NOVPUBIn the gloomy midnight, the thick clouds continually hid the moonlight, and the stars in the night sky twinkled with a dim light.
The sound of the Mystical Deer’s hooves pulling the sleigh was especially clear on the silent snowfield, as if drumming against the pitch-black rhythm.
"Today is probably my eleventh birthday."
Siegler looked up at the moon, her purple eyes reflecting the clear moonlight, as if she had thought of something.
Besides when she was very young, when her parents were still around, she had celebrated proper birthdays. Later, even she herself had forgotten about the occasion.
It must be past midnight by now, maybe even three or four o’clock.
It was definitely a new day.
"Oh."
Lanci blinked in surprise.
A child’s birthday is quite an important event that should not be overlooked.
But now that the two of them had left the city, there was no way to buy a cake and gifts to celebrate Siegler’s birthday.
"Do you have any wishes?"
Lanci leaned forward slightly, asking.
Since they couldn’t celebrate her birthday immediately, he might as well ask her what she wished for.
After all, the essence of celebration is to make the other person happy.
Siegler leaned back against the sleigh’s seat, her expression unchanged.
She thought for a long time.
And realized she did not have anything specific she wanted.
Finally.
"I hope that there will no longer be anyone like me in this world."
She said softly, her breath forming a mist in the air.
"That everyone can live in a prosperous age."
"With ample food and clothing, contented and free to do as they please."
Her faint voice made it clear she understood that this was a dream destined not to be realized in reality.
"..."
Lanci propped his chin, pondering Siegler’s words seriously.
For a moment, he did not know how to respond to Siegler.
Because he actually did not belong to this era.
And as history.
The destiny of every person he met in this era.
Was actually predetermined.
"By the way, Rocky."
Siegler spoke up, interrupting Lanci’s thoughts,
"I’m only taking you to Demon World, other matters do not concern me." no𝚟𝚙u𝚋.c𝚘m
"Mhm."
Lanci looked up, responding.
They had agreed on this before they set off, and now their journey was finally nearing its end.
"Whether you can return or not, also does not concern me."
Siegler continued.
"Mhm."
Lanci hesitated for a moment before nodding.
Even though having a companion on the road made him truly happy, the seven days had also flown by in a flash.
But every journey has a beginning and an end, and everyone has their own path to follow.
Lanci never insisted on having others stay by his side.
"However, I’m in a rather good mood right now..."
Siegler spoke calmly.
The pine forest around them rustled in the night wind, casting shifting shadows.
Occasional hurried movements of animals could be heard in the woods, perhaps a nocturnal beast searching for prey, or startled by an unknown fear.
The voices of the young man and woman on the sleigh were carried away by the night wind and devoured.
Suddenly.
Before her words had ended, Siegler’s gaze sharpened, and she abruptly pulled tight the reins.
The Mystical Deer let out a restless growl, its breath condensing into wisps in the cold air.
Siegler could not bother with the uncontrollable Mystical Deer, seizing Lanci’s wrist from the back and leaping down from the carriage with him.
Their figures traced an arc through the air, before landing heavily upon the snowy ground.
Snowflakes were stirred up by their fall, like fluff in a gale, countless white fragments whirled and danced in the air, filling the sky with a haze of snow.
The heavy sound of the wind and snow, along with the pounding of her heartbeat, caused her ears and brain to ache with a buzzing sound.
Siegler tried repeatedly to steady herself, but was constantly challenged by the slippery snow surface, until finally, a dozen meters away, Siegler managed to stand firm, firmly planting her feet on the thick layer of snow.
The snowflakes quickly covered their bodies, as if finishing a work of art on a winter canvas.
Siegler held onto Lanci’s wrist tightly, steadying him and pulling him behind her, her breath coming in short gasps.
Snowflakes landed on her eyelashes, her purple pupils glinting with determination and fierceness.
Lanci watched the small figure in front of him with a hint of surprise.
But under her resolute look, all questions seemed irrelevant.
Looking ahead.
On this snowfield, where day never broke, everything appeared to be frozen in time.
In the distance, dark clouds began to gather on the horizon, slowly covering the starry sky.
These clouds, like an immense black hand, were stealthily reaching out across the snowfield.
"You are very perceptive, little guy."
Within that impenetrable curtain of wind and snow, a mysterious figure slowly emerged.
He was tall and lean, dressed in a long, dark cloak that fluttered in the wind, his face almost hidden in the shadows, save for his blood-red eyes, which were particularly clear in the night.
His exquisite features, set against the scattered snowflakes and the glow of the moonlight, appeared pale and noble, seemingly out of place in this world.
Behind him, an incisive rift had opened on this Land of Perpetual Night—
The robust bodies of the two Mystical Deer collapsed with a thud, breaking the silence and were soon swallowed by the ice and snow, with blood splattering and gradually spreading in the snowfield, blooming into two crimson roses.
From afar.
The oppressive sensation of Magic Power made even the distant Lanci feel somewhat uncomfortable.
He could feel Siegler’s icy hand trembling incessantly.
Siegler had said, she wasn’t afraid of anything up to the Sixth-order.
And since the Eighth-order Marquises and above, the Ancestors of the Blood Clan, were constantly monitored by the Demon World, if any Ancestor of the Blood Clan traveled northward, it would surely provoke movement from the Demon Race first.
Thus, it was clear that the one who could make Siegler instinctively go on guard, was an existence among the strongest of the Blood Clan below the Ancestor, a Seventh-order Count of the Blood Clan.
Indeed, the Land of Perpetual Night already had members of the Blood Clan that had successfully infiltrated through the eastern and western sides.
"I’ve been following you all the way, thinking I wouldn’t find an opportunity, but I didn’t expect you to head toward the Demon World," Count Gregory said as he appeared, and the whole snowfield seemed to plunge into low air pressure, the atmosphere becoming dense, even the sound of falling snowflakes seemed suppressed.
He took two or three steps, each one as if treading on an invisible rhythm, instilling an ineffable fear in Siegler.
The invisible Magic Power swirling around seemed capable of penetrating every movement on a person, with no small act or thought escaping his prediction.
Possibly sensing the fierce intent accumulating in Siegler, like that of a wild beast ready to strike, Count Gregory suddenly smiled and raised his hands.
"Don’t be scared, look, I haven’t hurt you for so long."
Count Gregory showed no further intention to attack, but instead stopped and stood at a distance.
His eyes held a mix of jest and sincerity that were hard to distinguish.
In fact, it made no difference to him whether they resisted or fled.
His Ability [Blood Shadowing] could map out a large area of space in any environment, accurately capturing any minute movement and breath, and no matter how concealed, one’s whereabouts could not escape his senses.
This was also why he had been sent to the Land of Perpetual Night as the vanguard.
Whether evading the strong among the Demon Race or the Beastman Great Lord, or capturing weaker enemies, he was infallible.
According to the report from Sebastian, the branch manager undercover at the Prosperous Age Business Association, this craftsman from the Palante Empire had earned considerable trust from the Great Lord, and the distance between each city-state wasn’t long enough to keep the Beastman Great Lord out of reach on either end.
Interfering en route could draw the attention of the Beastman Great Lord if the engagement dragged on for too long, possibly angering them.
In a direct fight, as a Reconnaissance Specialized Count, he had no desire to confront those thick-skinned, Berserk-capable Beastman Great Lords.
It just so happened, almost too coincidentally, that this empire craftsman chose not to return to Little Night City, but continued on towards the Demon World.
Count Gregory observed the two frail human figures with great interest.
Even now at this distance, Count Gregory was confident that, no matter what happened, the Beastman Great Lord would have no clue whatsoever, and according to the "North-South Pact," the Demon Race at the border of the Demon World, even if they noticed anything, were not allowed to intervene with the Blood Clan.
With the Blood Clan and Demon Race attempting peace talks, the Fourth and Tenth Ancestors were set to formally head to the Demon World shortly, and the Demon Race dare not offend him, a Count of the Blood Clan.
