Dawn was almost there. Kaia could hear Mia and Kin talking but couldn't understand them yet; she had just woken up, annoyed by a strange rotten scent lingering in the air.
"I'm sure there's such a thing. It's saints who are cowards," Mia said.
Kin replied, "Heh, there is. But the problem is, once you know it, you'll be abandoned, just like us."
"Am I not?" Mia asked.
Kin chuckled. "I guess you are."
Kin paused for a second and asked, "What do you think about darkness?"
"Hm… unpredictable?" Mia replied, hesitant.
"You don't think it's scary?" Kin questioned.
"Unless there's something hiding in it, I don't think so," Mia answered.
"You know?" Kin said, sliding closer. "I might bring you to meet my tribe later."
"I thought you don't like strangers," Mia replied, surprised.
"You're right, but…" Kin's voice slowly dropped to a whisper as he got closer. "You are special. We've been digging graves for people like you, someone looking for power and knowledge outside saints' and kings' restrictions."
Kin pulled out the demon necklaces and continued. "This tool you were amused by? It's nothing compared to what we achieved. With a bit of time, and people like you, humans will become the nightmare that haunts the devils."
Mia blinked repeatedly, sorting her thoughts, then said, "Why not? This seems interesting."
Kin smiled and rubbed her head. "I knew you were special."
Kin turned to Kaia and noticed she was awake. He looked back at Mia and said, "Let's get ready, and don't tell them about this."
Mia replied, "Oh, you don't need to warn me. Kaia is a big snitch."
Kin chuckled. "I couldn't tell," he said.
The group got ready to continue the journey. As they moved closer to the edge of the flower field, Mia started coughing.
"Damn it, what is this smell?" Mia asked, frustrated.
"Hm… seems they already started to rot," Kin said.
Kaia looked up. A number of animals and mimics were hanging, trapped within thin threads. It looked like something you'd see if a spider learned magic. Fay stood on one of the mimics, poking and tasting its flesh.
"Don't eat too much, Fay. You might get poisoned again," Kin said.
Kin looked up, concerned. Kaia followed his gaze. A couple of threads were loose; something had been there, but it escaped. The thread had a clean cut. Scissors? No, a sword. Whoever it was, they were smart enough to not get closer.
"Funny how we've been getting more visits from the knights recently," Kaia heard Kin's voice in her head. "Isn't it weird?"
Kaia replied, confused, "I don't get it."
She felt a small headache and a loud ringing in her ears. She held her head for a moment.
"Are you alright?" Lex asked.
"I'm fine," she replied.
Looking at Kin, his gaze was different this time. Not scary, just unsure.
"Alright everyone, time to keep moving," Kin said, stepping forward. The others followed.
As they moved, Mia spotted a hook attached to a tree. She touched it and accidentally unhooked it. The hook flew chaotically, and the hanging monsters began to fall. Soon, a ring of dead creatures surrounded the lake.
Mia looked at Kin, embarrassed. "Sorry," she said.
"Not a problem. All of them were dead already," Kin replied.
Kin found the end of the hook and started pulling it. It would be a waste to leave it here. The fact that it was cut in the middle made it easy to pull.
He paused for a second, then continued.
Kaia glanced at the pile of monsters while following the other end of the shining thread.
"Watch out!" Kin exclaimed.
A deer burst out from beneath the pile of corpses. Its neck split in half, revealing a long, flexible jaw filled with sharp teeth. It snapped its jaws around her waist, capturing her, and ran away quickly.
Lex and Mia chased after the deer. Kaia, though in pain, pulled out her wand and started blasting the mimic with desperate spells until it grew tired and slammed her into a tree, knocking her unconscious.
Mia's arrow hit the deer from behind. It ignored it and kept running. Lex continued chasing the mimic, while Mia was left behind, breathless.
Mia coughed. "Damn it, can't running be less painful?" she said.
Kin appeared from the side. Mia looked at him; his eyes were fixed on her.
"That's my fault, isn't it?" Mia asked.
"Let's… keep moving," Kin replied. His voice sounded off.
Kin and Mia followed Lex's footprints. Kin's steps were shaky and unsteady. Mia didn't think much of it. He's a traveling envoy after all, not a monster hunter, she thought.
Until he took a turn. She stopped, doubtful. She wanted to follow Lex, but Kin called out.
"Hey—there." He pointed at a couple of fluffy rabbits.
Mia stared at them intensely. "Oh," she said mockingly. "I get it now. Nice trick, but I already know those are fake."
She turned around. More rabbits blocked the way back. Left, blocked. Right, also blocked.
"Oh, great heavens," Mia said. With a wave of her hand, her arrows lined up in a circle around her. "Numbers are no problem for me."
She looked back at the mimic taking Kin's form as it morphed into a tall, mangled version of itself. She reassured herself, "At least I won't die a coward."
On the other side of the forest, Lex looked around desperately. The deer's footprints vanished into nothing. Then he noticed a raven staring at him. He swung his axe at it, but it dodged.
"Friend," the raven said.
That familiar voice clicked in Lex's mind. "Oh, Fay. I'm sorry, these things are driving me insane."
"Mage," Fay replied, holding Kaia's wand.
Lex paused. "You know where she is?!" he exclaimed.
Fay darted forward, taking the lead, and Lex followed.
Kaia woke up, finding herself lying in a place she couldn't recognize. A ray of light in the distance slipped through the trees, hitting the ground and scattering in all directions.
Kaia looked toward the light, and just behind it stood the deer. She got up and pointed her—where was her wand?
Terror hit her. It must have fallen from her hand when she was knocked out. There was no choice left but to run. The wound made every step feel like a stab in her waist.
The deer stomped the ground as it closed the distance slowly, taking its time. The more a prey feared, the better it tasted.
Kaia looked around, praying for anything, anyone, to save her. Nothing answered, only a dozen hungry gazes from mimics. In the end, she found Kin and tripped just before him.
Kin looked down at her as she started crying. "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, but I can't stop doing this. Since I learned to read minds, I can't stop it. Everyone is lying and trying to use me for what I have. Even my parents weren't an exception. I was an idiot. I was scared because you value your secrets more than letting some careless worm read through them, just because I didn't trust you. I just wanted to protect people I was sure were honest, that we were actually friends."
He didn't answer.
She continued, "I promise… I'll treat you better. I'll treat every stranger better. I won't say anything to the knights or anyone who might tell them. Just—please—" She looked up and gasped.
That hunger in its eyes. That inhumane smile on a face familiar to her. She had been begging another mimic to save her.
Tears poured down her eyes. She could hear the deer's steps getting closer, and what she thought was Kin began morphing into its true form when it saw no escape for her. Desperate, she whispered one final prayer.
"God, I only have you on my side right now. I'll do anything, just make it stop."
She heard the deer shriek, then silence. Looking back, a ball of fire passed above her head, burning the mimic and forcing it to imitate a human scream of pain as it turned to ashes.
She looked up at a white wolf, its mouth smoking with fire. The symbol of the United Knights was drawn on its chest.
"Kai!" Lex screamed.
The wolf walked away before Lex arrived. Exhausted, he smiled. "I'm glad you're alive. And you defeated the deer, that's great of you," he said.
"Careful, there are more of them," Kaia replied.
"I know," he answered. "And they won't get away with this."
Lex opened a waterskin filled from the lake. The fire spirit entered it, absorbing everything inside. Lex threw it and covered Kaia and himself with a thick cape.
The fire spirit burst out of the waterskin, unleashing a loud howl and a wave of intense heat. It darted like lightning, piercing through monsters and blasting them out of the trees.
Lex held the cape tight until, finally… silence. He let go of the cape and princess-lifted Kaia, sprinting away. The fire spirit returned to Lex's body to rest, leaving a slice of hell behind.
Kaia looked back. The wolf watched them through the flames.
A wounded mimic stumbled into their path. Mia approached it, pulling a cudgel from behind her. With a wide swing, she crushed the mimic's head. Her breathing was heavy, mixed with coughs.
"Mia?" Kaia called.
Mia looked at them fiercely. Without hesitation, she raised the cudgel and charged toward them with a threatening scream, almost a growl.
Kin struck her from behind at the right angle, knocking her out. He lifted her onto his back and turned to leave. There was a cut on his shoulder and thigh.
Lex stepped in his way. Kaia, in his arms, pointed her wand at Kin. "Prove you're the real one," she demanded.
Kin pointed to his head. Kaia hesitated, then entered it and heard, Those creatures imitate faces, movement, and sound, but they can never replicate thoughts.
They continued their way out of the cursed place.
Mia woke up on Kin's back as the sun set.
"We will go the short way," Mia said.
Kin replied, "No problem, I actually have a shortcut though—"
"No! No shortcuts, no alternate routes. We go the normal way—through the kingdom," Mia said sharply.
"But—"
"No buts. I'll handle this myself."
"…Fine."
---
"Ehm…"
"…"
"Hayzin."
"What is it?"
"Sigh… you've done great work. You saved my eye on Kin, but I'd much rather you send a human next time."
"Hah? I sent one of my best men for this."
"Well, the only thing I saw was one of his pet, apparently."
"I don't see why you're upset about it."
"…"
"Hm? A message for me? Let me see… What?!"
"What is it, Hayzin?"
"The knight I sent was found eaten by a mimic."
"So unfortunate."
"I know that midget has something to do with this. A knight that careful can't die in such an idiotic way."
"…I can assume he simply lowered his guard."
"What do you know?! This isn't the first time, and it won't be the last."
"…He will come to the kingdom."
"Are you sure about that?"
"That's what they're discussing. It's your choice if you want to disbelieve it."
"He won't escape me this time."