The Treasure Dump, a flooded quarry where the bandits, known as the Crows, forced their captives to scavenge for legendary . A cruel second-in-command (we'll call him Kahl) marched Alicia and several other prisoners onto a rickety bridge high above the water.
"The Khordwhar's Regaliais down there," Kahl sneered. "And so is the Rearvensis."
He began lowering prisoners into the water as live bait to distract the aquatic monster so they could fish for the sword. Alicia watched in horror as the creature began its feast. Seeing her chance, she surged with demonic strength and smashed the bridge's supports. The structure collapsed, sending Kahl and the other bandits plunging into the river to become the monster's new bait. In the chaos, Alicia jumped into the depths, reaching the bottom where she finally claimed the legendary Regalia.
While this was happening at the river, Clevatess(in his boy-form, Clen) was in the slave quarters with Nell, the girl who had been helping care for the baby. He asked her how she was able to provide for the infant, and Nell sadly revealed she had given birth before, but her child had died.
"You could escape with us," Clen suggested.
"It's impossible," Nell whispered, terrified. "The bandits will hunt us down forever."
Their talk was interrupted by the Head of the Females, who dragged Nell away to wash plates. When Nell tentatively asked the woman if escape was possible, the older woman warned her to stay silent. But Vrocko, the bandit leader, had overheard. He hated the word "escape" more than anything. He dragged Nell by her ear to his office and took her down a secret tunnel into a pit to be eaten by his giant, hungry troll, Betty
Clevatess arrived instantly, using his magic to make Betty vomit Nell back up. He moved the baby close to her and used his Shadow Magic to pull them back just as Vrocko filled the room with smoke, commanding Betty to kill them.
Suddenly, Alicia burst through the smoke, dripping with river water and wielding the Khordwhar's Regalia. With one massive strike, she sliced the troll Betty in half.
Vrocko, seeing his beast fallen, snatched the baby and held a knife to the child's throat. "Give me the treasure, and the brat lives!" he screamed. Alicia tossed the sword toward a distant rock. As Vrocko moved to grab it with both hands, he used a magic trick to make himself and the baby invisible.
He thought he was safe, but his greed was too loud. He began murmuring out loud about how rich he was going to be. Following the sound of his voice, Alicia stepped forward and stabbed him through the back.
"You were murmuring out loud," she said coldly as he slumped to the ground.
The battle in the bandit camp had reached its bloody conclusion. **Vrocko** was dead, stabbed in the back after his invisible greed gave him away, and his pet troll, **Betty**, had been sliced in half by **Alicia's** legendary sword. But as the dust settled, the cost of the fight became clear.
Nell, the girl who had been thrown to the beast and beaten by the bandits, was dying in the dirt. Her body was broken beyond repair. At the same time, Alicia was at her absolute limit. The Dark Inchor(demonic blood) that kept her corpse moving was fading after the strain of the "Treasure Dump" and the fight.
Clevatess, standing in his boy-form, looked at the two dying women with cold, wine-red eyes.
"I have a finite amount of power left in this form," he declared. "I can use it to stabilize your mangled body, Hero, or I can use it to rebuild this broken girl. I cannot do both. You must choose who lives."
Alicia didn't hesitate for a single second. She looked at Nell—the only human in that entire camp who had shown kindness to the baby.
"Save her," Alicia whispered, her voice cracking. "I have already died once. Let her live for the child."**
Clevatess reached into Alicia's chest and withdrew the dark essence. Alicia let out one final breath and collapsed into the dirt—returning to a true, silent corpse.
Clevatess then turned his power toward Nell. Using the harvested life force from the fallen bandits and the troll, he performed a complete reconstruction. He didn't just heal her; he reshaped her. Her missing teeth regrew, her scars vanished, and her body became strong and vibrant. She was reborn as Nelluru, the perfect wet nurse, now physically capable of providing the milk the royal baby required.
Nelluru sat up, gasping as she felt the surge of life. She looked at her hands, then at the lifeless body of the Hero who had just traded her existence for her own.
"Why...?" Nelluru sobbed, clutching the baby to her chest.
Clevatess watched them, his curiosity about human selflessness growing. "A Hero's Duty," he mused. Using a final, hidden surge of power, he reached into the shadows and tethered a spark of essence back into Alicia's heart.
Alicia's eyes snapped open. She gasped as the demonic contract re-established itself, pulling her back from the brink once more.
"You are both bound to me now," Clevatess said, his voice heavy with authority. "One to protect the child, and one to feed it. We leave this place of scavengers behind."