Mana and Fluffynutts were travelling north towards the bridge that crossed the Tainted Sea into the Country of Karkello.
They had managed to successfully travel until only about half a mile from the bridge itself. Their path was blocked by a large barrier and guards from the capital Candoe, of Mana's home country, Parnt.
On either side of the bridge stretched a safe area where travelers can have a moment of rest but be interviewed by the guards on both sides while doing so.
There were no other people waiting to go over the sea, but there were hundreds of guards patrolling the area.
"Makes sense as to why we no longer saw anything as we got closer," Mana whispered to Fluffy upon reaching the large, cement barrier that surrounded the Parnt side of the sea.
Outside of Korokin Village, while in Korokin Forest, they had encountered a handful of rotted enemies, but no threat like they had been dealing with lately; and, despite still fighting for their lives, they had a sense of relief through it all.
Mana had gotten more than enough experience in combat to consider herself somewhat adept in it, and Fluffy had no worries about her being able to successfully get them to their destination.
He did, however, begin to feel a strange presence since leaving the village, but he was hoping it was just part of being near a mytho-tiered weapon as it leveled higher; he had never had the opportunity to begin with. He always knew they had a strange power to them though.
"What's your business trying to cross!" A booming voice called out from atop a guardsmen tower that was erected at the wall. She looked up where the voice was coming from, only to be met with a handful of guards pointing arrows at her with their bows fully drawn.
"I have business in Midflora!" Mana called back to them.
"State your name!"
"Mana Fujino!" She answered, only to be met with silence as the guards immediately lowered their weapons and the gate opened for her.
On the other side of the large, wooden door, she was greeted by a singular older, white-haired guard. Level 70.
He was standing in all black gear with light green accents to indicate he was an official guard of the country. His hands were gripping each other behind his back and his legs were slightly spread as he stood, waiting for Mana to approach. His short, white hair remained unmoving in the slight, salty breeze that was coming in from the water nearby, and his long, scraggly, white beard hung from his face down to his chest. His sword was sheathed at his hip inside a marvelous black with gold accented carrier.
His appearance screamed official.
"Welcome to the Southern Gate of the Tainted Sea," he finally greeted them as they made their way through. "We have been anticipating your arrival."
As Mana got closer to him, he turned and began to walk with her, indicating for her to follow him.
The area inside the gate was out in the open, containing numerous small sections of living quarters for the guards, and open areas for them to train. The barrier, however, closed around a large building that acted as the entrance to the bridge she needed to cross.
"You were anticipating us?" she repeated, as he led her to a pair of steel doors that separated the outside of the building to the beginning of her trip across the sea into Karkello. It was bit of a walk, considering the distance they wanted to give in case of intruders, but it was a quick one, nonetheless.
"Yes," he reiterated, "We have received a notice from one of the superiors at Koro that a young woman by the name of Mana Fujino would be coming through soon; though we weren't expecting you so soon." He looked down at her, his wrinkled skin and white hair making him appear old enough to be her grandfather. "Perhaps you really are an amazing fighter."
Mana huffed at his statement, not sure if it was a compliment or insult. "I've had a few amazing teachers...and opponents," she added. Had it not been for being destroyed by numerous people, she wouldn't have had the experience she possessed now.
"I see," he simply replied, opening the door and allowing her to go first before closing it behind them as he followed. "To make things easier, we have a small section in the middle of the bridge that has a room where we and guards from Karkello's capital, Vindimini, interview travelers."
He was leading Mana and Fluffy through a mostly metal building, the first she had ever been in, and she was fascinated.
There was a maze of hallways inside the building, but the man was leading them to a very specific location, following the signs to Karkello that were plastered upon the walls.
"What's your name?" She finally asked him.
"Henry," he simply said, smiling down at her. She wasn't expecting someone of his stature to be so informal and kind, but she was relieved. She was tired of being treated like shit by strangers. "I hear you're one of the few that have been granted a special weapon," he winked at her; she only gave him a sly smirk. "Here we are," he said, approaching a large, red door that stood out from the rest of them.
It simply read 'interview room.'
Inside was a guard in black and red sitting at a table facing the entrance where they came from. Their face was covered by a mask of a silver fox, and they didn't say a word upon their arrival. The guard's appearance caught Mana by surprise, and she had a slight sense of being uneasy.
She had never traveled from Koro before, so everything was new to her, and seeing a different country's guard style was mind-blowing to her about how different they were.
"Pleasure to meet you, Mana," the guard finally said, a female, who's voice was muffled from the mask. "Please, take a seat," she said, motioning her hand to one of the numerous empty seats that lined the table. "This won't take long at all," she said, as Mana took a seat opposite of her, while Henry sat next to Mana.
Each guard had a folder of papers waiting for them on the table and a pen to take notes.
"Please spell your name for our records," Henry began.
"M-A-N-A F-U-J-I-N-O," she spelled out for them. The gentle sound of their pens writing against the paper lasted only a second before they asked her to spell her cat's name as well. They refused to miss anything.
"Next question," the masked female said, "have you ever killed someone?"