Lugene stumbled back, her throat dry. "Wh-What is that?"
No answer came. But they both felt it. That thick, suffocating presence that brushed across their skin like the claws of an Ice Goblin.
The room grew darker. The coins Rue once cherished no longer shone. Instead, the nauseating smell of iron filled their lungs. The pressure of judgment loomed. Death had come, and it wore the coat of a Divine Beast.
Rue's eyes trembled, sweat trickling down the leathery folds of his chin as he stared at the bloodstained fiend before him. Slowly, subtly, he reached for the knife strapped to his thigh.
SWISHHH!
"…!?"
"AAUGHHHH!"
He howled in agony, crumpling forward while clutching his wrist. Blood sprayed across the floor from the mutilated stump where four fingers used to be.
Zephyr landed smoothly, skidding to a stop. His head turned slowly, jaws parting. With a sickening wet sound, Rue's severed fingers slithered from the wolf's tongue to the floor.
The room fell into a frozen silence.
Then Lugene shrieked and rushed to the shelf. Her fingers brushed the smooth glass of a healing potion, only for the vial to sink into the shelf and vanish into a black void.
"What the hell?!" she gasped, watching in disbelief as every last bottle dissolved into the darkness, sucked away as if into quicksand.
Across the room, a shadow rippled, and from within Zephyr's own, Midnight slinked out, olive eyes gleaming like a blade drawn beneath moonlight.
"There's another one!" Lugene scoffed angrily. "It took all our potions!"
"Dammit!" Rue cursed. "Just what are they? It's obvious they're working together."
The man snarled and limped toward a hidden compartment behind a crate, yanked it open, and pulled out a loaded crossbow. His fingers fumbled, but he managed to notch a bolt using the thumb still left on his right hand. With a sharp curse, he raised it and fired.
THWIP!
The bolt shimmered midair and bounced harmlessly off a golden barrier. Zephyr didn't even blink.
[Divine Armament]
[Rank: Unique
Classification: Active Skill
Lvl: 1
Proficiency: 74.3%
Tapping into the vein of divine providence, Zephyr envelops his entire body in a translucent armor forged of holy magic, significantly bolstering defense. This sacred and formidable barrier protects against both physical and magical attacks.
Skill Effect:
▪︎ Enhances Physical and Magical Defense by 65% for a duration of 3 minutes.
▪︎ As proficiency increases, the intricate details of the golden armor become more pronounced.
Mana Cost: 50% of Max Mana
Skill Duration: 3 Minutes
Skill Cooldown: 45 Minutes]
Rue staggered back, groaning as Lugene tightened cloth around his ruined hand. "Accursed fiend!" He spat, sneering at both creatures as the crossbow slipped from his hand.
"We need to run," Lugene hissed, eyes darting with calculation. "We can't possibly defeat these monsters—not without sacrificing more than we're willing."
"You think we'll make it out alive?" Rue growled through clenched teeth.
"We don't have a choice! We have to try!"
DING~
The front door opened with a faint chime.
Footsteps echoed slowly across the wooden floor.
Fay stepped into the apothecary, her expression forlorn. Her crimson eyes carried no warmth, only the shadows of loss.
Rue and Lugene's heads snapped toward the entrance, their pale faces flashing with disbelief—then softening into forced relief.
"Fay?" Lugene's voice trembled, rising an octave as she stumbled forward, arms half outstretched. "Oh, sweet girl, thank the heavens… we've been worried sick about you."
Rue forced a smile despite the blood dripping from his hand. "We didn't know where you'd gone. We thought maybe… maybe something had happened to you too."
Lugene placed a hand to her chest and stepped carefully toward her. "We've been searching everywhere. We even sent word to the patrols. You must've gone back to the apothecary, didn't you? Oh, darling, I'm so sorry. I can't even imagine what you must've seen…"
"I know… it must've been horrible," Rue grunted, his voice hoarse yet gentle. "All of that destruction… it had to have been the Dungeon Break. There's no other explanation. W-We barely made it out ourselves."
"You poor thing," Lugene cooed, her tone dripping with fake warmth. "Come here, please. It's not safe here either. That monster…" she motioned carefully toward Zephyr. "It's dangerous. Please, Fay, come with us. Let us get you somewhere safe."
Rue nodded along. "We'll keep you safe, I promise. You don't have to be scared anymore."
"Just take my hand, sweetheart," Lugene said, taking yet another step forward.
WHOOSH!
A rush of fire exploded past her cheek, nearly scorching her face. The heat alone was enough to draw a scream from her throat as she reeled back, eyes wide in terror. The skin on her cheek was flushed red, her lashes singed.
Zephyr glared at her, his muzzle curled, a silent command to stay back.
Fay's eyes finally rose. Her crimson gaze fixed on them, unreadable at first—but behind the silence was grief, and behind the grief was fury.
"You're not sorry at all."
Rue blinked, his features tightening as he forced a look of confusion. "Wh-What're you saying, Fay?"
"…You know what happened at the apothecary," she accused them quietly. "And you just left them. You left Mr. Zurrel and Mrs. Lefahne like they were nothing."
Lugene's eyes widened in exaggerated shock. "Fay, no, no—you've got it all wrong. We didn't—"
"Don't," she cut in coldly. "Stop lying. I know the truth."
She stepped forward, fists clenched, eyes trembling but firm. "Where's Silvie? Tell me where you took her."
Rue and Lugene's carefully crafted façade collapsed in an instant. The soft lines of their aged faces twisted into something ugly, their eyes no longer warm and welcoming but cold, calculating… sadistic.
"My, my…" Lugene said, her voice now void of the gentle tremor it once carried. "So much for playing the innocent lamb."
Rue gave a low, gravelly chuckle, sharing in his wife's bravado. "Sh-She's not as clueless as she looks, is she?"
The woman's wrinkled hands folded neatly over her apron and her lips curled into a wicked smile. "Since it's come to this, I suppose there's no harm in telling you what really happened. After we gave Silvestia a new blend we'd been working on—a hefty dosage of a custom-made neurotoxin, she slipped into a coma instead of dying right away."
Fay's eyes widened. "…Huh?"
"In hindsight, the fact that she isn't human explains how that was even remotely possible. All our other test subjects—every last one of them—died within seconds of having the drug administered."
"Th-That's terrible!" Fay's voice cracked with disbelief. "How could you do something so cruel?"
Rue smirked, forehead slick with nervous sweat. "Cruel? Child, we were running a business. And business… requires sacrifice."
Lugene chuckled, clearly amused. "Even for a fae hybrid, a perpetual coma and a partially destroyed nervous system appear to be the bare minimum effect that toxin has on anything not fully human."
Her smile faded, eyes narrowing. "But when Silvestia was suddenly healed—despite Zurrel and Lefahne's failed attempts to revive her—I knew something was off." Her eyes narrowed on Fay. "After a long stretch of hopeless stagnation, then an inexplicable miracle, the variable became clear—you."
"…"
"Fay… just what exactly are you?"
The girl flinched. She backed away, arms hugging her chest, crimson eyes dropping to the floor. "I just… I didn't want her to die."
Lugene gave her a grandmotherly smile, but the sweetness in her voice was laced with poison. "You're not like the others, are you? A mere child… and yet you eradicated a toxin crafted for untraceable assassination… do you even grasp the value of what you are?"
"I'm no one special…" she mumbled.
"Oh, but you are," Lugene cooed. "You have no idea how special you are. Our employer would love to understand just how special. Come with us, Fay. Quietly. We'll take care of you. No harm will come if you don't resist."
"I'm not going anywhere with you," she whispered, stepping back.
Lugene's expression soured. "You misunderstand. Your heroics cost lives, dear. Lefahne and Zurrel died because of you. If you had just minded your own business and let nature take its course, Silvestia would be dead and those two would've packed their bags and peacefully run off to start fresh. But no. You just had to play savior."
"That's a lie!" Fay snapped. "You're the only ones at fault here! You killed them! You killed them because they found out!"
Lugene smiled thinly. "And we'll keep killing. Anyone who stands in the way. Anyone who shelters you. Anyone who dares to think they can keep you from us. We'll bury them all until you finally crawl back and beg to come quietly."