Family. Kaelan felt it was something foreign, yet he yearned for it.
He did not remember his family; he didn't even know if he had one. He knew nothing about himself and was stuck in an alien environment. It was an unimaginable terror to know nothing, not even one's own identity.
"Radiant Covenant is your home," Reynold said. "It might be hard for the others to accept you right now, but I'm sure you will be accepted in time."
Reynold cheerfully slapped him on the back and smiled. His cheerfulness was infectious, making Kaelan smile.
"Thank you."
They walked into the depths of an untouched forest. A gray mist descended upon the forest, which looked bleak because of its black hue. The atmosphere became extremely eerie. Reynold lifted a lantern containing a red crystal that emitted light.
Its name was Firestone—a stone originating from volcanoes, capable of glowing for six months of use. This stone was also used to start fires and cook.
"Hmm, the atmosphere is definitely bleaker than usual." Reynold led the way, already gripping his hammer with one hand.
"Bleaker?" Kaelan asked, also clutching a dagger and observing his surroundings.
"The territory outside the walls is always changing. No matter how often you come out, you will never find a place that is exactly the same."
The ecosystem outside the walls was chaotic and changed consistently. This was due to the harsh environment and the strength of the curse beyond the perimeter. Meanwhile, the environment around and inside the walls was much more stable because it had been granted a kind of protection. This was to prevent residents who were not Devourers from being exposed to the curse and turning into monsters.
"Stop." Reynold quickly covered the lantern with a dark cloth and hung it at his waist.
Kaelan immediately made a small cut on himself. He wouldn't be caught off guard like before. They then hid behind the trees and held their breath.
Reynold's gaze focused on a cliff a few meters ahead of them. At the foot of that cliff, several gravestones had recently been planted in the ground.
"I don't remember there being graves around here." Reynold remembered this environment clearly. There had never been gravestones stuck there.
Coinciding with his suspicion, they saw two people walking toward the gravestones. The two individuals wore black robes with a skull logo on the back. Their faces could not be seen clearly because they wore plain white masks without any motifs. There were only two eye holes and one near the nose of the mask.
One appeared shorter and smaller, while the other was taller and looked brawny.
In Aztec City, no one would dress like that. Kaelan looked at Reynold, who appeared furious and ready to charge. However, Reynold was not foolish enough to act without thinking.
"According to plan, we can start the first phase."
The two suspicious people began to talk. Kaelan could hear them faintly. It seemed the shorter one was a woman. Her voice was soft, almost like a teenager's.
"We have spread it at several points. It's only a matter of time until the delivery happens."
The other voice was heavier and raspy; it was definitely a man.
Kaelan and Reynold remained silent and continued to listen. They made no sound at all, avoiding any recklessness. In this way, they would be able to gather information regarding the two mysterious figures' plans.
"With this, I'm sure we will take a giant leap!" The woman laughed, looking impatient. "I can't wait to see a true curse monster born!"
The man nodded slightly. "But before that, we need to clear out the rats."
Kaelan grew tense as he felt a bad premonition. He faintly saw blood dripping from beneath the man's robe. Something began to wriggle within his body. Kaelan felt a strange sense of familiarity with it.
In an instant, the robed man stretched his hand toward him. The hand was shrouded in flesh, forming a human-sized worm with a massive mouth. The worm shot directly toward where Kaelan was positioned.
"Evade!" Reynold immediately pushed Kaelan and jumped to the other side.
The elongated, worm-like hand crashed into the tree where they had been hiding. Its mouth crushed the tree to splinters before hurling it toward Reynold.
Reynold dodged with an acrobatic leap, but his action created a significant distance between him and Kaelan.
"Fools searching for hope," the man spoke with a mocking tone. "Since when did the Radiant Covenant lackeys become eavesdroppers?"
Reynold gritted his teeth. "What are you doing here?" He ignored the previous provocation and focused on digging for information.
Kaelan intended to use the moment to run toward Reynold, but the robed woman had already blocked his path. Blood appeared on her hands. Five sharp, needle-like bones protruded from the back of her right hand.
Os Medulla... just like Reynold and Rebecca.
Kaelan had studied every stage of the three existing mutations.
Os Medulla was a mutation of bone and marrow. In the early stages, they were able to repair any bone damage, but not skin or flesh. Os Medulla was the opposite of Sangu Carna, which could only restore blood and flesh. In the second stage, Os Medulla users could grow bones as they wished, though limited to a size no larger than their own body. In the third stage, the mutation allowed them to fire their bones and reinforce them.
Now Kaelan was in a dilemma. Was the woman in front of him in stage two or three of her mutation? He needed to be careful.
"We are free to do as we please," the robed man replied to Reynold. "You have no right to know."
Reynold furrowed his brows. "You Eternal Darkness bastards only show up to cause chaos!"
As if unable to contain his emotions, Reynold lunged forward rapidly, leaving a trail of destruction where he stepped.
The robed man stretched out both hands, which turned into large worms, and chased after Reynold. He laughed wildly like a madman.
"Hahaha! It's been a long time since I've thrashed hopeless people looking for hope!"
The worm-like flesh began to harden, looking like shimmering blood crystals. Reynold struck it with his hammer, and the flesh shattered like glass shards. Those shards turned back into blood and immediately formed into needles. A rain of blood needles showered Reynold without mercy.
Reynold did not flinch. He raised his empty left hand. His arm exploded as a massive bone grew to shield his body from the rain of needles.
Kaelan watched the display in awe. He knew Reynold was already at the third stage of his mutation. However, his opponent was at the same level. The battle between the two would clearly not be easy.
"I am your opponent!" The woman blocking Kaelan began to strike.
She swung the bone needles in her hand horizontally. Kaelan managed to parry with his dagger, but the impact was strong enough to knock him back slightly. The woman did not stop; she tried to stab Kaelan's neck as he lost his momentum for a counterattack.
"So weak!" The woman sounded pleased, thinking she had won the fight.
Kaelan raised his left hand, letting the bone needles pierce through it. Intense pain hit him without mercy. However, Kaelan was thinking very clearly. He no longer hesitated in his actions.
"It's still too early to conclude." As Kaelan said this, his hand erupted with large masses of flesh that immediately enveloped the woman.
Kaelan took advantage of the blood spurting out and controlled it. His goal was to obstruct the woman's vision. He forced a large amount of blood into the inside of her mask.
Unfortunately, he didn't have enough time to solidify the blood to deliver a significant strike.
"Sangu Carna?!" The woman was shocked. She slashed through the flesh that was trying to grip her body and attempted to flee.
However, Kaelan had already thought of the next step. He acted quickly and swung his dagger vertically.
The woman tried to dodge. She barely survived, but in exchange, the mask on her face shattered.
Kaelan looked at her face in surprise. She was a teenage girl with black hair. Her left eye was red and black, while the right was brownish. There were ugly black veins appearing on her face.
The black veins almost covered her entire face. Kaelan might have mistakenly guessed that she was a monster.
"You bastard! I'll kill you!"
She extended bone needles from her other hand and approached.
Kaelan had no time to think about what had happened to the woman's face. Now, he had to fight for his life.