Light emitting from Vassal’s sword eliminating all darkness from the area. Specks of light crawled out of the earth and fluttered onto their star-studded stage. They danced in the gentle breeze, almost like a night of fireflies putting on a lightshow.

“I’m giving you one last chance. Return what you’ve stolen.”

Instead of replying, Simonn retained a smile, provoking Vassal to unleash his strongest attack. He signalled Felix to go back to the cabin preparing to defend Neila from any collateral damage.

Seeing his friend defy him, Vassal grit his teeth. There was no other choice but to kill Simonn.

As his anger rose, the passing wind brewed into gale force winds whipping violently. Rocks and dust carried in the current of strong winds. His blade began absorbing light until it became brilliantly bright.

“Strike now, Lux Aragirus! Kudera Armngwt! Zactnix”

An enormous foreign spear like object crashed out of the clouds. Slithering spectral ribbons could be seen clutching at the sides from the lump of energy that shined brilliant bright. Its speed slowed, but the wind pressure below pinned everyone in place. Even those who were strong enough move within gale force winds were unable to escape due to the spell’s ability freeze movement of the target by wrapping chains of light around them.

Naturally, this would be certain death for anyone. They would be impaled, crushed, and burned; not even ashes would survive. It wouldn’t matter if you were a walking fortress. Vassal’s attack would pass right through any barriers and all enchantment then send you to oblivion.

Escape before it appears was the only method most know to survive this encounter. Most.

“This is the end!”

Victory was certain if it dropped on Simonn.

“I feel honored to see you use this against me.”

Simonn couldn’t move an inch due to the chains. With his movements seal, he instead gazed at the spear with a wild grin, intently waiting for Vassal’s trump spell to fall closer.

Under the roaring winds, he whispered.

“Tzurari. Tzuari. Goshet hoi, bwheki gala. Through the Oracle’s light, the burning flames of hope will purify. Search then bear, fall and tear, until they all become nothing and leave their spirits crumble to dust and ashes. Xaief Lonic, Wach.”

Just as the falling spear of light was about to touch a flick of Simonn’s hair, the spear halted. Its shape began disintegrating.

Vassal watched as his spell crumbled midair, dissolving into specks of light. Then, a power outage shut down the area. In a blink of an eye, the wine-colored sky instantly turned black. As for bioluminescent plants of this world, they lost their glow. The entire world around them turned pitch black.

Only flames from their battle remained, illuminating dim lighting onto the surrounding. Vassal could not see beyond the flames. The light from his sword had died and something felt amiss.

“Blindness? No, a curse? I should be immune to curses.”

Vassal heard the sound of chains, the whirling wind coming for him. He raised his sword deflecting a bowling object. From sparks, he caught a glimpse of the object connected to dragon scaled like chains.

His hands trembled after receiving the hit. It was dark, he couldn’t see anything past the patches of flames.

“Dammit, he’s hiding in the dark.” He hovered his hand over his blade, infusing it with magic. “I need light.”

Noticing his incantation had failed, he tried again. That’s when he realized what happened. The elementals did not respond to him and his connections to spirits were cut off.

His ears picked up faint metallic rustling. Immediately, chains from three directions attacked him with their razor-sharp scales. Vassal managed to block two as the third one sawed into his armor protecting his ribs.

The bowling object came again flying towards him. He made out its shape from the backlight and used the flat side of his sword to block it. He was knocked back, rolling on the ground until he fell flat on the ground.

Vassal’s eyes darted to the source where he heard a branch snap. A flickering small light encased in glass jar revealed a figure from the darkness. The head of the figure’s weapon was missing, but the scaled chains hanged from the handle of Simonn’s weapon leading into the dark.

“I wonder about that. Magic is sure a convenience, isn’t it? Take that away from someone who constantly relies on it and they begin to panic.”

“What did you do? You sealed off magic?”

“No. I can’t do that. In fact, there’s no one or anything powerful enough that can seal magic away. Magic is its own entity that cannot submit to anyone. We form connections with words Elemental Spirits teach us and in turn, they bestow their power onto us.”

“Then why can’t I use it?!”

“Here’s your answer.”

Vassal caught the lantern thrown at him. What he saw as the source of light was blades of grass imbue with magic to illuminate it, a spell Vassal wanted to use it for his sword.

A patch of grass around Simonn had their bioluminescence returned to them. As he snapped his finger, [Lux Aragirus. Kudera Armngwt, Zactnix], Vassal’s supposedly final attack to end Simonn appeared above them.

His eyes widened with shock knowing his magic is being used against him.

“That’s-!”

“When you casted two illumination spells, I altered one, so one of your spells became the holy spear.”

As for the Holy Spear, it’s considered unique magic. I can’t fully replicate it, but it close enough. Despite it still being a copy, if I launch it back at him the damage will reach Neila.

Simonn made a fist, in turn extinguishing the Holy Spear.

“Any spells you cast are not guaranteed to be the one you wanted. I am in control of what you use and can use any of your spells anytime I want.”

“You had this ability…? Why didn’t you use this against the Shadow Lord?!”

“It’s simple. You only use everything when you want to desperately want to protect something.”

“You’re telling me all those people who threw their lives away weren’t worth protecting?”

“They volunteered to throw their lives away. Their choices were not my concern.”

“You monster! They were your concern! They fought for the sake of having a tomorrow and a future just like we did! They shared our beliefs and our desire to not let humanity get destroyed!”

Simonn frowned.

“That was the most cringe I’ve ever heard from a hypocrite like you. You saved the world once and now you waged war against it. You’re destroying the purpose of those who sacrifice themselves. You’re soiling everything Elin did for the cause.”

“That isn’t true!”

“Then what are you doing now? This kind of shit talking is precisely why I never trusted you through the journey. It’s simpletons like you why I have to hold back for the sake of false heroism.” Simonn argued. “O’brave hero. You labelled me as a monster but tell me one thing. What’s the simplest thing that separates a hero and a monster?”

“Wha-?”

“Answer me!” Simonn bellowed.

“A hero saves lives. A monster threatens them.”

“Then I will say the opposite. A monster saves lives. A hero threatens them. You who is the hero is now threatening the world. I’ve become the monster who opposes you to save lives. This is the standard cliché where the villain wants change, but the hero is there to stop that. I don’t know what’s going through your head, but you’re a hero that played its role for too long. You’ve taken the role of the villain.”

“Then you’ve glorified yourself as the hero?”

“Not exactly. I’d say I’d have an important role, but I’m not main character material. I never had a heart of gold to begin with.” Simonn shook his head. “If I’m not careful, I might lose my life almost like a moment ago. I have to live. You know me. I’m not a self-sacrificing type for the masses.”

But I will sacrifice myself for one person and one person only.

Even if it’ll cost him his life further down this path, he’ll fight. He’ll fight down to his last breath, to bones until the threat is over. He’ll fight to protect Neila and keep her happy even if he needs to drown himself in an ocean of blood.

“I won’t let you get your hands on those books. I’ll preserve this world and deny your change.”

“We need this change! If I don’t get my hands on those Memorandums, we’re all going to die!”

“Not if I have to say anything about it. Kaeth wasn’t as stupid as you and knew his place. He should’ve become the hero.”

“Says the person who brutally murdered him.”

“It was necessary just as you decided to sacrifice Elin. Her death was your fault. Felix and I haven’t forgiven you for that. Especially Felix. You took away his only family member.”

When Vassal heard his blame boomeranged back to him, something within him snapped.

He clenched his sword tightly and ground his teeth. For all the sacrifices built up to face off the Shadow Lord, he couldn’t bear to stand against Simonn’s disrespect towards all the friends he lost. The torrent of negative emotions overwhelmed him, his eyes glared daggers.

“I know you loved her, but man. That’s brutal even when she rejected you.” Simonn laughed.

Vassal felt his emotions burst. He dragged his body. Little by little, step by step, his pace increased. From a walk to a jog then sprinting with the remaining strength his body had, he dived towards Simonn in a frenzy of revenge.

“SIMONN, I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!”

“Doesn’t it feel great when you’re on the winning side? You had two other Acolytes to help you, and you couldn’t bring me down. Why is the Hero so darn weak? I guess the difference really shows when half of everyone’s souls are taken away!”

Without magic, Vassal’s swordsmanship was still a force to be reckon with. Various strikes came swift and heavy as flashes of silver light quickly overwhelmed Simonn. Vassal unleashed a flurry of slashes fueled by vengeance. They swarmed Simonn until they were faster than what could be blocked.

Simonn whipped his chained weapon in a circle to draw distance between them. Once he was certain the enemy Hero withdrew, he whipped a blunt object at Vassal.

Vassal heard the metallic noise rapidly closing on him and jumped. He spun away from the first whiplash and twisted his body into the air, dodging the razor-sharp scaled chains and brought his blade down that was blocked by Simonn’s third swing. Orange sparks showered all around as metal clashed against metal.

His speed, strength and accuracy are increasing. He’s trying to end it quickly.

A chain of never-ending attacks showered Simonn, forcing him to use his chained weapon to block. The delay from long chains needed him to predict his swings to match Vassal’s attack.

“You’ve gotten faster.”

“I can’t use magic for some reason, but that doesn’t mean I’m out of options.”

“Oh? But your habits are still here.”

“And you’re too cocky!”

Vassal blitz through the tiniest gaps between chains, enduring bits of skin ripped off. He forced Simonn to retract his weapon to defend while he kept the pressure.

Vassal eventually parried an attack that blew back Simonn’s mace.

“This is the end!”

He held the handle firmly, moving his sword in such a speed that created afterimages of twelve swords folding on Simonn. The distraction allowed Vassal to feint his attack before unleashing one true strike, pushing his blade through Simonn’s already injured shoulder.

Or seem it looked like.

Simonn stretched a villainous smile across his face. Vassal’s sword definitely pierced through his shoulder, but the lack of feedback said otherwise. It was like he struck a ghost permeable against all physical strikes.

“But… how?”

Carelessness had Vassal hit a coffin sprung from darkness as his vision tunnel on exacting revenge. He felt vibrations rippling from his sword into the coffin and rebounding back to him.

“[Depths of Lust]!”

A stream of blood burst from Vassal’s left arm up to his shoulder before he was able to withdraw his sword. His arm blew back, his weapon was launched out of his hand and lodged itself into the ground a few meters away.

“Damage reflect, dammit!”

“And don’t start licking your injuries when you’re in the middle of a fight! [Zealous Greed]!”

The coffin’s lid opened, exposing jagged rows of teeth like spikes at the edge. The object began moving as if it was alive, jumping around and hunting Vassal. It chomped at Vassal, but he was able retreat just narrowly avoiding losing a limb.

A hand emerged from behind seized Vassal’s neck, lifting him in the air.

Giving his enemy no chance, Simonn pounded him on the ground, forming a crater where he slammed Vassal’s face. His opponent ceased all movements, only twitching and making out groans.

“You were always the heroic type. You never liked underhanded tactics. I on the other hand don’t care about being honorable as long as I fulfill my goal. You always lacked the understanding of fighting fairly versus fighting smart. And now, you lose. Ever since you instigated me, you had no chance.”

“Ku… Elin…”

“She’s gone. You were the one killed her. Be glad I’m merciful enough to send you to see her. You can drop dead and apologize to her.”

Simonn’s voice turned cold as his mace retracted back onto the handle. He raised it overhead, glaring at Vassal in a murderous gaze. Just as Simonn cleaved down, Vassal turned into static. Vassal’s appearance glitched out, then vanished before he could pulverize him. The force behind his attack cracked the earth, reaching to the edge of the forest. The grassy plains were wiped off the map leaving only barren lands.

Simonn remained motionless, trying to process the situation. He kept his eyes at the center of the crater where Vassal’s body should’ve laid.

Just like our first encounter. Something isn’t right. I should be able to control all his spells, but clearly this isn’t his. There was someone else here and they’re as good at hiding their presence as Goodman, maybe better.

Who was it? Were they the ones behind Vassal’s change?

A

Light returned to the world. Simonn limped back with his bleeding wounds. He applied Darnick’s healing ointment on the way back.

“Simonn, did you drive off Vassal?”

“Yeah. How was it against Goodman?”

“He fled like the others. When I saw the spear of Lux Aragirus, I rushed back as fast I could. I never saw Vassal cast that two times in succession before. You two must’ve given each other a hard time.”

“Isn’t it obvious just by looking at my wounds? What will you do now?”

“I’m going back to Carchen, going to alert the great sage of the situation. My people will be preparing for war.”

“Thanks for your help. Get your arm fixed as soon as possible.”

“A grumpy kid like you even knows how to be polite once in a while.” Darnick grinned. “I’m going to go now. Good luck on your endeavors. We’ll fight together again soon.”

Simonn watched as Darnick engrave runic letters on the ground. After he planted the transparent seed, a portal opened, sending Darnick back to the original world.

He returned to the cabin only to be greeted by Felix anxiously waiting for his arrival. The land around the cabin was scorched up, but the building survived thanks to Felix defending it.

“Master, what’s the situation?”

“No biggie. Almost died I guess, but I averted the crisis. How’s Neila?”

“She collapsed on the ground when I checked on her. I assume the surge of magic from Vassal’s attack was too much for her to stay conscious.”

“Did she hit anything?”

“No, but I moved her on your bed.”

“That’s a relief. I’ll check on her.” Simonn enter through the door. Turning around he demanded, “We’ll begin phase two since Vassal escaped.”

“But Master, you could’ve avoided all those injuries if you had shifted your existence into the other realm.”

“There are limitations on when it could be used. It’s my trump card and I don’t want them to find out how it works. They might have knowledge of my unique skill, but I’m certain Vassal won’t have enough information to find a weakness in it yet.”

“I see. Then I shall make preparations for the travel to Sivaria. Will you be alright? You look pale.”

“Get going already. Death isn’t going to claim me just yet.”

“Please call me when I am needed. Just a reminder, we Acolytes are not immortal. We require rest as much as everyone else. Please properly treat your wounds.”

“I know.”

Simonn closed the door as Felix turned away.

That was when all his strength left him the moment he was away from prying eyes. All that strain from dodging endless waves of attacks was taxing. He could feel his muscles ripping for each step he took. His vision had gone hazy but can fortunately keep himself up with the wall’s support.

He made his way to find a seat by the fireplace after he looked into the bedroom. The girl he desperately protected slept soundly.

I’m sure she has a lot of questions. I need to get my head straight first.

He held his injured shoulder. He tore off his bloodied clothes and checked his body. Gunshot wounds and cuts had healed but not his shoulder. It stung and didn’t seem like it was closing after putting on ultra grade healing ointment.

“The light’s bane, [Injustice Judgement]. This is going to take a while to heal.”

It was a branding spell Vassal inflicted on Simonn. Wounds caused by it would heal immensely slow even if a high-grade healing ointment was used. He couldn’t dispel it even if he could,

I should get some shut eye as Felix said. Maybe some of the pain will go away when I wake up.

Simonn tried landing on a seat. His legs gave out part way, tripping himself onto the floor. He couldn’t feel his arms, his body felt heavy as if stones were stacked on his back. He couldn’t do much except resting his head on the wooden flooring and closed his eyes.

I lost too much blood. It’s cold.

He strained his ears, keeping aware of his surroundings outside the cabin as he rested his body. Not a moment too soon, fatigue caught up to him and he eventually gave in to his body’s need of rest.

His eyes opened. Time had moved forward about three hours.

Simonn grabbed his face as he bent his head forward, making a groan. He felt groggy after the nap and pain from his shoulder was still there. When he put his hand over the injury, he noticed it was bandaged. He was seated on a couch. Medical supplies scatter messily over the coffee table in front of the fireplace that was still going strong. A bucket of red water and bloodied rags beside it.

I must’ve passed out. Someone put a blanket on me? What’s that smell?

The sense of pain quickly dulled when his nose picked up a savory and a bit of a burnt aroma floating in the air. His stomach overruled all sensation except for hunger.

He quietly picked himself up and limped towards the source of the smell.

The kitchen made all kinds of noise, from bubbling to sizzling. There was some humming in the mix.

Stationed there was a Neila. Her eyes were locked onto the cookbook while her hand held a knife as she read on how to prepare a specific ingredient. Her other hand stirred the ladle to keep the contents in the pot from burning.

Seeing her up and working hard made him feel relieved. He crossed his forearms, carefully leaning by the entrance to not hurt his shoulder. He took a moment to absorb the scene before speaking out.

“Need a hand? U-umm. Neila?”

The girl turned around and glared at him. She abruptly shut the book, marching towards him with the knife still in her hand.

“W-whoa, Wait. Hey, hey!”

He backed away waving his hand to keep distance away from her. Despite the obvious sign, Neila continued to chase him. The couch sat between them, forcing Neila to play a game of cat and mouse.

“Why are you walking away?” Neila growled as she pointed the knife at him.

“Who wouldn’t be?!”

“Are you saying I’m scary?”

“Frightening, threatening! C-calm down, don’t glare at me like that! You haven’t let me explain myself!”

“Then stop moving away!”

“Who wouldn’t be running from you right now?”

“Stay still!”

“Why don’t you put that down then we’ll talk, okay?”

“I said, stay!”

Neila took out her magic pen and quickly engraved the spell [Lift] on the couch. The furniture hovered in the air, clearing a direct route towards Simonn.

He tripped over the coffee table and made a mess of the medical supplies while backing off. He stumbled into the corner with his eyes filled with fear. He felt his heart rate speeding up while he watched Neila step closer and closer, hand clenching strongly around the handle of the knife.

I’m done for!

“F-fine! If I die, I rather it’d be by your hands!” He raised his hands waiting for the inevitable.

Instead, hard metal hit the wood flooring. He daringly peeked between his arms.

Tears spilled down Neila’s cheeks as she looked at his troubled face. She stood there vexingly, giving the same displeased expression as she formed fists with her hands. The surge of heat from the sudden downpour of sadness transmitted to her ears and skin.

“Why?”

Neila’s quivering lips tried conveying her words through overwhelming sadness. What came out incomprehensible sobs as she dropped to her knees, shivering.

Simonn was a bit confused on how to handle the situation. Sure, Neila was a crybaby, but there was a reason whether it was clumsily getting an injury or an argument between them broke out.

He crawled near, holding her up her hands. There was silence, as he waited for Neila to collect herself.

She opened her mouth, filling her lungs with air. Through her tiny voice, she asked again,

“Why?”

Simonn thought Neila wanted to know the truth behind his fight against Vassal.

“Why? I had no choice. I had to fight.”

“No, that’s not, it.”

Neila dived forward, embracing Simonn. Her arms tightly wrapped around him, not wanting to let go.

“Ouch! My shoulder! If you hug that tight, I think I’ll die-.”

“How can you say that you’ll die that easily? I heard you when you came through the door. You keep talking about your death like it wouldn’t matter! Have you thought how I would feel if you died?!”

Is this what she’s mad about?

She cried. “I was scared. You were bleeding. I panicked. I didn’t know what to do.”

“Didn’t you bandage me?”

“Felix heard the commotion and came back to treat you. I, I couldn’t think. I couldn’t help.”

Simonn put one arm around her. He placed his other hand up, patting and combing to fix rebellious strands of her iliac hair.

“Simonn, I’m scared, thinking about it. I’ve already lost a lot of friends in Crea. I don’t want to lose, anyone else. I really thought I was going to lose you too.”

“I gave you quite the scare, didn’t I?”

Neila nodded.

Truthfully, it was impossible to come out unscathed from this battle. His foes were formidable, and they were Acolytes, each surpassing another in different areas of traits. They leaned on each other, depending on one another strengths to cover each other weaknesses on their journey to face the Shadow Lord.

They were comrades he knew well, and they know him as well though he did his best to hide sensitive information from them. As they now became enemies, everything they learned from each other will be used against one another.

It’s a good thing Felix was against Olga for that fight. I wouldn’t be able to take on Olga’s brute strength at my current state back then.

Simonn snapped back to reality when Neila slowly let go. Her hands moved from his back to holding his fingers. The corner of her eyes and the tip of her nose reddened.

“Feeling better?” He asked.

“I think, you shaved off a few years of my life.”

“No way. If anything, you shaved off a few years of my life. You were like a vengeful spirit coming after me.”

“Sorry.” Neila apologized on reflex.

“No, don’t be. You were right. If I died, I wouldn’t be protecting you. I’d be hurting you. That’s not what I want.”

“But you have to fight them now. Other Acolytes.”

“They’re trying to gather the Memorandums to unleash something upon the world. I don’t know whether it can be a good thing or not. But, it’d be a world changer and I might lose you if anything happens. I won’t risk it, that’s why I’ve taken it from Vassal.”

His flipped his hands around so their palms touched.

Neila dipped her chin downwards, hair covering her eyes. She took a deep breath and rubbed the tears off with her sleeves.

“Hey, Simonn?”

“Yeah?”

“Was there a choice for you to not be an Acolyte?”

Simonn looked up to the ceiling briefly, trying to piece his answer together.

“I might’ve been the only candidate chosen be the Acolyte of Defiance. I guess you can say its fate. You heard rumors about me, right?”

“About you killing the previous Acolyte of Defiance? Is that true?”

“It is.”

He felt her fingers squeeze tightly and watched as she bit her lips.

“It’s to activate the Crest given to Acolytes. I later found out the previous holder planned it all.”

“Planned? That means the rumors were half true…”

“Yeah, but it’s best to keep it that way and don’t correct the public’s opinion of me. To tap into the power of these crests, you need to complete rituals. The previous holder completed all except for one, which needed an outsider to do. I was chosen.”

“Then if there was a choice, would you have refused?”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Somewhere along my journey, I’ve thought about the future. I’ve decided to become an Acolyte before meeting Vassal. It was a chance to fulfill my promise to you. I’ll become a hero only to be your hero.”

That was a childish phrase he constantly used back in Crea after listening and reading books about how heroes braved trials.

“My goal of becoming an Acolyte was not to save the world, not to protect the world, not to sacrifice myself for better of the world. Instead, I became what I am to save you, protect you.”

“What if you one day disappeared?”

“That’s tricky. If I do disappear, that means I’m in big trouble.”

“Then…”

Simonn interrupted as he gestured her to hand him the fallen map and presented it to her.

“Neila, do you know how big a world can be? When you brought me back to Crea, I thought the world is small. I didn’t know it stretches farther than horizon your eyes can see.”

“I don’t get what you’re getting at.”

“You’re right. I’m bad with metaphors. I just wanted to say wherever I am, past the horizon and all, as long as you believe I’m alive, I’ll live. I’ll fight through heaven and hell and live. Whenever you need me, I’ll come back… just not immediately.”

“But what if you never come back?”

“Then there’s only one thing to do. You come and find me.”

He smiled a bit. He put his finger on her cheek to catch the last droplet of tear flowing down.

“This is my new promise with you. I won’t die on you since you know how much I love you. Don’t cry, okay?”

She looked up at him with a smile and a powerful nod.

“Yes, I was crying because of you to begin with.”

“I’ll be careful from now on.”

“You better.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask... Is something burning?” He leaned on one side, peeking behind her.

The smell of burnt food tickled their noses. Smoke floated out of the kitchen.

“Huh? AH! Oh no!”

Neila wiped her eyes and dashed into the kitchen, finding the pot bubbling and the pan cooking a charcoal black thing.

She opened the window to fan out the area. Simonn went to turn off the fire and inspected the contents.

“Uggghhhh… I worked so hard to make these.”

“Just like when you were working on your assignment. You’ve burned it all to crisps. By the way I noticed the Artificer emblem on your tag. Congrats.”

“You’re late-. Wait, you’re eating it?!”

“You made it. Wouldn’t this be a waste?”

“No, don’t eat that! I’ll make new ones!”

“Why is Neila taking so long?”

David sighed as he laid on top of an abandoned building’s roof. He gazed at the evening sky from dark blue to orange near the edge of the world.

Near him, Tyler completed polishing his great sword. He stood up, putting the blade on his back after he tapped on the wall to grab Davin’s attention.

“Hey, stop slouching and do your job.”

“You want to be lookout in my stead? By the way, aren’t you sleepy?”

“I’m restless. It’s too peaceful here. I heard Crea was supposed to be a dangerous place.”

“It was. Ten years ago, supposedly.”

The one who answered was Elizabeth as she fed the fireplace firewood while keeping an eye on two other girls resting. One was a beastkin and the other a halfling.

“Lucy and Adbelle are sleeping. I don’t suggest leaving them here.”

“But it’s boring!”

“Deal with it. You were the one who wanted to take this job the most.”

“Hrk. That’s not fair. I can’t even argue with that.” Tyler grunted. “Anyone wanna play more cards?”

“I had enough of that.”

He kept staring at the portal that was still active. His hand kept on the silver bell the masked man gave him, wary Demons might pop from nowhere. However, there was no sign of anyone passing the portal anytime soon.

“How was the subjugation quest?”

“Which one? We did a lot of them.”

“I’m talking about the one with the Magic Council Researchers, dumbass.”

“You really want me to beat you up.” Tyler said as he leaned against the entrance of the run-down shack. Sights were kept on the surrounding forest. “It wasn’t much of a deal. We joined groups of other adventures and slew the Kobold Chieftain.”

“Did you end up finding something like an artifact?”

“Not to my knowledge. What’s with these questions?”

“I’m asking for Simonn. He wants to know what the MRC are up to. He said they don’t randomly show up and offer easy money to anyone.”

“He does have a point. Elizabeth, any input?”

“Only one. We discovered a Symbol similar to ones the army found in the Demon Realm. A red circle with two arcs pointing away from it. The MRC wants to know how it was affecting the monsters in that cave.”

“These symbols were everywhere. Weren’t they on the Memorandums and graffitied all over the Shadow Lord’s castle? What do they even mean?”

“You’re asking the million-dollar question there. Whatever it means, the Hero is also interested in them. No one knows what he wants to do with the Memorandums yet.”

“I’d like to hear the details of your find.”

In comes Felix with his guillotine. His armor was wrecked and dirtied. Blood stains covered the sleeves, tasset and the edge of his blade. His villainous looking armor was repaired by quick stitches of threads.

When Elizabeth saw him, she shook Adbelle awake and ran up to him.

“These are not mine.”

Felix lifted his hand to calm her as he closed the portal behind him.

“The job is done. The reward will be sent via a gold chit after you hand this letter to them.”

“Done? Where are they?”

“They’re safe.”

“But they’re not back.”

“They are not.”

Elizabeth groaned at his response. She took a deep breath, knowing Felix would answer her questions annoyingly without the detail she wanted.

“Now tell. You mentioned something was found in Mournil Cavern. What does the MRC want with it?”

“I don’t know. They paid just large sums of money to help them excavate it.”

“I see. They’re collecting them.”

“Sounds like you know something, but I doubt you’ll tell. What about you? You don’t look like you’re going to stay.”

“Sivaria.”

“That’s going to be a long journey. You going to take an airship there?” Davin asked.

“I will manage.” Felix then reached back for a package for Davin. “I had forgotten. For you.”

“A package? Me?”

“It was not urgent, thus, I withheld it until now.”

“One hell of a courier they hired.” Tyler commented.

“But I don’t remember ordering anything.”

“The contents will speak for themselves. I highly recommend opening it when you are in isolation to avoid chaos.”

“You’re making it really tempting.”

“That is for you to decide.”

Davin flipped the package around as the rest saw Felix off. He twisted and turned the package, but no information of the sender was written on it. It was addressed to Davin with a heart drawn beside his name.

“Open it.”

“Alright, geez. Calm down. I’m curious too.”

Adult Magazines. At first glance, the image had a big breasted model dressed as an erotic ninja, cowgirling above a restrained man stripped of all his clothing, gagged and blindfolded. On the title it said Seductive Ninja Girls’ Assault. The female ninja held an ear to ear superior smug, finding amusement to make the submissive man submit to pleasure through melted candle wax and whips.

“T-these are-!”

“You have some weird fetishes.” Tyler took several steps back.

“I didn’t order them!”

“Riiiiiiight. You’re totally not becoming a masochistic knight.”

“What are you two looking at?”

Someone patted their backs. It was the halfling who just woken up, hurrying them to pack their belongings.

Her eyes shot wide open when she saw the books Davin held.

“Y-you two…! Wha- that! Those!”

“A-Adbelle! This isn’t what it looks like!”

In that millisecond of a blink, the image was burned in her mind more likely than a text from a magic tome. Adbelle’s eyes suddenly rolled back. Her body stiffened and fell backwards. She recited scenes off novels she recently read trying to overwrite the images burned deep in her mind.

“Oh no! Adbelle!” Lucy shrieked.

“Not good. Davin, hide those now!”

“It wasn’t my fault!”