The Return

The Paper lay there. Flipping on its backside our figures loomed over it.

It was blank.

Or in other words, we were to return without risk.

Frila did not cheer or joy but allowed her shoulders to roll back subtly as the anxiety lurking in her expression eased over.

Right on time, a minuscule purple void seemed to emit from Red Dragon's badge.

Looking down at it, his disappointment showed on his brow.

Nevertheless, he stuck by his words and pressed the shining badge cautiously.

The purple void began expanding rapidly, becoming a life of its own.

A purple tide of luster engulfed our figures.

My sight was slowly dyed a bewitching magenta, getting thicker and thicker until all I could see was a single shade of purple.

Soon harsh stinging tinged my eyes relentlessly.

As I rubbed my eyes from instinct, I found that as my vision started unblurring we had already completed the journey back.

The bitter and nipping air of the -S- Rank Dungeon had been replaced by the perfume-staunched air of the guild.

The once bland sugar land had been reformed into a luxurious and polished office-like space.

The perfectly aligned floorboard was a soothing sight after so long in bumpy snow fields.

Colors had returned to our sunken eyes.

And a new kind of cold had followed with us.

The cold of socialism.

Our figures were vastly and indubitably stiff and peculiar in the horde of adventurers.

Red Dragon was looking like a blood artery in human form.

I wore blood-staunched clothes that had been ripped all other.

Only Frila had retained some normality in her appearance, fitting into the crowd.

A few stares here and there caused my shoulders to clench displeasingly but we weren't too out of place.

Rather, the few stares we received were soon memories as adventurers got back to their lives.

It wasn't easy being an Adventurer in the Crow Kingdom after all.

With most of the pay going to the -S- Ranks and above, there were only scraps for those below the -A- Rank.

So.

Was that it?

I looked around unsure.

Was that truly all that happened?

No official in a suit had welcomed us.

We had just found ourselves stationed in the guild. Our teleport being neither flashy nor empowering.

But somewhat bland in actuality.

My silken hair was brushed to the side as I swiftly regrouped with Frila and Red Dragon, shortly after losing them in the constantly bumbling crowd of adventurers pacing back and forth in the Guild.

They seemed equally confused about the lack of notice despite our leave.

I found my mouth opening for answers before even a few seconds had passed.

My voice felt like a flicker in the rambling of the Guild's affairs as it pierced the air in a mix of worry and curiosity.

"So... What happens next?"

My eyes darted between Frila and Red Dragon.

Red Dragon shrugged. Baffling me to an extent.

The -S- Rank Adventurer didn't know what happened when you took the return option.

The one with easily the most experience among us?

"I don't know. I've never retreated via teleportation notice from a Dungeon Prior to this."

His voice seemed too natural for it to be a lie.

My curiosity now clung exasperatedly to Frila.

Surely the knowledgeable Frila would-.

"I'm also clueless. Perhaps it truly isn't a matter that needs to be expanded upon."

Oh.

So we just... continue with our life?

As if a messiah to my incoherent thoughts, I saw a man.

I had seen this one particular man before.

Back when I was looking for Audra's Jude price, he had been the one to post the paper.

I assumed he worked multiple jobs in the Crow Kingdom.

He wore the same heavy padded trench coat, dyed brown poorly.

His neck had slumped to a terrible angle and his eyes slyly sneaked around the Guild.

His face was still that of a victim of molten wax.

Somehow, he looked exactly the same as I had last seen him. Not even his thick accent had changed by the smallest of pitch.

He cleared his throat rather obscenely as he strode to our side, barging through a few adventurers along the way.

"Ahem."

His docile and strongly influenced voice seemingly boomed in the Guild, causing heads to turn and ears to perk.

"Red Dragon. For retreating from a task that you accepted, the Crow Criteria Committee has ordered you to make up for your bad ends. You may either complete an -S- Rank Dungeon Submission. 10 -A- Rank Quests. Or the simple and leisurely task of 40 -B- Rank Quests. You have been granted a month."

Red Dragon slowly allowed a nod to emerge from his figure.

Frila had blended into the background like a Camaleon flawlessly whilst I stood as a superficial bystander.

So, a punishment Quota.

I felt the dread on Red Dragon's shoulder weighing down on my own.

We were a party after all.

Right?

"Hey."

My voice disapparated into the thick-perfume torrented air.

Had Red Dragon not heard me through the sea of shouts and yappers?

"Hey."

My eyebrows furrowed receiving silence for a response.

Red Dragon's head was turned resiliently left, towards the entrance of the Guild.

All I could see was the bloodied back of his sleek hair.

What was going on?

I felt something peculiar and shrewd form but failed to grasp exactly what it was.

"Are you-."

And then my eyes settled on 3 figures.

The 3 figures that had stolen Red Dragon's attention. To the point where not even sound waves could breach the moment.

My eyes observed these figures.

2 Females and a Male.

My sight was instantly pulled into 3 -S- Rank Badges.

Acquaintances maybe?

My thoughts throttled in all directions, making my mind an intangible mess.

No.

They couldn't have been acquaintances.

The look in Red Dragon's eyes was a sorrowful mix of grimness, resentment, self-loathing, and disparity.

The kind of innumerous things that showed a past far vaster than any valley.

So it was complicated.

I nodded to myself, accepting this as fact.

Sullenly the noise in the guild seemed to have died down.

Unable to figure out what could have caused this conundrum, my neck strained as I stood on tiptoes.

And as my vision wavered, I saw just who had blocked off the noise.

Who's presence had killed off the atmosphere.

Long, pale blue hair artistically styled that rolled down his back.

A healthy and attractive face that matched a strongly built body fit for a young man.

Adventurer clothes of an undoubtedly high-ranked material that had been dyed light and dark blue to fit the man's hair.

He must've been around 20-30.

He carried on his back a spear.

It was entirely blue and black, pointed at the end, and absolutely vandalized with scriptures.

His face carried quite the jeery and satisfied expression.

His eyes were of a bright-cast blue. Finishing off his blue look and elegantly judging all those around him.

My mind had taken in his figure at once, as I looked at his name tag the words flashed in my mind like thunder.

[-Rune-]

But it wasn't with this man that Red Dragon seemed to have been sent into a trance with.

It was with the two ladies by his side.

One had flossy, golden hair that curled around her neck. Her skin was smooth and spotless. Her eyes were of a calm grass-green as she kept a composed attitude. Her face in general screamed perfection.

She wore refined mage robes that possessed an enveloping pale yellow.

Half of Red-Dragon's emotions seem to have been dragged around her.

The two had a small stare-down before Red Dragon moved to the other lady.

Righteous and striking red hair that flowed down like a luminescent river.

A face that could be considered pretty, if not for the scrunched-up expression that had settled.

Warrior armor of various extremely scarce metals enshrouded her.

A gleaming silver blade had been wedged into a metal sheath, covered in detailed carvings and silver in scriptures.

Her red eyes were a shade darker than even mine.

Almost ignoring Rune the three seemed to speak silently through their eyes that constantly danced around.

The effect of the arrival of the 3 had brought such a change in the atmosphere of the Guild that it felt unreal.

Was this the influence of a true -S- Rank Party?

My thoughts glazed over conspiracies of what was occurring.

Red Dragon's voice was surprisingly creeping and seemingly awkward.

"Greetings."

The atmosphere had become extremely befitting for a loud and disturbing cough.

But none came.

The red-haired lady spoke, her scrunched-up expression twisting into something undefinable.

"I see that you're... back in service."

Her eyes scanned Red Dragon's figure shamelessly.

"I do hope it's not taking too great of a toll on you."

Her face squirmed seeing Red Dragon's injuries-sodden figure.

I had thought that it would've been more cheery, however the mood had become dreary and awkward in but a few actions.

Red Dragon's voice reeked of spite as his words slid out of his mouth before he could truly think upon what he was saying.

"I see that you found a replacement. For me."

His snake-slit-like eyes obscured the figure of Rune.

Truth be told, he had never seen Rune before. Yet past events and current changes had already formed a distasteful connection between the two.

Seemingly natural to her, the Red-Haired female snapped back. She was clearly unafraid of Red Dragon as most in the Guild were.

"Well, it's hard to replace someone who sat around in the Guild for months. Years. On END. Maybe the time was just right and this was inevitable. Did you ever think about that?"

Red Dragon's figure took a half-step back.

The curse of solemn betrayal seemingly chained him back.

He looked to the golden-haired girl for support, only for her eyes to dash backward, losing all contact.

"Ruda. After all, I did for the party. You replaced me. On what? A whim? A small break? A-."

Ruda, the red-haired girl, fired back before Red Dragon could even finish his point.

"A small break? Years on end? I don't consider that small. If you came out of that break as the same man that you entered it in, then maybe things would be different. But you clearly aren't. We heard of the news."

She beckoned her party of 3 forwards.

"And that one's on you, Adam."

His real name pushed Red Dragon back into the cruel grip of reality.

I felt pity in this situation. For Red Dragon, of course.

From what I could infer, Red Dragon had been replaced.

Partially due to his faults, but still quite a cold-hearted act from his former companions.

Unknowingly my voice had swung itself into their range.

"Wait."

Mixed with strong concentrations of cautiousness and misunderstanding their heads all slowly turned.

Feeling too many eyes on me for my liking, my back straightened itself out.

They seemed to be viewing my far-from-normal attire.

My voice still nevertheless, helped my benefiter as it could.

"I only heard but... Didn't Red Dragon help pay off your teammate's debt? To the point where he was living off beer and bread? Even if he struggled through a few bumps on the road... shouldn't it have been your job to pick him up? After all he did for you?"

She however, did not answer my question.

Rune did.

His voice was violent and somewhat distasteful.

"Who invited you into this topic?"

I felt my own persona being attacked out of nowhere.

"As someone who has seen sides of Red Dragon, I believe that this whole thing seems unjust. Aren't you just a replacement anyways?"

I couldn't help but fight back a bit. My voice sought destruction on both ends.

His figure got uncomfortably close to me.

His neck was right above my head.

I noticed a twitching expression on his face.

His breath smelt of minty water.

I found his voice ticklishly close to my ears, an effect similar to nails on boards.

"Replacement? Eh?"

His eyes were all I could see from a looming shadow.

Blue and blooming wildly.

From within his clothing, he pulled out a slanted gold-red dagger.

Of undoubtedly high quality, I could feel its sharpness through the glints on its edges.

He passed it to me somewhat forcefully.

He was getting pushy and uncontrollable.

With the dagger lightly placed in my hand, his voice came out crazed.

"Aim for my neck. Do it. I'll show a Phantom who doesn't know his place, reality."

Ah.

Even this guy knew I was a Phantom?

I stopped thinking about this immediately as his arm crept up my shoulder.

It felt sickly warm.

I jerked it off.

"Fine."

My voice came out impatient.

Wasting no time I went straight for the spot between his shoulder and neck where it wouldn't be too painful or endangering.

My arm felt stale as it crossed through the air swiftly.

"Don't blame-."

I noticed thick and tangible blue flames wrapping themselves around him. Just as my arm was reaching the checkpoint.

So bright that they seemed to be at the limit of something.

And soon they blasted outwards, decimating the nearby air and soon grasping my figure.

Fast.

A force so strong that I was immediately swept off my feet expanded outwards in a deadly manner. Only affecting me as I lost all balance. It was clearly not strength-prioritized but more like a distance-maker shockwave.

I almost lost my footing, had it not been for Vigar catching my fall then I surely would've been humiliated further.

My feet swept the dustless floor.

I felt concerned eyes on me.

My face felt hot and unstable.

Luckily, it didn't seem like I was that damaged, just a bit of a shove was all I had felt. My shock had not come from pain, but the suddenness of the attack.

My eyes ricocheted to his figure.

It stood in the limelight, gleaming and arrogant.

I felt a feeling of rot mold in my head.

This guy... he really had a talent for emotionally controlling people.

I had just lost all control.

Although I knew not to kill a man, I had almost injured him.

An ability.

That must be it.

He chuckled blatantly and foully.

"Just a replacement? You think that I'm just a replacement-."

His words stopped at an odd point.

His arrogant gestures and expressions all froze stiffly.

His eyes nervously trailed back to see a burgundy-red blade on his neck.

"Hands off the boy,"

A rather oaky voice trailed past his ears. Despite it soon vanishing, it remained in his memory like hot iron.

He hadn't a clue of when it had arrived, just that it was at a suitable position to drive right thoroughly.

Ruda's voice cut into the tension like a hammer hilt.

"Killing him here would be pretty hypocritical. After all, he's essentially a younger you."

Red Dragon acknowledged her words and squinted his eyes, trying to imagine his own young and arrogant figure.

Rune's figure soon slipped down in a squat-like motion.

Rubbing his neck with a gloved hand, Rune looked at Red Dragon obscurely.

"It won't happen twice."

And with that Rune left, followed by his two female companions who seemed to be allowing him to take the role of leader.

As they left, Red Dragon's figure intensely shook at Ruda's last words.

"Good luck with the quests."

"You'll need it. Straining Season, after all."

Her slivering voice soon wisped out.

Unknowing of what the straining season was, I rubbed my hair tediously. Giving it a little tousle I now noticed that Frila had slipped next to me.

Red Dragon walked over to us, sullen and broken to an extent. Frila's voice brought him back, bringing my spirits up a little too.

"Well. Shall we do some quests?"

And with that.

A heavy month passed.