Leo opened his eyes to a thick fog. Where am I? Sweat trickled down his forehead as he stumbled forward. “Hello, Elizabeth? Anybody? What’s going on? I was just in that cart.” A cold wind hit his face. He crossed his arms. “Now it’s cold?” The fog became denser. He started coughing. “This doesn’t look good. Elizabeth?” Still, there was only silence. He found it harder to inhale each breath.

Something’s wrong.

Leo dragged his feet in an aimless direction when skeletons dug out of the dirt grasping his legs. His eyes widened. “Who are all of you? What’s going on?” He kicked the ground as water splashed everywhere. “Water?” He stepped back. The fog lifted and the violent sea thrashed about. Bony hands dragged him underwater to a silent darkness. I’m going to drown, no, no! A hand grabbed his head, turning him around. “No, don’t look Leo…NO.”

He jerked awake, inhaling sharply. Konan was lying down beside him, sleeping and sucking her thumb. I dozed off again. Dreams shouldn’t be that real.

Mizaki was on the other side of the cart. But her eyes were directed toward the trees where some birds were chirping. Now, looking at her closely without the glaring sun, she seemed very young, almost his age. She had cherry-colored hair and brown eyes. The face seemed like a—he tried to think of a word—a kind face. A silver medallion, which shone against the sunshine dangled around her neckline. The black robe she wore hid her figure; not that Leo was curious about it.

She wasn’t stunningly beautiful like Elizabeth; however, there was something about her that put him at ease. She was carrying an unsheathed blade. Almost all of them had their blades or guns drawn out, except for Elizabeth who was out in front again.

“You’re awake.”

Leo returned his eyes to Mizaki who had shifted her attention to him.

She smiled. “Was it a nice dream?”

So kind. “It wasn’t boring. But that’s all.”

Mizaki giggled. “I’m sorry to hear that. Would you like some food?” She opened the bag tied to her waist and took out a small steel bottle. “It’s chicken soup mixed in with spices.”

He nodded.

She opened the bottle and he was hit with the intoxicating aroma of chicken. Her hand went into the bag again and pulled out a brown wrapper containing slices of bread. Pouring the soup into the bottle’s steel cap, she extended it to him with one piece of bread.

The starving Leo gulped it down and nearly choked.

Mizaki came over and patted his head. “Easy there, no need to eat so fast. You have plenty of time.”

Leo sniffed. “Thank you, I was just so hungry.”

She sat on her knees next to him. “And thank you, for playing with my daughter. Though a child, I think even she would’ve understood the mood in this group if you hadn’t occupied her attention.”

Leo’s eyes softened. “She helped me. Her hugs are magical. It was like something in my heart just melted away.”

“Yes, children are such wonderful creatures.” Mizaki took Konan’s thumb out of her mouth. “I, sometimes, ponder what this world would mean to me without her.”

“Your daughter is lucky,” Leo murmured.

Mizaki traced her finger across Konan’s tiny face. “Believe me when I say, it’s the other way around.”

Seeing Mizaki’s gaze on Konan, Leo’s lips parted. Mothers are the same everywhere, I guess.

Before he could ask Mizaki anything further, he heard a rustling from behind. Most of the soldiers near the cart tensed. Leo slurped up the remaining soup. That sounded too close.

Mizaki picked up the sleeping Konan. Leo crouched as the leaves rustled again. Jenny burst out of the bushes and all the guards aimed their blades at her.

“Whoa,” Jenny lifted her hands.

“Jenny!” exclaimed Gonazamius. Everyone let out a sigh and Leo slumped back down.

Mizaki lifted her head to the skies. “Oh great ancestors, I might join you by the end of this journey.”

Jenny grinned. “What’re you talking about, Mizaki? You’re made of sterner stuff.”

Elizabeth returned to the back at this point. “What’s all the ruckus?”

“Nothing, just Jenny scaring the daylights out of everyone.” Mizaki spread out a blanket and laid Konan on it. “Can you watch her, Leo?”

He blinked. “Me? You trust me.”

She smiled. “Yes.”

“Alright.”

She beckoned a soldier. “Can you take me to the front? I need to talk with my father.”

“Of course, Priestess Mizaki,” the soldier answered.

As Mizaki rode away, Leo listened to Elizabeth questioning Jenny. “So, did you see anyone?”

“Yes, a group was practicing in the region nor-west to our location. Seemed like a drill.”

“Could you see how many there were?”

“Somewhere around eighty to ninety is my estimate.”

“I see. We’ll just stay on our path and move as quietly as possible. You go to the back and make sure nobody tails our trail. Make it vanish.”

Jenny grinned. “Yes, My Lady.” She reined her horse around and rode away.

Leo watched her disappear into the woods again.

“I’m sorry for the way we are treating you,” said Elizabeth.

His eyes swayed back to her. “I know.”

Elizabeth smiled again but he could still see the strain on her face. “So, Ragnovin? Those are the Islands south to Lord Cerberus’s dominion, right? It must have been an incredible journey.”

“Yes, it was. Both Ray and me, we both come from poor families. Traditionally, our ancestors have always been fishermen, but we decided to try our luck in the mainlands and work for the Empire or start some business.”

Elizabeth stroked her horse’s neck. “So, you want to make money and return to your home.”

“Well, I just want to make money and settle here, but Ray says he wants to become someone famous before he goes back home.”

Elizabeth squinted her right eye. “You want to stay here? I don’t know if that’s–”

“Yes, Messadorma told me…about the mainlanders’ prejudice to me. I could have escaped it though, if we didn’t have the bad luck to run into those guys and now, I mean, I’m grateful to you, Elizabeth, for saving me, but…” He tugged the rope on his wrist.

Elizabeth’s eyes shifted to the front of the herd. Then she tied her horse’s reins to the cart and jumped over.

“What’re you doing?” Leo asked as she knelt beside him.

“Correcting an injustice.” She winked and untied the ropes.

He massaged his wrists. “Thank you but I don’t want to cause any–”

She covered his mouth. “Just keep your arms lowered and we’ll be fine.”

The rough calluses on her palms felt cool. He clasped her hand and inspected it. The faded cuts and bruises from training endlessly was visible to him.

He shook his head. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why are you protecting me? I’m not blind. It’s easier for you to let that old man kill me.”

“Leo…”

“Like I said, I’m forever grateful and I trust you but why, Elizabeth?”

She reached across and touched his neck. “What do you think I should’ve done?”

His face twitched and he turned away. “I don’t know. I-I-I’m not used to this…kindness.”

Her hand moved up to his jaw. She tilted his face to her. “Sometimes, decisions can’t be made on cold hard facts. My late father taught me to do the right thing during those times.”

“And how do you know what the right thing is?”

“I know it’s right when my heart rests easy. It rested easy when I hugged you. It rested easy when I told you I would protect you. And it rested easy when I untied you.”

His mouth opened. “You would stick to your belief, even if it means endangering your position?”

She dropped her hand. “Belief, instinct, call it what you like. But it was my choice, and you don’t need to worry.”

What piercing blue eyes. He stared at his knees. “Thank you.”

Little Konan started rolling away before he stopped her. The child giggled, seeing something in her dream world.

Elizabeth smiled. “She seems to have taken to you.”

“I haven’t a clue why though,” Leo confessed.

“Children are very intuitive. She realizes you’re a good person!”

He cracked a smile. “I still can’t believe it though. I’m a peasant whose life was in danger until yesterday. Now I’m sitting on a cart with the descendant of the legendary Prince Raven Leviathan. I’m traveling with royalty. It seems pretty unreal.”

Elizabeth corrected him by saying, “I’m just a Noble, not a Royal.”

“Is there a difference?”

She gasped.

“What now?”

“Nothing.” She tried to cover her mouth but he saw the grin.

Leo’s eyes dropped. “I said something stupid, didn’t I?”

Konan was now sleeping with an open mouth. He gently picked her up and closed it without waking the child and she unconsciously snuggled up to him. “I told your big friend earlier. I didn’t get the chance to study like normal kids. So excuse me for being dumb.”

Elizabeth’s eyes softened. She moved closer and patted Konan’s fluffy head. Something grazed Leo’s arm. Their shoulders were touching. The child muttered in her sleep. Elizabeth lightly tousled her niece’s hair. A breeze came from the west as leaves flew around them.

Elizabeth whispered, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have laughed.” Her hot breath made his ear tingle.

He tried to meet her piercing blue eyes again. She tilted her head toward him with a lop-sided grin and it heightened his embarrassment. Leo looked straight ahead as if he found something of interest.

“Still angry?” she asked.

“I’m not angry.”

“Then why don’t you look at me?”

“It’s difficult. I mean, you’re so close and we’re touching, I mean…”

She leaned back. “You don’t like me touching you?”

He shook his head at her. “Oh no, I like you touching me.” His cheeks reddened. “I mean…” Beads of sweat appeared on his face.

She laughed. “It’s okay. I understood what you meant.” Taking out a kerchief from inside her wardrobe, she wiped his face. “It calms you down, doesn’t it?” Her shoulder was firmly touching his side now.

“Yes, I don’t understand why. But it helps me.”

“Then you don’t need to be embarrassed about it. You can come to me if you’re scared.” She linked her left arm with his right hand. “I won’t turn you away.”

Leo took a deep breath and faced her. “Okay.” Her golden hair rose against the wind and grazed his face. “I’ve heard the great stories of Raven Leviathan and a few others. But that’s all. Hence, I don’t know if there’s any difference between Nobles and Royals.”

Elizabeth surveyed the entire party. “Would you like to know more? We might be together for a while. I can teach you bit-by-bit.”

“You would do that for me?”

Elizabeth grinned. “Researching history happens to be one of my passions. I’m happy to share my knowledge with you.”

Leo bowed. “Then, I humbly accept your guidance.”

Elizabeth gave a mock bow in return. “Very well, my dear student. Here’s how it is. Why are you a peasant?”

“Hmmm, I guess because my parents were peasants,” he remarked.

She nodded. “And once again, why?”

“I never really thought about it.”

Elizabeth continued, “To understand the reason, you need to understand the social hierarchy. The Hellbrids can be divided into three groups: the Nobles, the High-Class Hellbrids and you, the Peasantry.”

She beckoned a soldier and whispered something. He meandered to one of the carts at the back and came back carrying a scroll. She loosened the strings and opened it, saying, “Look at this and you will understand. Oh wait, do you know how to read?”

“Yes, thankfully. My mother taught me how to do that.” Leo read the words. “The Scroll of Beginnings?”

Elizabeth tapped the scroll. “Yes, it lists the birth of the various Hellbrid groups. All those at the bottom gained the powers of both demons and humans. But the difference is in the quality of their Auras. I hope you’ve heard the childhood stories about Possessed Humans and the Ice Age?”

Leo rubbed Konan’s forehead with his thumb. “Of course, I do. It’s the calamity that ended the old world. Ice fell like rain, the earth submerged under waves higher than the moon and death upon death. The Gods did not answer their calls and when all hope seemed lost, Emperor Deidirious appeared before the desperate humans. In exchange for forming blood pacts with demons, the humans were promised sanctuary from the Ice Age. But that also meant…”

“The demons would inhabit human bodies forever.” Elizabeth nodded. “Yes, that is the origin of the Possessed Humans. Because of that the High-Class Hellbrids gained an Aura mingled with both demon and human blood. The Peasants’ Aura was mixed with too much demon blood which stunted the full potential of their Hellbrid powers. You can consider the Nobles the evolved form of the High-Class Hellbrids since their bloodline is of a greater caliber.”

Leo scrutinized the scroll. “Okay and what about the Tai Rasse? Where do they fall?”

She smiled. “Ah, the Tai Rasse. They are all over the place, actually. They were originally part of the High-Class Hellbrids. Your kind are the peasant Tai Rasse. But due to how powerful and unique they were, even Nobles and Royals started accepting them into their clans through political marriages.”

“Oh, I see. And the Royal Clan is made completely of pure devils?”

Elizabeth corrected him again. “Yes, and it’s Royal Clans.”

He straightened his back. “There’s more than one?”

She sighed. “Yes, there are Four Royal Clans and Eight Noble Families in case you are wondering.

Leo’s shoulders dropped. “Eight Noble Families? And still, the Royals are stronger I assume?”

“It’s not about the numbers. Their strength is immeasurable for us. Almost all of the Royals are above the Level Ten Class. And further above them is the Immortal Hero of the Ice Age, Emperor Deidirious Hellsfire.” Elizabeth rolled up the scroll. “Now then, do you understand the difference between a Noble and a Royal? Don’t talk about us in the same breath. It’s equal to anarchy.”

Leo wiped the sweat off his brow. “It’s hard to remember everything but yes, I got the most of it.”

Elizabeth gave him a bright smile. “And now we are even.”

“Oh, we’re more than ev-”

Their cart trembled as an explosion erupted from the back. Konan woke up and started crying.

“It’s alright Konan, it’s alright. You’re safe,” Leo mumbled patting her. He glanced back to see the last wagon engulfed by a burning fire.

“No.” Elizabeth gasped. “Katsuma’s body.”

“Attack!” someone shouted. Masked men and women jumped down from the branches of the giant trees, toppling the soldiers off their horses.

Leo heard a rumble and tremors started quaking underneath them. The person steering their cart lost his balance and cracked his head on the ground.

Seeing his head in a weirdly twisted position, Leo covered Konan’s eyes. “Poor soul.”

“Don’t stop moving,” Freedo shouted.

The cart, without a driver, started moving to the side as the horses began to panic. Leo yelped as they were about to crash into the trees.

Elizabeth waved at a nearby soldier. “Get off your horse and steer this cart.” The soldier jumped from his ride to take the reins. He pulled the horses back to the middle of the path.

Leo observed the burning cart disappearing in the distance. “Who would do this?”

Elizabeth wrapped her fingers around her sword. “Only one obvious answer. I’m shocked though. Didn’t think they would do this without warning.”

“They? Who are–” He heard a horse’s hooves behind them. Peering into the fire, he saw a small shadow gaining shape until Jenny jumped over the wreckage on her horse. Small shurikens flew around her like flies grazing her right elbow.

Jenny winced as drops of blood trickled down.

“Leave your horse and get on the cart now. You’ll be able to defend better,” Elizabeth yelled as she dove and escaped a kunai which sailed past her.

Jenny steered her horse to the moving cart and grabbed its sides before flipping herself over it.

Elizabeth lifted up one of the empty big boxes on the cart. “Leo, take Konan and hide.”

Leo hid inside. It wasn’t long before he heard the barrage of shurikens ramming into the box. Konan kept crying as Leo continued to calm her. Oh, man. We nearly died. What did I get dragged into? He peeked through some cracks in the box. The assailants were fast. He found it difficult to follow their movements. Two of them jumped down on Elizabeth from the left and right.

She doesn’t have time to dodge.

Elizabeth swung her blade at the first assailant’s belly, disemboweling him. The second one charged toward her while she was still in her follow-through. Elizabeth switched the blade to her left hand and pierced his throat with a lightning jab. She called out to Jenny, “I’m going to the front to get my sword.”

Jenny waved her hand in the air. “Alright.”

Elizabeth jumped onto her horse and raced to the front. Leo watched her disappear and shifted his attention to Jenny. She was being bombarded with shurikens by someone hiding in the woods, so she didn’t see the person sneaking up behind her.

Leo thought she was a goner and jumped out of the box screaming, “Jenny, to your left.”

Jenny turned around and deflected the shurikens in a flurry of movement toward the attacker behind her, surpassing Elizabeth’s earlier swordsmanship. Her assailant in the woods let out a gasp.

“There you are,” she muttered and threw a small knife hidden in her arm guard at them.

Leo heard the knife jamming into the throat and cringed. He covered Konan’s eyes again as a body fell onto the road.

Jenny gave a small nod to Leo. He nodded back.

Suddenly, Jenny’s expression changed. Something flew by Leo and landed on the cart in between the goods. Jenny jumped toward him as a light eclipsed his sight and then came the burning sensation.