Two hours earlier, on the outskirts of Renn Town.
Kaze limped along behind Alyssa, the bandage on his shoulder rustling in the night wind. Moonlight illuminated the stone path with a bright glow as the noisy clamor of Renn Town gradually faded into the vast darkness behind them.
“Ugh… I’m so hungry.”
Kaze spat out the grass stem in his mouth and rubbed his belly. “Hey, Alyssa. Shouldn’t we have mooched a meal from the duke’s place before leaving? We were supposed to get some rest today, but not only did we not rest, we nearly lost our lives…”
“Hah— Weren’t you just mourning the fact that Cole turned into an undead? How come you forgot about it so quickly? I thought you’d finally overcome your gluttonous habits.”
“What are you talking about? The two things don’t conflict at all, alright?”
Kaze declared righteously. “You have to eat your fill first if you want the energy to drag those crazy Mor Believers out into the light.”
“…Have some shame, at least. Don’t act like a beggar in front of the duke, okay?”
Alyssa rolled her eyes. Just as Kaze was about to argue back, a melodious singing voice interrupted him.
“♪When the silver moon climbs atop the willow branches, the night watchman dozes beside the bell tower~♪”
“♪The black-robed raven carries a bone flute, dancing wildly above the graveyard~♪”
“Huh?”
Kaze looked toward the sound. On an oak tree by the roadside, a silver-haired woman was hugging an ornate harp, her fingertips plucking the strings as she sang an unfamiliar ballad:
“♪When the Dawn Goddess closes her eyes, Mor’s believers come out to dance~ Hey!~♪”
The figure had a wine jug tied at her waist, her voice carrying a slight drunken tone.
“♪In his left hand he holds a rusted sickle. In his right he embraces a skeleton bride. He says death is not the end—everything shall eventually rot~♪”
…
“Mor Believers have shown up?” Alyssa whispered into Kaze’s ear, her hand already resting on her staff. “This woman doesn’t look normal. Should we drag her back to camp?”
“Don’t rush. Let’s observe the situation first,” Kaze stopped her.
…
“♪When the Dawn Goddess opens her eyes, the first ray of sunlight falls, and all secrets should be buried~♪”
Her final note trailed off with a drunken vibrato. The wine jug clanged loudly as it smashed onto the ground beside Kaze’s feet, splashing liquid all over his lower body.
“Fucking hell—”
“Oops— My wine!” the woman on the tree cried out. Seeing Kaze cursing below, she immediately changed her tone.
“Oh dear! Look at what I’ve done… I’m really sorry about that, big brother!” The person on the tree flipped down nimbly like a mountain cat. She patted the leaves off her dark blue cloak, revealing a striking teardrop mole beneath her left eye.
“Sorry, sorry… The moonlight is too bright tonight. It made me dizzy.”
The tip of Alyssa’s staff emitted a faint red glow, illuminating the slender sword at the woman’s waist and her oddly shaped harp. The female mage said with a fake smile:
“Singing on a tree in the middle of the night? You certainly have quite the artistic taste.”
“Life is short, so enjoy it while you can! To tell you the truth, I’m a rather talented bard.” The silver-haired woman laughed heartily and patted her harp, then suddenly leaned close to Alyssa.
“Hmm, not bad, not bad at all. You have a pleasant magical scent on you… Wait!” She moved right up to Alyssa and sniffed a couple of times.
“Are you a dog?”
Alyssa frowned and spoke her mind bluntly.
“Hehe, you’re correct. My sense of smell really is as keen as a hunting dog’s.”
The woman who called herself a bard seemed quite shameless. She smiled without taking offense and then moved in front of Kaze, sniffing him as well.
However, once she caught his scent, the smile on her face froze solid.
“……You don’t look so good, big brother. It feels like you don’t have much time left. There’s also the lingering scent of witch flames on you.”
“Wait… What do you mean by that?”
Kaze ignored the first part of her statement and asked seriously about the second half. “You know about Mor Believers and witch flames. Where exactly did you learn about these things?”
“As a bard who has traveled all around the area near Renn Town recently, of course I know these rumors. I originally planned to leave Renn Town without getting involved—but a certain cautious tavern owner insisted on keeping me here as a bodyguard.”
“…Is that so?” Kaze listened to the silver-haired woman’s answer and roughly guessed who had hired her—the halfling, most likely.
“But why do you even know about witch flames? To be honest, I was just burned by that damned flame earlier.”
“…….”
The silver-haired woman did not answer Kaze’s question. She stared fixedly in the direction behind him, her previously playful and unrestrained expression disappearing completely.
Something was wrong.
A bone-chilling cold crawled up his spine—it wasn’t ordinary cold, but a primal warning from the depths of his survival instinct.
“Something big is approaching, big brother.” The silver-haired woman said softly, her voice now completely sober. “Something is imitating human footsteps.”
Kaze swallowed hard. This feeling reminded him of when Cole had appeared before. The same ominous premonition had returned…
The sound of dry branches snapping came from the dense bushes on both sides of the road. The rhythm was slow and heavy, like some enormous beast pacing about.
“Careful, you two!!!”
The silver-haired woman shouted loudly. Before she even finished speaking, a black shadow shot out from the roadside bushes like lightning. Kaze barely caught a glimpse of a blood-stained, rusted great axe gleaming under the moonlight as it swung straight toward his face.
“No need to tell me, you stinking girl!”
Alyssa’s staff burst with blinding red light. A wall of fire erupted in front of Kaze.
The great axe cleaved through the flames and continued smashing toward Kaze with undiminished momentum. At the critical moment, Kaze rolled sideways. The axe blade grazed his shoulder and carved a deep trench into the ground.
Unlucky Kaze had once again drawn the aggro.
“Blood Axe… Regnar?” Kaze recognized the signature weapon, cold sweat drenching his back. “Wait… Didn’t this guy already… die?”
“How could it be that easy to die?” The silver-haired woman sneered coldly as she drew the slender sword at her waist.
“You’d better be careful, big brother.”
Heavy footsteps echoed from the forest. A tall figure slowly emerged from the shadows.
—It was the Regnar that Kaze knew. But his current state could only be described as horrifying.
Regnar’s skin had an unnatural bluish-gray tint. His eyes burned with black-gold flames, and the same eerie flames coiled around the wound on his chest.
“Death… is new life…”
His voice sounded as if it came from the abyss, carrying a harsh metallic echo.
Kaze’s pupils contracted sharply. That familiar wolf-headed, human-bodied face belonged to none other than the ‘Blood Axe’ Regnar, whom Gro had personally killed half a month ago. Kaze felt his brain struggling to keep up—
Alyssa’s staff lit up again. “Kaze, fall back! This guy is no longer human!”
“No shit!” Kaze drew his greatsword. The wound on his shoulder bled once more from the violent movement.
“—The real question is why this guy has been resurrected, and why he’s blocking our path here!”
The silver-haired woman stepped protectively in front of the burly Kaze. Her golden eyes locked firmly onto the Blood Axe.
“Stay back, big brother. You’re not his opponent—” Her slender sword drew a silver arc in the moonlight.
“By the way, allow me to introduce myself. I am Ilis Claude, a very capable bard!”
“Is this really the time for introductions?” Kaze complained, nearly in tears.
Regnar raised his great axe once more. Black-gold flames spread along the blade. Ilis clicked her tongue. “Looks like we don’t have time to chat anymore.”
The great axe came whistling down. Ilis leaped lightly into the air. Her slender sword precisely tapped the side of the axe blade, using the force to flip gracefully and land behind Regnar. Her movements were smooth and fluid, almost like a dance.
“I can’t beat this guy!” she shouted without looking back. “So—are you two ready to run?!”
Alyssa’s staff had already gathered dazzling red light. “What do you think we’re doing? Enjoying your little acrobatic show?”
Kaze stared intently at Regnar’s movements. “This guy is much faster than Cole was!”
“Because he’s the ‘Blood Axe,’ big brother!” Ilis pulled out a strange metal disc from her clothes.
“In three seconds I’m activating the teleportation array! If you don’t want to be cut in half, get close to me now!”
Regnar seemed to sense something. The black-gold flames suddenly surged violently. He let out a roar that no human could make and swept his great axe horizontally with destructive force.
“Teleportation magic?” Alyssa’s expression showed surprise. “How did you—”
“Is this the time to ask that, sis?!”
Ilis slammed the metal disc hard onto the ground. A complex magic array unfolded instantly. Blue-white light engulfed the three of them. The great axe struck nothing but air, leaving a huge crater in the ground.
When the light finally faded, only Regnar’s furious roars echoed through the night sky where the three had stood moments before.