Daniel pulled his eyes away from the two worried girls, and his frown deepened. It was obvious, their hesitation, their silence, that brief pause... they were hiding something. But here, in the middle of a line of wild demons, this wasnât the time to push.
He could feel that the demons, even though they didnât show it, were fully aware of them and definitely listening to their words.
He didnât know what exactly they were hiding, but whatever it was, it was better if it didnât end up in the demonsâ hands. Besides, he had adjusted the plan a bit, and these girls could be useful.
He didnât want to scare them off right now.
At that moment, one of the demons threw a sharp look at them from afar.
"Alright... I get it. If you donât know anything, thatâs fine." Daniel lowered his head and spoke to the girls in a calm tone.
He gave them a faint smile, leaned back, and placed his hands on his knees, as if disappointed and giving up.
Even though the girls didnât answer the question, he had his own guesses about what that thing could be , and he felt it might even be connected to their own lives.
So they were probably afraid that revealing it would make them lose the only reason the demons had kept them alive so far... and then theyâd be killed.
But was that really possible? These two had witnessed the death of everyone they loved. Their families were slaughtered in front of their eyes in the worst ways imaginable.
In situations like that, many people would rather die than stay alive , death might even feel like mercy.
Of course, that doesnât apply to everyone , plenty of people would choose to stay alive so they can take revenge when the time comes.
Only a small, very small number might truly be cowards.
âNow that I think about it, theyâre just scared. But thereâs no sadness.â
He frowned, feeling that something was off.
He glanced at them again. Could he have sensed it wrong?
"Kayn. Talk to them. Calm them down and try to gain their trust." He said through mental communication.
Kayn gave the smallest nod without shifting his gaze.
"Donât worry... we wonât let anything bad happen to you. Youâre not alone." He started again, calm and patient.
His voice was warm and friendly. And it workedâLyra and Melia relaxed a little. In a mental state this fragile, just having someone they could rely on was enough to soothe them a bit.
But from the demonsâ side...
One of them, with blood-red skin and curved horns, growled. His yellow eyes watched Daniel and Kayn from a distance. When he saw nothing unusual was happening, he clenched his teeth and turned away.
But the next moment, he walked toward the carts with anger and kicked the sides of two carts hard.
Metal screamed.
"Shut up, filthy humans!"
Lyra let out a short scream. Melia flinched into herself. Kayn didnât hide his frown, but he quickly lowered his head and stepped back.
These bastards were annoying, but starting a fight now would be the most idiotic thing possible.
Inside, Daniel let out a cold smirk. These fools actually thought they had beaten them.
Time passed. Slow, heavy, and suffocating.
After a few hours, the scenery finally changedâlike crossing the border between two worlds.
The air suddenly became darker. A cold wind curled through the rocky walls.
The ground dried up, turning from brown to dead gray.
And the sky... it was no longer a sky. It was pure blood. A sickly red that seemed to constantly ripple.
Unlike the other side of the gulf where the sky was dark and foggy, here it was completely red.
"Weâre here... this is demon territory." Kayn said through mental communication.
Daniel looked around; the air was heavy. Thick. Like every breath shoved a fistful of hot iron into his lungs.
"Their air is even heavier than I thought."
"For us it is. For demons, this is like a morning breeze." Kayn answered with a natural tone.
"Look... we need to figure out what theyâre looking for." Daniel cut him off.
"Seriously? Weâre here for something else. Whatever the demons are searching for has nothing to do with us." Kayn let out a long breath. Even if he was curious, he had convinced himself they shouldnât waste time.
"It actually is related. Because whatever theyâre after is probably the same reason the Demon Kingâs children came to the gulf.
If we figure out what they want... we can kidnap them more easily and maybe actually blackmail them." Daniel added.
Kayn was silent for a moment.
"...I donât know. Iâm starting to doubt this whole thing. The more I think about it, this mission... looks more and more stupid."
"Finally doubting it?" Daniel said with a mocking smirk.
"Maybe the one who ordered this mission is trying to start a massive war. Between humans and demons." Kayn exhaled sharply.
"You know anything about the person who gave the mission?"
"No. Client identities are completely confidential. As long as a mission isnât considered âRedâ, we execute it."
"What does Red mean?"
"A mission with extremely high risk, unpredictable consequences, and a high chance of large-scale conflict. Something that can lead to a disaster."
"So this one wasnât Red?" Daniel scratched his chin.
"It shouldâve been. But hereâs the strange part, not only wasnât it rejected... they even forced me to drop all other missions and focus only on this one. As fast as possible."
Danielâs eyes narrowed. No name was mentioned, but one idea hit him hard, Influence. Espionage. Manipulation.
It reminded him of the situation with the Lionheart family.
A deep frown formed on his face. And actually, thinking about that gave him an idea.
But right at that momentâ
"Stop! Weâve arrived! All carts halt!" A demon shouted.
The caravan came to a stop.
And Daniel and Kayn finally saw the gates of the demonsâ central base, Black pillars made of bone and blood-soaked metal, and towers that sliced through the blood-red sky.