Chapter 10

Here Be Monsters

“Savages”, Hadda had called them. Murderers, torturers – these were the type of people Thorne’s group was made of. The type of people that took me in. Regardless of how vile their past sins were, it was still better than roaming out there alone with the lifer constantly stalking me.

We were a group of eight people.

There was Saint, the mad tyrant who burned his enemies alive.

Hemmy, the giant who could crush an adult man with his strength alone.

Oude, the childslayer… who was as his name implied – a pure psychopath who murders children. All of them were monsters of their own kind.

And then… there was him.

They called him Thalvos in honor of the dark god, but his true name was Jead, the inflictor. A pitiless “interrogator” in life and a malevolent healer in death. He was the doctor of our group, but the only reason he knew of healing arts was because he had to keep his subjects alive for as long as he could, even if they wished otherwise.

He always had this luster in his gaze on me, and he never even tried to hide it. One time, he caught me alone and approached me. He... didn’t do anything, just whispered a few words.

“Patience, Jead. Soon...”

I didn’t know to whom he whispered those words to, but he did it with his mouth by my ear. Ever since then, I always tried to avoid even his sight, but something like that was impossible in a group so small.

Amidst the nightmare were not all monsters, however. The person who found me, Thorne, was not a monster.

“I will protect you, Little Fay,” he’d promised me, the girl who cost him his ability to walk. “No matter what, you are in my care.”

There was also Arty, the deathsmith. Contrary to his name, Arty was a kind old man with no taste for violence. Instead, he earned his place here as an inventor of weapons. He and Thorne met as enemies in life but ended up as trusted friends here. He even made the ‘walkchair’ for Thorne – a self-propelling chair device that he made using parts he acquired from the ‘cheatbox’.

“Enemies for life, but bosom mates in hell,” was how Thorne described their relationship.

Lastly, there was Nile. The beautiful Nile, who spent her living days as an assassin. Like Arty, she was Thorne’s trusted friend, and perhaps more. I’ve seen them act intimately when they thought I wasn’t listening. Whenever Jead had to check on Thorne’s spine, Nile would stay at his side, as if making sure Jead wasn’t doing anything funny.

She acted cold towards me at first, as everyone else was. After all, they earned their place here through the blood on their hands, so why should I be any different? Perhaps I’m a monster just like them, only I can’t remember – that was what I had thought. Back then, I haven’t yet realized I was a special case.

“You remind me of my daughter,” Thorne said to me one time. “I fathered three children in my life, you know. Two sons – twins, just entered the academy when I last heard of them. And my daughter… she was only five when…” he stopped when he noticed the presence behind him.

“She should be around her age by now,” Nile stroked her black hair gracefully as she walked over.

“Yeah…” he smiled upon her arrival. “She’d be a wonderful lady.”

“Of course, as long as she takes after the mother. I just hope she doesn’t take too much from the father,” Nile tittered.

“She’d be a strong and beautiful lady, I’m sure of it,” Thorne returned his gaze to me, “…just like you, Little Fay.”

“Strong? Now that’s funny,” a cold voice came. Even without turning my head around, I knew who it belonged to. “She can’t even run. Hemmy had to carry her around when he was already carrying you, so tell me, Thorne – why would you protect a burden?”

Thorne sent him a calm stare. “No one has ever hurt Exy to that extent, Thalvos. Ever. And she’s not a burden. She’s the only one who can open the master cubes.”

It was a lie. I had long since taught Arty how to operate the ‘cheatboxes’. Even without words, he understood after I showed him once. Yet, he pretended as if he didn’t and instead asked for my help every time we needed to crack a box open. And I knew why.

There was hunger in Jead’s eyes, a hunger that would turn my blood cold even now. They were helping me, pretending they needed me because my ‘usefulness’ was the only thing keeping me safe from him.

Sensing that gaze, Thorne pulled me closer to him and Jead snorted in mockery.

“How exactly can you protect her when you can’t even hold your own weight?” he challenged as he approached him threateningly.

Nile stepped forwards between them, adorning her face with a beautiful, yet deadly smile. “Perhaps you want to see my way of protecting people?” she taunted.

Soon after, Arty followed, and even Hemmy.

“Spineless I may be, I am still the leader of this group,” declared Thorne, who was failing to hide a smug expression on his face.

Outnumbered, Jead raised his arms in yield. “You are. For now...” What he had on his face was not the face of surrender. It was an unnerving smile.

Finally, he left, and I was allowed to breathe again.

“See? This is why we should kill that bloody cunt,” Nile said, playing with a knife that suddenly appeared in her hands.

“Nile, we talked about this,” Thorne nodded his head at me, “language, please. And as I said before, Jead is the only one who can–“

“Would you still say that after he finally makes his move?” Nile interrupted before he could finish. “And you know you’re not the only one he’s going to hurt, don’t you?” she said, subtly gesturing at me.

“…Alright, princess,” he sighed deeply. “We will deal with him, but only when the time is right,” said Thorne dully before turning to me. “In the meantime, I want you to stay where I can see you, Little Fay.”

I suppressed a shudder.

They just decided to kill a person like it was normal, with me being part of the reason no less. Part of me wanted to tell them no, but another part, the part of me that’s scared of Jead, wanted it to happen.

For the first time, I was glad for not being able to speak.

Not long after, we opened another gate, bypassing the puzzle by using the cheatbox. Though it had been some time since our last encounter with Eggsy, a watcher was seen not long ago and it was decided for Nile, the fastest of us, to scout ahead.

“I’m going away for a bit,” Nile said to me before she knelt down and suddenly pulled me into her arms. She whispered while hugging me, “No matter what you do, stay with Thorne. Promise me.”

I still remembered how somber her words were, and how her black eyes stared at Thorne, full of meaning.

While waiting for Nile to come back, Thorne made sure to keep me by his side.

“Every one of us began with what we had when we died,” he told me. “I was lucky to have a pistol with me, but the bullets had long since ran out. Arty had a bag of chemicals with him, and Hemmy was buck naked,” he laughed. “We were defenseless against Exy, and the only way to survive is to take what other people had for yourself. I won’t lie – I did my fair share as well, but then... I realized, if we could all work together instead–“

“My, my – is it story time again, daddy?”

The mocking, yet threatening voice was unmistakably Jead’s. Sensing my fear, Thorne pulled me behind him.

“What do you want, Thalvos?” He dared.

“Ah, yes,” Jead let out a sinister chuckle, “Quite an honor that name you gave me. It does feel nice to be compared to a god.”

“That name was never meant as an honor,” Thorne scowled. “What do you want?”

“What I want? I’m a simple man, Thorne, like you are. I want to live. I want to get out. I want to fulfill my urges... the same urges I know you have.”

I could feel Thorne’s hand twitching, gripping me tighter.

“What’s your point?”

“I respect you, Thorne. We all do.”

Before I realized it, Oude had made his way to us with an unfriendly gaze.

“You were the best of us. You were the torch that led our way, but it’s time to pass that torch to someone that can walk without a bloody chair,” Jead’s expression was visibly vicious at that point, twisting from a harmless scrawny man to the sadistic torturer that he is.

“And I suppose that ‘someone’ is you?” Arty said, stepping beside Thorne to defend him.

Following that was a loud thump, and once again the giant Hemmy stood with us.

“As you see, Thalvos – the others have faith in me,” Thorne said.

“Oh, do they?” Jead smiled wickedly.

Suddenly, Hemmy swung his arm and sent Arty flying to the wall.

“Arty!”

Before Thorne could react, we were beset on all sides by monsters – the inflictor in front, with the childslayer and the giant at our sides.

“The others won’t stand for this,” Thorne gnashed his teeth.

“Others? Saint over there doesn’t give a rat’s ass about a crippled leader, and I don’t see your girlfriend anywhere. Not to worry, Slayer, for I will continue your legacy, remember everything you taught us as I lead us out of this god-forsaken hell. Unfortunately, there’s some things I’ll have to change too.”

Jead eyed me with malice. Thorne and I both knew what he meant.

“...You can’t,” Thorne drew protective arms in front of me. “You remember how long it took us to open the gates. We would’ve never reached this far without her.”

“And yet, Arty’s the one doing all the work now. I’m no fool, Thorne. She’s nothing but burden, and we have no place for weakness if we want to survive.”

“And what? You’re going to leave her just because she’s a little weak?”

“No, Thorne. I’m not going to leave her all alone in this maze, nor am I going to kill her. After you’re gone, I will… care for her like you had. Unlike you who pamper her with bedtime stories, though, I have a way to make her pull her own weight,” he said with a fiendish smirk.

Against that, Thorne retorted with a calm, yet belligerent voice, “That won’t happen. You will not touch her, not as long as I live.”

“I know that,” Jead sighed, then signaled with his hand.

At that moment, Oude and Hemmy began their approach. Thorne turned to me and said only a single word;

“Run.”

It happened so fast.

Thorne pushed me away and I ran as he said. Behind me, I heard grunts and something getting knocked over, but I continued to run until a shadow looms in front of me.

Hemmy blocked my exit, easily catching up with steps that cover leaps. With his overwhelmingly colossal physique, he took me down on my belly and I was forced to watch Thorne’s struggle.

Even without his legs, even when he’s down on the ground, beaten and kicked on like some rascal, Thorne held on. He fought back with the fervor and valiance that earned him the many names he had. Eventually, it got to the point that Hemmy had to lift me up with his large, deformed hands, threatening to wring my body like a piece of rag.

“Do continue, if you so wish to end her suffering, O great Slayer.”

With Jead’s threat, Thorne stopped and looked at my direction. Only then he finally laid his arms down, dropping his knife and gun to the ground.

“Well, what do you know. He can be tamed, after all,” Jead laughed mercilessly.

Oude then rushed over to the puzzle and started to work on it. Even though the gate was already open and the puzzle itself was broken, the machinery still worked and soon enough, whirring and clanking sounds came out from the box.

Thorne!

I tried to wriggle free when Jead dragged him towards the box. As his face was lifted in front of the vent, Thorne gave me one last look. His voice was too soft, yet I knew, and still remembered what he said.

“I’m sorry, Little Fay.”

Then, his head was shoved into the vent, into the countless moving machinery that would easily tear flesh from bone.

Thorne! Ugh, let go of me, Hemmy!

I couldn’t do anything. Even if it felt like time stopped, there was nothing. I couldn’t even scream at him. Nothing I could do when Thorne’s screams drowned out the whirring of machines, the noises of the tearing of flesh, and the sound of Jead’s crazed laughter. Nothing I could do when the screams finally stopped, and his body fell limp.

Stop... please...

“As the man who tamed the Untamed, I hereby proclaim myself the leader of this... what is this? Group? Gang? Whatever. Now then...”

I didn’t have time to grief, not when Jead turned his attention towards me, with that luster in his eyes and a wicked grin on his face.

“Your turn.”

◊ ◊ ◊

“...ke...up…”

Ugh...

“Wake up!”

Eh?

My eyes snap open to see a certain cardinal lady's face.

“Latasha, you shouldn’t be so rough," a gentler voice said. "Your face is so pale," Farica said as she reaches out to hold my hand. "And your hand is shaking."

I'm fine. I pull my hands away.

“Was I too rough? Sorry, whitey, but you seemed like you wanted to be woken up,” the ladyship said with a look that’s not apologetic in any way. There’s a red mark on her cheek as if someone hit her very recently. Before I could even ponder about it, she points at it, and then at me.

“You did this.”

Eh?

"L–Latasha..."

She ignores Farica's plead and keeps accusing me. “You did this in your sleep.”

…Ah, so they woke me up because I was trashing around. Now, I wonder if this will work?

I join my hands in front of me and tilt my head to the side, unleashing the mightiest smile I have in my arsenal.

I’m sowwy?

The next thing I know, she’s tearing my cheeks off of my face. Then the opening at the back of the wagon opens and Luise’s face appears.

“Err… the scouts just returned. We’ll be departing soon, just letting you girls know,” he informed, probably trying his best not to comment.

After some short preparations, the convoy is raring to go.

Like yesterday, Kaelyn is sharing the wagon with us along with two other girls. Luise is nowhere to be seen, and in his place is another man. He wears a hooded robe beneath the cuirass, and instead of a sword, all he has is a walking cane that has rounded ends with some kind of orb embedded inside one of them. He has sharp features on his face; thin lips, narrow eyes, and high-cheekbones. His shoulder-length hair is of a strange mix between red and grey, but that might be the light playing tricks.

“...Name’s Sallis,” he muttered quietly as if speaking to himself.

He’s quiet most of the time, and from his slim build and attire, it’s evident that he’s not someone who relies on beefs. Rather, he seems to be what they call a “magus”, people who use magic rather than brawn. Also, I have this weird feeling that he’s watching me, but I can’t seem to catch him in the stare.

With a signal from the front, the convoy begins to move. The early sunlight soon disappears and replacing it are shadows of trees. Peeking outside, I see the soldiers vigilantly watching the surroundings as they ride on their horses. One of them notices me and gives me a wave, so I clumsily wave back before someone suddenly pulls me back into the wagon.

I glare at her, but then I notice the stifling silence. The girls are being uncharacteristically quiet, and Sallis being so sullen isn’t helping either. Even Latasha, the one who pulled me, seems anxious. Did she think some monster would grab me or something?

I actually prefer them being noisy compared to this.

Girls, it’s okay. The drifters are guarding us.

I give them all a smile.

Farica seems to catch on, “Umm, let’s play something…”

“Like what?” Latasha said. Contrary to her tone, she seems eager to get rid of the uneasy atmosphere.

“Oh! Hold on…” Kaelyn pulls out a pouch, and opening it, she shows a bunch of various kinds of nuts inside. “I’ve been picking these up thinking they could be snacks, but I realized we had no way… to… crack them…” she trailed off towards the end, realizing how stupid it makes her look.

“Nice, ruddy!” Latasha gave her a big grin, causing a blush to appear on the red-head’s face.

The tension comes down after that as the girls join the chatter and the creepy guy fades into the background.

“The game is called ‘Divvy and Naught’,” Latasha explains with enthusiasm, “Suppose we’re a party of drifters, having raided a dungeon and found a chest of, say…” she starts counting the nuts, “twenty-nine gold pieces. We each take any number of gold in turns until all the gold is taken.”

“Ah, I think I know that. It’s an old method of fair share used by drifters,” Kaelyn said.

“Yes! You win if you have the most gold but lose instead if any of us has less than the ‘fair share’. In that case, the game continues with one less person, and the fair share changes as well.”

“Sounds complicated... what if there’s only two people left?” Farica asked, already showing signs of dislike towards the game.

“I don’t know... flip a coin? We continue until we get a winner, which will be me, by the way. I’ve played this since I was a kid,” she declared with confidence.

In the end, I won every round. Latasha sulked for some time.

As noon came, the forward scouts return with hunted game and the convoy stops by a small stream for lunch.

While waiting for the, oh magnificous meat, I watch the dull yet beautiful green around me as well as all the life in it. Frankly, it’s hard to imagine that something dangerous resides here – with how the birds sing their songs, and thickets rustling as small critters run pass – it’s just too peaceful. Over the stream, I can see the land starting to incline. Indeed, the planned route is for us to go through the edge of the forest, at the foot of the circling mountains and away from the dangerous inner part of the forest.

“Miss fae...” a small voice called out. I turn around to see the luphaen girl.

What’s up, Aira?

“Umm... the food is ready,” she answered, barely meeting my eyes.

Ah, come to think of it...

I grab hold of her hands, staring into her eyes as I send her my thoughts. It’s only an assumption, but I think she’s more susceptible to my “telepathy” than others.

She jerks back, but I hold on to her. Immediately her eyes swim around, “M–M–M–Miss Fay? What are you...” she falls quiet. There’s a glint in her eyes and a twitch of her ears before she continues, “I‒If you’re asking about that, I.... I haven’t felt anything ever since we entered the forest.”

I see.

I smile and nod before letting her go.

I haven’t heard any of the voices either. Was it just a bluff? Some puny critters that didn’t want their homes trampled, perhaps. Yet, something capable of “speaking” like that can’t be your average beast.

After the rest, I decide to ride with Aira in the other wagon, just in case. I still remember my promise with Orlev, but it’s not like there’s anything risky Latasha could do in a moving wagon. Sallis is there to protect her, anyway, so it should be fine. Speaking of the magus, it’s good to be away from his eyes, too.

Both Latasha and Farica starts complaining when they find out I changed wagons, though. I don’t get it. It’s not like me being there would make any difference.

The journey after feels rather uneventful until something appears in our path, sometime after lunch break.

“Anq’vok...” the chief swore in a language I don’t recognize.

“...This is a problem,” is what Orlev has to say about it.

By the way, the three of us, Latasha, Farica and Me, are here for some reason. When the convoy suddenly stopped, we were called to the front. It’s not like we’re needed, but it seems that the three of us were established as some kind of representatives of the rescuees.

“Isn’t there any other route?” Latasha asked.

“There is, but...” Aldwan ponders on it.

In front of us is something I presume to be the road. A huge landslide seems to have happened, bringing a great deal of debris from the mountain further down the slope. Heaps of dirt, way higher than the horses can climb, clump in our way.

“There’s no way we’ll get around that. (Luise)

“I believe there’s another road?” (Sir Lain)

“Hrrm… it takes us through the center of the forest, though.” (Chief)

It wasn’t a long discussion. Time’s not our friend, and we quickly decide to take the other route.

After that, Latasha and Farica argue to share a wagon with me. I still don’t get why they want to be with me, but in the end, it’s decided that Aira is to be riding with us instead. That also means I’ll be under Sallis’ creepy watch again. Shite.

We continue the journey, slightly going back the road and continuing off where the dirt path branched. Over time, the evening grows darker, and the forest grows dense.

“Like this, we won’t get much sun even at midday,” Kaelyn said as she peeks out from the wagon, trying to get a glimpse of the sky beyond the barrier of leaves and treetops.

“Not to mention, it’s really dark these past few nights. There’s a chance we’ll be in total darkness,” Latasha mentioned casually.

“No way, that’s scary...” Farica said, intent on living up to the name of wuss.

But indeed, it’ll probably get very dark, with the trees this tall and the crowns that thick. I mind that in the day as they make more protection against the sun. The sun hurts me. I hate the sun.

But darkness, I hate more. There’s always something lurking beneath it. Always.

“It’s so quiet.” Aria mumbled, her ears twitching as if to catch a grasshopper’s hop.

Earlier on the outer rims of the cirque, sounds of life filled the air. Now, there’s nothing as much as an insect’s chirp. It’s too quiet and I don’t like it.

As per Orlev’s plan, the convoy stops at sundown and we make camp. Sallis does some weird chanting and drawings on the ground, and some type of barrier is erected. I can’t see anything, but when I get close, there’s this soft humming – like the air itself is vibrating. I can tell the composition of the barrier somewhat. It seems like it’s one of those “mana field” Hadda told me about.

Interesting, I say to myself as I probe around the barrier.

It seems to work by isolating certain spaces where the air density varies – that seems to be the basic function, but it seems to be much more complex than that. For one, I think it redirects light to a certain extent, but that may just be a side-effect.

Even though the night is dark, we’re not using too much fire, just enough to see certain parts in the convoy. I imagine that if the fires were to go out, we’d really be in total darkness. Because of that, some drifters are assigned to man the fire to make sure they don’t get extinguished.

After dinner, Commander Orlev briefs us on the barriers and how they work. According to him, it prevents beasts from seeing, smelling, or hearing anything from inside the barrier, and when push comes to shove, the barrier itself would restructure and hinder physical entrance.

“While it may sound omnipotent, it is far from it. I advise that we take care not to disturb the forest. Also, refrain from messing about with the barrier,” he instructed, and I think he meant that last part for me. I was just curious, you know.

--- --- ---

We went to sleep not long after dinner. However, during the night, something wakes us up.

“Hey, wake up!” Latasha shakes Farica awake.

“Unn... what is it...?”

“Did you hear that?”

“There’s a commotion outside,” Kaelyn said in a low murmur. Being the first awake along with me, she’s already in a position to jump out.

As I am about to go out the back, Sallis’ face appears right in front of mine. He looks over my shoulder at the other girls.

“...Beasts.”

While the girls are still trying to apprehend that, Sallis grabs hold of my arm and pulls me out, almost causing me to fall over. Then he suddenly paused as if remembering something, looks back at the girls inside and says, “The rest of you, stay.”

“Wha... hold on for a sec– whitey!”

As Latasha shouts for me, Sallis drags me away into the dark.

Now that I’m outside, the commotion is apparent. The drifters are hustling around shouting instructions to each other, fires are being lit and weapons passed on. Even so, I don’t see or hear any beasts.

Stop pulling me, you brooding dickhead.

Sallis suddenly stops and I freeze. Then I realize he stopped not because he heard me, but because Orlev is now standing in front of us, glaring down at the magus.

“Why did you bring her out?” he interrogated.

“She’s a magus,” Sallis answered as if it’s an obvious answer.

Orlev shakes her head and points back to where we came from. “Get her back to safety. She’s a rescuee and I won’t stand to put her in danger–“

His words are cut off by a shriek. Not human. Clearly a not-human shriek, coming from the darkness of the forest.

“Here they come! Drifters, pair up in threes and assemble a defense line just behind the barrier!” Orlev shouts his orders, then turns back to Sallis, “You keep away from the defense and stay on support,” he leans in, “and you better give me your damn word to keep her safe.”

“...My word.”

After he heard Sallis’ response, the commander runs off while shouting more orders. Meanwhile, Sallis stares at me with his blank gaze.

“Let’s go to the defense line,” he cocks his head towards where the shouting is.

Uh... He specifically told you not to—hey!

The pulling again... I don’t like him already. Actually, I don’t like him from the start.

As we stand by on the defense line, the voices quiet down and a nerve-wrecking silence takes over. Each of the drifters’ eyes are locked to the darkness, beyond where the fires can light. It feels like the silence continues forever until a screech comes from the forest, followed by beastly howls. I can feel sweat dripping down despite the cold night.

When I look at Sallis, his face is as calm as usual. What is up with this guy?

It only takes mere seconds before shrieks and roars drowns out everything else. Some drifters twitch anxiously, but all of them stands fast, grips on the handles of their swords and fingers on the guards of their guns.

“…They’re here,” the man beside me whispered as a shadow jumps out towards the barrier.

◊ ◊ ◊

“I’m going out,” Latasha rose to her feet.

“Eh? Wait, you can’t!” Farica cried in protest.

Latasha ignores her and grabs the wolf-something sword. Before she can leave the wagon, someone grabs her arm.

“Whitey’s out there, you big wuss!” she shouted.

“The others are out there too! I’m sure they’ll protect her!” Farica shouted back, desperate to keep her friend inside the wagon.

“And what if they don’t?” Latasha shot back, “What if a beast slipped through and got to her? Do you think she’d be able to call for help?”

“That’s...”

As her grips on Latasha’s arm weakens, she yanks it off her. “I’m going out. If you want to keep being a wuss, then be one, but don’t get in my way. As if being in here makes it safer, anyway.”

Ignoring her pleas, Latasha jumps out the wagon, but not before hearing Kaelyn’s voice, “Don’t worry, Miss Farica! I’ll bring her back!”

Ugh, what a pain, she thought as she prepares her fist. Sometimes, even a cardinal lady has to get her hands dirty.

Where are you, whitey? And why is it so dark?

◊ ◊ ◊

Swords sang with flesh, bolts whistled through the air.

After the first shots, the drifters switched the guns to crossbows and has been firing it since. When the first beast broke through the barrier, swords were unsheathed, and the first spear took its blood.

Screams of dying beasts are in harmony with the battle cries of the drifters. There are beasts of all sorts of forms – four legged, six legged, fleeced and scaled, as tall as the wagons, and as small as wolves. They come like a stream, flowing out the forest with no signs of stopping.

As the barrier breaks, Sallis keeps chanting, rebuilding parts that are broken over and over again. His efforts manage keep the beasts bottlenecked at several entrances.

The drifters fight skillfully as well. They work with each other efficiently; crossbows at the back, swords and spears at the front. In the teams of threes, one attacks from the range, while the two at the front take turns drawing the attentions of the beasts. Despite being overwhelmed just seconds ago, everyone is fighting proficiently. We might get through the night like this.

“Demonics!” someone shouted.

“Watch out!”

At that second, something whizzes pass, breaking through the barrier and lands behind me in a large splash.

…Splash?

I look behind and see that it had extinguished a fire. Since when have beasts carry water balloons around?

“Hydra!”

“Anyone hit?”

“None. It missed.”

“Another attack! Watch out!”

Another water-ball-bullet-thing launches off the darkness. It would’ve been impossible to dodge an unseen shooter, yet thankfully, the viscous projectile misses us and lands on another fire.

...Eh?

“Stay focused! Keep the line and watch for the demonics!”

More and more shots zipped pass, each of them missing, and... each of them hitting lit fires and lanterns.

...They’re not missing.

Oh, crap.

They’re aiming for our light sources!

I turn to Sallis and while I’m trying to think of a way to tell him, the look in his eyes tells me that he already knows.

As more of the lights are gone, the others start to realize too, but there’s nothing that they can do. The hydras are hiding in the shadows, far behind the line of beasts. Then, as the last fire goes out, complete darkness falls...

...or that’s what I expected, but a light still shines over the battle. I look up and see a small, yet bright ball of light, pulsating above. This is Sallis’ doing. He’s using fire to make light. He’s a pyromancer.

Thanks to the light, the fight continues without us being blind.

“The back! Hydras at the back!” one of the drifters shouted.

I look at Sallis, and I instantly know that he has the same thing in mind.

“Go.”

Yes!

I start running towards the back of the convoy.

--- --- ---

When I arrive there, it’s as suspected. With all the fires out, the drifters fight in the darkness. From the many dying screams I hear, they never stood a chance once their sights are taken away.

Come on... think! What did Sallis do? He generated light from a ball of fire, but how does it work...

“Uagh!”

“H‒Help me!”

“I see light to the front! Retreat there!”

“No! We can’t leave the prisoners! Stand your ground!”

That last voice, it was Luise’s.

They’re being killed off one by one. I got to figure this out, fast.

Create an isolated space, evacuate the air inside and fill it with gas to be burned. Then, feed it with air, little by little. If it’s done like this, it won’t be bright enough...

Manipulate the space? Seal in the heat, increase the pressure, stack the energy... what else? Damn it, there’s no time. Let’s just do it!

Let there be light!

“Light! There’s light!”

“It’s the faean!”

“Drifters, reform!”

With my “light” in the fold, the drifters start to fight back. While dragging the wounded, they form a semi-circle line with the convoy at their back. Bodies were also left behind. Dead bodies, with pools of red beneath.

Even with heavy losses, they fight with little signs of disheartenment. The barrier on this side is completely gone, yet as the beasts converge upon them, they each fight with ferocity, killing beasts one after another while watching a comrade’s back.

And then there’s Luise.

He is dancing. A dance of steel and flesh, whipping with light steps out of the line to wreak havoc, then retreating back two moments before the swarm got to him. Red goes his golden mane, dyed by the death wrought upon by the teeth that is his sword. At this point, it’s unclear on which of them is the monster.

The battle goes on, and even as the drifters wore down, they hold the line. Then something else appears.

“What in the hell is that?!”

As someone exclaimed, I look at the direction that person pointed, and standing there is... something that could only be described as a monstrous beast.

A large beast standing on two legs, covered in fur and standing almost as tall as Eggsy was. Its eyes hidden from sight, nostrils flaring behind the thick beard-like fur. Claws like swords and arms large as a man’s waist.

In conclusion, a dangerous-looking beast.

“It’s a bloody treewalker!”

The “treewalker” picks up something. He lifts it above its head for us all to see.

...It’s a freaking boulder.

“He’s going to throw! Shoot him!”

The drifters with crossbows start shooting at it in a frenzy, and the treewalker drops the boulder with a growl.

“Everyone, keep the line while I’m gone!” Luise shouted.

“Eh?! Where’re you going, wolf?!”

“That thing will wreck us all if left alone! Give me a head start, guys!”

With Luise’s instructions, the crossbows all fire in unison, creating an opening for Luise to close in on the treewalker. Seeing the movement, the beast swipes at him, but he easily lowers his form and dodges the attack.

What comes next is like a stand-off between a bee and a bear. One attack from it would be enough to scatter Luise’s innards, yet he evades every single attack while slipping in a slash or two after each dodge. While it may seem that Luise takes the pace, his breath is raggedy and his steps are getting wobbly. He won’t last long.

The others try their best to cover him, but there’s just too many of them, forcing Luise to defend himself from the beasts on his back as well. The treewalker takes its chance and, unable to dodge, Luise uses his sword to defend the attack. With a large ring, the steel blade snaps into two.

“Fuck!” he cursed.

Is there anything I can do to help him? The “bulb” I made is already giving off an intense light from the energy crammed inside. I’m pretty sure it can kill that beast in one strike, but it might also kill everyone else in the process.

“Raargh!”

With a bestial roar, someone jumps out, seemingly out of nowhere, and plants his feet in front of the treewalker, stopping its attack with his... bare hands? Am I seeing right?

It’s… Chief Aldwan. He’s currently holding one of the beast’s arms. However, it still has one other free limb.

It’s going to attack!

“Ald! Watch out!”

Promptly, I make another “fireball” and launch it at the beast, making it so that it releases the energy inside once it collides. The power is much weaker than the one I’m using as light, but enough to stagger the beast back and make its fur catch on fire.

“Vaosha, little magus!” The chief shouted at me, his voice sounding much more bestial due to agitation.

Then, drawing it from his back, he took out his weapon that I’ve never seen before; A large single-bladed halberd, the sheer size clearly not something a human would be able to handle. And here he’s swinging it like a stick, not giving the treewalker a chance to counter.

Even so, between Luise having no his weapon and the many beasts at their back, they’re having a hard time.

Suddenly, a familiar voice calls out, “Oi, rake!”

Following the voice, something is thrown and Luise catches it in the air while performing a magnificent jump. Immediately after that, he joined in on the chief’s fight with a longsword in hand.

“Magus, watch out!”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see something flashing as a waterball rapidly launches towards me.

“Whitey!”

Before I can react, something crashes into me and I fall into the ground.

I look down to see a girl on top of me. The back of her dress is burnt away and a large red gash appears across her back, almost like a burnt mark.

…Latasha?

Her eyes are closed, and her limbs fell limp to her sides.

“Watch out, they’re shooting again!”

“Faean! Get away!”

Another of those waterball flies towards me, but it merely disperses as it hits the small barrier I just made – a simpler copy of Sallis’ mana field that stops molecular momentum. It seems that they’ve realized I’m behind the light and are now aiming for me. Bad luck, beasts, because this isn’t a fire you can just put out.

“Luise, now!” I hear a certain bear shouting. And then everything goes quiet.

My gaze is still on the girl laying on top of me. I lean near her face and can barely hear breathing.

“Tasha!” another voice called out.

Not a moment later, Luise drops down beside me. His hands are visibly shaking as he holds her face up.

At that moment, I realize the sound of fighting has stopped. The beasts have gone and the treewalker lies a corpse at the ground not far, the hilt of a longsword sticking out of one of its eyes.

“Where’s my sword... rake...” a whimper came.

Luise broke into a chuckle, though his expression is that of relief. “You daft girl,” he said, tenderly stroking her hair.

--- --- ---

“Why did they go away? They had us in the bloody pot,” Lain questioned.

“I don’t know, but I sure as hell don’t like this,” the chief replied while scratching his head with those large bear hands.

“...Damage report?” Sallis’ cold voice interrupts.

“Mostly minor injuries. Lady Ard– no, one girl and three drifters need treatment. And… five casualties. They were at the back, when... the hydras came.” the chief looks down in regret.

“You’ll have to answer for this, commander,”

Sir Lain’s statement drew a glare from the chief. It might not sound much from how it’s described, but trust me, an avlark’s angry face is the stuff of nightmares. To most people, at least.

“We were all in agreement,” his gnarly voice was almost as scary as the face that said them.

“Yeah, and he made the call,” Lain threw back at him.

“You, puny piece of bong’a anq’v–“

“Enough,” Orlev tapped on the chief’s shoulder. “He’s right, Aldwan. I am the commander. I did make the call. Sir Lain, I will take responsibility, but only if we get out of this alive. So focus on that.”

As the... discussion continued, my eyes go to a wagon that’s been prepared to treat the injured. Latasha should be there, perhaps with Luise at her side.

“We’ll visit her,” Farica whispered to me after noticing the target of my gaze.

Her voice tells me how much she tries to hide how shaken she is from the events last night. I myself isn’t that worried, though. Latasha will have to bear with a little pain, but the wound is shallow. She’ll live.

“For them to raid like that, it must be...”

“A demon. We’re not prepared for this,” Orlev finished Aldwan’s sentence, though he looks as if he regrets it upon saying the word.

“Bollocks. No one’s ever seen a demon for what, decades?” Lain argued.

“I know no other way for them to work together like that. They wouldn’t normally know to aim for our sight, either.” (Chief Aldwan)

“So, what? Should we turn back, then?” (Lain)

“Turn back where? There’s no other way to go without starving.”

“M‒Maybe we can meet a merchant caravan or something.”

“The roads north of Falreas hasn’t been used since the winter wars. We’ll starve before we reach the nearest civilization. Why did you think the slavers were using it?”

Farica looks at me anxiously. Out of us three, it’s usually Latasha who contributes at times like this. The wuss– I mean, Farica has mostly been quiet and I obviously don’t speak much.

Looking around, I see Kaelyn and Aria watching from a distance. The former seems to still be lost in her head, has been since she woke up earlier after being unconscious for some reason, though I suspect the bruise on her forehead had something to do with it. Meanwhile, Aira is... well... her melancholic eyes seem to wander away to no apparent object, and her face tells me that she’s worried about something. All of a sudden, that expression turns into fear, and the reason for that comes immediately after.

「 Done... 」

「 It’s done... 」

「 As expected of Mother... 」

「 They’re dead... 」

「 All dead... 」

「 Kyaha! 」

「 All dead... 」

“NO....!”

Aria’s sudden scream draws everyone’s attention. Kaelyn, who is beside her, puts her hand on the now crouching Aira in an attempt to console her.

“What’s wrong?”

“No...” she sobbed, her voice trembling as she raises her hands to cover her ears, as if to block something.

“We’re all going to...”

「 Die... 」

「 They’ll die... 」

「 Already dead... 」

「 No, alive... 」

「 Dead... 」

「 Keep alive... 」

「 More fun... 」

「 Dead... 」

「 Soon... 」

「 Kyaha! 」

「 Dead soon... 」

「 They escape? 」

「 No. 」

「 Won’t let them... 」

「 Don’t let them... 」

It seems that this is only the beginning, yet for some reason, I’m not afraid. In fact, I’m looking forward to what these creatures have in plan for us.

Crap, Hadda’s antics may have rubbed off on me.