The residents of Leaf Me Alone Castle took Rey's announcement well, all things considered. No one threatened to unman him or pull out his nails or shove shit in his mouth. All things he had been threatened with, and one had actually been done to him. Thankfully, no one alive remembered which one of them had indeed come to pass.

  They just shouted various versions of 'Are you mad?'

  "Have you lost your fucking mind?" shouted Filomena.

  "Are you playing for the other side?" Jerry snapped.

  "This asshole wants to feed us to the demons?" Tia snapped. He noticed her grip tightening on the hilt of her sword.

  Even his trusted comrade and confidant looked like he wanted to run Rey through with his sword and grill him from the inside out. Even the one person who understood him the best was glaring at him. Once they had vented a little bit, he raised his hand, hoping they wouldn't chop it off. They didn't.

  "Now, this plan may seem a bit out there, but it's the only way we survive the meat grinder that is coming for us," Rey said.

  "How do you know—" Tia started, but Rey interjected.

  "How do I know what's going to happen? Gee, if only there was some way for me to see the future." He gave her a blank stare. "Do we really need to have this conversation again. Haven't I proved this time and time again?"

  "Yes, and you also got us in that last battle needlessly," Tia countered.

  "Because I knew no one would die and they didn't," Rey replied.

  She pointed at Kassandra. "She almost did."

  "But didn't though."

  "Rey," Kassandra said, stepping forward. "If we leave, we won't have any protection left."

  "We won't have any protection even if we stay here," he replied. "Once Unokir gets here, half of us will die. If you are okay with getting slaughtered, then you're free to stay; I'm going to take my chances out there."

  That quieted them. They passed uneasy glances at each other. Rey couldn't help but feel that Unokir was going to be the great equalizer that would set things straight and kill off all those who were supposed to have died by now. Even with all his training, new Talent, and Ranks, Rey wasn't sure if he could take on the beast and come out the other side without losing anyone.

  Rey continued. "Unokir is coming here because Phil is bringing them here. That we would leave this place would never even cross their wildest dreams. This would be like taking a wrench to fate's nuts and foiling its plans for your deaths."

  "How do you know this Unokir wouldn't just follow us into the forest or wherever the fuck you're planning to take us?" Tia asked.

  "Because it didn't the last—I mean, because that is what I'm seeing right now. Sergei stays behind to let the others escape, but once Unokir has the castle, he doesn't follow."

  Rey looked at no one but Kassandra when he spoke. He didn't know what she was thinking, but he had to get her out. If he could save one person, it would be her. But thanks to the demon lord supreme, he had to save everyone, or at least five of them, or lose some body parts.

  I hate my life.

  "So, if we leave now, we should be okay?" Kassandra asked.

  Rey shook his head. "I don't know. I won't know that outcome until we set upon it, and even then, the future is sometimes hazy until an outcome is certain. But no matter what, I'll do my best to save you."

  He looked into Kassandra's eyes as he said it. The others may think he meant them all, but as far as he was concerned, he only meant her.

  "I think we should risk it," Kassandra said.

  "And now we have two idiots," Tia said. "Who's the third?"

  No one said anything for a long while until Ajay finally spoke up.

  "I will go with you, Rey," he said to Tia's frown. "You haven't led us wrong yet, but what about food, water, and other things?"

  "Food is easy, and with you along, we can even cook the meat, no problem," Rey grinned as he made the motion of flicking a lighter on. "Water will be tough, but we can fill our skins and hope for the best on the proverbial road. The more people we have, the greater the sum we can carry."

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  "Where will you take us, if we decide to follow you?" Filomena asked. Her eyes met Ajay's as she spoke, and he couldn't help but grin.

  Of course, she would be coming along. After the close call they'd had with Ajay's stomach almost involuntarily exploding, there was no way Filomena was letting Ajay out of her sight.

  Rey hoped he could avoid their tragic end because he hoped they would help him avoid Kassandra's tragic fate. Hell, he would even put up with the homicidal Barbie if it meant Kassandra would live through to the end of the year.

  As to Filomena's answer, there was only one place that he could lead them to that could make them stronger. One place that would ensure they reached the D-Tier by the given timeline.

  "There is one place that will help us succeed in our mission of reaching the D-Tier because this forest is just not strong enough," Rey said. "So, to answer your question, I will lead you to—and I cannot believe the words coming out of my mouth—the Kingdom of Night."

  "What is that?" Filomena asked.

  "I don't know," Rey lied, because if he told them the truth, they would never leave the castle. They would hunker down in here and take their chances with Unokir. And Rey wouldn't fault them for it. "I can't see that far yet. We'll know when we get there, but I can feel that it's the only place strong enough for us to rank up. We won't find many Rank 3 or higher demons in this leafless forest."

  He didn't mention that the Luthrol he had killed was Rank 4, so there was a chance to find strong demons in here, but they would be few and far between. Also, as they ranked up, they would need more and more demons to attain higher ranks. Besides, four of them were already Rank 3; the others would soon follow suit.

  Besides, if they all left as a big group, there was hardly a chance of any demon giving them any trouble, aside from Unokir, who must be Rank 5 or higher. He was unsuccessful in killing the demon in his last life, so he didn't know what his rank was, but he definitely felt like a Rank 5, if not higher.

  "So, that's four of us," Rey said. "Who else wants to join us on this great expedition to save our lives?"

  Everyone was quiet until finally Sergei stepped forward. "You not lead me wrong. I will follow."

  Rey sighed in relief. "Oh, thank god. That makes me so relieved. That's five for going to four for staying. I will not force you in this, even if I am the self-proclaimed leader of this group. This is a choice you all should make on your own."

  Jerry, Tia, Maria, and Dr. Bahar looked at each other. They wouldn't come. It was written clear as day on their faces, but if Rey could somehow convince the doctor to go, then the others would cave.

  "Well then, let's start packing up," Rey said. "We leave as soon as the four of us can recover and can travel and fight. How long should that be, doc?"

  She shook, startled at having been called. "Uh, you should be okay in two to three days."

  "Good. Then we part ways in three days. Rest well and pack as much shit as you can think of."

  For a moment, no one uttered a word and stood still in place. Maybe they couldn't comprehend that the just like that the group had been dissolved, but they didn't know how selfish Rey could be. His own life and sanity were on the line, he wasn't about to leave this castle without all of them.

  Side Quest – Strongarm everyone into leaving the castle begins.

  That evening, he found Kassandra in her room. She was lying in her bed, with her eyes closed. Her breathing was even, but not even enough to signify sleep. He had creeped on enough people to tell when they were sleeping or not.

  "Kassi?" he called lightly in a whisper.

  "Come in, Rey." She opened her eyes and sat up.

  "How did you know it was me?" He asked.

  "Because no one else calls me Kassi. You're probably the only person alive who does. Everyone else…well, you know where they are."

  They're dead…

  But he didn't say it. He wanted to sit beside her, but he didn't. He remained standing. Even after all this, it was best that he stayed away from her. Despite all they had been through, the battle with the Nestoriels and saving the star-crossed lovers. But it was still best that he kept his distance.

  "I want to say, they might be okay," Rey said. "But I don't want to give you false hope. This place takes away all hope, liquifies it, and flushes it down a clogged toilet."

  She looked at him for a long moment. "You know, the more I talk to you, the more I can't help but think you've lived here before. Like you belong here, not in the sense you're a bad person, but you know, you've seen things."

  "Well, you're right on the last part," he said with a sly grin. "I can see the future, remember, but that's not why I'm here. I have a side quest for you, but it may as well be as important as a main quest."

  She snorted. "You want me to convince the others to come."

  "Oh, you're good," Rey said.

  "You did say I was the smartest one here," she grinned.

  "If you can just get the doctor to come, the others will follow themselves. If Blondie drops out, we'll be fine, but we need more people, for my-our survival."

  She snorted. "I'll get it done, boss." She gave him a casual salute.

  "Thanks, Kassi." There was an awkward pause. He didn't know what else to say, so he quickly dribbled out the first words that came to mind. "Okay, well, I'll see you later."

  He moved for the door and quickly left, before she could say anything else. If she had asked him to stay, he wouldn't have been able to refuse. He knew that much to be true. No matter how much he tried to stay away from her, there was a part of him that was bound to her by fate or the universe or whatever. And he feared it was that part that would be responsible for her death.

  Not this time. This time, she lived, even if it meant giving up on my revenge.

  Ajay was coming down the steps. He had an odd look about it. A faint smile and a faraway look as if he were dreaming.

  "All good, Talent Support?" Rey called.

  "All good," he replied, still with that smile. "Just saw some demons out there. Want to go hunt them down? A couple of them are Rank 3."

  Rey's eyes widened. "Why didn't you say so sooner? Get out of the way."

  "They're mine!" Ajay cried.

  "No, they're not."

  Rey used Gravitational Attraction and attached him to the wall, and strolled down the stairs as he waved goodbye to him.

  "That's not fair!" Ajay cried as he struggled to pry himself off the wall.

  God, I love gravity.