At dawn, Tristessa was ready to continue on to Entrana. With a backpack hanging on her right shoulder filled with durable food, a waterskin, and several soul-jewels, she stood next to Lufreya, who was feeding the aracrosses scraps of Legiana meat left over from the night before feast.

"I appreciate the offer, but seriously, I can't accept it."

"Come on, Miss Discord. Madame Luchie was explicit: you'll be taking one of the boys, whether you like it or not," the mercenary declared, her face obscured by the shadow of her helmet. "Which one do you like?"

Tristessa gulped with newly born nerves, watching the four-legged creatures tear the raw meat with the absurd number of teeth in their demonic snouts. While aracrosses were smaller than vargs and, without their horns, were as docile as domestic dogs, that didn't negate the fact that she harbored an implicit fear of such creatures.

And the beasts could smell her fear: their yellow, slit-like eyes fixed on her every time they tore off a piece of meat and chewed, blood and warm saliva dripping through their teeth.

Except for one of them.

"Oh? What's up with this one?" Tristessa asked, moving a bit to the right so she was facing the beast that had stopped eating to offer her its undivided attention. It was breathing calmly, expelling warm air from its snout, carrying with it a strong, nauseating smell. "It seems a little more passive than the others."

"Yeah… It's weird, he usually acts very indifferent," Lufreya commented, hands on her hips and tilting her head, nearly bumping Tristessa with her helmet. "He might like you. Pet his head, between the horns."

"What?!" The black-haired girl's fear could be seen from the top of the Outpost's dilapidated tower, but the lesser demon only blinked a few times. As if waiting for her to do something. "Huh, fuck… Okay."

She had to gather lots of courage as the traumatic memories of her first Death at the claws of the pack of vargs flashed through her head. That same arm that had been torn off, she was now reaching for that aracross; her hand trembling, filled with more nerves than blood, trying to reach that space between the two polished horns, almost hidden in the fur, almost to the base of the skull.

"Fuck…fuck…fuck…"

Her mind betrayed her. With every inch she closed the distance, her imagination made her see those protruding teeth capturing her hand, and the compression of the jaws managing to tear off her fingers and part of her hand. A brutal bite, the sensation of hellish pain she knew very well. Because she had experienced it, having been devoured alive.

"Fuck!"

With her heart racing, Tristessa touched the aracross's head and felt its warm but hard fur, like that of its close bipedal relative.

"Raaa!"

And the beast reacted, making her almost scream: it closed its eyes and pushed its head up against her hand, as if demanding more strength and determination from that contact.

"Look at that! He seems to like you, Miss Discord."

"I-Is that so?" Hearing that made a small smile form on Tristessa's lips, and she gained a little more confidence to use both hands to stroke his head. Aracrosses didn't have tails, but this one would undoubtedly have been wagging it in excitement at being petted, while the other four beasts remained focused on their bloody breakfast and completely uninterested in Tristessa. "You're very friendly. I wonder if... Oh?"

"What's wrong?"

Tristessa's sudden silence caught the mercenary's attention, but she didn't respond. She was recalling what had happened in that past loop when the Dullahan invaded the Derelict Outpost, and amid the massacre, an aracross ended up being the last of the beasts to die.

"This aracross…!" Tristessa remembered seeing it dodge the spectral dark horse and attempt to charge at its rider, unfortunately meeting its end at the curved sword that reached for its neck with dizzying speed. "So it's you."

With her rational fear of multi-toothed beasts with wolfish features receding, Tristessa looked at Lufreya with a look that spoke volumes.

"I choose this one. What's its name?"

"He doesn't have one. No matter how many names we call him, he doesn't recognize any we give him."

"Huh? Really?" She turned to look at the lesser demon again and found his monstrous face so close to hers that it threatened to bring back that terrible fear. And she received a long lick across her face, filling her chin, nose, and eyebrows with hot saliva. A sign that she had nothing to fear from that beast. "…it seems you want to guide me to Entrana, huh?"

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"Raaa!"

As she prepared the saddle on that aracross and adjusted the girth, careful not to pull on his fur, Tristessa saw that the rest of the mercenaries were also getting ready to depart: loading the crates of supplies into the secondary carriage, checking the tightness of the primary carriage's soilcloth grips, outfitting the two vilecrosses with basic armor that protected their limbs, heads, and the most vulnerable parts of the chest, among other tasks.

Soon, the caravan was ready to leave the dilapidated Outpost. Heading east, toward Arkos, the Ruined Port City on the shores of the Onyx Sea. The mercenaries were mounted on their aracrosses, except for Melian, who sat in the driver's seat and waved to Tristessa with a wide smile, and Reiden.

The mercenary leader accompanied Madame Luchie and the Mercer-Archeos, all of them walking toward her, already mounted on her nameless aracross, trying to find the perfect balance so as not to fall off the sides.

"Discord and smelling like wet dog. More stinker than ever," Tiara blurted out once the group stopped in front of the beast and its rider. "You two are perfect for each other."

"Mommy don't be mean!" Lucahn scolded her. He, along with Gaal, didn't dare take even a step closer to the aracross, even before his friendly visage.

"Thanks for defending me, Lucci." Tristessa winked at the boy, and he tried to imitate her, closing both eyes and making her chuckle. That joy didn't last long when she saw the giant dog beside the boy: he was clearly very downcast, his head down, and it was a miracle he could walk. He didn't have much longer to live. "Be careful all of you. Take care of them, Jin."

"I will. You too, Tessa." The blond, bearded man sounded worried, though he tried not to show it. His nature, the spirit of a family man with a very big heart, could easily cost him his life. "Are you really going to be alright?"

"Of course she will. After seeing her in action... Our friend Stranger can take care of herself," Reiden said, confident in his words, going to her side to extend his hand. "I'm sure we'll see each other again soon, Miss... Tessa."

"Likewise, Reiden," she said, shaking his hand firmly.

Then, it was Madame Luchie's turn to step forward. She was wearing a warm leather jacket that reached her knees, and her gray hair was tied up and held in place by two gold pins.

In her eyes—not with beast features, thanks to the Gods—there was a solidity that Tristessa hadn't seen in previous loops. Before, the greed of a merchant and an air of superiority due to the power her riches conferred were all she could see in the old woman.

Now, there was expectation. A bare desire seeking fulfillment, at the hands of a Stranger that Reiden had surely taken it upon himself to aggrandize after seeing her [Divinity of Accursed Existence] in action.

"Seven days, Miss Tristessa Irandell. Seven days is all I will give you. Nothing will happen to the Mercer-Archeos under my care, not even if the [Princess of Sin] herself appears before us," the old woman promised. "After that time-lapse, I will drop them off at the southern gate of the city. Whatever fate awaits them there is none of my concern. I am only interested in seeing that you keep your end of the bargain, Stranger."

"I know, Madame Luchie. I promised you I would save Crywolf, and I will…in due time."

In retaliation, Karla Luchie let out a guttural bestial roar that frightened everyone around. Lucahn screamed and hugged his mother, and both Gaal and the nameless aracross responded with whimpers, terrified of that hidden predator. Tristessa almost fell off her mount but managed to catch herself by hugging the lesser demon's back; both the beast's heart and hers were beating rapidly with fear.

"Don't take too long. I'm an impatient person by nature."

With that said, Madame Luchie turned around and went straight to the secondary carriage to get inside.

"We'd better stop testing the Madame's patience, shall we? Let's go."

Reiden encouraged the Mercer-Archeos to follow Karla's lead, going inside the carriage, but not before giving Tristessa silent farewell glances. They wished her the best of luck in dealing with Aurelia Eramisaptor, the judge and executioner of their lives if the mission wasn't successful within seven days.

Their fates were in Tristessa's hands, as she watched the two Vilecrosses begin to pull on the chains connected to the caravan on Melian's orders. The movement caused them to veer east, straight for that direction's exit.

Tristessa let out a sigh she'd been holding and noticed her new aracross looking at her out of the corner of her eye. Waiting for her orders.

"We're going north... Huh, what name should I give you? Bah, I'll think of it. You don't mind waiting a little bit, do you?"

"Raaa!"

From that friendly roar, it seemed the aracross had no problem at all. Tristessa smiled and patted its back, signaling that it was time to leave this abandoned place.

"Yes, just like… Wait! Don't go so fast... W-wait, a little slower. Slow down, I'm a rookie! WAIT, SLOW DOWN!"

Screaming, Tristessa was forced to wrap her arms around the aracross's back again to keep from falling, as the beast trotted toward the ruined north gate.

Towards Entrana, where the result of that loop was going to find its definition.

DIVINITY OF THE DARK ROOM

BLACK MIRROR – Job Section Unlocked

New Job Unlocked: She-Dragoon

JOBS

Necromancer

–

Practitioner of the dark arts, capable of bringing the dead back to life and force them to do their bidding

.

Level 3 – Skills and passives defined by effectiveness of the

[Divinity of Accursed Existence]

and

[Divinity of Whispers in the Dark]

She-Dragoon

-

Warrior capable of fighting as a cavalryman or as infantry on foot. High mobility and effective in flanking and surprising enemy forces

Level 1 - Skill: Aracross Riding

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