"Lucien, these items on the ground—can we collect them and let my people use them?"
Deus' equipment.
"These were left behind by the one who gave me life. I've waited long enough, and since he hasn't returned, they're yours."
I'll only be keeping Larent.
"Thank you."
"Sehkt, Nehka, Moostein—come out."
She called for three of her subordinates.
I found it odd. These three... How long had they been here? I hadn't sensed their presence. Did they have a way to conceal it?
As they walked, one of them spoke. "Hey, Aliche, do you really think he can help? He couldn't even keep up with you. How can he be of any use?"
Provocative. Was this something I'd have to deal with now that I could communicate with others?
Was this how people spoke to Deus? Is that why he ignored them?
"Make no mistake, Sehkt. He had me figured. You saw that I used my beast attacks, yet they weren't enough to kill him. I couldn't even trigger his resurrection skill."
Aliche's response—was that courtesy? Or was she being honest?
"You're overrating this guy."
…
"Do you want to test that for yourself, Sehkt?"
"That's enough, Sehkt. You won't impress anyone with that attitude."
His deep voice rumbled through the air. No wonder—it came from the big guy.
"Thank you for pointing that out for him, Moostein. Sehkt's such an idiot."
"Shut up, Moos! Shut up Nehka!"
"Stop this nonsense. Don't tarnish my image any further in front of Lucien."
Aliche looked at me. As if trying to communicate her apologies through her eyes.
"I'll take the shield!"
"That spear is mine!"
"These equipment, they are of at least advanced quality!"
They scoured the place.
"Aliche!" One of them shouted.
"There are 2 revival bottles!"
"JACKPOT!"
The three got excited all of a sudden.
Aliche looked at me in disbelief.
"Lucien, who dropped all this here? These things are valuable!"
I knew it was of value, but I didn't understand how valuable it was until I saw their reaction.
"These were from my former master, but he vanished all of a sudden, leaving all this stuff—and me—behind."
"He left you all this?! He must be a nice guy!"
It also left me wondering, why did he leave these here. I wonder what really happened.
"Sekht! Shut your mouth or I will have you carry all this stuff back home by yourself!"
Aliche suddenly shouted. Then he approached me, bowed her head and said, "I hope he was not offending you."
I shook my head, "It's fine, Aliche. You have nothing to apologize for.
I couldn't shake the thought. Why did Deus leave all this behind?
Did he do it intentionally?
Was something keeping him from going back here?
If he died, then, who killed him?
Did I?
But if he had died, he would have taken me back with him in Catares. What really happened?
"Calm and collected. Unpredictable."
Aliche whispered.
I wonder what she meant by it.
…
The group had already finished collecting everything Deus left, but Deus was still nowhere to be found. Night had already fallen. This was the second time I had seen the night.
I still couldn't grasp everything. I was still expecting that, at any moment, I would be pulled back into the void and appear next to Deus.
"Lucien, do you mind traveling at night? Our people expect us to get back, and we can't really leave them for long. Only a few left there can fight. Most of them are wives and children."
"I don't mind. You don't really need to ask my permission."
"Thanks, Lucien."
…
We started moving. There was a path through the plains, but they chose to travel through the thick forest instead.
We moved slowly, cautiously scanning for any danger.
"Elemental beasts sometimes spawn around here. We have no magical power to deal with them," Aliche warned.
Elemental beasts?
What could they be?
"Aliche, don't forget—we still need to hunt for food."
"Thank you for reminding me, Nehka. We'll continue hunting tomorrow."
"Just make sure this guy is worth it. We focused all our attention on him instead of hunting."
"You're not worth anything, but you're still with us, Sehkt. Don't go in that direction."
"Shut up, big oaf. You eat the most—you should still be out hunting."
"Keep it down," Aliche whispered.
"There's a carabao."
Carabao? Is it a beast?
"Moos,"
"Moos," Aliche commanded.
The small group's behaviour suddenly shifted. The moment Aliche gave the order, the three listened and acted out.
Moostein lifted Sehkt, forming up to throw him. While Aliche and Nekha pulled out some material ready to jump into action.
I peeked at their target—a black-horned beast swimming in the water.
"Is there anything I can help with?" I asked.
"SHHHHHHH!"
All four of them silenced me with conviction.
The black-horned beast lifted its head, perked up, looked around, and readied itself to run.
Sehkt shot me a glare, as if he wanted to strike me instead of the beast.
Thankfully, the beast remained focused on drinking water.
The group quickly redirected their attention back to it.
Aliche and Nekha ready to run towards the beast.
But the atmosphere suddenly got heavy.
Something was wrong…
Time seemed to slow down as shadows suddenly swallowed the moonlight. Aliche and Nehka were already sprinting toward the beast, while Moostein prepared to hurl Sehkt forward.
I lunged at Moostein, tackling him before he could throw Sehkt. Then, I chased after Aliche and Nehka, grabbing them by their heads and pinning them to the ground.
A violent gust of wind struck the ground where we stood, followed by a swift, airborne beast that swooped down, snatching the Carabao with its talons before vanishing into the sky.
It left behind a whirlwind that flattened the plants and trees around us.
"WHAAAT THE HELL WAS THAAAT?!"
Sehkt shouted dramatically as he lay sprawled on the ground after the gust of wind.
Aliche raised her head and gave me a questioning look.
"I don't know either. I thought you might."
We stood up and surveyed our surroundings. The wind's reach was far wider than we had expected.
"If we hadn't been low enough, that beast might have blown us away," she said.
"Our camp!" Nekha shouted hysterically. "Weren't we close to the camp?"
Moostein and Sehkt quickly stood up. From where we stood, we could see the camp through the cleared-out trees—the place where their comrades had been staying.
From where I stood, the camp was wrecked—completely devastated.
…