Filip drops to his knees. "Please let me go. I won't report what I saw." Sweat pours down his face as he speaks with a trembling voice.

  The man on the ground holds onto his leg. Filip looks down at him. The shadow lunges with his knife drawn.

  In mid-air, a brown aura erupts from the man with the fur. The shadow guards his face with his arms and gets hit by the claws of the bear that materializes before him.

  He rolls across the ground upon impact. His left arm bleeds heavily. He looks ahead, Filip and the man have vanished.

  "Crap, I can't let them escape now." He runs toward the light.

  He reaches the street, disoriented by the lively atmosphere surrounding him. He glances down at his injured arm, tears a strip of fabric from his red kimono, and ties it around the wound to stop the bleeding.

  He looks left and right, still confused by the abundance of people crowding the area.

  "One of them was injured. They couldn't have gotten far." He mutters to himself in a low voice.

  He pulls down his black hood. "Hirou would complain about this. But that guy, I didn't pay attention to him. I never sensed he was following me." He bites his thumb. "Big sis is going to be in serious trouble."

  Like the shadow he is, he disappears into the crowd.

  Everest's Perspective:

  I lie on the bed facing the ceiling.

  After getting back home, I haven't seen Filip. It's customary for him to return late, but I thought in anticipation of my probable good performance, he would be here early.

  He's originally the one to set up these kinds of events. Merlin isn't in town and Tora is still on duty. I wish I had someone to tell about how I feel.

  The thought of Melissa briefly crosses my mind.

  Why am I thinking about her? The thought of Elydia would make more sense.

  I sit up, pulling the sheet aside.

  Not only have I failed miserably as a hero, I do the same in being faithful.

  I climb off the bed and open the window.

  The moon shines fully bright tonight. If only, like the rarity of its brightness, I could be lucky enough to be selected.

  Maybe instead of entertaining such thoughts, I should think about going back to the village. Spending time here with them will only make me feel miserable for missing my chance.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  My throat is dry. I head out in search of something to drink.

  I enter the motel from the back door.

  "Hey, Tora… do you have something for me to drink?"

  My eyes lock with those of a blue-haired beauty. Melissa stands directly in front of me.

  She smiles. "Hey… it's been a while since you left me hanging."

  "Do you two know each other?" Tora asks.

  Pointing at me, Melissa answers. "Yeah, more or less. He was a very nervous boy I happened to meet today."

  "So it hasn't been that long." Tora looks at me. "I would've been surprised. He's here basically every day. If he managed to meet other girls on a whim, my impression of him would change drastically." Her voice turns cold.

  "Is that so? Then book me for two weeks." Melissa smiles.

  I have nothing to say. They really do match each other.

  "I'm still thirsty, by the way. Can I have a drink?"

  "You can go get water from the tap yourself." Tora pouts.

  Melissa looks amused by the situation.

  "Fine." I walk to the tap on the wall of the motel. "I expected you to offer anything else but water."

  I turn on the tap.

  Clink!

  The doorbell rings.

  I turn around to look.

  Filip, covered in red, stands at the front door. I drop the cup.

  Melissa and Tora rush to him.

  I freeze in a state between concern and confusion. The man he's carrying on his back is number 09.

  Why are they together, and why are they injured?

  Filip sets him down. "Please take care of this guy. I'm fine." He breathes heavily.

  Tora focuses on him, dirtying her apron to wipe the blood from his face before realizing he has no injuries.

  "But this blood…" She covers her mouth. "Don't tell me all of it is coming from him."

  Filip grabs her shoulder. "Hurry! Do something or he might die for real." His face turns ashen.

  Tora is frightened by the sudden outburst, a tear threatening to fall. "Fine, I'll do what I can." She rushes to the body.

  "Let me help you carry him." Melissa suggests. "We shouldn't let the other residents become aware of this scene. Don't you think, hero?" She looks at me.

  They carry the man upstairs.

  She's right. I need to clean the place. But what about Filip? He looks like he's returned from purgatory itself.

  I wipe down the blood on the ground using a loose towel from behind the counter.

  "Hey, Filip… I think you should take a bath."

  He hasn't moved from there for a while now.

  I place my hand on his shoulder. "If you don't want to, at least tell me what happened."

  "Tell us what happened."

  I turn around, startled to see Melissa has already finished tending to the injured man.

  "I'm not really of use to the lady. She's pretty much doing the work perfectly by herself." She grins. "But our guy here needs to give us some answers. That man... he was outstanding among us. I doubt anybody could take down someone like that except the soldiers themselves." She kneels and places her hand on Filip's head. "For your own good, I think it would be appropriate to speak now. The trauma should make you exaggerate your narrative, and that's exactly what I'm looking for. Only a twisted narrative will describe the type of threat we're dealing with."

  Filip's face contorts with fear.

  I pull Melissa back. "What do you think you're doing? Can't you see he's in shock?"

  "But we need to know."

  "Yes, maybe when he's more comfortable."

  "It's fine, Everest. I'll speak." Filip's voice breaks through. "On the street while heading home, I encountered a group of three people in red kimonos and red hoods. They were discussing a tomb. When they spotted me, one started following me. The man upstairs tried to intervene on my behalf but got injured. I found this… I actually took it from our pursuer." Filip pulls out a necklace from his pocket.

  A kind of 'O' symbol with a cross and a line across it gleams on the glass bead in the center.

  "Lambda." Melissa's eyes widen. "If those people are from that cult, then it's definitely not just some random tomb." She sweats. "If we get our hands on what they're actually planning, we'll most likely be generously rewarded for it."

  I've never seen her this thrilled. And what is this cult she's talking about?