I tried to open my eyes.The last thing I remembered was the cold, crushing weight of Tholac's dark armor and the bitter taste of defeat. When I finally opened my eyes, the ceiling was white and unfamiliar. The smell of antiseptic and medicinal herbs filled the room.
I lost, I thought, staring blankly at the ceiling. The realization stung more than my physical wounds. I was too arrogant. I thought my knowledge from Earth and my multiple paths made me invincible. But on Aster, raw power and Atara capacity are the ultimate truth. I am still weak.
A surge of resolve, cold and hard as steel, rose within me. I clenched my fists under the sheets. I won't be a loser again. Not like in my past life. I am Sable Kaelo now. I will climb so high that no one can ever look down on me again.
A young nurse nearby noticed I was awake. "You're finally back with us," she said with a kind smile.
"The Bairoya Tournament..." I croaked, my throat feeling dry. "Who won?"
"Oh, you haven't heard? It's the talk of the whole city!" she exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. "The boy from your party—Luke. They say when everyone else was down and only he and Tholac remained, he unleashed a roar that shook the stadium. He transformed into a High Human... hair as white as snow! He demolished Tholac in a single strike."
I lay back, stunned. High Human? Luke? It explained the strange, dormant energy I had sensed in him, but a transformation of that magnitude was unheard of in the southern lands.
As soon as I regained enough strength, I discharged myself from the clinic and sought out Luke's room. I found him sitting up, looking pale but stable. Rim and Mason were already there, their faces filled with relief.
"Kaelo! You're okay!" Luke shouted, though he winced slightly as he moved.
"I should be asking you that," I said, pulling up a chair. "The whole city is calling you a High Human. Luke... what happened?"
Luke looked at his hands, his expression a mix of awe and confusion. "I'm a half-breed, Kaelo. My father was a Wind-Tribe High Human, and my mother was a normal human. I never knew I could do that. I didn't even know that power existed within me until I saw you and Charlotte fall. I just... I couldn't let anyone else I care about die."
"You did well, Luke," I said sincerely, hiding my own internal frustration. "I had no idea. It's an incredible power."
"I didn't either," he admitted. "It was like someone else took over my body."
Once Luke was cleared for discharge, we headed back to the Slayer Guild. The atmosphere was vastly different. Other Slayers who had previously sneered at us now stepped aside with respect. Luke received the grand prize for his victory—a staggering amount of Riya.
"80% of this goes into the party fund for our future equipment," Luke announced to the group, a wide grin on his face. "But the rest? Tonight, we feast! My treat!"
We spent the evening in a lively tavern, celebrating our survival and Luke's victory. Rim and Mason recounted every detail of the final battle, their voices rising with excitement. But as the night wore on, Luke and I found ourselves on the tavern's roof, looking out over the quiet Boro skyline.
"Kaelo," Luke said, his voice dropping to a serious tone. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For saving me in the arena. When Tholac was about to strike... you pushed me out of the way. You took the hit meant for me."
I shrugged, looking at the twin moons. "We're friends, Luke. Don't think too much of it. I would've done the same for anyone in the party."
Luke looked at me, his silver eyes flashing with a deep, silent vow. "Maybe. But I won't forget it. I'll protect you next time. You'll never have to taste defeat like that again. I won't lose anyone ever again."
I chuckled, though his intensity touched me. "Whatever you say, Champion."
The celebration ended, and the reality of a Slayer's life returned. The next morning, I went to the Guild's mission board. I needed to move, to train, and to grow my Atara pool. I picked a mission that had been flagged as "Urgent": The Mystery of Coya Village.
Coya was a small, peaceful farming village a day's journey from Boro. When we arrived, the air felt heavy and stagnant. There were no children playing in the streets. The village elder, an old man with trembling hands, met us at the gates.
"Thank the Heavens you've come," he whispered, leading us to his home.
"The mission report said children are missing?" Mason asked, his hand on his staff.
"It's a nightmare," the elder explained, his eyes watering. "It started ten days ago. Every night, one child disappears. Always at night, always without a sound. No doors are broken, no windows are smashed. It's as if they just... vanish into thin air while they sleep."
"Ten children in ten days?" Rim asked, her face pale with horror. "Have you seen anything? Any tracks? Any signs of monsters?"
"Nothing," the elder replied. "We've set guards, we've locked every house, but the 'Shadow' still takes them. We are a village of shadows now. Please, Slayers... find our children before there are none left to take."
I looked at Luke, then at the darkening horizon. My instincts were screaming. This wasn't a standard monster raid. This was something deliberate, something quiet, and something very dangerous.
"We'll stay the night," I said, my Steel Gauntlets glinting in the fading sunlight. "If this 'Shadow' comes back tonight, it's going to find more than it bargained for."
The sun set over Coya, casting long, haunting shadows across the grain fields. Somewhere in the dark, the culprit was waiting. And so were we. Let's wait and see what happens next .We will investigate the kidnapping of the child of the village of Coya.