After an unknown amount of time, Desper opened his eyes. He slowly got up from the ground.
Despite being covered in blood, he didn't feel any pain in his body. He could stand on his feet again and could use his injured arm freely. The corpse of the huge rat had disappeared, along with many other rat corpses. Both of his swords were lying on the ground beside him.
His eyes were lifeless, and his steps were heavy. With slumped shoulders, he walked through the wreckage. He fell to the ground many times, but each time he got up and kept walking.
He didn't care how his body had healed. He didn't care how the huge rat had disappeared. Right now, he didn't care about anything.
He could hear yelling in the distance. Soon after, five men appeared, dressed in the same uniform, though their clothes were stained with green and red blood.
Desper's body tensed when he saw them.
He clenched his teeth and fists in anger. They were the ones he had been waiting for all this time. They were the sect forces. If they had appeared just minutes earlier…
But then he relaxed, and his eyes returned to their lifeless state.
'It doesn't matter anymore,' he muttered inwardly and kept walking.
He didn't actually know that he had been unconscious for over an hour.
The man in the middle of the group pointed in different directions, and the other four rushed off toward them.
After that, the man approached Desper.
"Excuse me. Are you okay?"
Desper didn't respond. He didn't even look at him and just kept walking.
The man opened his mouth to say something, but when he saw Desper's lifeless eyes, he closed it again. He glanced at the circular board in his hand for a moment, then followed Desper in silence.
Desper finally stopped when he reached the place where a small body lay.
He stepped closer, but his steps grew slower and heavier. His shoulders trembled, and tears flooded from his eyes.
He knelt and gently closed her open eyes. Then he pulled her body into a tight embrace. His tears soaked her dry hair.
The man beside him tightened his grip on his spear. His mouth trembled.
"I'm… I'm really sorry for your loss," he said with difficulty.
Booooooom…
In the sky, a green light exploded.
'The Clear Signal,' both the man and Desper recognized it.
The Distress Signal was a blue explosion in the sky when there was a major monster attack. The Clear Signal was green, meaning all the monsters had been eliminated.
Soon after that, two of the other men returned.
One of them looked at the man behind Desper and said, "Everything is done. What should we do now, Eland?"
The man called Eland replied, "Another team has connected to the Beacon. We can return to the sect."
He paused for a moment when he saw Desper crying over Amal's body.
"We will wait for a while. Can you go and get the horses?"
He tossed something to one of them. They looked confused but still left to retrieve the horses.
After five minutes, Desper tried to stand while carrying Amal, but instead he fell to the ground with her.
"Let me help you," Eland offered.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!!" Desper screamed at him. His breath was ragged, and his eyes were filled with hatred.
His fall wasn't because he was tired or injured. It was because his emotions weighed on him like a mountain.
He tried again, and this time he succeeded.
Eland watched with a face full of sadness.
…
An hour later, rain began to fall.
On the outskirts of the village, Desper dug a grave with his dirt-covered hands. Beside him lay Amal's body, now cleaned of blood.
Desper lifted her gently and gave her a final kiss on the forehead before placing her in the grave.
Next to hers were two graves belonging to her parents. Desper had dug those as well.
Desper sat in front of the graves for half an hour without moving or speaking.
The rain mixed the green blood of the rats on his clothes with his own blood, creating a foul smell.
During all that time, Eland silently watched him.
Suddenly, Desper spoke.
"Why were you too late?"
There was no anger or hatred in his voice, only complete coldness.
His face full of guilt, Eland looked down. "It was a Double Signal."
Then he explained, "When two villages are attacked at the same time or within a short time of each other, it is called a Double Signal. The horses can carry us to the first village, but they would be too exhausted to reach the second. So we have to run the rest of the way."
He added, "That's why… we were too late."
Desper listened without showing any emotion.
"You can leave now," he said.
Eland frowned slightly. "You should… come with us."
"I'm not joining the sect," Desper replied immediately. "There is no longer a reason for me to do that."
"Please, don't make that decision," Eland pleaded. "You wouldn't survive two days in the outside world. And even if you did, you would most likely end up becoming a Zlodei or a Lurker. And in those cases… we would have to kill you."
He looked at Desper seriously.
"So please… come with us."
Desper didn't react.
Sigh…
Eland sighed and sat next to Desper.
"You know," he said, "five years ago, I was in the same situation as you. My family was killed in front of me. I was devastated and didn't want to live anymore. But then I realized something."
He turned his head toward Desper.
"I'm not telling you to become a hero who saves people from monsters, nor am I telling you to become an avenger who wants to kill every monster in the world."
Then he looked at the new grave.
"I'm telling you to think about whether she would want you to die after her. Do you really think she would be happy with that?"
"SHUT UP!!" Desper snapped as he grabbed Eland by his collar.
For the first time, Desper had a clear look at Eland. He had sharp features, and both his eyes and hair were crimson red.
Eland met his gaze calmly.
"Time heals everything," he said quietly, "even the deepest wounds."
Desper let go of him. He hugged his knees and buried his head between them. It was hard to tell whether he was crying or if it was just the rain, but the sound that followed confirmed the first.
Deep down, he didn't want to live, but he didn't want to die either.
…
After a while, Eland appeared at the center of the village with Desper walking heavily behind him.
Five other men were waiting for them. Each of them was holding the bridle of a red horse, except one who held the bridles of two horses: one was red, and the other was blue.
"We are going back to the sect," Eland said.
The strange thing was that none of them mounted their horses. Desper was the only one who rode, sitting on the blue horse.
When they left the village, Desper took one last look at the ruined place and asked in a low voice,
"What will happen to the village? And the bodies of the villagers?"
"Don't worry about them," one of the men replied. "The sect will send people to rebuild the village and bury the bodies."
After that, they moved very slowly. The horses were exhausted, and Desper could hear their heavy breathing.
Only after two hours did the cultivators mount their horses, and then they began to move faster. Eland sat in front of Desper on the blue horse.
Desper didn't say a word during the entire journey. His mind was flooded with memories. Sometimes he cried. Sometimes he smiled. And sometimes his face twisted with anger.
After another two hours, a huge wall appeared on the horizon. It was about thirty meters tall. Desper looked left and right, yet he couldn't see where it ended.
The group guided their horses toward an open gate.
The guards stopped them. The team handed over small rectangular bronze tokens. The guards examined them and quickly returned them.
Then they looked at Desper questioningly.
"He is new," Eland said, handing them a larger circular board.
After examining it, the guards finally allowed them to enter.
Desper was confused. Behind the walls, he didn't see any buildings or people, but only a vast desert. In the distance, he could see the silhouettes of many structures rising from the desert.
After ten minutes, they reached those buildings. This was the true sect.
The group dismounted and handed the horses to an old man who seemed to be waiting for them.
Then the team members went in different directions.
Eland turned to Desper.
"Come with me."
Desper didn't bother asking any questions and simply followed him.
As they walked through the streets, Desper saw many people moving around and many children playing. He could smell cooking coming from the tall buildings.
The sect was surprisingly large and full of life. People didn't need to carry weapons here because no monster could enter the sect.
Overall, the sect felt lively.
Soon after, they reached a very large red building with the words "Order Hall" written on it.
The place was extremely busy. Many people were moving around, all dressed in the sect uniform: orange robes with irregular black lines resembling a tiger's stripes.
They entered the building, and Eland led him to a small room.
Inside sat an old man behind a table.
"I want to register him as a new disciple," Eland said.
The old man didn't respond. He simply placed a small bronze token on the table, similar to the ones used at the gate.
"Place your hand on the token," Eland told Desper.
When Desper touched it, the token emitted a soft white light, and he felt a warm sensation spreading through his hand.
"Now you are a disciple of the Angry Tiger Sect," the old man stated.
…
Ten minutes later, they were standing in front of a five-story building.
Eland explained many things about the token: how to use it to check the time, accept missions, leave the sect, and several other functions. Essentially, the token was extremely important.
One crucial detail was that only Desper could use it.
"Take this," Eland said, handing him a small blue pill.
"What is this?" Desper asked.
"It's a sleeping pill. in case you can't sleep."
Desper took it and entered the building.
On the third floor, he waved his token in front of a door, and it opened instantly.
He didn't bother exploring the apartment. He simply lay down on the first bed he saw.
With no hesitation, he swallowed the pill and fell into a deep sleep.