Iris couldn't fall asleep no matter how hard she tried. Her thoughts were filled not only with worry about her family, but as well as the Night Critters Ricci mentioned earlier. According to the faerie, Night Critters were able to ambush the other darklings because of their lack of 'presence'. Many had died not knowing that it was the Night Critters that attacked them.
The moon was high and the murmuring voices finally ceased, letting Iris know that the rest of the maidens had gone to sleep. She glanced at the woods that their party recently left, her senses trying to see if it could pick up something usual, but there was none. She couldn't hear anything but crickets and an occasional hoot of the owls, the crackling of the fire and the gentle breeze that was trying to soothe her.
She touched the dagger she hid on her boots. The same one that Aiden handed to her earlier. Iris wasn't sure if the demon was being foolish for giving her a blade or was it curious to see what she would do if she was given one. Were they testing her to see if she was going to escape and return to Calaren Town? She wondered.
Ahead of them was nothing but an open land that led to the mountain range that was in sight. There were few trees and boulders scattered around, but it wouldn't be sufficient if they were attacked in an open area. Ricci surmised that if no problem arises during their trip, they should arrive in Asnar by the next day.
Everything seemed fine until a caw of a crow drew her attention to the tree where it was perched on. Iris pulled out the dagger and unsheathed it as soon as she saw its red eyes. There was no way that it was a normal crow like the ones that can be found in the Kingdom of Dravial, because juvenile crows were known to have chestnut brown eyes while the adult ones had pure white eyes.
Red was never an option, unless it was a darkling. The dagger swiftly left her hand and a loud squawk was heard when the blade pierced the bird's chest as it fell to the ground.
Suddenly, her sense picked up something disturbing ahead of them. Iris sprang on her feet, head turning towards the mountain range they were about to enter. She had sensed something like this before, but not this much.
"Lady Iris? Is something the matter?" Ricci eyed her with curiosity, following her eyesight but she saw nothing.
"What's going on?"
It seemed that the faerie wasn't the only one who noticed Iris's restlessness as Amelia and Chrysanthe stood up and looked at her with a mix of confusion and worry on their faces.
"Something's coming. No—" Iris immediately corrected herself. "There's a lot of them."
"How many?" A voice questioned her.
Iris stiffened and turned back only to see that Lord Kieran and three of his men were looking at her. Her cheeks burned for no reason and her heart beat faster as she avoided his gaze.
"I… I'm not sure." She admitted. "I sensed the same presence a couple of times when I was still in Calaren Town, but not this much."
It was pointless for her to pretend that she didn't have magic, not when she used it to heal the very same demon lord that was now standing in front of her. She bit her inner cheek, trying hard to stay composed and calm in front of him.
This man was sinfully beautiful up close, Iris had no doubt about it now. His moonlit silvery hair hung loosely past his shoulders like a waterfall and she was itching to reach out to test if it was as smooth as she thought it would be. Her eyes then lowered to the sharp jaw and high cheekbones that gave him a cold, menacing look.
Iris forced the thought away from her mind, forcing her to focus on the matter at hand.
Lord Kieran said nothing and stared at her blankly.
"You are a magus, right?" Yuri rubbed his chin as he gave her a head to toe look. "Even maguses in Asnar aren't able to sense the presence of the Night Critters, so how could you?"
"It doesn't matter." Callum pushed the bridge of his spectacles and looked at Iris. He covered his left eye with one hand, leaving his right eye flashing red.
"She's telling the truth. There's a horde of Night Critters coming down from the mountain at an abnormally fast speed." He said.
"Which means that they are being led by someone." Aiden said with a hum. "You think they're waiting for us to enter the mountain range to ambush us?"
"It's possible if there's a high Night Critter leading them." Yuri shrugged.
When Iris furrowed her brows and looked at Ricci, the faerie glanced at her lord before answering.
"Not all Night Critters are mindless." She started to explain. "We've encountered some that could hold a conversation with us, but they were lacking empathy or sense of identity. The clear evidence that they are Night Critters are their ashen white skin and the black blood that ooze from their body."
"Then what do we do?" Iris asked, her whole body shaking upon realizing how this could end if they weren't able to stop the Night Critters from advancing.
"If we don't stop them now, they might reach Calaren Town before dawn breaks and kill everyone there." She added, aware that her magic was starting to respond from the threat of drawing near them.
Her best friends and Ricci looked at her in surprise. Even the three demon generals looked at her with amusement.
"Human, you know that your life is at stake, but you worry about what you left in your hometown?" Callum couldn't help, but ask.
However, even before Iris could answer him, a chilling wail broke through the silence of the night.
It was followed by another cry and another one until they could hear multiple screams from a distance. If others had doubted Iris's words earlier, none of it mattered now because all the darklings that accompanied the chosen maidens were now on full alert.
The sounds were getting closer, much closer this time. The hairs on the back of Iris's neck rose. She unconsciously reached the side of her pants and cursed, remembering that she had already used the dagger Aiden had given her earlier on the crow. She glanced at the dead crow, wondering if she should take the dagger back but decided to leave it be.
It wasn't hers in the first place and there was no telling if the crow wouldn't put her under a curse or spell if she went closer to it. It must be some kind of messenger for the Night Critters as the latter only made a move once they heard it cry. However, without a blade at her disposal, Iris felt vulnerable and weak.
"My liege, your order." Aiden gave their lord a polite bow. Unlike Iris and her friends, neither he and the rest were bothered by the sudden arrival of the Night Critters.
"Cal, make sure that the maidens wouldn't venture out on their own. Yuri, Aiden, kill as many Night Critters as you can. Not a single one of them should be able to escape this time. Ricci, you will assist Cal here to protect the maidens." The demon lord delivered his commands.
"As you wish, sire." Yuri and Aiden disappeared in the blink of an eye, surprising the humans, while Ricci excused herself and joined the other Frost Guards.
Lord Kieran then turned his attention to Iris and her friends. Iris shivered under his gaze, but tried to remain calm and unmoving. Amelia stilled herself while Chrysanthe lowered her gaze, not daring to look at the demon lord in front of them.
Lord Kieran lifted his hand and a gigantic black steed appeared from thin air. He gracefully mounted it before turning to look at Iris.
"You will come with me." He said impassively.
"W-what?" Iris stuttered in surprise. "But why?"
"Obviously, you are the only one who could sense the presence of these Night Critters. You will lend us a hand and point to the one commanding this horde of vermin. Didn't you say that we can't allow them to reach Calaren Town?"
Iris's heart thumped painfully in her chest. Could she really help them? She didn't even know how to use her magic properly. What if she ended up bringing more trouble instead of helping them?
"You can do it, Iris." She heard Amelia say. "Don't worry about me and Chrys. Do what you need to do with Lord Kieran."
Chrysanthe nodded her head in agreement, her whole body trembling when another wail rang out.
"You will ride with me. There's no need to worry about the Night Critters harming you. I will keep them at bay."
The demon lord lowered his hand towards Iris, waiting for her to take it.
Iris stared at his outstretched hand, then lifted her eyes to meet his gaze. She couldn't tell what the demon lord was thinking, but Lord Kieran wasn't giving her a chance to decline his command. She didn't want to get too close to a darkling, but another chilling wail snapped her out of her thoughts and she unconsciously lifted her arm.
Lord Kieran didn't wait for her to decide. He grabbed her arm and lifted her as if she was almost weightless. As soon as Iris straddled the horse, she became aware that her back was pressed against the demon lord's solid chest. His steady and strong arms circled around her to hold onto the reins, before nudging the steed's side to gallop.
The horse reared up and galloped at full speed, leaving Iris no other choice but to grip onto the saddle horn to keep herself from falling, despite Lord Kieran's arms trapping her in place. The night wind blew in her face and hair as they rode across the open land.
She turned her attention in front of them and gasped when she saw the Night Critters for the first time. Just as Ricci described earlier, they looked like empty husks of those who perished. Their flesh were ashen white, their form a bit slouching as they moved forward, weapons in their hands as they moved in synchrony.
Iris felt her stomach churning when she saw their eye sockets empty, with black blood oozing from it. Ricci said that these were the remains of the darklings who had been killed by other Night Critters, but in Iris's eyes, it looked as if they were weeping, begging someone to end their miserable existence.
She then spotted Aiden swinging his large sword to the Night Critters that surrounded him and his own steed. He had a wide grin on his face, clearly showing how he enjoyed crushing these monsters.
Meanwhile, Yuri was casting spells left and right and wasn't using any weapons to kill the Night Critters. Black blood splattered on the ground, making a swing sound— like a corrosive acid touching a delicate flesh. No wonder Ricci said that they were fatal towards mortal humans.
"Look ahead and find the leader of this horde." Lord Kieran's voice brought her out of her daze. "The Night Critters can neither move nor decide on their own, so the faster we get rid of its leader, the better."
"But… I don't know how." She admitted. "I'm unable to sense them at will."
"They respond to the presence of magic. We aren't sure why you are the only one who can sense them, but you are our best shot right now."
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