The healers arrived in a rush—the same trio from earlier.

The brown-haired woman, a Wind Healer, led the way, followed by the Water specialist and the Earth specialist.

"Did we make it in time?" the Wind Healer asked, a little breathless.

The pierced lady went straight to me, her hands glowing faintly as she scanned my arms, my neck, even my hair for injuries.

"Astraga, sweetheart, are you alright? You poor thing—such a brave young man!" she said.

I shook my head. "I'm not brave, ma'am. I just… watched while they protected me."

Father knelt beside me and took my hands gently.

"Ehh, don't say that," he murmured, smiling. "At your age, you're supposed to be protected. It's not your burden yet. You are literally four."

He said it like a reminder—to me, to them, to himself.

The pierced lady nodded immediately.

"He's right. Sometimes watching is the smartest and safest thing you can do. Staying out of the fight was the best choice."

Maybe… but she didn't know.

I had mana—to every mana type.

And if I had practiced more…

Then it hit me like a slap of lightning.

"Father—where are Morad and Astraya!?"

Father chuckled softly. "Don't worry. They're with me—they're safe. I'll take you to them soon, alright?"

Before I could answer, the Wind Healer gasped. She had finally noticed Rose—collapsed, pale, breathing shallowly.

"Oh heavens—Lady Rose!"

She and the Water Healer hurried to her side, kneeling around her in a practiced formation.

Rose's eyelids fluttered open. She pointed weakly toward Guts.

"H-help… him… please…"

All three healers turned their heads at once.

"Immediately, my lady!"

They rose and sprinted toward Guts.

I swallowed hard.

Guts looked… ruined.

Blood soaked the dirt beneath him. Bones jutted from torn skin in a few places—horrible, sharp shapes that made my stomach twist. His breaths came out ragged, every inhale sounding like it hurt.

The pierced lady—now all business—knelt beside him with a horrified gasp.

"These injuries... We have exposed fractures, torn ligaments—his ribs might be collapsing his lung. You don't need Type 2 Mana to know this! These are heavy damages; anyone can see he's on death's door!"

"Please try as much as possible to save him," I urged the healers.

The earth specialist replied, "We will do our best."

The Earth Healer planted his palms into the dirt, forming a stabilizing circle around his body. As he did this, he explained that this action would pull minerals and nutrients available from the ground to help heal Guts. Meanwhile, the Wind Healer regulated Guts's breathing.

The Water Healer pressed glowing hands to Guts's worst wounds, trying to keep his lifeforce from spilling out.

I stood there, frozen, feeling the immense weight of everything that had just happened. Father's hand, warm and steady, settled on my shoulder.

"Astraga," he whispered, "let them work. This is beyond you."

The woman with the piercings, whom I recognized as one of the specialized Healers, was already kneeling by Guts. "He's stabilizing!" she announced, her voice strained.

My father approached, his gaze fixed on the fallen Condottieri. "Whoever you are , I owe you a lot for keeping my son safe—you and Rose. Rest easy now."

His expression hardened as he saw the body of the Goatman still held in the black snake's deadly chokehold.

Moving beside my dad to examine the Goatman, the snake hissed as Father replied, "Easy boy," showing a gesture of no harm. Greyjoy said aloud, "Toki doesn't like it when strangers get too close. Stay back."

"I see, I see," Father replied coolly, as I thought, How powerful could this mana beast be? Could Morad get this big?

Greyjoy, staring at the strangled Goatman, scoffed. "So this goat thing caused all this commotion? Pft. Doesn't seem strong to me." He smacked it on its face continuously, saying, "Fight back, you bastard! Why don't you pick on people your size, going after innocent people? Tsk."

Father said, "Are you sure it's dead?"

Greyjoy smirked. "He is dead, but that's not enough. I will burn it to a crisp." He turned toward me, his eye catching Guts. "He really doesn't look tough. He got damaged this much by this creature, but…"

I quickly interjected, stepping between them. "No 'but'! Guts is strong! He fought and risked his life to protect us! Without using any mana! I won't let you insult him like that. And he still won!"

Father looked shocked. "What? He didn't use mana?"

I replied, "Yes, only thing I know he used was those his chains." I pointed.

Greyjoy smirked, finishing his thought regardless. "…but maybe that's because he did all the work. Should have let me finish." He tried lifting the Goatman's massive axe and grunted. "Woah, that bastard was lifting this?"

"Fought such a formidable beast without having his own mana? That's incredible. Who is this Guts, exactly?" Father asked, his attention sharp now, as Greyjoy, intrigued, turned back to me. "You're sure he didn't use any mana? Then he has my respect even more now."

"For him to be able to take this beast down, he must be in the mercenaries," Greyjoy added.

"He is a Condottieri," I said. "He said he was contracted with Arcsaw to kill the florist."

Greyjoy looked shocked. "So that means Arcsaw knew all along, but how... unlesss," he mused, touching his chin. "Hmmm." Father remained silent, analyzing.

I then explained. "Arcsaw knew what has been going on for years now. As a way of making him still be on their side, they gave him wealth, but from what Shio said, he acted out when someone he cared about was selected."

Father then replied, "His daughter? Because she is still missing." Father added, "I see why Morgana wanted to prepare before she came to this town."

Prepare? What did he mean by prepare? Before I could speak,

"Unfortunately, we can't do much further than this," one healer said. "We have stabilized his body, and now it's left for him to decide if he wants to fight or not," as we could feel some resistance coming from Guts.

I looked at Guts. Still, his arm wasn't back? Could they not just restore his arm back? I thought they could do more than just heal scars and stop bleeding.

As though reading my mind, the earth specialist said, "We can't use all our mana yet to perform advanced healing, as the job's not done. We can't tell what other major problems we would face, especially when we will soon be heading into the forest, isn't that right, Mr. Vaulgabread?"

"Huh. Into the forest?" I asked. What do they mean? After what I'd just experienced, I wasn't going. Why wouldn't most people run away from problems like this?

"Into the forest?" I said. "Why?"

Father said, "To finalize what brought us to this town in the first place."

As Greyjoy said, "About that beast we heard before, right? I'm coming too!"

Father replied, "Of course. We need someone like you against whatever they have been feeding."

I told them about the incident in which the Goatman chewed on some straw doll and that was when the beast roared.

Father, thinking, said, "So it appears they have released it openly now. Ghost was right."

"Is Ghost also aware of this, Father?"

He patted my head and said, "Yes, so is your Condottieri."

I replied, "Huh? Wait, what did he mean exactly?"

"I haven't actually been completely honest with you and your sister. I had spoken to your mother." He looked toward the direction of the forest. "Our coming to this town wasn't for finding a teacher or mentor alone, Astraga. I knew about this town's problems long before we arrived."

"When I left, going to Manyblood looking for Astraya's teacher and your bodyguard, I met Ghost along the way, as he was just leaving a nearby town—that town being Blackroot. Along the way, we had so much discussion. He discovered I was a Manomancer. Long story short, we ended up needing each other's help. It so happens he knew two people who were strong—exactly the people I needed."

I had thought Father had just picked this town because of proximity, so it wasn't just a coincidence that when we got here he learned about people going missing.

He continued, "I was in need of a protector—someone strong enough to help my children get stronger. Ghost then suggested one that would be a perfect fit for you, the Condottieri, your soon-to-be protector."

"So that's how you found her?"

Father replied, "Yes," he added. "She had no initial interest in protecting or mentoring some child, but I spent the next months trying to convince her, but nothing. I hadn't even gotten a teacher for Astraya. But finally, she changed her mind. At first, I didn't know why, but she made it clear she was on a mission, and that happens to be Blackroot, and she knew someone who could teach Astraya, as he owed her a favor for taking this contract."

"Contract? So what was the contract about, Father?"

He said, "She was after a small group of cult members who were trying to create a Path Animal, but they had been using the townspeople as its source of energy."

Thinking to myself: human sacrifices could be used to create a Path Animal? An animal that could ascend to become a Dragon?

"Plans were made between her and her contractor, the Vintagard family."

"What? The Vintagards were the ones who hired my Condottieri? But what business does Aetherhall have with such a small town close to Manyblood?"

"I was introduced to their representative, who spoke with Lord Zedd. Ghost also helped secure the deal. And I got a teacher for Astraya and a guard for you, but only if this mission was successful."

"Then are you telling me the cloaked men that came with Lord Zedd was intentional?"

Father replied, his voice grave, "Yes. They have been tracking this town's activity for months now. A Path Animal is no joke. They possess monstrous power. And how long has it been nurtured? Who knows if it has transcended to another level. Lord Zedd is also in the forest," as the three mages agreed. The brown-haired lady added, "We are a total of thirty A-Rank Mages, Lord Zedd included."

Father finally added, "The monster that Guts faced was probably made from curses and used for protection—to protect someone or something—most likely the Path Animal when it was weaker. Currently, the monster we all have been waiting for has finally arrived, and all the Aetherhall mages are inside the forest right now. The goal is to kill it before it's too late, before it ascends. All exits out of this town have been blocked with wind barriers. Nobody leaves until that beast is killed."

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