The graveyard was quiet.
No wind. No breath. Just the fading hum of broken magic and blood sinking into the soil.
Elise’s remains no longer pulsed. They didn’t reform. There was no twitching. No threat. Only a mass of blackened sludge and warped bones, already beginning to dissolve into nothing.
The Demon of Companionship was gone.
Adam pulled his dagger free with a slow, practiced motion. Slime clung to the blade, but with a flick of his wrist, the blade was freed from the residue and returned to its spotless condition. He stood there for a moment longer, as if waiting to see if some final trick would emerge. But there was nothing.
Lily had collapsed to her knees, rifle resting across her lap, her hands limp. She stared at the ground, her tears falling without sound. Aria was beside her, kneeling, gently rubbing her back but saying nothing. What words could she even offer?
Crystal leaned against a cracked headstone, eyes closed, arms folded. She had never said a word during the entire confrontation. Now, her brow was furrowed. Her lips pressed in a hard line. She had watched it all and judged none of it.
Leo stood next to Penny, who still clutched Moku like a lifeline. His hand rested on her shoulder. She didn’t even seem to notice. Her eyes were wide. Distant.
There was no fanfare. No cheers. No system fireworks.
The raid was cleared. The dungeon was won. But it didn’t feel like victory.
Adam walked over to Lily. He crouched beside her, then placed the dagger on the grass before reaching out.
She didn’t move away.
He wiped her cheek with a thumb. It didn’t stop the tears, but she blinked slowly, finally meeting his eyes.
"She didn’t deserve to die easy," Lily whispered.
"She didn’t," Adam agreed.
"I didn’t want her to die scared. I wanted her to die alone."
Lily let out a shaky breath. "I just... I just wanted to protect her."
The words hung in the air like a fragile promise. But they were true. Lily didn’t answer. She just leaned forward, forehead pressing against his chest, and Adam let her cry.
The others gave them space.
A few feet away, Penny lowered herself to sit on the edge of a crumbled grave. Her knees shook. Her hands clutched Moku tightly. She had been ready to die. She had looked into the eyes of a woman who once held power over her family and spat in that legacy’s face.
She wasn’t sure how she felt.
Strong. Weak. Proud. Terrified.
Moku whimpered and snuggled against her chest.
"Thanks," she whispered. "For not making me run."
Leo who had quietly approached her smiled faintly. "You didn’t need me or anyone else to stop you from doing that. You did great all on your own."
"I think I hate all of them."
"That’s your decision to make," Leo muttered as he crossed his arms. "They are your family. But you can be a part of ours too. That’s up to you, always will be."
Penny smiled, just barely.
The group lingered there for a while. They didn’t move. They didn’t speak much. The adrenaline had drained. The pain had settled in. Some stared into space. Some closed their eyes. Some just breathed.
Eventually, the system buzzed again.
[Congratulations on being the First Clan to Clear the Raid Dungeon- Hinder the Procession]
[Unique Clear Rewards will be issued shortly.]
[System Notice: Raid Dungeon- Hinder the Procession will Undergo Maintenance to Fix System Errors. As compensation for the Players Assistance. All buffs and skills provided to help clear the Dungeon will be made Permanent.]
The message faded into the dim air like mist breaking under sunlight.
Luna opened her eyes. She pushed off the headstone and walked toward the center of the ruined field, boots crunching over dirt, stone, and blood. She looked at the place where Elise had died. At the husk of her.
"This is what she built her power on," Luna said. "This is what she wanted to be. A legacy of fear." Her voice was calm. Cold, but not cruel. "Let her rot with it." She spat on the ground where Elise stood.
Deep down she was afraid that she would become just like her one day but she didn’t want to focus on that now. Or rather she couldn’t. Everyone had already gone through so much that she refused to bring them down after all of this.
She would have to be the one to end her Demon.
Rachel gave a low whistle and flopped down on top of a slab of stone. She lay back with her hands behind her head, staring at the sky that still flickered with faint dungeon lights.
"Well," she said, "that sucked."
The others glanced at her.
"Up until now we have seen things bleeding into the real world. Ears, Tails, and other such stuff. But what if...and I am just riffing here. What if it works both ways? What are the odds that things from our world and ending up here?"
Greg frowned. "That’s ridiculous."
Rachel tilted her head. "What is?"
"That whole theory you just threw out. Cross-world contamination? Elise being pulled in from the real world and turned into a demon boss? Please. She had to log in somehow. She obviously bought a helmet like the rest of us."
Rachel slowly sat up from her place on the stone slab. Her eyes were shadowed now. Her tone turned cold. "No. She didn’t."
Greg raised a brow. "And how would you know that?"
Rachel didn’t blink. "Because she couldn’t talk."
Crystal shifted slightly. Aria looked over. Penny froze.
"What do you mean, couldn’t?" Greg asked, narrowing his eyes.
Rachel looked at them all one by one.
"She didn’t have a tongue."
Silence spread through the graveyard again like a disease.
"I saw her before this. Back then," Rachel continued. "She was alive. She was terrified. But she could talk then...Until I made her unable to."
Aria shivered as she looked at the cold expression on Rachel’s face. By the fact that Leo,Lily or Adam didn’t deny it, she knew that she wasn’t joking.
The reason why she couldn’t have bought the game herself was because Rachel had cut out her tongue!