Celestia carried River back toward town.
She held him carefully against her back, gripping him tightly as if he were something precious that might slip away if she let go.
Behind them, Azura walked quietly.
Her ears twitched occasionally, but she said nothing.
By the time they reached the gates of Stonehelm, the guards immediately stepped forward to block their path.
One of them looked the group over with open disgust.
"Seriously?" the guard scoffed. "Two dirty red-eyes is bad enough…"
His eyes shifted to Azura.
"…but why is that knife-eared freak with you?"
He smirked.
"At least she's wearing her collar."
Azura lowered her head slightly.
In this country, elves were considered less than second-class citizens.
Lower than servants.
Lower than pets.
When the seventy-two dungeons first appeared across the world, one of them had manifested directly inside the capital of the elven kingdom.
The humans took advantage of the chaos.
While the world struggled to understand the sudden appearance of the dungeons, the human nations launched a surprise invasion.
The elven kingdom fell quickly.
Most surviving elves were enslaved.
Now they were little more than living shields for adventurers.
Disposable.
In some places, even a red-eyes received better treatment than an elf.
Celestia stepped forward slightly.
"Do not refer to her like that," she said firmly.
"She is a brave warrior who fought alongside us."
Azura slowly looked up.
For a moment, happiness flickered across her face.
The guard snorted.
"The lessers always flock together," he said mockingly.
"Like maggots gathering on a corpse."
Celestia's grip on River tightened.
"Let us through," she said coldly.
"My party member needs rest."
The guard stepped aside with an exaggerated sigh.
"Yeah, yeah. Go crawl back to bed."
He waved his hand dismissively.
"Nobody wants a filthy blood-eyed bitch like you wandering around town anyway."
He grinned cruelly.
"You scare the normal people."
Celestia didn't respond.
She simply walked past him.
Azura followed close behind.
For a brief moment—
Celestia felt a powerful urge to turn around and cut the man down where he stood.
But she held it back.
Right now—
River was her priority.
A few hours later—
River slowly opened his eyes.
His head felt heavy.
Something soft rested beneath him.
When his vision finally focused, he realized his head was resting on Celestia's lap.
A blanket had been placed over him.
Azura sat quietly in the corner of the room.
One thing was immediately different.
Her slave collar was gone.
It looked like Celestia had forcibly ripped it off.
"…Did we do it?" River asked weakly.
Celestia smiled gently as she brushed his hair with her fingers.
"Yes."
"The three of us defeated the floor guardian."
River exhaled in relief.
Azura stood and bowed respectfully.
"Excuse me… my lord," she said softly.
"What should I do now?"
"Stop saying 'my lord,'" River and Celestia said at the same time.
The two looked at each other awkwardly for a moment.
River slowly sat up.
He walked over to Azura and raised his hand.
A warm glow appeared in his palm.
"Heal."
Soft light spread across her neck where the collar had once been.
River spoke calmly.
"This system of slavery against the elves was never right."
"It was cruel… and built through underhanded means."
He lowered his hand.
"You're not a slave."
He smiled gently.
"You're a person."
"And you're our companion—the one who helped us defeat a monster no one had ever killed before."
Azura's ears twitched slightly.
River looked directly at her.
"So tell me."
"What do you want to do with your life?"
Azura blinked.
"What… I want?"
She lowered her gaze.
Then she slowly stepped forward.
"…Let me stay with you."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"You're the first humans who treated me like I'm actually a person."
She bowed deeply.
"Please… let me join your party."
River looked at Celestia.
Celestia smiled and nodded.
River turned back to Azura.
"Alright."
"The three of us will stand together."
His crimson eyes burned with determination.
"The outcasts that the world hates…"
"We'll be the ones to change this damned world for the better."
Azura straightened quickly.
"Yes—you're right my lo—"
She stopped herself.
"…River."
Celestia clapped her hands together happily.
"All we need now is a party name!"
She grinned.
"As our team leader, you get to decide."
River thought for a moment.
Then he smiled.
"Team Phoenix."
"We will rise from the ashes."
Celestia's eyes sparkled.
"I love it."
Azura nodded quickly.
"Y-yes… it's really good."
Celestia stretched slightly.
"Alright! Now that we officially have a third member, we should update the loot distribution."
She pointed between them.
"Azura and I will each take thirty percent."
She gestured to River.
"And River, as our party leader, will receive forty percent."
Azura blinked in shock.
"Thirty percent?"
She looked down at her hands.
"Usually I'm lucky if I get stale bread after days of adventuring…"
River laughed softly.
"Well, you're part of our party now."
He smiled warmly.
"So you'll be able to eat all kinds of good food."
He paused.
"Much better than stale bread."
"Since I'm getting the biggest share of the loot," River said thoughtfully, "once a week I'll take you two out for dinner."
He smiled at them.
"Something good, alright?"
Celestia's eyes lit up.
"We got a lot of magic stones from the dungeon today," she said. "Including that massive one from the floor guardian."
"And we also recovered its weapon," Azura added.
She carefully pulled the massive black blade from the bag of holding.
Even resting on the floor, the sword looked intimidating.
It was enormous.
Heavy.
The metal was blackened with rust and dried corruption.
Celestia folded her arms.
"Neither of us can even lift that thing properly," she said. "It's way too heavy."
Inside the Bible—
Buer suddenly gasped.
"Ooooh… the Onyx January…"
His voice trembled with excitement.
"What a beautiful masterpiece of a weapon."
He sounded almost offended.
"To think that disgusting monster tainted it like this…"
Buer stared at the blade in awe.
"You have to restore it to its former glory."
His tone suddenly became pleading.
"I'll amplify your healing magic for free. Please—I beg you."
River slowly smiled.
He lifted the Bible to his mouth and whispered quietly toward the bookmark.
"If I need your help again," River murmured, "you'll boost my power for free next time."
A pause.
"Deal?"
"…Yes, yes!" Buer said impatiently. "Fine! Just purify the blade already!"
River tossed the Bible onto the bed.
Then he knelt beside the sword.
He placed his hand gently against the dark metal.
"Purification."
Golden light flowed from his palm.
Slowly—
The blackened rust began to fade.
The corruption dissolved like smoke.
Little by little, the weapon's true form revealed itself.
A sleek black blade emerged from beneath the decay.
Thin red accents ran along its edge.
Despite its massive size, the sword suddenly looked far lighter.
Yet an immense pressure radiated from it.
The weapon felt alive.
"That's… the Onyx January?" Azura whispered.
Her orange eyes widened.
Celestia leaned closer, staring in disbelief.
"One of the Thirteen Masterpieces created by the great alchemist Pharos?"
Her voice carried clear awe.
Pharos.
The legendary King of Alchemy.
An elven genius who forged thirteen mythical weapons.
Each masterpiece had been created using the corpse of something powerful—
A terrifying monster.
Or a mighty warrior he had personally slain.
Their flesh.
Their blood.
Their very essence.
All transformed into weapons.
The Onyx January was said to be the most mysterious of them all.
A weapon capable of changing its form based on the wielder's will.
No one knew the truth behind its creation.
Some claimed Pharos had ripped the spine from a demon lord to forge it.
Others whispered he had slaughtered an entire squad of the Inquisition, using their blood to craft the blade.
Whatever the truth—
The weapon's origin remained infamous.
And now…
It rested quietly on the floor of their small inn room.
"What should we do with it?" River asked.
Celestia crossed her arms as she stared at the weapon.
"Any creation made by Pharos has been outlawed by the Inquisition," she said calmly.
"Even knowing about one could label us as heretics."
Her voice remained steady.
"And heretics are burned at the stake."
River swallowed slightly.
"…Should we turn it in?"
Celestia immediately shook her head.
"No."
Her expression hardened.
"We found it fair and square."
She looked down at the blade.
"To hell with the Inquisition."
Her crimson eyes burned with quiet anger.
"They already treat the three of us like sinners and lesser beings simply because of how we were born."
Her grip tightened.
"So they can go to hell for all I care."
Azura nodded thoughtfully.
"Then there is only one option," she said.
She looked toward River.
"We must hope the weapon bonds with one of us."
"If it does, it will change form."
Her ears twitched slightly.
"And once it changes… it won't be recognized."
River slowly stepped forward.
He placed his hand on the blade.
The moment his fingers touched the metal—
A spark ran through his body.
The weapon trembled.
The Onyx January began to shift.
This legendary weapon had a will of its own.
It changed form depending on what its chosen wielder needed most.
But it only accepted users it saw potential in.
It was even said that the weapon sometimes bit its creator, Pharos himself.
The blade twisted.
The metal reshaped.
The massive sword shrank and reformed—
Until it became a long black staff.
At its tip formed a cross-shaped head, with a glowing crimson gem embedded at the center.
The transformation stopped.
The weapon had made its choice.
Onyx January had chosen River as its master.
River smiled softly.
He picked up his Bible with one hand and held the staff with the other.
In one hand—
A demon rested quietly between the pages of a holy book.
In the other—
A staff forged by the world's greatest sinner.
River looked at both of them.
And smiled.
Those labels didn't matter.
What mattered was what he chose to do with them.
"I'll use these to help people," he murmured quietly.
Celestia suddenly wrapped her arms around him.
"You're amazing, River. Truly amazing."
Azura stepped forward shyly.
"R-River…"
Her ears twitched nervously.
"Could we celebrate… and maybe get some food?"
She looked down slightly.
"Please?"
River laughed softly.
"Yes."
He rested the staff on his shoulder.
"After today, we definitely deserve a good meal."
He smiled warmly at both of them.
"My treat."
The three of them smiled as they left the inn together.
After everything that had happened, the air felt lighter.
They walked through the streets of Stonehelm, heading toward a restaurant River knew well.
The perfect place to celebrate the debut of Team Phoenix.
Their destination was a popular adventurer spot known as The Mimic's Lair.
The restaurant was famous among dungeon explorers. Adventurers gathered there every night to drink, eat, and brag about their latest victories.
More importantly—
It was one of the few places in town that never judged River for his crimson eyes.
River pushed open the door.
The warm smell of cooked meat and spices filled the air.
Laughter echoed throughout the room.
For a moment—
Everything felt normal.
Then River stopped walking.
Celestia nearly bumped into him.
"…River?" she asked.
River didn't answer.
His eyes were locked on a table across the room.
Sitting there—
Was his old party.
Alexander slowly stood up from his chair.
A wicked smile spread across his face.
He had short black hair and sharp yellow eyes. A faint layer of shaved stubble lined his jaw, giving him a slightly rough appearance.
His polished knight armor reflected the lantern light of the tavern.
Alexander looked River up and down with open amusement.
"Well, well…"
He spread his arms mockingly.
"Look what we have here."
His smile widened.
"Our old worthless party member."