Destined Arrival

It had been only a month since the encounter with the Hade Spider.

Not much else of relevance happened. The tension that was present before the reveal of such a strong warrior on the team was not longer apparent in the air. That was because the protectors were almost assured that nothing would happen to them.

Luckily for them, within the month of travel, not a single other magical beasts was encountered, whether that be for normal or superstitious reasons.

Although there was no tension remaining in the atmosphere, the many protectors were still on their toes over what to do next.

The cloaked figure did nothing to show concern for the person or item on board, and this made them uneasy. Instead, she remained still as a rock throughout the trip, and didn't even budge to eat.

This alone only made the protectors more weary of her. This is because everyone knows that the stronger you are, the less connections you have to the mortal human.

Eating being one of them.

***

"Stop! Our horses need rest!"

The leader of the transport company shouted at the head of the convoy. The train of carriages and carts halted their progress as they remained under the shade of trees, allowing their many horses a breather. It was only with this journey that Jilun realized just how vast the forest bordering his village was, it did indeed take him around for a shock.

Back in the protectors carriage, a strange phenomenon occurred.

The cloaked figure rose from her seat that for the past month, seemed to be apart of her.

'She moved!'

Immediately, all eyes turned to her without a worry of discretion.

She raised her head as she question the 'leader' of the group.

"Might you know of the whereabouts that the carriage housing my grounds members is located at?"

Haorun looked up at her without a care in the world. There's no reason to care about a soon-to-be dead body.

"In the carriage three rows back, in the middle of the row"

Haorun pointed behind him with his head facing forward, no longer having the same look of flattery when he was trying to convince her. They all knew she didn't really care about the two members of the Aster Grounds who were added into the convoy last minute, the real reason was to check on the treasure. Though, Haorun didn't care if the others had came to the same conclusion that he had.

This was because, no matter what the cloaked figure did, nor what the factions such as the Muran Palace did, the treasure was bound to fall into his hands.

"Thank you"

The cloaked figure continued her walk through the carriage as she made her way out the door, closing it behind her

***

Jilun was woken up by the sudden stop of the convoy. Jia was also up, already eyeing him, almost as if she had never slept to begin with.

"You can go back to sleep, this stop is only temporary."

Jilun smiled as he hugged her, enjoying the warmth of her body. Jia's eyes suddenly narrowed.

*Knock**Knock**Knock*

Jilun suddenly looked towards the door, Jia's smile disappearing as she followed the sound.

"Who could it be at this time? Maybe they have experienced a problem with the convoy?"

Jilun started to get up. As he slept with his clothes on, he had no need to change. But as he sat fully upright to lift off the bed, Jia's hand suddenly rested on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, I got it."

Before he could speak in rejection, Jia had already stood up, heading towards the door. Jilun didn't notice, but as Jia approached closer to the door of the carriage, her hand uncontrollably shook. Should he have seen her face right now, the usual Jia was almost nonexistent. It would almost seem that the Jia he always knew was nothing but a fake personality.

Jia stopped in front of the door, reaching her hand in front of her. A smile slowly formed as he grabbed hold of the doorknob, a wide, eerie smile.

Turning the doorknob, she opened the carriage door wide open. Standing in front of her, the black cloaked women.

"Hello, what do you need?"

The cloaked woman stared at Jia through her mask. Her eyes remained cold and indifferent.

"I thought I would be good to offer our grounds newcomers some information with our impending arrival."

Jia smiled widened even further. She leaned against the door frame of the carriage, posing a very relaxing personality.

"Sure, just take your mask off, we don't want any strangers who can't even reveal their own faces to share a room with us."

Jia's hand suddenly shot out through the air towards her mask. The cloaked figure didn't move a muscle in response.

Though with mere atoms away from touching it, her hand stopped mid air. Jia didn't seem surprised.

With her hand frozen in the air, the cloaked figure slowly raised her arm to swat her prying hand away.

"I can perform this task myself, thank you."

Jia's excitement heighten, nearly shaking in the pleasure.

"Of course, I'm sure a big girl such as yourself can do such minuscule tasks…"

Jia slowly raised her hand as she caressed the strands of pink her that the cloak revealed. Her eyes reflected the pink hair with a red hue.

"Such a pretty hair color… is it natural?" Jia questioningly asked.

The figure grabbed her hand without answering, this time not as gentle.

"I would ask you refrain from touching me"

The figure released the strength of her hand, allowing Jia free movement. Jia giggled as she retracted her hand like a cat.

"You only have so long you know… make sure to enjoy~"

Jia moved out of the way to allowed the figure passage. The figure had no response to the strange exclamation as she calmly walked in.

As Jia turned around to enter with her, her eyes shone a deep red.

*CICHH*

The door closed behind her.