Their excursion in the unknown lands of Archiland came to a startling halt when they reached the burning wreck of yet another village. Contrary to the previous ones, this one was noticeably bigger—and due to its size, the destruction was even more evident. Under the colorful sky, and the pale moonlight, the corpses were like squashed mosquitos.

Of course, Jered and Evelyn were not fazed by that. What made the difference was the fact that there was a survivor. Jered stared at the rather burly man stuck between two slabs of rubble. His body was a mangled mess, but his breathing was unyielding.

The man's grey-ish skin was caked in a layer of fresh blood, his goat-horns broken in the middle. Whoever had done this to him, had done it recently. Which meant that they had probably just missed them. Evelyn nudged Jered's arm, "What do we do?"

He didn't say anything. What was there to say? Their next course of action would be decided based on what they could wring out of the Dark Human. Therefore, he walked up to him, his mana flaring threateningly. The Dark Human coughed, blood bubbling out of his lips, and then slowly looked up at Jered.

Anger.

Resentment.

Sadness.

Despair.

There was no light in his eyes, just a burning hatred that shifted from one emotion to the next.

Jered was not moved by that, he crouched down in front of the Dark Human, "You're dying," he said simply.

A chuckle rippled somewhere in his rattling, weak breathing, "Y-You... d-don't... say?"

"Who did this to you?"

The man considered his question with innocent incredulity. Then he flashed him a bloody smile, "You."

"Me?"

"Hu...ma...ns..."

His words were spat out through gritted teeth, and a mouthful of blood. Just as Jered chewed over his next words, the Dark Human continued in the same grim, bloodthirsty rumble.

"El...ves..."

"Dw..ar...ves..."

"Fa...e..."

"De...mo...ns..."

Evelyn was not comfortable with what she heard, but opted to stay silent.

It was just as she had described. It looked like every single race was ganging up on Dark Humans. While he could understand their paranoia, annihilating a whole race because of their pedigree was a bit over the top. Then again, it was not like Jered would launch a campaign to stop this madness. If it didn't involve him, he wouldn't get involved.

Tears fell over the Dark Human's broken, apoplectic expression. The way he was looking at Jered said it all. If he could, he would stand up and rip him apart. It was not even due to a personal vendetta against Jered. He was just wishing death upon his race.

"We should go," Evelyn frowned. Even with her good nature, the woman didn't think of rescuing the Dark Human—not that he could be rescued anyway.

Jered didn't budge under the man's piercing gaze, "Do you know what this is?" he showed him the book he found in one of the villages they passed by.

The Dark Human's reaction was more explosive than he thought.

"THIEF! TH...IEF!" he coughed more globs of blood, "Put... it... back!"

"So you're not going to tell me what this is?"

"Fuck... you..."

Jered stood back up with a nod, "Evelyn, let's go," he said dismissively, and before turning around, he fired a 'Giza's Gaze' through the man's head.

The light in his eyes dimmed as a pool of blood flowered beneath his head.

"This just tells me that should we ever stumble upon a village of Dark Humans, this is the kind of reception we'll get," he said with an amused chuckle, something that Evelyn didn't share, "Oh come on, don't stare at me like that."

She shook her head, "Not a good time for jokes."

He shrugged, "Just trying to lighten up the mood. At this point, we'll either meet those Hitler-wannabes, or a still very much yet-to-be-fucked village of Dark Humans. And I don't know which of them will be the least aggressive towards us."

"You're right," she concurred, "But I doubt that the Magicians will be hostile. We're not Dark Humans. There shouldn't be any problem even if we happen to cross paths with them."

Jered didn't mind taking the risk, so he offered her a nod, and resumed their march through the wasteland.

At some point, it started to rain. It was unknown how different the weather in Archiland was, or how affected it was by abundant waves of mana. Evelyn was rather distraught, either by the Dark Human or their previous conversation. He doubted she was still hung up on the activity they shared hours prior. He would have been disappointed if she was.

Eventually, the wasteland gave way to a more vibrant flora. No more villages or settlements were found. They must have skirted around them by setting off on different routes each hour—it was a toss-of-a-coin kind of decision since they didn't know the place's topography. And well, it was either that, or it was safe to believe that all of them were razed down.

A forest was hovering right above the horizon, which was good news. They could probably find fruits and critters there.

... of course, Jered was not stupid to think that there wasn't anyone there. It was the only habitable belt within a hundred miles of dry, deserted land. There were too many living species to keep track of in Archiland. Some of them were bound to be there. Evelyn gave it a critical eye, though from that distance there was no way she could find anything amiss. The curtain of rain didn't make it any easier either.

So they marched on.

"You think it's a good idea?" she asked as they slowly approached the stretch of forestland.

"Who knows?" he smiled ambiguously, "Do you have any alternatives?"

She shook her head.

"Mm-mm. Just be careful, we might be greeted by more Wolfkins. Well, as long as there isn't another Alpha, we should be fine," Jered felt the brush of mana traveling through his veins. It was what backed up his confidence against the furry motherfuckers. Just in case, though, he spread his 'Mana Sense' when the edge of the forest zoomed in.

For a lack of better terms, the trees were colossal. And not only that.

While it was not noticeable at first, now that they were close, it certainly was.

The wooden pillars were twisted, growing from gnarled roots that poked out of the ground. And carved on the trunk were faces—each of them wearing a different expression. The most common one was of pain, followed by furrowed brows and the downturned smile of sadness. And if you looked away for a fleeting moment, from the corner of your eyes, you could have caught them shifting slightly.

"Well, isn't this spooky?" Jered laughed at the ridiculousness of it all—though, in hindsight, it made sense. It was a magical land, after all.

"This looks a warning sign," Evelyn mumbled, looking around, "But it's either this or the mountains..."

A glowing mist swirled around the shrubs.

"Familiar, isn't it?"

She nodded, "Little Spirit Forest."

"Except for the faces," Jered inched closer to a tree, and lay a hand upon the gnarled, frowning face on the bark. It didn't feel any different from a regular tree, yet he couldn't help but think that those expressions were alive, following his every move. It reminded him of that time at the asylum. No ghosts might have been present, but something else surely was skulking around.

"Evelyn, what do you think?"

She scrunched up her face in thought, "I do know of some peculiar forests in Archiland. But none with such characteristics comes to my mind. I really don't know where we are."

He nodded, "Should we hope there is someone here who could give us directions, or no one at all?"

"Why would you hope for someone to be here?"

"It would be the fastest way to get any intel about this place. You're right, though. Usually, I don't judge a book by its cover, but this place doesn't look a place where any sane living being would consider living in."

"So, what do we do?"

It was crazy how much she was deferring to Jered's decisions, but she trusted him.

"What do you think? We go in, of course!"

... hmm, maybe that was a bad idea.

Evelyn sighed.

"Who are those two?"

A voice barked out within the veneer of darkness covering its throne.

The forest's thick canopy make it impossible for the moonlight to trickle in, so the white mist was the only source of light.

"Humans, my liege," a second voice joined in, considerably respectful of the first one but still managing to spat out the disdain it held for the intruders, "Which is rather... strange, for there shouldn't be any humans gallivanting around the Abyss Gulf. What shall we do, my Lord?"

A thoughtful hum sounded out.

"Do you recognize them?"

"No, sir."

Then came the tapping of fingers against the skull-embroidered armrest.

"Should be wary of them?"

"Not the woman," the second voice replied solemnly.

"What about the kid?"

Hesitation rattled his voice, "He's... an Elder Magician, presumably."

"Explain."

"We can't be sure that our readings are correct for the humans are still quite far from this location, but the mana wavelengths are unmistakable."

"You seem to be conflicted, Caman," the Lord spoke with a touch of amusement, "You refuse to believe that that human child has gotten to the same level that made you my right hand, hm?"

"..."

"That's understandable, but nothing you should concern yourself with. What do you advise, Caman? Get rid of them or let them through? Certainly, an Elder Magician so young must belong to an influential organization. Make sure there isn't an Arch-Magus tagging along with them, hiding from our radar."

"Right away, sir."

And so Caman was gone.

From behind the throne, a shadow unveiled within the mist's dim light.

"Father," whispered cautiously a soft, feminine voice.

A woman with skin as white as the moon, and eyes that were blessed by the Abyss itself, lowered her head before the towering figure on the throne. Her raven hair fell down her back like a waterfall of silky, obsidian threads, "Seline, raise your head," the Lord rumbled out, his authoritarian voice caressed by a tinge of softness, "How are you?"

"Better," she said bitterly, tilting her chin up to meet her father's gaze.

There was no man in this world that could ever hope to enclose Seline's beauty in one word. At least, no one would dare to.

Her heart-shaped face must have been sculpted by the sinful hand of a God.

Her puffy, crimson-red lips would either taste bloody or sweet, depending on how much she loved you.

Her eyelashes fluttered like a crown of black petals above her eyes, those too, as dark as black holes.

She was clothed in a black, mournful goth dress with lace bell sleeves. The skirt's hemline stopped at her ankles, with a side cut on her thigh, giving a brief glimpse of the creamy flesh underneath. While the attire was extravagant, and a well fit for her curvaceous physique, she didn't wear it because she liked it.

"I'm glad to hear that," the Lord intoned, "Nevertheless, I must caution you not to reveal what transpired between us to anyone. It was a mistake on my part, and for that, I apologize. And shall keep doing so until you find it in yourself to forgive me."

"Yes, father," Seline replied robotically.

She couldn't bring herself to look into the man's eyes anymore—or let him see the pain in hers—so her chin cocked down a bit.

A brief stretch of silence ensued.

The Lord sighed, addressing her again, "Seline. I have a task for you."

If it was not for the slight dip of her head, he would have thought she didn't hear him.

"What is it, father?"

"You've heard about our guests, haven't you?"

She resisted the urge to bit her lips, and nodded, "I have."

"I'd like to ascertain their intentions of coming into our home, and truth be told, I don't trust Caman to do a good job... especially not now, considering his... newfound jealousy for that human kid," he paused, chewing over his next words, "You've always been a smart, talented girl..."

She could see where he was going with this.

"... and thus, it would immensely relieve me if you could meet those humans as a diplomat. You're an Elder Magician, and they're not mindless, unreasonable beasts. I'm sure an agreement can be reached. Ah, of course, I'll prepare a backup team of my most trusted assassins, in case they decide to reason with violence."

There was no ground to refuse. He was just being overly talkative to make Seline feel she was in control of her decision. Well, she was not. And she couldn't point it out either. Not because she was afraid, but because she would have been a fool to strain whatever thread their relationship was hanging by.

"Of course," she replied with a forced smile, as forced as the one that mirrored in the Lord's face—though she couldn't see that.

"Great to hear. I know you won't disappoint me."

Seline bent one knee behind the other, and curtsied, "Your will shall be carried out."