5 Episode 5 "Betrayal"

Viol ran and ran and kept running. He was trying to get as far away from the monster as possible. But moving with Gerard when he was running slowed him down quite a bit but it wasnt just that. The Forest Road was quite rugged and bumpy. With the slightest misstep, he could have fallen down the hill next to him. So he had to be extra careful.

Viol kept running. Even the shivering roar of the beast could no longer be heard. However he had reached his limits. If he was alone, he might have gone further but carrying Gerard, consumed him. After all, he was just a little boy who was nine years old with no mana. As he continued to run, his legs began to tingle. His leg muscles were burning like they were on fire. His back, arms and shoulders were starting to ache from the stretching. He was sweating blood and barely breathing.

Finally, he tripped over of a the tree root on the road and fell to the ground. Gerard was on his back. He was still unconscious. The sight of Viol began to wave then it started to get black. He didn't know why, but he felt wet. His consciousness was fading. That's when he heard the roar of The Beast. All the cells in his body reacted, he felt goosebumps all over his body and there was only one thought in his head.

"Run."

Viol was straightened out with all the power that was left but there was one problem. If he kept going straight, The Beast would surely have caught up with them. So he decided to go downhill although it was very risky. He had to be quite slow and careful as he was going down. If he acted impetuously and took a wrong step, they would no doubt have tumbled down.

When Viol went down, he encountered a slow, calm river. That would be the best thing he could face in his current situation. He put Gerard down who is still unconscious and leant his back the trunk of a nearby tree. Viol was a little relieved that he could no longer hear the monster's voice. He guessed that beast went straight forward without noticing them.

Viol took off his clothes and went into the river to bathe. The water was suitable for bathe as it was summer from the seasons. Viol knew they couldn't get away with it. He knew it was impossible for them to return to the city on their own. Even they moved slowy they have gonepretty far away from city. But the problem wasn't just the Tiger. The forest could have been quite dangerous at night. There would be a lot of monsters that can kill them.

So Viol decided to go back to the carriage. That way he could fool the tiger and get supplies from the wagon. His top priority now was finding food. Otherwise they could have starved to death. Although they were in the woods, Viol was not knowledgeable about plants. He didn't know what was edible and what wasn't. The only way was to eat directly, but he didn't want to gamble with his life either. Especially since he got this far.

After washing and drinking water, Viol came to his senses. After giving Gerard a drink of water with a leaf he had plucked from one of the nearby plants, he began to make his way to the wagon. After walking a bit of on the River Road, he started going uphill. It was quite a challenge as he didn't have any tools to climb and Gerard on his back. It was harder to get up the hill than it was to get down. Reaching forest road again about half an hour later, Viol began running towards the wagon. Although he had no hope, he wished that Catarina was well. With her there would be a hope to escape from this forest.

Viol soon reached the wagon. He reached but was unable to approach the wagon due to the terrifying sight he had seen.

The guard's armor, which even a sharp sword could not easily damage, was torn to pieces by the people in it. The bodies of the servants who tried to escape were scattered all over the place, and a huge pool of blood formed around the wagon. Insects and some species of birds gathered on the corpses, enjoying a huge feast. There was blood, heads, bodys which thorn into little pieces and limbs everywhere that Viol looked.

Horrified by the sight he saw, Viol took a few steps back and fell to the ground. His whole body was shaking with fear. Feeling a great deal of nausea, Viol began vomiting with great disgust, although he reflexively took his hand to his mouth. It was definitely a sight a nine-year-old shouldn't have seen.

- "The harmony of green and red... What do you think of my new work Viol? You know i have always loved art."

Viol was frozen. His colour went yellow and he felt all of his remaining power drained away. He slowly returned to where the sound was coming from. Catarina was the source of the sound. She was leaning against a tree, staring at her fingernails. Her red dress and black skirt, which she wore in this morning, were full of tatters. And his fire-colored hair, which she did with a ponytail, fell apart. She had a big smile on her face and a Giant Tiger behind him. İt was the Tiger that massacre everyone just about a hour ago. Now he was just siting calmly and liking his paw.

- "C-C-C...Catarina?"

That's all viol could say. He was too shocked to say anything else. Catarina couldn't help seeing the look on Viol's face and burst out with a big laugh..

- "Ahahahaha.. Oh, come on! You don't have to be so surprised! I'm alive, right? Is there anything to be so shocked? Right, Alfred?"

Slowly emerging from the forest, Alfred had his usual calm expression on his face.

- "You are quite right, Master Catarina. I can't see anything that is supposed to be shocked about."

Viol's teeth were pounding against each other in fear. He stuttered, pointing to Alfred with his index finger.

- "B-but y-you were dead. I-i-i saw you die with my own eyes."

Alfred had a condescending look on his face as if he were looking at an ant.

- "Ahh... You see, Master Viol, with a little "İllusion" magic, we can easily fool you who can't feel the mana.

- S-so this means the m-maids and g-guards who were killed, they are a-actually alive? S-so how did they not noticed that y-you were alive?"

- "For your first question's answer, Master Viol, No! They're really dead. As for the second one, I don't know that either. I think they were too afraid because of the beast that they couldn't detect the magic we used." Alfred said. He was completely calm. There was not the slightest sign of emotion on his face.

Viol had known that the Tiger belonged to Catarina since he saw the tiger standing calmly next to her.

- "S-so w-why did you kill them?"

Alfred stared at Viol in confusion. Almost like Viol talked in some other language.

- "I don't understand, Master Viol, are you asking why we put some garbage in the trash?" Viol blinked twice. He couldn't believe what he heard.

"Hmm... No! Given your intelligence, you must be asking "why" we killed them. The reason is quite simple, don't you think, Master Viol? To leave no witnesses!"

Viol understood what was going on after those words. He raised his head and looked at the endless blue, stained with the red of the sunset for the last time while he could. A little later he would die.