Under The Veil of Night

"There’s a bath?" Kanae’s eyes shone.

"I’ll take you there."

"Wait, I can walk by myself!"

"I’ll take you there," Kevin repeated himself. "With your current legs, do you think you can walk without feeling pain?"

Kanae’s face darkened. "We still have to fight, so a little pain like this is nothing much."

"We’ll move once the sky turned dark," Kevin replied again. "There are a lot of Megara’s men that he dispatched. I don’t want to take the risk."

"Can you find the way at night?"

"Do you doubt me?"

Kanae saw the confident look on Kevin’s face and shook her head lightly. Knowing him for the past two-three years allowed her to know that Kevin would never say things he was not confident about loudly. It was apparent that he had the confidence that he could do it, so there was no need to doubt.

"Good, now, you should take a bath," Kevin bent down and picked up Kanae in bridal style.

Kanae wanted to complain again, but this was the best position that would not move her feet. Clutching the clothes that Kevin gave her, she allowed him to take her into the bathroom.

The bathroom was rather small, but it was more than enough for her. He put her on top of a stool as he pondered.

"What is it?"

"I’m thinking whether you need help or not."

"Get out!" Kanae replied coldly.

Kevin just wanted to tease the girl. In truth, he didn’t even dare to see her when he undressed her before, so how could he stay here when she took a bath? He nodded his head and walked out of the bathroom before closing the door carefully.

Inside the bathroom, Kanae wondered what happened to the usual warm Kevin that she knew. She had never seen him loved to tease other people so much.

’Forget it, now I better take a bath.’

After a good half an hour, Kanae finished her bath. She knocked the door and Kevin opened it. Upon seeing Kanae wearing his childhood clothes, he felt that he wanted to laugh.

It was a simple T-shirt and trouser. However, the design was for a boy, so wearing it made Kanae look like a child. Thankfully, the size fit for her as it was not too big.

"When it’s already night, I’ll walk by myself," Kanae said determinedly.

Kevin nodded his head. "For now, you should rest your body and sleep again."

"Sleep? Do you want me to oversleep?"

"I’ll change your bandage, so stay quiet and sleep."

"Why are you so adamant for me to sleep?"

The two of them continued to argue for some time before taking the time to rest. They also eat canned food that Kevin managed to find in the hut. They stayed still until it was sunset. After all, it was already the time for them to return back.

"Follow after me closely, you won’t want to activate the trap our family setup," Kevin reminded.

"I will," Kanae had stood up with her small sword ready on her right arm. She might not wear her usual clothes but the sword will never leave her hand.

Kevin brought his long sword too plus the gun. Without saying anything else, the two of them departed into the forest under the dim light of night.

"Can you keep up?"

"Don’t worry."

Kevin peered to his back and saw Kanae following behind him closely. He was running at high speed. Since the forest itself was rather huge, it would take him a long time to reach the edge no matter how fast he ran. After all, there were a lot of traps that his family once prepared here.

In the middle of the journey, Kevin promptly stopped. There were several people not far from them. Kevin’s gaze turned cold.

This was still far in the middle of the forest. How was it possible for them to arrive here unscathed? There must be someone who leaked out the secret path to clear the forest out.

"Kanae, prepare for a fight."

"Alright," Kanae replied.

The group of men has several people with the leader cautiously step forward, leading his group.

"Sir, there’s no trace of anyone here," one of the members spoke up.

The leader shot him a glare. "We’re not allowed to return until we make sure that they’re dead."

"What if they’re drowned and never make it to the shore? How is it possible for us to find them?" they wanted to cry. They have been searching for hours, losing countless members because of the deadly trap here and there. But they didn’t have any choice. If they dared to return to Megara without any result, they would be courting death.

The leader snorted. "Just do your job."

The next moment, he felt a sudden pain on his neck. He raised his hand to check, but found out that blood had spurted out like a waterfall. His hand was placed on his neck, trying to stop the blood but to no avail.

His face turned white in horror. He tried to turn his gaze to the back only to find two shadows moving at high speed. His men fell one by one in a single attack. As his sight turned blurry and his feet lost their strength, he fell to the ground, with a gaze filled with disbelief.

How is it possible to survive after falling to the sea during the storm?

He would never find the answer.

"There are a lot of wounds on their body. It seems, they didn’t arrive in this place without sustaining zero wound," Kanae remarked. She noticed the trail of blood not far from them.

"Let’s continue."

The two of them moved forward. Here and there, they could see the trail of blood and corpses that died because they triggered the trap. Their number was simply too many that a lot of parts from this forest has turned into a graveyard without names for them.

However, the two of them didn’t stop even once. They continued their way towards the edge of the forest and eliminated people along the way. The lush forest in front of them was painted red with blood because of their battle. As the battle continued, their breathing turned ragged.

Little did they know that someone has once peeked on this scene in the past.

Nearing the edge of the forest, they noticed a lot of men were patrolling. As they hid themselves behind the trees, the two of them sensed sudden danger. Kanae quickly moved to the side while Kevin swung his sword.

It clashed with a metal rod. The two parties froze, including Kanae, who was ready to attack the enemy.

"Kevin?"

"Uncle?"

"Kanae?"

"Father?"