On the other side, as soon as Mira saw the spear piercing that woman’s chest, she recognized it. She recognized it, and smiled, a smile of inner joy she hadn’t felt in years. She abandoned her previous idea, returning her weight centre to where it was, but because she halted her action midway, her balance was lost…

Yet that was precisely what saved her life.

Kiener’s sword cut her hair, and he himself became shocked before the scene happening where his subordinate was. If Mira hadn’t lost her balance, she would have died; but if Kiener hadn’t lost focus because of the woman’s sudden death, he wouldn’t have missed the chance of striking again.

In fact, none of them were able to do anything else after, except stare at Avaln’s Runecasting as the dust settled. Neither knew it as such, however, and thought it just a very advanced form of Spellcasting.

“Who…?” He muttered, yet never finished. Behind him, grandma Mira recovered from her own surprise and attacked with a fist to the back of his head.

Despite the abrupt action, in a turn of steel and instinct, Keiner was faster. Blade met flesh, yet nothing was cut. Mira never expected her attack to work to begin with, so all her weight had been directed towards deflecting the counterattack that was likely to come. She never underestimated her opponents, not even those with a refinement level lower than her, much less higher.

The chances of a sneak attack working against him had been minimal from the start.

Mira shook her hand, which had become numb from that one exchange, then signalled him to move piece, yet Kiener remained with his guard up, eyes focused. He knew from what he saw from afar that the elderly woman had a better time countering than attacking, and given that he was the one with the most range, all he needed to do was to wait for her to enter his.

And so, he took a step forward, fast, too fast, with a clear murderous intent which Mira mistook as action. Her plan was to take a step forward at the same time as he did, allowing her to close the distance faster than her enemy could follow, yet her own plan was read like an open book.

She sighed internally. She had never been a melee fighter anyway, but that was beside the point, and outside her current abilities.

She entered his range, and met a diagonal slash she couldn’t deflect, so she shifted her weight and sidestepped to the side, turning a fatal wound into a graze on her shoulder. Next, she attempted to grab the extended arm, yet much to her disappointment, Keiner had already stepped back.

This time, she expected him to wait, again, only to find he had lunged himself forward.

As she received a stab to her other shoulder, she cursed internally at her lack of strength.

A minor realm was enough of a gap for there to be this much difference in their reaction times. But even so, she still had cards to play.

Edge pierced flesh… yet Mira took the chance to grab his arm, stomp the ground and hit his elbow, forcing him to release his grip as his hand turned numb. She then took a few steps back, which Keiner mirrored as he shook his limb, trying to regain its senses.

“To trade a wound for a weapon in a fight against someone of a higher realm… “ Kiener commented, then slightly bowed. “It seems experience can still bear its fangs in the presence of power.”

Mira pulled the sword out and threw it away, yet no blood poured out of her injury. She also knew the technique Jeff had used, and was much more proficient in it. It was all about mental strength. “Your praise means shit, the same as your word.”

Kiener smiled, for the first time. “You say that. But I think I wasn’t the only one hiding his true intentions.”

She furrowed her brow, cursing his unusual insight, wondering how many of her thoughts had been seen through. She could imagine him waiting for her to turn around, seeking to know Rei’s state, and take the chance to sever her head.

Where did that man come from? What was his background? He was really not your out-of-the-mill peak Tempered Essence realm adventurer, that’s for sure.

“Who are you?”

“Kiener.”

“If your praise actually means anything, you could at least answer my questions.” Mira spat, buying a bit of time. “You are planning to kill me anyway, are you not?”

“I must apologize then.” Kiener answered, his eyes focused on each one of her movements. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, but rather that I can’t. My principles won’t let me.”

She scuffed at that. “An assassin with principles?”

“Same as you.”

Mira lifted an eyebrow at that, then she couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m no assassin. But thank you for the compliment. I think.”

He cocked his head. “If you want to keep your cards close to your chest, then why shouldn’t I?” Then, he lifted a hand, as if waiting for something. Soon after, a sword came flying, which he caught by its grip. “Finally.” He commented, and from behind, a figure Mira thought would never stand up again surged. “Took you long enough, Teppei.”

“I’m sorry, leader. The old woman was quite vicious.” He stepped forward, and slightly bowed towards the man he called leader. In his hand a sword was wielded, one he had plundered from his dead subordinates, while the one he threw to Keiner was his. Mira saw no sign of the arrow she stabbed on his shoulder, nor pain, nor wound, just dry blood, puzzling her internally.

Health potion? Was her guess.

“I know. I’ve just fought her. Don’t feel bad, for you are indeed not her opponent” Teppei simply nodded at this, which gained his approval. “Now go capture the newcomer. I don’t know what he is doing, but we are not allowed to leave any witnesses. That girl has to die.”

“Like I’ll let you!” Mira moved to intercept him, but far from being stopped by Keiner, it was another’s hand that halted her advance.

“No need.”

A spear appeared with a flourish right beside her, yet Avaln’s gaze never met hers, and was instead focused on the man right in front.

“You!” Teppei pointed a finger at him. “How…?”

“You know him?” Keiner asked, clearly understanding his reaction, cursing internally at being too focused on the elderly woman to notice that young man’s approach, who had also done so quite splendidly.

The fact that his subordinate also knew him already only increased his curiosity.

“I… I killed him.” Teppei shook his head in disbelief. “I cut his back open, and infused the blow with my Essence. He should be dead.”

Avaln lifted an eyebrow at this. “Grandma Mira, do I look like a ghost to you?”

The elderly woman grimaced. “Just because I’m old, I’m supposed to know what a ghost looks like?”

She shook her head, then opened her mouth to speak again, yet hesitated, afraid of the answer to her nascent question.

“Don’t worry.” Avaln said then, aware of her inner conflict. Not because he noticed it, but because he imagined it. “Rei is alright. I left her with old man Jeff. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to heal his ankles.”

Mira was struck by conflicting emotions then, her focus wavering.

How she wasn’t able to protect Rei. How relieved she was. The shock… How was it possible for a Nascent Essence realm kid to heal such a grave wound in a matter of breaths?

And the hope. They now had a chance. If she could hold them back long enough, the kid and Rei may be able to get away. “Take her. Take her and leave!” She ordered then, taking a step forward.

Before, if she only had to fight Keiner, she may have bought enough time for the people of Gale to scatter and escape, but now, against the two of them… she could barely expect the kid to carry Rei out of harm’s way.

“I refuse.” Mira lifted her eyebrow, and stared at him. “Don’t look at me like that. I’ve got a debt to settle, and I’m not about to abandon you all just to save my skin.”

The elderly woman sneered. “What can a Nascent…” She was about to try and reason with him, yet her words got jumbled up in a knot inside her throat by what her seventh sense told her, after it enveloped Avaln’s body and perceived the power circulating through it. “When…”

Keiner listened to that exchange, for his attention had never left the opposite couple, and leaned towards his subordinate as a result “What realm was he when you attacked him?” The question had a hint of anger, something Teppei became aware of instantly, for such a subtle change was as violent as thunder in Keiner’s usually neutral tone of voice.

“Nascent Essence realm… “He replied, then let out his seventh sense to check, just in case. He was confident of his assertion, but that man held enough authority for him to doubt even what he considered certain. “What…”

“... When did you reach the Tempered Essence realm?” Mira’s heart missed a beat, and had to steady her focus once again before the impression.

Avaln just smiled.

“What did I tell you about mystery, kid? It doesn’t give you character.” Her hand slapped his back before returning her gaze to Keiner, a new plan being traced in her mind. “Can you deal with the other man? You two seem to have a grudge.”

“That’s the debt I was talking about.” Upon hearing her, he made a step of distance, his purple eyes fixed in what now was his prey. “I’ll manage.”

Teppei’s until now dumbfounded expression furrowed in anger at that remark. “‘I’ll manage’?” He repeated, sardonic, then even that emotion froze beneath his pride. “You don’t know how stupid you sound, greenhorn. All you’re going to ‘manage’ is to die under my foot.”

Avaln shrugged, and readied his spear. “Come then.”

Teppei took a stance, yet his attempt to step forward was halted by someone else.

“Who may you be? You seem young.” Keiner asked then, placing a hand in front of his all too eager subordinate. “Too young to know such advanced techniques of Spellcasting.”

“Shouldn’t you introduce yourself first?” Avaln replied, focusing on that man for the first time. He already suspected him to be strong, and his seventh sense only confirmed his previous assertion.

Tempered Essence third stage. He surmised after comparing his and Mira’s refinement level, feeling also how the same hue of demonic Essence ran through both, leader and subordinate.

“How dare you speak to our leader like that?!” Teppei flared as he shifted his stance.

“Calm down, Teppei. The young man is right.” The man bowed then, shortly, barely a courtesy. He was addressing a junior, after all. “My name is Keiner. I’m afraid I can’t tell you my full name, nor my guild.” He made a gesture, covering their entire situation. “For obvious reasons.”

A nod, yet no sign of relaxing. “I’m Avaln.” An idea shone then, and he went with it. “Avaln of Gale.”

In the end, he couldn’t say “Of Greenleaf” as orphans there weren’t named like that. Arthur, once, offered him his own surname, and although Avaln felt joy before the possibility, in the end he never gave an answer, for his heart didn’t feel deserving.

Arthur… had already done enough for him.

“Of Gale?” Keiner’s gaze was streaked by a hint of interest. “How strange. Just like the grandma here and that girl, I had no information of anyone by that name living in this village. Information only a few months old.”

Avaln smiled, hiding the puzzling sensation such a comment brought to his attention.

How could grandma Mira and Rei, people who were treated like life-long neighbours in Gale, only had been here for a few months? The idea was nonsense, to say the least. However, ignoring the doubts such a matter arose, his mind caught that piece of information and used it as a scope, allowing him to steal a glimpse of the bigger picture.

Information only a few months old. What was happening now had been planned for at least that long.

Why Gale? Was the question he notioned then.

“We are reinforcements! We heard the barrier surrounding the Demon Boar Mountain range has yet to be repaired, and we got dispatched from Greenleaf four days ago to see why it is so. Have the previous adventurers returned yet?” Avaln recalled the words of one of their group, who was now most probably dead. He suspected most of it to be just a bunch of lies, yet there was one part which was highlighted in the memory.

“Have the previous adventurers returned yet?”

They were aware of Greenleaf dispatching a group to deal with the barrier. He never met them, nor asked much about them… but now they seemed to be the key to understanding the reason for Gale’s current predicament.

Avaln wasn’t a well of knowledge, but thanks to his casual conversations with Alary, he had an inkling about how guilds functioned. And one of the things she mentioned was that they were quite reserved with their quests’ information. In the end, aside from some particular cases, guilds weren’t friendly with each other, as quests were not only a source of income for them, but also could lead their own adventurers to opportunities to advance and increase their guild’s strength.

When a team of adventurers was dispatched, none of the information regarding their quest nor route nor composition was to be known by outsiders, for other guilds may try to target said team in order to acquire the quest for themselves, plunder their equipment, or even… refine their Essence.

That left Avaln with two options in front of him:

That group of adventurers were indeed members of Greenleaf…

Or they were the cause of the quest in the first place.