Kai gazed at the stunning landscape with curiosity gnawing at him. "By the way, Aria, what brought you here?" he inquired, trying to keep his tone casual.
Aria's eyes widened in surprise, caught off guard by Kai's question. "Oh, I completely lost track of time and forgot to tell you my reason for coming here. I came to find you because everyone else is ready to return," she replied, her voice low and mellow.
After hearing Aria's response, Kai stood silently, lost in thought. "Let's go," he finally said. "We have to reach the village before it gets dark. Demons are more powerful at night, and we don't want to be caught off guard."
Without a word, Aria followed Kai out of the building, which had once been a botanical research lab called "BioGreen Laboratory." It was one of the few places left untouched by the Great Demon Uprising that had brought almost all of humanity to the brink of extinction. The event had destroyed almost all agricultural land, and most of the water sources had become poisonous. Survivors had scattered around the globe in search of food and water, creating small villages.
Amidst a hazy atmosphere of mystery and sadness, Kai's unexpected suggestion rippled through the entire group, sparking a flurry of hushed conversations. The very thought of leaving behind two cherished friends in such desolate circumstances seemed preposterous to them. Why should they heed the words of a stranger who had only recently entered their lives? Yet, deep down they sensed the truth in his warning.
As the murmurs persisted, Ken, the one who initially responded to Kai, summoned the courage to address the group. "Alright," he said solemnly, "let's follow Kai-san's advice for our own safety."
A man around Ken's age cast a somber glance in his direction. "But Ken-san, how can we simply abandon our friends in this barren wasteland?"
With a heavy heart, Ken replied, "We're not abandoning them; we'll leave markers and notes for Ava and Keiji so they know we've left and are heading back to the village."
"Besides," he added reluctantly, "both Ava and Keiji are well-acquainted with this region – they won't get lost on their way back."
A mounting sense of unease pressed on another man's shoulders as he raised his voice. "But darkness is descending fast. What if Ava and Keiji fall prey to demons in such a forsaken place?"
Ken's eyes clouded with shadowy possibilities he dared not entertain. Steeling himself against fear, he reassured those gathered around him: "Nothing like that will happen. Powerful demons don't venture into these desolate parts because there's nothing here to entice them. And we all know that Ava and Keiji are more than capable of fending off lesser demons."
Despite their concerns for Ava and Keiji's safety, the group took solace in their long-standing faith in their friends' abilities. Common knowledge among villagers dictated that powerful demons wouldn't materialize without sufficient incentive. With no further objections, they reluctantly accepted Ken's perspective.
Swallowing their hesitation, the group consented to depart the lab without Ava and Keiji, leaving a note behind to inform them of the group's return journey. As they gathered their belongings and procured the food they had discovered – the primary purpose of their excursion – Kai carefully scribbled a message for their absent friends, placing it in an easily visible location.
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Aria worked diligently to load provisions onto the Sunrunners: large, horse-like creatures well-adapted to the sweltering arid landscape, celebrated for their agility and endurance. Each member of the group mounted their Sunrunners with anticipation and they ventured onwards, cloaked by intrigue as shadows cast by the imminent dusk urged them forward into the unknown. As they prepared to leave behind their friends and embark on their return journey, an air of somber intrigue weighed heavily upon each member of the group.
Kai and Aria had taken shelter in the lab along with a group of people from a nearby village. As they stepped out into the yard, they were greeted by Yuta, a young boy from their group. "Oh, both Mr. Kai and Mrs. Aria have returned," he announced.
Kai surveyed the group. "Is everyone here?" he asked.
"Keiji and Ava went to fill water for our journey," Yuta replied. "Everyone else is here."
Kai's brow furrowed in concern. "Aren't all the sources of water poisonous?" he asked.
"Yes, they are," Yuta confirmed.
"Then where will they fill water for the journey?" Kai pressed.
A man in his 30s called Ken stepped forward. "Since the demons attacked, most of the water sources became concentrated with high levels of their 'mana,' which is poisonous for any living being on earth to drink. However, underground water and rainwater contain very little 'Mana' concentration, which can be easily purified by anyone who knows basic purification spells. There's an underground source of water located around 10 km east of here, and that's where Keiji and Ava have gone to fill their water."
"How long have they been gone?" Kai asked.
"For around an hour, I think," the man replied.
Kai looked up at the sun. It was getting lower in the sky, and they needed to reach the village before dark. "We don't have much time. We have to leave a message and mark our trail so they can catch up with us later," he said, taking charge of the situation.
The shadows were lengthening as conversations filled the air, a subtle tension hovering over Kai and Aria. Time seemed to have slipped through their fingers, leaving them anxious about the rapidly approaching darkness. Moving closer, Kai inquired in a hushed tone,
"Your thoughts, Aria?"
A fog of confusion clouded her face as she replied, "What do you mean?"
"The village... do you think we'll make it there before twilight takes over?" There was an urgency in his voice.
Pausing for a moment, Aria's intuition presented her a grim realization. "Even with our best efforts, I doubt we'll reach the village before nightfall."
Kai's countenance was etched with concern as he calculated their limited progress. "Given our current pace and time constraints, with these Sunrunners barely managing 30 KM/hr, we're unlikely to cover the remaining 100 kilometers in daylight."
Aria sought to soothe his worries. "Let's not dwell on that now; perhaps fortune will favor us on this journey."
Reluctantly nodding, Kai decided to leave the matter to fate as they continued onward. Soon enough, Yuta and Ken joined their conversation astride a shared Sunrunner.
Yuta directed his curiosity toward Kai. "It's strange, really--after more than a week together, we still know so little about you two. How is it that you were found nearly lifeless in that desolate wasteland?"
Panic flashed through both Kai and Aria's eyes at the question; an unsettling mix of fear and confusion bubbled beneath their carefully composed expressions. Aria considered her response carefully.
"My dear Yuta," she began with measured calmness lacing her voice, "we're simply travelers seeking nourishment and shelter from place to place. Weak from hunger and thirst, we lost consciousness in that barren land."
With a sense of eeriness in his voice, Yuta probed further, "What could have possibly caused such carnage upon your bodies when Sora-san and the others stumbled upon you?"
Aria responded with an unnerving calm, "Perhaps while we were unconscious, wild beasts sought to make us their prey before Sora-san and the others came to our rescue."
Unsatisfied, Yuta persisted in his inquiry, "But why the blood when Sora and the others found you?" As they grappled with these unsettling questions, a blood-curdling scream pierced the air behind them. The chilling cry sent shivers down their spines and left most rooted in terror.
Kai, Aria, and the others couldn't help but fear that the horrifying scream belonged to Ava and Keiji.