“This will make things very complicated.”


    That is what I thought when I gazed upon the mutated beastkin. He couldn’t stand up or move in a meaningful way, but he could still flail his claws around.


    “Nocturna, please step back.”


    My voice was calm and collected despite the heavy feeling in my stomach.


    The monsters we fought were beastkin. At least the bipedal ones. He was trying to turn Morrigan into one of those things.


    “He is in pain. I-“


    “Nocturna.”


    I raised my voice, startling her. She probably didn’t realize what was happening. She only saw a wounded beastkin, struggling in pain. Maybe she knew what she was seeing but her mind refused to acknowledge it. I didn’t blame her.


    “Can you give us any information? Where is the man that did this to you? Any weakness?”


    His eyes lit up when I mentioned the man.


    “Everyone! Gone! He took them all!”


    He let out a howl of anguish. I stopped Nocturna from going close to him.


    “Lily, grab her.”


    “What are you doing?”


    Lily grabbed her and pulled her away from the beastkin. I pulled my sword from its sheath.


    “I am sorry for what happened to you. I will make it quick and painless. If it is a comfort, we will kill that man. I’ll pray that you find peace in wherever place you will go.”


    (Ivorysteel Longsword)


    (Power:13)


    (Durability: 308\325)


    (A mass-produced sword crafted by blacksmiths living at Whifur. The blade is forged from a special alloy known as Ivorysteel, renowned for its exceptional durability, sharpness, and resilience.)


    (Sharpness Enhancement: The blade is enhanced with a sharpness enchantment to increase its cutting power. The enchantment imbues the blade with a supernatural keenness, allowing it to slice through various materials with remarkable ease.)


    It was a good sword. Mass-produced, huh? If even mass-produced is this good, then how good were their special weapons?


    Even though it was called a longsword, it reminded me of a katana with its one edge and slightly curved blade. It was both lighter and thinner than Cruel King’s Longsword, so I had no trouble wielding it with one hand.


    “Poyraz! What are you doing? We can save him!”


    I turned my head to Nocturna. Her normally meek and petite face was red and filled with a mix of determination and confusion.


    The moment my gaze left the beastkin, he bolted towards me. It was something I expected. An ice shield formed in front of me, blocking his claw. G?kb?rü let out a small but proud bark. Normally that kind of action would make me at least smile, but with what I was struggling with now, not even a muscle moved in my face.


    I kicked him right in the middle of his chest and sent him stumbling back. His deformed body was already unbalanced, so I didn’t even need to put much force.


    “I am sorry!”


    I managed to make out an apology from his guttural groans.


    “Apology accepted.”


    My voice had no emotion. Despite the ache surrounding me all around my body, I leaped forward and beheaded him in one strike.


    As the mutated beastkin''s head rolled off his shoulders, the only noise I heard was Nocturna breathing rapidly.


    “We could have saved him!”


    She shouted. I slowly turned around to face her. Seeing my face, she fell silent and backed off.


    “The ones that attacked us. They used to be beastkin.”


    “What? How can that be?”


    “I don’t know. He must have some kind of ability.


    Lily looked away. He must also come to the same conclusion. Plus, it wasn’t the first time he and I encountered someone who went too far and had to put down someone. Plus, he was with me when the masked man tried to transform Morrigan. However, Nocturna was neither as experienced nor old as us. She looked at her hands.


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    “I killed beastkin? By the Ancestors.”


    I took a step towards Nocturna, my voice gentle yet firm.


    "Nocturna, I understand what you are feeling, but the truth is, you did what you had to. They were already gone, their body and mind twisted. What you did, what we did was mercy."


    Tears welled up in Nocturna''s eyes as she whispered:


    “But we could have found a way to reverse it. Amaterasu must know something.”


    I looked at Lily and he avoided eye contact. I took a deep breath.


    “Nocturna. We don’t have manpower, resources, time, or luxury even if there is a way to reverse it. Even the moment we are speaking, that man can return with an army and turn everyone in the camp into those monsters. We have to follow this compass and find a way to get rid of them.”


    “But… But I joined Blackclaw to save my people.”


    Her voice was filled with sorrow.


    “You created the barrier. You helped others to fend off them. You healed them. You are here with us to find a way to protect them. You are already doing everything you can.”


    After considering whether I should do it or not, I put my hand on her shoulder.


    “I know it is harsh. I know it is unfair. But it is not your fault. It is the masked man’s fault. And we will find him and we will kill him. It is that simple.”


    Nocturna wiped away her tears, a mix of emotions crossing her face. Confusion, anger, and acceptance battled within her. Finally, she took a deep breath and nodded, her voice told me that she made the harsh choice.


    “I understand.”


    Before we moved forward, Nocturna wanted to burn the corpse of the beastkin. It was a way to send a proper farewell to the dead while making sure that their corpses wouldn’t be used for necromancy. Normally, I would have argued for her to move on, but since there was a chance that the masked man was a necromancer, I helped her to cremate the corpse.


    As the flames engulfed the mutated beastkin''s body, Nocturna stood silently, her eyes fixed on the pyre. The crackling of the fire seemed to echo the turmoil within her, a mixture of grief and determination. Lily and I stood beside her, offering silent support. Lily looked extra uncomfortable. That was how he dealt with this kind of situation. If I didn’t hold him in this place, he probably would run and get as far as possible. I didn’t blame him for it. Everyone had different ways to deal with bad stuff.


    After the fire faded, we moved forward while following the compass.


    Unlike my previous tour with Morrigan, we didn’t come across any hostiles. Weird. At this point, I was sure that the masked man was responsible for the monster wave. I wasn’t sure if he controlled them directly or just drew them in. Of course, I hoped that he only had the power to draw them in. If he could control all of them, we would be royally screwed.


    He probably had the potential to control them like he did to transformed beastkin and the raven monsters, but my instincts told me that he didn’t have control for now. If he did, he would have attacked the camp with all of them. Of course, he could have thought he could crush us with just a fraction of his power. While I would have considered this option ridiculous since no one in their right mind would do something as stupid as just using a small group to wipe out a camp with active warriors while they had access to a huge army, that bastard definitely wasn’t in his right mind.


    I shook my head to free myself from those thoughts. Even if he was that powerful, no monsters were present. I remembered how the transformed beastkin howled with pain when he was injured. The lack of enemy presence must be related to it. For the sake of those in the camp, I prayed that he didn’t have any ways to heal himself quickly.


    As we moved further and further away, the light coming from the compass also got brighter. While I took it as a sign of we were on the right path, not only it was bright enough to hurt my eyes, but I was also afraid of it giving out our position.


    Even though those two things combined should have made me very nervous, especially with my condition, I felt a serene calmness wash over me. It might be looking like a gifted horse in the mouth but my emotions and mental state changing for no apparent reason wasn’t something I appreciated.


    I felt my heart beat faster and stronger. A tingling sensation danced all across my body. I felt my senses getting sharper. With the same sharpened senses, I felt as if someone was watching us. Despite that, my hand didn’t go to my sword.


    “Do you feel this?”


    Lily asked while pulling his glove.


    “It tingles.”


    I looked at Nocturna.


    “Do you feel anything?”


    She should have a better sense of mana or things related to that since she was a mage. However, she shook her head.


    “No, I don’t feel anything.”


    “Hmm. What about you, G?kb?rü?”


    G?kb?rü tilted his head.


    “That’s a no. Guess it is just me and Lily.”


    Why? Because we were outworlders? Or maybe because we were chosen by the Stars?


    “Guess we can only move forward. Keep your guard up.”


    We ventured deeper and deeper. The light coming from the compass increased more just like the tingling sensation. I actually welcomed it. It made my body feel lighter and wounds hurt less.


    What I didn’t welcome was the compass flying off my hand. It flew towards the sky and stopped just above our heads. The light coming from got focused on a small area around it. It was an unreal sight to behold. All the light concentrated into a sphere as it was blocked by an invisible barrier.


    “Cool party trick. But what it does really?”


    Lily asked with a hand on his hip. Just as he finished his sentence, the ball of light suddenly hit the ground.


    “You just had to ask!”


    I wanted to hit Lily. The ground shattered. I felt the ground beneath my feet disappear.


    “Lily, wings!”


    All of us were falling. I remembered how Lily formed wings. He was the only person here that could fly. I was glad I had him with-


    “I can’t!”


    Oh, you gotta be fucking kidding me.


    My body hit the ground. I didn’t hear anything break. But it still hurt. It hurt more when something, someone fell on top of me.


    Then someone on top of him.


    Then someone on top of her.


    “Thanks for the soft landing buddy.”


    “Get off me you fucking whale!”


    “Excuse you, my body just holds water easily. I also can’t get up with Nocturna on my lap. Nocturna, dear I know that my lap is comfortable but can you stand up? I don’t think Poyraz likes being a couch for us.”


    Nocturna let out a shriek and I felt the pressure on my back lessen.


    “I am sorry!”


    I stood up with Lily getting off my back too.


    “My back! You could have at least made yourself fly Lily! You didn’t have to fall on top of me!”


    “Sorry about that. I tried.”


    I hold my back. Fuck, my body didn’t like that fall. Still, considering how long we fell and how they fell on top of me, I should have broken several bones. I opened and closed my hand. I felt strong. Nearly as strong as when I had my armor on. How and why?


    While I really wanted to have answers, I first needed to asses our situation.


    “I think I have an idea about where we are.”


    Nocturna spoke up. She was looking up. I raised my head to look.


    “This is… A dungeon gate? We fell into a dungeon?”


    Rather than seeing the sky and trees, I saw a swirling, ethereal vortex of energy. G?kb?rü barked, and I dodged the compass falling down on my head. Seriously!


    It fell to the ground. It no longer gave out any light.


    “Guess we arrived at our destination.”