The journey starts

It was with an aching head that Kurai woke up the next morning and it didn't take much to realize that Zane was the one responsible for it.

The guild master had heard about their need to take a mission so soon after the war and the next thing he knew, the man seemed intent on either giving him alcohol poisoning or making sure that he stayed in the blessed darkness of his rooms to suffer through the hangover instead.

The thought had Kurai grinning evilly as he used Seradeihn's blessing to remove the pain and immediately his body felt better.

He almost wanted to get his own payback by banging pots together outside the guild master's room, but instead, he settled for something a bit more covert as he started making breakfast in the guild's kitchen.

The greasy scent lured in many grouchy guild members and Kurai's smile widened in amusement as even Hozumi was lured into his trap, though she only ate the salad he'd made on the side while sitting near him in the kitchen instead of at the table.

He noticed how Satoru dished up three plates before hiding one away, which seemed to be the signal for a feeding frenzy to start as he walked over to give the second plate to Kurai, "Never assume that you would have time to grab a plate of your own once this bunch gets started."

Kurai took the plate with a smile before he noted that Zane still hadn't shown himself, and the question must have been written on his face because Satoru grinned, "He was on his way down until someone mentioned that you had been the one to cook the food…meaning that you had thwarted his plans so he's sulking a little at the moment. It won't be too long before–"

He didn't even get to finish his sentence before Zane finally showed himself, causing the guild members to freeze for a moment before scattering, literally leaving any and all dishes so clean, one would think they'd just been washed.

Satoru gave him a knowing grin as the guild master's shoulders visibly sagged at the realization that all of the food was gone, and he quickly placed the extra plate in Kurai's hands before nudging him forward.

Kurai finally caught on to Satoru's plan and he walked toward the guild master with a cheerful grin, "Good morning! Did you sleep well? Thanks for the welcoming party last night, it was fun!"

He inwardly smiled as Zane winced every few seconds at his loud tone, but then he took pity on the man, "Have some breakfast, Satoru had the foresight to save you some."

Zane gratefully took the plate, but instead of starting to eat immediately, he looked at the plate in confusion, "What is this?"

Kurai frowned, "Well, it's called an English Breakfast. Is something wrong?"

The man shook his head even though there was a frown on his face, "It looks familiar, though I know I've never eaten something like this before."

Kurai shared a worried glance with Satoru, but before he could say anything the guild master laughed, "I probably saw one of the other guilds make it. Thank you, it looks delicious!"

With that, the man started eating, but the words still troubled Kurai because it would mean that the man had possibly been a player at one stage unless it was simply another player that had made the meal in front of him once before.

Both were equally possible but he put it out of his mind in favor of cleaning up with Satoru and Hozumi, who had simply stayed quiet during the exchange due to a throbbing headache, helping him.

As it was, they decided to use the day to select a mission as well as to gather the things to prepare for their journey and Kurai was a little bummed out when he realized that Satoru wasn't going to accompany them due to his guild duties.

During the day they also visited the Training Hall to ensure that everyone had made it in one piece and Hana made sure to send some supplies with them when she heard that they planned on setting out the next day.

They also visited Lee's Inn, but the man wasn't there so they decided to return to the guild to select their mission instead, which turned out to be much harder than they thought as they looked at the wall that seemed to be overflowing with tasks.

Since they wanted something straightforward, but not too easy, for their first task, it took Taya and Reese coming over to explain the different ranks of the tasks before they finally settled on a C-level task that required them to close a new dungeon that had opened near a farmhouse two towns over.

It wouldn't take a lot of time to travel there and back, but they would be gone for a minimum of 5 days seeing as they didn't have access to mounts yet.

Hozumi joked that it was a shame that 'Seraph's Form' didn't give him wings as well, since it would shorten their travel time by half, and Kurai hoped that she hadn't jinxed him since he was sure that he would look ridiculous with six wings.

They decided to set out the next morning and, surprisingly, even Zane came to see them off.

Kurai was sure that the man was merely relieved that they hadn't picked some overly dangerous quest like the one that required the adventurers to slay fully-grown dragons that had been plaguing one region for quite some time after a dungeon break happened.

The nearest town was a day's travel from Seradeihn and they set out quite early before the heat set in.

They wanted to travel as far as they could before stopping somewhere to wait out the midday heat and they were about halfway to the town when the sound of a howl echoed through the forest, causing the two of them to look at each other with wide eyes.

The sound of people shouting in pain and panic had them rushing into the forest without a second thought, though they slowed down as they neared the sound of battle since it wouldn't be smart to simply run in without determining what was going on first.

The sight of a young warrior trying to shield an old man and two children from a pack of wolves that seemed to have already killed three other people had them jumping into action as Hozumi charged the wolves on the left even as Kurai used 'Cyberblink' to charge those on the right.

Most of the Three-Eyed Wolves were easily dealt with and yet Kurai found it strange when the rest of the pack refused to back down even with most of their pack decimated by their combined attacks, but the old man gave a warning shout and Kurai and Hozumi both dodged just in time as a gigantic paw, armed with long and sharp claws, swiped at them and they turned around to face a werewolf-like creature that was about as tall as a two-story house.

Kurai almost froze at the sight, but his body instinctively moved back to a safer distance as the beast let out a furious howl.

Other than the angry swipe, it ignored the two of them completely though, and charged directly at the small group.

The young warrior managed to parry the attack, but it was clear that he wouldn't be able to hold out for long and Hozumi lunged forward to bury her sword in the creature's back, only for it to slide off like a knife on steel.

Kurai knew that his blades would meet the same fate, so he focused 'Seraph's Blessing' into an attack before letting it loose, causing it to hit the beast square in the back.

As usual, nothing happened at first, but then the beast disintegrated into nothing, leaving behind the unconscious form of a young woman.

Everyone froze as realization hit, but then the two kids, a boy and a girl around 6 years old, let out a cry of "Mama!" as they ran to the unconscious form before the warrior could stop them.

The warrior himself cautiously walked toward the woman, while speaking cautiously, "Gina?", followed closely by the old man that seemed to be at a loss for words, but who had tears in his eyes as his lips moved to mumble something over and over again.

For a moment, Kurai feared that the attack had killed the woman, but Hozumi laid a hand on his arm, "No matter what form it takes, 'Seraph's Blessing' would never take an innocent life."

Kurai frowned at that, "But back in the mountain…"

Hozumi shook her head adamantly, "Those people were all tainted, even the ones that later surrendered. Remember, even if someone is tainted, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are suddenly evil incarnate. Besides, it seems this woman was attacked and changed against her will."

Kurai nodded in understanding, but then a motion to the side caught his eye and he realized that one of the three people whom he thought had died, were still alive, though it was clear that he desperately needed medical attention.

He immediately cast 'Seraph's Blessing' on the man and it visibly healed him, but the man stayed unconscious so they decided to make camp while they buried the dead.

The old man introduced himself as Giran before he pointed to the young warrior, "That is Marcus and my daughter, Gina, as well as their two children, Callan and Harlow. Thank you so much for your help."

Kurai motioned around the clearing, "What happened? How did Gina turn into that thing?"

The old man glanced around with a troubled expression, "It started a few months ago. Someone reported that a giant wolf had attacked their cattle, but the man usually loved to tell tall tales so no one believed him. Then one of the farms was attacked a month later and the attacks just became more frequent until my daughter, Gina, was attacked and dragged off a few weeks ago. We never expected to see her alive again."

Hozumi stepped forward, "You had no idea what was behind those attacks?"

The old man shook his head, "They didn't leave a trace, I only now realize that it was because they could have been smart enough to wait before they attacked."

Kurai nodded, "It makes sense if they retained their human intelligence. So there may be a pack of them nearby."

Hozumi glanced uneasily at where the corpses of the Three-Eyed Wolves still lay, but the young warrior named Marcus spoke up before she could say anything, "Those wolves didn't have the cunning of one of the races so I think they may have just been controlled by the beings that hold the transformation."

Kurai noticed the young boy as he hesitantly stepped closer with his sister evidently encouraging him.