Within the Rietis military headquarters...
The sky, which had been overcast for a long time, finally began to drizzle. At the usual resting spot for the prince's guard, Yuri sat alone on a stone bench, lost in thought.
These past few days, many had asked him about what happened in Tacoma City. He had already told them everything he knew; the rest was just a blank he couldn't recall.
Though the prince kept telling him to take his time remembering, Yuri, having grown up in noble circles, could see through it all. The prince had his limits, too. If he took too long without results, he might be kicked out of the prince's estate or sent to guard the frontier.
He still had family in Tacoma City. If he were banished far away, he'd never make it back!
"Yuri, what are you doing here? Isn't it your shift?" someone called from the other side.
As someone from the southeast, Yuri differed from the locals in habits and appearance. Southeasterners generally had yellower skin and were shorter than northerners.
"Oh, right. I'm coming..."
The soldier who approached noticed his dazed look and asked, "What's wrong? Remembered something?"
In truth, every soldier in Yuri's unit had been given a secret task. Everyone knew about it except Yuri himself—though he might have sensed it and chose not to call it out, since it was the key to his staying in Rietis City.
All the soldiers assigned to be with him had been secretly instructed to note down anything he said about Tacoma City and report it, earning rewards in the process... Over time, it became routine to ask him daily if he'd remembered anything.
But Yuri would always shake his head.
He couldn't remember, or maybe he didn't want to speak yet. He feared that saying too much would get him sent to the frontier, but staying silent too long would lead to the same fate. So he'd recall a little and share a bit, stretching it out day by day, waiting for news from Tacoma City so he could sneak back.
"Nothing at all?"
"Nothing. I felt so groggy back then, like my mind wasn't clear..."
He dodged the question the same way every time, and the soldiers asking had grown used to it.
"Forget it. Let's go. Looks like this rain won't stop until evening, but at least it's sunny and rainy at the same time..." the soldier said, looking at the sky.
The drizzle fell alongside the sun, with a rainbow on the horizon and even a faint moon visible...
What was that called again?
The soldier couldn't quite recall. The scholars often talked about celestial phenomena—how the moon could sometimes be seen even during the day.
"Let's go... What's wrong?" He turned back to find Yuri frozen in place.
"I... I think I remember something!"
"What?!" he asked urgently. "Tell me, quick."
"The moon..."
"The moon?"
"Several things like the moon appeared in the sky..." Yuri's thoughts drifted back to that day, the last time he'd seen the sky.
………………………………
The sky gradually brightened.
Sean checked outside the door and found the area relatively safe—at least no more demonic goat-men in sight.
"It's safe for now," he said, turning to the weary mercenaries sprawled across the room.
"They really didn't follow us?!"
At the sound, someone scrambled to their feet, eyes bloodshot. Many hadn't slept all night; closing their eyes for a few seconds felt like an eternity before they jolted awake again.
"They seem unable to move during the day," Sean explained.
Even now, recalling last night's scene sent chills down his spine...
A piercing cry lit up a green flame in the fog, and an even larger goat-man emerged from the mist—a towering figure nearly ten meters tall, followed by smaller ones. The one they'd been fighting was just one of the underlings.
That was when Sean realized the skill [Call~] was meant to summon allies...
He glanced at the group in the room.
Only ten had made it this far, mostly ranged fighters who had a chance to escape. When the massive demon goat-man appeared, few of the melee mercenaries survived.
Even Sir Lukar!
Jonathan stepped out from a corner to check outside. Safe indeed—the goat-men hadn't pursued them.
"They're nocturnal?"
"Maybe," Sean said.
He couldn't answer definitively. His guess came from the fact that no pursuit alerts had triggered during their escape. They'd run for nearly two hours before stopping to rest in this desolate village, just half an hour ago.
"No way! If that's the case, we need to leave during the day. I can't stand this dump for another minute." Many were roused by the noise and, upon hearing the speculation that the demon goat-men might only be active at night, wanted to leave.
"Now? It's not that easy. How do you know they're not waiting in the woods? You all sensed that strange aura in the forest yesterday, didn't you? Think back—are they really not there?"
Sean was puzzled by this himself.
His vision showed no alerts, at least nothing indicating they were being watched. But if they weren't in the woods, how had they appeared at night?
It didn't add up...
"So what do we do? We can't just wait here for nightfall." The speaker was the female thief Sean knew. She'd survived too, her nimble skills letting her escape the earlier massacre.
"Even Master Lukar fell. We can't resist them."
At the mention of night, fear was palpable in the group.
Sean stared at the fog outside. He'd noticed it thinning since they'd arrived hours ago.
He stepped outside alone...
"Maybe their goal wasn't to kill us, but to lead us here."
"What do you mean?"
All eyes turned to Sean, standing outside and pointing at the sky for them to see.
The fog seemed to have cleared...
Perhaps in their rush to flee, they hadn't looked up. Here, the sky was visible.
"What is that? The sun? Or the moon?! Why are there so many..." They looked up.
Though mist lingered, they could now see enormous stars in the sky!
They appeared even larger than the sun to the naked eye...
Ten in total, and upon closer inspection, they seemed to be moving faintly.
"The stars return to their proper places! So that's what it meant..."
"They wanted to lure us here to perform this ritual," Sean said.