Assumption

At this moment, a crowd was walking through a tunnel with torches in their hands.

Clyde had a determined expression on his face as he led the group with Agnes and Mika.

He sneaked a glance behind him and saw a father and his daughter walking with blank expressions on their faces.

They were none other than Tanya and Leo.

Clyde remembered when he told them earlier that the Eastern District was overrun by demon beasts and that he was not able to save Jin.

Contrary to his expectations, the father and daughter didn't shout at him nor did they hurt him to vent their frustrations.

Instead, they only said "We understand, thank you for your efforts".

A sentence that had deeply ingrained itself deep inside his heart, 'It would have been better if they just punched me in the face…'

After all, the guilt he was feeling couldn't possibly amount to a mere punch.

Glancing at the lifeless expression on their faces, he couldn't help but feel the tight grip of guilt in his heart.

'If I can only make it up to them somehow…'

Clyde said in his heart, feeling the selfishness behind the thought.

Nevertheless, it wasn't like he could do anything about it; he couldn't bring the dead back to life, after all.

'If only I didn't leave my brother back in our house… If only I insisted on taking him with me… If only…'

Tanya repeatedly blamed herself in her mind with her countless "if only's".

On the other hand, Leo's mind remained empty. He didn't know how he and his daughter could recover from this.

Tiana's death was something that they haven't really recovered that much from.

Now that Jin's death also weighed on their minds, they felt that they were already at their limits.

Glancing at his daughter, a fire was ignited in Leo's heart.

'I can't just give up like this.'

Though Jin and Tiana might not be with them anymore, he couldn't possibly self-destruct and let his daughter suffer more.

Tanya suddenly felt a hand caressing her head.

She glanced up and saw her father's smile.

Also smiling in response, she now felt a little less lonely.

The two of them felt that they only had each other now, prompting them to do their best for both Tiana and Jin.

***

Meanwhile, on Jin's end…

"I'm sorry…"

He whispered softly to Portia as he hugged her tightly.

"If only I didn't insist on–"

"It's fine, Brother Jin." Portia shook her head as she responded.

However, his tight grip on his arm told Jin that she felt anything but fine.

"But, Brother Jin. May I know who they are?"

"I don't know either. But they said that they were chosen by Goddess Illumina…"

"Anyway, let's get out of here first, okay?"

"Mhm!!"

Jin and Portia carefully got out of the corner they were hiding in.

Seeing the ashes of his mother that were littered on the ground, Jin crouched down and slowly used his hands to scoop it and return it to the broken urn.

Portia also crouched down and wanted to help, but was stopped by him.

"Thank you, but I must do this alone."

Jin spent the next few minutes carefully returning his mother's ashes to the broken urn.

Not an ounce of impatience could be seen on his face as he did this repetitive action with utmost care.

Seeing this, Portia could only silently crouch beside him.

She could see the sadness in his eyes.

Glancing at the place where her mother's corpse had once been, her eyes became teary.

Remembering the warmth and happy moments that she had lived with her mother, sadness gripped her heart tighter.

"Brother Jin, why did this happen to us?"

Jin shook his head, "I don't know, it's the first time that a demon beast wave…"

"...of this size befell on the fortress…"

Realization could be seen in his eyes as he abruptly stopped what he was doing.

Sensing this, Portia looked at him and asked curiously, "What's the matter, Brother?"

"Nothing, it's just that it's too strange."

His words piqued Portia's interest.

Jin frowned as numerous thoughts surfaced in his mind.

'The fortress has defended against many demon beast waves throughout the years. Even if there were casualties, it never reached the point where they needed to evacuate.'

'There have been demon beast waves in the past and there hadn't been any signs of something this large happening. It's like…'

'...some outside forces interfered with the demon beasts in the forest, thereby resulting in the drastic increase in the demon beast wave's size.'

As thoughts appeared in his mind one after the other, Jin couldn't help but feel trepidation deeo in his heart.

After a few minutes, he also remembered the timing at which he saw the dark clothed figures.

'Could it be that they had something to do with this…?'

It may sound far fetched, but he felt like he couldn't cross the possibility out. After all, it was too sudden to be seen as a coincidence.

After he was done returning the ashes in the broken urn, Jin placed it again on top of the table.

Picking up the Book of the Sun that he had laid there earlier before attending to his mother's ashes, Jin felt something tug in his heart.

Portia saw the book in his hand and curiously asked, "What's that book, Brother?"

"It's something that will give your mother a proper burial."

"My mother? But the man earlier already…"

"It's fine. Do you know, me and my family believe in a merciful Goddess."

Portia listened attentively.

Jin opened the book and flipped through its first tens of pages.

The pages that held the First Solar Sacrament.

Sunfire Offering.

The runic symbols that were only present in his eyes once again unfolded.

'If what I remember was true, then…'

Sunfire Offering was turned into a technique that set one's weapon on fire.

However, it was originally a ritual wherein believers give offerings to the Sun Goddess in order to receive her blessing.

Squinting his eyes, a smile soon blossomed on Jin's face.

The recommended offerings that most offer during the ritual consists of food, lamb, fruits, coins, and other things…

Some also offer the corpses of the deceased, believing that it would be a faster way towards the embrace of the Sun Goddess.

However, one of the sacrifices that evoked the most reaction was anything…

…from cursed beings known as demons.

Plop—

Closing the book in his hand, Jin closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He then recited a chant from the book.

"Oh Goddess Solana, your humble believer offers you the flesh of a cursed being…"

A smile appeared on his lips as he chanted.

[Sunfire Offering]

Voosh—

Portia was shocked as she saw flames suddenly erupting from Jin's body.