Night fell in the town, Raze and the others sat near the exterior of the town along with some of the knights from the chapter. The knights were roasting meat and having conversations, while Raze sat there looking at the flames.

Tap tap.

He felt two taps on his shoulder. He looked behind him and saw Mark standing there. "Come with me," Mark said and walked off. Raze sat there for a few seconds before getting up and following Mark, walking toward the forest.

"Thank you for what you did today," Mark said.

"It was nothing," Raze replied casually.

Mark nodded, falling silent for a few moments as they walked deeper into the forest. Eventually, he spoke again.

"I do have a question, though. How exactly did you do it?" Mark asked. "The cultist was completely uncooperative, ready to die before giving us anything."

He stopped walking, still facing forward.

"But when you spoke to him… when you met him… he became extremely cooperative. He gave out information without us even needing to ask." Mark turned around, eyes narrowing. "So what exactly did you do to him?"

Raze went silent, not responding at first.

Mark waited.

Finally, Raze spoke. "What I did isn't what you'd call legal… or right. I tampered with someone's mind."

"I see," Mark replied.

Mind control, anything involving tampering with thoughts, was one of the most heavily regulated arts in the kingdom. It was rare, dangerous, and deeply feared. Anyone known to possess it was watched closely or outright arrested. The idea of losing control over one's own mind was a terror ingrained into everyone.

Hearing that Raze had used it successfully made Mark's suspicions flare even more.

He looked at Raze directly. "Are you for the Kingdom of Vermilion… or against us?"

Raze was taken aback by the blunt question, but he answered anyway. "As long as the Vermilion Kingdom doesn't come against me… I won't come against them."

Mark listened carefully, then nodded slowly.

"I see. I'll keep what happened here under wraps, and I'll make sure everyone in my chapter stays silent about it. I'm sure you don't want anyone knowing about your… tricks. And since you're a friend of my sister, I'll ensure no one spreads it."

He paused, studying Raze with a mixture of caution and curiosity.

"That being said, it's pretty shocking to see a child handle the situation the way you did."

Raze let out a small smile. "I guess not all kids are really kids."

[....]

The sun rose the next day and everyone was up. It was finally time for them to leave and get to hunting the abomination.

"This is a special device," Mark said, pulling out a small black cube with runes on it and handing it to Emily. "It will glow and hum the closer you get to an abomination," he explained.

"When you leave here, head right into the forest, it should lead you. Emily, be careful, and when you get faced with an abomination you can't take down, use the family method and escape. Your life is far more important than any hunt," he said.

"Stop worrying, brother," she said.

After that, they left the town and entered into the forest. Emily walked at the front with the cube in her hand, while Raze walked beside her.

"So, why were you following us that day?" he suddenly asked. The question took her so unaware her head snapped to the side, her gaze met with his. Raze simply smiled at her.

"Tsk, I guess I was too obvious," she said.

"No, you were pretty well hidden. I just have a way to find people," Raze said.

"Hmmm, sigh, I was following you because I became curious about you after your presentation during the entrance examination, and after that day you vanished. So when I saw you, I saw it as an opportunity to see what you were up to."

"Awwwwn, oh my God, I can't believe a beautiful girl is interested in me," Raze said. She shot him a cold look and he smiled back.

"It's nothing like that, I don't have interest in boys," she said.

"But you seem to have interest in me," Raze replied.

"I have interest in strength. I don't care who a person is, as long as the person is strong," she explained.

"Hmm, I guess that makes sense. I have noticed that you have a crazy drive for growing strong," Raze said. He placed his hands behind his head. "That's a very good drive," Raze stated.

"You think? I've heard a lot of people call my desire a useless one, saying I want to get strong for getting strong's sake, not for any reason," she explained.

"Meh, people are stupid in general. Take me for instance, I want to get strong so that I can laze around and read books. Does it make sense? No. But it does to me, and that's pretty much all that matters to me," Raze said, flashing her a smile.

"For some reason your smile makes me scared," she said straight.

"Ack, oh come on, I have a great smile," Raze said.

She stared at him for a few seconds, then shook her head. "Your smile is genuinely like looking at a demon. When you have a normal expression, you look like a good-looking noble, but when you smile, it's like there is some sort of devious plan cooking in your mind."

"Tsk, whatever," Raze said.

Hummm, hummm.

The cube began glowing, which meant there was an abomination around.

"There is one here, let's search for—"

"It's up ahead, behind the trees," Raze said after using God's Eye. He pulled out his bat. "Meet you all there," he said before dashing. They all followed behind, and when they got behind the tree, they saw a massive abomination standing there—eight feet tall, with six arms twisted and six red glowing eyes. It turned to look at them.

"Screeeeeeeeeeeeech!" its voice cut through the air.

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