The road back to the city curved gently through tall grass and low stone ridges, the kind of road that looked peaceful enough to make people forget that monsters existed at all.
That illusion lasted exactly five minutes.
"Takumi, if you swing your sword any higher, you'll cut the clouds," Kenta said, stretching his arms as he walked.
Takumi snorted. "At least I swing mine. You just burn everything and call it strategy."
"Hey, fire is honest," Kenta replied. "If it's gone, it's dead."
Mio glanced at them. "That's not how tactics work."
"That's exactly how tactics work," Kenta said proudly.
Haruto walked a little ahead, hands behind his head, listening to them argue with a faint smile. For the first time in days, the air didn't feel heavy. No strange man in gold. No swamp. No centipede shadows. Just road, sky, and noise.
Yui walked beside Ilyrien, watching the heroes tease each other.
"Do they always talk like this?" Ilyrien asked quietly.
"Only when they're not scared," Yui replied.
Behind them, Hana poked Shun's back with a stick. "If you're magma, can you heat my lunch later?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm not a stove."
"But you're literally molten rock."
"That doesn't make me useful for cooking."
Emi, walking near Riku and Naoki, spoke softly. "I think this is what normal feels like."
Riku nodded. "I almost forgot what that was."
They laughed more on that road than they had in weeks.
And then they saw the smoke.
It wasn't thick. Not like a burning city. Just thin black lines rising into the sky, far ahead.
Souta slowed first. "That's… not campfire smoke."
Haruto lowered his hands. "Too wide. Too many points."
They didn't talk much after that.
As the city came into view, the gates stood open—but not welcoming. Knights were gathered near the entrance, armor stained, faces tight. Some sat on the ground. Some stared into nothing.
A priest from the Elemental Church stood near the gate, murmuring prayers.
Haruto stepped forward. "What happened?"
A knight looked up at him. His eyes were red, not from wounds, but from crying.
"Captain Rorven's squad," the knight said. "Twenty men. They went to clear a monster report two days ago."
"What kind of monster?" Akira asked.
The knight swallowed. "A-rank."
The word hit harder than any shout.
"They found it," the knight continued. "But it found them first."
Silence fell over the group.
"None survived?" Yui asked.
The knight shook his head. "We found their armor. Their weapons. The captain's crest… broken."
Mio's fingers curled. "A-rank… already?"
"This region wasn't supposed to have one," another knight said bitterly. "Something changed."
Ilyrien lowered her head, fins trembling slightly. "Then the balance is breaking."
Shun clenched his jaw. "They weren't weak."
"No," the first knight said. "They were experienced. That's what makes this worse."
For a moment, no one spoke.
They had fought monsters. They had bled. But this—this was different. This wasn't training. This wasn't progress.
This was death without meaning.
Kenta broke the silence, quieter than usual. "Did they even get to fight back?"
The knight hesitated. "Some did. The captain did."
That was all he said.
Haruto looked at the city walls, tall and strong, and felt how thin they really were.
Behind them, the road was still bright.
Ahead of them, the world was getting darker.
And this time, no one was laughing.