Ats sat quietly with Zara on a long bench overlooking a sereificial ke he city’s tral park. The sky dimmed as shades e and purple stretched across the horizon. Nearby, the rest of their team lingered around the parked caravans, giving the two of them space.

  For a while, her of them said a word. Zara gazed bnkly at the calm water. Ats mirrored her silence, his eyes fixed on the gentle ripples of the ke.

  Until, it was Ats who finally broke the stillness. “What does it feel like…” he began, his voice low. “To take someone’s life?”

  Zara’s eyes wide the ued question, and she turo look at him. “My Lord…” she started, but her voice faltered.

  She csped her hands together nervously before finding her words. “At first… it felt painful,” she admitted. “But, over time, I began to uand…”

  She paused, her voice dropping as if weighed down by the truth she was about to share. “In this world, we only survive by defending ourselves… or by killing our enemies.”

  Ats took a deep breath, nodding slowly at her words.

  “You didn’t say anything when I told the team we were heading to this city,” he said after a moment.

  Zara remained silent, her gaze falling to the ground.

  “What do you feel?”

  Her shoulders tensed, and she lowered her head further. “Anger,” she finally admitted, her voice trembling.

  Ats sighed deeply, standing and tinuing to look out over the ke. “I’m giving you the opportunity you need,” he said. “Take it, or we’ll leave this city.”

  The sileretched between them once more.

  After a few moments, Zara rose to her feet, lifting her head. Her voice was clear as she spoke. “I will take this opportunity, My Lord.”

  Ats turo face her, pg a hand on her left shoulder.

  “We are all on the same isnd, Zara. The same fate. We’re not just teammates; we’re family. Your pain is my pain. Our pain.”

  She hesitated for a moment, then nodded firmly. “I will work hard and remain loyal to you forever.”

  Ats gave her a small smile. “I know you’ll bee someoraordinary. You have the potential.”

  They decided to camp by the ke that night, a on open area often used by awakeners passing through the city to hunt in nearby zones or dungeons. The space was wide, with each group settling into separate areas, giving everyone enough room for privacy. Although some groups were close to each other, it still felt spacious and peaceful.

  Ats had already sent Kurogasa on a reaissance mission to gather intel oarget—the city mayor’s residence. While Ats could have easily taken direct a to settle this grudge, Edrik had devised a more strategi, ohat would deliver a far more devastating blow to their adversary.

  As the hours passed and night fell, the group remained on high alert, waiting for Kurogasa’s signal to proceed with their move. Edrik, meanwhile, was focused on his own preparations to ehe p off without a hitch.

  A message arrived from Edrik. “This city mayor seems to be quite the gangster. He’s got plenty of awakeners with levels above 50 statio his residence.”

  Ats read the message silently.

  The note tinued. “Well, o worry though. Manna and Kurogasa alone are more than enough to deal with them.”

  Ats smirked faintly.

  Kaida and Garen prepared dinner for the group, setting up a small barbecue as the evening deepehe st of grilled meat filled the air, mingling with the cool breeze from the ke.

  It was a strangely serene night, the kind of tranquility rarely found in a desert city. The lush grass, the ke, and the surrounding trees made it feel like a different world entirely.

  Manna sat alone on a benear the water, her gaze distant as she stared at the ke. Ats approached her, carrying two ptes of food and two bottles of drink. Without a word, he set them dowweehen sat beside her, taking a bite of his grilled meat.

  For a while, her of them spoke. Maually picked up her pte and begaing in silence.

  Moments like these were rare for Ats—moments where he could sit and talk without the pressure of training, pnning, hting weighing on his shoulders.

  Earlier, he had spent time discussing strategies with Edrik and Kurogasa during their journey, shared personal refles with Zara by the ke, and checked in with the other team leaders he fire.

  Now, he wao talk with Manna.

  But what could he say that would i her?

  Blood?

  No, talking about blood would only lead the versation into territory that could ruimosphere. It wasn’t the right time for that.

  Perhaps… ask about her world?

  Ats weighed his options, sidering what might genuinely capture the Vampire Queen’s i. But maybe, just maybe, a glimpse into her past would pique her i.

  “Do you know the gra sughter I’ve ever done?” Manna’s voice broke the silence, catg Ats off guard.

  He turo her, surprised by the ued ent. She still stared out at the ke.

  “Mind sharing?” he asked cautiously.

  Manna turo him, her crimson eyes—which usually fred to life under certain ditions—noeared dimmer, almost muted. Those fiery eyes often served as a refle of her emotional state, glowing faintly in moments of tension but bzing at their brightest when she was on the cusp of battle. Now, however, they seemed subdued, not sure what was the reason.

  “I killed a world,” she said.

  “The whole p?”

  “Yes.”

  He took a moment to process her words, the weight of them sinking iroying a world wasn’t just an act of war—it was annihition on an unfathomable scale. The kind of quest he had thought was nothing more than exaggerated tales.

  "Only by killing we grow strohat’s the rule," she tinued. "So if you’re hesitating about this, just let me show you how it’s dohe right way."

  “Do I look like I’m hesitating?”

  “That’s a foolish way of thinking,” she said. “If you’re questioning the morality of it all, you’re wasting your energy. The only ones who matter are those who have pledged their loyalty to you.”

  Ats stayed silent, digesting her perspective. Was she reading his thoughts? Or had she merely seen through him?

  “If you think I’m insane, you’re wrong,” Manna said, her voice rising slightly. “You hold me back with your inexperienced mi.”

  Ats remained calm, choosing not to interrupt, sensing that she o let her thoughts flow freely.

  “The only way to survive is to bee stronger. And the only way to do that is by killing!”

  She turned fully to him. “Kill or be killed,” she said firmly.

  She tinued, "I’m being generous by artig my words so carefully."

  Ats felt the anger burning inside him ever since he found out what had happeo Zara. He knew he couldn’t just ig without doing something. That same feeling he felt when he learned about Mira’s past—how her cssmates at the academy didn’t just bully her but even killed her parents right in front of her.

  "If you think you seek peace by other means, you’re wrong," Manna pressed on. "I’ve lived long enough to prove that’s not possible!"

  "Your path will not be easy," she added.

  At that moment, Ats’s Awakener Device chimed. A message from Edrik fshed across the s, firming that the pn was unfolding as predicted and that the follow-up would ence immediately.

  Ats stood, and the Vampire Queen rose with him. They faced each other in sileheir eyes locked. The moment was brief, yet it seemed to stret forever.

  “You’re doing… not worse,” she finally said.

  A faint smile tugged at his lips. Maybe that was the highest praise he could hope for from the Vampire Queen.

  Perhaps it was the first time he’d heard her speak so mu oting, or maybe she had far more to say than he’d ever given her credit for. After all, she had once been a Rank-9 Immortal—a Lord with thousands of years of experience, victories, as etched into her eternal life.

  Ats took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a brief moment before opening them again. His calm expression hardened.

  As long as he could still walk freely in this world, no—he would never doubt his decisions!

  “Let’s go,” he said firmly.

  Manna’s lips curved into a faint smile, and her crimson eyes fred to life in response.