After finishing her battle and catching the stunned expressions on Liora and Rylan's faces, Elysia decided it was time to retrieve the Soul Stone of the Alpha.
"I need to make it quick before reinforcements from the army arrive," she muttered, stepping toward the lifeless corpse. "If I want to keep it, I have to act now… It's nearly impossible to secure a Soul Stone from a creature of this level."
She crouched beside the massive body, the shadows of the wolf's collapsed form stretching across the snow. The air reeked of cold iron and mist.
"Let's see where your Soul Stone is located," she said, gripping the Red Reaper.
With swift, practiced motions, Elysia began to dissect the Alpha. Normally, it would have been nearly impossible to cut into such a high-level monster; its flesh was dense, protected by layers that resisted even enchanted blades.
But the Reaper ignored all of that.
The blade glided through the Alpha's body like it was nothing more than warm butter.
"It's not here… where could it be?" Elysia frowned while slicing open the abdomen, the place where most monsters stored their stones.
Minutes passed. Blood pooled in dark streams around her boots. Her hands moved with surgical precision, until finally, a faint crimson glimmer caught her eye.
"There you are."
She wedged her hand beneath a layer of bone just below the neck and pulled out a crystal-like stone embedded deep inside.
"Interesting," she murmured. "The location of the Soul Stone is different for this species."
The stone was a dark red crystal, encased in glassy layers that refracted the dying light of dusk. She held it up, watching the glow bend across her fingers.
"Now… how do I hide you from the higher-ups?" Elysia whispered, eyes narrowing as she weighed her options.
High above, on the wall:
"What do you think she's doing?" Liora asked, still pale from shock. "Don't you think she needs to come back? She's not safe out there alone."
Her voice trembled. The image of Elysia tearing through the Alpha with terrifying ease still replayed in her mind. She always knew captains were powerful, but this level was beyond anything she could have imagined, especially after she and Rylan had barely survived the creature's mental assault.
Rylan exhaled slowly, trying to calm the adrenaline still pounding in his veins.
"I believe she's taking the stone out before the higher-ups arrive and claim it for themselves," he replied. "And don't you think she's capable of handling any high-level threat alone? I mean… didn't you see what she did to that Alpha?"
He was shocked too, but he understood their captain better than most. And he wasn't rushing to drag her back.
"I think there's only one way for me to keep the body and the crystal," Elysia decided, lifting the stone in front of her.
The air around her hand twisted, warping like heated glass. Space itself folded inward as a circular ripple appeared, then tore open like a silent wound in the world.
The stone vanished into her personal storage.
Next, she repeated the process for the Alpha's body. A vortex opened, swallowing the enormous corpse piece by piece: the head, the limbs, the entire massive torso.
Within seconds, the battlefield was empty.
"Did you see that?" Liora whispered, eyes wide. "She just stored the entire Alpha. Don't you think the size of her special storage is… huge? I knew spatial storage was her specialty, but seeing it with my own eyes is completely different."
Rylan gave a small, knowing smirk.
"If you think that's extraordinary," he said, "wait until our mission. I believe the real shocker will be when she stores an entire building inside that space."
After securing both the stone and the body, Elysia finally decided to return to the wall.
She spun the Reaper once in the air, then hurled it upward. The chain whipped upward with a sharp crack, the blade hooking perfectly onto the metal anchor the army used for scaling the wall.
With a single push of her legs, she launched herself upward, the chain pulling tight. She ascended effortlessly, rising in a smooth arc until she landed quietly on the wall's edge.
Rylan and Liora straightened instinctively as she approached.
"Rylan. Liora," Elysia said, her tone composed once more. "What are the updates? And… one favor."She looked at them directly, her expression serious."Please don't tell anyone what you just saw. Keep it to yourselves."
She deliberately used their names, not their ranks.
Because if she needed a favor, this was how she would earn it.
Everything is fine, Captain. We managed to stop most of the citizens in time… but there is one problem. And don't worry, our mouths are shut. We didn't see anything."
Elysia finally exhaled. Her breath came out shaky at first, then steady, her shoulders loosening as the tension drained from her body. After everything that had happened, blood, screams, the chaos, this was the first sliver of relief she had tasted.
But the word problem snapped her back to alertness.
Her eyes sharpened."What kind of problem are we talking about?" she asked, her voice low as she studied Rylan and Liora.
Rylan swallowed. Liora shifted uneasily.
"I think… You should see it yourself," Liora said. "You're the only one who can decide what to do. We don't know what's going on either."
She pointed down toward the lower district.
Elysia stepped to the edge of the wall and looked.
"What is going on down there…?" she breathed.
Below them, Varick and Jaxon stood on one side of a thick earth wall, their bodies tense, guarding something. Behind them stood a teenage girl with a brown scarf tied over her head, a thin line of blood snaking down her forehead, catching the fading sunlight. Four small children, three girls and one boy, huddled around her, wrapped in rags and torn clothing. Their hands shook as they tried to shield her, their small figures trembling like leaves in a storm.
On the other side of the wall, a roaring crowd pressed forward, faces twisted in rage, voices cracking with screams, arms swinging as they threw rocks and debris. Every strike echoed against the earth wall like thunder.
Elysia's brows knitted.
"What is this? Who are these people? And why are they attacking Varick and Jaxon? Did you two do something?"Her voice was sharp, confused, and almost offended by the sheer madness of the scene.
"No, Captain," Rylan said quickly. His voice carried frustration, helplessness. "We're just as confused as you. We were only trying to stop them from reaching the wall."
He paused. Too long.
Elysia's gaze narrowed. "So what happened next, Rylan? What made an entire crowd turn violent like this?"
Rylan opened his mouth, but Liora answered instead, her voice steadier, but her eyes disturbed.
"They're not attacking us, Captain."
Elysia turned sharply toward her.
"They're attacking the girl."Liora pointed toward the teenage girl trembling behind Varick and Jaxon."The one being shielded by the four children. The crowd… all of them… they're trying to get to her."
Elysia froze.
"What?" she whispered.
The entire situation, the wall, the screaming crowd, the terrified children, suddenly twisted into something far darker than a simple misunderstanding.
"Why is that group of people trying to attack that teenage girl?" Elysia murmured, her eyes locked on the scene below.
"What… is going on here?"
The wind carried the distant cries of the mob, the sound hollow and feral. Whatever this was, it was no ordinary problem.
It was the beginning of something dangerous.
Who was that girl, and why were there so many people trying to attack such a small teenage girl? Elysia thought, staring at the scene below and trying to find a solution for the mess unfolding in front of her.
The teenage girl was none other than Ivy, who had somehow ended up in this situation for reasons unknown. Neither Elysia knew who Ivy was, nor did Ivy know who Elysia was. But this moment… this chaos… was what finally brought their paths together.
One hour ago, before the screaming crowd and the earth wall, Ivy had been standing in front of a small storage area behind the tavern. Her expression looked devastated, her shoulders slumped as though the weight of the whole world had fallen on her.
Inside the storage room, Zander and Allen were talking about something. Ivy stood silently at the entrance, listening without meaning to.
Then a loud howl tore across the entire town, a sharp, piercing sound that vibrated through the wooden walls.
And with that howl, everything in Ivy's world began to fall apart.
Ivy, standing at the entrance with her hands trembling, broke down after realizing the truth about Allen. She didn't know what to do anymore.
Where should I go now?She was the only one… but she is not who I thought she was.
Her heart felt heavy and cracked.It wasn't that she was broken because Allen had forced her to work or manipulated her. Ivy had endured worse things in life.
She was heartbroken because she truly believed that Allen cared for her… because she thought Allen was the only person in this entire world who cared about Ivy. Ivy didn't care if Allen worked her to the bone; she only hoped that someone would choose to stay by her side.
But all of it… was a lie.
Mother, where are you?Why did you leave me in this cruel world all alone? Ivy thought, as a tear fell from one eye and slowly ran down her cheek.
Lost in her thoughts, she suddenly heard another loud howl.This one is even sharper, cutting through her mind like a blade.
And with that howl, her thoughts were pulled somewhere else entirely,as if her mind was being dragged back into a memory she couldn't escape.
This time, Ivy found herself standing in a narrow street, watching her younger self, barely eight years old, trying desperately to squeeze into a group of children. She instantly recognized the scene.This was from the day before everything in her life changed for the worse.
"Come on, let me also play. Don't leave me out,"Small Ivy pleaded as she tried to slip into the circle of boys and girls who were holding hands, spinning around someone in the center.
Elysia watched quietly from the side as Little Ivy kept trying, her tiny hands pushing gently against the linked arms of the other children. But for some reason, all of them avoided her, turning their faces away, tightening their circle, pretending she wasn't even there.
"Guys, why are you doing this to me? What gives?"Little Ivy tried again, forcing her way between two children.
She finally managed to break through, only for every single child in the circle to stop at once. The spinning ended. Their laughter died.They all stared at her… with disgust.
"What is your problem, Ivy? Why do you keep interfering with us? We told you that we will not play with you anymore!"A small girl, the same age as Ivy, stepped forward with an angry voice.
"Why? Why are you all doing this to me? Are we not friends anymore?"Ivy's voice broke, pain replacing the cheerful tone she carried moments ago. She truly didn't understand. These were the friends who used to laugh with her every day…So why were they looking at her as if she were something dirty?
"We told you we don't want to play with you. That's all! Is it that hard to understand?"Another girl shouted, her voice sharp with irritation. And with her shout, everyone else's expressions twisted, disgust, judgment, and uneasiness.
"If… if I did something wrong, then I am really sorry,"Ivy said, her throat tight, her voice trembling."I promise I won't do it again."
Her heart sank as she looked at their faces, faces she trusted, faces she loved. Her gut twisted painfully, and she felt something like a stone stuck in her throat. She didn't even know what she was apologizing for… only that she didn't want to lose them.
Some of the boys and girls looked away, guilt flickering in their eyes. But one boy didn't flinch at all.
Jeff.
Bigger than the rest, taller, broader, older. His expression didn't soften. His smirk didn't fade. He stepped out boldly.
"It's not you who did something wrong, Ivy," He said loudly, making sure everyone could hear."It was your mother."
"What… what do you mean by that, Jeff?" Ivy asked, her voice still trembling.
Jeff's smirk widened.
"Come on. We all know your mother goes to Ironreach every day. Don't you think about what kind of job she's doing there?"
"What kind of job are you talking about? She's a maid there. She works hard every day!"For the first time, Ivy's voice carried determination instead of fear. She stood straighter, defending her mother with everything her little heart had.
"You're wrong, Ivy. My mother told me everything."Jeff looked around, proud of himself."And I told everyone here, too. Your mother is sleeping with every man there just to get some cash."
They were very heavy words for a small boy, but he threw them without hesitation, without mercy.
But Ivy… Ivy didn't understand them.
"No, you're wrong. My mother has only slept with me!"Her voice rose with childish certainty."There hasn't been a single day she wasn't with me during the night. So how could you say that?"
Watching the memory unfold, the older Ivy let out a broken chuckle, part bitterness, part sorrow. She was smiling because she knew just how naive and innocent she used to be.But she was furious too, because now she fully understood what that boy had meant… and how cruel it had been to say those words to a child who didn't even know their meaning.
The scene shifted again, still the same day, but later.This time, Ivy was standing in front of her small, worn-out house. Before her stood an adult woman, rage twisting her face, and behind her was a large boy covered in bruises from head to toe.
Two more women stood with her, their expressions hard. Ivy also had small scars on her own arms and face, fewer than the boy's, but still fresh.The boy behind the woman was Jeff.
"How dare you, you filth, lay your hands on my boy?!" the woman screamed hysterically, shoving Jeff forward as if displaying a trophy of injuries. "Look what you've done to my sweet child, you little monster!"
Jeff's entire face was a mess of scratches and swelling, hair tangled as he had rolled through dirt.Ivy stood at her doorway, shaking, but not from fear. From anger.
"It was he who started it first," Ivy shot back, fury burning in her small voice. "He shouldn't have said those things."
"What did you just say?"The woman stepped forward, her shadow swallowing Ivy.
Before Ivy could even breathe a word in reply, the woman's hand swung down like a hammer.
SMACK!A slap cracked through the street like thunder.
The slap exploded like thunder.Her vision blurred, and she hit the ground hard, pebbles digging into her palms.
"You bitch! You're just like your mother!" the woman spat, towering over the fallen child. "My boy only spoke the truth! Instead of leaving them alone, you attacked him, beat him until he bled, and now you dare talk back to me?!"
Hey, what are you doing? She is just a child. One of the Women shouted from behind after seeing Ivy fall down. But before the other women could do anything, it was too late.
The woman drew her leg back, and she kicked Ivy in the ribs with all her weight.
A sickening thud.Pain exploded through Ivy's body, and she curled instinctively, gasping for breath. From the look of it, the kick may have cracked something inside her.
"Where is your mother, huh?!" the woman screamed, raising her foot for another brutal kick.
Before she could strike again, the other two women lunged forward, grabbing her arms and pulling her back.
"Hey! Get a hold of yourself!" one of them shouted, looking at Ivy's small body trembling on the ground, tears mixing with dirt. "Don't you think you're going too far? She's just a child!"
"Yes, that is enough!" the second woman echoed, trying to restrain her.
But the enraged woman thrashed wildly, eyes wild with hatred. She wasn't calming down; she was getting worse.
Ivy's body folded, pain ripping across her side.A choked cry escaped her lips.Her ribs felt like they were on fire.
Jeff peeked from behind his mother with an ugly grin, his earlier whimper replaced by petty satisfaction.
"Let go of me!" the woman roared. "I'll teach this filthy mother-daughter pair a lesson once and for all!"
With a violent jerk, she broke free from their grip.Her foot lifted again, aiming straight for Ivy's face.
There was madness in her eyes now, a crazed fury that made Ivy's heart stop for a moment.
But just as her kick was about to land—
CRACK!
A fist slammed directly into the woman's jaw, snapping her head sideways and sending her stumbling back. Two teeth flew out as she crashed to the dirt.
"How dare you touch my child, you scum witch?!"
The voice thundered like a storm.
Standing there, breathing hard, hand bleeding, and fingers bent at odd angles,was Ivy's mother.
The punch she landed was so full of desperation and rage that she had broken some of her own fingers doing it.
Seeing her mother, Ivy felt relieved as her pain began to grow smaller. Seeing her mother like that, all of the pain was leaving her body.
Ivy, after living that scene once again, realised that she really did lose everything on the day after.