"So, plagues usually live in cults?"
"Yes," she said, her voice drifting low, "from what I remember of my mom's words…
Plagues aren't born."
"What do you mean?" he questioned, as the prick of fire burned under the bright moonlight.
They both were sitting parallel to a campfire, cold wind slowly brushing against them as she continued.
"In history, when the first war of heavens ended, the path to hell opened for a while,
from which clump-like monsters first stepped into the mortal realm." She stopped for a moment, looking at Noen, her gaze low.
"They do not have any body; the only appearance that was mentioned is that they looked like a clump of flesh stitched together to a shell."
"Also, the stories that were passed down…" she paused for a moment, as if remembering something. "I don't remember much, but… in those stories, it was mentioned, those monsters devoured four species, taking their appearance and making them their god."
Hearing that, Noen paused, orange light reflecting on his face as he wondered.
"Wait… if they devoured four species, doesn't that…"
His thoughts scrambled more, trying to search for any answer or any lead he could get, and then something clicked.
"The previous battles… what type of plague I have encountered for now…
A plague that wears a bull skull, another I faced was with a human skull, and last…
I don't know what skull it was, but… they all were different from each other.
So do they belong to different cults?"
He was completely lost in thought before a voice interfered.
"Mister? Mister!?" It was Sera, as she looked at him with a worried expression. She asked, "Is something wrong?"
"No," he said, "but…" Just as he said that, he instantly turned around, forming a dagger mid-air. He launched it toward a tree.
Sera stood up at his sudden movement, looking at it as the dagger passed through the leaves, although there was nothing.
His eyes glowed red. He looked back at Sera.
"We are being watched," he said.
But before giving her a chance, he held Sera's hand, running away as his eyes traced every small movement around the area.
But he didn't catch anything before he stopped.
"I think it escaped," he muttered, before turning back to Sera.
"Rest for a while. I will look out for the night."
"But what about you?" she asked.
Noen just sighed before he replied in a cold tone,
"Listen, if I rest now, you might get in danger. Also, there will be other opportunities where I could get some sleep.
So don't worry, just sit down and get some rest.
We have a long way to go."
"Ok," she said. Though she was hesitant, at last she went to sleep, leaning on a tree.
Whereas Noen began to guard her, looking around for the same presence he had noticed earlier.
The silence was dawning over the place. Small murmurs of insects echoed in the silent sky, and with the wind, trees rustled softly. In between, he moved,
stepping on dry leaves with shallow steps.
He stopped, looking at the beautiful sky, where stars twinkled with shining light. His eyes somewhat softened. Staring at it, he thought,
"How long has it been since I saw a view like this?"
***
The night passed just like that, although nothing happened, they already started to make their way out of the forest.
Noen swiftly swung his blade, cutting through the dense vegetation as they pushed forward.
The silence was creeping on them, and coldness had long existed before.
Up above the sky, flocks of birds moved, and the sun shone brighter, as if it were getting bigger.
Hours passed in their journey, their bodies sweating profusely. Suddenly, a voice rang out, calling for Noen.
"Mister, I can't walk anymore," she said, huffing, about to collapse, her eyes pale, body stumbling. He stopped, quickly rushing to her aid.
"Hey, Sera," he called her name, holding her in his arms, but unable to respond, she just stumbled, trying to make sense of her words.
A panic surged over him, thoughts rambling. He looked around, but there were only trees and a never-ending trail of grass. He closed his eyes, trying to look for any hint of a water source, but it also ended in failure.
"What should I do?" he thought.
Before he started searching frantically, but with no clue and time passing by, he picked her up on his back. Straining his muscles, he dashed forward.
Eyes glowing, looking around, he noticed something.
Far away, into the dense vegetation, there was a dead carcass, but something far more important was near it.
It was a lake, a hope he saw. He rushed toward it, but then his senses noticed something. Reacting before he could think, he plunged his dagger into a weird-looking animal.
From its appearance, it was similar to a wolf, but its body was far from normal.
It was covered in light fur, almost invisible to the naked eye; eyes sharp like a tiger, and movement like a cat. It had sharp claws, long ears, looking like they would hear anything from afar.
Staring at them, it just growled, bleeding from its injured leg.
But it wasn't alone. There were others of its species staring intensely while they hid under the dense leaves, waiting for their prey.
Noen just gritted his teeth, scanning his vision all around, counting the packs of wolves he had to face, while his hand flowed with blood, forming a sharp sword that reflected his face.
The wolves lurched, circling around him. Before one of them howled, jumping straight at him as they lunged forward, but he was quick to dodge.
Jumping around, he took on the wolves while he carried Sera on his back, who was unconscious from the heat.
In the end, he stood alone with Sera, completely soaked in blood, surrounded by the corpses of monsters, which looked scattered like pieces of meat.
He wasted no time, rushing over toward the source of water.
Lying Sera on the rough ground, he formed a bowl shape from his hand, filling it with water as he poured some on her face. Still, there was no reaction from her.
He quickly removed the extra clothes from her body, placing a soaked piece of cloth on her forehead, slowly waiting for her to wake up.
In the process, hours passed, and finally, she opened her eyes.
Though still weak and hazy, she sat up, taking support on the ground, looking at where she was.
Her gaze landed on him. Noen had fallen asleep under the shade of a tree, his long hair falling over his broad shoulder, body muscular, well-built like an athlete.
Which was covered in torn clothes, still intact, though it caught Sera's eyes. Her gaze was different, eyes glowing red as she moved closer, crawling on the ground. In a matter of seconds, she was close to his face, moving closer, closer to his lips.
Her lips shining as she opened her mouth, about to—
Just then, he woke up instantly, looking at her. His voice rang out,
"What are you doing?"
Sera snapped back, confused at what had just happened. She tilted her face back, but finding herself close to his lips, she jumped back, hot as red, dying in embarrassment. She covered her face, mumbling continuously,
"I'm sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to…"
But Noen just stared at her, still clueless. He stood up, trying to find words to say. He muttered,
"I… should say sorry. I let my guard down and went to sleep."
Stopping Sera in her mid-embarrassment, she looked at him, still red. She muttered, "You idiot…" about to cry, she jumped at him, hitting him with her fists cutely as she mumbled the same words, "idiot, idiot, idiot…"
But he, still clueless as ever, just stumbled, trying to find out what he did wrong.
Whereas the sun set under the starry sky, before the shining blue moon took place, covering the whole sky under a blue shade.