Gargoyle Heart

"Mr. Rhode! We found it!"

At the sound of Mace's voice, Rhode immediately turned around. Mace stood at the church entrance, beaming with delight and holding a finely crafted little statue high above his head. It depicted a Gargoyle curled up in a ball, its two eyes—made from ruby shards—faintly glowing with a dark red light. That was the Control Hub!

Mace's shout also drew the Gargoyles' attention. As alchemical creatures, they knew exactly what he was holding. In an instant, both Gargoyles changed course and charged toward him.

"Whoa!"

Seeing the two terrifying monsters rush toward him, Mace let out a startled yelp. He instinctively tried to turn and run, but just then, Rhode's voice rang out.

"Throw it over here!"

The two monsters looked so savage that Mace felt they would tear him to pieces the very next moment. Still, he steeled himself and threw the little black statue, crafted with exquisite care.

The fat merchant's aim was undeniably terrible. The object arced through the air, veering wildly off course. It didn't come anywhere near Rhode—instead, it flew straight toward the two Gargoyles. Anyone who didn't know better might have thought the fat merchant was on their side. Faced with such a generous gift, the Gargoyles hesitated, but one still instinctively reached out a claw to seize the little statue.

But just as it was about to succeed, a breeze swept beneath it. The Soul Bird, which had almost completely lost its form, streaked through the air in a trail of translucent ripples and snatched the statue away.

This was the last of Rhode's strength. With his energy spent, he had no choice but to put away his sword. Then he raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.

At the sound, the Soul Bird swept gracefully through the air and flew toward Rhode. The two Gargoyles immediately halted mid-charge and changed direction again.

"Whoosh!"

The Gargoyle racing along the ground spun around and lashed its thick, elongated tail across the Soul Bird. The blow did little damage, but the blue wind element swirling around it faltered, throwing the bird off course.

The Blue Bird didn't give up. It kept beating its wings, skimmed low over the ground, and struggled toward its master.

But it never reached him.

A huge stone claw came crashing down from above, piercing the Blue Bird's body. The disordered wind element could no longer hold its form together and instantly dispersed, returning to its most primal state. The black statue that had been clutched in the bird's beak flew away with it. Two dark figures raced after it from behind, extending their claws and opening their jaws to snatch the statue—until it landed safely in Rhode's hand.

[Acquired Gargoyle Control Hub. Identification complete.]

[Command—]

"aig!"

Rhode's voice was quiet, almost low. Yet the attacking shadows changed at once. Their faintly glowing bodies dimmed in the blink of an eye, and their limbs froze in midair as if they'd been turned to stone. The strange red light burning in the Gargoyles' faces vanished instantly.

The two shadows then shot past Rhode and crashed heavily onto the ground behind him.

"Boom!!!"

With a thunderous impact, the Gargoyles, deprived of their power, reverted to their original forms as statues. They lay motionless on the ground a short distance behind Rhode, frozen in the same lunging poses they'd held moments earlier. Without magic to support them, they were no longer as sturdy as before. The impact shattered both statues, turning works of art into worthless rubble.

"Whew..."

Only then did Rhode let out a breath of relief. His entire body felt weak. The excessive drain on his soul power had left his legs trembling, and he could barely move the fingers of his right hand, which still held the statue. But his expression remained calm. He stood silently for a moment before slipping the statue into his pocket.

"Mr. Rhode!"

Lize and Mace hurried over to him, their faces full of worry and concern.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

Rhode took a deep breath. He desperately wanted to sit down and rest, but he couldn't afford to collapse now. In the game, overusing soul power could cause all sorts of symptoms, but experiencing them firsthand was still hard to bear.

Fortunately, the Wraiths were nowhere to be seen in the surrounding fog. It seemed that, unable to get any closer, they had finally given up and left this forbidden place.

That didn't mean they'd given up for good, but for now, it was still a good thing. Rhode didn't show much reaction, though. That was a habit he'd developed since becoming a leader. The person in charge of a group had to stay calm at all times and never panic over minor setbacks. If he screamed at the slightest difficulty or got carried away with excitement after defeating a powerful enemy, it would only have a negative effect on his subordinates. Rhode was no longer the guild leader who had commanded tens of thousands of players, but that habit still stayed with him.

Seeing how calm he was, Lize and Mace, who had been on edge, finally relaxed. They'd been worried about what was happening outside while searching the church, afraid that something might go wrong. Lize had done her best, but Mace was clearly better at identifying items. At last, he'd found the little statue in a small corner. They really had been lucky; if they'd been even a moment later, things might have turned out very differently.

Rhode had originally planned to cross the Mist Ruins as quickly as possible, but the appearance of the two Gargoyles had forced him to change his mind. They had nearly drained him of all his strength, and without a proper rest to recover, the battles ahead would be even more dangerous. So Rhode decided they would spend the night in the church and set out again the next day. He wasn't worried about anything going wrong here. In the game's dungeons, plenty of players used this church as a place to rest and sort through their loot, so there shouldn't be any major problems.

Mace's knees trembled at the sight of the pitch-black church and its hair-raising decorations, but as usual... he didn't have a say in opposing Rhode's decision.

The sky gradually darkened.

Dense fog lingered outside the church. Looking through the windows, they could see nothing but a vast expanse of white. The three of them sat in the middle of the church. The abandoned, rotting pews and tables had become firewood, giving off their last bit of warmth in the burning fire. Chilly wind slipped in through the broken windows and cracks in the walls, bringing a biting cold with it.

Lize cautiously reached out and untied the bandages over Rhode's left chest. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly.

"It's opened up again, Mr. Rhode."

"I know."

Rhode nodded without saying more. It wasn't the first time. He'd been fighting at the front the entire journey. Though he'd tried to avoid using his left arm because of his chest wound, he couldn't always help it when especially troublesome enemies appeared. As a result, the wound kept reopening. According to Lize, an injury that should have healed after two or three days of rest might now take more than ten days to recover.

But the girl had no right to complain. He was doing all this for them, so the only thing Lize could do was change his bandages every day to keep the wound clean and prevent infection. Fortunately, before leaving the Airship, she had brought plenty of supplies as a Spirit Master.

Once the bandages were removed, everyone drew a sharp breath at the sight of the wound in the firelight. Mace even rubbed his own chest uneasily, staring at Rhode's with a look of fear. Three black claw marks, each as thick as a forearm, scored Rhode's chest. Dark scabs of dried blood covered the area, and the intense battle against the Gargoyles had torn many of them open. Fresh blood seeped from the wounds, mixing with the blackened clots. Just looking at it made their hearts go cold.

Lize took out a handkerchief, poured some clean water from her canteen, and pressed it against Rhode's chest. His body instinctively jerked, and even Mace looked away, unable to bear watching.

"I-I'm sorry. Does it hurt?"

"It's fine."

Rhode shook his head at Lize's flustered question. It did hurt a little, but not enough to be unbearable.

Lize relaxed at his answer and continued cleaning the wounds on his body. At the same time, she began sneaking glances at the young man before her, who was a little older than she was.

To be honest, Rhode had made an ordinary impression on Lize when they first met. He was handsome and fair-skinned, so she'd instinctively assumed he was some kind of nobleman. But he wasn't as arrogant as the noblemen she'd met before, so she could accept him. Still, she hadn't thought much of him at the time. After all, most people's first impression of a man who looked like a woman was that he must be weak.

But Lize's opinion had gradually changed.

Unlike those noblemen who couldn't even lift a finger, this young man was strong—almost as strong as her leader. He was also steady and composed, and being at his side made her feel safe. Even in the face of danger, he never panicked. And despite his appearance, he was an incredibly tough man.

Lize knew how painful this kind of injury was. She had treated many people as a Spirit Master, and even burly men who didn't so much as furrow their brows on the battlefield would often yell and carry on when their wounds were treated. Yet Rhode hadn't made a sound the entire time. And on top of that, he'd fought on the front lines while carrying such a severe injury...

Lize's hand paused.

What am I thinking? What a mess.

The girl shook her head, pushing those strange thoughts out of her mind. Then she went back to work.

Rhode didn't notice that anything was different about the girl beside him. His attention was focused on his right hand. Two gemstones glimmering with dark red light rested in the center of his palm.

They were among the spoils Rhode had obtained from the battle: the Gargoyle Heart.