“Anyway, I talked more than I would like. Let’s go through the town already.” Azanor stated, interrupting Kazius’ thoughts with the statement.

“What? NO! I just told you, we would cause a panic if we did that!” Kazius scolded, his tone growing frustrated.

“Fine fine… How about I teach you something neat for free instead then?” Azanor suggested, his grin widening.

“Free? Define ‘free’. I won’t be signing away my soul, right? Or my first born?” Kazius questioned wearily, indeed not so convinced.

“Oh, come on, you can trust your good old pal Azanor… I told you, I don’t lie… And what would I want some baby for?”

“Right…”

As if in agreement, Alice seemed to let out a scoff at the notion of trusting the Demon.

‘Like I would believe that, all I have is your word.’

“How hurtful… And here I am being so kind.” Azanor stated in fake exaggerated distress. He would play it up some more before he would immediately just grin and chuckle.

“Alright alight… Look, I will just tell you, how about that? Since clearly you don’t want my help getting through town… You can get us across instead. I think I have pieced together what you are… Or part of it anyway. I think you have a tool that should work perfectly fine. You just have to sense deep within you. I am sure you can feel something there… A darkness… Maybe a power you’ve used… Focus on it, spread it around you. Think of it as clay, there for your manipulation.” Azanor would explain.

It seemed since Demons would do deals for power… Understanding the powers of people was something they could do to some extent, by looking at the person’s soul. At least the basics of said powers.

Kazius was beginning to understand why Demons were such frightening opponents. Starting a fight with one would already cause a disadvantage in information from the very beginning.

Still, Azanor’s instructions were confusing. No way such a vague explanation would be enough!

“What is that even supposed to mean?” Alice questioned with a frown.

“No way that is enough information, Azanor.” Kazius stated with a frown.

“You should at least try it! He is trying to help!” Eve exclaimed eagerly, her expression beaming with excitement.

Kazius was unsure, but he did figure he had nothing to lose by doing as instructed. Surprisingly enough though…

“Oh shit, it worked!” Kazius admitted in shock. He really succeeded.

Kazius would pull at the shadows around them. It was almost as if the shadows of the trees and foliage around them were being sucked into his own. This happened until the shadow grew big enough to surround the group. Despite the darkness around them, Kazius could see beyond it perfectly fine.

“What did I tell you? You should really not doubt me, you know? Still, you did even better than I expected… You have a very high affinity for this sort of thing…” Azanor stated proudly, his tone shifting to curiosity quickly though.

It was shocking to say the least. The more he used this power, the more her felt like he was himself… Like he had been shunning a part of himself, the part that was now finally free.

“Ooh, spooky! It is so dark! It is like putting on sunglasses!” Eve could be heard giggling out.

“I can’t see a thing…” Alice could be heard, sounding a bit uneasy.

“Of course, you can’t, no mortal can see anything in darkness this concentrated. It might be disorienting, but you will find this to be quite useful for hiding or even travel… If you get accustomed to it.” Azanor could be heard explaining nonchalantly.

Alice was silent for a bit before speaking up.

“I suppose… I will admit… I don’t like it… But it sounds useful… I just don’t like how I can’t see anything but glowing eyes looking right at me… Like some sort abyss…” Alice explained, sounding a bit shaken. It was almost unexpected for her considering she put on such a tough exterior.

“Those are just our eyes; you will be fine.” Azanor explained plainly with a shrug.

Still, if that is what this looked like to Alice… Kazius understood why she would be scared.

Feeling concerned, before Kazius knew what he was doing, he found himself reaching out for her hand. The moment he did this, she jumped a little.

“It is okay… I will try to hurry…” Kazius tried to reassure. Alice did seem to be shaking a bit less after that.

“Thank you…” Alice stated hesitantly in a surprisingly soft tone. It was likely tough being the only Human in such a… Strange friend group.

“Alright, since you have the hang of this… Let’s keep moving… Next… You should try and visualize sinking into the ground and appearing as part of the surrounding shadows… This should allow you to go through the wall or through town… Of course, someone strong enough will know you’re there so don’t do anything stupid that gets you killed… Unless I am there to watch of course.” Azanor explained before snickering at the last part. Despite his snide comment at the end… There was little to complain about when it came to Azanor.

“… Thanks…” Kazius admitted. He was annoying, but… This would indeed be useful. He was giving them useful knowledge for free surprisingly easily. Something Kazius wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or not.

“Anyway… I’ll race you!” Azanor exclaimed, disappearing just like that.

‘Did he teleport? Or did he just move too fast to even be seen? Where the hell did, he go? How did he even get out of the shadow?’

“Wait what? No! Why you…” Kazius grumbled in frustration. The Demon really did just do what he wanted. He didn’t like him being out of sight… But at the same time with how he acted, it was becoming harder to justify being hostile towards him. Then again, what if this was all just a ruse to get them to think in such a way? Kazius had no clue.

Still, he had no time to dwell on things. He wanted to get his friends over the wall. Though he would have to be careful. Remus was fortified to the brim and the walls themselves were also heavily guarded by Knights on top.

Kazius would move them from shadow to shadow, staying high up to try and get a good view of any possible threats. He felt so nimble, so free… His powers were foreign yet so familiar… He had lacked the time to notice before, but he found he could peer into even the darkest of places and see perfectly well… This could help him in a fight… But together with the other uses for his power… He may very well be on his way to becoming a creature of the night...

There was no sign of Azanor once they were on top of the wall. There were many knights around, but not even one of them seemed to realize they were hiding in the shadows.

Kazius was about to move off the wall… When it hit him. While it was not visible, along the wall had appeared to be some sort of invisible barrier… One that shocked him the moment he attempted to leave Ratier for good.

The shock was agonizingly painful, feeling like someone was trying to burn off his skin. Were it not for his shadow protecting the group, such a shock would have killed them. Thanks to the shadows though, while the group looked roughened up, the strike did not leave a mark… The pain was there, but the damage was limited.

Still… The magic behind this barrier… It was strong… And protection or not, the pain had come as quite the surprise. For the barrier to shock people trying to leave Ratier… It clearly was not just to keep Monsters out… But also keep people in.

Letting out a pained cry, Kazius ended up losing focus.

Before the group knew what was happening, they were no longer in the shadows on the ground… But standing right on top of the wall.

It took but a second for the Knights on the wall to spot them.

“Intruders!” exclaimed one of the Knights on the wall.

Before they could even blink, a bell could be heard, the entirety of Remus was now alerted of their presence.

“Shit…” Kazius stated, beginning to panic on the inside. His heart raced, but he managed to remain calm on the exterior. They would have to clear off the Knights on the wall and get out of there fast… But how would they get past this barrier? Were they screwed?