"Listen, Mika. It's sister. Sister, not mama, okay?" I said firmly, crouching down to meet the seven-year-old's gaze. I wasn't about to let this kid ruin my youthful image by calling me mama. "I'm way too young for this!"

Mika blinked at me, her big emerald eyes sparkling with innocence, before cheerfully responding, "Okay, mama!"

"Argh!" I groaned, throwing my hands up in defeat. "Why do I even try?"

Now, you're probably wondering why I'm cooped up in my house arguing with a kid. Simple: I'm grounded.

Every time I step outside, I'm followed like a notorious fugitive by someone from the village. The latest crime? Apparently, being involved in too many "incidents."

Today was different though, ha..

I've been noticing that some of the monsters are going out more often than before and coming back with more bruises. And I would've been happy since they're finally being serious if it weren't for the fact that almost all of them have heavy injuries now.

Thankfully, Io knew how to use healing magic so they're not in any trouble. But I need to know why they keep going out. Although I could do that by following them, I think it would be better if they tell it to me straight.

So, today I'm gonna corner all of them using a meeting I asked my clone to tell them.

And besides, staying inside with Mika for too long was a one-way ticket to insanity...

Leah and Titan were my designated "bodyguards" for the day. Titan carried Mika effortlessly in his massive armored arms while Leah trailed behind me.

"Uh... Leah?" I called over my shoulder. "Why don't you walk in front for once?"

"So you can bolt and leave me to deal with the fallout? No thanks," Leah replied, her tone flat as ever.

I huffed. "It's not like I'm gonna run away again!"

"That's what you said last time," she countered, raising an eyebrow. "And we both know how that turned out."

Touché. I kept my mouth shut, focusing on the path ahead as we made our way to the village square.

When we arrived, the usual people were already gathered: Fen, Scar, Gorn, Boulder, Jia, Tink, Serena, and even the 4 adventurers. Good. It looked like everyone was here.

Standing in front of the group I could tell they were curious what this meeting was for, so I took a deep breath before addressing them. "Alright, listen up!"

The murmuring among the monsters quieted as all eyes turned to me.

"A few days ago, when I left the village, I encountered some ogres who gave me a warning," I began. Better to just get to it rather than beating around the bush.

Clearing my throat, I repeated their words:

"Do not roam this forest once the ashes of fallen ogres fall and the coldness of their bodies lingers."

I paused, letting the ominous message sink in before continuing. "Now, I need to know—what does that mean? My gut tells me you guys know something. And don't even try to deny it, because I know you're hiding something."

A few of them shifted uncomfortably, their gazes darting around. Aha, caught red-handed!

"The thing about all of you leaving the village to visit some 'magic spring'? Yeah, that doesn't add up. Whenever I go out, I always patrol around the village and every path to this place first, and yet, before I met those ogres, and was doing my usual patrol, I only found faint traces of mana from four or five monster. So what you guys told me, it's impossible."

Their reactions were subtle—flinches, slight tensing of shoulders—but I caught them.

I sighed mentally at that. They seriously didn't think I was so stupid that I wouldn't notice anything? That I would go out just for no reason? If it weren't for the system telling me hostile monsters popped up near the village or something was weird would I have even hone out to begin with?

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Me? Since day 0 all I wanted to do was lie down, sleep and live a lazy, happy life.

My feeling of responsibility was seriously the only thing making me move...Ha..

"Look," I said, crossing my arms. " Me, Titan, and Leah were only gone for 4 days at most when went out to the forest towards the squirrels. Mana doesn't just disappear like that, that's why even when the teritorial beast we fought back then died it's mana still protects this place from other hostile monsters. Because the stronger you are the longer your mana stays in this world. And as monsters, our lives are closely tied to mana. I can sense when something's off."

The tension in the air was obvious, but I wasn't done yet. I need to know why they're so hell bent on keeping me from going out.

"Furthermore," I continued, my voice lowering, "while tracking my missing clone, I found a village to the west of the forest. It was completely engulfed in black mist. And don't even get me started on the dungeon—remember that beast we encountered, Leah? The one that was some freaky combination of two monsters in one?"

At that, the group visibly tensed. Even Titan, who rarely showed emotion.

"Thought so," I muttered, narrowing my eyes. "You all know something about this. So spill. What's going on?"

---

The silence that followed was deafening. Nia was the first to speak, her voice measured and calm. "Aria, it's not that we don't trust you—"

"Then tell me the truth," I interrupted, fixing her with a sharp glare.

I hate not knowing anything more than being alone in a dark enclosed space. It just reminds me of my trauma and I don't like it.

Nia stiffened at my glare, she hesitated, her wolf-like ears twitching. Finally, she sighed. "That warning... it's tied to something us monsters have been keeping a secret. Something we've been trying to keep contained."

"Contained?" I echoed, my brow furrowing.

Scar stepped forward, his massive frame towering over the others. "The black mist you saw—it's a corruption. A remnant of a war long before you came."

"What?" My stomach sank.

I saw some of the monsters sigh at that, their eyes flicking over each other as if they were talking secretly.

I eyed them suspiciously again as I said. "Alright, tell me what you know about this war you guys are talking about."

"You won't leave us alone until we tell you, are you? I should've known this was gonna happen after we found you..." Scar replied with a sigh, his voice was low and gravelly, tinged with helplessness.

I raised an eyebrow at that and waited for them to talk.

"Alright. Here's a little story then." Scar said before continuing.

"Long, long time ago. There were 7 gods who roamed this world, with their magic they created the very first beings. The elves, the demons, the demi humans, the dragons, the monsters, the mermaids, and the humans.

These seven species lived in harmony for a thousand years before the humans became greedy, they wanted to rule over the other races.

They created a device made from a gods body, their god, and used it to enslave the other races. Because of that the war happened, the mist was what was left of the broken device."

"Aria," Gorn chimed in, his usual playful tone replaced by a rare seriousness. "When the ogres warned you, they weren't just being dramatic or anything. Those things the ogre's said are a signal. A sign that the corruption is spreading. As for those hybrids, all we know is that some god-wannabe magicians created them."

Fuck.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked, cutting straight to the point. "How do we stop it?"

The group exchanged uneasy glances.

"If somehow we could find that device then we could stop it. But we've been looking for so, so, long. So long that we forgot what it even looked like." Fen admitted, her voice unusually soft.

"What?" I stared at her in disbelief.

"We've been keeping the corruption at bay for centuries," Tink piped up, wringing his furry hands. "But it's getting stronger. And now that it's resurfaced in the west... we're running out of time. If my estimation is correct then we only have about a few years left at the most."

I took a step back, running a hand through my hair. This was... a lot. More than I'd signed up for. What do I do now?

"So let me get this straight," I said exhaling erratically. "There's an ancient corruption spreading through the forest, the ogres gave me a cryptic warning about it, and none of you have a clue on where the only thing that can stop it is?"

"Pretty much," Leah said bluntly.

I groaned, resisting the urge to scream. "Unbelievable."

Mika, who had been quietly watching the whole exchange from Titan's arms, suddenly spoke up. "Mama will fix it!"

Everyone turned to stare at her.

"Mika," I said, my voice strained. "Not the time."

"But mama's strong!" she insisted, her little fists clenched in determination. "Mama can do anything!"

Fen coughed into her hand, clearly trying not to laugh. Leah outright snorted.

Can't they focus for a minute? Why are they so nonchalant about all this? I thought to myself, not understanding.

"Other than the device, anything else?"

"No..." They sai looking down.

"Um! I, my sister may know something about this device you guys are talking about." Serena, who has been quiet since the beginning replied.

I raised an eyebrow at that, wanting her to continue.

"Oh, okay. So, remember when I said my sister brought back a stone from the dungeon? Actually, she brought back other things too. Those might help you guys, or atleast make your friends remember something about this, device."

My eyes lit up at that. Finally! Something to start with.

"Alright, that's it," I snapped, turning around. "Meeting adjourned. I'm going to the kingdom."

Since we don't know anything, then we should go to someone who does.

Nia and the others looked like they had something to say, but I'll go talk to them later.

As we walked back to the house, Mika beamed up at me, completely unfazed by the gravity of the situation. "See, mama? Everyone believes in you!"

But deep down, I couldn't help but wonder: Could I really fix this? Or had I just stumbled into a problem bigger than any of us could handle?

Little Theater:

Mika *points towards Aria*: "Mama will fix it!"

Aria *dumbfounded*: "For the last time, it's sister! S-I-S-T-E-R!"

Leah *laughing*: "Might as well start answering to grandma at this rate."