Nero had his hand clasped over Aisha's mouth with Geor breathing heavily down behind him.

It was a rather difficult position to be in.

He had heard Garrick's call out, which made him click his tongue in annoyance.

He had planned for them to head on down the forward path that would have led straight to Liedenstorm, while he circled back and returned to the original path.

If they had done that, then the two would have completely missed each other in getting back to Liedenstorm.

He knew exactly what Garrick wanted from him. But it was not something he was willing to give up.

He had fought for these things and acquired them with his life on the line.

No way in hell would he be giving them up.

However, he also knew if he wanted to keep them, he would have to eventually duke it out with Garrick. From what he had gleamed so far, Garrick seemed fully intent on ending his life.

But Nero was different. He had never killed another human before.

Even the thought of it was so sickening, it churned his bowels.

And yet, it seemed like there was nothing he could do.

Now that Garrick had foiled his plans, if they all split up and began searching for him, things would be much more difficult than he had anticipated. It could even end with him being caught.

'In that case, I'm banking on you, Obed.'

"Are you hearing yourself, Garrick!"

Garrick frowned and turned to face Obed who was glaring at him menacingly.

Spittle flew from Obed's lips as he cursed furiously,

"If we head into the forest alone, not even the gods know what would become of us. Are you that blinded by greed?!"

Garrick was silent for a moment.

Then he smirked,

"What are you worried about? Obed. Trust me. That kid won't be going anywhere. He understands how dangerous the Garden is as much as the rest of us."

It was true. While they had been encountering relatively weak Abominations, that was because all that had happened, which even included Nero's lone journey, had all happened on the outskirts of Malady's Garden.

Malady's Garden covered enormous ground on the fringe of the Empire. It acted as a natural barrier for the horrors that dwelled in the rest of the world, but it was also dangerous itself.

Its sheer size made it so that even after days of travel, they were still stuck at the very edge of it.

But, any deeper than they already were would mean they would be heading into dangerous territory.

And considering that a few far too dangerous beings were already being sighted his far out to the edge,it could only mean the danger further in the Garden would be too much for them to even comprehend.

Nero gritted a teeth as a bead of sweat dripped down his face.

Now, he was completely out of options.

His eyes went dark,

'Do I just kill them all?'

That was indeed an option. With the coverage of night and his Shadow Shift skill, he was confident that he could assassinate at least a few of them before the others would be able to react.

But if he did that, then there would be no going back.

Plus, he had to consider what would become of Aisha and Geor. The greatest calamity he wanted to avoid as much as possible, was Aisha transforming into whatever it was that she could become.

'So what do I do?'

He could try slipping through the net Garrick wanted to cast. But the odds of doing so successfully were next to none.

Just as he found himself stuck between a rock and a hard place, a miracle happened.

A frigid wind cut through the night's atmosphere.

Nero felt the danger and evil wash over him like a tidal wave.

Every muscle in his body began to scream a familiar resonance, reacting to a treacherous horror he had felt before.

"Oh no..." He muttered.

With eyes momentarily blinded by greed, they had forgotten the nature of the lands they walked upon.

It was one where death and danger was the only constant.

In that moment, Garrick felt his eyes clear up. A look of panic settled onto his face as he glanced up.

A few dozen meters away, an immense apparition lay on the fabric of existence.

It cast a shadow of trepidation on all of them, filling their hearts with fear.

Fallow looked up and his face turned ugly,

"What the hell?! It came to us!"

He turned to Garrick, "Oi, now's not the time for games. We'll get the spear some other time. Let's run!"

A look of hesitation appeared on Garrick's face.

The Defiled Cherub had three heads, with three faces on each head. Its body wa like a single flowing gown of darkness that blended into the night. This made it seem as though each enormous head was floating in the sky.

One of the heads was turned in the direction of the party.

Its eyes slowly opened.

The other man in Fallow's party absentmindedly stared into the swirling darkness.

"Ah..." He croaked out.

Then his eyes widened to their limits before exploding out of their sockets.

A guttural screech tore from his throat as he fell to his knees.

His flesh began to bubble and smolder, burned by an invincible heat.

The rest of them took several steps away from him in horror as his body was turned into a pile of bloody mush and swelling cysts. Despite that, one could tell that he was still alive, trapped in a cycle of endless torment that would most likely go on for another hour, or until something else killed him.

A terribly gruesome way to die...

"Fuck! Garrick!"

Garrick grimaced then yelled,

"Let's go."

As they ran, the Defiled Cherub followed them with its gaze but didn't give chase.

Watching from the shadows, Nero let out a sigh of relief.

Somehow, that dangerous situation had passed.

But, for some reason, he had found himself in another horrible predicament.

He chuckled bitterly then rose up from where he was crouched.

"Nero! Get back down! It will see you." Geor called out to him with wide eyes.

Nero let out a sigh then shook his head.

For some reason, he recognized it. This was the same Defiled Cherub that had shown him the vision.

It had not chased after Garrick's group. Instead, it remained there, waiting for him.

'You have something to say to me, huh...' Nero thought as he took a step forward.

'Well, I'm all ears.'

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