While the students had it the worst as Amber was forced to listen to the pain-filled screams of her dear friends, they were not the only ones suffering.

Kreuger, who just returned from his solo training, marched across the hallways of the Enlightenment Program's complex. Upon reaching a specific door, he violently forced it open. This revealed the setting of a lounge inside, with the instructors, Trixie and Altius, sitting inside.

"Hey! Why didn't you guys tell me that you found Jack!?" With furrowed eyebrows and gritted teeth, Kreuger angrily questioned. "Did you forget about me or something!?"

"Tch, Kreuger. I'm not in the mood for your shit. When you went AWOL to train alone, none of us could contact you," Altius responded. "So, don't you barge in here to blame us!"

"Tch! Dammit!"

"Sigh, this wasn't a positive turn of events," Trixie added. "The soldiers are having quite a hard time now. I wonder if any of my tricks could cheer them up."

"I never thought Amber had...history with that monster," Altius said. "That runt. Sigh."

Upon hearing that, the anger that Kreuger had quickly left him.

Sigh, the one time I went out on my own since I came here...this happened.

* * *

Having been treated for her injuries, coupled with the enhanced recovery rate of her justice blessing, Amber was seen walking in the hallways of the infirmary. Although the screams of her friends had physically stopped, they kept haunting Amber psychologically.

Jack's threats echoed in her mind as Amber strolled through the infirmary's hallway. The onset of guilt she experienced from her friends' suffering, even though it was not by her hands, made Amber visibly depressed.

After traversing a few meters, Amber walked over to another infirmary room. In it was the despairing Ariel, with the corpse of her dog, Shadow, on a gurney.

"A-Ariel..." Amber suddenly called out, garnering the attention of her friend. As she turned her gaze to Amber, Ariel revealed her red eyes, proving that she had cried profusely.

"S-Shadow's gone, Amber. H-He's gone," Ariel struggled to say.

"I-I am...so sorry," Ariel said as she held her head down, tears coming from her eyes. "This is all my fault. I put you guys...in this mess."

"No...it's not your fault...it never has been," Ariel assured despite her state. "Right now, I'm sure...my pain doesn't compare to yours. You...lost your entire family...to that monster."

"No! Don't say that!" Amber responded. "Your pain...is just as great!"

"It's true...losing your entire family...sniff, is far worse...than losing an animal," Ariel repeated as she held the right front paw of her deceased 'pet.' "But Shadow...was so important to me..."

* * *

While Ariel expressed herself, memories began to play in her mind. The setting of her memory was a large forest area, with Ariel as a child located in the midst. Ariel's present physical features drastically contrasted with this past, young Ariel, due to the age difference.

Looking at the child, one would assume that she wasn't cared for by anyone. She wore ragged clothes and had long, unkempt hair. Her whole body was covered in dirt, likely due to the forest she was in.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"W-Where am I?" The kid Ariel questioned as she cluelessly gazed around her surroundings. Her look of confusion quickly morphed into fear. "Mom, Dad? Where am I? Why...did you bring me here? I want...to go...home!"

Amid her fright at the unusual environment she was forced into, Ariel slinked to the ground and sulked with her head between her knees. While Ariel cried on her knees and was unaware of her surroundings, rustling noises were audible nearby.

As the noise became louder, a looming shadow also drew nearer. Ariel lifted her head as her ears registered the noise to see the most frightening thing in her young life - a large grizzly bear prowling at her. Ariel watched the bear with shock before her expression quickly changed to panic.

"Ah...AAHHHH!!!" Ariel screamed out as the bear charged at her. It had deemed Ariel its food and attempted to confirm by rushing her. Stricken with fear, Ariel crawled backward before being stopped by a tree.

N-No...I don't want to die! Ariel thought as tears ran down her face. She closed her eyes and waited for death.

BAM!

Instead of being ripped apart by the bear's powerful bite, Ariel heard a loud bang. Upon opening her eyes, she noticed the bear rolling over on its side several times, and a puppy a few feet away from it. The puppy had come out of nowhere and headbutted the bear with enough force to knock it over before it could kill Ariel.

"W-What?"

GGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

The growls of the pup were audible as it stared right at the bear. The pup had purposely stood in front of Ariel as an act of protection.

Meanwhile, the bear got up and looked right at the puppy. Instead of lunging at the two, the bear stood there and began huffing while blowing air from its nose as if naturally responding to the threat.

In most circumstances, this puppy, which was even smaller than kid Ariel, wouldn't do anything against this large grizzly bear, but for some reason, the bear began backing away. This shocked Ariel, but her expression turned to happiness and relief as the bear retreated.

"Y-Yay! I-It left!" Ariel rejoiced. The puppy immediately turned to her while shaking its tail from excitement.

"D-Did you...protect me?" Ariel questioned. The puppy never responded but continued to shake its tail in excitement. Seeing this, Ariel smiled and stooped to the pup's level to pat its head.

"I-I'm not sure where I am now, but if it weren't for you, I'd have died," Ariel said as she began to rub its body. Loving the body rub, the pup rolled over to expose its belly, which Ariel happily rubbed. "Thank you! You're such a good boy!"

As she rubbed her newly acquired friend's belly, Ariel placed her free hand on her chin and began to think.

"Hmm, while I find out where I am, we should get along! I'm not sure a cute doggy like you has a name. Sorry if you do, but I'll give you one now!" Ariel declared. "Since you have lovely, black fur, why don't I name you Shadow!?"

In response, Shadow immediately hopped around excitedly and barked happily.

"I-I guess you like it! I'm glad!" Ariel stated. "Let's get along from now on, Shadow!"

* * *

Ariel's reminiscing about how she met Shadow intensified her sorrow as tears flowed from her eyes even more. Seeing Ariel cry more only made Amber feel more guilty.

This is all my fault for placing my burden on them... Amber thought. Killing that demon is my problem, but I put my friends in the crossfire. Look what I caused. They don't need you to weigh them down with your issues, Amber.

"I-I'm sorry, Ariel...I'll leave you alone..." Amber stated.

"Wha--"

Before Ariel could say anything, Amber left in sadness.

"I'm only making this worse for Amber..." Ariel said. "My tears...only hurt her more...I'm sure..."

Neither Amber nor I deserve this pain. None of us deserve this... Ariel thought. It's that monster, Jack. He's the cause of this suffering.

Once again, Ariel held the cold paw of the deceased Shadow.

I'm so sorry for not protecting you, my friend. Ariel internally said. But I promise I will destroy that criminal for everything he's done!

While Ariel made that internal declaration, the body of Shadow morphed into a blue light, which shocked its master. Before Ariel's eyes, Shadow's body dispersed into sprinkles of light, leaving a bit of black fur. It was not all its fur that was left, only enough to form a small mound of fur.

"S-Shadow!?" Ariel yelled as she held the fur. Instead of panicking at her friend's sudden disappearance, Ariel kept the fur close to her. It's as if she instinctively knew what this meant.

"So...you are still looking out for me," Ariel stated. "Even in death, Shadow..."