Nila, Fira, and Demad had now passed through the castle gates and were heading toward the village.
Demad: "My powers are way better than yours. I'll beat your fire."
Fira: "Heh, keep dreaming. My fire will turn you into charcoal."
Nila: "Hey, kids, that's enough. We've got some guests."
From the distance, three figures dressed in black, their faces covered with white cloth, were approaching with a deadly aura of light surrounding them.
Demad: "Aunt Nila, are they bandits?"
Nila: "Whatever they are, their aura is seriously irritating."
From between distant rocks, an aura-shaped arrow was fired toward the children. It sliced through the air, approaching with a sharp metallic whistle. The arrow suddenly stopped just inches from Fira's face. Nila caught it midair with her right hand. Without giving the children time to react, Nila whispered: "Air… Prison."
Suddenly, a yellow circular protective aura formed around Demad and Fira.
Demad: "Uhhh… what is this?"
Fira: "Aunt Nila!!"
A slight tremor was felt in Demad's legs. Boommmm. The children were thrown upward.
With lightning speed, Nila drew her bow. Without even setting an arrow, she formed an aura shaped like one and launched it toward the rock. Boommmm. The rock exploded, and a bow-wielding woman with her face covered leapt outward. Drops of blood were falling from her left leg—apparently injured by the explosion.
Bow Woman: "She's a professional."
Suddenly, one of the bandits running toward Nila pulled a sword from beneath his cloth with his right hand and charged at her. Another bandit was chanting; dust swirled around his hands as he prepared to unleash destructive power. The third bandit held a pistol, aiming at Nila.
Nila slammed her right foot against the ground and, with renewed force, drew her bow again—aiming at the mage. With insane speed, she grabbed the swordsman's head with her right hand and smashed his face into the ground. His face burst apart, pieces of his brain scattering across the earth.
The bow woman pulled a pistol from her right pocket; an aura of light enveloped the entire gun. Suddenly, a violent storm was launched toward Nila. Nila compressed light aura into her legs and, like a cheetah, began running with unbelievable speed, escaping the storm.
Despite being suspended inside the luminous capsule in midair, Demad and Fira were dragged into the storm. They grew dizzy; the ground beneath them felt unstable. Boommmm.
Nila fired another arrow toward the mage, but he reacted quickly and dodged.
Mage: "You can't trick us anymore, Niiiila!"
A wide smile spread across Nila's face as she whispered: "Seafor 3."
The arrow that had been traveling through distance, tearing the air with a horrifying whistle, changed direction and entered the mage's heart from behind.
Nila: "Seafor 4." Boooommmm. The arrow exploded, and pieces of the mage's body were thrown into the air.
Overcome with anger and emotion, the bow woman shot an arrow toward Fira. Nila tilted her head slightly, and the arrow passed beside her ear with a terrifying sound. Suddenly, the remaining bandit secretly fired his pistol, and the bullet struck Nila's left leg.
Demad and Fira, witnessing this, felt their hearts pounding violently. Demad's eyes fell into absolute shock. Drops of blood dripped from Nila's left leg onto the ground.
Panting, Nila held her breath internally and released all of her light aura. Dust and wind partially blinded the pistol bandit; he shielded his eyes with his hand. Nila leapt upward and began firing arrows downward toward indistinct targets. The advantage of Nila's arrows was that they exploded upon impact.
The ground beneath the bandits trembled, as if a massive earthquake had struck the world. Dust conquered the air, completely obscuring vision. The bow woman, trapped in the dust, covered her mouth and coughed.
Suddenly—Whooommm. An arrow struck the bow woman's heart. Enduring immense pain, her eyes filled with shock and agony as she whispered: "Damn the Kingdom."
Then—Boooommmm. The arrow exploded, and pieces of her body scattered into the air.
The last bandit, seeing her remains flying, began to flee, panting as he ran away. Whooommmm. An arrow struck the middle of his head, not even giving him time to react to the pain. Boooommmm. The final bandit exploded as well. The only thing left of him were his severed legs.
The protective capsule around Demad and Fira, now splattered with bits of flesh and blood, descended toward the ground with a tearing sound. Demad and Fira, having witnessed the horrifying scene, were plunged into overwhelming shock. The barrier disappeared, and at last they felt the ground beneath their feet.
Demad: "Where's Aunt Nila?"
Fira: "That was terrifying. Is Aunt Nila okay?!"
From the sky, Nila descended with an aura of light, breathless from exhaustion and pain. She was about to collapse when Demad and Fira ran at full speed and caught her in their arms.
Nila: "Hey, I'm not dead yet. Why are you crying?"
Demad: "Uhh… sorry. I couldn't help it."
Fira: "Your wound is really deep. If we don't treat it, it'll get infected."
A voice inside Demad—Al: "You were lucky Nila was with you."
Nila: "Demad, want to take that bandit's sword?"
Demad smiled. "Uh-huh."
With the help of Demad and Fira, Nila stood up, placed her bow over her shoulder, and with difficulty they continued on their way. As Demad passed the mage bandit's corpse, his eyes fell upon a mark on the corpse's hand—a lion emblem. The symbol of Molonia.
The village gates gradually formed in the tired eyes of Demad and Fira.
Fira: "We're almost there. Hang on, Aunt Nila."
Demad: "Yeah, look—the village."
Nila: "I'm not blind, kids."
They smiled and continued, eventually entering the village after a dizzying stretch of time.
Nila lay on a bed with a slight fever, looking with drowsy eyes toward Emiliana.
Emiliana: "How did you get shot by a bandit? He must've been skilled."
Nila: "Protecting the kids distracted me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been injured."
Suddenly, the door opened with a dreadful sound, and Hina entered crying.
Hina: "Mom, what happened? Are you okay?"
Emiliana: "Hey, calm down. It's nothing. I removed the bullet and disinfected the wound. I even performed several healing techniques on it."
Hina, holding her mother's hand, wiped her tears. "Thank you so much, Emiliana. If you weren't here, we wouldn't know what to do."
Hina's father entered the room—a handsome man with blond hair and black eyes. He crossed his arms over his chest.
Hina's Father: "Hmm. I can't believe you got injured. The opponent must've been bold."
Veins bulged on Nila's face. She shouted at her husband: "Peeeeter! Is that your way of showing concern right now?!"
Peter, shocked and trembling from her sudden shout, said: "Emiliana, take care of her. She's turned into a wounded snake."
Nila clenched her fists angrily. "When I recover, I'll skin you alive."
Peter's face drained of color at the threat and he quickly left the room. Emiliana laughed at this rare scene, her cheeks turning red.
Demad: "Hey Fira, shoot your fire at me."
Fira: "Uh-huh, take this!!"
Fira extended both hands forward and focused deeply. From the intensity of her concentration, her eyes trembled behind her eyelids. Tiny particles of fire slowly formed in a circular shape, then became a blazing fireball, radiating brilliant light.
Demad held the sword in a beginner-like stance, ready to deflect the flame. Fira shouted and launched the fireball. It rushed toward Demad with great speed. Demad struck it—but the flame's speed and power were superior. He was thrown backward. The flame redirected upward and evaporated in the sky like a star.
Fira: "Demad, are you okay?!"
Demad: "Whoa, I didn't expect to get launched. Fira, that was awesome."
Fira's cheeks flushed. "Uh-huh."
The sunlight and rays of the sun gradually disappeared between the mountains. Birds moved toward the red sun. Demad and Fira sat beside a hill, watching the sunrise (or sunset).
Demad: "Wooow, it's so beautiful. Look."
Fira: "Look at those birds. They're flying toward the sun."
Demad: "But what a day today was. It was amazing."
Fira: "Especially when Aunt Nila jumped into the air and rained arrows on the ground."
Hand in hand, they watched the final rays of the sun. Fira's red hair and orange eyes in the last sunlight created an extraordinary scene that pierced Demad's heart.
Suddenly Emiliana's voice shattered the silence: "Heeey! Demad! Fira! The cake's ready—come eat before Nila finishes it all!"
At the sound of the word cake, Demad and Fira jumped in joy and ran toward the house. Night's darkness covered the entire village, and only the lamps and flames in the distance showed that life was still flowing there.