The demon's agonized scream echoed across the area, its flames—once a source of chaos in the village—now only consuming its own body.
After a few seconds, the screams and flames ceased, and the demon's form crumbled into a handful of ashes on the ground.
"It's finally over," Aiden said, his aura completely faded.
"Aiden!" Lyra cried, rushing to his side and grabbing his arm. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah… thanks for helping me take down that demon."
"I didn't do much—just held a gem."
"Trust me, that was huge."
Lyra's face flushed.
"Don't get too comfortable," Maya said, readying her knives and glancing into the distance. "We've still got someone to deal with."
Aiden followed Maya's gaze and saw Serena, still refusing to show her face, standing with her bow at the ready.
"You planning to keep fighting?" Maya asked.
"I came to this village to take that gem," Serena replied, her voice cold.
"Then you'll have to go through us," Aiden said.
"You're exhausted from the last fight. I'm sure I could take you down without much effort."
"Wanna test that?" Aiden said, stepping beside Maya into a fighting stance.
Serena stood motionless for several seconds before relaxing her posture and slinging her bow onto her back.
"Let's call it quits here. I give up. I don't want to cause more trouble in this village."
Serena glanced at Leonia, who stared back with a face full of anger.
"Everything we stole will be returned in the coming days. I'm sorry for the trouble—this whole thing spiraled out of my control."
"What, playing the good guy now?" Maya said, her tone challenging.
"I'm not playing anything. I just don't want to drag this out any longer."
Serena cast a quick, indifferent glance at Ruan's lifeless body on the ground, then turned to leave.
"Wait, Serena!" Aiden shouted. "Why did you want to steal that gem? What were you planning to do with it?"
"I'm not sharing my intentions, Aiden. Not now."
"Last time, you helped me. And today, you went against your own partner, Ruan. Who are you, really, Serena?"
"I told you before—my identity doesn't matter. We'll likely cross paths again. Until then, keep getting stronger."
"Hold on, Serena…"
Aiden managed only a single step forward before his vision blurred and his legs buckled. Unable to stop himself, he collapsed to the ground, losing consciousness within seconds.
. . .
When Aiden opened his eyes, he was met with Lyra's worried face.
"You're finally awake," Lyra said. "You slept even longer than last time."
Aiden sat up in bed, realizing he was back in the house where Leonia had housed them the previous night.
"Where's Serena?"
"She got away," Maya said, sitting on her bed. "I tried to chase her, but she was too fast."
"Did you know that girl, Aiden?" Lyra asked.
"Yeah. She's the one who helped me the last time I fought a demon. I don't know anything about her, but it feels like she knows something about me."
Lyra looked like she wanted to say something but stayed silent, her face thoughtful.
"Talk about that later," Maya said, standing and heading for the door. "Leonia's waiting to pay us."
. . .
At the village center, Aiden, Maya, and Lyra were greeted with applause from many villagers, including the girl who had aimed a bow at them the day before.
Aiden sought out Leonia and spotted her approaching with two small white bags.
"I suppose thanks are unnecessary at this point," Leonia said as she reached them. "You've done more than enough for us, so the least I can do is not waste any more of your time."
Leonia handed over the bags, which Maya took.
"Weren't we supposed to get 20,000 gold coins?" Lyra asked.
"That's right. Those are infinite bags—small on the outside, but they can hold endless contents. There's 10,000 coins in each."
"Well, guess we're done here," Maya said, hooking one bag to her skirt and passing the other to Lyra.
"No… we're not done yet," Aiden said, drawing everyone's attention.
"What do you want to talk about, Aiden?" Leonia asked.
"Where's that gem?"
"We returned it to its hiding place. Is that what you wanted to know?"
"No. What I really want to know is… why is that gem in this village? Gems like that are incredibly rare. How did this village get one?"
Leonia's expression hardened, her gaze turning hostile.
"What will you do with that information?"
"Nothing. But I'd like to know what kind of people we saved, so I can decide if it's worth helping you again in the future."
Leonia stayed silent for a moment before speaking.
"Fine… I'll tell you what you need to know. But I warn you—once you know, we'll consider you a potential enemy from now on."