>>Amber

My eyes frantically looked for the raised hand, then the person who had raised their hand stood up from their seat with her eyes on the King.

!!!

"I volunteer, Your Majesty." She then turned her head to look at me, her eyes were full of fire.

Serena?!?

"Oh? The Duke's daughter has stood up," The King smiled, "Please join the entrance line, Serena."

She walked up to me and smiled, "Hello, Saint Amber,"

"Hi..." I stared at her, "I didn't expect you to be here, much less volunteer to help me."

She looked down as she pursed her lips, "I want to apologize," I stared at her, "And this seemed like the only opportunity I was going to get."

"..." I didn't reply to her. I understood what she meant. She had no reason to meet me, the magic tower doesn't allow random visitors, so we can only meet 'coincidentally'

I was told she came to the cafe once, but I wasn't there, so she left. We live in two different cities, so she couldn't make a frequent visit either.

"Saints, on your marks, please," The King said and we all turned towards the forest.

I glanced at Ahin and he nodded at me. I then looked at the other pair and saw Lyal staring at me with suspicion.

...

I looked back at the forest entrance.

The King raised his index finger towards the sky and then shot out a magic stream from it. The light-blue colored stream traveled a few meters up and then burst with a banging sound, indicating the start of the challenge.

The four of us made our way in the forest. Serena and I went west, while Lyal and Illaris walked in the opposite direction.

In the first few minutes we encountered nothing and simply walked in silence. I felt Serena's gaze on me but I couldn't bring myself to say anything to her. I don't know for how much time we walked, maybe hours, and we went without saying a word.

Our last meeting ended on very weird terms. I won't lie, I was very disappointed at how that turned out.

"I'm sorry," Serena finally said breaking the awkward silence between us and I turned my face to look at her, neither of us stopped, "I know what I did was- evil," Her eyes looked straight into mine, "I won't make any excuses, I was too scared at that time and I ended up doing something so bad to you. I'm really sorry,"

"..."

"Corvina," She called my birth name, and I could sense the desperation in her voice, "Please, talk to me,"

...

I looked away, my gaze lowered and I thought about it.

"You made me into a murderer," I stopped walking and so did she, a step ahead of me

"I know, and I'm so sorry! If I had agreed to have the guy healed right away when the Tower Master arrived it wouldn't have happened." She looked down in shame, "I have no excuse,"

There were a number of times I had thought about what happened between me and her. She wasn't the only one at fault. I understood her fear, I had been a part of that world after all and I know how bad the whole thing is for noble females. But the thing is Hael arrived pretty late. The man was already taking his last breaths.

Maybe Hael could have saved him

Maybe not

But if I had chosen to learn the skills I had from the start, I could have saved that man too.

So was it really Serena's fault?

"Corvina, I'm really sorry," She stepped towards me, taking my hands in hers, "I'm really really sorry! I know I was selfish! And I can't apologize enough,"

I stared at her.

I do understand her and I haven't forgotten what she did for me. Without her help, I would not have made it out of the Cory Mansion.

"Serena," I began to speak when we heard a sound.

The sound of running

We both shot our heads in the direction of the sound. The underbrush ahead rustled violently,and we both knew something wasn't right.

Right then a massive bear, its eyes glowing with the malevolent light of miasma, burst into the clearing.

!!!

The beast was enormous, its fur matted and darkened by the corrupting energy that radiated from it. It let out a deafening roar, its eyes locked onto us with a predatory intensity.

My heart fell to the pit of my stomach and both of our eyes went wide in horror.

"Run!" I shouted, my heart pounding with fear.

Serena and I bolted, the bear hot on our heels. The ground shook with each of its thunderous steps, and the air was filled with the sound of snapping branches and our frantic breaths. The bear was faster than we anticipated, and it was quickly closing the distance.

SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!

I knew we'd encounter wild animals but it didn't cross my mind that we'd come across a corrupted bear!!

"We need to trap it!" Serena yelled, her voice filled with urgency.

"How?" I shouted back, glancing over my shoulder at the terrifying sight of the miasma-corrupted beast gaining on us.

"Just keep it distracted for a moment!" she replied, her voice determined, "I'll try and trap it with my magic!!"

I did not have time to hesitate, "Okay!!"

We reached a small clearing, and Serena abruptly stopped, turning to face the charging bear. I skidded to a halt beside her, fear and adrenaline coursing through my veins.

Serena raised her hands, her eyes narrowing in concentration. The air around her shimmered as she began to chant softly, her voice imbued with magical power. A faint, glowing light started to emanate from her hands, growing brighter with each word.

The bear, undeterred by the light, lunged at us with a ferocious roar. Just as it was about to reach us, Serena thrust her hands forward, and the glowing purple light shot out, forming a shimmering barrier around the bear. The beast slammed into the barrier, but instead of breaking through, it was ensnared.

The light wrapped around the bear like ethereal chains, tightening with each of its struggles. The creature roared in frustration, clawing and biting at the magical restraints, but they held firm. Serena's face was a mask of concentration and strain as she maintained the spell, her entire body trembling with the effort.

"Now, purify it!" she yelled, her voice strained.

I nodded at her, then stepped forward, raising my hands and focusing my energy. With a deep breath, I clasped my hands together, summoning the Holy Power within me. Then I opened my hands as they glowed, aiming the light coming out of me at the trapped bear. A bright, purifying light shot out, enveloping the bear in a warm, golden glow.

The miasma around the bear began to dissipate, the dark energy retreating in the face of the purifying light. The bear's struggles grew weaker, its roars turning into whimpers of pain and confusion. Slowly, its eyes lost their unnatural glow, returning to a more natural, calm state.

As the last of the miasma was driven away, the bear collapsed to the ground, exhausted but no longer corrupted. Serena lowered her hands, the magical restraints fading away. She staggered slightly, the exertion of the spell taking its toll.

"Are you okay?" I asked, rushing to her side and supporting her.

She nodded, taking deep breaths. "Yes, just a bit drained. That was... more difficult than I expected." She has a lot of mana, but at the same time, she doesn't have any practical experience since she's a noble, "But I'm okay."

"That's good,"

We both looked at the now-purified bear, its massive form lying peacefully on the forest floor. It would take some time for it to recover fully, but at least it was no longer a threat.

"Thank you, Serena," I said, gratitude filling my voice. "We couldn't have done this without you." I knew I couldn't outrun a bear. And I need time to get my powers out. If I had come alone, I would have been done for.

She smiled weakly, leaning on me for support, "This is the least I could do for you,"

I stared at her, then sighed, "It's fine," I told her

"Yes?"

"What's done is done," I said softly, "Although Hael took care of the body and no one found out, it weighed a lot on my heart."

"I know, I-"

"But," I didn't let her speak, "It's fine, it was not on purpose. It was in self-defense."

She was confused for a moment, but she understood it all fast, "Yes!" She grabbed my hands, "It was, a-and that man was a criminal too."

I nodded, "Yes, so, it's fine," If I keep dwelling on it, I won't get anywhere.

She smiled at me, but the frown on her face didn't leave, "Thank you,"

I shrugged, "Let's get going, we have yet to find a target." I began to move when she spoke.

"Corvina," She called my name and I stopped to look at her

"Yes?"

She looked up at the canopy, "It's way past noon."

"What?" I shot my head up, looking past the leaves, at the sky. Then I looked down at the ground. It was then that I noticed that shadows in the forest had changed direction. With how it looked, it was going to be evening soon.

We both looked at each other in confusion.

Why haven't we come across a single target?? It's been hours.

***

>>Hael

Something is wrong

I turned my face to look at Eldias, "Did you notice it?" I asked

He nodded, "The aura has changed." We stood right outside Hollow Woods. The poisonous fog was seeping out and so to avoid coming in contact with it, both of us had protection magic on, it filtered out all the poison.

"It's almost like it shrank. The ominous vibes from yesterday." We had already inspected the surroundings, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

Eldias nodded, "I'm getting a very bad feeling about this."

It was strange. No doubt there. It felt like the forest was trying to say it wasn't as dangerous as we thought.

A chittering sound made its way to my ears.

"Did you hear that?" I asked as I narrowed my eyes, trying to look inside, but my view was obstructed due to the purplish fog that traveled in the woods.

"Hear what?" He looked at me.

"I heard something," I said, "But I'm not sure what," I had never heard a sound like that before. And I didn't hear it properly either. It was like a flash of it and then it disappeared.

Eldias looked back at the forest, "I didn't hear anything."

I let out a soft breath, "Let's go," Then I began to walk in, "Night is going to fall soon."