Suta POV

The unusual band continued their jog through what felt like an endless tunnel. Again, a few more spiders jumped out from the shadows. But they were relatively dealt with quite quickly. Suta felt free fighting beside Polkadot, who not only was well versed in fighting but also covered and combined well with Suta. It was almost like he could predict his movements and worked towards supplementing him in areas where he was vulnerable or weak.

They also spent time between skirmishes to talk about their lives before the mana storm. Suta gradually opened up to the boy, who he didn’t feel was as strange as he thought. He was a little eccentric and made creepy sniggers, but this world was set up to drive just about anyone mad.

Suta felt his legs turning in lead. They ran for a while until they finally reached an impasse: two separate tunnels stretching off into different directions.

‘Crap, which one do we take.’

“Gio can you sense anything?’ Suta asked the Blue shelled carp

The blue-shelled carp manoeuvred ahead and stood before the two gaping mouths briefly. He sniffed the air around them a few times before shaking his head in defeat.

“They smell the same, as far as I can tell. They both lead us out of this place.”

Polkadot made a low humming sound. His arms sat folded as he brought himself closer to Gio’s side.

“But we can’t know which one takes the longest; how about this? Let us split up. The fish and I take this route while you and the cute little fairy take the other. What do you say? Sounds like a great plan.” He rested one arm against the blue-shelled carp, who looked disgusted while questioning when Polkadot had gotten comfortable enough to touch him.

Suta felt somewhat reluctant to part ways, especially since he was actually getting used to being around another human, let alone another person who actually knew what he was going through regarding his transmigration.

But splitting up was the logical decision in this situation. He could also feel the overbearing coldness of something dark pressing against their heels. It might be the wisest thing to break their party up for now. That nightmarish creature wouldn’t know which way to go.

“Kekekek excellent, my friend, we’ll rendezvous above. Your little fairy friend should’ve already marked me by now, so finding us shouldn’t be a problem.”

That slightly surprised Suta, who turned his gaze towards the little sprite perched on his shoulder. Verdi looked flustered and panicky, as though he had been caught out for stealing. But Suta only chuckled when he noticed this.

“Ah! Better get a move on, see you on the other side then ahaha”

“Yeah, be safe,” Suta muttered as he watched the pair back, slowly fading into the darkness.

He remained in the same spot for a few moments, then pressed a cold gaze towards the darkness and placed a hand between his chest. He took one step forward, then another. Before he knew it, his footsteps were softly echoing into the dark tunnel. His palms caressed over his red dagger, and his mind was once again locked into combat mode.

Along the way, Suta felt the ground beneath them ascending into a steep climb, where he could not find a constant footing carefully. Verdi’s light was a welcome beacon of light as always, and its presence was a warm comforter during this rather tense ordeal after perhaps venturing through an almost pitched-black tunnel for a second time. Suta felt it was right to declare that he hated tunnels. Thankfully, by craning his neck just a little, he saw brightness through a sizeable crevice in the darkness.

Their way out! He gleamed at the light prospect and resumed his climb arduously. Verdi was perched closely against him, staring wilfully into the air.

“Do you miss them?” Suta asked the fairy thoughtfully. Verdi had changed quite a bit since they started their survival journey along these unpredictable pastures. It still was very much the cute and whimsical little sprite, but in moments of silence like these, Suta could feel the air of longing floating around Verdi. He was familiar with it since it was a state he was constantly in and out of ever since he lost his family.

Verdi’s gaze lifted out of nervous shock, but he seemed to sense the seriousness in Suta’s gaze, resigning to lowering his eyes slightly before nodding his tiny head a few times.

Suta expected as much as he felt his resolve being ignited once again.

“We’ll make it back. Don’t you worry, we’ll see everyone again. I promise you that.”

Suta dreamed about escaping this island once and for all, seeing Demoria and finding their way home. Granny was probably so worried. He also figured if someone as powerful as her couldn’t locate them, then… How mysterious is this glitch skill that brought them both here?

They neared the bright exit, and Suta, near enough, had to squint his two eyes before he unearthed himself away from the dark throat of the tunnel. A silent, chilled air greeted him. The firm, warm ground layered beneath his feet. A land devoid of grass, with an orchestra of buzzing insects and that damning and yet welcoming sight of the glazed red skies.

“Phew! We made it… hehe-Verdi! We-we did it.”

Suta climbed out of the tunnel and greedily drank in the silent air. His eyes moved across the dry land curiously poised. A strange lingering peace settled around him, one that he suddenly felt fearful of a few moments later.

“It’s quiet? Too quiet.” The jungle was never this quiet. Suspicions roused a string of uncertain thoughts around him. Suta cautiously walked away from the hole. A sudden spike of terror invaded his body. Two things were almost certainly always true in the jungle; one was those territories. The jungle was incredibly vast and was carved out in sections depending on which one of the kings lived there. The thorny princess and the white-furred centaur, one ruled the eastward whilst one ruled the northward. And you would immediately understand where you were based on the type of creatures brave enough to stay in these regions. The second truth was subtle, perhaps the revelation of the most dangerous.

Complete silence usually bred another kind of beast—a beast that held no clan or subjects, an apex in its own right.

“Oh no…” His breath felt snatched within his throat. And Suta felt a terrible quake beneath his feet. Then another followed closely behind. He heard the scuttle of trees behind him, a movement that physically shifted the land away as it walked. Suta could barely stand, left to gawk up at the giant casually walking into the open land. It carried the legs of an ox whilst its towering upper body formed into a dark, bluish, sleek, furred creature. A huge leonine head sat on top of its body, two beady eyes glazed with a sinister look locked onto him. Suta gulped harshly, staring at the broken single horn curling away from its helm.

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Of all the territories to stumble into, this super predator was by far the one he spent much of his time here trying to avoid. He wanted to cry; his luck these days was undeniably the worst. But tears won't save him from what was set to come. Verdi rushed behind his ear. He could feel the fairy shivering terribly out of fear. “Wh-what do we do?” Its voice chimed directly into his ear.

Suta could only grimace wordlessly as he watched the broken-horned feline giant walk towards him. There was no way he could fight something like that—not now, perhaps not ever, he thought. Why would a monster like this even be allowed to exist? He frowned at the absurdity of this place and all the damned creatures living within it.

“Shit! We run Verdi! That’s what we do, run!” Suta had seen enough and twisted on his heels to flee. He was bargaining on the giant being too big to possess the agility to move quickly enough to catch him. But the moment he moved at least a few paces ahead, he heard something taking off from the ground before he saw a large shadow falling in his front view.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

A large gust of dust kicked up and temporarily blinded Suta’s view. Time seemed to stop before him as he stood before this gargantuan-sized creature, which was by far the most terrifying thing he had laid his eyes upon up close. The size of those hoofs alone was incomprehensible, to the point that he felt his entire body shivering just from being close to its shadow.

Suta subtly retraced his steps back. His eyes refused to leave the giant even for a second, but his body remained idle in watch whilst that thing turned him into a meat paste. He reacted practically the same way most in that situation would react. It was the old fight-or-flight response. And Suta’s arms were far too short to box that thing.

A considerable smog of air puffed out from its wild-shaped nostrils. The creature opened its maw, allowing large copious amounts of spit to writhe down, falling from such a height; Suta grimaced and ensured he wasn't beneath the falling puddle of drool. It fell against the ground with a loud splat, and Suta felt this would perhaps spell the end for him. Something else happened that eclipsed his fearful expectations. The beast lowered its upper body and crouched slightly forward. Suta heard a deep voice filtering directly into his mind.

“Mortal! Mortal-Man. Why have you come to these sacred grounds? Did those before you not warn you about trespassing on the warden's land?”

‘The warden?’ Suta thought to himself, remembering Polkadot mentioning the same name to him.

‘Didn’t he say something about being captured by this warden fellow? I should’ve asked him more about that.’

It then suddenly hit him that this great beast was talking to him, telepathically as well, for that matter.

“H-h-how are you-“ Suta's mouth moved unconsciously.

“Is seeing not believing? Listen to me, mortal. Your kind have been prohibited from entering these lands after the guises of war had been stirred long ago. When a boy, covered in gold, decided to venture here, bringing along with him an accursed creature of the undead and a Queen of wroth and anger. He changed the landscape of these isles forever. In place for an eye, that golden youth split the souls of these inhabitants for eternity. To those from afar, they might consider it a welcome reprieve, but to us folk, wise enough to know. We always knew that spell was a curse “

‘Lysann?’ Suta felt his entire body shake. That name was beginning to be synonymous with all things bad happening to him here. Why did he even choose this place to escape into? And why did he leave Anak and that Northern witch behind?

Suta lifted his gaze beyond the giant horn, where his indifferent gaze landed on the sky of blood.

“How long until the spell comes back again?” he frailly asked. He still felt incredibly odd talking to something so terrifying looking in such a peaceful way.

The giant feline head moved in a manner to suggest it was thinking. Then its huge leonine frame moved slightly, sending a light tremor rocking against the ground.

Suta wryly smiled, trying his hardest to mask away the fright from his outward demeanour. “No one knows. I've witnessed the eclipse 265 times. All of which have shown no pattern or coherent method. They are as random as the many beasts of these lands. Although they have been more frequent than usual, something like this has only happened once before, a long time ago.”

“Wh-what-when?”

“The day...The boy dressed in Gold returned to his world.”

Suta felt a cold shiver running down the nape of his neck. He was more than bright enough to understand what that implication alluded towards.

“Is…Lysann coming back?” He asked unsteadily. The giant creature lowered his gaze.

“No, but his consort…will rise again. Mortal! Be quick. If you want to save her, you must reach the accursed castle. Before it’s too late.”

It took Suta a few moments to recognise that ‘her’ was possibly referring to the girl he was trying desperately to return to.

His eyes widened as a look of panic surfaced over his fearful gaze.

“Wait! Are you talking about D-d-memoria? Wh-what’s happening to her? H-how do you know…” His feet steadily moved forward, but just before he could breathe again, a small shockwave sent him walking backwards.

Two large reptilian wings unfurled from the creature’s back. It bent down and jumped, sending a furious gale whipping across the lands. Both Suta and Verdi were quickly knocked off their feet and sent tumbling backwards. Once Suta regained his footing, he needed to shield his eyes away from the swirling dust. He tilted his helm skyward. The giant beast was so high up by now, and those two dark wings beat against the air with a strange mystique.

Despite ascending high, its deep voice still filled Suta’s mind.

“Be careful, mortal. This place will do everything possible to stop you from reaching that castle. Be steadfast and courageous. Time is of the essence.”

Suta could barely keep his gaze poised without shielding it from the relentless dust storm. “Baron, Baron the watcher. I hope this will not be our last encounter. Good luck…mortal man.”

Baron the giant flew away into the distant crimson skies. Suta stood there in silence. He felt numb but also somewhat distant from it all. How was he supposed to handle this? Clarity slowly emerged, and his eyes sat as wide as possible.

‘Demoria is in danger? Shit! Shit! What do I do?’

He felt his closed fists trembling beneath the weight of that silent truth lingering in his stomach. He was still weak. He was still powerless to save a single person he cared about. Warm tears welled against his gaze, threatening to fall. It was only then. He heard those familiar, soft, fluttering wings arriving by his side. A sense of relief washed away almost mechanically. Verdi’s tiny arms placed themselves against his cheeks.

“Mister…it’s ok, it’ll be alright.”

The warm glow from Verdi’s body stirred a peacefulness inside of him. Suta forced a wide smile before wiping his tears away.

“Th-thank you.”

They set forward on their walk again. Suta looked ahead, where he noticed dry land surrounded by thin, discoloured trees aligned along a dust road of partial bluegrass. The trees were white with bright green leaves adorned at their helms. Unlike the jungle, this area was much flatter, allowing them to see over a great distance without any heavy jungles in their way, over the rolling hills and distant carpet of bluegrass. Suta pictured that whimsical-looking castle awaiting his arrival.

‘Wait for me, Demoria.’ He pressed one of his closed fists to the middle of his chest. Steeling his inner resolve before he continued his walk.

He turned to address Verdi, who he expected to be perched against his shoulder. But surprisingly was busying itself with something else.

“Hm? Where has he gone?” He wondered

Searching around the area, Suta soon discovered the fairy hovering bizarrely around the gathered puddle of spit against the ground. He approached Verdi with curiosity boosting his steps. Once he arrived over the tiny sprite his gaze locked onto the strange glittering object floating on the surface of the white slime. He peered a little closer, discovering that floating object was surprisingly a strange fang shaped white dagger. It almost looked like the bone of an animal.

Verdi was so entranced that he only realised Suta’s approach once he called out his name.