“If being completely honest, you could have just asked for food and shelter, and me and my friends wouldn’t have thought twice in advance.” Kael looked to Paxton, shooting the other man with a wry smile.

  Paxton tugged at his hair and scoffed. “I don’t think it’d be smart to ask random people for stuff like that. But if you and these friends of yours really are willing to assist us, it’d be greatly appreciated.”

  Kael leaned off of the massive wooden wagon and nodded. He suddenly turned his head, marveling at the piece of architecture. His bronze-colored hands slowly ran along the wooden hull of the wagon, feeling every crevice and indent in the wood, taking note of any splinters or cracks in quality.

  “Though, I do wonder as to where you got these wagons from; they’re truly a work of art.”

  Paxton picked up a few blades of grass, letting them slip between his chapped lips, only letting the ends hang out like accessories as he explained with a genial tone.

  “We found them in the woods; they were abandoned by their owner. When we looked inside, it was barren, as if those who had lived inside had gathered their belongings and made a mad dash without much time to look back.”

  The man with long brown hair knocked his hands on the wood a few times as if ensuring a quality check. Following that, he sighed as he looked into the horizon. In the distance, the cloud-covered sky had already begun to darken.

  “The snow will only get heavier from here. If we can move quickly, we can dodge it and get to safety.”

  Kael clicked his tongue, looking at the rest of the Seraphis rogues and smiling. He raised his hands, a small burst of crimson flames exploding from his palms. The surge of flames flew upwards at the speed of a bullet, catching everyone's attention. When they turned to look at Kael, he announced that they were scheduled to leave at any moment.

  …

  Elizabeth—still cradling her infant son—looked at me with a smile. Her dark-red hair waved gently in the wind like a blood-colored tidal wave. After a second or two of silence, she spoke up.

  “We’re grateful to have help.”

  I perked up, my attention drifting from Kael and Paxton’s genial interaction to Elizabeth’s words. I initially didn’t know how to react; I wasn’t one to receive praise—only once a blue moon—but I forced out a chuckle and a smirk.

  “Me and my friends are glad to return the favor.”

  Elizabeth’s expression abruptly shifted, her brows furrowing as she let out a shaky sigh. “But I’m worried for my kingdom. The sudden famine and such, so much has happened in a matter of days and it’s all so worrying. I feel as if my head is spinning at a speed only a deity could comprehend.”

  “I’m no deity, but I’m here if you need me.”

  I reluctantly put my hand on Elizabeth’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. The red-haired woman stifled a gasp, smiling in return at the sudden gesture. A wave of chilly, unprecedented wind hit us both in the face, making us habitually turn away and chatter to ourselves.

  “Kael said we’d be leaving any moment, right?” Elizabeth’s voice came with a faint tremble.

  At the same time, her infant son had already begun to make noises, low whimpers that bordered on whines, whines that would surely lead to tears and unbearable crying.

  “You’re correct, ma’am.” Kael’s voice sounded behind us.

  We both turned around to see Kael, who had been given a coat by someone among the rogues. He removed the coat and wrapped it around Elizabeth, smiling warmly.

  “T-thank you,” Elizabeth said with a twitching smile.

  Kael paused for a beat, his gaze drifting down to the infant wrapped in gingham cloth. I watched as his crimson eyes softened. The elf-like man cocked his head as his expression shifted, growing more reminiscent of a curious child. Kael’s hands trembled slightly as he extended a finger, tapping the young boy gently on the forehead.

  Elizabeth visibly tensed, gasping as she quickly withdrew her son from Kael’s line of sight. “What are you doing?” She barked.

  Kael raised both of his hands in a defensive posture, frowning. “Forgive me for my… intrusion. It’s just—I’ve never seen an infant before.”

  “You’ve… never seen one before?”

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  Kael nodded his head in response. “Where I come from—serving as the head advisor of his majesty Emperor Katsuki—I’ve only seen his second-in-hand’s daughter as a little one. She could walk on two legs and barely speak a syllable, but she’d cry when she had to relieve herself… I don’t think back on those times very fondly.”

  “Wait…” Elizabeth’s voice lowered, her eyes widening. “Y-you’re the advisor of an emperor?”

  “Emperor Katsuki, crown of the Katshin Empire. We’ve recently found a way to feed the people over there in a more efficient way, and my group’s on a rendezvous to do the same with your little Seraphis Kingdom.”

  “If I may ask, what is it like living in the palace?” Elizabeth’s lips parted but a millimeter, drawing in a small breath.

  “Oh…” Kael’s cheeks flushed a little as he adjusted the collar of his jacket.

  “If being blunt, not as sugar-coated as the urchin would paint it. While there are goblets of gold, expensive wines, and enough garments to dress a small town inside your closet, the mundane nature of it all can be numbing to an extent. Imagine if you woke up knowing you had everything at your feet, but with everything you still felt a hole inside you, a hole that not even a tower of diamonds could fill.”

  “It sounds like you’re… you’re not happy over there?” Elizabeth’s tone lowered even more. From the sidelines, I could tell she struggled to wrap her head around the complexity of Kael’s description.

  Kael chuckled under his breath, kneeling down. “My pleasure derives from the wellbeing of others, not wine-tasting.”

  “Hmm.” Elizabeth hummed in acknowledgement, impressed in the selflessness of the noble before her.

  “When I was just a girl, my mother often whispered about the carelessness of nobles and kings. But when I’m face-to-face with someone so close to them, I can’t help but feel like everything uttered was but a lie.”

  “Well, kings and emperors aren’t always tyrants. Where I come from, tyranny can result in castration.”

  Elizabeth gasped, her face turning pale at the mention of such an act. I too couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy, my stomach bubbling.

  …

  Soon enough, we had packed up all of the necessary supplies, shackled the horses and cattle, and begun moving across the snow-covered fields. As we walked, I silently noted how the snow had already started to fall heavier, but it wasn’t enough to obscure vision. Everyone could see in front of them, which allowed for ease of transport.

  The injured old man was lying on a cotton mattress, which the rogues had placed inside one of the wagons. While it was relieving to know he was safe, having to endure his monstrous snoring quickly proved to be a nuisance. I, Kael, and Elizabeth walked side by side. In front of the masses, Paxton led a group of children, instructing them to huddle together to preserve body heat.

  Everyone else was either walking beside the wagons, tending to the livestock, or nestled together for warmth. Every so often, one or another would complain about something like hunger or the cold, but Kael would reassure them that Clifton was near.

  We remained in this almost static condition for another ten minutes before Elizabeth turned to me. I noticed she was holding her infant a little closer to her chest, ensuring it wouldn't suffer from the numbing cold. The tips of her soft, silky fingers had reddened slightly, bordering on puffy.

  “You’ve lived here for a short while, I take it?” She whispered to me.

  I nodded without saying a word, slightly curious about what she was to say to me next.

  “And you’re not scared to wander these woods? You must not have heard of the Rakkiounk.”

  “The… what?” Initially I didn’t know how to respond. The hard-to-pronounce name, accompanied by the almost foreboding sense of her tone, seemed to blanket the surrounding environment. I shivered, but not from the cold.

  “The Rakkiounk, the beast that lurks in the forest and preys on those who wander after dark?”

  “No, I haven’t.”

  Elizabeth chuckled to herself. “Well, this mythic beast was said to have crawled from the depths of the abyss, a creation of the Underworld itself.”

  “The Underworld…” I mused over the term. Back during the last Blood Moon, when The Umbridge utilized spiritual transportation, I had caught a slight glimpse of this realm when Isaiah Walls’s soul had entered it. It was a chaotic realm, ablaze with torrential flames, magma, and creatures beyond comprehension.

  If what Elizabeth was saying was true—that this Rakkiounk creature originated from such a plane of existence—I wouldn’t be very surprised.

  “My mother claims to have caught a fleeting glimpse of it when she was working in the fields on a late night. She said it was towering, over two meters in height. It had a pair of horns, a slender body like that of a twig, and beaming red eyes. Its mouth could open much farther than that of a human; she said it could have devoured an entire cow.”

  After hearing Elizabeth’s description of this entity, I thought back to my own Spirit Body. It carried physical traits similar to that of the Rakkiounk, but in no way was it tall or slender, just baring the horns and crimson-colored eyes. If this creature was linked to the Apocalypse pathway in any form, I’d know—so would Kael.

  “How long ago did your mother claim to have seen this… anomaly?” Kael, who had remained silent up until this point, spoke up.

  “Many, many moons ago. It was when the moon vanished from the sky, something that only happens before a new cycle.”

  Elizabeth looked up at the cloudy sky, ignoring the snow that pelted her cheeks and forehead. She drew in a shaky breath, gently rocking her infant son back and forth.

  “Of course, when she saw the Rakkiounk, she was but a youth—about your age if I do remember.” She looked back down at me.

  “Then maybe it’s dead?” Kael smirked to himself, musing as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

  “Supernatural creatures don’t tend to just… die of old age. If it was to be dead as we’re talking about it, its master must have had to drag it back to where it came from.”

  “Or maybe someone hunted it down, an experienced Seeker perhaps with lots of power? If it’s a creature originating from the Underworld, someone above the level of the Titan would be needed to dispose of such a creature.

  “And when I think about it, there’s only a handful of powerful Seekers left in the world. If it wasn’t for the Cataclysm, perhaps someone could dive into the Underworld, and kill the Rakkiounk, its siblings, and even its master.”

  The horses, cattle, and everyone suddenly came to an abrupt halt at the sound of speaking. When I looked ahead, I could faintly see the people of Clifton. They didn’t look too pleased at the Seraphis rogues, still carrying their pitchworks and torches.