“Whoa… so many dead bodies,” a petite, dark-haired girl said playfully, squatting nearby poking at the scattered bones.

“Lady Vivy, we are here to investigate,” said a tall, bearded man in light gray armor and a blue cape. His hair was swept back, and he carried a peculiar spear in hand.

“I know that much, Drek.” She pouted

Behind Drek stood three others.

“Did that border bastard really send us here?” spat a tall woman with long brown hair. She wore dark, chunky armor that looked like it had seen its fair share of battles.

“Miss Thalia, please don’t insult Mr. Stain,” said a male priest in black and white robes, his tone calm.

“What do you know about that bastard, eh, Wez?” Thalia shot back, resting her war hammer on the loose sand with a thud.

“Nathan, is this the location?” Vivy asked, her expression playful.

“Yes, Lady Vivy,” confirmed Nathan, the tracer, holding a stone apparatus.

“Alright.” Vivy began skipping across the battlefield carefree, despite the grim scene. Drek followed closely behind like a silent bodyguard.

Bones of slaves and bone-eaters poked out of the sand, the remnants of the conflict. An acidic stench lingered in the air, and the desert scavengers had picked away at all the remaining rotting flesh.

“Didn’t Stain say one slave was missing?” Vivy asked, tilting her head as she surveyed the scene.

“Yes, Lady Vivy,” Drek responded. “And he mentioned signs of a second Elder bone-eater.”

“Hmm…” Vivy hummed thoughtfully, crouching to examine the remains of the Elder bone-eater with her gloved hand.

“Stain suspects foul play—someone else’s involvement,” Drek explained.

Vivy poked her finger into the sand and unearthed something next to a slave’s corpse. Her fingers brushed against a thin frame.

Her emerald eyes scanned the area around the body. Near the corpse, she noticed skull fragments—some crushed beyond recognition, while others remained intact.

From the damage, Vivy deduced that the Elder bone-eater had crushed the slave’s head. On the slave’s wrist was a shackle with a chain attached, the other shackle at the end of the chain broken cleanly, as if sliced.

Running her fingers along the metal links, she noticed a faint purple soot clinging to her glove. A smirk spread across her face.

I see… that’s the case, she thought, her expression turning amused.

Straightening up, Vivy brushed off her gloves and walked back to the group.

Thalia and Wez were bickering loudly, while Nathan stood to the side, clutching the stone device awkwardly as he tried to focus.

“Nathan, do you sense any beings nearby?” Vivy asked with a bright smile.

Startled, Nathan quickly checked the glowing runes on his device.

“No signs of life in the vicinity, Lady Vivy.”

“I see,” Vivy said, clasping her hands together. The sound echoed sharply across the desert, snapping everyone’s attention toward her.

Thalia and Wez ceased their argument and turned to face Vivy, while Nathan shifted uncomfortably.

“I’ve made some important findings,” Vivy announced with a toothy grin. “This isn’t just a case of single interference.”

Her grin widened as she raised two fingers.

“There are two interferences.”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Two?” Thalia asked, narrowing her eyes. “How?”

“Let’s start with the location,” Vivy said, gesturing toward Thalia. “Don’t you find it odd that there are monsters on this path?”

“Yes, but cases like this, though rare, have happened in the past,” Wez chimed in.

“But these bone-eaters aren’t from here,” Vivy explained, a smile playing on her lips. “They’re from the west. Their bones are a bit longer.”

“Huh?” Nathan looked puzzled. “Longer bones? I don’t see any difference.”

“Of course you don’t,” Vivy said, turning to him with a playful expression. “Most wouldn’t notice. But the bone-eaters from the west of the Sands of Zaras’th have noticeably longer arm and leg bones.”

“Why is that?” Thalia looked skeptical.

“It’s likely because they fight more beasts in the west. Their bodies adapt to the harsher environment,” Vivy explained.

Drek frowned “So, Lady Vivy, are you saying someone brought two Elder bone-eaters from the west to attack the Squire?”

“Exactly, Drek,” Vivy said with a nod. “I’ve also detected faint traces of magic on the bone-eaters.”

“What about the other interference?” Thalia asked, shifting her weight uncomfortably.

Vivy’s smile vanished, her expression growing serious. “That’s a much bigger problem,” she said.

“What do you mean?” Wez asked cautiously.

“I don’t know who killed the second Elder bone-eater,” Vivy admitted.

“Killed?”

“Yes. The second Elder bone-eater wasn’t just defeated. It was killed and reduced to ashes,” Vivy said grimly.

Wez studied her carefully. “You seem to have some idea, Lady Vivy.”

“I’m not... too sure,” Vivy said hesitantly. “But it’s clear we’ll need more time to track them.”

Drek asked, “Should we call for knights from the estate, Lady Vivy?”

“Yes, and tell them to bring the Chains of Submission,” Vivy said firmly.

Everyone’s eyes widened at her request. The Chains of Submission were a powerful relic belonging to Vivy’s noble family, passed down to the family heir since the Mythical Era.

“Chains of Submission? Are you saying the threat is at that level?” Thalia asked, her voice tinged with disbelief.

“Yes,” Vivy admitted without hesitation.

She called Nathan and Wez aside, lowering her voice. “There is a slave missing. I need you both to track him down.”

“Track? Using the Slave Seal?” Wez asked.

“Yes,” Vivy confirmed, before turning to Nathan. “Nathan, can you look into something right now?”

“Of course, as you command, Lady Vivy,” Nathan said with a nod.

She handed him her glove, which had faint traces of purple soot on it. Vivy could sense magical energy emanating from the soot but lacked the skill to identify or trace it. Nathan, however, specialized in such tasks.

Taking the glove, Nathan placed it on his stone device and activated the glowing glyphs. The device emitted a faint hum, but suddenly, Nathan shivered violently. His face contorted in pain as the device slipped from his grasp, landing softly in the loose sand.

“What happened?” Vivy asked, her voice sharp with concern.

“Barriers!” Nathan gasped, clutching his head. “Damn it! My head is spinning!”

Wez stepped forward, clutching the long blue gemstone on his bracelet. “By the grace of Lord Zaras’th, grant me the power to heal this man’s pain and relieve him of his suffering.”

A soothing light-blue aura enveloped Nathan, and moments later, his pained expression relaxed.

Nathan finally stabilized and stood, still wincing from the aftereffects.

“What did you see?” Vivy asked, her concern evident.

“Multiple barriers—anti-tracking ones,” Nathan explained, rubbing his temple.

“Barriers? So someone who came here set them up?”

“Yes, Lady Vivy. And these aren’t your standard barriers,” Nathan sighed. “They’re complex.”

Gears turned in Vivy’s mind.

“Can you examine the barrier again, Nathan?” she asked after a pause. “Wez will cast healing magic on you continuously.”

Nathan hesitated but eventually nodded, seeing her serious gaze. “Yes, my lady.”

Wez also nodded thoughtfully, gripping the blue gemstone on his bracelet.

Divine magic was fundamentally different from ordinary magic.

It was a miracle bestowed upon priests through unwavering devotion to their deity. Unlike regular magic, it didn’t consume mana but instead drained a significant amount of stamina, especially when cast repeatedly.

Divine magic was primarily used for healing and cleansing. It needed a medium to cast, which was different for different deities. For Wez, the medium of divine magic was the gemstone on his bracelet.

Once Nathan was ready, he glanced at Wez and gave a nod.

Wez murmured a brief prayer, casting his healing magic. A warm, blue aura enveloped Nathan, bolstering him. With a focused expression, Nathan activated his stone device, its runes glowing faintly as he began inspecting the barrier.

He began to inspect the source of the magic energy from the glove. It was promptly blocked by the complex barrier. Sweat dripped down his face as he concentrated, his breathing growing ragged from the exhaustion of analyzing the barrier’s outer layers.

After what felt like an eternity, Nathan’s knees buckled, and he collapsed onto the sand.

The stone device rolled toward Vivy, who had been waiting patiently for her answer.

She picked it up, her sharp gaze fixed on Nathan as he struggled to catch his breath.

“Lady Vivy, the barrier isn’t just complex—it’s in an ancient language,” Nathan huffed between heavy breaths.

“Ancient?” Vivy’s brows furrowed.

“The barrier is constructed using Biyin glyphs,” Nathan explained. “I have no idea who created it, but it’s the work of a master.”

“Moreover, there are three layers.”

Biyin, eh? Vivy thought, a spark of recognition lit up in her mind. I think I have an idea.

“Can you decipher and break the barrier?” she asked.

Nathan glanced down at his stone device. “Maybe, but I’d need better equipment and a significant amount of time.”

“How much time are we talking about?” Vivy asked, her eyes narrowing.

“At least a month,” Nathan admitted reluctantly.

Vivy nodded. “Alright, get to the bottom of this quickly.”