Avic couldn't move. He stood still, wrapped in painfully sharp threads that threatened to remove his limbs. He watched helplessly as the Demon approached him. Its long black fingernails flickered back and forth as it moved closer. Its faceless head turned from side to side with every step. It was almost like a nightmare brought to life. Avic was rendered helpless. He didn't know what it was that he was supposed to do.
To make things worse, as the Demon approached him, he found himself growing weaker by the second. He felt hazy and his vision became blurry. Something strange was happening to him. It looked like it was over for him.
"Get away from him!!" Suddenly shouted a tiny familiar voice.
A bright flash followed by searing hot heat brightened Avic's eyes. The demon wailed in fear before quickly retreating into the darkness. Avic squinched his eyes to see clearer. This was when he saw a small girl with beautiful sea-blue eyes and braided golden-blonde hair like that of a princess. Her face was wet with tears and she held a flaming stick in her hands.
"You're... Lori..?" Muttered Avic in shock. "W-what are you doing here..?"
"Lori! Why did you come out here?! Come on! We need to go!!" Shouted the voice of a woman from behind.
Avic then shifted his gaze to see another familiar woman running toward her from behind. It was a lady who also had bright-blue eyes and stunning golden-blonde hair. In short, she looked like an older version of Lori. It was her mother.
Before Avic knew it, Lori ran over to him and began using the flaming stick to burn away the threads that held him in place. In just a few seconds, both Avic's strength and mobility were restored to him.
"What's happening here? Why are you two all the way out here in the Wilderness?!" Queried Avic.
In response, Lori fell to her knees and began bawling. She sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes as best as she could.
"Daddy was killed..! He didn't deserve to die! Why do monsters like that exist? It's just not fair... What did daddy ever do to deserve that?!"
Lori's mom quickly wrapped her arms around her to comfort her. She too had tears running down her cheeks. For a moment, Avic was confused. He didn't understand what was happening. This was until he remembered the dead merchant he saw strung up in a nearby tree.
"Wait... That merchant... was your father..? Then does that mean that the little girl and the woman we saw earlier when we saved the merchant from the Razor Hounds were you two..?"
The mother nodded with tears in her eyes, "It was us... You saved us more than once now, Avic. But I wish you could have saved him too..."
Interrupting them was the sound of heavy footsteps that were filled with urgency. By the next second, both Custos and Eliisabet appeared before them, almost out of breath. Sweat lined their foreheads and urgency filled their eyes.
"Avic! You're alive! I'm so glad!" Exclaimed Eliisabet, covering her mouth with tears of joy in her eyes.
"Where were you two? And what's going on here? I woke up to find out one of the horses had died and that the merchant was strung up to a tree!"
"Look, we'll explain everything later. But right now, we need to get out of here..!" Demanded Custos.
"No, I'm not moving, Custos. What the hell do you take me for?"
"Avic, this isn't the time to be acting stubborn! There's a Demon after us. It's called a Scarlet Witch and it's very dangerous! I don't know what a Demon is doing in the Wilderness but it's here and we need to find somewhere to hide now!"
"You expect me to trust you all of a sudden when you left me here knowing that thing could have killed me in my sleep?! What the hell, Custos?"
"Avic, we're sorry but we couldn't!" Argued Eliisabet. "It all happened so fast. We were prepared to fight monsters all night since we promised to guard the merchant and his family but we didn't expect a demon to be out here! Normally, Demons live in specific areas so this came as a shock to us. Fortunately, it didn't notice you since you were sleeping but it attacked the rest of us. We didn't have a choice but to run but we decided that we'd come back to get you!"
"Sigh... It's fine. I'm not mad. I knew there had to be a good reason why you guys left me behind."
"Then we need to hurry," continued Custos. "Scarlet Witches dislike too much heat. We might be able to keep it away for now with a small flame but it won't stay away for long."
Avic then glanced at the merchant's body that was still hanging from the tree. He knew that if Lori and the others hadn't arrived when they did then he would have ended up just like the merchant. This got him a little serious.
"Why do we have to run? We're going to become Sicarius, aren't we? Sigh... As much as it is a pain in the ass, situations like this will be normal for us. We should get used to them from now."
Custos didn't answer immediately. He remained quiet, looking at Avic. He could tell that Avic meant every word he had said. It was rare for him to become this serious.
"It's the merchant's death, isn't it? That's the reason you're acting this way all of a sudden."
"I agree that it has a part to play in it. But I'm also mad at myself for sleeping as if I didn't have a care in the world while this was happening. You could have all ended up like the merchant... As a future Sicarius, I shouldn't allow these things to happen."
"Avic, I agree with you but there's a rule when it comes to fighting Demons. Never fight them in an area where they have the advantage. And right now, the darkness gives it a major advantage over us. If you think we should fight this thing then fine. But let's wait until it's daytime when we have a better chance."
To everyone's surprise, Avic stepped closer to the darkness with his dagger clenched in his fist. He then looked at everyone from the corner of his eye and gave his final declaration.
"No. Who knows if it will still be here by morning? We fight it while it has the advantage. It will boost our chances of gaining entry into the School Of Sicarius when we show up with the head of a Scarlet Witch."