The Villain's Sword Is Sharp

Neither of the pair were surprised, but both for different reasons. Eva thought they'd completed the mission and were heading back to the sect, while Johan thought Isaac had a lead and was taking them to investigate it.

Truthfully, it was neither. Isaac's only lead was the unusual bones – and he didn't even know why they were there. That meant the team had to start elsewhere. Namely, they needed to think about the suspects who would want to attack Kirk Village.

To Isaac, the primary suspect was obvious. In fact, there was only one suspect.

Kukkula Village. They the only other settlement for miles, and Isaac had heard rumours about a grudge between them and Kirk Village.

Since he had a suspect in mind, Isaac wanted to investigate as soon as possible. Waiting too long would just give the culprit time to cover their tracks and escape, so he decided to visit Kukkula Village tonight.

Isaac took some time explaining the situation to Eva. He told her about the battle with the Sarcevic Wolf, then described the traces of human activity in its den. He gave her some time to digest the information.

Then he explained that he wanted to continue the mission, find out who was behind the wolf's attacks, and get an S mission grade. Neither Johan nor Eva objected. However, Eva did have a question,

"Where would we even begin? If there are no clues or suspects, this will only become a fool's errand."

Isaac announced his suspicions of Kukkula Village and gave his reasons. Johan promptly agreed,

"I had the same thoughts; there are obvious signs of competition between the two villages. If Kukkula Village wanted to eliminate Kirk Village, they couldn't do it openly since the sect would heavily punish them. All the upper class would be executed and replaced with people loyal to the sect.

"If they were determined to destroy Kirk Village, they would have to do it covertly. If they found some way to manipulate the Sarcevic Wolf, it would make the perfect tool for destroying Kirk Village. Then, they could even accept the survivors into their village and expand. In the future, the village might even grow into a town."

Eva also had her own part to add,

"They have the motive and opportunity to attack Kirk Village, but I doubt they have the means. You'd need special tools, herbs, or Anima to influence a wild beast, but a village full of commoners wouldn't have any."

Isaac responded quickly,

"We can't be sure of that. I believe Kukkula Village deserves a thorough investigation."

Johan nodded, while Eva wore a pensive expression. After a few moments, she responded,

"We have nothing better to go on, so I suppose it's worth a shot."

The trio had been speaking in hushed voices so granny Bîna couldn't hear. Isaac didn't think she was dangerous, but the academy taught disciples to keep their missions confidential. Outsiders should be on a strictly need-to-know basis, so they made sure not to let the old physician hear.

Now they were done talking about the mission, so they returned to the treatment room. When they went back in, they found that Abbie had awoken. She was still groggy, but she was mostly alright.

"How do you feel?"

Johan was the first to ask.

"I've been better!" Abbie laughed weakly, "But I'm holding up well. My back is still in pain, but that's to be expected. I feel a bit lightheaded as well – maybe that's because of the blood loss."

"It's good that you're alright. Do you think you can move?"

Granny Bîna shouted from the side of the room,

"The patient is not allowed to move until tomorrow!"

Isaac turned to face her. He stared at her icily and spoke with a chilling tone,

"I wasn't asking you." Then he looked back at Abbie, who was slightly grimacing, "So?"

"I'm not sure."

Isaac looked at granny Bîna and spoke,

"Could I have 5 minutes to discuss with my teammates?"

"Of course sir, but please remember: the patient cannot move, or it shall hamper their recovery."

Isaac ignored the granny's reminder and waited until she had left the room,

"What if I lend you my Snowshoe Anima?"

Abbie thought for a second before answering,

"I could probably manage it. Why?"

Isaac proceeded to explain everything to her. Abbie was intelligent and quick on the uptake. It didn't take long for her to understand what had happened and come up with her own theory,

"Kukkula Village? It definitely seems like a good place to start, and I can understand why you want to leave quickly. However, can it not wait until morning?"

Eva and Johan both expressed their agreement; it would be better to rest for the night and travel in the morning. Isaac thought for a moment, then spoke,

"Perhaps I was too hasty. However, we can only sleep for 5 hours. At 6 in the morning, we get ready and leave immediately."

The others agreed. They'd already slept from 2 until about 10 pm since they knew they would be going to catch the Sarcevic Wolf at night. That meant they weren't particularly tired and 5 hours of sleep would be more than enough.

Isaac set up a rota where he, Johan and Eva would each have a shift to keep watch. Then he told granny Bîna that they would all be staying in the treatment room for the night, and not to bother them. When everything was in order, he went to bed. His shift was last, after all.

Isaac drifted off to sleep, pleased with the progress his team had made today...

*************************

3 hours and 20 minutes later, he was shaken awake by Johan. He spent a boring watch shift where nothing happened, then it was time to wake everybody else. Isaac quickly roused the others. They got their belongings together and ate a very rushed meal. Then, they were all ready to go.

Eva opened the treatment room's window, then threw their 4 bags into the street outside. She climbed out of the window and beckoned for the others to follow.

Johan came next, then he and Isaac helped Abbie get through the window. Finally, it was Isaac's turn. He neatly hopped out of the window, closed it behind him and picked up his bag. Of course, he'd conveniently 'forgotten' to leave the iron piece he promised to pay.

While he was putting on his bag, Isaac's gaze turned upwards.

It was still pitch dark at 6 am. The night sky was like a black canvas dotted with countless flecks of paint. Thick clouds occasionally scudded across the sky, obscuring the stars' brilliance, but they couldn't block them for long. The clouds would soon pass and the stars would come back into focus; nobody's light could be concealed forever.

Isaac had heard legends about heroes becoming stars in the sky after they died. He'd never believed them, but he felt there was something... enchanting about stories such as that. To grow so powerful you could ascend into the sky – what a wonderful goal!

However, there were 2 sides to every coin. From down here on Terra, Isaac could not tell the stars apart; they all looked the same to him. If each star represented a hero, then how many heroes must there have been throughout history? How similar must they have been in might and renown, to the point that their stories and legends began to sound the same?

If becoming a hero meant to become another star in the sky, then Isaac would rather never be a hero at all. No, he would become something quite different...