"What happened here?"

The realm of Daln changed a lot from how Killian remembered it, and it was alarming to think that such damage happened in the last month.

The lush green trees and wide dramatic plains had been stripped to a dull brown shade, losing their colour. The air felt heavier, dry and carried the faint smell of ash and old soil.

Tree branches were broken and their canopies in patches, roots twisted out of the ground having burrowed holes beside them.

The rabbits. Killian’s eyes narrowed slightly at the land that had been beaten only to be left to heal on its own. What happened to them?

George’s mission report was simply that the realm suffered invasion from another monster realm.

As this realm was a training site for newbies, the Organisation felt responsible to protect it.

Why did they let it get this bad? Is it even possible to render an entire realm desolate within a month?

"The culprits are Direwolves." George said, after letting them take in the shock. "They are one of the natural predators to these rabbits."

The three stared at him with clear questions written on their faces. Evelyn asked. "Direwolves are only D-Rank monsters. How could they cause this much damage?"

"Well, the rabbits are E-Rank monsters so that can very well happen." He said dismissively.

"Keep your eyes on each other." George addressed this part to Killian. "Do not do anything reckless."

"I don’t even plan to do anything." Killian walking backward, down the plain with Evelyn and Juda. He turned forward and joined them in the short sprint down.

Killian kept his pace with Evelyn and Juda as they moved down the plain.

His eyes remained on the ground, scanning the surroundings because while the place looked desolate, he didn’t feel alone.

Something blurred beside them, lunging from the side. Killian reached for Evelyn who was in front to pull her back.

Evelyn didn’t halt. She leapt off the ground, sweeping her leg in a roundhouse, pushed further by the wind around it, and slamming the Direwolf into the ground.

THUD!

Evelyn landed lightly like nothing happened and kept walking forward.

Killian noticed Juda also jolt at the sound. He dropped his hand that had reached to catch her out of habit.

Juda exhaled. "She would’ve bitten you if you caught her."

Killian huffed, slipping his hands into his pockets. "It’s a habit. Keith falls a lot."

Juda snapped his fingers once in agreement. "That’s true. Gravity loves him. I can’t believe he won against Eve—"

Roar! Roar! Roar!

Silence followed. Killian gestured for them to move behind the trees. They shuffled to a spot, calculating how many they met at once. The roars were close enough.

"Let’s just move. They won’t come to us." He said, and they all nodded. They reached the source fast.

A pack of at least ten Direwolves.

Their bodies were lean, tense, and apart from their determined eyes, nothing else seemed alive.

Flames flared out from Juda’s arms, crawling along his fingers. Killian watched it burn, noticing how normal the heat was.

I also don’t feel affected.

The angel didn’t leave any residue on him.

Evelyn clanged her mechanical arms together, shifting Killian’s attention to her. Wind whooshed around her gear arms, as she paced in front of the direwolves.

"Killian, you said you’re sitting this one out, right?"

"Yeah. My fire is still acting weird." Killian said, looking around for a spot to lean on. "I’ll step in if they jump me."

Evelyn rolled her shoulders as the wind stabilised around her gear. "Just sit tight. I’ll protect you."

Killian let out a small chuckle at that, while Juda grumbled beside him. "I just woke up and I already have to do this."

Killian patted his back firmly, before stepping away, giving them the room. He lit up his arm, quietly practicing how to burn oxygen without needing his mana.

His eyes remained on his teammates in front of him.

Evelyn moved first.

Her fist shot forward with wind wrapped around it, and the impact slammed into the first Direwolf and sent it crashing back with enough force to leave a dent in the ground.

She stepped in again, her punches coming fast while the wind pushed each strike further than it should go.

Another lunged from her blind spot, but she didn’t turn to it. She raised her hand and as a burst of wind shot from her mechanical gear, knocking it off before it could reach her.

"Watch your side," she told Juda, not even looking back.

Juda was already moving, mostly dodging. But as the direwolves moved away from Evelyn, they charged at him.

Killian shifted his eyes to him, being alert to release the tendrils if they got too close to Juda.

Juda slipped between two wolves with a quick step. He caught one by the tail and the moment his palm touched its body, the spot lit up with heat.

Blast! The spot burned through, and the limb jerked once before its body went still. Juda gasped, staring at the wolf.

"Yeah, finally—"

"Your back!" Evelyn and Killian yelled at him.

Another direwolf jumped from the back, but Juda leaned just in time, grabbing it mid-lunge and driving it into the ground.

The same burn spread through the direwolf where he touched it. Juda panted heavily, stepping away from the rest. "This... isn’t good... for my heart."

Killian watched him, an amused smile playing on his lips. His smile curved slightly when a wolf broke from the rest, and came straight at him. He stepped back once.

The tendrils shot out from his shadows, impaled the direwolf mid-air and threw it down hard enough to stun it.

"Don’t eat it. I need to leave evidence."

The tendrils shrunk back to his shadows.

His eyes moved back to the others.

Evelyn had already taken down four, her punches leaving shallow craters in the ground as the wind kept whooshing around her. That covered both long and short range.

Juda was particularly good at evading attacks and attacked mid-movement by lighting them when he made contact. It was short range but effective for now.

Killian cracked his knuckles. "I guess our group is a little too good for D-tier realms. B-tier next."

"Huh!" Evelyn slammed a wolf to the ground with her gear. It was the last one. "B-tier instead of a C-tier realm? Didn’t you hear what happened to your brother or did you miss the hospital?"

Juda looked up, breathing hard. "What happened to Keith?"

Killian shrugged. "He was alone. We won’t be."

Evelyn’s judgemental expression softened. "Fair."

She looked down, spotting the Direwolf beside Killian. Her jaw fell as she pointed at it, walking towards him.

"I missed it?"

"Totally."

She palmed her face.

The system notification came in.

[Mission Complete.]

Evelyn dropped her arms, breathing out in satisfaction.

Juda sluggishly walked to Killian and rested on his shoulder with a quiet groan.

Killian felt relieved that neither of them had taken any serious hits, even if it was only a D-tier realm.

They began to leave, with Evelyn chattering about how her nonchalance had been due to watching a movie about a certain S-Rank Warden fight without ever looking back.

Killian didn’t move right away, looking back at the craters Evelyn had struck before. They are fading. He watched another one nearby do the same.

The ground is... healing?

He stepped closer, crouching and reaching for the soil. He hummed, narrowing his eyes at the soil. It was fine sand, and healthy, not like the dried burnt ones by the entrance.

"Still, there are no plants," he murmured under his breath.

He looked across the dull land again, then back at the patch beneath him. Something made sense based on all the agriculture work he had done with his grandparents.

He dropped the sand and stood up slowly.

"Are you all in hiding, Miss Rabbit?"