Max emerged from the dungeon gate, the tension of the dungeon battles lingering in his muscles. He carried himself with an almost nonchalant air as he ascended the steep path to his mountain house.
Inside, he set down the loot bags he'd taken from the adventurers.
Other than the bunch of storage equipment, Max couldn't use any of them, there were the equipment that were made for specific professions like a ring that can speed up summoning time, as for the equipment he could use he looked down on them after scanning their information.
Still, He refused to leave anything behind; waste was a sin he couldn't abide. Murder and plunder were one thing, but waste? That was unforgivable.
"Not bad for a day's work," he muttered to himself, picking up a ruby encrusted dagger and testing its weight.
"should be good for kitchen work."
Max opened the pet space, and Lucy flew out with the others cheering.
mimimi...
Craw! Craw!...
"huh? I assume you enjoyed the show."
The pets cheered in unison once moreen.
"well in the future you'll get to join the fun, for now you're free to do whatever you want, just don't make a mess okay!"
As Lucy took control over the mountain, and the crows flew out excitedly Max just shook his head, going to his room to do some experiments.
......
Back at Rusead City, inside the city's prison.
The air in the cell was damp and heavy, an oppressive weight pressing down on Scarlet's chest.
She sat on the cold, metallic bench, her crimson hair falling in disarray over her shoulders. Her wrists bore faint marks from the restraints she'd been forced to wear during questioning.
The same questions. Over and over.
"I've told you already!, I had nothing to do with those trees!" she exclaimed, her voice hoarse.
Across from her, a tall man in a black uniform leaned against the wall, his expression unreadable. The emblem of the supernatural police shone on his chest, a grim reminder of the authority they wielded.
"Your story isn't adding up," the officer said coolly. "We know you were near the site when the outbreak occurred.
Sir William picked you up from there."
"I was studying them! Not causing them!" Scarlet's frustration boiled over. She felt as though she'd been thrown into a nightmare.
The officer's silence was maddening, and Scarlet's mind raced back to the events that had landed her here.
.....
It had started a few days ago, on her way home through Kain City. The streets were bustling.
She had been weaving her way through the crowds when it happened.
Her genetic Talent had activated.
Scarlet froze, her heart pounding as a sharp tug pulled her attention to a single figure in the crowd. The man was tall, his dark wings fluttering slightly as he walked.
But it wasn't his appearance that captured her, it was the overwhelming signal her Talent sent her.
Treasure. Opportunity. A life changing discovery.
The pull was irresistible, she had been using her talent from now and it always activated like this on its own, but this time the feeling was different much stronger and she had to follow him.
Scarlet didn't hesitate. She pulled a small device from her space ring, one of her many tools for staying hidden, and began tailing the man.
She tracked him to the outskirts of the city and up a winding path to a mountain. When he stopped near the entrance of a dark cavern, she felt an inexplicable chill crawl up her spine. Her instinct screamed at her that something was wrong with this place, or it was more like the Mountain had changed after he flew in.
Scarlet stayed back, hidden among the trees, and watched as the man disappeared into the mountain. Hours passed, and her curiosity began to claw at her.
When he finally reappeared, his wings unfurled as he flew toward Rusead City.
She had every intention of following him, but her attention was stolen by the strange trees sprouting in the area where he had vanished.
Their blackened trunks seemed to absorb the light around them, growing at an impossible rate. Scarlet couldn't resist examining them more closely, taking samples and noting their properties.
The decision proved costly.
An A-rank powerhouse arrived, sent to investigate the outbreak. His piercing gaze cut through her hiding equipment effortlessly, and she was caught before she could react.
.....
Scarlet snapped back to the present, her teeth clenched. She glared at the officer. "If you'd just let me go, I could find the real culprit!"
"And who would that be?" the officer asked.
"I don't know his name," Scarlet admitted, "but he's the one you want. A winged man, he's the reason those trees are there!"
The officer raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
Scarlet slumped in her seat. The days of interrogation were wearing her down, and she couldn't shake the feeling that her words were falling on deaf ears.
Suddenly, a faint shimmer caught her attention. She looked down to find a necklace materializing around her neck, the cold metal pressing against her skin.
Her eyes widened in alarm. She recognized it instantly, her greatest treasure, some thing that ever an A-rank expert couldn't detect on her.
Before she could react, the necklace activated, the air around her warping and twisting.
In a flash, Scarlet was no longer in the prison.
........
She stumbled into the open air, the sudden shift leaving her dizzy. When she regained her footing, she found herself standing outside Rusead City, the towering spires of the metropolis visible in the distance.
Her heart sank as she realized what had just happened.
The necklace, her ultimate escape tool, capable of teleporting her out of any life-threatening situation was gone. It was a one-use item, and now it was spent.
Scarlet's hands trembled as she gripped the empty space where the necklace had been. The loss was staggering. She'd spent years acquiring that treasure through her talent, and now it was gone in an instant.
But her thoughts quickly shifted as she turned to face the city. Her brows furrowed in confusion.
"Why had the necklace activated?".
The officers hadn't seemed ready to harm her, at least not immediately.
Then she saw it.
A dark mist began to seep through the streets of Rusead City, an unnatural aura filling the air.
Scarlet's breath hitched as black mana erupted like a tidal wave, consuming everything in its path. Buildings, trees, and people alike disintegrated into black ash, vanishing before her eyes.
The city was gone in moments, leaving nothing but a barren wasteland in its place.
Scarlet stood frozen, her mind unable to comprehend what she had just witnessed. The bustling city, the officers who had questioned her, the innocents walking the streets, all of them were gone.
Her knees buckled, and she sank to the ground, her hands clutching at the dirt.
"What… what just happened?" she whispered, her voice trembling.
The emptiness before her offered no answers.
Scarlett regained her composers slightly, and stood up realizing the situation she was in.
She had to leave this place and quickly....