Gulping, Samuel fixed his duffle bag on his back and followed closely behind the two drivers.
"Darn landmark." Francesca spat underneath her breath.
"Do you know where the motel is?" Samuel piped up, directing his question to either one. After a small pause, Richard took the initiative to answer.
"No."
The starless night loomed over the trio, instilling an unforgettable feeling of hopelessness.
After hearing the drivers curse Mt. Ignis under their breaths repeatedly, Samuel felt a hint of shame. The Landmark was something he so fervently prayed to and felt calmness and tranquility when doing so.
Why does Mt. Ignis steal the day?
Some say it's to regain its final form. Others say Mt. Ignis is full of malice. But a group of firm believers knew that Mt. Ignis was not the root cause of the atrocities that stemmed from the day being stolen.
It was something else—it had to be something else.
A loud crash exploded from behind them. Jerking their heads, the trio looked back at the carriage they had walked away from.
Gripping her blade, Francesca stood in front of Samuel, shielding him from what came next.
A group of three jagged-looking monsters menacingly approached the trio. One of them was purple, and the other two were dark red.
Their bodies were covered with defined muscles and bulging veins. Protruding mouths revealed a set of sharp, barb-like teeth.
They all had three eyes that constantly darted from each target in front of them. Four arms twitched, exposing their knife-like claws.
This time, the purple monster felt... different. It was a full meter taller than the other two, and its muscles were much larger.
Not being able to see exactly where and how many monsters were present, Richard squinted his eyes and prayed that his hearing was deteriorating.
"It's three of them. One is a lot bigger than the other two." Francesca filled her partner in on the details.
"What do you want to do?" Richard slowly walked toward her.
"You two run away. I'll kill them both. We can regroup at the ditch I sensed earlier."
Without arguing, Richard grabbed Samuel by the arm and ran off. "E-Excuse me. What about the lady?" Samuel had to ask the question.
Richard didn't answer as his speed increased several-fold. After 15 minutes of running, they arrived at the ditch that Francesca was talking about. "That woman..." Richard scoffed and lowered himself down along with Samuel.
It was a large ditch, one that could most likely fit more than 10 of the carriages they had driven. After lowering inside, Richard finally answered.
"She won't lose."
Samuel decided not to prod further after the type of responses he received from Richard. Holding the duffle bag on his lap, Samuel silently continued praying to Mt. Ignis.
Mt. Ignis. Divine Landmark of Lebrad. Please provide us with your protection. Please make sure nothing goes wrong. I pray and thank you graciously.
It was a short prayer, one that Samuel repeated constantly.
Resting his back on the dirt wall beside Samuel, Richard leaned his head back, which revealed his Adam's apple, and asked.
"Why are you headed to Kheelburg?"
Surprised by the sudden inquisition, Samuel responded flustered. "I'm taking the Protector's exam."
Richard paused. "Protector's exam?" It seemed as though he tried to rack his brain. "I thought they cancelled that last year. You know, after Orian was murdered."
Orion? The headmaster of the Protector's exam was killed?
Noticing Samuel's shock, Richard decided to keep going. "Yeah. He was killed brutally by some guy with wings and a halo."
Samuel brushed his disheveled hair back. "They still sent the packets for this year's Protector's exam, though."
Richard listened in carefully and pondered. "Then they probably got someone else to run it. That's a shame, though. Orian was a good headmaster."
After chuckling softly to himself, Richard revealed. "I took the exam as well, with Orian as the leader. Sadly, I failed at the physical part and was forced to become a carriage driver."
I wonder who the new headmaster will be. Hopefully, they're a nice person. Samuel wondered in anticipation. But no matter which headmaster was picked, Samuel was going to give the Protector's exam his all.
Richard surveyed Samuel for a minute. "I think you'll pass, though." He didn't bother explaining why and how he got to his conclusion. Samuel smiled softly as a return before focusing his attention ahead.
Just as their conversation finished, disorderly footsteps could be heard from above. Richard turned his body and faced forward.
Quietly climbing up the walls, he pulled his body straight and fixed his back. "Francesca?" No response.
However, the footsteps continued.
"Francesca, come on." Richard's tone wavered as he turned his head from left to right. Samuel, who was still in the ditch, felt an indescribable sickness surface. His gut wrenched as his insides churned. "Hey!" He called out to Richard, who was above.
It was too late.
Shing!
A lightning-fast motion erupted from the shadows and decapitated the wary head of Richard. Falling to the ground and tumbling forward, Richard's severed head collected dirt as it spewed crimson blood.
The body remained static as blood leaked from the wound, tainting his clothes.
The footsteps were getting clearer and clearer. Samuel heard an object hit the ground and roll but couldn't decipher what it was.
The idea of Richard being killed in an instant never made its way through his thought process.
As he crawled to the middle of the ditch, Samuel placed his hands outwards to try to feel where he was. It was still pitch-black outside.
With a frank call, he tried to find the driver. "Excuse me!"
The footsteps kept increasing in volume as Samuel felt the ground above shudder.
"Mr. Driver…!" Despite trying to feel his surroundings, Samuel was completely useless in this terrain at this time.
Then, he heard a voice. It was a soft, delicate tune. The voice was humming. With widened eyes, Samuel tried to climb up the ditch.
The humming grew louder as Samuel felt the figure stand right before him. Reflexively moving back, he fell to the ground.
The buckling of knees could be heard just before the figure launched into the air and landed right in front of Samuel once more.
Then, with a gentle hum filled with malice, the figure leaned in and spoke. "Mt. Ignis steals our day.
"So I shall taint the night~"