Blood trailed down from Rodrick's eyes. Hands clawing deep into his skin, as if to try and scratch inside his own skull. A hoarse scream filled the air with his misery… The very fabric of his sanity was slowly unraveling, thread by thread.

Seizing the opportunity, Soren forced himself into a crawl toward Myrin's body. Though, it proved to be the wrong choice. Flush with anger, Rodrick's anima roared and howled as the sharp wind swirled around him. In an instant, Soren and Myrin were pushed away by the powerful gust.

Holding onto his companion, Soren grit his teeth and channeled what was left of his measly anima while trying to stand back up…

Tazzith, you bastard! You're there, right? Lend me some more anima!

He heard a response back almost immediately: "Lending you more will harm your sanity."

I don't care! He replied. There was a moment of silence before he heard a sigh:

"Alright."

"What the hell did you do to me?!" Rodrick clenched his face tightly—a grotesque expression of pain and misery taking over his face. "What are those visions?!"

Hearing his question, Soren looked into his eyes for a moment—the madness within reflecting his own visage. Then, he smiled:

"An original sin. One that will hopefully never be repeated."

As he said this, Myrin's eyes finally began to flutter to life once more. The Elven Songster looked around in shock, then immediately understood his next task. With whatever's left of his anima, he began to cast a healing spell on Soren, who's injuries were worse than his.

As this was happening, the anger within Rodrick was boiling over. A part of him wanted nothing more than to slice these two brats to pieces, but the visions he was seeing… They were making any kind of concrete thought impossible. He struggled against his own mind as the scenes continued to play endlessly on repeat.

Forgetting what he had seen… was impossible.

As this was happening, Soren wasted no time to recast his Fairy Blades spell. Soon, a glass-like sword would manifest before them.

Then, a distant rumble began to echo in their ears. Even Rodrick, who was busy trying to claw his way into his own brain, noticed something was odd… It was a low sound—one that seemed to come from all directions.

Seeing this, Soren couldn't help but chuckle. "And this is my second gift to you. Did you think those swords I used were just decoys? Before your arrival, I had analyzed the entire layout of this ruined city, you know. Each sword was placed exactly where they need to be to attract the most attention if you were to attack them…"

Soren understood just how powerful Rodrick's attacks were. He had seen them first hand. So it was no surprise that he had factored that into the equation from the very beginning. With how loud each of the wind blades were, attracting unsavory attention was bound to happen, but Soren decided to exacerbate the issue even more. With the placement of his swords, each of Rodrick's attacks against them would create powerful shockwaves that would traverse not only this dungeon floor, but the one below it as well…

"Soon, a menagerie of horrors will arrive here…" And now that the Blood Amulet was no longer protecting the Safe Zone… nothing will stand in their way.

Indeed, from the very start, he had designed the battle to play out exactly like this. Albeit, with a few minor miscalculations… This was most evident with his debut in this fight. Soren from the very start, didn't have the Blood Amulet on him. He had revealed himself from the start so that Rodrick became aware that he had stolen it.

All of this was done purposefully to lower his suspicions and make him think he had the full picture already. In Rodrick's mind, obtaining that amulet was already guaranteed the moment he saw it… Unaware that it was nothing more than a trap all along.

Soren shook his head slightly. This is the problem with greedy fools… They can only think in terms of gains and losses.

After spending a bit of time with Rodrick, he had already picked up on most of his ques and habits. A noble turned mercenary. Someone who yearns for freedom but also lusts over status and gold. There was no way in hell he would ever ignore a sparkling treasure pointed at his face.

And more than that, he was also someone who saw others as nothing more than entertainment. A person like that… Even when they say they aren't underestimating you, they will still overestimate themselves. In his mind, he probably already thought that even if Soren somehow succeeded with the heist, he would not be able to actually harm him.

After all, what could a measly 1st Circle magus do against a Sentinel in the 5th Class?

After casting [Scalehail Cataclysm], Rodrick had already sealed his own fate. The magecraft formation Soren had used to twist the space around them wasn't just to buy time for them to hide, it was also to force his hand… He knew that Rodrick would try to end things swiftly after getting bored, and with all the civilians quietly evacuated in a remote corner of the city, his likelihood of using it would be higher.

The only thing he didn't expect was how soon it all happened… There were a few magecraft formations he was planning on using to continue the fight for longer. Though, in the end, it only aided his goal… With how injured Soren became, Rodrick's guard was lowered even further.

As these thoughts churned in his mind, Soren pulled out another one of the dragon scales stuck within his flesh. He flinched in pain slightly. Next to him, Myrin was continuing to heal him. After the Fairy Blade spell finished its casting, he quickly stepped on and signalled to his companion to do the same.

Rodrick saw what they were doing and grit his teeth. "You brat! Don't you dare run away! I'll kill you!"

Hearing his words, a faint smile took over Soren's face. "Don't worry! You love killing things right? There will be plenty of things for you to murder soon enough."

"You bastard!"

Soren chuckled as he stared into the distant roars of monsters fighting their way to the Safe Zone. Soon, this entire ruined city will be swarmed by a trove of horrors. With the flying sword slowly lifting off, Soren tipped the brim of his cone hat then bowed in respect.

"Farewell, Rodrick. I had never hoped that our parting would end in such a way, but alas… Fate can be very strange at times. Trust me, I know."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

With that said, he commanded the sword to fly away quickly, but not before commanding his Soul Weapon to manifest another [Card of Insight]. He threw the golden plaque next to Rodrick who was still struggling to understand the visions he was seeing.

In desperation, Rodrick tried to command his anima forcefully, but it only backfired. Tiny scratches started to appear on his body from his own wind anima.

"Stop! Don't fucking leave! I command you!"

None of it worked. Before he knew it, the enemy he had thought of as nothing more than an insect had flown away… Rodrick the Dungeon Slayer's status as an undefeatable champion in battle had forever been scarred.

Just as these thoughts were plaguing his corrupted mind, he noticed a strange flash of light coming from above him. It was blinding… As if a miniature sun had manifested itself inside the cave.

"What… now?…" Rodrick said through ragged breaths. It would not take long for him to get an answer.

From within the searing brilliance, bloomed an immensely mysterious rose… One that seemed otherworldly in nature. Its petals began to unfurl with solemn grace, one by one, layer by layer… As if to welcome the coming of the spring season itself.

From within this divine flower, emerged a figure both fearsome and beautiful… A woman of such radiance that Rodrick almost forgot about the corrupted visions plaguing his mind… Her skirt, fashioned from the rose itself, shimmered with drewdrops and ancient pollen. The rest of Her dress was adorned in a tapestry of blossoms—orchids, lilies, wildflowers—woven as if by the will of nature itself.

The holy being's honey-colored eyes surveyed the world below with quiet grace. There was no question in Rodrick's mind—this was no mere spirit. But at that moment, none of it mattered. All he felt towards this strange entity was anger…

It was an emotion he could not control. After witnessing the Crimson Eye, his hatred of spirits had already grown to an almost monstrous degree…

Noticing his gaze, the supreme being looked at Rodrick indifferently for a few seconds—as if reading his mind—then sighed.

[You poor thing…]

Soren and Myrin raced through the ancient corridors of the dungeon, moving past countless horrors who had no way of noticing them. Violet Mirage had once again proved its usefulness. Though, he doubted it was entirely due to his spell. With all the attention drawn to the commotion at the Safe Zone, every creature in the vicinity was fully focused on reaching the ruined city.

"Soren…" Myrin's voice finally broke him from his reverie. "Rodrick… Are you sure he won't be coming after us again?"

Hearing his question, Soren was somewhat surprised. "Did you hit your head somewhere during that thunderstorm attack?"

Myrin clicked his tongue. "No, but hearing you speak makes me wish it happened."

"That's not very nice," Soren shook his head with a smile. "But no, your worries are unfounded. Rodrick won't even have the time to spare us any more."

The Elven Songster tilted his head slightly. "Why is that?"

"Because of that," Soren pointed to Myrin's hand. On it was a strange petal symbol tattoo that hadn't been there before.

"Blossom Command Sigil?" Myrin's eyes widened. "That was what you were waiting for back then as well…"

Soren nodded back.

If he had to be honest, a part of him wanted to finally admit defeat after Rodrick used his Sacred Treasure. After all, their entire plan rested on the Runic Acquisition Festival finally beginning. With the spirits from Yasini's Paradise finally swarming into the natural world, the Blossom Sword Flower would likely also take the chance to find the Blood Amulet.

That was why, using Tazzith's anima during the fight against Rodrick was paramount. After all, She was likely to sense it the moment She descended upon the natural world. It was the perfect bait to make Her appear in the Safe Zone.

That entire setup, however, almost failed…

Because of Rodrick's usage of [Scalehail Cataclysm] happening sooner than he had expected, the Blossom Command Sigil hadn't even appeared yet by the time both of them hit the ground… If Soren hadn't shielded Myrin from death during that horrific attack, then all their preparations would have been wasted.

Myrin's death would have rescinded their ability to even participate in the festival…

But more than that, Soren had selected the visions of the Crimson Eye specifically because of what he knew about Her. According to Tazzith, Tritia has the ability to read the souls of others. The visions Rodrick had obtained… They were ones regarding the very sin that was committed more than a thousand years ago… A sin that led to the event now known as 'Yasini's Demise.'

As a spirit under Her blessings, She would not be able to ignore that.

I also left her a message on one of those [Cards of Insight]... Soren wondered if She had obtained it.

As these thoughts were playing out, Myrin finally connected the dots himself. "Are you saying that Rodrick is now confronting a spirit? But why? How did you even know that a spirit would arrive exactly then?"

"Because the spirit in question—The Blossom Sword Flower—is after the same thing we have obtained: The Blood Amulet."

Myrin's eyes widened in shock. "B-blossom Sword Flower?!"

Soren confirmed. "Indeed."

"B-but…" His lips twitched slightly, but he found no words to utter.

Seeing this, Soren couldn't help but feel pity for his companion. After all, A powerful servant of the Flower Maiden Herself was now chasing after them. All because Soren couldn't resist keeping taking something he had no right to take.

"I see now… It all makes sense." Myrin mumbled. "You… You want to challenge the Blossom Sword Flower for one of her Abstract Runes…"

Soren chuckled. "Yes—isn't it the perfect opportunity? She needs something from us and we need something from Her. And since we are both participants in the Runic Acquisition Festival, She cannot harm or steal from us—that would dishonor Her patron deity."

Myrin raised his hand and covered his eyes in shame. "The only way she would be able to obtain the Blood Amulet from us would be through a formal challenge…"

"Exactly," Soren chuckled. "Think about it—with the Runic Acquisition Festival finally beginning, thousands of fae spirits will now swarm the continent, spreading mischief everywhere they go. But none of these spirits are actually compelled to accept our challenge. They could simply refuse. And finding one in the first place when they are extremely elusive is already hard enough."

Hearing his logic, Myrin couldn't find any way to refute him. What Soren was saying made sense—if they wanted to obtain something during this continent-wide hunting festival, then they must take drastic measures. Why chase after the spirits when one could be heading their way soon?

"Has anyone ever told you that you're shameless?"

"Enough people to rule a city." Soren shrugged while passing through another corridor. The further they went away from the Safe Zone, the less creatures were seen roaming around… Soren had no way of using [Eyes of the Fairy] at the moment, so he was simply trying to get as far away as possible for now.

Hearing his answer, Myrin couldn't help but sigh. "I hope none of the civilians were endangered… The expedition members as well…"

Soren said nothing. Words wouldn't change what had already happened. He had done everything in his power to limit the damage. Tazzith had also mentioned Tritia's temperament—Her kindness toward humans may have compelled Her to intervene, shielding the civilians from the monsters flooding the Safe Zone.

But Soren wasn't the kind to cling to such ambiguous hope—especially not one this slim. Even if Tritia holds some compassion for humanity, it certainly wouldn't guarantee that his actions held no consequences at all…

None of it mattered anymore. His choices were carved in stone now… Etched into the very orbits of fate itself. Whether that means well for his coming journey or not was yet to be determined.

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