The small village of Kumatou was alive, its usual quiet tranquility consumed by a vibrant, chaotic energy. Lanterns of every color were strung between the houses, their warm light dancing in the evening breeze. The air was thick with the sounds of music, laughter, and the happy chatter of villagers, all of them gathered for the yearly celebration. Tonight was the Harvest Festival, a day to thank the god Silas for a bountiful harvest, and a time for the younger generation to find their potential significant others.

  In the middle of the crowded plaza, a young man with messy black hair stood alone, looking very lost and out of place. He held a cup of sweet fruit wine in his hand, his gaze distant, his shoulders slumped. He had politely, but firmly, rejected every girl that had come up to him so far.

  "C'mon, man! Ya been rejecting every single girl in this village!" a familiar, perky voice called out. Isao, the acting elder, approached him, his usual white garb replaced by a festive, colorful robe. A large, hand-painted sign that read 'SINGLE AND AVAILABLE' was tied around his neck with a piece of string.

  "I came here because you asked me to," Raito said, his voice flat. "And I am definitely not here because I am desperate."

  "You're no fun," Isao pouted.

  "Well, I'm not you," Raito replied, a small, humorless smile on his face. He gestured to Isao's sign. "How many have approached you so far, anyway?"

  "Zero," Isao said, his voice full of a dramatic, theatrical defeat.

  "Yeah," Raito said, putting a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "You might need a bigger sign."

  Just then, a young woman with a flower in her hair approached the two of them.

  "Miss," Isao began, his usual confident sneer returning, "would you care to spend the evening with me?"

  The girl just looked him up and down, then her gaze fell on Raito. "Sorry, you're not my type," she said to Isao, before turning to Raito with a hopeful smile. "But you are."

  "Sorry," Raito said quickly, not even looking at her. "Not interested."

  The girl's face fell, and she walked away, defeated. Isao, however, was in even worse condition. He fell to his knees, his head slumped, a look of pure, unadulterated despair on his face. He had been rejected by every single girl in Kumatou village.

  "Ya had to rub it in my face," he moaned from the ground.

  "It's not my fault she approached me," Raito replied, taking another sip of his wine.

  "A-a... achoo!" Raito suddenly sneezed in Isao’s direction, a small, unexpected sound in the bustling plaza.

  “Gross.” Isao shrieked, wiping his glasses.

  "Who's talking about me?" Raito sniffled, rubbing his nose.

  Perched on a nearby rooftop, hidden in the shadows of the festive lanterns, a figure in a black cloak watched the scene below. Her anger, a quiet, simmering thing, was building with every girl that approached Raito.

  Hooo... she thought, her voice a low, dangerous whisper. I leave him alone for a bit, and he's already flirting with multiple girls... I will never forgive him.

  "I know you're here, Min Eun," she said, not even turning her head.

  A second figure emerged from the shadows, Min Eun's sinister smile a stark contrast to the festive atmosphere of the village below. "Darling," she purred. "I knew you'd be watching."

  "Who is this rebel leader we're hunting?" Yukari asked, her voice cold and devoid of all emotion.

  "Oh, you can't find him, darling," Min Eun replied, her voice a purr of amusement. "His presence should be very clear to you by now."

  Yukari shook her head. "In case you didn't notice, you never gave me a proper description of this 'target'."

  "Oh, I'm sorry, darling," Min Eun said, her voice dripping with fake sympathy. "It must have been my mistake. Here, I'll show you."

  She grabbed Yukari by the wrist and dragged her to the edge of the rooftop, lifting her hand and pointing down at the village plaza.

  Yukari's eyes widened in shock, her heart a cold, hard stone in her chest.

  Min Eun's finger was pointed directly at the 'target'.

  At Raito.

  "This has to be a mistake," Yukari said, her voice a desperate, pleading whisper.

  "No, darling," Min Eun purred, her voice a venomous honey. "Our intel... it told me that the boy has been leading a rebellion that wants to overthrow Lord Takayama. As Lord Takayama's vassal, we can't let that go through, right?"

  "No, I know you're lying," Yukari snapped back, her voice trembling. "You can't do this to me. What proof do you have that he's leading a rebel army?"

  "Proof?" Min Eun's laugh was a low, cruel sound. "Look at that." She pointed down at the festive crowd. "That amount of people he's gathered... it's clearly a rebellion."

  "That's a festival!" Yukari denied, her voice a raw, desperate cry.

  "Do you have proof that the festival is not a front?" Min Eun asked, her voice a purr. "Something to throw us off track?"

  Yukari was speechless.

  "Exactly, darling," Min Eun said, her smirk widening. "Sneaky bastard, that boy is. Using our protection to hide his true goal."

  "No," Yukari whispered, shaking her head. "I won't let you. Or…"

  This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

  "Or...?" Min Eun tilted her head. "Or what, darling? You want to fight a whole army? By yourself? Just eliminate him, and you will be given your much-deserved vacation."

  "You promised to protect him," Yukari said, her voice a broken thing.

  "We did," Min Eun replied, her voice a purr. "But sometimes, like today, we just happen to be a little... incompetent."

  "No," Yukari said, her voice quiet but firm. "I won't... I'm done. This is the only thing you can't force me to do."

  And with that, she leaped from the rooftop, a black-clad shadow falling into the sea of festive lights and colors below.

  "Tch..." Min Eun snapped her fingers. Her three loyal, masked goons appeared from the shadows, and her four-winged crow landed silently on her shoulder. "Capture her," she ordered, her voice a low, dangerous growl. "And the boy as well."

  The three goons vanished into the darkness, and the crow took flight, its intelligent eyes becoming the eye in the sky.

  Yukari ran, bumping into people, her heart a frantic drum against her ribs. She had to get to him. She had to get him out.

  "Raito!" she shouted, her voice a raw, desperate cry that cut through the festive music.

  Raito, still trying to fend off Isao's attempts to help him get with another girl, froze. Huh? No way, he thought. I must be hallucinating. That was her voice.

  Suddenly, an arm grabbed his wrist from the sea of people and pulled him away. Raito's eyes widened. "You... it's really you," he said, his voice a mixture of shock and disbelief. "Why... why are you here?"

  "Less talking, more running," Yukari ordered, her voice a desperate, pleading thing. "Quick!"

  "Why are we running?" Raito asked, still confused as he stumbled along behind her.

  "One woman, three men, one crow," she said, her voice a breathless whisper. "Trying to kill you."

  "How did it come to this?" Raito started running, the seriousness of her tone finally cutting through his confusion. "You came back here after leaving me, and now you're telling me people are after my life? AGAIN. Why won't you just tell me what is going on?"

  "Sorry..." she sobbed, the word a raw, broken thing. "Everything... everything is my fault. I'll admit it. But please, let's just run for now. I'll talk. I'll explain everything later."

  Raito looked at her, at the genuine desperation and fear in her silver eyes, and he nodded. He ran with her, their hands now clasped together in a tight, desperate grip.

  "Where are we going?" he asked, his voice a breathless whisper.

  Yukari didn't answer.

  "You have no destination, do you?" he said, a note of familiar exasperation in his voice.

  She just nodded, her eyes fixed on the path ahead.

  "I knew it," he groaned. "Didn't this exact same situation happen in Jinlun? You drag me away, and then you realize you don't know where to go."

  "Just keep running," she said, her voice a mixture of embarrassment and a desperate, pleading hope.

  A few moments later, the two of them arrived next to a long, wooden bridge that connected Biyuu Island to another, smaller island. But they were not alone. Their path was blocked. The three masked goons, their weapons already drawn, stood waiting for them. The big one with the steel club, the lanky one with the steel claws, and the small one with the pair of shortswords.

  "They're the ones who robbed me," Raito said, his voice a low growl.

  "Yes," Yukari replied, her gaze fixed on the men in front of them.

  "And they were with you the day you left," he added, his voice now laced with a pained confusion.

  "Yes," she said again, her voice a quiet, pained whisper. "I know."

  "So how did it get to this?" Raito asked, his voice a mixture of confusion and a dawning, horrified realization.

  "Just be quiet," she said, her voice sharp. "They're dangerous. I need to focus." She readied her daggers, her stance low and ready. "You three, move. I will no longer serve that creepy lord of yours."

  "Big mistake," the biggest of the three said, and rushed towards her.

  Yukari kicked Raito to the side, and he stumbled, falling to the ground as she dodged the incoming club swing. The steel club slammed into the ground, cracking the very ground with such force. But before Yukari could react, the lanky masked man with the claws was on her, his steel-toed boot connecting with her gut, sending her heaving to the ground. The mental and physical exhaustion of the past few weeks was slowing her down. She pulled her dagger, ready to strike back.

  "Stop," the smallest of the three called out.

  Yukari froze. He was standing over Raito, his shortsword pressed against the boy's throat, his other hand restraining him.

  "Oh, how the famed Snow Flower has fallen," a familiar, purring voice said from the shadows. Min Eun emerged, a triumphant, sadistic smile on her face. "You have so much potential, the potential to be the greatest. Lord Takayama sees that and gives you a chance. Yet, you chose this... this dead weight. Bringing along a fatal weakness. Very illogical and stupid." She gently caressed Yukari's cheek.

  "Let him go," Yukari pleaded, her voice a raw, broken thing. "We had a deal."

  "Had, darling," Min Eun purred. "Had. The status quo has changed. We're taking him with us. And you... you will work for us until your very life is extinguished."

  "Stop!" Raito shouted, struggling against the man's grip. "Who are you guys, anyway? What have we ever done to you? Leave us alone! There's no way Yukari made some deal with terrible people like you."

  "Oh?" Min Eun's smile widened. "You never told the boy, did you, Snow Flower?"

  "No," Yukari whispered, her voice a pained, pleading thing. "The deal was... that he would never know."

  "What deal?" Raito's voice was a raw, desperate cry. "Why is no one telling me what is going on?"

  Min Eun just smirked. She walked slowly over to Raito and whispered in his ear.

  His eyes widened in a dawning, horrified realization. Yukari fell to her knees. Even if she couldn't hear the words, she knew. She knew exactly what Min Eun had told him.

  "No," Raito whispered, his voice a broken thing. "That's... that's a lie. I don't believe you."

  "Oh, dear," Min Eun purred. "It is true. Everything. Why do you think she works for me? Think about it."

  "NO!" Yukari screamed. She pointed her hand at Min Eun, activating the Frost Core she hadn't used in what felt like forever. This time, she was successful. A lone, shimmering ice spear flew from her hand, grazing Min Eun's neck. But it was nothing more than a final, desperate act of defiance. The light in her Core completely vanished, and the extreme fatigue of using it, combined with everything else, stopped her cold.

  "Still so rebellious," Min Eun said, touching the small, shallow cut on her neck. She looked at the big one of the masked goons. "Do it."

  The man nodded and approached Yukari.

  "What are you doing?" Yukari asked, her voice a weak whisper.

  He ripped the silver bangle containing her Core from her arm, threw it to the ground, and with a single, decisive stomp, smashed it, Core and all, into a thousand glittering, useless pieces.

  "NO!!!!!" Yukari screamed, the sound a raw, pure anguish. Not only had her Core been shattered, but her connection to it had been completely severed. The backlash, Raito being held hostage, her exhaustion... everything crashed down on her at once. She collapsed on the spot, the world around her turning dark. The last thing she heard was Min Eun's sinister laugh and Raito screaming her name.

  The world went silent. The triumphant, cruel laughter of Min Eun was the last thing Yukari heard before the darkness took her completely.

  "Yukari!" Raito screamed, his voice raw with a terror he had never known. He struggled against the man's grip, but it was no use. The smallest goon delivered a powerful, precise blow to the back of Raito's neck, and his world, too, went dark.

  Min Eun just watched, a satisfied, triumphant smile on her face. "See, darling?" she purred, looking down at Yukari's unconscious form. "So much easier when you don't fight back." She gestured to her men. The biggest one grabbed Yukari, slinging her unconscious body over his shoulder like a sack of grain. "Take them. The boy is now a very useful lock. And the girl... she is finally ready to be remade."

  The group disappeared into the shadows, leaving nothing behind but the shattered remains of a bridge and a few scattered festival lanterns. The only thing left was the sadistic laughter of a madwoman, a sound that was swallowed by the wind.

  High above, floating, a figure cloaked in a green hood watched the scene unfold. A silent, unseen observer.

  "How are you two going to fight this situation?" the figure thought, their voice a quiet, genderless whisper on the wind. "Prove to me that the potential the red one told me about is true."