The light of the sentinels was drawing closer and closer.
The hunting dogs, with their noses to the ground, were also tightening their encirclement.
"Come out."
Simon pulled a skeleton from his spatial pocket.
He issued a command to halt and made it lie down in the grass.
"Kami. This way."
Simon grabbed the trembling Kami Barez's wrist and lowered their posture.
After a lantern beam passed by, he dashed with her behind a tree towards a large rock.
He then took out another skeleton from his spatial pocket and made it lie down as well.
Currently, Simon could control up to two skeletons at most. 'I must use everything I can.' Simon picked up stones from the ground and stuffed them into his spatial pocket while diligently rolling his eyes to gather as much situational information as possible.
How many sentinels there were, how many of them were holding lanterns, what weapons they used, the breeds and habits of the hunting dogs, the terrain, the direction of the wind, and the sound of the flowing valley.
Right now, the dogs were confused because the wind was at their backs, but the direction of the wind could change at any moment.
It was time to make a decisive move. 'Now!' Simon opened his eyes wide.
The skeleton lying under the tree suddenly sprang up and began to run.
"That way!" The sentinels reacted immediately, and the hunting dogs barked loudly as they chased after the skeleton.
"Half of you chase! The other half keep moving forward!" "The other dogs are still sniffing around!" As expected from hunting experts, they were not easily fooled by a single trick.
This time, Simon made the skeleton crouched behind the rock run.
"That's the real one!" "Catch it!" The sentinels and hunters rushed in from the side.
"Kami, run!" This was the moment.
Simon and Kami Barez, who had been hiding behind the rock, turned and dashed away. 'I couldn't shake them off completely.
Some are still on our tail!' While running frantically, Simon glanced back.
A few sentinels were indeed following closely.
"Hang in there, Kami!" "Yes!" The hunting dogs, having caught their scent, were closing in through the grass.
No matter how fast a person was, they could not outrun a dog.
"Kami! Use any blood magic to spray in the direction the dogs are coming from!" "Got it!" As she ran, Kami Barez cast a dark spell.
A small magic circle bloomed at her fingertip, and fresh blood surged forth.
As she bent her waist and swung her arm back, the dark blood flew through the air, soaking the grass.
"Woof! Woof! Woof! Grrr!" The smell of vampire blood was so potent that it could be used as a high-end perfume ingredient.
The thick scent excited the dogs, causing them to thrash about in the grass.
In this moment, Simon and Kami Barez increased their speed and widened the distance.
Thump! Thump! The tension made Simon's heart race.
He was starting to worry about Kami Barez's stamina, but she was desperately keeping up behind him.
"There it is!" The light from a lantern brushed past Simon and Kami Barez's backs.
At the same time, the sound of a bowstring being drawn tight reached their ears.
Thwack! Suddenly, arrows flew and struck the ground, causing Kami Barez to let out a short scream.
"They really shot at us! What should we do?" "It's fine."
Simon replied calmly.
"They saw our school uniforms. No matter what, a lackey wouldn't injure a Kizen student."
Just as Simon said, the arrows landed far from the direction the two were running.
It was more of a warning shot.
"Those guys...!" "Stop! I said stop!" Would you willingly get caught? Simon grinned as he pulled an imaginary lever.
Boom! A spatial pocket opened from the ground, and the stones he had collected earlier poured out at maximum force.
It was just a simple stone barrage, but the approaching sentinels seemed to think it was dark magic, stopping in their tracks and becoming wary.
"Kami, this way!" "Yes!" Thanks to Simon's quick thinking, they bought a little more time.
It seemed like they were running aimlessly, but in fact, Simon was following the sound of water.
They finally arrived at the valley. 'Oh no.' But it was a cliff.
Below the sheer drop, the valley flowed with a gentle sound, and the distance to the opposite cliff was considerable.
"Kami! Do you remember the leap technique we learned in martial arts? Can you use it?" Her face turned pale as she squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.
She was one of the two who couldn't leap over the cliff during martial arts class.
Woof! Woof! But there was no time to hesitate.
Even now, the barking of the dogs and the light of the lanterns were getting closer.
"Simon. I'm fine."
Kami Barez managed a strained smile as she pushed against Simon's chest.
"Go ahead. Even if I get caught, I will never..."
"Excuse me."
Like lightning, Simon swooped in and lifted her, turning his back to dash into the grass. 'The sensation of stepping on darkness!!' Whoosh! Black smoke erupted from his toes, and Simon soared into the air.
Below was a sheer cliff, above was the large full moon.
The cold headwind and the thrill of having nothing beneath his legs.
For a moment, he felt a perfect sense of freedom as Simon's body descended.
Whoosh! He landed on the opposite hill with a narrow margin, scraping the ground.
Simon quickly ran down the slope to let Kami Barez down.
Both of them pressed their bodies flat against the ground.
"Where are they?" "They disappeared!" Above their heads, the lantern light flickered back and forth.
After a few minutes of carefully scanning the surroundings, the light eventually withdrew.
"Let's head that way."
"Move! They can't have gone far!" Woof! Woof! Woof! The light and the barking of the dogs gradually faded away until all signs of life disappeared.
Only then did Simon let out a sigh of relief.
"Phew... Kami, are you okay?" Kami Barez looked somewhat dazed.
When her gaze met Simon's, tears began to well up in her eyes.
"What's wrong? Are you hurt anywhere...?" As Simon, flustered, raised his upper body, she shook her head and wiped her tears with her sleeve.
"I really thought I was going to be caught. Thank you. Thank you for saving me..."
She then burst into sobs.
Simon silently patted her shoulder. 'She was so scared, yet she said it was okay if she got caught?' He felt like he was beginning to understand a bit of her character.
After some time, Kami Barez calmed down.
The two of them stood up and brushed off the dirt from their uniforms.
"Let's go back. We might need to take a detour to avoid the sentinels, is that alright?" "Yes."
The two of them stepped back into the darkened forest.
They decided not to turn on the lantern for fear of being spotted by monsters or sentinels.
Fortunately, the bright moon in the sky provided some light.
After walking through the forest for about an hour, '...where is this?' In a daze, they seemed to have wandered deeper into the woods than expected.
The surroundings were so eerie that it made Simon wonder if such a place existed in the forest.
The trees grew taller and denser, blocking out the night sky, and eyes, whether belonging to beasts or monsters, appeared and disappeared repeatedly.
The ominous sounds made his shoulders tense, and his nerves were on edge.
The midnight forest seemed to evoke a primal fear in humans, making Simon think it might be better to encounter the sentinels instead.
Even Kami Barez, a vampire, seemed frightened, lightly gripping the end of Simon's sleeve and glancing around nervously. 'I definitely have the map in my head, but I have no idea where we are.' Was he possessed by a ghost? No matter how much he walked, it felt like he was going in circles. 'I'm tired, and my body temperature keeps dropping.
What should I do?' "...... Simon."
Kami Barez spoke with a pale face.
"Can you hear that sound?" "The sound of an owl?" "No." She pressed closer to Simon, her voice trembling with fear.
"A human... sound..." "......."
Simon closed his mouth and focused on his hearing.
Indeed, faintly, he could hear it.
He couldn't tell if it was a wild animal, a monster, or a person, but there was some indistinguishable voice repeating itself.
"Let's go."
He had heard that there were people living in the forest on Rock Island.
If it was a person, they might be able to ask for help.
The two of them nodded and moved forward to find the voice. -#$#@%@#^@.
As they walked, they concentrated on the sound.
Gradually, the voice became clearer. -@$%@^Have mercy.-$톰íRemove the fate @%#$^@ Almighty @$@%Mother.
The voice was cold, monotonous, and dry. -$††@^I worship and @%@$$^holy.
What on earth is this? Frowning, Simon focused on the voice. "...... Simon."
Simon was startled.
Kami Barez was crying tears of fear, her face pale.
Yet, the corners of her mouth were lifted, trembling slightly, which was almost eerie.
"What's wrong, Kami?"
"...... Let's run." -#$^$##O High Mother %@% Glory.
""......
We need to run.
""Run?
What do you mean all of a sudden?
""Ugh.
Ah.
Ahh.
Aahhh......!"
She began to convulse, flailing about. Simon gathered her up and ran in the opposite direction of the sound. But the voice was getting closer. -@#$@#Have mercy.
The sins of the world #@$@#$@. As Simon pushed through the underbrush, he finally reached the source of the voice. He saw an altar.
Someone in a long gray robe was lying face down on the ground. Their arms were on the ground, palms facing the sky. On the altar hung unknown objects and the entrails of beasts, and beneath it, a beast was writhing, having been stabbed in the chest with a dagger as a sacrifice.
The surrounding area was soaked in thick blood. And in the center of the altar, something large was placed. Simon knew what it was, but he couldn't believe it.
It was something that should never be on Rock Island. Something that should never be in Kizen.
A cross.
It was a cross. Why is there a cross here? A naked woman was grotesquely hanging from the cross, her body covered in thorny vines.
The one lying prostrate beneath the altar raised their upper body, reciting a prayer, then pressed their body back to the ground, bowing with their palms facing the sky. Simon felt his blood run cold. '......
A priest!'
A priest was here, in Kizen. Kneeling in Kizen's territory, bowing, and reciting prayers. 'We need to run.'
He had seen something he shouldn't have. If they were discovered, it would be the end. Kami Barez, who had witnessed this raw scene, was completely frozen in fear.
Fortunately, she covered her mouth with her hands, preventing any sound from escaping. Just as Simon wrapped his arms around her shoulder and tried to turn back, a rustling sound came from the grass beneath them. The priest's movements halted.".......""......."Feeling his throat dry up, Simon turned his head slowly. '!!!'
The priest was standing, staring in their direction. In the darkness revealed by the robe, the glow of his eyes seemed to shine. Simon's legs tensed."
Run!"