A black carriage tore through the forest along the beaten paths beneath faint moonlight.
Inside was lit by the soft glow of mana-stone lamps.
Nico sat rigidly on one side of the carriage with both hands wrapped around the shotgun, the bracelet back on his wrist, and a face still faintly red.
Across from him sat Amaya with her posture straight despite the fatigue clearly weighing on her shoulders.
Nom-Nom occupied the space beside Nico, eyes wide as she leaned forward, peering out the window, then at the lamps, then at the carriage walls as if trying to memorize everything at once.
Peko sat silently beside Amaya, back straight, and eyes closed as if sleeping.
"I'm sorry," Nico said suddenly with a strained smile. "I mean… I-"
"It's fine," Amaya cut in, "I didn't help my case either."
"My mind was hazy back then," she continued as she rubbed her temples. "… I spent most of my mana in one go, erasing the entire Southern Border Defense's memories of you before I came to fetch you."
"You erased everyone's? In one go?" Nom-Nom tilted her head.
"Yes," Amaya replied calmly.
Nico swallowed.
[That's insane! There were hundreds of people… maybe even thousands]
Looking at the three of them, Amaya pushed aside the exhaustion as she said, "Let me be very clear with you, we know who you are."
Peko's eyes snapped open instantly as she locked onto Nico, and he felt it at the exact same time.
Before Nom-Nom could react, Nico reached out through their Familiar Bond.
[Nom, let me handle this, kay?]
Without waiting for a reply, Nico lifted his gaze to Amaya and said, "And yet… we're here. Or are we being taken to some undisclosed location to be… dealt with?"
With an unhidden smirk, Amaya replied, "The Goddess knows how badly I want to do just that."
Sighing, she continued, "But no…. We will tolerate you… so long as you help defend the capital during the upcoming Night of the Red Moon."
"That's the deal," Nico replied calmly. "Our help in exchange for citizenship."
Amaya's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Let me be very clear about one more thing, Nico," she said. "If that's even your real name… We will tolerate only the three of you, and that too as long as you behave yourselves. If a fourth Pantheon operative is discovered anywhere within Fugen… that fourth individual will face the full might of Fugen's Anti-Terrorism Unit."
Nico nodded with a blank expression.
[Pantheon operatives?]
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw both Nom-Nom and Peko stiffen while his own heart rate ticked up.
[That's what they think we are… No, I need more information, or we're gonna blow this up by saying something stupid… can't help but feel we're neck-deep in something we barely understand. Think. Think. Think.]
Then it clicked.
[Yes! Fugen's anti-Pantheon… and since they're allowing us three supposed Pantheon operatives in, then it could only mean one thing…]
"Things must be dire," Nico said softly.
"Lady Amaterasu still hasn't chosen her next Crusader," Amaya sighed deeply. "And Shinkotsku cannot be defended without one… at least not without endangering the other cities… But you knew that already."
Nico nodded slowly. "I know..."
[I don't know shit!] he thought.
[The hell even is a Crusader?... No, wait! From what she's saying… a Crusader is probably some sort of a trump card… And they don't have one right now… which means they're trying to use us to fill that gap. That explains why they're letting us in. But that also means they're overestimating us… badly. I'm Tier-1. They know I'm Tier-1. They should know from that orb test.]
Nico slowly leaned back as he turned his gaze to the window, watching the moonlit trees zip by.
And that's when it struck him.
[Wait… she said, I should know this already… meaning Pantheon would know about this. Could it be they think Pantheon had sent us specifically to covertly help them against the Night of the Red Moon? But why would they do that? Especially for a nation that's actively against them…]
Nico sighed as he rested his head back.
[Man… I don't have the mental bandwidth to handle shit like this. System, any thoughts?]
-Ding!
{Arlen Hale created Pantheon for the sole purpose of combating the forces he would inevitably let into the world.
If Night of the Red Moon is one of the consequences of his selfishness… Then that'd explain a probable covert involvement to aid Fugen, despite the nation outlawing Pantheon.}
[Makes sense… Let's just sleep on it. I'm dead tired.]
Nico then closed the eyelids he could now barely keep open.
And just as he did, Amaya spoke again.
"This is already in the envelope I gave you. But I want you three to imprint this into your brains…" Amaya said as she leaned forward, "Our little… help, only extends to as far as the city gates and an inn. After that, you're completely on your own. If you blow your cover, you will be handled like the terrorists you are."
[Terrorists, huh… Well, from what I've seen, those guys might as well be.]
Nico let out a chuckle and spoke without opening his eyes, "Well, duh…"
"And know this…" Amaya continued, "This isn't a state-approved operation. The number of people who know about this can be counted on one hand."
"Again… duh…" Nico chuckled as he opened one eye to see Amaya narrowing her eyes at him.
[Fine, let's see what else I can get out of her…]
With a sigh, Nico leaned forward as he matched her gaze and said, "We're not the incarnation of evil you think we are, you know…"
"Tell that to the thousands of people who die each year…" She replied while her gaze turned cold.
"I… am sorry," Nico sighed, "I did not mean to upset you. But we're here… and we'll help."
[Well, that was a bust…]
Amaya stared at Nico for a moment longer before slowly leaning back and massaging her temples.
[That mass memory wipe seems to have taken a massive toll on her… but then again, she did erase memories of the entire Southern Border Defense…]
Nico thought as he leaned back, too. And just as he did…
"One more thing…" Amaya said as she opened her eyes, "We will be… borrowing your cloak to study its flight enchantment."
[Not like I have much of a choice here…]
"Sure," Nico nodded, "But I will need it for the Night of the Red Moon."
Seeing Amaya nod, Nico closed his eyes before resting his head back.
[I'm way out of my depth here…] He thought before finally slipping into sleep.