As if driven away by the ferocious scene, the dark clouds faded from the gloomy heavens, revealing an even clearer picture of the colorful cosmic wonder of Valoria's night.
Now that the relentless rain had finally ceased, the scene below it had also entered a fitting closure. The fallen blood was washed away by the previous downpour as the remaining bandits that assaulted Marius was blown into nothingness, forever ending their tale.
At this time, Marius was busy treating Grevlin's chest wounds; he gently wiped some ointment on his surface before bandaging his chest, showing a look akin to a more caring and loving father.
"Are you feeling better now?" Marius asked in a gentle tone.
"Yes father," Grevlin replied with a joyful smile on his face, but deep down, one would see that his eyes had a slightly different look when recalling how he almost died by the sneak attack.
Marius knew that Grevlin wasn't as okay as he tried to appear, but he said nothing; this was something he had to figure out on his own; when he does come to understand, he would have matured from his current self.
By now, Vawn had already recovered from his previous state, cleaning himself up as he also fixed his son's attire. Now that the bandits were annihilated, you could say that both he and his son had been given a new lease on life, but sadly, he still had other matters to worry over.
"How can a random man with such power just up and appear in this remote route to Ivanov? I can't even tell if he's on the level of a Famed Warrior, or those rumored Imperial Knights. Not only that, his child has a strange ability to summon unusual beings, what kind of family is this?' Vawn thought to himself as he stared at Marius and Grevlin with a thoughtful look on his face.
Vawn pondered for a good while until Marius helped Grevlin up and looked as if he prepared to leave; he shook his head saying nothing as he also wanted to hurry and get out of here, the bad weather from before along with the near-death experience had been far too much for his mind.
Jae hesitated a bit as if he wanted to call out to Grevlin, but as he felt his father pulling him towards the carriage, he said nothing and only followed in silence.
The scene here seemed as if it was going to be a silent parting between strangers, but suddenly, a voice sounded from nearby.
"Honey, it seems that you've already finished up, shall we get going?" The lovely voice said, seeming to carry an innate bewitching power that could charm the soul of any man.
Vawn, being a man of wealth, was no stranger to beauties and their traits; just by hearing that voice, he knew it was a woman of a different kind of look, far from even the epitome of high-grade brothels.
He turned his head, unable to resist the urge, only to be greeted by the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life. A lithe figure garbed in a simple but decent dress that further enhanced her beauty. Her long green hair cascaded down her back as she held onto her sleeping angel with a warm look from her mesmerizing purple eyes, directed to the handsome and strong man before her.
'Be...beautiful... absolutely beautiful; I would have never believed that I meet such a superior quality lady, especially after such an event. I... what do I do...'
Vawn wasn't what you might call an exemplary man. He was a figure with countless affairs and would do anything to get what he wanted, even more so in business and romance. Even though he knew of the dangers, he couldn't just let such a sight pass his eyes.
"Come with me, let us offer our thanks to our savor," Vawn said as he gave his son Jae a good look, pulling him along towards Marius's direction.
Not paying attention to them, Marius looked at his wife with a smile as he spoke, "It was only an exercise, Grevlin was a bit hesitant, but you could say he performed pretty well for his age. You're right; it's about time we left this place, it's a bit gloomy. I wonder which direction is the nearest town from here..."
Ria looked at him before she spoke with a smile, "Oh, that's easy. I can find it if I..."
Ria was about to say something, but Grevlin's attention soon shifted to the side, noticing that Vawn was nearing. He spoke to interrupt her.
"Mother, that man is coming over."
Marius and Ria glanced over at Vawn's direction with curious eyes, Vawn seeing this, hurriedly made a polite bow as Jae, who had spirited eyes while staring at Grevlin, performed the same act a few beats late.
"Greetings, famed hero, this humble merchant's name is Vawn Wilborn, and beside me is my heir Jae Wilborn. We want to offer his thanks to the great sir for his timely rescue. If it had been any later, I would have never lived to see another day; for this act of kindness, my son and I are incredibly grateful."
Both Vawn and Jae had made a customary gesture with one arm crossed before their chest as they bend forward respectfully during their greeting.
Ria made a surprising look at this as she stared at them before fixing her eyes onto Vawn; her eyes narrowed as she could sense a few his emotions but thought nothing of it since it was something she had been dealing with in her childhood years.
Marius frowned as he stared at Vawn and spoke, "You don't need to thank us, we are but strangers, I didn't act to save you but annihilate a potential threat; consider this as merely a stroke of fortune. Ria, Grevlin, come, let's leave."
"Alright, dear."
"Okay, dad."
Both Ria and Grevlin replied as they followed Marius, who had turned to leave this area. Vawn looked at this in panic; his eyes stuck onto Ria's swaying back that caused him to bite his lip with reddish eyes.
He wracked his mind for a bit until his eyes shone with enlightenment as he spoke, "Dear Sir and Madame, please wait one second, I know the way to the nearest town, care to join us on our journey."
Marius frowned at those words, he wondered why this man was so persistent, but as he recalled his statement, he gave Ria a good look, noticing that she was looking at him awaiting his choice before he stared at Grevlin with the bounded wound on his chest.
'Ria might be fine, but Grevlin is still a child, I can't have him tough out such a wound as we travel blindly searching for a town; this isn't the time for such training either.'
After gathering his thoughts, Marius then stared at Vawn and spoke, "Fine, we'll take you up on this offer."
When Vawn heard this, his eyes lit up as he vaguely glanced at Ria before acting like he didn't do anything. Marius noticed it this time, his eyes shone with a cold look, but he said nothing, for now, he only wanted a good source of transport for his wounded son and a quick and easy method of reaching the town.
Vawn hurriedly shifted his eyes onto the carriage and made an awkward look as he saw the corpses of the Centurions. He then spoke, "Oh, poor me, I've forgotten that our rides were slain, we might need to catch some hor..."
Vawn was about to say something, but suddenly, Marius stared at Grevlin and whispered something into his ear. Grevlin then lifted his hand before with his palms spread wide as they glowed in dark energy when he spoke, "Come out."
"I hear and obey." The Darkness Soldier said as it rose from his shadow and knelt.
'There it is... that strange summoning ability, if a child like this goes to that place, he is almost guaranteed to become a legend.'
Vawn thought as he keenly stared at Grevlin. Jae's eyes also lit up when he watched Grevlin's technique with a competitive look in his eyes.
Marius seeing Grevlin's summon patted his head as he stared at Vawn and spoke, "You don't need to worry, this fellow will carry us, now let us be off."
Vawn nodded at Marius's words as he spoke while making an inviting gesture towards the carriage in the distance.
"Please, right this way."
Following those words, Marius, Ria, Grevlin, along the sleeping Little Rose entered into the carriage, which was soon after pulled by the Darkness Soldier that now had a sullen look on its face, dragging them towards the distance throughout the starry night route.