Freida's eyes widened in response to the deafening screeches of crows that were coming from somewhere above the charcoal-colored skies. She made the necessary adjustments to her vision, which had been somewhat hazy for a considerable amount of time as a result of the rapidly moving dense fog that surrounded the area.
She soon came to the realization that not only was she nowhere near the area where the evacuation was, but even more ominously, she was positively certain that she was no longer anywhere near the town of Biringan.
"Impossible! What's going on here? Where am I?" Freida asked herself.
However, it was a waste of time because no one would even attempt to answer her question in the first place. As she tried to recall what had occurred, the only thing that she could think about was the time when a man who appeared to be mysterious and was wearing an overall cover took her in after he had killed Boran's doppelganger.
In the middle of trying to figure out where she was, Freida's focus was diverted by an approaching noise that sounded like the wheels of a wagon. It turned out that her speculations were correct, as there was a wagon traveling in her direction. It was being driven by someone wearing a gray hood that obscured the entirety of the driver's appearance.
When Freida finally found out that the wagon was being pulled by a couple of humans—no, they were only half humans with bodies that were similar to horses—she felt a wave of horror travel through her entire body. She was completely dumbfounded by what she was seeing and couldn't believe it. The sight of the wagon that had come to a stop in front of Freida's eyes caused her to take a step backward.
"It appears that a human has wandered off the beaten path in Paradexia once again, Master." The female of the two creatures that were pulling the wagon said.
Eventually, the driver of the wagon pulled back his hood to reveal a horse's head beneath it. A platinum white long mane dangles from his chest, exposing his bare skin.
"Who brought you here, human?" the wagon's driver inquired of Freida. Freida's knees trembled in fear at the sound of his deep, powerful voice.
And for a brief moment, the fear that had been tucking Freida away made her silent.
"Don't make me repeat myself again, human." The driver even added, but Freida was just silent. It wasn't because she didn't want to respond to him; rather, she was paralyzed by the presence of the creatures in front of her and couldn't move a muscle in her body out of fear. She couldn't believe that she was actually witnessing such creatures head-on and that she was also hearing them speak to her in person for the first time.
Freida was so overcome with fright, horror, and shock all at the same moment that she found it difficult to utter even a single word out loud. With her continued silence, the wagon's driver's patience was finally strained to breaking point.
Fortunately for Freida, a stunning woman emerged from the covered carriage of the wagon just as the driver was about to launch an attack in his fit of rage.
"What's all this commotion, dear?" she asked.
Her gaze wandered over the rest of them until it landed on Freida, who was lying motionless on the ground. "Oh, what do we have here, a visitor from the land of mortals." She cheerfully said.
Unexpectedly, the stunning woman leaps down from the wagon and makes her way over to Freida's side.
"My dear, please be careful. We have absolutely no idea who this human being is." The beautiful woman was given a word of caution by the driver, who appeared to be the woman's partner.
"Do not worry too much dear, she is only a human being, and nothing more. She wouldn't harm us. Besides, shouldn't she be the one who's scared of us now? I mean, humans are usually afraid of us. Isn't that right?" The woman eventually asked Freida.
Freida, who was rendered speechless as a result of witnessing all of this, merely nodded her head in response.
"See? I told you, there's nothing to be afraid of."
The woman exuded such a high level of positive energy that being in her company should not induce feelings of dread in anyone. As soon as Freida got closer to talk to her, her initial feelings of dread disappeared completely because she exudes an extremely vibrant energy.
Freida was taken aback when the stunning woman suddenly made her way towards her and offered her a hand. "Now, if you'll excuse my husband's rude behavior, I'd like to invite you to come with us."
"What makes you think you have the right to accuse me of having impolite behavior, my dear?!" The driver, who appeared to be the beautiful woman's husband, acted like a child while making his objections.
"Now, now, dear. We couldn't just leave her here on her own for the night. The hungry bystanders waiting for us to leave might follow her around."
The stunning woman abruptly extended her index finger in an outward direction. As Freida leaned her head over her left shoulder, she was convinced that the hair on her skin had risen in response to what she had just witnessed. Beyond the dense bushes that encircled the rough road, there are a great number of bloodshot eyes waiting in the shadows.
And as soon as Freida noticed that there were a lot of them scattered around them, she immediately sprung from the ground and hid behind the beautiful woman while she shivered in fear.
The beautiful woman, on the other hand, had no reaction other than to laugh at Freida's action. It was almost as if she found Freida's reaction endearing rather than pitiful. "You shouldn't worry about it. We won't just leave you here all by yourself. Providing, of course, that you are interested in traveling with us."
It wasn't until this very moment that Freida was finally able to muster up the strength to open her mouth and speak. After a while, she asked the lovely woman who was still shielding her from the ominous red pairs of eyes that surrounded them out of sheer curiosity. There, she inquired, "If you don't mind me asking, where are you going?"
The beautiful woman immediately responded with a gleam in her eyes and said, "Oh, we're heading for the capital of Paradexia, which is in Timawo. You should come along, it'll be fun there for sure."
Freida wasn't sure if she would go with the strange-looking group of creatures that made her feel sick to her stomach, but staying behind would be a riskier option for her given the choice. Especially with all those red pairs of eyes waiting for her to be alone. Especially considering how many crimson eyes are watching her and waiting for her to be by herself. She had a hard time imagining what might have happened to her if she had made the decision to stay. Because of this, Freida ultimately made the decision to tag along with these travelers, despite the fact that she harbored a sneaking suspicion about them.
Aside from that, the stunning woman appeared to give the impression that she would be less likely to cause Freida any harm compared to the other companion that she was traveling with, although this may not be the case.