"Both groups will be setting out in the coming days, Nuil," Lamon informed, standing still next to Eryk's throne, as he enjoyed a Tributal dinner.

"Mhm." Eryk nodded, fixated on the vegetables.

"Which also means Kashmir is leaving," Lamon said. "Not with them, but back home to Malikan."

"Mhm..." Eryk smiled a little.

"I wouldn't be happy, Nuil. This means that, once again, all Demonear duties, answers and questions are heading towards you." Lamon informed, and Eryk burped, putting the last bits of his food on the plate and clapping his hands.

"Let them come, then." Eryk rubbed parts of the meal off his lips and stuffed them into his mouth. "I'm ready."

"I wouldn't be so sure. On days when you were busy, I had to handle the hardest of cases. Families, crying out for their missing or dead children. It's not an easy job, Nuil."

"That's why you're my greatest guard, Lamon." Eryk patted his shoulder.

Lamon sighed.

"The troupe will be out of town." Eryk swallowed his food, looking at Lamon. "And sometimes I'm starting to think that these Demonears bring more harm than good to Magna."

"What are you talking about?" he raised a brow.

"Just a thought." Eryk went back to enjoying his food, while Lamon breathed out. He started walking down the stairs and out of Nuil's chamber. "Hey, hey, where to?"

"I think I enjoyed that pitiful side of yours that showed itself last year."

***

The Tributals stood on their boat, pulling the new anchor out of the ground and pushing on the boat with their hands, quickly walking towards the oars.

A group of people clapped, for whatever reason, while most of the Star Cave Troupe waved goodbye to the Discoverers, as the boat slowly drifted off the shore. Chyuuichi kept jumping up, which Rowan noticed, much to their annoyance.

"Head left," Ace informed, looking around the others. "Rowan, please get to oaring!"

"Give me a second, I'm trying not to explode right now," they commented.

"Are you that bitter that they're waving?" Kukhi asked, fixing their helmet which kept falling onto one of their eyes. Rowan squinted theirs, looking at Atomu who reluctantly waved too. Feeling their pride hurt a bit, Rowan didn't add anything else and started doing what they were told to do.

The silhouette of the boat against the backdrop of the setting sun grew smaller and more people left the port, even Chyuuichi who was very eager to get noticed by his Tributal Bahiim. Those who stayed behind were Bancho and Kashmir, who was getting his equipment ready to leave for Malikan, and dragged the horse to Midcity as well. Kashmir jumped up on the stallion and looked down at the Wise.

"Have you taught them any spells?" Kashmir asked.

"No," Bancho quickly answered. "I don't think we had enough time, and sometimes I don't think I might be the best in that game."

"I saw that you weren't as active as the others, Bancho, but I was rather grateful after seeing how much work each of them put into bettering themselves, on a larger or smaller scale." Kashmir raised an eyebrow. "Something happened, didn't it, Bancho? You always follow through with what others tell you. There must be a reason for this passiveness."

"It was a concern." Bancho put his hand on his heart. "I'm growing old, Kashmir."

"I'm sure there's still plenty for you ahead."

"The last time I fought against a demon general, I couldn't win all by myself. Someone had to help me out."

"A demon general? That's new." Kashmir stated, jumping off his horse.

"That's what I suspect, at least. Shi Hon knew we were close, and sent out his greatest peons to get rid of us. There must be some form of hierarchy amongst them. It's a demon's pride."

"Whether you can fight and kill a demon by yourself, it doesn't matter, Bancho. There's a reason why eight people are heading into the caves. The power lies in humanity and great spirits." he put his hand on Bancho's shoulder, and the old Morian turned around, unsurely shaking his head.

"I hope I can make it through. Not for myself, but for others. I'm sure they'd want to see me one last time." he forced a smile.

"...and they will." Kashmir nodded. "Leaves on trees can fall, crumble and turn into nothing, but there will always come a time when they grow anew into their vibrant colours. Birth, prime and death. Leaves are like humans, memories never go away."

***

In the depths of Mount Aria, screams echoed around the chambers and corridors far away from Shi Hon's throne, deep, deep underground. There, stood two demons, right above a pedestal.

"Tell me, what did you see? Break it open." Lisbeth asked, sliding a knife across a red demon's exposed and wounded stomach.

"Ghh!" The demon closed his eyes, breathing heavily. "I keep telling you, I'll keep telling you!" he yelled. "I DON'T ANSWER TO NO ONE BUT SHI HON- GAAAH!"

Lisbeth stabbed him again, spinning the knife around its axis and mashing his insides into pulp and pieces.

"I DON'T ANSWER TO YOU, I NEVER WILL!" The demon kept screaming. "SHI HON! ONLY TO SHI HON!"

"You reckless fool." Lisbeth backed out. "Bow before me until your legs still work."

"I love your confidence," Isak muttered, leaning against a wall.

"Silence." she pointed the knife at Isak. "Do you want to end up just like that filthy demon? Bruised, alone, helpless and so... pitiful?" she slowly walked up to him. "Do you imagine spending your entire life under his influence?"

"Then why are we standing so far from the great leader? You're afraid of him." Isak furrowed his eyebrows and crossed his hands. "You think you're some sort of vigilante, but you would never take a step into the darkness, even if it would kill ya otherwise."

Lisbeth clenched her fist and punched the wall behind Isak. "Oh, I can, Isak. But I won't. I can be faster. I can prove it all on my own, just like I did back then."

"Heh. Keep pushing the same army on and on without a plan. Even Leiru doesn't think Katha and Ronpi are worth the show. Yet, you so desperately vow to be different. Tsk, in thousands more ways than one can imagine!" Isak ground his sharp teeth, and Lisbeth took a step back, taking a deep breath. "Whose army are you leading now?"

"Shut it."

She turned on her heel, but, the only thing that lay on the pedestal was the knife, and bloody marks right where she struck.

***

The last three days were dedicated to learning how to steer a horse, smaller or bigger.

Morio, Jyuzou and Chyuuichi rode tiny ponies, quickly learning their quirks and effortlessly handling the challenge, finding a balance between them and the animal.

The middle-height, Ambrosia, Anna-Pom and Bancho rode either a Tributal's bigger horse, the one she left in Magna a year ago, or Pearl.

Atomu and Elton were given black stallions, with the former already having some experience beforehand, since the latter was the one who taught him.

Three days and three nights passed, and in the morning, after a filling meal at the bar, last hugs and goodbyes, the Star Cave Troupe finally set course towards the caves.

As horses couldn't walk up the stairs leading to Lot Thúrum as easily, the Demonears took a path through the Tukman Woods and struggled a little uphill before reaching the green-grassed parts of the highest peaks in Shimori.

Setting course in-between mountains and observing the nature change, in silence, they trod paths in the middle of groups of trees, up hills and down into small gorges, into mounts and passing beautiful flowers exploding in many colours, which Jyuzou wished to note down, despite those being ones he already knew of.

And finally, into open plains, they reached a road once covered in snow, as the extending threat of Mount Aria grew bigger, they focused on the largest obstacle of their journey, which was none other than heading down the sinkhole and into the caves of Mirillis.

Bancho brushed the sweat off his forehead, as the sun shined high above them. He stepped off his horse and instructed the others to do the same, waddling towards the edge and looking down.

"Don't," Atomu instructed.

"Excuse me?" Bancho glanced at him.

"S-Sorry, bad memories." Atomu put his hand over his forehead and backed out a little, towards Elton. The rocky edges of the sinkhole were now visible, and it was easy to point out which stones and boulders were dangerous and which were safe to tread. Still, Atomu wasn't willing to take this risk again.

"It's on the other side, Bancho!" Chyuuichi walked up to him, announcing. "Stairs are heading towards that waterfall, see?" he pointed, and Bancho stared forward.

"Right, I should've asked you from the very beginning." Bancho nodded to himself. "Alright, troupe, let's not waste any more time. Get up on your horses and let's walk around the sinkhole."

Chyuuichi jumped up on his pony and almost sprinted towards Atomu. "Isn't it neat? Last time it took us two days to get to the sinkhole before you fell in!"

"Huh?" Elton looked at Atomu.

"Nothing, it's cool!" Atomu raised his voice. "Oh, my, Chyuuichi! Not everyone knows!"

"About what?" Chyuuichi seemed a bit confused.

"About... you know..." Atomu shook his head. "Please tell me you didn't forget."

Chyuuichi shrugged and started following Bancho, while Atomu rolled his eyes.

"I don't think I get this." Jyuzou shook his head, pushing his hands into the horse's back.

"Hm?" Morio leaned in.

"Why were we learning to ride these horses if we're going to leave them behind? I mean..." Jyuzou said.

"Leave them behind? Where did you get that idea from?" Morio smirked. "You're stupid."

"Shut up, Morio." Jyuzou groaned. "Why would you bring a horse into a cave?"

"Why, what's wrong with that?" Bancho quickly asked.

"Seems dangerous. Shin! Have any of you thought of that? Eh? Eh?" he looked at the others.

"If you're willing to spend an entire season trying to make it to Star Sun Cave, then you can leave your horse behind," Anna-Pom uttered. "Don't expect this to be a short journey either way." she sped up. Jyuzou groaned again, already frustrated.

"Our next stop is Soban. Until then, we'll tread, unless a threat forces us to stop. It's not that far away, is it, Chyuuichi?" Bancho asked, but Chyuuichi seemed to be too hyper about visiting the city to process his words. "Three days," Bancho muttered to himself.

The eight passed the sinkhole and started heading down the slope on the left, carefully avoiding slippery rocks and moving towards the waterfall on the other end of the hole. Atomu still wasn't sure, and he stayed exactly in the middle, concerned about the safety of this entire venture. Nevertheless, they reached the waters and one by one travelled underneath the stream and into the darkness, with Bancho quickly lighting up a torch in his hands, while Ambrosia used their elemental fire powers on the orbs of their ropes, lighting up the room.

The old Morian glanced at them, and the Tributal nodded.

Atomu was the last to tread through, trying to recall the waterfall ever being here when they first travelled towards Mount Aria. It was frozen back then, and all the snow that covered Lot Thúrum made it blend with the surrounding terrain.

Nevertheless, as Bancho announced, this wasn't where they stopped, despite waiting a little for everyone to cross through. Feeling the chill of the surrounding caves and the cold waters in which they were now soaked, the troupe decided that this was the best moment to put on their dull-coloured cloaks and capes, in different shapes and sizes, with varying ends and buttons, which were sawn the other day by none other than Lisa. What was there that she couldn't do?

They traversed forwards, through the orange-illuminated darkness, and at first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The caves in front of them were nothing but one spiralling rocky corridor that eventually grew larger, which meant they didn't have to follow such a strict formation.

Now, four were in the front, and the other four in the back, as the lights they used seemed to dim a bit.

"We're getting closer!" Chyuuichi announced, his loud voice echoing through the caves, which only brought a bigger smile to his face. "The air here, can you feel it?"

"I can feel the immense pressure of the underground that's for sure," Elton added. "But it's nothing bad, my friend." he smiled. "I'm sure you live in a lovely city."

"Oh, I do! It's so great, I can't wait to see everyone again! Do you think they'll be happy?"

"If you were gone for longer than a year with no explanation, then I'm pretty sure..." Jyuzou muttered. "Actually, I still don't know why you were in Wendigo if Lot Thúrum is this close to Magna."

"Yeah." Morio seemed to notice the inconsistency as well. "What's up with that?"

Chyuuichi slowly turned his head to them, and emotionlessly stuck his tongue out.

"Oh, come on!" Jyuzou screamed out.

"Shh!" Anna-Pom shushed him.

"You handled it back then," Bancho muttered, strutting by.

"Sylvestair was older than me." Anna-Pom snarked. "Everyone was."

"You two wouldn't be any different now," Bancho said. "He's a bit... older-looking though."

"Have you ever visited him?" she asked.

"Many times in Lignoria, although I couldn't find him a few years back, and I still haven't. I hope he found an opportunity to move out of Eldham after all that..." he shook his head.

Back to the other conversation.

"Chyuuichi doesn't know," Atomu explained.

"How does he know ancient songs and can't recall what happened a year ago?" Jyuzou pointed his confused hand. The caves before them started opening up, revealing big rocks laid down on open ceilings with some of the light peeking through. They were sharp, and roads around them led down towards different corridors. Chyuuichi stared forwards, intensely, taking the lead, while Bancho followed without much of a fight.

"He's..." Atomu smiled a little. "Special," he answered, fighting his laughs.

"I didn't know about that cruel side of yours!" Elton smirked, speeding up next to him.

Atomu shrugged, and Morio giggled.

Suddenly, Ambrosia stopped, turning around and looking at the corridors behind them, unsure, although the smile would suggest otherwise.

"Is everything okay?" Bancho asked the Tributal, and Ambrosia slowly turned around, blinking.

"Tsk!" Morio suddenly put his hand on his forehead, feeling a sharp pain and Jyuzou gulped.

Anna-Pom sniffed something out of the air.

"Demons," Ambrosia informed. "They found us."