As the group and Hana stepped across the ruined threshold, they gasped. The Library, the majestic symbol of Sealer strength they had admired from outside, was a wrecked, smoldering husk within. Half the precious books were burnt to ash, and the internal structure had been reduced to a skeleton of cracked stone, a terrifying sign that the incident was far more catastrophic than any report suggested. Though the bodies of the deceased Sealers were nowhere to be found, the lingering scent of old, metallic blood hung thick in the air.

  "T-this is unexpected," Carol whispered, quickly covering her nose. The smell was so potent that a few flies buzzed audibly, trying to drink from the dried stains.

  "The spirits trapped here are outrageously angry. I can feel it," Hana said, tightly gripping her chest in a gesture of profound sympathy.

  Without hesitation, Hana stepped forward. Her wand morphed into the sacred neraca, a shining balance of light coming out from it. Instantly, the enraged spirits of the deceased Sealers, still consumed by betrayal, attacked her in a vortex of pure anger upon recognizing her as a Margias. Hana closed her eyes. The neraca pulsed with a brilliant, blinding light, and the spirits vanished. Some cried out in a final, agonizing shout, but others dissolved into the light with a sound of grateful, weeping joy, finally put to rest.

  Hana opened her eyes, brushing away a sudden glimpse of tears. The confrontation had brought back a terrifying memory she just discovered.

  Saria, instantly recognized the pain, walked toward her. Worried, she gently grasped Hana's hand. "M-Miss Hana? Are you truly okay? Why are you crying all of a sudden?"

  "I-It's nothing," Hana reassured her, pulling herself together. "But this spirit around here, isn't your usual Wraiths. They were powerful spirits, and when I purified them, I felt their memories and their crushing regret."

  "Is that a function of your light magic? That you can feel the past of the spirits you purify?" Saria asked, her voice soft with understanding.

  Hana gently brushed Saria's hair back. "You're right. Now, I have a clue." Hana changed her neraca back to her wand. "This memory, this regret, might be important if you want to get your friends back."

  "R-really, Miss Hana?" Saria asked, her voice tight.

  "It depends on you," Hana replied, her gaze firm. "It depends on how determined you and your group to face the past of this terrible place."

  Saria fell silent, but her response was clear. She simply tightened her grip on Hana's hand, making her instantly noticed Saria's message.

  (You've never ceased to surprise me, Saria. To think you're finally able to stand your ground.) Hana thought, giving the young girl a soft, encouraging smile as they walked back to rejoin the group.

  As they rejoined the others, a sudden spear shot like a bolt of lightning from a half-burned book resting on a nearby table, piercing Hana without warning. The group froze in wide-eyed horror, but Saria was utterly paralyzed, a silent scream catching in her throat.

  A crimson trail instantly leaked from Hana's mouth, and blood spilled like a river from her abdomen, quickly staining the ruined floor around her. She collapsed instantly, clutching the wound as the pain ripped through her.

  "M-Miss Hana...?" Saria stammered, her legs and arms trembling violently, overwhelmed by fear and shock.

  Desperate, Aria yanked a potion from her storage, scrambling to reach Hana. But a handful of dark, iron-like chains erupted from the shadows beside her, whipping toward her.

  Carol, reacting instinctively, shoved Aria away with a harsh jolt, allowing the chains to coil around her own body instead.

  Just then, a few claps echoed in the corridor, growing louder and more chilling with every step.

  "What a splendid performance, Margias," a voice sneered, sinister and malicious. "Quite surprising that there's actually a Margias who cares about one another. I heard they only think about themselves and nothing more."

  The group's expressions hardened. The figure was none other than Hindrey, flanked by Erick and Dulcinia. The book, which had shot the spear, smoothly flew toward Hindrey's waiting hand. As it made contact, its structure transformed from a half-burned wreck into a pristine, glossy tome of fresh knowledge.

  "But no matter," Hindrey said, adjusting the book in his grasp. "As long as we eliminate you all, the plan should smoothly take place."

  He commanded the book to rise. It hovered above them, instantly conjuring an enormous fireball that pulsed with a raw, oppressive heat, a heat stronger than Aria's own spell.

  "Sorry for this, will you?" he smiled casually, the kindness failing to hide the menace in his eyes. "We just don't want an obstacle standing in our way."

  Carol, though still caught in the chains, stared intensely at the towering fireball. The oppressive heat and raw power triggered a sudden, catastrophic psychological episode, reminding her of the same burned heat in her past The air in her vision began to flicker, overlaying the present scene with the glitching image of her burning village. The muffled screams of the villagers grew deafening, and her dark irises slowly bled to a malignant red. The trauma and the uncontrollable rage of the Dark Ender fueled her.

  With a shriek of strained metal, the chains binding her began to pulverize and snap under the sheer force of the dark energy.

  Free, Carol erupted into motion, rushing toward Hindrey with terrifying speed, her fist empowered with raw Dark Ender energy. However, Dulcinia and Erick were already prepared, raising a sturdy, light-infused barrier between her and their mentor. Carol pushed forward, the sheer effort causing a slight part of her hair to slowly turn chalk-white as she poured more Dark Ender into the attack.

  But the barrier was too sturdy for a punch. The moment her fist connected, the knockback force slammed her violently back against the wall, leaving a deep indentation in the stone.

  (A girl who can use Dark Ender. Why does it remind me of...?) Hindrey quickly shook his head, instantly dropping the thought. (No. I don't have a time for that. For now, I have to focus on the plan.)

  In a surprising turn, Carol immediately charged toward Hindrey, ignoring the pain of the recent impact. Her sword, now its light laced with black shadow, slashed down heavily. Hindrey, despite his shock at Carol's sheer resilience, managed to summon a barrier. Her sword struck with such brutal force that it sent Hindrey hurtling backward, slamming him against the far wall of the next corridor. Carol rushed forward, readying for the next, lethal attack.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Noticing her movement, Dulcinia and Erick quickly launched the same dark chains that had bound Carol, aiming to restrain her again. But the passage was instantly blocked by a dense, jagged terrain of Azure Ice that erupted from the floor.

  "She's not the only opponent you have, bastard," Rein declared, his voice cold and fueled by deep fury. He immediately morphed his wand into his Azure Lance.

  Aria's expression hardened with burning rage, and she mirrored Rein, transforming her wand into a weapon. Saria, despite her terror over Hana's condition, clenched her fists and gave a silent, deadly serious expression as she, too, morphed her wand. Noire, stepping into his role as the Defender, transformed his wand into a solid shield, positioning himself to protect Hana, who was already in the process of recovering after receiving Aria's potion, although his fury were genuinely the same with the rest of the group.

  With their escape route blocked, Dulcinia and Erick, without any choice left, decided to prepared for a fight.

  "Tch. You Margias really love making us suffer. What an absolute asshole," Erick snarled, his expression hardening as he pulled out his book and flung it open to a battle-ready page.

  Carol accelerated her speed further, unleashing her spell: Wind Agnis. Her sword was now entirely enveloped in the malignant shadow of the Dark Ender. Hindrey, still staggering from the shattered barrier, ripped out a spear from his book's pages.

  Their weapons met in a screech of metal. Carol's corrupted sword struck the handle of Hindrey's spear. Their gazes locked, showing two mirrored expressions: the deep scar of grief, a fierce vengeance for the happiness stolen from them.

  "Quite strong for a young Margias like you," Hindrey sneered, a small grin pulling at his lips. "Too bad you were born a Margias and not a Sealer."

  "That flame, that level of heat... It was you, wasn't it?" Carol demanded, gripping her sword so tightly her knuckles whitened. "Tell me, you bastard. Were you the one who burned my village?"

  Hindrey paused, falling into a brief, casual thought. His expression clearing as the memory surfaced. "Ah, I see. So that's what you mean."

  He broke the deadlock, swinging his spear in a brutal arc to knock Carol away. She immediately braced her ground, using the flat of her sword's body to defend. The spear struck with crushing force, and the small, existential crack on her blade visibly deepened. She felt a sickening fragility, the defense strained her body to its limit.

  The impact moderately pushed her back. As a result, she collapsed into ragged, gasping pants. Her headache spiked violently, and the strange, white discoloration of her hair instantly covered nearly half of her dark locks.

  "The burning village. I suppose that was about a decade ago, wasn't it?" Hindrey continued, completely unbothered. "It's been a while, with all the weird requests I get from that man."

  "That man... Is it the same Gaia Holder?" Carol forced the words out, trying desperately to pull herself together.

  "If 'Holder' is the title you Margias use for the higher-ups in your society, then maybe. I don't remember the full picture. The only thing I remember was that he requested me for doing a burning against one village."

  "And you just accepted it?" Her voice was shaking with pure, agonizing frustration. "Don't you know there were many innocent lives inside that village you just killed?!"

  "I know," Hindrey said, his voice entirely flat. "And I don't care anyway. I only accepted it for the sake of money. After me and the other Sealer survivors lost everything, we decided to focus only on ourselves. We still want to live, after all."

  As she heard his reason, that the ruin of her life was simply a transaction, the simple, pure goal of her vengeance slowly crumbled piece by agonizing piece, forcing her to question every choice she had made.

  Dulcinia pulled her heavy mace from her book and immediately charged toward Saria. Saria, reacting instantly, fired a flurry of Light Arrows that travelled like white streaks. Dulcinia read the movements with ease, weaving through every projectile without a scratch. Closing the distance, Dulcinia leaped high above Saria, bringing her mace down hard. The impact shattered the stone floor, sending a river of dust and flying rock everywhere.

  Saria backed down just in time, but from the cloud of debris, the book shine with a malevolent light, casting a dark chain to bind her. Despite the shock of the ambush, Saria remained calm, snapping a barrier into existence. The chain pierced the light shield in one smooth thrust, but the brief delay was enough to give Saria a precious moment to retreat.

  More chains whipped out, and Saria countered, firing an equal number of arrows. Some chains were repelled, but one slipped through the defense, its deadly, shining point screaming toward her face. She managed to duck, but the move was a trap. Dulcinia was already in front of her face, suddenly filling Saria's vision. The heavy mace slammed into Saria's side. The impact was brutal, sending Saria flying toward the wall. She slid down the stone, coughing a painful spray of blood.

  "Saria!" Rein roared, his focus momentarily ripped from his own battle.

  "Eyes up here, dumbass!" Erick barked, leaping at Rein with sickles flashing in both hands.

  Thankfully, Aria intervened, sliding in to defend Rein with her broadsword. The defensive block sent a strong shockwave up her arms, forcing her to press her teeth together in painful frustration.

  "You don't have to worry about her, Rein! We still have our own battle to do!" Aria strained the words out, struggling to hold Erick's furious assault. With a grunt, she pushed Erick away with all her strength.

  Rein closed his eyes, his furious gaze lingering on Saria's still form, before snapping his focus back to the fight. He accepted the painful necessity of ignoring her.

  "Heh, that's more like it," Erick sneered, showing an arrogant grin as he landed lightly. "I really despise someone who just focuses on others when I'm standing right here."

  Aria snorted. "Is that so? What makes you so special?"

  "Here, everyone's afraid of me. They call me a Shadow Blood for what I've done, you know?" His Ender surged violently, making both Aria and Rein tense up in wary sweat. "The moment they pull their eyes away from me, suffering is inevitable."

  A sudden, shallow cut appeared on Rein's cheek. He blinked, confused. "What did you..?"

  Erick giggled menacingly, the wide grin of a deadly killer splitting his face. "You're going to be one of my victims here. Prepare yourself, Margias!"

  He became a blur, vanishing instantly from Aria and Rein's sight. The two immediately backed away from each other, their senses strained, unable to detect the displacement of his Ender.

  In a sudden, shocking appearance, Erick materialized directly in front of Rein, swinging his sickle against Rein's lance. Though the impact was heavy in the front, Rein's back was simultaneously slashed with a deep, agonizing wound.

  (Wha...What the hell is this pain? Where did that hit come from!) Rein thought, struggling to turn and see the damage.

  "I already told you, right?"

  Rein spun, panic rising, but Erick was gone. As the attacker instantly reappeared behind Rein's back, a wave of Ender pressure—the chilling feeling of a predator claiming its prey—washed over Rein. Desperate, Rein thrust his lance into the ground, detonating a vast, defensive ring of ice spikes around him.

  Erick clicked his tongue in annoyance, forced to back away from the sudden barrier. Aria seized the moment, her broadsword covered in fiery flame, slicing toward his neck. Erick only smiled, blocking the attack with his sickles. The impact threw him hard against the wall, destroying a section of the ruined structure. However, Aria's attack wasn't enough. Erick stood up, fine as wine, merely cracking his neck like he was stretching after a field day.

  "What a monster," Aria breathed, nervously gripping her sword as she faced the terrifying opponent.