A few hours walk, and they still hadn't heard from them. A twig snapped, and a couple Defected heads flicked back at Rowan. He stared till they turned away.

Hector broke the silence with ease. "Shouldn't you be a little more nervous, Rowan?"

Rowan tilted his head up, eyebrow raised. "Huh? Says you? I've never even seen you startled, let alone nervous."

"You haven't?"

Kane chuckled, and Rowan did, too. "No, no, I haven't. Anyway, I wanted to ask, but really? Why did you let me come, Hector?"

Hector blinked. "Well, I would have asked the Boss. But she was sleeping. As her right hand. I make the best decisions I can when she's not around.

Kane intercepted. "Yeah, I don't buy it. It's favouritism, isn't it?"

Rowan asked. "Is it favouritism?"

Hector stared between them both. As the swirls on his face squirmed, he almost scowled. "It's not. Stay focused, you two. We anticipate the Vile confronting us late today. But there could be other Devoured waiting."

The tall Defected left their side and pushed his way to the head of the formation. As he shouted a few commands. A little liveliness returned to the group as a couple even spoke amongst themselves.

Kane chuckled. "I've known him for so long, but I'm not sure I've ever seen that side. He's a lot softer these days."

"You went to the same school, didn't you?" Rowan turned to him, curious. "If you were friends with Hector, then what about Nero? What was he like?"

"Oh. Alicia's boyfriend. Hmm, that was a long time ago. And I wasn't in their age group."

Rowan watched him. Kane's demeanour was similar to his own. Steady, calm, reserved. Slow. Often very slow. But not when it came to understanding others.

Many of the Defected had Defects hard to look at. But Kane's bulging muscular arm was one of the worst. A sick, twisted impairment, yet it didn't seem to bother him that Rowan couldn't look away from it.

"I remember Nero being reclusive even then. Quiet, shy, maybe a little afraid. Kinda like you. Well, anyway, we didn't interact. He was only close with Hector, really."

Rowan tried to picture a meek Nero but failed miserably. He glanced across the forest floor, filled with shadows and dead, brown leaves. 'Had Nero come here through the forest alone?'

"But there was one other thing." Kane touched his chin. "I remember his mother was a Defected. I heard she died. Made it back to the real world. And died there, not here."

CRASH

Everyone's heads twisted in unison to the left. Two distant trees rattled, shaking violently and ripping into the forest's silence. They were all still.

Hector yelled within the crowd. "GO. It might be the advance group."

A spur of legs kicked off the ground. The Defected bolted to the left, spears in hand. Kane was slower to react than most, but once his legs kicked off the ground. There was no one beside Rowan anymore.

"Wait-" Rowan cursed. He chased after them. They darted through the trees ahead. He could only make out two of the slowest now.

Then they were gone, too.

Almost out of breath, he ran as far as his lungs would take him. As he stumbled to a stop, he finally saw them up ahead. Not one had waited for him as they stood in a semi-circle. Grasping his chest, a couple eyes flickered towards Rowan, but not one budged.

"What's, what's going on?"

He found Kane amongst the tight crowd and leaned over his shoulder. "What's happening."

He saw Alicia walking between the corpses of two Devoured. The other two from the advance group crouched, examining them. The Devoured to her left was drenched in thick red blood. Its enormous human-like torso was severed in two halves, like a giant without a head.

"Then it was the same as Alicia's recent report?"

Hector turned to the two Defected squatting in the bloodied flowers near the giant. They nodded.

"Then it's spreading. The Devoured don't procreate. Not like this. Something is making them do this-"

Alicia interrupted. "Hector, this one is still alive."

The heads all turned in unison to the Devoured on the right. But there was no movement, not really. Listening close, Rowan could make them out, the sniffles. Sniff Sniff

The sound silenced them all. The beast was like a lion. Its flesh was stripped, and much of the bone peaked out. Rowan had assumed Alicia had shredded it. But it was more likely it had been this way already. A predator carved from bone and stuck together with specs of flesh.

Alicia said. "We can't afford to stand around and study it. So there's no purpose to leaving it alive. No reward either. We've all reached the limits of our Defects, so..."

Alicia strode between the bodies. She pulled her spear high and glanced at the crowd for objection. Seeing none, she prepared to bring the spear down.

"Wait." Rowan gently pushed Kane and another Defected aside. Alicia paused as her sharp eyes and pointed spear turned to him.

"Why?"

"I want to do it."

Alicia scowled, then stepped back. "Fine. But don't get used to wasting kills. This was a Volatile Imp. It had a high defence, and it didn't die so easily. Similar to last time."

Rowan approached as he felt the scouring of eyes on his back. He almost froze up, but expecting a harsh word from Alicia, he plunged his spear into the lion's fleshy neck. He left the spear in there till the sniffling Devoured slumped.

"Good enough for you?"

Spear covered in blood. Rowan raised his eyes at Alicia, who smirked. "I suppose."

"Then we're moving on," Hector announced. He turned from the group and walked. Slowly, the others followed. Rowan found himself at the back beside Alicia and the two others from the advance group.

"We're almost where I first found you, Rowan. Finding the way will be up to you from then on. Got it?"

Rowan nodded.

"Before I go... do you remember your role in the battle, Rowan?"

"Hide in the middle. Yeah, I know, you don't have to tell me."

Alicia sighed. "That's not what I wanted to hear."

Rowan grit his teeth as he watched the backs of the Defected ahead. Ready to join them.

"That's what I was told to do, Alicia. Are you really going to pick on me for every stupid detail-"

"No, I'm not. But you have to be ready to fight. Fool."

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Alicia nodded to the man and woman at her side as smoke puffed around her. Lunging forward, the two rushed past Rowan and then the group ahead, spurred on by their Defects. By the time the smoke drifted from Rowan's side, the redhead was gone.

Rowan chewed his lip. Left alone by the trio, he strode faster to rejoin the group. "Where's Kane run off to when I need him."

#############################

They arrived. Rowan found the tree with bulging roots embedded in the ground. The ones he'd once huddled between after stumbling on the bathing Defected girls.

He turned to see expectant gazes over his shoulder. Outside of the advanced group, the Defected were all watching him.

"I was chased from here by the Vile. My sense of direction is good, but finding the boundary could still take some time."

He spoke mainly to Hector, heading the group and nodding. When Rowan started walking, he was soon by his side. Those dark pupils and swirling inky face stared down at him.

"You're getting better at that. I guess they don't scare you as much now."

Rowan kept walking. "It's not that. Outside of you and Kane, I wouldn't say that."

Hector blinked. "If you say so. It's impossible to say whether we'll find the boundary or the Vile first. The future has changed too much thanks to the Boss's intervention. From now were in the dark."

"I know."

The shadows scoured the forest, as always, as the day came to a close. The false orange sky had arrived. It was safe to assume they'd find the Vile before the daylight left them. There were three members of the Noct, but their advantage would be in daylight, not darkness.

"Hector, I wasn't going to mention it. But Nero left camp sometime yesterday."

Hector frowned. "He left?"

"You haven't noticed? The reason you can't find him at camp? It's because he spends so much time in the forest. I think."

Rowan paused. "I'm not sure how none of you have noticed, though. I'm sure Alicia probably knows. But did the rest of you really have no idea?"

Hector stared. They finally left the forest and the canopy, barring the evening sky. They were closer now. He'd done a good job of remembering and taking the shortest route. He was certain. The boundary was somewhere ahead in this giant open grassy plain.

The silence from the awkward Defected was loud. So Rowan asked. "I heard something about Nero earlier. That he lost his mother?... Were they close?"

Hector winced. "Yes. But, she, she was an awful woman. I don't hate Nero as much as you think, not really. Are we near, Rowan?"

Rowan nodded in affirmation. "It's somewhere in front of us, maybe a five-minute walk. All those hills ahead of us are fake. They're not real."

"Of course, we know how the boundary works, obviously. Didn't you listen in school, Rowan?"

As Hector tilted his head, Rowan smiled.

A puff of smoke appeared beside him.

"FORM UP" Alicia yelled. The Defected almost dropped their weapons as Kane appeared beside them. Hector, Kane and Rowan turned to her before glancing at the distance. He didn't see it, not for a moment.

It was a red shape. Peeking out. Watching them from an invisible veil.

"KANE"

It tilted its head, the slits of its eyes gaping open.

Dazzled in orange light, the monster appeared from nothing. The enormous creature strode out of the boundary. The snow smothering its back quickly melted.

Its snout was decorated with more slit, red eyes than before. There were slight wounds on its hide, but as the blood seeped down the beast, it only hardened and stuck to it more.

It growled, almost humming as it started to run. It accelerated as it got closer. Then, it became dreadfully clear to Rowan. "It's gotten bigger. Much bigger."

Alicia growled. "And it will keep getting bigger. If I have no hope of killing it one blow. Then nobody does. WE HAVE TO TIRE IT OUT."

Her voice turned to a whisper. "Do you get it now, Rowan? It's a battle of attrition with our lives. There will be no hiding."

Just then, a spear shot forward. The vile lurched to the side, dodging. But its momentum was gone.

"That will do. Kane, save your ammo for clear shots." Alicia scowled, and Hector nodded. Without a command, the Defected gathered around in an oval. Rowan watched Alicia vanish into smoke as Kane headed to the front.

The Vile was moving again. Faster and faster. But then, it thrust its paws to the ground. Skidding to a stop, it raised its head.

"MMAAAAAGGGGGRRRRR!"

Rowan cried out. The Defected were thrown to their knees, and a few scrambled on the ground. His eyes blinked open. Then closed, then opened.

They gained their focus as a red snout dove towards them.

A swirl of smoke appeared, and a figure slid beside the Vile.

The Vile lashed out. Teeth thin and as long as Rowan reached for her. But she was too far to even attack back. Rowan watched the distracted Vile's charge continue till a huge, twisted arm thrust forward.

Its eyes flickered from Alicia to Kane just in time to receive a spear to its eye. Its head was thrown back. Howling, it pushed away. But Defected were following.

A tall, net-haired Jet struck the second blow to the creature's clawed paw. It was bleeding. But the spears were only like needles. The Vile found its footing as the ensuing Defected stopped and jumped back.

The Vile's limb flung out and chose its target. Jet jumped back. But its range was too much. A long yellow claw ripped into him, twisting his body around.

Blood splattered across the group. Finding Kane. "JET"

His body was flying. Rowan blinked. It was in multiple pieces.

A spear appeared above the red beast. In the swirling smoke, it pierced the Vile in the back as it cried out. She didn't hesitate at Jet's death. He never even saw her as more smoke puffed again. Hector was yelling beside him, and Kane was staring at the ground.

There was finally a brief pause as the Vile's many eyes darted around as it turned. "It's waiting for Alicia to appear," Rowan murmured.

But she never did. The Vile shook then leapt forward again. But Kane was there to meet it.

'Kane. He's taking the front on his own. What are they doing? Do I hide in the middle or...'

Lunging with all its weight behind it, the Vile's claws collided with Kane's spear. The screeching of claw and metal drove the elite Defected forward. Lunging at the Vile from every side. Gashes littered the red beast's hide.

At the same time, Alicia appeared behind, stabbing the beast's hind leg. Its armour was much thicker than she was. Yet it was pierced all the same.

The other hind leg slashed towards her. The smoke was too slow. And the force blew it away. However, a spear was blocking her chest. But there were shallowed wounds on her torso as she was flung back.

But Kane was there, and a second spear propelled from out his hand. Too close for the Vile to dodge. It reeled back a spear protruding from a second eye. Then it screeched.

"MMAAAAAGGGGGRRRRR."

Everyone was thrown to the floor this time. It was closer, and the scream was that much more harrowing. Revenge for the pain inflicted on it.

"MMAAAAAGG-"

But then it stopped. Cut off, the world was silent.

Rowan's eyes went wide. There was a black hole. Something dark, circular, inexplicable was behind the Vile.

The Vile was trying. Trying to release that unrelenting screech. But the hole swallowed it all. And then, it slowly dragged them towards it. Rowan followed the plan and thrust his spear into the ground as it slid into the soil.

Then, he was holding on for dear life.

Rowan turned to his side. The Defected, all of them were doing the same. But they were not struggling like Rowan. 'FUCK, Fuck.' He closed his eyes and grabbed the spear tighter.

He felt the strenuous pull on his arms. His legs kicked in the wind. He was down to his last fingers, and no one could hear him cry. Before it took him, he opened his eyes. Unlike everyone else, Hector was kneeling with his spear embedded in the grass.

He was smiling.

Rowan watched the tall Defected's face. The swirling ink... it was melting. No, the dark skin of his face was dripping too, dragged towards the black hole as if it were feeding on it. His face was a fleshy, pink mess.

'HECTOR'

The words didn't reach him. But maybe the movements of his mouth had.

The silence vanished. Replaced with the groans and growls of Defected as they lay on the floor. Rowan felt like throwing up. He needed to. But first. He turned to see the body of the Vile limp to its feet.

It was panting. Each pant was more desperate than the last as it started whining. Its slits squinted and found Rowan. Then, it finally stumbled to its feet. No one could move. Rowan himself could only lurch away because he knew it was coming for him.

"Haa haa." Breathing, he stumbled back and hurled. But the Vile didn't care. It was focused only on him. A claw thrust towards him. But there was a puff of smoke. Full of vitality and strength, the creature's head rocketed back from the fierce blow. A cruel wound dragged across many of the Vile's eyes.

"ROWAN MOVE."

Then there was a dance. Rowan could barely follow it as fervent swings erupted before him. Claw and metal struck, then struck again. Faster, stronger. A deadly scraping violin as Alicia deflected each blow.

Her feet were pushed back, digging up soil in their wake. Blades of grass kicked up amidst the clash. Orange light flooded the redhead's figure as a claw missed her head by a centimetre.

"Alicia, I'm sorry. You can do it. Hector exhausted it. You can..."

"DAMMIT ROWAN"

She answered him with a spear that turned into a blur like he'd never seen. Her feet stuck to the floor, not giving another inch. The entire paw came down to swat her, but she raised her spear over her head. And caught it. She pushed it as her legs trembled.

It pushed her down. The paw covered her in a shadow as she was forced into a squat. "AGGGHHHHH" She screamed.

It would crush her.

But then someone kicked her aside, and she dropped her spear. An ugly, twisted arm held the paw up. Sweat beading from his pale face, Kane yelled. "I, go. I-"

But he couldn't get the words out. Soon, he was forced to use his other arm, too. The Vile was bigger now. Even at the start, it was almost unrecognisable. But now, with the wounds received from the battle, its thick red body was like a sharp, scaly fortress. Layers and layers of armour that never ended.

Alicia was on her feet by then as Kane was forced into a similar squat. Slowly, the Devoured leant over and soon, its whole body was on top of him.

Alicia stared at him for a moment before her spear was back in her grasp.

"Alicia, I-"

The paw slammed into the ground. He was gone. And Rowan couldn't look away.

"Kane?"