The story begins in the Forest of Death, where a group of men ambush a lone warrior. Glenn, one of the attackers, injures the man, and his allies remark that if even the empire’s strongest swordsman can be wounded so easily, their fate is sealed. The injured man, in disbelief, questions why Glenn is betraying him, as they were supposed to be comrades. Another of Glenn’s allies smugly declares that while the four of them did well in sealing the Land of Shadows, it will be the seven of them who receive all the glory. With that, they kill the man. It is then revealed that the empire had granted holy spears to fourteen heroes in an effort to stop the Land of Shadows from invading. Out of these fourteen, three perished, four were executed for allegedly betraying the empire, and the remaining seven were hailed as heroes, ushering in an age of glory.
The story then jumps forward twenty years. In a small town on the empire’s outskirts, a girl attempts to sneak into the city by hiding in a carriage. She hopes that once she reaches the port, she will be able to travel to the land of the Seven Heroes. Meanwhile, inside the town, Rashab, the chief of the warrior monks, is overseeing the execution of stowaways who tried to enter the empire illegally. As the captives plead for mercy, Rashab remains unmoved, reminding them that his duty is to protect the borders. Without hesitation, he orders their execution, hanging them on the spot. He then announces that anyone wishing to enter the empire must obtain a travel pass from their monastery, advising people not to act recklessly.
As Rashab leaves the execution site, one of his monks presents a captured girl— the same stowaway from earlier. She nervously claims she boarded the wrong wagon by mistake, but Rashab, frustrated that he has to deal with another execution so soon, decides to throw her in with the previous batch to avoid extra cleanup. Before she can be executed, a boy suddenly appears, calling out to the girl as “Pee Pee” and pretending to be her older brother. When the monk questions him, he insists they are siblings, but Rashab, noticing that they look nothing alike, is skeptical. The boy quickly explains that they have different mothers, but Rashab remains unconvinced and orders both of them to be executed. Realizing that words won’t save them, the boy reaches for his sword.
Before he can act, a man named Weed intervenes, grabbing both of them and pretending to know them. Rashab demands to know who he is, but Weed quickly apologizes for the trouble caused by the children and discreetly slips him a coin. The bribe works, and Rashab decides to let them go, claiming he can see the “buds of virtue” in them. Though some monks are doubtful, they lack the courage to oppose him.
Later, Pei thanks Weed for saving her, but the boy scolds her for ruining his own stowaway plans, as he had been hiding in the same cart. Annoyed, she snaps at him for calling her “Pee Pee,” finding the nickname embarrassing. Their argument is interrupted by Weed, who warns them that their reckless methods won’t get them past the empire’s borders. He reveals that he has already paid a hefty sum to a smuggler and has been planning his entry for days. He doesn’t care what happens to them, but if they draw too much attention and tighten security, it will make things harder for him. Mocking the boy, he calls him a “little hero” and asks if he understands. The boy, confused by the nickname, listens as Weed explains that people who aspire to be like the Seven Heroes are often called “little heroes” in these parts. The boy dislikes the name, and Weed, uninterested in further conversation, prepares to leave, advising them to turn back if they want to survive.
However, the boy stops him and demands information about the smuggler. Pei is equally curious, but Weed hesitates, questioning if they have a strong enough reason to cross the border. Pei, recalling a burning town from her past, states that she has nothing left for her here. Just then, the boy senses something approaching—thirteen warrior monks. Acting fast, he shoves Pei into the river beside them before the monks can surround them. Weed, impressed by the boy’s sharp hearing, realizes that they have been caught. The monks claim that Rashab must have released them earlier because of their great “virtue,” but not all of them are convinced yet. They insist on re-evaluating their worth, and the boy is left wondering what they mean. Weed, however, understands immediately. With a smirk, he explains that what they’re really asking for is another bribe. He then reveals that the monastery controls all traffic in and out of the empire, making corruption a routine part of the process.
On the surface, the monks issue travel passes after gauging one’s virtue. But in reality, their virtue is determined by how much money they donate to the monastery. The boy realizes what’s going on, and the monks mention that Weed gave a good amount of money to Rashab, but he should still have plenty. They decide to kill them and take their possessions. One of the monks attacks them, but the boy slices him apart. Weed is surprised to see his power. Seeing his blade, he wonders if he is the guy whom everyone has been talking about, but he doubts it because if he were, then he wouldn’t let him sneak up on him so easily.
The rest of the monks then charge at the boy, but he slices them all apart and throws their bodies into the river. Afterwards, Weed asks him who he is, but he simply states that he is just a little hero. Weed tells him that he needs his help, asking him to come with him. Pee Pee surfaces from the water, wondering why he had to throw her in like that. He is glad to see that she is all right, telling her that they should head to the smuggler as he has made a deal. They then head underground into the city, and Weed explains that these are the ruins of Wish Tekka’s underground fortress. Now it’s just home to vagrants, and they enter a shady tavern. One of the girls there notices that Pee Pee is quite dirty, and we see Weed talking to the smuggler named Altia.
He apologizes for bringing more people with him, but she doesn’t mind as he paid her more than the market price, and it’s hard to find customers like him. Weed mentions that he wants to discuss something about that, and she finds out that he wants a discount. He reveals that he had to spend some of his cash to save the two of them, and since she likes the kid he saved, she doesn’t mind. Weed then asks the boy named Coinel to come with him, and he takes him to the head of the smugglers, asking him not to ruin her mood. While he meets Altia, Weed asks Pee Pee about her wardrobe change, and she mentions that it’s because the girls here threw away her clothes as they were soaked and dirty, and this is all they had.
The scene cuts to Altia asking Coinel to spend the night with her in return for smuggling him inside the empire, but Coinel is not interested. She informs him that he won’t be able to meet the Seven Heroes if he misses tomorrow’s ship, and he wonders what she means. She explains that in order to suppress the chaos of the civil war, they are going to camp by the border at Thousand Stone Spears for two days. Coinel can’t believe that he has come so close to them. Before he can make a decision on what to do about her offer, we notice that Rashab is eyeing the underground tavern, preparing to attack them since they do not donate to the monastery.
Afterwards, Altia is informed that the warrior monks are here. The monks mention that they have received word that this tavern is connected to smugglers. They ask for their leader, and Altia tells them that there are no smuggling activities going on here—she runs an honest tavern. She asks them if they have any witnesses, and they bring out a guy who confesses to asking this place to smuggle him inside the empire. The man hopes that Rashab will forgive him now, but he is killed by the monks. Rashab tells the monks to take out the rest as well. As they begin a free-for-all in the tavern, Rashab captures Pee Pee, telling her that he won’t let her go this time. Weed wonders where Coinel is, and Coinel crashes a boat hanging above onto the warrior monks. Only a few of them remain after his flashy entrance, and he takes them out as well, leaving only Rashab, who flees from the scene.
Coinel wonders if Pee Pee is all right, and he finds out that she is just unconscious. Altia thinks that he is really strong. Afterwards, Rashab thinks that his position is going to be in jeopardy if anyone hears that he lost that many warrior monks to a kid, and he declares martial law. Meanwhile, in the underground city, we see that Coinel is still adamant about stowing away into the empire, as he won’t be able to meet the Seven Heroes if he misses the ship tomorrow. Altia informs him that security is going to be even tighter now that martial law has been declared. He states that he can handle it since the moonlight is beautiful tonight, and his gaze reminds Altia of her previous lover. She agrees to help him out, telling him that there is a secret route that the monastery doesn’t know about, and she is determined to smuggle them onto the boat.
Meanwhile, we see Rashab meeting someone named Rangzats, and we find out that he has hired this guy to teach a lesson to Coinel. Rangzats hopes that Rashab is aware of his high fees, but Rashab thinks that it will be worth it. Afterwards, we see Altia taking the group through the secret route, and Coinel is not feeling good inside the tunnel since he doesn’t like places where he can’t see the sky and the air is bad as well. Altia explains that it’s because this place is isolated from the underground city, and she accidentally found it years ago when there was a cave-in. It was a base for Wisht mages. Just then, some monsters attack them, but Altia takes them out, and she points out that the open space in front is connected to the warehouse and the ship will be right in front of them.
As they enter the space, they are stopped by a giant monster, and Altia can’t believe that this thing is still here, thinking that it’s going to be the same as three years ago. Coinel attacks the monster, and Altia thinks that he might be able to defeat this thing. But his attacks have no effect, and the monster throws him aside, creating a hole in the ceiling, which lets the moonlight inside. Seeing this, Altia gives up hope, thinking that this thing can’t be defeated. Meanwhile, they notice that the ship they need to get on is already here.
Afterwards, Pee Pee, who was unconscious all this time, wakes up wondering if she has been saved, only to notice that she has been hurled into an even bigger mess. Weed asks Altia how they can get to the port from here, but Altia thinks that it’s going to be impossible as the ship is only going to dock here for a moment because of the martial law. Pee Pee wonders where Coinel is, and she tells him that this thing killed him. Hearing this, Pee Pee thinks that she can’t die yet, as she needs to live for those who died protecting her. The monster tries to attack them, but Weed stops it, refusing to give up here. He makes the monster trip using his weapon, and the monster attacks him, but he dodges, attacking its head and making a crack in it, thinking that Coinel’s earlier strike must have weakened that spot. However, the monster manages to grab his weapon and swings him into a wall.
Altia manages to catch the falling Pee Pee, but Weed gets injured, and the monster sets its sights on the girls. Just then, Coinel returns to the battle, thanking the monster for the ventilation he created, and he cuts it open with a single strike. He then asks Weed to get off his ass as they are in a hurry. The girls support Weed in getting up, trying to leave, but they are hit by another attack out of nowhere. They manage to dodge, noticing that the attack has demolished the giant monster’s corpse, and we find out that Rangzats was responsible for the strike. Rashab shows up there with Rangzats, and he mentions that Rangzats is going to use his magic sword to take care of them.
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