"So how did you figure out where I was hiding, anyway?"
Nostra asked in a leisurely tone, though a faint caution flickered in his eyes.
"You went at Valentino that hard. Of course they noticed. We've got spies crawling all over Balleralc. Cut the small talk — let's get this over with!"
The moment Erard's eyes flashed, he lunged at Nostra with ferocious speed.
—but—
Nostra made a strangled sound, clutched his left chest with both hands, and crumpled to the ground.
"What!?"
Erard, who had charged out with all his force, froze in disbelief and let out an irritated snort.
"Nostra?"
Rabesta swallowed a scream and rushed to the kneeling old man.
"Ugh… at times like this… the years won't forgive you."
The words were the groan of an aging body that had reached its limit.
Erard clicked his tongue and shrugged, bored.
"I don't wanna kill some feeble old soldier out of honor, but I got my reasons — you betrayed us, so sorry, you die here."
Rabesta silently raised his sword, narrowing his eyes at Erard's movements.
"Ha! Betrayal? I've never sworn any loyalty to Ivanka, not even once."
Nostra's voice was hoarse but held a certain dignity.
"You… you blaspheme that name so casually — and don't even give it honorifics? Pathetic old man."
The retort rattled Erard more than expected.
Rabesta seized that instant and stepped in, swinging his blade—
—but—
"CLANG!"
A metallic ring echoed through the mountain valley. Rabesta's strike was stopped by the boy's forearm.
"Huh? Your arm's hard?"
Rabesta blinked in confusion. In that gap, Erard whipped his leg out.
"ORA!!"
A kick struck Rabesta in the ribs and sent him sliding through the air into the shadow of a rock.
"You sure you're Nova's buddy? That pathetic slash won't even scratch me."
Rabesta twisted his face in pain but still demanded, eyes burning, "You know Nova? Where is he now?"
"He's rotting in a cell, I'd bet. Not just Nova — Azbal, that Lamia woman… we're taking all the mutants."
Erard's tone mixed cruelty, arrogance, and a streak of lunacy.
"For what?" Rabesta spat.
"For training. Turning them into our pawns. Mutants make effective troops, and they're useful in all sorts of ways."
His words were cold and monstrous.
Rabesta's eyes flared with a mix of grief and fury.
"That's why you were ordered to capture Endi. Personally, I don't give a damn about orders — I just want to kill that bastard. That's all."
His voice leaked twenty years of pent-up hatred and inferiority.
"You have history with Endi?" Nostra asked.
"Nah. Never met him. He probably doesn't even know I exist. I just can't stand it — same age as me, hailed as the Yudra people's finest, raised on praise. I've hated him forever. I want to kill him and wash this feeling away. That's it."
Rabesta visibly recoiled at the twisted confession.
"But he's not here. Fine. You don't look like the kind to talk, so I'll find him myself. First, I'll kill you lot."
The clack of Erard's boots sounded in the night as he advanced slowly.
"Guh—!"
Rabesta and Nostra froze. Escape was impossible.
"HYAH-HA!" Erard roared as he raised his right hand—
—and then a gust of wind surged.
The wind tossed Erard's body.
"No way…?" Rabesta muttered. Nostra smiled faintly.
"GA-HA-HA… finally."
A youth stood quietly in the wind.
Endi — finally returned from the cave.
He looked somehow tougher.
"Sorry I'm late!" he said with a bashful grin.
"How long do you plan on keeping us waiting, huh?" Nostra barked.
"Sorry, sorry… So, what happened to you two? And uh… who's the mohawk guy over there?"
Endi asked, tilting his head.
Erard stared at him for a long beat.
"Endi — that's a Yudra. A member of the Sacred Sentinel Corps."
In an instant the air grew taut.
"HYAA-HA-HA— hah… HAHAHA— HYA-HA-HA-HA!!"
Erard's madness split the night.
"You okay in the head?" Endi asked, worried.
"I'm glad we finally met."
"Wait, you're glad to meet me? Why?"
"Of course I am. When I was a kid, you were out of reach. Now I can finally kill you with my own hands!"
Erard's grin turned feral.
Endi immediately wrapped himself in wind and took a fighting stance. A swirling wind-dragon coiled around his right arm.
"Oh?" Nostra narrowed his eyes at Endi's growth.
Endi closed the distance at windlike speed and drove a fist into Erard's gut—
—THOK!
The air split. Erard flew.
"Wow… so that's Endi's power."
"Indeed. He seems to have regained his edge. A fine power— but still naive." Nostra's voice carried a chill of realism.
"Ouch…!!" Endi clutched his fist. It had cracked.
"Hey, Endi — cut that out, will ya? Is that how you fight now? Ow!?"
Erard didn't get up, but wore an insolent smile.
Surprisingly, he was unhurt.
"How are you so damn tough?" Endi asked.
"Why? 'Cause I'm a mutant too. I can harden my whole body like iron. Your punch's nothing, idiot."
After those words, Erard counterattacked.
An elbow smashed into Endi's head and blood spurted. The impact felt like a hammer blow.
"Endi… why'd you hold back?"
"You're kind, Endi's always been kind. If you'd hit him full power, he might've died." Nostra said softly.
"Hah, iron, huh… you should've told me. If I'd known, I'd've gone all out." Endi managed weakly.
"Don't you dare look down on me, you bastard!" Erard spat, then stomped on Endi's right cheek with his heel.
"Alright kid, that's enough, yeah?" Nostra said as he slowly rose, drawing his sword. The old hands showed wear, but each movement was efficient and honed.
"Well, grandpa, feeling better?" Erard sneered.
"Kid, I run. I escaped the Yudra Empire — I'm a pitiful old man with no right to talk big. But listen well." Nostra's voice wasn't angry or sad; it simply bore an unwavering resolve.
"Don't underestimate the world. Don't look down on others. Don't think the world you see is all there is. Those who foolishly crown themselves gods have short lives. Understand?"
His words cut the night like a blade.
But Erard didn't hear — or if he did, he lacked the capacity to accept it.
"What, you old fool? We Yudra are descendants of gods. Everyone knows that since five hundred years ago. I'm an elite of the Sacred Sentinel Corps — born for this. We're gods now. What arrogance?" Erard declared with pride.
"Cheap intoxication," Rabesta said quietly, smirking.
"You'll learn what happens when you defy the gods. The fall of the Nakatam Kingdom is coming."
Rabesta's words made Endi's brow twitch.
"Fall? What do you mean?" Endi asked, not with anger but with deep skepticism.
"For five centuries the Yudra reigned supreme, backing kings, controlling history. Do you know why Nakatam won so many wars?" Nostra asked.
"'Cause the Willart family paid the Yudra?" Rabesta shot back.
"Correct. The Willarts had money. They kowtowed to us. In return we gave them force, resources, and enemy secrets. For five hundred years. That's why Nakatam became the world's mightiest military power." Nostra spat the words like garbage.
"But when Regalo became king, things changed. That bastard wouldn't bow. He cut ties with us. Willart owed us — and Regalo repaid us with betrayal. So we taught him a lesson and purged him. Next, we'll destroy the Nakatam Kingdom itself."
Erard's voice was venomous.
Endi felt like he'd been caught in a massive spiderweb for the first time.
"That's… I didn't know." Rabesta's whisper sank into the night.
"Nakatam is such a gloomy country. I walked through the center earlier — everyone's got dead-fish eyes. Pathetic. They're nothing but puppets in our palm." Erard's heartless taunt lit a fire in Endi.
"Living isn't easy. Sometimes you want to die — but it shows you're earnest about your life. People fight to protect what they love, to believe in happiness. Don't mock people who live through hardship!" Endi's eyes were not angry — they were prayerful.
Nostra smiled gently. Rabesta's expression stayed flat, but the words sank in.
"Haah." Erard sighed long and turned his back.
"Where you going?" Endi asked.
"Home. This is getting dull. If I keep talking to you weak idiots, my luck'll turn bad."
He left, disappearing into the dark.
Endi and the others didn't give chase. They were too overwhelmed by the weight of reality to even stand.
Yet something unshakable had begun to glow in their eyes.