Caught in gray, Essairyn barely heard the rumblings before dawn. Her ashy vision blurred her other senses as she tried to wake up from a cold sweat. Her sluggish limbs floundered motionlessly, unconsciously causing her heart to pound in panic. That sinking feeling spurred her body to arise from the unseen entrapment that unraveled reluctantly at her will. A sudden jolt jarred her body upright from covers that looked like they had just been made. Like the listless dead, she had laid obliviously in sleep as screeches of despair whipped past her ears.

“You’re awake!” A tearful sob intermixed with wild joy numbed her senses momentarily. Izlende had pounced upon Essairyn as if seeing someone awaken from a coma. “I thought I had failed and made a terrible mistake in trying to counteract the poison discreetly.” She cried, hugging Essairyn even tighter. “Thank goodness it was effective in the end. But…” Izra loosened her grip and turned her head warily toward the unconscious Brynhilde and shut door. “Looks like you were the only one strong enough to break free right now.”

“Izlende.” Essairyn’s slightly slurred voice was rough with a lingering trace of drowsiness. “What’s happening? What’re you talking about? Why is there—”

“Shh—!” Izra lightly hushed Essairyn’s loudening voice with her palm. “Talk quieter! I don’t know who's inside the inn. We can’t alert anyone! I’ll answer your questions quickly.” She took a deep breath and stared at the other girl with clear, determined, steely-blue orbs.

“Someone’s been adding poison to our food at the inn. I only figured out the poison three days ago since it’s only harmful when in contact with an activator. Since then, I have been secretly casting purifying spells on everyone before bed.” Izlende continued to explain while moving to lay her healing hands on the slumbering brunette. Every second was precious. “But, it was only after the feast that I realized it was a slowly catalyzing poison. The more we consume before the activator, the stronger the effect of the resulting poison. Last night’s feast was laced with the activator so that we wouldn’t be aware before we went to sleep.”

A shocking realization flashed in Essairyn’s eyes. “So then last night you were actually—!”

“Yes,” confirmed Izra. “I was actually casting a stronger spell on you and Brynhilde in the bathroom since figuring out the specific poison.” She coughed abashedly. “I need direct skin contact in order to better detox the body. You couldn’t see the magic circle because I condensed it on your back. I’m not a white mage for nothing, you know!”

Essairyn smiled softly at Izra’s subtle display of pride. For sure, having a skilled healer in these situations was reassuring. She understood that Izlende had to act secretly in fear of alerting whoever had done this. Otherwise, they might miss the reason behind their covert ploy that could ultimately be connected to their mission.

“We’re lucky to have you. How long will it be until the others wake up? The poison renders us immobile?”

Izlende nodded. “The poison is harmless if it doesn’t come into contact with the activator within ten days or so as the body dispels it naturally. But it’s been building up for a while now, and when you fall asleep while it’s active, it’s more difficult to wake up. Using you as an estimate, Brynhilde should be up in twenty more minutes. As for the others…” A dark shadow crossed her face. “It could take hours if I don’t get to them soon. I won’t know until I’m there, but I’m hoping as a B-rank, at least Rakun should fare better.”

“How long has it been? You were able to avoid the poison and wake up earlier?”

“Two hours. …You ate a little too much.”

“Hey!” Essairyn picked up her pillow and stopped short from chucking it at the silver-haired girl who had bit her lip in order to resist a chortle.

“Ah, sorry, ahah. I could cancel out the poison as it entered my body with an inner spell, but I’m not able to do that easily for others much less in a hidden way. Besides, I was caught by surprise too. I didn’t know that they would attack on our last night. Otherwise, I would have—”

Creak. Thud. The sound of someone walking up the stairs resounded dimly in the clamorous night. Both girls froze, concentrating on the steady thump of boots against wood as it neared their door. A pale bead of magic whooshed from Essairyn’s fingertips.

Click. The door swung open, revealing a heavyset, tall man garbed in muted colors. For a split second, he stood still in the doorframe, his mind piecing together the unexpected scene before him. But before he could unsheathe the sword on his waist, the magic bead burst in front of his forehead. He staggered backwards, toppling past the doorway.

Taking advantage of the reverse sneak attack, Essairyn instantiated her magic sword, sprinted from her bed, and sliced the man’s legs and arms. He shrieked inaudible gurgles behind his cloth mask and twitched involuntarily as blood pooled below him.

“Why didn’t you aim for the neck? Just kill him quickly instead of letting him bleed out. Now you might’ve alarmed the enemy.” Izlende breezed past Essairyn and dealt the finishing blow with her dagger.

“But shouldn’t we try figuring out the situation from him first?” In truth, Essairyn was still adverse to killing a human and automatically incapacitated him instead.

“Asking him is pointless, especially since you blasted his face off basically. We need to get outside and see what’s happening. Don’t you hear the screams? There’s a big fight out there, and the townspeople seem to be caught up in it!”

Essairyn shrunk back in shame. Izra sighed and looked at the girl with gentle eyes. “We can’t waste time. And you can’t be so kind in a life or death situation. Just listen to your instincts like when you made that magic bead. Don’t think too much.” The traveler still had much to adapt to in this ruthless world.

“I understand.” Essairyn hardened her eyes and stepped over the man’s body.

“I’ll stay here to wake up the others and come help you soon. Be careful.”

Essairyn inclined her head back, nodding at Izlende’s words. The silver haired girl felt her heart tighten in distress. Shaking her head, she steeled herself that Essairyn would be okay and rushed over to the boys’ room, hoping she wasn’t too late.

Barefooted, Essairyn crept down the stairs. Before the bottom of the first floor, she spied a man entering the inn. She crouched down, fixing her sharp gaze upon the man drawing nearer.

Feeling something was off, the man stopped and suddenly noticed a large shadow by the top of the stairs. Alarmed, he gripped the hilt of his sword, drawing it out as magic needles abruptly barraged him. Blinded and unbalanced, he screamed and teetered forward before ultimately falling.

Hearing the cries of their accomplice, nearby men stomped over to the formerly silent inn. Essairyn hastily put on the boots stored in her cache and tied the laces with magic while hurtling out the door. Spotting enemies heading towards her, she extended the blade of her sword and swept in a wide arc, striking them all. Running past the fallen group, she whipped her head about, trying to grasp the situation.

Burnt houses and torn bodies bestrewed the townscape. Men and women fled and defended themselves with wild, desperate cries. Children clutched at their mother’s skirts or trembled on the ground, their backs pressed against walls bloodied by the futile sacrifice of their parents. Dark-clothed intruders, aided by deformed, blackened figures, indiscriminately slaughtered the townspeople.

Demons?! Essairyn was bewildered by the sight of the grotesque creatures that were disgustingly humanoid. Why would demons be helping humans while also killing them? What’s going on?! Wait. Where’s Akari?! She spun on her heel in the direction of the inn. The danger had caused her to temporarily forget about the little fox. Surely, Akari should have perceived the demons’ presence before the attack. So, she must have gotten away as Essairyn didn’t remember seeing Akari on her bed when she woke. But she had shared the inn’s food with the gluttonous fox several times. Could the poison affect spirits too?

A whistling blade snapped Essairyn to her senses. Now was not the time to be distracted. She deftly dodged the back strike and pivoted. Blood sprayed from the gash; some droplets splashed Essairyn’s cheek. Her eyes widened as they connected with the attacker’s bulging eyes which were mired in shock, terror, and death. Numbed by the dying gaze and dripping sensation on her cheek, Essairyn stood frozen in place. A slow hand reached up and wiped away the blood. Peering at her bloody fingertips, she trembled, horrified. Just what am I doing? Killing people…

“Essairyn!!”

Two voices jolted her out of her daze. She looked up, just in time to see a glinting blade pass inches by her head. An agonized screech followed from behind as Aispin’s attack connected.

“What’re you doing standing in the middle of this?! You’re going to get yourself killed!” Aispin berated Essairyn, making her cringe in chagrin. He was right. She needed to calm herself. Stop thinking as Izlende had said.

“I’m sorry.”

The girl’s faint voice gripped Aispin’s heart. He didn’t mean to yell at her like that. “I—”

“We need to get a move on.” Rakun interrupted Aispin. “I’ll cover the front of the inn. Aispin, go to the west where the main residential neighborhoods are. Essairyn.” He paused, sizing her up. “Go to the east, find out what they’re after.”

“Rakun you—!” Aispin began to challenge his orders for Essairyn.

“I got it.” She cut him off and sped away, glad that the two had woken up quickly from the poison.

Aispin turned on Rakun. “Why did you tell her to go there?! She’s obviously frightened by everything that’s happening. Why send her to the heart of it?!”

The taller man exhaled with a heavy conscience. “She’s stronger than you think. If she’s going to survive in this world, she needs to change.”

Aispin gritted his teeth. “You don’t have to be the one that decides that for her.”

Rakun stared at the back of Aispin’s retreating figure. Izlende, tell me that you’re right… A nearby scream brought him back. Silently, he sprinted to the townspeople’s aid. The morning would be a long one.

On the other side of town, Essairyn skillfully, thoughtlessly cleared the path before her. Wails of dying foes and black demon dust swarmed the air. A large cage entered her sight. Bound townspeople trapped inside were being hauled away into the back of a truck. Streaking towards the vehicle, Essairyn was ready to slash the tires. Before she reached five meters from the caged people, a man whose face was partially covered by a black scarf dropped down from the sky, blocking her path. Wordlessly, he engaged Essairyn with lightning-fast moves.

“Oh? You’re pretty good.” She couldn’t help commenting on the ninja-quick man. He didn’t respond. Frowning, she switched her sword hand and materialized her scythe in her right hand. She couldn’t let him get near as he was obviously best suited in close range. Witnessing the casual switching of magically created weapons, the man’s eyes widened, and he jumped back in alarm.

“What? You’re scared now?” Essairyn taunted with a side-smirk that instantly twisted in a sneer. This man was not like the henchmen she had previously fought. He was sent to protect the getaway of the truck. She wouldn’t take him lightly, but that didn’t mean she was the least bit intimidated by him.

Essairyn leapt into the air and swiftly ran over his head toward the truck. Shocked, he raced over and prepared to fend off her aerial attack. As expected, she was targeting the tires. He blocked her strike, but he wasn’t well equipped to withstand it as he was flung away. Not only did the long reach of her scythe prevent him from properly counter attacking, but it was now apparent that she had only been testing him before. He was no match for this girl who could wield a weapon crafted instantaneously from magic.

As that thought settled in, greed rose in his heart. A knight-mage. He was sure of it from her dual magical and physical attacks. Perhaps they could capture her too. But he only entertained this delusion for a moment as they didn’t have sufficient strength to capture her this time.

In a split second decision, he flung one of his daggers at her while leaping away. Reflexively, she blocked the throw and even grabbed the dagger as it dropped. Her triumphant expression lasted but a moment when the truck began moving. She had wasted too much time with the man and overlooked sending magic needles to pierce the tires during the fight. She cursed inwardly for only realizing the better plan of action in retrospect. I’m getting too used to the knight’s style of fighting since attending the Academy. This isn’t suitable for me. Get yourself together. You’ve made too many mistakes already.

Unwilling to let the truck escape, Essairyn tossed the dagger into her cache, accelerated her movements with magic, and tailed the vehicle. She flung a wide arc of magic underneath the truck, making it skid and collapse under itself. But again, she had celebrated inside her head too soon.

A chilling voice accompanied slow, booming claps. “Very good. Just what I’d expect from a C-class knight. Or should I say, mage?”

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Essairyn spun her head around and glared at the speaker. Long, scarlet hair, playful yet hostile amber orbs. She inwardly gasped. Kajarn Choyal.

“Surprised? This is the fourth time that we’ve crossed paths, dear Essairyn. Yet you’re looking at me so coldly. I’m hurt.”

The man’s simper annoyed the girl. “Cut the flirty villain speech crap. What were you planning to do with these villagers?” She retorted while bashing the lock free on the truck’s back doors. Essairyn kept an eye on him as she strapped a magic rope around the bars of the cage, dragging the imprisoned townspeople out. To her vexation, he only smiled leisurely at her actions, not moving a finger to counter the escape of the captives.

“Were planning to do? Who said I’m not doing anything right now?”

Essairyn’s eyes widened in slow realization. His underlying message indicated that this truck wasn’t the only one with townspeople. She jerked forward, yelling at Kajarn. “You bastard! What’d you do?!”

“Did. Everything’s complete now. Good work holding her off, Lyam.” Kajarn turned and walked away.

“I asked you a question!” Essairyn burst forward and swung her scythe at him. He shifted his head back and lifted a hand up to block her blow. Electric sparks the color of byzantium erupted from the collision. To her utter shock, Essairyn was flung backwards. Catching herself in the air, she skidded on the dirt and quickly regained her balance. Kajarn peered at the trickle of blood from his fingertips.

“The prototype isn’t complete after all.” He frowned and looked at Essairyn. Tipping his head to the side, he faintly grinned. “You’re a strange one. I don’t suppose you’d care to join us?”

“You—!” Speechless, she couldn’t believe the gall of this guy. He merely chuckled softly and waved his hand.

“Lyam.”

The black scarfed man from earlier appeared at Kajarn’s side. Drawing out another pair of daggers, Lyam readied his stance to face off Essairyn as Kajarn stepped back. Worried about the innkeeper escaping before she could interrogate him, Essairyn dashed forward, but Lyam deftly repelled her. Visibly incensed, she hurled her scythe to the right, and it vanished into thin air. Taking advantage of Lyam’s split second surprise, Essairyn ensnared him with magic ropes before harshly kicking his chest. He spat out blood as he dropped onto the ground like a rag-doll.

“Ah.” Kajarn murmured with a hint of disbelief. He had barely taken a step away, and Essairyn had trounced his second in command. It seemed that this girl had been holding back after all. Or rather, she was too inexperienced in real battles to employ her full potential yet. He clapped heartily.

“Bravo! If you had fought like this earlier, maybe you would have found out about our real plan! Too late, I hope we meet again, Essairyn.” A ray of disintegrated black that glowed like red cinders streaked toward Essairyn immediately following his words. Without a second to dodge the close-range, unexpected attack, she braced herself for the impact.

Boom! The black beam struck a virescent barrier that abruptly materialized in front of Essairyn. The force of the explosion knocked her backwards. But she she never felt the fall as sweeping arms caught and steadied her back on her feet. Black boots, black pants, and a familiar gray cloak.

Surprised, Essairyn whipped her head at the person who had helped her. “…K.” Her voice almost choked.

The man felt her gaze and dipped his head lightly in a nod. She could’ve sworn he winked under his hood when he said, “Hello again, my lady.”

Something fluttered inside her heart, making her wonder why she felt so happy seeing him in this moment. Inwardly shaking her head from such puzzling feelings, she quickly returned to the precarious situation at hand. Right, K didn’t stay at the inn, so he wasn’t poisoned. That's a relief.

After firing off an attack on Essairyn, Kajarn directed darkly garbed men and gnarled, humanoid demons from the rooftops to surround them. Essairyn hurriedly dashed forward with a sweep of her scythe to part the way toward Kajarn. Her unanswered questions were many. She couldn’t let him leave without an explanation for their attack on Farinheld. Not just mages, but everyone in this town, too? Her heart tore at the thought of so many innocents suffering.

“Don’t let him get away!” A thundering voice resounded from above as Kajarn was escaping through the concealment of attackers.

Essairyn jerked her head up in time to see a well-built man drop into the heart of the encirclement. With one flourish of his greatsword, he severed all the enemies around him, over two dozen total. As they fell, Essairyn spotted the twinkling remnants of a teleportation charm.

“He got away!” The blonde man cursed loudly and flipped his greatsword onto his back. Placing his other hand on his hip in defeat, he half-sighed.

Although astounded by his one-hit strike and sudden appearance, Essairyn didn’t forget about Lyam who was still bound. Ripping off his scarf, she commanded, “What did Kajarn mean? Why did you attack Farinheld and capture the townspeople?”

Lyam calmly gazed at her as blood dribbled from the corners of his mouth. After a quietly tense moment’s face-off, he replied with a triumphant smirk. “Head northwest. You’ll find your answers there.” And with that, he bit the pill in his mouth and disappeared in a flurry of black specks.

Distraught, Essairyn clenched her fists and gnashed her teeth. The mission was a stalemate, so the knights had asked them to return as the attackers had possibly left Farinheld. But now, it was a complete failure. Exhaling, she composed herself and straightened her posture. Angling her head toward the blonde stranger, she inquired, “You are…?”

The man turned toward Essairyn at her voice. A spark of interest flashed across his mien, and he walked over while grinning. “You must be Essairyn.” He stuck out his free hand while the other still rested on his hip. “The name’s Classerth. I came here to help you all by Bodraig’s request. But I decided and arrived a little too late, heheh…” He smiled apologetically.

“No, I’m thankful for your assistance.” She politely responded with a sidelong glance at K who was freeing the villagers. “I didn’t realize that they would both teleport away. It was my miscalculation.” She gritted her teeth.

Classerth shook his head. “If I had listened to Chaera and gone here when you all arrived, then the outcome might’ve been different. It’s my bad.” His eyes narrowed slightly when he furrowed his forehead in contemplation.

“That’s okay,” Essairyn began, “our cover might’ve been blown, so it’s better that––”

“Damn! Why didn’t she just directly order me to arrive earlier?! Tch! I swear that woman is always scheming for me to mess up!” Realizing that his outburst made no sense to Essairyn who had stopped speaking to stare at him blankly, he hastily explained with a dismissive wave. “It’s nothing. Just an internal communication issue.”

Essairyn blinked. “So you are Lieutenant Commander Classerth Ajenak? And you were speaking about Knights Commander Chaera Ch’tahur?” Her words subconsciously sped up in anticipation despite her efforts to remain level-headed. She was keenly curious about the top leaders of the Knights Order, especially after seeing Classerth’s effortless one hit-ko against so many enemies.

Classerth merely grunted in confirmation. It was expected that all knights, much less the common people, would know about them. He was used to the fame, especially as the youngest Knights Lieutenant ever. So, he went about casually, not caring about his status and adoration from the people. For him, fighting was his first love.

“Essairyn!!” Izlende, followed by Rakun and Aispin, sprinted toward her. “Are you okay?! Ah, this is—” She gave a curt bow to Classerth as a greeting.

“What? That’s all I get after not seeing you in ages? No hug? Izlende~” Classerth shuffled coyly toward Izra’s shoulder. No sooner had his sleeve touched Izlende that an air-splitting chop numbed his arm. Rakun then swept the silver-haired girl aside.

Classerth huffed and disregarded Rakun’s brutal strike as if it was nothing. “Come on man, Ennrion’s not even here, won’t you let me sneak in a hug?” If fighting was his first love, then Izlende was surely his second.

“Exactly, her boyfriend isn’t here. So behave yourself. You wouldn’t see the light of day if Ennrion were here instead.” Rakun sighed and recalled previous instances of a renowned A-rank knight cowering under a mere B-rank student with ash-scarlet eyes set to kill.

Izra whacked the top of Classerth’s head with her magic staff. He shrunk down in pain yet seemed oddly happy by it. “Still fooling around as usual, I see. Now tell us why you’re here.”

Classerth instantly switched and became serious. “I don’t know why Chaera withheld the mission’s intelligence from me, but this situation went beyond the Knights’ expectation. Look at this.” He held up a shredded piece of cloth.

Izra peered closely at it and read the letters across the banner of a torn emblem. “H.T.” Her gaze darkened. “This is…”

“Yes.” Classerth handed the cloth to her. “The symbol and initials of the group that attacked Farinheld and other towns.”

“Other towns!? You’re kidding!?” Izlende and Essairyn collectively gasped.

He shook his head gravely. “I’m afraid that this hidden organization is much larger and more connected than we had foreseen. Only now are they finally showing themselves. The first attack on Farinheld was merely a test. From intel gathered up to now, H.T. advocates for equal rights and power among humans and elementals.”

“Equality?” Essairyn uttered in disbelief. “Their goal seems right, but to demand it through violence is…”

Izlende gave a stern nod of agreement, asking, “Are you sure that’s H.T.’s objective? It’s not just a false declaration to coverup something else?”

“We can’t be sure of anything at this point. But even if that is indeed their objective, their methods are unjust. We, the Knights, cannot allow the destruction of towns and capture of innocents.”

“Did you also find out why they’re capturing people?” Izlende subconsciously looked over at Aispin who was currently inspecting the truck after K had freed the villagers and left surreptitiously.

“Not completely. The focus is definitely on mages, so they’re after magical power. I can only imagine what they’re doing with them back at their base, wherever it is.”

Everyone shuddered at Classerth’s words. If H.T.’s violence was any indication, then the mages could be suffering from extraction of their magic for nefarious purposes. But H.T. could also be brainwashing or using them for other heinous or clandestine deeds. It was a complicated situation where the goal was congruent with the Knights Order, but the actions were too malevolent. Perhaps, rather than equality, this group sought a complete turnover of power in Sol’h’meyr, starting with As’pyze.

“Let’s discuss more after we clean up the town and tend to the injured,” suggested Essairyn. “We have more to solve on this issue, but we can’t let more people suffer.”

“Right.” Izlende agreed and the others nodded. At this point, Darren and Theryn had arrived with Brynhilde scurrying after them. They had finished dealing with the rest of the H.T. intruders and came to check on Essairyn and the rest.

With the assistance of uninjured townspeople, the group mended the town and its people the best they could. By the end, Izlende was thoroughly wiped being the only healer. As for Essairyn, she no longer tried healing people since Akari’s fierce disapproval of it last time. Instead, she better used her talents to repair the wrecked buildings. Throughout her work, Essairyn was tempted by a stinging urge to seek out her little fox. She kept hoping that Akari would come to her as usual, but the day went by without a single appearance.

Returning to the girls’ room, Essairyn flung open the door, ardently wishing for the fox to be waiting for her. What welcomed her was a startlingly cold space devoid of life. Unblinking, she quietly walked inside and inspected every nook and cranny as if looking for a lost item. When she turned to walk back out, she spotted the blood splotched ground beneath the doorway. It was from the first man she had injured, no, killed, when escaping the inn earlier. With hardening eyes, she slowly walked and carefully stepped over the blood before scraping her soles on the hallway floor. But the blood would never truly disappear.

Drifting like a specter, she stonily made her way downstairs and past her friends gathered in the lobby. Her feet were on autopilot, taking her anywhere as long as it was away from there. Not hearing a thing, she didn’t even realize Darren had followed silently behind her. They aimlessly tromped forward into the nearby woods. For some reason unknown to her, being in the forest mildly soothed Essairyn. Perhaps it was the effect of nature. Perhaps it was because her journey had started in a similar surrounding. And it was where she had first met Akari.

She stopped by a random, tall tree and looked up beyond the branches to the pale blue-gray sky above. She looked for a long time. When she tilted her head back down, fat drops edged their way down her cheeks. Without any care for her appearance, she let them fall quietly to the ground until her vision blurred, and she saw nothing but gray. It was only then, without her sight, did she feel warmth on her back. Essairyn spun around and grabbed the large body beside her, sinking her head into a hard but soft chest. The sandy-haired boy held her tighter, leaning his head down to hover over her head.

His warm voice rumbled from the closeness of his chest. “It’s okay, you’ll find her soon.”

“Darren… I killed a man.”

He stiffened for a slight pause before relaxing and placing his palm across the back of her head. “I… killed a man too.”

“More than just one, I—” A sob choked back Essairyn’s words. Gathering her strained voice, she rasped, “Just what are we getting ourselves into in this world? A mission.” She scoffed at her words. “This isn’t some stupid game but reality. Why do I keep treating it like this all isn’t real? We had to defend ourselves today, but what for? Why did I have to lose Akari? Why am I—? …so deep into this.” She took a step back and pushed herself away to face Darren. “I can’t stop now, it’s too late now to live a peaceful life or some fun adventure after what happened today. Am I kidding myself? I should’ve listened to you, and—”

“Stop.” Darren gently shook Essairyn who was still within arms length. “We’re…in this together. It’s true that this isn’t what we expected. And up to now, even though I thought I had accepted this reality, I was reminded yet again today that we’re never going back. In the few weeks that we’ve lived here…so much has happened. We have to fight for ourselves, whether that’s against H.T., the demons, or this whole damn world. We’ll make it. I know you can do it.”

“Yeah…” She laughed lightly and wiped the remnants of her tears away. “Thanks for listening to my senseless rambling. I’m still feeling mixed up about a lot of things, but…” She looked up at him with sincere, grateful eyes. “I’m glad you’re here with me.”

Letting out a deep breath, she inwardly shook off her depressive aura. Essairyn had always hated this feeling of hopelessness. In this new world and life, she didn’t want to feel this again. Now that she had the power to control her fate, she wouldn’t let anyone stop her from enjoying it with those she cared about. Although she would never be able to erase the faces of those she had killed, Essairyn couldn't ignore the safety of innocents for the sake of her morals either. It was time that she fought for herself and her newfound vision.

The sound of nearby footsteps made the two turn toward an approaching man. Seeing that it was Aispin, Essairyn reactively obscured herself behind Darren’s shoulder and discreetly checked the puffiness of her eyes with her fingertips.

“Sorry, am I interrupting something?” Aispin asked while eyeing the two of them close together.

“Hm? No! That is, Darren was just cheering me up. I’m feeling better now.”

“That’s good then.” The black-haired man smiled gently. “Izlende and the others were really worried about you when you blew by them and wandered into the forest.”

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to worry them!” Essairyn furrowed her brows. Now that she thought about it, Izlende truly had looked upset at that time. But Rakun had held her back as if knowing that Essairyn needed some time to herself. Thankfully, it was Darren and not anyone else who had tailed her. She didn’t feel like she could show this side to anyone else but him yet.

At that thought, she glanced at him subtly. Although Essairyn hadn’t known him for much longer than the others, she strangely didn’t mind him seeing her weak side. Was it because they both arrived here from Earth around the same time? Or because they had argued and made up back at Byar’non Academy, so that somehow made them closer than she expected? A small smile inched its way on her face. It was a relief, his presence.

“Right now, they’re searching for Akari.”

“Ah.” Essairyn’s mouth opened in a small circle before closing into a touched smile. “That’s nice of them.” She inhaled resolutely. “I’ll have to thank them later. Can you help me search, Aispin?”

“Of course.” He smiled. “That’s what I’m here for.”

The trio searched for close to an hour inside the forest and town outskirts where the intruders had appeared and left. They didn’t have any leads on Akari, so they could only guess that as a spirit animal, H.T. might’ve taken her for her powers or as an offering to the demon force. More than demonic powers, spiritual power was more appealing to demons, and vice versa. This notion alone concerned Essairyn the most. They knew nothing about how or why humanoid demons were helping the organization.

Upon returning to the inn to regather with the others searching, a sharp shout made Essairyn jump. Recognizing Izlende’s shocked cry, the trio raced back quickly. At the front of the inn, the rest of the group was huddled around the front door.

“What’s wrong?”

At the sound of Essairyn’s voice, the others swiftly moved away to reveal what was on the doorstep. A blackened bundle of biscuit colored fur laid motionlessly on the wood. The sight made Essairyn stop dead in her tracks.