Halochassis

The medical wagons had already arrived at the shattered remains of the Stonehill District, their heavy wooden wheels creaking over broken cobblestones and splintered timber. The once lively streets were now buried beneath jagged heaps of stone, charred beams, and shattered glass, while a thick haze of dust lingered in the cold morning air. 

The acrid scent of smoke mixed with the metallic tang of blood, making every breath feel heavy. Everywhere Lireina looked, rescuer mages worked tirelessly, their telekinetic magic lifting massive slabs of rubble with shimmering currents of mana as they searched desperately for anyone still trapped beneath the wreckage. Nearby, clerics hurried from one injured civilian to another, their hands glowing with gentle golden light as healing prayers echoed through the devastated district. Between the cries of the wounded, the shouted orders of rescuers, and the constant rumble of collapsing debris, the district had become a symphony of grief and desperation.

Just as a pair of exhausted clerics carefully placed Garruk’s lifeless body onto a cloth stretcher, covering him with solemn reverence, Lireina remained frozen amidst the ruins. The brilliant aura of the Untouchable Windwalker had long since faded, leaving her standing in her ordinary form once more. Her transformation had ended, but the weight pressing against her heart refused to disappear. Her trembling fingers hung uselessly at her sides as she watched the stretcher disappear into the growing line of casualties. The image of Garruk’s still face burned itself into her memory, refusing to let her look away even after he was gone.

Every weary step she took across the broken streets felt heavier than the last. Azazel’s chilling threat replayed endlessly in her mind, each word sharper than a blade. She could still hear his calm, merciless voice promising that Garruk would not be his final victim. The thought of Croft or Shin lying lifeless beneath another white cloth twisted her stomach into knots. Her chest tightened until breathing itself became painful. She had faced terrifying monsters before, yet none of them had ever frightened her as much as the possibility of losing the people she loved. The fear clung to her like an icy shadow she could not escape.

”Somebody help! We need a healer!”

The desperate cry cut through the chaos.

Lireina turned immediately toward the voice. An exhausted adventurer stumbled through the debris while carrying an elderly woman in his arms. Blood streamed from a deep wound across the woman’s forehead, dripping onto his battered armor and staining the broken stones beneath them. Her breathing was shallow, and every weak gasp sounded as though it could be her last.

Without wasting a second, Lireina rushed forward and gently knelt beside the injured woman. She carefully placed both hands against the wound as warm emerald light blossomed from her palms. The soothing glow spread across the woman’s body, weaving through torn flesh and fractured skin with delicate threads of restorative magic. The bleeding gradually slowed before stopping entirely, while the gash sealed itself until only a faint scar remained. The old woman’s strained expression softened as color slowly returned to her pale face.

”Thank you, Untouchable Windwalker,” the elderly woman whispered, her voice trembling with relief. ”You saved me.”

Lireina lowered her hands and forced herself to meet the woman’s grateful eyes. The praise struck her heart like an accusation instead of a compliment. She slowly shook her head, unable to accept the gratitude.

”I...” Her voice cracked before she could continue. ”I failed to save anyone.”

The old woman opened her mouth as though to respond, but Lireina had already stood and quietly walked away, unable to bear hearing words of comfort she did not believe she deserved.

Instead, she joined the other clerics, moving tirelessly from one wounded survivor to the next. She healed crushed limbs, closed bleeding wounds, soothed burns, and eased countless cries of pain. Every spell drained more of her remaining mana, leaving her body weaker with each passing minute, yet she refused every opportunity to rest. If she could not save Garruk... if she could not stop the Halochassis... then the least she could do was ensure no one else died while she still had strength left to give.

The black sky gradually faded into soft shades of gray before the first rays of dawn finally pierced through the lingering smoke. Pale golden light stretched across the ruined district, revealing the full extent of the destruction. Homes had been reduced to splintered skeletons, market stalls were little more than smoldering ashes, and entire streets had vanished beneath mountains of rubble. Lireina barely noticed the sunrise. She knew sleep would never come to her that day—not after everything the Halochassis had done.

Nearly thirty minutes later, the steady flow of injured civilians finally began to slow. The surviving clerics allowed themselves brief moments to breathe while rescue teams continued searching the ruins. Lireina wiped the sweat and dust from her brow, only then remembering that Croft’s father had been working in another section of the district when the attack began.

A cold feeling settled deep inside her stomach.

Without another thought, she hurried toward that part of Stonehill.

The destruction there was even worse.

Entire buildings had collapsed into tangled mountains of broken stone and scorched timber. Adventurers and rescue workers strained together to clear away massive chunks of debris, their clothes stained with ash and sweat. The air was filled with the scraping of stone, the groaning of broken structures, and the muffled sobs of families waiting for news that many already feared.

Along one side of the street lay a long, silent row of body bags.

Each one represented a life that would never return.

Lireina slowed her pace, her heartbeat growing louder with every step. Her eyes drifted across the line until they settled upon a familiar figure.

A brown-haired half-dwarf knelt alone at the very end of the row.

”Croft...”

She wasn’t moving.

Her shoulders shook with quiet sobs as tears fell freely onto the white body bag before her. She stared at it as though refusing to believe what lay inside, her trembling hands clenched tightly against the fabric.

”Croft!”

Lireina rushed across the broken street, nearly stumbling over loose stones before dropping to her knees beside her friend.

Croft didn’t respond.

She remained frozen, staring silently at the body bag while tears continued streaming down her face. Her breathing came in uneven, painful gasps that sounded almost suffocated beneath the weight of her grief.

Unable to find any comforting words, Lireina wrapped both arms around Croft from behind, holding her as tightly as she could. The embrace was all she had left to offer.

After several agonizing moments of silence, Croft finally spoke.

”He’s gone, Lena.”

Her voice was barely more than a whisper, hollow and broken.

”My father is dead.” Her fingers tightened until the fabric of the body bag wrinkled beneath her grip. ”It’s because of the Iron Bandits... It’s because of the Halochassis.”

Lireina closed her eyes as tears blurred her vision.

”Croft...” she whispered, struggling to keep her own voice steady. ”I’m so sorry.”

Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks before disappearing into the dust below.

”I couldn’t protect anyone.”

The confession left her lips like a wound finally tearing open. Garruk was dead. Countless civilians had died. Croft’s father was gone. Every face she had failed to save seemed to surround her, each one silently asking why she had survived when they had not.

Croft’s grief slowly changed.

Her trembling shoulders stiffened.

Her sorrow hardened into something far more dangerous.

”I swear,” she muttered, her voice low enough to send a chill through the morning air. ”I swear... every single one of those Iron Bandits will be wiped out.”

She slowly lifted her head, her tear-filled eyes burning with fury instead of despair.

”I’ll kill them.”

Her fists clenched until her knuckles turned white.

”I’ll destroy every last Halochassis.”

”Croft...” Lireina whispered, her heart tightening with fear.

The rage burning within her friend looked frighteningly familiar. It was no longer simply grief—it was vengeance. Lireina knew that kind of hatred could consume a person completely, driving them toward reckless choices from which there would be no return. After everything they had already lost, the thought of Croft charging headfirst into that darkness terrified her almost as much as Azazel himself.

Lireina spent the entire day with Croft, refusing to leave her alone while she dealt with the overwhelming responsibilities that followed her father’s death. There were countless things that needed to be done before the funeral, and Croft was in no condition to handle any of them herself. Lireina took care of the paperwork, speaking with officials and signing documents whenever Croft could no longer focus on the words in front of her. She visited the undertaker and selected a proper casket, then arranged the preparations for the funeral according to dwarven traditions. 

Every task felt strangely mundane compared to the grief surrounding them, yet each one had to be completed. The smell of incense and freshly cut wood lingered around the funeral home, while quiet footsteps and hushed conversations filled the otherwise solemn halls.

Croft barely spoke throughout the day. She answered questions when necessary, nodded whenever Lireina asked for her approval, and otherwise remained distant, her eyes swollen from hours of crying. Her father’s death had left a hollow space inside her that seemed impossible to fill. Even after everything had been prepared, Croft refused to leave the grave. She remained there for hours, sitting beside the mound of freshly turned earth while the faint scent of soil clung to her clothes. 

The day gradually slipped into evening, and the warmth of the sun disappeared behind the horizon, but Croft still stayed. Even when Lireina begged her to rest, she only shook her head. She would not leave her father’s grave for more than twenty-four hours, as though walking away from it would somehow mean accepting that he was truly gone.

Lireina stayed as long as she could, but another worry had begun gnawing at the back of her mind.

Shin.

She had promised to meet him for dinner, and she had not seen him since the destruction of Stonehill District. After everything that had happened, she could not shake the feeling that he might be struggling as well. The thought of him sitting alone somewhere, carrying his own burdens in silence, made her uneasy.

Once she was certain that Croft was surrounded by enough people to keep her company, Lireina finally left for the Librarium. Night had already settled over the city when she arrived. The familiar building was quieter than usual, its towering windows reflecting the pale glow of lanterns outside. The smell of old parchment and candle wax greeted her as she stepped through the entrance.

She soon found Shin.

He was sitting alone at one of the long reading tables, surrounded by several open books and scattered notes. Yet despite the amount of reading material in front of him, it was obvious he had not been paying much attention to any of it. Dark circles had formed beneath his eyes, and his posture sagged slightly from exhaustion. He looked as though he had spent the entire day trapped inside his own thoughts.

The moment Shin noticed Lireina, however, his expression changed.

His tired eyes brightened, and a small smile appeared on his face.

”Lena.”

Lireina returned the smile, though hers was weaker than usual.

”Hi, Shin.”

They left the Librarium together and walked through the quiet streets toward their regular bistro. The familiar warmth of the restaurant was comforting after the cold silence of the night outside. Soft golden lights hung above the tables, while the savory aroma of freshly cooked food filled the air. The clinking of plates and silverware created a gentle background noise as the two settled into their usual seats.

Their meals arrived soon after, but neither of them immediately spoke.

For several minutes, they simply ate in silence.

Lireina occasionally glanced at Shin, while Shin kept his attention on his food. There was an awkward heaviness between them that had not existed during their previous dinners. Both of them had too much on their minds, yet neither seemed willing to disturb the fragile silence.

Eventually, Lireina placed her fork down and forced a small smile.

”Hey, Shin...” she said. ”Would you like to have a vacation? A breather, perhaps?”

Shin looked up.

”Vacation?” he asked. ”Where?”

”I don’t know. Somewhere by the sea.” Lireina’s eyes softened as she imagined it. ”Somewhere quiet. Somewhere we can forget about all of this for a few days.” She hesitated before adding, ”I’d also like to take Croft along as our chaperone.”

Shin blinked.

”I’m fine with that,” he said. ”But would Croft even go for it?”

Lireina’s smile disappeared.

”Croft’s father just died.”

Her words were quiet, but they carried the weight of everything she had witnessed that day.

”There was an attack in the Stonehill District. Several people died, including my friend Garruk. The Iron Bandits were relentless. They didn’t just fight the people protecting the district. They recklessly killed civilians too.”

Shin froze.

His hand stopped halfway toward his glass.

For a brief moment, the sounds of the restaurant seemed to fade into the background. The laughter of other customers, the clatter of dishes, and even the soft music playing somewhere behind the counter became distant and muffled.

He forced himself to remain calm.

He could not let Lireina see what was happening inside his mind.

He was the architect behind the entire plan against Garruk Stonehill, the man known as the Mount Kaiser. Shin had known that simply killing Garruk would never be enough to dismantle his slave trade institution. The organization surrounding him would survive, and someone else would eventually take his place. That was why Shin and the Iron Bandits had deliberately destroyed the buildings connected to Garruk’s operations. The destruction had been calculated to strike at the foundation of his business and leave him with nowhere to hide.

Shin had accounted for collateral damage.

He had considered the possibility that people might be injured.

He had even accepted that some civilians might be caught in the chaos.

But he had never imagined that Croft’s father would be among the dead.

Until tonight, Shin had not even known that Croft’s father was working in the Stonehill District.

A cold knot formed in his stomach.

He lowered his gaze and tightened his fingers around his glass, careful not to let his hand tremble. The guilt came without warning, creeping into his chest with suffocating weight. He had wanted justice. He had wanted to destroy Garruk’s empire and free the people suffering beneath it.

But now the consequences had a face.

It was Croft’s.

And behind her tear-filled eyes was a daughter mourning the father Shin’s actions had unknowingly taken from her.

”She might need some days off,” Lireina continued, unaware of the storm raging inside him. ”And I figured the sea might just wash some of her negative emotions away.”

Her voice finally pulled Shin from his thoughts.

He quickly looked up and forced his lips into a smile.

”Sure,” he said. ”I know a place.”

The smile looked convincing enough from a distance, but it felt unnatural on his face.

”Thank you, Shin,” Lireina said, relief appearing in her expression. ”Oh, and one more thing.”

”What is it?”

Lireina hesitated.

Her fingers slowly tightened around the edge of the table as she gathered the courage to say what had been weighing on her mind.

”There is no easy way to say this.”

Her gaze became serious.

”But this isn’t about pride, courage, or anything of that sort. It’s about safety.”

Shin said nothing.

Lireina looked down, suddenly ashamed of what she was about to ask.

”I don’t want to be rude, but...” She took a slow breath. ”I think you should give up on the Professor’s Legacy.”

The words hung between them.

Shin remained silent.

Lireina continued before she could lose her courage.

”The Halochassis has become a huge threat. Three of the Celestial Wardens have already been killed, and countless innocent people have been caught in the conflict. I don’t want you to be one of them.”

Her voice trembled near the end.

”I don’t want to lose you.”

Shin stared at her for several seconds.

Then, without saying a word, he reached across the table and gently enveloped Lireina’s trembling hands with his own. His palms were warm, and the simple contact seemed to stop her fingers from shaking.

”If that is what you want, Lena...” Shin said softly, ”then I’ll abandon the Professor’s Legacy.”

Lireina’s eyes widened.

”I promise that I’ll stay away from the Halochassis and the Iron Bandits.”

”Shin...”

”I mean it.”

He gave her a warmer smile this time, one that seemed less forced.

”If I ever see a bandit,” he said with a small laugh, ”I’ll run away as fast as I can.”

Lireina stared at him for a moment before a faint smile finally returned to her face.

”I promise I’ll stay safe,” Shin said, gently squeezing her hands. ”For you, Lena.”

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

The noise of the bistro continued around them, completely unaware of the promise that had just been made. Outside, the city remained restless beneath the night sky, its streets still carrying the scars of the previous day’s violence.

Yet inside that small restaurant, Shin held Lireina’s hands and smiled.

He had just promised the woman he loved that he would walk away from the very path he had secretly devoted himself to.

And for the first time that night, he wondered whether he could truly keep that promise.

Not.