"Lucky to have such a powerful boyfriend," Heather murmured to herself, her eyes gleaming with admiration as she stared at Andy. The lightning had illuminated the shrine for a brief moment, casting dramatic shadows across his chiseled features. His HP aura—that shimmering protective field that surrounded all Heroes—had absorbed the attack like it was nothing more than a gentle breeze.

  She couldn't help but compare it to Will's pathetic display earlier. His weak HP aura hadn't even slowed Andy's blade. One strike and his hand was gone, severed clean through flesh and bone. But Andy? Andy could take Nick's most powerful spell head-on and laughed it off.

  That was the difference between a real Hero and dead weight.

  "Is there an issue?" Andy asked, noticing her stare.

  "No," Heather said quickly, falling back into step beside him as they left the shrine. "Just admiring your technique."

  Nick trudged behind them, his enchanted sword dim and powerless in his grip. The fight had gone out of him the moment his lightning failed. What was the point? Andy's HP was nearly three times his own—any direct confrontation would have ended with Nick as another corpse on the marble floor.

  Andy had graciously forgiven Nick for his very rude and, in Heather’s opinion, uncalled for attack. He gave reassurances to Nick that once he helped with a few favors, he could have The Wish. Honestly it was just greedy of Nick to expect to receive such a prize right away.

  As they walked away from the shrine, Heather felt that familiar sensation creeping up her spine. The feeling of being watched. She turned suddenly, feeling like there was a specific place it was coming from. All her eyes found though was granite and stone from mountains rising to the east of the shrine.

  “Heather?”

  This time it was Jesse noticing her staring at some mountain slopes. Honestly at this rate they were all going to think she was a air-head.

  “It’s nothing,” Heather said quickly, giving her best friend a smile.

  These weird feelings had started when they'd first been summoned as Heroes. Sometimes it was a feeling of being watched. Sometimes it was just a warm, comforting sense of feeling safe.

  But ever since she helped Andy get Fire-Friend... the feeling had changed. Now it felt judgmental. Accusatory. Like invisible eyes were cataloging her every sin. And it became much worst after Elane’s death.

  Her gaze drifted toward the mountain face, drawn by some instinct she couldn't name. Something was there. Something important. But she'd learned to ignore these feelings—they only brought trouble.

  “Heather, I hate to impose my love, but I need you to cast a important spell for me.”

  Heather quickly turned to Andy, smiling at the thought of showing off her cleric magic to her boyfriend.

  My breath caught in my throat as Heather's eyes swept across the mountain face. For one terrible moment, I was certain she'd spotted the cave entrance, that her senses somehow had pierced through the illusion. My remaining hand pressed against the rough stone wall, fingernails digging into the rock as I fought the urge to retreat deeper into the shadows.

  Then she turned away.

  A moment later Andy said something to her, but I’m not sure what. Then she began making gestures to cast a spell towards the shrine entrance, but I couldn’t see what the said spell did from the angle of the cave entrance.

  She began speaking afterwards, I remembered there was one skill which could help me overhear.

  [Skill activated: Enhanced Perception]

  “…remember… …three warnings…”

  Even with enhanced hearing I could barely make out a word or two. What was she saying?

  Whatever she wanted to talk about, it didn’t last long. She had only spoken for a couple of minutes before turning. The others did the same and I watched them all walk towards the gravel road.

  They continued walking, their forms growing smaller in the distance. Patrick's wet footsteps squelched against the grass. Nick's shoulders remained hunched in defeat. Jesse moved like a shadow beside Heather, and Andy... Andy strutted like he owned the world.

  Only when they disappeared completely beyond the coastal bend did I allow myself to sink down against the cave wall. My legs gave out, trembling uncontrollably as the adrenaline finally began to fade. I pressed my face into my remaining hand, feeling the hot sting of tears I'd been holding back.

  I was safe. For the first time since Andy's flaming sword had taken my hand, I was actually safe.

  A sob escaped before I could stop it, then another. My shoulders shook as everything crashed over me at once—the betrayal, the pain, the loss of my hand, Patrick's confession about Elane. I cried until my throat was raw and my eye burned dry, while Osirus perched silently nearby, offering the dignity of a witness who didn't judge.

  When the tears finally stopped, exhaustion hit me like a physical weight. I curled up on the cave floor, pulling a cloak out of my Inventory Box to use as a makeshift pillow, but I didn’t fall asleep. I just found myself not wanting to move and staring off at the night sky and swaying green grass.

  Dawn's first light filtering through the illusory wall gave me the mental urge to do something different. My body ached from laying on stone, and my left wrist itched annoyingly at times. I sat up slowly, grimacing at the stiffness in my muscles.

  "Caw! Good you get up." Osirus stretched his wings. "Actions bring change, not idle brooding."

  I ignored him, checking my MP levels. Full again. Good. I'd need every advantage I could get.

  The Wish sat heavy in my Inventory Box, its presence like a splinter in my mind. I needed to know what it did. Needed to understand what Andy had been willing to kill me for. And there was only one place that could tell me.

  "I'm going to the shrine," I announced, pushing myself to my feet.

  “Oh I can’t wait to see The Wish used,” Osirus said as he flapped wings, flying out of the cave.

  I quickly followed him, walking towards the shrine’s entrance. A small voice pointed out this could all be a trap where they would ambush me as soon as I came out of hiding. But I instantly discarded the notion.

  Who would have predicted I could find a cave with a illusionary wall to hide in? No, if Andy was told, he would have ordered everyone to scout the surrounding area for me. Then if they couldn’t find me, he would have assumed I made a run down the gravel road and head down it at a full run.

  As much as it sickened me to admit it, Patrick kept quiet and saved my life. Which didn’t come even close to making me feel grateful, considering he killed Elane.

  But why did Andy have Patrick kill Elane instead of doing it himself?

  “Because he didn’t know the consequences,” I muttered to myself, answering the question in my mind. Our abilities and powers were all gifts from something called the System. Something which appeared near omnipotent and determined what we both received and suffered as Heroes.

  Andy had no idea if the System would ‘punish’ a Hero for murdering another Hero. He probably wanted Elane dead because she knew of his ‘secret dungeon’, but wasn’t willing to risk the System doing something nasty to him for killing her.

  So he found a guinea pig—Patrick Vester. The one guy who would do anything for Andy, even murder for him. Given how Andy was willing to do the murdering himself this time, it was safe to say the System didn’t punish Patrick for killing Elane.

  I didn’t know why Patrick suddenly got a conscious and let me live. Or maybe it wasn’t about mercy, maybe it was just Patrick worried Andy would blame him for me being alive.

  Either way, Patrick was going to pay for killing Elane. I was going to make sure of it.

  “Caw! Hey there’s a ugly metal woman in my shrine!”

  I came within sight of the archway entrance for the Shrine of Heroes just as Osirus spoke from above. And mentally cursed as I stared at the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

  The figure stood tall, their silhouette floating above the ground with outstretched white wings behind them. Red hair the color of bright flames flowed along their back and shoulder. Golden armor gleamed under the sunlight as startling white eyes with no pupils stared at me.

  “It’s a Guardian Archangel,” I sighed, now knowing exactly what spell Heather cast before the Heroes Party left.

  Heather was never a very good healer when we fought monsters and did dungeon dives. She refused to learn any healing spell which required her to get close to the front line... only problem was the strongest healing spells required touching a person.

  She only invested in the weaker healing and buff spells that could be cast from a distance. Which was why everyone always had strong heal potions on hand. Instead of investing in strong healings spells, she invested her level up rewards into learning how to summon celestial creatures.

  And boy would she use them for the pettiest things. I remember her summoning a angel called Wrathwing, Angel of Fury, just to serve her and Jesse afternoon tea and pastries. She really appeared to get a kick at making powerful creatures do menial tasks for her.

  “Caw! Guardian! GUARDIAN!? I’m guardian of this shrine!”

  Osirus dove toward the angel with an indignant screech, his white feathers bristling with fury. "How dare you trespass in my domain! I've guarded this shrine since I was born!"

  Stolen story; please report.

  "Wait! Um... Let’s hear her out before you destroy her!" I shouted, the raven pausing for a second in the air at my protest. I seriously can’t believe I was able to say those words with a straight face.

  I slowly approached her, every instinct I had screaming what was in front of me wasn’t human and could probably kill me with ease.

  [Scan Results] Name: Sentinel Aurelia, Guardian Archangel Race: Celestial Level: 40 Stats: Str 22, Con 20, Dex 22, Wis 18, Int 14 HP: 307/307 MP: 124

  This wasn’t one of the typical angels Heather sometimes summoned. This was an Archangel, Heather used her highest 8th level spell to summon this creature. I had only seen Heather cast the spell one time before to summon this celestial being. It struck a deathblow to a giant the size of a building.

  Even if I was at full strength with two hands, I’d lose to this lady.

  "Excuse me, Guardian Angel. What is your purpose here?"

  The angel's head turned toward me with mechanical smoothness. When she spoke, her voice resonated like a choir of bells. "I am Sentinel Aurelia, summoned by the Hero Heather to guard this sacred shrine. My orders are absolute: none may enter. Those who attempt to pass shall receive a warning."

  “On the third warning, I shall strike them down.”

  "Strike down?!" Osirus squawked, wheeling around and landing on the Archangel’s shoulder. "This is MY shrine! I decide who enters!"

  "Remove yourself from the grounds of the shrine, this is your first warning," Aurelia stated, glaring at the bird on her shoulder. I never saw a raven’s jaw drop in disbelief, I’d actually find it funny if the said raven wasn’t about to get himself obliterated.

  “Osirus, I know you’re totally um magnificent, but I don’t think this is a fight you could win. Maybe we can find another great place for you to protect,” I said, looking uneasily from the raven to the Archangel. It wouldn’t even be a fight, Osirus would be turned into a puff of smoking feathers with the first attack.

  Osirus turned to me with a look of disappointment. I didn’t even know ravens could communicate disappointment with their eyes before Osirus just did it.

  “Hero while I do like you, you obviously don’t understand the magnitude of my power. I already mentioned the bird I stopped from nesting in the shrine. What I didn’t mention was I also thrashed a snake who dared to try to setup a nest as well in my wonderful shrine just a month ago.”

  I think my brain shut down for a second as I stared at Osirus. Okay, obviously even though his Intelligence stat is higher than mine, it doesn’t work as well since he’s an animal. Actually makes sense since I started out able to talk without a System stat power while he can only talk because of a System stat power.

  “Bird, you have not exited the premises. This is your second warning,” Aurelia said as one of her hands opened up, showing a gathering of radiant energy forming into a ball.

  My first real friend in this mess and he’s about to get vaporized!

  “Osirus look just let Aurelia watch the shrine because... because I need your help! I need your help trying to take down the ‘Bad Heroes’!”

  I could feel a relief wash over my whole body as Osirus finally flew off the angel’s shoulder and landed on my own.

  “You want my help to defeat those Bad Heroes? Why do you seek them? Are you looking for revenge?” Osirus squawked out question after question with his beak only inches from my ear. I didn’t even have a chance to congratulate myself on saving Osirus’s life before his questions made my mind spin.

  What did I want when it came to the ‘Bad Heroes’?

  “I want to get revenge, but not just for me. I want to get revenge for Elane who they murdered.”

  Even if she would never ask for it...

  “Will you kill them?” Osirus asked. There was no judgement in his voice, but it was hilarious how he made it sound so easy. I was weaker than them even before I lost my hand. But assuming somehow the element of surprise could allow me to pull off killing them...

  “I... don’t know. I know I want them to pay, but I’m not sure yet how I want to make them pay.”

  I hated how undecided I sounded. I spent the last three years stabbing and slicing monsters. I’ve pulled off killing all sorts of creatures that tried to kill me. But here I was still faltering at the thought of killing those assholes just because they were human. Because I’ve NEVER killed a human.

  I felt something soft touching the top of my head. Turning, I saw Osirus was actually patting my hair with his white wing.

  “You are a good Hero. Even in the face of betrayal you are trying to do the right thing. Okay, I will go with you to help fight them.”

  The raven then turned his beak towards the Archangel, feathers becoming ruffled.

  “Listen well Sentinel Aurelia, Guardian Archangel, I in all my mercy have decided not to destroy you, but instead will allow you to be a temporary replacement for me as guardian to the Shrine of Heroes.”

  I flinched my head back as Osirus pulled off swatting my face with one of his wings, he was doing his wings rising to the sky pose.

  “But know if I hear you fail at your task, I shall thrash you as I have thrashed the bird and snake who tried to make the shrine home. Oh and just like the squirrel which tried to bury it’s nuts next to my shrine. How I hate those squirrels!”

  “I’m sure she gets the idea,” I said hastily, quickly placing a hand on the raven’s back to keep him in place and fast walking away.

  “Caw! Hero I had more threats to give!”

  “You can give them when we come back! And the name is Will. Will Walton.”

  Only after we were out of sight of the shrine from the gravel road, did I let go of Osirus with my good hand. Meanwhile I was trying to figure out why Heather used her most powerful summoning spell to make sure no one step foot on the Shrine of Heroes.

  I mentally summoned my journal from my space pocket, awkwardly holding it in place with my left arm. Opening it showed the writing where I described the events of the last twenty-four hours. It probably wasn’t necessarily since those horrible memories were burned into my mind. But it always made me feel better to write down the awful things which happened in my life.

  It gave me a sense of control to prevent them from happening again, even if it was a false sense of control.

  I quickly scrolled back to the section of the journal about Heather. I had kept details about all the Heroes, especially about their abilities. I told myself it was to try to figure out strategies where we could work better together.

  But thinking about it now, I did it because I was afraid of them. I was ALWAYS afraid of the others except for Elane, Patrick, and Nick. And writing about their abilities was just another coping mechanism.

  Did I know this would happen on a subconscious level? Was I studying them and doing analysis of them because one day they’d be my enemies.

  “If so then I wish my subconscious would have warned me I was going to lose my hand,” muttered Will as he stopped on a page about Heather’s summoning spells.

  “What are you babbling about Will?” Osirus asked, sounding miffed. Apparently he really wanted to yell out those follow-up threats to a Archangel. He was surprising lite considering he rested on my shoulder.

  “Nothing, I sometimes talk to myself. Just ignore it,” I said as I read my notes. Sadly being the outcast of the Heroes Party led to a lot of speaking to myself. I squinted my eyes as I carefully read the details about the Archangel summoning spell.

  It was definitely powerful, but there were some major drawbacks. First, Heather wouldn’t be able to cast any other 8th level spells until she undid the spell. Second, the Archangel could only be summoned within ten miles of a church or holy site. A big reason why we couldn’t use it at the Demon King’s castle.

  Made sense a ‘shrine’ would count. Finally, she had to be careful on making sure her orders appeared ‘Virtuous’ which she gave the Archangel. She was able to order the other celestials to do anything and I remember her practically abusing such a perk. Archangels though only followed orders they believed were righteous.

  “And that explains the three warnings,” I said as I tapped the page. Ordering the Archangel to just kill anyone coming near the shrine definitely was a evil order. But giving intruders plenty of opportunities to leave was a different matter.

  As for why they were making sure no one could enter the Shrine of Heroes, there were a couple of possible reasons. First Andy might be worried someone can figure out he murdered a fellow Hero at the crime scene. In a world with a wide variety of magic spells and abilities, it wasn’t too crazy a possibility.

  Or maybe, even though he thinks The Wish was lost in my Inventory Box, he’s worried about it showing up again and someone else using it. Either way, it’s understandable he would be cautious. And now with the Demon King dead, Heather probably didn’t even consider it a big loss to not be able to cast 8th level spells.

  Afterall she would be concentrating on her music career now.

  I couldn’t stop the clenching of my teeth. Heather who helped murder a fellow Hero and nearly helped kill another, being cheered and applauded to on stage. The idea of it made me want to puke.

  I marched off the gravel road and quickly sat down on the grass. I could hear Osirus squawk in surprise and jump onto the grass next to me. I pulled my feathered pen out of the Inventory Box and quickly wrote words at the top of the page.

  Plan To Ruin the Heroes Party

  Osirus asked me for details on how I was going to get revenge and I had no answers. It’s time I created some. Under the words I noted every detail I knew about the ‘secret dungeon’ Patrick accidentally mentioned. How it was in the capital, accessed through sewers, and Elane was killed to keep quite about it.

  The most significant fact was how Patrick mentioned it was a Five Sigil dungeon though. Which explained why someone as power hungry as Andy was willing to kill to keep it a secret.

  All the Heroes were given a crash course on how dungeons worked by the Church of Divine Light before we were sent out to grow strong enough to fight the Demon King. Every dungeon entrance had a number of strange runes on them. Sometimes carved into the wall or onto a door. The number of runes indicated how strong the dungeon was and how powerful the reward of experience and gold was.

  And another correspondence was the speed the dungeons repopulated with monsters and treasure coincide with the number of runes.

  The weakest dungeons were One Sigil dungeons which repopulated with monsters and treasures every month. Two Sigil dungeons repopulated after a year. Three Sigil dungeons repopulate every three years. And Four Sigil dungeons repopulated every ten years.

  According to the priests, a Five Sigil dungeon would repopulate every hundred years and would have god-like treasures. They even warned that if we ever discovered one, that we needed to keep it a secret because every adventurer who heard about it would try to enter. None of my scouting for information ever led to us finding one.

  And we only found two Four Sigil dungeons. In one the most prized treasure was Glacierbreaker, the warhammer which Patrick uses. It gave a frost status to any enemy hit by it and added 20% cold damage. The second dungeon gave the Scepter of Life Touch. A magic scepter capable of casting Miracle Restoration three times a day, fully healing someone with just a light touch.

  It was given to Heather which was a total waste of course since she wouldn’t ever come close enough to the fight to use it. What made the choice even more ridiculous was it could be used by any class.

  Last time I saw it, the beautiful magical artifact was hanging on a wall in Heather’s room.

  Andy was apparently placing his sights on a Five Sigil Dungeon and was willing to murder to get to it. And somehow his sword Fire-Friend had something to do with it. Patrick mentioned Elane read some runes on the sword for them. The way Andy went about getting Fire-Friend was pretty disgusting, but I always assumed it was just a case of him wanting a powerful magic sword.

  Could getting Fire-Friend have always been just a means to getting to a Five Sigil Dungeon? Patrick also said it was used to open the dungeon. Normally a magic item wasn’t needed to open a dungeon, but maybe it was a different with a Five Sigil Dungeon.

  “Osirus, I know what I’m going to do to avenge Elane. I’m going to beat Andy to entering a dungeon he really cares about and steal whatever is there that he wants,” I said, looking over at the white raven. Osirus gave a nod as he spoke.

  “Good! Good! Let us fight these awful Heroes and show them what true heroism is!”

  Oh right… fighting.

  “About that Osirus, when it comes to doing the actual fighting I wanted to ask you to stay on the side lines. I mean you’d be a big help, it’s just... um...”

  “Say no more! Osirus understands and completely agrees!” Osirus said as he raised a wing up.

  “Wait, you do?”

  Did he finally realize he’d be bird food if he—

  “Obviously you don’t want Osirus to steal the glory. This is your quest and you only have a chance to get as strong as Osirus if you are allowed to fight battles instead of me winning them for you.”

  “...yeah, that’s totally why.”

  “Don’t worry though, if you die a bloody, glorious death then Osirus will avenge you.”

  “Aw thanks Osirus... actually if I die a bloody, glorious death then just leave my killer alone.”

  “You are truly merciful to spare your killer from my terrible wrath.”

  “Do... do you have to make it sound so certain I will die a bloody, glorious death?”

  “You’ve seen my Intelligence, I can’t help reaching logical conclusions.”

  “I’d like to change the subject now.”

  “Of course, let us take our first step to claim victory! Off to... to... where are we going again?” asked Osirus as he cocked his head to the side. I nearly snorted in response. But a sense of dread filled me as I did something I had consciously avoided until this very moment.

  I pulled up my status profile.

  It was pretty bad. I lost the ability to use the skill which gave me the most protection in a fight. I had my HP permanently reduced. And all those passive skills I acquired to help me do a killing blow to the Demon King were now weakened.

  “We need more allies Osirus. We won’t be able to beat this secret dungeon on our own. So we’re going to head to Lasair Manor.”