A loud raspy groan can be heard, followed by panting and coughing, their faces red and sweating, as if they just crossed a blazing desert, a distant chant can be heard calling out for the names of.. Akane and Konnie

as the two start chugging the bowl of extremely spicy soup, with both of them locking eyes and staring each other down, with each gulp, the tears in their eyes became more and more apparent, Konnie closes her eye and powers through

slamming the bowl on the table, Konnie looks over to Akane and sees her smirking "I... w-win hicc" in unison, everyone cheers "HOORAAAHH!" followed by laughter, Konnie stares at Akane, her eyes wide and in disbelief, a stranger pats her back "don't worry squirt, nobody's ever defeated Akane, the kid's a natural.. haha!"

Konnie twitches, clutching her stomach. Her face turns an even deeper red as the heat seems to rise, a hush falls over the crowd as someone points and shouts, "WAIT! SHE'S GONNA DO IT!"

All eyes are on Konnie as the crowd breaks into a rhythmic chant "DRAGON'S BREATH! DRAGON'S BREATH!" Konnie's cheeks puff out and her eyes dart around, and then.. with a defeated gasp.. she throws up on the floor

The room explodes with celebration and laughter as Touma steps in, cooling her down with a sweep of cold air and freezing the puddle.

Konnie, hiding her face and not looking up, her heart pounding and her face turning an even more vibrant red as she felt a deep wave of embarrassment

Touma silently picks up the frozen mess and tosses it into the trash. 

Akane helps Konnie to her feet, grinning and laughing "Haha! Don't worry about it, this happens all the time~!" She points to a nearby table, where a similar scene unfolds with another poor soul under the crowd's cheers

Jade on the other hand, enters the Red dragon with quite a smile on her face, she hears the crowd cheer and laugh, her curiosity mixed with excitement pulls her towards the crowd, she looks over to see Konnie, Akane, Touma and Red all together having fun and laughing

Red spots a green pointed hat from within the crowd, she raises her hand and calls out for Jade "OH! Jade! over here!" while enthusiastically waving, Jade squeezes in between the crowd "op- excuse me, sorry..~" 

Touma grabs a seat from another empty table and drags it over, "oh, thank you" Jade smiles and sits with the group, Konnie quietly stares at Jade and notices her necklace which is cracked, she lightly taps Jade on the shoulder

"hey, what happened to your necklace..?" Jade squints as her head tilts, "what? what do you mean..?"

"it wasnt like that before-" Confused, Jade pulls out her necklace from under her cloak, she stops and slowly turns to Konnie "h-how'd you know..?"

"I saw it when we first met- It wasn't like that befo-" 

"but.. It was always broken- Konnie..?" Jade's voice starts to shake, the grip on her necklace tightens and her hand starts to shake

Konnie stops, her voice, its.. gone? the world around her seems to slow down, her heart starts to race, she hears Jade's voice calling out for Konnie, it gets louder and louder, her vision blurs and her breathing stops, she tries to grasp for air as suddenly-

Touma grabs a seat from another empty table and drags it over, "oh, thank you" Jade smiles and sits with the group, Konnie gasps loudly, startling everyone at the table. She falls backward, clutching her chest as though drowning, her breaths shallow and ragged

Jade leaps from her seat, panic flashing across her face. "Konnie! Are you okay?!" she yells, her hands trembling as she tries to pat her back. The tavern quiets, all eyes turning toward the commotion

But Konnie's breathing grows erratic, her surroundings blurring as if the walls were closing in. A sharp heat surges through her, smoke curling from her palms. Eyes wide with terror, she bolts for the door, crashing through it and stumbling into the town square.

Nearby, a man steps forward, his fur-lined collar catching the light. He crouches beside Konnie, his voice low and calm. "Excuse me, miss, do you know where the Red Dragon- oh, wait," he pauses, glancing at the tavern sign above her. "Never mind."

Konnie's trembling hand grabs his collar, her voice strained. "H-help... m-me..." she wheezes, the words barely audible.

The man frowns, his eyes narrowing. "Let go, miss," he says firmly, gripping her hand as she loosens

he slowly walks away, as Jade and the others run towards Konnie, Jade in tears, tries to desperately heal Konnie but it does nothing, she screams for help while holding Konnie close to her

his gaze hardens when he notices the creeping corruption spreading across her skin along with Jade's as she kneels beside her. Without hesitation, he grabs both of them by their wrists.

A faint, eerie glow pulses between them as Konnie's breathing steadies, her body going limp in his grasp. Jade's corrupted skin begins to recede, the dark veins retreating until her skin clears. At the same time, the man's own skin starts to blacken and crack, his breathing growing ragged with each passing moment. 

He clenches his jaw, enduring the strain as the corruption crawls up his arms. Then, with a shuddering gasp, it dissipates entirely, leaving his skin unmarked. He exhales deeply, steadying himself before rising to his feet and stretching with an audible crack. 

"GODDAMMIT," he mutters, his voice laced with irritation. "Now my appetite's ruined." He points sharply at Red, who flinches under his gaze. "You, lady. Help me with these two." Red freezes for a moment, overwhelmed by the chaos. Then, with a shaky nod, she steps forward and gently lifts Konnie into her arms

He grabs Jade by the collar and puts her on his shoulder, without struggle, he casually carries her, Akane and Touma quietly run at Red, with Touma wearing his poker face, stranger looks down and sees Touma's hand shaking while holding both Red and Akane's hand

The faint, rhythmic clacking of shoes echoes through the hall as the door creaks open. A figure steps inside, their voice steady and composed.

"Madam, we have a situation." The room, shrouded in darkness, is suddenly illuminated by the soft glow of illusion magic emanating from a table. A detailed world map comes into view, the light pulsing ominously at a marker deep within the woods.

"Dark magic..." The woman's voice sharpens, her gaze fixed on the blinking marker. "That's concerning. send in a scout immediately."