With a heavy grinding collapse, the stone pillar began to slowly sink back into the earth, retracting like a piston into the ruined foundations of the destroyed village.

Kurt dragged his boots through the thick layer of corpses and green blood that covered the ground. Now that his adrenaline had finally died down, all that was left behind was a hollow vacuum of pure physical exhaustion.

The moment the stone platform touched the level ground, Isabel didn’t wait for it to fully settle. She sprinted across the bloody aftermath and skidded to a halt in front of him, her hands reaching out to hover over his chest, afraid that touching him might cause some hidden wound to open.

"Master! Are you alright? Please tell me you’re not broken."

Kurt offered her a weak, lopsided smile, though he didn’t have the energy to lift his arms. "Yeah. Just extremely exhausted, and I think my brain is currently fried from the inside out... but I’m fine. Trust me."

Gracie walked up from behind her with eyes of absolute bewilderment. She looked at the many infected corpses, then at the severed halves of the smaller centipedes, and finally, her gaze traveled up the massive, twisted trunk of the newborn Sakura tree.

Her eyes locked onto the colossal corpse of the giant monster and its black armor permanently woven into the pink canopy like a grotesque winter ornament.

"What. The fuck. Just happened?"

"Honestly, Gracie?" Kurt smiled weakly when looking at the towering pink blossoms. "I’m still having a hard time wrapping my own head around it. But it seems that somehow, and someway... Izumi-san one-shotted the damn thing. I mean, the proof is in the pudding. Look at the size of that tree."

A sudden, gentle breeze swept through the ruined battlefield. It carried a light, swirling cloud of pink petals that danced around their ankles. In the center of the vortex, the petals condensed, and Ayako materialized with an effortless grace.

Kurt turned towards her and asked, "Are you alright after, y’know... doing all that?"

"I have never been better, Rossana-sama. It has been quite some time since I was required to put nearly everything I possess into a single, concentrated strike. I must say, I am rather satisfied with the result."

She then turned her head and lingered her gaze on the giant tree intertwined with the monster’s corpse. "An interesting piece of art, wouldn’t you say?"

Before Kurt could find the right words to respond, a heavy thud of galloping horses echoed from the main road. The sound of iron-shod hooves was accompanied by the rattling wood of a familiar carriage.

"Well, well well." Kurt smiled deviously. "It looks like our ride back into the swamp has just arrived."

The carriage came to a halt and the last remaining villagers who had gone searching for Kurt and Isabel jumped out of the box. They didn’t even look at the culprits as their eyes went straight to the giant Sakura tree, and more importantly, to the massive, dead segments of the Elder’s monster form dangling from its branches.

They all fell to their knees and began to wail pathetically for a monster that would have harvested them without a second thought.

Ayako watched them with a slight tilt of her head, her hand resting loosely on the hilt of her sword. "What should we do with these ones?"

""Kill them."" Kurt and Gracie responded at the same time.

The two of them blinked and turned their heads to look at each other, momentarily stunned by the perfect, cold synchronization of their responses.

Kurt’s lips twitched into a small, dark smile of amusement. Gracie, however, clicked her tongue in irritation, looking away and refusing to acknowledge the fact that their minds were on the same wavelength.

Ayako looked between them and raised an eyebrow of concern. "Should they not be kept alive for a time? A formal testament and a detailed confession would be most useful for the King’s magistrates when we present the evidence of the Cult’s reach."

"No." Kurt shook his head. "Just look at them. They’re just a bunch of brainwashed pawns who did the Elder’s bidding. And with the Elder dead, they’re useless. They probably don’t know jack shit about anything important, and I don’t care enough to ask. Besides, the most important person we need is currently at the swamp. We don’t need the extra weight."

"... Very well. If they are of no administrative value, I shall insist on taking care of them myself. It will save us the effort."

Before the villagers could even realize they were being discussed, Ayako’s hand became an invisible streak of motion. She executed a lightning-fast quick-draw and snapped her blade back into place with a satisfying click.

Five distinct, crescent-shaped blades of compressed air soared through the distance, cutting through the dust with a soft, whistling sound.

The air blades struck the five villagers simultaneously, slicing through their necks with such clean precision that their heads remained balanced on their shoulders for a full second before tumbling into the dirt. Their bodies then collapsed forward in a neat, silent row.

Ayako smoothed her kimono, her tone completely bright when looking at Kurt. "We may depart at our earliest convenience."

"... Right. Let’s move."

...

The journey riding back into the humid, rotting depths of the swamp was quiet compared to the madness they had left behind.

Isabel, as per usual, had taken the driver’s seat.

Inside the red carriage, Kurt sat comfortably on the cushioned seat as his eye fixed on Gracie. The girl was sitting directly across from him, her shoulder pressed against the small glass window, and her gaze lost in the passing silhouette of trees.

Kurt watched the way her fingers constantly twitched against the fabric of her cloak. She was clearly nervous as her mind raced miles ahead of the carriage.

"So. Are you excited to finally see your lover again?"

Gracie’s head snapped around so fast her hair whipped across her face. Her dark purple eyes glared at him with an intensity that could have burned a hole through his skull.

"Watch what you say, Cyclops. We are not lovers."

"My bad. I just assumed after all the crying, the screaming, and the literal fighting through a horde of giant bugs that there was something specific going on. I must have gotten the completely wrong idea."

Gracie stared at him for another second with a hardened expression until, slowly, the corner of her mouth lifted. A small, uncharacteristically soft smile broke through her grime-streaked face. She turned back to the window when her voice dripped into a quiet, determined murmur.

"... Not yet."

"Okaaay. Duly noted."

Sitting next to Gracie, Ayako let out a small giggle as she watched the two.

The carriage continued to roll through the grey mire until the dense trees finally parted, revealing the familiar, decrepit clearing of the wooden rest house.

Even before the horses had come to a full stop, a figure was visible on the front porch. A young man with messy, dark brown hair was jumping up and down, his arms waving frantically in the air as he screamed toward them with an absurd level of excitement.

"Hey! Over here! Lady Izumi! You’re back!" Austin yelled as he scrambled down the wooden steps, running toward the carriage with an eager grin, clearly expecting to greet his savior.

The carriage door swung open, and Kurt stepped down first.

The moment Austin’s eyes landed on him; his entire face went completely white. The cheerful grin vanished, replaced by a mask of terror.

His knees buckled beneath him, and he fell squarely onto his butt in the wet mud. His hands tried scrambling backward in a desperate attempt to create distance.

He raised a shaking, trembling finger, pointing directly at Kurt’s chest.

"Y-Y-You... You!"

Kurt stopped in his tracks. He looked to his left, then to his right, confirming there was no one else behind him. He pointed a finger at his own chest, his brow furrowing in genuine confusion.

"Me?"

"W-What the hell are you doing here?!" Austin shrieked, scrambling back until his spine hit the wooden foundation of the porch. "Why are you in the carriage?!"

"What’s that supposed to mean? Do I know you?"

Ayako stepped down from the carriage next, and she watched the exchange with a look of immense amusement.

"My, how fascinating. His reaction to you is nearly identical to the one he displayed when I first arrived – although I must admit, his terror in your presence seems considerably more severe."

Austin, realising that Kurt’s blank had absolutely no idea who he was, stopped panicking. He quickly jumped up to his feet, vigorously dusting the mud off his trousers while letting out a loud, incredibly forced laugh that sounded completely hollow.

"Ah! Ha ha! Right! Sorry about that! I... I just recognized you from the capital! I watched the big fight between yourself and the royal twins at the park! You were... really scary! I guess I just had a bit of an overreaction seeing a celebrity in the middle of a swamp! My bad, totally my bad!"

Kurt stared at him for a long, quiet moment with an unreadable expression. "Right. That’s quite the overreaction for a spectator. But whatever. By the way, aren’t you going to say hello to your friend?"

Austin blinked, his nervous smile faltering. "Friend? What friend?"

Kurt sighed and turned around to face the carriage door. "Gracie, quit hanging back in the shadows and get out here–"

Nothing.

The interior of the carriage was completely empty. The seats were vacant and the curtains fluttered slightly in the damp air.

Kurt quickly spun around, scanning the perimeter of the clearing, the path behind them, and the tall grass near the horses. There was no one there.

"What the–? Where the hell did she go? Isabel, did you see Gracie get out?"

"No, Master. I didn’t even hear the other side of the door open..."

Ayako’s expression turned thoughtful. "I, too, failed to perceive her departure. Hmm, how strange."

"Kitty, what about you–"

But the cat was also gone without a trace.

"Great... Classic Kitty."

Austin looked between the three of them and furrowed his brow as he took a step forward.

"Who are you guys even talking about? Who is Gracie?"

Kurt looked at Austin, his voice hard and dead serious. "Your friend, Gracie. The girl who was infected by the infected in the forest. She’s been with us for the last two hours, fighting through a literal army of monsters and zombies just so she could get to this house and make sure you were still breathing."

Austin’s face didn’t soften nor did it light up with recognition. Instead, his eyes went entirely blank, his jaw dropping slightly as he stared at them like they were speaking a foreign language.

"I... I really don’t know a Gracie. I’ve never heard that name in my life. I don’t have any friends from the academy or the city named Gracie... Let alone friends in general."

The clearing fell into a suffocating silence. Kurt stared closely at him.

’He genuinely has no idea who she is.’

Isabel looked horrified, her hands shaking on her apron as the reality of the situation refused to make sense.

Then, as if a sudden light had just lit up inside his brain, Austin’s expression shifted. The color drained from his face for a second time and his eyes widened into circles of pure dread.

"W-Wait... Are you... are you guys talking about... about the succubus?"

"""The what?"""