Later that night, Hiatus found himself unable to fall asleep. The bed felt rougher. He could not take Wander off his mind, and from time to time felt the strong urge to punch his demonized friend again and again. He failed to comprehend why Wander could ever manage to make that decision after all the lectures regarding the severity of Demonization. All the lectures mentioned the word "death" at least ten times and all ended with " never in this life of yours or the next one must you commit the sin known as Demonization". He turned on the bed lamp, reached for his cell phone and called Aria. The girl picked up right after the first waiting sound.

" I was about to call you. I cannot sleep either." said she.

" Yeah, after that, I doubt we will be able to sleep well for the next few days. I still cannot believe Wander has turned."

" I'm scared, Hiatus. What if he... lies to us, what if he is with the demons now?"

" You are the one who said to trust him!"

" Yes, but I..I just cannot stop thinking of all the scenarios possible, Hiatus. Wander, he said he turned few weeks back. Do you know what also happened a few week back, Hiatus?"

" The Summoners arrived in our school."

" Yes, and we all know Hamilton, I mean Principal Hamilton is hiding something, and he covered up that Mirilad Incident. He wanted to hide the existence of Wander! It is not a coincident that Wander turned at the same time the Summoner arrived!"

" But..but I see no connection. Why would Hamilton want to do something like that?" Hiatus suddenly recalled the conversation he had with Jake." Unless he was controlled into doing that."

"What do you mean?"

Hiatus informed Aria of all the investigation Jake had done.

" My god, this is worse than I thought. If even Principal Hamilton got manipulated... So, let me guess, the demonization of Wander, the manipulation of the Principal, the Mirilad Incident, the missing contraption, someone is masterfully pulling all the strings behind those events. For what reason? And who is this person?"

" Jake said it is most likely a traitorous Summoner. The reason, unknown."

" Hiatus, anyone, anything non-demonic can bypass the protection spell. And just a spell of appearance alteration, it is more than possible to sneak into our school. It is not necessarily a Summoner. However, what worries me more is the fact that someone possibly non-demonic demonized Wander, and this person is likely to be on the side of the demons. If one traitor exists, then there must be others too."

Hiatus shuddered at what Aria said. It was now his turn to think about possibilities he wanted to deny.

" There is another possibility though: Wander is telling the truth, and he is still with us. Which means whatever caused him to demonize can be on our side."

" It brainwashed Principal Hamilton. I will not trust it."

" It's not so hard to trust that thing. You manage to trust Wander, after all."

" What is that supposed to mean?"

" We should turn him in." Hiatus said, staring at the ceiling.

Aria went silent. Hiatus had to move the phone away from him when she yelled at him a few seconds later. " Are you out of your mind? You want him dead? He is our friend!

" Jake can replace him. I like that guy."

Aria went silent again. This time, however, she did not yell when giving her reply. " You are kidding, right?"

Hiatus answered, after a moment of hesitation. " Yes. Of course. I kidded."

" You should fix that degrading sense of humour." Aria said before hanging up.

Hiatust threw his phone on the bedside cabinet, then drew the curtain open. Today, he chose his friend over his duty, he abandoned an unquestioned value for a transient friendship; he broke his oath, and now he regretted it. He wondered which was more disgusting: regretting saving his friend, or betraying a hunter's values. The light from the streetlamps streamed in through the window, illuminating the silver blade next to him. He stared in the direction of Wander's house, his hand grabbing his sword. Moments of contemplation passed before he closed his eyes then released it. Night was cold.

______________________________________________________________________________

Wander did not go to school the next few days. Most students at the Xixin's Institution now held him in great contempt. Students who had once ignored all the nasty talk towards him now eagerly participated in it, and those who had always badmouthed him now even furthered the nastiness of their remarks. They did not know that Wander could risk fighting Jonathan, for only the tiniest scratch, enough for blood to leak out, would mean a death sentence for him. The teachers gossiped. Miss Hannah gave no comment. Hiatus and Aria could not protect him this time either, since the most plausible reason was not to be disclosed. As a result, now all the ridicule and derision took place even in their presence.

Previously, the trio had planned to get Wander out of New York, or at least, out of the Institution and its Halcyon border at Aria's house. Hiatus and Wander always insisted on coming to her place, since her parents prepared the most delicious pancakes and gateaux. One of their habit was hanging around in her full-of-paintings-and-trophies room, talking nonsense and playing tricks on each others. Never had they expected it would become a place for an illegal plan.

"We are in the Halcyon New York. Put that strawberry cake down, Hiatus." said Aria." In the Earth realm, the respective location is Midwood, New York. Going south is ill advised since security there is extremely tight. They will test every person intending to enter the Human World, and you are obviously not qualified. The same case for West Side, so that leaves only two options: The north and the east- free of security. However, I suggest against going east. As you all know, that side is the direction of the Hunter Community with quite dense population. I don't suppose it is a good idea to traverse such a crowded area, you run the high risk of being found out."

"His demonization is still a secret, Aria. I don't think they will notice him."

" Nonsense! It takes less than one day for Wander's family to notice him missing, then report it to the institution. From there to then, in 4 days, Wander will be searched for throughout the city, and sooner or later, they will rummage through every camera recorder, sentry drone, interrogate every person possible, even ask the Summoners for help, Wander's trace will be picked up in no time. We must find a path that guarantees secrecy to delay their search, and an overpopulated area is certainly not the choice. And need I remind you that in Halcyon, the Easternmost part of Midwood- Swordgrave- had been destroyed centuries ago? Going East mean Wander will either swim a long long way or try to hide among the barren land. We are going North."

" But that is the direction of that god darned forest!" Hiatus threw his arms in the air.

" Exactly!"Aria pointed at Hiatus. "The god darned forest that no one bothered coming to even before that incident. Perfectly natural, no trace of Hunters or Humans."

" Except for the sentry drones just installed there?"

" Only the edge of the forest though. And do you know that its edge runs for more than 70 miles? You should pay more attention in Miss Lev's class. Principal Xixin bought 45 sentry drones, and god knows where he got the money, but I can ensure you that 45 drones are not enough to cover 70 miles. In fact, the drones are concentrated heavily in the north side of our school to prevent students, leaving the northwest and northeast loosely guarded. However, for safe measures, we take the air road."

" The heck? The air road?"

" Yes, two kilometers away from the east side of the forest, there is an abandoned building. We are going to jump from the top and land directly in the middle of Mirilad. The drones cannot sense us. I have checked and researched the model in the Principal's office, they cannot detect things above 50 meters height. We are going to jump higher than that."

" For god's sake, Aria, is this really your first time doing this?"

" It was a lot of research, Hiatus. Anyways, your part, Wander, what will you do after you leave here?" Aria asked, frowning.

Wander shrugged. "I already had what I need in my backpack, what I need to survive. I will travel far from New York, then enter the Halcyon of another place. I will just..wander I guess. No pun intended."

" You will just wander?" Aria nearly yelled. "You... Fine, anyways, just leaving this Halcyon is enough for now. After you cross the line, you will be in the Human Realm, and Hunter's influence will be greatly diminished there. However, you still must get as far as possible from New York, you must erase your trace! "

" Why can't he stay?"

"Do you know how many times a training Hunter can bleed in just one day? It takes one drop of blood to expose Wander!"

" Hey, then how can he bypass the protection spell? His blood will prevent it!"

" No, it will be alright" said Wander." I am quite sure."

The two waited for Wander to elaborate, but he had no intention of revealing more.

Aria sighed. She opened her spell book. " Take note, you two. These are the runes we are going to use. And my cake — Hiatus!"

______________________________________________________________________________

5 days before the contest.

The abandoned building, 2 kilometers away from the east side of Mirilad. 10 p.m

Hiatus crawled on the ground, his eyes constantly shifting from the piece of paper on his hand to the runes he was writing.

"Hiatus, are you done?" asked Aria, standing behind him.

" Almost. These runes are so hard to write."

"Do not miswrite even one letter, or else instead of jumping very high we will be getting very high."

Wander lied a few steps away from the two, eyeing the sky. He was the first to finish his part, and still had the time to help Aria finish her. Hiatus refused when given the same offer.

" I read an article on the Internet earlier. " Samundo's final revenge?". That's what it called." Wander said.

" And?" asked Aria.

" It links several events together: The Cold Decades, the Cult of Doom, The Red Incident, The 19th Birthday, the Youth War, and many more. It says that ever since the latter half of the 19th century, the number of unnatural disasters and unnatural deaths has surpassed that of the previous 8 centuries. An abnormal statistic. It concludes, at this rate, it's actually possible that in the near future, a series of event is going to push that number up to catch up with the remaining 12 centuries. You do know how huge that number is, right? Enough to cause ten species of Halcyons to go extinct. Samundo's return will set everything in motion."

" Well, I'm sure the Cult of Doom wrote that piece. And Samundo won't return in at least 64 years. We have other problems to worry about."

" I mean, he can return much sooner. And there must be someone who stands up to him."

" Someone not us. You, Hiatus and I are not related to the Demon Lord, or the so-called apocalypse. We are just students. Why did you even bring this up? It's irrelevant. Tell him, Hiatus."

Hiatus gave no reply.

" Hiatus, please?"

" Let me focus. I'm trying to write the runes."

Aria frowned at her two friends. Frustrated, she turned her back on the two.

" Actually a M.O.M member wrote it." Wander added.

Aria did not bother to react this time.

It took Hiatus three more minutes to finish his writing, and Aria painstakingly checked his part over and over. She was finally satisfied after the fifth check.

" OK, Hiatus, you carry him. Sorry, Wander, cannot risk having you activate your demonic form. Now, stand by me. Transform your legs. Done? Good"

Aria then took out two test tube containing a strange condensed white liquid, giving one to Hiatus.

" Okay, the words are: spring, up, fly."

All the runes around them glowed, and light from them flowed like liquid towards the three. The light entwined with their feet, and making them feel lighter.

" Now, jump with all your strength." said Aria.

Hiatus and Aria lowered their knees to gain momentum, then leapt off the ground. The spell worked better than they thought, as in less than 3 seconds, they were already over 50 meters high. They approached Mirilad in less than one minute, began to lose altitude 2 miles into the forest. Aria and Hiatus broke the test tube, and the liquid covered their bodies, acting like shields. The liquid dissolved after their landing, ensuring they did not come to harm nor cause any noise too loud.

The three ran North as fast as possible. From the calculation of Aria, it would take them roughly 20 minutes to reach the Hacyonline of Xixin Institution and of New York city.

" It's called Wakefield in the Human's realm." said Aria." And we will be there right after we reach the other side of the forest.

Hiatus looked up and squinted at the crowns above his head,

" Mirilad divides our school from the rest of New York, and it accounts for a great part of the New York Halcyon. Strange, huh?"

"It has been here since forever, Hiatus. We are lucky that it hasn't grown beyond cities."

" This is the first time I am here during night. This place is getting creepier by minutes."

The innermost part of Mirilad was probably one of the most ill-lit location on earth. Most of the light illuminating the path was from bizarre flowers and creatures, and at times they seemingly conspired to turn off their light at once, forcing the trio to slow down. Still, darkness did not terminate the liveliness of Mirilad, since the sound of the rustling wind , the burbling water, the chirping insects, the tweeting birds and the snoring animals permeated every corners of the forest. The gigantic trees and the flashing eyes of animals therefore turned less intimidating. The trio flashed through the forests, piercing the curtain of darkness.

" So I guess we have to push back our graduate-together plan." Hiatus said.

" Don't worry. I'll be there when you two graduate."

" Guys, it's ahead. The Halcyonline." Aria said.

Halcyonline- the border between Earth and Halcyon- was actually a thin veil distorting space. It resembled a mixture of glass, water, and mercury. It was dense yet transparent, liquid yet solid, transforming the scenery beyond it into a blurry painting in the eyes of Halcyon denizens. To go from Halcyon to Earth was simple, just crossing the veil was enough, the opposite was not so simple though, as it required trespassers to locate a specific point, usually extremely well hidden to enter Halcyon. Human, therefore, almost never found their way to the hidden realm.

" Stop, Hiatus. Do not approach it now." said Aria."Wander, you said that the protection spell will not affect you. Are you sure?"

Wander nodded.

" Then, this is as far as we can take you." Aria said in a sad voice. "Time to say goodbye ."

" No, Aria," Wander said, smiling." Time to say see you soon."

Aria gave Wander a hug, then turned to Hiatus, signaling him to do the same. Hiatus stared at Wander, and nodded.

"You were punching him just days ago. Why the shy boy now?"

" I am still uncomfortable with him being a Demon, okay?"

Wander grinned at his two friends, then walked towards the Halcyonline. He took a deep breath and trespassed the spell. It stung, but nothing more. He looked back and gave a thumb up. His two friends still looked on nervously.

"If what Jake said was true, then three more new layers." Aria shuddered

She was worried for naught. Wander passed the first new layer, the second then the third without any trouble. The sting made him slightly twitch, that was all. They boy waved goodbye at his friends, and the other two waved back.

" I wonder when we will see him again." Asked Aria.

Before Hiatus could answer, Wander had touched the fourth layer.

______________________________________________________________________________

That was the most nerve-racking cry Hiatus and Aria had ever heard. In panic, they rushed towards their friends, who was trembling in pain, staggering then falling to the ground. Wander's hand was burning, abhorrently reddened. From the point on the fourth layer where Wander just touched , liquid waves rippled across the surface at the speed of sound.

" Run, we must... get out of here immediately." Wander said, wincing because of pain.

Hiatus carried him, then with Aria they tried to distance themselves from the Halcyonline. They ran back to the forest with their hearts ready to jump out of their chests.

" Northwest, run in that direction- Wander gasped for breath- I know that part of the forest very well"

" Hiatus, I thought there are only three layers! Are you sure you heard Jake right?" Aria yelled.

" Yes, I am sure he said three new layers!"

" He lied to you, then?"

"Who knows? Someone could have set up that new one after I talked to him."

As they ran through the forest, they could hear something behind, rummaging through every tree crown. Its shrieking voice pervaded the forest. It was coming for them.

" Oh my god, what the heck is that? That is not a demon, Hiatus. Do you think that thing was waiting for us to come? Does it know we will come?" Aria constantly looked back, her eyes widened.

" Aria, calm down. I don't know what that is. But I sure as heck know it is catching up. That thing is too fast! God damn it!"

Hiatus let out a grunt as he transformed his whole body.

" Aria, climbed on my back! NOW!"

Aria knew too well that Hiatus's tone just now meant only one thing " No question asked". She slowed down her momentum, let Hiatus pass before jumping on this back, holding on tight to his neck. Hiatus immediately sped up after that, and Aria could feel the wind constantly slapping her in the face.

" Hiatus," she yelled." How can you achieve this speed?"

" Just do not ask! Or you will eat fly!"

"Hiatus, you see those redwoods over there? Hide there. Their thick crowns will cover us." Wander said, wincing in pain, his burned hand shaking.

The three soon found themselves surrounded by redwoods, whose crowns and height cast total darkness over them. Despite that, the thing could still trace them.

" Wander, your hand is still demonized! It's emitting too much aura, I think that thing can sense it."

" Yes, I know. That's why..." said Wander, pulling out a knife from his backpack"... cut it off!"

Hiatus and Aria stared at him in horror.

" Don't worry, I can regrow it."

" Aria, lady first!"

" How kind of you! What a time to be a gentleman!"

" Quick, we don't have time!" Wander urged.

Aria grabbed the knife, and with a decisive strike, cut off Wander's hand. Aria quivered at the violence, and was surprised by how Wander managed not to scream.

Without hesitance, Wander used his own blood to write some runes on his now detached hand. He then demonized and, in front of the surprised looks of Aria and Hiatus, grew a new one.

"That was creepy, and cool." said Hiatus.

" Not the time for admiration, boys! I can hear that thing again!"

" Over there, the way out." Wander pointed.

Hiatus carried the other two towards the exit just as the creature landed only a few meters behind them. Aria turned her head to give a look, but the darkness only enabled her to see the outline. That thing had an enormous reptilian body, long thick mane, an unidentified number of wings, an eerily animated tail and bizarrely obscured limbs. Its eyes resembles fire orbs, illuminating and heating the air around it. Having noticed the three, it charged towards.

" Boom!" Wander shouted.

His detached hand exploded violently as the beast was right above it, blasting it towards the opposite direction of the trio. It let out a pain-stricken and vengeful shriek, but quickly recovered and returned to the chase, though in a staggered state.

"Tangle."

All of a sudden, the vegetation in the area overgrew. Leaves, branches, roots and thorns infested the whole area, trapping the beast inside a growing cage.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Hiatus accelerated and quickly left the beast behind.

" Keep going straight, Hiatus. We will get out of the forest soon." said Wander.

" Where did you learn to use rune like that? That was incredible!" asked Hiatus.

" It is all in the book, Hiatus."

"But the tangle spell back then, how did you? You did not even write runes for that word!" asked Aria

" I did, many months ago. Those redwoods grow that well due to my runes. That area is filled with my runes."

" Why did you plant rune there?"

"Experiments, that's all. Jeez, it still stings. That layer, it hurts so much."

" Hiatus, Hiatus! Look, look!" Aria pointed skyward. " Two more of them, over there! Oh god, what is wrong with this forest?"

" It is Mirilad, the oh so forever serene peaceful land. What do you expect?"

The beast had allies. One was swinging over tree branches, one was above the sky. They tried to approach Hiatus, but being outrun by him easily.

" These two are not as fast as the one back there."

" The fastest one will catch up. We will cut them off." said Wander. " That huge piles of rock, Hiatus. There is a tunnel there that links to the edge of the forest."

Hiatus charged towards the piles of rock, and just as Wander said, he could see a tunnel hidden among the shadow of the rocks. He shoved his friends into the tunnel before going in himself.

" How do you know all of these?" asked Aria.

" I spent a lot of time here. Keep running straight Hiatus, the tunnel does not diverge."

The three could hear the shrieking sound above their heads, indicating the approach of the fastest beast. Soon, from the darkness behind them, noises emerged. Their sizes impaired their movements, but the beasts persisted.

" Hiatus, whatever happens, just run as fast as you can," said Wander, before shouting with all his strength." One!"

The walls behind the trio flared up, revealing hundreds of runes scripted. They exploded all at once, 3drowning the beasts in fire. The shockwave from the explosion spread along the tunnel as the fire reached for the three, accompanied by the resonated shriek from the beasts. All three of them, now surrounded by flames, looked even more fiendish.

"Two!"

The second explosion, joined with the first one, put a huge pressure on the tunnel, and the walls began to fall apart rapidly. The ground above the tunnel quaked violently, and the latter caved in under the weight of the former. One beast, having too much fur, gave in to the fire, one was crushed under piles of rock, and the last one, though injured, did not slow down one bit. Its cry, on the contrary, doubled in volume, reflecting its increasing anger.

"Look, the light at the end of the tunnel!" Hiatus yelled." I've never thought I will get a chance to say that sentence literally and figuratively at once."

" Wander, please tell me you have three!" said Aria.

The last runes on the walls glowed.

" Never mind, you do." Aria's eyes widened.

The whole tunnel rumbled, signifying the total destruction of its existence. The three experienced that with all of their senses: the searing heat burned their skins, their salty sweats dripped into their mouths, the thick bitter smoke filled their noses, the beast's high-pitched shriek pierced their ears and their eyes were blinded by the light outside the tunnel.

Hiatus kept running, even though the tunnel had been left far behind them, and there was no more sign of the beasts. Only when Mirilad was barely seen, when they reached an abandoned part of the town did he stop to catch his breath. He dropped the other two, and all three of them simultaneously fell on the ground, feeling like it was the softest bed they had ever known.

" How, how.." Hiatus panted." How did your escape turn into our escape, Wander?"

" Sorry."

"I really want to punch you right now, but all that hullabaloo exhausted me. Consider yourself lucky."

" This is so awkward, after all that heartfelt goodbye, hugging and waving." Said Aria.

All that transpired ran through their mind, and they burst out laughing. That night, they promised themselves the same thing, that unless it was greatly called for, they would never enter that hell known as Mirilad again.