While the group walked through the forest, Red had plenty to think about from his conversation with the necromancer. The first thing he considered was how the creature talked. Red wasn’t sure if it was because they were using a monkey as their medium, but the whole interaction left the boy with the impression this individual wasn’t right in the head.

‘Were they just pretending?’

He couldn’t tell, but it was a possibility. The dark blob acted similarly in the past, putting up a naïve and slow front, while having plots and machinations going on in its mind. Of course, these two things were not mutually exclusive. Perhaps not being of sound mind was normal for high-level cultivators.

‘It doesn’t change the threat they represent, though.’

There was also the fact the necromancer was aware of Red’s curse, as well as of the presence in the Moon and the mines. The boy thought back then he was being tracked by the energy of his insectoid core, but now he knew his stalker could find him through other means. Not only that, but the monkey also claimed his curse would get worse in the future. Red had expected as much, though. What mattered the most was what the necromancer said after.

‘Are they the only one with such knowledge about the curse?’

Maybe they were telling the truth. However, the boy would rather exhaust all his alternatives before ever relying on this mentally unstable necromancer.

Red didn’t even consider the deal he was offered, either. The undead master had tried to kill him with a horde of animals not even 5 hours ago, so how could the boy take their words at face value? What made them change their mind? It was just too suspicious. It was the kind of thing Red wouldn’t even deign to consider unless he was in the direst of straits, and he hadn’t reached that point just yet.

What surprised the youth too was the fact the necromancer wanted to find the entrance for the Moonstone mines. It was insanity. Even if they had a way to counter the curse, there were still otherworldly presences down there, like the blob and the crimson mist, not to mention other creatures from the depths Red never had the opportunity to lay eyes upon.

Was the moonstone energy that important for the necromancer? Maybe they just weren’t aware of the dangers. The boy didn’t know, but if the undead master experienced what Red did, perhaps they would be of a different mind.

‘The necromancer said I wasn’t the only one who escaped before.’

Of course, that made sense. That was the only way Viran and other people could verify the existence and effects of this curse. The fact they all died didn’t surprise Red either, or else Viran wouldn’t have been struggling for a way to counter that curse. This meant that searching for traces of said escapees might not yield any solutions for the boy, but it was still a worthwhile effort, in his opinion.

‘Perhaps these people hadn’t found a solution before dying. However, some of them might have made headways into it.’

These were concerns for another time, though. Right now, they still had to escape the death-trap forest alive.

The trio walked for half-an-hour further, still not finding signs of any other people in their path. It was at that point, though, that something happened.

“Huh?” Rimold came to a sudden stop, looking down at his waist.

Red and Allen also froze in their tracks, noticing the man’s odd actions.

“W-What is it?” the young master asked, with a dejected yet still cautious voice.

Rimold didn’t respond, instead fishing around a pouch at the side of his waist. A few seconds later, he took out a glowing slip of paper. The boys immediately recognized the item.

“A communication talisman!” Allen said in surprise. “W-wait, it’s glowing. Does that mean…”

“It’s the talisman we used to communicate with the bandit headquarters.” Rimold frowned. “They’re probably wondering why we haven't reported back yet.”

The man shook the talisman a few times before scratching one of the marks on its surface. Suddenly, a disembodied male voice sounded out from within the talisman’s light.

“Hector, this is a message to report back to headquarters immediately! We are trying to reach the rest of your team one by one, with no success. Please, report back immediately if you can hear this!”

The voice fell silent, and the glow around the talisman dissipated.

“You really did use Hector as your alias, didn’t you?” Red asked.

“That’s none of your concern!” Rimold glared at him. “Either way, this is an excellent opportunity to learn what has happened while we’re at it.”

The man scratched another mark into the talisman, causing it to glow with a blue light once more. Rimold then started to speak in a completely different tone than Red had been used to.

“I-I… W-We were ambushed by some zombies.” the man said into the talisman, imitating the voice of a shell-shocked survivor to perfection. “T-There were so many, I had no choice but to run. I-I don’t know if any others survived… I’m running back to the main camp right now. P-Please send help.”

The light around the talisman dissipated, and whoever Rimold had been imitating dissipated into thin air as his posture and expression returned to normal. Both Red and Allen were looking at the man with expressions of surprise.

“What is it?” Rimold frowned upon noticing their stares.

“You sounded like a completely different person there.” Allen said. “I thought you were possessed for a moment… It was a bit scary.”

“This is just what I do best, young master.” the man shook his head. “I’m good at pretending to be other people. It’s why Master Hector sent me on so many missions for information gathering outside the Sect.”

“I-I see…” the young master still seemed in disbelief, but he nodded along. “What do we we do now, then?”

“We wait for the response. I said I was returning to the main camp to gauge whether anything had happened which might have made that area unsafe. Which is likely if our friends met…” the man trailed off, as he looked down at the item in his hands.

The talisman had begun to glow again. A response had arrived.

“This quickly?!” Allen looked at the object in surprise.

“It seems the situation might be more dire than I thought.” Rimold frowned before activating the talisman.

The same male voice sounded out again. “Hector, listen closely - do not return to the main camp! It has been compromised! Return to the western tunnel entrance instead! Our remaining forces in the region are gathering there!”

The voice fizzled out, and the glow around the talisman dissipated. Rimold, however, had an ugly expression as he stared at the talisman.

“Looks like a worst-case scenario situation.” the man frowned.

“Is it them?” Allen asked with a concerned tone. “Narcha, Eiwin and Rog?”

“Who else but them?” Rimold nodded. “Even if they weren’t the instigators, they would have definitely noticed if fighting broke out that close to them.”

“W-We need to hurry then!”

“We will, but…” the man looked over at Red. “I need you to lead the way again.”

The boy frowned. “I thought you were the one handling that now.”

“Bah, don’t mock me!” Rimold gritted his teeth. “You have that power of yours, right?! You can detect other people around you! It will be safer to have you leading the way!”

“Very well.” Red nodded, not intent on holding the man’s earlier actions against him. “Then follow me.”

The trio abandoned their last measure of sneakiness and started to travel at a brisk pace. Less than ten minutes later, Red noticed the first signs of activity in the region.

“There are tracks here.” the boy pointed at the ground. “Quite a few of them, too. All going towards the east, where your main camp is supposed to be.”

Rimold nodded with a grim expression. “They were probably recalled to protect the camp.”

“But didn’t that man say earlier that they were gathering their remaining forces somewhere else?” Allen asked. “Why would these guys be heading back to the main camp?”

“It’s simple.” Red said. “They were probably asked to reinforce the camp before the bandits notice they were fighting against opponents they had no hope of defeating…”

An expression of realization came to Allen as his eyes widened. “You mean…”

The youth nodded, looking at Rimold instead. “It seems that bandit official was not that strong after all.”

Rimold snorted. “Let’s go. Even if they’ve dealt with the bandits, that’s not the only thing we need to worry about in this forest.”

Red nodded, and the trio continued on their way.

…

It didn’t take them too long, however, to come upon the first traces of battle.

“Well, I guess we know what happened to the reinforcements.” Red said, observing the battlefield.

A handful of bandit corpses were strewn around a clearing. Some of them had been shot dead by well-placed arrows, while others had been chopped apart by what Red assumed was some large bladed weapon. Others still didn’t have any apparent wounds in their bodies, yet were still dead all the same, reminding the boy of a certain woman who liked to fight bare-handed.

The conclusion couldn’t be clearer.

“It’s them.” Red said.

“T-They did this?” Allen seemed to be in disbelief as he stared at the carnage.

“Arrows, chopped-up body parts…” Red nodded. “I can’t think of anyone else this efficient at killing.”

His response didn’t seem to offer the young master any more comfort. The boy looked on the verge of vomiting again, but he held back.

“Can you track them?” Rimold asked the youth.

“Of course I can.” Red pointed at the ground ahead of them. “They were in a rush and didn’t bother hiding their tracks.”

“Why would they be in a rush?” the man frowned.

“I do not know.” the boy shook his head. “But I can’t imagine they would suddenly change directions if it wasn’t something urgent… They’re also headed east.”

Rimold nodded. “Then let’s hurry!”

The trio broke out in a full sprint this time around. Before they had even covered a few hundred meters, though, Red felt something entering his crimson sense.

“Stop!” the boy called to the others.

His companions immediately stopped running and looked back at Red.

“What is it?” Rimold asked with an alarmed expression. “Have you noticed someone?”

“I have.” Red nodded, but he didn’t seem to be too worried.

“Where? Is it a zombie again?”

“No. He should be coming to us soon.”

“They’re coming to us?!” Rimold’s eyes widened. “Where are they?! Quickly, brat, tell us!”

“There’s no need.” Red shook his head. “He’s already here.”

The man looked on the verge of exploding at the boy, when he suddenly heard the noise of bustling bushes from behind. He turned around in a hurry, pulling out a knife from his sleeve. When his eyes finally came upon the newly arrived figure, though, he froze.

“Rog!” Allen said, a look of delight appearing on his face.