Fifth day of Catra’xahr, 4043 AOT

Lo’une’s territory outside of Roham Village, Laamhi

Lo’une, a B-rank armored humanoid demon that stands three meters tall, is now missing a right arm while kneeling down on one knee.

“You’re finally here!” Revan sounds proud. “Look we’ve almost defeated it.”

“Y-yeah…” Azalea is speechless.

“It looks scary but it hasn’t done anything special.” Kanon adds as she tightly grips her dual-wield swords.

“We should still be careful.” Sola warns while catching up with her breath.

“Something’s not right.”

“Everyone! Let’s deliver the finishing blow!” Clayborn shouts after taking a deep breath. “It can’t use its right arm anymore!”

The orb embedded in Lo’une’s chest is pulsing bright red light in higher intensity. That blinking red is something that usually serves as a warning, and it is making Azalea uneasy. She might have read about it before while studying about demons to pass the demon hunting licensure exam, but her memory is vague.

“It’s an uncommon but a dangerous trait… What is it?..”

Aldwin raises his claymore. “Hurry up! The demon might change its attack pattern!”

“No! We should retreat!” Azalea’s voice cracks.

Revan uses his spear to stop Azalea from taking a step forward. “We’ll end this quick.”

Sola has already completed support buffs while Clayborn runs forward holding knives in both his hands.

The demon raises its head to look at them with its eyes glowing red. Azalea feels a sudden shift in the flow of mana around them. It’s all moving towards the demon as if it is being forcefully absorbed. Everything is accumulating into the center.

Azalea stares at the flickering red orb at its chest. “FALL BACK!!!” She screams with all her might. “THE DEMON IS GOING TO SELF DESTTRUCT! EVERYONE, RUUUN!!!”

The five teens are stunned for a moment. They can now feel the air around them that is rapidly heating up. She can feel her heart beating faster. They got themselves into am extremely dangerous situation.

“We need a shield.” Sola mumbles.

“Don’t bother! JUST RUN!!!” Azalea taps Revan’s shoulder. “Get yourself together and run! Goddamn it!” She then dashes forward.

“AZALEA-!!” They all shout as she takes the frontline.

“SHUT UP AND RUN!!! FOR FUCK’S SAKE!”

They started to retreat wearing a worried expression.

Meanwhile, Azalea’s mind is running with different ideas about what would be the most effective way to protect everyone. She could cast a barrier to contain the explosion, but so far she has only learned the basics. She can only cast weak barriers around one person.

“If I can’t make magical barrier then…” She tells herself as she starts casting a spell. “Anything that could block it might work.”

A stone wall is quickly forming in front. She is hoping that it could block all of the destructive force. She need to build it high and thick enough. She can feel the enormous energy building up in the demon’s glowing red orb. The moment it stops flickering, a sudden gust of hot wind followed… And then everything turned white.

It hurts…

There is a strange high pitched ringing inside her head as she opens her eyes. The sunlight from the clear blue sky is blinding.

“My head hurts… I can’t move…”

She forces to move her hand with the little strength she has. Something is stuck piercing through her upper right abdomen. There are also small debris that pierced her body tiny knives.

It hurts…

Her passive spell, Pulse, is starting to activate again. The air around her is filled with large amount of mana particles. Strangely, despite the explosion, forest fire seems to have not broken out. There are only marks of burns. However, the surroundings feels devoid of any living creature.

“How long has it been?... Where are they?”

She stayed there lying on the cold ground, half-dazed and motionless. Her armor has many broken parts, cracks and scrapes. There are traces of dried blood that is stuck to her body as well as spilled on the ground.

“Were they able to run far enough?”

She must have been hit by the debris of the stone wall that broke apart when Lo’une self-destructed. She does not see her staff nearby.

“Maybe… I’ll just stay here…”

She closes her eyes. She does not know the extent of the injuries she received but it seems that she lost too much blood. Normal people would have died. She, however, has the spell that her father casted on her when she way still very young. So young she has no memories of it. That spell, Hol, automatically heals all her wounds.

“No! I have to find them… but I cannot move…”

Hol also forces her to fall into deep sleep when she receives fatal injuries. It focuses everything on healing her and keeping her alive.

“Over here!” A man’s voice rings from the distance. “I found her! The demon hunter!”

“She’s the last one we’re looking for.” Another man responds.

“Is she alive?” Their voices are coming closer.

“I’d be surprised. Looking at everyone else…”

Someone runs closer.

“Those injuries…”

“We’ve pretty much resolved ourselves… to just recover six corpses.”

The old man takes a look at Azalea. “Everyone! Hurry up! She’s alive! The young demon hunter is still alive! She’s alive!!!”

She hears several footsteps gradually come closer while she is barely conscious. They must be the rescue team. That just means that it has been at least a day since they fought Lo’une.

“Where… they?..” Her voice trembles.

“Shh… It’s okay. Don’t talk for now. You’re going to be fine.”

While the others gather around her, another group is preparing the stretcher.

Tears starts to form in her eyes. “Please… let me die…”

“No, child.” An old lady’s voice answers. It is gentle but also full of pain. “Calm down. It’s going to be okay”

She can feel her warm hands over hers as she falls back into deep sleep.

“Medic-!! Medic!”

∞×∞

Twenty fifth day of Panca’xahr, 4043 AOT

Wave 2, Arbhur City, Aesbyl Region, Surus

Azalea is woken up by the extreme heat of the day. The sun is currently at its peak scorching all unshaded areas of the land. Even though she is not under direct sunlight, it still makes her feel as if she is being grilled.

I feel gross…

A line of small black ants are passing by her side. They are carrying pieces of whatever they may consider as food. Her sight follows that line, it leads to a dead bug and a rotting fruit that she cannot identify what.

She feels her surroundings to assure that her pursuers have not traced her whereabouts yet. There should be no one hiding close by that are keeping an eye on her or preparing to ambush her. The pile of old boxes remains untouched. She looks around. The mound of dried leaves, food wrappers, and various types of plastics that have accumulated in the dark alley has not been disturbed.

Some unpleasant memories have played in her mind. It makes her feel terrible waking up with those sickening emotions.

“I should have… recognized that red orb faster.”

Even though she knows that thinking of “what if’s” and “should have done’s” will not make her feel any better, she just cannot help it.

“I should have warned them much much more insistently.”

They were young and daring, very much like her. Rethinking about it, maybe they were just looking for acknowledgment like how she was not so long ago.

“I should have been very very firm…”

The choices she made have not always lead her to the right answer. She knows it too well, the stubbornness that comes with undesirable consequences. There is no one to teach them about the procedures and dangers of a demon hunt.

“I should have learned more useful spells.”

But of course she cannot learn and practice everything. Considering her age and amount of training she has gone through, mastering high tier healing magic and various offensive spell is already a feat that very few can achieve. Maybe she is asking for too much, pushing herself over the edge while carrying the ghost of her past.

I just want to feel okay…

The scars from three years ago are resurfacing and starting to bleed again. The futility of her struggles to save her friends that only ended in tragedy will never stop haunting her. The pain brought by her helplessness as she watch them die.

She stands up, dusting away the dirt on her clothes. Her luggage and spear floats behind her as she takes a step out of the shade.

“It’s not the same.” She mumbles while bringing out the map to check her location. “The guilt I felt for my friends in YAHO, and the guilt I feel for those young hunters in Roham.”

She zooms into the detailed map looking for the most efficient route to take.

“YAHO were like family. I lived with them for four years. I always thought that I can always be with them in the future too… but it’s not like that… it can’t be like that anymore. I could have saved them if I learned magic… and if I was stronger…”

She moves again staying in the dim desolate alleys of that lawless Zone-0.

“Roham Village was… We weren’t that close. There was no strong bonds between us. But I respected them. I thought they could become great hunters in the future… in whichever path they decide to take. They proved their ability… But… I should have guided them better. They wouldn’t have died if I was more careful.”

She feels responsible for her inability to prevent their deaths. For her, that tragic hunt could have been something that she can stop.

“Is there still any merit in thinking all about this?.. Thinking about those memories makes me feel unpleasant… but avoiding to think about it makes me feel even more guilty.”

She takes a peek out of the alley. The road is peaceful, devoid of any vehicles. She is still far from the main road so it is less crowded. There are several people sitting around, out of their humble houses. Some are smoking something while the others are drinking alcohol. A few groups of children are running around full of sweat and dirt.

She returns to hide back in the dim alley, wondering if these many people could recognize her. Maybe the residents here does not have access to the news about the reward on her. But still, it is better to be careful.

She takes a deep breath. “Just to be safe.” She says softly to herself. “I can use illusion magic to change the color of my hair. Normally, I’d want to change to color of my eyes too but for some reason I am always unsuccessful… I should practice more.”

Azalea studied and learned at least the basics of different kinds of magic. She may not be an expert in majority of those but knowing the fundamentals will definitely help her in reading other mages in different situations, be it to coordinate with them or fight against them. It is something that her master has suggested, to learn as much as she can. Master Lone’s most recommended is to learn the basics and some low-tier illusion magic. Given how her master has angered so many random people and organizations, it is a must for both of them to be able to cast illusions in order to escape or avoid their grudges.

After changing the color of her hair from golden-yellow to ebony black, she walks out of the alley. She tried to change the color of her eyes to something different but after trying to change it to several colors that only lasted five seconds, she gave up and kept her purple eyes.

“My next hunting outfit needs to have a hood.” She notes to herself.

The black hair will be dispelled after ten minutes. She needs to get out of the populated area and go into the alleys before the spell ends. Then she needs to continue to find her way out of the slums and move to the next city.

“From now on, I should move at night… hiding in the shadows.”

If there are less people who can recognize her, then it’s better. She also need to get rid of some of her luggage. It is too troublesome to keep a large baggage while passing through the slums. She have to sell or exchange her unneeded stuff before she leaves Arbhur City’s Zone-0. With this, her financial problems would also be solved for a while. For now, she needs to get out of Wave 2 of the Zone-0 and get into Wave 3.

Every city has a powerful barrier built around it. This barrier protects it from monsters and low-ranked demons. The maintenance of this barrier costs large amount of money, so the cost of living inside the city is high as well. Unfortunately, there are people who cannot afford this cost to live within the safety of the city. In order to find a place that is still somewhat safe, these people built their house just outside the barrier. Since they are outside the barrier they are not considered as part of the city’s people so they are out of the government’s responsibility. This also means that everyone who finds settlement outside the barrier do not pay land and housing taxes. These lawless slums are known as “Zone-0.”

Zone-0’s vary in sizes, thus they are divided into “Waves.” These Waves are determined depending on how far they are from the end of the barrier. Wave 1 is the closes and the number increases the farther they are from the city. And the farther they are out, the worse the living conditions and environment is. The number of these Waves also differs from city to city.

The sun has set and the night is ripe. There is little light from the streets and houses around. Azalea believes that it will be easier to move from here on. But fate is not on her side. As she is about to take a turn on the road, she sees a group of armed men drinking at the side of the path she is taking. She first thought that maybe they are just regular crowd having a drinking party. But looking at their built physique, she concludes that they must be trained fighters. She decides it is too risky to pass so she turns away but those men already noticed her presence.

“Hey, blondie!” One of them calls which brings everyone’s attention to her.

Azalea turns her gaze towards them. “Y-yes? Right, I’m blonde.”

“Lil bitch, I think I’ve seen you before.” The man moves closer and everyone else follows.

“You have a point there.” She smiles. “Blondes are quite common, aren’t we?”

“Hm. Your eyes-”

“They’re contact lenses.”

“Contact lenses? What the fuck is that?”

“R-right. They’re like glasses but very small and thin. You can put them directly over your eyes. These things can change the color of your iris and improve your eyesight.”

“Oh. Fancy shits.”

“You’ve never known anyone with eye problems who uses these stuff?”

“No, no, those shits are too expensive.” He snickers.

“Over here, if your eyes get fucked, then you’re ‘bout’a go blind!” Someone says and then they all start laughing.

“Ha, ha… What an enthusiastic bunch.”

“So, are you coming with us? Or do we hav’ta go through the hard way and drag your ass back us?”

Azalea sighs. “Just my luck.”