Li sat in the back of a Black Securities carriage, his arms and legs crossed and his back resting on plush velvet as he looked outside the window of the reinforced vehicle, watching country road and forestland sprawl all around him. 

The way down to the Chattering Forests from Riviera truly made it evident how isolated Riviera was from most of civilization. The west of Riviera lay frontier villages, and to its south and east, closer to the heart of the continent and the capitol, were still villages, albeit larger and more developed. 

Still, it was a far cry from what Li had read about the rest of the duchy. Riviera lay far west to the duchy, but as one reached nearer to the center or towards the rest of the cardinal cities, villages became rarer, with smaller clusters of walled cities instead being the most common population centers.

Understandably so, considering the fact that walled cities were the best defense against monsters. It was only because Riviera was so remote and, more importantly, had lower leveled monsters compared to the rest of the duchy that villages were still common. Factors that also made it the retirement and investment center that it was. 

Though, as Li thought about it, Riviera was becoming lot less of a peaceful little haven. 

"A question, if I may," said Launcelot from the opposite seat of the carriage. Beside him were his three teammates, though the carriage was large enough that they had more than enough breathing room. 

All of them were geared and equipped for battle, for the Chattering Forests were far more formidable than the Winterwoods. 

"Hm?" responded Li.

"What are you intending to do in the forests? I do not cast doubt upon you, I am merely curious."

"I am attuned with the Winterwoods," said Li. "But not limited to them. I can link myself to others. From your experiences, it is evident that the darkbeasts are spawning from within the forests, meaning that the forest itself possesses a link to the energies that form them. 

I intend to tap into them and, if possible, bend it to my will. With that, I can find a way to not only erase but cure the rot."

"I see," said Launcelot. He looked concerned. "May my gods and yours grant you great fortune and blessing for success, for I deeply fear what should arise elsewise. With the five banners of Soleil about to be called once more, I can only shudder to what the rot may wreak upon them."

"I understand what you mean," said Li. 

When Li first met Launcelot and his party early in the morning, right as the sun was rising, the nobleman had broken the news to Li that in each of the three other cardinal cities of Soleil, there had been attempted attacks.

A strong emphasis on "attempted". The corpses of strange insectoid creatures had arisen in the corpses of various monsters that were nearby and headed to the cities, all emitting the same rot as that which Li had erased in Riviera.

When Li killed Zerzal, herald of gluttony, all of the demon's other bodies had died, and so his attempted attacks on the other cities were halted. Were Li not to have done so, then surely each of the cities would have fallen by now, infested by the eldritch rot.

The current situation was that the duchy had managed to prevent the rot from spreading and identified it as demonic.

The duchess had invoked the Council of Five, a national emergency council comprising of the duchess and all four lords of the cardinal cities, in order to draw the armies of each territory and send them west to Riviera, where the demons were most likely to strike as they had done so every single time they had attempted invasions. 

But were the five armies of Soleil to gather westward, then it would only create a massive body of flesh to corrupt – this was Launcelot's evident worry. 

"But I also do not think the duchess is stupid enough to not have thought about this," said Li. "I doubt she will send a mass of men here knowing they are susceptible to turning against each other."

"And yet, should she not send these forces, then Riviera itself cannot be defended," said Launcelot. "The Lakely Walls can withstand a demonic siege for as long as the mana of the lake remains strong. It has been decades since the last invasion, and the lake has replenished itself, but even then, without mass reinforcements, it is only a temporary barrier staving away inevitable destruction for one week, at the most."

"You have a point," said Li. "And if the duchess knows that the enemy is capable of launching stealth attacks to the capitol, then no doubt she will spread her forces to protect herself and territories more strategically precious than Riviera."

"A thought that I have long considered." Launcelot looked shaken, and Li was surprised. He had never expected the man, a stalwart proponent of justice who had risked his life many times, to look so pale.

"I should not have wasted away my years," said Launcelot. "I should have committed myself to what I knew was truly right and saved as many heroes as possible. I should have pried further into the duchess's matters and found true evidence against her."

Launcelot leaned back with a sigh. "And yet, in truth, I must admit that I was simply too afraid. Afraid of having my noble titles stripped by the duchess, for that would have destroyed my frail and dear old mother.

But now, in light of a threat that rears its head to raze us all, my titles seem so very small."

"Stop moping, it's not like you," said Faye, Launcelot's fire-wielding companion. She nudged his armored side with an elbow. "You've saved us, haven't you? Took Ava and myself out of the slums of Trieste and Celeste from the chains of a crazed mage."

"And I could have done so much more, but after saving you three, I felt it too dangerous to act further, that it would draw too much attention."

"Do you think your fate sealed, Launcelot?" asked Li. "That there is no hope?"

"No," replied Launcelot after a deep pause. "But never have I faced threat like this. Threat that looms so large it has the potential to wipe out everything. You are mighty, I know that, but surely even you with the power and blessing of a god are but one man standing before a flood of destruction."

Li could see that Launcelot, though a hero by any person's standards, was still human. He still feared for his life and the lives of others. He still held onto his nobility in some measure, even if he would never normally admit it.

Though it took what seemed like a world-ending threat to evoke that fear, it was still fear, nonetheless.

Li knew that Launcelot would still fight to the very last breath, that the man could push his fear down to do as much as he could for those he loved and wanted to protect, but right now, the fear was drawing up his regrets.

"Every single generation that faced the demonic invasion before you must have felt the same thing. They must have felt their regrets pouring out of them too because they feared death, and yet, they managed to live.

I know you believe things are different this time, but trust me, a god's strength is more than enough for you to live. Mine-," Li glanced at the bronze shield by Launcelot's side. "And yours."

Launcelot took in Li's words for a few seconds and then nodded to himself. "Forgive me, I showed an unsightly side to myself. And a temporary loss of belief in your success. I hope your confidence in my guidance through the forests is not broken."

"Not at all," said Li. "It is natural to fear death and loss. That you can process it and steel yourself to this extent is a comfort to me."

=============

Two hours later, near noon, they reached the edges of the Chattering Forest. The roads here were distinctly less traveled, and in fact, at the edge of the forest, the roads actually ended. Only a few signposts acted as general markers to guide people through the forest, and it was questionable whether they remained readable and in good condition further into the woods.

Li and Bulwark left the carriage at that point, and Li bid goodbye to Valery, driver of the carriage.

When Li approached the forest, he felt a distinct chill. It was far heavier and colder than that of the Winterwoods before Li restored it. The life signature of a forest that was not dead, but diseased. It was an unpleasant sensation, but one that was still familiar to Li in a way, for there was a side of him that this rot and death belonged to.

A side he had not yet become accustomed to, but hopefully, that was to change very soon.