The monster’s desperate summons filled the ruined street with screeching horrors. Alex was everywhere at once, vaulting off walls, firing elental bullets mid-flip, then slashing with his blade infused with both fla and frost. The air cracked with explosions, steam, and searing heat. Serah, holding the line, fought like a whirlwind of radiant steel, her blades flashing arcs of light as she cut down the hybrids that pressed against her.
Then Alex struck the decisive blow — his sword plunged into the abomination’s spine, unleashing a torrent of mana. Fire roared, ice froze, and the beast’s howl was cut short as it disintegrated into ash and steam. Silence followed, broken only by Serah’s heavy breathing and Alex lowering his sword, smoke rising from the blade.
But from the ruins, a single assassin crawled forward. His mask shattered, blood dripping from his lips, yet his eyes burned with fanatic resolve. He raised a trembling hand, revealing a black crest etched with cursed runes.
"Ouroboros... will never stop," he rasped.
"The guild... the city... all of you... are already marked."
The crest ignited, consuming him in black fire. In seconds, he was ash, leaving only a serpent-shaped mark seared into the cobblestone.
Alex and Serah exchanged a long, grim look. They had won the night — but the battle had only scratched the surface of what was coming.
The guild hall in Velria was alive with noise when Alex and Serah pushed open the massive oak doors. The sunlight from outside spilled into the chamber, but it couldn’t match the heated voices within. Adventurers filled the tables, rcenaries leaned against walls, and clerks scribbled frantic reports. Word had already spread—Velria’s southern quarter had been saved, the abomination destroyed, but the serpent mark left on the cobblestones haunted every witness.
When Alex entered, silence rippled outward like a wave. The noise of mugs slamming and dice rolling halted. Dozens of eyes turned on him—so full of admiration, so of envy, and others... fear.
Serah walked beside him, her armor scuffed and streaked with monster blood, her expression composed but her hand still resting on the hilt of her blade. She felt the weight of every gaze as keenly as Alex did, but he, as always, carried himself with that sa calm arrogance. His black adventurer’s card hung at his side like a dal of war.
The vice guild leader, Edrick, a grizzled man with short silver hair and a scar across his nose, stepped forward. His heavy boots thudded against the stone floor, and his presence carried the authority of soone who had seen too many battlefields.
"You return." His eyes swept over the two of them, lingering on Serah’s weary face before narrowing at Alex. "And you bring back both victory and bad ons."
Alex tilted his head, lips quirking faintly. "The monster is dead. The people are safe. Isn’t that enough?"
"Safe?" Edrick’s voice rumbled like a storm. He gestured sharply, and an assistant unfurled a parchnt map on a nearby table. "The serpent mark you left behind—seared into the stone—has already been confird as an Ouroboros sigil. That cursed organization doesn’t mark random battles. When they burn their symbol into the earth, it ans they’ve claid the city as their hunting ground."
A wave of murmurs surged through the hall. So adventurers paled. Others slamd fists against tables, muttering about war, betrayal, impossible odds. A few younger ones glanced at Alex with barely hidden awe—he had slain sothing none of them could even imagine fighting.
Serah’s jaw tightened. "So you’re saying Ouroboros already has agents inside Velria?"
Edrick nodded grimly. "Most likely. Sleeper cells. Informants. Corrupted adventurers. This city has been growing in wealth and power for years. It was only a matter of ti before Ouroboros set their eyes here." His gaze cut to Alex. "Which makes your presence both a blessing... and a danger."
Alex raised a brow. "Danger?"
"You’re a Black rank adventurer," Edrick said, folding his arms. "You’ve shown overwhelming strength. You attract attention. The guild’s enemies will mark you as a threat, and Ouroboros will no doubt want you erased. That serpent sigil wasn’t just left for us—it was left for you."
The hall buzzed with whispers again.
Alex chuckled softly, running a hand through his hair. "Good. Then I won’t have to waste ti searching for them. They’ll co to ."
That confidence—borderline arrogance—stirred the room. So scoffed at his bravado, others whispered that he might truly be strong enough to pull it off. Serah glanced at him sideways, a faint smile tugging at her lips despite herself.
Edrick, however, was not amused. "Listen well, boy. This isn’t so dungeon beast you can cut down with fire and ice. Ouroboros doesn’t fight fair. They strike from the shadows, turn allies into traitors, rot cities from within. If you underestimate them, you’ll drag this entire guild into the abyss."
Alex t his sharp gaze without flinching. "Then we’ll have to make sure Velria doesn’t fall into that abyss."
Edrick studied him for a long mont, then finally grunted. "You’ve got guts. I’ll give you that." He turned to the room, raising his voice. "But this victory is not without cost! Four brave adventurers fell in that battle. We honor them tonight, and tomorrow—we prepare. Velria will not bow to Ouroboros!"
The guild hall roared in response, mugs lifted, fists slamd, shouts echoing to the rafters. So voices carried grief, others defiance, but all were united in the heat of the mont.
Alex stood among them, but his thoughts were colder, sharper. He saw the way the younger adventurers’ eyes burned when they looked at him, the way even seasoned rcenaries leaned in his direction. Seeds of loyalty, ambition, fear—all things he could cultivate when the ti was right.
As the noise died down and the guild began pouring drinks, Serah touched his arm lightly. "Alex," she said softly, only for him to hear. "Do you ever... worry that you’re carrying too much alone?"
He glanced at her, then at the roaring crowd. His lips curved faintly. "No. The weight just reminds how strong I have to beco."
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