The setting Sun loomed on the horizon, looking a great deal more ominous with the city wrecked like this. Buildings in ruins, streets peppered with holes and debris, collapsed bridges, and wrecked elevators. It felt wrong for this grand place to be in such a sorry state, even if it matched the air of death and decay of the titan’s corpse better now.

  But already, people ran around, using their skills, relics, and other tools to patch up the damage done by the spill. Architects were setting up scaffolds, street crews shoveled saltglass, runners ferried supplies back and forth, and city guards directed the injured to healers.

  The injured, like Dusk.

  He breathed out a sigh of relief as the elven priestess fixed his broken leg and immediately shooed him away to make space for the next person in line.

  Dusk complied and shuffled out of the temporary triage camp in the middle of the square to rejoin his twin sitting on the rim of the fountain.

  They watched the setting Sun together for a moment in silence, before letting out a sigh in unison.

  “We’re gonna go help out, right?”

  “Yeah. Should have gone to begin with.”

  They were done meandering around aimlessly. They needed to help in some way. And yes, they likely would have, even before the whole escaped-Elite fiasco, but now they were determined. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the slightest clue about rebuilding houses or fixing the streets, so the best way they could pitch in was by lending their healing skills. Even weak ones were valuable in times like these.

  The twins hopped off the fountain.

  “Let’s go then.”

  As the Sun sank under the city walls, they made it through the hurting but rapidly recovering city, all the way to the open plaza where most of the city’s underground elevators operated.

  Besides extending up, the city also stretched deep down, all the way below even the Behemoth’s spine. In fact, people often said that the real Anxia lay underground, where all the true veterans gathered to train and plan.

  They had been a tad intimidated to explore the underground before, but no longer.

  The twins walked across the wooden platforms covering the gaping chasm below and approached the rows of elevators leading down. Because this was one of the most heavily guarded areas of the city besides the wall facing the Wild Tear, it had suffered almost no damage from the earlier rift spill.

  Probably because of that, it looked busier than ever. People rushed back and forth, while others waited in lines for the elevators to come back up. The arriving carriages spilled out masses of people like a bursting water balloon.

  “Lines again…” Dawn grumbled.

  That drew the attention of a suspiciously familiar wolfman in front of them. He turned around, looking baffled for a moment, before his expression morphed into amusement.

  “Why, hello there! Am I the only one getting a weird sense of deja vu?” Kenn asked.

  The twins blinked.

  “…Are you just always magically in front of us in every line or what?”

  The wolfkin chortled.

  “Yuh! That’s me! The guy always waiting in the same line as you two! By the way, didn’t you say hunter’s life’s not for you?” He raised an eyebrow. “I saw you annihilate that Glass Tyrant back there. You didn’t look very ‘civilian’ to me.”

  “Well… We almost got killed again so…”

  “But we’ve been reconsidering some things. Maybe we could be rift hunters if we tried.”

  “Now that’s the spirit! You two coming into the other rift then?”

  “Uh, no.”

  “We’re just gonna help with triage.”

  “We don’t have a proper licence anyway.”

  “Eh, fair enough.”

  Finally, the elevator arrived, spewing out dozens of people, before letting more passengers board it. The twins and Kenn joined in, pushing into the horde of bodies. As soon as the elevator platform filled, the safety gate closed and then began descending.

  “I myself am heading in. Gonna snag some nice essences, I hope.”

  “You’re pretty strong, then?”

  “What rank are you?”

  “Ehhh… B-rank, but I’m strong for my rank.” He leaned closer and put a hand next to his mouth. “Don’t tell anyone, but I managed to snag an Epic off an Elite in the last rift. Made something real juicy with that, I’m tellin’ ya.”

  “Oooh, nice!”

  “So you’re the one who killed the Elite?”

  “Yuh. I killed one, Lightslinger killed another, and… Well, apparently the third Elite fell down the stairs or something?” He shrugged. “Waste of an essence, but what can you do?”

  “Ah, yeah. A shame.”

  The elevator stopped and the gate opened.

  “Anywho, I actually got a party waiting for me. Catch ya later!”

  ““Bye!”” they hurriedly called and tried to exit the platform without getting smushed by the rush of bodies.

  Once out, they took a moment to stop and look around.

  Right below their feet lay the Behemoth’s spine, extending through the whole underground city. Bridges and platforms connected to it, creating an even more intricate maze than the above ground section of the city. Glow essence-infused lamps peppered the streets, their light piercing the otherwise gloomy darkness of the place. Just like the upper half of the frontier city, most buildings were made out of marrowstone, though a lot of them had strange shapes to make them fit into this cramped space, even more so than their counterparts up above.

  The twins didn’t need to wonder where they needed to go. Most of the traffic concentrated along one bridge, so they simply went with the flow.

  They took it a bit slower than they should, but they couldn’t help marveling at the place and wondering how people of the past had managed to slay a beast of this size. How such a beast could come to be in the first place.

  Incidentally, they could see the same destruction as above in specific places. If one tried, they could probably trace the path the teleporting Elite had taken just by looking at the damage.

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  In a blink of an eye, the twins made it to the very obvious staging area.

  “Oh boy…”

  Cordoned off with infused hazard tape, the Gate, triple the size of the other rift, loomed in the middle of the square, coughing out pockets of salt and glass dust. Tents surrounded it on all sides, all with a hastily scratched sign on them to label what purpose each served.

  The twins passed by the rations and armory tents, and headed toward the one marked by a green flame – the healing symbol.

  Before they could make it, a shout made them stop.

  “–me to do?! Huh?! Just let that fucker continue wrecking the city?!”

  They knew that voice. Of course, who could forget the voice of the S-class rift hunter who had saved them not even an hour earlier? Even ignoring her voice, the silhouette visible through the nearby tent’s wall gave her away.

  “You should have contained it, of course! Do you have any idea how valuable a high-level spawner type is?!”

  Opposite of her, a wide hairless human silhouette stood inside.

  “Why do you assholes only ever think about money, huh?! There’s no fucking way I could have contained that teleporting Legendary-tier Elite on my own!”

  “Hmph. So much for S-class rift hunter. Useless, just like the rest.”

  Seeing the green woman about to blow a gasket, the twins – and the other people who’d stopped to gawk – swiftly left before she could notice them peeking.

  “The Golden Oath is here…”

  “Guess two new rifts are too juicy to ignore for these vultures.”

  They moved on, still looking for the right tent.

  They noticed Elis in a deep discussion with a small group of other people – his party, they guessed – and gave him a little wave when his eyes flicked to them. He gave them a nod, then went back to his discussion.

  Finally, they found it. Tucked in the corner far away from the Gate, three big tents stood, each marked with the green flame. In front of them, a group of priests gathered around a table stacked with books.

  The twins paused, looking nervously at the human priest among his colleagues, then walked forward, determined.

  “Hello!”

  “Hey!”

  Heads turned and eyes locked onto them for a moment. Most immediately dismissed them and went back to… whatever they were doing. Only the balding human priest gave them a grandfatherly smile and approached them.

  “Hello, children. Are you hurt? You should head to one of the tents and you’ll be taken care of.”

  “No, we’re not hurt.”

  “Anymore.”

  “We want to help.”

  The priest’s eyebrows furrowed, then rose.

  “Oh? Are you two apprentice priests?”

  “Uh… Kind of?”

  Unwilling ones.

  “We have healing skills and thought we could help with them.”

  They brought out their [Healing Light]s.

  “Ah, I see.” He nodded, his smile widening. “Who’s your patron God, then? I didn’t think the Geckin had a god.”

  The twins went stiff, but forced themselves to answer regardless.

  “…Oln.”

  “Oh!” The priest clasped his hands. “The human god? My, I didn’t expect that. But it makes sense. The great Oln is a kind and accepting god, after all.”

  Yeah, right.

  “Come with me. I’ll show you where you can best help.”

  The priest beckoned them and they followed, albeit on guard.

  “Oh, but where are my manners? My name is father Jerrod. May I know yours?”

  “Dusk.”

  “Dawn.”

  He hummed with a satisfied nod.

  “Very poetic names. Opposites that complement each other. Your parents must be proud of you.”

  “…Yeah.”

  “I bet they are.”

  Luckily, the priest took the hint and stopped trying to continue the conversation. He led them to one of the tents, pulling away the curtain, and beckoning them to enter.

  They hesitated for a split second.

  They didn’t need to do this. To return to the life of healers again. Even if this time was by their own volition, it still made their fingers twitch as something in their guts clenched. They could still turn around and go back to juggling, singing, and throwing little cantrips around like the cowards that they were.

  Their fists clenched and they stepped over the boundary inside the medical tent.

  Once they did, they took in the raw atmosphere of it.

  Canvas cots lined the aisle, some occupied by unconscious patients, some vacant. Priests and priestesses of all shapes and sizes moved through the spaces between the makeshift cots, using their skills to heal or just soothingly talking to the injured. Desks and cabinets lined the far end of the tent, filled to the brim with books, bandages, vials of glimmering liquids, and decks of essence cards. The smell of blood and Cure essence resin wafted through the air, increasing the twins’ discomfort.

  They didn’t let it stop them though.

  “Alice, dear!” The priest called out to a black-haired black-robed cat-eared priestess, sitting at one of the far desks.

  The girl’s eyes lifted, alongside her ears.

  “Father Jerrod, what is it?” the young catkin questioned with a soft voice as the twins and Jerrod made their way to her.

  “I apologize for the interruption, but these two children are apprentice priests and want to help. Please be a dear and show them around.”

  Alice glanced over them, her expression never shifting from the relaxed neutrality, before she nodded at Jerrod.

  “Of course, father.”

  “Thank you.” The priest nodded, gave the twins one more reassuring smile, and then made his way back to the entrance of the tent. Alice stood up and nodded at them, still blank-faced.

  “I’m Alice. What do I call you?”

  “…Dusk.”

  “Dawn.”

  The girl’s lack of expressions unnerved them. Doubly so when paired with her soft and kind tone.

  “What sort of Cure base skills do you have?”

  “Just these Uncommon ones.” They flashed their healing skills again.

  “I see. Follow me.”

  Without any preamble, Alice took off in a brisk walk toward the corner of the tent. The twins shared a bewildered glance before catching up.

  “Here.” Alice gestured at a group of ‘cots’. “This section is for patients with minor injuries. We’re too busy with the more serious ones, so you being here is a great help. You can use the cots to rest yourself if you want.”

  “Right.”

  “Thanks.”

  The catkin reached into her priestess robes and pulled out two metallic cards. Both had ‘Minor injury’ written on them.

  “Here. Have each patient you heal channel a sliver of their mana into these. Show them to me afterwards and I’ll give you your reward.”

  The twins took the cards, already familiar with the procedure.

  “So, um, we actually have a booked inn up above…?”

  The catkin nodded.

  “That is fine. You are free to come and go as you please, although we would appreciate if you stayed nearby in case of an emergency.”

  “Right.”

  “Guess we can cancel it and come back…?”

  “Do as you wish. Your help is appreciated either way.”

  “Of course.”

  “We just want to help.”

  “I need to return to my post now. May Kat’s grace be with you.” The catkin inclined her head and did a curtsy before turning around and leaving.

  The twins let out a soft exhale as they took in the uncomfortable atmosphere of the tent.

  “Well, here we go again,” Dawn murmured.

  “At least we’re doing it willingly this time.”

  “I don’t really want to stay the night here. Gives me the jeebees.”

  “But what if the rift spills again?”

  “Then we’ll just die if we’re this close.”

  “It still feels like we should be doing more to help…”

  Feeling torn, they finally turned to the closest patient – an avian with a bleeding wing – and drew upon their old experiences of nursing others.

  “Hello! We’re here to take a look at you.”

  The boy turned an annoyed glare at them, murmuring “Finally.” under his breath.

  Typical.

  They went through the motions, plastering fake smiles and talking in soothing tones as their healing skills got to work. More and more people with minor injuries came and the twins did their best, using the provided bandages and potions when their skills were on cooldown.

  About an hour of work later, a man wrenched the front curtain of the tent open and rushed in with a heavily bleeding woman missing an arm in panic. More followed after him.

  The twins watched as the other priests rushed to stabilize the new patients and could only lament not being able to help with their measly Uncommon skills.

  “We have money now. We could buy essences to upgrade them.”

  “Assuming the archivist is in tomorrow…”

  “We’ll try.”

  As more injured rushed into the tent – apparently there had been some kind of incident in the rift – the twins settled in for a long evening.