Without wasting more of his time, the bearded old man, the 'General', stood back up and turned towards his soldiers still standing at their spot at attention.

He walked back, stopping in front of them, his piercing gaze slowly pacing over them.

Nobody dared to move, nor uttered a single word voicing their discomfort. The soldiers stood still, waiting for the commands of the once decorated and praised legend.

"Men! Spread out in the area, let me know if you find anything out of the ordinary!" He bellowed a simple order, not giving any details about his theories, assumptions of what could have happened.

He was about to turn around when a weak voice of one of the soldiers called out.

"General… sir! May… May we ask, what the General thinks happened here? What was that big cloud?"

Listening to the question, the bearded general did not turn around, but halted his steps. He looked sternly towards the nearby river that looked as calm as ever and sighed.

"A mutant. That's what happened." He responded, cryptically, not bothering to explain himself any further. He walked back to his horse and mounted it.

Taking his place on the saddle, only now did he look at the man that asked the question, albeit only for a brief moment, before he spoke.

Grabbing the reins, his gaze was already shifted back towards the direction of the city.

"You take the lead here, soldier. Catalog everything you find. I want a report of your findings on my desk by the end of this day."

His tone was cold, distant, still carrying the lingering tint of disdain even though it wasn't directed at the soldier it was still visible.

Before the soldier could respond and acknowledge the order, he kicked on the side of the horse and bolted away, leaving his battalion of men behind, to process the brutal carnage of a scene ahead of them.

The soldier could only helplessly sigh, rub the back of his head and turn to his fellow city guards with a bitter, wry smile. It wasn't the first time, something like this happened, and definitely will not be the last.

The General rarely bothered with stuff like this, it was already a great shock to the team that he even showed up and showed some marginal interest.

He shook his head: lamenting about the General's sad, sorrowful story was a waste of time. He had a long day ahead of himself after all…

—

Maintaining a steady, cadenced lope, the General rode the road back to the city on his trusty steed's back. Meanwhile, his eyes were distant, his mind was sailing on the sea of his memories, thinking about the shadows of his past.

A minute later, as his eyes cleared out, he frowned, his hands holding the reins were clenched so tight, they started to turn pale under the sheer pressure.

He shook his head, heaving a heavy and long sigh, slowly regaining his demeanor.

"Mutants… again. These abominations of nature once again started showing up just at a time like this. I refuse to believe it is a coincidence. Even if they discharge me and kick me out of service, I will not stand aside."

He growled as his anger rose, thinking about the mistakes of the forgotten Before.

"No. Not again." His eyes wandered towards the tallest peak of the city, the tower piercing through the skies at the center of the Academy.

As he checked and gazed at the top, he knew that hateful pig of a man was watching him, causing his frown to deepen even further.

Still, he could do nothing. If he did not want to heed the orders of those above him, he only had one option left. He could only take that route, the path that he hated even thinking about so much.

Sadly, he had no other choice.

"It seems, I have to accept the invite and agree to meet with that man." He grumbled, squeezing the horse's side, increasing his speed.

A moment later, his figure was galloping towards the city. Just like the men he left behind, he himself had a lot to think about and do before the sun sets and today comes to an end…

—

After their timely departure and escape, Aiden's group spent the remaining hours of the afternoon circling around the city, eventually getting back through the Eastern Gate and making their way back to the Guild Hall.

There they managed to officially mark their assigned quest that for some unknown reason was marked as a 3-star quest only and got the rewards.

One of the biggest nuisances Aiden realized with the system's downtime was his lack of access to the inventory. All of his belongings, including his accumulated coins, were stored inside, turning him into a beggar, even if just temporarily.

After finishing up everything the team left the large building and were about to head to the Slums to get to the agreed dinner with the Masked Mistress and the rest when suddenly Aiden's expression changed. From his usual calm, collected appearance, his face transformed into a complex-looking one, twisted under the mixture of shock, surprise, happiness, excitement, and a bit of worry.

Lots of emotions showcased themselves over his outlook, his previous calmness vanished in an instant.

Holding onto his right hand and leaning against his shoulders, Lily immediately felt the change in his brother. With a concerned tone, she asked.

"Brother, is something the matter? What happened? You look… I'm not sure… worried, maybe?"

However, his attention was already somewhere else. He absentmindedly threw back an empty response, whilst he got out of his sister's hold.

"Nothing… Lily, stay with them, I need to check something…"

He looked at Drake as he hurriedly spoke.

"You guys can go ahead and meet up with the others. I need to get back to the inn for a bit."

He said, already leaving the stunned group behind, and rushed towards the inn he left just this morning. He wanted to get back as fast as possible.

Just now, through their connection, Ryg informed him that Galina has stopped transforming and infusing her core with the primal energy, the [Soul Power]. He wanted to get back before she woke up and help him in whatever way she might need. After all, she was his servant… no, a member of his own family, he wanted to be there as support that she could lean on, rely on.

However, as he was about to turn around the corner, he saw Lily running not too far behind, keeping up the pace with him. With a wry smile, he stopped and waited for her to catch up.

"Lily… I said to go with Drake and Scarlet. I would be fine on my-"

Before he could finish, a slap on his face caused him to turn silent and look at her pouting sister with an astounded expression.

"Meanie! Bad brother! How can you leave me! Am I just a burden to you still? Is this how you think about me?!" She looked hurt, genuinely offended. Her eyes were rapidly turning hazy as tears began to gather, she was doing her best withholding all of it back, lest she erupted into a childish cry and give even more fuel to her brother.

"No, I…" As he looked at Lily's hurt expression, saw her eyes as she was on the verge of crying, he felt guilty. He was stupid, once again not thinking, not caring about anything but himself.

He couldn't say anything to excuse himself, nor could he just simply leave behind her. It was cruel and unfair. He already left her once, he can't do it again.

He sighed, mostly at himself, silently reaching out and pulling her surprised little sister into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry sis. I… was just…" He whispered, shushing words into her ear.

Being embraced so suddenly, Lily's last line of defense crumbled almost instantly. Her strong, supportive front, which she forced onto herself since the fight has faded, replaced by this true, honest, heartfelt sight. She was worried, even though she was smiling, supportive of whatever he was doing, she was worried.

She tried pushing everything down, and just leave the positive stuff on the surface, but that wasn't easy. After all, she was still just a lonely little girl, worried and concerned about her little brother…

"I'm sorry… I will not do anything to hurt you again." Aiden continued muttering consoling words to the girl's ear, gently caressing and patting her back.

A few minutes passed before he could feel that her sobbing began to die down. Slowly he pulled her away, and with the brightest, warmest smile he could express, he looked into her sniffing face, deeply into her tired-looking blue eyes, and asked.

"Lily. I need to get back to my room in the inn. There's someone there, one of the new members of our family that may need my… no, OUR help."

Her eyes widened with surprise as she listened to her intently. A new family member? What did he mean?

She didn't need to think about the matter too much. At the same time as Aiden asked the question, she also nodded and answered simultaneously.

"Would you like to…"

"Yes!"

"…come with me?"