Caelus shot Kain a curious glance. "You fought in the Shaduwar?"
"Not exactly," Kain replied, stabbing one of the fallen incarnations with his sword. "But I've seen enough of them to know how dangerous they are. Spawns of the Ego of Strife. As long as that thing exists, these bastards will keep crawling out of whatever hell spawned them.
"That's surprising. Not many know the incarnations' true nature."
Kain smirked.
"I like to think I'm a little sharper than the rest. Which brings me to one glaring problem," he said, gesturing at the corpse. "If these things are here... then where the hell are we really?"
Before either of them could dwell on it, a flash of golden light burst beside them.
"What the—?!"
The light condensed into an auric list of names and numbers, floating in midair like a summoned glyph.
Kain Diadalin: 7th place.
"Whoa! Hey, check it out!" Kain exclaimed, pointing at his name. "I'm seventh place!"
Caelus peered at the list. His name hovered halfway down.
Caelus de Luvelaine: 10th place.
Above him were names he recognized. Taylor Reinhall. Asta D'Angelica. And there was one below him that made his expression tighten. He'd seen the name before, but he couldn't place a face on it.
Aria D'Angelica.
"Hmm, hmm... interesting," Kain hummed, leaning over Caelus's shoulder.
Without turning his head, Caelus shot him a glare so sharp it could've cut steel.
Kain flinched back, hands up.
"Alright, alright — my bad! But hey! Look at you, fallen noble. Tenth place outta everybody? That's crazy!"
"Shut up," Caelus muttered.
"Oh, c'mon, gloat a little. You're sitting pretty on the board!"
"Shut. Up."
As they made their way deeper into the forest, Caelus found himself quietly studying this person called Kain. Not long ago, the guy had been jumping at every crack of a branch, panicking over shadows. But the moment those beasts appeared, his entire demeanor shifted. It wasn't just courage. It was something else. A twisted kind of exhilaration, as though the idea of fighting demons gave him a reason to breathe.
And now... he was right back to whatever nonsense he was before.
"Uh... Caelus? You heard that, right?" Kain whispered, his voice tight, eyes darting around like a spooked animal.
Caelus sighed, already feeling a headache coming on.
"It's probably another demon."
"Demon? Demon, you say..." Kain giggled.
It was a sharp, unhinged sound — the kind of laugh one might expect from someone moments away from committing an unspeakable crime.
Caelus shot him a side glance, a mixture of mild irritation and quiet astonishment crossing his face.
This guy's a fucking psychopath.
Later, the pair stopped beside a pond. With no sign of the college staff, no announcements, and no hint of when this trial would end, they decided to set up camp for the night.
Kain busied himself by rigging together a pair of makeshift tents with what little they had. Meanwhile, Caelus sat by a small fire, skewering chunks of meat he'd hunted earlier and letting them cook over the flames.
Even in the relative calm, his thoughts lingered on those incarnations. He could only hope the administrators knew what they were doing.
When Kain finished setting up the tents, he plopped down onto a log beside the campfire. By then, Caelus had already finished grilling the skewers. Without a word, he handed one over.
"Thanks," Kain grinned, eagerly accepting it.
The moment he took a bite, his eyes widened, practically sparkling.
"Whoa! This is incredible! You know how to cook?!"
"I'm surprised you think so," Caelus said, raising a brow. "Most nobles would turn their nose up at this sort of thing. Cooking is a commoner's chore, after all."
"Some might, but not me. If anything, commoners know how to actually make food taste good. Nobles are too stiff and traditional. Always the same classics that get old after the first bite. Roasted poultry, bland steaks. This, though..."
He devoured another chunk of meat, chewing like a man who hadn't eaten in days.
"Even the Goddess herself would descend from the heavens just to get a bite of this."
For the first time since meeting this airhead, Caelus found himself amused enough to let out a short breath.
"You exaggerate."
"I'm not! What did you even use? I've had plain, unseasoned meat before, and this is not that."
"Just some herbs and spices I gathered around here."
Kain pointed a finger at him, but he couldn't reply immediately with his mouth stuffed."
"Wait," he mumbled before swallowing. "You've got an eye for that stuff?"
"I fought in the war. There were days we had nothing but whatever we could scavenge before the next battle came crashing down on us. I picked up a few things along the way... anything to make it a little less miserable."
For a moment, Kain stared at him. Then a subtle laugh escaped his lips.
Mid-bite of his skewer, Caelus stopped to glare at him.
"Was that supposed to be funny?"
"No, no. I apologize," he quickly said, raising his hands to surrender. "It's just... you're not what I expected. When I heard the heir of the legendary House Luvelaine had suddenly come back and was going to attend Rhodeia, I got curious. Maybe a little too curious. That's why I've been tagging along."
"...And the whole scared-of-noises act? Was that a part of the plan as well?"
"Act? Hell no, I am scared of weird noises!" Kain protested, placing a hand on his chest like he'd been personally insulted.
"Am I supposed to take this seriously?" Caelus sighed.
"Yeah! You never know what's making those sounds. Could be a snake, a monster, a pissed-off squirrel — who knows? And if it's something worse..."
"But if that 'something' turns out to be a demon..."
As if on cue, Kain's entire demeanor shifted. His easygoing grin curved into a sharp smirk.
"If it's demons... Heh. Hehehe..."
Intrigued wouldn't be the right word to explain how Caelus felt in this moment. More like... disturbed. The way Kain shifted between personalities was something that ought to be studied. In all his years, even among demons, he hadn't met anyone quite like him.
With a quiet sigh, he took another bite of his skewer. But then, something shifted in the air. His body tensed. In an instant, he was on his feet, head snapping toward the forest.
"Caelus?" Kain called, sensing the sudden change.
He didn't reply. His gaze swept through the darkness, sharp eyes catching every detail. The falling of leaves, the faint rustle of brush, the wind threading through the trees. Something was there. Something that didn't belong.
And then, from above, a black shadow streaked across the sky.
It loomed closer.
Kain flinched.
"W-what the hell is that?! A flying demon?! A demon..."
His hand flew to his sword, ready to charge — until Caelus's arm shot out, stopping him.
"Wait."
A moment later, the massive body of a demon came crashing down beside their camp with a deafening thud. Dust billowed up in thick clouds, forcing them to shield their eyes.
When Caelus finally peered through his arm, what he saw made him pause.
The demon — a towering, humanoid beast — was already dead.
"...What the hell?" Kain gulped. "What just happened?"
As if on cue, a sliver of white hair appeared over the demon's corpse, followed by a gleam of red.
Caelus narrowed his eyes.
Another demon? No... that's—
"Oh. It's you," said a girl's voice.
A young lady stood atop the fallen demon's head, her long white ponytail swaying with the wind. Crimson eyes, sharp as blades, stared down at them, cold and unreadable.
Next to her, the leaderboard flashed into existence. She, who was sixth place just then, had risen to fourth.
"Ro... Rosalina..." Kain breathed.
"What an unlikely pair," she scoffed. "The heir of House Diadalin, playing campfire games with a fallen noble."
"Why should it matter to you that he's a fallen noble?"
Rosalina stepped down gracefully from the corpse.
"The real question is why it doesn't matter to you," she muttered. "Do you know what rank he is on the leaderboard? Tenth place. I couldn't stop thinking about how that was possible, but seeing you here now, the answer is clear. He—"
Kain interrupted her.
"I'm gonna stop you right there, Rosalina. You saw nothing. Therefore, you know nothing. Do not underestimate him based on your prejudice alone."
"Hah. Then are you saying that he was able to hold his own?" she scoffed.
He didn't answer, which made Rosalina doubt herself for a moment. Her gaze turned to Caelus, who was simply watching from the back.
She couldn't believe this fallen noble was of any use, but for Kain Diadalin to say otherwise, it was practically irrefutable.
Without another word, she approached and stopped directly in front of Caelus, extending a hand.
"Rosalina Sigurdia. First year, Rhodeia College."
It felt like he was stuck between a rock and a hard place with this one. The less people he mingled with, the better. Kain was the exception. Adding another one to the mix was far too extravagant, even if briefly.
However, in this situation, he found himself unable to decline. And so, he took her hand.
"Caelus de Luvelaine. Same year."
She hummed in response, but something about her expression shifted.
"...Is something wrong?" he asked.
"No. It's just..."
Her gaze wasn't on him anymore. Caelus followed it, turning over his shoulder toward the campfire. There, hanging by the flames, were a fresh set of skewers, perfectly cooked.
No way.
He turned back. Sure enough, Rosalina's sharp crimson eyes remained fixed on the skewers. Even Kain noticed, his face falling into deadpan disbelief.
"Uh... by any chance, Rosalina... you hungry?" Kain asked.
Before she could answer, a low growl sounded — and it wasn't from the forest.
The silence hung heavy.
Caelus sighed, releasing her hand.
"Have a seat."