Celpie helped Swan to carry Bell to the bed. The silken sheets instantly dyed red from blood oozing out of him. It was then Celpie noticed the knife lodged to Bell’s ears.

“Ahh!” She first screamed in fright, then sprang to action. A dull yellow light coated her two hands as she put them on Bell’s head with her eyes closed. A few minutes later, she opened her eyes and gasped for breath. Sweat was covering her forehead.

“How is he?” Swan asked, worried.

Celpie poured herself a glass of water first. After she finished it, her yellow eyes turned towards Swan, reflecting coldness. “Who did this to him? So vicious!”

“Our target, the hunter they notified us about,” Swan growled. “We underestimated him too much.” He walked over to the window and looked outside. The faint reflection on the glass reflected the anger in his eyes. He turned towards the Celpie, “you can save him, right?”

“His wounds are a piece of cake. The problem is the residual mana around the knife’s blade. It was currently staying dormant. But I’m afraid if we pull out carelessly, it will go on a rampage.” Celpie’s face was pale as she fidgeted her fingers. “Big bro Bell’s life will be in danger!”

“Can’t you do something about that rampant mana?” Swan asked, worried. “We can’t let anything happen to him.”

“This man’s mana control is way too advanced. Not even a high-ranked Spell Caster could compare to him. We need a 1-Star Healer at the very least. Only they can pull this mana out.” Celpie looked down sadly. “My [Sacred Palm] can regrow muscles and bones. But, it can’t do anything about the violent mana.”

“A 1-star healer! Where can we find one?” Swan stared wide-eyed at the girl. “Even if we find one, do you think we can afford their service?” Swan’s lips trembled. He came forward and pleaded, “Is there no other way?”

Healers were the most respected branch of hunters as they can save lives. Unfortunately, they were just too little in number. And most of them were treated as national treasures by their respective guilds. Seeking their help was close to impossible. Not to mention, those proud bunch will never spare a glance towards a small party like them.

Celpie took Swan’s hand in hers and squeezed them. Her eyes were red from barely holding herself back from crying. “Big bro Swan, big bro Bell and you are my only family left in this world. I’d do anything for you two.” She squeezed Swan’s hands some more. Her eyes were red with tears streaming from the corners. “Big brother Swan, please, tell me, where is this person’s house.”

“What? Why do you want to know?” Swan whipped his head towards Celpie, eyes wide. His voice rose a few octaves. “Impossible! Even we two couldn’t do anything to him. What can you do?”

“I’m not going to fight him.” She wiped tears from the corner of her eyes. “I need his help to save big bro Bell. Only he can pull this rampant mana out of big bro’s body.”

“After what we did, what makes you think he will help us?” Swan shook his head and looked at comatose Bell. Thanks to Celpie, his bleeding has stopped. But he knew it was just a stop measure. Unless they resolve the source of the issue, Bell’s life will be in danger.

“Shit!” Swan regretted ever accepting this task. He couldn't even blame anyone as it was his own fault for underestimating his enemy just because he was from a ‘backwater’ place.

Celpie walked over and took Swan’s hands in hers. “Big bro, we can’t delay this matter anymore. We’ve to find him again.”

But Swan sighed as he looked outside the window with an unreadable expression on his face. “It’s not that easy, Pie,” he mumbled. “If he isn’t an idiot, he will never stay at that place. By now, he should’ve already gone to hiding. Finding him again will be difficult.”

“Then, then let’s ask them,” Celpie said, knitting her eyebrows. “They are the ones who told us where to find him and when he’s home. They should be able to do the same again, right?”

“Good idea!” Swan clapped his hands and immediately sprang into action. He rushed to his luggage bag and took out a strangely shaped handphone. He keyed the contact number and waited for the other party to pick it up.

Celpie anxiously joined her hands in a prayer pose. A dull, almost unnoticeable yellow light shined on Swan’s body, who was standing beside her.

XXX

Nel carefully walked through the streets towards the south of the town, afraid that someone would jump on him. After a while, he reached the dungeon entrance. Not surprisingly, he found the place void of anyone.

Nel was a little unwilling to come here. The mountain-like presence that man exuded was still fresh in his mind. The smart decision was to stay away from this place as far as possible. But, Nel couldn't abandon an innocent girl. He had to do his part and at least warn her.

“Hello, how can I help you, sir?” The sharply dressed lady behind the reception table greeted Nel with a smile.

Nel nodded at her as he walked over while looking around warily. “I’m looking for someone. A girl who came out of the dungeon in a pretty bad shape the day before yesterday.”

Upon hearing his request, the woman narrowed her eyes. Nel noticed her fingers twitching and couldn't help but smile inside his heart. “With due respect sir, we are not allowed to reveal any private information—eh? What is this?”

The reception lady had to stop mid-sentence when Nel handed her his license. Her eyes widened, and her mouth hung open, seeing the name. She looked between the card and Nel a few times, then returned the card with trembling hands. “I... I am sorry sir. I didn't know…”

“Don't worry about it.” Nel smiled, taking the card from her hand. His reputation as one of the three who hunted a rare Rank-II had preceded himself. They had become the talk of the town. Even people who had never seen him before already knew his name. “You don’t need to tell me her address or anything. Just pass her a message from me,” Nel said, taking a pen from the table. “Can I have a piece of paper, please?”

“Ah! Y-yes sir!” The receptionist handed a writing pad with shaky hands. Nel smiled at her, tore a paper out of the pad, and wrote a warning message. Then, he folded it neatly and handed it back to the lady. “I know you recognize the person I’m looking for. Just hand this paper to her and remind her to be careful.”

After that, Nel left the office in quick steps under the dazed look of the lady. According to Klaus, the two 3-starred dungeons had become the base of operation for the outsiders. These outsiders were disdainful and sometimes plain hostile to hunters of Vedan. There was even a lunatic who was going around challenging all the top fifty hunters.

The situation was way out of Vedan mayor’s control. And therefore why, the HA had requested all the hunters to abstain from raiding the dungeons. It was to protect them from this mess.