THE SYMBOLS CARVED IN THE STAFF GLOWED A DEEP CRIMSON.

“What did you do!?”

“Conand, let go!”

He raised his other hand, a sign for Rena not to interfere. Her normally subdued expressions had given way to naked emotion. Balor watching from behind, on the other hand, was completely unphased, his usual wide grin replaced with a face of calm observation.

Kyouka's eyes were drawn to the staff. So it was enchanted after all? No, it became enchanted just now. The earth beneath them shook, and a dull drone filled their ears. Conand was on his knees and drenched in sweat, but he never let go of the staff—or perhaps it wouldn't let go of him.

Then, as suddenly as it all began, there was nothing. The staff stopped glowing, the ground stopped shaking, and the droning fell silent. Conand finally released his grip on the staff and crumpled to the floor, completely sapped of strength. Rena rushed to his aid, shoving the so-called Druid aside. Kyouka felt a mysterious draw to the staff and went to pick it up.

“What did you do!?”

“So it didn't work, huh? I'm sorry…”

“Just stop talking; save your energy. Come, we shall take you to the mansion. Miss Kyouka, if you would—”

“On it!”

The two of them lifted him up and supported him on their shoulders.

“I thought I could bring her back…with magic…our magic…”

“That's…no way…you don't mean…?”

As they tried to bring Conand out of the cemetery, a tall shadow stood in their path.

“Bringing the dead back to life, of course.”

“You…”

“Move aside, cretin. I have not one second to spare for you. Show your face before any of us again, and I will gut you like a fish.”

“Now, now, don't be so hasty! Why not stay a while? Especially you, brother! Don't you want to see the results of your effort?”

“…What? Didn't…the ritual…fail?”

“Conand, such a thing was impossible from the start.”

“Right. This guy's just a phony!”

“No! I saw it! The ritual, i-it works. The cat, Stripey, the only thing mom left for Lily to remember her by. It died but—I saw it. With a blood sacrifice, he brought Stripey back. I swear my eyes didn't deceive me!”

“Indeed they did not! And just now, I had you perform the exact same ritual—exactly as you asked.”

“Cut the bullshit! What do you really want!?”

With a satisfied smile, he simply pointed behind them.

“Holy shit…”

The soil around Lily's grave had liquified into a pool of mud. In the center, the mud bulged like a pimple growing out of the earth. It started groaning like it was in pain. None of them could believe what they were witnessing.

“L-Lily? Is that you?”

Conand mustered all his remaining strength to walk towards the growing mass. Suddenly, an arm reached out of the black mud, but it was not the arm of a little girl. It was much too long with slimy, green skin like dried, crusty vomit. The creature dug its gnarled claws into the ground and pulled itself out of the putrid muck.

Its body was massive and round, covered in warts, and with flaps of skin hanging uselessly all over. Blood and saliva dripped from an enormous mouth, and it was impossible to tell where its neck began or ended. Dead, fish-like eyes glared at them with a cold hatred for all that felt the warmth of life.

The first one to snap out of being frozen in shock was Rena. She reached out to Conand who was a few feet ahead, but before she could reach him, the giant toad-like abomination opened its great maw, a red streak shot through the dark, and Conand suddenly accelerated away from Rena's hand at breakneck speed—to be swallowed whole by the creature.

A second after Rena moved to grab Conand, Kyouka moved in the opposite direction to face the culprit behind this catastrophe.

“You're not getting away!”

“I have no intention of running from you, child.”

Kyouka held the staff in a fighting stance, but the towering elf snickered at her and pulled a machete out of his coat. Shit. This is bad. We're trapped here, and we're at a complete disadvantage, but that might be my only opening.

Just as she thought, her opponent looked completely relaxed. Precisely because he had the upper hand, he was in no rush to make a move against her. Okay, Kyouka, your job is to stall this bastard out until Rena finishes saving Conand.

Having made her resolve, Kyouka in, staying low to the ground and away from her target's swordarm—a tactic she picked up on from training with The Windwalker, whose attacking range was even greater than her lanky opponent.

“Is buzzing around like a fly all you can do, human?”

She paid no heed to his taunts. As she circled around the edge of his weapon's reach, his swings kept missing by a hair's breadth. Her timing had to be precise, and if she misjudged the distance, her head could fly clean off her shoulders.

This guy is no common thug. Despite his flippant attitude, Balor fought with disciplined movements. He swung the blade with a smooth, almost whip-like ferocity that left no opening for her to even consider closing the distance.

Her tactics failed to frustrate him into overcommitting. He simply swung at her whenever she got within range with the patience of a veteran soldier. If this keeps up, I might be the first one to slip up.

As she deftly maneuvered her way through the slashes coming at her, changing angles, ducking, circling, and parrying with the staff, she could sometimes catch a split-second glimpse of Rena's struggle against the monster that swallowed Conand.

Nothing she saw was encouraged. Rena showered the beast with a barrage of blades. She expertly rotated between throwing, striking with, and catching several daggers. It was like a whirlwind of death, but her adversary was a deathless abomination.

It barely moved, receiving the rain of sharp metal directly on its flesh, but Rena's knives couldn't pierce its hide deep enough, and all its wounds closed in mere seconds, undoing all of her hard work.

At that point, Kyouka had begun to formulate a plan to deal with both threats.

“Hey, seaweed head! You're a real piece of work, gotta admit. Literally everything about you is phony. I bet you just borrowed the spell to summon that glorified toad from someone who actually knows magic. Druid my ass; you're just another thug.”

“And what of it? You saw how summoning a single, measly Ogre damn near killed your friend. That is the pathetic state our kind has been reduced to through generations of corruption by your filthy, human blood.”

So if we can just take that thing down, we don't have to worry about another one being summoned. Good, this can work.

“Let me guess, your master, whoever put you up to this nonsense, will use their hocus pocus to cleanse your soul? Make you immortal like the original elves?”

“…You're sharp for a hairless ape, but what good will it do you when you're about to die?”

“And you're not very bright. Don't you get it? This master of yours has been playing you for a fool! Even if they could give you what you wanted, why would they ever make you an equal? You would just be competition. If I were a betting gal, I'd say even if you win here, you'll get cleaned up as the last loose thread.”

Sensing that her taunts were finally working, she laughed in an exaggerated fashion just to be as annoying as possible. He lunged towards her with his long limbs, breaking his pattern of safe, non-committal slashes.

Though he was fast for his size, because he was stepping in from beyond his reach, she had time to react. She jumped into range, used the staff to deflect his machete, and drew the dagger Rena had her carry around in secret. She quickly sniped at his wrist, aiming for the FCU tendon. Gotcha, you bastard.

With no time to pull his hand out of the way, he turned his arm over as a last resort, accepting the cut to the opposite side. Her knife sliced the back of his hand, drawing blood but failing to impair his ability to hold a weapon.

Shit, that was my best chance! This guy's reactions are insane! Sensing the follow-up strike, she ducked under the blade and circled away. Suddenly, a third party unknowingly entered the conflict.

“Hey! Is everyone alright? I heard some commotion—”

The officer's sudden arrival drew her opponent's attention for a second, and Kyouka used that gap to disengage from striking distance, backing up until she was back-to-back with Rena.

“RUN! GET HELP! GO BACK! TAKE A HORSE!”

She shouted at the confused officer, but perhaps due to experience, he quickly shifted gears and ran back out the cemetery, seemingly having grasped enough of the situation. Now let's just hope he can slip past those goons. Good luck, pops.

“Rena, listen. Your Arcanum is useless against that monster. Let's switch opponents.”

“But Miss Kyouka, how—”

“There's no time! Just trust me!”

Rena nodded, and without another word, they switched dance partners. I leave that crazy cult leader to you. Don't you dare die! Kyouka now faced the Ogre which hadn't moved an inch from the black pond it spawned from.

She walked towards it until she reached a spot where there was a deep gash in the soil. As soon as she tried to take another step closer, the beast came to life and gouged another chunk out of the ground with its long, claw-tipped arms.

“…That was close”

As I suspected, this isn't an animal—not even a twisted one like the Werebat that almost killed me before. No, it's too robotic. This thing has never been alive.

Conand said he witnessed that phony Druid reanimating the corpse of a cat, but the charlatan himself admitted just now that this toad wasn't summoned through his own power.

Does that mean those were actually completely different rituals? That would make sense, since this monster obviously isn't Lily brought back. This is clearly a weapon artificially created through evil magic.

Although her foe wasn't in a hurry to attack her, time was still of the essence. She didn't know what state Conand was in, and while she didn't think Rena would lose against Balor, anything could happen in battle.

She observed the creature for any opening that could be exploited. That's when she noticed irregular lumps on its belly. Are those warts, no? No, they're moving. Wait, is that—

“Conand, is that you!?”

She shouted, hoping it would reach him from inside the creature's belly. In response, the lumps moved with increased intensity. Holy shit, that's him! He's really alive in there!

“Just wait! I'm coming for you!”

How the hell do we beat this thing!? Think, Kyouka, think! Rena carved it up like a tuna, but there's not a scratch—no, wait. It was difficult to see at first because the creature was covered in its own vile blood from the punishment it had received, but although its wound had indeed closed, it was not, in fact, without a scratch.

“Are those—scars?”

Blood and scars? This thing might not be a reanimated animal, but it isn't something nebulous like a walking blob of 'magic energy' either. Physical regeneration, no matter how fast, can be overcome.

She looked down at the staff in her hand. That bastard didn't mind me picking this thing up at all, so breaking it probably won't un-summon the toad. It's just a one-time-use enchanted object. Should I break it anyway, just in case? No, I got a better idea…

Orange sparks lit up the dark cemetery. Whistling wind was followed by a dull clang as knives cut through the still, damp air and collided with stone and metal.

A tall shadow deftly weaved its way around the gravestones, ducking behind them at just the right time, using his machete to parry whenever he got caught out in the open.

“Your reputation precedes you, sister! To think the gods deemed fit to bless you twice…”

No answer came, just eerie silence followed by a rain of blades. This time, he was unable to avoid taking some superficial cuts. Out of the darkness, Rena dashed in, retrieved her knives, and returned to the shadows.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

At first, Balor tried to attack her whenever she appeared like that, but his blade never reached her in time; she was just too fast. Now, he calmly observed her actions from behind cover.

“The power to manipulate wind, or is it perhaps a wind spirit assisting you without your direct control? Marvelous, either way. I've seen my fair share of Arcana on the battlefield, but this is practically a divine ability.

But if you're so fast, I have to wonder. Why not just dice me to bits in the blink of an eye? Why insist on keeping your distance? You could probably keep this up forever, but aren't you worried about your friends?

The sooner you kill me, the sooner you can go save them! That foolish human girl went to take on an Ogre by herself, you know!? Just imagine her frail body crushed like a tomato in that abomination's disgusting jaws!”

He was not simply taunting her for his own amusement or out of frustration at being unable to catch her. Recalling their encounter at the tavern, he saw how protective Rena was of Kyouka.

As a lifetime soldier, Balor had heard stories of The Windwalker's Arcanum. Though he'd dismissed most of them as tall tales, he had to admit that the real thing was even more spectacular.

Several knives would fly through the air, aimed with lethal accuracy, but it was precisely this reliable nature of hers that allowed him to predict her targets and use the surrounding gravestones, lamp posts, and trees as cover.

This finely-honed dance of death clued him in to the nature of her ability. She could not freely control the wind. There were limitations she had to work within, and her current efficiency was the result of decades of practice and combat experience; therefore, he reasoned, it must be possible to break her concentration.

The faint pitter-patter he used to track her position had a regular rhythm to it, but the time gap since the last time he heard her footsteps started to worry him. He wondered if she stopped moving, and why.

He had expected his taunts to make her more impatient, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. Cold sweat soaked his hair and clothes. Flashbacks to the stories of entire squadrons that lay dead in her wake made his hands shake in fear, though he dared not acknowledge it.

“You don't want to play with me? Fine! Why don't I just go chop that monkey's head off myself! The master did say to bring her back dead or alive—”

A white glint out of the corner of his eye made him reflexively duck for cover. A split-second later, the dagger bounced off the lamp post with a loud clang.

Before he could catch his breath, another one came flying and hit the same lamp post he was hiding behind.

Another followed, this time shattering the lamp head, showering him with glass shards and putting the light out.

“What's this, sister Rena? Getting tired? Your aim has gotten worse!”

He listened for her footsteps again—still nothing. Believing the volley to be over for now, he moved out of the lamp post's shadow to take cover somewhere else. Suddenly, he felt a hot sensation in his leg and fell face first into the mud.

“Wha—”

“So your aim was Miss Kyouka after all.”

Looking back, he saw a knife sticking out of knee—and The Windwalker standing perfectly balanced on top of the dead lamp post. With the moon to her back, her face was obscured in shadow, only her blue hair seemed to sparkle under the pale moonlight. She jumped down with the grace of a falling snowflake.

“H-how did you…”

“If she was indeed your target from the start, then a lot of things start to make sense. When we ran into you at the tavern, you found out that I was guarding her, and knowing who I was, you had to come up with a plan to deal with me before you could get to her.

This cemetery is the perfect place to make it as difficult as possible for me to use my Arcanum in hand-to-hand combat. As you undoubtedly know, considering how much research you appear to have done, I need distance to build up speed, and there is no space for that here other than in the air, so I was forced to fight exclusively with projectiles.

Come to think of it, those men of yours were never meant to be part of the battle, were they? Unlike you, they do not seem to be trained soldiers; common thugs like them would last all but five seconds. No, if I had to guess, their only purpose is to prevent the carriages from leaving, to prevent any potential witnesses from getting away.”

“How did you get close!? I was listening! There was nothing! You didn't move! How—no, it can't be…”

“Yes, I realized you were tracking my position by sound, so I just had to create an auditory distraction and time my movement.”

“…Why are you still here? To mock me!? Aren't you supposed to be protecting her!?”

Her face devoid of expression, she cruelly stepped on the knife embedded in his leg. His screams of agony traveled far through the night air.

“The moment you revealed that Miss Kyouka was your target, I made the decision to capture you alive. A lackey like you was probably made to know nothing of the big picture, but whoever sent you on this mission must know of her true nature, and for the sake of Her Highness' ambition, that cannot be allowed.

We will have plenty of time to get to know each other, brother Balor. You will tell us everything you know about the Fomorian Brotherhood and that 'Archdruid' of yours. Oh, and no need to worry about Miss Kyouka—slaying monsters is her whole reason for being here.

The realization that he was defeated without making a single scratch on his enemy, and that all his skills, experience, and ambitions had come to naught finally dawned on him, and he lost even the energy to cry out in pain.

“Well done, cretin. I must commend your efforts. Of all the assassinations that have been attempted on me, this was one of the more well thought-out ones. I would tell you to stand proud, but alas.”

“Conand! Get ready to jump out of there!”

Alright, here goes nothing! Kyouka dashed forward at full speed. The Ogre swung its rake-like claws at her, but she used the staff to parry, almost getting knocked off balance by the force of the blow.

“Urk—!”

What strength! But it's slower than that guy's slashes—I can handle this! Having made it past the tip of the spear, she was able to approach safely from the side where neither arm could reach her unless the creature was willing to move from its spot. Well, what'll you do, ugly?

The Ogre refused to move, so Kyouka thrust her dagger straight into its shoulder, jamming it in as deep as it would go, completely locking one arm from moving.

“How do you like that!? You can't close a wound that's not open in the first place, idiot!”

She put both hands on the staff and planted her feet solidly on the ground to deliver a thrust with all her strength at its defenseless belly. Before beginning her attack, Kyouka had used her knife to quickly carve a crude point onto the tip of the staff.

A knife can't reach deep enough, but I bet this thing can! She just had to hope it wouldn't hurt Conand as well. The makeshift spear plunged deep into the Ogre's round belly—and deeper, and deeper, but it never pierced the skin.

“What the—?”

The sickly, green skin just kept stretching further. Kyouka felt immense pressure from the elastic skin trying to rebound that threatened to send her flying back. She dug her heels in, and the force was so great that her knees shook and her feet slowly sank into the soft, wet earth. That's when she noticed that only the skin on its belly had no scars whatsoever.

Rena's knives must've bounced off just this part! Shit, how could I have missed that!

“Conand! Grab it! Grab the stick from the inside!”

Suddenly she felt the weight pushing against her dissipate. Nice! Okay, this better work! Knowing the spear wouldn't fly away anymore, she momentarily let go, turned around, pushed the butt of the spear into the mud until it made a forty-five degree angle, and grabbed onto it like she was pulling a lever.

“Okay, let go!”

The end of the spear, buried deep in the Ogre's flesh, was rapidly expelled by the elastic force of its skin, but because it was stuck in the ground at an angle, Kyouka was able to stop it from flying away and losing her only remaining weapon.

Having recovered her weapon, Kyouka turned around to continue the attack, intending to strike at the eyes this time, but what she saw almost made her heart stop—the Ogre had moved to face her with its massive jaws wide open.

The image of Conand getting snached in the blink of an eye by the lightning-fast tongue flashed through her mind, and her body moved reflexively, holding the staff out like a shield. Immediately, a large, red forked tongue wrapped itself around the staff and yanked it out of her hands with tremendous strength.

But because the spear was grabbed vertically, it got stuck, and the Ogre was unable to close its mouth. Kyouka knew this was their only chance.

“JUMP OUT! NOW!”

From the pitch-black pit of the creature's stomach, a thin, pale arm reached out of the darkness. Kyouka ran over to pull him out, but the Ogre, perhaps sensing danger for the first time, finally jumped out of its mud hole several feet into the air, landing on and instantly pulverizing some gravestones with its sheer mass.

This is bad! The Ogre groaned in pain, the tip of the spear digging into the top of its toothless mouth. Unable to close the wound, blood continuously dripped down the shaft.

“Conand! Crawl out! Crawl out before its mouth closes!”

The pale arm sticking out of the darkness struggled and clawed, but the saliva and blood made the creature's mouth too slippery. It's no use, I have to pull him out myself! She sprinted straight at the monster, but in her panic, she forgot one thing—it still had one working arm.

The sickle-like claws sliced through the air, catching Kyouka completely off-guard. As she watched certain death approach in slow motion, her view of the world suddenly turned ninety degrees.

“Ow!”

She'd slipped on the mud, and the Ogre's claws passed over empty air. She immediately tried to get up, but the creature was also winding up to launch another deadly swipe. Watch the timing…

Suddenly, a high-pitched whistle pierced the atmosphere, several white glints flew past her, and daggers embedded themselves all over the long, outstretched arm. Rena! Though her heart was momentarily filled with joy, she dared not look back and waste this opportunity.

Kyouka dashed forward resolutely and reached into the defenseless Ogre's mouth, firmly grabbing Conand's arm. She planted both feet on the creature's wide chin and with both hands, pulled with all her strength.

But Conand's arm was covered in slime, and worryingly, it had gone limp, no longer struggling to crawl out. Just as Kyouka started to lose her grip, the wind howled, and another pair of arms appeared beside hers.

Bright blue hair like strands of sparkling sapphire and deep, golden eyes that hide many secrets—Rena, The Windwalker, her most trusted companion, had arrived victorious and unblemished. Pfft, show-off…

“Miss Kyouka, please put your back into it.”

“Why you cheeky little…just shut up and pull!”

Despite her harsh words, Kyouka now felt like failure was impossible. With a hearty shout, they pulled, and this time, their grip did not fail. All at once, Conand's body shot out of the Ogre's throat, and they all fell backwards. Before they could celebrate, however, Kyouka had one last job to do.

“Rena, take him away from here. Hand me a dagger, too.”

“Are you asking me to leave you behind?”

“No, I'm asking you to let me fulfill my purpose.”

“…Very well. Just avoid any actions that would upset Her Highness.”

“Don't die. Got it.”

Kyouka felt a dagger in her pocket, and with a gust of wind, she was left alone with the Ogre. It groaned in pain as it tried to regrow the arm Rena had chopped up.

“Your regeneration has gotten pretty slow, buddy. Or has it stopped completely?”

She reached into her pocket and retrieved a metal box. Inside was a small vial of bright scarlet liquid. She took the vial and tossed it down the creature's mouth. Then, she took the dagger Rena gave her and sliced the wooden staff clean in half, and Ogre's mouth closed shut.

Kyouka started walking backwards, silently observing the creature's reaction. At first, it just sat in the mud, its arm stump constantly leaking blood and refusing to grow back. Then, she saw it—light. From inside its belly, a bright, orange light grew in size and intensity until it was like a miniature sun.

Salamander oil—I bought a couple drops at the alchemist's shop and carried it with me at all times just in case I ever inexplicably sleepwalked into the territory of another monster.

The pitiful creature fell on its face, and bright spots appeared on its back. Those spots opened up into holes, and flames poked out. It smelled awful, like burnt rubber and rotten eggs. The Ogre's flesh melted into a green goop while the flames grew, illuminating the cemetery like a misbegotten funeral pyre.

“The old man wasn't kidding. Nevermind burning down his shop, that whole bottle he leaves out in the open could torch a whole city block if this is what just a few drops are capable of.”

Once she was sure there was no chance the Ogre might get up again, Kyouka made her way out of the cemetery. There, by the carriages, she found Rena, Conand, and Balor tied to a tree. Not one of his among his entourage, nor a single horse was to be found.

“Did your goons all bail out on you? That's rough, buddy.”

The self-proclaimed druid was completely despondent; not a trace of his sarcasm and narcissism remained. Jeez, what did she do to you? When she looked over to Rena, who was cradling Conand's body, her heart sank—tears were streaming down Rena's porcelain doll-like face.

“Wait, wait, wait, no! No, we got him out in time! He was still moving, he—”

“Miss Kyouka, please avert your eyes…”

“O-okay so they took the horses, so what? You should just carry him! With your speed, you can make it back to town in time! Rena, you have to go!”

She shook her friend's shoulder.

“…Carry him to the city, then what? Miss Kyouka, those healing potions of yours are just a fantasy! Look at him! This is reality!”

That's when she finally noticed the emaciated body under his clothes. He was deathly pale, and his bony chest didn't move an inch. He's not breathing. Kyouka fell to her knees.

How could this have happened? An image of the Ogre's final moments flashed through her mind. Even before she incinerated it with the salamander oil, its arm had failed to grow back. That was after we pulled him out. Could it be?

It took a blood sacrifice to summon that thing. What if its regeneration was fueled by more sacrifices? The very first thing it did after crawling out of the mud hole was to catch and swallow the nearest person…

But that would mean that every wound we inflicted on it cause Conand's life to be drained even faster. No, no, no, that can't be! It was my fault! I've failed again. Now the brother and sister are both gone because of me!

Her chest tightened, her vision blurred, and her nails dug into the soil. What good does it do to slay monsters and fail to save anyone? Why am I here? Why me!? Why was I chosen!? Why…

“My pocket…”

A feeble voice could be heard from the side.

“In my pocket, I have what you need…”

Balor spoke while staring into space with empty eyes.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“…Against The Windwalker, we knew that even should I be victorious, it may cost me my life, so my master gave me a vial of dragon's blood.”

“You charlatan! Not even the first generation had ever seen a living dragon.”

“It's just a name, but the effects are real.”

“…Why would you help us?”

“I don't expect you to understand, human. That friend of yours is still my kind.”

“Hypocrite. You would've let him get eaten by that toad just a minute ago.”

“…That was for the mission. I do not hesitate to make the necessary sacrifices, but the mission is over. To let him die now would just be a waste of good blood.”

Stunned, they stared at him like he was talking absolute nonsense. Kyouka wanted to berate him, call him a fraud, but the words didn't come out. Although the ritual to revive Lily had been a scam, that was obviously a trap laid intentionally for the sake of whatever mission they were sent to accomplish.

She walked up to him and searched his pockets. Coins, keys, a pocket watch…

“Is it in here?”

She pulled out a small, wooden box. In it, she found a vial of pitch-black liquid.

“This looks like poison…”

“Poison for a dead man?”

She brought the vial over to Rena, who eyed it with suspicion.

“You've known him since he was a kid; you're basically family. Whatever you choose to do, I've got your back.”

Rena sat in thought for a moment, then she rubbed her eyes and made her resolve. Opened, the black liquid smelled like incense. With shaky hands, she poured the elixir into his dry mouth.

They waited with bated breath. Seconds felt like they stretched into hours. Then, it happened. Color started returning to the bone-white skin, and his chest started to move up and down ever so slightly. No way…

Conand opened his eyes weakly, and a dry wheeze escaped his lips. He was alive, but his strength was still drained. He started coughing.

“Don't try to talk. It's okay, we got you.”

“I must go, Miss Kyouka. He is in need of food and water.”

“Don't worry about me. There are no more enemies left. Just go!”

Rena nodded and carried him on her back.

“I will send help right away. Be careful.”

The wind gathered, and Rena pushed off like a jet—only to fall a few yards away while crying out in pain.

“Rena!? What happened!?”

Kyouka rushed over, but Rena raised a hand to stop her and let out a voice she'd never heard before—a voice full of fear.

“DON'T COME! RUN!”

“…What?”

She turned angrily to the tall elf slouched on the tree.

“You bastard! What did you do!?”

But he did not laugh as she'd expected. He looked just as shocked as her.

“I don't know! That was supposed to be for me!”

He's telling the truth? What the hell is going on?

“Rena, I—”

When she turned to look at where her friend had fallen, Conand was now crouched over Rena. Wet sounds like making a burger patty out of minced meat could be heard. Rena didn't make a sound or move a muscle.

“Conand…?”

His head turned back to look at her—mouth dripping with fresh blood, milky white eyes, gray skin, and rat-like teeth. Kyouka didn't have to dig deep to realize what this reminded her of. The creature that haunted her nightmares was now before her again, in the flesh.

I have to run. No, I can't leave Rena. I have to survive. No, she's my friend. I can't save the world if I die here. No, if you abandon her now, you don't deserve to be a Traveler.

Whether in fear or out of indecision, her legs were completely frozen. The scenery before her blurred, and she couldn't hear a thing. Before she knew it, she was looking up at the moon.

Drip, drop.

Drip, drop.

Her neck was warm. Everything else was cold. It felt like all the warmth in her body was leaking out through her neck, but she felt no pain. She couldn't move or didn't want to; she couldn't tell anymore.

Drip, drop.

Drip, drop.

Then, she remembered. She'd felt this before. Absolute cold gave way to nothing, and nothing gave way to the warm embrace of The Shadow. Yes, she'd been here before. For the third time in her life, Kyouka died.

Drip, drop.

Drip, drop.

Drip———