CHAPTER 64: HIS HOPE

"There’s not much you and I can do to put out the flames. How about we talk in private?" Tyler said to Ace.

Still holding Seraphina, Ace nodded. He felt weak despite his outward calm. His hands throbbed as if they might fall apart. With Tyler leading, Ace left the central part of Heaven Village and headed straight to Tyler’s store.

Since it was close to the main gate, the flames hadn’t reached it. It was relatively safe but empty. Everyone had gone to help the wounded and put out the fire.

Tyler opened the store and closed the door behind them. He took Ace upstairs, rented a guest room, and set Seraphina on the bed.

They stayed in the room, watching her. She looked half-human, half-monster, with silver-ash skin covering her body.

Some had cracked and flaked to ash, revealing milky skin beneath, while other parts stayed the same. Flames still burned within her ashen skin.

Tyler sighed and moved her swords away from the bed in case she woke and was forced to fight Rankers again. He dragged a chair over and sat. Ace didn’t see a second chair, so he dropped onto the bed.

Tyler took out a pack of cigarettes. He lit one and inhaled deeply.

"You smoke?" Ace asked.

"Only when I’m relieved and spent, mostly after good sex," Tyler said.

"Yeah. I see," Ace said, nodding.

"Let me be clear. Thanks for sticking up for Seraphina. I don’t think she’s a bad person or someone who’d put the whole village in danger on purpose. She was controlled. I’d bet my life on it," Tyler said.

Ace nodded. "Is there some kind of relationship between you and her?"

"Nothing like that," Tyler said, shaking his head. "She’s the first Ranker who made me think I’d survive this hell."

It was the first day after everyone was thrown off the Train.

Tyler chose a King Class and wanted to support people. Many couldn’t find the guts to fight monsters. They held and used their weapons the wrong way, and no one listened to him.

Tyler couldn’t blame anyone. He’d picked a non-combat class, so he couldn’t tell others to ignore fear and fight.

People weren’t going to follow a random stranger at the start anyway. It was chaos.

"I’m an understanding man. I’ve lived long enough... but even I started losing hope and felt like I’d soon die along with others."

"It was then that you met Seraphina?" Ace asked.

"Yeah. She held her sword the wrong way and even picked up a second sword to make up for her low damage. Unlike the others, she listened to me and worked with my buffs. She learned fast, picked up dual swordsmanship and the way of a Ranker. Before I realized it, she was piling up Black Umi corpses without my buffs. Smiling, laughing, and encouraging others, Seraphina was in her element. For the first time, I had hope. I’ll treasure that moment forever."

Ace nodded. That’s how I remember her from the first life.

He hadn’t seen much of Seraphina or worked with her in his first life. The First Gate had been mainly a learning experience for him.

Still, he’d heard a lot about how she could lift the mood with both her combat and her personality. It came naturally. She’d already influenced Tyler.

If not for Seraphina, he probably wouldn’t have opened the store or endured Rankers flooding it who didn’t want to learn.

"Has she smiled even once while you fought her?" Tyler asked.

Ace shook his head. "No."

Tyler exhaled a cloud of smoke and sighed. "I see... she’s really gone."

"She can be saved. I’ll save her," Ace said.

"What for? For your Sixteen?" Tyler asked.

"Yes."

Tyler finished his cigarette and clenched the butt in his palm. He then held it out to Ace, who took it and flicked it out the window.

They locked eyes. Ace looked serious, but Tyler still had doubts.

"Are you hoping things will somehow go your way and you’ll conveniently get a strong Knight who owes you for your Sixteen? Or do you have a believable plan?" Tyler asked.

"I have a plan with a good chance of saving her. I can’t tell you more because you’re not part of my Sixteen," Ace said.

They stared at each other again. Ace had another reason to save Seraphina: guilt. He didn’t have to tell Tyler about it, just as he didn’t have to share the details of his plan.

And though Tyler genuinely cared for Seraphina as if she were his daughter, Ace also used that affection as bait, a way to draw Tyler into his Sixteen and secure a strong King.

Tyler saw through it and only smiled.

"What was it you wanted to talk to me about? It’s already Sunset. Something unrelated to you or your Sixteen. The Camp, right?" he asked.

Ace sighed. "Swing by the Camp sometimes. Help people get better. I teach archery and teamwork against monsters. Long term, I’ll merge the Camp with Heaven Village and hand the reins to someone else. The current top ten don’t have anyone fit for it."

"The current top? So you believe the ranks will change?" Tyler asked.

"Not everyone will survive the clash with The Conductor," Ace said, confusing Tyler.

Tyler didn’t know who The Conductor was. Thanks to his role, he didn’t have to worry much about this undead.

However, the same couldn’t be said for the others. Veis, Hunter, and the rest would soon confront The Conductor, and all would take damage.

I don’t remember Veis having a permanent injury, but maybe he healed up, or he survived The Conductor without a wound.

Ace thought about them. He hadn’t dealt with Veis or any top Rankers in the First Gate in his first life, but now things were different. He thought about their hidden schemes.

Someone shouted Ace’s nickname. He stood and went to the window. Below, in front of the store, he saw Marko with one of the Three Heaven Kings. The man beside Marko looked a little too eager to meet Ace in person.