Kaelyn turned away to leave.

She reckoned Deklan didn't bring any money, so he must be shivering on the street like a beggar.

It's stupid for him to leave alone without her, all because he wanted to avoid Marsha.

"Can you at least tell me why he's leaving? I get that he wanted to become stronger for his family—but why did he not say goodbye?" Marsha called out again—stopping Kaelyn in her tracks. "Is it because I forced him to risk his life for the hamlet? Is that why?"

Even though it was for the better not bring Marsha, Kaelyn still felt bad.

None of her business, sure, but she still felt sympathy.

"Frankly, I don't know why he avoided you." Kaelyn looked at her again and then looked up, recalling her talk with Deklan. "But from what I can see, the answer should be obvious. You're fixated on what you did wrong after what happened, yet have you ever thought about what Deklan felt?'

"W-What do you mean?"

"Deklan felt guilty. He's the one who messed with Zayne, and he's also the one who messed with those Ghosts. If you're asking me why he avoided you, my honest answer will be because he thought you were blaming him for what happened."

"Of course, not! How can I blame him? Without him, the people would've died already. And the Ghosts; they would've come out at some point, so the hamlet has always been at their mercy. And Zayne… He turned into a Zombie; this is not his fault! I never blamed him!"

"But he didn't know that."

Marsha clenched her hands into fists; thoughts swirled inside her mind.

She had been too focused on the people and herself to realize that Deklan was also affected by this.

And now, it was already too late.

'He had been working hard to secure the hamlet—so that I would not worry about this kind of incident never happening again, and I didn't even ask him how he's feeling,' Marsha shed a tear, frustrated at the way she acted. 'And he saw that as me blaming him. But who could blame him? I acted that way.'

"Don't think about it too much, Deklan isn't angry at you. He only felt guilty." Kaelyn turned to leave.

"Why can't I come with him?" Marsha asked. "Are you creating a distance between him and me?"

"No. I'm saying this because you're where you belonged, and besides..."

Swish—!

In an instant, the air shifted.

Marsha blinked her eyes a couple of times before she realized Kaelyn was already upon her.

A katana was pressed against her neck, even cutting her skin slightly.

In that span of a second, Kaelyn already dropped her things, unsheathed her katana, and dashed.

Everything happened before Marsha could even realize.

"You can't even react," Kaelyn whispered, eyes narrowing sternly. "All you're going to be is a burden. You can meet with Deklan again, and I'm sure he also wanted to, but not now. Not when you're nothing but a weakling."

Kaelyn pulled her katana away, sheathing it.

She walked away and grabbed her bag, flinging it onto her shoulder again.

"Grow strong," She cast one last look at Marsha. "Only then will your meeting be worth it. Also, Max is going to be the new leader of the group. You can talk to him if you need something. This is not our last time meeting, so I hope when we do, it's going to be different than right now."

Once she said that, she left the premises—her back disappearing into the cluster of tall trees.

Morning came.

Kaelyn had been walking throughout the night, heading to Ingver Town without stopping.

It was mainly a grassland with one dirt road leading to the town, so getting there was straightforward.

She was now wearing a cloak, pulling the hood further down to better hide her face.

Her katana was also hidden underneath the cloak so that she would blend better in an honest town.

About two miles away from the forest, the atmosphere shifted entirely.

Life showed its sign through carriages rattling over the dirt road, and the steady current of people that flowed through. Merchants, farmers, or travellers who came from smaller settlements around clung to the town like satellites.

About five villages depended on the town, more if counting the Slosa Hamlet.

Ingver Town is the heart of this part of the kingdom.

Upon nearing the vicinity of the town, Kaelyn stumbled across a translucent dome.

"Hmm…" Kaelyn looked to the left and then to the right, searching for Deklan. "I'm not sure what he really is, exactly, since his power is unnatural, but it seemed he could go through the dome without much problem."

She forgot about the dome for a second.

Every big or important town certainly has a dome that was sourced from a Ward.

A dome like this would protect any manifestation of Null Zone too close to the town.

It was the protection that was installed by the kingdom when a settlement had gotten big enough, and is maintained through rituals done by Exorcists. And of course, this is also another way for the kingdom to ensure a timely payment of taxes.

Any settlement that doesn't pay on time will have no protection.

Moreover, once the Ward died, restarting it required more power, so it'd be more expensive.

But even though it was another way for the kingdom to force compliance, the people couldn't deny the dome's purpose as it warded off Ghosts from coming in if there was a nearby Null Zone manifestation, like some sort of insurance.

It was a win-win on both sides in theory.

In practice, however, the kingdom's greed had poisoned the arrangement.

One that Kaelyn was openly disgusted at from how she looked at the dome before her.

Upon arriving at the destination, Kaelyn was greeted by a fortified gate.

Not a grand stone wall gate with guards, but run-down walls with fewer guards on duty.

For a second there, Kaelyn stood in confusion as the Ingver Town should be well-guarded than this, but there were barely a dozen guards in leather armor guarding the gate and walls. None of them are Exorcists; that's unsurprising, but their number is too few.

Especially for a town that has its gate opened for everyone.

Kaelyn entered the town with her head lowered.

A silent figure flowing against the current of casual foot traffic.

Nothing that stands out. Completely normal.

She moved with purposeful avoidance, her gaze fixed ahead, sidestepping any potential exchange.

It was like she was trained not to make any contact.

The main thoroughfare, a cobblestone road wide enough for three or four carriages, carried her past the timber-framed houses and bustling taverns. Their noise was a muffled backdrop to her mission, finding this stupid, cowardly man that was somehow strong.

But finding someone in a place like this is extremely hard to do.

'Hope he's not already flirting with a woman already,' Kaelyn sighed, finding this a pain in the head.

Her attention remained sharp.

Even though finding Deklan was hard, she kept critically scanning the periphery—the shadowy alcoves, the steps of closed shops, every figure slumped against a wall or seated on the ground as she began. She envisioned Deklan among them.

Stranded. Lost. Waiting.

But he was nowhere to be found.

It wasn't until she neared the central square that the town's rhythm broke.

"Hey, there's an Exorcist! Come quickly!"

"An Exorcist? How did one stumble here?"

Kaelyn raised her head and looked at the junction ahead, where a commotion was brewing.

People turning, pointing, then hurrying toward the square as if pulled by a single tide.

And their murmurs of an Exorcist plastered a frown onto her face.

Just then, she felt it—a distinct ripple of mana bleeding from the square's direction.

Her instincts almost instantly ignited.

'Deklan?' She immediately—quickened her pace, trying to see what kind of trouble Deklan has gotten himself into now. 'Considering that it's him, he might have flirted with a married woman. You're alone for a few hours, and this is what you do?'

Upon reaching the square, Kaelyn stopped and looked at the spectacle ahead.

Her breath was stolen away at the absurdity of it all.

She was completely taken aback by the scene happening at the fountain.

A man stood triumphant on the fountain's rim, shouting and gesticulating as if he were leading a riot.

Before him, a captivated crowd mirrored his frenzy not with applause, but with wallets and purses thrust into the air—a forest of open leather and cloth blooming with gold coins and bank notes. It was such an absurd scene to see, but it gets worse.

Some enthusiasts waved thick stacks of money.

So consumed by the spectacle, they disregarded the possibility of a thief's nimble fingers.

It was less a gathering and more a collective surrender to chaos.

"Open up your wallets, fuckers! If you want my service, then you've got to pay!" the man roared, smiling so widely that he looked like an absolute lunatic. "It doesn't matter if it's a bronze-rank Ghost; nothing is too much for me to handle! Muahaha~!"

"Show us your powers, first! Are you a scammer?!"

"Do a spell!"

"Yeah, do a spell!"

Hearing this, the man raised his hand overhead, and he summoned a spear with a twist of his hand.

Everyone gasped at the sight, marvelling at his power.

But that wasn't the end.

Swoosh—!

Mana erupted over the spearhead, sheathing it in a crackling, luminous second skin. The release sent a visible shockwave of air that rippled outward, forcing the crowd back a step. Now, the weapon vibrated with such dense, palpable mana that even the untrained eye could see it.

A hazer of raw power distorting the air around the spearhead, promising death to any Ghost.

Seeing such a mighty display, the crowd cheered harder like they were watching the show.

It got so bad that the guards were keeping them orderly, trying their best not to let the situation escalate.

On the other hand, the man only laughed aloud as people handed their money over.

Kaelyn stared at the man standing on the rim of fountain.

His face bears stark similarities to that of Deklan, no doubt about it, but there's a slight difference.

"Is that really Deklan?" She mumbled in utter shock. "His hair… Did he cut it short?"

Deklan's long, ashen-gold colored hair has not cut short and trimmed on the sides, making him look a lot sharper than he was before. Since he had been ostracized to nowhere, his long hair was unkempt, and it made him look rough.

Now, his short hair accentuated his features more.

'But never mind that,' Kaelyn sated in disbelief. 'How in the world did he get to this point…?'

Just then, Deklan spotted Kaelyn in the distance.

"Oh, Kaelyn! Look what I did!" He exclaimed, gesturing for her to come.

"Eughh…" Kaelyn pulled her hood to cover her face from embarrassment. "I can't let anyone think that I'm with him."

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