“Are you sure?”

Ackster’s voice stopped Karandiel before she could take more than half a step out of the clearing in the grass he made.

Karandiel froze like a deer caught in headlights before she slowly turned around and looked at Ackster. She had no reason to be afraid.

“Am I sure about what?”

Ackster remained seated and looked up at Karandiel. She was even more breathtaking when awake, and he could see her piercing grey eyes.

“About leaving. As far as I can tell, you seem to have lost your powers, miss angel.”

Karandiel narrowed her eyes slightly.

“And so? Are you going to test that theory and stop me from leaving?”

Ackster shook his head.

“No. I just want you to remain safe.”

“I can handle myself.”

Ackster nodded.

“I am sure you can. But even the strongest of warriors need help sometimes. There’s nothing wrong with that. If anything, realizing and acknowledging one’s need for assistance is a strength in itself.”

“So you’re saying you want to help me?”

“Yes.”

“You think I need help?”

Ackster didn’t answer directly since he could sense that Karandiel was getting a little—just a little—displeased about him implying that she needed help.

“Now, I don’t know what you’re doing here in the mortal world, but let’s put it like this. Do you know where you are?”

“Of course.”

“And you know how to get where you’re supposed to be?”

Ackster figured that it made more sense to assume Karandiel had come down to the mortal world for a specific purpose and not because she had been cast down, stripped of her position as an angel. So, he talked like he thought Karandiel was an angel on a mission.

“...Of course.”

“And you can do what you need to do without getting hurt?”

“What’s with all these questions? Who are you, anyway?”

Ackster shrugged and held up his hands to show he meant no harm.

“That was the last one. I just want to make sure I can see you off without having to worry about your safety.”

“Ridiculous.”

Karandiel harrumphed in displeasure. But she didn’t turn around and storm off. She sat down gracefully with her legs folded below her. She crossed her arms and looked at Ackster.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

Ackster restrained a smile until his lips were just barely curved and nodded at Karandiel with closed eyes as a way to give her a gentle greeting and acknowledgment.

“I thought you were about to leave. What good would knowing who I am do if you don’t want my company.”

“...”

Karandiel gave Ackster an impatient look.

“I am known by many names. Most recently, it was Hugo. Before that, it was Dean. And I am considering changing it to Brian along with my hair color.”

“Hmm.”

Ackster looked at Karandiel with an expression that said he was waiting for something, and it wasn’t her hum of thoughtfulness.

“I will tell you my name if you tell me why you’re hiding your identity.”

“Alright. I am on the run from someone. I will hold off on the details until we get to know each other better—if that happens.”

“Okay. My name is Karandiel.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Karandiel.”

“I’m sure it is.”

“You’re supposed to say likewise or that it’s your pleasure in situations like that.”

“I know.”

Karandiel’s glare eased up as she suppressed a smirk.

Ackster sighed with a tired smile. He was about to say something when his stomach growled.

“Ahem.”

Ackster cleared his throat out of awkwardness.

“You don’t happen to be hungry, do you, miss Karandiel?”

“Drop the miss. And yes, now that you mention it, I wouldn’t mind eating.”

Ackster nodded.

“Great. Then, I’ll be right back. I’ll go look for something to hunt.”

Ackster stood up.

“What?”

Karandiel questioned him and did the same.

“What?”

“I’m coming with. Weren’t you supposed to help me and keep this powerless angel safe?”

“I remember someone saying something along the lines of not needing help.”

“And then I sat down. If you’re going to continue selflessly helping me out during my stay here, you’re going to have to work on your delicacy, Brian.”

“Alright. My apologies. Then, since it would be risky to leave you alone, could I have the pleasure of your continued company as we look for food?”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“Excellent.”

Karandiel nodded with a proud look on her face before walking into the sea of grass that was almost up to her shoulder-length hair.

Ackster cleared his throat.

“Um, Karandiel…?”

“Yes?”

She responded without stopping or looking back.

“That’s where we came from. And I didn’t see any tracks or signs of anything edible. Also, for your safety, I recommend we choose another direction.”

“I knew that. I was just testing you.”

Karandiel turned around without changing her expression and walked in the other direction.

“Did I pass?”

“With flying colors.”

Ackster held back a sigh of relief as he caught up to Karandiel.

Since she had been about to leave the first thing she did, he had been worried she wouldn’t take kindly to Ackster encouraging her not to. Thankfully, she could be reasoned with, and she accepted that she wasn’t in an optimal state without much of a fuss and that she could use the help he could offer.

She was also easy to talk to, at least on the surface. So far, they had just introduced themselves to each other with barely anything more than their names, and neither had said anything about what they wanted or thought. But Ackster was hopeful.

Though, he still didn’t let down his guard.

Ackster didn’t forget that the first thing Karandiel did when waking up was pretend to be asleep so she could leave without disturbing Ackster. Her current behavior could be an extension of that since she was still worried Ackster wouldn’t let her leave peacefully. Or just until she had recovered enough strength not to have to worry about Ackster’s opinion about her departure.

Ackster and Karandiel didn’t have much to talk about. But while Ackster was happy to learn more about his new traveling companion, Karandiel was less than happy telling him anything about herself, her past, or what it was like to be an angel. Ackster also realized that there was a difference between making casual small talk and pressing for answers, so after getting a non-answer twice, he stopped bothering Karandiel with personal questions and steered the conversation toward what kind of food she liked.

“Anything delicious.”

“Then I hope you’re a good cook.”

“What? You begged me to let you help me, and you can’t even provide the bare minimum hospitality for a divine guest?”

Karandiel’s look of mock indignation was enough to tease a chuckle out of Ackster.

“You didn’t really give me any time to prepare, you know? I was busy training when I saw something blast a hole in the sky and tumble down to the ground. I needed to eat what food I had on me to get to your crash site on time.”

“And? Can’t you prepare at least some delicious food? I’ll even give you an hour to make something good.”

Ackster shook his head to Karandiel’s proud look of benevolence.

“Before that, do you want to know what my training consisted of?”

“If you have nothing better to do than tell me, you might as well.”

Ackster could tell that Karandiel was curious as she looked at him out of the corner of her eye while trying to maintain the poise and elegance of an angel.

“I was eating raw monster and beast meat to save time and train my skills, Iron Stomach and Monster Muncher.”

Karandiel’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at Ackster in disbelief.

“How barbaric!”

“Well, it was effective.”

Ackster shrugged and held up his hands, unable to refute her observation.

“Seriously, though? Raw meat? Just to train a couple of skills? How do you even know if it works? What’s next, poison?”

“...”

Ackster avoided Karandiel’s gaze and looked at the ground with an awkward expression.

“...no way! How come I am getting help from a madman?!”

“You’re free to leave if you want.”

Ackster pouted and crossed his arms. He knew he was a little askew in the head, but hearing someone else say it with such conviction was surprisingly not that pleasant. So, he took the opportunity to play along with Karandiel and ease up the atmosphere to make it easier to talk and walk together without too much worry.

“Nope. You’re stuck with me now, whether you want it or not, Brian.”

“Tch.”

“Hey! It’s your blessing to get to look at a face this beautiful every day. Well, at least until it’s time to go our separate—”

Ackster held up a hand and stopped Karandiel from talking as he surveyed their surroundings with a sharp and vigilant expression.

“What?”

Karandiel wasn’t slow enough not to notice something was going on, so she got closer to Ackster while also looking around as she whispered. She couldn’t see anything amidst the tall grass. And she couldn’t sense anything, either.

She hadn’t thought much of it since she hadn’t been that long in the mortal realm, and all the impressions and sights around her were still keeping her senses occupied. But she really had lost her strength. It was like someone had encased her in a glass dome that separated her from the rest of the world. She couldn’t do anything or really sense anything beyond her immediate surroundings.

It was especially jarring after how free her senses and strength had been before. She knew what she was capable of in reality. Yet, she had an overwhelming sense of powerlessness. It wasn’t until she heard and saw the tall grass stalks rustle and wave around them that she realized there were enemies around them.

“We’re surrounded.”

“Brian?”

“Yeah?”

“I’ll do my best to fight and have your back. But, as you said, I’ve lost my power, and I don’t know when I’ll get it back.”

“No worries. It feels like small fry. Just sit back and watch the show, Karandiel.”

What Ackster neglected to mention to Karandiel, who couldn’t sense their enemies, was the fact that while each individual being felt relatively weak, their numbers more than made up for it.

It had only taken a moment for his hearing to flood with the click-clacking sounds of something like a crab’s claw snapping shut and the sound of rustling grass. Whatever it was moved relatively silently, and Ackster couldn’t quite make it out, at least not until the first of the countless beings poked their head out through the wall of grass around them.

“Ants!”

Ackster shouted to warn Karandiel so she wouldn’t be taken by surprise when they popped up on her side as well.

That was all he had time for before several more thigh-high, glossy brown ants spilled out and flattened the grass around them.

‘That’s why.’

The appearance of the ants made Ackster understand why the grass was so high and why they hadn’t seen any traces of other beasts or monsters.

“Excuse me for a bit, Karandiel.”

Ackster quickly realized that while he could fight the ants and probably eat them in the middle of the battle to regain his stamina and energy, Karandiel was in a bad situation. Ackster didn’t think he could go as wild as he needed to emerge victorious while protecting Karandiel.

He would have to choose between diving into battle with the ants or protecting Karandiel.

It was a no-brainer.

Karandiel was his utmost priority.

Without waiting for Karandiel’s response, Ackster bent down and picked her up. However, since the situation required some urgency, he had to sling her over his shoulder instead of carrying her like a princess as he had done before.

Before Karandiel could even raise her fists to try and fight back against the ants, she was already on Ackster’s shoulder, bouncing around like a sack of balloons as he ran.

“H-h-hey!”

She tried to get Ackster’s attention until she saw an ocean of glistening brown chitin replace the sea of grass.

‘Yep. I should keep my mouth shut and let him carry me.’

***

On the outskirts of The Cloven Grasslands, underground, in a dimly lit stone cellar lit by a flickering torch that was just enough to reveal the faces of four figures huddled over a circular stone table. The only thing visible on the table, in the darkness, was a blood-red jewel stuck in the center. It shone with a vicious, ominous red light.

“Are you sure about this, Hansel? If we commit to summoning the Blood Moon, there’s no going back?”

“I know. But we were going to do it anyway, right? We are just hastening the plan a little. We have to if we want to catch up to that bastard and the angel. You tasted his blood, right? All of you know we can’t let him go.”

The three other Crimson Edge members nodded with grave expressions but ecstatic lights in their eyes.

“All of us swore not to back down once we started on this road back then when we found the Depths of Blood ruin. After this, there really will be no going back.”

“I don’t even need to think twice. Let’s do this.”

“I see no reason not to.”

“Mmm.”

“Good. Once we summon the Blood Moon and become its Avatars, we’ll track him down. For now, our Blood Slave will follow him from a distance and report his moves.”

Hansel and the other three looked at the pale figure standing next to the torch. His arm of blood glistened with a deep crimson color under the torch’s orange light. His empty eyes stared at nothingness until he received Hansel’s command.

“Go.”