Serosh coughed and wheezed. He was so powerless that Apollo and La were essentially dragging him forward.


    Apollo looked at Serosh.


    "Are you ok?"


    Serosh closed his eyes.


    "As long as I concentrate on fighting the poison, I will live."


    He sighed.


    "However, that will take a while. Thank you for helping me."


    La''s furry ears perked up.


    "Of course! Friend deserves help."


    Apollo had lowered his head in thought.


    "Hmm... how did they find out about our tour so fast?"


    Suddenly, Serosh''s eyes flew open.


    "...It was the youngdy."


    La blinked a few times.


    "Eh? Who is youngdy?"


    Serosh frowned.


    "That woman that begged for my forgiveness. After being spared, she informed themanders the first chance she got."


    Apollo gasped in astonishment.


    "Wow! You already figured it out!"


    Serosh chuckled.


    "I suppose so. Anyways, take a left here."


    The three traversed from the farnd to the houses.


    After walking for a few moments, weakly raised one hand.


    "Wait a moment, bring me over to the side."


    Apollo and La looked at Serosh with curiosity, but did as he said.


    Serosh abruptly vomited arge amount of ck blood and a few rotten ck tendrils. He wiped off the blood that remained on his mouth and stood up on his own.


    "Thank you for carrying me. I have gotten rid of the most troublesome part of the poison, so I can carry myself for now."


    He sighed.


    "Though this poison really is devious. Only after seeping into every part of my body did it react. My only choice is to slowly purge it from the rest of my body."


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "What does that mean?"


    Serosh smiled bitterly with a hand on his forehead.


    "I will be taking care of this poison for at least a month or so. The sooner I start, the less the poison will damage me."


    La pouted.


    "A month? That''s so longggg!"


    Serosh shook his head.


    "It can''t be helped. This city is going to get fairly chaotic without anyone managing it. I will go back to my residence to recover."


    Serosh sighed.


    "I highly rmend you leave this instant. I must go to my residence now. My apologies for being unable to send you out."


    La''s furry ears drooped.


    "Friend is leaving?..."


    Serosh smiled sadly.


    "We''ve hardly been acquainted for hours. Don''t be so sad."


    La raised her tiny fists in the air and swung them around.


    "But friendddd!"


    Serosh put a weak hand on La''s head.


    "I promise on my honor as a demon I wille to meet you again. How does that sound?"


    Apollo raised his hand.


    "Me too!"


    Serosh chuckled.


    "Yes, you as well."


    La pressed her lips together. Her tail swayed slowly.


    "Ok..."


    Serosh smiled before turning around. He walked with a tall back, but asionally stumbled.


    Apollo turned to La.


    "Em... We didn''t find anything about the person called we both know you."


    La giggled.


    "Then we have to keep searching!"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "But... we have no leads!"


    La''s tail shot up. There was a bright smile on her face.


    "Then we just have to find one!"


    La wrapped her arm around Apollo''s waist.


    For a second, Apollo was confused. However, he suddenly came to a realization.


    "Wait, no, no, no, No, No, NO, NO"


    A blissful yet ignorant smile was on La''s face.


    "Yay!~"


    She tore open the space and jumped inside the blue world.


    "Waaaaaaah!~"


    "AHHHHHHHHHHH"


    With that, the two continued on their aimless journey. Who knew when they would find Kn Noia...


    Or even remember his actual name, for that matter.


    ...


    Maya walked through the city of Evermore, stumbling with every lethargic step. Her light blue eyes zed over, unable to truly see what was in front of her.


    The houses around her were lit aze and broken to pieces.


    The scent of charred wood filled the air. However, the smell of charred flesh far overpowered it.


    Maya had killed countless people. The evidence wasid on the floor around her, in the form of dead bodies.


    Blood caked over her body, her own blood.


    Her long brown hair stuck onto her body tightly. It was drenched in blood and had hardened considerably.


    asionally, a scar would burst open, spewing out what little blood was still in Maya''s body.


    Yet her face remained expressionless. It was dull, as though she was already dead.


    The hand Maya was using to tightly hold the gemstone had be dark red. Darker than the blood moon itself.


    A thundering crash resounded in front of Maya. But her expression did not change, as though she could not even tell what happened.


    The snow and dust cleared to reveal a burly young man.


    He was roughly two and a half meters tall. He had very short ck hair, like he was in the army. If his hair was any shorter, then he would be bald.


    He wore intricately sewn clothes made from ox fur. There was a solemn frown on his face, matching his piercing hazelnut eyes.


    "So many innocent lives have fallen because of you... What do you have to say for yourself?"


    Maya''s head tilted to the side like a withering branch.


    "...Nothing."


    She raised her dark red hand, the one holding the gemstone. Her forefinger extended towards the man.


    As for the man, he narrowed his eyes in contempt.


    "I am Edmund. Do you know who my teacher is? His name is Kabito, a crowned! Stand down if you know what''s good for you."


    The corner of Maya''s lips turned up ever so slightly.


    "...I''ve never known what was good for me."


    A fireball coalesced at her fingertip.


    "And frankly, I don''t care."


    Edmund smiled with anger.


    "Then there''s no reason to keep you alive."


    A fireball shot out towards Edmund, but he sidestepped it with ease. His feet pressed against the ground, cracking the path.


    In the next instant, his fistnded squarely on Maya''s stomach.