Interlude 1

While Lloyd met Yui and was dragged off to the forest, deep within a cave on the outskirts of Ishtar, Allen’s Hero’s Party was present. A few hours after expelling Lloyd, they had taken on a quest and ventured into the cave.

Allen despised Lloyd. Perhaps the thrill of taking Lloyd’s money and kicking him out of the party had put him in high spirits. With a large sum of money in hand, Allen planned to quickly wrap up the quest and go drinking. It would be over in no time, as usual—or so he thought as he entered the cave.

But things didn’t go as planned.

“…Tch, what’s going on!? Why are these things so much stronger!?” Allen shouted, slashing at the golem blocking his path. Despite his efforts, he couldn’t land a fatal blow. With a *clang*, his sword was deflected.

“I don’t know! They’re too tough… My arrows are just bouncing off!” Lulu, the party’s archer, fired from a distance, but her arrows only scratched the golem’s surface, failing to pierce it.

This was bad. Anxiety surged. In their panic, their movements grew sloppy.

“...Golems weren’t this strong before. Something’s wrong…” Miiya, standing beside Lulu, unleashed her signature fire magic. Flames erupted from her staff, engulfing the golem. But, like the others’ attacks, it seemed ineffective. A slightly singed golem emerged from the fire.

“This is bad… At this rate—” Lina stepped in front of Miiya and Lulu, using her large shield to deflect the golem’s attacks. Each heavy blow sent shockwaves through her, and the shield began to crack under the strain.

“Damn it… Why!?” The Hero’s Party was battered, fighting in a state of utter exhaustion—a situation unthinkable until now. They should have retreated, but the idea of the Hero’s Party losing to mere golems was unacceptable. That conviction kept them rooted in place.

Golems were monsters that even a C-Rank adventurer party could defeat. For a party led by a Hero to lose was unimaginable. They *couldn’t* lose.

“That’s right! There’s no way we, the Hero’s Party, would lose to golems!” Allen roared, swinging his sword with all his might. The strike landed deeper than before, piercing the golem’s body.

“Yes!” Relief washed over him. His attacks were working.

But then, from behind the golem, a gray figure with glowing red eyes appeared—a small wolf, smaller than a High Wolf. A regular wolf.

“What, a wolf!?” It must have been hiding behind the golem. Realizing this, Allen instinctively leaped back, assuming a defensive stance.

There was no time to question why a wolf was here. Wolves weren’t particularly strong—not a threat to the Hero’s Party, or so he thought.

But something unexpected happened. The wolf darted past Allen, slipping through the golems toward Lina, who was struggling to fend off attacks with her shield. Gracefully weaving under a golem’s legs, the wolf lunged at Lina’s throat.

“L-Lina!” Even if wolves weren’t strong, a bite to a vital spot in her defenseless state could be fatal.

“Lina, get out of there!” Allen shouted desperately.

Hearing him, Lina noticed the wolf for the first time and tried to shift into a defensive stance. But her reaction was a split second too slow.

“…!” Her shield was occupied blocking the golem’s attacks, leaving her defenseless. But she had to protect herself—death was not an option. Even a severe injury could be healed by Sheena as long as she survived.

With that in mind, Lina used her left arm to block the wolf’s fangs. If she could avoid critical areas like the major arteries in her wrist, she’d be fine. She calculated the wolf’s trajectory to minimize damage.

But another unforeseen event occurred. The wolf, supposedly weak, bit through Lina’s left hand, severing it completely.

“Arghhh!” Blood gushed from Lina’s wrist as her hand was torn away. Satisfied, the wolf bolted deeper into the cave.

“Damn it! Out of my way!” Allen dodged the golem’s attacks and rushed to Lina’s side. “Lina, hang in there!”

He lifted her and sprinted toward Sheena. “Sheena, please!”

“G-Got it!” Sheena hurriedly cast her healing magic. Her magic, far surpassing standard healing spells like Heal, was supposed to have extraordinary effects, capable of regenerating lost limbs.

…Or so it should have been.

“W-Why!?” Sheena gasped in shock.

Her magic stopped the bleeding from Lina’s wrist, saving her life. But the severed hand didn’t regenerate.

“What… Why…?” Allen and the others swallowed hard.

Until now, Sheena’s healing magic had healed any injury, no matter how severe, allowing them to push their limits. That safety net had given them confidence. But if her magic couldn’t fully heal major injuries, they could no longer afford to take risks. A lost limb wouldn’t return, drastically reducing their combat strength.

In that case…

“Allen… We should retreat,” Sheena urged.

“Tch… Yeah, no choice… Fall back!” Allen confirmed Lina could move. “Lina, can you stand?”

“Thanks to Sheena, I can manage…” Lina replied.

With that, Allen’s party abandoned their gear and fled toward the cave’s exit, running like hunted rabbits. Their retreating figures were unmistakably those of the defeated.

“Damn it, why did it turn out like this…?” Allen muttered as he ran.

The golems were undeniably stronger than usual, but that wasn’t the only reason for their defeat. Their bodies didn’t move as smoothly as before. The other members’ movements were slower, their attacks weaker. Sheena’s healing magic was noticeably less effective.

The reason was unclear, but something was different. That much was certain. Because of it, Lina lost her hand, and the party failed the quest. Lina could no longer serve as the Hero’s Party’s tank.

“Damn it… Why…?”

A few days later, word spread throughout the city that Allen’s Hero’s Party had failed their quest and returned in tatters. Eventually, the news reached the entire kingdom.