The dry leaves crunched under her boots as she walked through the dark woods, her hands clasped behind her head while her tail swayed slowly behind her. The night air had grown cool hours after the Gate clear, but she didn’t seem to notice the chill.

"Have you ever seen something like that before?" The demon girl asked, tilting her head back to look at the canopy.

"No," the boy replied, stepping over a fallen branch, "it was completely strange and unexpected."

"Do you think it has to do with him?" he asked.

"It has to be," she said, her tail twitching in the dark, "there is really no other way to explain it."

She kept walking, her mind still replaying the bizarre phenomenon they had witnessed. The boy didn’t press her for more details, just keeping his hands in his pockets while he followed her down the winding path.

The trail eventually dipped toward a low ridge overlooking a quiet clearing where the faint, warm glow of a campfire flickered between the trees.

Down in that clearing, Hajin slowly opened his eyes, the light of the fire casting shifting shadows against his face. He looked around, finding himself surrounded by his girls.

Juna was curled up right against his side, her tail wrapped loosely around his arm while her ears twitched in her sleep. Loccy lay on the other side, her long ears draped over a makeshift blanket while her breathing remained slow and steady.

Vella was resting near his feet, her head propped on her hands while her hair spilled across the grass.

Seeing them all peaceful like this, he couldn’t help but think back to his life in the slums. Back then, he spent every single night alone on the cold ground, shivering from the hunger while worrying if he would even wake up the next morning.

Nobody cared if he lived or died, and the only company he had was the rain falling directly onto his face.

But now, he had people who actually wanted to be by his side, who fought beside him and stayed with him even when things got dangerous. All the exhaustion from the brutal battle seemed to melt away as he watched them sleep.

For three years he had believed that he was completely alone, a useless exile who would eventually die forgotten in a ditch. But seeing them here, safe and warm, made him realize that things had really changed.

He wasn’t that lonely kid anymore, and having people who genuinely cared about him brought a slow smile to his face.

’I guess my life isn’t so bad after all,’ he smiled slightly, reaching out to gently pat Juna’s hair while she slept.

Helen walked over a moment later, having noticed that he was finally awake.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, stopping a few feet from where he lay on the grass.

"Okay for the most part," he replied, slowly sitting up while rubbing his neck.

"She didn’t leave your side once," SHe said, her gaze shifting toward the sleeping girl near his feet. "She worked herself to exhaustion to make sure you woke up."

He smiled, looking down at Vella’s peaceful face, "yeah, she’s just like that," he said, his voice quiet. "I have to make sure I treat all of them to something really good as a thank you."

She smiled faintly, shaking her head, "you’re not so bad after all," she said, her voice carrying a trace of friendliness that hadn’t been there during the raid.

She stood there in silence for a moment, her eyes dropping to the embers of the fire while the soft crackle of wood filled the gap between them. When she looked back up, the small smile was completely gone, replaced by a tense look that made him lock his focus on her.

"Can we talk?" she asked, her voice dropping to a low whisper.

He noticed the sudden change in her voice, his guard instantly rising as his mind immediately started preparing for another problem.

’Did something else show up,’ he thought, his eyes scanning the dark trees behind her before returning to her face.

"Sure," he said, pushing the blanket aside while keeping his movements quiet.

He stood up slowly, making sure not to wake Juna who was still sleeping soundly against his leg. Helen gave a short nod, turning around and leading the way toward the edge of the camp.

On the other side of the camp, far enough that their voices wouldn’t carry back to the sleeping girls, the Captain sat on a fallen log. He was holding his massive claymore across his knees, slowly running a rag down the length of the metal to clean off the dark sand.

The Captain looked up, a small, tired smile crossing his face as he noticed him approaching.

"Good to see you back on your feet," the Captain said, setting the rag down on his knee.

Hajin walked over and sat down on a nearby crate, his ribs feeling only slightly stiff.

"How are you feeling?" the Captain asked, resting his hands on the guard of his sword.

"I’m feeling good," he replied, giving a short nod.

"Good, good," the Captain murmured, his gaze dropping back to the steel of his claymore.

An awkward silence settled over them, prompting him to study their faces. Helen stood with her arms crossed, staring off into the dark trees while the Captain kept his focus locked on the blade to avoid eye contact.

"What’s wrong?" he asked, his brow furrowing as he leaned forward. "Why are you two acting like this? Did something happen?" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Helen hesitated, her gaze dropping to the ground for a second.

"Well," she started, shifting her weight awkwardly. "You know how Gates usually work. When an exploration team clears the boss, the structure itself remains perfectly intact."

"The normal monsters inside, not counting the anomalies, continue to respawn over time, allowing adventurers to hunt the same Gate repeatedly for loot and to get stronger."

Hajin blinked, completely lost on where this conversation was going.

"Yeah," he said, tilting his head in confusion. "That is basic common knowledge. Why are you bringing it up?"

The Captain let out a heavy sigh, shifting his position on the log.

"Because today, something different happened," the Captain cut in, his grip tightening on the rag. "When you defeated the boss... well..."

He paused, looking like he was struggling to process the events himself.

"After about ten minutes, the Gate forcefully threw us all outside," he explained, looking directly at him. "It completely disappeared right in front of our eyes."

Hajin stared at him, his confusion deepening into genuine disbelief.

"What?" he asked, his voice flat. "How does that even happen?"

He paused, a sudden memory flashing through his mind. He remembered the wild rumors he had completely dismissed a few weeks ago. The whispers circulating the guild about that mutated two-shard Gate he cleared with Juna.

People had been claiming that the Gate completely vanished after he walked out.

"No," he muttered, his eyes going wide as he looked between the two of them. "It couldn’t be."

Helen held his gaze, her expression dead serious, "yes," she said quietly. "We believe it is somehow connected to you."