Maria de Guzman was a normal girl, she was born and raised in a normal family and her life was going to follow a "normal track"...

Until she found out that she was quite smart.

Early in her life, her parents had her take exams to prestigious schools, public schools that were better than most private schools in the country.

Maria got into one of such schools, at first she thought that it made her special but the more she learned in the school- the more she realized that her world, the one she thought was "good" was not as great as she expected.

Maria learned early on about her future, the moment she became a student of the school, she had become a scholar of the nation.

Her parents had her sign a document she did not know about, all she knew was that she "did not need to pay school fees and the school would even give her a monthly allowance".

As a young 14 year old just getting into seventh grade, the idea that she could get two allowances monthly and that she did not need to pay for tuition and other school fees? That was a steal!

Until she learned in her ninth grade that they had to repay all the money spent on them by working for the government.

Moreover, the contract prevented them from working abroad or even going overseas!

She learned of this after one of her more affluent classmates had to spend months bargaining with the school as her family was going on a vacation in the US since they had family there.

Unfortunately, she had to stay behind as the country needed the family to leave a bond fee to allow the kid to go abroad.

It didn’t help that the family they had in America had recently immigrated to the US. This placed her in a "high risk" position as her family was likely to do the same given that her mother was working in America.

That was the first time Maria felt disillusioned by the government, what happened next was what truly made her change her views.

One of Maria’s cousins in Manila was killed by police officers under the suspicion of dr*g trafficking.

While she was aware that her cousin was doing dr*gs, getting shot for it still felt wrong.

But that cousin of hers was not someone she was close to, moreover, he was a pervert who made passes on Maria so the matter was quickly brushed aside.

Things finally reached the boiling point though when one of her friends was assaulted by a schoolmate.

Although it didn’t escalate too far, she was "only" forcefully kissed. To a bunch of young teens raised in a conservative christian majority nation, a kiss was not a "small thing".

The matter quickly escalated and a protest was held, especially since the perpetrator was the son of an influential figure.

But that was the problem-

Weeks later, her friend’s family settled the matter, no charges were pressed and her friend stopped talking about the incident but she could see that the matter was not completely settled.

She only learned later that the perpetrators’ family threatened her friend and her family to stay quiet. A settlement was made privately and her friend transferred campuses as she can’t really drop out without getting fined a lot.

That incident became a scar, Maria stopped looking at things normally then.

Every time she saw or heard something, she always had a skeptical attitude to it. Her reaction and thoughts were always delayed and paused, she wanted to learn more about the matter before coming to a conclusion.

This mindset was taken advantage of.

A boy she liked approached her and talked extensively about government corruption and all that. At first she hesitated, after all, she was currently studying for free and even getting paid by the government to go to school.

What about that was corrupt?

If anything, the corrupt one was her-

Maria had everything, a loving family that could have easily paid for her tuition in a good private school.

She was being fetched to and from school daily.

Even the monthly allowance she got from the school was just pocket change for her while her schoolmates were living on those allowances like it was their lifeline.

She even went as far as to spend her allowance on luxuries because she had nowhere else to spend it on while some of her classmates resorted to eating instant noodles during lunch break because their allowance was running dry.

But because it was the boy she liked, Maria didn’t push him away or reject him.

Like any spoiled and lovestruck teen, Maria listened to the boy and even participated in the things he did.

She did not follow the cause, she didn’t even believe it but-

A photograph of her in a rally circulated, from then on, the mark of "Activist" never escaped her.

The easygoing life she had shattered, her family didn’t abandon her but her opportunities became extremely limited.

But her talent, intelligence and support from her family allowed her to get through high school and even enter college.

Though that didn’t separate her from the crowd she had already found herself mixed up in.

One thing led to another and from protesting to avoid exams she didn’t study for or participating in rallies for clout and avoid deadlines-

Maria ended up further and further away from the calm life that was laid out for her.

By the time she realized things were going downhill, she was already knee deep in mud, in her hands was not a branded handbag but a rifle, in her pocket was not a makeup kit but a knife and a sidearm...

The pretty girl who had everything was now desperately moving through the muddy leach infested jungle and forest of her country.

Occasionally she would have to fight against her countrymen.

She was a medical student before she dropped out, Maria became an important part of their group.

But she was only a medical student.

90% of her companions perished under her hand.

An inexperienced student who had yet to take a proper internship is now forced to deal with bullet wounds, torn limbs, deep lacerations- all under unsanitary conditions with a lack of proper tools and medicine.

Maria had to make use of the few bits of knowledge she got from botany and mycology to make use of the wild flora and fauna to make alternative medication.

Now, it’s already been a year after she dropped out of college and ran into the mountains.

Her fair skin was now covered in dirt and grime, the complexion she spent a couple hundred thousand to care for and maintain had gone away.

Acne popped up due to a mixture of stress and a diet that did not allow for the luxury of "healthy food".

Sleepless nights had drawn deep black circles under her eyes and despite her youth, wrinkles already started to form on her face.

But the change in her beauty was both a blessing and a curse.

Maria had long thrown away her mirrors but their group still had dozens of them, used mostly for signalling but she made sure to keep her distance, unwilling to see her own reflection.

But the hideous look she had helped her, before, she looked like the type of woman their current leader liked.

If she had maintained her appearance, she would have likely gotten assaulted.

Even if she was a medic, she would be unable to do anything as the captain held all the power and his family ties were far stronger than even those of her own family.

Maria’s family was quite wealthy but that was all they had.

The captain’s family was not only wealthy, they were also influential.

If he does end up getting killed, it is likely that the soldiers who killed him won’t publish his name or appearance.

They might even blow up the body so that they could list him as "unidentifiable".

Maria had seen a lot in her time with this group, she had also spent a lot of time wondering what could have happened if she just pushed that asshole away during high school?

If she didn’t try to get his attention... if she lived for herself rather than try to live for others-

Now, her group was planning an assault on a bunch of innocent civilians.

The news of witches and all that crap had reached them but Maria didn’t care if it was true or not.

Their group was supposed to be fighting for freedom, to fight for the rights of the countries disenfranchised minorities!

But what were they doing now?

Attacking random people who just happened to have money?

Because they were rich, these people were targets... such a mindset- Maria can’t help but pray that her family had cut her off.

If they tried to look for her or bring her back...

The thought of her kind parents becoming victims... it haunted her every day, it stopped her from sleeping and caused her to have nightmares.

"I just wanna go home..."

She muttered silently to herself but-

"That’s possible, for a price"

She never expected to hear a response but the fact that something respond kicked up Maria’s instincts.

A year of combat did not only cause her to develop trauma, it also developed her instincts.

Maria had quickly taken up her rifle and pointed towards the source of the voice but-

"What are you going to do with that stick?"

The moment those words were uttered, Maria realized that her gun had turned into a stick shaped like a gun. It made things seem unreal and for a minute, Maria wished that she woke up soon, that the past years was nothing more than a dream bu-

"Looking for this?"

The voice asked and Maria turned to the figure and only now did she realize that the man standing before her looked familiar.

"You are..."

"The owner of the mansion you guys were planning to attack"

Maria panicked, she tried to reach for her sidearm and dagger but the man only smiled as her weapons floated beside him.

"..."

"..."

A silent exchange passed between the two, Maria did not know how to react, nor did she know how to answer but that moment of hesitation was enough-

Vines immediately wrapped around her body, even if she wanted to scream now, she can’t.

Maria could only look up at the man, the talk about witches and magic did not really affect her. She didn’t really care about such things but now, as she watched the man do one magical thing after another, she only had one thing in her mind.

"I should have told them... I should have believed them... now"

Her thoughts were leaking out, Maria did not know but the echoes of her thoughts were being broadcasted by Nyx. It wasn’t loud enough to cause a disturbance but it was audible enough for Richard to hear them.

"Sorry mama... papa... I love you"

Maria closed her eyes and waited for the cold embrace of death as tears slowly streamed down her face.

Seeing this, Richard did not know how to react.

[You made a girl cry~]

Nyx’s words echoed in his mind as Richard let out a loud sigh.