For the first time since Ayuki ventured through the city, it was packed. You usually see parts of the walls from the central square, but now it was blocked by masses of people. Since the training got canceled, the recruits were asked to go home to await further details just like the citizens were supposed to do due to the Dark nature alert. That was at least the idea, but from the looks of it, people had other plans.


    "Damn, what''s going on?" Ryuzo asked in disbelief. "To think that nobody is staying inside—"


    People either weren''t scared or had a stronger curiosity to have a look. Is this happening just because it''s a threat level D? Is it that unfamiliar? Ayuki wondered. Whatever the case, seeing what was happening outside wasn''t possible from this position.


    "Shall we go more upwards?" Ayuki proposed. "I want to see at least something exciting this time." So far, from all the Dark nature alerts, Ayuki only witnessed the cyllius. The human cries it kept making, still gives her the creeps whenever she remembers them, but from a visual perspective, all she saw was a moving black mist covering the walls. There was, in fact, another alert with a threat level A that Ayuki heard of, but that one only lasted less than a minute. Nobody ever witnessed its appearance, and the only evidence the guards found were black feathers.


    Ryuzo pointed upwards towards the houses. "Let''s try the roofs then." Other people were also sitting on the roofs, so it must''ve been fine to do such things. They found a small wall to climb on one of the houses and walked from rooftop to rooftop to get a better view of the west side of the city—the area where the Dark nature supposedly is present.


    Ayuki peered as best as possible towards the west side of the VaryionWalls. "Oh, is that it?" Dark roots covered a small part of the Walls. It didn''t however move, so Ayuki doubted whether it was even part of the Dark nature or not.


    "I see it, yeah. That''s it though?" Ryuzo sounded a bit disappointed as well. "Oh, Hyo Ravendell is there too?"


    "What? Where?" Besides the large roots visible, Ayuki couldn''t see any specific person that resembled Ravendell or the likes.


    "That''s just what I heard. People are gossiping all kind of things. Wait, stay quiet for a bit." Ryuzo slightly tilted his head downwards and placed his right hand behind his ear. "Yeah, Ravendell and Faye are—" Ryuzo stopped speaking. "Oh, they say its a talking tarmin."


    "You mean the attacker? Really? If it talks then... is it perhaps that creature that attacked you guys in the Insanity Forest?"


    Ryuzo stopped his listening and gave Ayuki a dumbfounded look. "Hey, you might be right— But thetarmin wasn''t that big, I believe. Then again... it was capable of quickly transforming into various shapes."


    "Well, we still can''t see much..." Ayuki rested her hands on Ryuzo''s shoulders. "So, I''m counting on your ears, Ryuzo."


    Without any protest, he did as instructed. "Thanks, I guess."


    Going outside through the day creates an unnecessary commotion with the public. It''s been like that ever since the day he became king. Everyone recognizes you and treat you differently. The hierarchy has always been a pain... Ravendell had to come up with a bunch of methods to prevent those troublesome situations from happening, but for today it wasn''t necessary. Now, all eyes focused on the creature that appeared in front of the gates. Together with Faye, they breezed through the crowd from the moment they got noticed. He dispised such behavior, but given the situation, it was convenient.


    There it was, the threat level D creature. One step away from standing eye-to-eye with it, Ravendell examined it. It was smaller than he expected. The size of its main body was around two meters, there were small branches filled with leaves, and it had several roots spread out from below that appeared to be ten meters long. With the appearance of a dark-green octopus-like tree, it should belong among the tarmin class. Ravendell read the reports and was at least convinced of the creature''s identity. It fits the description of the Insanity Forest attacker.


    What struck Ravendell as odd, was the fact, that it didn''t look dangerous. If anything, it was calm, it hardly moved at all, and it was even alone. Everything about it was unusual compared to other Dark nature appearances. Ravendell almost wanted to think that it wasn''t tainted at all, but if that were the case, then the alarms wouldn''t have been triggered in the first place. He made eye contact with a citizen standing on his right and asked him, "Could you tell me what happened so far?"


    Almost gasping, the man answered, "Y-yes Hyo. It screamed multiple times upon arrival. The walls made it hard to hear... but most of us think it called for Yeon."


    Yeon— I can only think of Yeon Althain when I heard that name, but how does it know her?


    "YEEEOOOOONN!"


    Again? Ravendell wondered upon hearing the tarmin''s scream. It does sound like it''s calling out for Yeon.


    What would be the best approach in this situation? It''sa rare opportunity, Ravendell didn''t want to mess up. He steadied his breathing and cleared his throat. "My name is Ravendell Grendan. Can you understand me?" He spoke loud enough for everyone near to hear it without sounding intimidating.


    The creature didn''t budge. Ravendell assumed the silence as a negative response,butagainst all the odds, it eventually replied with a clear, "Yes."


    The people reacted enthusiastically upon hearing the tarmin talk. They always like to be entertained, sometimes even at the cost of danger. This isn''t a show where you should let your guard down. Ravendell knew that, however, he couldn''t help but feel excited about as well. It talks— How is this even possible?


    As excited as Ravendell was, he still had to take this situation seriously. It just asked a sensitive question, one that needs an honest reply. Ravendell tapped his hat down a bit. He didn''t want to tell the truth but decided it was for the best. "I''ve never met Yeon Althain in person, but my grandfather personally knew her. However, I''m afraid she''s... no longer alive."


    Whether the tarmin understood him or not, it stopped talking after hearing about Yeon''s death. "How do you know Yeon?" Ravendell quickly attempted to have a conversation going, maybe to also help the tarmin process the situation, but it remained in silence. Was it a mistake to mention Yeon''s death? Without moving a single inch, it stood still as if wasn''t alive any longer.


    Later on, Hyo Jullian arrived, followed by a few Elites, and some Observers, but they couldn''t get a single reaction out of the tarmin. Even the new Elite Aisha tried to desperately communicate with it, mentioning her research on Yeon''s activity and whereabouts, but to no prevail. With no further progress going on, the crowd lessened and lessened until only members of the Order were left.


    Footsteps approached Ravendell. "You had to act so early didn''t you?" is how Jullian greeted Ravendell.


    Ravendell couldn''t help but force a little smile at him. "I''m afraid so." He stroked the back of his neck. "Any clues on its motives?"


    "It did?" As soon as Ayuki heard this, Ravendell noticed that she looked at the tarmin while using that ability of hers. What will she detect? Ravendell wanted to know. As if she was entranced, Ayuki walked closer to the tarmin until she stood right in front of it. Is she herself or is the tarmin forcing her to do it?


    "Yeon?" The tarmin said. It finally spoke again.


    "You not Yeon. You... similar." It said.


    "Ayuki!" He abruptly blurted out and grabbed Ayuki by her shoulders. "Come with me. We''re going to my office. Ryuzo, you can come along."


    "C-convinced of what?" Ayuki asked with an anxious face. "You''re scaring me a bit."


    Ravendell was a bit tempted to respond to Faye''s remark but chose to remain on the point instead. He tried to say it as calm as possible. "Ayuki, I think you''re a Speaker."