Mouth slightly parted, eyes widened, Leaf stares at Undead with a mix of fear and even more fear.
The mist swirls around Undead's fallen form, seeping through the cracks in his armour and penetrating his wounds. A sharp pain shooting through his body as his flesh rapidly regenerates. The mist solidifying in places the armour was damaged.
How could souls from a demon beast obey someone so calmly? It's just wrong! Utterly, factually wrong. Something like this shouldn't be possible.
Keeping a safe distance from Undead, Leaf asks in a shaky voice. "Undead… you're not going to like, turn into a demon beast or something? Right?"
Slowly taking his hand off his side, he stares at the still wet blood on his armoured hand. Bringing it to his face, he sniffs. His blood smells stagnant—Old. The colour looks more like rust than the blooming red of Alice's. He sticks out his tongue, licking before he instantly spits it out. It doesn't taste like blood, but why would he know what blood tastes like?
"I don't think so. At least I feel like nothing is wrong with me." Undead stands up, taking off his chest plate to reveal an added cotton shirt with a few holes. Probably a gift from Alice when she gave him his shell.
Poking at the areas that were just healed, nothing feels wrong. In fact, he feels even better than before. Tensing his muscles, he feels that he can put even more strength into them than before, but not by much.
At some point, Leaf floats over while Undead is checking out his body, poking where his wound should be on his side. "I… what is this?" She mutters out, too quiet for anyone else to hear.
Her hands lingering on him for far too long, Undead shakes them off. Standing up and looking at the place where the demon beast's corpse should be. Instead of a body lies a single, worn bow and three arrows.
Picking it up, the bow feels too brittle compared to how the demon beast was handling it. Even shooting it once feels risky.
Taking the bow string, Undead wraps the arrows with it and ties it around his waist. Looking back at Leaf, still lost in thought, he calls out to her.
"Leaf, let's continue to move, staying still could be dangerous. We don't know how many demon beasts could be hunting us down."
Hearing this, she gives a slight nod, still thinking deeply about something. Sitting back on Undead's head, the silence is refreshing.
Passing through the gate, fields upon fields are spread across the land. Pens filled with rotting corpses or more demon beasts litter the land. Not daring to take a step further, he looks for a different path—one teeming with fewer monsters.
"…Leaf, I thought you said the ranch was." pausing, he tries to find the best way to put it. "Well, not like this."
It's unknown when Leaf finished pondering about whatnot and simply shrugs. "It wasn't meant to. Probably the fog that was fended off by the forest sped up the corruption here."
"Hmm," Looking around a bit more, Undead decides to move in from the right, less demon beasts but more corpses. Perfect for blending in.
"How exactly does the forest prevent the fog?" Now in silence, only the sound of rustling grass and footsteps accompanying them, Undead uses this chance to get answers to the questions filling his mind.
"Uhhh, good question." A grin tugging at the corner of her lips—she doesn't miss this chance to mock the ignorant Undead. "How do you think it happens?"
More silence ensues for a few seconds before his grating voice tears it apart. "Like a dome barrier covering the forest? It keeps the good in and the bad out."
"Good guess, unfortunately, not good enough~" Knocking on Undead's helm, looking at him like he's some pitiful child. "The dome part was a good guess, but the fog corrupts the ground as well, so it's more like a sphere."
Stifling a laugh, yet it still leaks out as she speaks. "Ah, you probably wouldn't know what that means. You know what a ball is, right? That's a sphere. It seals off the forest, preventing anything tainted from entering."
"I see, so who made the barrier?"
"Heh, you've already met them." She puffs herself up, ego radiating off her. "That's right, it was I, Leaf!"
"…"
This dimwitted fairy made that? Sure, it could be possible, but the chances are slim. Very slim. VERY slim. Leaf, sensing Undead's disbelief, pouts, shooting a weaker air blast that knocks him back a step.
"You're thinking something rude, aren't you?" Leaf questions with a chilling voice.
Sensing the danger, Undead wipes his mind of any such thoughts. "No, just your imagination."
"…Right"
Asking the final question stuck in his mind, they continue walking around, wary of any more demon beasts.
"Seeing your reaction before, you know what the mist that seeped into my body was. What exactly is it?"
Leaf, anticipating this question, gets up close to Undead's face as possible, small fangs shining while she grins.
"Finally, the question I've been waiting for. Undead, that mist is also known as souls. Specifically, demon beast souls." She pauses for dramatic effect, raising her hands high above her head menacingly. "They normally rampage once released from their flesh prison, but, as you've experienced first hand, it looks like it's not always the case."
"Though it's extremely rare, I've never seen it happen until now!" She gets even closer, practically gushing with excitement.
Undead, catching onto that she specifically said demon souls, asks, "What other souls are there?"
"Eh? How'd you know there were more types? Seems you're not as stupid as I thought, good job, my knight." Slightly tired from the constant flying, she rests on his helm.
"Well, there are a lot of souls, but I'll only tell you the main one. Souls are a type of currency—they're really easy to obtain since all living things have them."
A few seconds after she's done, Leaf suddenly remembers. "Ah, if you ever meet a witch, never, and I mean, never get on their bad side." Shivering as if afraid, "They can control the soul! A-and… I heard their favourite food is fairy soup!"
Not bothering to entertain Leaf, they walk in silence with Leaf pouting from being ignored after expressing her darkest fears.
They skulk along the edge of the pens, sneaking their way closer. A shed comes into view. The rattling of chains screaming from inside breaks the silence outside.
Without a second thought, Undead tosses Leaf towards the sound. "Leaf, go check it out."
Instantly flying back, with a sudden burst of wind, shoving him a good distance forward. Undead, not one to complain about circumstances, crouches down, draws his sword and bursts forward and kicks down the door.
Swinging as soon as he does, feathers of red are scattered by his blade, too dull to slice through it.
Feathers coat the floor, sparsely spread out. In the centre of the room sits a girl with ash white hair that brushes past her shoulder. But that's where her normalcy ends.
Feathers run down from her upper arms, if they can even be called that. Arms—resembling more of the wings of a bird than human limbs. Pale skin that's neither sickly nor unpleasant causes the vibrant red to bloom even more. Yet the dull yellow of scales in place of where legs should be, contrast the sight. A rusted shackle wrapped around her ankles, preventing her talons from breaking the chain.
Despite all her imperfections, they just make her all the more alluring.
Staring towards Undead with trembling eyes, the colour is closer to a dark pink, bordering on red. She backs up, though the chains don't allow it.
Wings wrapping around her body like a shield, she glares at Undead, forcing her shaky voice to still, however, her wings still tremble. "Ah, looks like those filthy pigs hired a guard for little ol' me?"
Spitting on his greaves, Undead sheathes his sword, seeing no danger from the thing in front of it. "Pigs? This is a ranch, of course you're going to see pigs."
Letting out a sigh, she groans, "Seeing how oblivious you are, you aren't working for them. But what kind of idiot willingly walks into this hell hole?"
Seeing Undead as no threat, slowly, she relaxes her arms. Undergarments made of feathers are the only clothes covering her. Bruises of various colours marking her skin, some that have just barely formed.
Of course, this is no concern to Undead; the matters of others don't matter to him. Seeing Undead's lack of care, the red bird racks her brain. Thinking so hard you can hear the gears turning inside.
With nothing more to do in this shed, he turns to leave. Just as he steps through the door, the red bird calls out to him. "Hey, Mr Knight, want to make a deal?"