"Max will be joining our group as the fifth member," Diana announced casually.
The statement hit like a thunderclap. The room fell into a cold silence.
Peter blinked. "Oi, Diana! You're deciding that on your own?"
Diana shrugged, unbothered. "It wasn't my call big brother. It's an order from the elders. Sir Thorgrim and Sir Goldgrim themselves."
Alex leaned forward, startled. "Wait, you met the elders?!"
"Yeah," Diana nodded. "Got summoned to their office earlier today. They officially recognized us as a team, gave us a name — Justice Seekers — and handed over the Hunter permit."
Her eyes narrowed. "But then this guy showed up…"
She threw a sharp glance at Max, who stood nearby with his arms folded, wearing a frown that didn't even try to hide his annoyance.
"...And made a mess of things. Since he didn't have any companions to meet the entry requirements, the elders dumped him on us."
Peter nodded, "I see".
Diana let out a dramatic sigh and folded her arms. "Seriously, I've never seen anyone this rude and arrogant."
Max's brow twitched. "...Did you just call me arrogant?"
"Yeah. I did," Diana said flatly. "What, you gonna cry about it?"
Max stepped forward, fists clenching. "You little—!"
"Enough," Peter stepped between them, his voice like fire. The air seemed to grow colder. "You're part of the team now and I'm the leader. You'll follow my commands. Lay a hand on anyone, and I'll throw you out myself."
Max scowled and turned away, but his voice was steady. "Tch. Fine. But I've got one condition."
Peter crossed his arms. "Spit it out."
Max raised a finger and pointed directly at Judas. "I want to duel that kid. Until I win."
Peter recoiled. "The hell? Look at the age gap!"
Max casually approached Judas, who stood quietly at the back, eyes sharp and unreadable. The room's tension thickened.
"How old are you, kid?" Max asked.
"Twelve," Judas answered without blinking.
Max's lip curled into a smirk. "Only five years younger than me."
The room exploded in disbelief.
"Wait, what?!" Diana gasped. "You're only seventeen?!"
Max nodded.
"But you're bigger and more ripped than Peter and Alex combined!" she yelled.
Peter scratched his neck awkwardly. Alex looked away, muttering something about metabolism.
Max shrugged. "I'm from the Gorod tribe. We grow up fast — physically, anyway. Mentally... not so much."
His eyes lowered.
"That's why most Gorod kids get sold off for labor. Or worse… experimented on."
His voice dropped, quieter now. "My little brother... they took him. I tracked the caravan. Fought off the guards. But when I found the cage, he was already gone. All that was left... crumbled to dust in my hands."
A heavy silence blanketed the group.
Max stood stiffly, jaw clenched. But his mind had drifted back…
Max recalled that day,
The iron smell of blood filled his nostrils as the smoke cleared. A caravan of broken wagons burned behind him. Bodies lay scattered — slavers, mercenaries, men who'd made a living from the pain of others.
He stepped over them without flinching.
There, among the rubble, was a single cage.
Chains creaked as he wrenched the door open. Inside, a tiny pile of ash.
"No…"
Max fell to his knees, grabbing at the grey dust, hoping — begging — for it to be anything else.
But when the wind blew, the shape crumbled.
His little brother's bracelet lay half-buried beneath the ash.
Max grabbed it, pulled it to his chest.
Then he screamed, he cried, he mourned.
---
Back in the present, Max's face was still.
Alex stepped forward, placing a hand gently on his shoulder. "We all lost something."
His voice was soft but steady. "I was a prisoner after my kingdom fell. Peter and Diana... they saw their parents killed right in front of them. Judas… he's the last of his whole royal family."
Max looked at each of them in turn, stunned. He hadn't expected to relate — to anyone.
Alex gave a faint smile. "We get it. You're not alone anymore."
Max's hands relaxed. His breath trembled. Tears welled up in his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away and turned his head.
"Tch… Let's get moving already."
---
The Justice Seekers set off on their first mission.
The streets of Ravenshire were alive with chaos. Shouting vendors lined the cobbled roads, booths crammed with magical artifacts, potions, and weapons. Adventurer teams haggled with contractors, flashing badges and demanding higher pay.
A crowd had gathered around a noble-looking woman in silver armor.
An old man was on his knees before her. "Please! Please save my kingdom!"
She looked down at him with disdain.
"Tch. You can't even afford my team. We're A-rank! Buzz off, old geezer."
She walked away, leaving him collapsed on the pavement.
Judas stepped forward and crouched. "Hey, old man. Need help?"
The man looked up, confused. "...Sorry, kid. I don't have any spare food."
Judas grinned. "Not here for food. I'm a magician. So's my whole team."
He pointed back. The rest of the Justice Seekers waved from a distance.
The old man squinted. "Team name? Rank?"
"Justice Seekers! We're B+ rank!" Judas said proudly.
The man sighed. "Never heard of ya… Probably rookies, huh? Sorry, kid. I need experienced ones."
He turned — but walked straight into a wall of muscle.
Max.
"You are taking us, old man," Max growled with a grin. "Am I right?"
The man broke into a cold sweat. "Y-Yes, sir! W-Welcome aboard!"
*cough*
"My name is Sroth," he said nervously. "So… who's your leader?"
Peter stepped up. "That'd be me."
Sroth straightened. "Right. I'm the Kingdom of Lomanise's contractor. Now — individual ranks?"
"B." – Judas.
"B." – Diana.
"B." – Max.
"A." – Alex.
"A." – Peter.
Sroth nodded. "Good enough. Let's go."
They boarded a creaky wooden carriage, wheels squealing as it sped off through the gates. As they left the capital, the landscape shifted.
Ravenshire's colorful noise faded behind them.
Now, the world turned bleak.
The skies dulled to grey. Trees stood like blackened husks. Cracked soil stretched for miles, dotted with rotting animal carcasses. Crows circled above, silent.
Alex flipped through his journal.
"Lomanise… Wiped out by a plague ten years ago. Neighboring kingdoms closed their borders. Then a guy in a crow mask appeared, cured everyone, made a vaccine… and vanished. Some call him a hero sent by Lucas."
At that name, Judas, Peter, and Diana stiffened.
"We're here," Sroth announced.
They stood before the dungeon gate — a massive swirling vortex of black and violet, glowing with a cold, white light. The air pulsed with magical pressure.
Before they could enter, another man sprinted up, breathless.
He pulled Sroth aside and whispered something urgently.
Sroth groaned.
"Ah, hell. The king sent a second contractor to Kharlos too… They brought another magician team."
Near the portal stood a bizarre group — a girl with wild orange hair twirling her wand, a boy clutching a tome so tightly it looked fused to his hands, two swordsmen chatting animatedly, and a shy girl in glasses whose metal gauntlets gleamed like weapons of war.
The orange-haired girl skipped over and stuck her hand out. "Yo! I'm Gorgia! Leader of the Wizards of Hell! Nice to meetcha!"
Peter shook her hand cautiously. "I'm Peter. Leader of the Justice Seekers. Pleasure to meet you."
Sroth raised a parchment. "Dungeon rank is B. Threat level: Beast. Your Mission is to Clear it. Both teams will work together. Got it?"
Both leaders nodded.
Gorgia winked. "Let's crush it!"
---
Inside, the dungeon was a massive forest — but twisted, wrong. Trees stretched unnaturally tall, their leaves black as ash. The ground crunched beneath their boots — not dirt, but layers of dried skin and bones. The sky above the canopy glowed faintly violet.
Diana grabbed Judas's arm. "J-Judas… this is our first real mission. Will we be okay?"
Judas smiled. "Yeah. Master's here. We'll be fine."
Alex crossed his arms. "Hey! What about me?"
They chuckled.
Max stayed silent, surveying the eerie forest with a warrior's caution.
"Let's split up!" Gorgia said cheerfully. "We'll clear it faster!"
Peter hesitated, then nodded. "Alright. Be careful."
As the two teams moved apart, Gorgia spotted something.
"Awwww! Look at this squirrel! So cute!"
"Wait, Gorgia, don't—!", her teammates tried to stop her but it was too late. She scooped it up.
CRUNCH!
The squirrel bit off her hand clean.
She screamed, her blood splashed like fountain.
From the trees and bushes, thousands of glowing red eyes opened.
The squirrel swarm descended.
The Wizards of Hell barely had time to react.
In seconds, they were overrun — screams echoing, blood spraying, bodies disappearing under a tide of claws and teeth.
Meanwhile, the Justice Seekers were surrounded — not by squirrels, but snarling werewolves with pitch-black fur and jagged fangs.
Diana lashed her flaming whip, binding two wolves together in a fiery spiral. Peter fired arrows from a tree branch, each shot piercing a beast's skull. Alex carved through wolves like grass, sword flashing.
One lunged at him from behind — Max caught it mid-air and smashed it into the dirt with a roar.
"Thanks, Max!" Alex called.
"Tch," Max grunted, turning away.
Judas blinked behind three wolves, his blade slitting their throats before they hit the ground. One pounced at him — Peter's arrow took it down mid-leap.
They exchanged a thumbs-up.
Diana's whip coiled around two wolves, and she flung them toward Max. Max caught them with one hand each and hurled them into the rest like bowling balls.
A final werewolf charged — Judas jumped, flipped mid-air, and buried his dagger in its neck.
The battlefield fell silent.
Only corpses remained. Not a scratch on the team.
They stood, blood-streaked and breathing hard.
Their first mission…
A bloody success.
---{end of chapter 11 }