Righteous anger...or mindless rage?

Marla Shrike is not happy. In fact, you might say she's overwhelmed with anger. Or just plain pissed off.

Things haven't been great lately for the Hero Academy's star student. The deaths of friends and a master, strange magical disturbances, mysteries that refuse to be solved, and the small matter of tens of thousands of dark monsters invading the world to kill all living things don't make for happy times.

Things like that can wear on a person, so it's only natural that Marla is a little on edge. Snapping at friends and even her beloved twin brother, though, that's got her thinking maybe it's more than the pressure.

Then there's the nagging feeling, almost a compulsion, that draws her to the south like an itch deep within her she can't possibly scratch.

When she decides to go south alone, chasing the feeling, that's when the troubles truly begin. What does the savior of the world have to do to get a little peace? Maybe she'll find it at the edge of the continent.

Marla's friends hurry to catch up to her, afraid of what she might do, but neither she nor they expect where they end up. And with whom. The world is full of danger, why should this trip be any different? Sure, Marla is mad now, but she doesn't know the limits of the emotion.

Not yet.