Morning arrived with music.
A small orchestra echoed through the simple streets of the village's tiny capital. Instruments far too refined for houses far too humble.
The villagers already knew what that meant.
"Again?"
"Wait… the king again?"
"Why do they come here every week?"
"There must be some hidden treasure in this place…"
"Or someone dangerous hiding here. He even brought the entire elite squad."
The cavalry crossed the main street with impeccable precision.
Unbreakable auras.
Cold gazes.
Absolute silence.
Erik opened a wide smile.
"He came to see me!"
Some people laughed.
"Erik… you're talented, sure. But would the king cross the entire country just for you?"
"Hey! Hey!!"
Erik ran forward trying to get their attention. He waved. He shouted.
But the orchestra drowned out his voice.
Not a single member of the Royal Squad turned their head.
The music continued.
⸻
Isaac observed everything with his usual confused expression.
"This is the third time we've come to this tiny place."
Kazume stood still, serious.
"Every time I step here… I see a face."
Isaac glanced sideways.
"What face?"
"Covered in darkness. Blurred. Distant… as if it were outside the world itself."
Isaac crossed his arms.
"The presence here really is different. But why doesn't the king tell us anything? Every Saturday. Same time."
Aiko answered calmly.
"Because every time we try to ask… he disappears before we can."
Kazume closed his eyes for a moment.
"Either way… stay alert."
Meanwhile, Erik held the necklace against his chest.
The shine in his eyes was still there.
Deep down… he knew.
It wasn't because of him.
But he wanted it to be.
⸻
The scene shifts.
Ryo's house.
Ryo, Nara, and Bill.
Training.
Much simpler than Erik's training.
None of them knew how to use elemental magic.
No one could sense anyone's aura.
Only dreams.
The camera slowly pulls away.
Forest.
Three kilometers away.
At the top of a tree, a silhouette watched.
Oliver.
Below, Ryo and his siblings continued training.
"You really want to enter the tournament, Ryo?"
Oliver's voice was serious. Slightly trembling.
Ryo suddenly felt watched.
He looked toward the forest.
⸻
Cut.
Isaac and Kazume walking.
Kazume suddenly stops.
His hand trembles.
He doesn't mention it.
But he feels it.
"Something strange is happening right now."
Isaac notices.
"Your instincts are warning you, aren't they?"
Kazume doesn't answer.
But the air becomes heavier.
⸻
The weekly event begins.
Almost the entire village gathers.
Then—
Pow.
Pow.
Pow.
Gunshots from the forest.
Aiko was already moving.
"I feel like someone is doing something wrong out there."
"Let's check it out," said Susumo.
Villagers panic.
"I told you there were dangerous people here!"
"We can't even have peace here!"
They run toward the royal squad.
A circle of curious onlookers forms.
Kahl rolls his eyes.
"Ugh… these people are annoying."
He raises his hand.
"Hey, you bunch of country bumpkins. Move."
A storm of lightning explodes on the ground in front of the crowd.
Screams.
Fire.
"That's enough, Kahl," Kazume says.
⸻
Forest.
Aiko runs between branches.
"It was about four kilometers from here!"
She leaps to the top of a tree.
Stops.
Five men hang upside down.
Bound tightly by thick vines.
Their weapons captured too.
Susumo appears beside her.
"Was it that kid?"
Aiko's eyes widen.
"When did he stop here? A moment ago he was trying to get attention! They were animal hunters… almost extinct species."
Susumo smiles slightly.
"So he wanted attention."
"And he got it."
Aiko laughs.
"He's good."
For a brief moment—
The scene cuts.
King Oliver feels a talent in the forest.
He looks back.
In Erik's direction.
He saw it.
He felt it.
The wind shifts.
⸻
Aiko and Susumo land in front of Erik.
Erik is too calm.
Too cold.
"Well. These belong to you."
He walks away without looking back.
Aiko watches him.
"That kid is really good… so it really was him."
"Whatever. Let's grab these idiots and get out of here," Susumo says.
He touches the forehead of each hanging man.
One by one.
They fall unconscious immediately.
Silence.
Aiko grows serious.
That boy was different.
Almost ready.
⸻
Three kilometers away.
Ryo suddenly stops training.
He looks directly into the forest.
Exactly where Oliver had been.
Oliver feels the gaze.
And disappears.
"Ryo? Ryo?" Nara calls.
"Oh… sorry. I thought I saw something deep in the forest."
Bill frowns.
"There are only trees there. How could you even see that far? That's humanly impossible."
Ryo scratches his head.
"I don't know… I felt something. Probably just my imagination."
But it wasn't.
⸻
Later.
Isaac and Kazume rest beneath a tree.
Silence.
The wind blows.
A presence appears.
They look to the side.
Oliver is standing there.
No sound.
No warning.
"I need to tell you something."
Bill's narration echoes:
"With every passing moment, the truth moves closer to the surface.
For many, the truth does not exist.
But for a few…
It is destiny."
End of Chapter 3.