Ashes and Kingdoms

Chapter Two

In front of the forest in question, Valt and Finn stopped by the village.

Finn, who hadn't traveled long distances on a horse in a long time, went down and walked a strange way for a while to start making the valt more nimble. He doesn't saddle or anything thanks to the dragon's power, but his legs, which remain bent for a long time, don't remind him of his normal condition in an instant.

(Sometimes you have to ride a horse)

I see Valt's back listening to the bandits from the villagers while I feel sorry for him. Surrounded by residents in a small village square seemed a little more reliable than the former captain he knew.

"How about after that. Did they hit you again? I'm sorry I couldn't catch you. I brought help today, and now it's time to hold the root of them, so wait."

The villagers have complained orally to Valt, who spoke to cheer him up. I really beg you, who's got a pig stolen somewhere the other day, and I can't let my daughter out of the house at risk like this, etc.

Beyond those petitions, there was only one man who showed outstanding anger.

"All you have to do is kill them all!

His face turned bright red, his fists swung, and the bastards cursed him down. Finn frowned and stared at the man. I thought my body had been killed or something, or seriously damaged, but apparently not. When Valt was able to say, "Okay, okay," the man threw up two or three extra murmurs still in an angry mood, then walked away in a rough foothold. Among the villagers who drop it off, there is one woman who can't help but walk away.

(You don't have to be so angry...)

(That idiot, you shameless son of a bitch)

(I can't believe you killed him, that's terrible)

Finn's senses were hearing cluttered emotions, but the reason for the odd air is not clear enough. Ask Valt as he tilts his neck.

"What happened?

"Oh, there's a kid at his place, he's with a bandit. He said he definitely saw them when the people who vandalized the livestock shed outside the village chased him away."

Valt replied, doing it. Difficult. Sighed. Go on. Faster than he explains, the woman with the troubled face hurries to pinch her mouth.

"There can't be that kid joining the burglars from himself. My guy's making up his mind... but he's either threatened or deceived me. That kid's not a very smart kid, but he was also serious about the house. Go collect some firewood that day."

"That day?" Valt raises his eyebrows. "Is this a different day from when the bandits came?

"It's the day you're gone! Didn't you talk? As soon as I went to the woods there to collect firewood, I was worried that I wouldn't come home at sunset, so I went to see it, and the branches were scattered during the woods."

"I'm not listening. Show me that way for a second."

Valt turns to Finn in a rugged eye as he tells the woman. They left their horses in a single inn in the village, crossing the fields from after the woman, and approaching the woods.

Valt dives in his voice as he walks and whispers.

"Is it this way that you said, 'It feels strange'?

"Oh. Something still feels... caught"

Finn nodded, staring at the woods of the goer. I scratch my ass and roar with a face that Valt doesn't seem to like.

"I don't suppose the robbers use magic."

"No," Finn replied instantly. "It's not a sign of sorcery. That's unique, so even if it was a trivial technique, I'm sure you'll see soon enough. This feeling... I don't know, I've never seen anything like it."

The woman who goes forward looks back anxiously at the two people who secretly converse. When Valt gestured that it was nothing, the woman continued to lead the way in silence, although she roamed between the bundles.

"Around here."

The woman stopped her legs around a trail running separately from the field being sucked into the wood. Beyond, where cultivated black soil broke off and empty land covered with green grass, it is still a bleak forest at midday. Cedars and clams point to the sky with sharp tips. Valt looked at the disappearing back of the trail and asked.

"How far is this road going?

"It's a little down to the swamp in the back. The villagers come in roughly all the way around. Noho, mushrooms, and then there's firewood and firewood, too, because we'll get together while we get there or not. Beyond the swamp, it's rare to go in."

When the woman explained that far, she dropped her eyes at her feet again.

"There was wood falling here. The bundled rope was loose... it just didn't feel like a mess."

"Ahn?

Valt looks odd. Finn explained on his behalf from the side.

"There were no signs of brawl, that is. If someone tricked them into taking them away, or grabbed them, they wouldn't have to hurt them quickly."

The woman nodded silently and many times, pulling her mouth together so that she could enjoy a whimper. Then after a quiet exhaled breath, Tito, the name leaked. Valt confirms what he heard.

What's the boy's name, Tito?

"... Yep"

"Okay. I'll find him and bring him back, so don't be so thoughtful. If you get me wrong and think about living like a bandit, I'll beat you up and wake you up."

The words are rough, but in a warm Valt tone, the woman can say nothing more, moisturizing her eyes and bowing her head. Walt and Finn stepped into the woods as they were dropped off heavy with worry and anticipation.

Step on the damp soil and follow the trail. There the birds roar, and the squirrels and the wild rats run away. Walking out into the swamp for a while, Valt drove away the bugs that flew in front of him and roared in a grumpy mood.

"What do you say? You know what I mean?"

"Nothing so far. Maybe deeper."

Finn glanced over at the other shore and shook his head. The road is at an end here. If the villagers are looking for further harvest, it will be enough to go around the edge of the swamp. The trees on the other side are even more depressing and dark than on this side.

and a soft light swirled beside the fin, and a lana appeared. Tilt his neck and look behind him, looking up at him worried and gripping his sleeve tightly.

"It doesn't feel dangerous, but it's still hard to see. Be careful, Finn."

"It's gonna be okay."

The fans laughed bitterly and stroked his head all right. To the same two, Valt walks out in a laid-back manner. When Finn followed it, Lena disappeared after being a little lost. When I'm with you, power works great, for better or worse. I decided it wasn't a good idea to explore that required delicate attention.

Walking along the shores of the swamp where the cold smell rises, Valt was watching his surroundings with caution. They are looking for signs of human presence, such as footprints, beast trails, or branches broken at unnatural heights.

Slightly and they stopped at the same time.

Little can be seen, a slight trace of the road creeping between the trees. Not as clear as the beast path, no obvious footprints. But only the place is "empty”.

"Right here."

"Seems so."

Check briefly and step out there. Pay for the thin branches placed in front of your face and follow them as you step on the grass so that you don't lose sight of the "signs” that are likely to dissolve in the air.

That's how you keep walking silently and how long you've been here. Unexpectedly Finn returned to me, lifting his face haphazardly and grabbing Valt's arm. Valt shrugged at the sudden action, turning with a deceptively angry face that surprised him.

"What, all of a sudden"

"- Before."

indicated by gaze, Valt turned forward with only a rare face,

"Ugh!?

I leaked my voice like I swallowed a stone. What stunned me in his eyes, if not mistakes, was indeed the swamp they were supposed to have followed.

"When did you turn around? Did you turn right?

Incredible, Valt shakes his head. It wasn't foggy, it wasn't wandering without any landmarks. It couldn't have come out in the same place - but if I saw at my feet, I had to admit it was indeed the way I came. Brand new footprints of ourselves are on the opposite shape.

"It doesn't look like that's another swamp."

Finn roared depressingly, looking back behind him. It has a somewhat familiar view. I should have stepped over there a while ago.

"I've heard a lot about it in the past, but I didn't think I was going to experience it."

Talk about travelers lost in the mountains and woods going around the same place forever. Alternatively, the story of the people who arrived after being lost are actually faint of demons, about being eaten to sleep after hospitality and fleeing in a great panic.

All of them are warnings from their ancestors not to go into the realm where people don't live. That said, this time, I'm not leaving the woods following it very hard.

Now thinking about what was going on, Auntie and Lena talked to me.

Finn? You know, just now, around the back, it suddenly became hard to see Mr. Valt. I've been seeing things right with Finn, but Mr. Valt blurred, and then Finn just a little bit, just a little bit, but it looked like it was sumptuous. Around there.

At the same time as the voice, consciousness guides Finn's gaze. Eyed at one of the lush trees, Finn slowly walked over to you.

Something's wrong back there.

Maybe. You know, it's like someone's hiding out there.

…………

Tell me that first.

Finn felt unwittingly weakened and, no, not in that case, he regained his mind. Valt also comes quietly from behind.

"You found something."

To the whispered Valt, Finn does not answer in his voice, but tells him that a person is hiding with a hand gesture he remembers in the mountains. Valt nodded, slowly moving out of the trail and then around behind the bush.

Fill a stirring distance while making an intermission so that Finn can work with Valt's movements so that he doesn't make any noise either. Waiting for Valt to get close enough to step in with a breath, Finn called quietly.

"The guy who's hiding there, come out"

Gassa, and the bush shook. Someone must have frightened themselves in the shadow of it. Finn tried to figure out who it was, but with the dragon's vision, he didn't know what was there. However, as Lena said, there are no signs of danger.

Exhaling shallowly, Finn let go of his hand, which was on the pattern of his sword, spreading his palms on both sides so that he could see clearly.

"If you come out grown-ups, even if you're one of the bandits, you won't hurt them. I promise."

No reply. But I'm guessing you're cruising, the dense leaves have trembled slightly to convey the tension of the target.

After a long silence, it was finally emitted by the

"Brother, one of the legions...?

It was the voice of a tongueless child. Shortly afterwards Valt runs out and jumps in from behind the bush to hold back the Lord of his voice.

"I got you! Watch it, we're going home!

Valt shouts, quickie, and monkey screams. Finn rushed and sprinkled the branches. Apparently, Valt thought hiding was the example child. But...

"Hey there, grown up......, eh!?

It was not human, to my surprise, that he held him to the ground. Valt reflexively released his assembled hand and flew away. Swelling limbs, twitching and swinging under its knees.

"... monkey?

"Monkeys talk!

Valt yelled back at Finn with a suspicious face. Even in the meantime, the suppressed creature keeps ringing the key key.

"Get out of the way, Valt, it's gonna hurt."

"Shit... don't let them get away with it"

Finn tells me, Valt leaves reluctantly. The creature like a monkey, leaking a pitiful squeal, fled scuffing in a position close to crawling on all fours, distancing himself from the two.

Scared to look at the two men is a pair of black - no irises, no white eyes, black monochromatic eyes. My whole body is deeply covered in brown hair, but my abdomen is slightly thin and I can see small breasts. I just wonder if that's a slightly unusual monkey, but the long tail was somehow covered in snake-like scales.

After a long period of inactivity, Finn finally snapped at the thought.

"... demons, huh?

I just sent out an old tale about a demon in the back of the woods that confuses people. Nevertheless, is this the real thing?

"No, I'm not!

A golden cut screamed as soon as possible. Monkeys shudder as surprised by their own voices, then squirt their black eyes firmly. The tears of seeing thrived and began to pour.

"Me, I'm not a demon. Oh, it wasn't like this. Taken."

I cry again and talk about things I don't quite understand in a tall voice.

"This is happening, I can't go back to the village, I don't know who I am, and I'm going on my own. I can't believe I didn't tell you I didn't need it. Why did you get it?"

Not to mention the cry was completely swallowed up by a whimper and became a great cry as it drowned all the way to the snot.

Valt looked at it with a frigid odor, but gradually he seemed to feel like a bad guy, making a slightly apologetic voice with an ambiguous look and talking to him.

"Uh... maybe, Tito, huh?

"Ugh, ugh, eh"

Squeezing up, Tito, who looked like a monkey, nods again and again. Valt looked back at Finn, and I don't know why, and did the trick.

"Damn. What the hell is going on here to crush the bandits?"

"In the meantime, let's wait until we stop crying"

Finn couldn't hide his temptations either, looking at himself as Tito and scratching his head a bit.

It took a while before Tito managed to pull in tears, gathering fragments of words picked up from the ocean of whimpering and being able to assemble the approximate circumstances.

"We'll sort it out. I mean, the kid was definitely a Tito in the village of Zulus, and he lost his mind right after he heard 'If You Don't Need It' or something at the woods when he came back to collect firewood, he said. When I woke up, I saw myself go somewhere on my own, and when I tried to chase him, it was that body... I mean, they took over my body, right?

"Ugh, yeah. Ugg, higg."

While Valt was dealing with him, Finn was still tilting his neck and observing Tito.

Lena, I've never heard of an old story about a demon taking my body, do you know what it is? I still don't know what he looks like.

Conscious not to use the dragon's vision, the demonic body is normally visible. But if the senses are slightly skewed, the contours are blurred, you see them but you don't know what they are, and you feel strange.

Sorry, I don't know much about demons, either. Unlike us, it's vague in the first place.

"Ambiguous... Oh, yeah."

Demons are neither good nor evil, and there is no determination to belong to any god. However, if they interact with someone, it is mostly said that the border between light and darkness is an obscure time, such as at dusk or before dawn, or on a rainy day. Therefore, the alias at dusk is "The Evil One Moments”.

Finn looked around again and shook his head with his face against the feeling that something had slipped away, slowly stopping by Tito and kneeling.

"Tito, do you feel like you're doing something? Trying to get to the back of this forest makes me go around the same place. I don't know the root castle of the bandit, but maybe your... or the power of the demon is acting on it. Don't you know what it is?"

"Huh...? Oh, my God, did I do something wrong? Because of me?

Tears thrive on my black eyes again. Finn reached out and stroked his hairy, densely fluffy head pounding.

"Calm down. I know you're not being evil."

Saying, carefully and gently pour the light slightly. Even if the soul is human, the body is a demon now. I can't predict what impact existence will have on what is ambiguous.

Fortunately, I felt the light poured gather at one point. Not the demonic body, but perhaps only Tito's soul accepted it.

Tito blinked his eyes as surprised, then accidentally slightly, stopping the movement behind him - facing behind the woods - as if he had found something.

"Me, I went that way. Before this guy caught me, I thought it would be easier if I became a bandit... maybe because of that."

The voice I told him to twinkle was restoring calm. It is the same that is tongueless and tall, but the tone dwells on reason and will.

At the same time, the surrounding signs changed slightly. It seems that Valt noticed that too, and once again looked up and looked between the trees.

"Oh, my God, I see the road clearer than I just did."

"Oh. Looks like the fog's cleared up."

Finn stands up as he responds, then takes confirmation with Valt.

"What do we do? Now we can probably find the bandit Negijo, but do we call in troops to siege him?

"I know it's safer, but I don't think there's any guarantee that this condition will last forever. I don't know when I'm going to be around again, but I can't get soldiers into the woods in the middle of nowhere."

Valt roars on the tannic side and sees Tito. Finn also nodded as he watched the boy.

"All right, let's go back. Everything else depends on the circumstances, but we have to get Tito's body back anyway."

After receiving two gazes, the boy, pushed into his body with only as long back as a human knee, nodded silently, although he opened his mouth on the verge of saying something.

I have to be me.

Whispers reach Finn's consciousness, and at the same time the colour of the spirit clearly indicates the meaning that is embedded in the word.

- It must be up to me to move that body, to act, to decide how to live. It's not a good thing to give it to someone else.

The consciousness gained for the first time since he was deprived of his body was exciting the boy's mind. Finn sees it, okay, and he's relieved.

Looks like we're good here. Lena, can you see ahead?

"Yeah, the view's better. Looks like someone's up ahead."

His vision overlapped at the same time as his reply, and a small group of fish appeared on his way. One strange thing that seems to be going around is probably the demon that took Tito's body.

I don't know what I thought I did, but I have to deal with it.

Finn put his hand on the sword pattern again, and as he exchanged eyes with Valt, he quietly proceeded to the back of the tree.