One young woman is standing in the middle of the flower field. She lets the wind play around with her long chocolate bisque hair and looks happy with it. On her tiny hand, she holds a flower.

She then sits down and plays with the flower and notices that the flower is broken on her hand. Tears start to flow from her eyes and she starts to cry. That's when she hears someone walking at her.

A young man around her age with a short saddle brown hair is looking at her and worried. She knows the young man comes to visit her mother together with his father and brother.

The young man observes her for a while and then asks,

"Why are you crying?"

The young woman then shows the flower on her hand and by seeing the flower he knows it's about the flower that broke. He then smiles, sits down beside her, takes some flowers around him, and makes something.

When the young woman tried to see what he made, she could see that he made a flower crown. He smiles at her and puts it on her. He then says,

"Look... It's really good on you!"

The young woman then touches the flower crown and lets the broken flower fall to the ground. She immediately smiles at him and they start to chat about several things until a one-man show-up and call the young man.

The young man stands up and runs towards his brother and the moment the young woman sees the young man's brother, the flower starts to rot and the flower field has already burned into ashes. She immediately shouts as the man walks slowly at him.

She immediately closes her eyes and opens it to notice that she is sleeping inside the cave. A woman with pale skin and a long chocolate bisque hair wearing a dark green attire. She then hides her face using her hand and says,

"Ahaha... I see him again... Portar..."

She then stands up and looks around her. The moment she notices the entrance of the cave, she laughs hard and says,

"Ah... This feeling... Portar is here... That damn Portar is here... I will kill him... I will kill him... Kill... Kill... Kill... You don't need to worry mother... I will kill him... and avenge you!"

Meanwhile, Volya and Romain just go back from gathering the wood and do reconnaissance missions around the area. Romain then says,

"It's been a week since we came here, we didn't find any movement of our target..."

"Seriously... I can't read what's inside the mind of the mage using that forbidden magic... In one time they order their minions to attack around this area, and suddenly the attack stops for a while..." continues Volya

"Because of that, none of us could find any pattern of attack from them..."

"And that's troubling..." continues Volya again as he sighs

Romain smiles at Volya and he knows that he is frustrated with the situation around them. It's been a week since they arrived at the village, but they didn't find any clue or sign of the undead.

Helena and Villias already order the sixth and seventh infantry division together with the sixth cavalry division from Haegia to make a camp near Woodcrest and do a consistent patrol around the area. At the same time, Volya prepares the barrier and trap to stop undead movement for a while.

But, in that one week, nothing happens. Volya and Romain continue to walk until they arrive at Woodcrest where they see Albert waiting for them. They immediately salute him and Volya ask him,

"It's really rare to see you waiting for us Sir Albert. Is something happening around here?"

"No... I'm just wondering where you are going since this morning. That's all." answer Albert as he smiles at them

"Huh? I believe we already told Lady Ludmila and Our Excellency that we are on patrol together with gathering the wood for the villagers." continues Volya.

"Ahahahaha... They haven't told me yet about that," answered Albert

"It's... Rare for you not knowing what we did, Sir Albert." said Romain

"Ahahahahaha, I'm not Sir Villias who knows everything, Romain,"

Albert laughs at them and then suddenly his face changes. Volya and Romain surprised to see that sudden change with Albert says,

"The truth is... Sir Villias is searching for both of you."

"Huh? Sir Villias? That's rare..." answer Volya

"Did we do something that made Sir Villias mad?" ask Romain

"No... It's about something else. Follow me."

Romain and Volya look at each other and follow Albert who walks in front of them. They enter the village and notice that Ludmila and Helena are teaching the young kid of the village.

Both of them smiled at them before Albert notified them to move a little bit faster. They continued to walk until they arrived in front of the village elder's house. In front of the door, Villias is talking with two villagers and the village elder. And the moment they notice Volya and Romain, Villias immediately says,

"Sir Volya... We have something to discuss today, come inside the house first."

They enter the room and Volya notices that the village elder is restless. He keeps quiet for a while and then sits down near Villias and Romain. After all of the people sit down inside the room, the village elder takes a deep breath and says,

"The truth is... There is one villager that already has symptoms of the curse..."

The moment Volya, Albert, and Romain heard that they were surprised. Romain and Albert stand up and say one by one,

"Why did you haven't tell us about that?"

"Why did you hide this? Are you part of our enemy, too?"

While both of them pressure the village elder, Volya notices how protective the village elder is with the undead that he hides. So, Volya ask him,

"Could you tell us more about it."

"Sure..." answer the village elder

"The last attack of the undead around one month ago... When did you notice that one of your villagers get bitten by them?" ask Villias

"..."

"Sir... If you didn't help us, we can't stop the spreading..." asks Albert as he asks the village elder once more.

The more those knights ask the village elder, the more he becomes more pressured by it. Little by little, the village elder's breath becomes a little heavy and Volya notices it. He closes his eyes and says,

"Is this victim your relative?"

"Huh?" said the village elder surprised

"The way you give us a vague answer as if you tried to protect the undead existence..."

"What do you mean, Volya?" ask Romain

"I'm sorry... But, seeing how old you are and how your actions are... It's the same as someone who tried to protect their relatives by doing their crime... Or to be more precise, someone dear to you."

"..."

"Is it your relative that got bitten back around one month ago?"

The village elder looks at Volya and looks down. He nods at Volya. Volya then asks him,

"Is your relative going to any village several weeks ago?"

"Yes..."

Volya then stands up and says,

"Could I see your relative? I want to see them..."

"..."

"Or you want to keep it a secret from everyone and bring doom to this village?"

"Huh? What do you mean, Volya?" asks Albert

"My father always told me that every mage will know the location of people or animals that they possess or curse... And if this mage is waiting for the good time to attack any certain village, I believe it will see where the people that they possess will stay," answer Volya

"Then... Why the mage didn't attack this village?" asks Villias

"I think... This mage is waiting for a good time... I'm not quite sure..."

"..."

"And by seeing the victim with my own eyes, I think I could get something from the mana that emits from the victim..."

"But..."

"And maybe, I could help them."

The village elder looks at Volya for a while and then he says weakly,

"If you want to meet... my dear daughter... just follow me..."

He then stands up and walks towards the back of the house. Volya, Villias, Albert, Romain, and two villagers follow him. They walk until they see a door behind the cupboard. The village elder opens the door and says,

"Come on in..."

The village elder then leads the four of them towards the stone staircase until they reach a wooden door. The moment they stop in front of the door, they could smell a foul odour coming from someone behind the door. Villias looks at the village elder and says,

"Sir... I'm sorry for prying... But, what you have done inhumanely..."

"I... know..." answer the village elder

"How did you get her back here? Could you tell us more about it?" asks Albert

"..."

"Sir?"

"Yes... It's indeed happening around one month ago. When she was back from visiting another village, she had that bite mark on her back. After that, she starts to act strangely and attacks another villager."

"And before it makes a bigger fuse, you catch her and confine her here?" asks Villias

"Yes..."

"You are indeed..."

"I know I am a monster... I know... By keeping her, I will bring doom to this village... I know about that..."

"..."

"Why must this happen to my dear daughter? Why? You should know about it if something happens with your child, right?"

"I..."

"You will do everything to help them... Because you love them... That's why..."

After he said that, none of them talks anymore until Volya walks towards the door. Romain looks at Volya and asks him,

"Hey, Volya... Could you help him in this case?"

Volya didn't answer him and then pushed the door a little bit to everyone's surprise. Romain immediately says,

"Volya! What are you doing? Are you going to release it?"

"I could see from here that a chain is holding her... I want to see her by myself..." answer Volya as he continued to push the door.

The moment he enters the room, he could smell her rotting body. He could see her skin is really pale because she can't get any sun at all. The moment the girl looks at Volya's eye, she starts to shriek and that surprises everyone.

Volya walks slowly at the girl and says,

"My father always curses those who bring harm to other people like this..."

He closes his eyes and continues to walk. As he walks, he only hears the girl's scream and his shoes. He then continues,

"Magic should be a talent to bring happiness, that's what my father always said... Magic is something that makes everyone smile at each other..."

He becomes closer to the girl and that makes everyone start to panic. The girl looks at Volya and starts to attack Volya, but the chain holds her. Volya then reach out his hand on her and says,

"I will... bring happiness to you... So..."

The moment Volya said that Villias and Albert looked stunned. It's as if they meet someone that they met in the past. Someone that gentle and enticed everyone around him.

Volya then takes a deep breath and starts to cast a spell. The moment he creates a magic circle, the Village Elder immediately asks him with trembling voice,

"What are you going to do with my daughter?"

"Save her..." answer Volya

"Save... her... Did you said you want to save her?" says the Village Elder after hearing that

"Yes..."

"So... You could cure her?"

Volya didn't answer his question, rather he more focused on the magic that he tried to cast. The village elder immediately ask him so many times, until Volya says,

"I will purify her soul..."

"Huh? Then... you still... cure..."

"Her soul is already on her limit... The same goes for her body... I need to purify it... It's for her own good" continues Volya

"Eh... Don't say..."

"The moment someone is already contaminated with that curse for a long time until their body rot, it's beyond saving. The only way to save them by purifying their body and soul together with releasing their soul from the chain that held them" continues Volya as he continues to concentrate on making the magic circles

The village elder starts to tremble and then looks at his beloved daughter. He then walks to Volya and taps his shoulder. He then shouts,

"I don't need your help then! I only need someone who could cure her!"

"..."

"I don't need someone who will murder her! You know that!"

"..."

"And all of you are the same! I believe all of you think the same thing for her! DON'T LIE TO ME!"

"Sir... I..." says Romain that immediately stops when the village elder shouts,

"LIKE HELL YOU WILL KNOW MY PAIN! YOU NOT EVEN KNOW ME NOR MY DAUGHTER!"

Everyone stops after hearing that shout and the village elders continue talking to Volya,

"And you! You don't know how I feel... You are still young and you never have any child... Do you think you know how I feel when..."

"I pity you..." interrupt Volya

"Huh? What did you say?"

"You always said we don't know how we feel about you... And yes... I know that we never know about other people feeling..." continues Volya.

Volya then shoves the village elder and continues,

"But for this case... Do you know how your daughter feels?"

"Huh?"

"You blind yourself with your feeling of losing her... Without looking at her feelings..."

"What did you..."

Volya then looks at the village elder and shouts,

"Look at her! Could you hear her plea? Could you hear her scream to release her from the chain?"

"..."

"Could you see from her eyes... The eyes of someone that doesn't want to make any more problems with everyone around her..."

"I..."

"It's not only you the one who suffer... She also suffers... And I know everyone around her also suffers..."

The Village Elder looks down and tears start to fall. Volya then continues,

"That's why... I will release her from her chain... The chain that makes her suffer... The chain that makes her parents suffer... The chain that makes everyone around her suffer!"

Volya then starts to chant the magic once more. His eyes start to glow into a dark blue colour and he says,

"O thy maiden who hold on to fate, hear my prayer... Let those hands freed the bind that holds those souls. Let those hands take them to their eternal sleep."

The moment he said that the magic circle vanished. And a faint hand comes near the girl. Volya then continues,

"Let their soul free and make a new string for a new life. Hand of Fate!"

After he said that the hand immediately touched the girl and pulled a chain. The village elder that only looks at his beloved daughter starts to shake and pull Volya once more. He then says,

"You... You... You murderer... I... I..."

"..."

"I will never..."

"Father..." a gentle voice could be heard by everyone inside the room.

All of them were surprised to hear that and looked at the girl. There they could see the soulless body of the village elder daughter, but near that body stood a girl that looked at them gently.

The village elder immediately drops Volya and runs towards the girl and tries to embrace her. The other villager then walks to their village elder and gathers around him.

Meanwhile, Romain helps Volya to stand up and feels that Volya looks exhausted. He then says,

"What you did... Is really..."

"I only do... That girl's will," answer Volya

"Huh?"

"The moment we stood in front of the door, I could hear her plea... I just... Can't stand it you know..."

"How did you..."

"Ahahaha... Maybe... It has a connection with what happened between my father and my brother back then..."

Volya starts to cough and looks at gathering crowds around the village elder. He smiled at them and could see the girl looking at him. The girl walks towards Volya and says,

"Thank you for hearing my plea."

"I just do what I can to help others..." answer Volya

"Ehehehehe..."

The girl then looks at her father and says her last goodbye to him. As soon she said that she vanished from everyone there. The Village Elder has a conflicted emotion and starts to cry as everyone consoles him.

Volya looks at them and soon after that, he falls flat to the ground.