Carea had died that day, during the raid on the demon king’s lair.
His body had been reanimated, reshaped.
Inside, all that remained was a cage of flesh and shadow.

But his soul—
his soul hadn’t died.

It was still there.
Trapped.
Imprisoned within his own body, a mute witness to his crimes.
He couldn’t move. Couldn’t fight.
All he could do was weep.
Silently.
Endlessly.

And Marenna… had seen it.

—

Back to our hero.

Garlan still had his hand raised, fingers tight, eyes glowing with energy.
Marenna had screamed—
but it was too late.

Lightning spells are the fastest.
And this one had come from instinct.

The bolt struck Carea square in the chest.
A flash of light.
A sharp crack.

And the smell of burning cloth.

The assassin’s coat exploded in rags, incinerated.
His hair shot out in every direction, whipped by static.
But he was still standing.

He slowly lifted his head toward Garlan, a smirk on his lips.

— “Whoa. Kid… you sting.”

He tilted his head, amused.
— “You should consider a career in hair styling.”

— “His soul… it’s crying,” Marenna suddenly said, her voice pale.

Tharion and Garlan turned to her at the same time.

— “His soul’s crying?” Garlan repeated. “Uh… are you sure?”

— “Yes. I can see it. It’s really crying.”

Carea froze.
The smirk vanished.
Something had struck deep inside him.

His eyes trembled—just for a second—
as if a memory had slammed into the back of his mind.

And within his chest… a silent scream.

The darkness inside—made of rage and chains—twitched.
And behind it, a pale figure, bound to the walls of his own body.

Carea.
The real one.
The man he had been.

He was pounding—soundlessly—calling out.
His hands pierced his own flesh from the inside, scratching at the walls of his prison.

"Don’t do this."

That’s what he seemed to scream.

But the body… no longer listened.

It growled—
and lunged at Marenna, fury blazing across its face.

She raised her hands, palms open, pure instinct.

Thorns burst from the ground around her—
a living shield of vines, dense and jagged.

At the same time, Tharion spun and lashed out with his powerful hind legs.

His hooves slammed square into Carea’s chest.

The possessed man flew backward with a crunch, smashed into the wooden wall of a nearby house with a sickening crack.

He got back up slowly, badly battered.
His shoulder hung limp.
His face was scorched.
His breathing, ragged.
But he was still on his feet.

He raised a hand.
A dark glow gathered in his palm, forming a blade of shadow.

It sliced through the air—aimed at Garlan.

The boy reflexively threw up a shield of air.
The impact warped space like a soap bubble under strain.

The shockwave made the walls tremble.
A nearby tree split in half.

Tharion stepped in front of the others, axe in hand.

— “You still want to fight, Carea? You can barely breathe.”

Carea coughed.
A puff of black smoke slipped from his mouth.

— “I can breathe just enough… for this.”

And he charged again.

A new clash erupted—
hooves, blades, thorns, lightning.

Everything flew.
Everything screamed.
Everything burned.

But Carea was retreating—
slowly.

Clearly, he didn’t want to kill.
He wanted to escape.

Garlan turned to Marenna, unsure.

— “What do I do? Do I stop him? Do I… kill him?”

Marenna hesitated.
Her eyes were locked on Carea.

— “Yes… he’s a demon. But his human soul is still there.
And I don’t know… maybe we can save him. Right?”

Carea stopped cold.
His voice changed—
deeper, rougher.

— “Save me?
You still believe in that?”

He stepped closer.

— “You think people like me… still deserve saving?”

No one answered.

He turned to Garlan.

— “And you, little prodigy.
Not a single incantation.
You don’t even know what you are, do you?”

— “You think it’s a gift?
It’s a curse.
You’ll see.”

He looked at all three of them, slowly.

— “By the time you understand… it’ll be too late.”

Carea smiled.
A real smile.
Sad and mocking, both at once.

He pulled out two white spheres from his belt—
glowing with a strange light.

— “See you soon, my little miracles without words.
We’ll meet again.”

Then—without waiting—he threw them to the ground.

A thick cloud of smoke exploded, blanketing everything.

And when it cleared…

He was gone.

Silence fell like a stone slab.
Heavy. Total.

Tharion slowly sheathed his weapon.

— “He escaped.”

Garlan looked down at his hands, still crackling with energy.

— “I hit him without thinking.”

He looked at Marenna.

— “If there was nothing human left in him… then I killed him.
But if his soul was still there…
Maybe I killed twice.”

Marenna knelt, placing her hand on the ground where Carea had stood.

— “It’s still crying. The soul.
I can feel it.
Like… it hadn’t finished speaking.”

Tharion clenched his jaw.

— “We have to find him.
And finish what we started.
Or free him.

But we can’t let him wander in this… in-between.”