Aldric leaned back against one of the courtyard pillars, folding his arms across his chest.
"So let me get this straight," he said. "We're hiding in a house owned by a flesh-eating corpse creature."
No one answered.
He glanced toward the closed room again.
"Honestly? I should just kill him outright."
The words weren't dramatic.
They were practical.
Draven's eyes shifted toward him.
"If you do," Draven said calmly, "make sure you leave no trace."
The courtyard fell completely still.
Aldric blinked once.
"…He's already seen too much."
Draven did not elaborate.
Aldric studied him for a second longer.
Then a slow grin spread across his face.
"Yeah."
He nodded faintly.
"You know what? I was starting to think I'm the only one around here thinking clearly."
He pushed off the pillar and took a step toward the hallway.
Lyriana moved immediately, stepping into his path.
"He doesn't know anything," she said evenly.
Aldric stopped.
"He knows enough."
"No," she replied. "He only knows we are not ordinary travelers. He does not know names. He does not know affiliations. He does not know lineage."
A brief pause.
"He assumed we were vampires."
Aldric snorted.
"Close enough."
"If you kill him," Lyriana continued, unbothered by his tone, "it will create more suspicion than his cooperation ever would."
Aldric raised a brow.
"Oh?"
"Yes. A man like him disappearing suddenly draws attention."
Aldric gestured vaguely.
"That happens all the time. People disappear every day. Especially in places like this."
Lyriana did not deny it.
"It does."
She held his gaze steadily.
"But when someone vanishes inside their own secured home—after unknown visitors enter—that forms a pattern."
He hesitated.
"A resident disappearing invites investigation," she added. "Their kind keeps records of territory and residents."
That gave him pause.
The black-haired girl spoke quietly.
"High-ranking ghouls do not exist in isolation. They network."
Aldric clicked his tongue.
"Of course they do."
Lyriana stepped aside.
"Do as you please."
Her voice remained calm. Too calm.
"But clean up afterward."
Aldric narrowed his eyes.
"We're staying," she said. "Until sunset."
Draven remained silent, observing without visible emotion.
Lyriana continued, "If you kill him, remove the body. Erase the scent. Destroy all biological trace. Scrub the stone. Disperse the mana residue."
Aldric stared at her.
"…You sound prepared."
"I am."
Silence stretched between them.
Finally, Aldric exhaled sharply.
"…Tch."
He lifted his hand dismissively.
"You don't need to kill him."
He stopped mid-step.
The black-haired girl stepped forward slightly.
"I can erase his memories."
Silence settled over the courtyard.
Aldric slowly turned toward her.
"…You can what?"
She did not hesitate.
"I can remove the portion of memory involving us. Cleanly."
Lyriana's eyes flicked toward her, measuring.
Draven remained still.
Aldric folded his arms again.
"You're telling me you can just… reach into his head and pluck things out?"
"Yes."
"Like pulling weeds?"
"In a manner of speaking."
Aldric stared at her.
"Explain."
She inclined her head, slipping into the composed, academic tone she used when discussing ritual theory.
"Memory is not a single object," she began. "It is a layered sequence of mana-encoded neural imprints. Experiences form patterns—impressions anchored to sensory input. Sight. Sound. Emotion."
Aldric blinked.
"…In normal language."
She exhaled softly.
"I locate the segment of memory tied to our arrival. I sever the emotional reinforcement first—fear, tension. Then I dissolve the sensory imprint. The mind fills the absence with a plausible continuity gap."
He stared at her.
"So he just… forgets we were here?"
"Yes."
"And he doesn't notice?"
"He may experience mild disorientation. A headache. But he will not understand the cause."
Lyriana spoke carefully.
"Risk?"
The girl answered immediately.
"If performed improperly, it can cause fragmentation. Confusion. In severe cases, cognitive damage."
Aldric raised a brow.
"Severe cases?"
"I do not perform it improperly."
There was no arrogance in her tone.
Only certainty.
Draven finally spoke.
"How often have you done this?"
She met his gaze directly.
"Enough."
Aldric narrowed his eyes.
"That's not comforting."
She continued calmly.
"I weave a minor intrusion array—non-invasive. I do not rewrite personality or implant false memories. I simply collapse the targeted sequence. It disintegrates into residual mana and dissipates naturally."
Aldric scratched the side of his head.
"So instead of killing him…"
"Yes."
"You just remove the part where we exist."
"Yes."
He considered that.
"…And there's no trace?"
"None detectable by standard means. Only a high-tier mentalist examining him immediately afterward might notice minor disturbance."
Lyriana glanced toward the room.
"And you're confident?"
The girl nodded.
"He is unconscious. That simplifies the process."
Aldric looked between her and Draven.
"Well."
He shrugged.
"That's significantly less messy."
Draven's gaze settled on the girl.
"Do it."
She inclined her head.
"Yes, my lord."
Aldric held up a hand.
"Wait."
She paused.
"If this goes wrong and he starts drooling and screaming nonsense, I'll finish the job."
She met his stare without flinching.
"It will not go wrong."
Lyriana stepped aside.
"Then proceed."
The girl moved toward the inner room, thin lines of forming script already gathering faintly between her fingers—delicate mana threads coiling with quiet precision.
Aldric watched her go.
"…Nineteen," he muttered under his breath.
Then, louder—
"If you pull this off cleanly, maybe I'll stop calling you a kid."
From inside the room, her voice drifted back, cool and focused.
"You may continue calling me whatever you wish."
Aldric smirked faintly.
"Fair enough."
For the first time since entering the compound—
They had an option that did not involve blood.
---
The room was dim when they entered.
The ghoul lay exactly where Aldric had left him—breathing steady, face relaxed in unconscious stillness.
The black-haired girl stepped to the bedside.
"Do not interrupt me," she said quietly.
Aldric leaned against the wall.
"Wasn't planning to."
Draven stood near the doorway, silent. Lyriana remained beside him, watchful.
The girl lifted her hand.
Thin strands of mana slipped from her fingertips—so fine they resembled threads of pale smoke. They did not flare. They did not distort the air violently.
They were precise.
Controlled.
She placed two fingers lightly against the ghoul's temple.
The threads sank inward.
Aldric felt it immediately—not a surge, not a blast—but a subtle shift in pressure. As though the air within the room had grown denser around the ghoul's head.
Her voice lowered to a near whisper.
"Locating imprint."
Silence.
The threads pulsed faintly.
Her eyes moved beneath half-lowered lids, as if reading something unseen.
"Initial contact… recognition… tension spike…"
She adjusted her fingers slightly.
Aldric watched her expression sharpen in concentration.
"Emotional anchor identified."
The threads thinned further, dividing into finer strands.
She inhaled slowly.
"Severing reinforcement."
The ghoul's brow twitched once.
Aldric straightened slightly.
But her posture did not waver.
The faint pulse in the air dimmed.
"Dissolving sensory imprint."
The threads shimmered—and then began to retract, drawing back something intangible.
Aldric could not see it clearly.
But he felt it.
Like a presence being gently unstitched from existence.
The ghoul's breathing remained steady.
No spasms.
No screaming.
No violent reaction.
After several long seconds, the girl withdrew her hand completely.
The faint glow faded.
The pressure in the room lifted.
It felt normal again.
She stepped back.
"It is done."
Aldric blinked.
"That's it?"
"Yes."
He stared at the ghoul.
"He won't remember us?"
"No."
"Nothing?"
"He will wake believing he slept through the morning."
Lyriana studied the ghoul carefully.
"Residual instability?"
"Minimal," the girl replied. "A mild headache at most."
Draven's gaze lingered on the unconscious man for another moment.
Then he nodded once.
"Acceptable."
Aldric let out a slow breath.
"…Well, I'll be damned."
He looked at her.
"That was cleaner than I expected."
She did not respond immediately. A faint sheen of sweat had formed at her temple, but her breathing remained steady.
"It required little effort," she said calmly.
Aldric smirked.
"Show-off."
She ignored him.
Lyriana turned toward the door.
"Then we wait."
Draven stepped back into the courtyard.
Sunlight filtered across the stone floor.
Beyond the walls, Raventhorn continued as though nothing had changed.
Aldric lingered beside the cot for a second longer, staring at the ghoul.
"…If he starts acting strange later, I'm blaming you."
The girl met his eyes evenly.
"He won't."
Aldric held her gaze for a moment.
Then he gave a short nod.
"Alright."
He stepped back into the light.
Inside the quiet compound—
No blood had been spilled.
No body to dispose of.
No disturbance rippling through the town.
Just a missing memory.
And four intruders who no longer officially existed.