"Hooray! Hooray!"

The townspeople all cheered loudly for Oliver.

"I’m sorry for calling you a failure before, Oliver. From now on, I should call you a success instead."

"Thank you, Oliver, for saving our town. We will never forget this."

"You’re so lucky, Irmine, to give birth to such a special son. I’m so jealous." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

All kinds of praise were directed toward Oliver and his family. Their attitude toward them had changed completely in an instant.

Oliver already knew how easily people could be swayed.

But right now, there was nothing wrong with enjoying the moment.

From now on, his parents could proudly walk through the town without lowering their heads anymore.

"To celebrate this joyful occasion, let us hold a feast tonight! I will sponsor all the meals," Robert announced happily.

"Yeahhh!" all the townspeople cheered loudly.

"Enjoy the moment for now, Robert. Don’t forget that you’re still under investigation," Arnulf said firmly.

"Errr... fine. I won’t run away. Just let me enjoy the occasion first, alright?" Robert replied awkwardly.

While most of the people were celebrating happily, Theresa stood silently at one side of the field, staring at them with hatred in her eyes.

"How dare they forget so easily what happened to my husband. They act like my husband’s life means less than this celebration." she muttered bitterly.

Her eyes locked onto Oliver, who was currently surrounded by cheering townspeople. He looked happy.

Theresa clenched her teeth so hard that a grinding sound could be heard.

’It’s all because of you. All because of you! ’

Deep inside her heart, she still desperately wanted someone to blame for everything that had happened.And to her...

That person was Oliver.

"Do you want to exact your revenge?"

Suddenly, someone wearing a robe approached her from a dark alley.

His voice was rough and deep. The robe completely covered his face from the light, making it impossible to see his appearance. Only the sound of his footsteps moving through the grass could be heard within the silent alley.

"What do you mean? Who are you?" Theresa asked in shock.

"Do not be afraid. Just answer my question."

"Do you want to exact your revenge?" the man asked once again.

"Y-Yes! Yes! I want revenge for my fallen husband!" Theresa answered immediately.

"Good. That is how it should be, I can help you achieve that. But first, you need to do one thing." the man replied.

"What do I need to do?" Theresa asked eagerly.

"Tonight, wear this necklace around your neck. Then, when you see the person you want revenge against, cut your hand and wipe the blood onto the necklace."

He slowly handed her a red-colored necklace.

"And make sure you do it far away from other people. Can you do that?"

Theresa hesitated for a brief moment before glancing toward Oliver and his family.

"Yes! I can do it! Leave it to me. As long as he dies... I can finally live happily!"

Theresa said while tightly clutching the crimson necklace in her hands.

---

"Puii! That’s what you get for making me angry!"

A heavily built man spat on the fallen Gamardillo, a rogue boss monster whose hard armor had been shattered, exposing the flesh beneath it.

The man was currently shirtless and had long black-and-red spiky hair that nearly reached the ground. He had no eyebrows or eyelids, giving him an unsettling appearance.

His body was covered in scars, and the muscles on his upper body were abnormally massive, making him look unbalanced as his upper body appeared far larger than the rest of him.

"Hey, Messenio, how long do we need to wait here? I’m bored as hell right now."

From the depths of the dark forest, a thin man with a bowl haircut slowly walked out with a wicked smile on his face.

He wore a black-and-white robe with intricate designs resembling light and darkness intertwined together.

"Calm down, Samiri. I just received intel from my spy. We’ll move soon enough. Just get ready," Messenio said while waving his shiny dark-blue hair.

Samiri jumped down from the rogue boss and picked up his robe from the ground below.

It was a robe similar to Messenio’s, but unlike him, Samiri disliked buttoning it up and simply left it open, exposing his body.

"I still don’t understand why our leader wants us to stay in this region. All the monsters here are trash. How does he expect us to find the monsters he wants us to tame in a place like this?"

"You need to trust our leader, Samiri. So far, everything he has said has been correct. His eyes can see far into the future. And if we continue following him, we’ll eventually obtain what we’ve always desired," Messenio said calmly.

"Whatever. I just want to finish this mission and return home," Samiri muttered.

The two of them then walked deeper into the forest, leaving behind a scene of destruction unlike anything the region had ever witnessed before.

---

Dusk was approaching Ashville as the orange sunlight covered the entire town.

"Let’s go," Arnulf said.

"Alright, I’m coming," Oliver replied.

He then asked Tamera to come with them as well.

"You go first, Oliver. I still want to prepare a few things for your dungeon raid tomorrow," Tamera said with a smile.

"But this is a celebration, Tamera. That preparation can wait," Oliver said.

"Just a little preparation. Don’t worry, I’ll come later," Tamera replied while patting Oliver’s head gently.

Oliver was then lifted by his father and placed onto the Bovaryn before he and his parents began heading toward town.

Before they got too far away, Oliver turned his head back. Tamera was waving at him with a smile on her face.

Oliver did not know why...but suddenly, a strange feeling filled his heart at that moment.

It felt as though that would be the last time she would ever wave at him.

A faint sense of sorrow quietly seeped into his heart.

Oliver shook his head.

’What are you thinking, Oliver? Nothing bad is going to happen. Stay positive.’ Oliver strengthened his heart. Thinking negatively would only ruin the current moment. He then waved back at Tamera.

At the field, several open tents had already been erected, and many townspeople were gathered there.

"Ahh, the main hero is here!" Josh said excitedly.

Nolan was also there, his shoulder wrapped in bandages.

"Are you alright, Uncle Nolan?" Oliver asked.

"It’s nothing. Don’t worry about me. Just enjoy the moment. But after all this, can I have a moment to talk with you?"

"Hmmm? Okay, Uncle Nolan!" Oliver answered, wondering what Nolan wanted to discuss.

"Let the feast begin!" Robert shouted happily.

The celebration continued as the townspeople ate and drank joyfully together.

Many kinds of food filled the tables. Some people were dancing while others sang loudly. It was a truly lovely scene.

However, a pair of eyes was watching the celebration from afar. Theresa was hiding behind a house while staring at Oliver.

She then cut her hand slightly, causing blood to drip out before wiping it onto the necklace around her neck.

Suddenly, the necklace glowed with a bright crimson light. At the same time, Theresa felt an intense pain spread through her body.

She felt the necklace trying to burrow into her chest. As she panicked, she desperately tried to remove it, but failed.

The necklace sank deeper and deeper into her flesh before suddenly pulling Theresa into itself like a vacuum. Only then did Theresa realize she had been used by the mysterious man.

But it was already too late. Her entire body was gruesomely dragged into the necklace.

In the next second, a black-and-red portal appeared where Theresa once stood. Two figures slowly emerged from it.

"At last. I was getting bored from waiting!"

"Hehehe... let us enjoy the occasion, shall we?"

Samiri and Messenio had finally arrived in the town!