"A girl? What courage!" the man sneered, pressing harder on Eri's stomach.
"I-I can't… breathe." Eri gasped, her stomach wound burning fiercely.
At that moment, the man lifted his foot but instead grabbed Eri's wrist firmly and pulled her up.
With his tall height, Eri was now completely hanging by one wrist.
"Are all girls this weak and tiny?" the man mocked.
"What's your problem with me, sir?" Eri said hopelessly, already feeling her wrist going numb from his grip.
"Problem?" the man chuckled darkly. "Your whole existence is a problem! There's no reason for a girl to step outside. When are you going to learn your place? You just rot in your little hole until you're allowed to live!"
Yeah, this city's full of men like him. Wild, irrational, and cruel—for no damn reason.
So there was no reason left for Eri to stay polite.
With an unreadable look, Eri stared straight into his eyes, then let out a slow breath.
Suddenly in one quick move, she swung both her legs around the man's arm and pushed down with all her strength, making them both fall to the ground.
Before the man could react, Eri grabbed his head with both hands and slammed it back to the ground hard. His nose started bleeding.
"No one's ever gonna tell me how to live again!" Eri said firmly.
So much rage was in his eyes that he suddenly lunged at Eri, trying to hit her.
Eri quickly got into a half-crouch to dodge if needed, and her hand went toward a piece of glass she had noticed on the ground.
But at that moment, that little Devourer leaped from beside her collar straight at the man's face.
The man got shocked, and waved his hand at the strange thing to push it away. He didn't even realize what had jumped at him.
Too late—Devourer had already bitten one of his ears.
The man clutched the bitten ear and screamed in pain. Blood soaked his clothes and the ground.
"What the hell was that??!!" he groaned in disbelief, still not realizing he was missing an ear completely.
Eri quickly put her hood back on and grabbed the little Devourer on the ground, then ran off, leaving the man in pain and blood.
"Damn girl!!" the man shouted after her in frustration.
Eri's stomach hurt like crazy and her wrist was bruised already, but she quickly caught up to Maya and Harold.
She tried to act normal so they wouldn't notice anything.
Maya, hearing Eri panting, glanced at her. "You okay?"
Eri smiled and just nodded. She didn't have the breath to speak yet.
Finally, Harold stopped in front of a big building. A crystal shop. All sorts of Light Crystals filled the display.
And of course, there was a special discount too. For the first day of spring—the Birthday of Light.
Harold bought over 100 of those Light Crystals. Not just Harold, everyone there was buying a lot.
That made Eri stare at them in confusion, but she really wasn't in the mood to ask anything.
Maya noticed Eri's puzzled look and realized she had to explain something.
"Oh, you didn't know what day it is today, huh? Today's officially the first day of spring. The Birthday of Light."
Maya pointed at one of the Light Crystals and continued:
"Tonight, darkness won't have any place here, so we hang up all the Light Crystals around to light everything up. It'll be the brightest night of the year."
"Birthday of Light? Wow… it's on the same day as my eighteenth birthday." Eri thought aloud to herself.
Maya and Harold blinked a few times to make sure they heard her right.
"Really?" Maya said. "That's so cool!!"
-
The man's head was spinning, still burning with pain. He was holding his ear tightly with a cloth and heading to the hospital.
But suddenly, he saw a knight looking around.
For a city where no knights were usually found, this felt like a miracle to him.
He rushed to the knight. "Sir… uh… I have a report! A white-haired Nameless! She was really cruel and scary! Please, execute her as soon as possible!"
The knight got excited when he saw the info matched what the captain had told them. "Where? What was she wearing?"
The man pointed to where Eri had run. "A black cloak!"
The knight wasted no time and ran toward that direction.
From afar, he saw someone in a black cloak. He quickly got to her and pushed her hood aside.
Maya looked shocked. Her heart skipped a beat.
When the soldier saw Maya's black hair, he sighed. He glanced at the code on Maya's hand, and walked away disappointed.
Maya and Harold looked around in panic and couldn't see Eri anywhere.
"Maya!" Eri's whisper came.
Maya quickly looked up at the rooftop of the next building and met Eri's eyes.
Eri was on top of a building!
"I'll get back. Take care of yourselves!" Eri said calmly and quickly left.
Maya and Harold were still blinking in shock.
When did she even notice the knight? And how the hell did she get up there so fast?
.
.
After sneaking out of the city full of knights, Eri walked alone far from the main road, heading back to the village.
People were all busy at work, and all the trees and the roadsides were full of Light Crystals.
At that moment, the little hero popped out from Eri's sleeve and rolled on her palm.
"Oh, little one… I should probably give you a name, huh?" Eri smiled faintly and thought for a moment.
Meanwhile, the little thing lay relaxed in her palm, just chewing on a strand of Eri's hair.
"Since you saved my life, you're my hero. So I'll give you my hero's name."
The little thing gently pulled the hair from his mouth and stared at Eri.
Eri raised her hand higher and smiled warmly. "I'll call you… Noah. You like that?"
The little thing blinked with big eyes, then suddenly stood on his tiny legs and lifted both short arms,
"Na!" he letting out a thin, strange little sound for the first time.
Eri's eyes went wide in surprise.
"You can talk? Wait… you didn't even have legs! When did you even get them??"
Little Noah wiggled a bit on Eri's palm, making weak but excited noises. "Na na… na…"
And he tripped, fell face-first on Eri's palm.
Eri laughed softly and petted his head. "Looks like you like your name. Now I've got a big Noah and a little Noah."
She saw the village from afar and frowned a little.
"Alright, Little Noah. I guess tonight we have to say goodbye to this kind family. The knights have come this far. I don't wanna cause trouble for them, right?"
"Na!"
-
Noah stepped into the house and went straight to the kitchen.
Rosita was chopping vegetables when he grabbed a glass and turned to the sink, hoping to pour himself some water.
He twisted the tap open—but nothing came out.
Right... This village didn't have water in the mornings.
With how scarce water was in this region, it only flowed through the pipes for a few limited hours after sunset.
Noah just stared at the metal faucet, unimpressed, as it coughed up nothing but air and an unpleasant noise.
Rosita let out a quiet chuckle at his struggle, gently took the glass from his hand, and walked over to a big wooden barrel in the corner of the kitchen.
She placed the glass under the tap, twisted it, and right away the wooden barrel turned crystalline.
A Water Crystal Barrel.
The crystal built into it was tightly linked to the Water Core, so every time the barrel was emptied, it'd refill by itself quickly.
Crazy expensive, only for the rich.
Noah, not expecting to see something like that in a simple house, looked surprised.
"Arindor's been struggling with Water Crystals. And yet you guys got something this expensive?" he asked, sitting down on a chair.
Rosita put the glass in front of him, happy he at least tried to start a conversation. "It was a gift from King Arindor. Harold used to be in the Royal Guard."
Noah just gave a small nod.
Rosita sat across from him, leaned forward a little, and looked closely into his eyes.
He felt awkward, but didn't care, picked up the glass and took a sip.
"Why didn't you say it's your birthday today?" Rosita asked.
Noah immediately choked on the water and coughed.
"H-ow…" He wiped his mouth and stared at her in shock.
Rosita calmly brushed her hair aside and showed the Nexus mark on her neck.
"I have a Life Nexus. I didn't notice this morning, but now that it's close to your birth hour, it's obvious from your eyes. Anyway, I've delivered a lot of babies, so I'm kinda a pro at this."
She seemed to remember something and went on:
"Actually, today's also the birthday of another special baby. Eighteen years ago, I was the one who delivered her. Eri's appearance really reminds me of her. If she wasn't your sister, I'd totally mistake her for that baby."
Noah just lowered his gaze, he hated talking about birthdays.
But Rosita tried to keep the conversation alive.
"If you'd said earlier, I would've told Harold to buy cake stuff too, How old are you turning today?"
But there was no answer. Noah remained silent.
Rosita opened her mouth to speak again—but Noah lifted his gaze, irritation flashing in his eyes.
"I don't wanna talk." His answer was cold.
And Rosita just gave a faint, disappointed smile.
Then, the door opened, Maya and Harold came in.
"We're back!" Maya said excitedly. "We already set up all the crystals around the farm, only the house is left!"
"Oh, and honey, why was half the shopping list chewed up? Do we have mice in here?" Harold chuckled, setting his bag down.
Noah, whose eyes had been searching only for Eri, stood up right away when he didn't see her.
"Where's Eri?" he asked seriously.
Maya and Harold looked at each other in confusion.
"Some knights were asking around for her, so she wanted to head back fast. Isn't she here already?" Maya said.
That was all Noah needed.
His heart skipped a beat, and without wasting time, he pushed past Harold and Maya and rushed out, scanning the area nervously.
The sun had set, but everywhere was glowing bright with Light Crystals.
Noah squinted a little at the unexpected brightness, but his eyes still moved quickly, searching for Eri.
Then he spotted it—in the middle of a cornfield.
A few lights, floating around a spot. The same lights he'd seen around Eri last night.
He let out a quiet breath of relief and headed that way.
Eri was sitting on the ground, unaware he was approaching from behind.
"Dad, brother, the capital, Human… now that city… and even this village? Doesn't matter where I go, everyone ends up in danger," she muttered to herself, her voice weak and fading.
Noah's expression tightened at her words.
He stepped closer, wanting to call out, but then he noticed her rubbing her wrist—and saw the bruises.
The words stuck in his throat.
He just stood there in silence behind her, before turning away and leaving.
.
.
Some time passed, and night had fully fallen.
Eri finally got up and headed home.
She saw Noah leaning by the door outside, giving her his usual cold stare.
"Human? What are you doing out here?"
"Where were you?" Noah asked simply.
"Ah, well…" Eri smiled nervously, trying to sound convincing. "I was tired, so I came back first, but… I got lost on the way and just found the house. Hah-haha…"
Noah just stared at her in silence for a long moment, like he was struggling with something inside.
This was the perfect chance for him.
Eri was already aware that in just three days she'd caused nothing but trouble for everyone.
If Noah spoke harshly right now, if he twisted the knife, maybe he could finally break her resolve.
He clenched his jaw.
"Hey, Eri…" he forced himself to continue. "About everything that's been happening these days…"
-
Inside the house, Harold and Maya were placing crystals into the metal holders.
Rosita was unpacking the fresh groceries.
That's when she spotted two bottles of milk at Harold's bag.
Milk was expensive, and it wasn't even on her list.
She pulled one out, confused. "Sweetie, why'd you suddenly buy milk? And two bottles?"
"Oh, that—well, I wasn't sure how much a cake needed, so I grabbed two," Harold replied, scratching his head shyly.
"Cake? How did you know today's Noah's birthday?" Rosita asked curiously.
Harold and Maya blinked at her.
"Mom, how could it be Noah's birthday? Today's Eri's eighteenth,"
It took Rosita a few seconds to process that.
Then she froze, the bottle slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor.
At that exact moment, the door open and Eri rushed in, with Noah right behind her looking tense and angry.
Eri hurried to Rosita.
"Mrs. Rosita, are you okay?" she asked with worry.
Rosita, still in shock, stared at her, then stepped forward.
"P-Princess?" Rosita whispered in disbelief.
She dropped to one knee and bowed to Eri. Right after, Harold and Maya did the same.
Eri was stunned, her eyes wide.
"W-Wait… why are you all suddenly…" she stammered.
V, who'd been sprawled on the couch the whole time, lifted his head lazily. "They're showing respect. Your identity's blown, Princess."
-
Zaskar was walking down one of the brightest streets in the city.
The teal-haired knight, bored, was next to him, and a group of Shadow Knights followed behind them.
The people were all frozen in shock and silence.
Everyone had stepped aside, clearing the street for them.
"That Nameless has been spotted in this city, Commander," the teal-haired knight said, his expression emotionless.
"Ughh, this stupid Arindor tradition again. My eyes are already hurting," Zaskar grumbled.
Just then, a little boy stormed into their path, clearly angry, right in front of Zaskar.
"You don't dare insult our Light!" the boy shouted.
Zaskar's dark, cold gaze didn't change at all—he just slowly reached for his waist, and his sword appeared in his hand.
The totally uninterested teal-haired knight's eyes flashed for a moment, and he grabbed the kid by his hair, slammed him against the building wall beside them.
"Don't you dare move," he whispered coldly to the boy.
Zaskar glanced at the scene and relaxed his hand around his sword, which disappeared again.
The teal-haired knight dropped the kid in that corner and turned toward the group of knights.
"Spread out and find that Nameless…" he said seriously, casting a quick side glance at Zaskar before continuing. "And destroy any Light Crystals you come across."
"Yes, Captain Lu!" the Shadow Knights shouted in unison, obeying immediately.