CHAPTER 40 : The Veil Over Velmore

Sakura sat alone on the bench, lost in thought. The memory of the dark fog’s energy from the other day lingered in her mind, filling her with unease.

Kaziel approached her. "Sakura, are you okay?"

She flinched slightly, startled out of her thoughts. Turning to him, she blinked. "Kaziel." She hadn’t even realized he was there.

Kaziel sat beside her. "Where are Anna and Helion? I was thinking of heading into town to investigate the mystery behind the clouded sky. Some say it’s a curse—one that has never been solved, even after all these years."

He crossed his arms, and Sakura’s eyes flickered. At last, she understood what was happening in Velmore.

"Kaziel… there's something I need to tell you."

Kaziel tilted his head, giving her his full attention. "What is it?"

"I do believe it’s a curse… Because I saw something unsettling—a dark energy lingering at the far end of the border. It’s not the High-Greed’s energy."

Kaziel nodded. "I see…" He then looked at her closely. "Is it weighing on you? How are you holding up?" His concern was evident.

"I’m fine," Sakura replied simply, though Kaziel’s expression suggested he wasn’t convinced.

He let out a sigh. "Then I’m glad. I was afraid it might affect your mental state again."

At his words, Sakura’s mind drifted to the Umbral Foundry—the moment she had awakened a dark energy that was never meant to be unleashed. She had barely recalled it until now, but the memory of their promise came rushing back.

Her gaze fell, guilt washing over her. "Kaziel… I—I’m sorry…!"

Kaziel blinked, confused. "Eh? Why?"

She fidgeted, avoiding his gaze. "It’s my fault… I broke our promise. I used my dark awakening again."

Kaziel let out a small chuckle. "Broke the promise? That doesn’t matter anymore."

Sakura looked up at him, confused. "But—"

"It was unavoidable," he said, leaning back slightly. "Besides, Anna and I weren’t ready to ask you and Helion about what happened that day."

Sakura insisted. "But a promise is a promise…!"

Kaziel turned to her with a gentle smile. "I broke a promise once too. And I regretted it."

Sakura noticed a fleeting expression of regret cross his face before he continued.

"I once promised my little brother that we’d leave that place together. But… because of my own cowardice, I left him behind. And I still regret it to this day. A promise I was never meant to keep." His voice softened as he looked down.

Without thinking, Sakura spoke up. "It’s not your fault! I’m sure… I believe you had your reasons. And it was unavoidable!" Her hands clenched against her chest, her eyes full of determination.

Kaziel, caught off guard by her attempt to encourage him, found it endearing. He let out a small chuckle, then smiled. "Then it’s the same for you."

Sakura stilled. He was right. There were times when situations were truly unavoidable. Deep down, she wanted to learn how to control her emotions rather than be consumed by them. It was difficult, but she had to stay strong.

Then, a voice interrupted them.

"Hm~? Chatting without me?"

Anna approached, one hand on her hip, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Ah, Anna. Where’s Helion?" Sakura asked.

Anna tilted her head, thinking. "Helion? Hmm… I’m pretty sure he was here earlier. Why?"

Kaziel stood up, confidence returning to his stance. "Because we need him for our next objective."

Anna raised an eyebrow. "Next objective?"

Kaziel smirked. "We need to figure out what’s happening to this place. And if we do… we might just find a reason to cross the border."

As Sakura, Kaziel, and Anna made their way toward town, the quiet hum of the village surrounded them. Birds chirped softly in the distance, and the rustling of trees swayed in rhythm with the wind. The atmosphere was peaceful—yet, above them, the ever-present fog loomed, concealing what should have been a vast, open sky.

Sakura found herself gazing upward. If not for the thick veil of mist, how beautiful would the sky look from here? The thought lingered as she trailed slightly behind the others.

Anna sighed, breaking the silence. “Looks like Helion’s out again. Probably gambling.”

The statement pulled Sakura from her thoughts. “Gam…bling?” She turned toward Anna, blinking in confusion.

Kaziel chuckled. “You didn’t know? Helion’s always doing his own thing. He rarely hangs around when we’re taking it easy like this.”

Anna crossed her arms, her expression shifting to something between irritation and mild concern. “I don’t mind if he goes off on his own, but gambling?” She exhaled sharply. “Not that I’m worried, but he uses his ability to manipulate chance—seizing other people’s luck. And that’s just wrong.”

Kaziel glanced at her with an amused look. “You’ve always had a lot to say about him.”

Anna frowned, clearly unimpressed. “Because it’s frustrating! He could use his fateweaving for so much more! Instead, he wastes it on tricks and bets. If only he used it for something meaningful—” she trailed off before shaking her head, muttering, “Tch… It’s hopeless.”

Kaziel let out a small hum of acknowledgment but said nothing.

Sakura, on the other hand, noticed something beneath Anna’s usual complaints. “You’re worried about him, aren’t you?”

Anna blinked, as if the question caught her off guard. She looked away, lips pressed together in thought. “…I just don’t get what’s been bothering him lately.”

Kaziel glanced up at the sky as they walked. “So it’s not just me, then.”

Sakura felt a strange sense of understanding settle in. It wasn’t just her who had noticed the shift in Helion’s behavior. Both Kaziel and Anna had sensed it too.

“Helion’s never been the type to open up,” Anna said, kicking a small rock in her path. “He just keeps everything to himself.”

Kaziel nodded. “Yeah… It’s hard to get anything out of him. All we really know is that he’s one of the last foxes with fateweaving abilities. His origins are unknown, and whatever traditions his kind followed have long been lost. He’s always been on his own.”

Sakura absorbed the weight of his words. “So that’s why he always acts so distant?”

“Pretty much,” Anna confirmed. “He used to avoid us completely. Didn’t want to join our party, and when we got too close, he used fateweaving against us just to keep his distance.”

A small, nostalgic smirk tugged at Kaziel’s lips. “Well, that’s because I never gave up on recruiting him.”

Anna rolled her eyes. “You never give up on people, do you?”

Sakura chuckled softly. She, too, remembered how relentless Kaziel had been when trying to recruit her into the party.

Anna sighed, resting a hand on her hip. “In the end, we had to outsmart him. Instead of letting him decide our fates, we followed our instincts. I forced him into a binding contract, offering him a deal when he had no way out.”

Sakura tilted her head. “A deal?”

Anna nodded. “Back then, he was trapped inside a High-Greed’s domain. He tried to fight, but fateweaving wouldn’t work against Dominic Veil’s Greed. It was his weakness.”

The memory played vividly in Anna’s mind. Helion, surrounded on all sides by monstrous figures, his usual confidence cracking as realization dawned upon him. Above, Anna and Kaziel had stood, offering a way out.

“He didn’t have a choice. And yet, in the end, he chose to stay.” Anna glanced at Kaziel, who nodded in agreement.

Sakura finally understood. Even Helion had been caught off guard by them. Trapping him into Anna’s contract was a bold move—one that ensured he wouldn’t escape so easily. Even now, though the contract had long since been lifted, he remained with them.

A thought crossed her mind. “…Even after all these years, he still sticks around.”

Anna huffed, crossing her arms. “Yeah, well, that’s the only good thing about him! Because he still refuses to open up to us!”

Kaziel sighed, sensing another rant coming.

“It’s been years! And he still acts so cold and dismissive whenever we try to understand him!” Anna’s voice grew more heated. “It’s like we don’t even matter to him! We just want to know what’s going on so we can be prepared! Isn’t that what a party is supposed to do?! But no—he just stays silent, acts like we’re all fools, and—”

“How much longer are you going to insult me?”

A voice cut through Anna’s complaints like a blade.

All three of them jolted in shock.

“H-Helion!? When did you—?!” Kaziel stammered.

Helion stood there, arms crossed, his golden eyes unreadable. “I’ve been here since you started talking behind my back.”

Anna quickly looked away, whistling. “Y-You heard nothing.”

“I heard everything.”

Anna turned back, her irritation replaced by something more serious. “Then tell us. What’s been bothering you?”

Kaziel and Sakura watched closely, silent with anticipation.

Helion’s eyes flickered between them, but when they landed on Sakura, something shifted.

For a moment, he stiffened.

A shadow passed over his face.

Sakura wasn’t sure why, but the look in his eyes unsettled her. It was as if he saw something… something terrifying.

His voice was quiet when he finally spoke. “You’re not ready yet. So I can’t tell you.”

Anna’s frustration simmered down. She exhaled, her expression softened slightly before she looked back up at him worriedly. “…If you say so. But when you are ready, promise you’ll tell us.”

Helion’s ears twitched slightly.

The threads of fate had told him to expect resistance. To expect them to push for answers.

Yet, for some reason… they didn’t.

Instead, Kaziel and Sakura simply smiled, their instincts telling them not to pry.

Kaziel took a step forward before glancing back at him. “Helion, wanna join us?” He smiled, his tone light yet sincere.

Helion’s eyes widened slightly at the unexpected invitation. For a brief moment, he hesitated—then, without a word, he fell into step beside them.

The tension loosened, if only slightly.

With that, the four of them resumed their walk, the town awaiting them ahead.

As they entered the town, a wave of excitement spread through the crowd. Girls swarmed around them like an uncontrollable fanbase, their voices rising in high-pitched squeals. Even some of the men greeted Kaziel with a bit too much enthusiasm.

Kaziel felt a chill run down his spine as a man practically leaned into his space, grinning.

“Kaziel-kyun~! ❤️”

Kaziel flinched, his entire body stiffening. Why is he calling me that?!

Meanwhile, Helion looked as unimpressed as ever, arms crossed as a group of giggling girls hovered around him. The two of them had grown used to this kind of attention, but that didn’t mean they enjoyed it.

Sakura, watching the chaos unfold, suddenly recalled something Kaziel had once told Helion…

"Helion! Please, do something with your fateweaver to make the girls stop chasing us!"

Kaziel had been so desperate, he actually bowed before Helion, pleading with him.

Helion, completely unmoved, simply crossed his arms. His fluffy tail flicked lazily in disapproval. “It doesn’t work that way. You can’t just use fateweaving for petty things.”

Kaziel stared at him in disbelief. “Huh!? But you use it all the time!”

Helion raised an eyebrow. “Like what?”

Kaziel pointed at his tail. “Like when we try to touch your tail! You use fateweaving to dodge us, don’t you?!”

Anna, arms crossed, smirked. “Yeah, yeah. And you use it for gambling, too, don’t you?”

Helion had simply shrugged, saying nothing.

Back in the present, their fan club continued to grow, and to no one’s surprise, Helion suddenly accepted a handful of food offered to him by some villagers. His tail twitched in interest as he casually nibbled on the treat, clearly unbothered by the attention.

Sakura noticed this immediately. So that’s all he really cares about, huh? The food.

It didn’t take long for their focus to shift, though. As they neared the coastline, the lively atmosphere of the town faded behind them.

Sakura’s steps slowed.

There it was.

The dark energy.

Unlike before, it was completely visible to her now. A looming presence, lingering near the borderline.

Kaziel noticed her gaze. His expression turned serious. “You see it too, don’t you?”

Sakura gave a small nod. “It leads to the borderline.”

One of the girls nearby overheard them and gasped. “Oh! The borderline! No one dares to cross it! No one even knows what lies beyond…”

Another girl stepped closer, fluttering her lashes. “Kaziel-kun, please be careful, okay? There have been lots of Greeds spotted near the border~”

Her flirtatious tone made Anna’s expression darken. With an eerie smile, she smoothly stepped in front of Kaziel, cutting off the conversation.

“Oh, I believe he’s more than strong enough to handle that. So can you back off~?”

Crossing arms, Anna's look in her eyes made the girls took a step back.

“W-we know~” they mumbled before hurriedly leaving.

One of them muttered under her breath. “Geez… what’s wrong with her?”

Anna let out an annoyed sigh, rolling her shoulders.

Kaziel and Sakura exchanged a nervous glance.

“Th-thanks… Anna,” Kaziel mumbled, still recovering from the ordeal.

Meanwhile, Helion flipped a coin in his hand, his eyes scanning the distant borderline.

“Unsettling area, huh…” He caught the coin midair before pocketing it. “We should talk to the villagers nearby—see what they know.”

Kaziel’s mind drifted back to what Grandpa Otto had told them about the mystery. The curse, the shrouded sky—what if there was more to it than they realized?

If they could gather information from the villagers, they might uncover something crucial.

"That’ll work too," Kaziel murmured, nodding to himself.

With that thought, their next course of action became clear.

Helion, Sakura, and Anna quickly followed, their focus now shifting toward uncovering the mystery lurking beyond the mist.