"You think they have a camp here?" Narcha asked.

"It would be a good base of operations." Red nodded. "No one really travels through this area."

"But they're still too close to the city." The woman seemed unconvinced. "There's a high chance they would be noticed eventually. Once that happens, the Baron won't sit by for long."

"Maybe it's not a permanent camp." The boy reasoned. "Or maybe they aren't worried about getting discovered. It's hard to tell..."

Although Narcha tried to think of counter-arguments, it was evident she had started to consider the possibility too. She had a troubled expression on her face.

"These morons are insane." The warrior continued. "What has gotten into their heads to make them risk provoking the town guard? Are they not afraid for their own lives?"

"People don't risk their lives for no reason." Red shook his head. "Maybe they have something to rely on, or maybe they have no choice. We won't know for now."

After that, the boy got up and began walking away.

"Hey!" Narcha barked after him. "Do you really plan on moving on just like that?"

"What else do you want to do?" Red asked.

"We need to see if there's really a camp in this area." Narcha argued back.

"Are you confident in taking on an entire bandit camp by yourself?" The youth was skeptical.

"I don't plan on fighting anyone." The woman shook her head. "But we should still check."

"It's too risky." Red immediately shot down her proposal. "We aren't prepared to deal with that, and neither of us is as good of a tracker as Rog. We might just end up getting lost or getting found out."

"Grhh..." Narcha looked unwilling, but she knew the boy was right. "I don't feel comfortable just leaving this up to chance. What if they kill someone just because we didn't act?"

"They would probably never do something like that, if they want to avoid being found out." The youth tried to assuage her concerns. "Besides, if there's a camp, it'll probably still be here when we come back. If it is not, then these bandits are just passing through, in which case there is no point in chasing them. Or maybe these people are not even bandits, who knows?”

Of course, Red was more worried about the detour in their mission than anything.

"Fine." Narcha ended up agreeing. "You really don't act like a child at all, did you know that?"

'You're not the first one to say that.'

The boy didn't respond and resumed his travel instead. The warrior followed behind while grumbling at his silence.

Red had decided to give a wide berth around the area where he saw the tracks. That made their path even more of a roundabout, but the boy thought it safer. Along the way, though, he found a few more human tracks, and he became more convinced of the existence of a bandit camp.

"We might end up being followed." Red warned his companion.

"It's fine." Narcha didn't look worried. "It won't be my first time killing bandits in this forest."

The boy recalled his second night on the surface, when the warrior and Rog had wiped out a group of bandits by themselves. Her confidence in her strength was definitely warranted.

Thankfully, through luck or not, the two of them didn't meet anyone over the next few hours. The first signs of the rising Sun began to appear, and Red decided to make camp. He picked out a spot covered by heavy vegetation, much to Narcha's dismay.

"We're sleeping here, in the middle of the trees?" She asked.

"Yes, that way, we stay hidden." Red explained.

"Ugh, I'm not used to this, but fine." The warrior didn't try to argue with him.

"How are we splitting watch duty?" The boy asked.

This was an ingenious strategy he had seen the Sect employ before, where one member stayed awake to watch their surroundings while the others slept.

"You can go to sleep first." Narcha replied. "I can go longer without sleeping than you, anyways."

Red didn't argue with her on that front. The boy carefully laid his sleeping bag on an empty spot and tucked himself in. As the Sun rose up, the Moon's gaze slowly disappeared, and he finally found himself able to relax.

He had put on a facade in front of Narcha. But in truth, Red was mentally exhausted. The feeling of being watched was taking a toll on him, and his experience with handling pressure was the only thing that kept him functioning.

With such worries on his mind, Red went to sleep as Narcha kept watch over their surroundings.

...

"Kid, wake up!"

The woman's voice immediately woke him up. Red frowned and groggily got up. Examining his surroundings, he saw the warrior leaning on a tree, staring at him with a smug grin on her face.

"You must have been very tired, huh?" She laughed.

Red was confused by her comment, but eventually, he looked up at the sky. The darkish tinge of night already occupied the sky. It was dusk, and the youth hadn't even noticed it. He touched his temple, feeling there was something wrong.

"Hey, kid, are you listening to me?" Narcha called again. She noticed his strange state. "Hey, are you alright?"

"I'm okay." Red shook his head. "I just feel strange."

"What do you mean?" The warrior frowned.

"I don't remember falling asleep."

"Well, that's how sleeping works. You don't really remember the moment you fall asleep."

"No, that's not what I mean..." Red shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

He got up and proceeded to check over his equipment.

"How long did I sleep for?" The boy finally asked. Of course, he had a rough idea because of the sky, but he still wanted to confirm it.

"12 hours, give or take." Narcha replied.

Red immediately frowned. The boy didn't remember ever sleeping that long before, not even when he was injured. He attributed this phenomenon to the stress accrued by the Moon's gaze. Still, he couldn't help but feel there was something else he was missing.

"Are you sure you're alright?" The woman asked again once she saw his expression.

"I'm fine." Red replied again. "Did you get any sleep?"

"Not really." Narcha shrugged.

"Do you need any sleep?"

"Not right now."

"Then let's keep moving."

At Red's command, the two of them continued their eastward march.

...

According to Narcha's estimate, they would probably arrive at the river either today or tomorrow. After that, the rest of the journey would be following along the riverbed down south.

"The real danger begins around there." Narcha explained. "Lots of bandits near the hill lands and along the river."

"Why are there so many bandits in this region?" Red asked.

He didn't know much about the surface world yet, but the number of bandits in this rather desolate region seemed extremely high to him.

"There are bandits everywhere in the world, kid." The woman replied. "But you're right. This region has had a bandit problem over the last few months. A lot of bad things lined up to create this shitstorm we have on our hands now."

"You mean the disappearance of the monsters?"

"That's one of them." Narcha nodded. "But other things happened too. A lot of these bandits are deserters from a neighboring kingdom's army. They were disbanded after suffering a defeat at the hand of the Empire a while ago, and the kingdom itself was dissolved.”

"And the soldiers became bandits just like that?" Red seemed confused.

"A lot of them had no choice, or so they would have you believe." The woman scoffed. "They are just pathetic soldiers who weren't brave enough to stay and fight while their country was being conquered. I bet the Empire lets so many of them live in order to to cause more chaos."

"Is Rickard a soldier too?"

The woman froze in her steps.

"Where did you hear that name?" Narcha looked surprised.

"One of the bandits Rog killed tried to threaten him with that name." Red didn't hesitate to explain. "Said he was part of this Rickard's gang."

"Fucking moron!" The woman roared in anger. "He didn't even mention anything to us!"

Red was taken aback by her explosive reaction.

"He said that it wasn't important, and that this Rickard wouldn't find out about it either way." He added.

"He's right about that, but there's more to it than this, kid!" Narcha tried to calm herself down. "If these guys were direct subordinates of Rickard, then the man himself might have sent them here!"

"Then, do you mean..." Red frowned.

"There are probably more of his gang in the region!" She explained. "Maybe even Rickard himself is around!"

A Spiritual Sea cultivator running loose in the area would certainly throw a spanner in the works. Red shuddered to think how dangerous a human opponent on the level of the awakened centipede or the insectoid could be, but he was in no situation to retreat. Looking up at Narcha, the boy knew that he was not the only one to understand the threat.

"Fuck, if I knew this, I would have never brought you out here, kid!" Narcha complained while biting her nails in worry. "Eiwin is going to kill me!"

"Can't you defeat them?" Red asked.

"Of course I can!" She looked offended at the question. "Everyone barring Rickard, that is. The problem is doing it while I'm protecting your ass!"

The woman began to pace around, mumbling to herself and cursing Rog under her breath.

"If it makes you feel any better, I would have gone either way." Red replied. "With or without your help."

"Bah, you're insane, kid!" Narcha threw her hands up in resignation. "What's even so important for you to risk your life like that?"

He didn't reply.

"But you're right." The warrior nodded. "I already took you along, either way. Now we have to be even more careful of our surroundings, though!"

The youth decided not to tell her he was already being as attentive as he could.

They continued traveling, but this time Narcha seemed warier of her surroundings. She annoyed Red by instructing him to search for tracks in certain areas and watch out for traps. The youth considered telling her off, since as far as he could tell she didn't seem to know what she was talking about. As soon as he noticed her angry expression, though, he decided otherwise.

As night fully arrived, Red was able to feel the lunar gaze on him once more. The boy, however, had become used to it over the last couple of days. Although the strain was still there, he didn't struggle as much to function.

"Wait!"

Eventually, though, Narcha called their march to a stop. She crouched down and hid behind a tree, and Red followed her actions without hesitation. She looked over at him and pointed ahead.

"I think I saw some human shapes up ahead." She whispered. "They're too far to tell, though."

The youth squinted his eyes and tried to look over at the direction she indicated. He saw no movement, but considering his vision was worse than hers, he didn't doubt her claims.

"I'll flank them from the right." Red instructed. "You can just keep sneaking and face them head-on."

"You just want me to go straight at them?" The warrior frowned.

"Isn't that what you're good at?"

"You little..." She trailed off. "Fine, just make sure you're not found."

The boy refrained from saying he was better at sneaking than her. In the end, he simply put aside his backpack and took out his bow and quiver. Coordinating with Narcha, he began to sneak from tree to tree, accompanying her steps from the side.

Eventually, they walked far enough that Red could see the shapes she was referring to. They were, however, completely still. The boy couldn't help but feel there was something wrong.

A gust of wind blew against him, and the youth was able to smell a very familiar scent. It immediately put him on alert.

"Fucking hell..." Narcha spoke from nearby, not bothering to lower her voice.

Red saw her stand up and walk directly towards the scene. Since the woman abandoned stealth, the boy also stepped out from behind the trees and followed her.

When they arrived on the clearing, the human shapes were immediately revealed to him.

Corpses.

And blood.

A scene of absolute carnage.