Chapter 121

"Ugh, today has been rough," Lennix complained, letting out a long sigh as he trudged along beside the black knight.

"You're telling me," the black knight replied, looking down at Lennix from atop his shadow horse. "I nearly had a heart attack when that guy came into the guild yelling about a vampire."

Lennix sighed in annoyance. "I told you it wasn't my fault."

"I didn't say it was your fault. I'm just saying today was rough for me too," the black knight said with a shrug.

Lennix slumped his shoulders and looked ahead down the dirt road they were traveling on. They were out of Treasurehold, as it wasn't exactly safe for them to stay there after Dash left. Further up, Clarissa and Mari rode atop another shadow horse, and Karin, back in her restraints, was on yet another. They were back to their original traveling arrangement, which never really changed; it was just that Elanor rode atop the black knight's shadow horse with him.

*Wait a minute,* Lennix suddenly realized, pointing a finger at the black knight. "You could have just let me ride the shadow horse with you!"

Everyone turned to him as the black knight replied, "Oh, you're right."

Lennix shook with rage. "You're still complaining about that, Master Lennix?" asked Clarissa in her usual emotionless tone.

"But he could have let me ride a cool shadow horse!" Lennix complained like a child, turning to Clarissa while still pointing at the black knight.

"Come on, man, don't pout," the black knight said, extending a hand towards Lennix. "Come on, I'll let you ride with me."

Lennix turned to him with stars in his eyes. "Uncle Lennix really is childish, huh? But it's okay; he's cute when he's like that," Mari said with a smile.

Lennix chose to ignore her comments, feeling slightly pathetic. As he grabbed the black knight's hand, the knight let out a grunt of pain. "Agh!"

"Whoa, mate, are you okay? You don't have to force yourself to ride with me if you don't want to," Lennix said, withdrawing his hand in concern.

"Tha-that's not it," the black knight gasped before he fell off the shadow horse. Lennix panicked but managed to catch him just in time.

"H-hey! Are you okay?" Lennix asked, worry evident in his voice as the girls turned around to see what was happening.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Karin, while inwardly she hoped, *I hope he got poisoned.* 

Clarissa dismounted her shadow horse, while Mari remained seated, looking on with concern. "Why is Mister Knight in pain?" Mari asked as the black knight's shallow breaths echoed through his helmet. 

Clarissa stuck her finger through the helmet's visor to touch his forehead. "His body is cold and his breathing is shallow. I don't know how, but he's suffering from mana exhaustion," she explained.

Lennix looked confused. "That doesn't make any sense, right? Aren't these horses weaved or whatever? They shouldn't eat away at his mana, no?"

Clarissa nodded. "Yes, they shouldn't," she confirmed before turning back to the black knight. "Can you tell me how you're feeling? Do you feel anything inside you or in a particular point in your body?"

The black knight shook his head weakly. "I-I feel like something's draining me! Don't know from where!" he said, fighting through the pain.

"Can we do anything to help?" Lennix asked.

"I don't—ugh!" the black knight let out another louder grunt of pain as he began writhing.

"Hey! Stay with us, man!" Lennix yelled, shaking the black knight. In the midst of doing so, suddenly he froze. Clarissa beside him jumped back and pulled out two knives. Karin felt a wave of fear threatening to knock her unconscious, and Mari felt the same but also something familiar. 

Slowly, as if pulling itself out, a shadow emerged from the black knight's chest. Lennix watched in shock as the shadowy figure materialized, its form dark and ominous. The black knight's breathing became even more labored, and the tension in the air was palpable.

"What the hell is that?" Lennix whispered, unable to tear his eyes away from the unfolding horror.

The shadow continued to take shape, growing more and more defined with each passing second. Finally, the shadow fully separated from the black knight, whose breathing slowly began to return to normal. "Took longer than I thought it would, but it worked," said the shadow, its voice smooth yet soft.

The shadow turned around, revealing a striking, ethereal figure. "You have a lot of potential, half-breed," the entity said, looking down at the black knight. If they weren't all on edge, they might have taken a moment to appreciate the otherworldly appearance of the entity: an almost delicate-looking man with silky platinum blond hair that reached below his ears. He wore a simple beige long-sleeved t-shirt and equally simple light blue pants, standing tall—taller than Lennix. The most captivating aspect of this man, however, was his eyes: a brilliant shade of purple. Despite their beauty, looking into them instilled a deep, primal fear, as if gazing into the pits of hell itself.

"Who are you?" Lennix asked, standing up, ready to fight.

"You don't need to know," the entity replied dismissively, waving Lennix off as he turned to look at the sky. A smile played on his lips. "I have somewhere to be." Without warning, the entity vanished, leaving behind sparks of electricity and a large scorch mark where he once stood.

"What was that?" Lennix asked aloud, staring at the sky in disbelief.

"I don't know, but I would be really grateful if you helped me up," the black knight said, prompting Lennix to quickly assist him.

"Are you okay, Sir Knight?" Clarissa asked, putting away her knives.

"Surprisingly, yes. I don't feel anything particularly off, though I do feel like a lot of my mana was drained," the black knight replied.

"Do you know what that was?" Karin asked, her senses returning to her.

The black knight shook his head. "Nope, I have literally no clue."

"That was Cain," Mari muttered, drawing everyone's attention.

"What?" Lennix asked, confused. "Could you repeat that, Mari?" Clarissa requested.

"That was Cain, Xain's older brother," Mari repeated, looking up at the sky. "And I think I know where he's going." She thought to herself, *I hope you're both going to be okay.*