That night, Kanaria returned to her house. Her complexion was pale, her eyes had a big black socket underneath them, and her head was hanging low.
Her mother, Vania, stood outside the house to welcome her. Sadly, there were no words she could say to fix something .
Revenge? They would do it. However, revenge wouldn't bring back the deceased. So, it would be impossible to say anything to her.
The only thing she could do was take care of her, making sure that Kanaria didn't do anything dangerous.
Vania was also hit deeply by this news. Still, she did her best to comfort her daughter.
In another corner of the city, specifically inside Nek's house, the sight that greeted Nek when he came home was nothing but terrifying.
"What is this?" Nek shouted in horror. He had just gone back from getting the money Ivan promised. His wife and his daughter were on their knees, their hands were tied behind their backs, and their mouths were gagged. Behind them was a man whose eyes were emanating killing intent.
"Who are you?" Nek gritted his teeth. He wanted to help his family right away, but he was afraid that the other party would do something to them.
"You don't need to know who I am. You only need to know that you have made a grave mistake," said the man with a cold tone.
"Mhmmmf!" The daughter tried to say something, but the man was annoyed by the sound she made, so he kicked the back of her head.
Her body tilted forward and her head hit the ground, instantly knocking herself out.
"You!" Nek roared and jumped toward him…or so what was supposed to happen. All of a sudden, he fell to the ground, not because he lost his balance, but because he couldn't feel his feet anymore.
"!!!" Nek raised his head and turned around. It turned out there was another man behind him. He had never felt his presence. And the moment he lowered his head, seeing that his legs were cut on the knees, he felt the sharp pain spreading all over his body.
"Aaaaaarrrgggghhh!" Nek screamed in pain, tears were coming out of his body. If an explorer lost their legs, it was basically the end of their career. However, that was the least of his worries.
"I will just ask this simple question. Who told you to kill that person?"
"That person?" Nek was confused for a moment but hurriedly remembered who they were talking about.
Unfortunately, this reaction wasn't liked by these two people.
The man behind his wife suddenly waved his hand, cutting his wife's left arm.
"Mmmfmffmfmfmfmf!" The wife screamed in pain, her body was convulsing uncontrollably. She fell to the ground, unable to endure the pain.
"Wait, wait, wait! I'll tell you!" Nek panicked, watching his wife in horror.
"I won't wait!" The man snorted and stabbed his daughter's leg, ready to sever it.
Nek realized that uttering a word other than the answer would result in his daughter's leg getting cut. So, he hurriedly shouted, "It was Ivan! Ivan from the Drake Group!"
"Got it!" The one replying to him was the man behind Nek.
Nek widened his eyes as his vision suddenly rose into the air before he was able to see his own headless body. 'Why did my body…'
His wife watched in horror, but she and her daughter soon followed him.
"So, it's that bastard." The two assassins looked at each other.
"Should we kill him now?"
"The Drake Group should be responsible for him. But people might not know about his connection, so we don't have to do that. Still, it's annoying that he can get away after making us clean up all this mess."
"A punishment is indeed necessary."
Both of them seemed to have reached an agreement before disappearing into thin air.
Unlike them, who were trying to clean up the mess, there was a person who couldn't do anything.
Kanaria just sat on her bed while covering her face with her knees. Her gaze was empty as though she didn't have any more will to survive.
For her, the world had turned gray and time had stopped. She was supposed to know that being an explorer carried a very high risk. It wouldn't be weird for them to die suddenly.
However, this was not what she had in mind. Even if they ended up dying, it would be after fighting against numerous beasts, not a betrayal .
The journey of the Libation Fiesta was over. Even if Jay recovered and took the captain's position, it wouldn't be the same anymore.
Although Jay had never admitted it, the reason they all gathered under the banner of the Libation Fiesta was Clovis. Now that he was gone, no one could replace him.
'Why do you have to go ?' Kanaria bit her lips while holding the necklace. 'A lucky necklace? If you're that lucky, then please… allow Clovis to survive. I don't care whether it's a miracle or not…'
Kanaria felt like she wasn't lucky at all.
As if the necklace was trying to respond to her, her device suddenly rang.
"Huh?" Kanaria raised her eyebrows. She didn't have any mood to pick up her device if not for the fact that it was ringing in a special ringtone. This melody only came if the one sending the message was Clovis.
How? That was the only thing on her mind. However, Kanaria still reached for her device, clinging to the sliver of hope that the lucky necklace had actually granted her wish.
And that was where she found her answer.
Clovis: It took me a while to send you a message, but I want to tell you that I'm alright. There is no need to send reinforcements or anything, since I want to see how the people targeting me react about my supposed 'death.' Please wait for another one or two days. I'll definitely return.