Tora stepped up beside Avilio and gave his shoulder a light shake. "You okay, man?"
Avilio blinked and turned toward Hawkins. "Hey, old man… what are these?" he asked, nodding toward the two posters.
Hawkins slowly rose from his chair. His joints cracked with the motion, and he moved between them, his shadow stretching in the lamplight. Adjusting his glasses, he stared at the posters for a long moment before exhaling. "You mean to tell me… you don't know any of them?"
Avilio pointed to the one on the left—the bounty marked at ₴1,800,000. "Who doesn't know this guy? Merlin. Always remembered as the Betrayer."
"I thought as much," Hawkins said with a faint, knowing smirk. "Your generation will always remember him. But the one on the right—he's the real deal."
Both Avilio and Tora exchanged a glance. Hawkins' tone carried something heavier than nostalgia.
"His name was Ikaras Kyle," Hawkins continued, his voice slow and deliberate. "Best hunter I ever heard of. As for Merlin—yes, the greatest swordsman of his time, no doubt. They say both of them betrayed humanity, and the Hunter Academy made sure everyone knew it. Bounties on their heads. Stories turned sour."
"What happened to them?" Avilio asked.
Hawkins' gaze lingered on the posters. "Merlin vanished after the incident—never seen again. Ikaras, he was caught and executed. But to me, they were still the best hunters to ever live. That's why I keep these posters. Not for the bounty… but as a mark of respect."
He chuckled faintly, though there was no humor in it. "I even met Merlin once. He came to Terano with his team, long after the town had started to die. Stayed here for days. Quiet, polite. But I never met Ikaras. By the time I was a young man trying to start my life, he was already gone."
Tora leaned forward. "So what's the story with this Ikaras guy?"
Hawkins' eyes narrowed, his voice dropping slightly as if sharing something meant to be whispered.
"His story starts before I was even born. They say he began his journey at ten years old… which would be seventy, maybe seventy-five years ago."
The old man's gaze drifted off into the darkness beyond the flickering lamp. "Back then, hunters weren't what they are now. The world was meaner, wilder. Monsters roamed the lands without fear. And a boy like Ikaras—" He paused, as though weighing his words. "—well, he didn't just survive. He made the world notice him."
The fire in the lamp sputtered, and for a moment, shadows seemed to cling tighter to the walls, as if the past itself was leaning in to listen.
Hawkins' gaze stayed fixed on the posters, his voice slowing to a near murmur. "They call it betrayal. Say they turned against humanity. That's the version the Hunter Academy wants passed down. And most people… they believe it without question."
Avilio frowned. "You sound like you don't."
"I don't," Hawkins said plainly. "You see, the Academy has power over more than just hunters. They control history. If someone threatens their hold, they decide whether that person becomes a hero… or a villain."
Tora leaned back in his chair, skeptical. "So you're saying Ikaras and Merlin didn't betray anyone?"
Hawkins let out a slow breath, eyes narrowing as if weighing how much to say. "I'm saying the truth is rarely what's written in the records. The men on those posters? I've heard stories that don't match the Academy's version. About battles that were never reported, alliances that were broken from the other side first. About a war in the shadows no one talks about."
The room seemed colder, the flicker of the lamp throwing longer shadows.
"Maybe they did betray us," Hawkins said finally. "Or maybe they were protecting something… or someone… that the Academy wanted gone. I still remember the day Merlin disappeared. He was last seen with his parties in the negative continent. No one dares to go there. They say the monsters originate from there. Yet the hunter academy never scouted there or sent any of their affiliated parties. Everyone of them vanished in the thin air. Hunter academy acted like they knew this would happen, so they put a bounty on his head. But I believe the hunter academy is involved with their disappearance. There's a conspiracy theory that the top hunters that are not affiliated with the academy are doomed to die. Even all the Elders are academy graduates."
He reached out and tapped the poster of Ikaras Kyle with a crooked finger. "This one especially. He didn't just disappear into the ground when they killed him. He left behind questions… questions that the Academy made sure no one dared to ask. He was just a rogue. Never followed any restrictions. Finally the academy tagged him as a betrayer. He was a legend so they buried his legacy. Now few people remember him."
Avilio studied the two faces again, his jaw tight. Something about Hawkins' words clung to him, like a half-remembered warning. The silence after was heavy, only broken by the faint sound of the wind scraping against the bar's door.
The conversation lingered for a while longer, but outside, the wind had begun to howl, rattling the loose boards over the bar's windows. A storm was rolling in fast, the rain drumming against the roof like an impatient hand.
Hawkins glanced toward the door. "You'd better head back. Murlow will have a bed ready, and this weather's only going to get worse."
Avilio stood, giving one last look at the bounty posters. "Thanks… for the juice. And the story."
"Stories don't keep you warm," Hawkins replied, though there was a faint curve to his mouth. "Safe travels, boys. And… be careful who you believe."
They stepped out into the night, pulling their coats tight as the wind whipped rain into their faces. The streets of Terano were even quieter now, the flicker of Murlow's lantern a welcome sight in the distance.
By the time they returned, the storm was in full swing. Murlow opened the door for them with a grunt. "Looks like you found Hawkins. Didn't expect you back in one piece in this weather."
Without much talk, they dried themselves by the fire, then climbed the narrow stairs to their room. The storm outside became a steady lullaby, carrying them into deep sleep.
When Avilio finally opened his eyes again, the light streaming through the small window was warm and bright. Tora was already awake, leaning against the wall, gear packed and ready.
"Noon," Tora said simply.
Avilio sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Guess it's time."
They shouldered their packs, stepping out of Murlow's Rest and back into the sunlit road. Ahead lay the next stretch of their journey—unknown, but waiting.
The Terano they stepped into at noon was nothing like the one they had walked through last night.
Gone was the oppressive stillness and shadowed emptiness. The streets were bathed in golden light, and though the buildings still bore their age in cracks and fading paint, there was a quiet dignity to them—like elders who had weathered too many storms but still stood proud.
A soft breeze carried the scent of wildflowers from somewhere beyond the houses, and the sound of a distant stream murmured through the air. The old cobblestone road, uneven but lovingly worn smooth by time, gleamed faintly in the sun.
"Now I know why Merlin stayed here for those days," Tora said, a faint smile on his face.
There were only a handful of people about—an old woman sweeping her porch, a boy chasing a stray chicken, a man patching a roof tile with deliberate care. Life here moved at the pace of the wind, unhurried and unbothered by the rest of the world.
For a moment, the duo simply stood in the street, standing in the rare peace. They couldn't remember the last time they had felt something like this—tranquility so complete it almost made them forget the road ahead.
But the journey waited.
With one last look over their shoulders, they stepped beyond the edge of Terano, the road stretching out before them under the wide blue sky. The town faded behind them, swallowed by the quiet hills, leaving only the memory of its still beauty and the silent weight of the faces on Hawkins' wall.