Three days had passed since that night. Valentia Lucas's ribs were still cracked. Every deep breath sent a sharp ache through his left side. His life force had recovered considerably, but he was far from full strength. Still, when Moreno Kalts told him "we're training in the basement starting today," Lucas answered immediately with "understood." The guild branch's basement was larger than he'd expected. A makeshift workbench sat in a corner stacked with wooden crates, and the lantern light cast yellow shadows on the ceiling. The stone walls were slightly damp, carrying the smell of earth and dust. As Lucas started down the stairs, Fern Aria called out from behind him. "Lucas, watch the step!" "[gentle]First step, there's a step" "I know" "[gentle]Second step also has a step" "Every single one is a step, it's a staircase" "[gentle]I'm telling you because you have cracked ribs" Aria tried to move beside him. Lucas turned his body sideways to descend. The two of them overlapped on the narrow stairs and got stuck at the entrance. "...Huh" "Huh" They stayed frozen for about five seconds. "[serious]First, calm down and come down" Kalts's voice came from below. The two descended in silence, separating. Kalts was already standing in front of the workbench. His white hair with streaks of gray was tied back, and his calm brown eyes watched Lucas. The way he kept slightly less weight on his left foot was a remnant of old battlefields. On the desk lay a black stone fragment. The one they'd dug up from the bottom of Folder's poison swamp. The patterns carved into its surface glimmered faintly in the lantern light. "[serious]Try decomposing this" Lucas placed his hand on the stone fragment. The faintly glowing mark on his right hand's fingers—proof of the Dismantler's skill—shone softly white. He slowly applied his decomposition skill. The stone's surface began crumbling into sand—and in the next instant, white light poured out from within. A brilliance far brighter than the lantern, concentrated and intense. "[surprised]Whoa" Aria stepped back. She nearly dropped her record notebook and hurriedly picked it up. Kalts narrowed his eyes. "[serious]...I see. Same material as the seal stones" "Huh? Seal stones—you mean the ones used in the Divine Bestowal Ceremony?" The Divine Bestowal Ceremony—a ritual citizens underwent between ages fifteen and seventeen at the Bestowal Temple, where they placed their hands on seal stones to receive skills. So the same material as those stones had been sunk at the bottom of the poison swamp. "[serious]To be precise, they're called 'Seal Stones'—ancient relics documented in excavation records from various sites. Made from the same material as the Bestowal Stones, they have the property of attracting entities with specific magical essences—" "Varolux came because I dug this up" "[serious]We can't yet confirm that's the only cause. However, it's natural to assume it's related" Lucas gathered the sand-like stone fragments in his palm and examined them carefully again. "[serious]Decomposing isn't the end. Try reconstructing it" "Reconstructing...?" "[serious]Turn the sand back into stone. Your skill should have the function to read the structure of decomposed targets. If you can trace the collapsed form in reverse, you can restore it with even clearer definition than before" Lucas, half-skeptical, poured his life force into the sand in his palm. He focused his mind: "become stone again." The sand simply hardened. It became a square lump. Not a stone fragment. "[laughing]Oh, it became a square" Lucas stared at the square lump. "...Are you serious" "[serious]Concentrate. Don't think about unnecessary things" "What unnecessary things?" "[serious]Don't think about that right now" Aria wrote "Attempt 1" in small letters on the edge of her record paper. He tried repeatedly. The sand became a square. Then sand again. Then hardened again. This time it became round. Sand again—he repeated this cycle, and gradually, edges began to form. Around the fifth attempt, Aria said, "The edges are cleaner than before." "[serious]Concentrate. Don't think about unnecessary things" "What unnecessary—" "[serious]Don't think about that right now" Aria added "Attempt 2" to the edge of her record paper. And around the fifteenth attempt. The stone fragment returned with edges slightly sharper than the original. Lucas stared at the stone fragment resting in his palm. The carved patterns were a bit clearer. (The sensation... I'm starting to understand it) When decomposing, he wasn't just breaking it apart. While breaking it, he was reading the structure. Where connected to where, what shape it had—that remained as a sensation in his fingertips. Reconstruction felt like reverse-playing that "memory." The moment he realized this, during training, Lucas twisted his body slightly. A sharp pain shot through his ribs. He instinctively placed his hand on his chest. "[scared]Lucas!?" "I'm fine, just—" He felt life force naturally flowing from his fingertips. Toward the painful area. There was a sensation of his skill trying to "read" the tissue around his ribs. The pain eased slightly. "...Huh?" Lucas looked at his own hand. Carefully, he placed it on his ribs and slowly activated his decomposition skill. With the same sensation as when analyzing the stone fragment—he read the bone's structure. Where the crack was, what the normal form should be. Then he reverse-played it. He stayed still for about thirty seconds. He took a deep breath. No pain. "[surprised]...It's gone?" Kalts leaned forward. "[serious]What did you just do" "I applied the decomposition skill to my ribs. Read the bone structure and reconstructed it in the correct form, kind of—" The three fell silent. Aria wrote "Self-repair—confirmed" on her record paper. She lined five exclamation marks next to it. Her expression remained completely serious. Kalts spoke quietly. "[serious]...If the Dismantler's skill can read the structure of decomposed targets and reconstruct them into better forms" "Yes" "[serious]Then everything you can touch—you can understand and remake" Lucas looked at his palm. When he neutralized the poison at the bottom of the swamp. When he touched the crumbled stone wall and half of it repaired. He'd been doing this the whole time. He'd just been doing it by instinct, without understanding the logic. But now he understood. (Maybe it's not a garbage skill) He didn't say it aloud. But he definitely thought it. —— Past midday, the ground level grew noisy. Footsteps multiplied, and someone's shouts reached them through the floor. Lucas and Aria exchanged glances. Kalts quickly climbed the stairs—dragging his left foot with the old wound, but still moving fast. When they reached ground level, Gordon came running. A taciturn F-rank adventurer they'd hired as a scout around the Black Forest, the man was breathless and pale. "[scared]Varolux is moving. Direction is—straight toward Bernd" The moment they heard Gordon's voice, the atmosphere in the plaza changed. Within an hour, the news spread across the entire town. Residents gathered in the plaza clutching their belongings. Families with horses ran down the southern road. They could see Patty, the baker, loading cargo onto a cart. Children's cries echoed. People gathered in front of the guild branch. They called out to Kalts: "What will the guild do?" "Are you abandoning us?" Each time Kalts answered "We're currently considering our response," he knew how hollow those words sounded—better than anyone. Lucas came up from the basement and watched the scene unfold. The people who'd called him a "plague god" until yesterday now had faces twisted with fear. There was no anger. Just—a single sensation that if he ran now, he'd remain that kind of person forever. [[Skill《Decompose》—Structure Understanding・Reconstruction, Confirmed]] Lucas stood in front of the guild branch's door. He raised his voice toward the gathered residents. Not loud, not quiet, but steady and direct. "I'll stop it" The plaza fell silent. Someone spoke. "...You're the Dismantler. You planning to cause another poison swamp incident?" Lucas didn't deny it. "[serious]It's true I failed. But—this time is different" He said it shortly and turned forward. Seconds of silence followed. Then Aria stepped beside him. She was carrying a map, notebook, and cloth bag with ink—clearly prepared. Her long water-blue hair swayed in the wind. Her silver eyes looked straight ahead. "[serious]Lucas, this place is dangerous" "[serious]I know. But you use all your life force without considering range. I need to be beside you" "...I can't deny that" "[serious]Right" Aria turned forward. Kalts came out the door, dragging his left foot with the old wound, and stood behind the two. "[serious]I'm combat ineffective, but I can provide command and information" That said, he fell silent. Shortly after, someone moved to the side. It was Tao. An E-rank boy who'd stayed without fleeing since the previous night. His face was half-crying as he held his bow. "[scared]I...don't have anywhere else to go anyway..." Gordon came wordlessly and took his place in line, carrying his greatsword. Five people. The most unreliable combat force in Bernd stood in a line. Aria looked over all five. "[serious]...We're kind of short on numbers, aren't we" "[angry]Don't say that!!" Tao shouted emotionally. Kalts spoke quietly. "[serious]If five can't win, ten wouldn't make a difference" Everyone fell silent. The surrounding residents watched this lineup of five—comedy or serious, unclear—in silence. Someone stopped moving their cargo. Someone stopped walking. Not everyone had fled. —— As the evening sky began turning red, the sound of horse hooves came from the direction of the royal capital road. Not just one. Multiple. The moment Lucas saw the man at the front, his face went rigid. Short black hair with red streaks. Sharp red eyes. A small scar on his forehead. That face with its perpetually cold smile—Reinhardt Souma. Leader of Crimson Edge. The man who'd once told Lucas "you're unnecessary" and laughed while exiling him. Souma dismounted. He saw Lucas and his eyes widened for just a moment. Behind him came the four other members of Crimson Edge—the same faces that had laughed and called Lucas "butcher." Souma quickly assessed the situation. The crumbling stone walls. Residents scattering. And—just five people in a defensive stance. The man he'd exiled was here in this run-down frontier town, with five people, about to face a four-meter-tall monster. Souma spoke shortly. "[cold]Another large monster appeared in the royal capital. We struggled. We learned the Dismantler's power was necessary—and found out it was here" Lucas heard those words. He waited one second. "[serious]Understood" That said, he turned his gaze back toward the Black Forest, where Varolux would come. There was no anger, no emotion. Just—the sensation that there was something to do now, that was all. Souma watched Lucas's back. Pride and something else crossed his expression—Aria's eyes caught it. "[serious]...I'll help" His voice was short and low. One of Crimson Edge's members said quietly, "Souma, we're taking orders from that guy?" "[cold]Move" He cut it off with a single word. The four who'd once mocked Lucas now stood behind him. They silently watched the Black Forest in the direction Lucas had pointed. Five became nine. Aria whispered to Lucas. "[whispers]...We have more people now" "[whispers]Don't say that" Lucas turned forward again. His right hand's mark glimmered faintly in the red of the sunset. From the direction of the Black Forest, a low vibration that shook the earth transmitted toward them. Still distant. But—it was coming. Definitely coming. Lucas quietly clenched his fist. This time was different.