Whoever had designed their uniform to be this skimpy, Shu curses him from the bottom of his heart. Now that they’re deep within the woods, the air has become much chillier. No surprise, since it’s mid-autumn. Secretly, Shu wishes Song is still sleeping on his back, so that he can share some of his body warmth.

“Ehhh? So you really can’t do anything?” Rei flashes a disappointed look at Song. “No musical talent? No writing skills? Nothing?”

“Shut up.” Song frowns, his hands behind his head. “Who needs a talent anyway. Punching Seekers’ faces in is all I need to know how to do, since it’s the only thing that gets me money. Stops me from getting scolded back in the Palace too.”

“I didn’t take you to be such a banal person when I first saw you but now…”

Shu stares at his partner’s navel, the amount of skin that’s being exposed to the chilly autumn winds. And yet the boy doesn’t even look like he’s fazed in the slightest by the weather.

“Idiots don’t catch colds, I guess,” Shu mutters.

“Huh?” Song glances at him. “Did you say something?”

“Nope.”

Shu then shifts his gaze to Rei, who doesn’t seem to be wearing much either. Ever since Song and Shu picked him up with Hong Yu three days ago, he’s bearing wearing the same thing since: black bandages that wrap around his upper torso, with more black bandages that cover his groin as if it’s some kind of strange undergarments. But that’s exactly what it looks like. Strange undergarments. At least he has a grey, ragged cloak to cover himself with.

The forest seem to stretch on to forever, with countless up and downhill paths, making the journey arduous even for them. The trio eventually arrive at a clearing, and they take it as a sign to rest their weary legs.

“So where are we going anyway?” Song asks, taking a swig of water from his goat skin bottle.

“I wish I knew.” Rei draws a yawn. “But I’m not really much of a person with a sense of direction to begin with. Shu seems like one though. Hey Shu, got any ideas?”

“I might have a few,” Shu says, unrolling the scroll from his bag. He lays it down on the forest floor for everyone to see.

“Ohhh! It’s a continental map!” Rei exclaims, craning over while wagging his tail excitedly. “Ah, if I’m reading this correctly, this continent is called… Hong Zhou?”

“Yeah.” Shu nods. “Ever since we picked you up from Hong Yu, we’ve only been moving away from the Palace. Sucks to be kicked out from the first town we arrived at, but at least I managed snag this before that happened.”

“Why did we get kicked out though?” Song leans against the tree, looking as if he’s about to fall asleep at any given moment. “I don’t think we did anything illegal, and Rei was disguised pretty decently.”

“Honestly, I’m not too sure either,” Shu says. “The way I see it, there are two possibilities; one, is that we got careless, and Rei’s getup obviously wasn’t enough. I can see that happening, since it’s literally just a flimsy cloak covering him. If that’s the case, then it’d probably make for one of Father’s best dinner jokes for the rest of the century.”

“Kiin.” Song frowns.

“R-right. Damn, still can’t get used to it.”

Now that they’re no longer bound by the obligations of a Purger, Song has made it clear for the both of them that they would address Kiin by his name, rather than any title or honorific that would indicate any sign of respect for him. There’s no point in that anymore, and it’s not as if they liked Kiin all that much to begin with. Furthermore, they’re exiles of not just the Palace, but the entire human civilisation of the continent as well.

“So what’s the second possibility?” Rei prompts.

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Shu narrows his eyes. “Two, is that the other Purgers arrived at the town before we did and showed the authorities a warrant for our arrest under Kiin’s name. The imperial stamp is enough to scare the authorities into action immediately.”

“B-but that means…”

“Yeah. That means there’s a Purger pair that’s ahead of us already, and we’re playing right into their hands.”

Rei is beginning to look as if he’s about faint. Even Song is looking a little more awake now.

“That sucks, but I’m pretty sure we can take them on though,” Song says, leaning forward. “I mean, you and I can finally use our Yin, right?”

Yin is the true form of a Purger’s arcana abilities, granting them a level of power that far exceeds their previous limitations. However, the conditions to unleash Yin varies according to the individual’s emotional and spiritual needs. Even now, Shu isn’t quite sure what are the exact conditions he must fulfil to unleash his Emperor Form. Worse, since he’s only used it once before, he doesn’t know if there are drawbacks either.

Shu shakes his head to dispel his worries. “You’re assuming that no other Purger in the Palace can use their Yin, and that’s a terribly optimistic assumption. There are many more Purgers that are older, more experienced than us.”

“We’ve not seen anyone use their Yin before.”

“Obviously they’re hiding it. With so much competition and distrust between Purger pairs, don’t you think it makes sense for them to hide their true strength from others?”

Song clicks his tongue. “Right.”

“Fighting another pair is a huge disadvantage for us too. If we’re wounded, it’ll be a pain to find a place to tend to our injuries.” Shu continues grimly. “Not to mention the battle will draw a lot of attention, which will leave an obvious trail for the other Purgers to catch up on us.”

Rei’s furry ears twitch. “Wow, we’re in a mess. How did you guys screw up so badly?”

Shu sighs, then shoots a glare at Song. “And that’s why you’ll have to stop doing stupid things from here on out. Unlike before, we don’t have many chances to make mistakes anymore. Fighting isn’t the only solution, muscle-brain.”

“Fine, do it your way. I don’t care.” Song puffs his cheek petulantly. He crosses his arms and begins sulking to himself.

Shu ignores his childish response and turns to Rei. “First thing’s first, we need to know how you came to our world from yours. Truth is, we don’t even know how the common Seeker came about.”

“Wait, didn’t you say this Kiin guy was a god that came to this world to destroy… eh, what do you call it, ‘Void Seekers’ or something?” Rei asks. “Didn’t he tell you anything about this? It’s basic knowledge.”

Shu hesitates. “No. We were only taught how to track and kill these monsters. I’ll be honest, Kiin has always been secretive about the Seekers’ origins. I don’t know why, but it’s not like we could’ve forced the answers out of him anyway.”

“Forced to fight monsters we know nothing about,” Song mumbles. “That’s our life for you.”

Rei flashes a sympathetic look at Song. “Well, some Void Seekers have the unique ability to tear open an interdimensional portal themselves.”

Shu drops his jaw to that. “You’re joking.”

“But these Void Seekers can only perform this trick once in their lifetime, and it’s usually those from the Nether that can do this.”

“The Nether?”

“I told you my world has always been at a constant war, right? A war between the Ten Cursed Kings, each leading a nation of their own.”

“And you’re heir to the throne of the Fenrea, the family that leads one of these nations,” Shu says. “I’m guessing you’re heir to one of these ‘Cursed Kings’?”

“Yeah. Well, that part isn’t important for now,” Rei says. “The truth is, Zhuntor, or the world you call the ‘Crimson Void’, is split into the surface world and the underground. The surface is where the war is. The underground world, where the Void Seekers come from, are what we call the Nether.”

Neither Shu nor Song have any response to that. Both Purgers look confused as ever. It can’t be helped. After all, it’s a lot to take in.

“Even I don’t know much about the Void Seekers,” Rei continues. “To us, they’re nothing more than bugs and parasites living in the ground. Like the earthworms and ants in your soil. For some reason, they have no interest in us. And likewise, with the ongoing war, we can’t afford to care about them either. But I knew enough about them to come to this world.”

“So how did you come?” Song prompts.

“Long story short, I have a unique ability, and that is to steal another living being’s powers.” Rei places his paw by his chest. “I stole a Void Seeker’s portal-creation power and came here, all just to run away from my family.”

Song whistles. On the other hand, Shu has a look of suspicion.

“Something doesn’t add up. Why wouldn’t your family do the same thing and come after you then?”

“Because it’s an ability only I have.” Rei looks angry now as he continues to delve in his past. “My Father saw the potential in my ability. It’s the only reason he wants me to be heir to the throne.”

Now it’s Shu’s turn to give Rei a sympathetic look, but he knows there’s little he can do for him now. Besides, he’s far enough from his family as it is. “You mentioned Void Seekers can only create this portal once in their lifetime. Assuming they reproduce, that means only the next generation of Void Seekers can travel to another world.”

“So we’ll just grab one of these younger Void Seekers and let you steal its powers,” Song says, his eyes glistening. “Hah! I came up with this plan! I’m not an idiot!”

“Shut up, idiot,” Shu says. “If only it were that simple.”

“And it isn’t.” Rei nods. “Ever since I got kidnapped by the Mevolians, the monsters you fought in the cave where you first found me in, I’ve lost that ability.” Then, a cold, poisonous gaze suddenly blossoms on his features. “I know that power is definitely gone. I’m angry enough about it as it is, so don’t ask me how I found out.”

“Wow.” Song stretches forward and presses his palms on the grass. “So how did you find out about it?”

“I told you not to ask, you airhead!” Rei bellows, suddenly looking less intimidating. Now, it’s as if he’s on the brink of tears. “Do you have any idea how upset I was when I lost my super cool unique power? I mean, sure it’s the reason why my Father wanted me to do all that crap, but I still take pride in it, you know?”

Song goes over to hug the wolf boy, and he eagerly accepts the embrace.

“There, there…” Song pats Rei on the back as he bawls his eyes out in his shoulder.

W-what the hell am I watching? Shu stares at them, completely stupefied by the ludicrous show. But at least Rei doesn’t look like he’s lying. “Can the both of you morons take this more seriously?”

“Why don’t we keep just heading north then?” Song glances at the map while stroking Rei’s silky hair. “I mean, the further we are from the palace, the bigger the search radius, the more spread out those Purgers will be, right? We can figure out what we have to do later.”

Shu exhales, looking more relieved now. “Good call.” As Shu continues to study the map, something catches his attention. His eyes twinkles. “Say… can I pick our route?”

“Sure.”

And immediately, Shu’s slams both hands down, startling Song and Rei. With a wide grin, he jabs the centre of the map and cranes forward. “Then I know where we’re stopping by next.”

Seeing Shu’s overly-enthusiastic reaction, Song and Rei exchange worried looks.