Inside an empty carriage, Sief sat with his head bowed, as a bit of the local wind blew in and stirred his hair.
His expression was tired and vacant as the man with the scepter climbed aboard, standing in front of the young man with a concerned look.
He glanced outside and then Sief heard a heavy footstep, noticing a shadow in front of him and feeling slightly lifted as his face was enveloped in a comforting warmth.
When he realized, the man was hugging him and shouting.
"Thank goodness!!! I'm so happy you're alive!!!"
He ruffled Sief's hair cheerfully with his hand and knelt down, patting Sief's back lightly. Sief's eyes widened slightly, and he stared, unsure how to react, until the man came to his senses and said in a surprised tone.
"Oh! Are you hurt? Let's take care of that." He stood up, scratching his throat, then extended his hand towards Sief, whose eyes widened upon seeing a green sphere surround him like a dome.
In an instant, relief washed over him and all the wounds on his body began to close rapidly, even the scars from the confrontation with the cave giant started to fade, making the young man's eyes widen as he turned to the healer and said.
"That ability…" He watched the man lift his face with a slight smile. "You are... from the group of heroes…"
"Hard to recognize me when they all stand out much more than I do." He laughed, still emotional, and wiped away tears, saying, "It's a pleasure, I'm the healer and support of the group of heroes. My name is Milo, I don't have a flashy nickname or surname like the others. Sorry about that at the beginning... I was just really happy to see you."
"See me? You don't even know me…"
"But I remember you..." He sighed and extended his hand, helping Sief up so he could continue. "You ran to hide in the adventurers' line, but the attack targeted our supports and I thought it had hit you, but I'm relieved to see you're okay... how did you escape?"
Sief listened intently and lowered his head to think, but soon returned his gaze to the healer and approached, saying.
"I didn't escape... but that doesn't matter now. I went to find my sister in the crowd and the attack hit me…" He quickly turned his face outside and pointed. "I recognize some of them, they were in the crowd... so if they escaped, maybe she did too... did you see a girl with long black hair among the people who escaped? Or better yet... who escaped? Where are they? In the other carriages?"
"Calm down... you didn't escape?..." Milo showed a confused look and scratched his neck, turning towards the other carriages and sitting on the opposite side to where Sief was. "Yes, there were survivors... those over there are adventurers who escaped before the creature fled, and as for the residents-"
"Fled!?"
Sief's eyes widened, disbelief evident on his face, and when he realized it, the healer pursed his lips and lowered his head, saying.
"Yes, not all of that attack killed the beast... unlike all the others, it had some sort of shield that protected its body from magical damage." He sighed and furrowed his brow, saying, "Because of that, we could barely cause any damage to it, and when we were close to doing something, it exploded in flames and disappeared... without leaving a trace of where it had fled to... but... we have a theory..."
"That... was an escape?" Sief continued to stare, clenching his fists slightly, but soon he turned to the healer, grabbing his shoulders and lifting him up. "That doesn't matter, the survivors, where did they go?"
Sief squeezed the healer's shoulders, making him grunt, causing Sief to step back with wide eyes and finally say.
"S-Sorry... I wasn't trying to-"
"It's okay." Milo forced a smile and massaged his shoulders, saying, "It's my body that's too weak... but let's get to what matters..."
Milo took a deep breath and sat back down, saying.
"We arrived here last night, so you might not have heard the rumors. Since then, we've been searching for survivors in the rubble and even in the surrounding areas because some fled during the attack." He extended his hand and gestured with his fingers. "We sent several carriages with the injured, dispatching groups as they arrived, and the last ones left this morning along with some adventurers who responded to the guild's call... I can't say if your sister is in one of the carriages... sorry, I don't know your name."
"It's Sief... you don't need to speak so formally with me. But are there still adventurers here? Could there be another carriage going to join the injured? Can I go in it?" He furrowed his brow slightly and asked, "Did the guild call for something?"
"Those adventurers were in the attack and decided to stay and help. The plan was to return to the central city, but they stayed to assist, and Filian called for help. Something is happening, and we don't know what it is yet, so we need to go there before returning to the central city." With the next sentence, he withdrew his hand and lowered his eyebrows. "Yes, the guild is going to split into two branches and has called for adventurers who want to join. The announcement will be made soon, but the plan is to create a guild to prepare adventurers and groups to deal with the beasts while other groups will start clearing territories, beginning with the areas near the cities, with the goal of clearing all the maps."
"Creating the rupture seems interesting, but this is not the time for that…" Sief scratched his hair frantically as he tried to organize his thoughts. "Right... if no more carriages are going there, then I-"
"The carriage is going to the central city, but we need to reach Filian first and investigate." Milo scratched his neck awkwardly and said, "We will cross the sea to be quicker, but after that, we have more carriage time, estimated to be 4 days to reach Filian and another 3 days to reach the central city. You can come with us. I know the journey will be long, but there is no other carriage going directly there, and the nearest one is almost half a day ahead."
"7 days..." Sief squinted, but moved his backpack to his chest and took out a map, quickly opening it. "That's a long time. To reach the central city, it's just 4 territories from Dokkel, right?"
Milo nodded, slightly confused, but then saw Sief turn towards the carriage exit and leap out, surprising the healer who followed, saying,
"Heeeeeeey, wait." He got off the carriage and saw the young man stretching with a furrowed brow, seeming to check for any pain in his body. "Are you going to cross 4 territories without a team? If you wanted to die, you could have told me, and I wouldn't have healed you... but I would have healed you anyway. Either way, I can't let you go alone."
"I already crossed territories coming here, it's just one more than last time." He sighed and jumped, stretching his legs, saying, "Wow, your healing is good, I feel rejuvenated."
"I closed your wounds and healed your injuries, but that doesn't eliminate blood loss and fatigue." He furrowed his brow and squinted, saying, "Are you one of those who explores territories alone? At your age?"
"I wasn't exactly alone, and it's good to know there are others like me, so you don't need to step on my tail if I go now." He turned with a slight smile and concluded, "Which is what I'm going to do now."
"Hey, wait, Sief."
The young man stopped walking without turning around and sighed, lowering his head. Finally, the healer spoke.
"Wait a moment, listen." He stepped in front of the young man and said, "I know you want to see her soon, but if she's there, she'll be fine. There are adventurers in the carriages protecting them, some directly from the guild, all of whom have been healed by me and other healers... of those we found, we didn't let anyone die, and that's what I want to avoid right now. If what you say is true, you're strong and have potential, so come with us. I'll teach you what you need to know, and I understand that seven days is a considerable amount of time. But even for the experienced, the territories are difficult to face."
"I know that, but I have my way of fighting."
"I know you do, but you must also know that the path you want to take has a dark green zone. Don't you?" Sief remained silent, and Milo continued. "It's a difficult region. You seem to exude a lot of energy, which makes you strong... but it's still not enough to go alone... and if you encounter the alpha there... or he finds you, you'll die before you even find your sister. Is that what you want?"
Sief squinted slightly, remembering the map instructions. The next two maps would be light green, but one territory cut the path, and it was a dark green region.
Noting the young man's silence, the healer continued.
"If you die, you won't find her. Even if you survive by some miracle, I can't guarantee you'll be whole... is that what you want, Sief?" He clenched his teeth and said quietly, "Do you want to cause your sister suffering?"
"You don't know anything." Sief clicked his tongue with an irritated look and walked past the healer, saying, "I won't die as long as she's waiting for me…"
"And if she isn't?"
The healer spoke, raising his head slightly, and Sief clenched his fist, trembling with the exerted force but containing it as he spoke.
"She has to be; otherwise, I don't know."
Sief adjusted the backpack on his back and continued walking, gripping his dagger, until he heard once again.
"Sief." The assassin stopped again, gripping the dagger's hilt, until he heard, "Even if you only gain three more days, is it worth risking something like this? Just three days?"
"Yes, for me it is. You can judge me... I just want to find out soon…" Sief hid his face, looking forward, and concluded, "I have to do this…"
"If you're going no matter what, I can't stop you..." The healer sighed, furrowing his brow, and scratched his neck, saying, "But stay tonight. There's still a lot I want to know, and I promise it won't be for nothing... there's a way for you to get there a little earlier..."