The next day, exhausted townsfolk watched the rising sun and finally regained their composure.

Shel found Lofna huddled by the city walls, where she’d spent the entire night.

The little girl had witnessed Teacher Shel grabbing a hayfork to battle the Fiend the previous night. Her admiration for him had only deepened.

Having no idea how to explain things to her, Shel simply entered the city to assess the damage.

After gathering testimonies, he learned the monster had first appeared near the royal palace.

It set the palace ablaze before rampaging through the streets. Countless citizens suffered from fires, flash floods, and stampedes—nearly a hundred casualties.

Even several princes had perished in the disaster.

Hailed as the hero who fought the Fiend, Shel was summoned for a personal commendation by the king.

Inside the smoke-tinged palace hall, the bearded old king sat slumped on his throne. Disheveled princes and their consorts stood stiffly on either side, their faces etched with despair.

Shaken by the night’s events, the king had immediately summoned the mage who drove away the monster.

But Shel could only vaguely recount what he’d seen.

The old king was certain: it was a Fiend.

He also declared Shel the sole hero capable of hunting it down, refusing all attempts to decline the duty.

"Last night, my finest knights fled in panic before that creature. Yet you, Mr. Shel, armed with nothing but a hayfork, stood alone to protect complete strangers. *You* are the true hero! Our safety rests solely in your hands."

Leaving the palace, Shel felt more confused than before—burdened with a task he never sought.

Amidst the chaos, only Lofna radiated ignorant fearlessness.

Unaware of her family’s losses, she only remembered witnessing Teacher Shel’s heroic stand.

"Come on," he ruffled the troublesome girl’s hair. "Let’s get you home. Your mother must be frantic after you spent the whole night out. I’m exhausted too… And don’t tell her wild stories, understood?"

"Okay!" she chirped eagerly.

Just as Shel wrestled with his frustration, a cloaked figure silently approached and tapped his shoulder.

On instinct, Shel spun and seized the intruder’s throat.

"W-wait, Mr. Shel—it’s me…" The muffled voice came from beneath the hood. "I need to speak with you…"

With Lofna watching, Shel eased his grip and studied the face hidden in shadow. Recognition dawned—he was Prince Noren of Ipoli, Hilna and Lofna’s father.

"Teacher! You caught a bad guy!" Lofna, unfamiliar with her own father, bounced excitedly. She’d been hoping to see Teacher Shel fight again.

"Mr. Shel," Prince Noren’s eyes held a plea. "Could we speak privately? I have… information about last night’s ‘monster’."

Shel hesitated, then made his decision.

"Lofna. It’s daylight now. Can you find your way home alone?"

"Eh? Right now?" Her smile vanished.

"*Now*," Shel said firmly. "Tell your mother you got lost last night and I looked after you. You haven’t slept—you need rest. If you wander off again, I *will* be angry. I have urgent business with this gentleman. Go. Quickly."

"...Okay." She trudged away, shoulders slumped.

Prince Noren led Shel through the ravaged city alleys to an unassuming door. A familiar voice called from within: "Enter."

Inside sat Hilna’s mother—the noblewoman who’d once looked down on Shel.

Her condition was dire: a headscarf hid half-burnt hair; loose robes covered bandaged arms. Clutching an Eternal Church amulet, she muttered prayers with frayed nerves.

When she saw Shel, hatred flickered in her eyes—quickly drowned by fear. After a pause, she bowed her head.

Prince Noren removed his hood with a sigh.

"What’s happened?" Shel asked.

"Mr. Shel… that monster last night…" Noren’s voice rasped like iron scraping stone. "...was my daughter."

"*Hilna?!* That was Hilna? How—?"

"Yesterday, my wife discovered you’d been teaching Hilna magic. Enraged, she punished the child—forced her to sit naked in an ice-cold bath.

When that seemed insufficient—Hilna had lied to her, after all—she took a cane to administer proper discipline. But halfway through… Hilna screamed. Black smoke erupted from her skin. With a wave of her hand, she leveled an entire room."

Noren shot his wife a venomous glare. "Then Hilna fled. She tore through the city… until *you* drove her away."

"I only meant to correct her! I didn’t strike hard… She just—" The noblewoman flinched under her husband’s stare, her excuses dissolving into silence.

"*Damn it*," Shel muttered.

Memories of the tiny monster clicked into place.

He’d never imagined Hilna possessed such raw magical talent.

Nor that fragmented pages from his old spellbook could unlock destruction on this scale.

She was barely seven years old—and nearly single-handedly destroyed a city.

A talent unprecedented in centuries.

Awakened in the worst possible way.

Shel felt his sanity fraying.

Whatever that clinging black smoke was, it boded ill.

"Mr. Shel," Noren’s voice cracked with desperation. "Has Hilna become a Fiend? Can you bring my daughter back?"

"I don’t believe so. Church runes didn’t harm her. She’s in an unstable state—overwhelming power triggered by trauma. It’s not just magic awakening. She was *terrified*." Shel turned to the noblewoman. "When you beat her… did you say something that shattered her? What did Hilna scream before she lost control?"

"I said nothing improper!" she snapped. "I only told her not to lie! What’s wrong with that? Hilna didn’t say anything coherent, she was just—

"You claimed she ‘said nothing,’ yet called her ‘shrieking’? Madam, I’m not accusing you. I need the *truth* to save your daughter. Without it, I can’t help her."

Cowed by his intensity—and seeing no support from her husband—she finally stammered the truth:

"...When Hilna refused to cry during the beating, I scolded her. She… she shouted she never wanted to be my daughter again. So I struck harder. She screamed about running away to the wilderness… I yelled back that she was ungrateful… She kept shrieking that I was trying to *kill* her—that she’d call Teacher Shel and Father to save her… Then the black smoke came."

Though fragmented, the horror of that moment hung thick in the air.

Both men fell silent.

Outside the cottage, they stood wordlessly under the broken sky.

Noren broke the silence first.

"Mr. Shel… what do we do?"

"I don’t know." Shel rubbed his temples. "You’re her father. You should understand your own child."

"We rarely spent time together. Her mother handled discipline. My duties kept me occupied."

"Occupied with what? Finding mistresses?"

"Bandit raids. Merchant negotiations. Border treaties…" Noren flushed. "I haven’t taken a new wife in years."

"Never mind that. Prince Noren—what do *you* want?"

"Find Hilna. Restore her if possible. And keep this secret. If anyone learns *she* caused last night’s destruction…" He didn’t finish the thought.

"Agreed." Shel’s voice hardened. "Then we find her. Just the two of us."