A warm portal cracked open in the air like light tearing through space.

  From it, Leo stepped out—his figure illuminated briefly by the fading sun behind him. The air shifted around the camp as people turned. The goblins, humans, and demi-humans all paused their work.

  Then cheers echoed across the makeshift village.

  "Leo's back!"

  Children waved. Adults smiled in relief. Even the goblins grinned in their own awkward way.

  Among them, Lia broke into a run. "Big brother!!" she cried out, beaming.

  But as she neared, her smile faltered.

  Leo stood there, slightly hunched. One hand pressed firmly to the side of his head. His brows were drawn tight in pain, though he wore a crooked smile.

  Lia slowed. "Big brother… are you alright?"

  Leo forced a chuckle, though his voice trembled. "Yeah… just a little headache, Lia. Don't worry—"

  His legs gave out.Thud

  "Leo!!"

  He collapsed, hitting the ground with a dull thud.

  Panic spread instantly. Lyra, Lili, and several others rushed over as Lia dropped to her knees beside him, shaking his shoulders.

  "Big brother—! Big brother!!"

  The sun had dipped beneath the horizon. A pale purple glow lit the quiet camp. Inside one of the small log-leaf houses, Leo lay on a bed of woven leaves and soft moss.

  Lia sat beside him, holding his hand tightly. She hadn't moved for hours.

  Lili stood nearby with her arms folded, watching Leo's slow, steady breathing.

  "It's okay, Lia," she finally said gently. "Your brother just needs rest. That's all."

  She let out a tired sigh and glanced at Leo, then added with a grumble, "He hasn't been sleeping, has he? This fool... I should've known he was pushing himself too far."

  She scratched her head. "I should've noticed earlier. That's my mistake."

  "No." Lyra's voice joined quietly. She was standing on the other side of Leo, her hand resting lightly on his blanket of moss. "It's not your fault, Lili. It's mine. I've been with him since the beginning… and I didn't see it either. I just… let him carry everything alone."

  They both turned toward each other.

  And then—unexpectedly—they chuckled.

  A tired, sincere laugh.

  Lili smirked. "Maybe it's everyone's mistake then."

  Lyra nodded. "Yeah."

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  Lia looked up at them with wide eyes. She sniffled, then softly smiled.

  Lili knelt beside her. "But Lia… can you do something for us?"

  "What is it?" she asked.

  "Go tell the others that Leo's okay. He's not hurt—he just needs sleep. Everyone's been worried."

  Lia hesitated. "But…"

  Lyra stepped in, brushing a hand gently through Lia's hair. "We're staying here with him. He'll be fine, okay? and you also need to take care of yourself, Lia. You haven't eaten. You haven't washed up. And you know what will happen if you fall sick, right?"

  Lia's eyes dropped. She clutched Leo's hand a little tighter before finally nodding.

  "…Okay."

  She stood up slowly and leaned over Leo, whispering, "Bye, big brother. I'll come back soon."

  She kissed his forehead and left the hut, the lantern light flickering behind her as the door closed softly.

  Lili exhaled. "That girl loves him too much."

  Lyra smiled faintly. "Well he's important to everyone. So… yeah. We all do."

  The soft flickering light from the oil lamp cast gentle shadows across the walls of the hut.

  Leo lay silently, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm, finally at rest. Lyra sat beside him, gently brushing his bangs aside with a delicate touch.

  But then, her eyes narrowed.

  His hair.

  It had grown… subtly but unnaturally fast. Not only that—its color had shifted, now threaded with hints dark black ,where once it was a soft, natural silver.

  "…Lili," Lyra whispered, her voice unusually serious.

  Lili, who had just leaned against the wall with a yawn, blinked. "Huh? What?"

  Lyra's eyes didn't leave Leo's hair. "What's happening to him? I've been with him long enough to notice… his hair's changing. It's growing faster. The color's not natural either. What's going on? I am pretty sure it wasn't before was it?"

  Lili's eyes widened slightly, then… she smiled.

  "Hah. You noticed," she said with a half-grin as she walked over and sat cross-legged beside Leo's bed. "That's good. You're more observant than you look, forest girl."

  Lyra frowned. "Lili."

  "I know, I know," Lili waved her hands in mock surrender, then scratched the back of her head. "Alright, sit down. This is gonna take a bit."

  Lyra hesitated, then sat across from her.

  Lili's voice softened. "So you if you know just recently Leo has defeated Hero. Well because he defeated a hero recently, and has been wielding a dangerous class of magic also known as—demon magic—on a large scale without rest, and he also contains the essence of demon king something incredible happened."

  Lyra stared at Leo's changing hair again.

  "His mana core evolved," Lili said, her voice dropping into reverent awe. "He transcends the normal human limitations."

  "…What does that mean?" Lyra asked.

  Lili's tone turned serious. "It means he's no longer on the path of regular adventurers or even heroes. He's walking toward a level of power where his body itself will begin to change. And his hair changing? That's just a side effect."

  "But why now?" Lyra frowned.

  "I'm guessing…" Lili closed her eyes thoughtfully. "His constant domain manipulation. The pressure of using high-tier demon magic. Fighting that hero. And he was doing all this while keep pushing himself on his limits."

  Lyra reached out and gently took Leo's hand in hers, her fingers wrapping around his like a silent vow.

  "I don't care how powerful he becomes," she whispered. "He's already done enough. He doesn't need to climb anymore…"

  Lili didn't say anything at first.

  But inwardly, she smiled.

  'Good work Leo. You could rest now'

  At the same time, Lia came out of the house. Many people were wandering around, waiting for Leo. Lia didn't know most of them, but she saw Zack and Sara talking with each other at the edge of the house.

  She ran to them, and when she arrived, she was breathing heavily. Sara knelt before her and asked gently, "What happened, Lia?"

  Lia took a breath and said, "Big sis Lili and Lyra said everything is fine. Big brother was just exhausted. He will come back soon after some rest, so the other people could also rest now. There's nothing in danger."

  Sara smiled and said, "That's good. I'll tell everyone this now."

  Sara then moved a little way off and loudly announced, "Leo is fine. He just wants rest, and he also wants all of you to stop worrying about him and just rest, or you can get back to your work."

  The people looked at each other and felt a sense of relief, realizing that Leo was no longer in danger. Slowly, each and every one of them left to do their own work.