Dyed by fresh blood, Roal propped his palm on that elm and made a rotation so that he was lying with his back on the ground. Sitting up against the tree, Ranith could vaguely see Akki fighting with about three people while an archer was shooting at him. He couldn't actually see Akki because he was so low on magic. Still, he could see his enemies moving and being killed.

According to the plan, the cowboy should now put down the slingers to ensure that the cabin doesn't get penetrated. However, he decided to save his shots to aid Akki if he got into trouble. Within ten seconds, he realized that his concern was completely unnecessary. The ronin had finished his job and disappeared in Roal's magic vision with all the bandits in his direction. The cowboy aimed his revolver at the group of four slingers and the two spearmen. Roal knew this task was too easy for him, but an unnamed stress was weighing on him. The fact that he had no idea where it was from added another layer of pressure on him. He even began worrying the cabin that he was shooting through could redirect his magic bullet. Strongly inhaling several times, he squinted his eyes and made the shot. It went through the torsos of two slingers and a spearman. The next only blasted the other spearman's brain.

A drop of sweat glided down the cowboy's dirty nose. His application did not provide clear images of what his enemies were doing. He was hoping that the remaining five people could just flee away like what happened last time. Akki, without Twirl, would be brutalized by those five, and Ranith would not be able to help with no ammunition at all. Roal's hands held the gun firmly in the air even when the last shot was already launched. He stopped inhaling or exhaling, just waiting to see the result, which would likely determine their fate. The cowboy's eyeballs were shivering; his fingers trembled; the revolver was slipped off his grip; he shut his eyelids, refusing to see what was next.

Dragging his sturdy body through the sparse forest and exhaustion back to the carriage, Akki had thrown away the Brigandine that saved his life four times. His swords were in the scabbards, and his hair tie was lost when killing the archers, changing his wolf tail into a handful of mess hanging on his back.

He picked up his haori, which was ejected when the landau crashed. Then, he stuck out half of his body into the cabin through that big breach, tapping the blood-laved cowboy on the shoulder and yawning in drowsiness, "They aren't coming, right?"

Scared by the abruptly appearing hand on his shoulder, Roal jumped forward and turned his head back immediately, then puffed out his sudden fear with a breath of air.

"No stones coming. No one's approaching," Akki leaned his back against the elm tree and slid down til his buttocks were on the ground. He chuckled softly, faced up to the sky, and closed his eyes, "We made it, didn't we?"

"I guess so," Roal took a deep breath, activating his application again. To his surprise, Akki had restored one-fourth of his total magic. Ranith looked toward the direction of the remaining bandits. None was there. Their plan had succeeded. They survived.

Joining Akki with tired and weak laughter, Roal lay back on the ground. The headless corpse was right next to him, not affecting a thing anymore.

"How did we make it?" Roal pushed the sentence through his uncontrollable chortle out of his mouth, "You really can pull off miracles, can't you?"

"Me? We pulled this off," Akki's chuckle turned into an open-mouthed grin of satisfaction, "I can not fight more than three melees at once. We form a damn great team."

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"Yeah… We really should try safer activities next time."

After contemplating for a few seconds, Akki replied, "I think you mentioned fishing back in Bagen. What a shame you were sick the whole time."

"And whose fault was it that we had to get on moving the day after I recovered?"

"Uh…" dodging the topic, Akki inquired, "Are there any lakes in Sacom? Or river?"

Ranith rolled his eyes, deciding not to put on a trial over what he did in Bagen, "Of course. It's basically a manor next to a river. You know Bagen is formed by the town and two farming villages. Sacom is like a bigger Bagen with only the village part."

"I hope there isn't any corruption there," Akki sighed as the excitement of survival calmed down.

"It is hard to say, but I don't think so. If I remember correctly, there are only cows, sheep, and crops. No minerals, no artisans, no business at all."

"When was your last time there?"

"Years ago, I believe."

"Things may change over years."

"That's also true. Just promise me that even if there is corruption, we take a week of break before dealing with it, okay?"

"Agree. I don't feel like swinging my swords for the whole next month."

"By the way, where is the brigandine?"

"There are metal pieces in it. I don't like the feeling of my magic being suppressed."

"Right…" Roal sighed out of tiresome.

"Let's move on?" Akki, with half of his total magic restored, braced his feet against the ground and slid himself up the elm tree.

"I need another minute," Ranith added, "or two."

Akki closed his eyes again and slumped back to his original position. They did deserve some rest. After all, there was a long way ahead of them. Even horses needed two days to get to Sacom. Who knew how much time these two unwilling trekkers would need?

If it hadn’t been for the map and compass that Roal picked up before riding the carriage, they would have died in the forest anyway. While the cowboy was walking in the front to guide the way, the ronin held the two revolver cylinders above his head, ensuring they recharged with the sunlight that threaded through the gap between leaves. The bag containing Krux's head was tied to Akki's waist. They could occasionally hear birds chirping in the woods. However, they had less than a grain of interest in those flying background objects until they realized the birds were made of consumable flesh.

The first night in the forest was foodless. Roal had to whine before their small campfire whenever his stomach protested. The response from Akki was always, "Eat yourself." The night was pretty long for both men. Sleeping with hunger was not an easy thing. The reek of blood, sweat, and muck just made the situation worse. Ranith lay on the ground with his blood-bathed suit, made of advanced Eternian technology that was adequate enough to keep him away from coldness. Meanwhile, Akki had wrapped himself in Roal's purple cloak and his haori coat to fight the freezing wind of the night. The decision was an unpleasant one. Both clothes were soaked in rotten blood and dried mud. It was like swathed in that death-painted swamp.

The aglow moon was straight above the campfire. The aged man's stomach yapped again, viewing the dull beauty of the moon. It was there every night, yet its charm was only appearing tonight. Curious about the phenomenon, Roal called again, "Akki, are you still awake?"

"Even frogs are quieter than you," Akki complained and sighed after a moment of silence, "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong…" Roal weakly repeated, asking himself this question again. He could not answer, so he replied, "Nothing."

"Fuck you, then. Just get to sleep. You will need your vigor tomorrow."

The profanity was so familiar yet so far away. Roal grew up hearing this all day when he was in high school. Back then, He was sitting in the classroom, longing for girls, and running in the hallway, play-fighting with the boys. Now, he was lying in the wild with no chance of ever returning to his homeland. He thought all those years were tossed ahead of him. Akki had reminded him of more than just being a detective. For the first time, Ranith wondered where his high-school friends were, even though he could not remember their names.

"Fuck you," the cowboy swore at himself, "And good night," the old man said to his dear friend.