Arlan and the young woman ran through the forest for almost half an hour, and thanks to the young woman's guide they managed to get out of the town safely.
"W-why are we still running, we are...ahhh...far enough away from the city and the monsters" the young woman said, her voice cracking with exhaustion.
Arlan looked back and all he could see were trees and more trees. It was true that they were already too far away from the village, but Arlan wanted to be sure that they were safe.
The reason he went into the forest without worrying about encountering any monsters was because he assumed that they would be busy in the village. With so many people there, they would be less likely to focus on the two of them.
If his assumption turned out to be wrong... then they would probably die.
Still, nothing had turned up yet that could be dangerous for them.
Arlan noticed the young woman, she was still running just by will, after expending so much energy and running for so long, she was about to collapse.
'Yes... that should be enough'
Arlan gradually stopped running until he came to a halt, and as he did, the young woman stopped as well, and the first thing she did was to fall to the ground and gasp for breath.
"Th-Thank you"
Arlan leaned against a nearby tree and concentrated on catching his breath as well, then looked at the young woman in obvious surprise.
'That's strange... how can she keep running?'
Judging from the young woman's physique, she definitely hadn't been training, which meant that her stamina shouldn't be high enough to run for so long. Aside from when she made those strange golden barriers, even though Arlan didn't know what they were or how she had created them, he definitely knew that it had taken a lot of energy for her to make them.
He would have plenty of time to ask him, but for now they needed to get as far away as possible after resting.
"What is your name?"
The young woman looked at him tiredly.
"Kaylynn"
"All right Kaylynn, I'm Arlan"
From what Arlan had seen on the days the young woman brought her food to the cell, Kaylynn was a very pure and decent person, she seriously cared for others and judging by the prayers she was saying when Arlan found her in the building, she was definitely a good person.
A person he wanted to use for his own good.
"Where are we going? I have to get back to town...my brother should be back by now"
Arlan frowned slightly at the young woman's words, they clearly had different goals in mind.
Arlan needed the young woman, at least for a while, until he could fend off the monsters himself.
How long would that take, or how would he manage it?
Arlan didn't know, but he was tired of being the prey of the monsters, from now on he would do everything he could to change things.
"I can't let you go back"
Even though Kaylynn had bandages covering her eyes, Arlan could feel that she was looking right at him.
"Why?"
Kaylynn replied calmly, understanding that the situation they were in was unique and that neither she nor he had the strength to face the monsters. But she had to get back to the village, no matter what.
"I need you"
Arlan was honest, he needed Kaylynn, her shields could save their lives. Not only that, Arlan needed information that only she could give him.
"..."
The young woman didn't know what to say, she didn't understand the young man before her. No, it would be more accurate to say that she did not understand Arlan's own existence.
It was impossible that there were other people on the island than his people, after all, it was an uninhabited island for the most part.
The other thing the young woman didn't understand was the monsters. They suddenly appeared three weeks ago and started attacking them.
Thanks to the natural defenses of the village and her brother and the troops he commanded, they were able to fend off the monsters until today, when things went to hell.
"What exactly do you need me for?" asked Kaylynn with clear caution towards Arlan.
Arlan leaned back against the tree and crossed his arms.
"That barrier from before... how did you make it?"
Kaylynn sat down on the ground and looked up.
"...It's my innate ability"
Arlan blinked several times as if he didn't understand what Kaylynn was talking about, even though he didn't really understand anything.
"Innate ability, what's that? This is the first I've heard of it"
They both seemed to be playing a game of confusion, taking turns frowning and not understanding what the other was saying.
"You've never heard of born abilities? It's impossible"
Arlan threw up his hands.
"Well, here I am. What are they?"
Kaylynn shook her head.
"No, you don't understand. Since the beginning of time, living beings have been blessed with abilities. Not everyone has them, only a certain percentage have one, but it is impossible for anyone not to know about them... after all, the Colossus took care of that"
Noticing Arlan's state of confusion, the young woman couldn't help but turn pale.
"You... you don't know who the Colossus are, do you?"
"No, I don't..." Arlan denied.
The young woman stood up quickly, almost losing her balance, then leaned on a tree with one hand and approached Arlan.
"It's also impossible, everyone in the world knows who the Colossus are"
Arlan began to understand what Kaylynn was getting at.
Everything in this conversation was unknown to Arlan, instead of getting answers he got more questions.
But in the end, he understood only one thing, and it was the same conclusion as Kaylynn's.
Kaylynn slowly approached Arlan with a confused expression on her face.
"It's as if..."
Kaylynn stood before Arlan. Her calm demeanor seemed long gone, and now she looked like she was about to panic.
They were both silent for a few seconds before speaking at the same time.
"As if you were not from this world" Kaylynn said.
"As if I were not of this world" Arlan said.