Alice’s seventh sense flooded the cave, looking for a weakness, something…

But what was in front of her was beyond strange. The demon boar’s Essence, for starters, was plagued by tendrils coming from the cloth around its tusk, a shadow invading its demonic attribute.

What was that thing?

Alice shook her head, as a theory came into her mind.

She wasn’t a member of The Tower just by chance. Her guild could be considered the greatest storage of knowledge throughout the human realm, and she had to study a great deal in order to become an Archon.

“Aly! Remember our class?! ‘Advanced soul theorems’?!’” She asked out loud, trying to think.

“I’m… “ Alary jumped, then dashed, restricting the use of her wind just to aid her movement, as the beast thrashed and threw stones in order to pin her down. “A bit… “ she sliced with her sword while in the air, using her momentum, meeting flesh yet leaving no lasting damage. The beast was covered in cuts and its own blood, but it's vitality seemed to have no end. “Busy!”

“The teacher talked about this one thing… “Alice began walking in circles, her arm beneath her chest, holding her other elbow. She gestured as she talked as if giving a speech, frustrated yet inquisitive. “There was this thing that could become a sort of parasite… “

Alary met the ground, yet her balance failed as her chest heaved from exhaustion, and was hit by a tusk on her sides, tossing her against the wall. The beast lost no time, and with a squeal, the mass of muscle hurled itself forward, red glow fixed on her prey, yet Alary stood up, braced herself… and dashed to the side, slicing towards the creature’s nose, provoking the beast to lose its balance in a squeal of pain. It’s body rolled through the ground while its hooves tried to reach the wound.

She heaved up and down, her hands on her knees, taking a few breaths of respite until the beast recovered from its pain. “Sentient beings.” She said then, recalling the class. “Newly sentient beings… “ Her erratic breathing halted her speech. “Theory… “

“Of course!” Alice extended her arms in celebration. “Newly sentient beings without a body could, in theory, try to take control of a host… “ Her gaze then became fixed on the beast, while her seventh sense circled around the shadows wrapped around its tusk… “You little son of a… “

What if the one refining Essence wasn’t the demon boar itself, but that thing? What if that thing had control over the demon boar, and was the very reason it became able to grow all the way to being a 4th order beast?

She bit her lower lip, and thought herself crazy. “Everyone! Seek refuge inside the temple!”

Her voice easily vibrated through the cave, reaching her now comrades, yet all of them thought something wasn’t right. Wasn’t the barrier supposed to be weakened? How were they supposed to hold on while inside?

Also, wouldn’t that put the temple at risk?

“Come already for Cirse’s sake!” She screamed. “There is a way out of this mess!”

Alary shook her head in disbelief, yet given her current state, she didn’t have a better idea. “Gallathorn, help Harold! Garry, keep them at bay and retreat!”

Her voice carried a special authority, and as The Fire-Shaper flickered, the men realized they wouldn’t be able to hold the demon boars back much longer. So, for the lack of a better idea, they followed their orders.

It took them a few breaths to reach the barrier, and Alary didn’t make a run for it until she was sure her team was already there, her eyes fixed on the 4th order beast trying to get up again. Once inside, she fell to the ground, and it took her a moment to calm her breathing.

“What’s your… plan?” She managed to ask.

Alice smiled. “To let them break the barrier.”

“So, it seems there is someone on this dot of the map that knows how to fight.”

His gaze fell on his subordinate, whose chest had been caved in, his life flickering. Such damage could only be done by someone a realm higher than him, and with enough experience to make one move count as a hundred.

Mira, on her part, ignored him completely and looked at Rei, who was staring at her, uncertain. “Look for a place to hide.” She instructed, yet as soon as the words left her mouth, she caught a glimpse of something approaching. That something was fast, yet she was faster, and her hand quickly caught it on the fly. It was an arrow. She applied a bit of force and broke it, before openly walking into the village’s main path. “Old boulder, how dare you be hit by this thing. I thought you’d be more useful. Forget being beaten by that kid, a newborn could knock you out.”

Jeff chuckled at that. “How dare you… “ He took hold of the arrow. “You babbling WITCH!” and pulled it out, screaming the last word as pain made his mind go blank.

The blood flowed, yet all he did was put his hand over it, and after a breath, it stopped. Despite appearances, the wound was still there, for only its bleeding had been halted. Jeff’s refinement level may have reached only the Tempered Essence realm, but during his time as an adventurer, he learnt many things, that technique among them.

However, no sooner had the bleeding stopped, that another arrow whistled, forcing Jeff to roll to the side in a grunt of pain, just in time before it hit. He then used the momentum to stand up and try to rush to cover…

Yet Teppei took the opportunity to unsheathe his own sword, and slash towards his ankle. Jeff had no time to react, and soon the cut muscles gave in beneath his weight, his knees meeting the ground once again. Right there, He would have continued to fall in order to roll out of the bow’s range, if it weren’t for the cold edge that suddenly touched his neck, forcing him to seek balance.

“It seems you’ve got a fighter in you, old man. I underestimated you.” He then turned to look at Mira again. “Move, and he dies.”

Mira’s steps continued on, not the least bit afraid, not the least bit hesitant. “Kill him, why should I care? He just called me a witch, if you recall. Besides…”

An arrow flew, its path true, hidden in the light of the sun… and pierced her head.

“... I’m not where you are looking.” She finished, right behind Teppei, as at her previous position her own image disappeared in formless mist. He tried to react, to slash as he turned, yet he found himself losing balance without any reason to, for he never felt someone touch him.

In the meantime, Rei took advantage of their distraction to run to the side, hiding behind one of the houses near her Aunt’s. From there, she watched the fight, a light of hope beginning to burn in her chest.

Mira stomped the ground, fiercely, provoking a minor quake right beneath her opponent. Its balance lost, Teppei was unable to brace against her punch, step forward, which twisted as it met its mark, the force running through his body before sending him rolling on the ground in a mess of flesh and crimson spit.

Another arrow flew, yet she caught it and snapped it just like the first one. “Nemesis’s black stare, get up! I can’t protect you and myself at the same time!” She cursed, kicking the sides of the old man.

Jeff’s gaze dropped, and despite being unable to stand up by himself, he began to crawl towards the nearest cover.

“And you!” Mira pointed at the man called Briss, who was trying to make his way towards Rei. “I’ll be with you in a moment!”

Another arrow flew towards Jeff, yet it met the same end as the rest. “You are getting annoying, girl.” She said then, piercing the distance with her gaze, finding the archer’s.

What the hell is up with this grandma. The girl thought, placing another arrow at the ready, yet not firing it this time. If all her shots were going to be caught, she preferred to wait for the right moment.

Once Jeff finally found cover, Mira turned towards Briss, who had no idea what to do, as he was clearly not her opponent, yet running away wasn’t an option either.

Not with their employer, most likely. She thought, as her steps took her right in front of the man whose bravado was long gone. The only reason not to run from impending death was to have no place to run to. “You actually waited…”

Briss slashed towards her as she approached, but the blade was met with the back of her hand, and in one hit was deviated. Next, her knuckles hit him in the elbow, numbing his hand and making him drop the sword, and finally, she turned around and drove her own elbow in the chest of the man, fast, precise, ruthless. He tried to breathe, but all he managed was to spit blood and fall on his knees.

“Y-You. Are you at the Tempered Essence third stage?!” Asked Teppei, who finally managed to stand up. “No one told us about you!”

Mira shrugged. “Just the second stage. But it makes sense for you to think so, given the group of shitbags you are.” Her hand gripped the kneeling man by her side, and in a twist, his head made an unnatural turn before his eyes rolled and his body, as if losing its strings, fell with a dull thud.

She expected him to feel insulted, angry even. Opponents whose emotions flare were the easiest to handle, most of the time, yet what she saw in his expression… was relief.

“Only second stage?” He pointed his sword at her, and took a stance. “Come then!”

Mira cocked her head to the side, once, testing her neck. Then ran at him, her feet a blur, her fists ready. Teppei thrusted forward as soon as she entered his range, yet Mira sidestepped and grabbed his arm, turned around, and hit his nose with the back of her head. Finally, by moving her feet backwards, shifting her weight, she threw him over her body and slammed the ground, provoking a cloud of dust to surround them.

An arrow flew, yet she caught it without even looking at it… and this time, instead of snapping it, she stabbed it on Teppei’s left shoulder. The same as Jeff’s injury. “Here. Let’s see if you can pull it out by yourself. “

She expected him to wince, to cry in pain… but he only smiled. “It doesn’t matter… You are done.”

Mira lifted an eyebrow at this, not able to understand what was happening. However, it took her only one scream for her inner spirit to plummet.

“Mira!”

Rei.

She turned around. Teppei tried to slice at her, yet she still had enough presence of mind to step on his arm and twist her feet. Another arrow flew then, yet she only bent slightly to avoid it, her eyes fixed on the man holding Rei, his hands grabbing both her wrist behind her back, while wielding a sword against her neck. A bloody edge which brought the faces of all the villagers who lived in the west side of Gale.

“It seems we’ve got someone capable here.” Said the man, eyes black, hair short and brown. His expression was stern, and he shared the same uniform as the others. As his gaze took in the scene in front of him, he nodded. “It seems my subordinates have given you a hard time. I apologize.”

“I don’t care what you eat, but try not to spill shit every time you talk!” Mira shouted.

Now she understood why the one called Teppei looked so relieved. It was the man she was staring at now!

And as the man in question entered her seventh sense’s range, her suspicions were confirmed.

“Tempered Essence third stage, uh?” She muttered, not the least bit surprised. Her feet on Teppei’s arm twisted again, getting a cry of pain out of him. “Release her, and I won’t kill your underling!”

The man shook his head. “There will be time to negotiate after our introductions.” He kept walking closer, his pulse steady, his eyes determined. Mira quickly realized that his refinement level wasn’t the only thing that set him apart from the rest. “I’m called Keiner. For obvious reasons, I cannot tell you nor my surname, nor my guild. I hope you understand.”

Mira squinted her eyes. “I understand that you don’t know how to listen to your elders; I remember telling you not to spill shit. As for my name, I would rather give it to a dog!”

The one called Keiner nodded, and added, “Then let’s start the negotiations. What if I were to say I’m willing to let you and this girl go, as long as you don’t get in our way?”

Mira furrowed her brow at this. “Why would you be willing to do that? With your refinement level, I should be easy prey.”

Keiner shook his head. “That may be true if killing you was the only condition to finish my job. But it isn’t. Hence, I prefer you gone rather than dead.”

“What’s your job then?”

“It doesn’t involve killing either of you, and that’s what should matter.”

Mira’s expression winced, a creeping worry sinking in her bones. “Why would you set us apart from the rest of the villagers?”

Keiner nodded again, understanding the question, and after a few breaths of thought, answered, “We were given specific details about who lived here and their refinement level. You two… were not among them, and our information is only a few months old.”

Mira cursed internally, not letting any of her mixed emotions seep through her expression. Her gaze then met Rei’s, and the girl, wise to her inner doubts, shook her head, ignoring the blade held to her throat.

That caused her to sigh.

“Alright… let her go first.”