Jeffy and Jyuzou managed to lift a boulder with a thicker rope from the ground, placing it atop the thicker branches. They used a few of the thin lines Jeffy still had in his backpack, creating two walls, separating the other trees from the two they stood on.

Jeffy disappeared for a while, climbing behind the thin walls and going further ahead, spawning more traps, eventually spreading somewhere towards the Sig-Num Fort. He soon came back, and sat down, tired.

Jyuzou gulped, eyeing, spotting demons crawling around the trees, carefully observing them. "I-I don't get it."

"Neither do I," Jeffy added. "Crackers, I thought those darn things would be head over heels to kill us, but no."

"It's like they're planning something," Jyuzou uttered.

"Oh, jeez, Jyuzou! Then, we must act faster than them!" Jeffy added, and Jyuzou sat down, with his feet hanging from above.

It wasn't a surprise that Morians were also naturally skilled at climbing buildings, trees or mountains. There were very few Morians afraid of heights, unlike Paladians, who usually complained when they were as low as 10 meters above the ground.

"I-I hope the others are safe," Jyuzou muttered.

"Especially Morio." Jeffy continued, with a small smile.

"E-Everyone." Jyuzou turned to him, and Jeffy tilted his head. "...M-Morio too, then."

"Especially," he repeated.

"Damn it." Jyuzou shook his head. "Thinking there was a chance that my last words to Morio would've been of an argument." he closed his eyes. "I need to apologize."

"Ooh, yeah!" Jeffy added, standing up and circling the bark, drawing some of the lines back. "Like, I didn't get to tell Mama goodbye before she left a few days ago! Only more reason to fight through and survive!" he clenched his fist.

"Yeah," Jyuzou muttered, sitting back, and spotting something in the distance.

He squinted his eyes and inched closer. Someone stood still, looking back at the Morian.

Jyuzou gasped, covering his mouth, and Jeffy peeked as well, curiously.

The other person on the ground didn't seem to do anything else, except for staring.

"It's not doing anything," Jeffy muttered.

Jyuzou eventually dared to move, even whispering out. "It's that demon from earlier. He's the one who knocked me out and dragged me all the way to that fire."

Leopold's eyes shone in the direction of the two Morians, before eventually, he glimpsed forward. One step led to another, and eventually, it moved further into the snowy forest, fixing its skull mask and straightening up.

Jyuzou shook his head. "What is going on-"

Out of the blue, thick stomps sounded in the distance, before a wind hit him from the front, and a few snowflakes hailed from above. Jeffy turned, seeing a massive white demon stepping in the misty distance, treading the nearby path. "Oh, jeez!"

***

The winds disappeared, and the snow, carried by the impact of the stomps slowly fell from above, like most days in Yule. Morio stepped in the front, and Atomu followed, looking around. Both of them had their swords ready, even if they knew they wouldn't do much harm.

Soon, they reached the remains of the Sig-Num Fort, and Morio quickly jumped around the masonry, seeing the dried-up blood and the remains of the demon that Ambrosia killed.

Atomu glanced up, seeing all the other creatures observing the two. He played with his hair and then turned towards Morio. "Anything?"

"It's just a corpse," Morio said, before clapping both hands. "I'll have to-"

"MORIO!" Atomu yelled out, pulling Morio away from the position in which his hands were ready to dive into the body.

"Maybe the magic is somewhere inside!" Morio replied, before taking out the sword which Ambrosia used. He looked at its blade, and the dried blood created a certain flowery pattern, eventually turning into a few words in Old Manjuno at the top.

Atomu gulped. "I never thought demons could write. Even in the olden language."

"I don't think it's a demon's work! Aren't witches known for that?!" Morio raised his voice.

"Nothing is known about them, Morio. If you're so sure that you encountered one, shouldn't you know?" The Paladian continued, and the Morian looked around, climbing up a taller structure. "Ugh." Atomu put his hand on his forehead. "It confirms one thing."

"Huh?"

"I don't think Ambrosia would have had the time to write this all down. Humans don't use Old Manjuno anymore." he scanned the blade. "Or even in all the tales about witches. I swear, they were written after the second war. Right, Morio?" he turned. "M-Morio?"

Morio stood still, looking up, and not budging or turning when Atomu spoke.

"Morio!" Atomu repeated, running towards him and unsuccessfully climbing up. When he reached the top, he shook him around, but, much like a thick boulder, he wouldn't budge. "Morio! IT'S NOT A WITCH, MORIO!"

"Why is he yelling?" Morio thought, hearing Atomu's muffled voice. "It's that light, reaching towards me again. I can feel her warmth. What was your name again?"

The light changed form, and a shape resembling a figure turned towards the Morian, followed by a Shinnia's hymn. Morio smiled, slowly, and Atomu looked up as well, grinding his teeth and furrowing his brows.

Her face changed, twisted into a sly smile he didn't know, then, into a devilish grin, which changed into something morbid. The witch's face started melting and soon became distorted, and from the flaps of the skins reaching down towards Morio, came out a loud screech, which almost knocked the Paladian down from the fort.

Morio's eyes shone at that moment, before he closed them, and fell into the snow below.

Light, as well as darkness, couldn't exist without one another. When the sun came out, the moon basked in its full glory somewhere in the world.

Witches, told by myths, tales and stories were playful creatures, bringing good fortune and passing on important information. They're believed to come from the forests above, which humans can't access.

...and with that, cane its evil side. Fairies, which lived underground, fooling people into believing that they those witches in the first place. They fed off their belief in the supernatural and stole their blood if they managed to harm them while they were unconscious.

Although what Morio had seen was definitely the work of a feisty fairy, the sword, which now was buried in the snow next to his body, wasn't. Its power gleamed in the night, waiting to be picked up again.

Tributals were much more than they were made out to be, and many tales were comprised of them having access to some form of strange sacrificial magic, yet no one knew the answer. It seemed that in desperate times, only more questions appeared.

Atomu seemed to pay no heed to that other item, however. His hand was covered in blood, which dripped down the weapon he held in his hand.

***

Morio woke up to the sound of flowing water from a nearby river, which the fort was built upon. It had many big stones cutting through its path, and Jeffy took some of the nearby boulders to build his traps. They created a bridge-like path up the hill towards most of the other ruins, and although Eryk Nuil-Tukman couldn't walk without the help of Lamon, he always insisted on crawling up the stones and dipping his hands into the cold stream. Despite being the man he was, he still greatly appreciated nature, and if Jyuzou had been here earlier, he would've sat down and observed the shallow body of water as well.

Morio opened his eyes, the water was frozen solid, with some snowflakes dropping on the ice, then picked up by the wind and sent flying towards his face. He rolled to the side and then lay on his back, looking up. The sleet moved at fast speeds, in a certain rhythm, which changed directions now and then. Only when he got back to all of his senses, could he hear the familiar stomps in the distance, rapidly approaching.

Morio sat up, and looked forwards, seeing the faceless, massive demon speeding towards him. "Ah." he put his hands on the snow, searching for the Victis sword, and at the last moment, he managed to hold onto its grip when the final step propelled him elsewhere.

Morio landed in a snowdrift, piercing through its side, and immediately got out, running forward. He screamed while the demon started chasing him. He didn't let go of the sword, although his hands were slippery. He didn't stop running, although his legs begged to give in. Something, somewhere inside of him insisted on him to keep going.

Despite the fairy's attempt to fool him, a few words kept echoing in his mind.

"If you tread carefully, you can rescue hope."

Morio made it towards an empty hill, and the demon reached his hands towards him, trying to grab his body. It screeched out, and Morio felt its freezing finger touching his skin.

"NOW!" Jeffy yelled out, as both he and Jyuzou cut through thin ropes that held each boulder next to its respective tree. They fell, caught by another rope and clashed together, piercing through the demon's chest, and leaving a bloody, gaping hole.

"Agh!" Morio fell, arms first and rolled on the ground, turning back. The creature stepped around, trying to control its movements and balance its steps. It slowly turned, and Morio looked directly into the black mass, oozing from where its face was supposed to be. Its horns started twisting, and eventually dug underground, trying to desperately get a hold of the Morian.

Suddenly, a vigorous scream could be heard, and Atomu jumped down from above and landed on the demon's back, sticking his sword into the back of its head. It yelled out in pain and immediately tried striking the Paladian with its fist. His eyes shrunk, as he barely managed to avoid its shot. Although he had the determination and an idea of what he tried to attempt, he was still terrified and greatly inexperienced with handling his weapon. Atomu took it out of its head and raised it above his head, triumphantly, before trying to cut through its horn.

"Oh." It didn't work.

With one shake, he fell to the ground again, and Jyuzou slid down a rope, taking his thin, stone sword out. He ran to the side, and then yelled out: "C-Come on!"

The demon slowly looked at him. "F-f-f.... f..." Jyuzou struggled. "Fight me!"

"Jyuzou!" Jeffy leapt as well, running up to Morio and helping him up.

"No, Jyuzou!" Atomu dug himself out of the snow. "RUN!"

"F-Fight me! Come on, you big b-bully!" Jyuzou insisted, grinding his teeth. The demon picked up speed, extending its arm and running towards him. He gulped, slowly moving back, still pointing the weapon up.

"JYUZOU!" Morio raised his voice, and the demon launched itself towards him, slamming its body onto Jyuzou's.

"Jyu..." Atomu slowly stood up, and stared at the demon, in shock, dropping the sword to the ground.

All of a sudden, the creature raised its head, screaming. It stood up, and blood streamed out of an open wound, right near its heart.

Jyuzou lay still, with the sword in his hands, now covered in the demon's blood. It stepped around, Jeffy jumped away and it tripped on a boulder, rolling into the thin ropes and landing head first into the river, breaking its stones and revealing a massive entrance to the caves below, completed with many stalagmites revealing themselves above the cave's shadow.

Atomu ran up towards the rift in the ground, and the screams of the creature echoed from below, before going completely silent. The waters poured in from left and right, and all the demons that clung to the barks of trees quickly ran away at the sight. Morio turned, breathing heavily. He turned to the others, and Jyuzou sat up, breathing in and out. "It's dead," Atomu said. "IT'S DEAD!" he repeated, turning around.