Under Kazius’ direction, the group would travel into the Savage Lands with urgency. After all, once word got out of what occurred in Remus, Edicts would likely be sent their way. Edicts were something Kazius admired for the longest time, something he wanted to become. Now he feared them.

His party was not a weak one, able to take on 10 Holy Knights… But that was nothing compared to what a Knight of Edict could do. Edicts had a power that was the closest to that of the heroes in modern day. A difficult feat since human has gotten much weaker since those days. This meant they could take on multiple demons and massacre entire armies on their own. They were ranked by strength; each assigned a number. There were 32 of them in total… With 18 disciples constantly being trained to replace them.

Before, Kazius believed there were too few Edicts. Now? He believed there were too many. Even if they made the smallest fraction of the forces of the church. The Ratier did not have as big a military to begin with. Then again, when you had such fiends in your ranks, you wouldn’t need a large military. Not to mention, all jobs in Ratier were decided by the Oracle, so it wasn’t like the church would accept anyone the Oracle did not say would become a Holy Knight.

Thanks to such a selection process though, Kazius knew more about the Edicts than the average Holy Knight. His lies got past the detection abilities of the priests, so he had been treated as a future Edict from day 1. This combined with the fact that Alice was in their group meant that the church may very well be willing to send Edicts into the savage lands to get them.

Kazius really hoped he was wrong though. Even if he could somehow get Azanor to help them, Azanor would be unable to beat an Edict. This fact in mind justified the sense of urgency he felt… Any nervousness about entering a place that was the source of many horror stories in Ratier was far out weighted by fear of the Edicts.

Kazius was not the type to let one victory get to his head, he knew his team’s strength, but he knew their limits too. Still, when they did enter the savage lands it was almost impossible to tell anything changed. It would have been very underwhelming, were it not for the change in air.

Kazius could feel it, it was like the air was heavier, denser, a new pressure was felt on the group. The mana in this side of the continent was extremely dense, making it unquestionable that they were in an unfamiliar place.

Kazius, Eve, and Azanor were fine with the change. Yes, the air was heavier thanks to the concentration of mana, but that was it… It didn’t seem like that big of a deal to him… But to a Human? Such a big change in concentration of mana was quite overwhelming.

Alice would collapse, giving Kazius little time to react. He would rush over, catching the human princess. He supported her weight with ease, even if he felt fatigued from the events from before. She would pant heavily, struggling to catch her breath.

“It is okay. Breathe… Slowly, match me.” Kazius assured softly, growing concerned. He would breathe slowly, coaxing her to calm down and follow.

Alice would struggle, but would slowly try and breathe along with him. After some time, she felt like she could breathe again. She was getting used to the heavy air.

“T-Thank you… I think I am fine now. You can let go now.” Alice would state in embarrassment, clearly not used to relying on others. She would avert her gaze, she looked quite ashamed. After all, she had been the only one affected… Then again, it was odd Eve wasn’t… Perhaps Elves faired better with such things. Kazius supposed that was a good thing though.

Still, Alice looked like she wasn’t in the state to walk at all, yet her pride did not allow her to ask for help.

Kazius sighed, he was tired, but…

“Yeah right, no way. You can’t even move your legs. It will be a while before you can properly adjust and that is okay… But we must keep moving until we find a spot to camp so…”

With that, he would crouch, motioning her to get on his back.

“H-Hold on… I-I don’t need…” Alice began before she would look around, flustered.

She would then spot Azanor. He was not helping at all, snickering at her. She would stare at Kazius for a bit, eventually making up her mind. She would get on, ending up being carried in a piggyback ride. “Thank you…” She would whisper quietly once Kazius was moving again.

“I am glad you’re okay! Let me know if you need me to heal you.” Eve assured.

“Oh, she looks more than okay~” Azanor taunted.

It was then Alice would glare at the Demon, “I will kill you in your sleep.” She would threaten.

“No, we need to be friends!” Eve exclaimed with a pout.

“Enough, don’t tease her. I am sure you can tell that there is a lot of mana in the air here, Azanor… I am not a magic user, but even I know that too much mana can kill… I am surprised Eve is even okay. Still… It is weird… I don’t understand why there is so much mana here…” Kazius stated while he looked around.

“I think I could make a guess… But I wouldn’t tell you for free.” Azanor chuckled out.

“What else is new. I am not curious enough to give a Demon my soul, no thanks.” Kazius stated with an eyeroll. He was getting used to his comrades, even Azanor.

Still, indeed it was strange… Just why was there so much of a difference? It was enough to make a Human a little sick… maybe for a day or two… Though not to kill them… Then again, Alice was heartier than the average Human… Which showed since she was only nauseous, but was rapidly adjusting…

The greenery around the area was also bigger, thicker… But other than that, it was no wasteland of death… A normal human would be able to survive in such a place if they took a little time to adjust. They could perhaps even thrive. Another lie of the church… Of course, they only saw some of the area… The savage lands took up 90% of the continent. The continent was not a small one either… It began to make Kazius wonder if there really were no settlements in such a place… Such fertile soil… The mana in the air would do better than any fertilizer that he knew of. Monsters did live here… And the Orc he met before had to be from somewhere… Though these facts also meant he would be on his guard.

He would stop his thoughts once they found a good spot near the river to camp. This was the same river that flowed into Ratier, that they had camped by before. Though here, the fish in the river… Not only could he tell the river was deeper, but he could see the fish were quadruple the size… Some even looking a bit different.

Since they could set up camp here, he would gently place Alice down.

“I can still help; I think I can stand now.” Alice stated stubbornly.

‘Why won’t she just rest a little?’

“Alright, I believe you… But please, take it easy… We both used a lot of energy back in Remus.”

“I will.” Alice assured with a small smile.

With that he would set up camp. He could tell Azanor was staring though, but he said nothing. Azanor would study the two. Kazius was busy setting up camp, while Alice started to get a fire going. Kazius wasn’t sure why, but surprisingly enough, Azanor would go get fish. He helped by snatching some of the big fish from the river with his bare hands, Eve cheering him on while he did so. It was always a mixed bag with the Demon. Sometimes he felt like helping, sometimes he didn’t. He was still curious… His motivation was boredom… But he felt like there was something else to it.

That wasn’t the only thing in his mind as they set up their tents. He had to figure out which way to go. Perhaps South? They could head North or East, but if they were to be pursued… It would be where most would check first… And these lands likely already had their own threats. There was little he knew of the place, other than teachings about the war 1000 years ago… His information was beyond outdated.

By heading South, being close to the Thimdur border would also likely be beneficial… There may be old mineshafts where they could gather abandoned equipment… Maybe precious metals that could be traded for things too… if given the opportunity, that is… Above all, he hoped to find a map. Dwarves were also stubborn and cared more about their craft than anything… They would be the least likely to send reinforcements to Ratier… Not to mention… He was curious… Did the other kingdoms know that Alice was alive? This fact may cause the church to be more secretive… All Kazius could do right now was speculate though…

Making up his mind and the tents now fully set up… He would join Alice, who was cooking the fish. Eve was talking to Azanor, telling him some story about the head holy maiden at the chapel… How the woman would always light the church candles in a very specific order and how Eve would get in trouble if she didn’t do the same. A boring tale in Kazius’ opinion, yet Azanor seemed to listen so intently… He didn’t understand the Demon.

Then there was Alice… The princess showed a lot of trust by showing her face… Of course, Azanor seemed to have known her identity from the start… He spoke of her family losing manners… Back when he had been summoned… The Demon had been sealed away by her ancestor… Yet he seemed to regard it as an inconvenience rather than have a grudge… Though Azanor did speak of not being like a typical Demon…

Kazius had many questions he wanted to ask his party… He needed to understand them further, so that they could help one another properly. They were in the middle of nowhere, likely to be chased by Edicts. It was time to talk.