“Are you crazy?”

“Possibly.”

Alary stared at her friend, trying to elucidate if the situation hadn’t broken something inside her, yet to her relief, she seemed to be the same as always, and Alary almost laughed at herself for doubting. “Can you at least tell me why?”

Alice smiled, and tapped her cheek with a finger a few times before saying, “Well, I don’t mind if they break it, but my plan doesn’t really need them to do it. I just need that beast to try.” She pointed at the huge demon boar, now standing upright, moving in circles right outside of the barrier, unaware of its lacking strength. The smaller ones remained at a distance; afraid of the barrier or of their alpha, no one knew.

“That still doesn’t answer my question.”

A breath of silence came in between then, moment Gallathorn took advantage of to step in and hand Alice her staff. “Does it have any mana left?” She asked, to which he shrugged, causing her to roll her eyes. “I’ll check.”

Indeed, The Fire-Shaper still had some mana inside, albeit almost nothing at all. If she wanted to do what she needed to do…

She shook her head, turning away from worry. The bet was hers, and so she needed to be the one to pay the price. Worrying about it would only hinder her focus when the time came.

Alary used the time to check on her sword, only to find that much like Alice’s staff, its mana was almost gone. If she wanted to keep using the weapon, she could only wait for its dim lifeforce to restore the used mana naturally, which would take a long time, or for her to recharge it, yet she wasn’t in any condition to do so.

Besides, even if shorter, it would still take time they didn’t have.

“So, how do we get him to attack the barrier?” Garry inquired then, once his breath was no longer as erratic.

Alice shrugged. “How do you get a common boar to attack you? You provoke it.”

“But how?” Gallathorn echoed.

“I don’t think it will matter.” Harold managed to say. His forehead was drenched in sweat, and everyone could see through his expression that the pain of his arm had done nothing but increase. “Look.”

All of them turned their gazes towards the beast, who had stopped moving, allowing the smaller demon boars to get in with ease, no longer threatened by being in its way. Once a decent number was inside, the beast squealed, its tusk reaching for the sky… and the beasts, as if in response, began to charge.

Hooves thundered, and the yellow curtain glowed, creating a shield that halted their advance… yet didn’t kill them. Long lost was its power to fulminate with lightning, and all it could do now was to block and paralyse the creatures that came in contact with it. Yet by the squeals the beasts released, the sensation was everything but pleasant.

“It really can command them.” Alice muttered, nodding to herself. “That’s one condition met.” She then clapped her hands together. “Alright, time to kill and get some meat!” she shouted, pulling Alary by her arm.

Garry followed suit, while Harold took a deep breath before standing up again. His mace could still be used, his legs could still move, and despite the pain, he could still help.

But Gallathorn stopped him. “We both know it’s not a good idea.”

Harold winced.

“If we need to make a run for it, we’ll need you up and able to follow us.”

Harold hated himself then, yet nodded and sat down. Sometimes, waiting was all a warrior like him could do, even if they had to do so in pain, surrounded by cries almost mirroring the ones inside his mind.

These cries belonged to the demon boars, all of them high-pitched and penetrating, many of them lunging themselves against the barrier with no concern at all for their well-being, their own self-preservation… except for the alpha. It just hung at the back, observing the barrier, carefully, with an intelligence Alice found intriguing.

In the meantime, Alary and Garry worked in tandem, each on their side, stabbing and smashing the paralyzed demon boars, making minimum contact in order not to be affected by the barrier’s effect as well, and after a stick of incense, a second wall of flesh formed right outside the barrier, almost like a barricade the beasts had to climb in order to meet their deaths.

Their actions seemed pointless, but Alice knew it wasn’t the case. Every time the barrier was activated, it drained the Essence circulating through the entire mountain range, and albeit the one outside would be hardly affected due to her adjustments, that would only be at first. Constant draining would eventually bring the temple’s barrier down, and if the artefact behind them, that silver table, were to be destroyed…

Then the whole barrier surrounding the mountain range would meet the same end.

That’s why she needed to call the alpha’s attention.

And so, her staff was lifted, and her mana soon began to fill it, working with its inner symbols, conjuring up flame.

“Alice?”

“I’m going to provoke it.”

“Do you have enough mana to do that?”

Alice didn’t look at her friend, and simply nodded. At her hands, the flame swelled, forming a perfect sphere, circling around as if frustrated for being contained… And once it reached the size of a normal demon boar, she threw it with a wave of her staff.

The ball didn’t make an arc, and almost didn’t make a sound… not until it reached its target. Just like when it felt threatened by Erinyes, the beast hurled itself against it, yet this time there was a huge difference in power between the two.

Alary noticed, and furrowed her brow.

The cave shook at the wake of the clash, the huge beast squealing as its massive body rolled against the rock, pain made clear on its burnt skin.

“Alice, you didn’t…” Alary muttered, yet her friend was already preparing a second fireball. She no longer had the luxury of losing her focus. “Alice!”

The alpha stood, and upon seeing the spell being prepared, it released a challenging roar and charged, stomping on its own kin, tossing them about with enough strength to splatter their entrails against the wall, crazed and enraged. Flesh met fire once again, yet this time it managed to preserve its momentum, and finally met the wall.

The entire cave shook again, the yellow curtain flickered, and Alice smiled.

Yet Alary, far from feeling any accomplishment, grimaced as she saw how a lock of her friend’s fire-like hair… turned white.

“Alright… but let her go first.”

Rei furrowed her brow at this, and shook her head once again, provoking a thin layer of blood to seep out of her neck.

“Hey, hey, hey. Calm down girl. “Keiner looked almost apologetic. “She moved, it wasn’t my intention.” Then, he seemed to ponder his options. “I’ll release her, but on one condition.”

“Name it.”

“She will walk East, past my subordinate with the bow, and once she’s lost from sight, you’ll release him.” Keiner shook his head then, in disbelief. “He might be incompetent, but I can’t let him die.”

“Why?” Asked Mira then, not entirely convinced.

“He is the son of someone important in my guild. If I return with his body, even if my mission is successful, my future there… won’t be bright.”

Mira stared at him, trying to discern a lie, some hesitation, anything that may allow her to peer into his thoughts, yet saw nothing. Either he was telling the truth… or some of it, at least. She sighed then, and nodded. “Deal. But she’s got to get close. ” She cocked her head in the direction of the bow user. “So that Rei is out of everyone’s sight.”

It was Keiner’s turn to nod. “Deal.” Then, he loosened his grip on Rei, who staggered forward before regaining her balance, and made a gesture towards his subordinate. The woman nodded, and began walking towards them.

Their steps soon became the only thing entering everyone’s ears.

As for Rei…

Rei couldn’t believe it yet.

There, in the middle of the village that had been her home, she felt lost. She felt like screaming. She felt like punching the man behind her even if that meant her head would be severed before her hand made a fist. She also wanted to scream at Mira for giving in… but her mind also knew her only option was to keep walking forward, until no one could see her anymore.

They… had to keep on living. No matter what.

But was it really worth it? Would what they were trying to preserve remain pristine if their conscience were to be tarnished?

It was a burden so heavy… Rei sometimes couldn’t help but wonder if there was a point in their struggle.

In the meantime, Mira was going through her options with a frozen expression, as to not let anything betray her true inner conflict. For giving up had never crossed her mind. But she couldn’t say that. Not outloud. Despite everything, even if it meant for the village to be burnt down with all its residents inside, her priority would always be to protect Rei… yet a part of that priority was also to protect her heart.

She was kind, far too kind for the world they lived in, and so, to trade the lives of the villagers of Gale to save her own skin would be a regret that could potentially halt her steps forever, to break the heart of a person whose future should be the brightest.

If she hadn’t had the means to know her life wasn’t in any danger, she would have rushed into the Demon Boar Mountain range as soon as she left her side… yet she also knew there were powers surrounding her that were beyond her comprehension…

She grimaced internally before the thought, the pain of her loss all too recent. Dan… would be her one regret.

Rei passed by her then, their eyes met, and Mira whispered two words, “walk slow.”

Rei nodded, almost imperceptibly, hiding her gaze, blurring the meaning of her message for anyone who may observe them.

As for Mira, her mind finally found calm, and with the subtlety of an old lioness, her every muscle readied itself for her next move. Right there, she had just one problem shackling her options.

The archer.

And that problem was now walking into her range with every passing breath.

Ten steps…

There, as her gaze skimmed through the dirt beneath her feet, Rei thought of how reality could shift so quickly.

Five steps…

Just yesterday, they were all having breakfast together. And he’d been close. So close.

Three steps…

Should she have told him the truth?

One step…

The archer entered her range, yet Mira’s attack… never came. All of her instincts flared up as she was about to pounce, freezing her in a knot of conflicting reactions, forcing her seventh sense to notice that Keiner had lunged himself at her, sword at the ready, blurry silhouette cloaked in killing intent. Fast. Too fast.

He had seen through her.

A part of Mira, in one corner of her mind during that eternal breath, became aware of how his actions and words led her to this moment.

The slash traced her neck like a mercy, clean, without resistance. Far too little resistance for the tensed neck of a person, even for a skilled swordsman like himself. Kiener was struck with this thought.

And in disbelief, he couldn’t but watch Mira’s figure dissolve into the gentlest of mists, only to reappear a few steps away, pale, panting, clutching at her chest as if to try to calm her heart.

“How…?” Surprise took hold of his expression, and despite going through his memories, he failed to recall a guild using techniques like that one, not even from The Tower.

And that mist… shouldn’t be within a Tempered Essence realm adventurer’s means.

All the while, Mira was gathering her wits, her sweat running cold, her breathing a mess, not only for how close she’d been to death, but because of the exertion she had just put herself through. That technique wasn’t something she could use lightly, much less in a hurry.

However, thanks to the shock it caused to her opponent, and the fact that after lunging himself like that he still needed to regain his balance, she obtained a bit of time to recover…

But not enough.

For behind her, there were still two figures moving closer to each other, and their “deal”… had just been broken.

So, her mind notioned.

Her seventh sense swirled in a panic then, covering the distance in a fragment of a breath, only to force her body to betray her intentions and turn around, too exhausted to react any faster, too far away to be of any help.

“REI!” Mira managed to scream.

The owner of that name, however, didn’t react. Couldn’t react. Her hands were frozen mid motion, her gaze dumbfounded, her lips colored crimson before the arrow that was abruptly plunged into her chest. The young woman, by her side, released her grip on it, and as if stringless, Rei’s knees met the ground.

Mira’s gaze blurred. She screamed and rushed to her, followed by Keiner’s blurry shadow, resuming his attack, body and edge made one, leaving her barely any time to react. His actions, however, suddenly found no place within Mira’s awareness, for in her field of vision there was only a tender figure whose life was being snuffed out…

And that woman’s. She met her eyes then, dark, made of a swallowing black she recognized instantly. She would have cursed herself for being so blind if it weren’t because there wasn’t any real time.

Those dark eyes…

Were a symptom of extreme corrosion by demonic Essence.

In that moment, she realized she would throw away her life just to reach that woman and drink her heart bloodless for what she’d done. That decision also became a certainty, and her body began to shift its weight to give up any chance of retaliation against death…

Yet her pulse jumped once again…

When her eyes caught an ivory spear falling from the sky, piercing that woman’s chest.