The body was limp, hanging in front of Nikolai. Salvia dripped from her mouth on his wrist, making him throw the body away. Nikolai stared at the body for a long time, and there was no mistaking that she had died.

"There are other ways to make her lose her memory," said Nikolai with apathy. "However, there is always the risk of her skill negating those effects. I can never allow her to live."

Furthermore, Icarus was sure to chase her. That man must have reported this matter to his superiors already, making her name on the blacklist of Crows. It was dangerous in more than one aspect.

Nikolai raised his head and saw her soul leave her body. It was a powerful soul with a golden hue surrounding it, a delicacy for the devourer of souls.

"I won\'t make your death wasted," said Nikolai as he reached out toward the soul, pulling her. There was a cry of pain, hate, and regret that rang in his ears.

"I trusted you," a voice whispered in his ears. Nikolai found it annoying that those he killed could still talk to him. However, it was the least that he deserved for killing her.

"I killed you to make sure I survive," justified Nikolai as he reached out toward her soul. There was only one, unlike the time with the bandits. "These evil power does not like the good ones," frowned Nikolai.

It was ironic for the powers of death to have preferences. However, it was without a doubt more efficient to kill those with a lot of souls on their consciousness. Furthermore, he would draw attention to himself by killing innocent people.

His eyes fell on the corpse in front of him, and Nikolai coughed. This was a special case where her knowledge endangered his life. It was weird for him to have such thoughts after killing an innocent girl, but his brain knew that he had his reasons.

As the soul was about to enter his body, Nikolai resisted. The event surprised him that his control of the fragment almost slipped.

The golden hue of the body began to grow stronger, making Nikolai frown. His body wanted to get away from the soul as fast as possible, and he did not mistrust his instincts.

Nikolai jumped backward, and a holy light exploded from the soul. It was the first time he saw something like this, and he felt more curious than afraid. As the holy light began to fade, Nikolai a powerful light coming from inside the soul.

"This is... a soul-item?" his eyes widened in surprise while muttering. Nikolai knew that some items could attach to someone\'s soul, but they were as rare as a phoenix\'s feather. "Is the item preventing me from devouring the soul?"

It was an insult for the ruler of the undead. There was not a soul that he could not devour. Nikolai spread his arms, and the darkness exploded to surround the soul.

However, the holy light pushed his darkness back. Nikolai grunted as his darkness had no advantage over the holy light like the rest of the elements.

The soul began to shrink as if the item was devouring it. Nikolai felt that it would be dangerous if the soul disappeared, albeit not able to tell why. His darkness pushed against the light, but it was futile.

The soul hid inside the item, which now looked like a pendant covered in a sphere of holy light. The orb exploded with light before flying and turning into a streak that disappeared into the horizon.

Nikolai stared at the sky with a frown, feeling like this had somehow turned into a bigger issue than he thought. However, his undead monsters were plenty, and by the time this becomes an issue, Nikolai will create his army.

***

Ash turned to stare behind him at the giant monuments. These were Abani Ruins, the most extensive uncleared ruins of the ancient. Albeit being called ruins, it was a city that had countless dungeons and hidden artifacts.

The Vangir Guild bought the rights to clear these ruins from the Rosia Kingdom. The exact agreement was unknown to many, but it must be a sum large enough to convince the king to forgo a large portion of his ruins.

However, this also meant that the Vangir Guild needed to prevent anyone entering the ruins. This was their responsibility, and they used all of their men in Rohan to protect the city.

Rohan city was the closest city to these ruins, which meant that it was dangerous to leave these ruins alone since Rohan was known as the Crow\'s Nest. It was a reference to the criminal lord who leeched off the city, controlling the underground world of the kingdom from Rohan.

That was why Vangir Guild hired vagabonds to protect this city. This was the best way to avoid involving other guilds while using more workforce.

The best way for Ash to infiltrate the ruins was by pretending to be a gunmaster hired by the Vangir Guild. However, it was still a mystery how he would bypass the final barricade overseen by Vangir Guild itself.

"That bastard," spat Ash as he remembered the promise that student made him. "I looked for him everywhere, but he seems to have fled the city."

Ash did not trust people most of the time. This was the lesson he learned as a fence that worked with criminals. However, there was something about that young man that made him trustable.

The image of Mary, his sister, appeared in his mind. That young man knew his sister from the orphanage, and they were supposed to work together on this mission.

However, that man disappeared. Ash wasted a lot of time to know that he bought a ship using his adventurer\'s card and left Rohan. It was a disappointment, but Ash knew better than relying on people.

This left Ash without a plan. The one who knew about Hyde\'s moves was that man, and he refused to share the plan before the date of clearing the ruins. Ash thought he could trust him, but he was too naive.

"Gunmaster!" shouted a member from Vangir, but Ash did not notice. "Giant Teeth!" he called again, and that nickname can only belong to Ash.

"What is it?" scowled Ash at the guildsman, who pointed toward the far east. It was a thick forest that did not allow light inside it.

"There is intel that bandits are hiding there. We are gathering men to scout the area ahead. Go and join the others!"

Ash stared at the man silently, wondering if he wanted to die. However, he was a professional, and he saw an opportunity to make connections with the man.

"Ah, you are a guildsman! Excuse me, sir. I thought you were one of those rouge vagabonds. I will go there right ahead."

The guildsmen seemed pleased with the change in attitude, and Ash almost spat as he carried his backpack and walked toward the forest.

It was a cloudy day, and there was no sign of the sun lighting the ruins. This made it hard for Ash to use his guns, but it was somehow a befitting mood for his revenge.

"Over here!" shouted guildsmen toward the vagabonds. Ash walked out from the city\'s periphery, surrounded by abandoned houses of the outskirts, and joined the group that would kill the bandits.

"There is finally a hundred men!" shouted the captain, who leaned on his sword. "I will be the overseer of this extermination. You are all expected to work quickly and efficiently. The scouts found traces of a large group of people, at least sixty of them."

Ash lamented the state they had become. This man talked about killing humans as bugs, using the words extermination and whatnot. It made him wonder where the world was heading.

\'The darkness, that is for sure,\' thought Ash as he stared at the wall of darkness behind the forest. This was a part of why this area lacked any light, but it somehow made him safe.

The darkness meant that there would be no passage through the valleys behind the forest. This gave them the advantage to corner the bandits they needed to exterminate, but it also gave them the benefit of running into the darkness where nothing could be seen.

The Great Unseen was becoming a part of their lives whether they liked it or not. Ash had never seen such elemental mana before, and it was the most fearsome of them all.

"Are you more interested in the unseen, soldier?" shouted the captain as he caught Ash looking at the darkness. "I will happily send you there if you want to!"

Ash knew that he was only making an example out of him, but it still pissed him off. With a smile, he replied, "You are only sending us there because you are afraid yourself."

The captain glared at him, and Ash realized that he was screwed. So that was how he became the vanguard of the group and how he was the first one to see that scene.