Zuimu jumped up and managed to grab the two out of danger's way, dropping them further away from the demons. Atomu and Chyuuichi rolled on the yellowish stones briefly, and Zuimu crouched, breathing heavily, barely catching air through her mask. She covered a big wound that appeared on her shoulder and looked at the others.

The Paladian and Mirillian stood up, staring at the ever-growing army, and Atomu gulped again, despite his earlier vows. "T-They keep coming!"

"It was good enough of a push, then!" Chyuuichi said. "Come on, I have a plan!"

"What p-plan?!" Atomu asked as the three started running, with Zuimu barely catching up.

"Just wait and see! Let's use this opportunity to make it through!" Chyuuichi smirked.

Although worried, Atomu nodded. "A-Alright."

Zuimu followed along, seldom looking back, making sure they were still far enough away that it was nothing to worry about, although, her pulse started getting weaker, and she eventually felt that her limbs were slowly giving in. Nonetheless, the three made a turn, and kept sprinting, before making it into an open, dark cave.

Its wide corridors grew slimmer, and headed up a tilt, before turning into a massive formation leading upwards, with a glimmering waterfall at the top, as a sign of one's hope.

Unbeknownst to many, this area of the cave was known as the Arian Wall, which stood as the largest and tallest naturally formed structure in all of Mainland Errarion. Its edges were steep and hard to climb onto, due to all the moss that freely grew near the top, especially now in Herbes. It was also generally believed that the water seen from below had healing properties, and served as an award to those brave enough to pull through.

The three had no time to hesitate, so they started climbing, sinking their shaking fingers behind and in between clumps of stone and eventually moving upwards, although greatly struggling, even when it came to Chyuuichi. They had no elshuims to ease the experience, but backing out wouldn't result in anything fruitful. Even though they created enough distance earlier, the army started catching up, flying on their weak wings or swinging their little legs back and forth.

...and for a moment, Atomu dared to look down towards the source of the groans, screams and laughs of excitement at the sight of their prey. Through the horde, he could make out demons fighting with each other over who gets to slaughter and claim the victim's blood, but the others had their eyes on the prize. He gulped again, and stared up, seeing as Zuimu made the most haste out of the others. However, at one moment, a rock she stepped on slid back, causing her to fall.

Fortunately enough, the two were quick to catch her, and Chyuuichi pushed her onto a safer stone. Zuimu looked as if she had barely enough strength in her body to catch a single breath, let alone continue climbing.

"We can't keep going up," Chyuuichi muttered, turning to the Paladian. "We have to fight, with the plan in mind!"

"So tell me the plan already!" he asked, forcing his fingers into a dent.

"Fuu..." Chyuuichi breathed out, pushing his back against a rock and letting go of Zuimu, who barely had her eyes open. "I heard stories, ya know? Fortunately enough, they didn't disappear, and for a moment there I thought of it as a nuisance since it kept clogging my mind."

"G-Get to the point!" Atomu glimpsed down, waving his hand.

"Okay! Magna was the happiest when it had guaranteed safety! Three forts, Atomu, three!" he signalled with his hand. "One for fighting, the other for tools and the third for buildings! It worked back then, so why shouldn't it now?"

"What tools can any of us make now?!"

"Agh! No tools, just roles! We can switch it up for defence, but we need someone to separate them! Someone, who can create big rocky walls, someone to defend those from breaking and someone who can individually kill every single demon on its insides! No one gets overwhelmed, everybody stays happy, and we get rid of the problem!" he signalled with his hands.

"This won't work. This is stupid!" Atomu looked at him.

"How many times do ya need to tell me all that?!" Chyuuichi yelled out. "Yes! I'm stupid! But yer not better than me!"

Atomu's expression suddenly shifted.

"So, before we get ripped to shreds, ya have a decision to make! Either we ride the cart of fate and believe in the fact that all of us are actually special, or we keep climbing and leave Zuimu behind! What do ya want, leader?"

"I'm not a l-leader!" Atomu shook his head.

"Bancho's not here to tell ya otherwise. Up until then, ya were doing a rather awful job, Atomu!" Chyuuichi admitted. "So, prove yerself," he smirked. "Just this once!"

Atomu closed his eyes, clenching the very last of the rock he desperately held onto. He stared down into the endless spawn of monsters which only grew closer and completely overshadowed the light of the earlier cave.

He breathed out, gazing at the light of the waterfall, which seemed so promising and charming, yet, impossible for them to reach.

With a scream, the Paladian leapt into the darkness, putting his sword into his hand and flowing against the winds. He travelled past clumps of demons and eventually landed on the ground, headfirst, but not before sticking the weapon in between rocks and leaping off with a loud noise. The entire formation shook, and a massive wall appeared, separating the demons into two clumps, causing them to tumble.

Chyuuichi beamed and jumped down too, moving towards the erected rocks and readying his weapons, as the remaining demons on one side gathered around. Structures and attack, they just needed someone to defend the walls.

Walls, as in, Atomu didn't stop at just one. He kept sliding, back and forth, separating lines into boxes, with smaller structures this time, but still big enough to keep most of the oppressors in, and each time a demon saw the familiar crack in the ground, they stepped back to not get launched into a boulder above.

Zuimu forced her leg forward, and flew down gracefully, slashing near the wall and slicing off the heads of the demons which tried breaking through its rather thin stone. For a moment, she jumped up towards Chyuuichi and stuck back with him, seeing a bigger devil with rocky fists, slamming against the ground and destroying what Atomu had just created.

In a strange rhythm, the two ran to either side and started their ambush. Chyuuichi avoided a punch and crouched down, leaving an icy trail in the air that slowed down its hands, which allowed Zuimu to jump up, and take its head with one, misty swing.

Although that has been dealt with, its body was still moving and heading directly towards the tired girl. Without realising it, Atomu sliced through, creating another wall, which sent all three of them up into the air. It seemed like they would be able to break the curse and escape this predicament.

Just a little more, just a little longer.

But when things started to look up, the light that shone from above was now shrouded in an uneasy darkness, followed by an unrecognizable, and unpleasant sound.

Atomu slowly turned his head, before he saw a massive, 30-meter figure, looming out of the open wall to the right of the Arian one, suddenly turned into nothing in the span of a millisecond. Before he could do anything, he immediately readied his sword, but with one swift move of the demon's fist, both his and Chyuuichi's body was sent flying through the wall opposite to the one it came out of, completely breaking it down.

Zuimu, furrowing her eyebrows, moved back up, barely holding on. She breathed heavily and eventually coughed out thick lumps of blood that dripped down from her mask.

Her eyes were blurry, and before she could make one more move, her hands involuntarily let go.

***

It's been noted as a yearly tradition at this point, that the first few days of Herbes in Shimori were full of rain, and the higher temperatures that peaked around the corner combined with all the water pouring down cleared most of the snow that covered leaves, ground, trees and plants.

This greatly hindered the travelling party heading towards Mount Aria through Lot Thúrum. Melting snow, moving in chunks, slowly revealing green grass turning into a warm purple, combined with horses which refused to move.

They were heading in without a real plan too, searching for any entrance to the caves they could find.

Rowan sighed, squinting their eyes and following the silhouettes that trod forward, despite the horrible conditions. It had been suggested many times that they take a break, but the others refused. They reminded Rowan that their time was limited.

...and that brought back a certain thought into their brain. Rowan turned to Mount Aria, which, despite the horrible conditions, stretched gloriously into the skies. They pondered whether Atomu, Chyuuichi and Zuimu were still alive, sighing once more.

Ambrosia passed by, on their horse, spotting Rowan's dissatisfied face. They smiled lightly, as their Chicho shook their head and moved forward, again.

***

Leopold and Bancho's brawl continued, as they flew downstream and towards the open waters below. Although the old Morian was covered in wounds and dirt, it didn't look like he was anywhere close to giving up, which at first glance, annoyed Leopold, as well as sparked a determination inside his body he never realised was there.

He clenched the Los-Los Hammer harder than before, angrily looking at Bancho, who was so sure that he had everything, and the demon, absolutely nothing.

Leopold jumped forward, moving his hammer up, while Bancho put Saxyo into the flowing liquids below, as the water that surrounded him turned into a thin corridor he could safely run under, while everything else attacked Leopold.

There was no giving up on either of them, however. Bancho eventually leapt onto his rock, as the road split into two, with Leopold hitting a boulder in the middle, creating a deep wound on his back. His eye twitched, but the hammer moved on its own, swinging towards the other side of the estuary and below open halls.

The Morian kept swinging Saxyo back and forth, before eventually hitting the surface of the course and making big watery bubbles, sharp enough to damage Leopold's mask, leaving a crack through the middle.

Both paths eventually met, and Leopold put the hammer below, propelling himself towards the rock Bancho stood on. He kept slamming the axe up and down onto his bloodied wrists and hands, but it didn't seem like the demon was anywhere near letting go. Instead, he grabbed his leg, trying to pull him into the stream.

Bancho screamed out, as a black chain came out of the Guardian Demon's eye and wrapped around the metal ropes that hung from Leopold's body, creating a swinging motion. The Wise spun, holding on as the demon's stare felt deadlier than ever.

Leopold's hands shook, trying to grab onto the chain seemingly out of one's reach.

Bancho looked forth, and finally jumped off, putting Saxyo below his feet and throwing it down. He cast something under his breath, and soon enough, both of his legs were surrounded in a pulsing, light blue aura, and he jumped atop the water's surface, much to Leopold's annoyance, who was dragged with the force of Bancho's right hand. His body moved down into the waters and hit a solid, sharp rock, further bleeding out.

Soon enough, though, something inside the demon's body would snap. The Los-Los Hammer came back to him as if under some cursed spell and automatically crushed one of Leopold's horns. Its bits travelled down onto the frail, black chain and snapped it in half.

Leopold breathed in sharply, and swang towards the Morian. Both of their bodies met, colliding against each other in another river branch, but soon enough, their fight would come to a halt.

With one move from the Saxyo, as well as Leopold's hammer, the two crashed against each other once more, flying forwards, blindly.

Only to realise, that what stood before them, was a massive boulder.

Bancho's eyes shrank, as he flew, head-first, into the rock.

***

"You seem to have prioritised something else among his plans," Isak commented, leaning against a wall, right as Lisbeth sat down on the same rocky balcony, overlooking the now mostly empty city of Grimmora.

She squinted her eyes, before clenching one bloody fist and sinking her fingers into a small circle of blood behind her.

"Let's see who makes Shi Hon proud," she muttered. "An army that still vowed to fight in revenge, or one man seeking out the same treasure, stumbling into the same difficulties as beforehand."

"If we're swift enough-"

"If I'm swift enough." she stood up, closing her eyes. "I'll do both. You'll only follow in my stride."

"Tsk." Isak looked to the side, shaking his head. "All of the things Leiru said did get into your head."

"They were just a reminder and not much more." she breathed out, fixing her red hood.