That boy fainted and fell down. The merchants lifted him and placed him in Elder Shah's wagon. Everyone started moving again. As it was getting dark, they decided to set up a tent and spend the night there.
The boy slowly opened his eyes and noticed he was in a tent, with Elder Shah sleeping nearby. He tried to move silently. He stood up and walked toward the entrance.
Suddenly, Ren came in.
The boy shouted, and everyone woke up. Uruka was behind Ren.
She asked, "Patrick bro, what happened?"
Patrick (Ren) replied, "Nothing. This boy just got shocked."
The boy suddenly got angry and tried to hit Ren. Ren blocked it and punched him, and he fell down.
Uruka said, "Big bro Patrick, don't hit him like that. He's frightened."
She went near the boy, took holy water from her pouch, and started praying. But that made the boy even angrier. He tried to attack her again.
Ren caught him and tied him up.
Elder Shah came near the boy and said, "Aren't you hungry, little boy?"
The boy stayed silent.
Elder Shah brought some food, and Seena fed him. After eating, he calmed down.
Then Elder Shah asked, "What is your name?"
The boy replied, "Tian."
"Tian… that's a good name. Where are you from?"
Tian replied, "I'm from the eastern village."
Elder Shah said, "Oh, the eastern village… Federal Lord Boden is the ruler there, right?"
The boy replied, "Yes… but the one who truly rules there is Holy Master Dargah…"
"And he… he—"
The boy started crying again.
Elder Shah realized something must have happened to him, so he waited for him to calm down before asking again, "What happened?"
Tian replied, "It was a week ago… My father is a woodcutter. One day, after finishing his work, he was returning home. On the way, he saw a wounded demon girl."
"My father got scared and wanted to run… but suddenly a beast appeared. It was about to attack him…"
"The demon girl got up and killed the beast with her weapon… and saved my father."
"The demon girl asked, 'Are you hurt, old man?'"
"My father, Wuan, replied, 'No, I'm alright. Thank you for saving me.'"
"The demon girl said, 'That's good… now get moving.'"
"My father replied, 'But you are hurt…'"
"The demon girl said, 'That's fine…' but she fainted."
"My father took her home, hiding her under the wood in his wagon."
"At first, my mother and I were scared… but he told us that she saved him. Then we became comfortable."
"After some time, she woke up."
"I said, 'Mom, she's awake…'"
"My mom said to her, 'Thank God your wounds healed faster…'"
"The demon girl replied, 'That's because I'm a demon… Where am I? And who are you?'"
"My father came and said, 'Relax. You saved me today, and you were wounded. I wanted to help, so I brought you to my home.'"
"The demon girl replied, 'What if anyone sees me? It will put all of you in danger… I'm leaving.'"
"She started to move, but my father stopped her and said, 'If you go out now, the villagers will see you. That will be dangerous for my family. So I suggest you stay, and in the morning I'll take you to the forest in my wagon.'"
"She replied, 'Okay… that's better.'"
"I asked her name… and she said, 'Rosene.'"
"That night, our family became very comfortable with Rosene. We treated her like our own daughter."
"Morning came. As planned, my father loaded the wood into the wagon. Rosene said goodbye to me and my mom and got into the wagon."
"They started moving…"
"And suddenly, a man stopped them."
The man asked Wuan, "Why are you taking the wood out?"
Wuan replied, "I'm going to deliver this to my friend. He runs a hot bath in the next village."
The man said, "Okay… get moving."
But he was suspicious, so he followed Wuan.
After a while, Wuan stopped the wagon, and Rosene stepped out from her hiding place. The man noticed this and immediately jumped forward and confronted her.
He said, "Wuan… I never thought you would hide a demon in our village."
Wuan replied, "Wait a minute… I will explain—"
But the man started attacking them.
Rosene blocked his attack and kicked him back. He got up, took his knife, and jumped at her again. She moved to the side, caught his arm, and slammed him to the ground.
She was about to kill him when Wuan shouted, "Don't!"
She said, "If we leave him, it will put you and your family in danger."
She was about to kill him—
—but suddenly, an arrow struck her knife.
An archer stepped forward.
He said, "Hello, demon. My name is Sam. I am the apostle here… and now I'm going to kill you."
She replied, "You can try."
She ran toward him, and he started shooting arrows at her. One of his arrows hit a rabbit nearby, and it died instantly.
She realized Sam was using poisonous arrows.
She dodged them well and moved in to attack him. She threw a punch, but he blocked it and kicked her hard, sending her back.
Sam prepared to finish her with another arrow—
—but suddenly, a man dressed in black, his face covered, appeared with a sword.
He cut down Sam's arrow and lifted Rosene onto his shoulder.
Sam started shooting arrows at him, but he cut them all down. Then he jumped away and disappeared.
Sam didn't know where he went.
Wuan felt relieved that Rosene had escaped… but Sam arrested him and took him back to the village.
Holy Master Dargah and Federal Lord Boden were informed. Sam told them everything.
Master Dargah ordered a public trial.
Wuan and his entire family were declared traitors.
The whole village turned against them and started throwing stones.
The Holy Master said, "Stop."
Wuan already knew what was going to happen.
The Holy Master ordered Sam to take them to the well and kill them there.
"At least their sins will be forgiven."
(The well is located behind the cathedral. It is known as the well that forgives sinners. Most criminals and traitors are killed there and believed to be forgiven.)
Sam and the soldiers took Wuan and his family there.
On the way, Wuan suddenly pushed Tian and shouted, "Run!"
Wuan held Sam back, while his wife held the soldiers.
Tian started running.
He got injured on the way, slipped down a slope, and fell.
That's when the merchants found him.
Tian told them everything and asked them to save his parents.
Ren replied, "Why do you believe your parents are still alive?"
Tian said, "Because when a family is accused of a crime, the whole family has to die at the same time in the well to be forgiven. If not, they won't be forgiven… so they won't kill my parents until they catch me."
He continued, "The people I grew up with suddenly turned against us… they even started attacking us. That's why I was afraid to trust anyone."
Uruka, crying after hearing his story, stepped forward and said, "Big bro Tian, don't worry. Big bro Patrick is strong… he will save your parents."
Ren replied, "Hey, brat… don't decide everything on your own. I never said I'm going to help him."
Tian and Uruka looked at him with innocent eyes.
Ren sighed and said, "Okay, okay… don't give me that look. I'll help you."
Elder Shah and all the merchants decided to help the boy.
Suddenly, a flaming arrow shot down and the tent caught fire. Everyone rushed outside.
They saw a tall man standing on top of a cliff, dressed in white and gold, holding a bow and arrow.
Tian said in fear, "He's here… he's here… he's going to catch me…"
Ren said, "Stop it," and asked, "Who is he?"
Tian replied, "That's Sam… the apostle."
- to be continued -