This, marks the end of this short story. I had a lot of fun writing this and experimenting with a new style of storytelling and I hope you readers enjoyed this story as well.

Until then, thanks for reading, and have a pleasant day.

...

Epilogue

"Where are we going?"

The woman looked down at the three-year-old child currently holding her hand. "We're heading somewhere special."

"Special?"

She smiled. "You are about to meet someone very important."

"Important?"

The woman nodded and continued to lead the child through the crowds of people, before eventually leading her up a flight of stairs. She noted that the population had grown considerably, which she guessed was due to the new arrivals many months ago. They continued to walk for several more minutes before arriving at a cliff area near the edge of the city. The three-year-old could see several people standing together in front of rounded stones planted on the ground.

"Where are we?"

"This is a cemetery."

"C-Cemtry?

"No, cemetery my dear." As they approached the cemetery, the woman spotted a tall figure standing in front of one of the tombstones. A closer look and the figure appeared to be a man dressed in armor. Normally, she would have grown suspicious of strangers, but she knew this person.

"Hello."

Hearing her voice, the man turned around. Seeing her, he smiled and stepped toward her. "Hey, I remember seeing you…was it during at the funeral?"

She nodded. "Yep. We talked a little, but after that, ya had to leave."

"Right, forgive me for that. The villagers needed my help, and I couldn't just leave them." His eyes wandered over to the small dark-haired child holding her hand. Instead of being frightened by his armor, the child appeared to be curious, staring up at him with wide eyes. "Is this your child?"

She shook her head. "No, it's hers."

The man blinked twice in surprise. "I did not know that."

"She wouldn't want ya to know anyway. It was her most closely guarded secret."

He nodded, knowing there was no need to pry any further. "I see. And how old is the child?"

"She's three."

"Three years…Ah." I see, I think I get it now. The little girl continued to stare up at him in wonder. Chuckling, he decided to humor her. "Hello, my name is Damian. What's your name?" he asked, bending down to her level.

"Lily."

"Lily…a pretty name for a little girl. You look just like your mother."

"Mother?"

Realizing his mistake, the man sputtered and adjusted his glasses. "Sorry! I didn't mean to-"

The woman placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. I was going to tell her anyway."

"Tell Lily what?" Lily asked.

"About yer mother sweetheart." The woman gently gestured Lily to the tombstone in front of her.

"So…mother is here?

"Yes."

"…Lily doesn't get it." She saw words written on the tombstone, though she groaned in frustration at her inability to read it. Seeing this, Rosemary chuckled and leaned down to help.

"Here…lies…Iris…Thorne…," she read slowly. "A friend…hunter…mentor…wife…a sister."

"Ooooh. So, where's mother now? Is she sleeping?"

"That's a bit complicated. I'll tell ya more about it once we get back home."

"Okay then." Lily then glanced at the other tombstone next to it. "And this one?"

"That…is yer father, Lily."

"Father? So, both mother and father are sleeping?"

"You'll understand more of it as ya grow older. But for now, why don't ya say some prayers? I know yer mother would like it if ya prayed for her and yer father."

Lily quickly obeyed, recalling that offering prayers to others were something Rose taught her. "Okay!"

As the little girl knelt before the tombstones and prayed, the two adults backed away and took this opportunity to catch up on things. "So how have ya been?"

"I'm doing fine thank you. And you?"

"Same old I suppose, though I have been a lot busier taking care of Lily. With Iris gone, I was granted full custody of her, and fell upon me to provide the necessary environment for Lily to grow."

"I see. And you…you're doing this alone?"

"Yep."

"Do you not have any other family member that can help? Or perhaps your significant other?" However, he quickly retracted his statement. "Oh, you don't have to answer that…"

"It's fine. To answer yer question, no I do not have any other family members. Iris and to an extent, Lily are the only family I have left."

"Oh…I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "Don't be. And as for your second question, I never really was the type to settle down with someone."

"Ah, I understand."

"Speaking of significant others, what about you? The last time I saw ya, there was a girl with ya. Is she a friend? Sibling? Perhaps more?"

Damian smiled. "Her name is Anna, and no she is not a sibling. I…I have been courting her for a while now and I intend to propose to her soon."

"I'm rooting for ya then."

He sheepishly scratched the back of his neck. "Thank you."

The cool ocean breeze blew swept against the area, rustling the leaves of the trees nearby and creating an atmosphere of peace. The two adults fully embraced this feeling, closing their eyes and feeling the wind as it tousled their hair.

"I can't believe half a year has passed already," Damian said. "Felt like yesterday when I was still just a rookie making my way up the top."

"I can see that. How was it anyway? Training under my sister?"

"Oh, it was awful at first. She was incredibly rude and lacked any manners or tact. Not to mention, she didn't even bother to start small and immediately pitted me against the first big monster we encountered. I'll admit, I disliked her for some time."

Rosemary giggled. "Sounds like her all right."

"Still, I persevered. It took me nearly dying to have her be somewhat impressed at me." He then smiled. "And after that, I was having the time of my life."

"That's Iris for ya. She's tough at first but she's really not that bad inside." Her expression grew wistful. "It's why it pained me to see her so consumed by vengeance that it inevitably killed her. I tried telling her for years, but she always pushed me away."

Damian sympathized with her. "My biggest regret was the fact that I couldn't be there for her or any of them. I owed them so much for helping me become the person I am today. Yet all I did was watch from the sidelines."

"Damian…"

"Shaw, Sven, and of course…Iris. I couldn't help them at all." He glanced over at Lily sitting by Iris's tombstone, praying. But the little girl didn't know that she was praying to an empty grave, as Iris's body could not be found, likely buried under a makeshift grave of sand.

"You know that it's not yer fault."

He shook his head. "…And I hate that in the end, I couldn't avenge them."

"Hey, don't beat yerself up over that alright? You weren't strong enough that time and it was only a matter of time before the Guild sent someone else to finish the job."

Damian clicked his tongue bitterly in response. On that day, the brave warriors that stayed behind had failed to slay the monster and lost their lives in the process. The Diablos had lived to fight another day and with each subsequent hunting party sent, none returned home alive. It was soon classified as a Deviant and out of fear of losing more hunters, the Guild forbade regular hunters from accepting the quest.

But when Damian heard the news that a lone hunter from the village of Bherna had been the one to finally slay the Diablos, he was furious. He wanted to be the one to kill it, but he knew it was an unrealistic goal. A part of him understood that the hunter's actions had prevented more lives from being lost and that he should be thankful, but he couldn't shake off the feeling of resentment for that hunter.

He sighed. "I suppose what's done is done."

"Auntie Rose!" Lily ran up to the woman and hugged her legs.

"Yes, sweetie?"

"I'm hungry. Want to eat."

Rosemary nodded. "Alright. I'll take you to a place yer mother really liked."

"Yay!"

The woman turned toward Damian and offered a handshake. "It was nice meeting and talking to ya."

He took her hand and gave it a firm shake "Likewise."

"Say, would ya like to join us? It's my treat." Lily's eyes brightened and she eagerly looked at Damian.

"I'd be happy to," he answered, eliciting a happy squeal from the little girl.

"Uncle Damian!"

"Seems she really likes ya. You don't think she wants to become a hunter in the future?"

"I don't know about that. But if she wants to, I will gladly take her in as my apprentice. That way, I can repay your sister for all that she's done for me."

"I, however, hope that she sticks to something far safer."

"It's her choice. Whether or not she wants to be a hunter, we must support her."

"That's true."

"Let's go, go! I'm hungry!" Lily exclaimed, tugging at Rosemary's hand. The woman laughed.

"So impatient, just like yer mother." Together, the three of them headed toward the city.

All was well.

…