When the Spear Hero's party docked their boat at the Risuka Island village pier, they split up to ask questions about the strange dreams and anything out of the ordinary besides the Event. When they convened at the village entrance, they shared their findings.

The dream was about a strange woman whose head could not be seen because of the darkness obscuring it. No matter who dreamed or when the dream was viewed, it was always the same woman saying "The… Wave… be… trayed… I'm… sorry… I… left… you… behind… Ri…" The dream always cuts off at that point as the dreamer wakes up.

"Sounds like we have a bad case of a Lost Soul to me." Kekal was already making deductions. "Normally when a person dies, their soul crosses the divide between physical and spiritual, where they remain until they become reborn as a new person. However, there are ways to force a soul to remain on the physical plane."

"Like the Three Heroes Faith binding souls to weapons?" Kardia brought up bitterly.

"Regrettably, that's but one way. If someone dies with deep regrets, their soul can persist as well. However, if they remain for too long, they become monsters called Specters that need to be banished. Even then… the time-frame is far past the point where this particular soul would have transformed."

Rifana came up with her own idea. "Do monsters exist that can force a soul to remain in this plane of existence?"

"Actually yes, but most monsters that can do so can't keep the soul indefinitely outside of straight-up eating it. However, if we take another piece of information into account, I can see our culprit being a mutated or twisted monster of some kind. One more than capable of keep a soul hostage for a long time"

"Are you talking about one of the ruins near the center of the island being described as "ominous" and blocked by a dark barrier, Kekal-nee?" Amber heard that information with Merlay.

"Exactly. If we want to get to the bottom of this, we'll need to investigate those ruins."

Rino hummed a bit. "I talked to a group of adventurers who've been here longer than us. Even though their mage had Light magic, none of them wanted to break the barrier for fear of unleashing something they couldn't recontain."

Kekal looked towards the jungle with a dark look. "I can't blame them. Ever since we stepped foot on this island, I've been feeling an ominous energy. Energy that feels like it's driving you away." She looks back at her party with a confident grin. "But I will not be deterred! For I am the Vampire Lord and party member to the Legendary Spear Hero! We will get to the truth of this matter!"

"Then let's not waste anymore time." Chazon nodded at everyone. "While that is our primary objective, let's not forget about culling the monster populations and leveling up. Also, I'd like to lend aid to anyone who is having a rough time with healing magic. All of us adventurers are in this together."

"You always think of everyone on the way, Daddy. That's what I love about you!" Obsidian piped up with a happy smile. He got ruffled hair as a response.

After Merlay set her affinities to Support and Earth magic, the group set out towards the center of the island. Not long after, they were under attack from a wide variety of creatures including Green Bio Blobs, Venomous Pythons, Poison Tree Frogs, and Acid-horn Beetles. Later on, they even found monsters called Karmic Squirrel Familia, which were dark-furred squirrels with more demented proportions.

Amber noted the large amount of poison-inducing monsters. "Almost everything here can poison you! Not fair!"

Merlay managed to find the time to switch her affinity from Support to Healing. "Looks like keeping our HP up at all times will be vital."

"Even so, despite these monsters being weak we're getting a lot of Exp!" Kardia pointed out.

Sure enough, Chazon noticed that the few skirmishes they had had already leveled everyone up at least once. Because he was at level 47 before starting, he decided to lower the Exp gains for himself and evenly distribute it towards his party members.

"Guess they weren't kidding about the Exp bonuses. Thanks to certain spears allowing me to increase all of your stat growths, you all should be getting a lot more returns per level up than before."

"Let's not celebrate too soon. We need to keep leveling if we want to keep up with the increasing power of the Waves! Faust Lightning Shock!" Rifana quickly electrocuted a Beetle trying to ambush her.

Chazon, in the midst of combat, decided to observe how everyone was now fighting post-Class Up. He was going in with his Grenadier's Gunlance to keep himself away from the core of the action thanks to his paralysis.

Thanks to her trait, Rifana could very easily keep the monster's attention on herself by using multi-target spells. The extreme hate generation apparently does work, because any monster she hits focuses almost exclusively on her. Whenever the party got the drop on a group of monsters, she always leads the charge now. She had yet to perfect her shield parry, but that was the only nitpick Chazon could see.

I doubt hate generation will have any effect on more sapient opponents. However, while her defenses are still nowhere near Naofumi's, she has the advantage of gaining attention and being an active threat by using offensive magic.

Rino's fighting style didn't change much, but between Rifana and her own trait, monsters weren't targeting her at all. Plus her healing was a lot more potent, to the point where having two healers was almost redundant.

Obsidian had already gotten his "perfect dodge" timing down pat. In the event that a monster did try to attack him, he could activate Delta Force and boost his already massive Attack and Agility to even greater heights. He was overkilling any monster he gave a solid kick to, even in human form when dealing with smaller targets.

Amber's power has increased, but she wasn't using her new trait because Rifana was already doing an excellent job defending. As such, she hadn't changed much, though Chazon noted that her fighting style was a bit more aggressive and she had a more determined look. I guess that war with the church did change her a bit. Just as bright and cheerful outside of combat, but she now takes fighting more seriously.

Merlay being able to switch affinity boosts between skirmishes was a lot more useful than it first sounded. She could easily switch to Healing, assist Rino and Chazon in topping everyone off, and go back to one of her more offensive affinities. Plus, the affinity boosts were basically indirect Magic increases.

Kekal's new trait and Technique allowed her to focus on dealing damage more once her debuffs were in place. Chazon realized something later on. "Kekal, have you ever considered using standard Support magic instead of just debilitations?"

She tilts her head a bit. "Not really. I always figured that my debuffs were always enough for support."

"Now that maintaining your debuffs is much easier on beefier targets thanks to Festering Soul, you could learn Attack or Magic increasing Support magic to help your party members further. Let's Merlay have a chance to choose affinities other than Support unless we need the defensive spells."

"I'll just keep focusing on debuffs and physical offense. Watch this! Optic Windsight!" Kekal's scleras start glowing lightly as she nocks an arrow. "Gale Shot!"

The arrow glowed and flew faster and straighter than any other arrow she shot before. Not long after, the tell-tale cry of a slain monster rang out. "My range is far greater if I use Optic Windsight to enhance my vision and Gale Shot to increase arrow speed, distance, and power!"

She's effectively a sniper… how come I'm learning all of this now and not when she joined?!

As the party continued on, Kardia finally decided to use her first spell since Classing Up. "Faust Wind Cutter!"

The blade of wind not only bisected the targeted Acid-horn Beetle, but ended up beheading two Venomous Pythons and cutting down a few trees for good measure. Obsidian sweatdropped at the sight. "I thought my Attack was overkill for these monsters. Kardia-nee, your magic is scary!"

That got an awkward cough out of the Kitsune. "That's why I'm being sparing with my magic. I don't want to cause excessive amounts of collateral damage every time I fire off a spell, even if I multi-cast it."

Chazon noted the slight despairing look on Merlay's face and patted her on the shoulder. "Merlay, the way I see it, you're in the sweet spot when it comes to magic power. Your magic is still strong enough to deal great damage, but not to the point where it's causing excessive destruction like Kardia's. Plus, you still have the Healing, Support, Light, and Lightning affinities over her right now."

"Don't forget Dark, Chazon-sama, but I agree. I see my tripled Magic stat as both a gift and a curse until I can find a way to enhance my control over my spells." Kardia gives Merlay a much needed hug. "Besides, we can never have too much magic capability!"

"Thank you… both of you." The pep talk gave Merlay some more confidence in herself and her role in the party.

While they were cutting their way towards the central ruins, they did stumble upon a few other parties of adventurers. When they weren't fighting, the Spear Hero's party healed them and provided additional antidotes so that they could either continue leveling or make it back to the main island alive.

One party was especially ecstatic. "I'm glad you're helping us in this way and not trying to help by attacking our marks!"

Rino gave them an odd look. "Have you guys been getting disrupted by other parties mid-battle?"

"It happens more than you think, even with the courtesy rules in place. Sometimes they're accidental and that's fine, but we've had our fair share of deliberate kill-stealers lurking around. Heck, I heard that one of the other islands has it even worse."

Their mage smiles. "However, it's always a joy to see more generous parties like yours, Sir Spear Hero. Truly, you and yours are to be admired. Thank you for your generosity!" With that, the trio leave towards the village.

"Hopefully Naofumi-sama isn't having troubles with such kill-stealers. Raphtalia-chan would probably end up mauling them if they got out of hand." Rifana mused out loud with a rather neutral face.

That girl is another good example of sweet and kind, but for the love of god don't poke her too much.

Eventually, the party found themselves at the entrance of a particular area of ruins. Just like what the villagers and adventurers said, there was an ominous Dark-aspected barrier blocking entry. Kekal scrunched her nose at it. "This is the place, no doubt about it. Even through this dark presence, I can feel how much spiritual power these ruins have."

"Yeesh, this place gives me the creeps." Rifana gave the barrier a flat look. "I'm surprised the villagers have dealt with this for as long as they have."

"When they can't remove the source and can't move off-island, you are forced to just live with it sadly." Kardia nods to her party members. "Shall we break this wall down and see what lies at the heart?"

Rino, Amber, and Merlay all focused Light-aspected magic before concentrating it onto one spot. The barrier shattered like glass, though the sense of dread deepened when some dark mist rushed out of the ruins.

Chazon, knowing that this kind of darkness can smother regular fire, switched to his Ultrabright Torch Spear and ignited it. "We should use light magic to light our way as much as possible. Keep an eye out for any dark monsters lurking in here."

As the party moved forward, Chazon lit any torches they found to drive more of the darkness away. When they did find monsters, they all had the prefix of "Shadow" in their name and killing them made them dissolve into nothing. However, the Exp gains were far more potent than outside the ruins.

When the group reached a special looking door, everyone was level 53. Obsidian did his best to be brave in the face of all the suffocating dread. "Is there… any way to open this door?"

Kekal checked it over before snorting in laughter. "Guess whoever these ruins once belonged to didn't bother locking their doors when they fell." She looks at her party. "I can feel the source of all this beyond this door. Are you all ready?"

"Ready as we'll ever be." Rifana was also doing her best not to be affected by the atmosphere. She recognized that if she hadn't broken out of her subconscious mental restrictions, she would have been less able as the party's primary defender.

Kekal and Chazon nod before they throw the door open. There, in the middle of a large, circular room, was an individual with a darkness obscured face. "Looks like we found our trapped soul."

When the party got closer, Rino began to recognize the armor. "No… it can't be…"

"The… Wave… be… trayed… I'm… sorry… I… left… you… behind… Ri… no…"

"Ma… Mama?!"

Everyone looked at Rino in shock. Kardia spoke up first, "Rino-sama, are you positive this is your mom?"

"Yes… I remember her armor the last time we ever saw each other. She was to escort a caravan to Lurolona Village and rout any strong monsters that might have settled nearby. It was... meant to be a quick mission, one she could return from quickly to celebrate my birthday…" Rino's eyes started watering at the memory.

Chazon drew her into a comforting hug, fighting back his own tears. To have your birthday present be the news of your mother's death… it's just too cruel…

Merlay sniffled a bit. "I guess… that's why she's referencing "The Wave" in her current state. Kekal-chan, is there anything we can do to help?"

After observing the situation and letting everyone re-stabilize their emotions, Kekal nodded. "It's pretty obvious. While she did die with regrets, they weren't powerful enough to keep her in this world for the time needed to to turn her into a Specter. Her soul must have been caught by the monster now leeching off her despair over what happened at the first Wave."

She looks at Rino. "I think the monster in question is in a state of intangibility. While normally impossible for most monsters, whatever caused this one to mutate gave it the power to be untouchable until removed from its "host" soul. As such… we need to delve into your mother's soul… and memories by extension. Are you okay with that?"

"Yes… I want to set her free… lay her regrets to rest."

That was all Kekal needed to hear before she approached the shackled soul. Looks like I'll be using this forbidden technique again… one of the two that exiled me in the first place.

She suddenly bit into her thumb and started drawing a sigil on the ground with her blood. When it was completed, she turned and looked at her party. "I'll need to send some of you into her memories to find the anchor that's keeping the monster attached to her. I can only send 4 of you, however, and I'll need to maintain constant vigil in the center to keep the connection between your minds and bodies stable."

Chazon looks at Rino. "You definitely should go. It's your mother we're saving, so you deserve the chance to free her from her torment."

"Thank you, but I want you to come with me, Chazon-kun. As the Legendary Hero, I think your presence will help remove the monster from her psych."

Kekal quickly thought of something and shot Kardia an apologetic look. "Sorry, Kardia-chan, but I need to disclude you. I have no idea what kind of havoc your massive Magic stat could wreak inside the memory and that's something I don't want to test."

Kardia nodded. "I understand. I'll use this as motivation to further my control over my magic."

"I'll go!" Amber suddenly piped up. "I can help defend everyone in the memory!"

"Amber… I'll defend because I really don't want you taking the brunt of the damage-"

"I know you care about me, Papa, but I want to do this! I want to help Rifana-nee defend our family with my new technique!" Amber's look of absolute determination could not be denied. She was prepared and willing to go through with it.

Amber… you've grown up so much so fast. Is this what it feels like to be a father? So proud, yet… so sad?

Relenting, Chazon nodded. "Make us proud, sweetheart. I'll switch to my Chimera Dragon Spear and be the main healer so that Rino can focus on offense."

Rifana smiled at Amber. "Remember what I taught you, Amber-chan. I never knew this is what you wanted, but I'm proud all the same." Amber smiled brightly at that.

"I'll stay back." Obsidian admitted with a guilty look. "As much as I want to help Grandma, I should be prepared to run to the village and beseech the help of other adventurers if the situation requires it."

Merlay pats Obsidian on the head. "Good forward thinking. I'll go to round out our party of 4."

Kekal nods at the 4 chosen to go. "Step into the sigil and kneel down facing me. I'll begin the technique once you're ready and send you in. All I ask is that you're all careful in there because exploring memories… can be dangerous." When everyone was in place, Kekal started the technique and began meditating.

The 4 of them suddenly found themselves in a somewhat sepia tone world. While color could easily be recognized, it was clearly identified as a memory.

Chazon looked around and at the nearby village. "Is this Lurolona Village before it was destroyed?"

"It was such a quaint, innocent town…" Merlay felt her sadness well up again at seeing what once was.

"Ah, Lily. There you are." The group looked and saw a bright blond human man with ice-blue eyes waving to a woman with the exact same color of hair and eyes. "If you're done, I'd rather leave this place."

"Why the hurry, Bariso? You've been exceedingly grumpy ever since we arrived."

Rino nodded at the duo. "Lily was my mother's name and Bariso is the name of her adventuring partner."

"I'd rather not talk about it." Bariso waves her off. "I just feel like we're wasting our time loitering here."

Chazon noticed a silver object glinting in the sun from Bariso's person. Is that…?

The world suddenly grew dark as the sky turned blood-red, a sight the Spear Hero's party was all too familiar with. It was the first Wave of Catastrophe… and this time, there were no Legendary Heroes to help.

"What?! What's happening?!" Bariso looked around in confusion before widening his eyes. "Monsters are falling from those blue things in the sky!"

Lily knew what it was instantly. "The Waves of Catastrophe?! Bariso, let's go help the village. They are ill-equipped to handle something of this magnitude!" With a grunt of frustration, Bariso follows her back to the village.

Merlay shuddered as she observed monsters dropping from the sky. "To see the wave happen before our eyes, yet powerless to save anyone…"

"It hurts, but we must find out if there's an entity in this memory feeding off Lily's despair." Chazon equipped his Chimera Dragon Spear and started running after the duo.

I̬͕̭͇ͅn̙̤̟͇͖t̰̣̬̭̗r͔̰u͍͇̯̬̪̤̥d̦̲̹e̮ṟ̦̬̠̙s̙͍̪.͓̳͍.͎.͈̬̙̜̥̹

A dark, almost eldritch voice suddenly echoed across the world. Amber immediately realized what it was. "The monster infecting Grandmama's soul!"

Suddenly, Shadow Monsters started appearing from the ground and moved to attack the group. Amber quickly activated Brilliant Stalwart and launched her Blast and Blaze Scales at the enemies, earning their ire.

Merlay, having already switched to Light and Support affinity boosts, casted Faust Guard and Faust Magic Guard on Amber to bolster her defenses. "Chazon-sama, I don't think your Dark affinity will do much damage to these entities."

"Maybe not, but I'll be damned if all I do is heal. Light Spear!" He launches his light-based skill at the monsters before casting, "As the source of thy power, I the Spear Hero command thee. Decipher the laws of nature to heal and protect my allies. Zweite Shaded Grounds!"

He put the center at Amber's feet, causing the dome to spring up around her. Any wounds Amber suffered started regenerating immediately and Chazon's healing spells increased in effectiveness. Thanks to the slowing effect, the monsters couldn't attack or move to her as fast.

Amber quickly showed Chazon just how capable she is as a defender in her Brilliant Stalwart stance. Thanks to her clothes being made of magic thread, they were just as capable of deflecting attacks as metal armor when she concentrated her magic into them. She even found a way to use her Light affinity to blind the monsters and cause them to miss more.

I guess I really was holding her back in that regard… perhaps we should help her develop techniques that she can use while defending.

After the Shadow Monsters fell, the party rushed after Lily and Bariso. As they fought off other shades, they bore witness to the duo cutting down the monsters of the wave. Lily was clearly doing it with intent to save the villagers, but it was quickly made apparent that Bariso was doing so VERY reluctantly.

When they reached the cliffs of the village, everyone happened upon a very gruesome sight. Cerberus, the boss monster of the wave, had just started eating two demi-humans alive, with a smaller one landing in the ocean.

Rino wanted to vomit at the sight. "That's… that's just pure cruelty. It didn't even bother killing them first!" She remembered something right then. "I guess this is when Mama rescued Raphtalia-chan after her parents sacrificed themselves for her."

Chazon saw Lily dive into the water, against Bariso's complaints. "I have to wonder…"

L͖̻e̬̭̠͎͕̭a̠v̯͚͔̭̘͚e̝̱͚̮͎̠̝.̝̳͈͙̠͍̯.̺̩.̪̙̪ ͇͔̭̘̼̩̹T̙̯͚̮h̞̹̘͉͇̼e̜͔͚͍̘͓ ̺̺͓͉̥̮̱trut͚̭̟̗̩̰h̘.̜͕̙ͅ.̘͇.̺͔̟͔̲ ̰̟̥̫̠͔ͅW͙̬̯̥͚̻͕i̳̥͇l̬͓̥̤̟l̞͙̳̱̗ͅ ̟ͅb̪̦̖͙͖̟r̮͉̼̖e̬̥̮a̯̜̥̬ḳ͔̞̞ͅ yo̼̺̜̦̠ͅu̜̞͈͎͚..̯̹̻̙̘.

"I think this "truth" is what's allowing you to keep Grandmama here!" Amber angrily shouted up as more Shadow Monsters appeared.

After some time and chasing the duo a bit more, the party saw them starting their battle against Cerberus with other adventurers. Suddenly, the memory froze and a dark aura began filling the air.

F̭͉͇̯̲oo̖̘͖͇͖̩͈ḽ͉̭̦͕̘s̲.̗.̞͕̩̗ͅ.̫̱̮̙̩ ̺̹̘I͍͔̥̱̭'͇͍ͅl̖̩̘͙͍l͖̰ ͅsṭ̜̰̝̮̯̮r̖͍̰͇̥̼i̳̥̜k͙͕̼͓̮̣e͚̣̞͖ ̲̣̼̮y̮̞̬̜o̞u̲͎͉̩̜ ̙̬̳̩̖͖d̠̩o͕̮̯͔w̬̯̭̖n̪͖͎̦̜̯̩.̼͚͔̯.̻̦̗̺͓̙̱. ̥͕a̻̣n̫̠̖̤̹̬̖d̫̬͔͇̱͙ ̯̟̰̻͙͔ͅf̭̙̜̭͍͈̜e̫̦͇a̦̩̠̜s̳̟͔t̹̻͙̬̙͚ ͕̼̦̥͖͙̠u͎̫͎̩̱̩͉p̺̗͚̗̖̭o̼nͅ ̭̪͉̦y͕͚͕̩̳͙̪o̠͉̮̤̱u̦̬r D̻̟̗E̦̼SP̭̪̟̖͙̝ͅA̩̠̥̣ͅI͔̟͙̘̻R̭̫̝.̥̙̦̟.̫̞̗̬͓͉.̙͍̱͖̭

Right then, a giant shadow appeared in front of them. It morphed into a face that was not too far from where they were:

Shadow Cerberus

Level: ? ? ?

Even if it wasn't the real thing, the visage only served to aggravate the party. Chazon glared at the shade. "Time to unload our frustrations on the closest thing to the real deal!"

"You killed Auntie Raphtalia's parents! I BLOW YOUR FACE UP!" Amber was going full aggro now as she started scattering Blast and Blaze Scales all over the shadow.

Rino knew the outcome of the original fight. Because of that, she began to cut into the shadow with hatred in her heart. "Your visage killed my mother! Now suffer my rage and sorrow as I cut you down in place of that monster!"

Both Merlay and Chazon merely started casting spells and skills to support their party members in silent rage. The Shadow Cerberus clearly attacked like its original did, but thanks to the Spear Hero's efforts in properly raising their stats, it was soon struggling.

However, it was clear that it could maul past Amber's defenses, forcing Chazon into dedicated healing duty complete with using his Nocturnal Shields to mitigate larger hits if he saw them coming. Merlay had casted Zweite Magic on herself and Amber and started blasting the shadow with potent Light magic.

Eventually, it could not take any more punishment and fell, vanishing in a cloud of darkness. Any feeling of celebration was short lived when the memory suddenly started again.

Cerberus had already managed to kill the other adventurers, leaving only Lily and Bariso. However, the two were clearly powerful in their own right and capable of keeping the Cerberus on its hind legs.

"Bariso, on my move, we go for the hind legs to immobilize it before going for the heart!" Lily heard a slight… snicker as she launched herself forward. She managed to cut one of the hind legs, only to see the monster facing her fully. "What-"

"So sorry, Lily, but this was the final straw. You've proven your uncleanliness by WILLINGLY helping these filthy animals. Fret not, because I'm sure your soul will be purified… by God's grace." Bariso had a twisted smile as he held his Three Heroes Faith rosary. "A shame you wasted your gifted genetics on that useless apothecary and birthed a defective child. Oh well."

Lily never even got to say anything as she was bitten by Cerberus… and subjected to the same death as Raphtalia's parents. The last look she had on her face was a look of shocked betrayal and regret. Rino… I'm… sorry…

Rino was horrified by what she saw as the memory began to fade. "My mother… didn't die a hero… she was betrayed! SHE WAS BETRAYED!" She completely broke down crying at that.

Black veins of Hatred appeared in Chazon's vision as he clenched his hand, snarling. That piece of shit waste of skin! If I find him in the real world, I'm going to skin him alive and feed his entrails to monsters!

H̘̩m̩̺͕̝̹̘̩m͇̹̲̦̖.̙͉̝̬̹͔̻.͖̳̣͚̻̟.͕͓̱̙ͅ ̬̰Ta͎̠̠̙͖s̱t̙̗͎ḛ̻.͖͕..̘̗̥̖ ̼̠̟͖̣F̥̥̭̘͔̬̣re͖͔̦s͇h̠̯̟̗̝.͍͔̗̱̮̜͓.̞͈͙.̯̼̳̗ ̗͙̝̣H̖̬̼̠͙̼a̘̟͓̜͈̰͉ṭ̥̹̫̜̬e̝͖̦͍.͔̻̹̲̣̮.̺͎̞̻ͅ.ͅ ͚D͉̱̟̝̠e͎̟̰s̮̦͙̤͓p͈͔̫͎͇̰̮a͉̪̭ir̜͖.͕̳͚ͅ.͍.̬ F̤E̱E̜̱͍̺͉̠̳D̖͇͈̦̯ ͙M̝̞̖̰͉̠E͚̮̖̪͓̗͎!

Chazon suddenly found himself alone in darkness and he looked around. "Rino? Amber? Merlay? Where did you guys-"

A dark presence suddenly started forcing its way into his mind as he clutched his head.

I̬ ͍̤̼͚̣s̘̰̘͖͓e̝̼̘e͖.̝͈̪̥..̦͎ ̞̲̦Y̮͖̱̲̻o͚͖̤͕̺̭u͕̲͙̦̗r̭̱̱ ̖͎̗̲̘Ha̭͕͉̪͍͉t̫̰̮̹e͓.̭̗͇.̩̫̪̣͉. ̫̮̬̟͖̦D͉̤̜̱̫ar̠k͇̘.̘.̠̺̮͓̘̬.̣̠͕̭̗ ͉Y̩̹̤͕̻̳o̫̜̥̹̲u̥̹͖r͎ ̟̮̻̝̣̭D̲̮̗es̠̯ͅp͔͕̠̜ai̭̜̩͙͚͍̫r͔.̯̣̬.̰̭.̘̙̝ ̤͚̜̳̹D͙̭̺e͍̲͖͎̳͎̣e̺̞̼̺̹p̺̫̼̲̥ͅ.̦..̩̤͎̳̜͓̬ ̙̠̮̫̭Y̦̳͔o͇͎̮͔̬u ̩͖a̳͕re̜̜̼͍̞ ̣̪͍n̤̩̠̠ọ̲w̤.͍̫.̟̮̜̣̗͎͕.̱̲̝͖ ̗̙M̭̭̼̳y̲̲̥ ͚͎͙̗͚̖ͅn̯̯͎e̫̥̳͇͚w̬̼̳͔ F̭̘̳͍E̬̺̫͈̹̩A̺͙̻̙͚̭̞S͇T̘̦̫͉͙̹

Suddenly images of the noble who tried to rape Rino started flashing all over his mind, alongside images of the duel that almost ripped Naofumi and Raphtalia apart. The mixture of hate and despair flooding his mind began to overwhelm him. "No… please… I don't…" He reaches forward in the darkness, hoping for someone, ANYONE, to take it, to tell him it was all just a nightmare.

In the waking world, Rino, Amber, and Merlay jolted awake, clearly not expecting to suddenly return. Kekal immediately realized something was wrong. "Chazon-kun's mind didn't come back to his body!"

Rino started panicking. "W-we were suddenly booted out after we witnessed my mother's dying moment-" She stopped short when the same darkness covering her mother's head was beginning to envelop Chazon's head too. "NOOOOO!"

"Papa! Wake up! Please!" Amber began crying out.

"We have a problem here." Kardia grimaced as she looked at the door Rifana was trying to keep shut. "I think the monsters outside were driven into a frenzy. Obsidian-kun was able to get out and go for help, but who knows how long it'll be."

Kekal looked back at Chazon with gritted teeth. "There's no other way… If I don't reach him now, he'll be lost to us…" She picks up Chazon's arm. "Sorry, Chazon-kun, but I need to do this."

Biting down, she sucked enough of his blood to access her Bloodcane form. Rino saw what she was doing and looked pleadingly at the enhanced Vampire. "Please, do whatever you can to save him!"

"I have no intention of letting him go!" Kekal quickly started channelling her own mind into Chazon's. It was risky to have the main channeler do that, but there were no other options left. "Chazon-kun, I'm coming for you!"

As even more memories of hatred and his failures began to torment him, Chazon found himself losing his will to resist and slowly succumbing to the clutches of the demon now seeking to feast on his mind. Everyone… I'm… sorry…

"Chazon-kun!"

He suddenly jolted at the sound of a familiar voice calling his name. A bright light shone on him and he saw a white-haired, red-eyed individual who looked familiar. "You…"

"I"m here for you! We're all here for you! Don't let this monster win!"

N͈̟̞͉̮̣̘O̪.͖.̹̱̞̩.̪͓̥̻͍̖̞ ̯͍͓ͅL͇̲̙͇̮͖E͙ͅAV͔̹̲͓̹̼ͅE̯͙!͈!̗

"Hah, you wish!"

"Ke… Kekal? Why? Why are you risking your own mind here?"

"Isn't it obvious?! It's because I love you and I don't want to lose you!" She realized something and quickly coughed. "I-it's mostly because I would be damned if I let one of the Legendary Heroes become fodder for a worthless monster."

Chazon knew completely that the second sentence was an after-thought. She was willing to go that far… she even just declared her love for me right then and there…

"Come on, Chazon-kun, let's go back!" Kekal reaches her hand out.

Chazon grabbed it softly. "Please... lead me out of here, Kekal..."

Both Chazon and Kekal suddenly jolted awake and both scrambled away from the darkness trying to encase his head. Rino let out a cry of relief. "Chazon-kun! I'm so glad you came back!"

"Was never my intention to leave. Let's save anything else for after we're safe!"

NO̖̫̗̬̙ͅO̹̹̠̝O͖̠̜̺͍̩OO͓͔̹O̤̠̱͔̤O̘̯O̼̥̥̠͖O̤̦O̠͚̫̦̳ͅO͓̗͕̯̬̹O̼̩!̳!̺͕͚̯̻̤͙!̫̮̣

The darkness that permeated the room started rapidly gathering in one spot. Even the darkness encasing Lily's head was drawn in as she turned into a small ball of light and began drifting around. Kekal was able to direct it to Rino, who clutched it close to her heart.

When the darkness finished gathering, it exploded to reveal a demonic-looking creature with an elephant trunk, bear claws, and dragon-like scales.

Xenobaku

Level: 65

Kekal somewhat recognized the creature. "That looks similar to a Baku, a monster known for inducing and devouring nightmares and despair! I guess this one mutated into something far more dangerous!"

"Then let's kill it before it causes any more harm!" Obsidian piped up, joining the party alongside Rifana.

"What about the other monsters?" Kardia saw remnants of a battle that took place outside the room.

Rifana smirked. "All of the adventurers we assisted on our way here offered to help when Obsidian beseeched their aid. They're at the entrance keeping away any more unwanted visitors."

Chazon felt joy at those words. "Then let's finish this thing and get out of here! Rifana and Amber, take turns defending! Merlay, healing duty with me! Everyone else hit as hard as you can!" The monster roared as everyone rushed forward.

"RAAAAAAAAAH!" Rino knew why Chazon let her focus on damage rather than having her heal. He was giving her the opportunity to kill the monster responsible for her mother's suffering, even in death. She wasted no time in slicing into the monster's hide.

Kardia knew she didn't have to hold back anymore. She was free to unload her magic onto a monster that defiled souls for breakfast.

The monster wasn't helpless outside of a person's mind. It was capable of inflicting forced sleep on individual targets and would do so, even if it's ire was on Rifana or Amber. It also made liberal use of wide-reaching swipe attacks on randomly selected targets.

Chazon accidentally found out something about his affinity combination when he casted a misspoken healing spell. "As the source of thy power, I the Spear Hero command thee. Decipher the laws of nature and heal my target. Faust Umbral Heal! Wait a minute..."

He had casted it on Rifana, who got a new status:

Umbral Regeneration

Recovering HP over time

I guess I'm more of an Astrologian than a Scholar… I'll take it!

At one point, the monster moved to the back of the room and started charging an attack. At that moment, three orbs of darkness appeared and tethered to the Xenobaku. Chazon knew where that was going. "Destroy those orbs before it finishes charging!"

Kardia and Merlay quickly focus-fired the orb furthest from everyone, Obsidian and Rino attacked the one closest to them, while everyone else attacked the remaining orb. All three shattered about the same time, prompting the Xenobaku to launch it's dark breath attack prematurely. It still did heavy damage, but it was healable.

After the attack, it gained a new trick. It was capable of causing confusion instead of sleep, causing those affected to start hitting the closest entity to them. Thankfully, whenever Obsidian or Rino got confused, they mostly kept attacking the Xenobaku, though at a greatly diminished attack speed than before. Merlay was on top of healing it off with Faust Restore when it got out of hand.

Chazon noted at one point that the monster was affected by every debuff known, with all of their timers perfectly synched. He then noted Kekal using Festering Soul to refresh the debuffs again before continuing to use Gale Shot to increase the power of her individual arrows.

That's almost too good, holy hell. This isn't even the limit to what you can do to modify or strengthen arrows!

When it was close to death, it went to the back of the room again and started charging up its most powerful attack. No orbs appeared, so Chazon switched from his Chimera Dragon Spear to his Soul Eater Glave. "Unleash EVERYTHING! Bring it down before it brings us down with it!" Amber took the time to deactivate Brilliant Stalwart, since it was her turn keeping the boss's attention, and started unloading everything she had.

Kardia decided it was the perfect opportunity to use one spell. One she kept in reserve for a long time. However, I should probably restrain as much of this power as possible to prevent it from hitting anyone else.

"As the source of thy power, I the Spear Hero's companion command thee. Decipher the laws of nature and unleash the typhoon of nature's might. Drifa Galestorm Blast!"

Everyone else backed off from the monster right before she finished the chant and for good reason. The spell hit the monster and caused a giant, vicious tornado to launch and start slicing the monster to its final death. It even blasted the roof away, revealing it to be close to sunset.

When Xenobaku's body came crashing back down, it was confirmed to be dead. Kekal and Obsidian burst into happy cheers as Amber and Rifana hugged each other gratefully.

It was over.

Rino sheathed her blades and put her hands over her heart. "Mama… I hope you can find peace now…"

"I'm sure I will, Rino."

Everyone was startled when the ball of light that clung to Rino the entire battle spoke and drifted away from her. After a flash of brilliant light, everyone saw Lily standing there. Transparent, but present.

Rino was overwhelmed with emotion. "Mama... Is that you?"

"I'm so proud of you, my child. You've fought with a vigor I could only wish to replicate in life and had great coordination with your party members. You've grown up to be a fine adventurer."

Rino tears up a bit as she grabs Chazon's hand. "But I wasn't alone. I had Chazon-kun's help the entire time. His and everyone else's."

That got a happy chuckle from Lily. "Indeed. I thank you all for looking after my daughter after I was forced to leave her behind." She looks at Chazon. "I'm also glad to have met one of the Legendary Heroes who will save this world from the Waves."

"Pleasure's all mine, m'lady. Your daughter is a beacon of hope for everyone here, even after everything she's been through. We truly don't deserve her."

"Now don't be like that. You're the one who let her in when nobody else would." She notes everyone's shocked looks. "I saw Rino's memories during her battle with that monster. My poor, sweet child… It's all my fault…"

"Mama, what are you talking about? There's nothing you could've done about my hair color."

Lily shook her head. "That's not your natural color, Rino. When you were born, I saw that your hair would match mine, as would your eyes."

Merlay spoke up, "How could you tell? A child's hair and eye color change over the course of their life."

"It's… understandable if none of you know. I knew because Rino inherited my special genetics at birth. She's a Spirit Maiden."

Kardia widened her eyes. "I think I remember learning about them! They and the male counterpart, Soul Brothers, are said to have higher than normal stat growths and are capable of amazing things! Both humans and demi-humans could inherit the genes for them."

"That's correct, Kardia-chan. However… As a result, our genetics are highly sought after by many people. Both by those seeking to have their lineage containing them and… by other Spirit Maidens or Soul Brothers seeking to keep the bloodline "pure." It's… probably partially the reason why Bariso… betrayed me."

"That's… horrible…" Kekal was no stranger to motivations like that, but hearing others suffer through it never got easier.

"In a bid to spare my little Rino from people seeking her for dishonorable reasons, I took an extreme measure… and sealed her Spirit Maiden qualities away. Because of that, she gained my husband's hair and eye colors and lived as a normal human." Lily looks at Rino with clear regret. "But you still suffered for your hair color…"

"Mama, it's fine. In fact, it was thanks to my hair color that I met Chazon-kun! We had a rough start, but I think we came out stronger for it." Rino smiles at her mother. "I'm thankful… and I don't want you to regret doing that to me!"

"You really are a light of hope…" Lily beckons Rino to come closer. "However, I feel I cannot rest until I undo what I did so long ago. Close your eyes."

Rino did so and Lily started chanting something. As she continued, Rino became increasingly enveloped in a brilliant yellow light, outshining even Ultrabright fire.

After a burst of light passed, everyone looked at the two in the middle. What they saw was Rino with long, flowing blond hair and, when she opened them, icy-blue eyes.

She looked so different, yet everyone felt it looked right. Like those were the colors she was supposed to have from the very beginning. Chazon got a notification about a change in her stats. Sure enough, they all increased to match her growths as a Spirit Maiden rather than a regular human.

Lily smiled softly at the sight. "You look… beautiful. Now… I can cross the boundary with no more regrets…" She kissed Rino on the forehead. "Tell your father… I love him with all my heart. And I love you and your new family as well. May the light of the Legendary Weapons guide you all to a better future."

"Goodbye, Mama. I promise… I'll continue to make you proud." Lily smiles at that as she fades away, no longer marred by regret. Rifana, remembering her parents, found it hard to hold back her own tears.

After Lily passed on, the air felt a lot lighter and everything felt fresher. Kekal smiled at how everything felt. "She really was able to move on. With your newfound power, Rino-chan, I'm sure you won't have any problems keeping your promise."

Rino smiles through her tears. "Thank you… for everything you've done today, Kekal-chan."

"With Lily-sama's passing, I'm sure the villagers will feel elated to know they can have normal dreams again. However, let's be sure to tell them her story so that they know the full truth." Merlay wanted to honor Lily's memory in any way she could.

Kardia hugs Rino. "Let's all make your mother proud." Amber and Obsidian quickly join the hug.

Mom… Dad… I hope… I'm also making you proud as well… even if you no longer see me. Chazon shook his head before motioning to the door. "Let's go and inform the other adventurers that we've succeeded after I finished carving the corpse for materials."

Chazon had also made sure to do plenty of mining in the ruins now that the darkness had cleared. He found a fair amount of different ores, including Oreiku, Carbolite, and Machalite. He made a mental note to go over their properties later after he got new spears from absorbing them.

When the party exited the ruins, they were met with cheers of joy from the other adventurers. Apparently the entire island felt better from the slaying of the Xenobaku.

On the way back to the Risuka Island Village, the party stumbled upon the spawning point of the Karma Squirrel Familia and their Karma Squirrel leader. Thanks to all of the levels the party had gained beforehand, the monsters were quickly routed and the spawn temporarily disabled.

Everyone took some time adjusting to Rino's new look, but she was still the same person as she was before. Rifana in particular made sure to drive the point that she looks better as a blond than a red-head home.

All the while, Chazon had been thinking deeply about things. One was what he found while carving the Xenobaku's corpse: A fragment of an Emperor Dragon's Core. He presumed it's what mutated the monster, but the shard wasn't big enough to outright turn it into a dragon-type monster.

I'll hold off on absorbing it for now. I don't know what will happen when I do…

The other thing on his mind was Kekal. When she saved him, she in her Bloodcane form outright stated that she loved him too much to lose him. She was willing to risk her own sanity just to save him out of love, rather than saving him for the sake of the world.

Even though I told her I had no interest in loving her in that way… even though I only want to marry Rino… why…?

Because of Kekal, the hidden seed of doubt that was already buried in Chazon's decision to only marry one person had begun to sprout.

Finally got around to updating Rino's appearance to her official one. I decided to introduce Spirit Maidens and Soul Brothers into my story as an excuse to do so, while also giving Rino a bit more characterization. I also chose this chapter to give Kekal more characterization than a one-note character who always boasts about being a Lord.

Also, the Xenobaku is based on the Gloomnivore monster and story beat of Dragon Quest XI as a way of allowing Lily to "undo" the shackles she put on Rino. I decided to design the creature around a mutated Baku from Japanese mythology with a darker twist, as well as introducing the Dragon Core that I have "plans" for later down the line.