Somewhere deep within the ruins of the battlefield...
Miss Lunaria stood among the rubble, bruised and disheveled, her clothes torn from the fight.
Beside her stood a short black-haired woman, with black eyes.
Her appearance called be describe as Plain Beauty.
Her right arm was blackened from whatever had happened during the battle, yet she showed no sign of pain. In her remaining hand, she held a strange magical sword.
She wasn't missing an arm because of the fight, The other had been severed long time ago.
Neither woman had time to rest.
Because someone was approaching.
Footsteps echoed through the rubble.
Clack.
Clack.
Clack.
Lunaria slowly raised her head.
Two figures emerged from the smoke.
And, for some reason...
They looked absurdly fashionable.
The first man wore a long, dark coat that hung almost to his ankles, Underneath is a fitted black vest over a high-collared white shirt.
Several thin belts cross his waist, holding small glass vials, strange instruments, and magical tools.
His gloves are black and immaculate.
Several thin belts cross his waist, holding small glass vials, strange instruments, and magical tools.
His boots were polished despite the battlefield.
thin black rectangular glasses, giving him the appearance of an eccentric scholar or researcher..
His black gloves were immaculate.
Not a speck of dirt.
He's tall and lean, with a naturally straight posture and long limbs. His skin is pale, almost unnaturally so, contrasting sharply with his jet-black hair. His hair is neatly styled but slightly messy around the bangs, with several strands falling over one eye.
His eyes are a striking golden-yellow, narrow and sharp. He has long eyelashes and an almost annoyingly handsome face high cheekbones, a defined jawline.
Beside him stood his companion.
She's short.
Very short.
Her head barely reaches the man's chest.
She has messy black hair that sticks out in every direction, with uneven bangs covering part of her face.
Two tiny cowlicks stick upward like horns.
Her eyes are enormous, glowing violet, with slit-like pupils.
She has a round, deceptively cute face.
Small nose.
Soft cheeks.
Tiny fangs.
She wears a short black witch dress with layered skirts, oversized sleeves, and purple stitching.
Her sleeves are so large that her hands sometimes disappear inside them.
She wears striped stockings and and ridiculously oversized boots.
Around her waist hangs a belt carrying multiple things.
The man glanced at Lunaria.
Then at the black-haired woman.
Then at the destroyed battlefield around them.
"Hmm."
He tilted his head.
"That's a problem."
His companion looked at him.
"What is it?."
He pointed toward the battlefield.
"The boss told us to head back."
"Why?"
"Apparently something happened to the other barrier."
He adjusted his glasses.
"Before her focus is divided but with the other barrier gone, her focus is here now, so we have no choice but to leave before she notices us."
The woman glanced toward the sky.
"She's looking here now?"
"Who knows."
The woman sighed.
"Oh... that's a shame."
She looked toward Lunaria.
"We were just getting to the good part."
Lunaria narrowed her eyes.
Despite her injuries, her posture straightened.
"You think you can simply walk away?"
They stared at her.
"Yes."
"Yep, and I'm taking your hat."
Lunaria's eyes widened.
"You bastard."
And just like that...
They disappeared.
Lunaria stared at the empty space where they had been standing.
"...They just had to make it personal, didn't they?"
The woman with the blackened arm glanced at her.
"Is that what you're concerned about?"
She gestured toward Lunaria's head.
"Your comically large hat?"
Her gaze then dropped to Lunaria's missing arms.
"You're missing two arms."
Lunaria looked down.
Then shrugged.
"Tis but a scratch."
The woman stared at her for a moment.
Then sighed.
"Come on."
She turned away.
"Let's get you treated before you lose anything else."
She paused.
"And fetch your arms."
Lunaria glanced behind her.
One severed arm floated obediently through the air.
It picked up the other.
The two hands awkwardly carried themselves after her.
"...I liked that hat."
....
Back to Aldren
BOOM!
The explosion echoed across the ruined battlefield.
Dust rose into the air, followed by a flock of birds fleeing from the distant treeline.
Aldren and his teammates stopped walking.
They looked at one another.
No one needed to explain.
The logic was simple.
Someone was fighting.
If someone was fighting, there was probably something worth fighting over.
And in this trial, that usually meant one thing.
A Neutral Core.
One of his teammates immediately glanced at Aldren.
"You're injured. Step back for now. We've got this."
Aldren blinked.
"Injured?"
"Yeah."
The teammate pointed at him.
"Your injuries."
Aldren looked down at himself.
"...What injuries?"
"Your arm."
He raised his arm.
It was visibly swollen.
"Looks fine to me."
"Your legs."
Aldren looked at his legs.
Then, without hesitation, he began hopping on one foot.
"See?"
Hop.
Hop.
Hop.
"I'm fine."
His teammates stared at him.
"..."
One of them slowly pinched the bridge of their nose.
"Then you just..."
Aldren smiled.
"I just wanted to get carried :D"
Silence.
The teammate's eye twitched.
"I'm beating your ass after this, Aldren."
Another teammate crouched beside him to match his small height, examining his arm.
"How did you heal so fast?"
Aldren tilted his head.
"I'm a goat."
"...What?"
"Goats heal fast."
Nobody answered.
None of them had the heart to explain that goats did, in fact, not possess miraculous regenerative abilities.
Aldren seemed completely convinced.
If it's not his natural phenomena doing that, then what the hell is he?. One of them thought
After a moment, one teammate simply sighed.
"Well, whatever."
They stood and adjusted their equipment.
"Let's go."
Aldren immediately nodded.
"Yep."
He followed after them with a cheerful smile.
Behind them, the distant battlefield erupted into another explosion.
BOOM!
Aldren's ears perked up.
One of his teammate smile widened.
"Sounds like someone's having fun."
His teammate looked at him.
"Don't."
"I didn't say anything."
"You were about to."
"...I was."
They continued toward the fighting.
Aldren's team slowed to a stop.
They looked at him.
Then at his arm.
Then at his legs.
His expression softened.
"But you should still sit this one out."
Aldren blinked.
"What?"
"Even if you heal quickly, that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt."
Aldren smiled.
"I'm fine, really."
"No, you're not."
He said it without hesitation.
"So just stay here."
Aldren opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
For once, he didn't have a joke ready.
He crouched beside him.
"We'll be back."
Aldren looked toward the distant explosion.
"...Okay."
A small smile returned to his face.
"Thanks, Frank, and good luck."
Frank nodded before giving back the crystal core.
He turned back.
"Let's go."
The others followed.
Their footsteps gradually disappeared into the distance.
Aldren remained behind.
Alone.
He leaned against the remains of a broken wall and stared at the sky.
For a while...
He said nothing.
The smile slowly disappeared from his face.
His stomach still hurt.
His arm still hurt.
His entire body felt exhausted.
But that wasn't what bothered him.
It was the voice.
The conversation he'd had earlier.
The man who had spoken to him before everything went wrong.
Aldren had tried not to think about him.
Unfortunately...
Thinking about something was much easier when you were told not to.
His words returned.
Aldren frowned.
Aldren's fingers tightened around his sleeve.
"Shut up."
There was nobody there.
He knew that.
But somehow...
The words continued.
Aldren lowered his head.
"I'm not scared."
Silence.
Aldren's smile twitched.
"Because Frank told me to stay."
"Yeah."
Aldren's expression darkened.
Aldren clenched his fists.
"Stop."
The voice seemed almost amused.
Aldren stared at his hands.
For once...
He didn't feel like smiling.
Then.
"Hey."
Aldren's head snapped up.
His teammate stood several meters away.
She had just returned from the fight, one hand resting against her side.
She looked at Aldren.
"You alright?"
Aldren immediately smiled.
"Yep."
Noir stared.
"That's a lie."
Aldren's smile froze.
"...What?"
"You only smile like that when something's wrong, and I can see your emotion" she pointed at her eyes."
She approach and sat beside him.
"So?."
Silence
Then
Aldren sighed.
"...I'm tired."
She nodded.
"Yeah."
"Everything hurts."
"That's all you had to say."
She stood up
"Stand up let's get you your healing potion."
Her mouth widen enough smiling that you could see her Snake fangs.
"Thanks Noir."
Noir smiled back.
"Anytime."
The battlefield was a mess.
Broken stone.
Burned tree.
A crater.
The moment Aldren and Noir arrived, Frank was already there with the others, gathering materials
Food.
Water.
Healing potions.
Mana-restoring crystals.
Bandages.
Camping supplies.
Even several sealed boxes containing strange magical ingredients.
Frank stared at the pile.
"...We hit the jackpot."
One of the others nodded.
"We really did."
Aldren's eyes sparkled.
"Food?"
"Yes."
"How much?"
"Enough."
Aldren immediately crouched beside the supplies.
"This is the greatest day of my life."
Frank tossed Aldren a small bottle.
"Here."
Aldren caught it.
He looked at the label.
[Minor Healing Potion]
"Oh."
He uncorked it.
"Finally."
He took a gulp.
His expression immediately changed.
"..."
Everyone waited.
Aldren slowly lowered the bottle.
"Why does medicine taste like someone dissolved a shoe in pond water?"
Frank blinked.
"It's a healing potion."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"You need to drink it."
"I don't want to."
"You literally said your entire body hurts."
"I've changed my mind."
Frank grabbed the bottle.
"Drink."
"No."
"Drink."
"No."
"Aldren."
"No."
Frank stared at him.
Aldren stared back.
Noir sighed.
"Just drink it."
Aldren looked betrayed.
"You too?"
Noir nodded.
"Yes."
Aldren took another sip.
His entire face twisted.
"THIS IS AWFUL."
He swallowed with visible effort.
"Why does it taste worse than the last one?"
"You've had one before?"
"Unfortunately."
While Aldren complained about the potion, the others continued gathering supplies.
For several minutes...
Everything seemed perfect.
Too perfect.
One teammate picked up another crate.
"There's still more."
Frank looked around.
"How much?"
"Too much."
Aldren glanced at the mountain of supplies.
"..."
He slowly stood.
"Guys."
Nobody answered.
"Guys."
Frank looked over.
"What?"
Aldren pointed at the pile.
"How are we carrying all of that?"
Silence.
Everyone looked at the supplies.
Then at their backpacks, they got from the neutral core.
Then back at the supplies.
...
"Oh."
Noir's expression slowly fell.
"We can't."
Frank rubbed his forehead.
"We definitely can't."
One teammate tried lifting a crate.
He managed to get it off the ground.
Then his arms started shaking.
"...Yeah."
He lowered it.
"We're not carrying this."
Aldren looked genuinely offended.
"Why did they make so much loot if we can't take it?"
"Because we're supposed to make choices."
"That's stupid."
"It's called logistics."
"Logistics is stupid."
Noir looked toward the horizon.
"...Wait."
Everyone followed her gaze.
Far in the distance...
A faint shimmer moved across the sky.
The barrier.
It was shrinking.
Again.
Slowly.
But noticeably.
Frank's expression hardened.
"...It's moving."
One of the others frowned.
"Where?"
Frank looked at the map.
His face gradually became more annoyed.
"South."
He leaned over.
"What's there?"
Noir pointed.
"The desert."
Everyone went silent.
Aldren stared at the map.
"...There's nothing there."
"Exactly."
The desert stretched beyond the forest.
No trees.
No ruins.
No hills.
No cover.
No defensive structures.
Just an enormous clearing of sand and stone.
Aldren's face slowly fell.
"So we're being herded."
Frank nodded.
"Looks like it."
Noir glanced at the enormous pile of supplies.
"And we can't take everything."
"Which means we have to abandon most of it."
Aldren clutched his chest.
"You're asking me to leave food behind."
"We have no choice."
"This is cruelty."
"We can take what we can carry."
"But there's so much."
Frank sighed.
"Then choose."
Everyone stared at the supplies.
Food.
Water.
Medicine.
Mana crystals.
Tools.
Ingredients.
Weapons.
Camping equipment.
"...We should probably move."
Frank nodded.
"Yeah."
Aldren sighed.
"...But."
He looked at the food.
"We should eat first."
Everyone stopped.
Frank stared at him.
"We're running from a shrinking magical barrier."
"I know."
"We're probably going to be fighting dozens of teams soon."
"I know."
"We need to move."
"I know."
Aldren smiled.
"So let's have dinner."
...
Noir stared at him.
"You know what?"
She sat down.
"He's right."
Frank looked at her.
"You too?"
"We've been starving for two days."
She opened one of the food containers.
"We found enough food to feed a small army."
She looked at Aldren.
"And we're standing here arguing about whether we should eat."
Frank sighed.
"... You're right"
He dropped his pack.
"I'll have one meal."
Aldren's smile immediately widened
"Finally."