It took the group two days to successfully descend the mountain. Nic had noticed a few things on the way down.

First, Yuuki was growing ever stranger. Her words had started to warm up again, but she was now freezing to the touch. The only person besides her that didn’t seem to notice was Sarman. The extra heat that his body produced must have offset the coldness of the touch. Yuuki was also wearing less and fewer clothes, despite the temperature continuing to be on the colder side. When she was asked about it, Yuuki simply said that she didn’t need the extra layers as she didn’t feel cold.

Second, Sarman was acting strange, and he had been since M’kara had decided to test them. Nic wasn’t sure what was going on with his friend, but he didn’t like it. Every time he tried to bring it up, Sarman would find a way to exit the conversation.

Third, there was something fishy happening along the coast.

“There should be a city with a sizeable port that can take us to the capital city of Kyoku north of here. We won’t be able to make it there tonight, so let’s see if we can find the nearby fishing village I saw from the mountain.” Yuuki was explaining her own idea of their plan for the next few days as they walked through a wooded forest.

The entire coastline on this side of the mountain was flooded with trees almost up until they reached the ocean itself. They had been able to see the vast ocean from on the mountain, and even up high, it had looked endless.

“The boat ride itself will be about two days long, so let’s try to get to the village tomorrow.”

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“Sounds good to me.”

“Same.”

“As long as we don’t have to sleep in tents tonight, I’ll be fine.”

Everyone readily agreed with Yuuki’s plan. Each with their own reasoning and words. Nic himself was completely fine with it, though he was worried at what they would find at the fishing village.

There was more Irradiation than normal in the area surrounding them. It made Nic worry that monsters were roaming about more than normal.

They quickly made their way through the forest. Eerily quiet as it was, Nic wondered where the monsters were.

“The village should be just up here!” Yuuki ran ahead as they reached the edge of the forest. The village was bound to be in site once they left.

Everyone ran to catch up with her. But they all collectively stopped as they finally left the forest behind.

There should have been a bustling fishing village in front of them. A village full of life, teaming with activity.

But there wasn’t.

Yuuki fell to her knees at the sight. Kiara and one of the Crystallia delegates ran back into the forest. Nic could hear them emptying their stomachs. He wanted to do the same thing. A putrid smell was invading his nose.

In front of them was the ruined remains of the village. And in between the buildings, they could all see it. A pile of bodies, rotting in the sun above them.

The village had been ransacked and destroyed. There would be no one left alive.

The only clue to who did it would be the torn flag haphazardly hanging from one of the destroyed buildings. It was stained red with blood, but the rising sun boldly emblazoned on it would not be covered up.