“You have my condolences, Cedric.”

My entire body goes numb as I watch the doctor cover Sir Ivan with the broad white bedsheet. The nurses wheel the hospital bed away, and the man soon slides open the curtain that divides the large white room. I raise my hand toward Ivan, who recedes farther and farther away from us.

However, Lavi pats my shoulder. I withdraw my hand and turn to the boy, with warm eyes.

“This is not your fault.” Alastair joins me from the other side, lowering his gaze to the white tiled floor. I open my mouth to refute—but his expression stops me. I did not come along to start arguments. “Trust me.”

This kid…seems so sure.

“Excuse me.” The doctor makes haste, approaching the other two party members, both of whom are veiled by the same white bedsheets. He murmurs a few words to the nurses, and they briskly leave the room with the clipboards in hand. “...and don’t forget to submit the reports to Room three-o-three.”

“Doctor…” Cedric’s eyes are rimmed in red. It is clear that he too is holding back the tears, turning his face away. A few strands of his long hair covers one eye. “...What was the cause of their deaths?”

“If it were you, Cedric, that spell would take much longer to have effect. Give it a week or two.”

“...Poison?”

“No, they were all…Cursed.”

Initially, before my kidnapping, I was going to draw Cedric’s attention to the other hooded figure who slipped from our attention in my past life. He was much closer to our distance range than the other two. Cedric would then call the others back, which would lead to our capture of that lone member.

But how could I have known that Cole…no…Nikolas had already set his eyes on me?

“Cursed?” The Guild master’s face pale at the realization.

Curse is a rare spell that is learned and mastered by the few. It is also only reserved for agonizing deaths.

Usually, being Cursed a sign of deep resentment or intense hatred from the other. How puzzling… Without these sudden passings, we, Moon Flower, would not have known so early on that Obsidian had long set their hatred toward us.

In the past, Cedric did not know that he was afflicted with Curse until it was too late. Knowing how to cast spells and recognizing the signs of spell afflictions are different. It can be equated to a swordsman not being able to discern the murder weapon that was used at a crime scene, especially if it was a rare type of blade or foreign object. Not only that, different bodies may react differently to various spells as it depends on the victim's rank and immunities.

I can only guess that, much like in my past life, Ivan and the others were drawn into a trap where they were ambushed by the same hooded people. But Cedric was not there this time to take the full hit from Curse.

With most spells, Cedric does not need to worry about taking damage. He is, after all, far more powerful than other Adventurers. He can easily heal himself later–unlike Ivan, who was similar to other Warriors with most of their attributes focusing on Strength.

“The sudden shift to outright curse our comrades…” Davyd murmurs, standing closer to Lavi. “That is perplexing, indeed…” He turns to Cedric and asks, “Do you think…there is a change in Obsidian’s leadership?”

It is a bit difficult to see but I look up and catch Davyd’s thick brows scrunching together.

So, the Scarlet Dawn Massacre have not been decided on a whim.

Theoretically, it was probably planned for years.

“...That could be.” Cedric nods with a solemn expression. As he considers this, the doctor closes the curtain, and he averts his attention to the man. “Doctor…”

“There is something that I need to ask you about, but…” The person looks over at me, Alastair, and Lavi–all of whom are the only children in the vast hospital room. “Perhaps, it’d be best if I can talk to you alone.”

“What’s wrong with us being in the same room?!” Lavi inquires, raising a brow. “Ivan, Marina, and Theo were also our friends! We have every right to be here and take part of—”

Alastair elbows the boy, who groans from the sharp jab. “We will be taking our leave.”

Then, waking me from my dazed state, the young hero takes my hand and pulls me along with him and the grumbling Lavi.

Cedric smiles at the blond-haired boy. It is a tired one, forced to reassure the children. His light eyes have a gentle shine to them. “Davyd, take them back to Moon Flower.”

“Yes, Guild master.”

We all suspect that Obsidian is behind the deaths of our comrade.

Yet, there is no proof.

It’s not like Obsidian is the only one that knows of the spell. Curse is also learnt by other guilds who run illegal operations and harbor dark magic-wielders.

I stop, and so does Alastair.

“What’s wrong?” asks the boy.

I cannot help, staring back at the white curtains. Just knowing that behind that are the two hospital beds of Marina and Theo, with the sheets over their cold bodies.

If only…

My vision blurs, and, as I look down at my shoes, the hot droplets begin to fall.

Cedric is saved. But, in exchange for one gifted soul, the Goddess takes three.

☆*:・ﾟ・:* ☆

The next few days pass by in a blur, with one funeral session after another.

On the third day, it is Marina’s casket, a rose-hued wooden one, being lowered to the six-feet hole. Overhead, the silver rain pelt against our dark umbrellas while I watch her family members weep and howl across from me.

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How could all this…not be my fault?

Before I know it, I am sitting in the great white carriage with Isleen by me. Facing me are Alastair and Lavi. All the dark-garbed children are lumped into one ride, sent to Moon Flower, while some of the adults stay behind to discuss ‘adult matters.’

“Ellen, you should sleep on the way back.” Isleen chides as she fixes my long, black hair. She pats down my half-black cape, which matches my dress. “I know that you only had an hour of rest for today.”

“I’m trying.”

Upon hearing her remark, Alastair snaps his attention to me. “When’s the last time you ate?”

Huh? I blink.

Even Isleen is surprised by the hero’s concern.

“I…had a sandwich this morning.” I reply, lightly, before resting my head against the window of pouring rain. The droplets are hard, penetrating the glass like a million spears from Heaven. I am glad to be warm and comfortable inside the carriage. “When we get back to Moon Flower, I will—”

Rather abruptly, Alastair’s brows shift. His lips part to say, “Ellen!”

I am about to respond, but the carriage comes to a screeching halt. The harsh jerk of the entire vehicle is quite sudden. Isleen nearly lurches forward. Quickly, I grab her hand and pull her back before she could tumble over Alastair.

“Th-Thank you!” The girl whispers out, laying a hand against her heart.

Recovering from the shock, Lavi yells out, “Sir Ernesto, why are we stopping?”

From above Alastair’s head—the curtains draw aside and comes a set of hesitant eyes. “It appears that we’ve hit someone…”

“Wait! What?!” I blurt out, with eyes as large as rocks.

Look, it’s already bad that Moon Flower is swarmed by rumors surrounding their fallen comrades. If word gets out about this incident…

“Stay here. I’ll—” Alastair snatches my sleeve. I yank it away from him. “Hey!”

I turn the knob of the white carriage door, open it, and hop off from my seat—into the cold downpour of rain. My legs are running without me thinking it over.

Once I reach the front of the ornate carriage, there is a slumped over body, draped in a black cloak with the hood covering the child’s face. The horses neigh, clopping back and forth, as Ernesto seizes the reins toward himself.

He wasn’t trampled on. That’s good.

But…is he alive?

Slowly, I fall to one knee and reach for the dark hood. He stirs, and I nearly retract my hand. I tilt my head in curiosity as rain continues to fall from the dark skies.

I am now drenched from head to toe.

Despite it, I do not care and lift the hood off the person’s head.

My heart plummets.

“...Cole?” I whisper.

The Goddess is testing me.

Nikolas opens one eye, then, the other. I lean over him, studying his bright red hair and the yellow ribbon that binds his ponytail.

The boy then creases his brows together. He closes his eyes. “...F*ck.”

As Nikolas lays on the muddy roadside, he gradually becomes aware of the situation and tries to get up.

Why is…he here? And how did he travel so far away from his home?

“Don’t.” I quickly stand up. While I am reeling from the fact that Nikolas is in front of me, I also fear for his safety.

“Ellen?!” Both Lavi and Isleen shout for me from inside the carriage. “Is he alright?!”

The vehicle door opens as though one of them is stepping out to join me.

“Wait!” Without looking back, I raise a hand as thunder rumbles overhead. “Stay there!”

To be honest, I don’t possess transformation spells. In the past, I was able to learn and master them a few years from now.

If I could, I would change Nikolas’ hair into a different color; hence, concealing his identity as an Inmundus.

“Don’t mind me.” The boy says, rising to his feet. He yanks the hood over his hair. “I’m fine and will be on my way…”

However, when Nikolas steps back, he grimaces. Not only that, I notice that he seems to be limping on his right leg…

I arch a brow. “What are you doing all the way here…away from the underground sector?”

The boy glances my way and presses his lips together. He is quiet.

“It’s you again.” I nearly jump from Alastair, who stands beside me. I try to walk in between the two boys, but he turns to me and adds, “We have to hurry home, so let’s take him with us.”

…Huh?

Wait. Nikolas Redfield was my murderer, ah… Since I don’t know if he was recently recruited by the Obsidian guild of dark mercenaries—it would be good for us to take him back to Moon Flower and observe him while he recovers.

Any information about that organization is good information.

“What?” For a moment, Nikolas appears incredulous before glaring at Alastair. “Do I look like some stray cat that you can just—”

“Cole, we haven’t seen each other for so long!” I grab his hand while rain keeps pouring on us three. By now, my lengthy hair is so wet, the bangs are plastered against my face. “Isn’t this good? Besides…”

I point to the boy’s right leg. “...it is our carriage that hit you; thus, injuring your leg. We ought to help you recover at Moon Flower.”

“...I’m starting to wonder if this is my karma.”

“Karma?”

“I can help carry you.” Alastair says nonchalantly.

…Why is the hero so keen on helping the villain out?

A sense of discomfort settles into my heart.

Ah, now that Cedric is going to live through this part of my life, does this mean the next series of future events are going to be different?

Oh, even Nikolas looks uncomfortable… He retreats from me and Alastair but stops.

Well, Alastair is right! Nikolas…is like a cat!

If we don’t pick him up and stuff him into the carriage, who knows when we’ll get this lucky again!

“Hey, why…are you looking at me like that?” asks the suspecting boy. “And…”

We both look down at our hands, joined together with me pulling at his wrists.

“Why should I let you go?” I smile at Nikolas.

The boy stiffens.

“To Moon Flower.” With a tap on the boy’s hood, Alastair instantly dyes Nikolas’ hair into a light caramel brown. A whiff of green magical aura lingers from the young hero’s long, pale fingers. He instantly wipes his hand with a handkerchief and tucks the cloth back into his vest pocket. “Let’s move.”

Goddess! You have given the hero such powers—but you inflict injury on the villain! It’s hard to not be a villain if you keep subjecting Nikolas to such miseries!

“Did you just…f*ckin’ clean your hands after touching my hair?!” Nikolas snaps.

“Well, you are…an Inmundus, an ‘untouchable’ person.” Alastair answers.

I watch Alastair’s bright green eyes lose their light, cooling away into icy river beads. A shadow seems to weigh against his porcelain-pale face, carving him into a beautiful but unmoving statue, heartless and without care. A cold chill runs over my spine.

Those two…are so different from before.

“Alastair, that...was not nice.” I say to the blond-haired boy.

Surprised, the other stares at me with raised brows. He is silent.

It’s the truth.

All the while, Nikolas’ intense gaze rests on my face. Not a word leaves his lips.

“...I’m sorry.” Alastair turns to our guest, with a sheepish smile.

Nikolas forces a smile back while gritting his teeth. “Please, just run me over with the carriage.”

“If you’re offended about what I said earlier, I was just joking.” says the young hero. “In poor taste, of course. I even apologized. Now, allow me to carry you.”

“F*ck off.”

Though the boys bicker, in the end, we three end up in the vehicle.

Soaking from head to toe, it is decided that Alastair, Nikolas, and I sit on one side while Isleen and Lavi are placed on the opposing seats. As the white carriage jerks forward and rolls on, I turn to Alastair, who sits on my right…and, then, to Nikolas…at my left.

How did we end up like this?!