The Smiling Death

The night forest was drowned in silence. There was a faint rustle of leaves and the distant call of night birds.

In the center of a vast pit, a huge tree stood, its bark blackened and roots twisted like serpents clawing inside the earth. Around it lay chaos turned still.

Dozens of monster corpses, their limbs bent at unnatural angles, blood soaking into the soil.

The stench of iron filled the air. A massive beast, the size of a house, lay collapsed near the roots, its crimson eyes now dull and lifeless.

Only two figures remained standing amidst the carnage.

Selena and Jareth.

Both were drenched in blood. Not all of it their own. Their chests heaved with exhaustion, breaths sharp and uneven. Selena's once-silver hair was now dyed red with blood, her blade trembling slightly in her grip.

Jareth stood a few paces behind her, one hand pressed against a wound in his side, eyes fixed on the tree as if making sure another monster was not hiding there.

"Is it… over?" Jareth's voice was hoarse, nearly lost in the silence of the forest.

Selena didn't answer. Her boots crunched over the bodies as she made her way to the base of the great tree.

There, etched deep into the ground, was a massive magic circle glowing faintly in violet hues. At its center pulsed a crystal — dark violet, alive, and throbbing like a beating heart.

She stared at it for a moment, her reflection flickering across its smooth surface. Then, without hesitation, she raised her sword high and struck it down.

The air quivered.

Crack!

The blade came down with all her remaining strength, striking the crystal dead center.

A jagged fracture ran across its surface. Then another… and another.

With a final shatter, it burst apart in a blinding flash of violet light.

A wave of energy surged outward, sweeping through the forest like a silent storm. The air rippled, branches swayed, and the monstrous smell began to fade.

Then nothing.

The light dimmed. The wind stilled.

Silence returned once more.

Selena lowered her sword, the edge still faintly glowing. Her shoulders sagged, exhaustion finally catching up.

Jareth stepped closer, his voice quiet. "We did it."

She didn't respond. Just stood there beneath the towering tree as the last remnants of the magic circle faded into the dirt.

She exhaled a tired sigh.

"Sigh... it's not over yet. We need to go back to town. There are still many questions."

She put her sword inside the storage ring and ran her hand through her red-silver hair.

Her red eyes surveyed the surroundings one last time. Seeing that all the monsters were dead, she turned towards Jareth.

"Now let's move. They might be waiting for us." Her voice was calm, but there was a hint of uneasiness in her tone.

Jareth didn't reply. He retrieved his fallen shield and stored both sword and shield inside his ring.

His breathing was calm now. He chugged down a healing potion. The warmth spread through his body as the liquid slid down his throat.

Blood stopped flowing from his injuries. The wound started to heal slowly. Flesh knitted together.

Selena also drank her healing potion and said, "Let's go."

"Okay," Jareth agreed.

She dashed in the direction of the town. Jareth also followed behind.

The fight was still not over.

---

Meanwhile in town.

Amon and Vixra were walking in the direction of the orphanage.

"What level was that Rick bastard?" Amon asked, curious about how strong Rick was. If not for Vixra beside him, it would have been impossible for Amon to win that fight one-on-one.

Vixra thought for a while before responding.

"I do think he was around Master rank... but I may be wrong..." She stopped mid-sentence, then continued. "...but he was weaker compared to Selena... so my perfect guess is that he was at the peak level of Mana Initiate. Close to breakthrough." Her voice was low but thoughtful.

Amon didn't say anything and just continued to walk. They wanted to run back to the orphanage, but Amon was just too tired. On the other hand, Vixra looked fine.

But she had also spent quite a lot of her mana.

She really has a lot of mana. No wonder her class is mage-related.

He felt envious of Vixra. The stat that increased the most or always remained highest was without a doubt mana.

When someone broke through another rank, there wasn't a significant increase in other attributes. But mana increased tremendously.

Well, it still depended on one's talent and physique.

Amon shook his head and focused on the road ahead.

In the silent town, only the sound of their footsteps could be heard.

Amon glanced at Vixra. Her face was as beautiful as always, even after a difficult fight. Beads of sweat streamed from her pink hair. Her emerald eyes looked straight ahead cautiously.

Suddenly, a chill ran down Amon's spine. His heartbeat started to race. His breathing became heavy.

Vixra also narrowed her eyes warily. She could feel something vile. Something dangerous close to them.

"Senior... let's move fast. We can't stay here... something is near us." Amon's voice was urgent, fear clearly embedded in his words.

His eyes darted around, scanning his surroundings. Sweat flowed down his forehead from his messy black hair.

"Yes. We should move fast," this time it was Vixra who spoke. Her voice wasn't calm.

Amon nodded and started to run with Vixra.

Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!

They started running as fast as possible, yet the uneasiness continued to grow inside them.

Someone was coming.

From where they couldn't tell. But they could sense it clearly.

"It feels inhuman," Vixra said while running.

They were close to leaving that area, close to entering the square of the town.

But suddenly something flew at them from behind, at blinding speed they couldn't react to.

Before either of them could move, it was already upon Amon.

"Amon!" Vixra yelled from his beisde.

Thwump!

Amon's body was pushed from the right side. He was thrown to the ground as his body rolled and collided agaisnt the wall nearby as he stopped rolling.

Stab!

The sound of flesh tearing followed.

"Aaaarghhh!"

A painful cry echoed through the silent town.

Amon raised his head toward the sound. His eyes widened in shock. His heart pounded painfully, each beat louder than the last. The world seemed to slow down. Everything suddenly felt colder, darker.

Drip! Drip!

Warm blood fell onto the cobblestone street, making a wet sound.

A wand lay fallen nearby.

Vixra's body was mid-air a sword thrust through her stomach, lifting her up as blood dripped down like a stream. Her eyes were wide open, tears forming at the corners. Her once beautiful face was now twisted in pain.

And the one holding the sword was none other than the woman with burgundy hair — the same woman Amon had seen in town two days ago.