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  “What else is it supposed to mean? I pierced through its heart and killed it,” he said plainly, prompting more of the same reactions, only a larger scale. This time, Lutiel himself struggled to keep his austere brows, twisting them at the puzzled expressions. ‘What’s their deal?’

  “No,” the leader finally spoke, following not a breath after. “That’s not possible. Varains have a natural barrier along their exterior. You wouldn’t be able to poke through its chest without specialised magic. I’m sorry to say, but it’s not possible as a cripple.” Steadily glancing at the snow, Pofrei’s tongue kept moving, only for him to suddenly raise his head at the man.

  “Did you retrieve its core?” He asked with a deep stare, making Lutiel ponder for the faintest moment before rummaging through his bag.

  Retrieving it however, his brow twitched slightly. ‘What happened?’ He asked himself, staring at the plain blue crystal in his left hand. Unlike just a few minutes ago, there was no glow anymore. At the same time, Pofrei nodded his head, taking the crystal before inspecting it on a closer level.

  Putting it practically against his eyeball, he promptly gave the core back, glancing at Lutiel with a much lighter composure compared to before. “It’s dead. The barrier must have stood on its last legs, hence you were able to kill it,” the demon mused whilst staring at Lutiel’s curious gaze around the crystal.

  Turning around, he swiftly gestured to his team. “Get on your horses, we’re going back on the correct path. Kanthier, you too,” the man said, receiving prompt nods from his team. Though, as they all began to walk back to the front of the carriage, Lutiel repeatedly looked through the seemingly empty crystal, startled abruptly as a hand fell on his right shoulder.

  Momentarily moving up, he saw Remen’s smile unveil itself before him, his lips parting right after. “You did a good job,” he said, tapping on the man a few times whilst leaving for the horses. Seeing Runi keep glancing at him however, Lutiel tossed the core back into his bag, walking forward once again.

  ‘I should be accustomed to weirdness already, yet it keeps catching up to me.’ Wondering lightly, he simply kept shut, looking ahead as the road sprawled itself out. ‘Wait for me a little longer, Sheila,’ the man spoke inside his head for the last time, somewhat ignoring the chatter coming from his left.

  …

  Every new dawn that lingered around, his chest grew heavier. Watching the landscape change repeatedly through morning till dark, Lutiel’s mind couldn’t help but hesitate, especially as he witnessed the forest they were moving along on the third day after their ambush.

  A brisk change invited them, watching the road they went through bereft of bleakness. On each verge of the road, the green blades danced about joyfully, together with the thin trunks of pale trees, dotted with minute, black spots all around while a dress of verdant hairs fluttered atop.

  Feeling the light breeze wheeze across his hairs, Lutiel couldn’t help but place his hand around the forehead, fighting the blaring sun peaking through the leaves as he stared at the meekly congested skies.

  Inhaling a deep breath, his eyes closed, promptly releasing before once again watching the carriage right ahead of him. Stumbling about wobbly through the bumpy grounds, the vehicle kept on moving nonetheless.

  Albeit, the people carried it at a leisure pace. Taking in the radiance shining through brightly, the group watched steadily as they had crawled out of the forest full of birch trees. Eventually, after finally breaking through the dense wall of trees, they stopped on the shallow cliff with a steep end.

  While most of them stopped before the edge, Lutiel omitted their position, going forward a bit. Making Remen follow him in the actions, they promptly stopped on the verge of the grass, a few steps before they would have fallen off.

  Glancing at the lands scattered out before him, the man couldn’t help but release a faltered breath, raising his chest after settling on the city far away into the horizon. Despite that, the walls stretched for a long while, practically from one end of his sight towards the other.

  ‘You didn’t change at all, Falia,’ he muttered internally, staring with solemn eyes before a voice from the side startled his sensations.

  “Whoaa, how could such a gruesome winter not come here in the slightest? It’s like a spring here,” Remen spoke out, immediately gaining reaction from a couple of people beside Lutiel.

  “It must be the work of the elves. They need to get their share of light into their systems daily, so no wonder they changed the outcome of the weather,” Pofrei explained slowly, making them all nod, except for Lutiel.

  His head only garnered topics that could be left for later. ‘Elves? Changing weather? Are they some kind of demons?’ He wondered quietly, not once glancing away from the uneven lands scattered out before him. Though, he especially kept around the holy capital, peering at its high and sturdy walls, along with the staggering towers, both along the walls, as well as inside the city itself.

  Still, as much as he wanted to keep staring at the city, the leader exclaimed eventually. “Let’s go, we have to deliver the package. I’m sure that old man will try to bleed us of the payment for being just a few hours late,” he said, once again attaining nods from the party.

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  Before long, they gradually descended down the path of the cliff, finally moving through the terrain flat enough to go straight towards the city walls.

  Still, they couldn’t go nearly as fast as before anymore. Mingling with the queue of numerous merchants and their different transports, they could only painstakingly wait as the merchants were meticulously let inside, one by one.

  The sun blazed its heart away directly at them, even as it wanted to hide away already. Regardless, sitting steadily in his cloak whilst riding on Runi, while the skies were painted blood orange, Lutiel stared away at the yellowish puffs hanging above, finally moving towards the staggering, open gates of the city.

  Stopped by guards in armor, he swiftly heard them talk, prompting his figure to lean to the side slightly.

  “What’s the purpose of your visit?” The main guard, the one in the very center, spoke whilst resting his right hand on a sword’s pommel. Yet, it only lingered there, awaiting the purple demon’s words.

  Veiled with his cloak, just like the rest of his companions, Pofrei simply lowered his left hand to the pouch beside his saddle. Rummaging through it, he swiftly brought a fist out.

  Immediately, a flash scattered through the space, briskly coming towards the guard before his metallic face caught it, unimpressed. Opening his free palm, the guard scoured through the large coin, only to nod to his guards.

  Promptly stepping away, they allowed the group to pass through, however, before they could fully enter, the guard stopped them, bringing his sword out and putting it against Lutiel’s horse.

  “You didn’t say anything about another member. Who is that?” Through his helmet, he swiftly turned to the leader again, who watched as he moved with his sword towards the back of the carriage. Meanwhile, Lutiel kept silent throughout, repeatedly gazing at the guard’s face, especially through the eye slits.

  “I thought it was clear he belongs to my team already?” Pofrei spoke in the human tongue, conversing with the man whilst Runi began to release deeper noises, even as his owner quickly eased it.

  “There were supposed to only be eight people, not nine,” he said, glaring at the veiled demon without moving an inch away from the position.

  “He isn’t going to attend the party. He’s only with us up to this point before going,” The man swiftly explained, making the guard tighten his grasp of the sword.

  “Should have said so from the beginning. You,” he uttered, swiftly turning towards Lutiel. “What’s your reason for coming here?”

  With a steady heart, he kept silent for a brisk breath, only to part his lips. “Searching for an old friend.” He said, caressing Runi’s mane before hearing the quiet guard slowly bring his sword back to the scabbard.

  “You’re clear, you may go,” he spoke, receiving a succinct nod from the man before he watched the carriage start to move. Going together with them however, he swiftly saw a certain figure arrive towards him.

  Breaking out of the front, Haness came on her horse towards him, slowly treading on his right side before letting a meek smile out. “We will have to part here,” she said, prompting Remen to glance at them for a second. “As much as we would want to repay you for helping us get here on time, we really have to go already. It was nice meeting you, Kanthier.”

  “I understand,” he said, beginning to slow down together with her whilst the others sped up through the brick road, driving through the somewhat clear street. Almost stopping completely, the girl moved on slowly, albeit, not before turning at him one last time, sending a wink before whispering out.

  “Also, don’t lie next time,” she said, making his eyes widen out before chuckling at his face. “Don’t worry, only I know, the rest should still think you’re a demon. Goodbye, Kanthier,” quickly adding on, she dropped the reins lightly, speeding up through the street before catching up to the rest of her group.

  Immediately, the man stood still in the space, watching constantly as they went out of his view. Eventually, in the middle of one of the buildings’ shadows, he let out a deeper breath, seeing as guards appeared at the end of the street the carriage rode through.

  Finally starting to move however, he couldn’t help but notice the sheer amount of guards, plastered almost everywhere. On each corner of a street, at least two were stationed, with many more lingering around the streets itself, gazing through the people walking about.

  ‘All of them are demons,’ he mused quickly, glancing with discreet eyes between the nooks of their armors. Still, changing to look at the humans before they noticed his gaze, Lutiel suddenly turned around.

  “Hey! Get off the road, can’t you see you’re blocking us?” A voice trampled along his figure, only for the man to send a fleeting glance at the two men guiding the carriage, promptly turning Runi to go left.

  A few breaths later, as the carriage went to the other side, Lutiel slowly traversed with his horse, watching the humans with a keen eye. Almost eerily, he gazed through them, going from one quickly to the other.

  Catching all kinds of people in his sight, from elderly to children, from women to men, he watched all of them, with a single conclusion swiftly appearing in his mind. ‘The only thing that separates them is the lack of iron around their necks,’ he mused, his jaw somewhat clenched.

  ‘Did Zyponia lie? No, that shouldn’t be the case,’ he thought whilst watching a young man stumble about in his tattered shirt, only to linger there as others wouldn’t toss glances down at him. Together with a smaller child clinging to her dress, a woman walked by, gasping out as the man grabbed onto her leg.

  “Please, help me…” he said with a dry voice, barely able to release the words properly. However, despite his woes, the girl promptly took her child, jerking her right leg away before running off.

  Glancing down momentarily, Lutiel was about to pass by the man, however, locking gazes with the brown eyes and dark hair, he stopped his horse.

  Irreverent, he omitted the curious looks raised his way, dropping down from Runi before grasping on the man’s shirt that barely held itself together. Swiftly, he sat the man on the edge of the saddle, jumping on the other a breath after.

  Walking the horse a bit faster than before, he made the man grab onto his waist, instantly feeling just how weak his grip was. “Can you speak?” Lutiel asked in between the faint whispers his hastened respires brought about.

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