The full moon in the sky cast its light over the colony's ground like the last threads of hope in this miserable place.
Near the gate of the wall, the smell of dust filled the area.
Not far away, amid a cloud of dust, a young man in white clothes with brown hair sat atop the corpse of a beast resembling a dog the size of a medium carriage.
"So… what's next, partner?"
The young man spoke in a steady voice to his older companion, who stood beside him with three corpses behind him similar to the one the young man sat on, though slightly smaller.
"Let's continue the mission. Our priority is to search for survivors and investigate how the wall was breached. Just stay careful—there are things worse than these."
The young man jumped lightly off the corpse, landed on the ground, and began walking toward his companion, his robe swaying behind him in the light breeze.
"What makes you think that?"
The man looked at the young one and answered:
"It's the silence."
The young man blinked.
"Silence?"
"This isn't a comforting silence. In a place filled with dreadful things like this, silence is a sign that there is something everyone fears so much that the place is forced into silence. On the contrary, places like this should be noisy to be comforting—so you can know where the danger is."
The young man swallowed, then glanced around before catching up, a new awareness glinting in his eyes.
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After a few moments of silence, the young man decided to break it.
"But have you ever wondered how these walls managed to protect us from these things in the first place? Who could even build something this massive?"
Both of them raised their eyes toward the towering wall of the colony.
At such a great height, and with such enormous size that carriages could move across it, it was truly an astonishing feat. And beyond that, it had managed to protect the humans inside for… no one knew how long. But what mattered was that it had protected them for quite some time.
"So why did it fall only now?" the young man said, narrowing his eyes as if trying to see beyond the wall.
The older man sighed, then began walking along the wall.
"That is the question we must find the answer to. Come on, hurry so we can finish quickly."
The young man followed him.
"Um… do you have a family?"
The man did not turn, but his shoulders trembled slightly.
"Why do you ask?"
"I just wanted to know your motivation for wanting to return. Someone like you wouldn't want to go back for nonsense like me. So you probably have a family. Right?"
The man was silent for a while, then sighed softly and answered:
"I have a wife, two daughters, and one on the way."
The young man froze for a moment.
"Is she…?"
"Yes, she's pregnant. The doctor said it's a girl… fortunately."
The last word came out as if forced, making the young man realize he had touched a sensitive point.
"Ah… well… look at the bright side, Christoph."
As he continued walking, the man turned his head slightly to look at the young man, who kept talking while waving his hands in the air.
"If those girls are smart and good, you'll be really lucky! Also, girls won't want you dead to take your place. Lots of advantages, right?"
The man continued walking, waving his hand as if scattering the thought, then lifted his head toward the sky and let out a short, rough laugh.
"Hahaha."
"Stop joking. Without a boy to carry my blood, inherit the family, and protect it after I die, it will all be a farce. In the end… whoever marries my daughters will control the family."
He lowered his head and looked again at the young man walking behind him.
"Maybe my daughters are special, smart, and so on. But I know they will be deceived. I realized that when many people got close to me, and I thought they were friends—but they only approached me to get one of my daughters. And now another girl is coming into the family. I'm more worried about the one who hasn't been born yet than the others. She'll still be young when I die. I might not have the chance to teach her properly. And what I fear most is that their lives will turn into hell just because the ones they thought loved them actually only want the title of Marquis."
The man fell silent, leaving only the sound of their footsteps on the dirt.
The young man lowered his head, partially understanding. Then he stepped forward, blocked the man's path, and…
Tapped his chest lightly, leaving his hand there.
"I hope you don't die. I don't want anything bad to happen to your family like what happens to fallen families. And I don't want your daughters to be miserable."
He tightened his fist against the man's chest, smiling faintly.
"So don't die."
The man's eyes widened, then the corners of his mouth lifted as well.
He slapped the young man's hand away, something gleaming in his eyes.
"I won't die."
The young man froze for a moment, staring at the man's back.
Did I do something wrong?
But the man's voice cut through his thoughts, his lips lifting into a slight smile.
"But you don't die either… you reckless fool."
"Yes!"
The young man smiled broadly and caught up with him, something forming between them.
With that new bond between the two strangers, they began walking toward the breach in the wall of Vingard.
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Near the gate.
Where darkness and cold bit at Anas's side.
His eyelids began to tremble slowly.
After several seconds of trying to open his heavy eyes, they finally opened—from darkness to darkness. But soon they adjusted, and his vision became clear, reminding him of how effective the ability he had obtained was… or was it his second? It didn't matter. What mattered was that the ability was remarkable.
In any case, Anas had awakened, and the effect of the poison had begun to fade.
With a bit of observation, he realized it was probably midnight. He had slept for about four hours between his exhausting training and his brief rest.
He pushed himself up slowly with his hands and finally sat.
Pain spread through every part of his body, but there was nothing he could do. The fact that he was alive after taking blows like an idiot from a beast he didn't understand was already a stroke of luck—thanks to gaining enhanced healing at the right time.
Just thinking about what would have happened if his ability hadn't awakened and if he had chosen Priscilla…
Actually, nothing would have happened.
He knew he would simply be dead.
That severe injury to his head would never have healed without the ability Priscilla granted him.
But… how had he obtained his ability? Of course, someone as unlucky as him wouldn't have a miracle fall from the sky or suddenly become a hero like in stories.
"Incarnation… I need to look into it."
Yes, that was necessary. After seeing that this ability wasn't exclusive to him, it meant there were many others who could use it—perhaps even more fiercely and dangerously. Just imagine the kind of abilities they possessed.
Even some monsters seemed capable of using it.
As long as the eye Anas obtained from that monster could see incarnations, then that monster must have had one too—and that explained the fireball and the repeated sparks around it.
And even Naivy…
'Naivy!'
Anas quickly turned, his eyes widening slightly as he searched for the girl.
When he saw she was still beside him, lying there, his gaze softened again as he looked at the threads wrapped around her.
It seemed Naivy was an incarnate as well.
That meant she had fulfilled the conditions for incarnation, just like Anas.
Many questions arose in his mind.
But he suddenly froze when he heard a distant scream…