SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“My name is Alje.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Even though Hans knew that the other party meant him no harm, it still took him quite some time to calm down.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
After all, he was also a resident of the Labyrinth City-one who made a living hunting monsters.
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While he wasn’t quite like the explorers who wandered in search of the labyrinth’s yet-undiscovered depths, the amount of monster blood staining his body was by no means insignificant.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Perhaps that was why he felt even more confused.
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“Alje…?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Yeah, it’s a pretty name, right?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
The girl smiled innocently as she spoke.
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Even the scent of blood clinging to her body was unmistakably human.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
And yet, there was a gaping hole in her chest, utterly defying every assumption Hans had made.
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It was so large and open that the grotesque insides were fully exposed.
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Even without a heart to pump it, fresh blood still coursed through her veins, surging and spilling out of the empty cavity with a sickening squelch.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Wherever the girl went, the ground was inevitably drenched in blood.
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Blood that never rotted or decayed.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Blood that, in the stale air of the labyrinth, smelled almost… fresh.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“You… that…”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Unable to hold back any longer, Hans pointed to the girl’s chest.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Under normal circumstances, such a gesture would have been quite rude.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
But his mind was so overheated, so close to bursting, that he didn’t even consider that.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“A wound.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Alje pointed at the swollen mound on her chest without the slightest hint of shame.
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“Bad people did it.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Bad people?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Yeah. Friends of a friend.But they got really mad at me. Stabbed me. So I ran away.”
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Her speech was clumsy, childlike.
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Yet even when she frowned slightly, it was an expression so endearing, so lovely.
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“It hurt.”
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Seeing that doll-like beauty, tinged with something eerily unsettling, Hans was once again reminded of the truth.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
That she was not human.
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Of course, anyone could tell just from the fact that she was walking around with a hole in her chest.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
But Alje carried with her something ever are disturbing than that.
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A discomforting sense of something being completely out of place-like an ill-fitting mask worn over the wrong face.
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“That must have hurt…”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Hans muttered absentmindedly.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Alje took a step closer, her expression unreadable.
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“Mister, are you going to hurt me too?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Hans was perceptive.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
The moment he sensed something sinister in the air, his mouth moved faster than his mind.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Of course not. I’m already hurting enough as it is.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“…You’re hurting too?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Yeah, a lot.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Step.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
The girl moved without hesitation, closing the distance between them.
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His heart gave an uneasy jolt.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“But you’re not bleeding.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“I broke a bone.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Now that he thought about it, it was lucky he hadn’t even gotten a scratch despite falling from such a height.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
No, his entire situation had been a string of improbable luck-he hadn’t been seriously injured, and he had survived an encounter with a monster.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
But Hans suddenly scoffed at himself.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Luck?
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Yeah, right.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
If he had been truly lucky, none of this would have happened in the first place.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
If he hadn’t run into that damn pack of three-eyed hounds, he wouldn’t have had to fall, get injured, or even be in this situation now.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Most importantly, he was still stranded here-on a hill of corpses, face to face with a dangerous monster.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
He could only call himself lucky if he made it out alive.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Lost in thought, Hans barely registered the pressure on his shoulder until it was too late.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“AAAGH!”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“You really are hurt.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
The girl had pressed down on his shoulder.
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Not directly on the broken bone, but hard enough for the impact to send a jolt of pain through him.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Hans instinctively swatted her hand away and glared at her.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“What the hell-?!”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Hans barely had time to process that thought before Alje did something completely unexpected.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Sorry.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
An apology.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Then, she reached out and gently placed her hand over his injured shoulder.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Even though she applied no pressure, a dull ache spread from the spot she touched.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Just as Hans was about to protest, her lips parted.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“[Ah.]”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
The moment the single note escaped her lips, even the faintest trace of hostility in Hans’ heart vanished.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“He had already thought her voice was pleasant, but this was something else entirely.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
[A lonely star without friends, cradled in the valley lily’s bloom.]
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“[It chimes softly with each falling star,]”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
[Yet no traveler looks down to see, and so it drifts away alone.]
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“A delicate melody hummed through the air as warmth spread from where her hand rested.Then, Alje pulled away and smiled.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“It doesn’t hurt anymore, right?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“…Huh?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“It doesn’t hurt anymore, right?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“…Huh?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
It was true.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Hans hesitantly moved his body.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
The pain was gone.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Not just in his shoulder, but the lingering aches and bruises all over his body.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
It was as if they had been completely erased-like a miracle had occurred.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“What… what did you just do?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Hans already knew the answer.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
It was literally a miracle.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
This world was ruled by women called Witches and Saints, individuals blessed with extraordinary powers.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
The very labyrinth he stood in was said to be the work of a Witch.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
And what Hans had just experienced… was the power of a Saint.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Who taught you that?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Monsters, often called Witches’ Stillborn, were strictly separate from humans.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
And Saints and Witches were human.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Humans died when their hearts were pierced.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
No exceptions.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Which meant this girl-no matter how she looked-was a monster.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“A friend.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Alje still wore that innocent, unclouded smile.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“It didn’t work when I tried it on myself. It only made things worse. But it worked on you.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Of course it did.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
A Saint could never heal themselves.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
And their power outright rejected monsters.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“I’m glad.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Even with the gaping hole in her chest still wide open, she smiled with pure relief.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Hans felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
This girl confused him too much.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Was she human?
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
A monster?
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Was she just an innocent, kind-hearted child?
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Or was she a creature like those young monsters-ones that acted tame in their infancy, only to eventually turn on and devour their masters?
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Hans had seen how much effort had gone into attempting to tame monsters.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
He also knew what price those fools had paid for it.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
A monster wielding the power of a Saint…If such a thing became known, the entire Labyrinth City would be thrown into chaos.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Hans’ hand twitched toward his empty waist, but before he could move, Alje returned with something in her hands.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Is this what you were looking for?”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“…Oh.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
She held out a long, sharp object.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
For a moment, Hans thought she was about to attack.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
But no-her gaze was still innocent, untainted.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
She simply lacked the awareness to understand the danger, holding the blade out towards him without a second thought.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“Here.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
“…Thanks.”
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Hans carefully took the sword by its dull edge.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
The weight of the weapon in his hands brought a sense of relief.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Shapeshifting monsters stole everything from their victims-faces, voices, memories.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
They could not be killed once they had consumed enough people.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
But right now?
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
This girl was still incomplete.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Too young.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Too small.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
She had, at most, taken one or two victims.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
She had no knights to protect her.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Right now, she could still be killed.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
The seed of disaster, before it could take root.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
No grand justification was needed.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Hans was a hunter, and a hunter killed his prey.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
He had personally slain hundreds of monsters.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
But…No prey had ever spoken to him like this.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
No prey had ever approached him without fear.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
No prey had ever smiled at him like this.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
Hans hesitated.
SpecialCharactersAndSymbols!@#$%^&*()_-+=[]{}|;:\"'<>,.?/
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