Domeron was evidently affected by the appearance of the beast, but once he saw it settle down on Red’s shoulder, he relaxed. His hand remained on his weapon, though.
“Where did you find it?” Domeron asked.
Red walked over to a tree and sat down again. “A hole in the ground in the forest near the canyon. It was probably the only survivor of a clutch of eggs.”
Domeron frowned. “So you just tamed it? How? This is not in the purview of people who haven’t opened their Spiritual Seas like us.”
Red shrugged. “I have my tricks.”
The swordsman sighed in resignation, aware that he wouldn’t be able to pry this information from the youth. He looked over at where he thought the snake was around Red’s shoulders. “Have you trained it to do anything?”
Red shook his head. “I didn’t have the opportunity. To be honest, after the ambush we suffered, I thought I would have never seen it again.”
“It is unusual for a snake to show any kind of emotional attachment, so it makes little sense to me why it would return to you after all this time.” Domeron said with a thoughtful expression. “Then again, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a six-eyed snake.”
Red frowned. “You don’t know what kind of monster it is?”
“I have no idea.” he shook his head. “Snakes don’t have good eyesight, but maybe this one is an exception. Have you tested its vision?”
Red shook his head. “I didn’t have the opportunity.”
“We can do that on our trip.” Domeron said. “Is it venomous?”
The swordsman proceeded to ask him all kinds of questions about the monster, and Red replied to them with as much detail as he could. To his surprise, Domeron seemed rather knowledgeable about monsters, something that he never showed before in the sect.
“It can close its own eggshell?” Domeron seemed confused. “This is a very strange monster you have got your hands on.”
“Do you know what kind of monster it might be?” Red asked.
Aurelia scoffed. “You think a mortal like him will know about it when even I couldn’t tell?”
“… I might have an inkling.” Domeron nodded.
“What?!”
Red was also just as surprised. “You know about it?”
“I can’t say for sure, but a long time ago while I was wandering the plains up north with a caravan, we also spotted a six eyed monster from afar.” Domeron said. “It was so big we could see it from kilometers away.”
“What kind of animal was it?”
“It was turtle.” Domeron said. “The locals told me that sometimes they saw it wandering their arid plains up north every decade or so before returning to the sea. A lot of people even worshipped it as a deity, since every time it wandered through those dry lands, rains would follow it to water their homes and form rivers that would last for months.”
Aurelia snorted. “Bah, what’s the connection between these things?”
Red frowned. “The relation between them seems frail at best.”
Domeron smiled. “You didn’t let me finish. I remember clearly that the turtle had its eyes placed in the same way as that snake of yours, but above that, there was something else special about it… Every time someone tried to approach it, it would disappear, as if it was a mirage.”
This time, Red was taken aback. “You mean it would camouflage itself? Would that even work?”
“No, not just camouflage. It would simply disappear.” Domeron said. “No trace of this colossal beast would remain as long as someone got too close to it. I didn’t see it myself, but it makes sense. I can’t imagine a beast like that would be left alone for so long.”
Red considered the man’s words in silence.
“You might still think this connection is frail at best, but it’s a start.” Domeron said. “Bloodlines can be passed between completely different species of monsters sometimes, so thinking a turtle and a snake being related is not even the weirdest thing. Either way, the information I can give you about that is limited, so if you want to learn about it more in the future, you will probably need to visit those plains in the future.”
“Where exactly are they?” Red asked.
Domeron smiled. “In recently conquered imperial territory up north.”
Immediately, the youth put this as the lowest priority on the list of things to do.
The duo continued to discuss the snake a bit more until Domeron suggested trying to feed it something.
Red, of course, was very hesitant.
“You kept that thing around its snout for a week already.” Domeron said. “It must be starving.”
If the snake was feeling hungry, it gave no indication of it, as it never showed any reaction to the food Red and Domeron were eating. However, Red had to agree with the man - this was still an infant snake, despite being almost two meters long already, so it was important to feed it as often as possible to nurture its growth.
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“Here, try feeding it this.” Domeron threw something at him.
Red grabbed it and looked down. It was a piece of jerky. He looked over at Domeron with a skeptical gaze.
The man shrugged. “Try it before you complain.”
Red did as much. He brought the jerky up to the snake’s head, almost invisible against his cloak. The serpent flicked its tongue out, smelling the piece of food in front of it.
It showed no further reaction.
Red looked back at Domeron and shook his head.
The man frowned. “Let’s try something else.”
And so they did. They almost went through their entire supplies trying to see something that could elicit a response from the snake, even going as far as to offer it dry fruits, to no success.
Domeron sighed in resignation. “It seems like you will have to try hunting something fresher to feed it.”
Red nodded. “I would rather wait until we are done with this. It doesn’t look that hungry in the first place.”
“That’s reasonable, but it’s also best to strike when the iron is hot. Who knows when you will have another opportunity to wander around the forest?”
Red frowned. “Why do you care so much about it?”
The man’s constant pestering and questions about the snake came across as strange for someone who seemed ready to cut the beast down just some twenty minutes ago. The youth couldn’t help but feel skeptical.
Domeron smiled. “I always wanted to have my own monster pet when I was younger. Just think of me living vicariously through you.”
Red didn’t say anything in response.
“Either way, since you’re probably not going to sleep anyway, you don’t mind taking watch overnight, right?” Domeron asked.
Red sighed. “Just do as you want.”
Domeron nodded. “I will.”
Without hesitation, the man laid down against the tree and went to sleep.
With his vision alone, it was impossible for Red to tell if the swordsman was truly sleeping, but thankfully, he had his own crimson sense to check his fluctuation. Some fifteen minutes later, it seemed like Domeron had truly fallen asleep as his fluctuation became calm and less active.
“I don’t like this man.” Aurelia’s voice echoed in his ear. “He’s too cocky for his own good.”
Red frowned, but still didn’t respond.
Aurelia continued to speak. “Are you really going to trust his story? What if he’s lying about everything? You could basically be wandering around with a traitor that can kill you without issue. Maybe it’s best to look for opportunities to get rid of him on this trip... just like the one in front of you right now.”
Red’s frown deepened, and he shook his head.
Aurelia sighed. “I thought you were smarter than this, Red. Even if you are wrong, you will at least eliminate the risk of being betrayed. You know better than anyone about taking chances in this world, don’t you?”
Red didn’t respond to her any longer.
The woman scoffed. “Suit yourself!”
She went silent.
Red knew she was being logical, but this just wasn’t the kind of person the youth was. He was cold, calculating, and hard to trust others, but above all else, he was a man of his word who would repay kindness and wrongdoings in equal measure. Domeron was someone he had known for seven years already, someone who taught him everything he knew about sword-fighting and indirectly saved his life many times through his teachings.
It was impossible for Red to throw all that aside to enact such a radical measure based on suspicion that could yet be cleared when he returned to town. Granted, as Aurelia put it, if Domeron was a traitor then things would definitely go wrong for the youth. However, this was a risk he was willing to take to stay true to himself.
…
A few days passed by.
This was a tense period of travel for Red. Domeron couldn’t stay further than fifty meters from him this entire time if he wanted to remain disguised, which meant they were easily within killing distance of each other. One lunge was more than enough for either of them to reach the other and strike within such distances.
To his relief, however, there were no accidents during the journey, which diminished his suspicion of Domeron somewhat. Even if the youth was still not comfortable giving the man his back, at the very least he wasn’t worried about the swordsman suddenly turning around and lunging at him.
They failed to find any food for the snake still, and Red didn’t want to go out of his way to hunt for it, so there was no progress in training the serpent. That being said, it remained quiet in the youth’s shoulder, not displaying any need for water or food, or much movement at all.
‘Sometimes I forget it’s even there.’
“We are here.” Domeron said, pointing with his one hand. “I can see the village in the distance.”
Red looked over in the direction he was pointing. Indeed, through the thick foliage, he was a few buildings as well as the smoke of chimneys rising into the sunlit sky.
“Have you visited this village before?” Domeron asked.
Red shook his head. “I haven’t visited any villages in the region.”
The man frowned. “Really? You spent seven years here and never visited a village?”
“I have everything I need in town.” Red said. “Why would I need to go out of my way to look into these places?”
As far as Red understood, these villages were rather isolated pockets of human habitation in the forest, with nothing much to see or offer in services that would be useful to him. This was exacerbated after the horde and Imperial invasion, wherein many of these small villages were abandoned by their frightened inhabitants and the ones that remained had their livelihoods affected.
Domeron sighed at these words. “Right, I didn’t know why I expected otherwise. Either way, let’s investigate it from afar first before we approach… Also, let me do the talking if it comes down to it.”
Red nodded with no protest.
They both approached the town behind the cover of trees, doing their best not to be spotted. Once they got within five hundred meters, Red raised his hand for them to stop as he noticed something.
They could already see movement from within the village from here.
“You can sense them from here?” Domeron asked with surprise.
“Yes.” Red nodded. “Just give me some time.”
The youth proceeded to focus on his crimson sense and extend it towards the village. He was able to cover it without issues, upon which he felt the fluctuations of multiple people in there.
He examined each and every one of them, looking for any abnormalities which might give out a possible spy in their midst. There were around thirty people in the village, and in the end, Red didn’t sense anything strange with any of them.
Red opened his eyes and looked over at Domeron. “All of them seem like common mortals, barring a handful that have opened a few of their veins.”
Domeron raised his eyebrows. “So no imperials spies?”
Red shrugged. “If they are there, either they are just a common mortal or I can’t sense them.”
“Good.” The man nodded. “Then let’s approach from the trail.”
The village had a dirt path leading to the main road from which any visitors would approach from. Since Red and Domeron didn’t intend to hide their presence for now, they approach the village in full view of them.
They were quick to be spotted by the villagers, who were clearly not used to receiving visitors, much less armed ones. A handful of children playing at the edge of the village were the first to spot them and went running back to their parents to warn about the imminent arrival of the strangers.
Domeron raised his hand in greeting, still a few hundred meters away from the village proper. Red, on the other hand, started to slow down as he got a clearer look at the villager’s appearances, until he stopped in the middle of the road.
A shiver ran up his spine.
Domeron noticed this and looked back at him with a bewildered expression. “What is it, Red?”
“… You don’t see it?” Red asked.
The man frowned. “See what?”
Red didn’t know how to respond. Instead, he looked back at the residents who were all gathering in the middle of their village square to look at the two strangers.
What Red saw in front of him, though, was a gathering of rotting corpses staring at him with clouded expressions.