With my newfound speed, it took me barely a few seconds to return to the devastated town. In another few, I scanned the smoldering ruins, assessing the aftermath of the gargoyle's assault.

Frankly put, it wasn't looking good. Hana, thankfully, still floated in the same spot where I had left her earlier, seemingly untouched in my absence. The rest of the townspeople had not been so fortunate.

Bodies lay strewn amidst the rubble, their lifeless forms either laying in pieces or horribly disfigured.

The highlander man and the beastwoman were the only two adventurers who had survived the carnage, and even they appeared injured and defeated. Though, the corpses of the creatures they'd slain looked much more so.

For now, they were preoccupied with tending to each other's wounds, having just awoken. They seemed to be oblivious to my swift movements in their mental grog.

Desperate to find any more signs of life, I spent several more minutes sifting through the wreckage.

I searched the residential district, the farmlands, the walls, and the Guild hall especially, hoping to uncover any survivors.

Despite my thorough efforts, I found nothing but corpses and the cold stone floor beneath the debris.

As I processed this tragedy of a situation, I was struck by the realization that I felt almost no emotional connection to the fate that had befallen most of these people. No sadness, no anger, no regret. It was as if my heart had hardened, becoming incapable of empathizing with the suffering of those whom I didn't care enough about. This detachment left me questioning my own humanity, wondering if I had become jaded or even sociopathic in such a short amount of time.

No, that wasn’t it. Perhaps... this might have been normal.

As I wandered the familiar streets of Alonzia, I couldn't help but acknowledge the fact that, for the most part, I hadn't forged any deep connections with the people here.

While I recognized faces and exchanged pleasantries with a few of them, our relationships never extended beyond the boundaries of acquaintances.

Despite having lived here for a considerable time, Alonzia never truly felt like my hometown. It was just a place I found myself in after my parents passed in Lakeside. I was just an orphaned teenager, barely capable of talking to another person, because keeping to myself seemed like the only way to navigate the world that had proven itself so foreign and hostile.

The only exception to my self-imposed isolation was Claire.

Since I began adventuring around the same time she had started her apprenticeship at the Guild, we really didn’t have any choice but to interact. And since we were both the same age as well, our shared experiences bonded us. Over time, she became the closest thing I had to a childhood friend. I didn't ever join a party, and it was like she had filled that void for me.

I still remember the senior receptionist whacking Claire over the head with a stack of paper every time she made a mistake filing paperwork. For a brief moment, I wondered that old bat had gone.

I remembered the day that Claire succeeded in dying her jet black hair blonde. She was giddy as all hell because dyeing dark hair was, and I quote, "really fucking hard", and "a pain in the ass."

I remember the first day she gave me my reward for completing a quest. She looked insanely bored, having done that same exact task for hours on end, but her expression was funny, so I couldn’t help but laugh.

They were mundane memories, but ones that I held very dear.

And… I hadn’t spotted her at all during my search. No matter how much rubble I upturned, I just couldn’t find her anywhere.

…

It was a strange sensation; even though I had gained immeasurable power not minutes ago, I found that my limbs suddenly felt weak and heavy, as if they were made of lead. Not having it in me to stand up anymore, I plopped down next to Hana’s floating, unconscious body.

As I sat there, I couldn't help but turn my gaze towards the girl, silently pleading for her to wake up and provide me with some much-needed companionship.

I had no such luck.

With a heavy sigh, I allowed a single breath to escape my lips, carrying with it a question that weighed heavily on my heart.

"Did you have any friends back home that would miss you?" I asked Hana, knowing full well that no answer would come.

"Because I think I just lost my only one."

Tears streamed silently down my cheeks.

I wept until my body had no more tears to shed, my sobs echoing softly in the empty space around me.

…

Eventually, the highlander and the beastwoman completed their treatment of each other's injuries and set out to survey Alonzia, much like I had done earlier. From a distance, I could vaguely make out their shapes as they moved in and out of my line of sight, diligently searching for any survivors. Their efforts, unsurprisingly, proved fruitless.

At some point in their search, they discovered Hana and I sitting nearby. They seemed to be expecting as much, as they weren't jumping for joy over us being alive.

If anything, they seemed taken aback by Hana's unusual condition. However, they quickly adapted, prioritizing the exchange of information over their initial shock. Skipping formalities, the beastwoman spoke first.

"Are there any more monsters left?" she asked.

Her golden eyes, reflecting the moon's brilliance, narrowed into slits as she scanned the darkness for any lingering threats.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"No," I replied curtly.

"Any survivors?" the highlander man inquired.

"Not that I could find."

"What's wrong with the hero? Why does she look like that?" the beastwoman questioned.

"I have no idea."

The highlander's expression soured, a mix of frustration and sadness painted across his face.

"I see. Then you are in the dark as much as we are. This is a terrible outcome."

I hesitated, unsure if I should reveal the chilling words spoken by the monster that had appeared at my door.

'There you are.'

Those words were irrefutable evidence of their objective here: they had come to kill Hana.

Furthermore, I suspected the gargoyles had been planted as traps during the church's renovations the previous week. If that were true, someone had anticipated Hana's arrival and, for some reason, had decided to eliminate her just a day after her summoning. To complicate matters, the alleged hero Amhar had attacked us, claiming he was sent by the goddess herself.

A glaring red flag had been painted, one that was impossible to ignore.

It would be downright foolish not to suspect the church's involvement. I might not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, but even I could piece together a puzzle with only four pieces.

The adventurer duo before me probably hadn't visited the church, since they didn't seem suspicious of the religious organization. Perhaps news of the hero's summoning had reached them late, just like it had reached me? Perhaps that was for the best.

"Oi. Hello? Are you there, boy?"

The beastwoman was now up in my face, trying to get my attention as I had spaced out.

I snapped out of my thoughts and addressed her, firmly deciding it was better to keep this information to myself.

This knowledge would do them no good if they weren't coming with us. I had a feeling that knowing anything about the intentions behind this attack would place a glowing red target on the backs of these two adventurers, and no one needs that in their day-to-day without good reason.

"Ah, yeah. I'm still here. Sorry, what were your names again?"

Realizing I had neglected to ask this basic question at the beginning of our conversation, I used it as an opportunity to change the subject. The beastwoman was the first to respond.

"My name is Miotu," she said, her voice strong and fierce. "My foes call me Miotu the Berserked, and my friends call me Mio." Her eyes burned with intensity before softening into a gentler expression.

"And this is Craig," she added, gesturing to her partner. "His nickname is Craig."

Craig, the highlander, nodded in agreement. Miotu's introduction seemed to suffice.

"It's nice to meet the both of you," I said, acknowledging the duo with a nod of my head.

And then, as if my nod gave some sort of celestial permission, Hana fell from her levitating state, her butt colliding with the ground and eyes snapping open at once. In a split second she was on her feet, rotating her head at a breakneck pace.

"What’s going on, what happened? Did we win?"

Hana spoke hurriedly, still confused and disoriented. However, after a couple seconds of looking around and observing, she quickly understood the situation.

My grim expression. The two adventurers standing before me, injured and covered in hastily-done tourniquets made from torn scraps of their own clothing. The destruction of the town and how nobody else seemed to be walking around.

It was a slaughter, and we had hardly earned anything close to what you would call a victory.

Her shoulders slumped, and she stared deep into my eyes.

"Claire?"

I shook my head.

She went pale.

"Oh… I’m so sorry."

We stood in silence, and the adventurer duo seemed to grasp the situation. The highlander warrior spoke up, his voice devoid of any malice. It appeared he had entirely set aside our beef in the guild hall, as our current predicament was far more dire.

"My condolences, brother," he began. "However, we can't afford to linger here any longer; it's too dangerous, even with the hero. It's highly likely that the gargoyles that attacked this town were targeting someone specific, and it's reasonable to assume that it was her."

Craig gestured at Hana, and his partner quickly agreed with his conclusion.

"I concur. It's unusual for that many gargoyles to gather without the guidance of a mage," Miotu chimed in. She seemed extremely confident in her conclusion, though that was a piece of information I'd never heard before. I should've known those two would be smart enough to figure out what happened, even without me telling them.

Hana, upon hearing their theory behind the attack, looked absolutely horrified. It seemed all her fears had been confirmed.

I empathized with her. None of this was her fault, yet she probably couldn't help but blame herself. The poor girl couldn't catch a break, neither in this world nor her own. I hoped the situation wouldn't weigh too heavily on her; her despair was palpable.

Craig nodded at Miotu in acknowledgment of her assumption, then continued his train of thought.

"Thus, I believe the Demon King has already set his plans in motion, and if that's the case, we're going to witness many more catastrophes like this. His attacks are premature, far earlier than anything the church has documented in the past. We must all head for the nearest town and warn the Adventurers' Guild, even if it's merely speculation. That would be Wolfhaven, where my partner and I currently reside."

Okay, maybe they weren't that smart.

I nodded, neither disputing their words nor offering alternative plans. This was a sound strategy, even if they were slightly misinformed. With this, they could put the Adventurers' Guild on high alert without drawing unwanted attention from the church. Also, we could drop them off at the town without giving a flimsy reason to escort them there. I wasn't going to let the only two survivors of Alonzia just die off in transit.

Satisfied with the plan, I voiced my idea to Craig.

"We'll escort you to Wolfhaven and then split up. If the Demon King is targeting Hana, we should keep moving instead of staying in one place for too long. We don’t want to endanger your well-being just by existing near you."

The man nodded after a few moments, eventually agreeing. I was surprised at his amity.

I would've thought he'd argue with me, imploring to go along with the hero on her journey, but this assault must have been a pretty big wake up call for him, thankfully for Hana and I. It's more likely they'd be a nuisance rather than a boon, considering the degree of power I had now. If they got in the way, I'd have to be wary of running them over on accident. I didn't want to be responsible for good-aligned roadkill.

"Alright then. Let's get going. Wolfhaven is only twenty kilometers away, so they might have already noticed something amiss. Hopefully the guards are awaiting our return, as they know both Miotu and I are out of town for the hero's summoning."

Following Craig's urging, I rose to my feet, struggling a bit on the way up.

'Man, my body just does not want to move right now.'

Internally, I felt as though my heart had been ripped out, making even standing a physically and mentally exhausting ordeal. I told myself that I had to prioritize action, and that I would have to mourn Claire after ensuring that her death had not been in vain.

But talk was cheap, and overcoming a family death was much easier said than done. It would take more than just a few affirming thoughts to get through this.

So, I decided to reach into the reserves of my most bountiful mental resource. Something I now had in spades. Anger.

The church would fucking pay for what they did to my friend.

I willed whoever was calling the shots to say their prayers, because I had all the intent in the world to stain their glass red.