Red examined Narcha and noticed she didn't have any wounds. The woman also looked him over with a frown.

"I thought you would be dead for sure..." she spoke in a solemn tone. "I gotta say, it was a terrible idea to come- Wait, what's that in your hand?" Narcha pointed at the boy's cleaver with a frown.

Red was just about to answer when a roar sounded. The duo turned around and looked in the direction the demon had fallen. The creature was slowly coming back to its feet.

"It's still alive?!" the woman's eyes widened in shock.

The boy was likewise surprised. He could tell how much strength had been in that saber throw. If a human had been hit by it, they would easily be cleaved in half. As the demon got up, though, they were able to see the extent of its wounds.

The creature had a large gash on its side, which was bleeding profusely. Pieces of broken scales were scattered around the wound, but the saber hadn't been able to pierce too deeply. It was evident the demon's outer defenses were remarkably sturdy.

For a second, both parties stared at each other cautiously. Then, out of nowhere, the demon turned around and ran away. Narcha and Red were surprised by the creature's actions. The woman's senses returned very quickly, though.

"Don't let it escape!" she yelled at the boy while giving chase.

Red, however, didn't move. The creature and Narcha disappeared in between the trees, and the youth watched it all in silence. A minute later, the woman returned with an ugly look on her face.

"Why didn't you follow me?" Narcha asked the boy in a sour tone.

"It's way too fast." Red shrugged. "I could never have kept up with you."

"You could have tried to shoot it with your bow."

"If even your saber could barely make a dent, my arrows would never pierce its scales."

Narcha looked like she wanted to argue further, but eventually, she just sighed. The warrior recognized the truth in his words.

"So now we have a demon wandering this forest. How great!" Narcha remarked sarcastically.

"Maybe this will keep the bandits in check." Red tried to look at the good side of it.

"I wish," the woman shook her head. "But demons are even more of a risk than bandits."

"How so?"

The boy was aware of how dangerous the demon was, but he couldn't fathom that it could measure up in danger to hundreds of bandits.

"Demons can grow in strength too," Narcha explained. "Not by conventional cultivation, but by other... more violent means. A forest full of bandits to slaughter is ideal for a demon like that to grow. That one looked pretty strong, too, so it might be close to breaking through to the Lesser Ring Realm."

"Does it get stronger by killing?" Red was surprised at this information.

"It's a bit more complicated than that, but you can think about it that way." the woman nodded.

Such a concept seemed absurd to the boy. Now, however, he understood why Narcha wanted to eliminate that threat so much.

"Was that demon a cultivator before?" Red asked.

"Probably." Narcha replied. "Actually, monsters can become demons too, but from the humanoid appearance of that one, it's safe to assume it was a human."

The boy nodded in understanding.

"What about that zombie?" he asked, pointing at the mutilated corpse nearby.

Narcha turned around to stare at what remained of the undead. She had a frown on her face and was still regarding it with caution.

"I don't know." the woman shook her head. "But I can tell you it was no normal zombie, that's for sure."

"At least it's dead now." Red sighed, remembering his earlier encounter.

"You're right, but we'll need to get to the bottom of this once we're back at the Sect."

The woman sheathed her saber on her back and looked at the black cleaver in Red's hand again.

"So, are you going to tell me where you got that from?"

"No." Red replied.

"Bah, why do I even bother?!" Narcha grumbled. "Did you at least get your things?"

Red nodded.

"Then let's get out of here before-" her words were cut off by yells from afar.

The boy looked to the south. He could hear that the voices were approaching their general position, and there were many of them.

"The bandits are still alive?" Red frowned.

"Some of them managed to escape and probably looked for reinforcements." Narcha explained. "It doesn't matter. We just need to get out of here as soon as possible."

The boy promptly agreed with her suggestions. After he collected his belongings, the two of them started heading south at a brisk pace, and soon enough, they couldn't hear the bandits any longer. This, however, didn't make Red any more relaxed.

"They are definitely going to notice our footprints next to the zombie's body." he pointed out.

Neither of them had time to cover their tracks while fighting for their lives.

"I know." Narcha acknowledged with a solemn expression.

"Do you think you can take them all?" Red asked.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." the woman replied without her usual brash attitude.

This was obviously very telling for the boy. It seemed they weren't out of danger just yet.

"We should try hiding, then." he suggested.

"At which point did you think I was afraid of them?" Narcha snapped back at him. "Besides, they know this forest too well for us to lose them."

"Then what do you propose?"

"We hurry back to the city," she replied. "And hope they're smarter than to try to chase us."

That was as good of a plan as any.

...

Thankfully for them, the journey northwest over the next few hours was uneventful. They managed to leave the range of the dead forest, and Red began to disguise their tracks again. He didn't know how effective that would be against more experienced trackers, but he tried to cover all his bases.

There was, however, something that had been bothering Red this entire time.

The strange feeling that had allowed Red to notice Narcha, the zombie, and the demon hadn't disappeared yet. In fact, as they got back into the living forest, it began to flare up constantly. There were multiple sensations that appeared all around his body, differing in intensity. Some of them didn't last more than a few seconds before disappearing. The youth had trouble identifying where these prickling feelings were coming from, but they were still there.

Whenever the boy looked in the direction a given sensation was pointing in, he saw different things. Sometimes it pointed at birds flying in the canopy, and at others, it seemed to be pointing right below his feet. Some sensations were so faint and weak that Red had a hard time noticing them.

There was, however, one constant sensation stronger than any others in his vicinity.

Red looked up at Narcha.

The feeling she had been radiating was the strongest by far. Not even the demon from earlier seemed able to compare. In fact, the boy felt that even if he closed his eyes, he could still pinpoint the woman's exact location.

As if to confirm his theory, the boy began to change position relative to Narcha. It didn't matter if he was behind, to her sides, or in front of her. The strange sensation inside his body constantly pointed at the woman.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Narcha asked once she saw his strange movement.

"Nothing." Red replied.

The warrior looked annoyed, but she just let the matter go once the boy stopped doing it. He took this opportunity, instead, to ponder upon the change his body had gone through.

After some observation, Red confirmed the strange sensation seemed to be pointing at living beings around him. Not only that, but the strength of the feedback seemingly depended on how big said beings were. Narcha, for instance, had the strongest flare in his senses, while small critters were much weaker.

'No, that's not right...'

Red thought back to his encounter with the zombie. The undead had also entered his senses back then, and the creature was most definitely not alive. Then, there was also the demon. It was bigger than Narcha, but its flare was weaker than hers. It seemed there were other criteria to how this power worked.

'Does it detect strength?'

That didn't seem right. This was just not a concrete idea, and Red assumed there must be something more to it. Not to mention, the sensation he felt from the zombie was much weaker than Narcha's and didn't seem to match its strength.

Along the way, the boy tried to think of some other possible causes of these reactions. He considered blood, Spiritual Energy, and even more ephemeral things such as souls or life essence. In the end, though, Red just couldn't tell for sure what could have been causing it without experimentation.

The source of this new power, though, was evident in his mind.

'That crimson thing...'

The boy obviously didn't feel at ease with its presence inside his body, but he didn't regret his decision. He was already in deep trouble, and whatever the mist's intentions were, they didn't seem detrimental to the boy just yet.

Red still wasn't sure what the "deal" he had struck with this crimson energy entailed. Either way, as long as he got to live another day, there was still hope.

'I refused a deal with the blob only to make another one with a different entity...'

The irony wasn't lost on him. However, for some reason, he felt more trusting towards this crimson energy. The boy had been able to discern the sincerity in its intention. It was suffering and in need of help - help that only Red could provide. Granted, he would have still refused to deal with it under different circumstances.

As the youth was lost in his thoughts, Narcha eventually called their march to a stop. The boy looked up at her in confusion, only to notice the woman had a solemn expression on her face.

"Voices ahead." she explained.

"How many?" Red asked.

"Five, probably more."

"Are they looking for us?"

"How would I know?" Narcha grumbled. "But they're coming in our direction."

"Let's avoid them." Red suggested.

For some reason, the woman looked reluctant.

"What is it?" the boy asked. "Do you really want to fight them?"

"That's not it." she shook her head. "I can swear I recognize one of the voices."

"From this distance?" Red was skeptical.

"They're very loud."

Indeed, a few seconds later, even the boy began to hear their boisterous voices. Eventually, recognition came to Narcha's expression, followed shortly after by anger.

"Motherfucker." she grumbled.

"We need to do something." Red warned her again.

"Right," Narcha nodded through gritted teeth. "But I need to confirm something."

Eventually, the two of them decided to hide on top of a small hill nearby. The woman was insistent on them spying on who was passing by, and Red could only relent. Although, when he saw the group of people, even he was surprised.

"Is that..." the boy whispered.

"Gustav's cronies." Narcha explained.

Red wouldn't forget their armors from the first day he arrived in the city. In the center of the group, the boy even saw a figure he could recognize.

Reinhart - Gustav's direct subordinate.

Not only that, but they were calmly walking amidst the bandits.