Chapter 16 : shadows over stone gate

Ryo stopped in his tracks. The road leading out of Stone Gate was quiet, the chaos of the tournament and marauder attack left far behind. Lara’s question lingered in the air like a blade pressing against his throat.

“What do you mean?” he asked carefully, his hand tightening on the strap of his satchel.

Her golden eyes studied him with unsettling calm. “I’m asking about the life you had before this. Before becoming a courier”

His breath caught. She knew.

The Beast growled low in his chest, its voice like thunder under his skin.
She’s not supposed to know. How does she know?

What is she ?

“Answer me,” Lara pressed, her tone sharper now. “Because if I’m to be your healer, I won’t be blindsided by secrets. Your bond with me will be transparent—or it won’t exist at all.”

Ryo’s throat tightened. He glanced at Aldah and Vix walking ahead of them, laughing like children who had just won a festival prize. For a fleeting moment, he envied them. Their bond was clean, natural. His was stained with something darker.

“I… had no life before this,” he said finally, his voice low.

Lara’s gaze narrowed. “That’s not what I asked. You’re hiding something.”

Before Ryo could answer, the ground shuddered again. A faint tremor, unlike the marauder’s earlier chaos, but more deliberate—like footsteps echoing beneath the earth.

Vix froze, his laughter cutting short. His gray eyes darkened as he glanced toward the horizon. “something is following us.”

“I’m ready,” Aldah said, clenching her fists.

“Not marauders, this time” Vix said quietly. “thieves.”

Lara raised her hand, another violet circle flashing into existence. “thieves, interesting”

Ryo’s chest burned, the Beast clawing at his ribs.

That girl again...

“Ryo,” Lara said firmly, “Whatever you’ve been hiding, it’s about to catch up with you.”

From the shadows of the valley path ahead, figures began to emerge—masked, cloaked, each one carrying weapons pulsing faintly with mana.

The girl above the spider pointed straight at Ryo.
“There he is. The courier with the Beast.”

---

The spider’s leg smashed down, the shockwave knocking thieves off their feet. Ryo rolled to the side, clutching his satchel, while Aldah dashed forward, fists blazing with mana.

“Don’t get in my way!” she shouted, striking the spider’s leg. The blow sent cracks through its chitin, but the monster shrieked and swung another leg at her, forcing Vix to drag her back before she was crushed.

“Idiot!” Vix hissed. “You can’t fight that thing head-on!”

“I don’t care!” Aldah snapped. “She’s standing on top of it—I’ll drag her down myself!”

Above them, the Thief Chief crouched gracefully on the spider’s back, like a queen on her throne. Her dagger glimmered with venom as she flicked it toward Ryo. The blade missed by inches, embedding into the ground and burning through the stone like acid.

Lara stepped in front of him, her violet circle flaring. A barrier of shimmering energy caught the next dagger midair. “Focus, Ryo! If she takes you alive, the kingdom will chain you. This is bigger than the race now.”

Ryo’s pulse thundered in his ears. He could feel the Beast clawing for control, its hunger for battle rising.

Let me out, brat. I’ll rip that spider in half.

“No,” Ryo hissed under his breath. “Not yet.”

The spider lunged again, this time firing webs that spread wide like nets. Some henchmen were ensnared, dragged screaming into the monster’s clutches.

“Damn it!” Aldah shouted. She slammed her fists into the ground, creating a shockwave that broke a few strands, freeing the trapped men. “Go! Run!”

The mean girl laughed. “So fiery. I like you. But he’s the one I want.” She pointed directly at Ryo.

In a blur, the spider reared back and hurled itself toward him. Ryo barely dodged, his satchel whipping around his shoulder. He felt claws graze his back as he stumbled into the dirt.

Lara knelt beside him, touching his chest.

Ryo’s vision swam. The Beast was screaming now, its voice a thunderous roar.

You can’t win like this. Let me fight!

He clenched his fists. “Just enough,” he whispered. “Not all of you.”

His body surged with heat as blue markings crawled across his arms. His speed doubled—no, tripled. With one motion, he vaulted over a spider leg and slammed his heel into its joint. The monster screeched, stumbling.

“Whoa,” Aldah said, stunned. “Ryo… what the hell was that?”

But there was no time. The Thief Chief leapt down, dagger flashing. She met Ryo head-on, her strikes sharp and relentless. Each clash rang with sparks of mana.

“You’re fast,” she said with a cruel smile. “But not fast enough.”

Their blades and fists collided in a storm of movement—Ryo fighting with raw desperation. The spider loomed behind the girl, legs crashing down like towers.

Vix raised his staff, chanting quickly, while Aldah threw herself against the spider again to draw its attention. Lara stood firm, weaving barrier after barrier to keep Ryo alive.

But still, the thief pressed harder.

Finally, her dagger sliced across Ryo’s arm, searing his skin. He staggered, the Beast howling in pain inside him. She pressed the blade against his throat.

“Got you,” she whispered.

Before she could strike, Aldah came barreling in, fist blazing. The punch slammed into the girl's ribs, knocking her back onto the spider’s back.

The spider shrieked and reared, snatching its mistress away into the shadows of the forest.

Her mocking laughter echoed long after she was gone.
“This isn’t over, courier. The kingdoms will come for you now… and so will I.”

Ryo collapsed to his knees, clutching his bleeding arm. Lara’s magic sealed the wound instantly, but her eyes were grim, she looked at the deceased men.

The battlefield lay in ruin behind them. Limbs twisted unnaturally, armor dented and scorched, and the stench of blood hung heavy in the air. Men who had moments ago charged with courage now lay dismembered or flattened beneath fallen stones.

Lara’s eyes scanned the carnage, her expression unreadable. Step by careful step, she moved toward one body that seemed oddly intact among the ruin. The man’s chest rose and fell faintly—or perhaps that was only the wind.

Ryo, Aldah, and Vix watched, unsure whether to intervene or simply stand frozen in awe.

Then, with deliberate calm, Lara raised her hand and pointed. A soft violet light shimmered at her fingertip, forming a perfect circle in the air.

And then, as if the world itself obeyed her command, the man’s eyes fluttered open. Breath returned to his lungs with a shuddering gasp, and he rose to his feet, blinking in confusion.

Ryo’s jaw dropped. “She… she just—”

Aldah’s hands tightened into fists, both awe and fear etched across her face. “Is that… even possible?”

Vix’s eyes narrowed, gray irises glinting with calculation. “It’s not just healing,” he murmured. “That’s resurrection magic. Dangerous… forbidden in most kingdoms.”

Lara lowered her hand, the magic circle vanishing like mist. Her gaze met Ryo’s, steady and unreadable. Ryo’s pulse quickened, the Beast inside him growling softly.
Interesting… very interesting.