"Darwin… I know you are hiding behind that tree. Come out." Mies' distinct and old man voice comes hurtling like a wrecking ball, he instantly recognises the voice.
"You caught me… Teacher is quite perceptive. I guess I need more time to learn."
Revealing from the dark behind a tall white, crystalline tree, the one he hid as a Gillian.
Drawing closer with subtle caution, Darwin asked with friendliness, "Where are the others teacher?"
"…" Besides the campfire, Mies drew some images with a stick against the grey and dull sand.
"Hahaha—I will take that as they are somewhere hunting together."
Immediately, Darwin saw Mies covering a tinge of old bloodstains with more sand.
The tension was thicker than he had ever come across. The air was palpable, he could feel the unease intuition he is getting from Mies' calm demeanour.
"Hey… Can you answer me teacher?" Darwin draws even closer, managing to stand directly opposite of him, in between the purple campfire.
"Teacher?"
"Darwin… You came at one of the worst times…" His voice ached with pain, Mies' quiet demeanour was a result of some past actions.
Looking closely at Mies' figure, it was the same, no, maybe it wasn't.
The oddity of this precarious situation brought Darwin new skepticism.
"We were attacked by Barragan." Mies quietly answered with his poker face and tone.
"Wait really? Then where are the rest?"
But then another revelation hit him, how come Mies' Reiryoku exploded and increased more?
"MIES?! ANSWER ME!"
The purple fire flickers to the cold breeze, the mood tenses even more than before.
Mies, silent as a river, was still drawing some images that looked like Hollows.
"Barragan and his army attacked us. They killed the four and another from our encampment."
Mies then looks up, viewing his student's shocked expression.
"You shouldn't doubt when there's no evidence." As usual, Mies words were filled with wisdom, things Darwin was taught back in his time.
"Barragan and his army were just too strong." Mies continued, aiming to lessen the tensed exchange.
"Skepticism is a result of unanswered questions." Darwin draws his blade, grazing Mies' neck.
"Why don't you prove that you didn't kill them yourself?" Darwin voiced, his tone not as benevolent as before.
"…"
"As expected of my student. I see you've grown within my expectations."
Mies' eyes lacked focus, it seems as if his connection with the world was dissipating at every moment.
Standing up, Mies said with his hands behind back and walking with grace, "Come with me."
Each step calculated, the footprint he created trails to the same footprints he made to another destination.
Darwin feeling that the answer to his doubt would be to where Mies is heading.
He tags along with utmost caution.
'Where is teacher taking me?' Feigning the clueless expression.
As they made their way to their destination. Darwin was at awe at the towering and ancient building.
"Wait! This building?!"
"It's called Expiacion Sacrificial(Sacrifical Atonement). It's an ancient relic of the past, 3000 years ago." Mies quietly asking, "Figgs! Open up!"
'Figgs! This building! It all makes sense!' Darwin feigns his stoic expression.
"I hope you understand once you head in." Mies remarked, his steel face still apparent.
Darwin analysed with everything in his arsenal, his eyes, ears, abilities.
But one thing he could do was, open up Muro De Regla covering this familiar and ancient tower known as Expiacion Sacrifical.
"Figgs is an adopted son of mines."
As Muro De Regla dissipates, opening up its inside, Darwin and Mies head on in a tight, stoned and mossy passage.
"The answer lies inside." Mies answers, but to Darwin, he needed to follow in order to know.
—-
—[Expiacion Sacrifical]—
The inside was dark, gloomy. Light was a scarcity, the dirt and dust brewed up inside was an answer to how old this place was.
"The technology and advancement of Hollow civilisation dated back 3000 years ago." Mies stated, he continued explaining, "This place is used to send lambs into the slaughter to feed the royalty."
"This encased stand has a booked called Sangre Vene Manual. I personally couldn't resonate with this, so I left it out here on display." Mies then asks Darwin, "So how is it to be here?"
'What type of question is this?' Darwin thought, he sighed with an answer, "It's alright. It's unique structure is cool. This book Sangre Vene peaks my interest the most." He said.
"Darwin… You lack the fundamentals. Silence." Mies quietly mutters, hinting at Darwin's poor choice of words.
"I'm just tired of your shitty antics." Darwin rebuked, curling his lips down.
"…Figgs."
Then appeared, a shadow of his past, a disgusting one, a wolf-like Adjucha reveals its furry figure, bulkier than before, taller than before.
"Who is this father?" Figgs asked, not knowing who this human looking creature was next to his father.
"It's Darwin."
"E—?!" Figgs bewildered. But his eyes see something different about Darwin.
"Hehehe… He looks more human and delicious. Maybe he gotten weaker." Licking his lips with a smirk.
"Maybe you should test what you had in mind out Figgs." Darwin scrunches his face, his eyes radiating a bright red and dangerous glint.
"It's unfortunate that you will be put in the grind—" Figgs shuts his mouth, realising what his mouth was saying out of lack of caution.
"What do you mean by that? And Mies?"
Shaking his head, Mies sighs at Figg's carelessness, "Figgs… Of all the times, you had to say it now…"
"My curiosity got the best of me. This naive mistake nearly caused my inadvertent death." Darwin laughed, his confidence rising as well as his Reiryoku.
"It can't be helped. I need your ancient blood, Darwin." Mies gestures Figgs to help on the side lines.
"Hopefully you brought your best today because I won't be holding back."
Darwin's Reiatsu explodes, shaking the internal structure of the enormous building.
"You won't beat me with such a overly confident attitude Darwin!" Mies creates three pieces of paper, floating in front of him.