Ella awoke on Elaton’s back and began to struggle wildly.

  After a long scuffle, Tamar, growing irritated, tried to put her to sleep with vines, but Ella burst into tears and pleaded.

  “Please take me to my village. It’s not far. It’s just beyond the wilderness…”

  Elaton shrugged and said,

  “Well, if it’s not far, we can pay it a visit.”

  After walking for about two hours across the wilderness, a small village came into view.

  A small farming settlement.

  Most of the houses were pit dwellings, and poverty and wretchedness hung in the air.

  Ella ran toward the village.

  Corpses lay scattered throughout the village, rotting where they had fallen.

  She was searching for her parents.

  But their faces were already so decomposed that it was impossible to tell who was who.

  When she failed to find them in the end, Ella collapsed onto the dirt and clawed at the ground as she sobbed.

  “Mom… Dad… I’m back.”

  Elaton went from pit house to pit house, collecting linen blankets.

  When he distributed them to his siblings, they wrapped the scattered bodies in linen and gathered them in one place.

  Eshiel spoke to Ella.

  “Decide. Cremation or burial.”

  Still lying on the ground, Ella spoke through clenched teeth.

  “Cremation… cremate them.”

  With a wave of Eshiel’s hand, the bodies caught fire.

  The flames slowly intensified, burning the corpses without leaving anything behind.

  When only ashes remained, they covered them with soil and sealed the mound.

  Azael approached and spoke to Ella.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “…I don’t have the right words for this. I want to offer more comfort, but we don’t have much time either. I’ll make you an offer. We hunt fallen Nephilim and monsters. Will you come with us? Whether you go or not is your choice.”

  Ella stood up, wiped away her tears, and looked at Azael with eyes burning like fire.

  “You kill things like that goddess?”

  Azael nodded.

  “Then… I’ll go with you.”

  Azael held out his hand and said,

  “I’m Azael. These are my siblings.”

  Ella took his hand and replied,

  “Ella. Just Ella.”

  ***

  The four siblings and Ella were heading toward Lagash.

  It was not their final destination, but they needed rest, and it was the nearest city.

  Lagash was a city driven by commerce, unmatched in wealth.

  Under the scorching heat, they walked endlessly across the parched yellow wilderness.

  Eshiel stopped the group.

  “Ten… twelve. Bandits. They’re threatening people right now.”

  Elaton let out a sigh.

  “Twelve is a bit much… let’s come up with a plan.”

  Watching the four put their heads together to scheme, Ella grew increasingly dumbfounded.

  “Hey… what are you doing right now?”

  Elaton turned his head and replied,

  “We’re making a plan.”

  Ella spoke in frustration.

  “Didn’t you say you took down a gigantic rampaging giant earlier? And now you’re making a plan just to deal with twelve bandits?”

  “Well… there’s a reason we have to conserve our strength.”

  Tamar said irritably,

  “Ugh, every time we use our power, our lifespan gets shorter. We weren’t going to live long to begin with. Do you really want more wrinkles just to deal with bandits?”

  After finishing their plan, they charged toward the bandits.

  Despite possessing earth-shaking power, their fight against ordinary humans was utterly mundane.

  After many twists and turns, they succeeded in subduing them and held out their hands to the grateful merchants.

  When the merchants handed over money, they returned cheerfully.

  Seeing how oddly na?ve they looked, Ella asked again,

  “How old are you, anyway?”

  Tamar shot her a sideways glance.

  “You little brat… are you worried we’re younger than you? I’m eighteen. They’re nineteen.”

  Ella was slightly shocked.

  They were far younger than she had expected.

  They looked to be in their mid-twenties.

  It seemed true that they were consuming their lifespan to use their power.

  Ella asked the siblings for a short rest.

  “Riana wants to talk to you. Just… don’t make it too long.”

  Soon, Ella fell asleep, and Riana awoke.

  They lit a campfire, sat together, and for the first time in a long while, shared a long conversation among siblings.