As they agreed before, they continued heading west before making their way back east in a roundabout manner. This was all to throw people off their trail, though Red didn’t know if anyone would still be following them after Hector’s display in town.

The youth was ready to do all the work when it came to masking their tracks, but to his surprise, he didn’t need to. Domeron proved to be more than capable of covering the footprints and other evidence of his passing by himself. In fact, he seemed almost as capable as Red and Rog.

This was all made more impressive by the fact the man only had one arm.

“What is it?” Domeron asked once he noticed Red’s lingering gaze.

Red hesitated. “… You’re very good at this.”

The swordsman smiled. “Well, once upon a time I was also wandering the wilderness by myself. I had to figure out how to survive out there on my own, so I picked up a few tricks.”

“Was this before or after you lost an arm?” Red asked.

Domeron’s smile faded. “… Before. It was all before.”

“… Will you tell me how you lost your arm?”

“It was cut off.” The man shrugged.

“People who get their arms cut off in the middle of battle tend to not survive.”

“Rog did.”

“That’s because he had me to help him. Did you have anyone to help you when you got your arm cut off?”

Domeron frowned. “Are you always this curious?”

“When I can be, yes.” Red nodded. “Besides, I don’t know if I will get another opportunity to ask you this.”

The youth was being sincere. He didn’t really gain anything by learning about Domeron’s background, but he was always curious by nature, and the man was the one person in the sect he knew the least about.

The man also seemed to be struggling to come up with a reason to deny Red, but in the end, he relented with a sigh. “I didn’t get any help. I was captured.” Before the youth could ask any follow-up questions, Domeron cut him off. “That is all I’m going to say about this. Maybe if we both make it back alive, I will tell you the rest.”

Red could only hold back his curiosity and followed behind the swordsman.

“I can sense some latent power within this man’s body that reminds me of some strong swordsmen I met in my time.” Aurelia’s voice reached his ear. “It is a shame he doesn’t have a Spiritual Sea, or else he could have become a powerful cultivator.”

As soon as Red heard that, he froze.

Domeron noticed this and looked back at him with a frown. “Did you sense something?”

Red shook his head, recovering from his initial surprise. He shook his head. “It’s nothing.”

The swordsman stared at him for a few seconds before turning around and continuing to walk.

“Why the sudden surprise?” Aurelia asked. “Did you not know about this man’s condition?”

Red wanted to reply, but instead he just shook his head in silence. Since Domeron needed to be within fifty meters of him at all times, then the youth wouldn’t have the liberty to speak with Aurelia in privacy for this trip.

Aurelia scoffed. “This is why you need to open your Spiritual Sea quickly. That way you won’t need to speak outloud for me to understand you.”

Red frowned but didn’t say anything.

The woman continued. "The lack of an arm would definitely be troublesome for breaking through, but it’s not impossible if he had enough backing. Unfortunately, he was born without a Spiritual Sea, so nothing will be able to help him.”

‘Born without a Spiritual Sea?’

This left Red confused. Did the woman just assume this, or did she have some evidence to back her up? Red thought the former was more likely, considering that the technique invented by Hector was far after her time.

Indeed, the reason why Red was so surprised to hear this was that he knew Hector and his sect had come up with a technique especially designed to remove Spiritual Seas from people’s bodies.

The first time the youth heard of this was when he spoke with Reinhart in the trial. He was one of the victims of Hector’s technique, even if the elder himself was not the one responsible for it. Later, he learned through Hector himself that his own disciples, Allen’s parents, had apparently appropriated his technique for more nefarious ends, and this was why the man sought revenge on the elder.

Yet, now he found out Domeron was also missing a Spiritual Sea. It would be stupid of him to assume this was just a coincidence, but this wasn’t the biggest question.

‘Does Hector know about this?’

Red would like to assume he did, but Reinhart also managed to live so long in town without having his peculiarity detected by Hector. So, would the elder find out about Domeron without directly inspecting him? Or did the swordsman find some way to trick him, too?

Of course, this last question had much deeper implications.

Red and Domeron continued walking for several hours, right up until the sun was rising. The entire time, the youth was pondering what to do, or how should he broach the topic with the swordsman. He didn’t believe Domeron was a traitor, but how could he rest easy without having confirmation?

So he prepared and considered many scenarios. Ambushing and mobilizing the man was one of the things that came into mind, but the more Red thought about it and observed Domeron’s countenance, the less confident he felt in a forceful plan.

“What are you thinking about doing, Red?” Aurelia asked with an impatient tone. “I can see you’re scheming something!”

Red, of course, was surprised that the woman could read past his neutral expressions and body language.

Aurelia continued to pester him. “If you’re going to attack him, make sure to finish it in one blow! If it comes down to direct combat, I don’t fancy your chances very m-…”

The woman trailed off as Domeron froze in place. He turned around slowly towards Red, staring at him with a smile.

“Are you thinking about stabbing me in the back?” the swordsman asked.

Red felt a shiver run up his spine, but he didn’t let it show in his expressions. His right hand wandered over to his sword as he weighed Domeron with a frown.

The man, however, continued to smile. “What is this about now?”

“You don’t have a Spiritual Sea.” Red said.

This time, Domeron failed to maintain his composure as his expression twisted in shock and the youth felt his fluctuation flutter. The swordsman tried to recompose himself to little success.

“… How do you know this?” Domeron asked.

Red didn’t respond, but his frown got deeper.

The man sighed in resignation. “I can see now why you were acting strange for a while.”

‘He knew I was planning something?’

Red was very good at hiding his intentions and emotions through a stone-cold demeanor. He didn’t think that some powerful cultivators would be fooled, such as Aurelia, but the youth so far had been able to deceive Hector and a handful of other Lesser Ring Realm cultivators with no issues.

Yet, how did Domeron see through him when he wasn’t even looking at the youth most of the time?

Suffice it to say, this revelation made Red even more weary.

Domeron was silent for a while, as if pondering his words. “… You’re right, I don’t have my Spiritual Sea. No, Hector wasn’t the one that took it from me. In fact, I’m only alive today because of him. Is that enough of an explanation for you?”

Red didn’t respond, still holding onto his sword handle.

Domeron gave him a helpless smile before continuing. “I was young and foolish. I trekked the world on my own instead of settling down and cultivating in peace until I broke through. I killed a lot of people until all the killing caught up to me and I discovered I killed the wrong person. Members of Hector’s sect cut off my arm and took my Spiritual Sea from me, and they would have done much worse if Hector didn’t step in and save me.”

Red continued to stare at Domeron, digesting the information. This explanation made sense, as vague as it was, since the youth doubted Hector would let someone like Domeron be so close to him without properly investigating the man’s origins and intentions.

However, he didn’t drop his suspicions just yet.

“Why did Hector save you?” Red asked.

“Around that time, his sect was already destroyed, and Hector was planning on leaving the group of survivors. He wanted me to be his servant.”

“So he just decided to trust you?” Red was skeptical.

“Of course he didn’t.” Domeron shook his head. “He gave me a choice - either sign a contract with him that would assure my loyalty or be left to my own devices. I chose the former.”

Red was surprised. The contract Domeron spoke about could only be one thing: a slave contract.

“… Is that why he trusts you so much?” the youth asked.

“At first, yes. But these days, I’d like to think I have earned his trust through my actions.”

Red knew he was right, since Hector put more value in Domeron’s opinion than anyone else’s in the sect.

“Has he cancelled the contract, then?” Red asked.

The swordsman sighed. “What do you think?”

The answer was evidently no.

Domeron continued. “He will always keep his assurances at the end of the day. Still, not once through his service did I think about abandoning him or trying to break the contract. He saved my life, so it’s only fair that I help him when he needs it.”

Red stared at him. “Is that really the only reason?”

The man smiled and shook his head. “Not at all. The truth is that I am happy where I am, kid. I can’t cultivate any longer, so what I do in the sect gives me purpose. When I’m not training you two or gathering information around town, I am relaxing in my chair and drinking some tea. What else could I ask for?”

Although the man seemed to be speaking truthfully, Red could feel a sense of resignment under his words. It was the image of a man who accepted his defeat, and the youth didn’t know how to feel about it.

“Is that enough to convince you?” Domeron asked.

“I never thought you were a traitor in the first place.” Red shook his head. “But I needed to be sure.”

Domeron laughed. “You say that, but I’m sure you’re still prepared to kill me if it comes down to it, right?”

Red didn’t respond.

The swordsman just shook his head. “If you’re not going to do anything here, then I suggest we continue on our way. We don’t know if the imperials are really off our trail, after all.”

Red nodded, and soon enough the two of them were walking through the forest in silence as if nothing happened.

“I was wrong, Red.” Aurelia said. “Even if you tried to ambush him, you would definitely still lose.”

The youth showed no reaction and continued to walk, maintaining a grip around his sword handle the entire time.