"So now we're headed toward someone who can help us get out of this forest. After that, we'll return to my hometown. I have some business to settle." Zhu poked at the fire with a stick before glancing at the two adults. "But we need to think long-term, because I assume both of you are from Greenvail, right?"
"Yes, I'm from downtown Cicada Avenue," Herkid volunteered.
"And I'm originally from Mountain View. However, when I was sold to a brothel downtown…" Mara trailed off.
Zhu thought for a while. "So, do either of you have anywhere to go after this? I certainly won't be returning to my residence once we get out."
"No," both Mara and Herkid responded.
"So, let's assess our situation."
Seeing the little monster girl think so hard about not just her own situation, but all of theirs, touched their hearts.
"Firstly, let's talk about who exactly Master Brain was. Other than a lazy, perverted exhibitionist, of course."
Mara's lips twitched slightly at the insult before she answered.
"He's the bastard son of a wealthy middle-class family that owns several banks. He was favored by the old master because he only had daughters. Although Master Brain was illegitimate, the patriarch wanted a son to inherit the family fortune."
Zhu sighed dramatically and leaned back against a log.
"Of course. I just had to run into a spoiled rich kid in the middle of a cursed Hollowveil Forest."
Thorn huffed beside her as if agreeing.
"So what now?" Zhu asked. "Can they identify who killed him?"
Herkid answered this time. Years of working as an adventurer had given him a practical understanding of how investigations and monster hunts usually unfolded.
"Under normal circumstances, groups like Master Brain's were never supposed to come this deep into Hollowveil Forest. We were not equipped for it." His expression darkened as memories surfaced. "We lacked the tools and strength necessary to survive the middle levels of the forest."
The fire crackled softly while the wind howled through the distant trees.
"But Master Brain encountered the female Nyxari."
At those words, Rose lifted his head from Zhu's lap. The cub's crimson eyes glimmered faintly in the dark.
"She had already been severely injured after battling a Purtacx," Herkid continued bitterly. "I warned him repeatedly that pursuing the beast was dangerous, but the arrogant fool refused to listen."
His jaw tightened.
"We spent days tracking it through the forest. Men died because of his greed."
Just remembering the screams of his fellow guildmates as they were torn apart by the Nyxari they had hunted—or by other beasts lurking within Hollowveil Forest—made Herkid shiver. If not for Master Brain's greed, those men would still be alive.
The usually calm wind elementalist sounded colder now.
"I knew many of those guards personally. Most were hired through the Adventurer's Guild, like me. They understood the risks of entering Hollowveil Forest." He stared into the flames. "But they also understood that the money from a successful mission could feed their families for months."
Mara lowered her gaze quietly.
The mood around the fire shifted.
Until now, Zhu had mostly viewed the expedition as a ridiculous chain of events caused by one rich idiot making terrible decisions. But hearing Herkid speak made the consequences feel more real. People had died following a spoiled noble's obsession. Fathers. Husbands. Brothers.
And all for the chance to capture an injured Nyxari.
"When we finally cornered the female Nyxari, she put up a fierce fight," Herkid said quietly. "But there were too many of us. Eventually… she fell."
Rose and Thorn had gone completely still.
The firelight reflected strangely in their eyes.
"It was then that the hounds picked up the scent of a nearby den," Herkid continued carefully. "By the time we reached it, someone—you—had already gotten there first."
Zhu remained silent.
"The hounds tracked your scent back to your location and, well…" He exhaled heavily. "The rest, you already know."
The wind howled through the trees, carrying distant screeches from somewhere deep within the forest.
"Anyways," Herkid said, trying to steady himself, "this deep in Hollowveil, everything is unpredictable. Entire hunting parties disappear all the time. Even if there's an investigation, no one will truly know what happened in this forest except for us."
For a brief moment, a dangerous aura passed through the campsite.
The temperature dropped.
Zhu slowly lifted her eyes toward the two adults, and both Mara and Herkid instantly stiffened. The pressure radiating from her wasn't overwhelming like the Nyxari cubs' presence—it was quieter, colder somehow. Calculating.
Rose's ears flattened. Thorn's pupils narrowed into thin slits.
Herkid reacted immediately.
"Without bodies, they'll assume we're dead," he said quickly. "After three months without completing a guild mission, my adventurer status will be dropped. I'd have to register all over again under a new identity."
"And neither of us has family waiting for us," Mara added softly. "No one will come searching." Her expression dimmed briefly before she forced herself to continue. "So… we're free to start over."
The oppressive aura lingered for another second before gradually fading away.
Both adults quietly released relieved breaths.
"Alright." Zhu leaned back slightly. "So we likely won't have any problems as long as no one knows the two of you are alive."
Black smoke shimmered along her skin as she released the baby Nyxari completely. The cubs stretched lazily before wandering around the campsite, sniffing curiously at their new surroundings.
Despite their small size, Mara and Herkid instinctively shifted farther away whenever the cubs came near.
Thorn stopped beside the thick bark of a tree and casually sliced through it with one swipe of her paw.
The massive trunk creaked before crashing loudly into the quietness of the forest.
"…Cute," Mara said weakly.
Scary, she thought internally.
Zhu nodded proudly. "Very cute."
Rose, meanwhile, sniffed Herkid's boot before staring directly into his soul.
The man nearly ascended to the heavens.
"So," Zhu continued, completely oblivious to their suffering, "the next order of business is figuring out how we move forward."
She drew a rough circle in the dirt with a stick.
"We need money, identities, information, and somewhere safe to stay when we reenter town." She tapped the ground thoughtfully. "That would be ideal."
"Do either of you have any money?" Zhu asked.
The man and woman looked at each other, then shook their heads at the same time.
Zhu sighed deeply and shook her head.
"Of course. Why would I be so lucky? One is a broke adventurer, the other is a sex worker. Why couldn't I have saved a wealthy heir instead?"
God, why don't you like me? Zhu thought bitterly.
"So," she muttered, "the official story will probably be that the expedition was wiped out by monsters."
Herkid nodded slowly. "Most likely."
At that, Rose released a low growl. Thorn's tail lashed against the dirt. The two cubs looked ready to start a fight. Their oppressive aura thickened instantly, making the air feel heavier.
"Relax, babies," Zhu commanded absentmindedly. "Humans blame everything on creatures stronger than them. It's tradition at this point."
The growling stopped almost immediately.
Mara stared at the cubs in disbelief once again. The way they obeyed Zhu so naturally was terrifying.
Zhu, however, seemed more focused on another problem entirely.
"So basically," she summarized, "there's no direct evidence tying us to Brain's death, the forest itself is a death trap, and most people will assume monsters killed everyone."
"Yes," Herkid replied carefully.
"Good." Zhu clapped once. "Then our current objective is simple."
She pointed dramatically into the darkness beyond the fire.
"Step one: survive. Step two: get rich. Step three: revenge."
"…Revenge?" Mara repeated nervously.
Zhu's smile widened, but it didn't quite reach her eyes this time.
"There are people back home who owe me a very long apology."
Silence settled over the campsite after Zhu's words.
The fire crackled softly between them while the endless darkness of Hollowveil Forest loomed beyond the small circle of light.
Mara lowered her eyes, fingers tightening slightly against her knees. Memories surfaced uninvited—cold rooms, greedy hands, cruel laughter, and years spent surviving instead of living.
Beside her, Herkid stared into the flames with a hollow expression. Fallen guildmates. Painful beating. Endless debt. A world that consumed ordinary people and discarded them the moment they became inconvenient.
And Zhu…
Zhu thought about betrayal. About humiliation. About all the people who had looked down on her, abandoned her, hurt her.
For the first time in a long while, the three of them realized something.
They were all the same.
Broken people standing at the edge of ruin.
The wind howled through the forest, but the atmosphere around the fire no longer felt quite as cold.
Zhu slowly looked at Mara and Herkid before speaking quietly.
"Whatever happens from this point onward… we're in this together now."
Rose curled up beside her while Thorn settled near the fire.
"We may have fallen," Zhu said, her golden eyes reflecting the flames, "but we will rise again."
A faint smile touched her lips.
"And woe be unto those who wronged us."