The sun rose over the horizon, enveloping the land with the warmth and illumination of dawn light. However, Bailey still had to wait a while longer before the people could fully enjoy sunlight due to the mountains on the east and west sandwiching the town. There were few clouds in the sky and no beasts in sight, but none of the people in town looked happy. They remained on guard while keeping their distance from the Adventurer’s Guild building.

Elana stepped down the stairs leading underground in the Adventurer’s Guild. Dimly lit magic lights on the ceiling provided barely enough illumination for her to see anything, and the air around her got colder with every step. However she continued walking down the stairs without much care and reached the bottom.

This particular basement area of the guild contained prison cells similar to the guild in the capital city, but understandably smaller. There were only two cells, and one of them was empty. Elana paid no heed to the empty cell, stopping her walk in front of the other one and folding her arms.

“Is this really necessary?” Elana asked. Behind the bars, the large ice crystal containing the human-shaped black miasma sat on the back corner. The air around the crystal sent both literal and figurative chills down her spine on top of the pungent smell of alcohol.

Lory, who was also inside the cell sitting on the bed, replied while downing a large mug of booze. “No other practical choice –hic! Nobody would want to have this thing in front of their eyes.”

“Are you sure this is safe?” Elana asked while gazing at the ice crystal. She perceived no movement or such, but she still couldn’t help feeling uneasy around it.

“I can’t say for sure.. -hic! But I’ve taken all possible countermeasures.” Lory replied, crossing his leg over the other. “So... -hic!, what are you here for?”

“Nothing. I merely wanted to check on you.” Elana said as she leaned on the wall next to the cell door. “And to have some small talks, if you don’t mind.”

“Suit yourself.” Lory said with a small sigh before refilling his jug from the barrel next to him.

“So... You are Sedhoust’s brother.” Elana said. “I have heard a few things about you.”

“Horrible things definitely.. hic!” Lory said as he drank half of the jug’s content. “And I fully deserve it.”

“No, it was the opposite.” Elana said.

“Of course... Of course they still haven’t stopped.. –hic!”

Elana frowned seeing the drastic change of Lory’s behavior. He had been a skillful, knowledgeable, calm and collected man deserving the legendary hero title until less than an hour before. But now he looked merely like a homeless drunkard with no worth as a man, at least on the surface.

Either he has a case of double personality, or he is really good at feigning weakness.

The thought came into Elana’s mind because she couldn’t help feeling amazed on how good Lory was at making himself look weak. She had no idea what purpose Lory was pulling the act for, but she decided that it would be best to play along.

“I have no idea what troubles you so much, but I am willing to hear you out if it can relieve you even a little.”

Lory didn’t immediately respond. Behind the bars, he drank the content of his mug and burped loudly. Then he went silent for a few seconds before asking. “What do you know... about Rukharist?”

Elana quickly pressed some buttons on her watch, prompting her nanom to feed her information regarding what her group had collectively learned about the matter. Upon having the information projected in her vision, she spoke her answer. “Rukharist Grasmord, the second child of Duke Gentruvorst Grasmord and the only daughter. She was a prodigy in Enhancement Weave, and she would have been the most likely candidate in continuing the family’s line of work. However, she died in the battle against Calamity, from which the heroes ultimately came out victorious.”

“You sound like.. –hic! ..You’re reading from a textbook.” Lory said, which Elana had no intention to deny because she technically was indeed reading out a textbook information. “Died in battle... hah! Load of crap!” He slammed his fist at the wall.

Elana then moved to the spot right outside the prison cell and looked directly at Lory. “I take it that the specific part of your heroic tales as the public knows it was fabricated.”

“Damn straight! Rukharist didn’t die in battle.. –hic!” Lory said as he refilled his mug and downed it all in one go. “I killed her.”

“You... what?” Elana squinted upon hearing Lory’s words. “Did you just say that you killed your own sister?”

“Yes, with my own hand.” Lory replied as he put forward his right arm and revealed to Elana that it was a prosthetic. A very realistic one. “I should’ve been punished, but instead-”

“Apologies.” Elana intervened. “But I think the topic has gone too far. Not to mention that now I, an outsider, know something I am not supposed to.”

“The more people know the truth the better.. –hic!” Lory said.

“In any case, what are you waiting for down here? I could have taken you and this thing to wherever you need to go right away instead.”

“The person I have to see is on his way here already.” Lory replied as he once again refilled his mug. “Better just wait in this secured and.. –hic! ...enchanted place while keeping guard.”

“I see.” Elana nodded slightly, getting the hint that the person in question was Duke Grasmord. “Now I understand why you would rather not see him.”

“Been avoiding him for years.. –hic!” Lory said. “But sadly I have no choice now. Damn this thing!”

“If I may suggest, how about considering this as a chance to reconcile?” Elana said.

“Reconcile?” Lory gritted his teeth. “My sin is unforgivable... –hic! He’d better disown me if he hasn’t.. –hic! ..already.”

“Time will tell.” Elana said. “Anyway, I should head back upstairs. This dungeon is too chilly for comfort thanks to that thing. Are you alright sitting next to it all the time? Do you need food?”

“Don’t mind me.. –hic!” Lory waved his hand, telling Elana to go away. “Alcohol helps.. –hic! And no, I can go without food for days.”

“If you say so.” Elana put her right hand on her hip momentarily before turning around and leaving.

The moment Elana arrived back in the main hall, Luke the guildmaster approached her in a hurry with a clearly worried look on his face.

“How is it?” Luke asked. “Is he alright down there? Is that thing safe?”

“He seemed fine, I think. And that thing looked secure.” Elana replied. “Is there something I can help with?”

“No, nothing yet.” Luke shook his head. “I just don’t feel right putting a hero in the dungeon down there.”

“He is there in his own volition to keep watch on the frozen miasma until Duke Grasmord arrives. There is nothing to feel bad about.”

“Yeah, I know. But still...” Luke folded his arms and lowered his head.

Suddenly the front door opened and Kevin entered in a hurry. “Guildmaster! The troops from the capital city are here!”

“Oh, thank goodness!” Luke exclaimed in delight and relief. However, Elana quickly noticed that Kevin’s face didn’t look happy in the slightest, so she approached him and asked with a serious tone.

“Something is wrong, isn’t it?”

Kevin nodded. “Y-Yes! They’re... They’re devastated! There’s blood everywhere!” He said before gagging and retching.

“What!?” Luke said with his eyes wide, and then he gritted his teeth before shouting to other guild staff around. “Urgent order! All staff prepare emergency beds and as many healing potions as possible! Also get in contact with the town hospital and ask how many they can take in! Move!”

All the guild staff who heard Luke’s orders immediately moved in a frantic dash. At the same time, Elana walked outside and called the Crisis Squad through the nanom link.

“Randy, Albert. Did you hear everything?” Elana asked.

Randy replied from the other side of the link. “We did. We were in the room next door, y’know. Albert’s already on his way to you, Captain.”

“Good.” Elana nodded. “I believe you know already, but prepare yourself. You’ve got a busy day coming.”

“Roger that, Captain.”

The call ended, and Albert came out of the guild’s front door right after. “Albert Charlemagne reporting for duty!”

“Come with me!” Elana said as she hopped into the expedition buggy parked nearby. “Get on!”

“Yes, mo- ma’am!” Albert replied, immediately hopping onto the passenger seat. After quickly making sure that Albert was seated, Elana turned the engine on and floored it. The buggy’s engine roared loudly before bringing the vehicle zooming through the streets.

Elana stopped just a stone’s throw distance from the already mostly destroyed south gate upon seeing the mass of wounded knights. Their injuries varied from moderate scratches to deep gashes and outright debilitating ones. The color of blood stained their armors in many spots and some knights were still bleeding from their wounds. Kevin had been quite right saying that there was blood everywhere. Yet, despite their terrible state the knights kept on marching forward.

Elana and Albert stepped off the buggy and hurriedly approached the least wounded and visually more decorated knight at the front, who quickly noticed and signaled the other knights to halt.

“Those outfits...” The knight said when Elana and Albert got close. “Are you the one Her Majesty has been speaking about? Elana Mayer?”

“Yes, and I brought a medic with me. Please let him give first aid to your most wounded men.” Elana replied. “The guild is getting in touch with the town hospital and also preparing an emergency infirmary as we speak.”

“Hmm.” The knight nodded and turned to the platoon behind him. “Those who still can walk and are not carrying a wounded comrade, go forth to the Adventurer’s Guild, get your wounds treated, and wait for further commands! The rest stay here!”

The platoon of knights immediately complied without saying a word. A majority of them marched forward leaving less than twenty staying. Over half of them looked fairly fine, owing to the fact that they were the ones still perfectly capable of carrying the rest, who were suffering from debilitating injuries.

The injuries on those knights were, in short, gruesome. All of them had at least one of their limbs bending the wrong way, and a few even had it crushed flat or worse, completely lost. The full face helmet on their heads hid their expressions, but the occasional grunting and moaning implied the pain they were suffering.

Elana gave Albert a slight pat on his back, and he immediately stepped forward with a determined look on his face. Meanwhile, she stepped a little closer to the leader knight and asked. “Would you tell me what happened?”

“First thing first, I’m Gilbert, the general of the royal knights. I’ve been serving the royal family long before Her Majesty rose to the throne.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Sir Gilbert.” Elana said. “Although our situation could have been better.” She continued while taking a quick glance at Albert who was busy giving first aid.

“Indeed it could.” Gilbert said while glancing the same way. “Beasts raided our camp in the dead of night. We were prepared for the possibility, but not for what we faced.”

“Were the monsters abnormally strong and numerous?”

“Yes, but we’re the royal knights! Mere strength and numbers wouldn’t have brought us down this badly!” Gilbert frowned. “They were coordinated.”

“Coordinated?” Elana squinted and raised her eyebrows.

“Attacking in waves, backline ranged attackers, flanking with impeccable timing, and other things I don’t need to mention.” Gilbert replied. “It felt as if there was a skillful tactician giving those beasts precise commands to strike our openings at the right moment.”

“It must have been the work of the corruption.” Elana said. “Did you sustain heavy casualties?”

“Huh? We are the royal knights! The best of the best, chosen through a meticulous series of selection steps! I’m proud to say that despite all that we still came out victorious and didn’t lose anyone!” Gilbert exclaimed with his right hand clenched over his chest.

“Color me impressed.” Elana said with a little pleased smile.

Gilbert nodded with a prideful grin. “Could’ve done it better, but indeed you should be!” He said before reverting into a serious expression and taking a look at the ruined gate nearby. “Still, looking at that aftermath I’d say that I’m impressed as well that this town held out.”

Elana was about to reply, but Albert called her. “Captain! I’m done with the treatment! They’re all stable now.”

“Good work, Albert.” Elana nodded.

“Well,” Gilbert said as he approached Albert and took a quick glance at his knights. “The few healers in our ranks were already too weavesick to give sufficient treatment, so we only could barely keep them alive.” He said as he gently gave Albert a pat on the shoulder. “You have my deepest gratitude.”

“Y-Your gratitude is wasted on me, S-Sir!” Albert frantically spoke, which made Gilbert chuckle.

Some time later, all the wounded knights had been properly rested on beds in the guild building. Randy and Albert worked alongside healers to give further treatments, while Elana and Gilbert were now inside the guildmaster’s office along with Luke.

“It’s been a while, eh Luke?” Gilbert said as he and Luke shook hands. “Still working hard?”

“You bet I am, Gilbert.” Luke said with a wry smile. “Thank you for coming in this difficult time.”

“Elana has told me the gist of things so far.” Gilbert said while giving Elana a quick glance. “I’ll station my troops around town after they get their quick rest. Rest assured, we’ll keep the town and its people safe until the sealed corruption is disposed of.”

“Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!” Luke said as relief sprung up his wrinkled face.

Gilbert smiled and folded his arms. “I didn’t see many citizens, and the ones I did see were all armed militias. I figure that you have the rest sheltered somewhere?”

“Yes.” Luke nodded. “They are all sheltered in Viscount Varine’s residence.”

“Wait, what?” Gilbert squinted and tilted his head. “How the hell did you manage to convince that sleazebag?”

“Come on, Gilbert.” Luke said with a chuckle. “He’s a difficult person indeed, but he’s no sleazebag. You can’t deny that Bailey would’ve been nothing more than a ghost town without him.”

“I still find that unbelieveable, but alright. Good work regardless.”

Elana then chimed in. “I take it that all we need to do for the time being is wait until Duke Grasmord arrives?”

“And reinforcing the town’s security. But yes, that’s pretty much it.” Gilbert nodded, and then he dropped down slouching on the nearest chair with a big sigh. “Goddamn that was a long night. A corruption having the skills of a strategist is just... unbelievable.”

Luke immediately replied with a stern face. “Like it or not, it exists now and it’s in the basement right below us.”

“I know, no need to remind me.” Gilbert said. “I must say that this town was lucky that a hero happened to be around.”

“If I may ask, what are the other heroes doing?” Elana asked.

Gilbert briefly gazed at Elana with a frown before answering. “Her Majesty is the queen of the kingdom. It should be obvious that she has much more to worry about than a single town. As for the other heroes, Her Majesty tasked Lord Grasmord to guard the city to the east, and had Guildmaster Biggwarde organize adventurers to go west while staying on guard in the capital city.”

“I see. Thank you for the information.” Elana said with a slight bow.

Gilbert grunted and stood up, stretching his body a little. “You sure remind me of my past self. Anyway, once this is over I’m going to-“

CRASH!!

A sudden loud noise of impact coming from above halted Gilbert’s speech. All the three people in the office instantly lowered their body while glancing up in reflex.

“What was that?” Luke asked. His hands were covering his head as he slowly stood up from his cowering position. Before he could get a reply, more of the same sound occurred not only above the ceiling but also on the streets outside, accompanied by terrified screams of people.

“It’s raining stones!” Gilbert shouted while looking towards the nearest window. At the same time, Elana rushed to the window, pulled out a binocular, and quickly scanned over the outside scenery.

“We are under attack!” Elana said the moment she found the source of the stone rain. “The monsters are on top of the cliff throwing stones at the town!”

“What!? An organized attack!? Don't tell me-!” Gilbert said, and then both he and Elana rushed out of the office.

Amidst the sounds of stone barrage hitting the top of the guild building, Elana and Gilbert hurried through the corridor, down the stairs, and across the main hall. They headed towards the basement where the frozen corruption was currently contained. However, Lory suddenly came out from the basement stairwell carrying the large ice crystal with a tense look on his face. At this point, Elana immediately noticed large cracks all over the ice crystal.”

“I misjudged! The magic countermeasures aren’t holding! Get clear from me!” Lory shouted as he zoomed past Elana and Gilbert, going outside in a flash.

“Sir Gilbert.” Elana said with his eyes fixated on the front door. “I highly implore you to round up your knights for combat immediately.”

“No need to tell me that.” Gilbert replied. “What about you?”

“Naturally.” Elana said, to which Gilbert responded with a nod before leaving in a hurry. She then quickly made a call to Billy. “Billy, report the status of Mountain Squad gears.”

“Only one suit is fully operational, Captain!” Billy replied from the other side of the call. “The other two can’t even fire a weapon with their depleted battery or damaged energy pack!”

“Are those two at least functional?”

“Well, yes. But they’re nothing more than armor suits in their current state. Their jet thrusters don’t even work!”

“Alright, that will do.” Elana said right before redirecting the call. “Mountain Squad! Retrieve your suits from Billy and rendezvous with me at the top floor!”

“Affirmative!” The Mountain Squad trio replied in unison. Elana then dashed upstairs amidst multiple hard impact sounds from above.

Soon, Elana arrived at a certain spot on the second floor and the Mountain Squad trio also arrived mere moments later. Their suits were in hand, still in suitcase form

“Orders, Captain?” Lillie asked while giving a quick salute.

“We are going to the rooftop.” Elana said, pointing at the hatch above. “Who has the fully operational suit?”

“I do, Captain!” Ulysses replied.

“Alright! Suit up, get up there, and shield the hatch for the rest!”

“Roger that!” Ulysses said, immediately suiting up and then boosting himself through the hatch, ramming it open. After landing on the flat rooftop, he pulled out a tower shield and held it up.

Elana did a quick nod while looking up, and then she turned to Lillie and Gregory. “Get up there and quickly suit up under his cover.” She said while giving some quick smacks on the ladder attached to the hatch.

Lillie and Gregory did as instructed, quickly climbing the ladder and suiting up while Ulysses protected them from the randomly falling stones. Elana followed right away, and soon she was on the rooftop of the guild along with the Mountain Squad. None of the rocks littered around seemed to have damaged the surface, instead shattering to smaller pieces, and that was a relief.

“What are your orders, Captain?” Lillie asked.

“Lillie, Gregory, can you still pull out your shields?”

Both Lillie and Gregory reached to their waist, and both of them pulled out the same kind of shield as the one Ulysses was wielding. Elana nodded and smiled seeing that, and then she looked over the streets.

Elana couldn’t find Lory, but she saw a platoon of knights rushing out of the guild’s front door and hurrying themselves toward the direction of the south gate. At the same time, she also heard rumbling sounds coming from the same direction and noticed that the stones seemed to be focused on that area. Therefore she could quickly make a conclusion.

“Listen up!” Elana said with her commanding voice. “Right now Lory is fighting against the corruption over there and the royal knights are coming to his aid. Let me make this clear: The corruption is beyond our combat strength. This is not our fight.” She paused momentarily. “Therefore our objective now is to eliminate the monsters throwing stones at the town.”

The Mountain Squad silently nodded as Elana took a quick breath before she continued. “Ulysses, use any of your long range engagement options at your discretion. Lillie and Gregory, protect the two of us with your shields. Are we clear?”

“Roger that!” Lillie replied.

“Affirmative!” Gregory said.

Ulysses quickly switched his shield away and pulled out a pair of high caliber cannons. “Armed and ready.” He said.

“All right.” Elana said as she pulled out her sniper rifle. “Begin operation!”

Gunfire sounds soon echoed from the rooftop of the guild building. Both Elana and Ulysses fired at the company of monsters lining up at the edge of the cliff overlooking the town from the east side. The distance from the group’s location to the cliff face, combined with its height, put the monsters in a proximity barely within the effective range of their weapons.

“Another target down!” Ulysses exclaimed. “Reloading!”

“Incoming!” Lillie shouted right before deflecting a rock off with her shield.

Gregory grunted as he deflected another rock. “They sure know we’re here now! The rocks are getting more intense by the minute!”

“And that’s good!” Lillie said. “It means we’re taking pressure off Lory and the knights!”

“Yeah, but can we ourselves keep up with this?”

“Of course we can! This is what our squad is trained for in the first place!”

Meanwhile, Elana took a quick glance at the direction of the south gate. She had no idea what was exactly happening there with all the rising dust and flashing explosions, but she knew for sure that she had made the right decision not to take part in that battle. Whatever the hero and the knights were fighting against was too far beyond their capabilities. Joining the fray would more than likely make them end up a hindrance to the hero.

“New target acquired...” Elana said as she took aim at a boulder gorilla among many atop the cliff. She was about to pull the trigger, but...

“Captain! Get down!” Lillie shouted.

Elana, purely by her trained reflexes, let go of her rifle and commanded her body muscles to drive herself down onto the surface of the roof. At the same instant, she felt a graze of wind near her left ear, the sensation of a projectile zooming right next to her head, barely missing. It had truly been a close call.

Clank! Crash!

“Captain! You alright!?” Lillie asked in a frantic tone.

Elana quickly examined herself as she carefully rose from her prone position. “I’m uninjured thanks to your warning, though sadly I can no longer shoot.” She said as she noticed her sniper rifle, which had broken to pieces taking a hit from the attack.

“You’re still fine, Captain! That’s all that matters!” Lillie said in relief as Elana put the broken sniper rifle away.

Gregory chimed in. “Captain, is the Conflagrator a good idea now?”

“Not at this distance.” Elana shook her head. “Conflagrator is dangerously destructive, but the targets are beyond its effective range. I shall use something else.”

However, before Elana could pull out another weapon, a flash of light followed by the ear-shattering sound of explosion occurred at the distant battlefield. Everyone on the guild rooftop, Elana included, immediately took a quick glance at the direction, and they all saw the same thing.

Emerging from the dust of the explosion, a pitch black humanoid figure zoomed through the air, heading straight to the spot where Elana and the Mountain Squad were. The figure’s stance made it clear that it went towards Elana’s group with a fully malicious intent to unleash a devastating punch.

Elana knew that she, along with the Mountain Squad by her, would perish if they didn’t avoid the incoming attack. However, she also knew that it was impossible. Even with their intensively trained reflexes, the monster’s strike would reach them before their leg muscles even contracted enough to spring them out of the spot.

Elana had managed to think all that because her thought process had gone into overdrive and the time flow of all things around her, including her own body, seemed to have slowed down to a crawl.

Elana knew for a fact, that this was the phenomenon one would see right before they die.

She had misjudged, and she would have to pay for it with the lives of her own and the Mountain Squad.

It seems... that the mission is a failure after all...

Despite the thought of failure in her head, Elana’s body still tried to do the supposedly impossible task of drawing the Conflagrator out of her personal hyperspace arsenal and firing it at the incoming black miasma monster. She knew full well that her hands would never make it in time, but giving up in battle didn’t exist in her book. Ever.

Then suddenly, with no signs of prior warning or such, a multitude of unexpected things happened in front of Elana’s eyes.

The monster stopped midair as if it crashed onto something. It also became covered in shining beads all over the body.

A semi-transparent energy shield was erected mere centimeters in front of Elana’s face, creating a wall between the group and the monster.

All of the shining beads exploded in rapid succession, further staggering the monster and pushing it back.

Lory appeared behind the monster in a flash, and his glowing metal fist met the head of the monster in a heavy impact. They both crashed down onto the road below and made a crater.

“You alright, Captain?” A very familiar voice of a person who shouldn’t be there asked Elana from behind.

Elana, still feeling overwhelmed by all the things happening on top of her disbelief, asked back without looking. “Bunker Shield and Buster Shotgun. Why are you here... Storm One?”

“W-Wait wait!” Lillie asked with her eyes going as wide as humanly possible. “Storm One!? Aren’t you supposed to be with-?“

“I’ll explain later.” Storm One intervened as he stepped to the edge of the rooftop and looked at the recently made crater. “Hey Lory! You alright down there!?”

“This is nothing!” Lory replied from below, standing straight with the corruption below his feet, once again frozen inside an ice crystal. However, cracks were quickly forming all over it. “You better get clear! For some reason this thing is after you all now!”

“Launch it high up! We’re going to try something!” Storm One said with his left hand pointing up and the other hand pulling out his Conflagrator.

“Whatever it is, you better be quick!” Lory said as he lifted the large crystal and kicked it straight up with great force, launching it straight up like a cannon.

Storm One threw a quick glance at Elana, and that was all she needed to understand his intention. She stood up firmly with her own Conflagrator in hand, took aim at the ascending crystal, and the moment it reached the peak of its movement, the two of them pulled the trigger.

Nothing came out from their weapons. No projectiles, laser beams, or such. However, the ice crystal spontaneously combusted into raging flames. The heat melted the ice and subsequently vaporized the resulting water within an instant, exposing the miasma monster within.

The miasma monster was no different, spontaneously combusting into an even more intense raging flame than before. In fact, the flame grew larger and brighter by the second to the point it almost became comparable to a miniature sun. The extreme brightness lasted for just below five seconds.

And then there was nothing left.

The ice crystal and black miasma monster were nowhere to be seen. They had completely disintegrated, leaving nothing on the spot they had been. It was all as if they had never been there in the first place.

Elana let go of the trigger and quickly stored her Conflagrator back into her personal hyperspace arsenal. Storm One also did the same, and by the time they were done Lory landed on the same rooftop as them, having leapt in a single bound from the streets below.

“Would you explain what you have just done?” Lory asked with a visible frown on his face. “Was that the so-called Conflagrator?”

Elana, having no intention to hide her surprise, asked with her eyes going a little wider. “Wait, you already know about it? And you know each other?”

“Yeah, I’ll explain that too later, Captain.” Storm One replied before turning to Lory. “And yes, that was the Conflagrator. As for what it did, to keep it simple I’ll say just this: forced matter and energy conversion.”

“Forced matter and energy conversion...” Lory mumbled with his arms folded. “...into heat?”

Storm One’s response to the question was none other than a single nod.

“Converting calamity ardor into mere heat...” Lory mumbled further before speaking with a stern face. “Listen, no matter what, never show that weapon to anyone else. At least, not right now.”

“We have no intention to.” Elana said. “It is a dangerous article which must be used with extreme caution, and only as an absolute last resort.”

Lory nodded. “I’m glad we’re on the same page. Also, you have my gratitude for slaying the corruption. I owe you a favor.”

“Hey, Lory.” Storm One called. “How about doing a favor for me right now so we can call it even immediately?”

“Well, that definitely can work.” Lory said. “What do you want me to do?”

Storm One let out a grin. “Don’t run away from your family.” He said as he glanced at the road below. A convoy of decorated carriages escorted by a company of armored cavalry approached in a fast paced march.

“Ah, darn it...” Lory said with a facepalm. “Alright, fine. You got me there.”

“Sorry to butt in.” Gregory said. “What about the monsters up there? Why did the stoning stopped? No, why did the monsters disappear?”

“They combusted into flames just like the black monster. I saw it.” Ulysses chimed in.

“Like what!? How?” Gregory turned to Ulysses with his eyes wide.

Lory sat down on the ledge of the rooftop with a sigh of relief before speaking. “My best guess is that those beasts were actually manifested parts of the corruption, or they had some sort of spirit link with it. Either way, when your weapons did their work, all the beasts under its command were also affected.”

“It makes sense.” Elana said. “But sitting here speculating is not going to do us good. Now that the battle is over, we should focus on recovery and damage control.”

“Well said, Captain!” Storm One said with a big smile and a thumb’s up.

“You still owe me an explanation, Storm One.” Elana said with her arms folded and a stern face.

“Well, it’s a long story.” Storm One put one hand behind his head. “How about we head downstairs first?”

“Alright.” Elana said. “But I still want you to explain how you managed to save us.”

“Alright, alright.” Storm One replied. “In short, I momentarily stopped time.” He said, to which Elana only frowned in skepticism.

Later, the group had reentered the building and arrived at the guild main hall downstairs. The first thing Elana saw upon entering the room was a number of people who were definitely from Duke Grasmord’s group, and she easily recognized familiar figures among them.

“LANAAAAA!!!”

One of them, none other than Renne Alphen, ran up to Elana with her arms open wide, a huge smile, and delightful tears running down her face. Knowing her lack of options, Elana rolled her eyes and spread her arms.

Renne hugged Elana, and the two spun around a few times while the Mountain Squad trio watched with a grin.

Meanwhile, Lory walked and approached the most dignified-looking couple among the group. They looked a little old but not old enough to be Sedhoust’s parents, so Elana had a doubt at first. But now she was sure that those two were Duke and Duchess Grasmord.

“Father... Mother...” Lory said hesitantly. “...you haven’t changed.”

Without saying any words, the couple both immediately hugged Lory. Both of them audibly sobbed, enough for Renne to notice and stop hugging Elana.

“Lorheimdast, my son..! It’s been too many years to count!” The duke said.

“Why do you look so miserable!” The duchess said. “Did you eat well? Did you eat at all?”

Lory, seemingly overwhelmed, asked with audible confusion. “W-Why? I don’t deserve-“

“You’re still our son no matter what!” The duke intervened firmly. “No way on Estrea we will ever say otherwise!”

“But I-“

“No buts!” The duchess intervened. “Oh, come here my little Lory.” She continued, kissing Lory on the cheek.

“M-Mom, I’m not ‘Little Lory’ anymore..!”

“Who cares? In my eyes you’re still my little Lory.” The duchess said with a warm smile, to which Lory only averted his eyes.

“Oh, look who has finally decided not to run away anymore.” Suddenly a familiar voice said from behind the duke and duchess. “Took you long enough, eh?”

“Sedhoust?” The duke asked, turning his head back with his eyes going a little wider. “You’re here too?”

“I just arrived.” Sedhoust replied. “I was defending Azureus when the beasts all suddenly turned to cinders on their own. Figured I might find an answer here.”

“I’ll explain later.” Lory said. “Definitely not here.”

“If you say so.” Sedhoust shrugged. “Nevertheless, congratulations for finally not running away.” He continued with a smirk.

“Shut up. It was because someone made me not to.” Lory said with annoyed tone while throwing a glare at Storm One, who just grinned.

***

Hours had passed since the slaying of the corruption. Recovery and damage control efforts were proceeding without a hitch, most citizens had returned to their homes, and knight squads had been dispatched to scout the town’s surrounding areas just in case. The sun illuminated the town of Bailey through the clear, almost cloudless sky.

In the residence of the city lord, a group of people entered the conference room and took their respective seats. This group consisted of Viscount Brid Varine, Duke Gentruvorst Grasmord, Duchess Noella Grasmord, Earl Sedhoust Grasmord, Lorheimdast Grasmord, General Gilbert Raeven, Guildmaster Luke Saretro, and Elana Mayer.

“First thing first,” Gentruvorst spoke with his head turned at Brid. “You did an excellent job sheltering the townspeople in your residence. It was thanks to you that the town sustained minimal casualties.”

“Oh, you’re too kind, Your Excellency!” Brid responded. “It was merely the right thing to do as the city lord.”

Gentruvorst nodded. “And I expect you to continue doing the right, noble thing for your people.” He said with a smile, which somehow emanated a menacing aura at the same time.

Brid nervously averted his eyes. “Y-Yes, definitely!”

“Moving on.” Gentruvorst spoke. “This town is far outside my territory, so Sedhoust. Would you make arrangements with the capital city to provide aid for rebuilding?”

“I have already spoken with Her Majesty just recently.” Sedhoust said. “It is already being taken care of as we speak.”

“High speed flight sure is handy.” Gentruvorst said. “Well done. Next is... about the thing we shall address as the Corruption Embodiment from now on.”

Gentruvorst looked around, his eyes meeting the others’ without anyone saying any word. He then took a deep breath and continued his speech.

“I believe we can agree that the Corruption Embodiment has been slain by the Wandering Hero, Lorheimdast Grasmord with the help of Royal Knights and brave adventurers.” Gentruvorst said. “Any objections?”

Once again, Gentruvorst looked around, scanning over all other people in the room. Whenever his eyes met someone else’s, the other person shook their head lightly, signaling their lack of objection. Once he was done, he made a satisfied nod.

“Good. Let the news spread like that.” Gentruvorst said.

The conference continued for another hour, mainly discussing the finer details of the main topics previously brought up and other related tidbits. After the meeting was adjourned, all the people left the room with fairly satisfied looks on their faces.

“Elana.” Sedhoust called in the corridor once the two were away from everyone else.

Elana turned her head to Sedhoust. “Yes?”

“What is your plan after this?”

“My group will spend one more night in this town and return to the capital city first thing in the morning.”

“I see.” Sedhoust nodded. “Rest as much as you like. You have earned it.”

“No rest for me.” Elana said with a frown while gazing into space. “I must give someone a good scolding soon.”

“Well...” Sedhoust smiled wryly. “Good luck then.”

“Is there something else?”

“No. I shall be going home then.” Sedhoust said. “There are things I must arrange, since now your group has become even larger.”

“You really don’t need to do so much specially for us.” Elana said with a mildly annoyed face. “Especially now that the one with actual authority to give consent is here.”

“I still would like to better my chances.” Sedhoust said. “In any case, I shall see you later.”

Elana shrugged. “Nothing I can say, other than suit yourself.”

The two then left the mansion through the front door, and Sedhoust immediately flew up and away. After sighing for a bit, Elana left the mansion grounds and drove her buggy to the town’s most luxurious inn, which somehow didn’t sustain any damage from the recent battle.

“Lana! How did it go?” Renne asked with visible enthusiasm the moment Elana entered the room reserved for just the two of them.

“It went well enough.” Elana said before her face turned to a menacing frown. “Now, we need to talk about the disaster you have caused by having Storm Four hijack the Probe Drone and put it on a silver platter for the corruption to take over.”

“E-Eeek!” Renne screamed in fear. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” She prostrated on the floor. “I didn’t know the cloud was capable of such a thing!”

“People have died because of this. This is not a joke.”

“I know that!” Renne said while her face was still down on the floor. “I really want to make up for it, but how?”

“We will figure it out later.” Elana said. “But for now...” She then grabbed Renne by the back collar of her shirt and dragged her further into the room.

“Nooo-!” Renne wailed in a somewhat cute way as Elana dragged her.

Meanwhile, right outside the closed door, Renne’s subordinates and the Storm Squad stood close trying to eavesdrop.

“Should I go in and apologize as well?” Storm Four asked. “Accessing the drone was my idea to begin with.”

“You’ll definitely get your share later.” Storm Three said. “Just enjoy the show for now.”

“I-Is Leader gonna be alright?” Hilda asked, looking visibly worried.

“No big deal.” Audrey replied. “Leader is just like that when Elana is around.”

“Hey!” Nathan came over and called. “Nothing to see or hear here. Please disperse and leave Captain Mayer alone with Miss Renne.”

“Aww..” Almost everybody else said before dispersing as asked.

***

At the next day, when the morning was still young, a large group of people who were all part of the duke’s convoy were doing the final checks of the preparation for departure. The last riders were boarding their respective carriages, including the duke and duchess themselves along with Lory who was now cleanly shaven and trimmed in a decorated noble’s attire. He looked almost like a spitting image of Duke Gentruvorst if not for the fact that Lory’s hair was still jet black compared to the duke’s graying hair.

Elana sat inside the expedition buggy parked behind the convoy, with Renne next to her on the passenger side. Several adventurers stood next to her just outside the car, and she knew all of them.

“So you’re going back to the capital city.” Rick said.

“Yes.” Elana nodded. “The Royal Knights have arrived, and some of them will be stationed in Bailey for a while. My team’s quest is done.”

“Hey, I haven’t got the chance so...” Marty said with his eyes averted, then he looked straight at Elana. “I’m sorry for earlier! Please don’t tell on us!”

Elana sighed. “You cannot expect me to just forgive your, honestly speaking, disgusting behavior towards my subordinate.”

“Yes, we made a mistake.” Rick said, clasping his hands in front of his face. “Lust got the better of us, alright? No excuse! But please at least spare us from the wrath of the heroes!”

Suddenly the third adventurer, the potion girl from that night, hit Rick and Marty with her elbows. “Cut it out, you two. Just accept the consequences like a man.”

“Easy for you to say when your way of life isn’t in danger, Cecil.” Rick retorted.

Cecil puffed her mouth and put her hands on her hip. “Your fault anyway for lusting over some other girl when you have me. Now it turns out she has connections to the heroes and you’re scared out of your wits.”

“Are you three in the same team?” Elana asked.

“Nope!” Cecil replied with a cheerful smirk while smacking Rick’s back. “I run solo! I just happen to be this playboy’s girlfriend! By the way, please relay my gratitude to the one who saved me!”

“Noted.” Elana said while nodding. “Also, since nobody got hurt I shall overlook it this time. But be mindful that there is no next time if I see you doing the same thing to any of my subordinates.”

“Oh, thank you!” Rick and Marty said together in relief, and then shortly after a sound of a blown horn echoed.

“It seems that it is time to go.” Elana said as she turned the car engine on. “Farewell.”

“Goodbye then!” Cecil said. “I hope we’ll meet again on better terms!”

The three waved their hands as the duke’s convoy departed with Elana’s car following behind. The initial trip wasn’t so smooth with all the damage sustained by the area due to the recent battle, but afterwards the trip went on without a hitch.

“Lana.” Renne suddenly spoke while resting her elbow on the rim. “What do you think we should do from now on?”

“Well...” Elana replied, still focusing on driving. “Martin Alphen is totally busted. We also cannot rely much on the distress beacon. Might as well consider ourselves stuck on this planet forever.”

“Yeah, thought so.” Renne said while still gazing at the passing scenery. “At least it doesn’t look that bad. It’s almost like Sol III, right?”

“With monsters and magic.” Elana said. “Basically a fantasy world like in your favorite fictions.”

“Hey!” Renne turned her head to Elana in an instant. “I got an idea! Let’s make a spaceship!”

Elana squinted. “You should be aware how impossible that sounds.”

“Not just an ordinary spaceship!” Renne shook her head. “Imagine! A magic spaceship!”

“Magic spaceship?”

“Yeah! Body made of magic metal, engine running on magic fuel, magic warp drive. Infinite possibilities!”

“While the idea sounds intriguing, I’m afraid reality will say otherwise.” Elana said. “The technology level of this planet, while more modern than we first expected, is not advanced enough to develop space travel.”

“I know, Lana. I’m not that dreamy!” Renne grinned. “I’m not even expecting it to be actually completed. Think of it like a side passion project. If we succeed, great! If not, at least we tried.”

“Hmm...” Elana pondered for a bit. “I guess it is worth a try. We shall see if the others agree to take on this... ambitious plan. Do not get your hopes up yet, though.”

“Maybe I should write a chronicle about this!” Renne excitedly said. “The title would be... Alphen Chronicles: Making A Spaceship in A Fantasy World!”

Elana only smiled at Renne’s excitement. The chance of the project actually succeeding was virtually zero, but since they were already guaranteed to be stuck forever on this planet, they might as well make the most out of it.

***

Somewhere far away from the capital city of Arxhige Kingdom, a man who looked to be in his forties sat behind his personal office desk, writing notes and signing documents in full focus. The wall behind him was decorated with a huge bust up painting of himself wearing a majestic robe and a glimmering crown atop his head. Brilliant sunlight coming through the pair of glass windows on both sides of the painting illuminated the desk, eliminating the need for a lamp until the sun would move elsewhere. His golden, medium trim hair shined under the same sunlight.

Ring! Ring!

The telephone on the desk rang, and the man immediately picked it up. “Allen Belmott speaking.” He said right away.

“Your Majesty. Minister Crouch is here to deliver a report personally.”

“Send him in.” Allen said before hanging up and resuming his work.

Five minutes later, someone knocked the office door from the outside three times. Allen then spoke in response without looking and halting his work.

“Come in.”

The door opened, and a man clearly in his sixties came in. His hair and mustache were almost completely gray, and a fair amount of wrinkles decorated his plump face.

“Good morning, Your Majesty.” The man said while bowing. “I hope that you are always blessed by the gods.”

“Hmm...” Allen lazily replied without stopping his work. “What kind of report brings you here, Cornelius?”

“Intriguing report about recent happenings in Arxhige Kingdom, Your Majesty.” Cornelius replied, stepping closer to Allen’s desk and presenting a dossier with both hands.

Allen put his pen away, took the dossier, and opened it. He lazily browsed through the pages at first with no enthusiasm, but over the next few seconds his eyes went wider and his mouth opened a bit. He then flipped the pages back and forth a few times before stopping and looking at Cornelius with a smile on his face.

“You indeed have shown me something interesting, Cornelius.” Allen said. “Well done.”

Cornelius smiled in delight and bowed. “The compliment is wasted on me, Your Majesty. Serving you has always been my pleasure.”

Allen didn’t say any more words. He still smiled as he glanced at the open dossier page, showing a birds eye photo of a mysterious large object fallen in the territory of Arxhige Kingdom.

***