In the dark tunnel, where a dim light emerged from some fireflies and bioluminescent fungi that the barbarian gathered, Azm's shovel struck the soil in front of him, and a ray of light pierced through. A wave of relief washed over him.
"We're almost done, guys. All we need is just to support this part here, and we're finished." Azm's voice was firm, spurring the others on.
"Finally," one of them panted, chest heaving. "This work is brutal—no wonder they usually dump it on slaves. Even the air feels thin down here, it's suffocating."
"Lucky the ground was soft," another chimed in, wiping sweat from his brow. "Hard earth would've taken us twice as long or probably more."
Azm's lips curved into an exhausting grin as he flexed his massive arms, feeling the satisfying burn of overworked muscle fibers. "I won't lie—this is one hell of a workout."
"Hmm, hmm." The others nodded in weary agreement.
With one final move, Azm cleared the last stubborn clods of dirt and stood at the bottom of the narrow pit. Above him, a jagged circle of azure sky beckoned like a portal to freedom. After what felt like an eternity trapped in the suffocating darkness underground, the sight of that precious sliver of daylight filled him with pure euphoria.
He crouched, then sprang upward, hands gripping the edge of the hole as he launched himself into the open air.
Nearby, drawn by the rhythmic thudding and muffled voices, a little girl had crept closer. Her bare feet made no sound on the soft earth as curiosity overcame caution. But when a colossal figure seemed to materialize from the very ground itself—a mountain of scarred muscle and wild appearance landing effortlessly before her—her young mind struggled to process what she was seeing.
"Hello there, chibi." Azm grinned.
The little girl froze as she stared up, up, up at the towering frame and scary smile turning her legs to jelly. Before she could even think to run, a shrill scream burst from her lips, reached every ear outside and inside the guild.
"Kyaaaa!"
Jasper, who had been lying back with his eyes closed, jolted upright at the sound. "Lina? What's wrong?!" His gaze darted to Azm, then back to the trembling girl. Understanding flashed across his face, and he chuckled, stepping forward. "Hey, it's okay. This 'scary uncle' is just my brother."
But Lina's mind had gone blank with fear. All she registered was Jasper's familiar voice cutting through her panic—safety lay behind him. She bolted past Azm's tree-trunk legs, her small feet pattering against the earth as she dove behind Jasper like a frightened puppy hiding behind its owner. Her tiny fingers clutched his sleeve with desperate strength, though her wide eyes never left the towering threat, watching him with the wary gazes of cornered prey.
Jasper patted her hair, smiling. "I told you this uncle here is my brother, so don't be scared. He may be a giant and look a bit intimidating, but he's just as friendly."
Lina's breathing gradually slowed as she processed his words. Jasper had never lied to her before. Slowly, as a creature in the bottom of the food chain testing the safety of open ground, she inched forward. Her small finger extended tentatively, poking Azm's thigh—a mountain of solid muscle beneath sun-bronzed skin marked with scars. She was testing the credibility of Jasper's impossible claim.
Azm's fierce grin widened, transforming his intimidating features into something almost paternal. Then, with movements surprisingly gentle for such massive hands, he scooped her up by the ribs. Her tiny body seemed to weigh nothing as he hoisted her skyward, her legs dangling freely as the ground fell away beneath her. For one moment suspended in air, with the wind whispering through her hair and the world spread out below like a living map, she felt as though she truly was flying.
"LET GO OF HER!" A voice roared across the distance—sharp, commanding, laced with threat. Both Jasper and Azm froze, heads snapping toward the sound.
Falcon stood poised for battle. Every line of his body screamed threat, his face was a mask painted of protective fury. The weapon in his hands trembled—not with fear, but with the barely restrained urge to strike. His sense of fear nearly vanished.
Behind him, A heartbeat later, the rest of the guild exploded through the backdoor in response to Lina's earlier scream.
"Azm!" Lysandra called out.
"Stand down, Falcon—he's an ally!" Ivar snapped. His own hand instinctively moving away from his weapon's hilt.
Falcon didn't budge. Not until Jasper sighed and waved a hand. "Relax. This giant menace is my brother."
Mina and Breeze hung back slightly, their eyes wide with a mixture of awe and apprehension. The barbarian before them was like something from the old stories—massive beyond normal human proportions, marked with scars that spoke of countless battles, radiating an aura of barely contained wildness. It was their first encounter with one of the legendary warriors, and reality far exceeded even the most dramatic folk tales. If not for Jasper's stories about the barbarians, they wouldn't know how to react to such a threat.
As they approached, another giant silhouette popped up from the ground, and another, and another, until a total of twenty-one stood before them.
"It's my first time seeing a barbarian, and now the whole tribe appears before me out of nowhere," Mina muttered.
Breeze felt something he'd never experienced before—a crawling sensation that started in his gut and spread outward. A chill flowed through his veins, freezing his blood. His fingers slowly curled into fists as his mind involuntarily ran a tactical simulation. Every scenario he imagined, every possible strategy he could conceive, led to the same inevitable conclusion: complete and utter defeat.
Lysandra, oblivious to the tension crackling around her, broke through the standoff with a radiant smile. "Azm! It's good to see you!"
"Likewise, Lysandra," Azm replied, his voice carrying genuine warmth that somehow made his intimidating presence feel almost brotherly. Incomparable to the first they knew him, Azm felt like a completely different person.
A barbarian elbowed Azm. "Oy oy, who is this beauty, Azm? Can you introduce us?"
The words barely had time to register before Breeze moved. His feet carried him forward without conscious thought, planting himself between Lysandra and the grinning warrior like a human shield. His glare was ferocious, and for the first time since the barbarians' arrival, he didn't care about the impossible odds. Some things were worth dying for.
Azm's eyes narrowed to dangerous slits as he studied the protective stance and facial features of the man in front of him. "By any chance, is this your brother, Lysandra?"
"Oh, I didn't introduce him properly." Lysandra chuckled gently. "This is my big brother—Breeze, whose existence I didn't even know about until recently." Her playful tone helped dissipate the tension.
He chuckled. "Fate is a mysterious thing indeed," he said, lifting Lina onto his shoulder. From the towering perspective of a barbarian, she felt impossibly small—even the others seemed diminutive, but her most of all.
"Brothers, I owe you for this. Let me host a feast tonight," Jasper offered, feeling a mix of obligation and genuine gratitude.
"I appreciate the offer, brother. However, we need to return quickly. The situation hasn't been very good recently—that's one of the reasons so many of us came here, to finish the work fast."
"Why didn't you tell me when we were in the clan? I wouldn't have bothered you with my request," Jasper said, feeling guilty.
Azm smiled. "That's the very reason why we didn't tell you. Thunderreach's king is starting to get full of himself. Our brothers are facing sneak attacks and traps made specifically for us near their region. At this rate, we'll probably end up in a war."
"Strike first, brother. They're still weak—and bold enough to provoke us? Imagine what happens if they seize the Predator's power."
"True. Better we crush them now and prove how foolish this was. Anyway, we've lingered too long. Good to see you all doing well. Until next time."
With that, the warriors vanished as swiftly as they'd come, leaving only stirred dust and uneasy silence.
Falcon exhaled hard, his spear arm trembling. "That was tense. I couldn't even breathe. Even knowing they were allies… my hands are still shaking."
Ivar giggled, smirking. "I know a lunatic who was pointing his weapon at them."
"Ha ha ha ha, I know how stupid I looked. I felt like even my spear was cursing at me." Falcon's admission came with rueful laughter, but his expression grew fierce again as he pulled Lina into a protective embrace. "But Lina is my everything. Even if I had to face all those barbarians, I wouldn't take a step back."
Breeze's voice was deceptively calm. "That's why we need to start hunting monsters as soon as possible. Growing stronger is the first step to protecting those we care about," Inside, though, his blood roared like a storm.
Jasper glanced at the fading sun, then turned to the group. "We don't have much daylight left. We need to prepare for tomorrow." His gaze settled on Lysandra. "You're joining the mission."
Breeze stiffened. "It's too dangerous. Why send her?"
"She's gathering the herbs for the Neural-Chem Catalyst," Jasper replied.
"Still—" Breeze tried to argue, but Lysandra cut him off with a reassuring smile. "I appreciate your concern, brother. Truly. But I lived alone in those forests for years—I'm the only one among us who can properly identify those specific herbs. Some of them look nearly identical to poisonous varieties."
Ivar crossed his arms, genuine confusion creasing his brow. "Why not just buy them from the market? Surely it would be safer and faster."
"The market isn't safe for this particular purchase," Lysandra said, her tone growing more serious.
Jasper nodded. "Both I and Lysandra marked it as a red zone. The prices for these specific materials are... suspiciously low. Unnaturally so."
Mina frowned. "Aren't you overthinking this? Maybe the prices are normal."
"Breeze's story is what tipped us off," Jasper countered.
Breeze blinked in confusion. "What story? What does my experience have to do with herb prices?"
"Your account of that liquid they forced down your throat…" Jasper's voice grew progressively grimmer. "There are two possibilities: Either they already know the catalyst's complete formula and are using the market as bait—luring potential threats into a trap to prevent any challenge from arising. Or they're still missing crucial pieces of the recipe and monitoring all purchases to uncover the remaining components through their buyers." He paused, sighing in an ominous weight. "Either scenario ends the same way—the buyer gets captured, tortured for information or confirmation, and eventually dies a dog's death in some forgotten cell."
"These aren't commonly used herbs," Lysandra added, accentuating the clue to their cautious behavior. "That's what makes its abundance and pricing even more suspicious."
Falcon, who had been listening in silence, frowned. The conversation might as well have been in another language. "What are you all talking about?" he finally blurted out.
Jasper dismissed him with a wave. "You'll understand once we prepare it. For now, just follow orders."
Dawn arrived swiftly.
Lysandra checked her supplies one last time while Ivar, Breeze, and the rest of the guild's most trusted fighters assembled outside.
Jasper stood before them. His voice drove the drowsiness from their eyes. "Listen carefully. I'm going to brief you on how to take down these monsters efficiently—make the hunt smooth. Stay sharp, but don't hesitate. Even if things go wrong, Ivar and Breeze can handle it." His voice grew more serious and threatening. "Most importantly: a herbalist is coming with you. Protect her with your lives."
The night before, Jasper had drilled Ivar, Breeze, and Lysandra on monster dissection—the precise cuts needed to trigger crystallization.
"What if I screw up?" Ivar had asked, eyeing the technique skeptically.
"Fail, and the core either won't form or it'll be of a low quality," Jasper replied without looking up. His blade flicked through the demonstration carcass that he bought from the mercenary guild. "A quick reminder, don't push too deep into the forest. Higher-tier beasts could be lurking."
At first light, the group split—Lysandra and Breeze slipping through the tunnels, while Ivar's team marched out the city gates. They'd reunite at the edge of the Black Forest, where the real hunt would begin.