Chapter 74: The Fog Island [14].

"Aiden, let’s link our arms," Aldrus suggested as they forged their way through the fog. The storm was getting stronger, and they could not be sure something lurking in the fog would not get them separated again. After all, tugging at each other’s collar had proven unhelpful.

The silver-haired boy did as he was told, wrung out his clothes and asked, "Are you hurt anywhere, Aldrus?"

"I’m fine; just a terrible headache. What the hell was that?"

"Spectres," Aiden said. "They teach it in class, remember?"

Spectres... We learned about them in the wildlife and geographical awareness course. I never thought I’d see one so soon.

Back at the academy, multiple courses of survival techniques and fundamentals of the world beyond the nations’ borders were mandatory. It was just as important to learn as it was to improve one’s physical skills.

Despite the fact that most students would never actively choose to form part of the expeditions, the academy could not afford to make distinctions in their teaching methods; therefore it was deemed better to teach every student just the same: with the assumption that they could one day get selected, and they would need that knowledge later on.

"The same monsters said to have been spotted near the coast a few years ago, right?"

"Yes. Back when the group came to conquer the island, they saw them roaming about, but the records don’t say anything except that they are intangible, attack your mind, and are classified as Orange-class beasts. At least that is all that was recovered from the notes of the fallen. We can’t know for sure," Aiden explained.

"They sure don’t seem capable of physical harm."

Aiden grimaced. "As relieving as that sounds, your expression tells me their way of harming isn’t all that much gentler."

"...They didn’t get you, Den?" Aldrus brushed him off.

The silver-haired boy shook his head. "Thankfully not. I passed out along with you, but I fell into a puddle and woke up as I was drowning before that thing got into my head."

I wouldn’t call that fortunate...

"Hey, wait! Look over there!" Aiden suddenly said, interrupting his thoughts.

They stopped in their tracks with their arms still linked together. Aldrus quickly narrowed his eyes trying to catch sight of whatever Aiden had found, and it did not take him long to notice it. However, as he did, his heart skipped a beat.

Not far away from where they stood, on the ground, a familiar red liquid stood out from the mud, blending with it and rapidly losing its hue the more the rain splashed it around.

Aiden tightened his grip on Aldrus’ arm.

"D-Damn it! But they’re not supposed to attack your body! Aldrus!"

"Calm down. Look, there’s something else." He pointed at the chunk of meat and fur lying near the blood.

They both fell silent and approached it. And as they got closer, a familiar stench wafted over them. It was the distinctive stink of rotten flesh.

"Ugh..."

"A black wolf. Dead... No, slain."

"Is that its blood, then?" Aiden asked, praying for the answer to be yes.

"I don’t know, but there are more tracks this way. We should follow them before the rain washes them away," Aldrus said, covering his nose.

Aiden nodded, and together they hurried over to investigate. There was no time to lose. If Alice or Cedric were in battle, they would need any help that they could get, especially in such a place and without access to their power.

***

Hahhh... Fuck...

Not even five minutes had passed as they advanced through the tempest when, suddenly, they were forced to stop when they saw that the tracks diverged and faded. It seemed like the rain was already done erasing everything, and without any hints, the boys truly began to worry.

"Damn it... What now?" Aiden asked.

"Something... Something... Let’s look around, there has to be something! Come on!"

"Aldrus—"

"Come on, hurry!"

"...I’m coming."

Aldrus crouched down and began scanning the area, but there was nothing recognizable at first glance. Yet, no matter how much it looked like the place was empty, the foul stench of death lingered everywhere, even stronger than before. Aiden could also sense it, that is why they did not stop to argue whether they should turn back or not. They had no choice but to keep looking.

And as they expected, soon they located the source.

Two separate paths led in opposite directions, not too far apart from one another. If only the decision on which to follow was the worst thing they faced, then surely they would not have had any major reasons to panic.

But that was not the case; what they saw in there made them squirm. Aldrus went pale as a ghost and had to suppress the urge to puke. Aiden, for his part, was unable to do so.

The mud in front of them was messy. One of the paths was roughly gouged, as if an injured deer had been dragged away by its antlers. There was blood on it, but not a deadly amount. It was enough to be dangerous, but there was still hope that, if any of their comrades were the one that followed it, even if injured, they could still be alive.

The other path, however, was much, much worse. A wide section of the soil had been torn away violently. It was filled with blood, water, and what appeared to be the organs of something—or someone—unknown. It was a meter-wide pit stretching far into the distance and into a swamp they could not see. If only it had had time to fill with rain, they would have mistaken it for a creek.

Not only that, but it also reeked of iron and spoiled ham. If the one on the left looked like a dying victim’s doing, the one on the right looked as though an adult horse had been slaughtered and used to carve the way through.

"Aldrus..."

The black-haired boy’s expression grew languid, indecipherable, bleak. At that moment Aiden almost feared his friend would go mad at the thought of something terrible, but the worst never happened. Aldrus wiped the rain off his face and turned to look at him.

"We’ll follow the left one," he said simply, sneaking his trembling hands behind his back.

"...Alright."