The night passed.
The knights burned down the village along with the corpses they had left behind. Now, nothing remained but smoke, rubble, and drifting ash.
All the knights were gone.
At the training grounds, the villagers were still waiting for Reiko to tell them what to do next. Her barrier remained intact, hiding the devastation outside. But fear had already taken root among them, and many sat in silence, staring toward the unseen hell beyond the barrier.
"M-My husband… he still hasn't returned from the village yet. Please tell me he's going to be alright."
Reiko observed them quietly, uncertain of her next move. Everyone's fate rested in her hands. Her eyes looked hollow, almost lifeless, and her hand twitched slightly, whether from strain or lingering heat, even she couldn't tell.
"Why isn't Papa here? I can't find my papa," a young child, no older than six, asked.
No one answered.
They all looked to Reiko.
Varl, in her dragon form, ran in restless circles around Rica, who sat on a rock, visibly bored. The fear in the air didn't seem to trouble her in the slightest.
"…I," Reiko uttered.
Everyone's attention shifted to her. The entire training ground fell silent, waiting for words—any words—that might steady them.
"I…"
The barrier around them began to fall apart. It dissolved slowly, thinning as it blended into the sky like mist fading at dawn.
Rica looked up.
But everyone else kept their eyes on Reiko.
"I don't know what to say to you right now…"
Suddenly, Rica stood up, shock flashing across her face. A few villagers turned to see what had startled her, then froze.
A plume of smoke rose from where the village once stood.
Their beautiful home was now buried beneath dark ash and collapsed buildings.
One by one, villagers dropped to their knees, stunned by the sight.
"…The village."
"…What happened?"
Some of them hadn't even known the village was under attack. None of them blamed Reiko for keeping them on the training grounds.
At first, they had believed she was protecting them from the earlier assault, not knowing a second attack had come.
Reiko lowered her gaze. Her hair fell forward, hiding her face, as tears began to gather in her eyes.
***
Meanwhile, the two archers who had captured Hajime were on their way to Velithra, a country located south of Melcelut along the border.
All they had to do was cross that border to reach Velithra, but the road was clogged with merchant wagons heading in the same direction.
They were forced to slow down. There was no turning back; the path behind them was already blocked by more incoming wagons.
"This is why I prefer traveling in proper carriages instead of this piece of wood," one of them muttered.
The armored archer had removed his armor and left it inside the wagon with Hajime. He had changed into clothing resembling that of a merchant to avoid drawing suspicion from the others on the road.
Meanwhile, his companion remained dressed as before, seated at the front of the wagon, guiding the horse while his friend had ridden ahead to clear a path through the traffic.
As this was happening, Hajime began to regain consciousness inside the wagon.
One of his legs was chained, and his hair had been cut short. His left hand twitched, followed by his right leg.
Slowly, he opened his eyes. Their color had changed; both were now a saturated yellow, not just one this time. His irises shifted from side to side without him moving his head.
The wagon reeked of sweat and damp wood. It was crammed with baggage and various goods meant for trade.
In front of him lay the archer's discarded armor. A dagger rested beside it, along with his crossbow and the arrows he had used earlier.
Hajime fixed his yellow gaze on the dagger.
There was focus in his expression now, cold and sharpened, like someone who had endured years of suffering and learned to survive it.
"What's taking so long?" someone outside the wagon complained. It sounded like one of the archers, and his voice was getting closer to the rear of the wagon.
Hajime turned his gaze toward the rear entrance of the wagon. Someone was approaching.
The moment the man stepped onto the back ledge and lifted the wagon's cover, he found Hajime lying there, apparently still asleep, in the same position as before.
"Hmmm…?"
"Kid sure loves sleeping," he murmured.
Still, something felt off. He couldn't quite place it.
His eyes drifted to the armor on the floor. He crouched and reached toward it, as if intending to grab one of the arrows lying beside it.
"Got it…!" he said aloud, lifting a silver bar instead.
Hajime slowly opened one eye, watching the man for a brief moment, then quickly shut it again as the archer turned to step out of the wagon.
One of Hajime's hands was hidden behind him. In it, he gripped the same dagger that had been lying beside the armor earlier.
The archer hopped down from the wagon and approached a man with a bald head.
"Here it is, sir."
"A silver merchant…? Very well. You may move along," the bald man replied.
"Thank you," the archer said, already turning back toward the wagon. His footsteps began heading toward the rear entrance once more.
...
A moment later, as the wagon began moving again, the archer climbed inside and sat directly across from Hajime, unaware that his dagger was no longer where he had left it.
Hajime opened his eyes.
He looked at the man with a calm, unreadable expression.
The archer met his gaze, his stare sharp and intimidating, as if trying to frighten him into submission. But Hajime didn't flinch. He simply kept staring back.
The silence stretched between them.
Then, from the front of the wagon, the other archer called out, his voice brimming with excitement. "We're almost in Velithra!"
"Oh, yeah…?" the one inside replied casually.
"Yeah!"
Hajime shifted his hand slightly while still looking at the man, and the man turned, looking back at him, but before he knew it, Hajime sprang from his resting spot with a chain tied to his leg and a dagger in hand, stabbing the man in the neck.
He started to twist the dagger while still embedded in the archer's neck.
The man screamed in pain, grabbing Hajime and slamming him against the wagon walls. Hajime quickly recovered, leaping onto him, gripping the dagger still lodged in the archer's neck. He began stabbing repeatedly, relentlessly, until the man slumped and went completely still.
Blood poured across the floor of the wagon, some of it seeping through the gaps between the wooden planks.
"What's going on back there?!"
The horse pulling the wagon skidded to a halt. And the archer driving it swiveled around, looking through the rear window. But the moment he looked inside, he froze.
His friend lay sprawled on the floor. Hajime, holding a bloody dagger, stood over him, his yellow eyes fixed on the lifeless body.
"Y, You... What did you do?!" the driver stammered.
Hajime turned slowly to face him. His eyes glowed a saturated yellow, and his face was streaked with blood, but he didn't flinch.
The archer, enraged, slammed his fist against the front of the wagon. The ropes tied to the horse snapped, and the frightened animal bolted in the opposite direction.
The force of the punch hurled Hajime across the wagon, and he landed hard near the rear exit.
"You..." the man growled, stepping toward Hajime as he drew his sword from its sheath.
It was clear this archer wasn't just a sniper, but also a swordsman.
Hajime didn't hesitate. He sprang to his feet and lunged at the man head-on. But the archer anticipated every move, delivering a sharp kick that sent Hajime flying out of the wagon, slamming his back into nearby trees.
Before Hajime could recover, the man leapt from the wagon and struck again, kicking him brutally without giving him a chance to retaliate.
As Hajime was slammed to the ground, his eyes shifted back to their crimson hue.
"How?" the man spat, looking down at him as if he were nothing.
Huh? What the hell is going on?
Hajime had no chance to fight back. He was powerless against this opponent in every way, and he couldn't make sense of what the man was saying.
The moment his eyes returned to their original hue, everything that had happened earlier slipped from his memory.
His crimson eyes now reflected only confusion and pain. He had no idea why this man was on top of him or what he was supposed to do next.
The man grabbed Hajime's head and continued, "How in the world did someone like you kill him?" he snarled.
With a cruel grin, he slammed Hajime's head into the ground.
A second later, he straightened for a moment, his mind clearing, but the grin only widened. He couldn't contain himself. Again, he gripped Hajime's head and smashed it into the dirt.
Then he glanced toward the wagon. In the distance, the city of Velithra came into view.
It was just two kilometers away, its massive walls stretching across every angle, looming over the surrounding landscape.
He stood up, considering the distance he would have to cover to reach the town on foot. Looking at the baggage he carried, he realized it would hardly be a walk in the park. And his ticket into the town, his only way in, lay dead, killed by a kid who probably hadn't even killed a bug in his life.
No matter. He needed a plan to get inside without arousing the guards' suspicion at the city gates.
He glanced from side to side, biting his thumb and pacing back and forth, trying to think of a solution. Then, as he shifted, he accidentally kicked the chain binding Hajime's leg.
Hajime remained on the ground, immobile, his hair and clothes matted with blood. Seeing this sparked an idea, a way to enter the town without anyone suspecting a thing.