“What's the count adding this?” Damian glanced at his side.

“Counting the Evergreen town this will be the fifth.” Lance replied.

Ezekiel cut the two of them as he asked, “Are we sleeping outside again?”

“Sigh, looks like it.” Damian replied.

In front of them was a familiar scenery that they had enough seeing for a couple of days, a burnt gates that only a half of pillar remains, walls that colored black just a little touch it would surely crumble and a town that had a unabated heat still lingers in the air together with ashes littered on the ground.

“I thought I would be sleeping in a soft bed after I went out the prison but here we are sleeping in a burned town for the fifth time.

“If I saw the one that did I swear I'll gut him alive.” Damian cursed.

Lance did not entertained his ramblings and let his horse passer through the collapsed gate.

“Stopped your whining and looked around the town if there's any survivors.”

The group split up except Lance and the wagon helmed by Old Man as they went straight to the center.

After searching the whole town they all gathered back to the center of the town as they reported not a single findings of any other human coals.

The Heretic's face turned solemn as he clasped his hands and started praying.

“May the Lord bless their soul.”

“Guess that kid being alive can be considered miracle seeing that not even a bone remained here.” Damian said.

Lance gazed at the darkening skies as he ordered everyone.

“Set up the tents, start the fire, and who is the one tasked in cooking this time?"

The bulky giant named Tron raised his hand.

“Me.”

Damian could not helped but sized him up and when Tron met his gazed at him he chuckled and asked, “Can you cook? I don't want to taste something like the last time.”

When she heard his words the Witch’s robes twitched unnoticeably.

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“Yes.”

“Hey I feel like you are insulting me red-haired human.” the elf, Irushka narrowed her eyes Damian

Damian shook his head and raise his hands. “No, no, no, that dish you made was too profound for human like me to savor its tastes.”

“Don't kid me, its a human food that I mimicked from the human knight.”

“...”

Damian was at loss with words when he heard that and to escaped her threatening gaze he moved out to help setting up their tents.

The rest then did there own thing until the night came and their dinner was ready.

----------------------------------------

A salivating smell made their way through Alexis' nostrils making his empty stomach churn in protest.

He opened his eyes and through his blurry vision he saw the ceiling of the tent he was sleeping.

Alexis slowly sat up before he lifted himself carefully, he hobbled for a moment due to not standing up for a long time, it took a while before he found the balance and was able to stand straight then slowly he walked towards the tent's entrance.

When Alexis was about to reached for the cloth the voices outside reached his ears, his stretched hand slowly lowered but his stomach's growlings forced him to open it.

The biting wind of the cold night sky in season of harvest brushed his body making him shiver, he was about to head back in when he heard a surprised voice.

“Oh?”

When he glanced at where it came from, through his fogged up vision he could see the silhouettes of people from the glimmer of light that shone on them.

“Did the smell woke you up? Come join us, here wear it over.” The old man stood up and gave him a thick robe.

Alexis nodded and took it from him before wearing it.

He then slowly walked towards the long rectangular stone table in which seated nine people, Alexis eyes could vaguely see their traits as for their faces it was a little blurry but its not as bad as yesterday when he just woke up.

When he reached them Alexis noticed that they quieted as he felt their gazes filled with curiosity thrown to him.

“Take a seat first and eat.” Lance whose seated at the head of the table said, it was followed by a thud as Damian stumped his foot to the ground.

In front of Alexis the black soil slowly stood up, coiled together and then it hardened creating a chair, his eyes could not help but open up wide even with his blurry vision he clearly saw how a chair suddenly appeared in the other end of the long table.

Alexis carefully took his seat and in front of him was steaming hot stew that entices a smell no human wouldn't want to taste, so like the rest he started eating it.

After a while when all of them finished eating Lance finally asked Alexis who was drinking the water in his cup.

“Do you remember what happened, um?”

Alexis body suddenly stiffened and shook like a child that was told a scary story at night, it took him a long time just to put down his cup.

“Alexis, my name is Alexis.” His cloth-covered burnt face was reflected by the water in the cup he just put down and in those cloudy eyes of his an unconcealed fear can be seen. “I don't think I'll be able to forgot what happened on that day.”

Sadness, fear, anger and many more emotions was hidden in his hoarse voice.

Not minding their gazes Alexis told them what happened in his hometown in his own pace.

By the end of his tale the cloth that covered his hands started to turn red.

After hearing his story they didn't even try to console him as they all know that no matter what they say it would not lessen his pain that's why they only gave him a look of sympathy.

Ezekiel broke the silence as he curiously asked, “A big creature that looks like a lizard with red scales and has huge bat like wings. Isn't it the dragon?”