The sun shone brightly in the sky, the time being around midday as Kurai and Kesshō walked through the forest. Only after so many requests was Kesshō allowed to leave the castle. Kesshō felt certain that this much persuasion would have convinced a king to depart with his throne, just not this king.

Only two weeks passed since Yuki's warning and the preparations of battle were already clearly visible in the castle. The army of Einsdael was not to be underestimated, their numbers currently in the castle were easily above fifty thousand, and this wasn't even the entire army. There were soldiers everywhere in and around the castle, many units of the army yet to arrive. Five knights were assigned to go with Kessho including Kurai on her stroll out to the forest.

Despite everything, this was much more than just a stroll. Kurai prepared everything a day in advance for this, some supplies, a horse, a map, and some money in case they needed it. The only hindrance were the knights that were following them, which were only temporarily a hindrance. Knowing there will be knights assigned to her Kurai already devised a plan to get rid of them.

First they allowed the knights to settle down and start to relax during Kurai's watch on Kesshō. Just as their attention diverted from Kesshō she sneaked away and climbed onto a large tree nearby, hiding between its branches, using her camouflage to disappear near completely, thanks to one of the new things she learnt. Even Kurai was having trouble seeing her, even though he knew she was there.

With Kesshō hidden Kurai went to alert the guards, informing them that she simply vanished. "How could she just disappear you useless knight!" One of the knights bellowed.

"Let's find her quick instead of fighting otherwise the king will have our heads," Another knight suggested.

Everyone separated to search for her. One of the knights heading back to inform other knights and check at the castle, accompanied by Kurai. Kurai's role now was to make sure none of them found her or alerted anyone else, the reason he accompanied that knight. He picked off every knight one by anyone, stabbing some through their heart or slicing their head off. Since no one suspected him it was an easy task and was over just as quickly.

He nearly ran past the tree Kesshō was on after taking out all four knights, alerted to her only due to her jumping down. He then led her to the horse that was tied to a tree not far from there. After untying the horse he jumped onto it, helping Kesshō up afterwards. He then galloped the horse through the forest, not slowing down till they made it to a dirt track that was in the open, far away from the castle.

From that point on their journey north started. It was already afternoon, the sun already halfway to the horizon when they made it into the clearing. The plan was to rest once before dusk to eat and get a short break, and then stop at a suitable inn once it turned dark.

The night fell and the moon shone brightly just about directly above them. Their plan to rest at an inn in the night did not go well in the slightest. They were yet to find an inn, or even any people. Kurai suspected that the road must have been abandoned for some reason.

This was a good and a bad thing. They didn't need to worry about anyone finding them for now, but at the same time neither did they have anywhere to rest, nor did they know why the road was abandoned. It could be anything, from the changing of trade routes and previous conflicts to high level monsters and dragons. They were lucky it wasn't a new moon otherwise they wouldn't have been able to see anything, or Kurai wouldn't have been able to since Kesshō possessed good enough night vision.

Kesshō was sitting in front so Kurai wouldn't need to worry about her falling off or anyone attacking her, and he would be alerted to any danger quickly by simply keeping an eye on her. Kesshō hadn't heard, seen, or sensed anything since they got to this path. The road was just as abandoned by monsters as it was by humans, no sign of any life except the trees and other plants.

The moon was starting to descend and Kurai was starting to have trouble staying awake. Kesshō was also half asleep, her head resting on Kurai, not fully asleep due to the moving horse. With no shelter in sight Kurai decided to rest in the forest for the night. This idea was not safe but not like there was any other choice for them. Their horse also slowed down already due to exhaustion, and Kurai did not wish to make it overwork.

"Do you sense anything nearby?" He asked Kesshō, poking her lightly to wake her up. She used her side-ears to sense the surroundings for any sort of enemies but her search came up empty. She shook her head before resting her head on his chest again, finding it impossible to stay awake or fall asleep.

Kurai led the horse a bit into the forest to stay out of sight from any knights that may be looking for the two. After they were at a safe distance he tied the horse to a low and thick branch of a tree, not having enough rope to tie around the thick trunks. Afterwards he laid Kesshō down on the grass so she could rest. She shifted in the grass trying to find a comfortable position, falling asleep in just a few moments. He lied down beside her with his back to the tree the horse was tied to, Kesshō lying down in full view from where he sat.

Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

He slept well, a dreamless night. When he woke up Kesshō was still asleep and the horse was chewing on some nearby bushes. He got up and took a quick look around the area and the road. It didn't look like anyone passed by, the only prints on the dirt road were also of their horse. Leaving Kessho to sleep and the horse to eat, he went exploring a bit further, hoping to find out something about the area.

Everything looked completely normal. No large monster, dragon, or anything. He didn't find anything, no sign of life except the trees. The forest was starting to get eerier by the second due to the silence. It was not natural for a lush green forest like this one to be so quiet in the morning.

Just as he was about to return he saw a black shape through some bushes. He walked through them to find several charred structures. There were only ashes left of most but there were some which were still recognizable. In the piles of ashes and charred wood and stone he was able to make out several burnt people. His doubts of this being a dragon's territory would have been certain if he failed to see the clue the arsonist left.

In the burnt village he was able to find two sets of knight armors with skeletons inside of them. Charred and black, the skeletons almost looked like the remains of a demon. On the armor he was able to recognize the lion symbol of Einsdael, the two having been caught in the fire as they burnt the village, a torch held by both. He also found several other torches, not and metallic barrels, some oil still remaining in one of them.

The more he wandered in and around this kingdom the more he started to hate its people, the royals and knights moreover. Having gotten the answer to why this road was abandoned he prepared to return. The remains weren't very old so he was certain it happened quite recently, the flames scaring away all monster and animals and burning all humans, or so he thought.

Just as he reached the outskirts of the burnt down village he saw another skeleton. This one was in a much better condition than the other charred skeletons. With a single glance he noticed several things. The teeth of the skeleton were much sharper, a whip-like bone protruding from the back of the skeleton. He then checked the other skeletons. None were humans, all of them were demi-humans, half- human half-monster hybrids.

There were many kingdoms which didn't take a liking to demi-humans, but none went as far as Einsdael to prove the point. On his way back he was able to find another village, burnt to the ground in a similar manner. This one was bigger in size and the forest around it was also burnt, the fire most likely extinguished by rain before it could engulf the entire forest.

When he got back he found Kesshō to be still asleep, and the horse done eating. Waking her up they prepared to depart after some fruits for breakfast.

The second day went just like the first, no sign of any life except trees. By the time the sun started descending the mountains of the north loomed into view, on which his village sat. Their sheer size was enough to make most people choose a different route. The climb was going to be treacherous, but he was willing to take his chances, afterall he was already accustomed to it, having climbed up and down the mountain path several times.

By the time dusk arrived and stars started to appear on the horizon they almost reached the foot of the mountain. The closer they got to the mountain the more animals they found, the environment becoming more and more alive. They were yet to encounter any monsters, but Kurai hoped they didn't, not wanting to expose Kesshō to any more bloodshed.

Just as they were close to the foot of the mountain Kurai spotted a fort built on the side of the mountain. He turned the horse and stopped behind a boulder, having completely forgotten about the fort till he spotted it. The fort was built to keep intruders from further north at bay, despite the mountain range doing that quite well by itself.

The mountains being very steep on this side, the fort was built at the point the three routes built on the mountain crossed each other. Half the fort was carved into the mountain with the other half being on the only flat ground the mountain offered before the top. The roads converged at that point because that was the only point where people can rest easily without the threat of lethal landslides, avalanches, or tripping off the side.

There was no way up the mountain other than crossing the fort, meaning he needed to make it through there somehow. He was still wearing his knight armor so he might be able to get past, but the problem begun with Kesshō. Because of her unique appearance she stood out like a sore thumb, though he believed her camouflage could work, he still didn't know much about how it worked.

As he was thinking what to do five men, wearing knight armor and carrying iron spears burst out from the forest. The sudden commotion startled Kesshō awake and caused the horse to panic. Seeing that the men weren't on horseback he was about to try charging through them, but he saw a flash of steel in the dark as the moonlight penetrated through the leaves. There was an archer, even several maybe. Trying to escape with archers around wasn't the best idea, if trained enough the archer could take them down with ease in an instant.

"Surrender now!" Shouted one of the men.

Kurai slowly lifted his arms in the air, knowing that was the only option with him for now. Copying him Kesshō did the same with a confused look on her face.

"Follow us and don't try anything," The same knight ordered, leading their horse towards the fort.

His one mistake of forgetting about the fort was going to cost him his life and Kesshō her freedom, which she was just about to gain. Kurai gritted in teeth in anger as they neared the fort, his plan falling apart quicker than he built it up.