Several weeks ago…

___

Aika approached Leon's tent in the middle of the night. Of course, Cedric was asleep by then in his room in the shelter and so wasn't aware of her little late-night excursion.

When Aika got to Leon's tent and was about to call out for him, a voice came from behind her.

"What brings you here at this time of night, Raven of Decay?"

Aika turned around to see Uriel in a brown dress, holding a basket in one hand.

"Oh… hey there, Angel of Light," Aika replied in her usual expressionless voice. When she saw that Uriel had a bandage over one eye, she continued, "I need to find out something, but unfortunately you've got just one eye left, so where's that annoying bearer of yours?"

Uriel bristled and her grip tightened around the handle of her basket. "Don't you think that's a bit rude?"

Aika just stared at her with half-lidded eyes without saying a word, and that seemed to upset Uriel even more.

At that moment, Leon stepped out of the tent, looking like he had been woken up from sleep. He was visibly surprised to see Aika at his tent. Alone.

"Uh… Raven of Decay?" He immediately looked around, looking for Cedric while also asking, "What brings you here?"

Aika exhaled. "I'm here alone." She smiled when she saw that he had both of his eyes, then added, "Can I come in?"

"Yeah. Sure, sure."

Aika went in and quickly sat on the ground, while Leon, oblivious to the tension between the two women, shrugged at Uriel before stepping in and sitting on the ground opposite her.

Not long after, Uriel also stepped in.

Then, Aika crossed her arms and began, "Using your ability, I need you to check something for me, regarding the new lords of the first ring."

Leon frowned.

Uriel, on the other hand, stood over them and snapped, "No."

Leon looked at Uriel, but she was looking at Aika with a glare that could draw blood. Uriel spoke again. "Trying to inquire about them hurts his head. I'm not going to let him hurt himself for someone like you this night, so leave."

Aika bit her lip.

If this wasn't important to her, she wouldn't have been here in the first place. But it was important because this concerned Cedric.

After a moment, she placed her hands on her laps, bowed her head slightly and pleaded, "Please. It's really important that I find this out."

Seeing her completely out of character, Leon looked at Uriel and spoke. "It's fine. It's just a slight headache. Nothing I can't handle." He smiled and winked at her, causing her to blush.

"Hmph." Uriel crossed her arms and turned her head away. "Suit yourself then."

Leon looked back at Aika, then rubbed the back of his neck and asked, "Uhm… so what about the lords do you want me to inquire?"

Aika looked at him, then replied sheepishly, "Seo-yeon. I need you to check if a lady named Seo-yeon is among the new lords."

Leon scratched his head. "Uh… Suyon? That's a very odd name." He let out a long breath and closed his eyes. "Alright… I'll give it a check, so give me a minute."

He opened one eye and it immediately changed to gold, after which it slowly began to darken.

While this was happening, Aika began to hope that her hunch was wrong. She prayed that Seo-yeon would not be among the two who were recently brought to this realm.

Cedric had been through enough in his lifetime. The last thing he needed was to see the one person he cared the most about in this cursed realm. If Seo-yeon were here, especially as a lord of the first ring, Aika wasn't sure what that would do to him.

At that moment, Leon groaned and held his head, then he looked at Aika and replied hoarsely, "Yes. She is one of the lords. She is the tenth lord."

Hearing that, Aika's eyes widened for a moment, then she slumped her shoulders and exhaled resignedly. "Oh…"

But just then, Leon's eyes widened in horror and he began to tremble. "Wh… hold on now… what the hell is this?"

Uriel, who had been acting dismissive until now, turned to Leon, and then everyone panicked when blood began to flow out of Leon's eyes, nose, and ears.

"Leon!" Uriel yelled and rushed to his side, catching him as Leon suddenly coughed out a mouthful of thick, dark blood.

"Answer me, Leon," Uriel whispered shakily and gripped his shoulders. "What the hell did you see?"

Leon began to choke on his own breath, and his eyes rolled back until only the whites were showing.

At this point, even Aika grew worried, and a bit guilty. "Is this what happens when he inquires about the lords?"

Uriel, who was frantically trying to wipe the blood from his face, snapped back at her, "No. This happens when he sees things he shouldn't see."

Despite her terror, she found the strength to scream at Aika. "Who the hell is this person that you asked him to see?! You know about our powers, so you should know that we can't see things many grades above us. So why?!"

Aika recoiled, and her expressionless mask finally cracked as she looked at Leon who was now trembling violently.

"Uh… I… I didn't know…" Aika began, but the words died in her throat as she watched the color drain from his face.

Fortunately, a few seconds later, Leon began to slowly stabilize. The violent shaking subsided into a heavy, ragged shivering, and the flow of blood finally slowed to a sluggish drip. He let out a long, wet wheeze, his hand feebly clutching at Uriel's sleeve as he regained a shred of consciousness.

And when he could breathe again, he muttered under his breath, "…not human."

"What? What did you say?" Uriel asked, leaning in closer, her face pale as she checked his pulse.

Leon swallowed hard and his voice cracked as he repeated, "That lord is not… human. She has never been."

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