Ding! Ding! Ding!

An alarm sounded before the life capsule opened. Akira was surprised as she opened her eyes. She sat up in surprise and stepped out of the pod. She put on her discarded shoes with a small smile because she was feeling very refreshed.

​​

Even though she had been living quite well in the Immortal Sword Valley, she was always stressed. She did not feel like she could spend a single moment of her time resting while Kaito's fate was unknown. Therefore, she could not sleep as much as her body needed.

It seemed that giving up on her quest if just temporarily, was not a bad thing. This thought came with some guilt. Moreover, she could not believe that the best sleep she had gotten since Kaito left was in a strange capsule. Perhaps, she should inquire about getting one.

The doors of the mysterious van opened. She picked her bag and sword and stepped out of the vehicle. She was not certain about her current location, so she held her weapon tightly. It would be bad if she was being dropped off in a hostile location.

Before her eyes could adjust to the darkness around her, the van closed its doors and drove off.

Akira looked at her immediate surroundings and blinked in confusion. She could see nothing but trees. The Luna Adventures people had dropped her literally in the middle of the woods. She squatted to the ground and looked at the small road the van had used in the dim natural light.

The roadway was more of a walking path, based on the lack of other vehicle tracks. The dew-covered grass was undamaged, except by the van. Furthermore, it ended exactly where the van dropped her off. From that point, the trees were more thickly populated.

She looked in the direction where the vehicle had gone.

In a normal situation, she would follow that path because it most likely would lead to the main road. However, her primary goal when she called the number Kaito gave her was to escape from the danger of being attacked and pursued by whoever was after her.

If the evacuation service that Kaito trusted had brought her to this point, it meant that the desired destination was somewhere away from the road. Therefore, the logical action would be walking into the forested area.

She felt frustrated by the mysterious nature of this entire thing. If it were not for Little Precious, she would not have taken this action. She would have paved a bloody road around the world with her sword until she found Kaito.

However, the previous night had proved that she was not able to protect herself in her current condition. If the attacks continued, she would probably end up losing Little Precious and even dying. Therefore, she did not regret calling the number.

Of course, she would not regret it even more if she knew where she was.

Without her phone, she could not even check on her location. Of course, that was a good thing. Only an idiot would escape from people hunting them and then turn on their location services. Still, the feeling of disorientation was terrible.

Based on the dew on the grass and the colour of the sky, she could guess that it was in the wee hours of the morning. That meant that she had travelled through the night. Her mind started to calculate all the possible places she could be based on the assumed speed of the van.

She started walking into the woods with uncertain steps. She kept her sword in hand even though the woods seemed pretty unoccupied. She did not hear strange animal sounds except some squawking birds, but she did not want to take chances.

Her stomach growled in hunger.

She hoped that she would be able to find out the reason she was left in the middle of this strange place. Or at least, she hoped dawn would come quickly. If she could not figure out her purpose in these woods, she could find the main road and figure things out later.

Once again, Ayumi's grating voice and scathing words filled her mind. She could not deny that she felt vulnerable because she did not even know where she was. For all she knew, she was on an inhabited forest or other hostile territories.

She pushed down her insecurities and tried to keep a positive outlook.

After walking for a while, she noticed lights in the middle of the woods. She squinted and realised they were perimeter lights around a property. Her heartbeat became a little faster at the indication of something existing in the middle of this place.

Her steps became a little faster.

She was tired, but the prospect of taking a bath and eating gave her energy. After some thought, she deduced that she was probably at a hidden safe house or something similar. Otherwise, Kaito would not have told her to call that number if she was in danger and he could not be found.

When she reached the lights, she found that it was indeed a perimeter of bulbs, but they were attached to trees instead of a real fence. However, she realised that the property had another barrier about a hundred meters from the circle of fairy lights.

The actual fence was a towering, manicured hedge with soft, warm pendant lights on poles at intervals. The effect was beautiful even in the dawning sky. However, Akira did not have a moment to enjoy the sight. She started walking along the fence, looking for an entrance.

When she finally found one, it was not the main gate, but a small wooden gate that was hardly visible against the hedge. It looked like some sort of service access to the woods. She looked at it for a moment before approaching it. She pushed it a little.

Surprisingly, the door opened.

She smiled as she pushed it completely open and stepped through it with a feeling of triumph. Unfortunately, her sense of victory only lasted a short second.

Her large eyes widened as she faced a handsome man who looked like a celestial immortal fallen from the sky in the warm light. She had never seen such a perfect looking person. Regrettably, his face was cold as an ice block. In comparison, she liked Kaito's wicked and teasing face.

"Who are you?" The man asked as he pointed a gun at her face.