerting everyone to go out of the buildings and secure a safe place. Most of the workers are evacuating while there are few that are part of the security and maintenance team, so they are preventing the fire from spreading to other buildings. She simply watches the chaos unfold from her hiding place. She can see the flicker fire from the warehouse and it is gradually getting bigger while the smoke is getting darker. ¡°This might be bad for the environment.¡± While everyone is busy and confused, Azalea sneaks into the plantation. She quietly slices the window. She casts a floating magic circle where she steps on while in mid-air. She looks around to make sure that there is no one else is inside the plantation. The space inside is wide. It has an exceptionally high ceiling with artificially controlled sunlight. The interior is filled with high-tech equipment made to maintain the artificial environment to raise Lemerus entus. Hundreds of row of Lemerus entus fills the whole area. Some have flowers that are yet to bloom while others have already been harvested. In one area farther back, some flowers are piled in buckets. Some of the sprouts of this cactus-like plant have also been cut off and laid in a processing room along with the leaves. It seems that the root products laid in another table are lesser in quantity compared to the other parts. On another side, the saplings are being prepared to be planted. ¡°Wow¡­ I¡¯m feeling envious, these plants are being taken care of quite well¡­¡± She casts several magic circles and then dozens of fireballs lit up around her. She walks down creating a floating magic circle platform for every step. She goes farther inside and notices a camera that is still actively recording. She looks directly at it and smiles before throwing the fireballs in different directions. The fireballs are burning everything that it touches. The machineries are exploding one after another. Sparks and smoke fills her surrounding while she calmly walks out of the plantation. Outside, the remaining employees that are still close-by are staring at the burning plantation with a confused expression. It was completely fine a while ago. All of a sudden, there are flames everywhere. While they are dazed and puzzled, one man followed by his bodyguards and staff comes running closer to the plantation that is bursting with flames. He looks up the crumbling building with a face burning with rage. He is wearing a white suit with gold embroidery at the cuff and collar, though its elegance has been stained by the dark smoke. His nicely combed black hair is slightly messy at one side. He removes his shades before yelling at the staff following him. The other employees can only watch them meekly. While he is busy being angry, Azalea walks out of the burning plantation building. As soon as someone notices her, everyone¡¯s attention turns to her. ¡°Who are you?!!¡± The angry man points at her. ¡°Guards! Arrest that bitch for trespassing and arson!¡± Azalea waves and smiles at them before casting a smoke screen and disappearing right in front of them. They are confused and at loss for words. They do not know what to think about the incident. The area is just filled with the sounds of little explosions, the crackling of the burning buildings and the screams of an uncontrollable anger of a certain man. ¡°Mister Shilan, please calm down.¡± ¡°HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CALM DOWN?!!¡± Veins are seen bulging on his temple and neck. ¡°Do you know how much we¡¯ve lost because of this attack? FUUUCK!!!¡± A man carrying a laptop approaches him. ¡°Some camera records have been saved, sir. The security team is now looking for the suspect and then cross match the image in the database.¡± ¡°Well, hurry up!¡± A few more men joins in, using their laptops that they saved from the fire. They have to look for the image of the suspect, clear the photo, and then find a match to evidently identify them. The process is obviously taking a while but the team is doing their best with whatever they have. Meanwhile, the fire trucks, ambulance and police cars have arrived. All they can do is minimize the damage, they cannot save any of the burned materials anymore. Fortunately, no employees were injured. However, the boss does not seem to care about that at all. ¡°Have you found it yet?!¡± He yells angrily. ¡°Which bastard have the guts to screw me over like this?! Hurry and check the security records!¡± ¡°Mister Shilan we¡¯ve found it¡­ erm, her¡­ just one person¡­¡± ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Seventh day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Wave 3, Arbhur City Zone-0, Aesbyl Region Azalea on the run Days has passed since Azalea burned one of the biggest Lemerus entus plantation in Aesbyl. While on her way down to Wave 4, she also destroyed another small plantation that she happened to pass by. Because of these actions and the new bounty that has been put on her head, the mercenaries that are hunting her are becoming more aggressive in their methods. ¡°I messed up big time, didn¡¯t I?¡± The new bounty is put up by the older brother, Bart Shilan. He is very enraged by Azalea¡¯s attacks on his business, and he is very impatient in taking revenge wanting to get rid of her as soon as possible. Most routes going to the southern border have tightened security and have large number of mercenaries lying in wait to catch her. These circumstances pushes her into a corner, forcing her several times to change her path to get out of the region. Instead of going straight south, she decides to turn around and swiftly make her way towards the eastern border, in hopes to lose everyone tailing her in the process. For this, she moves erratically, going around, back and forth, to confuse her pursuers. Currently she is stuck running around in Wave 3, after going back and forth from Wave 4 and Wave 3 the past days. She managed to split up the group of mercenaries that has been chasing her so far. However, that much is still not enough to make her situation a little easier. ¡°Shit! Shit! Shit!¡± Azalea, with her spear following close behind, grumbles while running and jumping from roof to roof. Gunshots echoes in the slum in the middle of a very clear day. A hoard or armed men and women are running and shouting in the middle of a busy street. ¡°Bitch¡¯s up in the roof!¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t shoot random-¡± ¡°Shut the fuck up! I¡¯ll beat yo¡¯ ass up myself!¡± ¡°S-sor-¡± ¡°Get the fuck out of the fucking way!¡± Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The civilians who does not want to get caught up in the violent chase just runs and finds a corner to hide into. Unfortunately, there are still a few who gets injured in the scuffle. ¡°Hey! Hey! Hey!¡± Azalea turns to face her opponents. ¡°Can you chill? How about we take this on a much larger open space?¡± Someone attacks with a Ki-imbued spear from behind. She casually blocks it with a magic barrier which quickly shatters as she steps away from the spear¡¯s trajectory. The opponent¡¯s swing hits nothing but air which throws him off-balance. She then follows up with ice magic to immobilize the attacker. ¡°Such impatience.¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t ya¡¯h full of yourself?!¡± The man smirks. While Azalea is trying to interpret what that means, the sky suddenly flickers a red-orange color. She turns to check on the cause, and her eyes widens at the sight of dozens of fireballs falling from the sky. ¡°Are you crazy?!! DO YOU WANT TO BURN EVERYTHING HERE?!!¡± That many fireballs cannot be casted by just one mage, after all they are not her. It is a coordinated attack by multiple mages. They are using their numbers to corner her. But if they think that she cannot counter this many fireballs, then they sure got it all wrong. Azalea casts spell and bubbles starts forming from thin air. There are the same number of bubbles as there are fireballs falling down. ¡°The fuck??¡± ¡°Bubbles against fire?¡± They start chattering and cackling. ¡°They¡¯ll just pop.¡± ¡°So fucking dumb!¡± Azalea then moves the bubbles to clash with the fireballs before it hits and burns anything. Just when they thought that the magic bubbles would pop and evaporate, it engulfed every fireball that comes in contact with it. Azalea closes her hand tightly and magic circles glows around the bubbles for a second, then they instantaneously shrinks containing the fireballs inside. ¡°W-what?¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not in my level. What makes you think your fireballs can burst my bubbles?¡± While Azalea¡¯s attention is focused on the bubbles, the man behind her has successfully melted the ice on his feet that got him stuck there. Once he gets the chance, he stabs Azalea with the spear from behind. ¡°Die, bitch!¡± Azalea looks at the tip of the spear¡¯s blade that pierced her the left side of her back protrude out of her abdomen. Despite the attack, she endures the pain so she can concentrate on her magic. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you wanted attention that much.¡± She says as the bubbles continues to shrink with the fireballs. She then casts another spell. ¡°I don¡¯t really have time for you. Ice Prison.¡± The man who is caught off guard and cannot use his weapon that is still stuck, does not have time to evade. He did not think that she can still attack him in that situation. In a split second, they just watch the ice form around him confining him entirely inside. ¡°Continue! Attack!¡± Someone commands. ¡°Take advantage of every opening!¡± She pulls the spear out and throws it away. Blood pours out as more small magic circles appear and disappear around the wound. She makes it seem like it does not bother her as she stands confidently above them. ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­ it will just heal¡­¡± Several men springs up with their weapons to attack. Bullets and Ki beams rain on her. She blocks it with a magic barrier but some of them broke through and scraped her. She clicks her tongue as she analyzes the movements of the enemies around her. She casts another spell over the magic bubbles and suppressed fireballs. Something glows above before she snaps her fingers. Steam explodes all around obscuring everyone¡¯s vision. The mages quickly casts a wind spell to clean the white smoke in the area. Even though they have anticipated that something like a smoke screen might happen so they came prepared, still once it is cleared, the target is nowhere to be found. They can only see some burn markings on the place she used to stand on. The roof has been strangely damaged but it did not crumble. The man that was caught inside the ice is now free and shivering on the ground. ¡°What the hell happened?¡± ¡°Stop looking like confused monkeys! Move your asses! Search the area!¡± ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ When Azalea activated her magic to create the steam, she also casted a low-tier explosive spell on her place. She used the explosion to propel herself away from the area of conflict as fast as possible. She is not sure if she miscalculated due to the sense urgency in that situation, but it turns out that she has thrown herself up too high. It is fine that because of that, the mercenary group did not notice her trick but she also accidentally made the management of her fall more difficult. She needs to cushion her fall with magic so that she would not get hurt as much. She uses wind magic to slow down her fall. However that wind magic also destroys the place of her fall. She carefully manages the trajectory of her fall to make sure she does not get any innocent people and property in trouble. While struggling mid-air, an old dilapidated house catches her eyes. It is close her point of fall. If there is any place that looks like it would not inconvenience anyone, it looks like that place is the most suitable. She propels herself slightly to fall on the roof. She hits a weak spot on the roof and breaks through it, falling right inside the old house. ¡°If someone is living in this place, they¡¯d surely beat me up.¡± She groans as she tries to get herself up. As soon as she stands, she falls back down on her butt. She looks around while pressing on the wound in her abdomen. Larger wounds takes more time to heal. That fall also filled her body with new scratches. Thankfully, she did not break any of her bones. The interior of the house has lingering musty and dusty smell. The floor is filled with filth and trash. The wooden furniture inside and piles of what seems to be old newspapers and boxes have grown molds. There are broken bottles, crashed cans, and a lot of wrappers lying around. On the dusty scrapped table are different kinds of alcoholic beverages, some are yet to be opened and consumed. While observing the place, she continues on her way out. She passes by some broken chairs, plates and scattered utensils. And on the couch, she notices something ominously familiar. ¡°This house haven¡¯t really been abandoned¡­¡± She looks down at what appears to be a human skeleton lying on the couch. It has rotted away and has dried. It is impossible to know what might have caused its death. The only thing she can think of after looking at the house is that it has not been touched for years. Whoever this person is, he died without anyone knowing about it. ¡°Sorry, I put a hole on your roof. As an apology, I¡¯ll bury you properly.¡± Azalea dug a grave just outside the dilapidated house. She knows nothing about the skeleton she just buried, so she cannot put any name of sort on the grave. She just put some large stone over the grave as a mark. Afterwards, she only stared at it while the sun goes down. This is the least she can do for the dead. Somehow, what she saw inside that house reminds her of how she used to live with her master. The piled up empty bottles and cans of alcohol among the various filth that are scattered on the floor, is just like how her master¡¯s house would be every time she or the merchant is not around to clean. This scene is heavily nostalgic. She then decides not to stay in that place for too long. She moves out as soon as the night falls. The bounty hunters are definitely looking for her and they will soon catch up if she becomes too complacent. As she thinks of the recent bouts, she concludes that another battle in the residential parts of the slums would be a disadvantage for her. After what happened earlier, it seems that she is the only one concerned about the safety of the by-standers. In worst case scenario, they might even use the innocent people as hostages or deliberately harm them to trap and capture her. It is better to move in deserted areas and then find a way cleanly get rid of her pursuers once and for all. It has been almost a week of running, chasing, and fighting. Her armor has gained more scratches and tears on it. She is hoping that these mercenaries would get tired first with their almost unending restless battles, but these hopes remained unanswered. These groups are more organized than she expected. Perhaps, she has underestimated them. She is the only one who is growing weary of these endless confrontations. In an open space just outside of Wave 4, Azalea deliberately takes a break knowing that the mercenaries are just right at the tip of her tail. This might as well be a good spot to finally settle their score. She takes a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯m tired.¡± Her eyes are lifeless and are no longer smiling. She does not have any reason to continue wearing that mask and keep up with the act. Once again she has been surrounded. These past few days, she has noticed that there has always been almost the same numbers that are chasing after her, but not always the same faces. They must have assigned look outs in paths that she most likely would take, that is how they are able to find her whereabouts so fast. They must also be rotating their resting hours. When one group gets tired, another group takes over. That is how they are able to come after her relentlessly. ¡°They¡¯ve surely have used their overwhelming numbers against me¡­ quite remarkably.¡± She activates Pulse to highest sensitivity to get a proper sense of her enemies and their positions. These past weeks her senses have gone haywire because of the never-ending perception of imminent threat. It makes her alert but tire her all the more. The influx of information is mind-blowing. She is extremely sleepy but it does not allow her to fall asleep. ¡°This is¡­ mind-numbingly exhausting¡­¡± 13th Lament: If these Scars Could Speak ¡°This is¡­ mind-numbingly exhausting¡­¡± They are very organized for a simple mercenary group in the Zone-0. There must be more to it that she has not grasped yet. After gathering information on the positioning of the mercenaries that have surrounded her, she then stomps her foot casting a large-area magic spell. Three overlapping magic circles briefly glows stretching over the ground. The dry land suddenly grows large hands that grabbed the people standing inside the circle, with the exception of the caster. More than half of the mercenaries are captured while the rest managed to evade the limited reach of those earthen hands. ¡°Right¡­Of course, not all of them will fall into that trap.¡± She mumbles. Someone tries to stab her from behind but she blocks it with a stone pillar. She kicks the man but he swiftly jumps backward. Gunshots echoes and bullets are flying aiming for her. While she blocks them with a magic barrier, another one slams a giant rock down at her. She is forced to jump away from her spot to evade. While in mid-air, a bulky man swings a large claymore at her. She tries to block it with a quick cast of magic barrier but the claymore brakes through it. Azalea gets blown away by the force and tumbles on the dusty ground. She picks herself back up, blood drips from her arms. The claymore cut through her steel arm braces reaching her flesh. Magic circles glow as it automatically heals her wounds. Before she could prepare for her enemies next move, three people have already thrown lightning spears at her. She dodges just in time but one of it somehow grazes the tip of her boots. The electric shock is not strong as she is able to resist it but it is enough to make her lose her balance making her fall once again. ¡°These bouts are getting tougher and tougher!¡± She rolls as few more stone spears rain down on her. ¡°Don¡¯t make the same mistakes that I did¡­¡± Her master¡¯s voice rings at the back of her mind. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what exactly you¡¯re referring to, master.¡± She strives to quickly get back on her feet. She knows that they are always ready to lunge at every chance they get. She barely stood up and the man who tried to stab her is back at it again. He slashes with his ki-imbued sword that Azalea hardly avoids. She then instinctively counters with wind magic and cuts through the man¡¯s neck. The man falls on his knees grabbing his neck with blood pouring out like water from a broken faucet. ¡°Ah-! I mustn¡¯t let you die. Here, I¡¯ll heal you a bit.¡± Azalea says softly, her tone is low and chilling. She kicks the bleeding man down and then stomps on his chest. Magic circles glowed. ¡°Just a bit¡­ ¡®coz I can¡¯t have you jumping around, it¡¯s annoying.¡± The man screams for a while before passing out. She looks at them with her empty gaze. She does not see any of them as a threat. However, their numbers are reasonably troublesome. At best, they are a bunch of annoyances. ¡°What the hell did she just do?¡± The leader laughs menacingly. ¡°Bitch doesn¡¯t intend to kill anyone. We have the upper hand. Dead or alive¡­ We¡¯re taking her corpse back!¡± ¡°The best defense¡­ is to destroy them before they can make a move¡­¡± Azalea momentarily stares at the leader who is holding a huge claymore before more bullets storm her way. This time she does not block them. She sends the bullets back. Each bullet fired at her hits a mercenary. Some strikes the gung from their hand, the other got hit on the hand, arm or shoulder. ¡°So tired¡­ Get out of my way.¡± Multiple ki beams strikes from the side which she simply blocks with a thick stone wall. From behind, another man attacks. He uses close combat knives strengthened by magic, aiming for Azalea¡¯s neck. Before his knives could reach her neck, a blade made of blazing flames completely cuts off his arms. The shock and the pain makes him fall screaming on the ground. The fire sword burned the wound from the cut preventing him from bleeding out. She then makes two more fire swords to cut through the earth golem running towards her. An armored Yashou lunges at her and she effortlessly stabs the fire sword into its core. She uses the same swords to melt bullets and block ki attacks. She returns every magic spell back to the caster. All while walking forward, to the direction of Wave 5. ¡°Destroy¡­ destroy them¡­ make a move¡­¡± The mercenaries who are still well, receiving only minor injuries, continue to re-position themselves and attack. Azalea with the skill of Pulse keeps receiving a lot of updated information on her surroundings and the people moving around. Her exhaustion is growing, so she decides to focus on ending this battle as soon as possible. When someone gets close to her, she either cuts off their arms or legs. ¡°There are plenty of ways to deal with all of you without killing anyone.¡± ¡°Prepare ranged attacks!¡± ¡°Get in formation!¡± She locks her sight onto the leader. She boosts her speed in one burst, instantly moving herself in front of the claymore-wielding man. He is surprised to see her suddenly get close but he manages to block the fire swords with his huge claymore. However, the clash did not last long as the fire swords starts cutting through the thick lump of steel. He abandons his weapon and jumps away to avoid getting cut along with it. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Destroy¡­¡± The man makes a gesture she does not know how to interpret. He must be sending a signal to his comrades. She stretches her arm sideways blocking and neutralizing the fireballs that are thrown her way. At that moment, the leader regains his claymore that was cut in half. He then reinforces the missing part with iron sand. ¡°An Esper¡­ his ability is magnetism¡­ probably level 4¡­¡± Azalea is assessing the enemy. She can feel the sands vibrating. That new weapon might be sharper than before. He makes a taunting stance, preparing to attack. While her attention is focused on him, a stone spear flies by her side, missing her with just a few inches. In that momentary distraction, another stone spear rams into her abdomen pushing her back a few steps. It pierced through her pinning her on the earthen hand that is right behind her. ¡°Shit! Using my own creation as props!¡± She cannot pull the stone spear out because it is deeply nailed into the hand construct. She is about to use the fire swords to cut the shaft shorter and get herself out from being pinned but the leader is not so nice to give her that chance. He lunges at her with his new claymore. She then blocks with her spear and a magic barrier. Her spear clashes with the solid part while the magic barrier shields her from the impact of the vibrating iron sands. ¡°You¡¯re hella tough, huh.¡± He smirks. ¡°Maybe you¡¯re just hella weak.¡± He retreats a step back and then scoffs at her. ¡°You should have thought about it more before taking on dozens of enemies on your own.¡± He lifts his claymore up for one powerful forward slash. Azalea, who is still pinned, blocks it the same way as before. However this time the sand part of the claymore suddenly crumbled upon impact. It then transforms into thorns breaking through her magic barrier. A couple of thorns hit her shoulder and the side base of her neck. One she barely dodge as it almost dug into her head. With the knowledge that the target cannot move from her spot, the leader did not anticipate that she can simultaneously still manipulate her spear, as well as the fire swords. It is already too late for him, when one of the swords stabs him from behind. He falls on his knees. ¡°Destroy¡­¡± ¡°No¡­¡± Azalea cuts the shaft of the spear, freeing herself from getting pinned. The others cannot attack because she is too close to their injured leader. ¡°I¡¯ll heal you a bit too.¡± White light glows around the man and his wound is gone. Before he gets a chance to lift a finger, the earth opened up and pulled him down burying him neck-deep. Azalea turns towards the other mercenaries who are still able to move. She feels their numbers and positions. There are less than ten left. It is evident that they are anxious after losing the commander. ¡°I¡¯ll spare at least one mage. Hopefully, they learned basic healing.¡± She casts the speed boost spell on herself to swiftly close the distance between her and the remaining enemies. Those who have already lost the will to fight are made to pass out, but those who tried to fight back are to lose a limb or two. After making sure that all enemies will not be able to chase her, at least immediately after this battle, Azalea casts illusion magic to cover her tracks. She disappeared like a mirage in the middle of the desert. She finds a hidden resting place in the close-by canyon. For a while, she will be able to get a little rest. If she continues farther to the east, Wave 5 will be there. It is the end of the Arbhur City¡¯s Zone-0, and a little more after that she will be outside the border of Surus. ¡°How did I end up being in the center of such a big mess?¡± Azalea asks herself while looking at the prominent scratched on her spear. ¡°It¡¯s started with something so petty¡­ and I got pissed off¡­ Well, I¡¯m at fault too, but it isn¡¯t entirely my fault¡­ isn¡¯t it?¡± When she thinks back on the past event, she just wanted to pass by Surus for the hunt. It is supposed to be a quick clear and go. Her real destination is Westar, to visit the graves of her friend in YAHO. She wanted to check on it, if someone made a proper grave for everyone. Then, she intends to find the whereabouts of her mother¡¯s grave. She never knew where it was. Nobody told her, and she was unable to contact anyone who might have the information that she needs. ¡°That¡¯s a bit¡­ It really bothers me¡­¡± Currently, moving around is a big problem. She has no access to public transport because of the dangers that her bounty could bring. As much as possible, she does not want innocent people to get caught up in her troubles. This is like a very long and confusing detour. But for now, what she wants is a decent rest. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Seventh day of Catra¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Roham Village, Laamhi Two days has passed since the hunt of the demon Lu¡¯one. The report has been submitted to the Hunter¡¯s Council. The demon has been slain but five hunters passed away. The demon that self-destructed left a core that is stays warm and pulsing. According to HC, it is a live core. If not taken care of properly, the same demon may grow back from it. ¡°What are we going to do with the demon?¡± ¡°We should give the core to the young hunter. She must know how to handle it.¡± ¡°Is she in any condition to take care of that?¡± A group of people are chattering outside the village clinic. ¡°She is¡­ the only one we were able to bring back alive.¡± ¡°How is the funeral?¡± ¡°All five are having it in the village hall. We should say our condolences tomorrow.¡± ¡°My sister is preparing the flowers. What a tragedy¡­ they were too young. The family they left behind are deeply aggrieved.¡± ¡°What would the young hunter feel when she wakes up?¡± ¡°She¡¯s physically fine¡­ but her emotional condition is¡­ rather chaotic. Her response when I first found her was¡­ very heart-breaking.¡± ¡°It¡¯s that¡­ Many hunters experience it when accidents in hunts happen. It¡¯s what they call survivor¡¯s guilt.¡± Azalea has woken up but she did not leave the bed. The room has started to dim as the sun is setting. She blankly stares at the ceiling. She is recalling events that she does not want to recall but still they play in her mind over and over like a film in loop. Few more days passes by, yet her inactivity continues. Until one day, she just disappeared in the village clinic. When they looked for her, they found her in the cemetery outside the village. She is standing in front of the graves of the teens. She is still wearing the clinic¡¯s clothes. Her feet are bare and the hem of the pants are mudded. It seems that she has been standing there for a long while. They are simply watching and observing her as they are trying to figure out how to approach her. But the sky has gone dark and rain is about to fall. ¡°Azalea,¡± the granny from the inn calls. She looks back at several people who have followed. ¡°Ah-¡­ Sorry for troubling you¡­¡± ¡°Pay it no mind. You should go back and rest.¡± ¡°A-actually¡­ I¡¯m thinking of leaving tomorrow.¡± ¡°Already? I don¡¯t think you have recovered enough.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, granny.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re tired, it¡¯s okay to stop and take a rest¡­ Rest, child¡­ Until you are ready to once again, take another step forward.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep your words in mind.¡± After that, as Azalea has informed them, she got ready to leave the very next day. She talks to the village chief before going out of the village. She tells him that they can claim the reward for the demon and use it for the village. They a little reluctant but have accepted it in the end after convincing her to take the living core at least. She should be able to find a better use for it. 14th Lament: Through the Black Fourteenth-seventh day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Wave 5, Arbhur City Zone-0, Aesbyl Region Azalea wakes up feeling unpleasant even though the injuries in her body have completely healed. The large stab wound in her abdomen is gone now. Despite her inability to fall in deep sleep, the rest she had should be fine enough to push through another day. However, the heaviness she feels inside has not gone away. Nevertheless, she needs to continue moving forward. She has to leave the region as soon as possible, and go to a place outside of the Shilan¡¯s influence. ¡°I really messed up this time¡­¡± She has not planned carefully. Maybe it is also because she let herself be driven by emotions. It is already quite infuriating that Brandon Shilan is chasing her for no good reason, yet she also went and pissed off the older brother. She got a bit of revenge but she also bought herself another sack of trouble. It is something that she should have ignored and let pass. This country¡¯s problem is none of her business. ¡°Damn¡­ I just woke up and I¡¯m already tired¡­¡± She steps out of the narrow paths in the canyon. It looks like a good hiding spot a few hours ago, but now it just looks cramped. It has not been that long since her last battle but there is already another group watching her while hiding behind the stone walls of the canyon. ¡°How are they able to find me this fast?¡± She grumbles. ¡°I might actually die soon if I don¡¯t leave this damned place.¡± It is going to be another day full of squabble. She heightens Pulse¡¯s sensitivity to learn the positions of the enemies. The spell usually works within five meters radius around her, but she can extend its range up to ten meters radius if she focuses on it for a limited time. However, this technique is even more exhausting. She feels ten people hiding close-by, but her intuition is telling her that there are more of them hiding out of her reach. By looking at the structure of the canyon, it is evident that there are plenty of hiding place. It is a maze of ambush points. With all the running, chasing and fighting these past days, neither group are able to get a good rest. Azalea thought that it should be to her advantage since she is trained and used to this much pressure. However, even after beating up a number of them how is it possible that there are still a lot of them left? After all the severe injuries, their healers must be tired now. She has observed the groups that are following her, she is certain that none of them are dedicated healers. The best they have are mages that learned basic healing for emergency purposes. ¡°Am I the only one getting tired? Something¡¯s off¡­ I think I might know what it is but I have to confirm first. This¡¯ll be one hell of a shit show if my suspicions are true.¡± Meanwhile, this group that has surrounded her is watching out for an opportunity to strike. After what happened to the other groups that attacked, they are trying to be more careful. They might not lose their life but losing a limb might as well be a death sentence to their carrier. ¡°Boss, how do we go about this?¡± ¡°Nobody makes a move on their own.¡± The bald guy issues an order. ¡°How are we going to catch a brat that strong? How the fuck is she not tired after all the bashing the others did?¡± ¡°She got one hell of a wound yesterday.¡± ¡°It¡¯s gone now. She healed herself. Must have used a lot of mana.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± The bald guy makes a signal. ¡°She be dead or alive, we''d be paid. Sooner or later she¡¯s gonna tire herself. Easy win.¡± People tend to underestimate their opponent when they do not have enough information. They have reasons to believe that Azalea is already too worn-out to keep fighting. Recovering mana takes more time than recovering stamina. Azalea suddenly appears in front of the mercenary¡¯s boss. He immediately backs away while leaving a few small bombs behind. He feels as though something is off with the way she got close to him. She is not aiming for him or harboring any intent to attack. It¡¯s as if she just wants to get a good look at him. With the small explosions, smoke and dust also spread in that narrow space of the canyon. While their vision is obscured by the dark gray smoke, two people attack Azalea from behind. Without seeing when exactly she has cast the spell to create two fire swords, they are caught unprepared to defend against it. She retaliates by cutting off their arms. The heat of the fire sword burns their wound close, preventing any drop of blood from splattering on the arid ground. They fall on their knees due to the shock and the pain. Azalea kicks one of them and then stomps at him face down. She stares down at the person for a moment before turning away. ¡°If you want to take my head¡­¡± She says softly but coldly. ¡°Then you better be prepared to risk your own.¡± ¡°Everyone, attack!¡± The boss yells. Azalea focuses her attention to Pulse again. She senses twenty people around her. Fortunately, there does not seem to be any territorial monsters around. The weaker ones most likely have run away when they sensed the danger. If there are strong monsters around them, they may be attracted to the battle and join in as a defensive territorial response. In that case, they will get high ranked monsters mixed in, then the situation will be messier. Then again, it may allow her to use the confusion to escape from this precarious situation. ¡°I¡¯m so tired¡­¡± Now she knows their positions and possible attack trajectory. She just wants to finish this as fast as possible and get a few more days of rest. She casts multiple fireballs around her making the enemies hesitate to recklessly attack for a moment. When she detects their movement, she fires the fireball at the speed of a bullet towards the attacker¡¯s location. Explosions followed by rumbling of rocks echoes in the canyon as gray smoke arises. ¡°Every dumbass who are injured and useless, just get your asses out of the way!¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Azalea follows the source of the voice. The faster she defeats the leader, the easier it will be to deal with the rest of the gang. While the thought plays in her mind, she notices some black spherical things rapidly moving and then sticking to her right arm. ¡°These are-!!¡± She used pulse to get a feel of what it is. ¡°Small bombs!¡± Azalea swings her arm to get it off but those bombs are unusually sticky. She tries to grab the black spheres but they do not budge. It feels like there is some familiar energy that keeps them attached to her. That is when her attention returns to the leader. He smirks at her. ¡°It¡¯s him! An esper with telekinesis, maybe level 3¡­¡± She knows she cannot take it off on her own. She clenches her fist while moving her fire sword towards the leader. He tries to evade but his feet are caught by Azalea¡¯s earth trap which is composed of hands made of hard earth holding his feet. He looks straight at her anticipating to see the bombs detonate and rob her of her arm. This time she will be the one to lose a limb. Some glowing orbs are suddenly forming and rotating around Azalea¡¯s arm before the bombs detonate. At the same time, the fire swords stab through the leader''s chest without mercy. He screams due to the excoriating pain, as if he is burning from the inside out. Aside from that pain he cannot remember anything else, not even the moment when he passed out. It is as though he died. It is like everything went white for a second. When they returned to their senses, the sky is already starting to dim. ¡°W-what happened?... I¡­ I died¡­ didn¡¯t I?,,¡± He looks around and finds his people lying unconscious all over the place. They all look fine. The ones who supposed to have injuries are healed as if they were never hurt. The area have destroyed rocks and rubles spread around. It is clear that they really were fighting here a while ago, so everything, along with the pain and feeling of death could not have been a dream. ¡°I¡¯m alive¡­ not dreaming¡­ it felt so real. That pain is so real but a little off¡­¡± That is when he remembered the Illusion Magic. That mage used it before to escape. She also beat up everyone and healed them. He cannot understand why she would waste mana on them when she knows that showing mercy to her enemies only allows them to once again hunt her down. Is she just a benevolent fool? Or is she that confident on her abilities and power? ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Sixteenth day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Wave 5, Arbhur City Zone-0, Aesbyl Region ¡°Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have done that¡­¡± ¡°Maybe I should have just left this place¡­¡± Different thoughts echoes inside her head as she enters the residential area of Wave 5. She lost her pursuers for now. These mercenary groups that have been chasing her have territories in Zone-0, which means that they cannot simply leave their territories for long and invade another. There seems to be some set of rules that these gangs are following to keep the peace and order in this lawless land. ¡°Seriously¡­ What the hell am I doing?..¡± She walks into another secluded corner. It will serve as her temporary hiding place. She sits and leans at the corner, laying her spear down. She notices more scratches and cracks on it. She looks at her burned right arm that still has not fully healed after two days. She can only sigh. It is still early in the afternoon, but she already feels so tired, she wants to just close her eyes. ¡°I ran out of food and I can¡¯t access my account in Zone-0.¡± Azalea contemplates her circumstances. ¡°I got rid of most of my luggage. I can¡¯t enter the city without getting caught¡­ In short, I¡¯m dead broke. I had no proper meal or rest these past days. My body is reaching its limits. Still, it is too dangerous to let my guard down even for a moment.¡± Since she got rid of the last batch of those mercenaries, maybe they will not be able to find her so soon. This filthy corner might not be the safest place but it is good enough for a hiding place. ¡°I need rest¡­ I want rest.¡± She recalls the last fight that burned her arm. In order to make her illusion more real, she projected the pain of the burn to the opponents surrounding her. Most of them just fainted due to shock. She healed the ones with fatal injuries before marching away in a hurry. She wants to go as far as possible without consuming too much stamina. Her abundant mana saves her the trouble of conserving it for battles as she can use as much as she needs and there will still be plenty left. For her, stamina is something that is more limited and she needs to build up. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Seventeenth day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Wave 5, Arbhur City Zone-0, Aesbyl Region While Azalea is asleep, a young man notices her unconscious body lying in a narrow alley. He gets curious about it and decides to take a peek. It would be great if this person have something he can take. Terror takes over him as he looks at the messy and dirty get-up of what seems to be an abandoned corpse. Even though he is afraid, he is unable to resist his curiosity. ¡°Does this dead body have some valuables?¡± He gathers courage as he approaches the corpse-looking body. When he is about to touch it, the corpse suddenly grabs his collar and then slams him onto the wall. An icicle forms around her burned right arm. As it increases in length, the sharp tip is pointing closer towards his neck. ¡°Aaaaah-!! W-wait-! Stop!!!¡± ¡°Who-?...¡± The half-asleep corpse is gaining consciousness before the growing icicle pierces through the boy¡¯s neck. He looks straight to her cold lifeless eyes as sweat rolls down his chin. ¡°P-please let me g-go. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Ah-¡­ Sorry.¡± She lets the boy go while the icicle dissipates into thin air. After observing the boy that has brown hair and black marble-like eyes, she then looks around. ¡°Where¡­? Right. Kid, what day is today?¡± He coughs while stepping back. He frowns while making eye contact as he distances away. ¡°You¡­ What are you? Suddenly attacking people¡­ looking like.. a goddamned zombie¡­¡± Azalea forces a laugh. ¡°It¡¯s complicated.¡± ¡°Yeah, seems so¡­ Everyone living her have something complicated about them¡­ and they don¡¯t really wanna talk about it. But why do you look like that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m being chased by some people.¡± ¡°Hmm?.. Well, if you¡¯re going to do something bad then you better not get caught.¡± ¡°Yeah? Just like what you were doing a while ago.¡± He clears his throat. ¡°D-do you need help?¡± ¡°No, I just want to leave this place.¡± ¡°I know, everyone thinks the same. You need a place to stay? Other than this stinky place? My gang can take care of you.¡± ¡°A brat like you have a gang?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re any older than me! You¡¯re a brat too!¡± ¡°I¡¯m fifteen.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just a year ahead!¡± ¡°Still-¡± Her stomach growls. ¡°Damn.¡± The boy raises the plastic bag he is holding. ¡°I got some bread. If you follow me, I¡¯ll introduce you to the rest of the gang.¡± She sigh. ¡°Fine.¡± ¡°The name¡¯s Jad. You are?¡± ¡°Umm¡­ Lea.¡± ¡°Sounds fancy.¡± Azalea goes along with the little lad. He leads her to the edge of Wave 5. There, a small ruggedly built house stands. She notices that outside the house there are more kids playing. They are probably younger than twelve years of age. There is not a single adult around. ¡°Great more brats¡­ What a pain to deal with.¡± She grumbles. ¡°Those are my brothers and sisters. We may not be blood related, but they are my family.¡± He says proudly as he increases the speed of his strides. She stares at him while all the other kids excitedly surrounds him. ¡°Jad! Where have you been?¡± One girl with orange hair nags. ¡°B-boss! Boss-!!¡± A younger boy runs to his side. ¡°Who¡¯s she? You got a new member?¡± ¡°What member?!¡± The girl raised her voice. ¡°You mean more mouths to feed!¡± ¡°Brenda.¡± Jad clears his throat. ¡°That¡¯s not nice. The old man didn¡¯t raise us like that. Romi, call everyone and tell them I got some free bread. I¡¯ll introduce you to the new kid, she looks dirty but she has a custom armor so I think she¡¯s got some useful skills.¡± ¡°Yes boss!¡± The boy salutes. ¡°Useful? The heck you talking about?¡± ¡°I told you, this is our gang and family.¡± Jad puffs his chest. ¡°Our gang is family! You see, there are other groups of kids that are backed by adult hunters. If we don¡¯t gather strong allies, we¡¯ll be taken over by them.¡± ¡°I see. A kiddie gang fight.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t be looking down on us when you see what we¡¯re capable of.¡± She sees three younger kids following Romi, and one of them is even carrying a baby. ¡°What the shit¡­ Seriously?..¡± 15th Lament: Never Good Enough Seventeenth day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Wave 5, Arbhur City Zone-0, Aesbyl Region The house at the edge of Wave 5 does not look old but it does look like it was poorly built. That is why there are plenty of tears and holes in the thin wooden roof. The wood used on the walls have termite holes in it and some parts are breaking down badly that they just covered it with cardboard boxes. ¡°Let¡¯s go inside, I¡¯ll introduce you to the gang.¡± Jad says while confidently marching forward leading them into the house. ¡°Great¡­ brats raising brats.¡± Azalea mumbles as she follows along. ¡°You¡¯re not that much older than us.¡± When they entered the house, the children has prepared the table and arranged the chairs around it. All of them are wearing plain shirts and shorts that got dirty from playing outside. The table is old with scratches but it looks sturdy. The chairs are made with different materials and design, which only shows that they are not purchased as a set. It is like each one is only added some time after the others. They take a seat occupying all chairs except for one. If Azalea excludes herself, as she has only joined them today, then there is two free chairs. There got to be two more people that completes their ¡°family.¡± Does that mean their parents or guardians are working far away right now? ¡°Alright, everyone gets one bread each.¡± Jad says as they pass the bread around. ¡°Let¡¯s get down to business while eating. I picked up this kid outside rolling on dirt, her name is Lea.¡± ¡°If you aren¡¯t too far I would have decked you.¡± ¡°Why are you rolling on dirt?¡± Romi asks. ¡°I wasn¡¯t.¡± ¡°That noisy kid there is Romi, he¡¯s my right-hand man.¡± He says pointing at the enthusiastic boy with dark red hair and green eyes. His skin is tanned and he looks quite thin. ¡°He¡¯s ten years old¡­ Hm. Right an ubliss, but maybe he¡¯ll awaken in his teen years. By the way, I¡¯m an esper, my ability is stealth.¡± ¡°Boss, its invisibility.¡± ¡°Shut it, stealth sounds cooler.¡± He glares at him before moving on to the next kid. ¡°That girl who¡¯s hobby is to nag is Brenda. She¡¯s eleven. She takes care of household stuff when Mark and Mary are working.¡± He refers to the girl with orange hair and dark brown eyes. ¡°Mary and Mark are our big sis and big bro.¡± ¡°What do you mean my hobby is to n-¡± ¡°Next here is Leika.¡± He cuts her off to introduce the girl who is carrying a child. She has thick curly blonde hair and black eyes. ¡°She¡¯s nine years old and she¡¯s the newest addition to our gang before you. By the way, she¡¯s a strong contractor.¡± ¡°Mhm. That kid, how old is he?¡± Azalea turns to her. ¡°Around two.¡± Leika shyly answers. ¡°Your brother?¡± She asks as the child does not look like her. The little boy has black hair, dark brown eyes, and fairer skin compared to Leika who has tanned complexion. There are noticeable scars on the little boy¡¯s exposed arms. ¡°No¡­ I stole him.¡± ¡°Kidnapping?!¡± She screams in her mind. ¡°S-stole?¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± Leika shyly nods. ¡°And I gave him a part of my name.¡± ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡± ¡°He¡¯s Lei.¡± ¡°Everyone around here have something about them that they¡¯d rather not talk about¡­ Right¡­¡± ¡°Baby Lei is adorable, right?¡± Romi joins in with a cheerful tone. ¡°He¡¯s quite small for his age so we¡¯re taking very good care of him!¡± ¡°Lastly, those two boys over there are Kou and Raichi.¡± Jad continues while pointing at the kids who are having a competition who could finish their bread first. ¡°The one with silver hair and blue eyes is Kou. The other kid with red hair and different colored eyes, green and yellow is Raichi. They¡¯re both seven years old. They don¡¯t really live here, they just come to play every day¡­ for some reason.¡± Kou finished his bread first and then bragged to Raichi who finished closely after. After drinking a glass of water they run outside. ¡°Don¡¯t run around! What if you fall?!!¡± Brenda yells at them but it is not enough to stop them. ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re kind of hyperactive too.¡± He adds. Azalea looks at the bag that only has one bread left. ¡°How about we get down to business?¡± She takes out a tiny pouch from her small bag. She drops the contents of the pouch and five transparent marbles rolled out. ¡°I¡¯d like to know more about the situation in this area.¡± ¡°Those are?..¡± Jad¡¯s eyes are sparkling. ¡°They look pretty¡­ pretty expensive.¡± ¡°They¡¯re called Desert Pearls.¡± She explains while gathering all five in the middle of the table. ¡°You can find them inside the plant-like monsters called Devresia. Harvesting these are dangerous because of the poison, I just happen to pass by a few of them some days ago. You can fetch a few thousand rimas if you sell them in the black market.¡± ¡°A f-f-few thousands?!¡± ¡°Are those real?¡± Brenda raises a brow. ¡°Oh, do I look like a scammer?¡± ¡°No, you look like someone who spent all her allowance on a custom armor but got in some falling out from her previous gang, so she got blacklisted and hunted. Now, your armor is not only broken, you¡¯re also broke and is unable to earn money.¡± She responds in monotone. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°You¡¯re a little close.¡± Azalea looks baffled. ¡°Anyway, you can ask your guardian about it if you don¡¯t believe me.¡± ¡°Just become a part of our gang, and I¡¯ll tell you everything you want to know.¡± Jad smirks. ¡°I plan to leave after resting for a bit.¡± ¡°Then do us a favor while you¡¯re here!¡± He insists. ¡°We don¡¯t need the marbles. Help us in exchange of food and a place to rest. You¡¯re an experienced mage, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°What kind of shit did I get myself into this time?..¡± Brenda sighs. ¡°Leika, take Lei to the bedroom and get him to sleep. I¡¯ll clean up and prepare the bath.¡± Leika nods following Brenda. ¡°Just as I explained a while ago,¡± Jad explains once again. ¡°That other gang of bigger kids are gathering strong little kids around here. They got their confidence because they are being backed by some strong group of adults.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Azalea listens after noticing that there is more into this predicament. ¡°But I can¡¯t guarantee anything. I need to know more about the situation.¡± ¡°Great!¡± ¡°Fill me in with everything you know, and I¡¯ll think about it.¡± According to Jad, the boundaries of the edge of the Wave 5 territory has greatly increased in the past year. They noticed the unusual gathering to teenagers two months ago. That was after some disquieting events happened among the members of the mercenary group overseeing their area. Even though he cannot completely confirm because he is simply an ordinary resident, many of them has felt the change in the group¡¯s structure and organization. In the past six months, several hunters have disappeared. It is unusual because there would normally be some news where they could have gone or if there is high possibility that they got into an accident and died on the job. However, these past cases, there are just nothing. Most residents did not notice it but as the small gang of young adults grew bigger, they started to suspect that something dark is unfolding behind the scenes. Until two months ago, this new little gang started to look for and recruit young reveils into their group. Once a kid is invited to join the gang, they cannot refuse. In case they reject the invitation, they will get harassed, threatened, or beaten up. So far, the new gang has only had their eyes on the known children with awakened ability. It seems that some of them are also being trained by adults on combat and ability control. They are determined to turn them into capable fighters as they grow up. A month ago, rumors of a new demon in Elteb Canyon which is just outside Wave 5 have surfaced. It added more turbulence to their uneasy daily life. The mercenaries are already preparing to be called to join the hunt. In cases like this, they will wait until the demon threat has been declared and the local government arranges an organized hunt. At the same time that the demon¡¯s presence has become more apparent, the recruitment of the new younger gang has become more aggressive. ¡°Are they planning to hunt the demon? But I still can¡¯t connect this event well.¡± Azalea ponders taking all these information into consideration. There might be some things that she missed and she will only discover if she observes the situation a little longer. But then again, she must leave as soon as possible. Does she have to concern herself with this matter? It should not be her problem anymore. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Evening comes, and before dinner is served, the eldest of the family returns home. Mary and Mark look tired as they lay their basket of rugs in the wooden couch of the living room. Both have black hair and green eyes. Their simple clothes are stained with dust and sweat after a long day of work. Looking at their similarities, anyone can tell that they are fraternal twins. They appear to be the oldest in this group, so they must be the most likely candidate to stand in as the guardians of these rowdy kids. ¡°These are all of them?¡± Azalea quietly examines the circumstances. ¡°Didn¡¯t they mention an old man earlier? Even the eldest are most likely only around¡­ seventeen? Eighteen? This house have no adult guardian.¡± Their gaze inspects the surroundings and then they notices a new face. ¡°Our family¡¯s population has increased again.¡± The boy says while staring at her. ¡°Oh... New kid.¡± The girl observes her. ¡°You¡¯re borrowing my clothes¡­ they look a bit big for you. Jad¡¯s shirt might have been a better fit.¡± Neither of them looks fazed at all at the sudden arrival of an unknown new girl into their home. It seems like they are pretty used to this kind of situation. ¡°Can I get my armor back?¡± Azalea looks around unable to find her armor. ¡°You call those rugged junk an armor?¡± Brenda frowns. ¡°One glimpse of it and you know for sure it¡¯s about to go into the garbage bin.¡± ¡°J-junk?!! No, no, no, no, you didn¡¯t throw it away, did you? It may look like junk but the protective spells are still working. It¡¯s a hundred times better than an ordinary piece of fabric.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Brenda is fixing it¡­ as much as possible.¡± Mark interrupts. Brenda shakes her head. Azalea gets a sigh of relief. ¡°Do all hunters think like that?¡± Jad wonders. ¡°We want armor too! We want armor!¡± Kou and Raichi says while waving a piece of wood imitating sword swings. ¡°Why are you too still here? You should go home.¡± Mark then holds their hand leading them out. ¡°I¡¯ll send you two home now. Next time don¡¯t stay so late.¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t wanna go!¡± Kou protests. ¡°Mom and dad are still awake!¡± ¡°Yeah! Me too! Me too!¡± Raichi follows. ¡°Do they always go home late? Or is it just today?¡± ¡°I always see them playing hide and seek outside every night!¡± Romi raises his voice. Mark sighs. ¡°Fine, you can stay a little longer.¡± ¡°Yey~!!!¡± The little boys celebrates as they run back inside the house. ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t we talking about my armor?¡± ¡°Do all hunters think like they can¡¯t be separated from their armor?¡± Jad wonders silently. ¡°Big sister Mary, you can take a bath now. Leika just finished washing Lei.¡± Brenda says after checking on the the younger ones. ¡°You both needs to get clean and rest.¡± ¡°Romi, can you check on the rice?¡± Jad commands and Romi follows immediately. ¡°We¡¯ll have egg vegetable soup for dinner tonight. Are Kou and Raichi joining us?¡± ¡°Yes! Yes! Egg! Soup!¡± They reply happily while jumping. ¡°You¡¯ll get your armor back tomorrow.¡± Brenda stares at Azalea. ¡°Do you really have to sleep with your armor on?¡± Mary¡¯s brows furrow. ¡°Of course!¡± ¡°No!¡± ¡°But-¡± ¡°Anyone who haven¡¯t contributed to the work today has no say in anything.¡± She adds ending their conversation before leaving to take a bath. ¡°Her firmness is frightening.¡± Azalea mumbles. ¡°Why don¡¯t you help set the table so that you¡¯ll have something to do?¡± Mark smiles at her while giving off a threatening aura as he is passing the plates to her. ¡°Mhm¡­ ¡®K¡­¡± While eating, the kids shared stories of what they did and what happened in their day, except Mary and Mark. They are not even talking about their job, but they are sincerely listening. It has been a while since Azalea had a meal this noisy. After the dinner that is prepared to be just enough for everyone, they all go to do their own thing. Mark left to take Kou and Raichi home, they live close by. Mary checks the baskets they use for work and then she writes in her small notebook. Brenda cleans the table and brings the used dishes and utensils to the kitchen. Jad tells Romi to go to sleep first then he goes and help Brenda to clean up. Leika is taking care of Lei and went ahead to the bedroom. ¡°I¡¯ll help clean up too.¡± Azalea says as she follows them to the kitchen. ¡°You can go rest first.¡± Jad responds with a serious tone. ¡°I don¡¯t know what kind of situation you were in, but you looked really out of it and very tired this morning.¡± ¡°Also your right hand looks injured. You¡¯ve been avoiding to use it the whole day.¡± Brenda adds while staring at her arm. ¡°Oh¡­ And here I thought I was doing well.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Mary suddenly joins in. ¡°I¡¯ll rest first too, let¡¯s go we only have one bedroom.¡± ¡°Then, I¡¯d like to stay in the living room. I can¡¯t sleep peacefully around so many people.¡± ¡°Ah-!¡± A thought comes in Jad¡¯s mind. ¡°Is it because you randomly attack people while half-asleep?¡± ¡°Something like that.¡± ¡°Okay, that¡¯s scary.¡± Mary starts walking away to the bedroom. ¡°Make yourself comfortable in the living room. But don¡¯t touch the baskets.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Good night.¡± Jad waves at her as she leaves. 16th Lament: I Have Seen It Where It Grows Eighth day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Wave 3, Arbhur City Zone-0, Aesbyl Region Fred just missed Azalea by a few minutes before she disappeared after a fight, but he has not stopped looking for her. Unfortunately, there has been no good results so far. ¡°I haven¡¯t found her yet.¡± Fred talks on the phone. ¡°She¡¯s hiding pretty well¡­ Even I am having a hard time-¡± ¡°Maybe you should put yourself in her shoes.¡± Cassandra replies cutting him off. ¡°Like¡­ You¡¯re running away from bounty hunters too.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying.¡± ¡°No, no, no, you don¡¯t get it. Lone is really weird on her own. Her only student couldn¡¯t be too far away from her eccentricities.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get what you¡¯re trying to say. Stop beating around the bush.¡± ¡°Right¡­¡± Her response is followed by a silent sigh. ¡°She won¡¯t be in the route that you think she would take to escape, because that¡¯s also the first thing that the bounty hunters will think of.¡± ¡°Ah-!¡± The thought suddenly comes into his mind. ¡°She¡¯d go around to confuse and lose them.¡± ¡°I see, I see¡­ So, where do you think she¡¯d be?¡± ¡°How would I know?¡± ¡°You were being such a smarty-pants, I thought you actually have some idea.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to help you here.¡± ¡°Sure, sure¡­ How¡¯s the situation there in your village?¡± ¡°We¡¯re still investigating the irregularities in the movements of the high ranked monsters. I don¡¯t think this will be over any time soon. If it isn¡¯t for this-¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll take care of the young demon hunter this time¡­ I owe her my life. Everyone had their own business to take care of. Fortunately, I happen to be free.¡± ¡°Right¡­ Update me from time to time.¡± ¡°Then, look forward to some good news.¡± He ends the call. He looks at the black screen for a while as if he is in daze. To learn more about his target, he needs to look deeper into her background. Maybe he will get a grip of her flow of thought and reasoning. The rest of the demons hunters that was involved in the hunt of Ur¡¯Yarha learned about the reward that was put in capturing Azalea at the time when they are already preparing to leave Aesbyl. Most of the monster hunters that has joined the hunt are from different regions of the country, so they returned to their dominion soon after the hunt is over. Aaron is going on a journey of his own. He does not talk much but it seems like he has a destination in mind. Matt needs to return to his region in the northern parts of Surus. Gustaf brought three fledging hunters with him to gather experience in demon hunting. He cannot risk getting them involved in trouble with the authorities of this country. It would have been fine if it was just him. Carlos wants to return to his village to show his family that he is fine. He has always been like that and he does not want cause them to worry by breaking that routine, though he promised Fred that he will come to his aide right after he is done. Cassandra is eager to look for Azalea and help her get out of Surus but the problem with monsters back in her village makes her unable to do as she promised. In the end, only Fred is left who is free to move and lend his savior a hand. He knows that Azalea is in tough situation now, so he wants to find her as soon as possible and help her get out of Aesbyl Region. The Shilan group have influence in different regions of Surus, but it is strongest in this Aesbyl. If she could only leave this region then that will be good, and if she escapes out of the country then that will be the best. ¡°I can¡¯t believe, I¡¯m having a very difficult time tracing and finding a child.¡± He grumbles while looking at the map. ¡°Am I getting old and rusty?... Or is that young demon hunter just that skilled?..¡± He then browses in his phone to gather some information from the latest news. While scrolling down, a fresh article catches his attention. He looks into it and more related articles pops up. He also looks into the forums discussing the incident. He is beyond dismayed. ¡°What the hell is she actually doing? She destroyed some plantations?.. Why?... She should just be on her way to get out of this place. I don¡¯t think I¡¯d understand her at all¡­ or I might just go crazy once I do¡­¡± ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Eighteenth day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Wave 5, Arbhur City Zone-0, Aesbyl Region Azalea has decided to stay for two or three more days to rest with the peculiar family of children. She has already checked while spending the night in their house, that she does not detect any animosity among them. She did not feel anyone following them on the way or anyone watching them closely since she stayed in that place. The currently unorganized mercenary group in this area does not seem to be on guard for her. So, it is safe here for now. She can rest a little while gathering some resources for her journey out of this country. ¡°We''ll drop by the Nest, to report and to resupply.¡± A female¡¯s voice states. ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll leave earlier today. I already instructed Jad what to do.¡± A male¡¯s voice responds. The sun is yet to fully rise, but Azalea¡¯s rest has been interrupted by the presence of two early birds. She stays silent to listen a little bit before greeting them. However their serious tone and manner of speaking bothers her. ¡°I heard there is a problem with the supply of Fairy Dust in Aesbyl.¡± Mark continues. ¡°The shortage is making the addicts very uneasy. There has been several incidents of the far-gone randomly rampaging.¡± ¡°Did you tell Jad to be careful?¡± Mary¡¯s tone rings with worry. ¡°Guide the other kids properly and stay away from the mercenaries. Some of them seem to be on edge these past few weeks.¡± ¡°They¡¯ve become quite aggressive lately¡­ To the point that they are even fighting amongst themselves.¡± ¡°I just hope we can avoid getting dragged into this mess.¡± ¡°Is there something big happening in this area?¡± Azalea suddenly approaches. Mary jolts back. ¡°L-lea¡­ Have you been awake all this time?¡± ¡°Not really¡­ I just heard you talking. Anyway, I¡¯d like to ask you a favor.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Well¡­ If it¡¯s something we can do within out power, go ahead.¡± Azalea takes out the transparent marbles. ¡°Can you help me sell this in the black market? I¡¯m in a situation where it will be quite troublesome for me to go to the city, or like show my face in crowded places.¡± ¡°So¡­¡± Mark stares at her. ¡°You¡¯re really in some dispute with the mercenaries.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t stay long here. If you refuse to help me, I¡¯ll just leave.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not my intention.¡± He answers quickly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t throw you out.¡± Mary follows up. ¡°If we just abandon you in this situation and then we find your corpse a few days later, that¡¯ll be in our conscience forever.¡± ¡°Wow, you¡¯re so kind.¡± Azalea forces a laugh. ¡°Though I doubt you¡¯ll ever get to see my corpse if that happens¡­¡± Mary takes the pouch of transparent marbles then passes it to Mark. ¡°We¡¯ll have this appraised by someone we know on the job. It¡¯ll probably take one or two days before we can cash in.¡± ¡°We better say, Jad found it while looking for scraps in the canyon.¡± Mark advices. Mary nods. ¡°There are only a few things I need for my travels. Do you have a pen and pa piece of paper?¡± Azalea asks then Mary passes her what she needs. ¡°If you can get these supply for me, you can keep the rest of the sales.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t you need some money too?¡± Mary takes the piece of paper with the list. ¡°I should be fine with just those things for a while.¡± ¡°If you say so¡­¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know much about your situation and we do not want to pry into it.¡± Mark adds. ¡°Since you are already in a pinch¡­ I suggest you avoid other residents of Wave 5 too. Some people are very sensitive when it comes to new faces here.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± Mary and Mark then leaves carrying the baskets. Azalea stays in the leaving room to rest some more while waiting for the other kids to wake up. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Jad and Romi takes Azalea out of Wave 5 into the canyon. Today, they are going to catch some desert lizards and look for some eggs for food. If they can find something they could sell then that will also be great. While they are out looking for food and additional livelihood, Brenda is left to take care of the younger kids and the house. Normally, Jad and Romi come back before noon to help prepare lunch. This time, maybe having an experienced hunter with them will make the errand easier. Azalea¡¯s armor has been cleaned, however Brenda advised her not to wear it yet because it will make her stand out among the people of Wave 5. People who are wearing armor in these parts are mostly part of the mercenary group. If one is not a member, they will be marked and the mercenaries will be wary of their every move. For now, it is important not to draw any unnecessary attention so she continues to wear her casual house clothes. ¡°You can find them in the cracks in the stone walls.¡± Jad explains proudly while leading the way. ¡°Sometimes you can find rats too, but the foot-long lizards are better. We can sell their skin. Rats taste good too but that¡¯s all, no extra income.¡± Romi nods. ¡°Lizard meat is delicious. Hm. But you have to be careful not to get bitten or scratched. I heard some adults died because of a tiny bite.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry I can heal.¡± ¡°You can heal?!¡± Romi turns at her excitedly. ¡°So, you¡¯re like a walking hospital?!¡± ¡°W-walking what now?¡± ¡°I got a great idea!¡± Jad raises his voice while putting down the cages where they will put the captured lizards. ¡°How about¡­ We go house to house and check on sick people then charge them? Like a roaming doctor!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how things work. I don¡¯t specialized in healing diseases. I heal something like battle-related injuries¡­ and I can nullify poison. But if you ask me to heal cancer, I can¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°Bummer.¡± Jad frowns. ¡°Why not?¡± Romi asks. ¡°It requires a different, higher level spell that I haven¡¯t studied.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s look for mercenaries and hunters that got inju-¡± ¡°Absolutely not.¡± She cuts Jad off before he can finish. ¡°Reallyyyy bummer~¡­ Well¡­ Welcome to Elteb Canyon, the lifeline of many Zone-0 residents. Let¡¯s just look for food. There should be some eggs at the higher places. We need to go deeper into the canyon to find a populated nesting area. Not far from there, there¡¯s an underground lake we can get clean water from.¡± ¡°What about the water from that well in Wave 5?¡± ¡°Oh that water is fine for bathing and cleaning things, but it¡¯s not safe for drinking or cooking. The water underground is clean and not contaminated. Thanks to your magic that can make things float, we don¡¯t have to make another trip to fill those jags.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you find my existence very convenient.¡± Azalea watched Jad and Romi set up the traps to catch some desert lizards, before they walk deeper into the canyon. They lead her to the underground lake where they fetch their drinking water daily. Inside that underground cave that leads to the lake, she feels a strong flow of mana. She casts magic to create balls of light that guides their way inside the dark cave. Deeper inside some luminescent mushrooms and moss started to dimly light the path. There are some small animals and docile little monsters that lives inside. The lake is crystal clear. They can see it glow from afar. There seems to be something deep in the lake that produces light which makes it look like it is glowing. Azalea touches the water and then scoops some to take a sip from her palms. Considering that there is no reaction from her body, Hol did not react so that means it is indeed clean and safe. She believes that the flow of mana inside the cave and whatever is producing the glow from deep in the lake might be what makes it all safe. While Jad and Romi are filling the jags with water, Azalea informs them that she is going ahead to look for eggs. It is easier for her with magic to reach higher places and collect the eggs. Jad tells her not to take too much and that a dozen would be enough to last them for three to five days. Normally they would only take two or three eggs because it is dangerous to climb up and steal the egg from the nests. Having a ¡°do it all with ease¡± mage with them makes the gathering easier but they do not want to over-indulge themselves and rely on her too much. After filling the jags and placing a dozen of eggs into their basket, they went back to check on the traps. Azalea casts magic on the jags making them float and follow them. Romi is holding the basket with eggs, and he added some herbs growing underground as well. Two out of the three traps caught a lizard, which is two days¡¯ worth of food. Jad carefully takes the cages ensuring that the traps are not loose enough for the lizards to escape. He fixes it a little and then carries it on their way back home. On their way back, they witness some ¡°black suit people¡± pass by. Their way of dressing is too eye-catching in places like this Zone-0. People do not wear formal clothes here so they always attract attention when they are strolling around in the morning. ¡°What¡¯s up with them?¡± Azalea¡¯s gaze follows the black suit people. ¡°Don¡¯t mind them.¡± Jad answers while continuing on their way. ¡°You¡¯ll see them here in the slums once in every few months. They buy children.¡± ¡°Buy children? What for?¡± ¡°Who knows¡­¡± They approach closer to their house. ¡°Maybe they sell their organs.¡± Romi says with a creepy tone. ¡°Don¡¯t you think five years old is too early to harvest organs?¡± Jad responds. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ Maybe they raise them first. Or maybe! Maybe they train them and make them fight in underground battle to death!¡± ¡°I bet the rich people just feed them to their pet monsters.¡± ¡°That sounds boring.¡± ¡°That¡¯s supposed to be some sort of entertainment?¡± Azalea scoffs. ¡°Some adults use those black suit people to scare children, you know.¡± Romi frowns. ¡°Some parents say they¡¯ll call them and give you to them if you don¡¯t behave.¡± Jad chuckles. ¡°And then what¡¯ll they do to the kids?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll gonna give them hellish trainings and then turn them into secret agents!¡± ¡°That¡¯s different from what you said earlier.¡± ¡°He forgot the plot that he was imagining.¡± Azalea laughs it off. ¡°Wow! You¡¯re back an hour early today.¡± Brenda greets them as they reach their home. ¡°You got more eggs¡­ You can rest a bit, I¡¯ll store these and the water.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Jad answers while putting down their catch. ¡°Romi and I will skin the lizards later¡­ We can cook one today. The other¡­ Let¡¯s dry it to preserve it for another day.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Brenda agrees as she carries the basket inside. ¡°Lea, bring the jags inside with your magic.¡± ¡°Ah- y-yeah¡­ I¡¯m Lea¡­¡± ¡°Tell us too! Tell us too!¡± Kou and Raichi comes running towards Jad and Romi. ¡°You were talking about secret agents!¡± While they are taking some leisure time, they notice dark smoke rise up in the middle of Wave 5. Whatever is causing it has escalated, spreading the smoke into different places. ¡°Is that a fire?¡± Brenda comes out to check. Leika with Lei follows behind looking curious and wary at the same time. Romi, Kou and Raichi hides behind Jad who is staring intently at the place where the smoke is coming from. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Azalea asks as she increases the sensitivity of Pulse. ¡°It looks like there¡¯s an intense battle over there.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Jad answers. ¡°The mercenary group in-charge of taking care of this territory¡­ um¡­ I think they had a falling out. It has been noisy and messy for the last two weeks or more.¡± ¡°An internal fight?...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know the full details. I just heard some adults talking in the market. They wanted to divide the territory because it has expanded too much¡­ and that might be the reason why they have been at each other¡¯s throat.¡± 17th Lament: Weight of the World More smoke arises close to the area where it first started. Looking at the new places where it rises up, it seems that the direction of battle is going farther away from their house. Since the mercenaries are taking their trouble in the opposite direction, they are now able to breathe a little better. As long as the dispute does not get close, they do not have to be worried about getting accidentally caught up in it and suffer damages. ¡°An internal fight?...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know the full details. I just heard some adults talking in the market. They wanted to divide the territory because it has expanded too much¡­ and that might be the reason why they have been at each other¡¯s throat.¡± ¡°If they are busy fighting each other then they won¡¯t be looking for me.¡± She thought. ¡°This might be the best chance for me to get the hell out of this place.¡± ¡°As long as we don¡¯t get involve in their fights, we¡¯ll be fine.¡± Brenda says while gesturing for them to get inside the house. ¡°We should start preparing our meal.¡± Everyone follows without further questions. After eating lunch and resting a little, Jad and Romi cleans and dries the lizard skins under the heat of the sun. They are planning to sell it in the market the next day. Jad invites Azalea to go to the market to buy some groceries and look for a buyer. This time there are no heavy things to carry so she refuses. It would be safer for her if she does not casually show her face around crowded places. She excuses herself saying that it will be better for her to help around the house this afternoon. Brenda agrees with Azalea and tasks her to look after the younger children while she is finishing up the rest of the laundry. Leika has salted and seasoned the rest of the lizard meat. She spread it on a tray and then put it out under the sun to dry it. This will preserve it so they can eat it the next day, or the days after that. She then returns to take care of baby Lei. Despite being already around two years old, he is barely able to walk, he mostly crawls. He also has not spoken a single word as far as Azalea has noticed. He always needs help when eating, he cannot use utensils on his own. The child has very little interactions or reactions to other people and his surroundings. ¡°He¡¯s development is quite delayed.¡± Azalea says while looking at Leika and Lei. ¡°If there isn¡¯t any health problem... then maybe we can practice his walking.¡± Leika nods. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to take care of babies.¡± ¡°Technically, I won¡¯t call him a baby anymore, but he sure is small for his age.¡± She tilts her head as if she heard something unusual. ¡°Babies are small.¡± ¡°Ha,ha¡­ Sure they are.¡± While they are helping Lei stand and take small steps, Kou and Raichi comes running. Brenda is following close behind. ¡°We¡¯re going to the well! We¡¯re getting water!¡± They say in unison. ¡°They¡¯re not twins, right?¡± Azalea asks softly. ¡°No¡­ When I got here they¡¯re already like that¡­ like siblings.¡± Leika replies. ¡°I told you two not run around! What if you trip and fall?¡± Brenda reprimands the kids before sitting on the sofa. ¡°I¡¯m done doing the laundry but we don¡¯t have enough water for cleaning anymore.¡± ¡°We can go fetch water.¡± Leika volunteers. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll go after resting a bit.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve done a lot of work already.¡± Azalea says. ¡°You can continue resting while looking after Lei. I can go with Leika to fetch water.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll go too! We¡¯ll go too!¡± Brenda pauses for a while. ¡°R-right. Take the cart. This time you¡¯ll have to fill three large drums so you will have to go back several times.¡± ¡°No problem. We¡¯ll take this two annoying brats too so that you¡¯ll only have to watch over Lei. He doesn¡¯t move much so you can sit and relax.¡± Leika leads them to the cart at the backyard and then they set off to the well. Most residents are getting water from it so they have to fall in line and wait for their turn. They have to do it around three or four times to fill the water drums. This much will last them for a day and a half at most, so they have to fetch water almost every day. Before the sun sets, Jad and Romi returns with some candies that they divided with everyone. After a short break, they are preparing the dinner with what is left at lunch. They simply cook rice and reheat the lizard meat soup. While Jad and Brenda are cooking, Leika and Romi helps the younger kids take a bath. They all should have already taken a bath before partaking in their evening meal. Once night is in full bloom, it is time for Mark and Mary to come home carrying a bag of groceries filled only with necessities. That is how their days normally come to pass in Wave 5. After the little kids have left and rested, Jad tells Mark and Mary if there are any problems or concerns while they are away. Normally there will be little trivial things, but lately the issue with the mercenary group in the area is growing more alarming. ¡°You know the little gang they are supporting seems to be prowling around closer.¡± Jad says while passing glasses of water in the dining table. ¡°My guess is that they might have heard about Leika being a contractor.¡± Mark nods. ¡°Her Ifrit¡­ even though still underdeveloped is a powerful yashou. It also adds up that she awakened at a young age.¡± ¡°They are only testing the waters for now.¡± Jad adds. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Mary reassures. ¡°We¡¯ll¡­ We¡¯ll do something¡­ We¡¯ll have to look for... get someone¡¯s protection.¡± ¡°It¡¯s better if we don¡¯t get involved with the mercenaries.¡± Mark says then follows it up shaking his head. ¡°They are going to force us into a corner.¡± ¡°So sooner or later you¡¯ll make a deal with a mercenary group from a different territory, right?¡± Azalea casually joins in. ¡°How about you take over this kiddie gang instead? By looks of it, they are training this little gang to become the group in-charge of the new territory from the divide.¡± Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°You know, you shouldn¡¯t be butting in here.¡± Mary gives her a dead look. ¡°You¡¯ll be leaving soon. Don¡¯t concern yourself with our problems.¡± ¡°Oh my-.. How harsh.¡± She acts as if she is shocked. ¡°I¡¯d like to hear some information too.¡± ¡°We understand.¡± Mark mediates. ¡°However, you better not get too involved with our problems. It will take some time to appraise and sell the marbles, so you can stay here for the time being.¡± ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll be in-charge when big sis and big bro is out working.¡± Jad adds with a smug face. ¡°Yeah, whatever suits your taste.¡± ¡°So how do we do that thing you said? How do we beat the other gang?¡± ¡°Huh? That¡¯s simple. Challenge their leader to a duel, then beat his ass, and win.¡± ¡°S-simple?! You crazy??? Their leader is a fourth degree ki master and his second in command is a contractor with a huge gorilla yashou.¡± She scoffs. ¡°Right, I forgot you¡¯re a weakling.¡± ¡°Can you two stop?¡± Mary glares at them. ¡°Jad, I¡¯m amazed you know a lot about the other group. Didn¡¯t I tell you to stay out of trouble?¡± ¡°I-I¡­ Well, I¡­ I was very careful¡­¡± She sighs deeply. ¡°Let¡¯s end it here. Let¡¯s turn off the lights and rest.¡± ¡°I¡¯m amazed you got the solar power for electricity.¡± Azalea says. ¡°It¡¯s loaned.¡± Mark responds as he approaches the switch to turn it off. ¡°We¡¯re still paying it with interest. Let¡¯s say that¡¯s one of their businesses here.¡± ¡°I see. Would you mind if I take the attic tonight?¡± ¡°Are you uncomfortable in the living room?¡± Mary asks. ¡°Not really, but for safety reasons¡­ I mean, I don¡¯t want to get in your way when you leave early in the morning.¡± ¡°I don''t really get what you¡¯re up to but the attic is being used as storage and probably full of dust by now.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have magic.¡± ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Removing the dust is easy using wind magic. The living room is a place where the others often pass by which makes Pulse very sensitive every time it detects little movements. When she is half-asleep, she gets too defensive. It means that she attacks anyone or anything that comes too close to her as a defense mechanism, which makes her a danger to the people around her. The next day, they do not have to go to Elteb Canyon to fetch clean drinking water or catch food because they still have enough supply. Jad and Romi decides to help in feeding the Desert Giant Horses and the Arvhuro Dragons, both are large monsters that can be tamed and are used to move wagons for transportation. Transportation by wagon or carriage is the common way to go for short-distance travels in the Zone-0. The ranch where these tamed monsters are kept usually accepts some extra hands to help the regular workers. The extra helpers are mostly tasked to feed the monsters or clean their stables. The more delicate work like bathing the monsters are done by the trained regulars. Meanwhile, back at home, Leika and Azalea goes to the well early to fill the drums of water. Brenda stays in the house to clean and look after the other kids. If they filled the drums early in the morning, then they can have some leisure time in the afternoon. Jad and Romi returns before lunch with a box of grilled chicken and a pack of candies. The candies are like a treat for them when they think that they have some extra money to spare. It seems that the ranch boss is feeling a little generous so they got a few extra coins for their work. After having their simple lunch, they divided the candy amongst themselves. The little ones are especially happy and thankful for the sweets. Afternoon comes and Brenda takes Leika to the market. They are going to sell the lizard skin. Meanwhile it is Jad and Romi¡¯s turn to stay home and look after the younger kids. On the other hand, Azalea still finds it safer to stay away from the crowded market so she stays home too. They are helping little Lei practice walking while also looking after Kou and Raichi play and run around their small yard. Their playtime is tranquil until a group of young men approached the gate. When Jad noticed them he immediately signals Azalea to hide. She complies and takes Lei, Kou and Raichi inside the house. New faces stand out, and they do not want to catch unnecessary attention. She stays close to the entrance where she can watch the next events so she can figure out their purpose in visiting their humble home. ¡°Oh this is the place, huh?¡± A young man with spikey red hair comes to the gate followed by a dozen other teenagers. His built is thin but he walks in front with arrogance which makes it evident that he is the group¡¯s leader. ¡°Yes boss.¡± He grins. ¡°Hey you!¡± Jad comes closer to them. ¡°We¡¯re looking for new recruits.¡± The leader states with a mocking tone. ¡°You don¡¯t¡­hm.. You look like a fucking wimp. Is it you?¡± Jad forces a smile. ¡°I have no idea what you are referring to, sir.¡± ¡°Oh, really? So, where are the others?¡± ¡°My older brother and sister are out working. If you want to meet with them, you¡¯ll have to wait until late at night.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not talking to those weakling ubliss. I heard there¡¯s a young contractor here, with the fire thing.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a small ifrit, boss.¡± ¡°Right, that!¡± He takes out a cigarette stick and then someone lights it. ¡°You¡¯re not going to tell me we got the wrong house, are you?¡± ¡°W-well¡­¡± Jad¡¯s eyes wanders around not knowing how to respond. One of the bigger guys behind kicks the gate open. He storms in grabbing Jad by the collar almost lifting him off the ground. Romi freezes in place as he watches. ¡°Calm down, my brother.¡± The leader follows as he puffs his smoke. ¡°We¡¯re just here to greet them.¡± He turns his gaze to the house. ¡°I suppose there isn¡¯t anyone who has the guts to challenge us. What a bunch of wimps.¡± The big guy throws Jad on the ground. His back slams on the arid dusty land. Before he can stand back up, the leader stomps on his abdomen preventing him from making any moves. ¡°Next time we come visit, maybe you should invite us in.¡± He looks down on him without moving his foot. He puffs his smoke again before throwing it at the side. ¡°You better be nice to me while I¡¯m being nice to you.¡± The group then left without doing anything more. Romi immediately runs beside Jad to help him sit up. When they are no longer in sight, Azalea comes out with the other kids. Kou and Raichi runs out with teary eyes and then stands beside Jad. She checks on Jad¡¯s condition and then heals him back to health. Fortunately, he only got a few bruises so it is easy to heal. ¡°We should fix things up before Brenda and Leika returns.¡± Jad says as he gets up. ¡°Good thing they aren¡¯t here or it would have been a bigger mess. Thankfully, Lea didn¡¯t come out rushing too.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Azalea replies, her tone is deep and low. ¡°Though I was itching to beat them up and teach them a lesson.¡± ¡°Well, thank you for not being dumb.¡± Her brow twitches. ¡°I know right. If I did that they¡¯ll call for the adult mercenaries. Not only will I have to leave sooner than planned, you¡¯ll also get in the bad side of the territory bosses¡­ Buuuutt~ what if some unfortunate accident happens to them one of these days?¡± ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake, don¡¯t you do something that would make them flip the whole Wave 5 upside down! Unless you¡¯re going to stay here and join us, or you are planning to become the new boss, then don¡¯t. Just don¡¯t.¡± Azalea sighs. ¡°Fiiiiine¡­ I¡¯m not going to do anything.¡± ¡°Great. I appreciate your help by not helping.¡± ¡°But weren¡¯t you eager to have your own gang to oppose them?¡± ¡°I was¡­¡± He looks down as he recalls. ¡°Mark and Mary warned me not to take it as some silly games. If the mercenaries are their backers then they can do real bad stuff¡­ It¡¯s better for us to not make a move unless we¡¯re backed into a corner.¡± ¡°It seems that those two knows more about this feud but they don¡¯t give us the details¡­ Well, maybe because it doesn¡¯t¡­ shouldn¡¯t concern me.¡± It is not unusual for someone from the neighborhood to see Leika using her Ifrit because they casually use it to start a fire. There are times when they did not consider it as a type of weapon, rather it is a convenient little fire-starter. Since there are not many reveils in the area, it is easy to know which individuals have awakened. The group who keeps the order in their territory would always keep their eyes on those individuals. They are going to let Mark and Mary know about the incident today. As of now, they do not have any solution to the problem other than try to get along. They do not know when the little gang will visit again. They can only anticipate that they may pop up by the gate one of these days, and then pray that they will not be too aggressive with their harassments. 18th Lament: A Broken Upper Hand Eighteenth day of Sapta¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Shilan¡¯s Mansion, Arbhur City, Aesbyl Region Brandon rushes inside his elder brother¡¯s study room. He brusquely opens the door slamming it loudly against the wall. The light from the sun at its peak coming in through the large glass windows illuminates the room well. The sound of the aircon served as a soft background noise in that quiet room. Bart who is sitting in front of piles of folders and envelopes on his table looks at him briefly before turning his sight back to the paper that he is signing. ¡°What¡¯s up with that bounty?!¡± Brandon grits his teeth before raising his voice. A visible frown forms on Bart¡¯s face. ¡°Are you referring to that young demon hunter?¡± ¡°Who else?¡± ¡°That bitch!¡± The wrinkles on Bart¡¯s forehead could not get any deeper. ¡°That fucking bitch destroyed our plantations!¡± He scoffs. ¡°I found her first. She¡¯s mine!¡± He steps on several papers on the floor before sitting down the sofa. ¡°I already sent my people to catch her.¡± Despite the luxurious furniture and decorations, the room looks untidy due to the pile of documents and stack of books around the room. ¡°I don¡¯t care. Anyone who messes with the Shilans will pay the price.¡± ¡°Leave this one to me.¡± He puts his pen down and then he adjusts his glasses. ¡°I warned you many times before. Stop playing around and settle down.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take care of my own relations.¡± ¡°Not when it affects our business. Our family. This is our legacy! Last time, that rookie celebrity you brought as product endorser also brought a lot of scandals with her! Some of our products were almost dropped off the market.¡± ¡°I only helped her ¡®cause she approached me first.¡± He takes a deep breath before pinching the bridge of his nose. ¡°It¡¯s obvious that those scandals were released to the public by our business rivals. You know, they¡¯re always on the look out for our every mistake... Okay, that was on me. I get it.¡± He waves his hands lazily. ¡°I should have done more background checks. But what¡¯s the big deal? We get a few failed investments here and there. So we just invest more somewhere. Not like we¡¯ll run out of money because of some trivial mishaps.¡± ¡°This time is nothing trivial. Our Lemerus entus products are being exported in large amounts now. We¡¯re losing millions in these attacks.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the first time I¡¯m hearing that.¡± ¡°We¡¯re suppressing the news at the moment. We can¡¯t let the international media pick up on it and make a big deal. If that happens, those self- righteous journalists will stick their nose into it and dig more information¡­ and learn the truth.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I do understand the situation now¡­¡± He then lays his legs on the coffee table kicking the vase with artificial flowers out of place. ¡°But I¡¯m too pissed to back out either. How about we make a deal?¡± ¡°I told you to stop messing around.¡± ¡°No, brother. Listen.¡± He grins. ¡°How about we just let these things unfold on their own? I mean, let the bounty hunters compete for the bounty they¡¯d want to take.¡± ¡°What are you playing at this time?¡± He sighs but he is listening. ¡°If my people catches her first, then I get to keep her. But if she ends up dying or your bounty hunters claims your reward then you can do whatever.¡± He scoffs. ¡°Are we betting now? Then I¡¯ll increase my reward to ten million rimas.¡± ¡°Sure, but I¡¯ll get to increase mine too. Just five million rimas. So you¡¯d still have the advantage.¡± ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Twentieth day of Sapta¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Wave 5, Arbhur City Zone-0 Mary wakes up and prepares for their morning routine. She and Mark have to get ready and leave early for work. After making two cups of coffee, she notices a person when she gets a glimpse outside the window. The outside is dim as the only light comes from the sun that is slightly peeking from the horizon. She moves closer to the window to get a better view. There, she sees the silhouette of a girl standing in front of their grandfather¡¯s grave. She feels deep melancholy while looking at Lea¡¯s back with her golden yellow hair swaying along with the light morning breeze. She walks out, leaving Mark alone by the dining table. Her steps are filled with concern and dread. ¡°You woke up quite early.¡± Mary walks closer with increased pace. The back that she is looking at is giving her a gloomy and heavy feeling. ¡°Is the sofa in the living room not comfortable after all?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t the sofa that made me uncomfortable.¡± Lea responds without looking back. Mark is following a few steps behind her. It somehow felt odd how they are standing beside the grave with a stranger. They are taking this moment of silence to read the girl¡¯s expression. Mary takes a step closer to peek at her expression, but her purple eyes are lightless and her face shows no emotion. Even though her eyes have always been like that of a dead fish, now she can feel the air around them has become heavier and more intense than before. ¡°It would have been fine if you were only selling rags.¡± Her tone is flat. ¡°The symbols on your jackets are quite popular among those who are in the business.¡± Mary opens her mouth as if she is about to say something but no words are coming out. She knows that there are secrets that cannot stay a secret for long. However, why would a stranger, who is going to leave and disappear from their lives soon, be concerned about this? For the past days, she was wishing for this unknown girl to just ignore it and let it pass. ¡°We aren¡¯t expecting that an outsider would know about this.¡± Mark crouches down to pick up the dried flowers. Silence follows as the sun rises higher illuminating their surroundings brighter. Why does it feel like they are being reprimanded? It is as though she has seen a similar situation before. Like she is being questioned why they took this path. All of these people know nothing. How are they going to choose something better when all of their options are either bad or worse? ¡°And?¡± Mary scoffs. Her tone is full of scorn. ¡°You are not going to start some grand speech now, are you?¡± ¡°We are going to protect this family.¡± Mark grips the stalks of the dried flower tighter. It makes a small crunch as a dried petal slowly falls. ¡°Say¡­ How did the old man die?¡± Her tone is soft and low. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Please don¡¯t dig into this any further.¡± Mark stands up with the crumpled dried flowers in his hands. His tone has become deeper as the tension in the air intensifies. He makes eye contact with Mary, telling her to stay quiet. ¡°We only have each other. There is no one else that can protect us. I will not let anyone harm my siblings.¡± ¡°Even though you know that you are destroying other people¡¯s lives?¡± ¡°Everyone¡¯s the same here.¡± He responds without a shred of guilt. ¡°In this place,¡± Mary adds. ¡°People destroy themselves¡­ because that¡¯s the only salvation they have from this nightmare you call life.¡± Their eyes are fixed at her as she turns to face them. Both of them are determined to stay on the path that they chose even though they are aware that it is not the right path. They are now used to the judgmental stares that others directs at them, however they did not expect to see a different expression on Azalea¡¯s face. Her dead eyes somehow resonated with them, as if she can see through everything that they have been through. Their gazes spell the determination that they intend to keep up with what they have started. They know that not everyone will understand. Especially not one who has never been in a situation where they have to make a terrible choices just to survive. They are part of the have none¡¯s. They either starve to death maintaining clean hands, or choose to dirty it crawling on the ground eating mud. It is pitiful and infuriating, but a brighter future will only come to those who are alive. ¡°You said that you won¡¯t be staying for long.¡± Mark adds while he lightly taps Mary¡¯s back. There is no need to dwell on this matter. ¡°Please leave. In exchange, we won¡¯t tell them your location.¡± ¡°I¡­ I see¡­¡± Lea looks at the sun rising over the horizon. ¡°I guess it can¡¯t be helped. However, I can¡¯t leave without my armor.¡± ¡°Brenda and Leika tended to it.¡± She says before turning her back to follow Mark back into the house. ¡°We''ll leave it on the sofa in the living room. Just take it before you leave.¡± They left Lea still looking at the grave while they prepare to go to work. Before leaving the house, Mary takes out the light armor that is slightly patched up out into the living room. It is so that Lea can take it any time she wants to. While arranging the armor on a chair in the living room, Jad wakes up to help. Mary then reminds him of do¡¯s and don¡¯ts which sounds quite nagging. He responds with a frown but reassures them that he will take care of their siblings as he is the eldest among them, when the twins are not around. That night when they returned, Azalea, along with her armor, has disappeared. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Sapta¡¯xahr, 4042 AOT Arbhur City ¡°Money can¡¯t buy you happiness.¡± That quote rings in Mary¡¯s mind while looking at the list of passers plastered at the huge board of the state high school they applied to. Their names are not there. ¡°Whoever thought about that must have lived a very privileged life.¡± ¡°It seems that we can¡¯t go to high school this year.¡± Mark tries to hide his disappointment and sadness but there really is nothing he can hide from his twin. He forces a laugh as he turns his back. ¡°Maybe, if we work for two or three years, and save up well¡­ we can pay for our whole high school tuition.¡± She smiles back at him. ¡°Or we could just work. We can save up and just open a small store of our own.¡± ¡°Right.¡± The state school has the lowest tuition fee and the best education system in their region. It is no wonder that so many students are aiming to get accepted. However, because it is sponsored and run by the government, the slots for new students are limited. Because of this, thousands of students are competing to earn a slot every year. The tight competition made it so only the ones with the highest grades and scores can enter the school. It has become known as a school of scholars, and it has built a reputation that only the best of the best can get accepted. Just wearing their uniform is a sign of the person¡¯s high intelligence. The twins cannot help it but feel envious of those who are capable of passing through all the state school¡¯s requirements. For them who are extremely average, they can only hope that maybe a twist of fate would come. Even if only one of them is able to secure a slot then that would have been great too. Unfortunately, there are times when no matter how hard they work and study, if it is not for them, then it is just not for them. There are still other schools, but they cannot afford them. The difference in fees are like heaven and earth. The recent fall in their financial situation has turned going into high school a heavy burden. More than a year ago, their father died while working on a project. He is a construction worker in a contractual company that accepted a building project. The accident happened when a part of the building they were working on collapsed. Then a few months after that, their mother¡¯s health declined greatly. Later on, they learned that she is already in late-stage colon cancer. The hospital fees racked up as her health continued to fall at a fast pace, and everything ended up with their mother ultimately losing to the disease. Carrying all these heartache with them, they return home feeling defeated, upset and disappointed at themselves. Their grandfather read everything easily upon looking at his precious grandchildren¡¯s faces. They sat down on the sofa in the living room still unsure of how to start a conversation and break the bad news to their grandfather. ¡°Here, have a glass of water first.¡± Grandpa says as he sets down two glasses of water. ¡°Are you hungry? What do you want to eat?¡± Mark takes the water and drinks it. Mary only holds the glass with both her hands. ¡°Grandpa Alf, I¡¯m home!¡± Jad enters with a loud voice. He then immediately notices them. ¡°W-what¡¯s up with you?.. Did something bad happen?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal.¡± Mary responds. Her voice softly trembles. ¡°We¡¯ll find work for now.¡± Mark states. ¡°Jad should continue his studies. Don¡¯t slack off so that you can get into a good high school.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Jad frowns. Now that everyone is here, they have to explain the situation and what they think about it. They have to face this new obstacle together. Even though Grandpa Alf wants to send them to high school with the little savings they have, Mark and Mary have set their mind and are determined to take some time off. After a long family discussion, they all agreed that Mary and Mark will take turns helping in their shop while also taking other part-time jobs. Their family have not been very well off from the beginning so they have become very understanding of their financial situation. Grandpa Alf is their mother¡¯s father. He has been supporting them since his wife passed away due to cancer more than a decade ago. However, they do not want to burden him anymore. Their mother has graduated college and then immediately started working in well-enough company. After a few years, she married their father who she first got acquainted with while working in a past company project. Their father¡¯s parents both died early so they do not have grandparents on his side. His childhood has been rough and he was only able to graduate from high school before working in construction. With his diligence he became a regular at that construction company and got a stable job. Because of this their married life was quite ordinary and peaceful. Two years after marriage, they were blessed with children. Unfortunately, because of this pregnancy their mother had to resign from her office work. Giving birth to twins and taking care of them is not an easy task. She cannot have a very long leave from work as the company does not allow it. Once she returns to work, she will only be exhausted balancing office work, house work, and maternal responsibilities all together. Rather than hiring a nanny, it would be better for her to take care and raise their children herself. She still has some savings and her husband can take care of their living expenses as well. She does not want to miss on the delicate years when her first children are growing up. However, life is not so kind. Having twins meant that they have to put in double the effort to take care of them and double the expenses to raise them. They will need twice the amount of clothes, baby formula milk, diapers, vaccinations, health check-ups, and more. Not to mention that they also have to prepare for the future as early as they have to send two children to school at the same time which means that they will need twice the amount of educational necessities. This is when Grandpa Alf also came in. He asked his daughter to help him in the shop so she can still have a source of income while raising her children. Grandpa Alf helped them stabilize their living situation until that series of unfortunate events happened. It also gave him more time and opportunity to look after his grandchildren. Today, Mary and Mark are the ones looking after the shop because Grandpa Alf is out to take care of some documents. Grandpa owns a small ice cream shop that is located close to the school area so a lot of students frequent to relax and have a snack of their products. This includes students from the famous state school to come by often. ¡°Dude!¡± A loud group of teens just came in. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you got into that state school.¡± ¡°Riiiight? I know you¡¯re not dumb but I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re that smart!¡± He scoffs. ¡°Who do you think I am?¡± ¡°Mama¡¯s boy.¡± His friend laughs. ¡°What?! Say that again and I¡¯ll knock your teeth out!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go order some ice cream. You¡¯ll be treating us!¡± ¡°Sure whatever. I¡¯ll share some of my magnificence to you pitiful bunch.¡± They laugh all together. ¡°But seriously though. Bro, what¡¯s your studying secret?¡± ¡°What are you talking about, man? As if he knows what studying is!¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll tell you my secret.¡± He says with a smug face. ¡°I¡¯ve always had a secured slot. Like I said, who do you think I am? My dad¡¯s pretty close with the mayor and he¡¯s got pretty high position in the Shilan group.¡± 19th Lament: Better Place ¡°Like I said, who do you think I am? My dad¡¯s pretty close with the mayor and he¡¯s got pretty high position in the Shilan group.¡± ¡°Whoa~!!¡± ¡°Duuuuuude! Was that allowed?! I should have told my dad.¡± ¡°Right? I¡¯m sure mine could pull some strings too.¡± ¡°This is how things have always been. If you both weren¡¯t so slow-witted we all could be wearing the same uniform and own some high IQ bragging rights!¡± ¡°Yeah, imagine writing the state school in your CV.¡± ¡°Oh-! That¡¯s why right!¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Remember our classmate, that powder girl? She got accepted too.¡± ¡°Everyone knows that her family is loaded. But damn, she¡¯s dumb as brick! She can¡¯t even multiply without a calculator.¡± They laugh loudly. ¡°Yeah, it seems she got in with that other girl... hm¡­ you remember the loner smart one!¡± ¡°Oh! The childhood friend!¡± ¡°You mean the one she was leeching off? The teachers wouldn¡¯t have any grades to compute if she wasn¡¯t copying her assignments or dragging her with their group projects.¡± ¡°Poor childhood friend, can¡¯t get some peace and quiet. Miss Powders is still going to leech off her even in high school.¡± ¡°Damn, I¡¯m jealous! She¡¯s already set with the friend of hers.¡± They laugh again. ¡°That¡¯s what in your mind?! Dude!¡± Mary and Mark cannot help but overhear the conversation. It is the start of the busy hours and they are the first customers to come. They are talking and laughing loudly which is awfully inconsiderate to other customers. Mark would have reprimanded them but he also knows that it will just bring more trouble. There is no merit in getting in an argument with the stubborn bunch of spoiled teens, such people does not like it when their pride is smeared. The faster they are done with their orders, the faster they can leave the shop peacefully. ¡°Everything feels so unfair¡­ it¡¯s frustrating.¡± She mumbles while wiping the table. However, they cannot stop themselves from thinking that if not for those who gets accepted because of connections, then maybe they might have the chance. But then again, the competition to get into the state school is extremely difficult. Maybe someone smarter than them will be the one to get accepted. They know that they are just a little above average level of intelligence, since they too cannot even get in the top ten in their grade. Just in time as the rowdy high school students are leaving, Grandpa Alf also returns to the shop. Mark and Mary are glad to see him back but looking at his expression they immediately notice that he has no good news to bring back. The old man heads to the back room to change. He then tells them that he will explain the situation once there are less customers. Once the rush of the customers have calmed down and the last batch has left, Grandpa Alf sits down at the table by the corner. Mark and Mary follows him and sits in the opposite side facing him. ¡°I¡¯ve gone to the insurance company.¡± Grandpa states with a solemn tone. ¡°Unfortunately, we got denied again. They won¡¯t be releasing your father¡¯s insurance.¡± ¡°Why? It¡¯s our dad¡¯s money anyway! ¡± Mary frowns. ¡°The construction company refuses to acknowledge his death as a result of their negligence and insists that it all happened because of your father¡¯s recklessness. If the insurance company does not recognize it as an accident then they won¡¯t approve the release of the money.¡± ¡°This is not right.¡± Mark¡¯s brows furrow. ¡°Grandpa, can¡¯t we do anything about it? Dad worked hard for that¡­ and¡­ and it¡¯s that company¡¯s fault t-that¡­¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we do something?..¡± Mary¡¯s voice cracks. ¡°L-like complain to the authorities?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± The old man clenches his fists. ¡°We can¡¯t afford something like that¡­ The company already took responsibility for your father¡¯s funeral and burial. They are only giving us compensation of one hundred thousand rimas¡­ if we wrap this issue up.¡± ¡°A hundred thousand?!¡± Mark almost got up from his seat. ¡°Is that all my father¡¯s life is worth?¡± ¡°My child¡­ I know what you feel¡­ However, they already pushed us to the edge. Listen¡­¡± His expression looks ever more tired and apologetic. Tears almost formed in his eyes but he is holding it all in. ¡°I have already mortgaged this shop to pay for your mother¡¯s hospital bills¡­ and everything¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s just one disaster right after another.¡± Mary thought as she listens to their Grandpa. ¡°Once our world starts crumbling down, it doesn¡¯t stop until everything¡¯s completely destroyed.¡± ¡°We have to leave at the end of the month. I¡¯m so sorry. We can just take what¡¯s left of our savings and move out. I¡¯m very sorry.¡± ¡°We¡¯re moving? Where to?¡± Mark¡¯s voice is shaking. ¡°I¡¯ll figure it out. I just need you to prepare yourselves. Can you help me explain the situation to Jad? He might also quit school when we move out.¡± Jad is not their sibling or a blood relative at all. He is the grandson of their grandfather¡¯s friend who passed away several years ago. His mother died in a traffic accident, and his father left them long before he was born. When his mother died five years ago, he was left all alone and nobody of his blood relatives wants to take him in, so when Grandpa Alf went to the mother¡¯s funeral and learned about the situation he arranged to take him and become his guardian. Mary and Mark cannot say anything more. They fully understand the situation. They absolutely cannot afford to do anything right now. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. They can file a case in the court but it is almost guaranteed that they will lose. That is because the project that the construction company was taking on when the accident happened is related to the Shilan Group. It seems that someone embezzled majority of the funds so the construction materials bought are lacking and has low quality. Because of this, a part of the building was built weak that after some time, even before the whole project can be completed, it just collapsed. The large rubles fell on some unfortunate people which includes their father. The other workers suffered minor injuries, and a couple ended up being unable to walk for life. By some stroke of bad luck, only their father was severely injured, which eventually resulted in his death while in the hospital. Unfortunately, they do not have any solid proof of these so they can only speculate. If they try to fight it, they will only be put on a bad light. Everyone knows how far the Shilan¡¯s influence reaches. They influence is strong on politics, they are like the real rulers behind the mayors and the governor of Aesbyl. They also control the media and the flow of news in and out of the region. They can easily destroy someone in as many ways as one can think of. The people can only close their eyes from all these injustices if they want to protect their peaceful life and love-ones. Grandpa Alf tried to ask some help from their relatives. He has another older daughter but she married a foreigner and went to live with him. She and her family, composed of her husband, two sons and a daughter, are now living in the country of Cera. They are rarely in contact nowadays. The best she could do was to send some money to help her father and sister. The last time was when Grandpa told her about her sister¡¯s hospitalization and death. Unfortunately, she could not return home even for the funeral. Their father has a younger brother that is also already married. Grandpa also reached out to him when they needed some financial help. The brother was willing to help because he is greatly indebt to his older brother who raised him. However, he is married and has responsibilities towards his three daughters and two sons. He did help a little bit but his wife prevented him from sending too much money because their situation is not any better. The end of the month comes. Grandpa is forced to take the offer of the company. They left the shop and their home with little possessions with them. With what they have, they can no longer stay in the city, so grandpa can only look for a place outside. They ended up far out in Wave 5 where the land is very cheap. He also found one with a sturdy enough house for them to live in. Here, they will have to start over again and hope that with hard work they can build a better future for themselves. However, living outside the city has its own set of rules. It is hard to cope with these unwritten rules and they cannot just ignore it. They almost got scammed several times. Thieves broke into their house a few days after they settled in. It is a lawless land so they cannot even report it to the authorities. After a week of using candles and solar powered flashlights for light at night, someone from the mercenary group has approached them. He is a representative selling them the solar panels that will light up their house and energize some of their few appliances. The Zone-0 has no power source of its own. Most residents purchase these solar panels, some illegally taps on the power of nearby structures like the Shilan groups¡¯ laboratories and plantations, and there are also several who does not care about living in darkness. The main issue about these solar panels is that they are extremely costly. They are illegally expensive but nobody really regulates these products. Not only is it overpriced, they also have to pay it in installments with very high interest rate. It is especially difficult now that they are still scraping around for a living. But the heat is becoming more and more unbearable even when the rainy season has supposed to have started. The old man is no longer in a condition that he can endure such heat, so Mary convinced him to take the offer and assured him that they will do fine if they all worked together. After Grandpa Alf made a deal with the mercenary¡¯s representative, he also found work which is a great help in their situation. Still they cannot just leave everything to their grandfather as he is already at the age when he should have retired and should be resting enjoying the rest of his years comfortably. ¡°I¡¯ll help too!¡± Jad insists. ¡°I¡¯ll help brother Mark with his job!¡± ¡°You¡¯re still young, just stay and look after the house.¡± Mark refutes. ¡°I¡¯m old enough to help out. I saw other kids that are younger and smaller than me, they¡¯re also working. Even just small side jobs on the streets.¡± Mary sighs. ¡°You brought your books with you, right? Why don¡¯t you-¡± ¡°What¡¯s the point of that?¡± ¡°What-?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m not hoping we could return¡­¡± He frowns. ¡°Going back into the city¡­ It¡¯s so easy to get kicked out but going back is like climbing a very stiff mountain.¡± Mark pinches his glabella. ¡°I know what you mean¡­ but let¡¯s not lose hope. I won¡¯t take you with me. It¡¯s better for you to go with Mary and protect her, okay? We¡¯re still not very familiar with this new place.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± He smiles a little. It took a while for them to get used to their new lifestyle. The adjusting period is the most difficult part. Grandpa Alf works with the mercenary group. His job seems to be delivering and taking orders of something that is kept hidden inside the straw basket. He works very early and most of the times he comes home very late. Meanwhile, in the morning, Mark joins the other residents to look for food and in the Elteb canyon. For now he is being taught by a few kind monster hunters how to find and catch small animals and monsters. Once he gets used to it, he will have to do it alone on his own time, since everyone is busy with their own business. Mary and Jad got work in the Addax racing arena. They collect the bets and give the customers tickets in that gambling game. They got used to their new life in Wave 5 after living there for over a month. Jad is quick to make friends with a few neighborhood kids. It did not take them long to notice one particular kid who just wanders around with no place to go home to. He often goes to their house and grandpa would always generously share him a meal. At some point grandpa just invited the young boy to come live with them instead of staying homeless in the streets. His name is Romi. All he said about why he cannot go home is that because he got lost. Some people wearing black came to take him. He got awfully scared that he ran away while they are traveling. Mark and Mary did not mind the new member of their family. Even they do not want to push away a helpless child even though they feel so helpless themselves. Furthermore, Jad has already become particularly close to the boy. Romi has been sticking close to him even before they asked him to come live with them. A few more months passes by. One late night, Grandpa Alf returned home holding the hand of a young girl. The only one still awake to welcome them is Mary. The others are too tired that they fell asleep earlier. She is cleaning up a little more before going to bed. ¡°Ah-¡­ Grandpa, who is she?¡± The girl looks confused and scared. She is not talking but it is evident that she is very alert and observant of the surroundings. ¡°I found her wandering around the route I take. It has been two nights. She seems to have been lost and very hungry.¡± The old man looks tired and apologetic. ¡°I-I see¡­ We still have some extra¡­ I mean, we can still accommodate one more meal for another person tonight.¡± ¡°Thank you, Mary. I¡¯ll just eat a little and rest.¡± He pats the back of the child. ¡°Can you look after her for now?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, Grandpa. You can rest.¡± Grandpa Alf goes straight to the dining room while Mary observes the young girl. Her clothes are dirty with some tears on it. She also looks like she has not comb her hair for a week. ¡°What is your name?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ umm¡­¡± Her hands are clenched and trembling while her voice is low and hoarse. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t hurt you.¡± Mary comes closer. ¡°You should take a bath first and have a change of clothes before eating.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ The grandpa said he¡¯ll help me get back home.¡± ¡°Right¡­ If you can remember your address, we can help you find it.¡± ¡°N-no. I-it¡¯s¡­ I can¡¯t go back.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°They left me there.¡± Mary frowns. She does not know what to feel about it. Can people really just leave a child in random places? What if some bad guys picked her up? ¡°I see¡­ I guess, you have no choice. You¡¯ll be staying with us now.¡± She smiles softly. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Umm¡­ Brenda¡­¡± 20th Lament: This is the Line A little over half a year has passed since Grandpa Alf and his grandchildren have settled down in Wave 5. For some reason, it seems that what used to be a small family of four has unexpectedly grown in numbers. Their house may be broken in some places, and little critters often creeps around and hide in the dark corners, but for them it has become the home that that they must protect. When it rains outside, it also rains inside yet those little drops cannot drown their desire to pull themselves up and live for a brighter future. They believed that they can get through all these hardships¡­ they believe¡­ they have to¡­ In order to ease the burden on their old man, everyone is working hard not to cause trouble to their family. Romi is very obedient child, though he sticks to Jad most of the times which most often make him an accomplice of varying shenanigans. Brenda is remarkably good with housework so she takes care most of it. Other younger children also comes to their house often to play. They did not mind it at first but now those kids has naturally become part of their extensive family. Kou and Raichi have been playing in their empty house before they moved in and they did not stop that habit even when it got occupied by new residents. They invite them to have lunch and dinner with them. The older children just naturally started taking care of them as time passed. The way their family has grown in the past month and looking at how everyone gets along makes the hardships in this godforsaken land a little more bearable. Watching the scene where everyone works together in a clear day paints a picture of a happy and peaceful life. It is an image of a hopeful fantasy that is far from their current situation. The bitter reality of life has started hitting again once they realize that Grandpa Alf¡¯s health is deteriorating rapidly. They do not know what the main cause could be. It might be because of stress or overwork, or its just his old age catching up to him. However, rest and medicine is too much of a luxury for them who must go work until they break their bones just to make ends meet. ¡°If we don¡¯t work for a day, we won¡¯t have anything to spend the next day. We cannot afford to take rests.¡± Grandpa Alf says as he prepares to go to work early in the morning. ¡°But grandpa¡­¡± Mary grits her teeth. Sure they could catch small wild animals and pick up mushrooms in the Elted Canon that could feed them every day. However, they have bills they need to pay. The payment fort the solar panels is due soon and the collectors will not accept any late payments without any issue. The old man pats her head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll try to go home earlier tonight so that I can get more rest.¡± ¡°I think we can help to take over your work even if just for a week, so you can take some time off and focus on our recovery.¡± Mark suggests. ¡°Right! And I can take more shifts instead!¡± Mary adds. ¡°No!¡± He suddenly raises his voice. ¡°Let me take care of this. I¡¯ll get us through this. This conversation is over.¡± ¡°G-grandpa¡­¡± ¡°Take good care of your siblings.¡± His continuous refusal to let them take over his work might just be the stubbornness and pride of an old man who does not want to look weak in front of these children. They watched their grandfather walk away slowly with a slightly slouched back. He has become thinner. Dark circles has formed below his eyes. They can only sigh and scratch their heads. Not only do they have no savings for health related issues and emergencies, there are also no hospitals or clinics in Wave 5 right now. The closest must be in Wave 3, though those are also run by some shady personaities. Days passed, and weeks, Grandpa Alf¡¯s health continued to deteriorate until he had fallen and became bed-ridden. During this time, Mary was the one who remained home to take care of him. She tirelessly tended to their grandfather until his last breath. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Twentieth day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Arbhur City, Wave 5, Elteb Canyon, outside of the slums Not far from the end of Wave 5 is a large maze-like canyon. After her conversation with the twins, Azalea wants to be alone and somehow gather her thoughts, hoping it could calm her erupting emotions down. She is feeling so lost as she silently took her tattered and scraped armor before leaving without saying a word to the rest of the children. After changing into her armor, she left that small slightly dilapidated house. Her mind is recalling the events that happened in the past month which lead her into this situation. Talk about getting easily distracted¡­ This isn¡¯t where I¡¯m supposed to go¡­ She slowly walks out of the slums and without realizing it she finds herself standing at the entrance of the canyon. She stops for a while to look at her surroundings before continuing on her way. It seems that nobody is following her. What the hell am I doing? The sun has risen high enough. She enters Elteb canyon to look for a shaded and quiet place where she can rest and think. In her head plays the things she has done that might have affected her current situation. She thinks, going back in the various events that she gone through these past weeks, over and over again. She was always running away. Where did things go wrong? The land is dry and dusty. The towering walls of rocks are hard and rough. At this point there are barely any forms of plants around. Small critters run and hide in the tiny cracks on the ground. If she continuous to walk deeper, some larger monsters might start showing up. At the core of Elteb canyon is the territory of a demon. It has not shown any aberrant behavior yet so it is still not considered as a threat. Though there is a high chance that it is going to start leaving its territory in a couple of weeks and wander in larger areas. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. While having these many random thoughts playing in her mind, she finds a small shaded area in between the rocks and the walls. Not far from the demon¡¯s territory is a mine that people cannot easily enter because of the threat of running into the demon or high rank monsters. It was active some decades ago when a rich business man tried to gamble his way to dig up some treasures within the depths of this canyon. The business man invested a large amount into digging a mine without proper safety measures and precautions. They did discover a rich deposit of pranite, however their luck did not last long. The existence of humans coming and going in the canyon not only attracted monsters but also the demon slumbering nearby. Because of these problems piling up along with lawsuits due to neglect of safety precautions, the mine was eventually closed down. The rights for that land remained unclaimed and the mine was abandoned since then. She spends some time staring at a collection of moss that is growing on the cracks of the canyon¡¯s wall. She stands staring blankly as she remembers what Jad told her a day ago. ¡°There is a gang of reveils in their teens has started gathering the strong kids. They haven¡¯t found out that Leika is a strong contractor, so for now, we¡¯re safe.¡± She mumbles. She balls her hands into a fist so hard that she did not notice how her nails are digging into her palms. She grits her teeth while deep in though. This little gang seems to be involved in the Fairy Dust business. But they do not have knowledge in Mary and Mark¡¯s job, so they must be from a different faction. The problem is that they are gathering reveils. Someone wants to take control of the flow of that dust in this area. A turf war might get ignited in the future. Whoever gathers a stronger group would win. However, that is not the case for Mary and Mark¡¯s family since they are going to be dragged into it and get stuck in the middle of the conflict whether they like it or not. Being uninvolved in neither side means they may take blows from both. And in worse case¡­ All of a sudden she punches the rigid wall. Her fist crashes at the rock-like wall with so much force that her knuckles have gotten skinned deep enough to start bleeding. Her passive healing immediately activates. Small magic circles are now glowing, appearing and disappearing around her injured fist. What the hell am I doing? It is clear that this is not just some kid¡¯s gang fight. The adults in the syndicate are behind it. They are starting to build a group with younger and powerful reveils. Not everyone is welcome. It is not long before they get dragged into it. Mary and Mark will be absorbed deeper into their trade and will be forced to comply with their rotten system. If nothing is done, they are just going to continue spiraling down into a future of inescapable misery. She balls her hands into fist again and then proceeds to punch the hard at the same large rock more. She spat some curses¡­ Why is she so powerless when it comes to protecting something valuable. It¡¯s as if the helplessness she felt three years ago has returned to haunt her again. She has stood in front of newly made graves quite often this year. Is there a way to prevent that future? What the hell am I doing? She stops punching. She catches her breath. Her arms are trembling. Her knuckles are scraped and bleeding. Beads of sweat run down her cheeks. Her eyes are fixed at the rock that is now stained with her blood. Her hands are lit up by the healing magic circles that flickers up and away. She takes a deep breath. ¡°What choice do I have?¡± Her voice is low and rough. She lifts her head to briefly look at the sky before leaning on the rocks beside. ¡°I¡¯m tired.¡± Her eyes are cold and dead. ¡°What exactly am I up against?¡± Droplets of her blood drip down and make tiny splatters on the solid dusty ground. ¡°To protect those kids and to change their life, making it a little better¡­ What can I do? The last time I did something, it ended up becoming a huge mess.¡± She looks down again recalling the events of the past month. ¡°Everything I did was for naught.¡± There is that cloudy feeling inside her chest. As time passes by, it only gets worse. It is unpleasant and heavy but she cannot find a way to just get rid of it. It sticks inside and it is suffocating in ways she cannot physically describe. What the hell am I doing? ¡°I guess I never really put much thought into it. It was a reckless move¡­ A selfish impulse¡­ Not only did I fail to save anyone, I might have made things more difficult for many¡­ I¡¯m a mess.¡± To help them¡­ To make a change¡­ What can I do?.. I¡¯m just-¡­ ¡­ Goddamn it all!... Everything should just get burned until nothing¡¯s left¡­ If the future cannot be stopped then I¡¯ll just destroy it all! For a moment, everything has gone dark. She has not noticed how much time has passed. As if she was in daze for a very long time. The ringing of her phone snaps her back to reality. As she picks it up, she notices that the wounds on her knuckles have already healed. She only holds the phone to her ear without saying a word. ¡°H-hello, Azalea?¡± A young man¡¯s familiar voice cracks from the other line. After hearing Qin¡¯s voice, some ideas entered her mind. There might be some other options. To prevent the war, then she just have to crash the forces behind that is trying to start one. Then, let the people establish a new balance of power. ¡°Why are you so quiet? You¡¯re making me nervous.¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± ¡°You¡¯re Azalea, right?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± She hears him taking a deep breath from the other end. ¡°Have you decided where we we¡¯re going to meet up? I¡¯ll pick you up and directly accompany you to Westar.¡± ¡°Actually¡­¡± Her voice is a little hoarse, as if something is stuck in her throat. ¡°Forget it. I have a favor to ask, Qin.¡± ¡°I do not like the sound of this.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you going out of that place?¡± ¡°I am not going to leave Aesbyl yet.¡± ¡°No!¡± He suddenly raises his voice. ¡°You need to leave that rotten place now. Just follow the directions I sent you and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll easily lose your pursuers then.¡± ¡°Listen-¡± ¡°I do not know what you¡¯ve gotten yourself into this time, but is it really worth risking your life?¡± ¡°Do you know why I¡¯m going to Westar?¡± ¡°You¡¯re¡­¡± He pauses for a moment before uttering the next words. ¡°Visiting¡­ your friends¡¯¡­um¡­ in Cappleasyo City.¡± She grips her phone tighter. ¡°I am going to visit my friends¡¯ graves, the people I considered as family for four years.¡± She takes a deep breath. Her eyes are soulless. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯d still have the right to go and tell them about my adventures if I turn my back at this place and run away.¡± There is only silence from the other side, as if he is at loss for words. ¡°That day¡­ I was running around the city¡­ asking for help¡­ looking for help¡­ I was desperate, it was really hard. That night while I was burying them¡­ I thought that if someone¡­ anyone¡­ if one person, only if someone had lent a hand, then maybe something would have changed. Maybe some of them had been saved and I wouldn¡¯t have to bury them alone.¡± Qin can only listen to her as her tone goes lower and colder as if all the warmth she used to possess is being drained away. He is now able to picture what she is going through, even though the situation is still unclear to him. ¡°I want to change things. I want to help save them¡­ because I would have wanted someone to save me back then too.¡± ¡°Okay, I understand¡­ but do not put your life in danger.¡± He let out a deep breath followed by a short silence. ¡°As much as I want you to get out of there¡­ there¡¯s really nothing I can do if you¡¯ve made up your mind about this. I¡¯ll help you as much as I can, but I¡¯ll let dad know about this.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°I want to hear your plans. What do you want me to do?¡± ¡°First, do you have trust-worthy connections that work in the armor-crafting industry? I need some who are willing to do business here.¡± ¡°Uhm, ok¡­ What are you planning?¡± She smiles coldly while looking far deeper into the canyon. ¡°I¡¯m a demon hunter, of course¡­ I¡¯ll go hunt.¡± 21st Lament: Means to an End Twentieth day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Wave 5, Arbhur City Zone-0, Aesbyl Region ¡°I haven¡¯t seen Lea since this morning.¡± Jad looks around. Brenda pauses before letting out a deep sigh. ¡°Mary said she left this morning.¡± She then continued setting up the table. ¡°She hasn¡¯t said anything¡­ about the reason why she just up and left. But¡­ maybe it¡¯s for the better.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± He tilts his head a little to the side while passing the plates. ¡°I feel like there¡¯s this heavy air around her... It¡¯s like those scary adult but also different¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re not making any sense.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t understand because you¡¯re oblivious as brick.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just being mean now.¡± He frowns. ¡°Are you fighting?¡± Romi suddenly pops out from under the table. Jad steps back. ¡°No, we¡¯re not! But then again¡­ Did they fight, though?¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Huh-?¡± Brenda shakes her head. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like Mary¡­ She rarely gets angry. I haven¡¯t noticed anything unusual between them yesterday.¡± ¡°With who??¡± Jad touches his chin. ¡°Same¡­ What could have been the problem? This is confusing.¡± ¡°The two of you are confusing me.¡± Romi raises his voice. Brenda stares at him for a second. ¡°Go call the others for lunch.¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!!!¡± He salutes before darting away. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Twenty-first day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Arbhur City, Wave 5, market area Fred wanders around the market area. He is still looking for news about Azalea, maybe he could find some in this busy area. These past weeks had been a mess. Locating her is like looking for a needle in a haystack, however he does not want to give up. If he follows the trail of chaos that Azalea has left behind, then she should be somewhere around Wave 5. The place closest to the border is around here. He was able to narrow it down but still this area is too big for him alone. ¡°I just want that child to be safe.¡± He mumbles while looking left and right. ¡°If nothing comes up in the next couple more weeks then I¡¯ll just consider that she has slipped out of this godforsaken country.¡± The variety of meat being sold in some stalls looks suspicious. He cannot tell which animal those meat could have come from as they are already chopped. Why is that one color blue? The meat of that stand gives of a faint unsettling odor. There are even scorpions and large centipedes for sale. Compared to that, the crops being sold looks more normal. There are also herbs and mushrooms. Better stay away from those mushrooms. Fruits are rare and safer to consume but also more expensive. It looks like they are also selling cheap clothes and some daily necessities on the other side of the market. He turns his head and watched someone buy some ¡°edible¡± flowers. Another group is haggling for a lower price for the freshly captured giant snake. They are getting a little loud. Not far is an eatery with a group of well-built men sitting together. It seems some of them are keeping an eye around the market. Maybe they are mercenaries, or part of the syndicate that controls the area. It would spell trouble if they are also keeping an eye out for the bounty. He starts walking towards the eatery. ¡°Will I hear some news if I eavesdrop among those men?¡± While on his way, something catches his eyes. A familiar figure among the crowd. Blonde hair, wearing a tattered light armor. It became more scrapped than the last time he saw her. He immediately changed the course of his steps. In a moment he was able to catch up to her and he swiftly grabbed her arm. She points at the crops for sale. ¡°Give me a bag of this potato-¡± ¡°We meet again, little miss.¡± He greets, not letting her go. Azalea stared at the hand that grabbed her before directing her sight at his face. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ From the hunt...¡± She tilts her head slightly. ¡°That Fred-guy!¡± ¡°F-fred guy??¡± He lets out a deep breath trying to calm his nerves. ¡°I don¡¯t understand what your objective is, but you gotta leave Aesbyl as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You¡¯re in one hell of a mess.¡± ¡°Well damn¡­¡± She then turns to the bag of potatoes that the vendor has finished packing. She smiles at him. ¡°But you see, I have stuff to do so let¡¯s catch up some other time. Kawarimi~¡± ¡°Kawa-?!¡± He felt like his vision blacked out for a split second. ¡°Thanks Dad!!!¡± All of a sudden Azalea¡¯s voice seems so far away. He looked around and saw her far into the crowd before disappearing among the sea of people. He looked down at his hand. ¡°Why am I holding a potato?¡± He is about to ran after her when the vendor grabbed his arm. ¡°Yah paying for yer daughter¡¯s potatoes.¡± ¡°She isn¡¯t my daughter!¡± He broke free from the vendor¡¯s grip. He frowns. ¡°I ain¡¯t give a shit if she¡¯s yer daughter or yer wife¡¯s daughter. Am tryin¡¯ to make a livin¡¯ here. So, are yah gonna pay or-¡± A couple of what seems to be bulky by-standers glares at him intensely. He does not know if they are reveils or not, but he is confident he can take them if the situations calls for it. However, one knows better than being a foreigner who stirs trouble in a lawless neighborhood such as this. He can spare some change for something as simple as this. It¡¯s not a big deal, after all, that child did save his life back then. ¡°Fine. How much is it?¡± ¡°Five hundred rimas.¡± ¡°What?! You¡¯re ripping me off!¡± ¡°Me and mah boys gonna rip yah limbs for real if yah don¡¯t pay, bro.¡± ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Twenty first day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Wave 5, Arbhur City Zone-0, Aesbyl Region The moon has risen to illuminate the land filled with darkness. The stars sparkles more in contrast with the dim surroundings of the slums. Azalea looks up the night sky while walking carrying a bag of potatoes. It is pretty common during her adventures for her to gaze at the glittering stars, yet the feeling it gives her are different for each time. She sighs. ¡°What use is all my savings if I can¡¯t even access my account?¡± That encounter earlier gave her some new ideas that will help resolving one of her predicaments. If she could strike a deal with Fred-guy then she will have nothing to worry about once she leaves Aesbyl. He is looking for her so they will definitely meet again. Then at that time, she has to convince him. She passes by a familiar neighborhood. She can hear some people arguing at some dark alley she passed by. A drunk guy is lying down unconscious by the side walk while another one is vomiting not far ahead. She walks straight not giving them another glance. Then she notices a commotion close to the house, her destination. She rushes towards the scene as she realized that something bad might have happened to the children. She pushed the slightly open gate and then quickly surveyed the area with her eyes. ¡°What happened here?¡± She raises her voice while looking at Jad, Brenda, Leika, Kou and Raichi encircling someone. ¡°Lea?¡± Jad immediately turns towards the voice. ¡°Where have you been all this time?¡± Azalea did not answer. She kept her eyes at the child that Brenda was holding in her arms. It¡¯s Romi. He seems to be injured. She walks closer to get a better look. His forearm is badly burned, the skin completely peeled off. ¡°Third degree?..¡± She mumbles. ¡°Huh?¡± Jad watches her get closer to Romi. Azalea hands the bag of potatoes to him. ¡°W-what the heck is this???¡± ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± Brenda asks. Azalea kneels down reaching for Romi¡¯s arm. ¡°Are there any other injuries?¡± She casts a healing spell on the burned area. ¡°What exactly happened?¡± ¡°We ran into the gang of kids!¡± Kou and Raichi answers in sync. ¡°Big brother Jad wasn¡¯t with us so those snotty brats thought they could bully us!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Romi speaks weakly. ¡°It¡¯s my fault¡­ I shouldn¡¯t have let them provoke me.¡± ¡°I see¡­ You did well protecting the others.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the problem.¡± Jad shakes his head. ¡°The other guy is a mage. He burned Romi¡­ and in order to save him-¡± ¡°W-wait, wait, wait-!!¡± Azalea turns. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me Leika was there too!¡± Leika holds Lei in her arms as usual. ¡°I beat the bad guy and sent them running.¡± ¡°You fought with Ifrit?¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± ¡°Right, now they know about her Ifrit.¡± Jad confirms. ¡°They¡¯d probably already reported it to their bosses. They¡¯re going to level up their harassments.¡± ¡°What a shitty turn of events.¡± ¡°What should we do?¡± Brenda worriedly asks. ¡°Lea, are you going to fight with us?¡± Jad¡¯s tone is low. Azalea keeps her silence. The situation is not that simple. That kids¡¯ gang is not the problem but the organization behind them that are collecting strong reveils. Having these little gang fights is not the solution they need. ¡°Whoa-!!!¡± Romi shouts as he gets up. ¡°I¡¯m all healed! Big sis, are you an angel sent by the heavens to save us?!¡± Azalea stands up. ¡°The heavens don¡¯t send someone like that.¡± ¡°What¡¯s happening here?¡± Mary¡¯s voice rang form behind. She came home with Mark and they are giving Azalea a very disapproving look. ¡°I brought potatoes.¡± She smiles at them. ¡°Maybe we should talk inside.¡± Mary and Mark reluctantly agreed. Everyone else followed into the house. Mary gives a quick look at Brenda which she responds to with a nod. ¡°Leika, give Lei to Romi.¡± Brenda says as she pulls Jad who could not resist with the bag of potatoes still in his arms. ¡°We¡¯ll prepare dinner. Romi, watch over the younger kids while we¡¯re busy.¡± Romi salutes before leading the other kids to follow him. ¡°Have I done something bad?¡± Leika fidgets. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault.¡± Mark responds while putting the baskets away. ¡°Go now. We have something to talk with Lea first.¡± Once everyone left the living room. Mark closed the door and then sat at the couch with Mary. They gestured for Azalea to sit but she remained standing close to the door. All of a sudden the air in the room became heavy. Nobody said a word for a while as if making sure that the other kids are far enough not to hear their conversation. Azalea kept observing the twin¡¯s mood and behavior. They are both a little fidgety while trying to keep their composure. She knew that something is off, but she is not expecting it to be this bad. It is true that she is just a passing stranger, and she has no idea how people live in this kind of place. She has no right to preach to them about justice and dignity based on her experiences. Still, the unpleasant feeling inside her chest is not going to just disappear. ¡°I thought we had a mutual agreement that you¡¯ll leave us alone from now on?¡± Mary says wearing an obvious frown. ¡°You know you can¡¯t talk yourself out of this with your bosses.¡± Azalea leans back on the door. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting it to suddenly turn out like this.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Mark¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°They are starting to build a powerful group that will keep the growing population of Wave 5 in check. These syndicates that runs Zone-0 are fighting each other in order to take control of these unconquered areas.¡± ¡°We can stay out of it.¡± ¡°You are already in the business.¡± ¡°We can strike a deal.¡± ¡°At what cost?¡± Mary seems agitated. ¡°I¡¯d sell my soul to the devil... if it means I can keep my family alive even if it¡¯s just for another day. It doesn¡¯t even have to be forever¡­¡± Her voice shakes with a hint of desperation. She frowns. ¡°Just a day¡­ That¡¯s how bad our choices are. This is all we can do to survive even if it¡¯s just for a day longer. We sold our soul to the devil.¡± ¡°You know how this business works. You¡¯ll drive yourself in a corner. Then after that what? There won¡¯t be any other path open to you¡­ You¡¯ll just continue sinking down. That¡¯s how they¡¯ve always kept the order in these lawless lands.¡± ¡°Even so¡­I-I believe¡­ I want to believe¡­¡± It¡¯s as if she was giving an excuse for herself. ¡°There is no person in this world who could bear to watch their family slowly die. Would someone really choose to keep their hands clean when their loved ones are starving? When they lose their home? When their siblings or children are sick and wasting away?¡± Have you ever experienced true despair?.. ¡°We just want to live.¡± It¡¯s not that they don¡¯t have a choice¡­ It¡¯s just that all the choices are just as bad as every other one. ¡°We aren¡¯t even asking for luxuries¡­ We just want to live.¡± When you¡¯ve done everything you could even if it destroys you.. yet you still can¡¯t protect anything. ¡°So why?¡± She clenches her fists. Tears starts forming in her eyes, yet she tries so hard not to let them fall. Her voice cracks as if something is stuck in her throat. ¡°Why is it so hard? Why do we have to struggle so much to receive the basic rights that should have been equally given to everyone?¡± ¡°Within this darkness there is no light.¡± Azalea mumbles. ¡°If you try to become one, you¡¯ll just burn yourself down. Once you¡¯re done and gone, everything will just return to how it was.¡± Mark stays silent. They can only hear the faint noises of the utensils from the kitchen. There''s nothing here... just nothing... Mary stands up. She wants to scream but she have to hold it all in. ¡°We didn¡¯t choose to be in this situation. Can you blame me for doing everything I can to survive?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not here to blame you.¡± Mary scoffs and rolls her eyes. She can feel her heart pounding and all she can do is grit her teeth. It is this lack of power, this helplessness that she cursed all her life. ¡°I returned here because I want to save you. Please choose to be saved.¡± ¡°Ha! Ambitious talk!¡± She slightly raised her tone while keeping eye contact. ¡°Why would a stranger like you go so far for us?¡± ¡°Because¡­ It¡¯s something I wished someone did for me when I needed it.¡± Mary became speechless as if it reminded her of something. The tears that had formed almost fell down. She quickly wipes it with her hand before they could. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong.¡± Mark steps in. He keeps his voice low. ¡°I¡¯d like get us out of this mess more than anyone. However, I believe your presence here is as much a danger as those crazy battle hungry kids. If the Shilans learned that we are helping you here, won¡¯t that put us directly under their wrath?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be helping us more if you just leave.¡± Mary adds. ¡°Well¡­¡± Azalea turns her eyes away. ¡°Let¡¯s just say that I¡¯m sorta part of this mess, so I will have to solve it before I leave.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Mark curiously asks while urging Mary to sit down. ¡°Aren¡¯t you just making up excuses to get involve?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t the supply of your goods went down these past days?¡± Their eyes widened as they listened to her speak. ¡°I won¡¯t go too much into the details but I destroyed some plantations. I can imagine that they are way too much on edge to care and act kind.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really out of your mind!¡± The twins shouted softly. ¡°If you want to save yourselves, then I¡¯d like to give you a fighting chance¡­¡± Her voice sounds colder while the look in her eyes becomes more drained. ¡°At least something that will allow you to choose a brighter future.¡± ¡°Is there really¡­¡± Marks looks down and clasps his hands together. Mary forces the words out of her mouth. ¡°What are you planning to do?¡± The room is filled with silence as if she is trying to put her words together in order to properly express her intension. The silence broke once her cold voice rang. ¡°Allow me to make a bigger mess out of your already broken world.¡± 22nd Lament: New Way to Bleed Twenty-first day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Arbhur City, Zone-0, Wave 5 The area is full of drums of toxic waste. Some of those have leaks that is either being absorbed in the soil or dispersed in the air. These chemical wastes are from the plantations from different parts of the Wave 4 and 5. They are simply being dumped in an isolated area not far from the slums. Well, it probably was farther away a year ago however the lawless zone has rapidly grown. This toxic dumpsite is a place that normal people would avoid in fear for their health. Exposure to these unknown chemicals can cause serious illnesses that may cause irreversible organ damage. Knowing that, it makes a perfect hiding place for Azalea. She has spent the previous night here and she plans to stay in this peaceful and quiet place again. Nobody in their sane mind would look for her here, since nobody in their sane mind would take this abandoned poisoned land as a place for camping and resting. ¡°I still have two potatoes.¡± She used her magic to make fire and then proceeds to roast the potatoes. With magic she maintains the small fire and keeps the potatoes floating above it. She leisurely sits on the ground in front of the dim light and heat that the fire provides. She ponders while waiting for her meal to be ready. ¡°Grow up and become a good person.¡± What does being a good person mean? Sometimes it¡¯s more complicated than it sounds. What¡¯s ¡°good¡± for someone is not always the same ¡°good¡± for everyone else. She decided to leave the children for tonight. They need some time to think and take in the whole situation. Her plan still needs some major players to agree before she can proceed. Once Qin calls again, everything should be ready. And now, she also found someone to become their guardian, ensuring their safety once she leaves the country. ¡°Should you really be starting a fire in this kind of place?¡± A grown man¡¯s voice rings from behind. His voice is a little muffled. ¡°I happened to see you go into this dumpsite¡­¡± The whole area is covered with unpleasant smell. It¡¯s like a mix sulfur or ammonia, along with rotting stench of expired fruits. Could someone really breathe this kind of air and still have the appetite to eat their meal? ¡°Oh, Fred-guy.¡± She turns towards him for a moment. His mouth and nose is covered by a piece of cloth. ¡°Did you even consider that the fire you made could react to some unknown chemical in the air and cause a major explosion?¡± ¡°Well damn. That would be unfortunate.¡± He spends some time staring at the young girl who is waiting for her meal to cook. ¡°Are you planning to stay here tonight?¡± ¡°You¡¯re lucky. I have two potatoes. I can share you one if you haven¡¯t had your dinner yet.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t the time for that.¡± He steps closer. Then he remembers that he was actually the one who paid for those potatoes. He shakes his head a few times. He should not get distracted by trivial details. ¡°I didn¡¯t comb through this lawless zone to play around. Cassandra would have come rushing to your aid if her hands weren¡¯t full.¡± ¡°I see. She would have been a big help. So, what are you planning now? Do you think you can forcefully take me out of Aesbyl?¡± ¡°You are one stubborn child.¡± Azalea stands up to face Fred. ¡°Hey mister, how about we settle on an agreement? Let¡¯s make this quick. I have a proposal, and you can voice your demands as well.¡± He is a little skeptical however he knows he does not have the power and skills to force her to leave now. ¡°I¡¯ll hear you out.¡± ¡°But before that, we should get out of this place first.¡± She then leads the way. The small fire changes its shape into a ball and floated in front to light their way. She keeps the potatoes that seems to have been well roasted floating beside her. Fred thought that her skills are quite convenient and wonders how much she trained to maintain such level of magic control. ¡°This place is not safe for people like you.¡± ¡°And you? You¡¯re telling me that your resistance is strong enough not to be affected by this hazardous elements?¡± He follows her looking at that small figure in front of him. ¡°Not specifically my resistance.¡± She moves one potato in front of him. ¡°Here. It¡¯s cool enough not to burn you but still warm inside. I made sure it¡¯s safe enough to be eaten.¡± He focuses his sight towards her dimly lit face. Her voice sounds cheerful but her dead eyes says otherwise. It evokes an eerie feeling. ¡°I don¡¯t need it.¡± ¡°What shame¡­¡± She takes a bite off the roasted potato. ¡°It¡¯s delicious.¡± They continued walking out of the dumpsite. On their way, Fred noted some leaking drums, and a pile of garbage bags with pungent stench emanating from it. Soon, there are less of those towering drums stacked over one another. The foul-smelling air gradually disperses. They must be close to the exit. Azalea turns and faces him. ¡°Here¡¯s the deal. You¡¯re a licensed demon hunter too. So, I¡¯ll go hunt Quia¡¯el, and you¡¯ll go claim the rewards.¡± ¡°You want the two of us to hunt a rank B demon that would usually need multiple parties of twelve to sixteen people to take down?¡± She smirks. ¡°I said, I¡¯ll go hunt. All you have to do is claim the rewards.¡± Fred stares at her lightless eyes as he slowly comes to understand what she wants. ¡°This ridiculous. What do you want?¡±The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°You¡¯re very smart. I¡¯ll send you the coordinates. I want you to help those kids.¡± She continues forward. ¡°You¡¯re going through all these for a bunch of kids you met for the first time here?¡± He noticed faint small glowing sparkles that appears and disappears around her. Are those magic? She smiles coldly. ¡°You can take the reward as well as all the rights to the land surrounding the demon territory.¡± ¡°Impossible. You¡¯re going to die.¡± They are finally outside the dumpsite. Far enough that they can no longer catch a whiff of that pungent smell. ¡°If so, then go claim my bounty.¡± ¡°H-huh?¡± Her voice is calm and deep but also raging. ¡°If I happen to fail and die, then go drag my corpse out and present it to that bastard.¡± ¡°Are you insane?!!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a win-win.¡± She is smiling but her tone remains the same. Her purple eyes are colder than the night. ¡°Though there will be a huge set back if I lose, still we¡¯ll get something out of it. Ah, but then again you have nothing to worry about because I¡¯ll definitely slay that demon.¡± Fred thought process fell into a disarray leaving him speechless. Something is very wrong but he is unable to put his words together. What advice could he possibly give to this lost child? After saying everything she wants to say, she proceeds to walk back to the dumpsite. ¡°W-wait-!!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t follow me. You¡¯ll definitely die if you continued to breathe this toxic air.¡± He stayed fixed in his place watching Azalea disappear in the distance. He removes the piece of cloth that was covering his mouth and nose. Maybe they both need some time to think. He walks away distraught. Fred is just another one of those people who started rough in life. He can barely remember his parents¡¯ faces as he was too young when they left his life. His father simply disappeared one day and he was never mentioned by his mother again. That same mother who worked hard for her two sons who are barely three years apart. She single-handedly raised them until she succumbed to some disease. He was too young to understand what it was or remember any details about it. At that point, he still have not fully grasped the concept of death. Sometimes he thinks that he has not cried enough on her mother¡¯s funeral. The orphaned brothers were then taken in by their grandparents and they were helped by other family members in raising them. Looking back, he considers himself lucky to have such caring family. However, that time, he still waited and wondered when his mother would return. Fortunately, he had a lot of activities that took much of his attention, and he also needed to take care of his younger brother, so his young mind was not purely occupied by the thoughts of his mother all the time. Still, there are days when he would wake up and excitedly check the kitchen because he might see their mom preparing breakfast for them again. Unfortunately, that excitement always dies down and ultimately ended up in disappointment. Eventually he grew up, his understanding of life have expanded. He cannot remember the exact time he stopped waiting for her, or the moment he came to the realization that she is gone. It¡¯s as if the understanding just came to him naturally, but at some point it made him feel empty. As he grew older, he became more aware of the difficulty their grandparents are going through in raising two children. He knew that he was not that smart as child so he believes that it was a waste of money to keep sending him to school. He was eleven years old when he first awakened as a reveil. He was only able to make small balls of ki which made him very interested in improving his powers. He practiced alone until he caught the attention of a monster hunter who taught him the basics. When he reached his teen years, he started hanging out with the monster hunters and eventually dropped out of school. Not long after that, he decided to become a monster hunter and got his license. He earned a lot as a monster hunter, enough to support his aging grandparents and support his younger brother¡¯s education. Just like that he became the family¡¯s breadwinner. After his twentieth birthday, he started joining demon hunting jobs and two more years later, he also got his demon hunting license. He then also supported his cousins¡¯ education and helped his aunts and uncles when they are in financial trouble. Becoming a demon hunter was a huge help for him to provide for his family. He has been hunting and fighting for more than two decades now. He has gone through plenty of life and death situation. He was lucky to survive every time without having to live with severe injuries or a missing limb. His brother and cousins have all finished college years ago. They got a job and have stable life now. His grandparents has naturally and peacefully passed away more than a year ago. He is already at the age where most demon hunters have saved enough to start a different business and retire. However, he does not have anything that he wants to do. He continued demon hunting because the thrill of battles made him feel alive. But in the last hunt, he came really close to death. It made him rethink his choices and ponder on his future, not only for his sake but for his loved ones too. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Twenty-second day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Arbhur City, Zone-0, Wave 5 It is supposed to be just another day to get over with for the children. Jad and Romi just had to leave to get water much earlier. They all decided to stay home for now and avoid situations where they can be trapped or ambushed by the gang. They still have some preserved food stored. Before it runs out, they have to go out early to hunt instead of relying on buying food from the crowded market place. Their life will be more difficult if they do not find a solution to their current predicament. ¡°What do you think did Mary and Mark talked with Lea last night?¡± Jad asks Brenda as he pours the water into the jar. ¡°Something they don¡¯t want to let us know.¡± Brenda takes a deep breath. ¡°After that she just left. She didn¡¯t even join dinner.¡± ¡°Right. I don¡¯t like the way they¡¯re keeping things from us.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Leika says softly. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have been impulsive.¡± ¡°You have nothing to be sorry about. This situation is bound to happen whether they knew about your powers or not.¡± Jad pats her head. ¡°We¡¯re not going to go down without a fight! We¡¯ll beat the shit out of them!¡± ¡°Understood!¡± ¡°Shut up! Don¡¯t say that!¡± Brenda softly raises her voice. ¡°Leika don¡¯t agree to him! I¡¯m sure Mary and Mark have a plan.¡± ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Half a day has passed since Fred scouted the coordinates that Azalea gave him. There is indeed a house there that are full of kids. No adult has either came out or into that house since he is watching it. ¡°She¡¯s not here.¡± Fred talks to himself. He stands on top of the neighbor¡¯s roof. ¡°She didn¡¯t give me a different coordinates, did she?¡± He sighs. Few more hour passed. He stealthily jumped around from one roof to another to scout the perimeter. Though there are some suspicious people keeping watch not far, he does not sense any hostility from them. Maybe, not yet. Hence, on that late afternoon, he finally decided to approach the house and maybe ask the kids a few questions. Fred jumps down from the roof directly into the front yard which garnered some wary looks from the children. ¡°Mister, I don¡¯t remember inviting you to our humble home.¡± Jad greets while gesturing to the other children. Brenda quickly takes Leika and Lei into the house while making eye contact to Kou and Raichi who immediately follows her. ¡°Well, yeah.¡± Fred replies while observing the yard and the front house. ¡°I guess someone else did¡­ ah, you know, invite me.¡± ¡°Ha, ha. You¡¯re funny mister.¡± Jad walks closer while Romi follows close behind. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Guess?¡± ¡°He¡¯ll be your new dad!¡± Azalea suddenly appears behind Fred. ¡°What the fuu-?!¡± Fred steps aside. He did not feel her presence at all. ¡°Since when?!¡± ¡°I just arrived.¡± She walks pass him and then gives the two dead birds she hunted to Romi. ¡°I got us dinner.¡± ¡°I¡¯m thankful for that.¡± Jad raises his brow as he finds the situation weird. ¡°Seriously, who¡¯s the old dude?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not anyone¡¯s father.¡± ¡°Hm?.. You still haven¡¯t made up your mind, dad?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not your dad.¡± ¡°Sure, sure.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Jad looks at them back and forth. ¡°If you know him and he¡¯s not a bad guy, then I¡¯ll treat him as a guest¡­ but only until Mark and Mary comes home. They have the last say.¡± Brenda peeks from the front door. ¡°I don¡¯t think this is a good idea. ¡± 23rd Lament: Turn Your Back and Run Twenty-second day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Arbhur City, Zone-0, Wave 5 That night, Mary and Mark returned home earlier. The grim expressions on their faces spells it clearly, they are about to deliver the bad news. But before that they noticed an unfamiliar face in their house. ¡°Aside from grandpa, I don¡¯t remember having another bearded man living in our house.¡± Mark comments while staring at Fred who is putting on an apron. He points at the unknown man. ¡°So, what¡¯s the deal with that guy?¡± ¡°Um¡­ A guest?¡± Jad wears an unsure expression. ¡°Who picked up that bum?¡± Mary sighs wearily. ¡°He¡¯s Lea¡¯s dad.¡± Leika says softly. ¡°No.¡± Fred responds immediately. ¡°You¡¯re really not her dad?¡± Romi tilts his head. ¡°I¡¯m not. What¡¯s with that look?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m just thinking¡­ Lea must look like her mother. Why would someone so pretty be with a bum like you?¡± ¡°Excuuuse me??!¡± Jad laughs loudly. Brenda slaps the back of his neck. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about this later.¡± Mary turns her sight towards Azalea. ¡°Everyone¡¯s tired and hungry. Let¡¯s prepare dinner first.¡± Fred volunteered to cook as courtesy to the owners of the house. He is surprisingly skillful in the kitchen. Brenda and Romi happily helped him while also learning a little by watching him handle the cooking tools. Meanwhile, Mary and Mark took turns to wash up to clean the accumulated dust and sweat away. Azalea seems to be unbothered while looking after and playing with Lei, Kou and Raichi in the backyard. Jad and Leika cleaned the dinner table before joining the others in the backyard. Despite looking calm, the children are trying hard to pass this day as just another normal one. Unfortunately they have to face the grim reality. It¡¯s as if they are being cornered and they are continuously losing their footing every passing minute. The scent of the bird stew fills the dining room. They each took a seat and passed the food around. After making sure that everyone had their portion, Mark gestured and then they started eating. The twins are once again wearing a grim expression. They are internally trying to put words together so that they can deliver the bad news in a better way. The kids waited patiently for them while eating their fill. The room is filled with the faint sounds of utensils and occasional creak of some unstable chairs as the kids reach out for something on the table. Mary feels like every spoonful feels heavier and as time passes, the food becomes harder to swallow. The younger kids does not seem bothered by the heavy atmosphere. Fred and Azalea kept their silence observing the situation. Mark finally turns his sight forward. ¡°The bosses at work had a sudden change in attitude.¡± Mark¡¯s tone is deep. ¡°They¡¯ve been inquiring about the family¡­ or specifically my younger siblings. It seems like they want to take us in by becoming our guardian.¡± ¡°Wow! Those stinky geezers suddenly able to grow some compassion in their twisted heart, huh?¡± Jad mutters sardonically. ¡°What they¡¯re after is very obvious.¡± Mary looks down. ¡°They must have already got a hold of the information about the reveils in our family. For now, they aren¡¯t hostile yet¡­ but they are starting to put some pressure and intimidation.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to agree to them, right?¡± Brenda grips harder. ¡°Honestly¡­ If we have no other choice, I might have.¡± ¡°We have exhausted our options¡­ So¡­¡± Mark turns toward Azalea. ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly what you have in mind¡­ Just like us, what can a child like you do?¡± Azalea finished sipping a spoonful of soup. ¡°I told you, I¡¯ll help. Though, this will become really messy in the long run.¡± ¡°Great! So, what¡¯s the plan? Should we beat them all up?¡± Jad energetically stands up. ¡°Hey, sit down.¡± Brenda tells him off softly. ¡°Sure, I can beat them all up.¡± She smirks. ¡°I will take some time. I can track everyone who can be a threat to you and kill them one by one.¡± ¡°K-k-k-kill?¡± Romi almost bit his tongue while eating. ¡°This isn¡¯t a topic for kids, is it?¡± Fred comments as he neatly puts down his utensils over his empty plate. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a little too overconfident about that?¡± Jad raises a brow. ¡°I am a demon hunter. If I give my all into hunting them down, then I am confident that I can complete the job. But would that solve the root of this problem?¡± Fred ponders for a moment. ¡°Unfortunately, I can imagine her being able to actually do everything that she said.¡± ¡°What do you mean by unfortunately?¡± Brenda mutters crassly. ¡°What exactly is your plan?¡± Mary¡¯s voice cracks. ¡°If you want to change things, you need power.¡± She is smiling but her eyes are empty. ¡°And there are different kinds of power. Surely, what you need is not this destructive power of mine. However, we can still use it to obtain what you¡¯ll need.¡± ¡°Stop beating around the bush and spill it. I¡¯m curious too.¡± Fred interrupts. ¡°I¡¯ll hunt the demon Quia¡¯el, then obtain the mining rights close to its territory as part of the rewards. There is a large deposit of pranite in those abandoned mines. By becoming a new supplier of pranite, you will have the power of money and economy. We¡¯ll shift the balance of powers by creating a new one. ¡± ¡°That sounds funny, I almost thought you¡¯re crazy.¡± Brenda blurts out thoughtlessly. ¡°I don¡¯t really get it but that sounds incredibly boring.¡± Jad¡¯s brows furrowed and his previous excitement turned into a frown.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°That¡¯s way too direct to the point! I think you¡¯re missing a lot of details for that to actually work!¡± Mary raises her voice in disbelief. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have already started making some arrangements.¡± Azalea replies with confidence. ¡°Like this old guy, Fred.¡± Fred clicks his tongue. ¡°I haven¡¯t agreed to anything yet.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll take the role as your legal guardian. He¡¯s a nice guy, you can trust him.¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t even listening to me.¡± ¡°And?¡± Mark wears a skeptical expression. ¡°I will hand over the reward and rights to him. He will be the prez of the mining company and your legal guardian.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you one-sidedly putting a lot on my plate?¡± Fred crosses his arms. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I already got some help for you. I have connections, you know.¡± ¡°And your plan is to start a business to compete with the Shilans? You want to get a steady footing in Surus, enough to limit the Shilan¡¯s influence. It¡¯s not a bad idea but it will take time¡­ Though, it can solve the more urgent issues.¡± Fred looks at the children then continuous his speech. ¡°The Shilan Group and the bigger organization behind them won¡¯t just sit back and watch as you take over the influence in what they claimed as their territory.¡± ¡°I want to give Mark and Mary more time to think about it, but neither you nor I, have that much time to spare.¡± Azalea stands up taking her empty plate and utensils. ¡°I¡¯ll go breathe some fresh air outside for now.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Mark reluctantly responds. ¡°We¡¯ll have a word with everyone first.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go smoke outside.¡± Fred leaves as well with his plate which he took to the sink before going out to the backyard. ¡°We have to fight.¡± Jad says softly. Mary sits in silence deep in thought while Mark stands up and instructs the others to clean up the table first. Kou and Raichi immediately follows him while the other kids seems confused but are obedient. Mark glances at Mary who is still caught up pondering deep into the space. For him, it looked like a lot of tangled thoughts had been plaguing her since their grandfather passed away. It was Mary who mainly took care of him and watched him wither away. That experience must have influenced the decisions she made afterwards. ¡°There are things that we haven¡¯t told all of you.¡± Mark states while the other are neatly arranging the plates. ¡°It¡¯s better to come clean now.¡± ¡°Why does it sound like you¡¯ve done some unforgivable crime?¡± Jad forces a silly smile. ¡°I don¡¯t like this. It feels very tense.¡± Brenda mumbles. Romi gulps waiting for his brother¡¯s next words. Leika patiently listens while holding Lei in her arms. Kou and Raichi does not seem to fully understand the situation yet they are staying silent feeling the tension around them. ¡°We are stuck in this lawless land.¡± He continuous with a heavy tone. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. We couldn¡¯t keep ourselves from getting engulfed by the system. Grandpa did his best¡­ he also tried to keep us all away from it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, Mark.¡± Mary¡¯s low toned voice erupts. ¡°It was me who decided and convinced you to take over grandpa¡¯s role.¡± She looks ahead at everyone. ¡°We were delivering Fairy Dust to different customers across Wave 5, 4, and 3.¡± Jad slumps his back. ¡°Well¡­ I sort of noticed¡­ but I couldn¡¯t ask. How else are we able to survive here with the interest with the meager earnings we have every day? I¡¯m not that dumb, but I don¡¯t have to right to complain either. We¡¯ve been together the longest. I knew you wouldn¡¯t wanna talk about it¡­ and I¡¯m afraid to confirm it myself.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to be sorry.¡± Brenda responds with trembling voice. ¡°Grandpa Alf¡­ He died because of the effects of that fairy dust, didn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Well¡­ grandpa was already old.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to make excuses for them. I used to live in Wave 3, in an area infested by those junkies. I¡¯ve seen how these adults gradually wither away by taking those.¡± ¡°I know¡­ just¡­¡± Mary clasps her hands harder. ¡°That damn thing, it just hastened the progress of his already weakening body.¡± ¡°We figured it didn¡¯t simply start like that.¡± Mark adds while patting Mary¡¯s back. ¡°There must have been a reason why he took it. We finally understood the circumstances a few weeks after we took over his job.¡± Mark recalls the events when they started working for the local syndicate. On their first day, they were toured around their route and introduced to their usual customers. Their bosses and co-workers seemed very accommodating. Around the first week they became familiarized with their route and customers. Usually they would be done in the early afternoon and report back to their bosses before returning home. Some time in their second week, their workload was increased. They added some new customers that are not too far from their usual route. It was just a little but they had to increase their work hours. By the third week their work load was increased again which reflected on their increased time of deliveries as well. Since then, every week or two, their number of deliveries increased. It was not much of a problem at first since they get paid for the number of deliveries which is helpful in their poor financial situation. However, as more months passed, not only do they come home later and later, Mary and Mark eventually have to split up in order to cover all the deliveries. They did raise the problem to their immediate boss, asking if they could keep the current workload as is. The boss only replied with, ¡°Your concern will be raised to the higher ups.¡± But then that did not change anything as their workload still continued to increase. After raising their concerns several times and getting the same response, they knew that the bosses has no intention to be lenient with them. They were perplexed why they are little by little being worked to their limit. Now, they started coming home after the sun has set. One of these days, they might even end up needing to come home at midnight just to accomplish their quota. That was when they noticed this same pattern back when grandpa Alf was still alive. Then, the offer came. ¡°You look more and more tired.¡± One older co-worker approached them after they finished reporting to their boss that night. ¡°Come on, since we¡¯re in the same business¡­¡± He takes out a sachet from his pocket. ¡°You know, you can have some of this.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Mark recognizes the powder in that sachet as it is what they have been delivering these past months. ¡°Right, it¡¯s FD.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think we need something like that.¡± Mary strongly rejects the offer. The man clicks his tongue. ¡°You don¡¯t need to be concerned about its costs. Anyone working here can avail their daily those for free.¡± He puts the sachet back in his pocket. ¡°You gotta think it over. Imagine being able to boost your strength and speed. The bigger your quota, the bigger your pay. You can pay your debts in no time and live an easier life in the future.¡± Thinking that way is short-sighted, but they cannot say those words out loud. ¡°I don¡¯t think we need it at the moment.¡± Mark responds as he grabs Mary¡¯s hand. He speed up his steps taking his twin with him. ¡°What a bunch of sorry brats.¡± So that was how they were able to convince the others to use FD as well. This syndicate pushes them to the limit and then sets a trap they cannot easily get out of. Even if they manages to pay their debts faster by earning more using that illegal substance to enhance their performance, their bodies will gradually get addicted to it. Eventually, they will grow tolerance, craving larger doses every day. Then, that small sachet will not be enough to satiate them. In the end they will be forced to buy it from their bosses. The day will come that whatever they earn will be used to pay for more fairy dust as their health falls into slow and painful deterioration. All this time, they were barely hanging on a rotten rope. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Fred steps out into the backyard. He looks around before lighting a cigarette. He puffs. He looks around again. The yard is dim with the little illumination coming from the slightly open windows and the stars. Azalea is nowhere to be seen. It did not seem like she is intending to leave the house tonight given the situation. She cannot have gone far. He walks several steps around the backyard and that is when he noticed something on the roof. He looks up after puffing his smoke. ¡°How¡¯d she got up there?¡± He takes a few steps back before running forward, leaping up the roof. ¡°Hey, did you notice?¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± The night is silent, but beyond that shadows are lurking. ¡°They¡¯ve surrounded this place.¡± He adds. Fred stares at her back, waiting for her to respond. It seems like she is blankly staring far ahead. That small back, the silhouette of a child. ¡°They¡¯re just here to keep watch.¡± Her tone is flat. ¡°Do you have a plan in case they make a move tonight?¡± ¡°We should take turns staying up to guard the house. Of course, you¡¯ll take guard first coz I wanna rest a bit.¡± She stretches her arms while yawning. ¡°Well, after everything you¡¯ve been doing, you sure need some rest.¡± She slightly tilts her head. ¡°I¡¯ve been doing?¡± ¡°You went and scouted that demon this morning, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°He, he¡­ You seem to notice a lot of things.¡± 24th Lament: Feel as though You Could ¡°You went and scouted that demon this morning, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°He, he¡­ You seem to notice a lot of things.¡± ¡°Why do you want to help them so much? You¡¯re in a very bad situation yourself. The faster you leave this country, the better for you.¡± Her voice sounds faint. ¡°I don¡¯t really know what kind of justification you are looking for¡­ Should I just turn my back without sparing them single glance? This whole mess is not my problem to solve¡­ Or should I¡­ Should I gamble on that slim chance that may pave a different path for them? Is it worth it?.. To spend so much of myself just to end up watching everything fall apart?¡­¡± ¡°Justification¡­¡± He mumbles while looking at the young lass whose back is turned away from him. ¡°Just what kind of heavy baggage are you carrying?¡± ¡°If I manage to save them, will I be able to save a little of myself as well?.. Maybe I¡­ I just wanna get rid of this guilt and regret.¡± He can only listen to her as his cigarette continues to burn away. Her words carry unquantifiable weight. His years of experience living this kind of life gives him an idea that this child must have gone through so much. He may not know the full details but it¡¯s a common story in this line of work. Small mistakes often leads to immeasurable long lasting guilt and regret. ¡°I just wanna feel a little better¡­ But I just feel worse every passing day.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been haunted by the darkest times of your past, over and over again.¡± After one final puff of smoke, he snuffs the embers with his hand before flicking it away. ¡°But you¡¯ve never dreamed of the future.¡± Azalea slightly turns her head towards him. She utters not a single word and only looked at him direct in the eyes. ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯ve never considered getting that far.¡± He looks straight into her lightless eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve seen a few people like you¡­ You¡¯re reckless and stubborn. It¡¯s not like you plan to die, but you won¡¯t mind if you do.¡± She scoffs turning her gaze away from him. ¡°I¡¯m not fond of people who likes to read too much into the things that I want to hide.¡± He frowns. ¡°So, am I right? You¡¯re not going to fight that demon because you¡¯re confident you¡¯ll win¡­ rather, it¡¯s just you don¡¯t really care even if you lose.¡± ¡°What use is it for you to know all that?¡± ¡°I-¡± ¡°You can neither fight the demon nor stop me.¡± Her tone suddenly turns cold and chilling. ¡°With my broken armor and staff gone, anyone who comes will only be a dead weight that will slow me down.¡± He cannot refute her words. He is helpless watching the back of such a young girl. She is very unstable right now. ¡°Did you know why there are almost no licensed demon hunter under the age of twenty?¡± ¡°Every aspiring demon hunter needs a letter of recommendation from their master in order to take the exam. There¡¯s no age requirement to get a license, really.¡± ¡°Right... Because no decent person these days would want to send unprepared children into the battle field.¡± He takes out another stick and lit it. ¡°You are still in the stage where you are developing your abilities, learning it¡¯s strengths and limits. Furthermore, teenagers are generally unstable due to their lack of emotional maturity. There were plenty of times in the past when young reveils lost control of their powers which resulted in more casualties, and their own death.¡± He breathes out a cloud of smoke in the air. ¡°There was another young demon hunter before. He was sixteen when he got his license. He was so powerful he hunted demons alone and at the same time pissed of a lot of other hunters. He got into a lot of trouble before ICA intervened and offered him a way out.¡± ¡°Are you saying I¡¯ll end up like him?¡± ¡°You have the title of being the youngest demon hunter, that is a great achievement but do you think you can change the world with that power?¡± ¡°I alone cannot change this world. I don¡¯t have that kind of insane ideals¡­ However, I believe, I can change how those kids view their world. I hope, that there comes a time when they could see the world they live in as kind and colorful.¡± Fred takes a deep breath. ¡°I hope so too¡­ But then your reckless activities might get ICA¡¯s attention in a bad way. Beating the Shilans isn¡¯t the end of this. It¡¯s like you really could flip this world upside-down¡­ be it for better or worse¡­¡± He scratches his head. ¡°I don¡¯t understand how you were allowed to take the licensure exam. Why did Lone allow you?¡± ¡°Technically she did not allow me, at least not right now.¡± She kept her cold smile while recalling the past. ¡°I happened to hear Master talk to a friend about it. She already wrote a recommendation letter for me. It was meant to be given to me once I reach twenty. After knowing where it was hidden, I took it and left.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way she would have let that happen.¡± ¡°Master has gotten weak.¡± He held his thoughts in. It¡¯s like the temperature around her has rapidly dropped. ¡°Master did not have long to live. I wanted to get my license and show it to her. I thought it¡¯ll make her proud. So, I run away and took the exam. It was funny.¡± ¡°Were you able to?..¡± ¡°When I returned with my license, Master has passed away.¡± Fred was not expecting to hear that. He wanted to ask more about the death of such a legend in their time however the heavy and chilling air around made him mum. Azalea¡¯s phone suddenly rings. She looks at the screen before answering it. ¡°Hey, Qin. What¡¯s up?¡± She moves the phone farther away from her ear.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Whoever is calling sounds really mad. Fred can somehow hear the screams from where he is standing though he cannot make any words from it. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the guardian. I found one already. Yeah, he¡¯s trust worthy¡­ I think.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t fully get it but it seems you are talking about me. I haven¡¯t agreed to anything yet, though.¡± He grumbles. ¡°It¡¯s fine, you can take more time on your end. Don¡¯t worry about me, I can handle myself here. Yeah, I promise. I¡¯m really leaving after this.¡± She then ends the call. Fred watches her as the ashes from his cigarette falls. The general air around her has lightened as if a dark cloud has been lifted. ¡°Right.¡± Azalea turns to Fred. ¡°What happened to that young demon hunter?¡± ¡°You¡¯re curious about that?.. There are several rumors about him. Some say he was relocated in a different country where he settled down, he hasn¡¯t hunted since. The other is¡­¡± He then puts out his cigarette like he did earlier and took out another stick. ¡°That he became a special class agent working for ICA¡¯s secret special force.¡± She scoffs. ¡°Would ICA actually intervene? How about you chill out on those smokes? You know, Master Lone died due to the complications of her extreme alcoholism and heavy smoking.¡± She then jumps down the roof. Fred stares at the stick that he was about to light. After putting a little thought about it, he returned it to the case. ¡°It seems¡­ that even the legendary hunter eventually succumbed to the consequences of her reckless disregard for her health.¡± ¡°Mary said you should take a bath before you go to sleep.¡± Brenda¡¯s voice echoes from below. ¡°It looks like you tried to wash it away somewhere, but there are still traces of blood on you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just mud.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not stupid!¡± She raises her voice while pushing Azalea into the house. ¡°It¡¯s a shame that you actually look pretty when cleaned up.¡± ¡°I look pretty even when I¡¯m dirty.¡± ¡°Shut up and take a bath!¡± The children, headed by Mark and Mary, have agreed to take Azalea¡¯s offer. However, they do not want her to hunt alone. They insisted that at least Jad should be with her to provide support. Fred also took this opportunity to force himself to join the hunt. In order to appease everyone, Azalea agreed. They plan to head out early the day after tomorrow before sunrise hence Jad went to bed as soon as possible. Meanwhile, as agreed earlier, Fred took the first shift to keep watch while Azalea rests. They also decided that nobody would leave the house alone as a safety measure. Mary and Mark will stop going to work from here on. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Twenty-third day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Arbhur City, Zone-0, Wave 5 The fragrant scent of the freshly fried egg fills the house. Mary and Brenda are preparing breakfast while Leika and Romi are looking after the young ones. Mark and Jad just returned with jags of water and a basket of edible herbs. Kou and Raichi just woke up and they sleepily takes a seat in the dinning table. ¡°Damn, I¡¯m starving.¡± Jad places the basket on the kitchen table. ¡°Your manners are so bad as always.¡± Brenda comments. ¡°Stop bickering so early in the morning.¡± Mary cuts in. ¡°Romi, go check on Lea and the old man. If they are already awake, tell them to join us for breakfast.¡± Romi salutes and then waltz towards the living room where Fred sleeps. ¡°I think Lea was on night watch.¡± Leika says while positioning Lei on the chair. ¡°She¡¯s probably on the roof. Should I call her instead?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll go.¡± Mark goes out the backdoor. After a while, Romi comes back with Fred who is scratching his beard. ¡°The old man should go wash his face first.¡± Brenda frowns looking at them. ¡°Fine, fine.¡± Fred responds. ¡°I have a name, you know.¡± Mark enters from the back door. He looks around. ¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯s on the roof.¡± ¡°Who?¡± Fred asks. ¡°No way.¡± Mary gasps as the idea dawns on her. ¡°Old man, can you check again on the roof?¡± There is panic in her voice. It¡¯s as if cold water was splashed on him as he realizes what¡¯s happening. ¡°That little brat!¡± He dashes outside and leaps on the roof. Nobody was there. He closes his eyes and then looks around again, taking a feel of the surroundings. ¡°She¡¯s not anywhere near the house!¡± Everyone else runs outside. ¡°Did you find her?¡± Mark asks. Fred jumps down. ¡°She¡¯s not there. I think she already left.¡± ¡°Left? Where to? It can¡¯t be¡­¡± Mary worries. ¡°To hunt that demon.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s check around one more time.¡± Mark suggests to which everyone gave a nod. ¡°Goddamn it.¡± Jad grumbles as he looks around the yard. ¡°We agreed we¡¯ll go tomorrow! What a liar.¡± Mark, Jad and Romi, looks around the perimeter of the house while Mary, Brenda and Leika checks inside the house once again. Unfortunately, they could not find Azalea anywhere. This can only mean that she left without letting anyone know. The most likely place that she will go to, considering all of their previous preparations is the Elteb Canyon. She is going to solely hunt that demon, Quia¡¯el, today. They do not know the exact time she left so the likelihood that she has reached the demon territory by now is high. The mine in the Elteb Canyon, near the demon territory is known to have large amount of pranite crystals. These crystals contain large amount of raw energy which can be processed to produce a new source of energy such as special type of batteries. These kind of batteries are often used in phones or communication devices of hunters and adventurers. It is also used in military-grade weaponry and equipment. Anyone who gets the right to own and operate a pranite mine is sure to bask in riches and influence. However, there are still some arrangements needed before someone could profit from it. They will need investors, business partners, clients, miners, engineers and many more, all of which has been prepared by Azalea through her connections at the merchant guild headed by Merchant Li. It¡¯s a stroke of luck that she has well connected friends. So, if there is a place that Azalea will go to, then it must be Quia¡¯el¡¯s territory. She is about to finish the first step into setting her plans in motion, acquire the mine and the initial finances they will need by slaying the demon. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Twenty-third day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Deep within the Elteb Canyon Azalea walks calmly as she approaches the unmoved demon. The area around her is in the wider part of the canyon. There is enough space for the demon to move freely however the boundaries that encircle the territory is made up of towering earth that has formed into a rocky wall as hard as concrete. Even the ground that she is standing on feels very solid. Quia¡¯el is a demon with lizard-like humanoid appearance, towering at the height of four meters. It has very hard golden brown scales that serves as an armor protecting it from physical damage. It has sharp claws and fangs much like a crocodile. Its sharp red eyes are looking at her with an ominous gaze. Its right hand is holding a large spear. Its mouth slightly opens letting out thin laces of smoke. What the hell am I doing?.. The moment she steps into its territory, the demon roared fiercely, then lunged at her direction. Quia¡¯el swings its fist with great velocity. Azalea swiftly evades by jumping away, however the impact of the punch destroyed the rocky terrain making small pieces of debris fly towards her. Some rocks with sharpened edges hit and grazed her. She lost her balance for a moment and at that time Quia¡¯el took advantage of the opening. The demon grabs her leg and then powerfully throws her smashing her body on the hard wall. The wall breaks upon impact creating a crater and smoke out of dust and sand. ¡°Holy shit!¡± Azalea grumbles as she pulls herself together. ¡°Did this damn demon learned from our previous bouts? It has some level of intelligence¡­ Which is¡­might be just a bit troublesome in my part.¡± Blood drips done from a small cut on her forehead. The strong impact broke through the magical shield that she hurriedly casted at the last minute. Unfortunately, spells for shields and barriers are her weakness. Her defensive skills are below average to say the least. She grabs onto her side as sharp pain erupts the moment she tried to straighten her stance. Aside from plenty of bruises and small cuts, she probably also broke a couple of ribs. She gasps as she struggles to breathe. The demon fixes its eyes on her like it is looking at a delicious prey. ¡°Damn, that¡¯s a nasty look you have there.¡± 25th Lament: Tie This Around Your Neck Twenty-third day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Arbhur City, Zone-0, Wave 5 Two hours before sunrise It has been almost an hour since Azalea switched with Fred for night watch duty. She made sure everyone is asleep, especially Fred, before silently leaving the house. The suspicious people that have been staking out and around their house has significantly decreased in number. There are plenty of blind spots where she can slip through. After stealthily sneaking out of the house she then carefully maneuvered across the neighborhood, making sure that nobody notices her. She went through the narrow alley ways that nobody uses to avoid detection. Upon getting out of Wave 5, she the casted a spell on the ground which launched her into the air. It almost looked like she is flying, except there is a gradual decent on her trajectory. While in mid-air, Azalea balances her body then casts another spell below her feet. She compressed air and the released it producing a soundless blast that farther propelled her forward. She continued this sequence until she reached Elteb Canyon. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m sure nobody¡¯s following me.¡± She says while catching her breath. She looks around again. ¡°I should rest for few minutes.¡± The night feel even much darker and colder far inside the canyon. It gives a more sinister feeling in the surroundings. She has to be careful of nocturnal monsters since these types are experts in ambushing their prey. She cannot waste her time and energy fighting monsters, so she must avoid them. On her way, she noticed some little creatures that scampered away when she passed by. She specifically refrained from using magic to light her way so that she will not attract wild animals or monsters towards her. Unlike the hunt before, Quia¡¯el does not particularly get powered up by the presence of the sun. She decided that the best time to fight is once the sun has started rising. The area will be illuminated and it will not be too hot yet. She bets on that little help she may get from the cold air that accumulated during the night. The demon territory itself is imbued with the demon¡¯s mana, which is a common trait among demons. This allows them to use the terrain to their advantage as well as ease the casting time of their attacks or favor their particular fighting style. That is also why it is dangerous to hunt demon in their territory without prior knowledge about it. Once Azalea reaches the boundary of Quia¡¯el¡¯s territory, she hid and waited for the sunrise. She also used this opportunity to rest and review her plan of action. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ The demon fixes its eyes on her like it is looking at a delicious prey. ¡°Damn, that¡¯s a nasty look you have there.¡± Small magic circles started to form around her injured body. She wipes the blood that¡¯s obstructing her vision before casting a speed-up spell on herself. She amplified the range and sensitivity of Pulse, the spell that enhances her perception of surroundings. Seroiusly¡­ What the hell am I doing?.. Quia¡¯el powerfully breaths in and then started spitting flames towards its prey. Azalea speed up dodging spheres of flame. Even though she is still in pain she evaded each attack while observing its body, looking for potential weak points. Breathing while moving so much is painful since her internal injuries have not healed yet. Her healing spell, Hol, is continuously active but because of that she cannot use any other healing spell on herself. She cannot heal herself faster if she wants to, unlike how she does to others. Broken bones takes longer to heal and reattach. Despite all that, Azalea shifted into offensive mode. Magic circles shaped in front of her. ¡°Druckflamme!¡± Compressed balls of fire formed, rapidly flying targeting Quia¡¯el. Unfortunately, because of its thick hard scales the attack did not do much damage. It simply pissed the demon off so it started attacking aggressively in return. He swung his giant spear smashing where Azalea is standing. She immediately leaped away without taking her gaze off the demon. ¡°That shit¡¯s really tough!¡± She said under her breath. Small rocks flew from the impact of the spear. ¡°Earth Wall!¡± A slab of hardened soil erupted form the ground shielding her from the debris. The demon continued its attack swinging the spear around. Azalea barely manages to evade the spear and debris as she moves around. She navigated towards its back. ¡°Drunkflamme!¡± Her spell hit the demon¡¯s back. It turned around to swat the person that attacked only to meet a series of druckflamme flying towards its face and different parts of its body. Smoke obstructed its vision, hence Azalea continued to run around while hitting the same slightly burned spots on its back. Her persistence and seemingly useless barrage of the same spell made Quia¡¯el angrier. The demon roared loudly as it regains its vision back. It looked for the opponent around. The demon slams the spear on the ground and then a magic circle flashed. ¡°Uuuuhhh¡­ It¡¯s not what I think it is¡­ isn¡¯t it?..¡± Quia¡¯el used its skill ¡°Meteor.¡± A bombardment of flaming rocks rained on Azalea. These rocks are fifteen to twenty centimeters in diameter, and are covered with scorching hot fire. She swiftly evades each one but speeding up is not enough. She used earth wall as well as ice block, depending on the distance of each individual meteor, to avoid getting hit. ¡°Shit! Shit! Shit!¡± The area around is starting to be covered with dust and smoke. Azalea continued to dodge and attack with druckflamme by knowing the general direction of the demon. She does not know how much of what she fires are hitting. The heat from the meteors that scarcely grazes her are causing more damage to her armor over time. The remaining gems embedded in her armor are getting more cracks. Her barely functioning armor is becoming less and less effective.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The rain of scorching stones finally stopped after almost thirty seconds. Quia¡¯el cannot use Meteor for long and it needs to cool down for the same time it was active. The demon seems to be exhausted as it did not move for a few seconds. With that small break, Azalea took the opportunity to attack. This time she shifted into using water-element based spells. ¡°Hydro-sphere!¡± Balls of water formed that simply splashed Quia¡¯el¡¯s scales. The previously heated scales exploded with thick smokes as it was quickly cooled down. As she continuous to cast more hydro-sphere, her spells are becoming more scattered. Her spells are becoming more unstable. The accuracy has fallen but the power of each attack has increased. She is starting to breathe faster as she continuously attacks and evade. She runs and jumps around with the speed-up spell still active which puts a lot of strain on her human body. There are some rules that needs to be followed when casting elemental spells. Fire magic can be casted as long as there is oxygen in the surroundings. On the other hand, water magic though does not necessarily needs the presence of water, having some within the area makes casting easier. If there is no water around the caster, then more mana will be used to gather water from the atmosphere. The same goes with ice magic which is easier to use in the presence of water, but will be more challenging without, since freezing the air around is more complicated to picture. Using multiple spells simultaneously is taking its toll on her. ¡°Tsk-!! I can¡¯t keep this up for long.¡± She gasps while jumping to the back of the demon. ¡°Glacial Frost!¡± Spikes of ice sprung from the stains of water that remained on Quia¡¯el¡¯s scales. The formation of these ice made it difficult for the demon to move. Azalea tumbles down and rolls on the ground struggling to keep her balance. She felt a sharp pain on her leg joints before falling down on her knees. Her body trembles while she catches her breathe. ¡°Goddamn it!¡± Of course her body cannot keep up with the inhuman speed she has been continuously using. Each burst of powerful speed-ups strained her muscles and ligament which lead to her body breaking down. However, that is not a big problem since Hol can heal all her injuries albeit it will take some time. She forces herself to stand while the demon runs amok trying to remove the ice on its back. Magic circles are appearing and disappearing around her body that is recovering from the damage she has taken. She watches the hard ice she casted start to melt and break. Soon, Quia¡¯el lets out thin strings of smoke from its mouth while looking for its target. Azalea has barely recovered and now the demon is about to burn her away with a Fire Breath. She cannot move as fast as she used to, so she casted multiple layers of Earth Wall to shield herself from the attack. Multiple towering slabs of soil as hard as concrete grew in front of her, as well as in the sides which she did not intend to do. Her spells have gotten more sporadic as the level 2 seal of her armor became unstable. Even though Earth Wall is shielding her, the scorching heat slips in from the sides. One wall cracks and breaks after the other so she has to immediately reinforce it before the fire reaches and burns her. ¡°What the hell-?!!¡± Azalea grumbles looking at the walls that gets destroyed in front of her. ¡°If this continues, I¡¯ll be cremated alive!¡± Just then, the fire stopped. When she moved away to get a clear view of the opponent amidst the grayish smoke around, she witnessed it slamming its spear on the ground once again. Magic circles formed followed by rocks floating and catching fire. She knew what is coming next. She swiftly creates multiple large icicles around her as she braces herself to survive this next barrage of attacks. ¡°I¡¯m so fucking toast¡­¡± She needs a little more time for her body to recover so she cannot use speed up to dodge for now. She can only block or change the trajectory of the meteors that are going to fall on her. She takes a deep breath calming herself so that she will be able to focus on defense. These icicles can rival those meteors, even though there seems to be more of it created around and placed in undesirable points. She cannot properly control her leaking mana that scatters in the surroundings resulting in the misplacement of her spells. The moment the scorching rocks rains on her, the icicles crash on them one after another. Some icicles flew aimlessly, randomly hitting the anything in its path. The icicles that collided with the meteors exploded leaving thick smoke behind. The meteors were then reduced to pebbles, not one of them hitting Azalea as they scatter midair and rain down on the ground. Even though there are several icicles that are out of her control, she used the stable ones, with the help of Pulse, to hit the meteors at the right time and angle. Azalea stood her ground, not moving a muscle. It may look like she is unafraid and confident on her actions and position, however, it is more about how she cannot take any other actions in fear of disrupting her concentration. After all, one miscalculation can put her in grave danger. She looks like she is in daze, breathing slowly but deep, while the shrapnel relentlessly shower around her. The demon¡¯s attacks ended, covering the area with dust and smoke. Even though she barely recovered enough, Azalea have to start to move again. It will not be able to use Meteor for a while, which she has to take advantage of. She can feel the demon raise its spear, there is a flow of mana that previously was not present there. She jumps away from her position before it landed on her. What she first thought to be an ordinary slash exploded upon impact on the ground. The blast cleared away the smoke allowing her to see the demon more clearly. She staggers a little before regaining her balance. She fixes her gaze on the demon¡¯s burnt scales. The continuous fire attack was effective. Furthermore, it was followed up by sudden and rapid cooling down with water magic which made the scales fragile and later crack. The ice magic and the demon¡¯s rampage aggravated it more. Now there is a large vulnerable spot on Quia¡¯el¡¯s back. She scoffs. ¡°I have to take this opportunity to make major real damage.¡± She can feel her heart beating so fast within her chest. She is panting more. She wipes away the beads of sweat on her forehead. She saw thin smoke come out of the demon¡¯s mouth which immediately which triggered a likely scenario she had in her mind. She powerfully leaped and then used air magic to propel herself higher. The demon fixed its gaze on her following her up in the sky. It opened its mouth for a Fire Breath. With the way she is positioned above, it would have been challenge for her to fully dodge a wide-ranged attack. So, Azalea instantly countered with multiple Ice Blades plunging down into its mouth. It canceled Fire Breath forcing Quia¡¯el slump down in pain. Watching the demon unable to even let out a roar as it chokes on the blades slicing through its throat, Azalea gained some confidence. This demon will not be able to use Fire Breath in this battle anymore. While descending, the demon¡¯s eyes unexpectedly fixed at her again. All of a sudden it waved its spear towards her. She tried to mitigate the impact with magical barriers however it exploded which completely destroyed her weak barriers. She got sent her flying hitting the rock-hard canyon wall. The impact imbedded her deep into the canyon, creating a crater with her body at the center. ¡°Fuck-!...¡± She coughs up some blood. ¡°Is this what cockroaches feel when they get swatted across the wall?...¡± 26th Lament: And the Sky Went Red Twenty-third day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Arbhur City, Zone-0, Wave 5 After prudently searching the house and the area around again, Fred decided that he should follow Azalea. There is only one place she would probably go to with how she just suspiciously left without a word. ¡°What¡¯s the fastest way to travel the canyon?¡± Fred asks while picking up his backpack. ¡°Do you have motorcycles here?¡± ¡°Yeah, but you gotta steal it from the local gangsters.¡± Jad answers. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like a good idea.¡± ¡°You can rent a giant dessert horse but they won¡¯t come with a cheap price.¡± Mark suggests. ¡°Where do I find them?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take you there, but I¡¯m coming with you too!¡± Jad says with confidence. ¡°This isn¡¯t the time to be messing around. It¡¯s dangerous out there.¡± Mary warns him. ¡°It¡¯s better to have more hands in case something happens.¡± Jad reasons out. ¡°And it¡¯s better for Mark to stay here as the man of the house.¡± They cannot rebut because he does have a point. Fred sighs while scratching his head. ¡°I don¡¯t have time for arguments. I¡¯ll take responsibility for this. Let¡¯s go.¡± He picks up the boy like a sack of crops and then heads out. ¡°Can you ride those giant horses?¡± ¡°H-huh? Yeah, I learned how to ride them a few months ago.¡± He answered without complains but his face clearly says otherwise. They hurriedly left the house. Fred walks fast pace while carrying Jad who is giving the directions. A few blocks away, they reached a ranch where Jad used to do some part-time job as a cleaner. Fred chose two giant dessert horses and went to pay up. Jad knew that the owner will rip them off so he was about to haggle it down, but Fred did not think twice and just paid for the overpriced horses. Jad now believes that this middle aged man is a little rich. Meanwhile, Fred is simply doing things as fast as possible because they do not have the time to waste haggling and arguing with the owner. They took the horses and headed straight to the canyon. The sun is at the early phase of rising, so they will not be exposed to the harshness of the heat. As of this moment, traveling is not as exhausting. They need to move fast before something disastrous happens. ¡°I¡¯m worried about the others back at home.¡± Jad says under his breath. ¡°It will be fine.¡± Fred responds while keeping his eyes in front. ¡°Have you noticed them?¡± He nods. ¡°There a suspicious people surrounding our house.¡± ¡°They won¡¯t be making a move yet. They are meant to observe and intimidate you. At most, I think we have half a day before they send someone to state their intentions. After that they will most likely wait another twenty-four hours for the response.¡± ¡°You seem to know them quite a bit.¡± ¡°Those people? I don¡¯t know them¡­ But I¡¯ve known their kind. It¡¯s not uncommon to encounter these kind of people in our line of profession.¡± ¡°You sure you weren¡¯t part of those kinds of groups.¡± He chuckles. ¡°We do have guilds. Some prefers to stay in Monster Hunter guild or Demon Hunter guild, but plenty joins a Mercenary guild. Mercenaries does not require to have a license to be one but they do accept those with license as well. Plenty of hunters do odd jobs as mercenary. Sometimes they get lured by higher pays and safer jobs.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t they just end up being killed by their enemies?¡± ¡°Hm. You see, being killed by a human is less painful then being killed by a demon. Most of them have witnessed the death of a comrade. It¡¯s both traumatizing and desensitizing. Furthermore, they generally earn much more, on yearly basis, by working for those wealthy criminals.¡± Their conversation is interrupted when they felt a light shaking of the ground. As if there was a small earthquake that occurred close by. A rumbling echoed as they continued forward. ¡°Hey! Old man, did you feel the ground shake?¡± ¡°Are earthquakes common here?¡± ¡°H-huh? No?..¡± On the way they saw little animals crawl and scamper away from one direction. That must be the source of the shaking they felt. They have to watch out in case these gigantic rocks breaks and falls on their path, or worse on them. Aside from that, Fred is also wary of monsters that may see them as delicious preys. His senses are on high alert, with adrenalin pumping wildly focused solely on his goal. ¡°Well, that quake¡¯s definitely one not made by Mother Nature.¡± Then they saw dark gray smoke rise in the distance. That is the estimated demon territory. Fred felt cold creep up in his back despite the hotness of the environment. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry!¡± He raised his voice as he gestured for Jad to follow him. ¡°O-okay!¡± ¡°Goddamn it! How long has it been since the battle started?¡± ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Azalea¡¯s armor has been customized to fit her own unique mana traits and the spell that was given to her by her father, Hol. While undergoing training, her master noted some strange things in the flow and growth of her mana.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Mana continuously flows in and around everything, so it is normal for all reveils to naturally emit mana in the environment without noticing. The mana emitted has no effect on anything, it is simply a small amount of mana that flows out of the reveil¡¯s body as another small amount also enters. However, Azalea¡¯s mana is different in way that there is a large quantity of mana flowing out and she does not even notice it. This amount would normally mean that there is a leak or damage in their mana circuit which could easily deplete their mana without being able to fully restore it. Over time, if not fixed, would result in the reveils death. It could have been a grave situation but her mana seems to only flow out endlessly. Initially, this could mean that she could have a large reserve of mana. However, as more time pass, Master Lone observed some changes in the flow as well and its effect to the surroundings. The amount of mana seems to be slightly increasing. It was just a very small amount that normally no one would notice, yet it made her concerned. It is normal for mana reserves to grow as reveils train, but the mana emitted should not be affected as much. Then she noticed that some plants and animals that usually surrounds their house had slight changes in them. The plants and trees, even the grasses and molds, have grown more robust in the paths that Azalea usually takes daily. Furthermore, the birds and some other small animals like squirrels and rodents gained some interesting new skills. Some birds are now able to suddenly increase the speed of their flight when catching preys. The squirrels had stronger sense to detect predators. When Master Lone used pulse to observe them she was surprised to learn that these animal are now able to somehow manipulate mana. From this point on, they would normally be classified as a weak kind of monsters. There are some uncertainties regarding Azalea¡¯s erratic flow of mana, so Master Lone decided that it must be suppressed. That was when her armor was commissioned to be customized to fit her needs. The blacksmith used special gems to put three levels of seals into the armor and spear. The spear regulates the flow of her mana so that she can control the power output of her spells but it also limits the power of her spells that she can only cast low-tier to mid-tier spells. Anything high-tier and above gets cancelled out for the caster¡¯s safety. Meanwhile, the armor absorbs her excessive mana emission to automatically strengthen the armor, increase elemental resistance, and passive magical defense. This is also where the three seals are imbued. Level 3 seal absorbs excess mana every time she casts spells. Level 2 seal reads her mana circuit to restrict the flow of mana to a certain amount which prevents her ¡°burnout.¡± Level 1 seal enhances Hol¡¯s healing to lessen the strain on her body and mana circuit. With her armor and weapon, Azalea is able to function normally without pretty much destroying herself and everything around her. Now with her spear gone and armor damaged beyond repair, the restrictions on her power has been lifted. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Twenty-third day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Elteb Canyon, Quia¡¯el¡¯s Territory The explosive noise is followed by a quake that sent vibrations around and outside the territory. The smoke that filled the area slowly dissipates revealing the devastation that the battle has done. Smalls rocks crack and fall from the canyon. What used to be a plain hard ground is now riddled with holes of varying shapes and sizes. ¡°Fuck-!...¡± She coughs up some blood. ¡°Is this what cockroaches feel when they get swatted across the wall?...¡± It¡¯s like Azalea lost consciousness for a second. There is a high pitch ringing in her ear that is not going away. She coughs and spits out blood. She slowly pulls herself out of the crater. ¡°Did I let my guard down?¡± She wonders while blood pours down from her head obstructing her vision. ¡°I was in a vulnerable position and did not anticipate that Quia¡¯el would recover from pain and attack that fast.¡± She struggles to get herself out of being stuck on the wall. ¡°Fuck!... Everything hurts¡­¡± The ringing in her ears are fading. She wipes the blood away from her eyes to get a quick glimpse of the demon. The bleeding is not stopping. That is when for a moment she saw it cough out blood. It staggers falling on its knees. That Explosive Spear that hit her was just an outburst of instinct after being gravely injured. Her attacks were effective but she is also barely standing. She cannot say that she gained some advantage. ¡°Just a little bit more¡­¡± She cannot take a hit again and she cannot fall. If she falls now, she is afraid that she might not be able to muster the strength to stand again. She intensifies Pulse to get information around her while her eyes are barely functional. Pain creeps all over. She has lacerations on her head, she does not know if her skull is fractured. She broke a few ribs again. Breathing is painful. She can taste blood in her mouth. Her armor is in the worst shape since she had it. The level 3 and level 2 seals are no longer functional. Her spells are going to be stronger but more scattered. It also makes her healing more dispersed. She is continuously wasting mana and it is exhausting. I''m so tired... The demon¡¯s strength has also significantly decreased. Maybe she could use some traps to immobilize it. She just have to find an opening. She needs a little more time to recover and be able to move without suffering too much pain. She is being passively healed but if she makes sudden movements now, it will aggravate her injuries. The unrestrained power in her spells also is not something a human body could normally handle. This is only possible for her because she has Hol, however it also has its limits. Nevertheless, if she is not careful enough there might come a situation where she can no longer out heal her injuries. ¡°This body cannot bear long battles with my mana unsealed as it is now. If I don¡¯t end this soon, then this might as well be the end of me.¡± Now, it became a competition about who would recover first to be able to deliver the next blow that may finally end the battle. ¡°Just a little more¡­¡± Quia¡¯el stands up and immediately lunges at Azalea. The demon raised its spear with incredible speed. It¡¯s going to make another swing in full force. It is definitely not just another slash. Azalea can feel the imbued mana in its blade. Another strong explosion is going to hit her while she is still unable to make sudden movement at the risk of aggravating her injuries. She has to make a decision. She can leap away to evade, which could probably blow her away with no way to dodge a follow up attack. She can cast defense magic creating multiple barriers which can mitigate the impact at most but she will still take a lot of damage. Both evasive and defensive options are bad so she is left with the last option. ¡°Now¡­ I really wanna get rid of that spear.¡± Azalea clenches her right fist as multiple overlapping magic circles appear in front and around her. She knows well that her spells are unstable and overpowered but still she casted in a hurry without holding back. She forcefully punched the magic circle in front of her. ¡°EXPLOSIA!!!¡± Flames erupted from the magic circles engulfing anything in their path. The power of her spell crashed with the explosive spear consuming it whole. Gust of fiery wind ravaged the whole territory like a fire storm. Azalea got pushed a few meters back. She was able to cast defensive magic that mitigated the force of explosion towards her. As she gasps for air in this area filled with smoke and dust almost devoid of oxygen, she felt a sudden searing pain from her right hand and forearm. The backlash of Explosia and the reason why she avoids using it despite how destructive it is. Her right hand and arm got burned; it is almost devoid of skin, just dark red to brown. ¡°Hah-! I can¡¯t use this arm anymore¡­¡± The air around has turned way too hot. It¡¯s almost as if she can feel her lungs burn in every breath she takes. She coughs up blood as she gasps for more air. As her vision dims, she gets a glimpse of the demon. Its spear is gone and all of its right arm is charred black crumbling apart. She scoffs. ¡°It can¡¯t use that arm anymore either.¡± The smoke is slowly blown away. Both of them are once again stunned in their place racing for another opportunity. 27th Lament: Blood in the Tears The smoke is slowly blown away. Both of them are once again stunned in their place racing for another opportunity. ¡°I¡¯ve been standing in front of different graves quite often lately¡­¡± The demons stands around a dozen meters away from her. Its right arm is completely gone now. Blood pours out of its mouth. The amount of injury it took is rendering it unable to move for a while. Azalea internally analyzes her situation. ¡°It lost its arm and spear. It can¡¯t use fire breath. Now, it¡¯s left only one way to attack. If I withstand the next round of meteor, then it will only be able to attack or defend physically.¡± Her vision dims. Her breathing is slow but deep. ¡°Maybe my legs can stand just another speed up. My next move must land on target. If I get hit and fall, I don¡¯t think I can stand again. My legs hurt. My right arm hurts, the burns keeps throbbing in pain. My chest hurts. Breathing hurts. Blood keeps regurgitating in my throat. Most of my external wounds should have been healed but blood keeps pouring in my eyes. I don¡¯t know where it¡¯s coming from. Why are my hands all bloodied?.. Why is my body drenched in blood? Where are all these blood coming from?¡± Quia¡¯el has fallen in one knee supported by its remaining hand from completely dropping on the ground. All the damages that Azalea has done also caught up to it. For now, it cannot move but it does not really need to make major movements to cast another Meteor. ¡°It hurts¡­ How can I get rid of all of these pain?...¡± Seconds passed by, then turned to minutes. Azalea is certain that the demon will attract first, as soon as it recovers a little. She just have to wait for the right moment. She breathes shallowly while staying focus ready to launch a counter attack anytime. She is starting to feel light headed. Small magic circles flickers around her. It looks like she is glowing. It may look mesmerizing at first, but the brighter it is, the more injured she is. Several minutes have passed when Quia¡¯el finally makes a small movement. The demon raised its arm and then powerfully slams it on the ground. Rocks floats covered by flame and then flew high in the sky until they are no longer visible. Azalea braced herself. Small meteors rained down like bombs being dropped. Dozens of floating blades made of ice appeared around Azalea. Two to three of those flew crashing or slashing into the falling meteors. However there are plenty more of these ice blades that appeared out of line which flew around directionless. It has become very difficult for her to control her spells due to her mana spilling excessively. Because of this her accuracy and precision has greatly diminished. These blades are like stray bullets that could hit anyone who are simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. This is the very reason why she insisted not to bring anyone with her. For now, she just have to avoid getting hit by those little meteors within half a minute. Although, because of her weakened control over the ice blades, some small pieces of broken rocks flew around and in her direction like shrapnel grazing her. ¡°Tsk-! Just a little more¡­ I can move¡­¡± These small wounds will not be a hindrance. They will heal quickly. More smoke and dust scatters resulting in poor visibility. Meanwhile, the rain of meteors came to an end. Azalea used the smoke around to cover her movements. She boosted her speed to swiftly get close to the demon but it responded by stomping on her the moment she is within range. She casts a spell on the ground before the demon¡¯s foot landed. Giant hands made of earth rises grabbing onto the foot rendering the demon to be locked in place. She then leaps upwards and propelled herself higher with wind magic until she has a good view of Quia¡¯el¡¯s back. The scales on it have become brittle and full of gaps. Multiple overlapping magic circles forms in front of Azalea as she aims for the demon¡¯s back. ¡°Bladeless Death Scythe!!!¡± Her spell goes all out in berserk mode. Invisible blades dispersed and sliced through the thick smoke, through the rock-hard walls, and down to the concrete-like ground. The ghostly blades scattered around the demon territory, wreaking havoc, slicing through anything on its path. The invisible blades cut through Quia¡¯el¡¯s fragile scales, deeper into its flesh, even cutting into the bones. The demon¡¯s body received the impact, forcing it to fall face down on the rubles. ¡°I¡¯m tired¡­ so fucking tired¡­¡± The blood in her eyes is making her vision blurry. She squints as she tries to get a good look at the fallen demon while she slowly descends. She almost lost her balance when she lands but she manages to regain control. She wipes the blood that¡¯s getting in her eyes before staring back at the remains of Quia¡¯el. There is no movement. She barely feel its aura anymore. ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± She mumbles. ¡°Most open wounds should have healed¡­ Though my internal injuries are still really bad¡­ Why is there so much blood?¡± Several minutes has passed and the demon stayed down and not moving. Azalea can feel the mana diminish from its body as if it has been drained along with all signs of life. The remains is starting to crumble and blend with the rubles of the harrowed environment. The smoke is clearing but her vision continues to darken. ¡°I won¡¯t fall¡­¡± She can feel her excess mana is spilling nonstop. Drops of blood rolls down her cheeks, falling on the ground. Her right hand is still searing with pain. Her left hand is sticky and dripping with blood. She cannot figure out what is wrong, and her fading vision is not helping either. She painstakingly takes a step forward and she felt something soft under her foot. She looks down despite her dim sight. There is something green on what supposed to be a brown rock-hard ground. She turns her head inspecting her surroundings.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°Are these moss?.. Was this place¡­ No¡­ They should have been burned.¡± She stares down at what looks like an image of expanding blot of green. Closer to her feet there are bristled growing greenery. They seems to have sprouted out of nowhere. There is no way that something like plants is growing here. These were not here before, how can it be here now? ¡°Have I lost it?... Am I hallucinating? Or did I die and I am now in transition to the afterworld?¡± ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Twenty-third day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Elteb Canyon ¡°Hey, old man! It looks like the smoke rising to the sky has become thinner!¡± Jad said while looking forward. They can see the smoke rising above the canyon. ¡°We¡¯re almost there!¡± Fred responds. ¡°Hold on a little longer, child.¡± Now that they are so close to the demon territory, they have not seen any wild animals or monsters around. Even small critters that runs away when they are suddenly disturbed are gone. No monsters would approach a place where there is an ongoing active battle with a demon. However, the higher ranked ones will come and check the area once the fighting subsides just to check for any spoils they can find. In short, the battle with the demon may be over but they are still not out of danger. It is fortunate for them that these dessert horses are well trained to not falter at this time. Maybe they are worth their price after all. Fred can only pray and hope that he is not hurrying into this place just to drag someone¡¯s corpse out. She better be alive. And for that to happen, every second counts. After several twists and turns, they finally reached the entrance of what used to be the demon¡¯s territory. In between the large and towering cliffs of the canyon is a spacious area where Quia¡¯el used to stay and rest. Fred and Jad went down from their giant dessert horses and then tied them on a nearby rock. They are approaching the crevice slowly and carefully. The moment they are able to get a full view of the whole territory where the battle occurred, they are both astonished and horrified. Witnessing this horrible sight, Fred is certain that had he been present in this battle then he would have died many times over. This reminds him of how Azalea frankly told him that he will just be a dead weight if he joins her. The wide area inside has thin fog-like smoke around. The tall canyon walls that enclosed the area and the arid ground have cracks, craters in varying sizes, and deep fissures as if giant blades carved them. Huge and small pieces of rocks are spread across. In the air lingers an acrid odor. It¡¯s as if they can taste the dust in their mouth. These traces of horrific battle are evident all over. They surveyed more and their eyes caught the mutilated body of the demon that lies at one corner. In the middle of all these, as they walk farther into the territory, they noticed something unusual. There are small plants sprouting and growing on the ground. It is like there is a little meadow of greenery amidst this scorched lifeless land. These small plants seems to be dispersing outwards from a central point where the figure of a human stands. At the edge of the greenery, the small plants that buds looks like they are trying to grow but for unknown reasons dries out and withers away as if it used up all of its nutrients and died. ¡°What the hell are these?¡± Jad says while looking around. ¡°What¡¯s that? Is that human?¡± Fred runs towards the silhouette in the center of the growing plants. ¡°Azalea!!!¡± ¡°Azalea?¡± He follows close behind the old man. They run towards the center where they saw the girl standing in place. For them, it looks like she is glowing with all those tiny magic circles flickering. She did not react even after they called her several times until they got close enough. There they notice her shallow breathing. Blood is dripping down from her head down to her chin, and from the tips of her fingers. Her armor looks like it has been crashed several times. One of her arms have an awful burn. Jad quickly grabs onto her other hand and felt her warmth. Fred called her name out again while locking eyes with her. ¡°Hey¡­ Azalea, are you okay?¡± Fred asks softly. Azalea coughs and spits out blood. ¡°If this looks okay to you then I suggest you go change your fucking eyeballs.¡± She responds with a very hoarse voice. ¡°Well¡­ If you can still talk like that then you probably won¡¯t be dying any time soon.¡± Jad takes out a handkerchief from his small bag. ¡°Let¡¯s clean you up a bit, you look like a zombie.¡± He says while wiping the blood on her face. At first, it looks like she is looking at them but after a careful observation, she is actually staring blankly in the air. It seems that she only responded to the direction of their voices. Her lightless eyes continued to look past them as he wipes the blood trickling on her cheeks. ¡°Right I¡¯m not dead¡­¡± She mumbles. ¡°But I feel awful right now¡­ I might as well be better off dead.¡± ¡°Lea?...¡± Like after the adrenaline rush is over and gone, the impact of the battle, the pain and exhaustion, all just came crashing down at her. ¡°Hey! Get a hold of yourself!¡± Fred raises his voice to ensure that she is hearing him clear. ¡°I¡¯m really thankful that I¡¯m not carrying a corpse out of here!¡± ¡°Umm¡­ Something¡¯s wrong.¡± Jad states while looking at the blood-soaked handkerchief. ¡°W-what¡¯s wrong?¡± His voice shivered. ¡°It¡¯s not stopping... the blood.¡± Fred checks on Azalea. Even after wiping the blood on her face, another drop forms from her eyes and falls. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Azalea¡¯s voice cracks. ¡°I can¡¯t really see well right now¡­ and there¡¯s a constant annoying ringing in my ears, so I can¡¯t hear well either. But everything¡¯s fine, I just need a bit of rest.¡± ¡°This doesn¡¯t look like something that can be fixed by just a bit of rest.¡± Fred responds with a more serious tone. It¡¯s like her tears have turned red. Fred took out a face towel from his small bag as well and wiped the blood from her head down to her neck. However, even though there is no wound, crimson beads started forming and then dribbled down. Jad frowns as if he is about to cry. ¡°This¡­ it¡¯s like she¡¯s crying and sweating blood.¡± ¡°What are you two do-¡± Azalea coughs in the middle of her sentence. ¡°We should leave this place before high ranked monsters surround us¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­ I feel like if I take a step right now, my knees will give in and I¡¯ll just fall.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Fred shakes his head to gather back his thoughts. ¡°We should go. We¡¯ll get you treated properly once we¡¯re back.¡± He then carries her. ¡°I¡¯ll go ahead and prepare the horses. Be careful and don¡¯t trip, old man!¡± Jad says as he runs ahead. ¡°I know.¡± He looks at the girl he is carrying once again. ¡°Now, you don¡¯t have to try so hard. Let me take over from this point. You can rest now.¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± She slowly closes her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m just¡­ going to sleep for a little bit¡­¡± While Fred carries Azalea out of the demon territory, he noticed that small plants grows on the path that they are taking. Behind them, the little meadow that sprouted started dying away once Azalea has left. And when they have walked far enough, the small plants that grew on the path behind them also dried out and withered. ¡°I¡¯m taking Azalea with me. You lead the way.¡± Fred says with a commanding tone. Jad nods. ¡°Sure, leave it to me to find the fastest and safest route back home.¡± 28th Lament: Everything was White Dasha¡¯xahr, 4041 AOT Outskirts of Yelkh Village, Laamhi Outside the boundaries of Yelkh Village stands one modest old house. There lives a lonesome old aunty. It¡¯s like she had decided to stay out of the village to avoid being bothered but stayed close enough to keep an eye around the area. Azalea just finished her morning training. Her training mainly composed of using object control on several rocks, carrying it throughout a set course while using pulse. It is meant to improve her concentration while continuously using multiple spells at the same time, as well as keep her stamina in check. This has been her routine for more than a year now. She still remembers when she started with a single rock and a shorter course. Every week, the difficulty was increased. Sometimes, Master Lone joins her by setting up traps and attacking her on the route. On her way back to their modest house, she felt that they have an early visitor. She comes closer and hears familiar voices engaging in a raucous conversation. ¡°Come on! Take it!¡± Master Lone says with a tone of annoyance. ¡°What?! Why me? Give it to Renan instead!¡± A man responds angrily. ¡°If not then give it to the stupid merchant!¡± Azalea listens and recognizes that the voice belongs to one of her master¡¯s friend, Cyan. They hang out together many times in the past and even done hunts as a group. Cyan is a man of medium body built with a height of more than six feet. He is moderately muscular and well versed in close combat. From what Azalea heard, he is a few years younger than her Master. He has long dark red hair tied in a ponytail. His eyes are sharp and colored cyan, which where he got his name. He is wearing casual cloths, white shirt inside a red jacket, denim shorts, and rubber shoes. ¡°No way! The damn four eyes¡¯ not a hunter. Are you stupid?!¡± ¡°Then Renan-¡± ¡°Ah goddamn it! That little shit can¡¯t keep important secrets. The dumbass is too emotional!¡± ¡°And you think I can keep secrets well?!¡± ¡°Come on, can¡¯t you help a dying friend?¡± ¡°FUUUUUCCKKK!!! DON¡¯T SAY THAT!¡± ¡°Why are you shouting like a bitch?!¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re fucking obnoxious! Can¡¯t you just take your shitty vitamins and stopped getting fucking wasted everyday!¡± ¡°You bastard! You¡¯re just the same! You¡¯ll end up fucking up your lungs too!¡± ¡°You shitty hag! You just want me to die, don¡¯t you?!¡± ¡°If I want you to die, I¡¯ll kill you myself, bitch! I¡¯m just saying, hold on to this letter coz my apprentice will need it in the future. You just have to hold on to it and like check on the kid once in a while until she turns twenty.¡± ¡°I already have a kid! Don¡¯t give me another one!¡± ¡°Hey! I already taught her everything she needs to know. There¡¯s basically nothing for you to do. She can even beat the shit out of you and your son right now!¡± ¡°HUUUUUH?! A little brat¡¯s gonna beat me? Did your illness get into your head and rotted your brain?!¡± ¡°You have guts to talk about brains when you don¡¯t even have enough functioning brain cells for one!¡± The two continued to banter like grade schoolers, exchanging petty insults at each other, while Azalea is left to ponder outside. ¡°What?.. Who¡¯s dying?...¡± She knew all this time that Master Lone¡¯s condition is getting worse. She knew that her Master was doing her best pretending that everything is okay. However, as someone who is living with her, Azalea cannot help it but notice the signs of her failing health. ¡°Seriously!¡± Master Lone takes a deep breath. ¡°If you won¡¯t take it then I¡¯ll just leave this recommendation letter here.¡± ¡°In that crappy looking drawer?¡± Cyan clicks his tongue. ¡°Aren¡¯t you too fucking sloppy? What if Azalea digs in it and finds it?¡± ¡°So what? She doesn¡¯t know what this is for.¡± ¡°She can read it, you know.¡± ¡°I taught her not to opens things that aren¡¯t meant for her. Don¡¯t complicate things, jerk face, and just take it from here when the time comes.¡± ¡°No fucking way, I won¡¯t do it.¡± She scoffs. ¡°Then just tell yah boy Renan once I¡¯m not here.¡± ¡°Bitch¡­ This isn¡¯t fair, you know.¡± His tone turns more serious. ¡°You should just fucking explain this to her. Your little apprentice is smart, she¡¯ll understand. Unlike my little shit.¡± ¡°Yeah, that brat¡­ She¡¯s smart¡­ way too smart.¡± ¡°Then what¡¯s the problem, you hag?!!¡± ¡°That¡¯s the problem, shit-brain! She too sm-¡± She stops mid-sentence and changes her tone. ¡°Someone¡¯s outside.¡± ¡°Ah- My stealth has worn off and I did not notice it.¡± Azalea scratches her head. At this point she has to reveal herself naturally before they figure out that she was eavesdropping on them. She walks towards the door and then Master Lone opens it. She looks at the child and then raises a brow. ¡°I can hear you shouting from a mile away.¡± Azalea says nonchalantly. ¡°How far is a mile? I¡¯m not that good at math.¡± Master Lone answers. ¡°Let¡¯s go have breakfast.¡± ¡°You offer breakfast when you haven¡¯t prepared any?¡± Cyan says mockingly.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°Shut your bitch mouth. You¡¯re just here to freeload!¡± Master Lone has a well-toned medium built body, though she has become thinner these past months. Her ash gray hair is styled in a faux hawk cut. Her eyes are fiery red, and if you look into it, you will feel like a wild beast is glaring at you. That is why her sharp eyes and the way she conducts herself often got her in various predicaments. When she was younger, whether she means it or not, she often gets into a fight every time she leaves her house. She likes to wear tank tops and pants or shorts when at home. She usually wears a leather jacket on top of her tank top or t-shirt when going outside. Aside from the morning training, Azalea also learns by reading books that Master Lone bought for her. That little house they had used to be empty mainly filled with alcohol bottles, instant food and a lot of garbage. After she took in an apprentice, she gradually bought educational books, especially about reveils and magic. She bought a couple of bookshelves which eventually got filled with different books, now mix with some random literatures. Then all those knowledge learned through reading are applied practically through hands on practice or on field training in the forest. Once the master thinks her apprentice is ready, she takes her out to hunt high ranking monsters. Then, on rare occasions they tag along in demon hunts arranged by Lone¡¯s close associates. It may be more dangerous but she is well guided. After all, experience is still the best teacher. Her Master has many eccentrics. One that bothered her the most is that she was never called by her name. In fact, Lone rarely calls anyone by their name. She has this weird way of hurling different names at people. There is probably another story behind it that she cannot open up. There sure are some instances in her memory that are almost too comedic to recall. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ ¡°Lone, you have a kid with you today.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± she answers with a frown. ¡°Stupid glasses merchant left he brat in my care¡­ Umm¡­ What your name again? Lily?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Azalea.¡± ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ ¡°What¡¯s this? Who¡¯s the little one? You never told us you had a daughter.¡± Master Lone glances at her. ¡°The kid¡¯s name.. err¡­ Rose?¡± ¡°My name is Azalea.¡± She sighs looking at her tipsy master. ¡°At least she knows its something to do with flowers.¡± ¡°Yeah, that.¡± She takes a sip from her drink. ¡°By the way, this pipsqueak¡¯s not mine.¡± ¡°Aww~ Did your husband cheat on you?¡± ¡°Fuck off.¡± ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ ¡°Heeeeyyy~ Lone, long time no- huh?.. Hmmm¡­¡± Lone raises a hand ¡°Yoh!¡± ¡°Who¡¯s the brat?¡± ¡°Oh¡­ My apprentice¡­ A-aaaahhh¡­ Apple!!!¡± ¡°I¡¯m Azalea.¡± She slightly tilts her head to the side looking at her completely sober master. ¡°I guess apples have flowers too?..¡± ¡°Riiiight¡­ Right!¡± She forces a laugh. ¡°Holy mother goose! This hag had gone so old, she can¡¯t even remember the name of her apprentice. What a shame!¡± ¡°Call me an old hag again and I¡¯ll fucking stuff you into a coffin!¡± ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ ¡°What¡¯s with the brat?¡± ¡°My apprentice¡­ Ahm¡­ Anthorium?..¡± ¡°Azalea.¡± Her expression cannot hide her disdain. ¡°She¡¯s doing this on purpose, isn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°I thought you¡¯d never get an apprentice. You just didn¡¯t seem like that kind of person. Are you sick or something?¡± ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ In their time together, they argued a lot. Mostly it is because of Lone¡¯s toxic alcoholism, and other times, it is because of her weird habits. Nevertheless, Azalea looked up to her master. So, when she learned that she does not have long to live, she thought of ways to make her remaining days more worthwhile. What better way than to express her appreciation by showing her master that the student she raised has become a licensed demon hunter. One day, after taking some necessary preparations for the exam, Azalea dug into the few drawers they have in the house. In one of the drawers, she found the recommendation letter far in the back as if it was stuff there sloppily. She took it, and read it once to confirm that it is indeed what she needed. She took her backpack and went outside. But before she leaves she looks at her master who is suffering from hangover right outside the house. Master Lone is slumped beside the house holding her head both her hands while looking so dizzy and confused. On the ground there are still two bottles of beer rolling. It seems she drunk again last night. She went home carrying those two bottles until she came close to the house but she fell asleep after finishing them. She just woke up this morning with a throbbing headache. ¡°Master, I look up to you and respect you a lot¡­ but sometimes I forget that you are a respectable person because you look like that.¡± ¡°Wadya shay, wittle shit?¡± She looks upward at her apprentice who is carrying a backpack. ¡°What¡¯s with bag? You goin¡¯ to school?¡± Azalea shows the recommendation letter. ¡°No, I¡¯m going to take the exam.¡± She smirks teasingly. ¡°Wait for me. I¡¯ll be back with my license, Master.¡± ¡°HEY!!! Son of a-¡± She stood up but suddenly felt dizzy so she fell back crouching down. ¡°Ugh¡­ The world is spinning¡­ I am the center of the universe.¡± ¡°It seems going today is the right decision. You can¡¯t stop me being like that.¡± ¡°Urp-¡­ T-that letter not me to be used today.¡± She cannot stand up as she can almost taste the alcohol she ingested coming back up to her mouth. ¡°Right, I¡¯m not using it today. The exam is next week, so¡­ I¡¯ll be back in around ten days. See you in around two weeks, Master!¡± She smiles while waving her hand as she casually walks away. ¡°Urghhh¡­ Disobedient child¡­¡± ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Twenty-fourth day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Wave 5 of Arbhur City, Aesbyl Region, Surus Azalea opens her eyes. Her surroundings are dim. She tries to recall whatever she can before losing consciousness. She definitely was with Fred and Jad. She feels that she is lying on a soft foam, perhaps a bed. There is a throbbing pain from her right hand which is suspicious because by now all of her wounds should have healed. She spends a couple of minutes to get used to the dark place and realized she is in someone¡¯s room. It is an unfamiliar place which makes her wary of the surroundings. She feels someone approaching the door. ¡°What the hell?.. I feel so weak.¡± She thought as she tries to pretend to be asleep. The lights turn on. She feels a familiar presence so she slightly opens her eyes. ¡°Shhh. Let her rest, don¡¯t wake her up.¡± She hears a familiar voice so she subconsciously searched for the source of it. ¡°We should check if she needs a change of clo-¡± Mary continued talking until she notices Azalea staring at her. ¡°Ah-¡­ You¡¯re awake. Do you remember your name?¡± ¡°I know I got beat up really bad, but I didn¡¯t get amnesia.¡± Azalea responds. Her voice is low and soft but clear. ¡°I¡¯ll go inform the others.¡± Brenda says before leaving the room. ¡°Are you still in pain?¡± Leika asks while putting down what seems to be a change of clothes on the bedside. ¡°A bit¡­¡± ¡°Do you know where you are right now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m still in Aesbyl¡­ I guess¡­¡± ¡°Why are you unsure?¡± Mary sighs. ¡°Where are you hurting right now?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just my right arm¡­ How long was I asleep?¡± ¡°Around a day and half.¡± ¡°LEEEEEEAAAAAAA!!!¡± ¡°She¡¯s awake! She¡¯s awake!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t shout!¡± The other kids comes running in making a ruckus. Azalea stared at them and noticed someone she knows mixed in. Her trusted ally, Qin, has arrived while she was asleep. Furthermore, she picks up other presence in the house. There used to be only one adult looking after them before she went into deep sleep. ¡°Something¡¯s off¡­¡± A thought momentarily slips in her mind. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Jad asks nervously. ¡°I¡¯m fine now.¡± ¡°Really?¡± A skeptical boy comes forward while adjusting his glasses. ¡°Just that bit of sleeping won¡¯t make you fine.¡± Azalea forces a laugh. ¡°Can we skip the scolding, Qin?¡± ¡°No way! You pushed a bunch of work on me and rushed it! Are you kidding me?!¡± ¡°I am very thankful for that. Is that why Fred is with someone outside?... Ah! This presence, I know this. It¡¯s him.¡± ¡°H-hey¡­¡± Qin frowns. ¡°You just woke up. Why are you burdening your recovering body by keeping pulse active like this?¡± ¡°Oh?¡± The thought dawns on her. ¡°It¡¯s not off¡­ something is on that should be off right now. Why did I activate pulse unconsciously?¡± She tried to get up and sit on the bed but she immediately felt dizzy so she went back lying down. ¡°Why can¡¯t I turn it off?¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Sure, she kept pulse almost uninterruptedly active these past weeks due to her pursuers. She needed to stay on high alert every day, every night. The information she receives from her surroundings can sometimes be overwhelming, and it does not allow her to fully sleep or rest. It helped make her safe but also made her more tired every passing day. And now, for some reason, it is like the spell have been permanently engraved at the back of her mind. 29th Lament: Hope it Haunts You Twenty-fifth day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Arbhur City The Shilan group are starting to feel the brunt of Azalea¡¯s retaliation. It has been a few weeks since their plantations got attacked bursting in flames. Even the stock kept hidden in the warehouses were not spared. They are going to have shortage in supplies of fairy dust soon. Still, the Shilan brothers cannot be stopped from enjoying a night of partying in one of their mansions located in one of the most expensive high end subdivisions of the city. Loud music is playing in the background while groups of people crowds in varying choices of entertainment. Some are playing billiards while smoking and drinking. A large group is dancing in the hall while mingling drunkenly with each other. Another group is throwing darts, meanwhile the others are simply sitting down exchanging conversations. There are several people swimming in the pool while looking at the night sky. Laughter and gossiping noises are heard across the mansion. Bart just finished a call, he received a report from their subordinates regarding some uproars in the lawless land outside the city. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Brandon asks while sitting comfortably on a luxury couch. Bart grips his phone tighter. ¡°Someone hunted the demon in the Elteb Canyon?¡± The other guys playing billiards closest to them suddenly paused playing turning towards Bart. One of them comes closer. ¡°Seriously?¡± He walks tipsily then he sets aside his glass. He is frowning while resting the cue stick on his shoulders. ¡°I was eyeing that one. Tsk! It wasn¡¯t even that big of a threat yet!¡± ¡°Which group of bastards did it?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t a group.¡± Bart answers. ¡°Just one pain in the ass demon hunter.¡± ¡°No fucking way!¡± Another guy skip walks excitedly to hear more. Brandon suddenly got up from his comfortable position. ¡°Is it that bitch again?!¡± ¡°Hey, hey, what is this about?¡± Several more people are coming closer trying to get a piece of the gossip. Someone laughs sickeningly. His eyes are a little red. ¡°Is this related to your warehouses and plantations catching fire?¡± ¡°So Brandon messed around with some chick and now this chick is getting revenge?¡± ¡°Bro shut up!¡± Brandon raises his voice as he can hear some chuckling in the background. ¡°As if¡­ I haven¡¯t even got my hands on the bitch.¡± ¡°Huh? So did you get rejected?¡± ¡°That¡¯s hilarious!¡± Bart shakes his head in dismay. ¡°Wait until I get my hands on that bitch!¡± Brandon picks up a glass and fills with it alcohol. He drinks it in one go. ¡°I swear she¡¯d be begging me day and night.¡± ¡°Who is it? Who is it? Share some info with us!¡± ¡°Ah! Are you hunting her? Want my men to help out?¡± ¡°Hey, how does this bitch look? Is she pretty?¡± ¡°Hah! You want a piece of my prey?¡± He then throws his tablet on the coffee table with the wanted poster displayed. ¡°Damn! My man good taste!¡± Another guy picks up the tablet to get a closer look. ¡°Purple eyes¡­ Hey, this is rare. If you¡¯re done with her, can I have her eyes?¡± ¡°Whatever.¡± ¡°Come on, man. I¡¯ll lend you a hand. Our faction has good connections with the news companies. Let¡¯s corner this bitch.¡± The sinister sound of their laughter echoes in the dimly lit room.. Meanwhile, Bart sighs and stands up. ¡°You¡¯re going already?¡± ¡°I have some urgent meeting tomorrow.¡± He looks at his brother who is filling another glass. ¡°It seems I¡¯ll be busy dealing with this mess. I¡¯ll leave that damn witch for you to take care of. We did take some serious blows losing a number of our plantations.¡± ¡°Come on, it¡¯s not like we¡¯re out of the business.¡± Brandon replies in a nonchalant tone. ¡°We¡¯re not dealing with commoners and street junkies here. You know how bad the withdrawal of fairy dust is¡­ Fortunately, we still have enough supply to cover this month. But we won¡¯t be able to fill the next bulk of orders. We¡¯ll have to cut corners to supply them, and I have to fix this mess before they get a word of it.¡± ¡°I know some people that can help your supply, but it¡¯ll cost you.¡± One guy offers. ¡°See, problem solved.¡± Brandon sets the bottle aside and gestures for another one to be delivered. ¡°We have large network of underground connection. And we could decrease the amount sold for legal medical use and increase the price.¡± Bart sighs. ¡°It¡¯s only a matter of time before the underworld hears about this blunder. We¡¯d lose some credibility, our rivals may take this opportunity. Furthermore, that mine¡­¡± ¡°What about the mine?¡± ¡°While we¡¯re trying to recover¡­ Are they planning to-?!... Tsk! We might gradually lose our footing in Zone-0.¡± Another guy wraps his arm around Bart. ¡°Okay, so after that meeting of yours, contact me. We must acquire that mine by all means. I mean, we can join hands. But. BUT. My group will take the mine.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see how things go tomorrow. I¡¯ll inform my old man.¡± ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Twenty-fifth day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT - - - - - - - A man sits alone in a wide couch while watching a recorded footage of news three years ago. His black hair with streaks of gray is messy, his long bangs is almost fully covering his eyes behind a rectangular glasses. His black and white polo is unevenly buttoned. There are dark stains on his dark gray pants. In front of him is a small coffee table with a bottle of red wine and a glass on top of it. Beside him, on the couch, is an open bag of potato chips. The only light in the room is coming from the huge television mounted on the wall. He is leisurely eating his chips when a knock on the door is heard. ¡°Come in... You may turn on the light.¡± The man in full military suit turns on the light. The windowless room now became vibrant. In the middle is a black couch and black coffee table with a half empty wine bottle and wine glass. The four walls are painted white, without any decorations hanging. There is a medium sized drawer in one of the corner. There is no documents or materials that is misplaced outside the drawer. On the opposite side, there is another door that seems to be leading to a different room. The news continued to play with the anchor describing the rescue efforts being carried out. It is about Naraka¡¯s attack in Calpplaesyo three years ago and the devastation it left. Thousands of people died and hundreds are still missing. ¡°Lord Hawkweed.¡± A man¡¯s voice calls out while handing out a file folder. ¡°Our agents in Surus sent us some intel about a person who might be the one the Emperor is looking for.¡± He takes the folder from the man who is wearing a full military gear, complete with a closed helmet. He skims through the content. ¡°Arbhur City, huh.¡± He mumbles while his golden eyes looks through the document. His lips started to curve into a smirk. ¡°Hmm¡­ Interesting indeed¡­ Blakewood¡­ A demon hunter?..¡± He raises his hand. ¡°Vaset.¡± ¡°Yes, my lord.¡± The sound of the news about Naraka continues to play in the background. ¡°Call Yhor. I need to discuss this matter with him immediately.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°Ah, right. Inform Diana about this as well.¡± Vaset politely nodded. ¡°Yes, sir. Our agents in Aesbyl are still gathering information. A more updated report will be available before the day ends.¡± ¡°I see. Then inform Yhor to contact me once that report is ready.¡± He then gestured for the man to leave which he politely followed. Hawkweed then sets the folder down and then looks back at the recorded news. A footage of the devastated city that had fallen into rumbles is being shown. He finishes the wine in his glass before standing up. ¡°We¡¯ve been looking for her high and low for the past three years.¡± He says as he turns the television off. ¡°It was like she just disappeared after that incident. It was difficult for our men to gather info with all the chaos that time too¡­ It was so hard to find clues, she might as well be dead.¡± He brushes his messy hair back with his hand and scoffed. ¡°It actually took this long to once again find traces of Xavier Blakewood¡¯s legacy.¡± He casually walks to the drawer, pulls out the top drawer and then takes out a remote control. He turns of the television before leaving the room thorough the other door. It has been five years since they put Yhor¡¯s team on the task of tracking the Blakewoods after the previous two team mysteriously disappeared. One day, their organization just lost contact to the first team hence another team was put in-charge however the same thing happened again after a few years. They received no reports, and even when they tried to look for them, nothing came up. They can only conclude that those teams have been silently eliminated by another group. However, even when they launched an investigation as to who might this enemy be, they were unable to find any clues. Their investigation ended up with nothing. Only that whoever this enemy is, they are skilled enough to pose a real threat to their organization. Yhor¡¯s team was able to keep track of Azalea Blakewood as she was moved from one orphanage to another. It¡¯s as if every time they come close to her, someone discreetly moves her away. But still, Yhor did not disappoint in finding her again and again. Just when they thought the mission would go smoothly from there on, Naraka appeared throwing a wrench into their plans. If that demon did not show up, then they could have find a way to legally adopt her. Nevertheless, this turn of events was not entirely a disadvantage to them. They just have to find her in the middle of that harrowed city and nab her. Once again, they could not find her. The unexpected tragedy, took the life of some of their men and it also made their line of communication unstable. The command chain was in disorder and the flow of information was a mess. They lost their target and from that point on, they were unable to trace her whereabouts. Evening came. Hawkweed sits in what looks like a conference room. A huge rectangular finely furnished wooden table surrounded by elegant wooden chair is in the middle of the room. Hawkweed occupied one of the chairs while the others remains empty. This time, his black and gray hair is neatly brushed. He is wearing a white polo inside a black suit paired with black pants. He is holding a tablet, reading through a new report that was organized by Vaset this afternoon. He reviews it along with other files while waiting for Yhor and Diana to contact him. ¡°Vaset, it¡¯s time.¡± Hawkweed says while adjusting his glasses. Vaset heard him, he then places something like a computer screen across Hawkweed¡¯s seat. It is turned on with two icons that suddenly lit up after a while. ¡°Ah-. Hello, good evening.¡± A man¡¯s voice greets them. Vaset positions himself behind Hawkweed who is not lifting his eyes away from the report. ¡°Hello, Yhor.¡± Hawkweek greets him casually. ¡°Have you looked through the documents that Vaset sent you?¡± ¡°Yes. This is an unexpected turn of events.¡± ¡°And Diana?¡± ¡°Hm? Well, I skimmed through it.¡± A woman¡¯s voice answers. ¡°I guess¡­ this means I should prepare to go there right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Hawkweed answers. ¡°But don¡¯t jump into action right away. Let¡¯s discuss the plan first.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°We must first observe the situation before making any move with irreversible results.¡± Hawkweed displays the wanted posters of Azalea. ¡°This is our target. Diana and her team will be the one to approach and make contact to the target. Yhor, I want your team to stealthily watch from afar.¡± ¡°Very cautious, as always.¡± Diana comments with a laidback tone. ¡°I¡¯ll assemble my team right away.¡± Yhor responds. ¡°It might take me two or three days to get to Aesbyl, particularly in that lawless area.¡± ¡°That¡¯s understandable. But I need Diana to get there as soon as possible.¡± ¡°I can leave right now, my team just have to follow me later. Is there already an excuse for me to approach them?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have it already arranged. We¡¯ll contact them, as a company that is willing to invest in their pranite mine. You¡¯ll act as a representative who is on a business trip to personally see how things are going. Travel to Aesbyl right away, Vaset will meet you at the station, he will act as your bodyguard while you are waiting for your own team.¡± ¡°I see. I should prepare the script.¡± She chuckles. ¡°After all¡­ it will be hard for me to track her with those pictures you got. Could our agents really not have anything else? This wanted posters and her profile in the Hunter¡¯s Council only have her face. A full body photo would help more, even a stolen photo from far away would do.¡± ¡°Our agents was not expecting that person to suddenly turn up right there.¡± Vaset explains. ¡°This discovery is more of a coincidence due to the issues in the area. The wanted poster is something they recently saw, so they investigated and sent the information to us.¡± ¡°Well, if she wasn¡¯t such a menace then she would have stayed hidden from us.¡± Hawkweed adds while wiping his glasses. ¡°Anyway¡­ Our goal for now is to observe her¡­ and see if we can entice her to come to our side.¡± He puts his glasses back on. ¡°It would be better if she willingly joins us¡­ Else, we¡¯ll have to use force.¡± ¡°So, that¡¯s where I come in?¡± Yhor asks. He ponders for a while. ¡°Yes, but not too fast. We barely know anything about her abilities. If we make a move and fail, we¡¯ll just tip her about us instead.¡± ¡°I see. Then my team will keep an eye on her and deter anyone who might be a threat to our objective.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have to follow her anymore once I get a good image of her, right? After meeting her once, I should be able to track her general location.¡± Diana cuts in. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll also leave the task of convincing her to you.¡± He responds. ¡°Our next step will depend on her answer and your report. I will have to find some ways to subdue her without killing her.¡± ¡°She hunted a demon alone.¡± Yhor states with a serious tone. ¡°It seems that she had learned a lot, and has become a very skilled mage.¡± ¡°Mhm. It would have been better if we got her three years ago. She would have adapted to our organization easily. She could have learned from us instead.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hope it¡¯s not yet too late¡­¡± Diana says menacingly. ¡°It would have been easier to instill our ideals if she was younger. Now¡­ maybe she¡­ must have made up her own.¡± He fixes his glasses that has slipped a little. He takes a deep breath while staring at the wanted poster. ¡°It would be quite unfortunate if that¡¯s the case.¡± 30th Lament: My Heartstrings Come Undone When Fred and Jad arrived carrying Azalea drenched with her own blood, Mary and Brenda immediately took charge. Mark prepared one of the room and laid a mat with plenty of blankets and towels. Jad and Romi fetched buckets of water leaving it in front of the room. Meanwhile, small magic circles sparkled around Azalea¡¯s body nonstop. It looked magical, if only not for the blood covering her. Mary, Brenda, and Leika took off what¡¯s left of her armor and then wiped her cleaning the blood away. They also looked for any wounds. However, as they clean her, droplets of blood continued to form on her intact skin. Yet, they can only see faded tattoo-looking markings on her right arm and a coin-sized tattoo below her left collar bone that looks like a magic circle. There are no visible wounds. ¡°This doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡± Mary mumbles. Brenda wipes Azalea¡¯s face with a piece of cloth. ¡°There are no wounds. Only those weird looking tattoo-like markings.¡± Mary does not fully understand what is going on but she knows that the bleeding in not due to an open wound. Upon realization her hands trembled at the thought. It looks like it may take a while to resolve so she wanted to take over the task alone in order to not traumatize the other children however Leika and Brenda vehemently refused. They insisted for the three of them to take care of Azalea until she stops sweating blood. Two hours of continuous cleaning passed. Meanwhile, the other kids are waiting anxiously outside while also providing whatever assistance they can give. Two guests arrived while the girls are busy attending to Azalea. A moderately muscular medium built man with a nerdy-looking teenage boy knocks on their front door. The man has dark red hair tied in a ponytail and sharp, cyan-colored eyes. He is wearing a light armor, and carrying two swords. The boy has black hair and light brown eyes behind a round-framed glasses. He is wearing casual clothes, white shirt inside a red jacket, denim shorts, and rubber shoes. The two of them does not look like they are related however, they do know each other and arrived together. The boy leads the way, and he gives of a sense of authority. Meanwhile, the adult man who looks like he is in his forties, acts like a bodyguard. His body language shows alertness and caution. ¡°Who are you?¡± Mark asks cautiously. They have to be wary of who they invite into their house since they do not know the enemies that have been watching them since yesterday. ¡°What brings the two of you to our house?¡± When Fred heard him, he went to check on the situation. ¡°Oh¡­ I¡¯m Qin, Azalea¡¯s friend.¡± The teenage boy replies. His voice is shaking a little. ¡°She should be here¡­ or on her way here?..¡± ¡°Azalea?¡± Jad peaks at the two uninvited guests outside. Mark hesitates. ¡°Is there something you need from her?¡± ¡°From her? No shit.¡± The older man answers brusquely. ¡°But she sure needs something from us.¡± ¡°Cyan! You are being rude.¡± Qin tells him off nervously. ¡°Cyan?¡± Fred stands behind Mark while taking a look at the guests outside. ¡°Right, I remember this guy. You¡¯re a friend of Lone, Azalea¡¯s mentor. The kid though¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not exactly her friend.¡± Cyan responds with a smirk. ¡°We just hunted a lot together before¡­ Well, we also drunk a lot and hang out quite a bit. And this boy, you could say he¡¯s her childhood friend but he¡¯s not a hunter or a reveil. He¡¯s a merchant.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that what friends do?¡± Jad mumbles. ¡°That kid¡¯s a merchant?¡± Qin furrows his brows staring at the kid peeking at the side. ¡°Mark, it¡¯s okay. They are Azalea¡¯s allies.¡± Fred reassures them. Mark, though with some hesitation, lets them in. They served some refreshments while updating them about Azalea¡¯s situation. Qin left his merchandise and caravan in a Merchants Guild headquarters. It is considered the safest place for merchants to leave their valuables while staying in a city. He definitely cannot bring his caravan with him in the Zone-0 so he left it there with four other hired mercenaries who accompanies him in his journey. He only brought Cyan with him as he knows him best among them, and he does not want to attract attention by having so many guards. The Merchant Guild supervises various groups of traveling merchants that registered under their guidance and protection. They keep the merchant''s system organized and safe by providing safe zones, information, protection and mutual aid. They have established their own code of law to resolve conflicts among different merchant groups, as well as to avoid being unfairly prosecuted due the difference in laws across different countries. They also allied with several mercenary groups by establishing a mutual relationship with the Mercenaries Guild, so that they will be able to provide trustworthy protection. This is how they are able to promote the economic interests of their members as well as provide solid protection. As such, they all can conduct their business with less worries. Qin is part of the group of merchants headed by Merchant Li, they are known as the Pixiu Alliance. They have established themselves as one of the most successful traveling merchants'' groups in the past decade. They have also allied with the Silver-Feather Band, a mercenary group composed of both skilled ubliss and strong reveils. It is convenient for them to hire extra guards to travel with them. After a short introduction, Qin explained Azalea¡¯s plan to the rest of them and how he is supposed to help them. He is the one in-charge of gathering all the needed personalities through their connections as a merchant. They have also called for a few more people for protection. As they start this new venture, there will be plenty of trouble to deal with and the first thing they need is security. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Twenty-sixth day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Arbhur City, Zone-0, Wave 5 Three days had passed since Azalea fought the demon, Quia¡¯el. Her injuries are healed except the one in her right arm. She had plenty of rest however, a different problem is bothering her. Since she woke up, she became unable to deactivate the spell, Pulse. It¡¯s like the spell is being continuously casted subconsciously at the back of her mind. She can feel the movements of everyone around her. She has not left the room since she woke up but she knows that there are strange plants that have grown around the house. She can also sense the hostility of anyone who enters the range of pulse. This may sound convenient as it keeps her senses alert, but it does not allow her to rest.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Currently, her body have recovered but her mind is still exhausted. She has been trying to deactivate the spell, unfortunately nothing has worked so far. She has decided to approach it differently by decreasing the range when she is not in combat or dangerous situation and regulating what information around should be prioritized so she can filter out the ¡°noise.¡± ¡°Azalea.¡± Qin knocks. ¡°Are you awake?¡± ¡°Y-yes? Come in.¡± He opens the door and another man follows him. ¡°Sir Renan just arrived, and he wanted to check on you as soon as possible.¡± The man who looks like he is in his fifties entered the room with Qin. He has curly brown hair that has been brushed back though some of it seems to have been messed up by the breeze outside. ¡°Azalea, how are you feeling?¡± He greets worriedly. ¡°Renan!¡± Azalea¡¯s expression lightened up. ¡°I¡¯m recovering well.¡± ¡°Let me see your right arm.¡± He walks closer and holds out his hand. Azalea shows her arm with tattoo-like markings that had gradually faded compared to when they first saw it. ¡°This¡­¡± Renan wears a grave expression while his forest green eyes are focused on the markings. ¡°It must hurt a lot¡­ It looks like your mana circuit was burned¡­ but¡­ This is unusual? no, more like impossible? Burned mana circuits don¡¯t heal.¡± ¡°W-what? I burned what now??¡± He sighs. ¡°What did you do?¡± She tilts her head sideways. ¡°W-well¡­I f-fought the demon¡­ aaaaannnddd used Explosia. J-just once though¡­ He, he¡­¡± ¡°You casted Explosia when the seals aren¡¯t active?¡± She smiles. ¡°Well¡­ this never happened before¡­¡± Another knock is heard from the door that was left slightly ajar. ¡°What¡¯s this about seals?¡± Fred asks as he enters the room with Mary. ¡°This is going to be a long discussion.¡± Qin mumbles. ¡°But before that, what do you think of those marking?¡± ¡°Right. I¡¯ll explain the seals later, and Azalea¡¯s unique condition regarding her mana.¡± He then takes out some expensive looking accessories and gems from his bag. ¡°For now, wear these. They¡¯re not as efficient as your armor but this will do as temporary replacement to keep your leaking mana sealed.¡± ¡°Is my new armor not done yet?¡± ¡°I already brought it with me, but I figured it would be uncomfortable for you to sleep in. Right? So use these gems for now.¡± ¡°He, he, he¡­ r-riiiiight.¡± He glances at her right arm again. ¡°Those markings¡­ Burned mana circuits is a permanent damage. It¡¯s like completely losing an arm. Once it¡¯s gone, it doesn¡¯t grow back¡­ However, this¡­ It seems Hol can heal even destroyed mana circuits.¡± ¡°Oh, that sounds cool! Does that also mean I can regrow my arm if it gets totally obliterated?¡± She asks excitedly. ¡°A-Z-A-L-E-A!!!¡± The sound of Renan¡¯s voice suddenly became terrifying. ¡°Don¡¯t you even dare! I know you are reckless, but you better not be stupid!¡± She clears her throat. ¡°O-okay¡­¡± ¡°The problem with you is that you always try to solve everything on your own.¡± ¡°Now we know about those markings¡­ How about we all go and have our lunch?¡± Mary says nonchalantly. ¡°The food is ready. I¡¯ll help Lea put those accessories on, you all can go ahead.¡± ¡°I can manage to wear these on my own.¡± Azalea sighs. ¡°You¡¯re still a patient.¡± ¡°Hey! What¡¯s explosia? It sounds so cool!¡± Jad asks while peaking from outside the room. ¡°A very powerful destructive spell.¡± Renan answers as he heads to the door. ¡°So destructive, even the caster receives some backlash if not casted properly.¡± He scoffs then followed Renan. ¡°So, Lea made a mistake using it?¡± ¡°More like she hasn¡¯t mastered it yet.¡± ¡°So, Azalea.¡± Qin looks at her with dismay. ¡°I suggest you take a few months to cool things off. Take a rest, go on a PEACEFUL vacation, or make some progress on you magic thingies.¡± ¡°You mean my spells?¡± ¡°Yeah, whatever. Just because you can heal easily doesn¡¯t mean you have to neglect your defenses. Dad is worried too.¡± He then walks out of the room as well. ¡°You¡¯re lucky you have these people looking after you.¡± Mary comments. They proceed to the dining area. Cyan grilled the bird they caught this morning, and Mary prepared salad beforehand. Aside from that Renan brought some readymade food with him which they are also unpacking now. Brenda, Jad and Romi bring the food and arranges the utensils on the table. Leika assists Lei, Kou and Raichi. Mark gestures for their visitors to take a seat. ¡°Why did you bring cake?¡± Cyan furrows his brows. Renan shrugs. ¡°I don¡¯t know what else to buy. Well, we can have it as dessert.¡± While waiting for Azalea and Mary, Renan and Qin started to explain their next steps. They also talked about Azalea¡¯s condition and the purpose of the seal. There is very little information they know about her unusual mana, most of what they know are things they have confirmed through observation these past years. Lone was the one who observed her and found a way to fix it albeit temporary. They learned everything from her master however her mana still shows changes as time passes. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Azalea comes into the dining room; Mary follows behind her. ¡°Wow. Everyone¡¯s assembled already.¡± ¡°Just take your seat.¡± Fred responds. ¡°Ah-! Cyan!¡± She turns toward him as she walks toward her seat. ¡°Junior¡¯s not with you?¡± ¡°Mhm. I lost contact with him around a year or so ago.¡± Cyan answers nonchalantly. ¡°Who¡¯s Junior?¡± Jad mumbles. ¡°Did he run away from home?¡± She snorts. ¡°Did he? I don¡¯t know. Maybe. He¡¯s a smartass. He¡¯s old enough to take care of himself.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t he like¡­ only a year older than me?¡± Renan sighs. ¡°You lost your son, and you act like it¡¯s none of your business.¡± ¡°This guy¡¯s worse than some of the people I know around here.¡± Brenda mumbles while shaking her head. ¡°I didn¡¯t raise that little shit to be such a weakling. He might be caught up in some stupid stuff but at least he¡¯s not dead yet.¡± ¡°Oh right!¡± Azalea claps her hand. ¡°That¡¯s why Fred!¡± ¡°Me?¡± Fred stares at her, and she smiles back at him. ¡°Riiiight¡­ I have decided to take legal means to officially adopt all of you.¡± Everyone stops eating looking bewildered. Jad coughs, almost choking on his food. ¡°So you¡¯ve suddenly decided to become a dad?¡± ¡°How does that benefit you?¡± Mark asks with a cautious tone. ¡°I don¡¯t have a family to take care of anymore.¡± ¡°Oh, condolence.¡± Azalea responds. ¡°Hey! That¡¯s not what I mean! I¡¯m done taking care of my family. My grandparents are in peace. My parents and siblings are now able to get by on their own, even my relatives are fine now. They actually told me that it¡¯s time for me to put myself before them.¡± ¡°They have a point; you¡¯re already an old man.¡± Jad says with a smirk. ¡°This little brat has no manners.¡± ¡°And you want to spend the rest of your life taking care of kids that aren¡¯t yours?¡± Mary asks looking concerned. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like putting yourself first.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve lived my life taking care of people. I can¡¯t just suddenly go get married with a random woman and start a family.¡± Fred explains calmly. ¡°At least for now, the first step I want to take is settle down. Not just stop hunting and live alone. Taking care of you kids gives me a purpose. That should be enough for now.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Mark makes up his mind. ¡°You can at least take care of us until Mary, and I are adults. Then you can find a wife once our business is operating smoothly. We¡¯ll be rich by then so you can have as many wives as you want.¡± The other kids giggled. ¡°You kids really have no manners; I¡¯ll have to work on that first.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help with establishing the mine too.¡± Qin states after finishing his meal. ¡°I won¡¯t stay here for long, but I keep my lines open so that you can always contact me. For now¡­ An investor wants to visit, three days from now¡­ Her name is Daphne Treant, and her bodyguard Vaness Tinker.¡± ¡°Visit?¡± Mary looks confused. ¡°All of a sudden? We haven¡¯t even started anything yet.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t they suspicious?¡± Renan asks. ¡°I looked into their background. They¡¯re allied with Sentinel. They said they just want to see the site before investing. It¡¯s kinda weird¡­ but there¡¯s nothing bad about it either.¡± ¡°Well, if they do anything bad, I¡¯ll just take care of them.¡± Cyan brags. Renan shakes his head. ¡°Let¡¯s take it slow. With us here, nobody would randomly mess with the mines and these kids.¡± Cyan and Fred agreed as they are all veteran demon hunters. ¡°Oh, by the way.¡± Azalea says after finishing a piece of grilled meat. ¡°I plan to leave here the day after tomorrow. The sooner I¡¯m gone here, the better.¡± The kids¡¯ expression are looking sad. ¡°Where are you heading?¡± Mary asks. ¡°For now¡­ to Osnar. Then, I guess I¡¯ll pass through Uar until I can get to Westar.¡± 31st Lament: Crusifix Twenty-ninth day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Arbhur City Fred has already started the legal steps to become the children¡¯s guardian. He is also working on legally acquiring the land where their house stands in Wave 5. Currently, they are planning on fixing the house little by little as they live there. It will take some time for them to finally live the life they dreamed of but this time they are working on it with a clearer image of the future. To prepare for that future, they started by purchasing some necessities. Fred bought a car two days ago so that they could easily move around from Wave 5 to the city. Most of the things they need are not available in Zone-0. Hence, Fred brought Jad and Romi for shopping in Arbhur City. For now, they need more change of clothes that are new and not ripped in some areas. Having more foldable beds would help in their situation too. Then phones for communication, and add in some groceries too. After buying some of the things they need, Jad is waiting beside the car while scrolling on his new phone. ¡°Unfortunate Twist of Fate: The Witch is Slaying Demons and Allies Alike¡± ¡°A Hunter or a Witch? Slaying for Money!¡± ¡°Aesbyl in Peril! Azalea ¡°The Witch¡± is Starting a Big Revolution¡± ¡°A Hunter Hunting Plantations: Destroying Our People¡¯s Livelihood!¡± ¡°Y. Entus Shortage: Pharmacies to Increase Medicine Prices due to Sabotage¡± ¡°What the hell are these articles?!!¡± Jad says in rage. ¡°It hasn¡¯t even been a week since Lea left but there¡¯s a bunch of bullshit already written about her. There¡¯s no way she could have killed everyone in her previous party! These are lies!¡± Jad had stumbled upon multiple sites and news agencies publishing articles about Azalea. The stories are not entirely false but they are written in a way that misdirects the reader into painting Azalea in a bad light. These news outlets seems to be adamant at tarnishing her reputation to turn the unsuspecting citizens against her. ¡°Wow! I just bought you a new phone and that¡¯s what you check first?¡± Fred responds while putting the stuff they bought into the car. ¡°I was just curious, you know. See this? It like they are saying that she is a terrorist. Do they think people are these stupid?¡± He scoffs. ¡°Unfortunately, they are. Where¡¯s Romi?¡± ¡°Here!¡± Romi responds while carrying a box. ¡°Put that in the car now.¡± ¡°Yes sir!!!¡± ¡°It hasn¡¯t even been a week since she left but there¡¯s these much bad stuff already written about her.¡± Jad grumbles. ¡°Why are they making it sound like she¡¯s the villain? They know the truth about this country, they should talk more about that.¡± ¡°Let me see¡­¡± Fred takes a peek at the articles then he burst out laughing. ¡°Bwahahaha!!! Maybe they should apply as comedians instead! Hahahaha!¡± ¡°Are you supposed to laugh at this now?¡± ¡°Right, it¡¯s no laughing matter.¡± He says while taking the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°But there¡¯s nothing much we can do about what they publish. We have no power in that area¡­ for now. Get in the car, Romi. We¡¯re going home.¡± ¡°Coming!¡± Romi follows sitting at the passenger¡¯s seat. ¡°We bought a lot of clothes for everyone! Thank you, new dad.¡± ¡°You can just call me Fred.¡± ¡°Yeah, that sounded really weird.¡± Jad fixes his seatbelt. ¡°It¡¯s frustrating how we still have to endure so many bad things even after all that. Someday, we¡¯re going to clear all of these misconceptions. I want to become stronger too.¡± ¡°Me too! I want to be stronger too! Even though I don¡¯t have powers like boss Jad!¡± Romi says enthusiastically. ¡°Sure, we can work on that.¡± Fred replies as he starts the engine. ¡°For now, we¡¯re having a feast when we get home. I bought a lot of delicious ingredients!¡± Meanwhile, on Qin¡¯s side, he and Cyan are currently on a meeting with the investor for a simple greeting and introduction. They arrived this morning and wanted to meet after resting for a few hours. They decided to share a meal in the restaurant in the same hotel where they are currently checked in. They sounded very interested in the pranite mine. According to the information that Qin was able to obtain, Daphne Treant is part of the Sentinel Corporation. It is a large organization that has plenty of pranite mines under their management and has been around for more than 100 years. Not only do they own these mines, they also process it into usable energy. They have different companies and research groups under them that develops various products from simple pranite batteries to pranite energy converters that can run ships and trains. They also involved in other businesses such as the medical industry, drug development, fashion industry, and many others. They built their wealth and reputation through decades of good service. Sentinel Corporation have a charity department known as Sentinel¡¯s Shield Foundation. It is a charity organization mostly sponsored by the corporation and also accepts donations from various other companies. They are known to help impoverished communities in countries that are not under the protection of ICA. They have earned an extremely good reputation among the public especially those who lives in the underdeveloped areas. Because of this, their group has acquired the ire of ICA, though it¡¯s not a public knowledge. Qin and Cyan sits in a reserved table in that luxury restaurant. The waiter places the menu on the table and leaves. Qin picks it up and stares at it.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Miss Treant said we can order first if we arrive before her.¡± He said calmly. ¡°Great.¡± Cyan also picked up the menu. Before they could raise their hand to call for the waiter, their guest arrives. Daphne Treant gracefully sits with them. She has short black hair that is neatly brushed. Her brown eyes looks very assertive. She has a facial tattoo of a crescent moon and an inverted cross. She is wearing a maroon suit with white blouse inside paired with a high heeled shoes of the same color. ¡°Good afternoon.¡± She greets while passing her business card. ¡°Sorry, it took me quite a while to get ready.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s okay.¡± Qin accepts the business card before handing his own. He looks around. ¡°Where is your companion?¡± ¡°Oh, him. I sent him on an errand. He should be back by the time our meal is ready.¡± She raises her hand after taking a peek at the menu. They gave their order to the waiter. ¡°Back to business.¡± Qin says with a calm and serious tone like an adult businessman. ¡°What made you interested with our new company? You see, we haven¡¯t even got into the legal procedures yet.¡± Daphne smiles. ¡°We¡¯ve been eyeing that mine since the previous owner was unable to maintain it. Since it has a new owner, the higher ups decided to join in.¡± ¡°Is your intention really just to invest not to acquire?¡± ¡°We do not intend to monopolize the pranite energy industry. We¡¯d love to support new and rising companies that we think are worth investing on.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not here for charity are you? What do you get from this?¡± She chuckles. ¡°Charity is part of our business model. I know it sounds too good to be true. That¡¯s why in a society where kindness is rare, we strive to show that kindness is still a choice.¡± Her smile is full of confidence. ¡°So, do you already have a name for your company?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just acting as the middleman for now. I¡¯m not the owner of this new company so you will most likely meet with a different person in the future. The company name was only decided a few days ago.¡± Qin recalls back to that time. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ ¡°Company name?¡± Fred says acting nonchalantly. ¡°We are starting a completely new one, so we need a name for it.¡± Qin responds while looking at his tablet. ¡°What do you guys think?¡± Fred looks towards the kids. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I haven¡¯t thought something like this would ever happen.¡± Mary says closing her eyes deep in thought. ¡°It should sound special.¡± Mark adds. ¡°Just make it sound cool.¡± Jad suggests. ¡°I can¡¯t even think of a name for my pet.¡± Romi scratches his head. ¡°You have a pet?¡± Jad raises a brow. ¡°Should we name it after Lea? Since she¡¯s the one who opened this path for us.¡± Brenda suggest looking a little embarrassed. ¡°It would be better if you keep your ties with her more private.¡± Qin shakes his head. ¡°Why? She has that one cool sounding alias, right?¡± Jad raises his voice. ¡°Heaven¡¯s Wing!¡± ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m with Qin this time.¡± Fred gestures an ¡®X¡¯ with his arms. ¡°Why?¡± Leika frowns. ¡°Is she not coming back here?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if she¡¯ll be back or not.¡± Fred pats her head while wearing a solemn smile. ¡°But Azalea made a lot of enemies recently. She also would be bothered if we get targeted because of her. Let¡¯s keep a low profile for now.¡± Qin nods. ¡°Mhm¡­ Bad publicity won¡¯t help you start up.¡± Mark claps his hands to turn their attention towards him. ¡°Since this is a new beginning for us, let¡¯s call it¡­ The New Dawn!¡± He proposes actively. Jad frowns in disgust. ¡°That sounds so cheesy. Hmm¡­ Twilight sounds cooler!¡± ¡°What¡¯s Twaylet?¡± Romi looks confused. ¡°Just make it simple.¡± Brenda sighs. ¡°Then¡­¡± Mary raises her hand. ¡°For our new beginning and upcoming bright future, let¡¯s call it--¡± ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ ¡°Sunrise Company.¡± Qin continues. ¡°I see that sounds like a good name.¡± While they are in the middle of the conversation, a man wearing full-suit military grade armor, complete with helmet, arrives. He stood in a distance and then nodded at Daphne. ¡°Ah-! My companion is here.¡± Daphne gestures politely. ¡°Sir Vaness Tinker. It seems he has something to report regarding the errand. Please excuse me for a moment.¡± ¡°Sure, don¡¯t worry about it.¡± She then walks towards the man. Meanwhile, Qin turns toward Cyan who has been quiet all this time. He waited until the two guests are far enough and are busy talking to each other. Qin uses his hand to slightly cover his mouth. ¡°What do you think of them?¡± Cyan turns his head towards Qin in an angle where his face is not in full view of the two in case they look at them. ¡°I sensed no hostility¡­ Not from that woman, or that man just now.¡± ¡°I see¡­ I guess, it¡¯s safe to trust them a little for now.¡± ¡°Yeah, only for now¡­¡± On the other hand¡­ ¡°Vaset, did you find the target?¡± Daphne asks softly. The man in military suit looks at Qin¡¯s direction for a moment before turning his sight back to her. ¡°The target is no longer here.¡± ¡°W-what?!!¡± She almost screamed. ¡°I have scouted the potential places where she might stay and searched for her traces. I believe she has already left Aesbyl. It could be that she has already planned to leave after the hunt... Or, she decided that leaving is the best option due to the information manipulation being done by her enemies.¡± She sighs. ¡°Either way we have to report this as soon as possible. Yhor will need to put more effort into tracking her.¡± ¡°I have already found the most possible route that the target took, and took into consideration the possible locations she might go to.¡± ¡°Great. I¡¯ll make the report to Hawkweed tonight. What a pain in the ass.¡± ¡°Should we wrap up our operations here now?¡± ¡°No¡­ There¡¯s merit in having good relations with these people, and there is still a small chance that the target might come back here. We¡¯ll wait for further instructions after the report. We must get to her before ICA does.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± The two returned to the table and saw the waiter already delivering their orders. They took their seat and continued the meeting. They decided to schedule the site visit within the week and also provide a part of the needed manpower to open the mine. Qin will introduce them to Fred in their next meeting so they can all see the mine and then draft a plan. ¡Þ¡Á¡Þ Twenty-eighth day of Sat¡¯xahr, 4043 AOT Arbhur City, Zone-0, Wave 5 It is early morning before the sunrise. Azalea has donned her new armor and has prepared for her next journey. Qin prepared her clothes and other necessities since she cannot enter the city without starting a ruckus. Mary and Mark woke up early to prepare some easy to eat food on the way for her while Fred, Renan and Cyan are up to see her off. ¡°Is this how you sneaked out to see that demon?¡± Fred asks satirically. ¡°I¡¯m not sneaking out now, come on. You make it sound as if I¡¯m about to elope.¡± She raises a brow. He laughs. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about this place. I¡¯ve also called the other guys we hunted with¡­ They should be here around next week. Cass also sent a word that she¡¯ll come once she¡¯s done dealing with the problem in her hometown.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t really have to come. She can take her time there.¡± ¡°Jad is going to be upset once he wakes up and finds out that you¡¯ve already left.¡± Mary says as she stuff the bag. Azalea chuckles. ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll get over it pretty quick. The quieter I leave, the better.¡± ¡°More bounty hunters are flocking keeping watch outside.¡± Cyan says. ¡°They are weighing the risks with us here. A full on battle will leave them with more to lose than to gain if they carelessly attack.¡± ¡°Once they realize that I slipped away, they¡¯ll immediately disperse. Those vegetation outside will also soon wither away. I already filled out the required files in the Hunter¡¯s Council¡¯s website. Fred should be able to claim the rewards tomorrow.¡± ¡°Great.¡± Fred responds casually. He takes a deep breath. ¡°A lot of things will happen after you leave... The Shilans will not let this pass easily.¡± ¡°Whatever happens, don¡¯t worry about us.¡± Mark adds. Azalea nods with a soft smile. ¡°Yeah. I believe in you all.¡± ¡°Have a safe trip.¡± Mary hands her bag to her. ¡°This Zone-0 may be engulfed in complete chaos.¡± Fred whispers while patting her back. ¡°The change that¡¯s you worked so hard for will come with a heavy price. Will you be able to carry that weight?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ but I have to¡­¡±