The scene inside hit them like a punch.
Elin was kneeling, hunched over, her hands stained red. Her body had taken a deep gash across her back. She had shielded Shuri—who crouched beneath an overturned table, tears streaking her cheeks.
The back window of the workshop was shattered. The night wind blew through the empty frame, rustling papers and alchemy notes.
Sylvi rushed to Elin's side and dropped to her knees. "Healing potion—now!" she shouted.
Lysa didn't hesitate. She spotted Faren's satchel lying near the doorway, grabbed a blue vial from inside, and tossed it to Sylvi.
"You'll be alright," Sylvi muttered, her hands trembling slightly as she helped Elin drink the potion.
The liquid shimmered faintly as it went down. Elin's breathing steadied, some of the color returned to her face, and the pain in her eyes began to fade—just a little.
Lysa helped steady Shuri. "It's okay, they're gone…"
Rein's knuckles were tight around the hilt of his sword. He walked toward the shattered window, peering out into the night.
"They came prepared," he said bitterly.
Shuri rose slowly, her hands trembling at her sides. "She… she tried to stop her. When the intruder reached for the artifacts, I stepped forward—but she raised her blade." Shuri's voice faltered. "And before I could react… Elin shielded me."
Elin gave a faint, exhausted smile. "Wasn't… going to let them hurt you…".
At a distance from the facility. A figure on the rooftop stood silently in the moonlight. Watching the chaos unfold through the cracked window of the magic facility's upper floors.
He exhaled, voice calm and unimpressed.
"Useless. I might have expected more from them," he muttered, adjusting the cuff of his glove. "Though… she wasn't entirely bad. And at last, I've to erase a few annoying leads."
From within his cloak, he drew a small glass bottle. Inside swirled an ominous, tar-black liquid, thick and pulsing as if alive.
He turned it slightly, inspecting it as it caught the moonlight.
"Well then," he whispered, "let's stir the pot."
With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the bottle into the street just outside the facility's main entrance.
CRACK!
Inside the facility, just as Rein and the others helped Elin and Faren to their feet, a thunderous tremor shook the ground.
"What now—?" Sylvi gasped, eyes turning toward the front gate.
The glass shattered against the stone pavement. For a moment, there was silence—then a violent surge of mana erupted outward, pulsing with unnatural energy.
A black mist poured from the fragments, twisting upward like smoke.
And then… it roared.
Rein rushed outside.
His heart dropped.
From the mist emerged a massive, grotesque creature—a Giant Frog. Its skin was like leathered obsidian, eyes glowing red and wide, and every movement rippled with dark mana. The beast's body towered over the facility, nearly two stories tall, its tongue lashing with an audible crack as it tasted the air.
"We've got a problem," he growled. "Big one."
outside, the summoned beast let out a guttural croak that cracked windows and sent citizens fleeing from the nearby streets. Its tongue slammed into a nearby building, reducing it to gravel.
The cloaked man vanished into the night as a shadow.
Adventurer Guild Office – Night
The Guild Office was quiet, save for the soft scratch of a quill and the occasional crunch from the cookies.
"Shin… that's the last one!"
Shin didn't even glance up.
"It's your fault for not taking care of your responsibility earlier."
Vel groaned, head thumping onto the desk.
Just then, a glowing mana thread shimmered in the ear of Shin, passing an urgent message. His calm demeanor sharpened instantly.
"...A large monster outside the facility."
But before Shin could utter a word—
Vel launched himself through the window, cloak billowing behind him as he sprinted across the rooftop tiles like a wind.
"VEL—!" Shin sighed, standing up quickly and yelled "You forgot something…."
Outside, the roar of the summoned monster was now unmistakable, echoing across the city like thunder. Lights flared on across the upper levels of the Guild building.
Guild staff and adventurers working overtime spilled out into the courtyard. Among them was Garret, still in his training gear, who squinted upward.
"Was that Vel?"
Shin landed beside him a moment later, gracefully flipping over the balcony.
"Yes. And I advise you all to stay behind the Guild perimeter—There is a monster near the research facility."
Garret cracked his knuckles, already stepping forward. "Then we're not going to stay behind."
Without another word, Shin adjusted his gloves and dashed after Vel, vanishing into the rooftops.
Garret, a few high-ranking staff, and elite adventurers quickly followed, weapons drawn as the Guild responded in full.
Vel darted across the rooftops, the city's silhouette fractured by smoke and broken buildings. In the distance, the monstrous form of a two-story tall frog loomed—its grotesque, slimy mass hopping through the city, flattening anything beneath it. The tremors from its landing shook the air itself.
Vel narrowed his eyes, As he reached for his sword—only to grab empty air.
"…Ah," he muttered, skidding to a stop on the edge of a rooftop. "Right. That's why Shin was yelling."
He sighed in frustration, then clenched his fist.
Down below, the Silver Star party did what they could. Bloodied and exhausted from the earlier battle, they weren't in shape for another fight. Instead, they turned their efforts toward helping the remaining residents evacuate. Sylvi supported the injured Elin, while Lysa conjured weak barriers to shield panicked citizens. Faren, his bandaged arm clutched to his side, barked directions to low-ranking soldiers who had arrived to help usher people away from danger.
Despite their efforts, the damage was rising fast.
Vel's sharp eyes caught sight of it all—the shattered homes, the fleeing citizens, and worst of all, the crushed remains of those who hadn't made it. His jaw tightened.
His voice, barely a whisper against the wind, was heavy with fury.
"…Too late."
His mana flared. With a burst of wind magic, Vel launched himself into the air, higher than seemed humanly possible—his coat whipping around him like a banner. At the peak of his jump, he clenched his fist, drawing in both fire and wind mana. The air around his arm twisted violently.
Spell "Fire Fist."
A swirling storm of flames ignited around his hand, laced with wind. But the heat was too intense—his glove wasn't suited for this spell. The fabric burned away instantly, leaving scorch marks across his skin. He didn't care.
With a roar, Vel brought his blazing fist down on the frog's massive head.
BOOM.