This Isn't Art
Blood smeared the edge of the paper, where a black seal was stamped. It was half-smashed, but unmistakable.
Valen. The bastard who'd once stuck his nose into Leona's request. She'd warned him, but he wouldn't back off—and in the end, he crossed the line. Leona made him pay. She left him unable to work as an adventurer ever again, scarring his face with a mark that would never fade. She'd thought that was the end of it.
It wasn't.
Leona stared down at the letter in her hand. Blood stained her fingers.
This grudge I created. The price I should pay... and now Ria, who has nothing to do with it, is paying instead.
But why her? Why Ria?
Her fingertips trembled. Leona gritted her teeth. Get it together, you idiot. This isn't the time.
She forced herself down, scanning the room like she was chewing on her own thoughts. Normally, analyzing a scene like this was easier than breathing for her. Had they come through the window? Broken down the door? How many were there? Which way did they drag her?
But...
Her gaze kept snagging elsewhere. Fingernail scratches gouged into the floor. Blood smeared long streaks down the wall. And clumps of silver hair, yanked out by force.
Leona reached out slowly. Just before her fingers touched it, her hand froze. It must have hurt. When they ripped out her hair, that kid...
The thought hit, and Leona squeezed her eyes shut. Not now. Don't think about it.
She carefully picked up the hair with her fingertips, then forced her eyes to the faint traces of mana left on the floor.
“...Huh?”
The moment she spotted the most crucial trace, Leona's breath stopped dead.
It was Ria's mana signature. But it was grotesque. Not a clean outflow—like a door jammed half-open, mana bursting to escape, only to be twisted, crushed, and brutally torn apart midway. As if it'd been forcibly wrung out.
In that instant, a memory flashed through Leona's mind like lightning.
—Give me the orb. I need to break the contract too.
Ria, holding out her hand so brightly. And herself, yanking the orb away with a flick.
—Not yet. Haven't confirmed if it's real.
It was a lie. She'd known it was real the moment she touched it. But she didn't want it to end. She wanted to keep her close, so she made up bullshit excuses.
She hadn't returned the orb. Hadn't released the contract. Didn't want it to end, so she'd been selfish. Left Ria defenseless in this dangerous room and gone out alone.
Because of that selfish excuse, when the enemy burst in, Ria couldn't even use her power properly—got crushed. I bound her. I left her alone. My pathetic selfishness shoved that kid into hell.
Get it together. No time for regrets. If she's alive, I can find her. I have to. Right now.
Leona grabbed what she could from the room: the silver hair. A bloodied scrap of cloth. The letter. Alone, she'd be too late. There was one person she never wanted to ask for help, even if she died—but she wasn't in a position to be picky.
Izel's workshop was tucked in an alley behind the Adventurer's Guild. Leona shoved the door open. A woman looked up from blueprints spread across her desk. Long hair tied back carelessly. Tired face. Cold, sunken eyes.
Izel.
“What? Caused another mess?”
Normal Leona would've snapped back. Mocked the slow-ass mage bitch.
But Leona said nothing. Instead, she held out her hand. A handful of silver hair.
Izel's gaze locked on it.
“Help me.”
Izel's lips froze.
“...What?”
“Help me.”
Leona wasn't the type to ask anyone for anything. Especially not for someone else. As Izel gawked stupidly, Leona bit her lip bloody, then slowly bent at the waist. The proud head that had never bowed to anyone in her life dropped toward Izel's desk.
“Find her.”
“Please.”
The workshop went dead silent. Izel stared down at the bowed Leona in shock, lips flapping wordlessly before she scratched her head irritably.
“I'm charging you out the ass.”
“Whatever.”
“...Fuckin' hell.”
Izel raked her hair roughly.
“Gimme the hair.”
“Anything with her trace on it. Clothes, dirt, whatever.”
She shoved the papers aside, drew a magic circle on the floor. The silver hair went in the center. The bloodied cloth beside it. Light flickered from Izel's fingertips. A blue line rose into the air, wobbling like it might snap—then locked direction and shot straight.
“West Outskirts Ruins. Abandoned buildings.”
Leona whipped around without a word. Izel grabbed her shoulder desperately.
“Wait! She's not just hiding! The mana reaction's a mess. She's waiting for you. It's a trap!”
Leona knew Valen was calling her out. That's why she shook off Izel's hand.
“You'll die alone, you crazy bitch!”
Swears flew at her back, but Leona didn't stop.
Ria sat on the cold floor. Wrists bound behind her, ankles wrapped in rough rope. Even slight movement made her side throb.
Valen loomed nearby, looking down.
“Don't worry too much.”
Ria didn't respond. Valen chuckled leisurely.
“She'll come. Leona will.”
That name made Ria's fingers twitch. The rope bit into her skin. Valen didn't miss it. He laughed low.
“Though it'll be her last time.”
Ria's breath hitched for a split second. She knew she was bait. Knew they'd taken her to lure Leona. But those words confirmed it.
Valen planned to end it when Leona arrived. Leona. And her. Only one answer.
Before Leona came. She had to end it first.
Dying scared her. Pain terrified her. Even knowing she'd open her eyes again, the moment of death never got lighter.
But this was better. Than both dying.
West Outskirts Ruins. The silent building reeked of thick blood and acrid mana gunpowder.
“Stop.”
Izel, following behind, grabbed Leona's arm through gritted teeth.
“One more step and it blows. Minefield from here.”
Leona halted, glaring into the darkness ahead. Ria was beyond it. She wanted to draw her sword, slaughter everything, and charge. Normally, she would've. But now she held back. Stepping on a trap could kill Ria.
Izel sweated coldly, dismantling the traps one by one.
The wait. Each suffocating second dried Leona's blood. Finally, reason snapped—she squeezed through an undone gap, forcing her way.
BOOM!
A small blast tore her forearm long. Blood soaked her side, shoulder shredded by sharp shards. Still, Leona didn't groan, stepping forward.
“I said stop! Are you insane?!”
Izel yelled, veins bulging.
“If you want to save her, listen to me!”
If you want to save her.
Those words clamped Leona's ankle.
I want to save her. For real this time. No matter what.
Not like clutching her cooling mother amid the family's locked gates and neighbors ignoring their debt. Helpless then.
Leona bit her bleeding lip, advancing half a step.
Finally, an open clearing came into view.
“You're here.”
Through the dust cloud, Valen's scarred face grinned viciously. At his feet—Ria, collapsed and bound like an animal.
“Ria…!”
As Leona lunged, Valen seized a fistful of her torn silver hair, yanking it up. “Nghk!”
“Can you see?”
Valen mocked Leona's wrecked state with a laugh.
“Rushed here so you wouldn't be late this time, huh? Looking like that.”
“The bitch who wouldn't bleed from a stab... eyes rolled back over something this trivial.”
He kicked Ria at his feet sneeringly.
“Thanks, though? Now you've got a weakness I can rip apart.”
A stifled groan escaped Ria. Lips split from clenching to hold back screams. Ignoring Valen's taunts, Leona stared straight at Ria, eyes wide.
“Hang on! I'll get you out right now!”
Leona stomped, traps be damned.
“Run now and you both die!”
Izel tackled Leona's waist desperately, rolling on the ground.
In the chaos, Ria looked up.
Bloodied Leona filled her vision. Arm torn, face a mess—but her eyes burned red, ready to charge.
Ria knew then. That woman wouldn't stop. As long as she was tied here, traps or shredded body—she'd keep coming. To save her.
That's what Valen wanted. Once Leona entered fully, traps full trigger. Leona dies. All because of her. She could restart after death. The agony terrified her. But better than both dying like dogs. She had to end it here.
Ria forced her split lips into a smile. Far off—
One final barrier between them. Their gazes locked in the air. She sees. Hears. But can't reach.
“Ria! Just a bit longer...! Almost broke it!”
Leona smashed the barrier with bare fists, screaming. But Ria just smiled brightly through her wounds, like always.
“Leona-ssi.”
“I really had fun. For real.”
Leona's heart dropped. Couldn't push this away. Had to hold on.
“I'll be fine.”
“We'll meet again.”
Ominous. Didn't fully grasp the words, but that serene face chilled her. Leona slammed into the barrier, shrieking.
“No, please. Ria, no…!”
In that moment, a status window flashed before Ria's eyes.
Would you like to use Self-Destruct?
Using Self-Destruct will result in the user's death.
Upon death, the user will revive in the nearest village.
Leona knew instinctively. The end.
Ria smiled radiantly one last time.
“Thank you.”
With those lip shapes.
Overwhelming light swallowed the ruins' darkness.
KABOOOOOM—!!!!
The massive blast shredded eardrums. “Shield—!!!”
Izel spat the spell with blood-vomiting force, covering Leona. Barely twisting the shockwave—not the epicenter—shattered her barrier; Izel tumbled, vomiting blood.
Leona was hurled back by the storm. Ears ringing, bones aching like they'd shattered. Still, she clawed the floor, forcing her torso up.
Choking dust and flames filled her sight.
“... Ria.”
Like a beast, Leona crawled, reaching into the rubble. Nothing. No mocking Valen, no smiling Ria. Just charred ashes.
Empty air, grasping nothing.
Late again. Late at the hideout. Late tracking. Late right in front of her.
All because of my arrogance. Because I slapped away that hand.
Leona's outstretched hand to the void—thud—fell to the floor. Amid the roaring flames, her world went perfectly black.