Arthur jumped down to the ground with ease. Although the fight was very quick, he was still feeling very sore in his arms and legs from the tug of war that he just had with that giant wolf.
However, because he just gained some new points in his strength and agility, that exhaustion was reduced notably because of it. In any case, Arthur was glad that he was able to finish the Objective successfully.
'Now that I think about it, that Shadow Step is insane! I didn't even understand how I was able to pull it off from the first try even though I only have theoretical information about it.' Arthur thought to himself.
Although Arthur did indeed acquire the memories of this body, he didn't actually have any practical knowledge of that. It was like understanding how to swim but never actually swam before in your life. That was what Arthur realized when he emerged from the shadow of the wolf.
He couldn't easily bring the knowledge of his skills to real life in his first try. That was why he couldn't kill the wolf instantly since his daggers didn't hit the arteries properly which ended up putting him in lethal trouble.
'Hah, I was really lucky there.' He thought to himself as he wiped the blood from his face. "Blergh, it got in my mouth." He murmured.
At that moment, Arthur noticed a looming object hovering over his head. Looking up confusedly, he was shocked to see a huge bubble made out of water.
"What…"
"Hehehe, I'm going to wash you up, Arthur. Don't move." He heard Ani's giggle as she looked at him with a grin. In her hands was her staff, illuminating the dark world around her.
"H-Hey… Wait, let's talk…" Arthur gulped down a mouthful of salvia when he realized what was about to happen. "L-Let's calm down, A-Ani…"
"Hehehehe, goodbye~"
"Wait, no!!"
Before Arthur could even speak, the bubble of water fell on his head, covering him completely. Arthur frantically moved his limbs as he found himself unable to breathe. A moment later, the water finally fell down from his body.
"Hah… Hah… What the fuck?! That took me by surprise!" He yelled as he glared at Ani.
The hero party laughed loudly. Ani rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry, sorry, I at least got rid of the blood on you. Here, I will dry you up!"
"No! Wait!"
Before he could even speak, a strong gush of warm air hit his body. Arthur's eyes closed and his lips stretched as he tried to cover his face from the air.
"Stop!!"
A few seconds later, the air finally subsided and he could finally open his eyes.
"Ani!! Are you trying to kill me?!"
"Hahaha, I'm finished. You don't have to be that angry since you're now clean and dry." She said as she pointed at him.
That's when Arthur realized that he indeed didn't feel sticky at all. Looking at his body, he found no traces of blood left and he could even his hair clean.
"Damn…"
"See? You should thank me for my gracious help!" Ani rubbed her nose proudly.
"Mmm, thanks…" Arthur replied. "But that doesn't mean you could drown me and then blow me with air."
"Hahahaha! His face was stretched to the back!" Boriat laughed.
"Don't bully him, Boriat." Mino tapped the giant man's shoulder.
"Fufufufu, Arthur is naturally very good looking so seeing his face distorted was an interesting sight."
"Oi, guys… "Arthur found himself speechless.
'Sigh, this journey is going to be a very long journey.' He thought to himself.
***
The hero's party then spent the night in their camp peacefully. To make sure that no other demon attacked them, they took shifts of surveillance throughout the whole night. Ani was the one to take the biggest chunk of time for a shift since she seemed quite energetic and awake for some reason. By the time the sun was rising, they already woke up and were ready to embark on their journey back to their homes.
Everyone was in high spirits, including Arthur. Breathing the fresh air of the morning and feeling the cold breeze of the morning was very refreshing for him. Especially now that he had finally become accustomed to waking up this early.
"Is everyone ready?" Mino asked as he looked at the group.
They all nodded their heads so he smiled and turned around. "Then, off we go! Let's make it back alive, folks!"
Cheering loudly, the party started moving away from the foot of the mountain, crossing the vast grey planes of the cursed land. Arthur found himself curiously looking back at the castle from time to time since it still amazed him with how magnificent it looked especially now that he was getting farther and farther away.
Seeing the rocks falling gradually from the castle as it slowly crumbled to dust. Arthur had a weird feeling in his heart that he couldn't describe. A feeling of dread that he didn't understand the source of.
"Arthur?" Mino called for Arthur when he noticed that he stopped moving and was left behind.
"Hm? Oh… I'm coming!"
Quickly shaking his head and turning around, he ran to the group as they continued walking on their path.
With that, time passed quietly as the sun rose from the horizon and reached the middle of the sky above them. The group walked for a very long time without stopping except to drink water. The mountain's castle vanished completely from sight, leaving behind a monotonous stretch of land the same as the one ahead of them.
'Damn, the weather is rather hot. I'm not accustomed to walking for such a long time.'
"Can we… take a break, guys?" He asked as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.
"You're already tired, lad?!" Boriat asked. "Want me to carry you on my shoulder?"
"No need… just a few minutes break should do."
"Hmm, we're already close to our first resting spot, Arthur. Can you hold on for a little longer? A few more minutes." Mino replied.
"Hah… Resting spot?"
"Yes, there is a village up ahead that we can rest in away from the sun." He said in a weirdly serious tone.
"Ok… Hah, I can hold on for a while longer." Arthur replied as he chugged down a mouthful of water to rejuvenate himself for a little longer.
Arthur didn't know why Mino knew that there existed a village ahead and why he said in that serious tone. But, he could predict that since this village is within the demon territory, perhaps it wasn't a village, but a haunted village instead.
Just imagining that, Arthur shuddered as he quickly hurried his steps to get closer to the rest of the group.
The party walked for a while longer until they finally reached the summit of a small hill that overlooked the vast plains ahead. From there, Arthur could finally see the place Mino talked about.
A small village could be seen up ahead. It's small wooden houses stood out like sore thumbs amidst the grey land around it. But, that wasn't what made it so noticeable in the first place.
It was the destruction that fell on that village that made it stand out.