Collecting Trophies
The dense forest outside the city of Ainari. Waning crescent moon night.
"You devil... May the almighty Vulcan… burn your soul to… Ugh!"
A fire-element ranker who was looking to be in his late 30s was seen saying his last words before his body started to mummify at a rapid pace. His mana storage and his life essence were sucked out of his body before he could offer any more resistance.
The ranker died while cursing the man who had pierced his gut with his pale bare hands. He had worn a weird-looking mask that hid his facial features.
"Did you get it?"
Eren asked Layla who was seen searching for something on the dead bodies of men who had already died and been mummified. She opened the palm of one such dead body and poured a concoction she had in her vial onto it. Soon after, an ID stone was extracted from his wrinkled, mummified hands.
Layla picked it up and closed her eyes to examine it. She flashed a cheerful grin as she confirmed something she was looking for.