Chapter Text
The soft hum of magic lanterns flickered overhead as Alina scribbled through a stack of reports, her expression as sharp as ever. Across from her, Laila yawned and cracked open her third energy drink of the night.
“I swear,” Laila grumbled, kicking her feet up on the desk, “the Guild gave up on the Executioner case way too easily.”
Alina didn’t look up. “Maybe they realized chasing after someone that dangerous was a suicide mission.”
Laila cracked an eyebrow. “Or maybe someone convinced them to stop looking.”
Alina sipped her drink coolly. “Maybe. Or maybe the Guild just decided to respect the Executioner’s wishes.”
But Laila’s eyes caught a faint glow from Alina’s coat pocket. “Uh, Alina? Your pocket is glowing.”
Alina paused, pulling out a small medallion—one Sin had given her. The glow wasn’t just light. It pulsed with warning.
(No... they’re in danger.)
Laila leaned forward. “That’s not just any stone, is it? Let me see—”
“It’s just a rock,” Alina said quickly, stuffing it away and rising from her seat. “I’ve got to go.”
Without another word, she bolted for the warp gate.
As she ran, flashes of the past surged through her mind—Shroud’s final moments, his body broken, his last words haunting her. Her grip tightened.
(Please be okay, Sin.)
At the warp gate, two guards moved to block her path.
“Sorry, miss. Receptionists aren’t authorized to—”
The air around her pulsed with raw power. Her voice dropped to a low growl. “Let me pass, or die.”
The guards swallowed hard and stepped aside.
Meanwhile...
Lowe and Lululee were barely standing, bloodied and gasping, when the dungeon boss cornered them. Just as its claws descended—
BOOM.
A single strike tore through the monster’s chest, leaving only a smoking crater. Alina stood in its place, cloak billowing, hammer glowing.
“Sorry I’m late,” she said coolly.
She tossed each of them a potion. “Drink.”
Lululee collapsed into Alina’s arms, sobbing. “Please! Save Sin and Jade! They… they stayed behind so we could escape…”
“They fought that thing,” Lowe added. “It wasn’t human. And… it already killed the boss we thought we’d escaped from.”
Alina clenched her fists. “Stay here. I’ll handle it.”
Deeper in the Dungeon…
Alina knelt beside Jade’s bloodied form, her hands trembling as she touched his face.
“Jade…” she whispered, voice cracking. “Please... wake up.”
A tear slid down her cheek.
Then— thud. A body crashed beside her, limp and broken.
“Sin!” she gasped.
He’d been thrown like a ragdoll, landing in a heap, blood streaking his uniform. Behind them, the towering figure of the Dark God Silha loomed, grinning with bloodstained teeth.
“You…” Alina's voice turned sharp with disbelief. “You did this?”
Silha licked his lips, amused. “I wonder how your soul tastes, little executioner.”
Alina stood slowly, fury radiating from her. Her Dia Crest glowed, her hammer forming in her hands with a burst of divine energy.
“I’ll kill you,” she hissed.
She dashed forward with a roar, striking Silha squarely in the chest and sending him crashing through a pillar.
Silha laughed as he rose from the rubble. “Impressive. Another human whose technique rivals my own. Rare… and delicious.”
Alina didn’t hesitate.
“Dia Break Skill: Divine Execution!”
Her hammer blazed with searing holy light as she launched herself at him again, hammering down blow after blow. But Silha’s monstrous strength held. He caught her mid-strike and sent her flying, blood spilling from her side.
Then—
CLANG.
A shield, battered but glowing faintly, intercepted Silha’s final blow.
“Sigur’s Wall,” murmured a familiar voice.
Jade’s shield. And behind it—Jade himself, barely standing.
“Oh, still alive?” Silha said with a twisted grin. “You humans are resilient.”
Alina’s breath hitched. “You idiot…”
She slammed her hammer into Silha again, sending him into another pillar. Dust and stone rained down. She deactivated her skill and rushed back to Jade. Sin groaned beside them, slowly stirring.
“You’re awake?!” Alina asked, eyes wide.
Sin blinked. “You came… And you’re in your uniform. Please tell me no one saw you.”
Alina smiled through tears. “Doesn’t matter, you idiot.” She kissed him.
Jade stared. “Wait—did you kiss him?!”
Sin turned to Jade with a smirk. “Weren’t you dead?”
“I heard her voice,” Jade muttered. “Then her hammer. I couldn’t die—not yet.”
He tried to hug her, but Alina smacked his arm away.
“So, uh… about that kiss—”
“Here,” she said, shoving a half-empty potion at him. “It’s all I’ve got. Sorry, Sin.”
“I’ll live. My Ragnarok skill’s already working,” Sin replied with a groan.
Jade took the potion, raising an eyebrow. “An indirect kiss from the terrifying guild princess? I accept my fate.”
“I will break this bottle over your head,” Alina warned.
“He’s probably delirious from blood loss,” Sin offered helpfully.
But the brief peace shattered with a furious roar. Silha rose, his wounds already closing.
“You should be dead!” Alina shouted.
Jade’s eyes narrowed. “Lululee’s healing skill. He must have stolen it. Unless we kill him in one shot, he’ll keep regenerating.”
“And you didn’t tell me during the fight because?” Alina snapped.
“Later!” Jade shouted back.
“I’ll buy you time,” Jade said, stepping forward.
“No. We’re all getting out of here,” Alina replied, her eyes locked on Silha.
Sin surged forward with a renewed charge. The Dark God summoned a jagged black spear, parrying Sin’s blows before launching him back into another pillar.
Sin coughed and stood again, managing to slice Silha’s shoulder. “That’s all I needed.”
Silha scoffed. “Pathetic. Is that the best you—”
“No,” Sin smirked. “She is.”
Alina raised her hammer high.
“True Dia Skill: Absolute Judgment.”
A radiant aura surrounded her as she charged forward. Her hammer struck Silha, launching him once again into stone and flame.
“That light…” Sin muttered.
“What the hell is she?” Jade whispered in awe.
Silha rose, one arm hanging limp. “How can a mere human… Dia Judge...?”
Hundreds of ethereal swords formed above them, circling Alina.
“What now? You’re surrounded. A thousand blades will skewer your flesh and bind your soul to me!” Silha shouted.
“You’re wrong,” Alina said calmly. “Lululee. Lowe. Sin. Even this idiot,” she gestured at Jade, “We’re all going home.”
“Slice her to ribbons!”
The swords rained down—only to bounce off harmlessly.
Silha staggered back, eyes wide. “What—?”
Too late.
She appeared behind him and brought her hammer down with godlike force, cleaving off his arm.
“You… worthless—!”
“I’m going to have my peaceful life. One where everyone clocks out on time.”
She struck again—until only a fragment of the Dark God remained.
Silha’s voice gurgled from the dust. “You think… I’m the only one? There will be more. Another. And another after—”
“Shut it.” Alina crushed his core beneath her hammer.
Silence.
“…He wasn’t finished,” Jade muttered.
“He was going to monologue. That means more overtime,” Alina said flatly.
“(I love this woman),” Sin thought, dazed.
“Dark God…” Jade exhaled. “We really pulled out all the stops.”
Alina turned to them. “Everyone ready to go home?”
Outside the ruined Chalk Tower, Lowe and Lululee sprinted toward them. Lululee collapsed into Jade’s arms, sobbing. Lowe gave Alina a deep nod of respect.
They survived.
Thanks to her.
The Next Day…
Back at the Guild, the world had returned to its usual rhythm—papers stacked, quills scratching, and adventurers bustling in and out. But beneath that surface, things had shifted.
Alina, seated behind her mountain of paperwork, didn’t look up.”I'm glad you made sure the knights will keep my identity a secret but what about my.. but I guess some Adventures do work a lot harder and I thought.”
Her fingers moved mechanically, flipping through requests and reports, but her mind was elsewhere. Still echoing with the sound of battle. Still hearing his voice.
The door creaked.
Jade limped in, wrapped in fresh bandages and walking with that same cocky swagger, though slower now.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Alina said without glancing up. “Shouldn't you be on bed rest or something? where does all that energy even come from?”
Jade grinned. “I'm glad you asked..That healing potion was infused with your love. It gave me miraculous strength-”
Alina chops him in the face. “That said, I would like your help…”
But then her hand stilled. The paperwork could wait.
She set the pen down, folded her hands, and met his eyes.
“Jade,” she said quietly, “There’s something I need to tell you.”
He tilted his head.
She hesitated… then took a breath.
“Sin and I… we’re engaged.We've been dating for 2 years and now we're set to marry.”
The grin faded.
Jade’s heart cracked—just enough to feel it. But he masked it with a chuckle and looked away.
“O-oh,” he said. “Congrats.”
Hours Earlier – The Proposal
The morning light streamed through the Infirmary, Alina and Sin sat alone, away from the noise, just outside. The battlefield had passed. Silence clung to them.
Sin leaned against the wall, one arm bandaged, his other hand holding hers. For once, his golden eyes weren’t hiding behind sarcasm or smugness. They were open. Raw.
“I was ready to die yesterday,” he said softly. “I thought I had nothing left to lose.”
Alina looked at him, her fingers tightening around his.
“But then I saw you. And I remembered why I keep surviving.”
He reached into his coat and pulled out a small box—scratched from battle, scuffed with ash. He opened it.
Inside was a simple silver ring, smooth and unpolished, with a red thread wrapped around its base.
“I-I’m not great at words,” Sin admitted. “But I don’t want a life without you. Not even the pretend kind. So…”
He took her hand again.
“Marry me, Alina. Let’s get out of this mess together, one day. A real life. One where you can leave the desk before sundown.”
Alina’s heart stopped—and then soared.
She didn’t speak. She just nodded, teary-eyed, and wrapped her arms around him.
“…Took you long enough,” she whispered against his chest.
Back at the Present…
Jade gave a small laugh, but his gaze lingered on the floor.
“I kinda figured,” he said, forcing a smile. “The way you two looked at each other… yeah. Guess it was obvious.”
Alina looked at him with gentle eyes.
“I didn’t want to lie to you. You deserved to hear it from me…Mainly because sin thought it would be cool if you heard it from him. I believe he said”If I was to tell him, they're probably be a few punches after what he said in the Tower” which he's not wrong”said Alina.
Jade waved it off with mock bravado. “Eh.He wouldn't have landed a punch”
Alina smiled. “You’re still an idiot.”
“And you’re still scary,” he said with a grin. Then, quieter, “But I’m happy for you. Really.”
He turned and walked off—limping, but standing tall.
Alina watched him go, hand resting on the ring.
One day, she’d clock out on time.
And Sin would be waiting.
With Sin…
The inn was warm, a soft golden glow spilling from the lanterns as quiet music drifted up from the lower floor. Sin leaned against the balcony railing with his red coat draped over the back of a nearby chair, sipping lazily from a glass. The door creaked open behind him.
"Still drinking alone, I see," came a smooth, familiar voice.
He turned, and there she was—Enome North. Dressed in a snug indigo blouse and a flowing black skirt, she carried herself like she owned the air around her. Her blonde hair framed her delicate face, and her blue eyes sparkled with gentle amusement.
"Enome." Sin grinned. "Still as radiant as ever."
"And you're still shameless," she teased as she joined him, sitting across from him.
He poured her a drink without asking. She raised an eyebrow, but accepted it with a small smile.
“I’m glad you came. I wanted to talk to you about something,” he said, serious for once.
“Oh?” she sipped from the glass, giving him a coy look. “Let me guess. You need a favor.”
“Something like that.” He leaned forward, voice lower. “I want you back at the Guild. As a receptionist.”
Enome blinked, stunned. “…You’re serious?”
Sin nodded. “We’re short-handed. And honestly? You’re one of the best we've had. You're sharp, you know how to handle idiots, and you’ve got that... calming charm.”
She gave a light laugh. “You mean I can smile while telling someone to shove a sword up their—”
“Exactly,” he said with a wink.
Enome’s expression softened. “You saved me more times than I can count… from monsters, from debt collectors… from that one incident with the slime tavern—”
“I told you not to take that contract,” Sin chuckled.
Her face flushed slightly. “Hey, I begged for help that night! I was practically clinging to your leg.”
“You were.” He smirked, sipping his drink. “Could barely walk back to town.”
Enome sighed dramatically. “I should probably say no. I’ve grown to love peaceful mornings and tea that doesn’t taste like dungeon water.”
“But?”
“…But I’ll do it.” She smiled gently. “For you.”
Sin’s expression lit up with genuine joy. “You’re the best.”
As he stood up to leave, he added absentmindedly, “Alina’s gonna be relieved. She’s been drowning in paperwork since the engagement…”
He froze. Enome’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“…Engagement?” she repeated, voice soft but sharp.
He blinked, realizing too late. “Ah. Right. That slipped.”
Enome swirled her glass and gave a small, unreadable smile. “So… who’s the lucky girl?”
Sin scratched the back of his head. “It’s… complicated.”
Enome stood up slowly, the glint in her eyes sharpening just enough to hide her disappointment. “You always did like complicated.”
As he turned to leave, she watched his back—and her smile grew faintly sharper.
“…I think I’ll stick around longer than I planned,” she murmured. “Let’s see if she’s worth stealing you from.”
A Few Moments Later – Just Outside the Inn
Elna, a sharp-eyed swordswoman with her long crimson scarf wrapped around her shoulders, leaned against the post outside.
“Hey,” she said as Sin passed.
He stopped, offering a small smirk. “You stalking me now?”
“I happened to be walking by. Don’t flatter yourself.”
Her eyes dropped to his hand—and the silver ring.
“You proposed?”
Sin’s grin twitched. “…Yeah.”
Elna sighed heavily. “Then you really need to stop forgetting who’s watching you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means,” she said with a sharp tone, “if Dimaria sees that ring before you tell her yourself, the damage will be biblical.”
Sin winced. “Ah… right…”
Elna crossed her arms, eyes narrowing.
“You, Alina, and I should talk. Soon.”
“…What for?”
She gave him a tired look.
“Because Alina probably won’t like it either.”