The cult meeting had long since dispersed; in the dim courtyard, the smoke of the candles still clung to the air, and the scent of blood and incense soaked into the stone ground burned the throat. Kurumi and Hu were waiting for Sae beneath the massive tree behind the cult house, its trunk split with deep cracks—but Kurumi’s tension was impossible to hide. Her fingers kept tangling together, her shoulders tensing without her noticing, her eyes scanning even the lines in the bark as if searching for threats.

  Hu had noticed. He could clearly see that Kurumi was on edge, though he couldn’t quite understand why. Still, he thought to himself that he should at least try to calm her down a little.

  “Most likely, Sae is going to talk to us about a mission,” Hu said, his voice softer than usual, almost reassuring.

  Kurumi swallowed. Missions no longer excited her; on the contrary, each new one tightened something inside her chest, settling along her spine like a cold fear. One small mistake… just a moment of carelessness… could be enough to lose Hu, or Sae. She needed to become stronger. She had to improve. She couldn’t afford to be weak anymore. As she thought, From now on, my life will be very different, the weight of that realization pressed heavily against her chest—and at that moment, Sae appeared.

  He had pulled the hood of his cult uniform over his head. His white hair fell in front of his gray eyes, and in those eyes lay a deep, bone-weary exhaustion. When he spoke, his voice was short and sharp.

  “I’ll keep this brief,” he said.

  “As you know, Veil of Shadows doesn’t control many regions anymore. But we still provide limited protection to some nearby towns.”

  The moment Kurumi heard this, she understood. There had to be a serious problem involving the nearby settlements; otherwise, Sae wouldn’t concern himself with matters like this. Sae continued, as if every word was a burden.

  “There’s a town to the east. Wuuds Town. There are many rumors about people disappearing there. That’s why you’ll come with me for an inspection. We’ll spend one night there and see what’s going on.”

  Kurumi nodded in agreement. It was strange… unsettling. People vanishing was no ordinary matter. She turned to Hu. He didn’t look convinced. There was a slight hardness in his expression, as if he suspected Sae was hiding something.

  As Sae turned to leave, Hu’s voice stopped him.

  “Sae,” Hu said, clearly and more firmly than ever before.

  “It feels like you haven’t told us everything. About the situation.”

  Kurumi looked back and forth between Sae and Hu in surprise. This was the first time she had seen Hu confront Sae so directly. Sae turned around; Kurumi noticed that deep fatigue in his eyes again. He fell silent for a moment, then let out a deep sigh and turned his gaze forward as he spoke.

  “I’ll go over the remaining details later, Hu.”

  Hu visibly relaxed after that answer, even smiling as he gave a casual “okay” gesture with his hand. Sae, meanwhile, disappeared from sight.

  Kurumi and Hu were left alone. Kurumi looked at Hu; she was certain something was on his mind, and she knew she wouldn’t find out unless she asked. Hu sat beneath the tree, plucking the petals from a small flower, as if he hadn’t just questioned Sae moments ago.

  Unable to hold back, Kurumi stepped closer.

  “Hu… why did you say Sae was hiding something?”

  Hu responded only with a laugh. There were things even he wasn’t sure about.

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  “Don’t worry,” he said. “Sae will tell us on the way.”

  Kurumi felt disappointed—and a little irritated. Hu had criticized Sae, only to do the same thing himself. Still, no matter how annoyed she was, what truly mattered was tomorrow’s mission.

  As Hu waved and left, he said, “We’ll meet here tomorrow.”

  Kurumi nodded. Her black hair fell over her eyes; she brushed it aside with her hand. She looked at the massive tree beside her and whispered to herself.

  “So this is where we’ll meet… Fine. I’ll do everything I can.”

  The next day, just as expected, someone was already waiting by the tree. White hair fluttered in the wind—it was Sae. He was leaning against the trunk with his arms crossed. But there was a problem: Sae was getting impatient. He took a deep breath.

  “Where are those two rookies?” he muttered.

  While Sae waited, Kurumi was facing a serious problem of her own. She had forgotten where she’d put the bow she received from Rex. She tugged anxiously at her hair.

  “Where did I put it…?”

  Just then, there was a knock at the door. Kurumi opened it to find Hu standing outside, arms crossed.

  “Kurumi!” he shouted.

  “Where have you been? I’ve been waiting for you for ten minutes. Sae is going to kill us!”

  Kurumi swallowed and grabbed Hu by the knees.

  “Please help me,” she said. “I lost my bow.”

  Hu slapped his hand against his forehead.

  “Alright,” he said. “Let’s look for it.”

  The search didn’t take long. Kurumi had hung the bow on the door. Hu found it in two minutes, then stared at Kurumi.

  “Are you actually blind,” he said, “or do you only ever look at the ground?”

  Kurumi gave a dazed smile.

  “I think I’m just a bit clumsy,” she murmured.

  They rushed out of the cult house together. As Kurumi ran, she kept thinking about how Sae would react. Will he be really angry? With those thoughts, they reached the tree, both of them out of breath. Expecting a harsh response, they instead found Sae giving them only a brief glance.

  “Let’s go,” he said.

  And he started walking.

  Kurumi and Hu exchanged confused looks, then hurried after him when they realized Sae was already moving away. As the three of them headed toward the town, the same question kept circling in Kurumi’s mind: what was the detail Hu and Sae hadn’t mentioned? Even though she was wary of Sae, she had to know. She took a deep breath to gather her courage.

  “Sae,” she said. “You were going to explain the details.”

  Sae kept walking, his composure unbroken. Without losing the cold, distant image he always carried—more like a child than a man—he spoke.

  “It’s believed there’s a Void creature in the town.”

  Hu’s expression changed instantly.

  “Are you serious?” he said.

  “A Void creature? One of the ones from the ancient Runeland legends? That’s impossible.”

  Kurumi had heard those legends too. Void creatures were beings that waited in another dimension. According to the myths, if someone ever convinced a god and gained control over them, all life in Runeland would be consumed until nothing remained. But there was a problem: these creatures existed in another dimension and didn’t act without commands. What could a single one be doing in this town?

  Hu spoke suspiciously.

  “This doesn’t make sense. In the legends, Void creatures are described as savage beings that tear apart and devour anything they find. They don’t hunt humans one by one.”

  Sae stopped. They had arrived at the town.

  “You’re right,” he said. “But normally, it shouldn’t be here either.”

  Kurumi thought about it. If this Void creature was different from the others… if it had gained consciousness within Runeland… The idea was chilling. She hesitated, unsure whether to say it aloud; maybe it was a foolish thought. While she was still thinking, Sae stepped into the town. The surroundings were silent, as if the people had evaporated into nothingness.

  After walking a little farther, they stopped in front of an inn nestled among wooden houses.

  “We’re going inside,” Sae said.

  “We’ll keep watch through the night and find the Void creature.”

  Kurumi and Hu nodded.

  When they entered the inn, a strange man stood at the reception desk—his yellow eyes glowed oddly, and he looked half like a rabbit.

  “Welcome, children,” the man said, his voice filled with artificial cheer.

  “How may I help you?”

  “We’ll be staying for one night,” Sae said.

  The man nodded without hesitation.

  “Of course. The room upstairs is yours,” he said, handing over the key.

  The man’s behavior unsettled Kurumi. Giving a room to three twelve-year-olds without asking any questions… those yellow eyes… Maybe she was overthinking it. But the unease inside her wouldn’t fade.

  When they entered the room, Kurumi sat down on the edge of the bed. It was clear that a long, disturbing night awaited them.

  And inside her mind, Kurumi heard a voice whisper:

  In this town… there is more than just one creature.