The table went silent, the kind of silence that made even the clink of glasses feel too loud. Then Matthiew suddenly smacked Luka on the head. The sharp sound echoed, and Luka yelped, clutching her head.
"Why did you do that?!" she cried. "You were the one who told me about it!"
Matthiew panicked instantly, covering her mouth with one hand while forcing an awkward, guilty smile toward us, like that could somehow erase what she'd just said.
Athena's eyes shifted to me. I smiled faintly and took another sip of my soda, the bubbles fizzing softly against my tongue.
"Do you two really want to know what happened that night?" I asked calmly.
Their little fight stopped at once. They looked at me, then nodded together. "Yes."
"Then let's make it interesting," I said quietly. "Close your eyes. Imagine it."
They did as I told them.
"Picture a village glowing faintly yellow under lantern light," I continued, my voice slow, steady. "Heavy rain falling from the sky, cold wind brushing against your skin. You're inside a small restaurant, eating your favorite dish, laughing, thinking it's just another ordinary night. But as the hours pass, you hear a scream. You rush outside—but there's nothing. Just rain. Just darkness. So you go back… until another scream cuts through the night. This time, you follow it."
I paused, letting the image sink in.
"One house has its door broken. You step inside. A man. A woman. Both covered in blood. You rush to them, hands shaking, only to realize they're already dead. Then another scream. And another. You run again and again, each time finding more bodies. Panic spreads. Everyone activates their weapons, trying to protect what little they can. But then… silence. No more screams. Just rain."
My fingers tightened slightly around the glass.
"And then you see them. Two figures in robes. Blood dripping from their weapons. One holding a sword. The other a hammer. Suddenly, every lantern shatters. One by one. The only light left is the lamp trembling in your own hand… and even that is destroyed. In the middle of the rain, in complete darkness—"
I closed my eyes slowly.
"—that's when the massacre truly began."
"You manage to protect maybe half the people," I continued, my voice low. "You raise walls of soil around one house, stack them thick, desperate. Then you burn it—not to kill, but to create light. For one brief moment the flames rise, and the village is illuminated… and in that single heartbeat you see it. Bodies. Too many. People already dead, cut down in mere seconds. Before you can even react, THE man with THE hammer appears out of the rain and smashes it straight into your stomach. The impact sends you flying. You crash through the mud and slam into a tree, the air ripped from your lungs."
I took a slow breath.
"Now think carefully. You're on the ground. Powerless. The only magic you have are basic spells advance sword skills and magic construction. You know you can't beat him. You know it. But you still stand up. Your hands shake as you cast a lightning spell—wide range, uncontrolled. The lightning doesn't choose sides. Everyone is hit the enemy even the civilians and even you . Then You for a moment, the entire village collapses as bodies drop to the ground, smoke rising from wet earth."
My voice hardened.
"You force yourself upright again. With what little strength you have left, you drive the ground upward, forming a spike meant to end it. He dodges—but not completely. His arm is torn off, flesh and blood swallowed by the rain. You heal yourself just enough to stay standing, just enough to keep breathing. But he doesn't stop. He doesn't give you time. And then—finally—the soldiers arrive, clashing with him, dragging him away from you. While they fight… you do the only thing you can."
"I heal myself."
"You know the man is S-plus in level," I went on quietly. "Even so, the soldiers are holding their ground somehow. A minute passes. You force yourself to stand. The rain finally stops, leaving only steam rising from the soaked earth. The soldiers are still fighting him, blades clashing, spells flashing. And then it hits you—you remember the other one.
You turn around, heart sinking, and see it. Every villager is on the ground, bodies piled and covered in blood. At the center stands the other figure, drenched red from head to toe. You try to raise another spike from the ground, but it does not works."
"So you dash at her ," I said. "Both swords in your hands, lightning wrapping around them as you throw everything into one strike. You slash at her. She barely blocks, sparks exploding between you. You strike again, harder—and this time her hood tears away. For a split second, her face is revealed. A girl. Red eyes glowing in the dark, calm and empty. That's when you realize it. She's stronger than the man."
"The fight turns chaotic," I continued. "You engage her, trading blows, barely keeping up. Then the man attacks from the side. You're forced to switch, fighting him instead, blade to hammer, every movement burning your muscles. While you struggle to survive, the girl leaves you and walks toward the soldiers. You hear screams. You don't need to look to know what's happening."
I lowered my voice.
"I won't say more. In the end, you lose. The soldiers are killed by her. Both of them walk away. Before leaving, the girl looks back at you and smiles… and says you're still weak. As darkness closes in, you finally remember. She's the same girl who once defeated you in seconds. Exhaustion takes over, and you lose consciousness, alone among the dead."
"So… how was it?" Athena asked quietly.
I didn't answer. I saw tears gathering in Luka's eyes, her lips trembling. "I'm sorry," she said, voice shaking. "I'm really sorry… for judging you." Matthiew followed, lowering his head and apologizing as well.
I laughed weakly. "Being defeated by the same person didn't break me," I said. "What broke me was that an entire village died… because I was weak." The words burned as they left my mouth, and before I could stop myself, tears slipped down my face.
"And again," I choked out, "because I was weak, people died." My voice cracked, and I couldn't hold it in anymore.
"I know… I know," Athena said, stepping closer.
"What do you know?" I screamed, the pain spilling out all at once.
After I finally calmed down, I wiped my face and muttered an apology for my outburst. "Sorry… for my behavior," I said. Then my voice hardened. "But if I ever meet her again, I will kill her. No matter what." As I said that, flames crawled up my hand, heat pulsing with my resolve.
Not long after, we prepared to leave. I said goodbye to Athena, but Luka said she still wanted to roam around a bit. Matthiew shut that down immediately, saying we could do that in the city—right now he just wanted sleep.
"City?" Athena asked, surprised. "You guys are going to the city too?"
"Yeah," I replied.
She hesitated, then said she was planning to head there the next morning anyway. "You could come with us," I said. "I'll talk to the commander ." I glanced at Matthiew and Luka, both of them giving me strange looks.
"Bye," Athena said, turning to leave.
"Why don't you go with her?" Luka said sharply.
"Why?" I asked.
"It's not safe for a girl to walk alone, don't you know?" she continued.
I laughed, then called out, "Hey, Athena." She turned back. "Luka here thinks you're weak and need protection."
The look on Luka's face was priceless.
****
I decided to walk with her. Luka shot me thumb up as I flick her off and caught up to Athena as she headed down the quiet street. The night air was cool, and the town had almost fallen asleep, lanterns dim and roads empty. For a while, we just walked side by side, the sound of our footsteps filling the silence.
We walked in silence for a while, Athena beside me, the streets quiet except for our footsteps. The city was almost asleep, lanterns flickering and casting shadows across the walls. I glanced at her and asked, "So… why the city? What's the reason?"
Athena's lips curved into that sly grin she always wore. "I've joined the city authority. Detective work," she said casually, like it was nothing. I didn't ask a single question, just smiled,because I knew the reason.
She noticed my silence and tilted her head, lighting a cigarette. "Don't think you're the only one who can read between the lines," she said, smoke curling into the night.
I shook my head. "I still don't approve of smoking."
Without hesitation, she flicked the rest of the cigarette pack into the river, watching the packets drift away. "Then I guess I should stop too ."
"I never started it ".
We continued walking, eventually finding a small garden near the ton walls. We sat on a low stone bench, quietly watching the plants sway under the moonlight. I pulled out my notebook and showed her all the achivements I made . She leaned closer, eyes glinting with curiosity.
"You want to be stronger too, huh?" I asked.
Athena smirked. "Of course. If I'm going to work with the authority, I need to be able to protect myself… and maybe reach space one day."
I chuckled. "Space? Only the hero party ever grew that much. They even fought the Demon King there. Nobody else has reached that far."
Her grin softened, just a little. "Then I guess I'll just have to surpass them."
I shook my head, smiling. "Good luck with that. But… I get it. You're doing it for the same reason I am—protecting those who can't protect themselves."
She leaned back, blowing her last smoke into the starry sky. "We all have our reasons. Some of us just like doing it with style."
We sat there, quiet again, but it wasn't uncomfortable. It was that rare kind of silence where words weren't needed—where understanding passed between us effortlessly.
She smirked but didn't deny it.
After a moment, I asked, "Did you discover any new way to use spells?"
Her eyes lit up. "Yeah. Watch this."
She nodded at the empty air ahead. I formed a fire spell and shoot it in the sky after she told me to. Athena had only raised her hand. No chant. No delay. The flames of the fire ball were extinguished instantly.
I froze. "…So how was it?"
As I thought about it, the effect felt similar to my own ability, but far faster. Cleaner. She doesn;t even need to shape the air .
"So what did you do?" I asked. "Did you find a way to extinguish fire?"
She laughed. "No. But it's better than that." Then she leaned closer. "I just shot mana."
"…?"
"Do you want to know how?"
I nodded immediately.
"Focus your mana," she said. "Think about how you shoot fire—but cancel the fire. Just throw the mana itself."
I tried it. Concentrated. Pulled mana into my palm, canceled the ignition, and released it.
It worked.
Athena stared at me, her face twisting in disbelief. "How can you do it that fast?"
I looked at my hand, still faintly glowing. "I don't know," I said honestly. But I do know one thing.
I already knew how to gather mana in my palm I thought .
After that, we kept talking. About what we found, about the research that survived, about theories that didn't fully connect yet. I told her some things, enough to sound honest—but I never crossed the line. I didn't tell her anything about myself. Not about the spells I had discovered. Not about how far I'd gone. Some things were better left buried.
The night had grown quiet when a strange thought slipped out of me.
"Athena," I asked suddenly, "how do you want to die?"
She didn't react the way I expected. No shock. No hesitation. She simply looked up at the sky and said, "By the person I love or Hero ."
I snorted. "Still reading those hero stories?"
She punched my arm. "This is my life." Then she turned to me. "What about you?"
I paused. "Don't laugh," I said. "I want to die by the strongest being. If I don't… then my dream would be shattered."
Her eyes narrowed slightly. "So you want to die by the hands of God?"
"No," I replied quietly. "Not God. God would never kill his own children."
The wind passed between us. The city lights flickered below. And for a moment, neither of us spoke—because some dreams were too heavy to laugh at.
as we continue to look at stars.