With his last clone defeated, Cain remained on his knees, panting, his chest slowly rising up and down as Clair approached. Her arms and legs dripped with blood and her right arm dangled limp at her side, a bone poking out through torn flesh.
Clair took a deep breath, steadying herself as she stood over him. "Hahh… Cain, Recall your mist. Right now." She said sharply.
Cain let out a weak chuckle, then burst into laughter. "Hahaha—"
Clair slammed her shield into his face with a nasty crack! Two of his teeth flew from his mouth, clattering against the dirt. "Pshht." Cain spat blood onto the ground, his nose started to bleed and his cheek was left bright red. Slowly, he lifted his head to meet Clair's glare.
"No."
Clair's fingers tightened around her shield. "You—!"
Cain cut her off. "Damn it all… to the Underworld."
"Huh!?" A look over confusion came over Clair's face.
Caine voice then dropped almost to a growl. "One day, you will all… burn."
As if saying this used up the last of his strength Cain's body gave out, slumping toward the ground.
Just then— Clair felt something sinister coming from Cain as he fell, something not of human magic, it felt closer to that of… A Demon's.
Clair barely had time to react before Cain's lifeless body erupted into flames. "SHIT—!" She threw up her shield, enveloping herself in its wooden sphere just as the explosion tore through the air. The explosion carried to the poison mist igniting it, and a brief second later—
"BOOOOOM!!!"
The Mist created a chain reaction, flames completely engulfed the peaceful village of Tonbo. The explosion stretched high into the sky, piercing up as if it was trying to reach the heavens. The night sky was lit up for miles, and its deafening boom could be heard all throughout the Kingdom. The village of Tonbo was left erased as if it had never existed…
—
Two hours later a group of adventurers arrived to investigate the explosion. Where Tonbo had once stood, nothing remained but a scorchedwasteland. The air reeked of burnt flesh and the residue of poison. The ground was littered with debris and charred bodies—some whole, most in pieces.The team scoured the site, searching for any sign of life. Then, amid the wreckage, they found it.
A lone wooden sphere, its surface blackenedandsmoking but miraculously not aflame. One of the adventurers stepped forward, pressing a cautious hand against the weakened wood. With a single push, it cracked open—revealing a woman slumped inside, unconscious, covered in blood andbarelybreathing.
One of the adventurers; a healer, quickly rushed in, using magic to keep her stable. The party then rushed her to a clinic where, after a lengthy battle where she danced between life and death… shesurvived. The woman would be the lone survivor of what would come to be known as the Tonbo Catastrophe.
—
Clair took a slow sip of her coffee, finishing it off. "And as I'm sure you can assume… that woman was me."
Rion, who had been silent the entire time, finally exhaled. "Wow. That story really didn't stay sweet."
Clair chuckled. "Haha, told you." She traced the rim of her mug with her finger before continuing. "There was a trial, but I was eventually cleared. They determined the attack involved poison and fire magic—neither of which I had access to. I'm not a mage, after all. They were also already familiar with Cain…"
Her gaze flickered to the side. "I wasn't able to save anyone… but the guild still rewarded me, advancing me ever closer to the sought after 'Rank 1'. A lot more happened after that, but eventually, I just got tired of it all."
She leaned back in her chair with a small sigh. "So, I temporarily retired and moved as far away as I could."
Rion crossed his arms. "Which was here, I'm assuming."
Clair smiled. "Yes. You'd assume correct."
(And thus, Rion's adventure continues…)