"Are there rare demons in this area? Usually, they live in places not densely populated by humans," Yoichi asked. In his bag was a single empty Demon Tooth.

"Rare demons? Um... I think there's a chance to find some in the Damned Catacombs, a dungeon not far from our next destination," Takuma replied, once again showing good knowledge of the area.

​​

"Well, from the name it doesn't sound promising. If I wasn't in a hurry to find the blacksmith, I'd take a trip to that dungeon. Have you ever been there?"

"Me? Nah. I've never had any adventuring companions, I've always done things on my own, and, well, even a country boy like me knows that venturing into a dungeon alone can be very dangerous."

Yoichi did not respond to that remark. He pulled Ryutaro's map out of his bag and began searching for the name of the dungeon Takuma mentioned. "Damned Catacombs, here it is" - his finger rested on the faded letters of the dot marking the dungeon.

Judging by the hand-drawn pattern, it looked like stairs going deep into the foothills of one of the Southborne Mountains. Next to the name were two numbers, separated by a dash: '3-4'.

"Hmm... if I understand correctly, my master's map says it's a dungeon for parties of three up to four tamers. That means if two of us ventured in there, we would risk our lives," Yoichi spoke. In his mind, the thought that it might be inhabited by a Void Summoner floated dangerously.

Yoichi had no idea what the combat level of his new traveling companion was, but he knew that without his friends, fighting and defeating one of Gonshiro's warriors would be no easy feat.

Meeting Shioko again and saving Princess Sui were his priorities. Inwardly, Yoichi hoped to find no traces of Blackblood in the area.

The Waveless River continued undisturbed to carve through the valley, following the natural morphology of the rolling hills one after another. Pointing his gaze to the east, Yoichi noticed that the Bronzeforest was becoming less and less dense, gradually disappearing.

The trees of the forest receded further and further from view, replaced by a wide, endless plain. From that point on, the distance to Goldhaven was considerable, and the almost total absence of population centers translated into a lack of Crimson Lotus plantations.

"I think I have to pee," Yoichi said, continuing to ride behind Takuma. "All that beer I drank in the tavern is starting to kick in," he chuckled.

Takuma agreed to the request and Yoichi diverted the trajectory of his Inoshuma. He headed towards a small cluster of trees inherited from the Bronzeforest. Beyond the main mass of vegetation, in fact, in the Valley of the Northern Waters, many small forests offered dark shades to the rivers and shelter to their inhabitants.

Without deviating too much from the direction for Oakenfair, Yoichi reached the trees and climbed down from Ichiro's back, jumping near the bank of the river. "I can't take it anymore, my bladder is bursting," he muttered, not having thought about the fact that beer was having that effect on his stomach.

Although no one seemed to be nearby, the young tamer hid behind a tree and pulled down his pants, performing his physiological functions.

Meanwhile, Takuma stayed close to Ichiro, about ten meters away from Yoichi.

*psss* - "Oh, my God. What a relief," Yoichi sighed, feeling an immediate sense of relaxation.

*crack* - "Huh?"

Suddenly, the sound of a shrub coming from behind jolted him. Yoichi pulled up his pants and turned around, sure that he sensed a presence within the small wood.

Before Takuma or Ichiro could realize that their friend had felt a presence, Yoichi sensed something heading toward him as fast as a bullet.

From the darkness of the trees, whose foliage was so dense that the sunlight could not filter through, a long, sharp object tried to hit him in the face.

Showing good reflexes, Yoichi threw himself sideways to the ground, dodging the blow. *thud* - A very long root from the darkness speared the trunk of the tree behind Yoichi, piercing it and popping out the other side.

"Oh, fuck!" Yoichi gasped, trying to alarm his companions.

"Hiii!" Ichiro neighed, feeling its tamer's sense of danger and quickly running towards him. "Yoichi! What's going on?" Takuma shouted, shaking the reins of his steed and following the Inoshuma towards the center of the small forest.

"Freeze! Don't move!" Yoichi yelled again. Ichiro locked its hooves to the ground, making them crawl into the soil and obeying its tamer's order.

Takuma, unable to understand what had happened and relying on the instincts of a more experienced warrior than himself, stayed behind Ichiro, ready to get off his horse and fight.

Yoichi got up nimbly and touched his cheekbone, noticing that it had suffered a small cut. With his gaze, he followed that horizontal root, still embedded in the trunk of the tree.

It was composed of many small intertwined branches and seemed to possess incredible strength. If it had hit him on the head, the spot it was aiming at, it would have impaled him instantly.

With his hand resting on the hilt of the katana, Yoichi shouted toward the dark spot from which that very long, deadly arm sprouted. "Who's there? Step forward!" - the darkness of the forest made it impossible to make out the shapes that lurked at the starting point of the root. What species of wild demon could have attacked him in broad daylight?

As if that mysterious being had heard and understood his words, the root was pulled out of the trunk. Numerous splinters were scattered in every direction as the sharp end of that woody arm retraced its path backward. A perfect hole appeared in the trunk, testifying to the strength of that deadly weapon.

As that wooden tentacle plunged into the darkness from which it came, a sound of footsteps echoed through the trees, alerting Yoichi's hearing. His eyes narrowed in that direction, while his arm was still extended outward to block the advance of his companions.

As the large root disappeared, two feet appeared from the darkness, shaping the body of the mysterious enemy. Above the rough woven pants, a red leather armor reflected a thin ray of sunlight.