A beast in the form of a young woman huffed down the last of Autumn’s rations. Crumbs and juices dribbled from the purple-haired girl’s mouth. When she was done, she lapped her fingers twice and chirped happily for the meal.

“Food at last! Not bad, humans! So you can achieve this without having to sing your hearts out!” The girl exclaimed.

She sat as a street thug would, a hand arched over a raised knee and lurching forward without a care in the world. Her strange eyes flicked from her hands, and then onto Autumn and Deiman who sat directly across from her.

“Literally. Hearts would gush with every song they sang. Every mistune was punished by exploding larynxes. Indulgent food like this gets stuck in the throat too easily. A shame. I think it could’ve helped with morale. Now then… The wish I promised to grant.”

This girl had promised to grant them a single wish. Autumn did not believe she could achieve much, but she decided that she might as well help her out. She already lent a hand to Deiman.

“Tell me what lurks only in your wildest dreams. I can grant them one note at a time. What can this one do for you?” Her oval-shaped irises vibrated like a tuning fork, as did her ram-like horns.

Autumn did not expect anything in return.

They expected to part ways by sunrise. She did not need to make friends along the way. The girl’s fate would be up to the whims of Grandis, and Autumn did not show a single speck of remorse.

However, that was until recently. Autumn wore a cautious expression as she kept Deiman slightly behind her. When the girl scoffed down a chunk of preserved meat, she hummed a beautiful melody to celebrate.

That melody killed all their deadly neighbors within the ruins. It compelled them to dance till they could no more, their bodies decaying and their arms and limbs snapping into impossible angles. Even plants could not resist the dance of death brought upon them when they heard her beautiful melody.

This power of hers was one called Danse Macabre.

As a result, Autumn and Deiman were forced to acknowledge this monster’s strength. Though they were curious how she gained so many wounds, and how she devolved into a lost, starving vagrant with that kind of power.

Autumn audibly gulped.

Her lips parted as she was about to ask a question. However, the girl suddenly burst into a small chuckle.

“I see. So you have seen through me.”

“We did.” Deiman nodded as Autumn looked up at him like he was crazy.

“We did?” She whispered through clenched teeth, almost blurting out: “Are you crazy!?”

“Fitting. No normal human would take kindly to a Demi-Human. The fact that you didn’t even attempt to kill them means you’re undeniably powerful as is.” The girl rambled nonsensically.

She folded her arms, nodding to herself.

“Leaving monsters to live next door while you sleep comfortably in their roost. You never considered them a threat. Sounds like humans and Demi-humans are getting a leg up. I guess that’s to be expected. Red eyes and blonde hair…”

She shuddered suddenly when she met Deiman’s yellow eyes. Something about it unsettled her, but Autumn didn’t catch it. She was far too confused about what the girl was rambling about.

“You killed them because you were afraid of them?” Deiman spoke again. Autumn’s eyes widened, begging him to shut up.

“Pffft. It’s no wonder that human over there respects you. You can read the room. No, my mind. I used to have some friends that would’ve loved to meet you. But those eyes would’ve been problematic. I can see it now.”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

She shuddered again.

“Are my eyes strange?” Deiman naively tilted his head.

“No –”

“So you’re testing my knowledge now. Keh.”

Autumn was immediately interrupted.

“You gave me food to lull me into a false sense of security so you could interrogate me. Well, I’m not going to tell you why!” She slammed her bare feet onto the floorboards.

Disbelief clouded Autumn’s mind.

She didn’t know if this was a ruse or if this person genuinely believed that they were stronger than her. It was too risky to play along. As a Patreon of the Highways, she knew better than to leave a problem alone than to resolve it.

So she took a deep breath, preparing to cut their ties immediately.

However, Deiman stepped forward. It was only a simple step, but the way his shadow lurched towards the girl caused her to stiffen.

“H-Hey! Wait a second! I-I was kidding!” She growled before pathetically prostrating before Deiman. Her forehead could not even touch the ground due to her horns. “I’m a slave that ran away from my masters! Please don’t kill me after I had a chance of freedom!”

“Is that true?” Deiman tried to sound empathetic, but due to being a Shell, his tone came across as scrutinizing.

“I’m lying! I was just trying to get into the Bellum Empire before it disappears!” Her knees straightened as she raised her bottom higher. “I got friends I need to warn!”

“Warn? What are you talking about? The Bellum Empire is the safest place in Grandis.” Autumn suddenly joined; her face warped with confusion.

“That’s where we’re heading…” Deiman whispered.

Before he knew it, Autumn’s hand cupped his mouth.

*Thwack*

“O-Ow…”

“Let me do the talking. I’ve been a Patreon of the Highways for years now, so I know the flow of Grandis like the back of my hand. I don’t know your circumstances, or what your friends have gotten themselves into – But you’re mistaken if you think the Bellum Empire is in trouble.”

Autumn was convinced this person was deluded. Possibly delirious from the lack of food. If it was her way of driving them away, then it was working.

“Keh. Believe what you want! I’m only saying this because you’re sparing me, so don’t take this wrong way!” The girl slammed her hands onto the ground and bounced onto her knees. “You need to get out of Grandis while you still can!”

“Not happening.” Autumn declared, dismissing her with a small wave.

“We can’t do that.”

“Well, I did what I can to help.” The girl shrugged. She was never concerned about them to begin with. She only wanted to pay her debt. With it fully paid, she stretched her arms and rose to her feet. “Good luck.”

She was about to part ways with them. There was no need for her to stick around, and Atumn was thankful this girl had a semblance of a brain.

Deiman however, thought otherwise.

“Wouldn’t it be better to go together?”

“Impossible.” The girl barked. “Besides, your friend over there hates my guts.”

“You started going on about the dangers in the Bellum Empire. Even if that were true, it’s not like it matters… You never said why or how it’ll happen.”

“Stuff in the north. Stuff internally. I dunno. I just know my friends over there are in trouble. What’s your story for wanting to head there? Can’t stop you, but it’d be best to know what to write on your obituaries.”

“We have a friend we also need to find.” Autumn answered after a moment of deliberation, watching the girl walk towards the entrance.

The midnight breeze swept in, as if urging her to remain. But the girl had other plans on her mind. Although… her eyes were strained, and she struggled to keep them open.

“Hopefully they don’t get hurt too much in the crossfire. I almost feel sorry for ‘em.” She scoffed.

“Something like that.” Autumn smirked.

If only this girl knew.

“I think it will be the other way around.” Deiman was on the same wavelength as Autumn, although Deiman had absolute confidence in Frost. Funnily enough, it was only Autumn who did not know of Frost’s true powers. “But how are you supposed to enter the Bellum Empire when you’re a Demon?”

“I’ll think of something.” The girl froze.

“It would be easier if you had someone with you –”

“Look, I don’t need your help! I might of asked because I was desperate, but I’m not going to trust anyone on a whim! I’ll give you my name and remember it well when you watch your precious Grandis burn down!”

She paused suddenly. Her mind went blank as an awkward silence filled the room.

This was because she did not know her own name, aside from being a Maestro of Flesh.

“M-Mae… Mae. Mae… Stro. My name – Is Mae Stro! But remember me as Mae! I am…!”

She took a step out of the door.

Then pulled it back as her pupils rocked around her eyes.

“… Illusion magic? The world’s spinning…”

She suddenly disappeared from sight. A loud thud came from behind Autumn and Deiman immediately after.

“Teleportation…? She’s more dangerous than I thought.” Autumn growled as they turned.

Beneath them was Mae, her limbs sprawled randomly as her eyes spiraled. The exhaustion had finally caught up with her.

“What do you think, Deiman?”

“I think we should work together… at least until we reach the Bellum Empire.”

“I don’t think so. With that whole crazy talk about it going up in flames, I think we should leave.”

“At sunrise?”

Autumn kicked what was left of the door from its broken hinges. The loud crash did not even alert the girl.

“Right now. We can’t let this lunatic join us. Chances are she’ll catch up to us anyway since we’re heading in the same direction. But I’m hoping not. We’ll be taking a secluded path. I have a feeling that she’s a magnet for bad luck.”