Red just sighed in response, as if he was expecting those exact words.

The necromancer was playing an overt scheme here. By teaching him necromancy, the boy would become an inevitable enemy to organizations like the Curse Breakers, not to mention other possible consequences that came with it. He would need to rely more and more on the necromancer, and when he eventually inherited the hidden realm, it was more likely Red would free them.

‘As if the curse wasn’t enough.’

An overt scheme, however, was only so direct because it was meant to force one’s hand. Indeed, if Red wanted to help his companions, who else could he rely on other than the necromancer? Yet, every moment that passed made the boy more certain that this was all a clever plot set up by this individual.

He needed to be careful to not fall in too deep.

Red stared at the bear. “Bring me to my companions and prove to me you can help them. Then, and only then, will I consider your offer.”

The rotting beast seemed to have been expecting this answer.

It nodded. “Can do that… but first, probably need this.”

The bear shoved its claw inside of its chest cavity. It grabbed onto something, dragging it out of its rotting flesh. It tossed it to Red’s feet.

“Sword.” the bear said. “Dropped it.”

The boy looked down at the dark weapon covered in blood and bodily fluids.

‘To think I just made this yesterday. Wait, or was it the day before?’

He took out his water canteen and a piece of cloth and set about cleaning the weapon. He didn’t forget what he had learned about undead infections from Eiwin, so he didn’t stop washing the sword until it was glistening again. Even then, Red still wasn’t satisfied and decided to just sheathe the sword for now.

“We need to go back to where the head ambushed us.” Red said. “It’s the only way I can track down my companions.”

“No need.” The bear shook its head. “Can tell where they are. Some, at least.”

Red frowned in suspicion. “How can you do that?”

“Ghost energy.” The beast huffed. “Strong, pulsating. Need hurry, others will feel too.”

‘So they are indeed possessed.’

The fact the necromancer omitted information from him did not surprise the boy, but this new revelation did make his life more complicated.

“How many do you feel?” Red asked.

The bear held up its decomposing hand. “Three. Need hurry, though. Head might recover and take others.”

The boy sighed. “You already said that. Just tell me which direction I must go.”

The undead beast stirred into movement, standing on its four legs. Red was immediately put on guard, being reminded that it wasn’t just a common animal the necromancer was possessing, but a full-fledged monster. If they almost managed to kill the boy back then when possessing an elderly corpse, what could they do when controlling a huge tree-bark bear?

Thankfully, the beast didn’t attack him.

Instead, it used one of its claws to point towards its back. “Hop on.”

Red frowned. “… No way.”

The bear grunted. “Need hurry. Already told you. Much faster on back.”

The boy hesitated, but he knew they had a point. He probably wasn’t as fast on foot as a tree-bark bear. However, he was worried about something else.

“What about the infection?” Red asked.

“Infection?” The bear seemed confused. “Kid immune to infection with Moon power to help. Nothing to worry.”

Red obviously didn’t trust the necromancer at face value.

The beast seemed to notice that. “Look, dragged you here with teeth. Saliva all over back of neck. If infected, already too late.”

Red shuddered and put his hand on the back of his neck. He felt nothing there, but upon further examination, he felt two large holes in the collar. He shuddered.

“Friends waiting.” The bear said. “Coming or not?”

The boy sighed and approached the bear. His worries were probably unfounded, since if the bear planned to infect him, it would have done it while he was unconscious. Although, that raised another interesting question.

‘Does the moonstone energy really protect me from undead infection?’

Red didn’t have the time to ask the bear. He hopped onto its back, holding his breath against the rotting stench and grabbing onto its bark-like skin for support.

“Hold tight and prepare to hide just in case.” The bear said. “Curse Breakers might spot us.”

Red’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wait, the Curse Breaker are-”

He didn’t have time to complete his question as the bear charged forth and he struggled to keep his grip.

…

Red barely had the chance to locate himself inside the forest as trees whizzed by his vision. The boy had never moved so fast in his life before, and he recognized the fact that even a tree-bark bear shouldn’t be able to be fast either.

The undead creature was extremely swift despite its size, weaving and dodging past trees and other obstacles with surprising dexterity. Red thought he was about to fall off multiple times during this brief journey, but he held on in the end.

Finally, the bear’s path seemed to lead them up a hill, where it slowed down. They came to a stop, and Red jumped down from the beast’s back without hesitation, trying to recover his composure. The creature stared at him in silence, waiting for the boy to pick himself back up.

Red took a deep breath, only to gag because of the rotting smell. This was one of the disadvantages of opening your five senses vein - you became much more sensitive to smells.

A few seconds later, though, the boy finally collected himself.

He looked back at the bear. “Why have we stopped?”

Red had already checked his crimson sense and couldn’t detect anything special around them.

“Close already.” the bear said. “Can’t get closer. Ghost would feel my presence.”

The boy frowned. “So what do I do now?”

“Beat up, capture.” the beast said. “Will teach what to do after.”

He didn’t think this process would be so direct. “… Is there anything I need to look out for against these ghosts?”

“Shouldn’t be.” the bear shook its head. “Ghost dangerous, but limited inside physical body. Might be knowledgeable and cunning, though, so be careful.”

Red sighed. He now had a plan, although he didn’t think things would go over so smoothly.

“Point me in their direction.”

The bear did as much, pointing northward downhill. “Ghost moving. Should hurry.”

Red frowned. He would have liked more information, but it didn’t seem like he had the privilege of time.

The truth was that when it came to straightforward combat, the only person the boy had any hopes of defeating was Allen. The others were all stronger than him, so Red would need to rely on his quick wits and improvisation this time around. Yet were his chances any good against people like Narcha and Rog?

‘I have to try.’

He sprinted downhill, following the direction the bear pointed out. Although he was moving as quickly as possible, the boy still kept an eye out for any signs of whoever this possessed individual was.

Red ran for almost 30 seconds, and just as he was wondering whether he was still on the right trail, he felt a fluctuation enter his detection range. The boy froze in his steps and crouched down, careful not to make any noises.

He immediately recognized this presence.

‘Allen.’

The fluctuation was unmistakable. Yet, even as the boy felt it, he could tell there was something strange about his presence, too. It was in a state of great turmoil, as if the young master was overwhelmed by emotions that threatened to swallow his very being.

Was this a sign of possession, as the bear told Red?

The boy felt Allen’s fluctuation moving at a brisk pace, almost escaping his crimson sense’s detection range as Red observed him. With no choice, the boy got up and chased behind the young master.

At first, Red had a difficult time following his trail, which was reasonable seeing as Allen opened more veins than him. However, the young master seemed lost, stopping to change directions very often, thus giving the boy a chance to catch up and get ever so close.

‘Didn’t I shoot him in the leg? How can he move so quickly again?’

Red, however, was reminded of how most undead creatures had rotting bodies and broken tendons, yet could move like normal even under this cursed energy. He assumed the same was happening to Allen.

Finally, once he was within fifty meters of his target, Red could lay eyes on him through the thicket.

This was, without a doubt, Allen. Yet his mannerisms didn’t seem to fit the image the boy had of him. The young master seemed frantic, looking around with a lost and angered expression which matched the emotions Red felt in his fluctuation.

The boy didn’t need any powers to be able to tell that something was definitely wrong with Allen.

‘I need to act quickly.’

Thankfully, the young master seemed too distracted to notice his approach. Red intended to end this fight with a single blow, preferably a powerful strike to the side of Allen’s head or by choking him out, as Domeron had taught him. The boy might not have the power to do the same to the others, but against the young master, that was another story.

Red continued approaching his target, ready to pounce as soon as he stopped to change directions yet again. However, that was when something happened.

Allen suddenly froze mid-sprint and looked over at the exact spot Red was hiding. An expression of surprise appeared on the young master’s face before turning into anger.

‘How did he-’

Red didn’t have time to think as Allen sprinted off. With no other choice, he gave chase, not bothering to hide his presence any longer.

As Red chased after the young master, something he had ignored came to his mind.

‘If the head could detect me because of my moonstone energy, who’s to say the ghosts can’t do the same?’

This yet another piece of information the necromancer omitted. However, Red couldn’t help but blame himself, too. He should have considered this before, and yet in his eagerness to act and under the necromancer’s urging, he ignored this completely.

Red didn’t have time to ponder on his mistake, though. Allen was quickly gaining distance on him, and the boy knew he had to do something. He didn’t have his bow on him, yet another item he had dropped at the scene of the battle before falling unconscious, but he did have something he could throw.

He took out his short-sword from its scabbard, taking aim at Allen from behind.

‘I’m sorry about this, Allen.’

Red reared his arm back, before hurling the sword just like a throwing dagger towards the young master’s leg. His aim was true, and the weapon impaled itself on Allen’s calf, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground.

“Agh!” A scream of pain came from the young master.

Red took this opportunity to close in and attack. He tried to kick the back of Allen’s head, but the young master showed surprising reaction time, moving out of the way before he could be hit. Then, without hesitation, Allen took out the sword from his calf in one single swift motion, as if it was nothing, and tossed it aside as he distanced himself from Red.

He glared at the boy. “I won’t let you stop me! I will kill them all!”

Red felt Allen’s fluctuation stir as he said those words, and he felt a strange energy coming out of his body. The boy knew this wouldn’t be as easy as he first assumed.