Barging through the entrance, Sensei Haruto effortlessly subdued one of the roughnecks guarding the doorway, pinning him beneath his boot.
Before he could issue another command, Amber pushed past him without hesitation. Acting on instinct rather than thought, she couldn't stomach the injustice unfolding before her.
Meanwhile, Zeke and the others remained gathered outside as Amber and Haruto occupied the narrow entrance. Peering through the thin gap, Zeke activated his Scouter to assess the disruptive bunch.
No need to get involved. These idiots are already as good as dead.
From what he could tell, the strongest among the martial bandits was only a Stage 2 Disciple.
Inside, chaos erupted.
Drawing her gold, moth-embroidered wand, Amber flicked it through the air. A razor-sharp flame sickle shot forward, severing the leader's wrist before his blade could reach the elderly woman's neck.
His sword and dismembered hand spun through the air before crashing onto the floor.
Caught completely off guard, the leader collapsed to his knees, screaming as he clutched the bloody stump where his hand had once been. Around him, his men stood frozen in utter disbelief.
Grinding his teeth, he slowly lifted his bloodshot eyes toward Amber. After forcing his breathing under control, he roared,
"What are you imbeciles standing there for?! Kill that bitch—and everyone with her!"
Startled from their stupor, the four remaining bandits instinctively reached for their weapons. Only several meters separated them from Haruto and Amber as they charged with murderous intent.
"Allow me, Lady Amber."
Haruto calmly stepped in front of her.
From within the sleeve of his long blue robe, he casually produced an elegant steel fan and unfolded it with practiced ease.
The four men rushed him simultaneously.
As their hands gripped their weapon hilts, a cool breeze brushed across their faces.
None of them paid it any mind.
Taking their first hurried step, they felt a warm gust of wind pass by.
The second step brought with it an inexplicable burning sensation around their throats.
Before any of them could question what had happened—
—it was already over.
Upon their third and final step, all four heads separated cleanly from their bodies, soaring through the air in a crimson spray.
Not one of them managed to utter a scream before their headless corpses collapsed heavily onto the floor.
Haruto calmly closed his fan with a soft clack.
"I'll never understand why delusional riffraff insist on throwing caution to the wind when they aren't the only predators lurking within this jungle we call the world."
He hadn't moved so much as a single inch.
Left speechless by the swift slaughter of his men, the shaggy-haired leader trembled violently.
Pain.
Fear.
Disbelief.
His men had been butchered like livestock before his very eyes.
Realizing death loomed only moments away, he swallowed hard before desperately clinging to his final hope.
"Wait! Let's talk this out! If you kill me, then the Hell—"
Splat.
His head exploded without warning.
The sickening sound echoed throughout the lobby.
Silence immediately swallowed the room.
Even Haruto and Amber exchanged surprised glances.
Neither of them had struck him down.
Then... who had?
A subtle sense of unease settled over Haruto.
Without wasting another second, he expanded his Qi once more, sweeping the surrounding area before approaching the kneeling corpse.
Finding nothing unusual, he knelt to inspect the wound personally.
Meanwhile, Amber hurried toward the elderly receptionist.
Although drenched in blood, none of it belonged to her. The poor woman remained frozen in place, her eyes vacant from the terror she had just endured.
Carefully stepping around the field of headless corpses, Amber waved everyone else inside.
Julep, Miz, and the remainder of the escort finally entered through the narrow sliding doors.
"How is she holding up?"
Julep asked with genuine
concern as she hurried over.
On the opposite side of the lobby, Yoon Gi Namgung approached Haruto.
"Did you find any traces?"
Haruto asked while examining the exploded remains.
Yoon Gi lowered his head.
"I'm afraid not."
Haruto remained silent for a brief moment before issuing his next command.
"Have several men search the outer perimeter while I investigate the interior."
"As you command, Senior Brother."
Yoon Gi bowed respectfully before turning to leave.
Just then, Haruto called after him.
"Oh, and don't forget to bring Zeke along. That young man has a habit of noticing what others overlook."
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
During the past year, Haruto had quietly come to appreciate just how unpredictable the golden-eyed prodigy could be.
His gaze drifted across the bustling lobby.
Some disciples dragged away the bodies.
Others comforted the survivors.
Order gradually returned.
Then...
Haruto frowned.
"Where's Zeke?"
...
Night had fully settled over Green Springs as a golden-eyed boy glided silently across a maze of rooftops, hot on the trail of the unknown assailant who had just silenced a valuable witness.
The moment he entered the town, Zeke activated Mind's Eye while integrating his Scouter for greater precision.
Thanks to that extra precaution, he barely caught the subtle spike of mana released when the hidden figure assassinated the one-handed bandit.
Without alerting the others, and knowing every second mattered, Zeke slipped away alone the instant the culprit fled the scene.
Remaining more than several dozen meters behind his target, he carefully stayed outside the assassin's line of sight.
Although the cloaked figure was invisible to the naked eye from this distance, Mind's Eye allowed Zeke to keep him firmly within view.
[Scout]
Alias: Felix Berry
Mana: 15,222 / 15,800
Qi: N/A
Sword Force: N/A
Power Level: 62,438
Health: 68,888 / 68,888
Title: 4th Circle
The information occupied his right eye while Mind's Eye continued observing through his left.
As they neared the town's outer edge, the scenery gradually changed.
Large buildings gave way to one- and two-story homes as they entered a district drowning in poverty.
Still pursuing from afar, Zeke watched Felix descend into the streets before weaving through a maze of narrow back alleys.
Then—
Felix suddenly glanced in his
direction.
"Hmm... did he notice me?"
Zeke muttered.
Rather than pressing forward, he halted atop the shadowed edge of a tiled rooftop.
One hundred and twelve meters separated them.
Felix remained barely within Mind's Eye's effective range of roughly one hundred and fifty meters.
Yet with every passing second, the distance widened.
Normally, in uncertain situations like this, Zeke would send a blood clone ahead to test the waters.
Unfortunately, that wasn't an option.
His clone was already occupied with another assignment outside Green Springs.
Refocusing, he watched as Felix edged closer to escaping his range.
Fifteen meters remained.
Continue pursuing?
Or abandon the chase?
Choosing neither, Zeke slowly raised one hand.
A spell Amber had taught him during his Second Circle training quietly formed.
"Fire Arrow."
Drawing his arm back as though pulling the string of an invisible bow, he released a blazing arrow that streaked across the night sky.
Just as the spell closed in—
two additional cloaked mages burst from beneath the earth behind Felix, appearing seemingly out of nowhere to intercept the incoming attack.
Hmph... I had a feeling he wasn't alone.
Reacting instantly, Zeke adjusted the spell's trajectory in the fraction of a second available.
Instead of striking the trio directly, the flaming arrow abruptly nosedived into the ground several meters away.
The three mages exchanged confused glances.
Before they could react—
"Explode."
A blinding flash erupted from the buried arrow.
The ground detonated.
Flames and shattered stone exploded outward, engulfing all three mages in a violent inferno.
A towering cloud of smoke rose into the night sky as chunks of charred rubble rained from the surrounding abandoned buildings.
Moments later, a powerful gust of wind dispersed the smoke.
Felix and the other two mages emerged unharmed but immediately raised their guards.
All three simultaneously turned toward the rooftop where Zeke had launched the spell.
"...There's no sign of him."
Felix muttered.
P
After spending another moment confirming no one remained nearby, the trio finally disappeared into the darkness.
...
During the pursuit, the atmosphere inside the inn gradually settled.
The elderly receptionist, who had narrowly escaped death, slowly regained her composure.
Still trembling, she accepted the cup of water Julep handed her before taking several small sips.
Amber knelt beside her.
"Take your time. You're safe now."
The old woman nodded weakly before wiping away the tears streaming down her wrinkled face.
"...Thank you."
Haruto soon joined them after completing his initial inspection.
His expression remained calm, though his eyes carried a quiet seriousness.
"Can you tell us exactly what happened here?"
The receptionist drew a shaky breath before speaking.
"...Green Springs wasn't always like this."
Her voice cracked.
"It used to be a peaceful town. Travelers often stopped here to rest before continuing toward the Red Mage Academy. Business flourished... families smiled... children played throughout the streets."
She lowered her head.
"Then everything changed."
Everyone remained silent.
"Several months ago... strangers began appearing."
"They arrived quietly."
"They never caused trouble in public."
"They simply... watched."
Haruto listened intently without interrupting.
"One by one..."
"Younger people started disappearing."
"At first, everyone assumed they had simply left town."
"But then..."
"Entire families began losing their sons and daughters."
Amber's brows furrowed.
"No one resisted?"
The elderly woman laughed bitterly.
"We tried."
"Many fathers attempted to fight."
"They never returned."
"The mothers searched."
"They disappeared too."
"Eventually..."
"No one dared ask questions anymore."
A heavy silence filled the lobby.
Haruto folded his arms.
"You contacted the Martial Alliance?"
The receptionist nodded.
"Many times."
"We sent letters."
"We hired couriers."
"We even paid cultivators traveling north."
"None of them ever reached their destination."
"They all vanished."
Julep's expression gradually darkened.
"So every plea for help was intercepted..."
The old woman nodded once more.
"We realized someone was watching every road leading in and out of Green Springs."
"They wanted us isolated."
Amber clenched her fists.
"Monsters..."
The elderly woman looked toward the shattered entrance before continuing.
"The people eventually stopped resisting."
"Some accepted their fate."
"Others fled."
"Those too old to leave..."
She looked around the nearly empty inn.
"...remained behind."
Haruto slowly surveyed the room.
Now the absence of younger faces made perfect sense.
It wasn't coincidence.
It was systematic.
"Who are they?"
Haruto finally asked.
The old woman hesitated.
Fear visibly returned to her eyes.
"I..."
"I don't know."
"I've never seen their leader."
"But..."
Her voice dropped to barely above a whisper.
"Everyone speaks of..."
"...the Hell Hound."
The room grew deathly quiet.
"The Hell Hound?"
Amber repeated.
The receptionist nodded.
"Some say he's a beast."
"Others claim he's a cultivator."
"I've heard people call him a mage..."
"...and others swear he's a demon."
"No one knows."
"But whenever his name is spoken..."
"...people disappear."
Even Haruto's usually composed expression hardened.
"Have you ever seen him yourself?"
The old woman slowly shook her head.
"No."
"Only those unfortunates enough to cross his path."
"...never return."
Haruto exchanged a glance with Julep.
This was no longer a simple bandit operation.
Something far larger had taken root inside Green Springs.
Just then—
The sliding doors quietly opened.
A familiar voice broke the tense silence.
"Missed me?"
Everyone turned.
Standing in the doorway, Zeke casually brushed a layer of dust from his sleeve as though he had merely gone for a walk.
Amber immediately crossed her arms.
"And where exactly have you been?"
Zeke smiled faintly.
"Stretching my legs."
Haruto looked at him for a long moment.
Judging by the dirt on his boots and the soot clinging to his sleeve, he knew there was far more to that answer than Zeke was willing to admit.
"...Find anything interesting?"
A small grin spread across Zeke's face.
"Maybe."
His answer only deepened Haruto's curiosity.
For the first time that night, the seasoned cultivator found himself looking forward to hearing what the young prodigy had discovered.