Morning light filtered through the tall windows of the guild building, casting long shadows on the polished stone floor. The air buzzed with the hum of adventurers and clinking weapons. Amid the usual bustle, Ryouma walked in, quiet and focused.
Mina, the receptionist with her ever-cheerful smile, spotted him immediately.
"Good morning, Ryouma~!" she chirped, giving a little wave as she shuffled some papers.
Ryouma offered her a polite nod, then moved toward the mission board. His gaze swept over the listings with practiced ease before selecting a simple D-Rank extermination request. He pulled the paper down, turned to go—when a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Ryouma."
He didn't look up.
He knew that voice. The weight behind it. The hesitation in it.
Yui stood a few feet away, her posture stiff but her voice soft. There was a strange gentleness in her expression—like she was reaching out across an invisible chasm.
Ryouma paused but didn't turn around.
"I heard…" she said slowly, "…that you've been taking low-rank missions. Starting over. Gaining solo experience."
There was no judgment in her tone. Just quiet observation. Maybe even… admiration.
Still, he said nothing. His silence loomed like a wall between them.
Yui stepped closer and held out a piece of parchment.
"This one," she said, holding it a little higher. "D-Rank. But it's a bit more… fulfilling."
Ryouma glanced sideways, just enough to glimpse the mission.
Silver Crescent Flowers — a rare alchemical herb found in the lowlands, often guarded by goblin riders—small packs of goblins mounted on wolves. Tricky for groups, deadly for soloists. But doable—for someone like him.
"It pays better," Yui added. "And it's… good experience."
Her voice faltered near the end.
Still no response. Ryouma reached out, took the mission scroll from her hand. His fingers brushed hers, but he didn't acknowledge it.
Then, just like that, he turned and walked toward the doors.
Yui stood frozen for a moment.
But just before the doors shut behind him—
A faint smile ghosted across Ryouma's lips.
"…So you still care, huh?" he muttered under his breath.
Outside, the sun bathed the city in gold.
Later that afternoon, in the wild foothills beyond the capital…
The wind rustled through the tall grass, whispering secrets only the earth could understand. Ryouma crouched low behind a boulder, eyes scanning the field ahead. But… there was nothing. No goblin riders. No movement. Just an eerie silence blanketing the land.
In the distance, a faint shimmer caught his eye—a glowing row of Silver Crescent Flowers, their pale white petals glistening under the fading sun.
His gaze sharpened."Is this... some kind of trap?" he murmured, his voice barely above the wind. "A bait to lure me in and ambush me?"
Caution held him in place for hours. Three long hours of stillness. But nothing happened.
Eventually, Ryouma rose, moving slowly toward the flowers. He reached out, picked one, then another. Still, nothing.
A flicker of relief, and a trace of disappointment crossed his face.
"I got the flowers without injury… but I was hoping for a fight."
As if the world had heard his wish, a deep rumble echoed beneath him. The ground cracked open. From the abyss emerged a nightmare—a towering Abyss Dragon, scaled in black so dark it seemed to devour light, eyes burning crimson, fangs like swords.
Ryouma froze.
Now it made sense. The silence. The absence of goblin riders. This was the true ruler of the region.
The dragon's gaze locked onto him. Ryouma felt it in his bones—a primal, ancient pressure, enough to make lesser men crumble.
But fear wasn't the first thing that came to Ryouma's mind.It was Yui.
"So, Yui... you hated me this much, huh?" Ryouma muttered, bitterness dripping from every word. "Pretending to care… giving me this mission just to have me killed. And to think—for a moment—I actually believed you still cared..."
His hands tightened around the hilts of his daggers. He bit his lip until blood ran down his chin. A twisted smile followed.
"I know I have no chance. I know I'm going to die," he whispered. "But if I'm going out—I'll make it count."
Now, Ryouma's true nature began to surface.
For the longest time, he'd chased strength under the guise of protecting Yui. But deep down, that wasn't the truth—it was a lie he told himself, an unconscious excuse to pursue power. The desire to grow stronger had always been there, burning quietly beneath the surface, but he kept denying it, refusing to face the hunger that drove him.
Then came the village incident. And in the wake of tragedy, he made a vow—to protect Yui, to never let such loss happen again. But even that vow... it was just another mask. Another justification.
When Yui cast him out of the party, it wasn't her betrayal that cut him the deepest. It was the loss of his excuse. The reason he clung to was gone, and for the first time, he had to confront the truth.
Now, with death looming and all illusions stripped away—Ryouma finally accepted it.
This… this was who he truly was.
"Was I always this crazy?" he wondered."Whatever... if I'm dying—then let this be the best fight of my life."
The Abyss Dragon let out a thunderous roar. The air shook. Flames licked the sky.
Ryouma didn't flinch. He walked forward—slow at first. Then faster. Then he ran.
The dragon's flames erupted. Ryouma dove behind a rock, barely dodging. The moment the breath ceased, he launched himself forward, The daggers gleamed in the sunlight, sharp and ready—mirroring the resolve in his eyes.
Clang!
His blade struck the dragon's scales—useless. Sparks flew. The dagger shattered.
"Tch!" he hissed, switching to his second blade.
With a yell, he leapt high, aiming for the dragon's eye.
But the beast anticipated it.
SHUNK!
Its tail shot out like a bolt of death, driving straight through the center of Ryouma's body, Blood gushed from the wound. But even as he screamed, he gripped the dagger tight—With a final burst of strength, he threw the dagger straight at the dragon's eye..
THUNK!
The blade buried deep. The dragon screamed. Black blood poured. It flailed wildly, hurling Ryouma across the field.
His body bounced, rolled, and slammed into a rock with a sickening crunch. Bones cracked. Blood spilled like rain.
He lay there, barely breathing, vision blurred.
But through it all… he smiled.
Seeing the dragon writhe in pain, Ryouma chuckled, his voice hoarse yet defiant."Hey… I gave you that wound. Don't forget me… after I'm gone. Remember this—there was once a human you looked down upon, and that human made you bleed… ha…"
As if enraged by those final words, the dragon let out a furious roar. Its mouth ignited with swirling crimson flame, and with one wrathful breath, it unleashed a torrent meant to erase Ryouma completely—scorching, absolute, and merciless.
Ryouma closed his eyes.
He took one final breath… and smiled.
But just as the flame was about to touch his lifeless body—everything changed.
The sky trembled.
Thunderclouds surged from nothing, spiraling into a storm of divine fury. A pressure unlike anything before filled the air, heavy and ancient. Thunderous clouds rumbled, as if something had been provoked that never should have been.
Then, on Ryouma's forehead, a constellation mark appeared, gleaming and lighting up the entire area with a bright blue jade glow. The impending flames instantly faded away.
The dragon froze.
Its instincts screamed wrong. It turned, trying to flee—but too late.
A cataclysmic bolt of thunder fell from the heavens, a pillar of cosmic fury. It struck the Abyss Dragon with unrelenting force, searing through scale and soul. The mighty beast let out one final, agonized cry—before it was reduced to ashes, scattered across the field where Silver Crescent Flowers still bloomed, untouched.
Then, suddenly, a massive tornado formed, wreathed in thunder and lightning, engulfing the entire field. Within the eye of the storm, a vision unfolded in the sky—a swirling galaxy, a vast nebula, shimmering with celestial light.
Ryouma's lifeless body slowly rose into the air.
From the heart of the galaxy and nebula, streams of energy surged forth like rivers of starlight, whirling through the heavens before converging into a single beam.
The beam shot down, striking Ryouma's body.
He began to glow—faint at first, then brighter and brighter—until the light illuminated everything, as if heralding the rebirth of a mighty being.
Meanwhile, an hour earlier at the Guild…
Yui and her team stood inside Giest's office.
"So, are you guys finally going on a national-rank mission?" Giest asked.
Yui nodded with a smile. "Yes. I've always dreamed of starting a clan… making it the strongest. To do that, I have to become a national-rank adventurer. That's why I must complete this mission."
Giest looked at her and sighed. "I still can't believe a 13-year-old is already strong enough to take on a national-level mission…"
Yui chuckled softly. "That 13-year-old girl is gone. I had become strong. Without your help… it wouldn't have been possible. I'm grateful."
Giest smiled gently. "There's no need to thank me. I just saw potential in you—and trained you."
Yui shook her head. "No… you did more than that. You took care of us like we were your own kids."
Giest's smile warmed. "Anyway… I haven't seen Ryouma around lately. He's always off on solo missions."
Yui nodded. "Yeah, he works really hard. But I ran into him earlier today. I happened to have a spare D-rank mission, so I gave it to him."
Giest leaned back in his chair. "What kind of mission?"
"To collect Silver Crescent Flowers," Yui said.
Giest raised an eyebrow, half-joking, "Don't tell me… Low Town?"
Yui blinked. "Wait—how did you know?"
Giest's expression turned serious. He straightened in his seat, eyes sharp. "Yui. Let me confirm something. You didn't give him a mission to Low Town, right?"
Yui hesitated. "...It was in Low Town."
Giest stood up so fast his chair screeched back. "Yui, come with me—now. This is serious."
Startled, Yui followed, dread beginning to form in her chest. "What's going on, Giest? What's wrong with that mission?"
His tone dropped. "That mission was cancelled. It was misclassified as D-rank, but later upgraded to SS-rank. There's an Abyss Dragon currently residing in Low Town."
Yui gasped. "A-Abyss Dragon?!"
"It's been sleeping," Giest continued. "So we didn't spread word of it to avoid panic. Only a few knew of its presence. But if Ryouma went there alone…"
He looked away grimly. "He's in grave danger. All we can do now is pray he didn't wake that dragon."
Yui's heart dropped. I sent him into a death trap... Her legs weakened, and tears welled up in her eyes. Her face turned pale with horror.
Giest placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't break yet. The dragon might still be asleep. There's still hope."
Yui wiped her tears, gritted her teeth, and grabbed her sword. As she prepared to dash out the door—
They saw it.
In the distant sky, a massive tornado formed, thunder cracking across the heavens. A beam of light suddenly shot down at its center. The ground shook. Even from afar, Yui could feel the sheer pressure of power.
Then, the sky lit up—an overwhelming brilliance that covered everything.
Everyone paused. Giest. Yui. The adventurers below. The entire city froze, stunned.
The light slowly faded.
Yui, still staring, whispered, "Giest-san… that came from Low Town, didn't it? Did… something happen to Ryouma?"
Giest remained silent for a long moment, watching the sky where the storm had passed.
Finally, he spoke in a low voice, "We'll only know the truth… when we get there."