It was on a night of a certain day, when dark shadows covered the entire sky.

Even the half-moon high up in the sky couldn't illuminate the village below, as it was surrounded by the darkness of the night.

The deep darkness that already existed easily concealed someone's figure, making their ghost-like movements seem ethereal.

With silent footsteps, unnoticed by anyone, she approached a large, old house and stopped at the tightly closed front door.

Her ears, enhanced by magic, carefully listened for any sounds coming from inside, not missing even the slightest noise.

Clang, clang, clang.

These were the sounds of glasses clinking, and even though she was not inside the house, she could imagine the festive atmosphere.

Inside, a banquet was taking place.

In such occasions, food and drink were not the most important, people's attention often focused on the conversations at the table.

She arrived just in time, the banquet inside had just begun, and she heard voices raising to make a toast:

"To the village chief, from representatives of every household, cheers!"

The men's flattering cries followed the clinking of glasses, accompanied by elderly chuckles.

"Dear fellow villagers, the village has been spared from the crisis this time, not solely due to my efforts but thanks to everyone's contribution."

The magical forces had suffered casualties in the war and were forced to relocate elsewhere;

This was, of course, something worth celebrating for the people in the village.

What made them even happier was:

"It seems like the army of the great nation has also suffered heavy losses. I went to the battlefield this afternoon and saw corpses scattered everywhere!"

A cheer of joy erupted, followed by more than a dozen voices adding their thoughts:

"They deserved it. Who told them to covet our village?"

"The more dead, the better. No one will disturb us in the future."

"Our village is free and will never be assimilated into the outside world!"

The villagers were stating a fact:

After the total annihilation of the soldiers from the seven major nations, there was no force that could come and claim the village.

Even the only winner in the war, the rapidly expanding nation of SeroWang, was too busy devouring the territories of the major nations to pay attention to such a small place.

Due to these complicated circumstances, the village returned to tranquility.

The people in the village were all very happy, especially the village chief.

The former was in a good mood because they managed to avoid contact with the outside world;

The latter was in a good mood because there would be no one to oppress them in the future.

Some people are like this, once their moods relax, their behavior becomes indulgent.

As she stood at the door, listening to the sounds coming from inside, she could easily hear the voices of familiar acquaintances:

"Although we have survived this crisis, we have lost a fellow villager. It's regrettable to think about."

"Are you talking about that nun? Ah, I was fine until you mentioned it, now I'm also depressed."

The nostalgic atmosphere spread, even reaching outside through the closed door.

From a certain distance, she could sense the malice in people's hearts.

To confirm her suspicions, she heard someone inside say:

"We won't find another free maid like her. From now on, I'll have to do some of the household chores myself."

"How can your situation be compared to ours? My son even said he liked that woman and insisted on marrying her."

"Just your foolish son who can't even speak clearly in your family? Don't fool around, a nun is not blind, how could she be interested in him?"

"Why not? I even bought the 'medicine'. If it weren't for the relationship with the demon race, I would have invited that woman to our home soon and put the 'medicine' in her bowl..."

It was enough to hear this.

She was sure that the villagers had not changed, so she confidently began to command the elements.

As if countless threads converged, silently winding around a pair of slender hands, reflecting the patterns of magic.

Looking up at the sky and the moon, her eyes relaxed, and she couldn't help but think:

The villagers were not wrong, and the village could not integrate into the outside world in the future.

Because tonight, this ancient and long-standing village would no longer have a "future"!

The village was finally illuminated.

The flickering light affected a wide area, and the rising flames quickly made this place much warmer.

However, after starting a big fire, the girl's heart remained unchanged.

That heart became cold, even though the external heat brushed against her, causing sweat to appear on her skin;

But that heart, wrapped in layers of frost, showed no signs of thawing.

In the distance behind her, beyond the sea of fire that engulfed everything, a transparent magic barrier completely isolated the village from the world;

Ordinary people, powerful people, couldn't escape from it, not even a single sound could come out.

Using magic was unimaginable when that person was alive.

But the girl had already understood some of the subtleties of magic years ago.

Because of her good foundation, she could effortlessly use magic with a level of ten or above.

But there was one thing she had in common with that person.

That was, when they both ended everything with their own hands and faced their hated targets that were about to disappear from this world, they turned their backs and had nothing to say.

The nun is dead, and there is no need to preserve the homeland that belonged only to the deceased, and there are no memorable moments.

Infinite emptiness swallowed her whole body, and under her advancing footsteps, it felt as if there really was a ghost hovering on the scene.

"Sister..."

At the end of the road, a large dog was guarding there, with a newly formed scar on its forehead.

The girl—her name is Cai, perhaps she was too focused, only now did she notice the loyal figure in front of her.

"Little dog, are your wounds better?"

Cai showed a genuine smile, ran a few steps forward, and reached out to touch the fluffy head in front of her.

It's better to be alive than anything else.

When Cai found the large dog on the battlefield and took it for treatment, she really hoped that this family member could survive.

Fortunately, when she was treated after the battle, she found that the dog's injuries, though serious, were not fatal.

As long as it wasn't a fatal injury, healing magic could be useful, which brings us to this relatively warm scene now.

The feeling of being touched was very comfortable, but the large dog not only enjoyed it, but also paid attention to tell Cai:

"Sister, Hawk is coming to see you..."

Before the words could be finished with the final note, all the leaves in this area began to sway in unison.

Along with the flapping of wings, a few feathers drifted down, clean and pure white, like snow and frost.

Among the dancing white feathers, Hawky landed.

She was still the same, except that her feathers had changed color all over her body.

This was the side effect of using [Burning Wings], but apart from this, nothing else bad had happened.

It hadn't been long since they last met, and Cai still remembered the scene of their first meeting with "Big Sister" vividly, just as it was now when they met again.

Even though it had only been around ten days, it felt like a lifetime had passed.

Initially, it was "Big Sister" who had changed her life, and now the latter was trying to change it again.

"I only have one thing to say: from today onwards, we must never meet again. You are no longer needed!" That was the warning.

After that, "Big Sister" did not stop, going back to where she came from without even looking at Cai.

At first glance, it seemed like Hawky resented Cai, but it wasn't really the case.

What Hawky truly hated was herself, the one who watched the boy grow up but didn't stay until the very end.

She deliberately came to say hurtful words because she wanted to fulfill Cai's wishes.

Regardless of whether or not she could accept reality, that person for Cai, and the boy for Hawky, had truly left.

The deceased had passed away, and the living demons and humans had to go on with their own lives.

Hawky felt indebted, which is why she decided to "expel" Cai and allow her to return to her "human" identity, forget the sad memories, and start anew.

This insincere kindness didn't need any explanation, because:

"I know everything. If Big Sister were a human, she would definitely be a much kinder person than me!"

Cai silently conveyed two words with her mouth towards the direction Hawky left in:

Thank you!

Sensing the atmosphere between the two respected individuals, the large dog pondered for a moment before feeling relieved.

The heaviest worry being relieved, the large dog looked pitifully at Cai, and asked her in a lost manner:

"Big Sister, what do we do from now on? After the Big Boss passed away, we all lost our direction and don't know how to live for tomorrow."

Cai understood:

The large dog's statement was already delicate enough.

From what she had learned, it was true that the demonic group had lost their way, and many of them harbored hatred.

If Hawky hadn't taken charge, the demonic group would have already scattered and launched retaliatory attacks on various towns.

Cai also felt a sense of hatred, but she knew how to restrain herself, so she gave the following admonition:

"Little dog, pass this message to everyone for me: don't hold grudges against innocent people, and don't engage in any reckless actions."

"Because the Big Boss and Big Sister are humans?"

"No, it's because if that person were still here, they would definitely not want you to act like this... Never do anything that would make them sad, alright?"

Based on her recent actions, Cai's words didn't carry much conviction.

But the large dog still obediently nodded its head.

It couldn't refuse, especially since Big Sister's demeanor just now was almost identical to when the Big Boss was alive.

After losing their core and being forbidden from seeking revenge, the days ahead for Hawky and the other demonic beings could only be connected to seclusion.

Even though Big Sister didn't say it, and the Big Boss couldn't speak anymore, in the hearts of the demonic group, living in seclusion was an abbreviation for their future...

They met, understood what they should no longer do in the future, and now it was time to part ways.

The large dog had to stay with the others and couldn't accompany Cai, and it was sorry about that.

As they parted, the large dog's confused gaze turned upwards, looking at Cai with worry.

"Sis, what are your plans for the future?" he asked.

At that moment, Cai's gaze shifted, no longer looking ahead or at a distant place, but directly locking onto the far-off future.

"In the future, I will travel the continent, doing my best to improve my strength... and also waiting for that person," she said.

"But, sis, in the cycle of reincarnation, souls may go to other worlds; in the worst case scenario, our boss may never be able to return to this continent again."

"That doesn't matter," she replied.

The sound of the wind didn't cease, and the golden heart continued to beat, silently conveying its message.

Closing her eyes, the protagonist basked in everything between heaven and earth, deciding on an unchanging future.

With a determined wish, stretching in a straight line from the distant past, she finally opened her eyes in the present world!