"Briar is ill?"
Libitina asked in shock.
"Yes, remember she was complaining about feeling unwell? Today, she had a full-blast fever," Brian explained, his eyes tinted with worry. "Mom's taking care of her at home. To be honest, she's not the only one. I've been feeling that there's this weird atmosphere around town, a heavy feeling. Something's not right."
'Ah,' Libitina gasped. 'Could it be the work of the Demon Spirit? Has it finally appeared? But the main characters are leaving Enzak soon…what's going on…'
In the game's introductory arc, she remembered a moustached man telling Marianne and her friends about the devastation the Demon Spirit causes, plagues and paranoia amongst them.
'Perhaps the story arc is supposed to happen when Marianne returns from Lefu? In this case, is the Demon Spirit setting down its footwork? I can't figure out what's going on, and the deviation from the original storyline is worrying.'
"Uh, I'm fine, Libby," Brian mistook her worry and tousled her hair. "Don't look so worried. Oh, isn't that the girl who is leaving today? Go ahead and say your goodbyes."
Libitina nodded and ran towards Marianne, who was dressed in a stylish but practical attire commonly worn by travellers.
"Libby, this is it," Marianne smiled sadly.
"Yes, here you go, some mochi for the trip. Remember, stay safe," Libitina returned her smile.
"Libby."
Marianne's eyes sparkled as she gave way to Yurian and left for the carriage.
"Brother Yurian."
"Libby, about yesterday…"
"What about yesterday?"
Yurian gave her a deep look before smiling dashingly.
"Nothing! I had a great time yesterday, so great thanks for that! Then, I'll see you around."
"Sure."
Libby waved hard as she bid goodbye to her main characters.
'Bon voyage!'
She hoped that the sense of foreboding she felt was just a product of her imagination.
…
Five days later.
"Fight! Save the missus and sir!"
"Libby, stay behind me!"
"No, no, Brian, please, we need to bandage your wounds…"
"Hughh!"
Brian desperately swung his sword to block off an incoming attack, followed by a stab. But the waves of bandits did not stop, and Libitina watched his abdomen bleed in despair as they tried to escape.
The rain fell heavily as screams pierced the surroundings continuously, and blood stained the ground red as it flowed out of the corpses.
Libitina picked up a rock from the ground and hurled it towards the aggressors with as much strength as she had. But she knew they were outnumbered.
"Brian! We need to run!"
She half-dragged the injured Brian as he tried to fend off the enemies and together, they dashed into the forests to seek cover under the dense forage.
'Please, please, please, someone help us, please…'
After running for a while, Libitina could feel Brian losing strength.
'We need to find some place to hide!'
With the clamour not far behind her, she desperately looked around and saw an indent in a stone wall. She quickly pulled Brian to it and dragged several plants to cover up their hideout.
With Brian's shallow breaths in her ears, she pressed her palms over both their mouths and peeped cautiously through the spaces between the vegetation.
'Please don't see us, please don't see us…'
The bandits arrived and started searching, their knives and blades slashing through the bushes and shrubs. One of the bandits turned towards where Libitina's and Brian's hiding spot. "Hey, there's mud tracks here…"
'Damn it!'
Libitina burst from her hiding spot and ran in another random direction. The rain pelted heavily onto her eye lids, but she pushed forth with determination. She gasped for air and her lungs felt like they were on fire. 'Stay hidden, Brian!'
"That direction!"
Huff, huff, huff…
"Where did she go? Find her, and kill her!"
She could hear them coming from behind her, their swords clanging. Her heart trembled under their violent bellows and she could feel her feet losing strength. But she had to run. Go, go, go!
How long had she been running?
Huff, huff, huff…
Then, her feet stepped into air.
'Huh?'
The next moment, her head bashed into something hard and she felt something break. The rain continued to hit the ground in front of her eyes, and she could see the raindrops forming ripples in the puddles in front of her eyes.
Only, why are the puddles turning red?
Libitina's consciousness gradually faded.
In the monotonous rain, a light shone from her right breast pocket, which was pressed against the bloody ground.