The caravans moved again.

After briefly exchanging goodbyes with the Decanid, Frost and Jury found herself seated across the same three faces. Hellen and Alice could not be more delighted to see them both again.

The little girl was also cheery when met with the non-humans they brought aboard. Via’s caravan was instantly filled with countless new faces. Calfasio sat across them, also expressing his wholehearted thanks with the pendant tightly griped in his hand again.

The man grieved over his inability to fight. Frost could tell that it ate at him. He wasn’t strong, and neither did he possess much magic. He was as normal as a person could get. A true civilian trying to persist in this world of madness.

“Think happy thoughts. At least you’ll be able to see your daughter.” Frost said. “Your family’s waiting for you in Divas Pass, so don’t look so down.”

“Hah. I guess that’s right. But it still stings, you know? I’m a man and I can’t even pick up a sword if my life depended on it. Magic’s even harder. It must be awesome being able to wield flames in your palms knowing that you can protect your loved ones.” He let loose of a depressed sigh before shaking his head to sober himself up.

Strength means a lot in this world, huh. It’s practically a status symbol.

“Cheer up sir. I can fool around with you if that’ll raise your spirits.” One of the women teased, causing the man to jolt and inadvertently smack the back of his head against the half-wall.

“I have a wife for crying out loud!” He groaned as they laughed. “And a daughter.”

“Is this what you call adultery?” Alice tilted her head, as did Jury who was also clueless on the matter.

“Ahem! Can we please change the topic?” Hellen’s motherly voice somehow carried a threatening aura, instantly causing the others to shiver.

The conversations shifted left and right. Frost found herself enjoying the company of these people. Their smiles, their warmth and their emotions were no different from humans. How they were seen as lesser beings was a thought that bellowed a flame within her heart.

This was especially true for the 6 who were sent into the forest by their masters in Little Tais as sacrifices. They did not remember much other than the screaming, and that their skin was slowly being peeled off as they confessed.

Simply recalling these events was traumatizing enough. Frost refused to pry any further. After all –

“The trail speaks for itself. Look at how many bodies there are…” Frost uttered beneath her breath as the mood sharply shifted.

It was a horrific battleground, smothered in blood as the horses trampled over countless smiling bodies. The sound of cracking bone and flesh underneath the wheels caused them immense misery.

“All skinless as well. Urgh… cover your daughter’s eyes Hellen. And those of you in the back, please look after your friends. Don’t let them look outside.” Via urged.

A sea of deceased Screaming Galleries littered the remainder of the path leading to Little Tais. Little by little, the fog and the Anid webbings disappeared and minutes later, the pine trees finally parted.

The light of the world returned, and with it arrived the true extent of the aftermath.

“That… was that from the laughing owl?” Via wondered out loud.

“The Listening Bird was incapable of physical damage. Something else must have passed by here.” Jury noted.

“The same storm that hit Divas Pass…?” Calfasio looked out and was shocked by the devastation.

The southern gate they approached was punched in by an unknown force. The giant, metal gates were tens of meters away, with one half-buried into the dirt. These things were at least 5 meters high and weighed several hundreds of kilograms.

Not something… ‘someone’.

Iscario must have passed through here days ago. She could hardly comprehend how a simple liquid could grant so much power. But then again, she had seen far stranger things now. For some reason Cer’s phrase of ‘it wouldn’t be the strangest thing’ came back to her.

She wondered if anyone even knew what happened to her.

The devastation present took center stage. Countless homes were crumbled and razed. From the lack of sound alone Frost could tell that not many survivors were left… if any at all.

“We’re usually supposed to be waved down but… I don’t think there’s anyone left. A town of 5,000… and another thousand being slaves all just – vanished. Was there no one redirecting the laughing owl?” Via commented as they passed through the broken gates and entered the ghost town of Little Tais.

“You’ve called it the laughing owl twice. Was it a well-known Corrupted?”

Via didn’t answer until they travelled upon the uneven, stone-paved roads of the town.

“Vaguely. We only understood it from rumors of towns suffering from the ‘screaming syndrome’. It’s but one of the known monsters that roam our unblessed lands. Our secondary role as Patrons is to report our findings to the next town over and review previous records from other passing Patrons. Monsters take the highest priority. You can see entire highways being abandoned because of them.” Via stated, looking out at the largest structure in the town.

Frost observed it as well, wondering what it was.

“The Blessed left us, and the people of Grandis spited anyone that wasn’t human. You can imagine how the Adventurers from Brandar and across Elysia reacted when they found out that their kind-hearted, non-human Adventurers were being kidnapped and sold off as merchandise. No one wanted to lend us a hand anymore. And why should they when all we could do was bite those very same hands?”

A somber silence followed as they drove through town. There was not a single structure that wasn’t at least partially destroyed. The Listening Bird was incapable of physical damage, but she could certainly see how its pinball-like movement would cause havoc.

The streets, to their surprise, was not littered with bodies as it was outside. It seemed like the Listening Bird had moved most of them outside when they fought. Whether some remained was unknown, and Frost could imagine the horror of coming face to face with one in a dark, abandoned building.

She also had to wonder how these ones died if no one else was here.

Via then added:

“Another Corrupted we know of is… hmm. Have you heard of the Village of Virt? Hardly anyone heads up there anymore. The highway was closed off for as long as I can remember. I think it was ever since it became home to the Skewered Beast. I’m sure you’ve heard of it. The horror story of a child warning people to stay away from the Black Forest?”

Frost glanced over to Jury who coyly smiled.

If only they knew who they were talking to.

“Yeah. We’re familiar with it.”

* * *

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Little Tais was proof of Nav’s outdated knowledge. The town of roughly 10,000 inhabitants and 3,000 slaves was a number of the distant past. This major trading town saw a mass exodus ever since the loss of Paradise, making it home to vagrants, mercenaries and those who were too stubborn to leave.

The town sat in a major crossroad that connected it to all major highways of Grandis, each one leading in a different cardinal direction. It was bizarre that a town positioned in the center of all major kingdoms would be so vacant. It turns out that most people fled to cities or towns closer their respective kingdoms.

“We were all thinking to ourselves ‘if that happened to Paradise, then what would happen to our towns’?” Calfasio stated. “And you’re forgetting about the wars. They only just ended 5 years ago. This place saw countless battles. A downside of being in the center of everything.”

“So everyone’s now living in three centralized areas?” Frost asked.

“You didn’t know?” Hellen cocked her head curiously. “I’m sure it must have struck you as odd as to why there was so little people along these parts of Grandis.”

“Um… Er… We kind of do live in 3 major areas, yes.” Calfasio continued. “Puritas has their massive capital city, Infernis. Everything else is just a town to it. A resource. Then you have Bellum, a war-hungry kingdom that defends Grandis from the Great Marshlands and the warring Insectids in the far west. They’re a bit more spread out, but it hardly compares to the complexity of Puritas. It’s… unbelievably huge.”

The caravan line drove towards the only structure that stood above all – the Adventurer’s Guild. It was made from pine logs and highly decorative stone brick, which were all weathered by time and the absence of any form of maintenance. They were overgrown with vegetation and filth as the streets in front of it were smeared in blood.

It appeared more like a cathedral now that she realized it. It just lacked the gothic architecture and was rather simplistic compared to the ones she knew from Earth. Nevertheless, it did not detract much from its sheer size alone.

The Adventuer’s Guild was easily the highest structure in Little Tais. Interestingly, these structures usually housed the major facilities of a town to preserve space and to create a central social hub. If there was a place where they could rest and find supplies, then it would be there. Additionally, it was also the place that housed the Relay Site.

“And Divaola?” Frost asked as the caravans parked at the front of the stairway which led up to the blasted doors of the Adventurer’s Guild.

“No one knows much about them. But you can tell they have roots and values from Brandar. They were responsible for the creation of Divas Pass; a place where people wouldn’t have to be afraid of persecution. And still they were blamed for the destruction of Paradise.” Via concluded. “Alright! Listen up everyone! Jaris! Can you hear me!?”

“Loud and clear!” He yelled back.

“Let’s clear out the Guild and start rationing out some food to eat! We’ll camp inside of the Guild until tomorrow! You all must be exhausted after fighting for your lives!” Via relayed, gathering a chord of approving responses from the other caravans.

However –

“Huh… eat? You can eat after all that?” A cat-eared girl said, already gagging at the thought. “Gross… Everything’s going to smell like blood.”

“I’m not hungry either… meat is going to taste weird.” Even Alice found herself hesitant.

“I can give you some of my honey? Oh, but be careful. It’s highly addictive~” The bee-woman hummed. From where this honey actually came from sparked some curiosity in Frost, but she also figured it was best to leave it to her imagination.

“Noooo thanks.” A dog-eared woman refused heavily. “As much as we’d like to eat… I think it’s better if we just rest. Bathe maybe! The Guild had those functions, right girls?”

“Oh~ A bath. It’s been quite a long time… but is now really the time to be so carefree?” The fox-eared woman had to wonder. “I’m sorry about this Healer? Healer!”

“Just Frost. And, well, what if I make the food? Will that make you guys want to eat?” Frost offered, causing the eyes of the ex-broods to light up instantly.

For some reason they held a lot of respect for her. Probably because she wasn’t human, which made her their de facto guardian of sorts.

If she was a bird, then these were her chicks bobbing their heads up and down for nutrition. And Jury? Well…

“Will you make skewers?” She practically drooled at the thought.

“We’ll see what they have here first. But yeah. I’ll make us some mean skewers.”

“Mhm~!”

“Although – I guess it’s alright if you don’t want to eat.” She teased the others.

“Ah, why didn’t you say so? I’m starved after all that!” The cat-eared girl’s tone flipped entirely. “I’ll eat anything if it’s from a healer… yeah. Mhm. Healer.” She peered with one eye and did a double take of Frost, unsure of what she was exactly.

“Just. Frost.” She reiterated, garnering a few giggles from these women. “Anyway – Via. Warn the others to stay vigilant.”

“You noticed it too?” She said, her voice lacking any surprise.

“The Screaming Galleries we fought didn’t die as soon as that bird was slain. Someone must have passed by. Either that or they’re still here.”

A sound logic. But there was more to it than just this.

The other reason why she warned them was because there was another Corrupted they briefly encountered back in the forest.

Our Happiest Moments.

A terribly weak creature, but a Corrupted, nevertheless. Though she never actually caught a glimpse of it she could not bring herself to relax. For all she knew it possessed some sort of mind-rending ability. The Corrupted could not be taken lightly.

But then again…

It could also be a ‘helpful’ Corrupted, much like how Jury was. Considering it hadn’t attacked them yet or shown its face, Frost had no way to discern what its intentions were. Neither did she want to reveal this. As the saying went – ignorance is bliss.

She’d rather they had some peace of mind; however temporary it may be.

Via hopped down and opened the back of the caravan. They spilled out into the vibrant light of the sun. There was not a single cloud in the sky, aside from the rising smoke. One by one, they all climbed up the stairs and entered the dim, grand hall of the Adventurer’s Guild.

They strode within like marching soldiers and quickly went to work clearing out the rooms for any danger. As expected, there as virtually no signs of other life. The eeriness was like a poison, driving some mad as others refused to move alone.

Eventually, the candles of the grand hall were relit, and the Adventurer’s Guild was completely illuminated by it spectacular lights.

In the center of this vast, wood-themed hall was the crystal Relay Site; cracked at the seams by an unknown force. Once again, she had no feasible way of teleporting straight into the Nexus. Something, or someone, was targeting these things no doubt.

For what reason remained a mystery. If Iscario expected her to die in the Black Forest, and that the Blessed weren’t even able to access Grandis in the first place then it made little sense to go through the effort of destroying them.

It was either that or she was thinking too deeply about it.

Frost cast away these thoughts with a drawn-out sigh. She placed a hand on its cold surface and gazed upon her reflection before sinking into deep thought.

Hope, huh. What a weird affinity.

“It would imply that perhaps a Floor of Hope also exists.”

And you know that also implies the Civilization affinity exists as well, right?

“I am gravely aware of how bizarre that must sound.”

Frost struggled to wrap her mind around the notion of ‘Civilization’ being an affinity. But then again, Judgement was no better.

Emotions derived from these concepts. Or at least bearing some relation to them. Seeing how Judgement works in person makes sense. Civilization might also make sense when I see it. But the biggest question is how many of these Floors exist.

“I’m afraid that only time will tell.”

Jury checked herself out in the mirror, pleased by how well her attire fit her. It wasn’t long before she ended up placing a warm hand onto Frost’s head. If it was anyone else, then she would have broken their hand. Just the mere sensation alone reminded her of how Iscario touched her.

As for Jury? It was the opposite. It was everything she needed. A warmth that reminded her that she wasn’t the only one aboard this journey… the journey that all three of them embarked from the very start.

“Mm? Oh, yes Jury?”

“You always look like you have something on your mind. I thought this would help you feel better.” Jury softly spoke as the echoing voices of the others disappeared.

“Aw. You’re so sweet.” Frost warmly smiled. “And… Well… it’s because I actually do have something on my mind.”

“You mentioned me?”

“Yep. Nav. Looks like our journey continues. The Relay Site is broken, and I’m guessing that other giant crystal is the Repository. It looks shattered as well.” Frost observed the giant crystal that hovered elsewhere, which was tightly restrained by black chains.

“Odd. There is one more Relay Site location at Divas Pass. If that happens to be broken as well, then it is a matter of navigating through Brandar.”

“Sounds easy enough. So long as we don’t deal with anymore Corrupted.” Frost muttered. “Jury. Thank you for worrying about me. You can stop… rubbing my head now.”

Touching other people’s head was not something she had actually ever seen happen on Earth. It was mostly found in animated media and other forms of fiction, so it was hard to translate if it was a commonality here or not.

But that hardly mattered. Because she enjoyed the sensation. It was like getting a head massage! Only that it was from…

… From who?

Jury of course. But… who was Jury to her other than a companion? Other than a friend? Frost didn’t know herself, but she was always happy so long as this woman was by her side.

And before she could discern what this sensation in her chest was –

– A voice called out to them.

“Frost! Wanna raid the Guild pantry with us!? We can have a bath right after we eat! I’m sure you’re sick of being drenched in all that blood!”

“C’mon! Jury! I wanna see that tail of yours! You must be an Avian just like me!”

“It would be a nice change of pace to relax for once.” Hellen agreed, as did Via and the Battle-axe woman. “Frost. Ahh? I think this is the first time I’ve seen you make a face like that. It’s fine. We won’t judge your body.”

“You’re the smallest out of all of us, aren’t you!? It’s fine to be conscious about that!”

“Shhh! What if she gets mad and caves your face in!?”

Those things hardly mattered to her. She was a man first and foremost. But… there was a certain emotion in her heart. Definitely not lust. She was just curious about herself. This would serve a prime opportunity to at least get to know her own body better.

Now that she thought about it – it was rather sad that she knew more about the Corrupted than her own damned body.