The night passed, and the pilgrimage towards the blood church continued.
During the night, Rudy had woken up a few times to check on Warrior, only to find him dead asleep, which meant he wasn't aware that Rudy had stolen whatever that blue bead was.
Similar to the previous day, the ride was smooth, and finally, at the end of his vision, Rudy saw the short pillars that the Final Will had shown to him.
His heartbeat began to quicken.
'Just a few more minutes and then we would be attacked.'
Taking a deep breath, he looked at Warrior, who was napping with his head low, and from the edge of his eyes, he saw a dark figure within the deep woods.
The dark figure was at least seven feet tall, its body was broad, fitting the image of a juggernaut with a hunchback, skin similar to a burnished cloth, long limbs ended in blade-like claws that touched the ground, dark red eyes burned with an unquenchable hunger, and slimy saliva dripped from its horrid maw.
His eyes widened, and his face went pale, but he quickly calmed himself.
Before the demon could even see them, he stuck his head out of the window and called out, "Guards."
The two guards on the right of the carriage looked at him, and he commanded, "Tell the driver to speed up the carriage."
The guards looked at each other in confusion.
Rudy's expression turned cold. He sat back in his seat and said sharply, "Do as I say."
Even though still confused, the guard at the front bowed slightly. He quickened his steps, appeared beside the driver, and gestured to him to drive faster.
Puzzled by the strange order, the driver tilted his head before he nodded and pulled the reins.
The horses neighed, the cry echoed through the silent forest, and pulled the demon's attention towards them.
The demon let out a shaking roar, and the carriage began to speed up.
The guards immediately formed up and turned towards the demon.
"What the hell is going on?!" Warrior woke up and shouted, dumbfounded.
Rudy gave him a sombre look, which grew grimmer with each passing moment, and said, "The guards... they stayed behind to hold that abomination to keep us safe..."
"What?!" Warrior quickly looked out of the window.
Rudy did the same, watching the guards fight the demon with an impassive expression.
The ground trembled as the demon dashed towards them with a speed no slower than a moving carriage and swung its blade-like claws at them.
Two of the guards were thrown off by the impact and slammed into the trees.
The other two attacked it, of which one managed to plunge his sword into its left eye, only for the demon to plunge its claws into him, shredding him on the spot.
The carriage passed the curve, and they were no longer visible.
Rudy remained as he was for a couple of moments; he then fell back in his seat with a grim expression.
Warrior placed a hand on Rudy's shoulder and spoke worriedly, "Young lord... are you alright?"
Rudy slowly turned his head towards Warrior and mumbled in a distraught tone, "I am fine..."
Sensing Rudy's mood, Warrior let out a hollow chuckle.
"Young lord doesn't have to feel bad about the guards' death. From the moment they had agreed to accompany you, they were ready to sacrifice themselves... don't let their deaths worry you. Instead, avenge them by achieving the grand goal of the divine blood order."
Rudy's lips lifted into a sad smile. He nodded, leaned back, and closed his eyes.
'That demon is the same one I saw in the images...'
'As we are going much faster than before, we should reach the church within the next seven to eight hours.'
He clenched his right fist. 'I still have to find out about that pill.'
He breathed deeply and exhaled softly. 'The situation isn't dire enough for him to either drop his act or tell me about the pill.'
His eyes open, shifted towards the dipping sun.
'In at most five hours, the demon would catch up to us. Only then would I be able to know what that pill is.'
Shifting in his seat, he glanced at Warrior from the corner of his eye and watched him touch his waist cloth right where the box was.
'There has to be some reason why he isn't killing me, so I don't think that pill is poison, but at the same time, it feels like he wants that demon to kill me. It's almost as if he can't kill me...'
He turned his head and looked outside, as it was the only thing he could do.
Hours passed by, the sun neared the horizon, and evening fell.
Trees blurred past as the carriage darted through the forest at the top of its speed, and another curve appeared in his vision.
Rudy remained calm and stared at the path.
Suddenly, the carriage shook with the ground, and a harsh roar rang in their ears.
"Ugh!" Rudy groaned and held his head.
Both of them quickly looked outside and saw that the demon was about to reach them.
It was covered in the blood of the guards, and a dagger was still plunged into its bestial thigh.
'At most five minutes...'
Rudy looked at Warrior, then at the incoming curve and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Forget the pilgrimage. Just escape!"
Warrior instantly looked at him and shouted, "What are you—"
However, before he could finish, the carriage reached the curve, and Rudy barreled into Warrior like a cannonball.
The door exploded as both of them crashed into it. They flew out of the carriage, fell into the bushes near the path, and the carriage continued to move.
Rudy gritted through the pain of bruises and injuries he had just sustained and looked at the path.
He covered his mouth with his hands, held his breath, and watched the demon from the bushes.
His eyes trembled as the demon neared them, and much to his relief, ran past them.
Using his hand, he pushed himself up from the ground, and his gaze fell on Warrior staring at the carriage that had gone straight instead of turning left — the driver had taken the other path because he had understood Rudy's plan.