The village was already lost.

Houses lay shattered, roofs torn apart, stone walls crushed into rubble as if they were made of sand. Flames flickered in scattered patches, smoke curling into the sky. Not a single villager remained— everyone who could flee had already done so.

At the center of the destruction, a massive Hydra thrashed violently.

Its enormous body coiled and uncoiled across the ruined streets, scales scraping against broken stone. Multiple heads reared up, each one roaring in a different tone— one breathing fire, another exhaling freezing mist, another dripping venom that hissed as it touched the ground.

The Hydra was alone.

But not uncontested.

A party stood before it— broken, exhausted, and barely holding on.

"Hero-dono— get back!"

The cry came from a young woman dressed in a nun’s outfit. She had soft blue hair that clung messily to her face with sweat, and her curvy busty figure trembled as she struggled to stay upright. A long staff decorated with holy symbols shook in her grip as she raised it desperately.

Aoi— the party’s Holy Priest— tried to chant a healing spell.

"Let me heal— ahhhh!"

She never finished.

A blast of fire erupted from one of the Hydra’s heads, slamming into her mid-cast. Her body was thrown through the air like a broken doll, crashing hard against the remains of a stone wall before rolling limply to the ground.

"Aoi!" someone shouted.

Nearby, a tall, bald man with a mountain of muscle staggered forward. His dark skin was burned and bruised, and his massive shield— once a symbol of unbreakable defense— was now split down the center.

Arnold.

The party’s shield bearer.

Tears streamed down his face as he struggled to stand.

"Why... why is it this tough?" he cried hoarsely. "We already defeated a Hydra before!"

His hands trembled around the broken shield.

Nearby, another figure collapsed.

A girl with long, elf-like ears lay face-down in the dirt. She twitched, trying to move, but her limbs refused to obey. Her once-sharp eyes were red and swollen, tears mixing with blood and dust.

Felch— the rogue.

Her fingers still clutched a small knife, shining weakly before slipping from her grasp.

"No way..." she sobbed, voice breaking. "There’s no way my speed couldn’t match it..."

Finally, standing at the front— blood dripping from his armor and sword— was the party’s leader.

A blonde man.

His sword still glowed faintly, and on his forehead, a symbol shone dimly— the mark of a Chosen Hero, bestowed by fate itself.

Hiro.

He stared at the Hydra, breathing heavily.

"Something is wrong," he said quietly. "The new mage we invited... he’s dead."

As if responding to his words, his gaze flicked toward a nearby ruin.

There, a body was impaled on a massive ice pillar— blood frozen mid-splash, eyes wide in terror.

The mage had never even had a chance.

"Why..." Hiro muttered. "Why is this happening?"

His grip on the sword tightened.

"What’s the difference between before... and now?"

The answer rose unbidden in his mind.

The difference between before and now is that Richard is missing in their party.

The one they had expelled.

The one they had betrayed.

The one they had poisoned.

He remembered it clearly— the cursed potion they had forced on him. The way his status collapsed, skills erased, power stripped away. How they had dumped him deep in the forest afterward, calling him a burden.

Richard really died and Tyler got transmigrated into his body.

"No way," Hiro muttered sharply. "No way we’re weaker just because that weakling left."

"Is Hiro-sama... talking about Richard?"

Aoi’s weak voice reached him.

She lay on the ground, barely conscious.

And her mind drifted.

She remembered another battlefield.

She remembered lying wounded, unable to move.

And she remembered gentle hands lifting her.

"Here," Richard had said softly, smiling shyly as he offered her fruit. "This is an enhanced fruit. It heals. I cultivated it with my skill..."

The warmth.

The instant recovery.

Back then, she hadn’t questioned it.

Now—

She was injured again.

And Richard wasn’t there.

Arnold’s thoughts followed the same path.

He remembered being crushed under a monster, bones shattered.

Richard had dragged him out— carried him on his back like dead weight.

"Don’t die yet," Richard had joked weakly, blood dripping down his face.

Felch clenched her teeth.

She remembered Richard offering her fruit again and again.

She remembered sneering.

Looking down on him.

Calling him useless.

Suddenly—

"WAKE UP!"

Hiro shouted, his voice cutting through their thoughts.

"It’s one of the Hydra’s heads!" he yelled. "Poison gas! It messes with thoughts and memories— don’t fall for it!"

The party snapped back to reality.

Their breathing quickened.

They looked around, realizing how close they had come to losing themselves completely.

"Felch!" Hiro barked. "Grab Aoi and get out! I’ll carry Arnold!"

They didn’t argue.

They moved on instinct alone.

Felch dragged Aoi onto her back, teeth clenched in pain. Hiro hoisted Arnold over his shoulder, ignoring his own injuries. They ran— stumbling, limping, barely escaping as another blast tore through the street behind them.

They didn’t stop running until they reached a cave far from the village.

Only then did they collapse.

Inside the dark, damp cave, their breathing echoed loudly.

Aoi finally broke down.

"We... we had no choice..." she sobbed. "It’s because Richard was from that family. The one that person hates. They ordered us to dispose of him... we had no choice..."

Her shoulders shook.

"We couldn’t disobey the person who ordered us. But we also kind of doesn’t like that lowly peasant in our group." Arnold said.

Hiro remained silent for a long moment.

Then he spoke, voice cold and firm.

"Shh. Stop talking about it."

He glanced deeper into the cave, listening.

"We must make sure the princess never finds out," he continued. "As for our fighting capabilities..."

He clenched his fist.

"We were too used to his farm food. The boosts, the recovery... that’s why we feel weaker now."

Felch wiped her tears roughly.

"Then next time," she said loudly, forcing confidence into her voice, "we’ll hire a potion master. Someone who can give us boosts again."

Arnold nodded weakly.

"Right... right," Felch continued, almost shouting now. "We’ll be stronger again!"

The cave shook.

A deep, monstrous sound reverberated through the stone.

Everyone froze.

Then panic exploded.

"RUN!"

They fled the cave once more.