The townspeople shouted that they had lived in this forest all their lives, and they knew every path and shadow like the back of their hands. It was only a matter of time before they found Alicia. They had always despised the so-called heroes. Aside from slaying the occasional rogue dark beast, the heroes never did any real work, yet they were worshiped as saviors. The people’s tax money was spent funding the heroes’ luxurious lifestyle, and now, look where that had left them.
They knew Alicia was hiding in the house and demanded she come out to face them. There was no way she could escape. Since the villagers were trapped inside town, Alicia had expected to be cornered eventually — just not this soon. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like Maynard or his swarm of insects had arrived yet. Still, she urged Nell to stay away from the windows and remain hidden, because protecting Luna was their highest priority. Running would mean nothing without a safe place to hide.
Suddenly, Phil grew impatient. He shouted that if Alicia wouldn’t come out, he would burn the entire building down with her inside. As he raised his torch, Pete grabbed his arm and ordered him to stop, saying this was going too far. Then Phil’s father, Mark, stepped forward. He reminded Phil that their forefathers had built the waterwheel centuries ago when they first settled here, and he wasn’t about to let his son destroy it for nothing.
Phil tried to argue that handing Alicia over to Maynard was the only option, but Mark smacked him across the head and snapped that they would not blindly obey some foreigner just because he commanded insects. Mark then approached the building and introduced himself as the man responsible for the village’s defenses. He promised Alicia that if she came out to speak with him, he wouldn’t let anyone harm her — he only had a question to ask.
Alicia had no other choice but to trust him. She stepped outside, and Mark immediately asked what had happened to her Regalia. When Alicia explained that she no longer had it, Mark pressed her further — had she sold it for money after abandoning her mission? Alicia shook her head and told him the truth: she had lost it in her battle against Clevatess. She and the other heroes had been completely crushed. She admitted she understood why the townspeople despised her, given how everything had turned out.
To her surprise, Mark wasn’t angry. He told her that if she had sold her Regalia for coin and fled like a coward, he would have killed her on the spot. But if she had genuinely fought Clevatess and simply lost, then he couldn’t hold that against her. After all, it was the king who insisted on upholding traditions and sent the heroes on an impossible mission. They hadn’t been given a choice.
Alicia was stunned by how reasonable Mark was. He didn’t dwell on the past. What he wanted to know was her opinion of the future. Should they keep clinging to their traditions and try to go beyond dark beast territory, or abandon the dream and live as they always had?
Alicia thought back to her fight against Clevatess. After being torn apart and hurled into the air, she had caught a glimpse — however brief — of the world beyond the dark beast lands. It was vast, round, and endless. Perhaps it sounded foolish coming from someone who had failed so miserably, but she believed they must never stop trying to reach the outside world. There were truths and opportunities that could only be discovered by taking that leap of faith.
She admitted she had recently met someone arrogant and terrifying, someone who treated her cruelly. Yet, without meeting him, she never would have gained a new perspective on the world. Knowing now that the world was far larger than anything they had ever imagined, Alicia refused to let anyone claim that striving toward it was meaningless.
Mark was deeply impressed by her words. He told Alicia she was free to go. Some of his men might still resent her for being a hero, but he promised he would calm them down. However, escaping was still her burden to bear. She would have to find her own way through Maynard’s wall of insects.
Just as Mark turned to walk away, Maynard suddenly appeared, riding atop his massive centipede. Without hesitation, he slashed Mark across the chest, sneering that the man had ruined his game. Maynard had wanted the thrill of watching the villagers lynch the last surviving hero, but Mark had spoiled his fun by forgiving her instead.
Alicia reacted instantly. With a swift strike, she cut the giant centipede to pieces. But Maynard slipped away, already summoning the rest of his swarm. The townspeople were in grave danger. Alicia shouted for everyone to get inside the house before they ended up as food, then leapt back into the fray, cutting down as many of the monsters as she could.
Maynard mocked her mercilessly, impressed yet amused by her tenacity. “How long can you really keep this up?” he taunted. “Every one of these insects is deadly. You’re so busy with the big ones that you didn’t notice the small ones already biting you.”
He wasn’t lying. Poison seeped into her body from countless stings and bites — bees swarmed the skies, ants swarmed the ground, and even venomous spiders crawled among them. One particular spider’s venom could dissolve blood itself, and that frightened Alicia more than anything. The only thing keeping her alive right now was the black ichor Clen had used to replace her blood. If the venom destroyed that, she would die for real.
Maynard continued to gloat, but in the back of his mind, there was something personal. He had once idolized heroes. But that ended the day a fire claimed his entire family while the heroes did nothing. From that moment on, he hated them more than anything.
Alicia’s body began to tremble from the toxins coursing through her veins. Still, she couldn’t afford to stop swinging. The swarm pressed in from every side. Then, suddenly, a familiar voice reached her ears. She glanced down — and saw Clevatess’s head emerging from her chest. With casual irritation, he told her to hurry up and finish what she was doing, because he needed her help.
Inside the house, Nell and the villagers anxiously watched the chaos unfold. Their relief quickly soured when insects began crawling through cracks in the walls. In a panic, they stomped the creatures flat, desperate to protect the room where the future king rested. Grabbing whatever tools and scraps they could, they patched holes as fast as possible. They couldn’t allow a single insect inside.
Outside, Maynard continued mocking Alicia as she staggered under the onslaught. He spat that she was nothing but a fraud of a hero. Then he slammed his staff into the earth, summoning a massive scorpion from underground. With a thunderous crack, the beast lunged and struck, flinging Alicia into the nearby river.
Underwater, Clevatess emerged again, studying her condition. He quickly realized why she was struggling — the venom. She gasped out a question: did the poison really affect the black ichor? His answer was grim. Yes. It wasn’t potent enough to destroy it completely, but until the poison burned out of her system, her wounds wouldn’t heal. For now, her so-called immortality was gone.
On the surface, Maynard laughed, calling out to her. “Do you really think hiding underwater will save you? I don’t mind waiting until you come up for air. But I doubt your friends in that little house will survive that long…”
Back inside, the townsfolk managed to seal the last of the cracks. Relief was short-lived. Something heavy crashed through the roof — a massive larva, writhing and gnawing at the beams. Phil smashed it with a blow, but then more began to drop. Dozens. They weren’t only devouring the house, but the forest itself.
Meanwhile, in the village, the people Mark had ordered to stay behind knocked out the Bolate soldiers who had remained. But just as they secured control, they heard it — a strange, rumbling sound rolling out of the forest. Something was coming.
Nay told the men that it had already begun, though they had no idea what she meant. Some even questioned why she hadn’t gone with Maynard when he rushed off. The answer was simple: she valued her life. Maynard was the master of all insects — and an absolute lunatic. When he went into a frenzy, nothing around him survived.
Back in the forest, Maynard laughed menacingly as the larvae devoured everything in sight. He explained with twisted delight that these larvae were special — they only hatched once every century, and when they did, they consumed all surrounding vegetation within minutes. By the time they finished, there would be nothing left of the forest. This wasn’t about Alicia at all. Maynard simply knew the villagers relied on the forest’s wood to make a living, and destroying it would ruin them. As an added bonus, once the larvae tore through the building, everyone inside would become insect food. Two birds with one stone.
Alicia refused to let it continue. Bursting out of the water, she charged at him. But she was already too late — many of the larvae had sealed themselves into cocoons, and within seconds, hundreds of moths emerged. They swarmed directly at her. When she slashed at them, their wings scattered dust that clouded her vision. Blinded, Alicia staggered.
Maynard seized the chance, commanding the scorpion to strike. Its blow sent her flying. Struggling to free herself, she realized her strength was nearly gone. The swarm pressed closer — she was about to be consumed.
At that moment, Clevatess finally decided to intervene. From the shadows, he drew Stream Splitter, pulling the blade into Alicia’s reach. Maynard froze in shock at the sight — that weapon looked far too much like a Regalia.
Clevatess calmly instructed her: “All living beings are mostly water. Insects are no exception. Think of them as a river — and finish this quickly. I still need your help.”
Alicia grasped the sword. With one swing, the insects around her dissolved into mist. But it wasn’t enough. Planting her feet, she gathered every last shred of strength and unleashed a Flowing Water Slash. The strike carried like a torrent, surging across the forest. And in this case, the river was the swarm itself.
Every last insect was eradicated in moments.
From town, Nay could see the rising cloud of insect remains and was left speechless — someone had truly annihilated Maynard’s army in an instant.
As the swarm vanished, the magic stone embedded in Maynard’s chest cracked. Stripped of his power, he collapsed, utterly helpless. Alicia leveled her blade at him. Maynard tried to act defiant, insisting she’d never make him surrender. She didn’t care. With one decisive blow, she knocked him unconscious.
The battle was won. But Alicia’s body gave out, and she collapsed soon after.
When Nay rushed out to check on her, she froze in shock. Clen was already there, carrying Alicia in his arms. She hadn’t known he had returned from his mission.
Clen scolded Alicia, saying she had wasted far too much time fighting a weakling like Maynard. They had to leave immediately — the situation had changed. This wasn’t even the real Clen, but a clone born from the dark ichor within Alicia’s body after he had been sealed in a blood bubble. Now, he needed her help to break free.
Alicia weakly asked if he had at least managed to defeat Drell. Clen’s answer was grim: he was fairly certain that Drell had the power of one of the Dark Lord Beasts on his side. Defeating him would not be easy.
