Chapter 86: An Ambush?

"Hahaah... this is strangely overwhelming."

The storm of emotion swirling inside me should be an impossible thing to happen, but it did.

My instinct led me to my fractured trusty lantern, still gleaming its sacred light but less of its blessing and protection.

[Broken Gloamkeeper's Beacon (Calamity 60%) - 1.8 kg: Once a relic of immense power from an era long forgotten, the Gloamkeeper's Beacon now stands fractured, its brilliance reduced to a pale reflection of its former self. The arcane metal still drinks in surrounding darkness, and the delicate symbols etched into its framework continue to pulse with faint, golden light.

However, the steady, unwavering flame that once radiated serene comfort now flickers erratically, casting a light that is softer, dimmer, and unreliable.

The sacred barrier it creates, once impenetrable to malevolent forces, is now thin and fleeting. While it still wards off danger and faintly illuminates hidden paths, the threshold of emotional suppression it once imposed has been irreversibly shattered.

Holding the beacon still brings with it a fleeting warmth, a reminder of its old power, but the connection between bearer and relic feels strained. The personal sacrifice it demands remains, but it now extracts more vitality for less in return.

Over time, the beacon continues to dull the bearer's emotional depth—though only partially now—leaving a lingering numbness, making the highs of joy and lows of sorrow faint echoes of what they once were]

The name of the item and the overall description changed.

"Is this because of that dream…?"

Not that I mentioned it, where were Kuzunoha and Verina?

"... What are those noises?"

A faint commotion reached my ears, distant but unmistakable.. The banter of unfamiliar voices, overlapping with sharper tones I recognized all too well—Kuzunoha's commanding voice, laced with its usual acidic precision, and Verina's calm but deadly undertone.

Something was happening outside.

I couldn't ignore it.

Despite my body still feeling the lingering aches, I prepared myself and put on my Soulthread Aegis garb, while my fingers tightening around the broken Gloamkeeper's Beacon, attaching it to the strap on my hip.

Its fractured light barely illuminated my way as I moved towards the source of the noise.

I didn't need the beacon's fading glow to guide me, though—my heightened senses did that job perfectly. I just felt like it was proper for me to bring it alone.

Through the thin wooden walls of the cabin, the conversation became clearer. They were already clear since the start, but the weight I'm feeling right now would be more grateful to just directly hear it closer.

There was a distinct sound of shuffling, hushed whispers mixed with strained breaths—something tense, something wrong.

I approached the doorway, quietly pushing it open just a crack to peer outside.

The sight that greeted me plunged me into further confusion, but strangely believable.

Verina and Kuzunoha stood at the center of a clearing, surrounded by a band of ragged men and women—28 of them, by the looks of it.

They appeared to be bandits, something that I knew existed in this nearly apocalyptic land where humanity was supposed to band together and endeavor.

Their disheveled appearances and hastily armed states marked them as a group not expecting a solid confrontation. Fashion wise, they appear similar to that of Verina and Lupina when we first met—adventurous and dull-looking leathery.

Some had already fallen to the ground, lifeless, their blood staining the dirt, while others were kneeling, hands bound or raised in a gesture of surrender. Some were bound and gagged by arcane tapestry.

Read latest chapter on m_vl_em_p_yr

Kuzunoha's oriental umbrella was hooked on her arm, her long red hair swaying lazily in the breeze as if untouched by the violence surrounding her. Her crimson eyes gleamed with an almost detached amusement, as though the scene before her was nothing more than an afternoon stroll.

Verina, floating to her side, looked more composed, though her grip on her musket was calm and relaxed.

Both of them probably had realized that I was already awake, but they seemed to be in a deep thought amidst their expression of duty.

One of the bandits, a grizzled man with a scar running down his cheek, spat on the ground, glaring up at Kuzunoha with defiance. "We were just passing through! Didn't think we'd run into a couple of witches in the middle of nowhere."

Kuzunoha smiled, a sharp, cruel thing. "Passing through, were you? With your weapons drawn, and your eyes on this humble bastion like you planned to take it?"

Hahaha, I doubted that this wall-less housings could be even considered as a bastion.

The bandit growled but said nothing, his eyes flicking toward the bodies of his comrades lying lifeless in the dirt.

"Seems like we interrupted your little plans," Kuzunoha continued, her voice was silken as usual. "You should consider yourselves lucky that I want to showcase all of you as trinkets~ I could have killed all of you. We're feeling merciful."

The man's face paled at that, but he forced himself to remain defiant. "Merciful? You killed half my men!"

"And yet, you're still here, breathing." Kuzunoha's smile widened as she tapped the ground lightly with her closed umbrella. "Isn't that fortunate?"

I stepped into the clearing, letting my presence be known. The moment those foreign gazes latched on me, they were suddenly overwhelmed by something beyond fear and dread.

My voice cutting through the tension like a knife. "What's going on here?"

Kuzunoha's head tilted slightly toward me, her gaze shifting to meet mine. "Ah, you're awake, darling. I was just handling a little… disturbance. Nothing to worry about. Nothing too important that warrant your attention in your precious sleep~"

Verina turned as well, giving me a small nod of acknowledgment, but her eyes stayed sharp, focused on the bandits. seaʀᴄh thё ηovelFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

I looked over the group again, all while diligently appraising their detail screen one by one. "You two captured all of them?"

"Twenty-eight," Verina confirmed, her voice steady. "A few tried to resist. They're the ones on the ground."

I approached the nearest bandit, a younger man whose hands were trembling as he kept them raised. His eyes darted between me and Kuzunoha, filled with a mix of fear and confusion. I could sense his desperation—these weren't seasoned soldiers, but desperate people, driven to banditry by whatever circumstances led them here.

And yet, they had crossed paths with the wrong people.

Though, I'm more surprised that both Verina and Kuzunoha alone managed to apprehend them. After all, I found some of them to be quite strong and capable, according to the detail screen I saw—

And dangerous.

"You could have killed them all. Why bother tidying them?" I muttered, more to myself than anyone else.

After all, the fact that I didn't even wake up while something crucial like this happened meant that I had let my guard down too much since I started keeping track of my sanity.

Kuzunoha shrugged lightly, as if the lives of these people meant nothing. "I considered it. But Verina seemed to think we should show some restraint."

Verina gave a quiet nod. "Killing them all would have been unnecessary. It's quite inhumane, in my opinion."

I glanced at the fallen bodies again, I barely care about their wellbeing. "Any suggestion before I take the reign?"

Kuzunoha's giggled. "That depends, doesn't it? What do you want to do with them, darling?"

The weight of the decision settled on me as her question hung in the air. The bandits knelt before us, eyes wide with overwhelming dread, knowing their fate hung by a thread.

And I wasn't sure if I still had enough humanity left to save them.