Mira could hardly breathe as she stared at Evan. Seeing him smile at her with that deranged look made her blood run cold. Yet what was even more horrifying were the signs of infection spreading across his body. The marks etched into his skin, the pitch-black sclera of his eyes, and worst of all, the whispers Mira had begun to hear coming from him.
How? How could he be infected? Evan had an Aether Art, didn't he? He should have been far more resistant. Yet here he was, already in the process of turning.
"You've really ruined my plan, you know," Evan said with a sneer. "You really should pay for that…"
He raised his left hand. The nail had turned black, the skin marred with jagged, cracked lines, stained with the infection.
"First I'll rip out your eyes, then your tongue," he said, as if making a promise.
Mira struggled against his grip, but it was useless. His hold was too strong. Despite Evan's thin frame, he was far more powerful than he looked.
"H-help…"
"Nobody will help a cursed woman like you," Evan laughed cruelly, then lunged, fingers outstretched, aiming for her eyes.
Slash!
Instead of pain, Mira blinked. Evan's left arm had been severed. He stared in shock at the bleeding stump before letting out a shrill scream.
"Aaaah! My arm!"
Before he could react further, someone appeared beside him and delivered a swift kick, sending him flying away from Mira.
Her eyes widened.
"H-Han?!"
Han glanced at her briefly, coldly, before locking eyes on the struggling Evan again. Mira couldn't understand it. He didn't like her. She'd seen the suspicion in his eyes, probably because of the marks of infection on her own skin. And yet, he had saved her. Why?
"You're infected," Han said flatly, watching as Evan tried to stand.
Evan glared at him, seething. "Damn Starvanguard… you're nothing more than a brat."
Han pointed his blade at him. "You should keep your mouth shut unless you want it cut off. You've still got a hand. We can force you to write your answers when we interrogate you."
Evan only laughed through gritted teeth. "I won't… let a brat like you… look down on me!"
Evan roared, and a pulse of raw aether exploded from his body. The shockwave struck Han with surprising force, pushing him several steps back.
Then, as if some primal survival instinct had been triggered, the infection inside Evan surged violently. What should have taken weeks to fully consume him began advancing in seconds. The blackened veins on his skin writhed and spread, swallowing the rest of his body like a living curse.
From the stump of his severed arm, blood bubbled and frothed unnaturally. The froth turned black, then thickened into muscle and bone as a new arm twisted itself into existence. This one was feathered, twitching, and wrong. Jagged tufts of oily plumage erupted from his shoulders as a pair of malformed wings tore through his back with wet, sickening snaps.
His bones groaned and cracked. Flesh stretched, snapped, and reknit itself as his legs bent backward and reshaped into talons. His neck twisted violently as his skull bulged and split, morphing into the grotesque visage of a monstrous owl. His eyes turned entirely black, devoid of light or reason, and his limbs elongated into gangly, birdlike appendages, each finger ending in sharpened claws.
Then he opened his mouth.
Wider. Wider still. It stretched far beyond what any human jaw could manage, splitting the corners of his lips, tearing skin, and peeling muscle from bone. From that gaping maw came a shriek so piercing it felt like glass shattering in the air itself. It wasn't just a scream. It was a sound of agony and hunger, of something that should not exist being forced into the world.
Mira covered her mouth in horror as the whispers from the Starfiend twisted into blood-curdling screams.
"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!"
"Die! Die! Die! Die!"
"I'll eat you!"
Han, on the other hand, remained eerily calm. He stared at the creature without flinching, as if Evan's transformation into a monstrous form meant nothing to him. His gaze was cold, focused only on how best to kill it.
When the Starfiend suddenly lunged toward Mira, Han stepped in without hesitation. He intercepted the beast's strike with his sword, the clash ringing out sharply. Then, in one fluid motion, he twisted the blade upward and severed its arm. Aether flared along the weapon as he infused it with raw energy. Flames erupted from the blade, and he slammed it into the creature's chest.
The fire surged inward, carving through flesh and bone. The flames spread with terrifying speed, devouring muscle and sinew. The Starfiend shrieked in agony as its body was engulfed. Within seconds, nothing remained of Evan but blackened ash.
Han stared at the smoldering remains. Something felt wrong.
Then he felt a sharp impact strike his back.
"Idiot. Wake up!"
Han jolted, spinning around. Erika stood behind him, glaring.
"You got trapped in an illusion, moron. Don't you remember what Master taught you?"
Han blinked as the memory surfaced.
They were sitting in the living room of Auren's house back in the city.
"Physical attacks may look the most dangerous, but they aren't always the real threat," Auren had said while sprawled out on the sofa. "The ones that mess with your head are the most annoying. Remember the illusion I put you into?"
"Yeah. You made me think I killed you."
"Exactly. And if that had been a real fight, you would've died with a smile on your face. You cannot afford to lower your guard. In battle, people often forget the possibility of illusions or other mental tricks. It's hard to focus on that when you're dodging blades, but you need to watch how the enemy's Aether moves. Figure out the technique. Cut it off at the source. That's how you survive."
The memory faded, and Han's eyes sharpened.
He remembered the Starfiend's scream before it lunged. The sound. That must have been the trigger. The illusion had been cast through its voice.
Han clenched his jaw and immediately channeled Aether into his ears. The energy flooded through him, forming a barrier to keep out the foreign Aether that had infiltrated his mind.
The next time the Starfiend roared, it would find no foothold in his senses.
Erika and Alwyn were now fully engaged with the Starfiend. Erika unleashed her golden threads, trying to restrict its movements as it took to the sky. Meanwhile, Alwyn summoned a flock of birds to chase the creature through the air. Han didn't waste time. Using the trees as launching points, he leapt from branch to branch, sword aimed directly at the Starfiend.
The creature screeched, attempting once more to trap him in an illusion. Unfortunately for it, Han had already coated his ears in Aether, protecting himself from the auditory spell. He swung his sword and managed to slash across its torso before it soared farther away.
'Not good. Since I'm protecting my ears, I can't call forth my flames,' Han thought in frustration as he landed on a tree branch.
Erika clicked her tongue, irritated that the Starfiend refused to descend. Like Han, she was also defending herself from the illusions, limiting her ability to control her threads precisely. At this rate, the creature might escape. Muttering under her breath, she said, "Hey, System, give me a boost."
"Understood. Buffing the host's ability by fifty percent for the next fifteen minutes. Warning: the host will be unable to use her full regular capabilities for the rest of the day," the System replied.
"Just do it," Erika snapped.
A surge of power flooded her as the System's buff took effect. Her eyes glowed faintly, and golden threads burst from her fingertips, rising into the sky to form a massive net. The Starfiend shrieked in terror and fury, slashing at the web with razor claws. Some threads were cut, but more were conjured, steadily pulling the beast downward.
Alwyn gave a command, and the ink birds circling the Starfiend merged into one massive form. With a screech, it slammed its body against the creature, helping Erika's net drag it from the sky. The impact shook the ground violently.
Han moved in at once, leaping into the cloud of dust. Even with the smoke, he could make out the Starfiend's silhouette. He charged forward and unleashed his flame, engulfing the creature. Fire consumed its body, turning it to ash once more.
As the smoke faded, Erika and Alwyn approached cautiously.
"Is it dead?" Erika asked.
"Yeah," Han replied.
Alwyn frowned. "Unfortunate. It would've been better if we could have questioned Evan, but…"
Crk crk!
Before they could say more, a noise rustled from the bushes. All three turned to see the Starfiend holding Mira hostage, its claws pressed against her face and one hand gripping her by the neck.
"S-sorry…" Mira choked out.
"What the…" Erika muttered in disbelief.
Alwyn's expression darkened. He realized then that the Starfiend had cast two layers of illusion. It had likely trapped Han with both, and Erika had broken him out by striking his head. Unfortunately, they hadn't considered the possibility that they were already caught in one. They had assumed the distance kept them safe, so they went in only shielding their ears to prevent falling into a new illusion.
"Let her go," Han growled, his grip tightening around his sword.
"Lisssssteeeeennnnn," the Starfiend hissed.
It wanted them to willingly drop their guard and disable their Aether defenses, making them vulnerable again. The three exchanged glances, silently coming to an agreement.
"Fine," Han said. He dismissed his sword and withdrew the Aether shielding his ears.
"Kekekeke," the Starfiend cackled, and then it screamed.
In the blink of an eye, Alwyn suddenly found himself back in a familiar office. Standing before him was a tall man with long black hair. Shadows veiled the man's face, but Alwyn could still see the cold, piercing eyes glaring down at him.
"…Father," Alwyn hissed.
Elsewhere, Erika found herself alone in a prison cell. Her hands were shackled in thick metal cuffs, her clothes torn and ragged, her body gaunt. A man approached, stopping in front of her cell to look down on her. Erika returned the stare, defiant.
Han blinked in confusion. He now stood in the middle of a ruined city. Towering skyscrapers loomed around him, their tops jagged and broken. Above, the sky was blood-red, and in the distance, he could hear the screams of both humans and monsters.
The Starfiend cackled as it observed the three Star Vanguards frozen in place. Then, it turned its gaze back to Mira.
"It'sss allll youuurr fauuullttt," the Starfiend hissed.
"Ugh… agh… you monster," Mira snapped, gritting her teeth. Her fault? She wasn't the one who attacked and robbed people. She wasn't the one who pretended to be a Starfiend only to become one. She wasn't the one who had murdered so many. "You're the one who's at fault here!"
With a sharp motion, she pulled out the knife she'd been hiding and drove it toward the Starfiend's neck.
The blade struck true. The Starfiend shrieked, dropping her as it reeled from the wound. Mira fell to the ground, gasping, then looked up to see the creature slowly pulling the knife from its neck. The gash was already healing.
"Uselessss…" the Starfiend sneered.
Of course. Wounds from ordinary weapons didn't work against Starfiends. Only Aether Arts or weapons infused with Aether could deal lasting damage.
"I know," Mira said quietly. "It was never my goal to kill you. I know my limits."
The Starfiend tilted its head, confused. Then it felt its limbs suddenly pulled taut by countless golden threads. Whipping around, it saw Han, sword raised. In a flash, his blade sliced clean through the Starfiend's neck.
How? the Starfiend wondered silently.
The illusion it had cast on the three teenagers was strong, but not unbreakable. Han had cut through it easily, recognizing that he was trapped. As for Alwyn and Erika, they weren't the type to be easily ensnared by their pasts, and soon enough, they forced themselves awake.
Before the Starfiend could react further, Alwyn's ink birds swarmed in, colliding with its body and detonating on impact. Deep, crater-like wounds tore through its form.
Han moved again, thrusting his sword into the Starfiend's chest. Flames erupted from the blade, blazing bright. The fire seared through the creature's core, and at last, Han felt it crack.
The Starfiend's body gave way. With a final cry, it crumbled into ashes.
For a moment, no one moved. They stared at the pile, half-expecting the Starfiend to reappear once more.
Clap, clap, clap.
"Good job, everyone!" Auren said, stepping out from his hiding spot with a wide grin. "You did well, despite the slip-ups and getting caught in those illusions."
"Che, if you were around, couldn't you have helped us out?" Erika grumbled, relaxing now that she knew they were safe. "You could've cleaned up this mess in a second."
"Well, that would've been too boring, wouldn't it?" Auren replied with a shrug. "Anyway, I think it's pretty clear we've found our culprit."
"He's dead though, so we can't ask him anything," Alwyn said, staring at the pile of ashes on the ground. Han had made sure there was nothing left of the creature.
"No need to worry too much about that," Auren said. "I also found Evan's hideout in the forest. You might be able to dig up some clues about the case there."
"Ugh, seriously? Can't we just pretend this is over?" Erika muttered, groaning.
"Is that so? That's unfortunate," Auren said casually. "Because Evan stashed everything he stole in that hideout. We'll need to retrieve it and return it all. Hopefully, most of it's still there and he didn't spend too much already."
Erika perked up, her eyes gleaming. "You know what? I think I've still got some energy! Let's go, everyone! Chop chop! Money— I mean, our investigation awaits!"
"You said money," Han pointed out, earning an elbow to the ribs. "Ow!"
Auren watched them walk off with a faint, amused smile, Mira quietly trailing behind the group. Then he turned back to the pile of ashes and crouched down. Amidst the remains were small black shards, pulsing faintly with dark, foul Aether. He rolled one between his fingers, eyes narrowing.
"Interesting."