The massive iron gates of the 8th District groaned shut behind us, and as we stepped across the boundary into the 7th District, the entire atmosphere violently shifted. The cold, sterile marble and oppressive bureaucratic silence of the high command vanished, replaced by an absolute explosion of life, sound, and color.
The 7th District… the legendary Entertainment Sector of Caria… was in its absolute prime during the twilight hour. Massive, floating paper lanterns cast a warm, shifting glow of amber, ruby, and violet over the crowded cobblestone avenues. The rich, intoxicating scents of roasted meats, sweet spun-sugar glaze, and high-tier elixirs hung thick in the cool evening breeze. Street performers spun fire mid-air, bards strummed enchanted lutes that sent glowing musical notes drifting into the sky, and hundreds of citizens, merchants, and off-duty knights filled the bustling streets with vibrant laughter.
Elias adjusted the collar of his heavy duster, his dark eyes scanning the lively crowd as he let out a long, exhausted sigh.
"Alright, we've had a firefight, a royal audience, and an existential crisis about our family tree, Let's just go home."
"Not yet," I said, my voice cutting through his grumbling.
For the first time in six years, the chilling, mechanical deadpan completely drained from my tone. I stopped right in the middle of the avenue, my silver hair catching the warm amber lantern light. I unclasped my dark traveling cloak entirely, bundling it up and tossing it onto the top of my heavy Means of Communication shotgun, which was now securely strapped to my back. With my cloak gone, my massive, translucent crimson blood wings unfurled to their full, majestic span behind me. The crystalline veins pulsed with a soft, beautiful rhythm, shedding a dazzling, ethereal scarlet light over the cobblestones.
I looked back at my siblings, and a genuine, beautifully bright smile broke across my pale face, my fangs flashing not in a threat, but in pure, unadulterated joy. My mismatched jade-green and crimson eyes crinkled with genuine happiness.
"Look at the streets, Elias. It's fun out there. For eighteen years, I lived in the dark cellars, and for the last few months, I've lived in the shadows of the dunes. I want to walk through the lights with you."
Evelyn's vibrant jade-green eyes lit up instantly, her brown locks shifting as the bioluminescent tips pulsed a joyful, brilliant green. She lunged forward, hooking her arm aggressively through mine, her heavy chest bouncing as she cheered.
"Yes! Eirene is entirely right! You have no idea how brutal the training parameters are to maintain the 3rd rank in the Luminous Knights, big brother. Let's actually have some fun as siblings for once!"
Elicia stepped up to my other side, her pristine white dress catching the golden reflections of the lanterns. She reached out, her graceful fingers gently tracing the edge of my crimson wing with a proud, warm smile before looking over at Elias with a soft, bittersweet tenderness in her eyes.
"Since we are finally whole, Elias, let's make the most of this evening, It's our last chance to truly enjoy each other's company without deadlines. I still have my official duties as the principal, and I'll have to return to Sisiphon City very soon. Let's build a memory tonight that doesn't involve blood or ledgers."
Elias looked at Elicia, then at Evelyn's pleading pout, and finally at me. Seeing the genuine, radiant happiness glowing in my dual-colored eyes… a sight he hadn't seen since we were children back in Town Allure… completely shattered his stubborn, edgy defenses.
He let out a defeated but incredibly fond chuckle, raising his leather-gloved hands in total surrender as a relaxed smirk spread across his face.
"Alright, alright! You three are a public safety hazard when you team up against me, Fine, Slime Girl, Grandma, Weird Eyes... lead the way. Whatever the Crimson Phantom wants tonight, the Shadow Walker is paying for."
With my heart feeling lighter than it ever had in my entire life, I took the lead, my massive wings brushing gently against Elicia and Evelyn as we dove directly into the vibrant, glowing heart of the entertainment district, completely free at last.
As we strolled deeper into the vibrant heart of the 7th District, the lively music and glowing paper lanterns of the entertainment sector surrounded us. The heavy, dark architecture of the higher districts felt miles away. Amidst the crowded avenues, my eyes caught a particular wisteria-shaded restaurant terrace tucked slightly away from the main thoroughfare. Unlike the booming food stalls nearby that were overflowing with rowdy customers, this quiet hub had only a handful of patrons, offering a serene, hidden oasis in the middle of the bustling district.
A profound wave of nostalgia and warmth hit me instantly. This was the exact spot. The very booth where Na Tae-man… a fellow reincarnated soul from Earth who called me Roxanne… had flagged down an incredibly confused server to order a "milkshake," completely breaking his immersion in his dorky gamer delusions. It was the place where we shared a frosty berry-blend cream with two straws, where a sudden, forgotten human blush had burned across my pale cheeks, and where he had earnestly looked into my single green eye and confessed his love right before Evelyn and the Bureau knights swarmed the perimeter to disrupt our date.
I stopped in my tracks, pointing toward the quiet, shaded terrace with a bright, genuine smile.
"Guys, let's go there," I said, my voice carrying a rare, lighthearted happiness.
Evelyn's sharp, jade-green eyes followed my finger, and she immediately gasped, a deeply amused, incredibly smug smirk playing across her lips as the bioluminescent green tips of her hair gave a mischievous pulse.
"Oh! I recognize this place! This is exactly where big sister had that textbook romance light-novel date! The one where that dorky vanguard boy in the iron-leather armor was trying so hard to be a suave main character before I brought the elite detachment to crash the party!"
Elicia's crimson eyes lit up with immediate, maternal excitement, her silver hair swaying as she clasped her hands together.
"Oh, my goodness, Eirene! A romantic date right here in the 7th District? You absolutely have to tell me everything! What kind of boy is he?"
Elias, who had been brooding in his heavy leather duster, froze completely. He looked at the quiet wisteria booth, then at Evelyn, and finally at my fanged, blushing face, his big-brother protective instincts violently kicking back into overdrive.
"Wait, back up a second, Slime Girl, what do you mean 'date'? Weird Eyes, who is this vanguard punk? First I find out I have a third sister, then I find out she's a top-three knight, and now you're telling me some kid was trying to romance my little sister behind my back?! That's it, give me a name. I'm putting a tracking matrix on him right now!"
Seeing Elias completely lose his cool while Elicia and Evelyn giggled, I couldn't help but let out a soft, happy laugh of my own, pulling my family toward the shaded booth to finally enjoy the peaceful evening we had fought so hard to earn.
We stepped beneath the sprawling canopy of purple wisteria, the heavy wood-and-iron framework of the restaurant terrace providing a cool, dim sanctuary from the bright festive lanterns of the main thoroughfare. The moment our group crossed the threshold, the quiet murmur of the few remaining patrons ground to an immediate, dead halt. Wooden utensils hovered mid-air and tankards stopped halfway to open mouths as every eye in the establishment locked onto us.
It was an unforgettable sight for the local Carian citizens. Leading the pack was Elias, the notorious 5th-ranked Shadow Walker, his heavy leather duster radiating a faint, crackling residue of pitch-black mana. Beside him walked Elicia, the divine goddess and principal of the prestigious Sisiphon Academy, her silver hair shimmering with aristocratic grace. Evelyn, the newly minted 3rd-ranked prodigy of the Luminous Knights, grinned smugly, the bioluminescent green tips of her locks pulsing gently in the shade. And in the center of it all stood my true, unmasked form… the Crimson Phantom herself, my massive, translucent blood wings softly folded behind my white dress, their jade-green and scarlet veins casting a beautiful, ethereal glow over the floorboards.
"Hey, I'm still talking to you, Weird Eyes!"
Elias hissed, aggressively marching right beside me, his heavy combat boots clicking sharply against the polished wood. He was practically vibrating with overprotective older-brother anxiety, his face locked into a stern military glare.
"You can't just casually drop the information that you were on a secret romantic rendezvous with some low-tier vanguard recruit and then completely shut down your communication channels! Who is this kid? What are his parameters? Does he even know how to properly clean a high-caliber firearm? If he thinks he can just swoop into the 7th District and try to romance a Vanguard of the Crown, I am personally going to initiate a high-level security audit on his entire lineage!"
I completely ignored his frantic tirade, keeping my mismatched jade-green and crimson eyes fixed straight ahead as a soft, amused smile played on my lips. The familiar, warm irritation of Elias's dramatic protective streaks was a luxury I hadn't been allowed to enjoy during my years in the dark, and ignoring him felt remarkably like being a normal younger sister again.
I stepped up to the polished oak counter where the restaurant's cashier was standing. The poor man looked as if he had just seen a legendary world boss walk into his establishment. His eyes darted frantically from my sharp, predatory fangs to the blindingly bright golden royal seal of absolute sanction humming at my waist, and finally to Elias, who was still grumbling and crossing his arms behind me. The cashier swallowed hard, his hands trembling as he gripped his brass ledger, completely losing his professional composure.
"Welcome... welcome to the Wisteria Hub, my lords and ladies, How may... how may the establishment serve the Vanguard today?"
I rested my newly regenerated left hand casually against the high counter, my silver hair falling over my shoulders as I spoke in a clear, pleasantly light voice, completely abandoning the mechanical deadpan of my past operations.
"Four large platters of golden-fried potato wedges, and four chilled sweet cream berry-blend milkshakes. With exactly one straw for each, please."
The cashier blinked rapidly, a look of profound, comical surprise crossing his weathered face as he hastily scribbled the order down onto his parchment.
"Four fries... and four milkshakes, my lady? A remarkably... unique and youthful selection for a high-tier military vanguard, if I may comment! Right away, it will be prepared with the utmost precision by our head chefs!"
Evelyn let out a joyous, melodic laugh behind me, her vibrant jade-green eyes sparkling as she pulled her heavy leather coin pouch from her uniform. Before Elias could even reach into his shadow vault for his military currency, Evelyn casually tossed a handful of gleaming, high-tier gold coins onto the counter. The heavy coins landed with a loud, satisfying clink, completely covering the cost and leaving a massive, aristocratic tip that made the cashier's jaw practically drop to the floor.
"Logistics and supply lines are fully covered by the 3rd rank! You're too slow, big brother! While you were busy running a background check on Eirene's love life, the younger generation already secured the food parameters." Evelyn beamed proudly, tossing her glowing brown locks over her voluptuous shoulders while giving Elias a highly practiced, vindictive smirk.
"Oh, shut up, Slime Girl, I'm still the one who has to make sure none of these milkshakes are poisoned by enemy syndicates." Elias grumbled, though the corner of his mouth twitched upward into a fond, defeated smile.
Elicia stepped up beside me, her crimson eyes glowing with pure, unadulterated happiness as she gently guided us away from the counter.
"Come along, you three. Let's take that quiet table right by the edge of the terrace, near the wisteria vines. It's the perfect spot for a proper family briefing."
We moved in unison, our formidable, hyper-powered caravan navigating past the wide-eyed patrons who quickly shifted their chairs back to give my crimson blood wings ample room to pass. We arrived at a wide, rustic wooden table nestled right beneath the cascading purple blossoms, the very same spot where Na Tae-man and I had once sat in tense, romantic silence. As I took my seat, looking out at the bustling, lantern-lit streets of the entertainment district while surrounded by my chaotic, protective siblings, the cold, freezing void that had lived in my soul for eighteen years felt entirely whole, washed away by the laughter of the family I had finally brought back together.
The rustic wooden benches beneath the wisteria canopy groaned softly under our weight as we settled into the booth, instinctively organizing ourselves by the unspoken hierarchy of our bizarre family line. Elias and Elicia, the two oldest siblings who had spent years carrying the visible and invisible scars of Caria's high-tier military machine, took their places on one side of the wide table. Opposite them sat the younger half of the Rynd bloodline… Evelyn and I, two sisters who had literally been pulled from the dark, unforgiving depths of the earth, bridging the gap between what our family used to be and what it had evolved into.
Almost immediately, the older ones dove into the comfortable, long-suffering shorthand of working adults drowning in administrative duties. The ambient noise of the 7th District's bustling streets faded into a rhythmic backdrop as Elicia leaned her elbows on the polished wood, her pristine silver hair catching the amber glow of the floating lanterns.
"I'm telling you, Elias, if I have to read one more academic petition regarding the accidental conjuration of intermediate fire elementals in the Sisiphon courtyard, I am going to lose my mind, Being a principal isn't about teaching high-tier magic anymore; it's entirely about budgeting for masonry repair and soothing the egos of aristocratic sponsors who think their children are the next chosen heroes." Elicia sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose with a look of profound, aristocratic exhaustion
Elias let out a low, rough chuckle, leaning back into his seat and crossing his arms over his leather duster. A faint, lazy wisp of black static crackled around his shoulders before dissipating into the shade.
"You think you have it rough, Grandma? Try managing deep-cover infiltration logs for the Bureau while the High Council is breathing down your neck about information leaks. Being a Shadow Walker means half my registry doesn't legally exist, which makes filling out quarterly expense reports an absolute nightmare. 'Please justify the destruction of three city blocks during a routine tracking operation.' It's exhausting."
While the two of them traded corporate war stories from the apex of Caria's power structure, the atmosphere on our side of the table was entirely different.
Evelyn was shifting restlessly on the wooden bench, her vibrant jade-green eyes wide with curiosity as she stared at the massive, translucent structures folded neatly against my spine. Drawn to the mesmerizing rhythm of the crimson membranes, she casually reached out with a short, soft hand. Before I could predict her trajectory, her fingers brushed directly against the crystalline veins pulsing with jade-green and scarlet light.
A sudden, involuntary jolt of intense warmth shot straight up my spine, causing my silver hair to flare slightly. I winced, my left hand instantly gripping the edge of the wooden table as my wings gave a sharp, defensive twitch that scattered a few faint crimson embers into the wisteria shade.
"Evelyn, stop, They're sensitive. Don't just touch them without warning." I whispered, my voice carrying a rare, flustered edge that completely broke my usual stoic mask. I glared at her with my mismatched eyes, my fangs catching the lantern light.
Instead of backing down, Evelyn's face instantly lit up with a deeply amused, incredibly mischievous grin. The bioluminescent green tips of her deep brown hair pulsed with a vibrant, playful light as she leaned over the table, her voluptuous frame shifting as she targeted my folded wings again with poking fingers.
"Oh, wow! The terrifying Crimson Phantom, the legendary S-rank bounty hunter who slaughtered the Immoral Knights, has a weakness! They're actually ticklish, aren't they? Big sister is ticklish!"
"I am not ticklish. I am stating an anatomical fact," I protested, my cheeks flushing a deep, human pink as I tried to pull my wings further out of her reach. But the booth was too small, and Evelyn was deceptively fast, her fingers darting forward to playfully poke at the sensitive cartilage where the wings joined my shoulders.
Realizing that verbal commands were failing to register, I resorted to direct, localized physical intervention. While she was leaned forward, completely focused on teasing me, I slipped my right hand beneath her guard. With perfect, clinical precision born from years of close-quarters combat, I sharply tucked my fingers straight into her soft flank, hitting a highly reactive nerve cluster.
"Eeek!"
Evelyn shrieked, her eyes widening in absolute shock as a violent bout of laughter exploded from her lips. She instantly folded in half, her short frame bouncing against the wooden bench as she tried to squirm away from my hand. Her heavy chest shook with every breathless gasp as she giggled uncontrollably, her hands flying down to guard her waist.
"Ahaha! No! Stop, big sister! Please, I'll stop! I promise I'll stop!"
I held the position for one more second, my fingers lightly digging into her side until her glowing green hair was completely disheveled, before I finally relented, pulling my hand back with a small, thoroughly satisfied smirk playing on my lips. Evelyn slumped against the back of the booth, panting softly and wiping a tear of laughter from her eye, though she was still grinning from ear to ear.
Across the table, the administrative complaints ground to a sudden halt. Elias and Elicia were both staring at us… Elicia with a look of pure, melted maternal adoration, and Elias with a faint, stunned smile that he tried very hard to hide beneath a gruff clearing of his throat. For a brief, beautiful moment under the wisteria canopy, the weights of our heavy titles, our missing years, and the dangerous secrets of the crown completely dissolved, replaced entirely by the chaotic, ordinary warmth of a family that had finally found its way back to the same page.