Chapter 130. Into The Black Fog?

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    Asha reached out with all her might to catch Tamon as he walked into the darkness.?

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    Perhaps hearing her voice, Tamon glanced back at Asha.?

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    Tamon laughed at Asha’s answer.?

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    Asha could not answer Tamon’s gentle question.?

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    As she hesitated, Tamon gradually moved away.?

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    Even though Tamon had already become far away, Asha’s hardened lips did not move.?

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    It was as if a curse had been placed on her mouth, and all she could do was move her lips, but she could not make a sound.?

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    Behind Tamon, there was a deep black darkness.?

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    Then a sickening, unpleasant, and, in a word, unspeakably thick danger beckoned, seething.?

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    Seeing her hesitate again, Tamon smiled sadly.?

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    He extended his hand toward the darkness with a satisfied, gentle smile.?

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    The darkness engulfed him.?

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    From head to toes.?

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    Every single one of his long, sturdy, warm fingers.?

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    Startled, Asha swallowed hard and opened her eyes.?

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    “Tamon!”?

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    She sat up quickly and hurriedly turned to the seat next to her. Asha’s face paled when she saw the empty seat.?

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    “He’s gone. He’s gone!”?

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    She stood from her seat, out of breath. Intuitively, she realized Tamon had walked into the black canyon alone.?

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    “No, don’t go. Don’t get hurt, Tamon.”?

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    Asha rushed out of the barracks and saw the pale dawn light just floating over the black canyon.?

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    She stared blankly at the forest with a canyon with a devastated gaze.?

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    She felt a rush of passionate emotion.?

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    “Tamon, the crazy man.  I don’t want you to get hurt. That’s all. That’s all….”?

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    ‘Because you have become important to me.’?

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    She covered her forehead with a hot sigh. Her head was hot.?

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    She wanted to hug him and scream at him. She asked for just one day, why couldn’t he wait??

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    ‘…… but could I come up with a better way just if I had more time?’?

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    Or was it better if she told him he was important to her and she didn’t want him to get hurt …..should she have honestly told him to take care??

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    “ It’ll be okay, Asha.”?

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    Asha turned around, startled by the sudden voice she heard.?

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    A few steps behind her, Hannah seemed to have picked up and was holding dead branches and looking at her.?

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    “Don’t worry too much. Asha is always good at finding ways.”?

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    Hannah smiled innocently and moved away with her branches.?

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    Far away, Arsene was seen fumbling to light the extinguished fire.?

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    Hannah threw in a few tree branches on the weakly lit wood pile.?

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    After a while, the smell of burning wood faintly hit Asha’s nose.?

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    “……!”?

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    At that moment, a plausible method came to her mind.?

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    ＊ ＊ ＊?

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    “He went alone?”?

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    Jorge blew away any sleep that remained at Asha’s words.?

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    He jumped up and looked toward the black canyon with a pale face.?

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    No matter how long he stretched his neck, he could no longer see Tamon, who had vanished.?

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    “Why, Why? Why would the captain do something so crazy ……!”?

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    “It’s because of the possibility that a herd of silver horned deer is hiding in there.”?

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    “A herd of deer? Why are those kids there?”?

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    “I don’t know either. To be honest, I am not sure if they are in there or not. However, the silver deer herd has a strong attachment to the group and also a strong protective instinct for young individuals. So finding a deer means there is a very good chance that there is a herd of deer in the vicinity.”?

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    Jorge nodded at Asha’s calm explanation.?

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    He didn’t know when it happened, he didn’t know how she knew, but it somehow made sense.?

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    Asha was no ordinary person, just look at the elegance that flowed from sitting still, the broad perspective, and the calm demeanor.?

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    All the extra caution and curiosity should have been done by the captain by now, so he just had to trust the person Tamon believed in.?

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    Any deeper thoughts than that didn’t sit well with Jorge.?

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    “Even if it’s daytime, the Black Canyon is dangerous because you never knew what you would find. Besides, if he did indeed find a herd of silver deer, they might not be friendly to Tamon.”?

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    “So that means…….”?

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    “We need to go in.”?

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    Jorge had expected this, so he wasn’t too surprised.?

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    However, it was something that required some preparation.?

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    The remaining Knights, including Jorge, numbered just over 20.?

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    However, among these, the few who were guarding this campsite had to be removed.?

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    “We don’t know the terrain inside that place, and we don’t know what we’re going to find, so we have to be very careful going in.”?

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    “I drew the topographic map roughly. It’s not exact, but it’s better than nothing.”?

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    Jorge was a little surprised this time.?

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    No, how on earth could she draw a topographic map of the black canyon, even if it is just ‘roughly’??

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    However, he would not have survived so far without being aware, so he moved on without showing as much agitation as possible this time.?

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    He just took the piece of paper with slightly trembling hands and looked at every inch of the roughly drawn topographical map.?

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    “And maybe that kid will show us the way.”?

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    Asha pointed to a small deer surrounded by Hannah and Arsene.?

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    Hannah and Arsene crouched one step away and just stared, as if they were curious about the young silver horned deer.?

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    But the silver deer was wary of the two children, with its fluffy white fur standing up, as if it was scared.?

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    There were many things piled around the deer that the deer could have eaten.?

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    Hannah and Arsene, and the knights, unloaded them one by one, and they piled up like a mountain.?

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    “…… That deer?”?

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    “Yes. As strong as the protective instinct of adults is, the homing instinct of young individuals is also strong. Perhaps when the terrain they know comes, he will move to the herd.”?

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    “But relying on a deer alone can be very dangerous. Something might pop up from somewhere and drag us down.”?

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    “Well, then, I have a way.”?

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    “How?”?

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    Jorge asked curiously, and Roselyn nodded, touching the object she was holding in her arms.?

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    “This will probably buy us some time.”?

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    * * *?

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    “D*mn it.”?

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    Tamon counted the number of insidiously dismissive stares as he looked around the canyon.?

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    One, two, three. …….?

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    A quick count showed there were about five.?

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    From the time he entered the entrance, one or two of them sneaked up on him one by one and brought a whole bunch of friends with them, as if they realized he was alone.?

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    Tamon brushed off his right arm, which was covered in blood.?

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    The teeth of the creature he had just dealt with, whom he couldn’t tell if it was a bear or a lion, grazed his shoulder.?

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    It wasn’t a fatal wound, but his arm went a little numb. Normally, a minor injury like this should heal quickly, but the black fog slowed his recovery.?

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    ‘If I go a little further from here, there is a price.’?

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    He remembered the topographical map of Asha that he had glimpsed.?

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    He thought that perhaps the place Asha had marked with a star was an important one.?

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    ‘At ……, let’s lure them there anyway.’?

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    Quickly making a decision, Tamon quickly jumped away.?

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    Kaaaaaa!?

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    Grrrrrrr!?

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    The sudden movement brought him up to speed with the beasts following cautiously behind him.?

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    After ruining some distance, he smelled water.?

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    Then, strangely enough, the black fog began to blur.?

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    And when he reached the stream, the black fog disappeared completely.?

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    But that was not the only strange thing.?

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    “Why did you stop following me?”?

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    Tamon stood there and stared at the monstrous beasts that had stopped chasing him.?

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    The beasts of various shapes and sizes glared at him with bared teeth, but they did not come any closer.?

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    As if wary of something, they lowered themselves from behind the shadows and glanced around.?

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    Tamon looked around the area with wonder.?

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    It was an ordinary stream, except for the black fog that covered the area around it.?

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    The bubbling stream was clean, with small round stones lying about.?

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    There were black stains in places, but nothing too special….?

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    “Is it the black stain?”?

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    Tamon approached the nearest spot.?

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    “This is …….”?

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    The stain was not just any stain.?

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    Tamon’s straight brow creased.?

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    “It’s a bloodstain.”?

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    These were traces of some kind of blood pool. It was not so old that it still had stains on it either.?

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    This meant that those black stains that were visible here and there must all be the remains of blood pools.?

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    Something seemed to have happened here.?

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    He got up and slowly looked around.?

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    It was then.?

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    He heard something coming down from the upper stream.?

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    Tamon raised his head to look up to the place where the sound came from.?

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    His surprised eyes fluttered like a crescent moon for the first time in a long time.?

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    He smiled with happiness.?

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    ‘……Asha, you are always right.’?

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    Huge silver horned deer looked down at him with big eyes shining.?

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    * * *?

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    Arriving in front of the canyon with armed Platanus Knights, Asha took a palm-sized square out of her pocket.?

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    It was a small box decorated with mother-of-pearl inlays and precious stones, giving it an exotic look.?

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    Each face was inscribed with patterns of the sun, moon, stars, flowers, sea and earth.?

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    When Asha pushed one of the moon carvings with force, the shape of the square box began to change.?

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    The perfectly square expanded, and the shells that had been hidden within it began to rise to the top.?

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    “Fire, please.”?

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    Jorge looked nervous and handed Asha the spark he had prepared.?

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    “It’s the incense burner of Largon.”?

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    It was a sacred relic of illusion that hallucinated at least hundreds and even thousands of people.?

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    The knights all had masks on their faces.?

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    Nervous faces of the knights covered their mouths and noses tightly.?

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    “Everyone must be safe.”?

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    As a precaution, Asha handed out to the knights the red pills that Tamon had given her earlier.?

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    It was the very pills made from condensed Tamon’s blood, which Cassion was taking.?

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    Tamon gave Asha some of the ones he had made in advance in case of an emergency.?

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    She distributed them to the knights without hesitation. She was glad she didn’t run short.?

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    Asha was not worried about herself.?

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    Because she was Tamon’s imprinter, and she was wearing the chain of protection, so she should be fine.?

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    So please, she just hoped they wouldn’t get hurt.?

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    “We’re ready….”?

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    ”Okay. Then it’s time to start the fire.”?

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    Looking over at the knights once more, Asha lit the black jewel with nervous hands.?

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    The gem was not burning at all, but it immediately began to smoke gray.?

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    “Be careful, everyone. If anyone thinks you’re even slightly hallucinating, tell me immediately.”?

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    With a warning, she lowered the young deer that was being held in a knight’s arms.?

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    The struggling deer ran into the canyon as fast as a bouncing ball.?

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