Ric frowned, his brows knitting together as if Gunter’s words made no sense to him.
"Yes... they were human."
"You can’t just kill people like they’re monsters."
Gunter’s eyes widened before narrowing into a glare. The muscles in his jaw tightened, and his nostrils flared as he took a sharp step forward.
"What?!"
"They were trying to kill you!"
He jabbed a finger toward the fleeing bandits.
"Like monsters? That’s nonsense."
He let out a humorless laugh.
"Monsters would’ve shown you more mercy than they would’ve."
His voice rose with every word until it echoed across the mountains.
"Do you know what would’ve happened to you, little lady, if you weren’t in the Fourth Class Advancement?"
"You would’ve died."
"Slowly."
"In agony."
He strode over to Ranar before lowering himself into a squat until they were eye level.
His weathered face softened for only an instant before being frighteningly serious.
He held her gaze without blinking.
"You would’ve been defiled."
"Abused."
"You would’ve begged to die."
His voice became quiet.
Almost gentle.
"So the next time you think about showing mercy..."
"Remember this."
"There are things far worse than death."
"And some grudges run so deep..."
"...they bee unforgivable."
Ranar’s golden eyes trembled.
Her fingers slowly tightened around the hem of her dress.
Her lips parted, quivered, then closed again.
She couldn’t find the words.
Gunter rose to his feet with a weary sigh before turning his hard gaze toward Ric.
"This is Aetherus, boy."
"Here..."
"Being weak is a greater sin than anything else."
"Mercy belongs only to those with absolute power."
He looked beyond them toward the dark tree line where the bandits had disappeared.
His expression became distant.
"If you aren’t ruthless enough to kill..."
"You’ll lose everything you love."
Silence settled between them.
Ranar lowered her eyes.
"...But..."
"They’re people."
"People?"
Gunter barked out a hollow laugh.
"So that’s your requirement for mercy?"
He slowly shook his head.
"Listen carefully."
"Those people have mitted more atrocities than you know."
"They’ve slaughtered entire families."
"They’ve murdered friends..."
"And anyone unfortunate enough to get in their way."
His eyes settled on the two children.
"I’ve no idea who raised the both of you..."
"But that person must’ve been a fool."
Without another word, he turned and walked away.
Ric and Ranar remained standing where they were.
Their eyes slowly drifted toward the corpses hanging from the nearby trees.
Some...
Were women.
None of them had clothes left.
Bruises and scars covered their bodies.
Even in death...
Their suffering was impossible to ignore.
"...Ric."
Her voice was barely audible.
"Is mercy wrong?"
Ric stood silently.
His grip tightened around the hilt of his sword before he slowly let out a breath.
"I’m..."
"I’m just a kid."
"I don’t know."
Ranar slowly curled her fingers into a fist.
Without saying anything, Ric reached over and gently took her other hand.
She didn’t pull away.
Instead...
She held on a little tighter.
She was only a child too.
More than ever...
She wanted her father.
He always seemed to know the answer.
He always made impossible things feel simple.
She wanted him to make all of this disappear.
"e on."
"There’s a safe place to camp a few kilometers from here."
"We need to get there before sunset."
Gunter called without looking back.
He had already begun searching through the bodies of the bandits he had killed.
There were quite a few of them.
Unfortunately, they carried little worth taking.
Their leader had escaped almost immediately after the battle began.
Ric and Ranar quietly followed.
Their journey continued.
After nearly five kilometers of walking, the broad mountain path gradually narrowed before disappearing altogether.
Ranar slowed to a stop.
A vast bottomless chasm stretched before her, swallowed by drifting mist and surrounded by jagged cliffs.
The air felt thinner now.
The fog lay beneath them instead of around them.
Far below...
The enormous corpse of some ancient behemoth rested against the rocks like a forgotten monument.
Gunter scanned the cliffside before stopping beside a massive boulder.
"Over here."
"Help me move this."
Ric nodded and braced both hands against the stone.
His feet dug into the ground as he shoved.
With a deep grinding sound, the boulder rolled aside, revealing a narrow cave hidden behind it.
"This is where we’ll spend the night."
"We start climbing to the second peak tomorrow."
Climbing...
The word lingered in Ranar’s mind.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the fat beastkin boy trembling.
Only then did she slowly lift her head toward the mountain towering over them.
"...We’re climbing that?"
The mountain disappeared into the clouds.
It wasn’t only the height that unsettled her.
She could already feel the mana around it being distorted.
The higher they climbed...
The stronger the mana anomalies would bee.
Even now, breathing required slightly more effort.
Higher up...
The air would only grow thinner.
"How high are we climbing?"
Ric asked without the slightest trace of fear.
Gunter raised a hand and pointed toward a slanted trail winding along the mountainside.
"Up there."
"That’s the second path."
"We just have to avoid getting struck by lightning."
"After that we’ll follow the mountainside for a few kilometers."
"That’ll reconnect us with the wider road."
"Once we’re there..."
"We’ll be on the other side of the city."
Ric simply nodded after hearing the explanation.
Ranar swallowed nervously.
The height alone made her uneasy.
She was about to speak when—
Scratch...
Scratch...
A faint scraping sound drifted up from somewhere below the cliff.
Gunter froze.
The relaxed look on his face vanished instantly.
He raised a hand for silence.
"Inside."
"Now."
"Get in the cave."
"And don’t make a sound..."
"...or you’ll alert them."
Without hesitation everyone hurried inside.
The moment the last person entered, they shoved the boulder back into place, sealing the entrance.
Darkness swallowed the cave.
"Stay quiet."
Gunter whispered before sliding down the cave wall until he was seated, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
Ranar let out a quiet breath.
She wasn’t physically tired.
Only mentally exhausted.
She sat beside Ric before slowly resting her head against his shoulder.
Neither of them spoke.
Outside...
The cries of monsters drifted through the mountains as night settled over the peaks.
After a long silence, Ric finally whispered,
"He’s wrong...you know."
Ranar closed her eyes.
"I know."
She answered softly.
In the darkness of the cave...
With only each other’s warmth beside them...
The two children quietly waited for morning.
And so another long night passed.
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