A few days ahead, the four made quite the haste when it came to their travels towards the Kabun Clan. A road that a few suggested was moving down from Taigase and into a river, but after voicing a few concerns, with Atomu spearheading the conversation about boats and their safety with Jyuzou backing him up a good few times, they quietly decided on the seemingly harder, mountain path.

Such meant taking ponies, not full-fledged horses, since the Brown Mountains, which separated Lignoria and Malikan, had much steeper terrain than the rest of Malikan, which in contrast, despite being as mountainous as Shimori, had rather pleasant landscapes.

Either way, that meant they were a little slower than anticipated, but then again, if they were to take the boat, that would mean hoping to find a horse to buy near the port, and that would be even more hassle considering that the hesitant Paladian was the only man with any Silver to his name.

Moving back to the quest at hand, the Brown Mountains were a very good name for that stretch of hills. Much like what anyone can tell you about Malikan, its names were derived from the same simplicity that Paladians had with their schemes. However, most of the country remained titleless until people started making maps, which meant that Morio's hands were again, rather busy.

The range itself was coated with the spoken colour. In the mornings and when the bleak sun shone, it resembled any other stretch of the Oran Mountains, but when the moon rose, its element shined through.

The browns there were elevated by the golden stars stretching above, while a few rocks on the calmer stretches above turned into dust with the very touch. The basins below were empty, with similar brown sand adorning the sides of the rivers that swam through and made way for some strange, tall plants that only peeked their heads out at night to dance.

Morio was reminded of one witchtale that he couldn't recall, while Jyuzou noted such intriguing phenomena to investigate and even proposed that all of them should stay for a day more. Chyuuichi sighed, while Atomu was rather indifferent, even a little amused by the little dances.

Afterwards, the four focused on the road ahead, as the path down from the brown mountains was much steeper than the climb, quite obviously.

During the Second War, Erans used the elshuims to climb the sides of the mountains to build rocky houses at the tops to hide from the demons and whatnot. Nowadays, only a few could be seen, since the others crumbled with some light wind. Nothing of interest was inside, as, either way, the view stretched in front of the four spoke magnums ahead of that.

The road was clear from now on. Conifers stretched unevenly against the green backdrops before another road suggested moving into massive mountains erecting a river in the middle, swimming behind towards greyer foundations, with the last light of that day illuminating the paths they were to take.

Morio took a good look at his map and remembered the sight before everyone began making haste to move further down.

Another night was spent up, and then they climbed down, with Morio and Jyuzou running down the hills raising their fists in excitement, while Jyuzou and Atomu took things slowly. Well, the conifers here were certainly a sight to see. The Morian noted they were much smaller than anywhere else since Atomu was almost as tall.

Its wood too, seemed a little different, but it was good enough of a reason for the two to chop them down and make a small fireplace. Using a few logs as seats, they sighed out, while signalling to Morio and Chyuuichi to take some time off, even though it was only noon.

The sun didn't speak of that, however. Jyuzou could see it through the clouds, but mentioning those, there were lots, and grey for that matter, obscuring the Lignorian blues hidden behind the brown mountains.

Jyuzou adjusted his glasses, before glancing at his newly coated spear.

"I wonder what's the trick," he muttered, raising it in both hands. "It's got a lot of these weird plasters around the decorations right here..."

"Plasters?" Atomu asked. "I thought you'd know, of all people."

"Is there something I don't know?" Jyuzou gulped.

"Úgau leaves." the Paladian added. "Very adhesive, as I've heard, and a great-"

"ÚGAU?!" Jyuzou raised his voice, as even Morio turned, before continuing to swing the Victis sword against Chyuuichi's scythe, dubbed as training. The Morian cleared his throat, before turning. "You found Úgau trees?"

"A good few since it was something Rowan asked for, and apparently Sam was sent to reap the same thing. Guess Sandy planned ahead, but that's as much as I know." he shrugged.

"It makes s-sense, though." Jyuzou glanced over, as Atomu pulled Knrhum's Blade out of his sheath. It seemed even larger than before, with a matte black finish around the sharps. "He said he coated it with demon dust, right?"

"Correct." Atomu smiled.

"Sandy also said that Úgau leaves are the reason he sees the damn thing in the first place. I don't know how, but... bleh, things are magical, I suppose. I was curious, but I couldn't see much for myself since he kept things secret. More blame on me for not investigating, but what can I do?"

"Sandy is one guy for sure." Atomu nodded. "If, after all this, we could have Demonears as strong and influential as him, we would surely win against Shi Hon."

His eyes landed on Morio, with a few lighting strikes zooming out of the Victis sword, connecting with a barely visible force towards the other sheath. Chyuuichi raised his voice, as ice appeared around the tip, freezing Morio's weapon in place.

"No fair!" the Morian yelled, and Jyuzou chuckled, shaking his head.

"Phew, though. I was scared he was going to mess them up with that Tenor guy. Strange they came out so nicely." Jyuzou nodded.

"More practical, too. Knrhum's Blade was never sharp enough to cut through trees, and I've seen Morio using the small sparkles of Victis to zap a bird for some food." the Paladian continued. "M-Mentioning birds, Jyuzou, have you noticed?"

"I haven't kept a keen eye on the species, in all honesty." he shook his head. "More blame on me."

"N-Not talking about research right now. Look." he pointed up. "These eight have been following us for quite a while."

"Eight? Wha-" Jyuzou stood up, glancing over. There they were, forming a circle above the four, coated in a darkness that opposed the cold whiteness of the sky and clouds. Jyuzou squinted, putting his hand above his glasses.

"I know I'm n-no expert yet, but I think those might be crows." Atomu smiled, awkwardly, fixing his collar. "Right, Jyuzou?"

"GET DOWN!" the Morian suddenly yelled, legging it towards the two.

"Huh? What are ya on about, Jyuso?" Chyuuichi asked before Morian snatched the scythe out of his hand, pulling on Morio's arm.

"I was just about to win!" Morio added.

"Atomu, kick the fire down!"

"W-Why?"

"Just do it!"

A few seconds later, and in the span of the chaos, Jyuzou and Morio jumped behind a thicker rock, while Atomu and Chyuuichi legged it into a copse under his command.

Breathing heavily, the glassy-eyed Morian dared to peek out, with his eye meeting the eight floating above. When he saw one suddenly diving, he immediately stormed back down, keeping his mouth shut.

Morio glanced above too, right as a few swooping noises made sure of their presence, with seemingly strange screeches echoing in.

Eight, to be precise, and when Jyuzou heard the wings flapping for the last time, he took a deep sigh and stepped out.

He muttered, putting his hands on his knees. "That was a close one."

"What was that?" Morio asked, moving around, looking in the direction of where the birds flailed.

"You guys don't know?" he asked, huffing between a few words. "Klefsenders." he gulped. "The size of the Kithanth, Morio, and always in groups of eight, patrolling the terrains of Malikan. I thought we wouldn't have to worry about them until further ahead, but I was wrong there."

"Klef what?" Chyuuichi shook his head, with a polite smile.

"They circle humans before swiping in to drop them off into the river."

Atomu trembled, making strange expressions.

"It's only humans under this rule." he straightened up. "A Malikan thing, as Rowan once said." he fixed his glasses.

"Oh, there he goes," Morio whispered, before being punched in the gut by the other Morian.

"It means that everything that can happen, will happen. Most of Malikan is inhabited by the strangest of creatures, with humans only seen in some villages or bigger settlements. That's why, I'm assuming, everything until the Kabun Clan will be barren for the most part."

"Y-Yeah, I've heard." Atomu glanced over at the animals. "They didn't take the ponies for a reason."

"The people who live here have their methods of fighting against its 'wonders'," Jyuzou added. "We're intruders, as far as I'm concerned." he sighed, as something stepped around in the distance.

Morio recovered from the damage and turned, with his eyes widening. Atomu made a strange face while Chyuuichi smiled, looking further ahead.

"Think that's a distant cousin!" he added.

"Hiding is enough since they have a bad memory, but if we were to encounter orcs? We would be dead." Jyuzou shook his head, turning back around to the shadow covering his view. "Fortuntately, something like that wouldn't happen, right?" he asked.

"Um." Morio kicked his foot back and forth around the grass, before glancing at Jyuzou, who already managed to look up. "You won't believe what I'm about to say."

A growl sounded, and the massive, ten-meter creature raised its club and swung at the two, just as they made enough haste to dodge its attack. Atomu bellowed in fear combined with butt loads of anxiety, while Chyuuichi stayed behind for a while longer.

"He won't attack me, I'm a Mirillian!" he reassured, just as the club almost sent him flying elsewhere, if not for Atomu catching him in his hands, huffing out. The Paladian let out another fearful scream, and soon, such changed into the echoes that accompanied their desperate attempts at running away.

"WHAT ABOUT THE PONIES?!" Jyuzou screamed out, without an answer, as everyone else seemed more focused on surviving, ironically enough.

The orc wasn't close to catching up, but if they were to slow down, there would've only been one answer. Morio looked back, spotting Jyuzou struggling to use his weapon in any favour and Atomu fighting with Chyuuichi over the stupidest of things at the very moment.

Well, there was no other way out, even if it might've been a risk.

A lightning strike zoomed out of Gloria's weapon, transforming into a rideable peal, as Morio grabbed Jyuzou, before waving down the hills towards the two others. The orc changed course, then and there.

"Huh?! A thunder?!" Chyuuichi asked.

"Hehe, sorry, Chyuuichi!" Morio laughed. "Was saving the best for last!"

"You seem very confident!" he screamed out. "Either this speeds up or the damn thing catches up! It's close, Morio!" Jyuzou smacked his head.

"Yeah, yeah, okay." Morio threw the backpack in his direction, with Atomu being the one who caught it. Jyuzou pulled Morio's maps out without a word, and the Morian quickly scanned through, squinting.

Staring ahead, more Malikan terrain was revealed. The same rivers, quite obviously, but the cliff they were flying above was soon to end, and conifers with hills didn't speak of much confidence.

All until Jyuzou focused, spotting some irregularity in the terrain, with nearby exits towards caves nearing the mountains.

"O-Over there," Morio muttered, before pointing forth. "It's some church."

"That's hours below!" Atomu added. "He'll catch up if we don't-"

The orc swung its club, barely missing the four. It yelled again, with Jyuzou covering his eyes and Chyuuichi waving back.

"It's too slow," Morio said, taking a deep breath. "Only one solution, then." He stood up, gazing down at the structure shrouded in distant mist.

"Morio." Jyuzou shook his head. "We're not jumping."

The Morian chuckled. "I surely am!"

...and with those words, everything came crashing down. Morio leapt, grasping the end of Gloria, as it transformed back into what it once was. Jyuzou screamed out in anger, falling, while Atomu yelled in fear.

Chyuuichi was still somewhat caught between the feeling that he would be able to convince the orc to be nice, but since he was heading straight for the ground too, he rolled his eyes and readied his scythe.

Right before the pitfall.