Erik opened his eyes.
An unfamiliar ceiling greeted him—high, white, spotless. He was lying in a bed that felt far too comfortable. His body rested against soft, clean sheets.
Beside him sat someone in a pristine white uniform.
A maid. A noble's servant.
"Oh! You're awake! Let me go call Miss Elsa," she said, springing to her feet before running out the room.
"Miss Elsa, huh?" Erik thought, and the memories came rushing back.
The fight with the Karken. The burning pain. The final strike.
He instinctively touched his stomach.
No wound. Not even a scar.
"So… we won. I won."
But strangely, he didn't feel proud. Not exactly. The feeling was murky—an odd mix of relief, confusion, and emptiness. He wasn't sure what to make of it.
"What are you grinning about?"
He turned to see Eri standing in the doorway, arms crossed, her usual attitude intact.
"What are you still doing here?" he asked.
"I came to check on you, you ungrateful bastard!" she snapped.
"He just woke up, and you two are already at it?" Elsa stepped into the room behind her, a slight smile on her face.
"It's good to see you alive, Erik," she said, walking over to his bedside.
"I'm guessing you brought a healer to save me," Erik said.
Elsa nodded. "No need to thank me. If you hadn't killed that thing, all of us would've died. We should be the ones thanking you."
She bowed her head. After a beat, so did Eri.
A moment later, the maid returned.
"Erik, this is Lana," Elsa said. "She's the one who took care of you."
Erik pushed himself up into a sitting position and gave a small bow. "Thanks."
Lana smiled politely. "You shouldn't use mana for at least a week. Your core was damaged, but thankfully not beyond repair. I managed to stabilize it, but it still needs time to fully heal. Don't push yourself."
Erik nodded. Lana bowed slightly and left the room.
"What about the old man?" Erik asked.
"He's fine," Elsa answered.
"How long was I out?"
"Two damn weeks," Eri replied.
"Lana healed the physical wound the same day," Elsa explained. "But it took four days to stabilize your mana core. You were cold to the touch the entire time. We only confirmed you weren't dead after your blood began circulating again."
Two weeks...
"What about the Karken's body?" Erik asked.
"White Calvary took it," Elsa said. "Didn't say where. Probably for research."
"Oh, and there's this." She took a heavy pouch from a nearby table and dropped it between Erik's legs.
"This is your reward for killing the Karken."
Erik stared at it, stunned.
"The bounty rose to a thousand gold coins after the massacre of Ian's team," Elsa said. "Eri fought to make sure you got at least half. That's the best she could do."
"How much is this?" Erik asked, still in disbelief.
"Four hundred gold coins," Eri said.
It was more money than most people earned in a lifetime—even as a high-ranking hunter.
"Still feels like too much," Erik muttered. "I wonder why the bounty rose so high?"
"Apparently, Ian's team was carrying ruin stones," Elsa said. "That could explain why the Karken was so powerful."
That made sense.
But what didn't make sense was how Ian's team got their hands on ruin stones in the first place… and why they didn't use them. Maybe they were smuggling them. Erik drifted into thought.
"What are you thinking about?" Eri asked.
"Nothing," Erik replied. "Anyway, what about you two? You helped me too. What about your share?"
"We took what we thought we deserved and left the rest," Eri said, motioning to the pouch in his lap.
Elsa smiled faintly. "Get some rest. We'll wait outside."
The two of them stepped out, leaving Erik alone. He looked down at the pouch again.
"Damn… that's heavy."
Then his thoughts shifted to something far more important.
The Execution Sheet.
A rare type of sheet used in exorcisms—to witness a person's final memory at the moment of death.
Erik had wrapped one around his dagger the night before leaving the cave. He hadn't known exactly how it would end, but he'd prepared.
And because of that, he'd seen it.
The Karken's last memory.
Its true identity.
The door opened again. This time, it was Elsa. She stepped in quietly, something tucked under her arm. She sat down beside him and handed him a piece of paper.
It was the Execution Sheet.
"You had this around your dagger," she said.
"Yeah," Erik confirmed.
"You saw it, didn't you?" she asked. "The monster's memory?"
He nodded.
"Then… who was it?" Elsa asked softly.
Erik looked away. "I don't think I should tell you."
"Say it," she pressed.
He met her eyes. There was no running from this.
He took a deep breath.
"The Karken… was your husband."