Run and Chase Part 1

On the road, there were hardly any people around. The Succubus and the Witch had been walking for about ten minutes when they spotted a group of three people following. Perhaps it’s not right to call the group people since one of them technically was a magical beast that only looked human. Regardless, they were being pulled along in a small cart by a llama.

“I thought it would only be the Paladin, but the other two are also tagging along,” the Witch said.

“Why don’t we make a run for it? If I carry you, we can run faster than a horse,” the Succubus said.

The Witch nodded. The Succubus put their belongings into the voidspace before letting the Witch climb on her back. They set off at lightning speed. The trio didn’t even realize they were gone because they were too busy chatting.

The Succubus bypassed the first city they came upon and kept running. They arrived at the next city during sunset.

At the inn, the Witch and the Succubus dined together. When the Succubus went out for dessert in her female form, the Witch took a look around the festival. For a brief second, she thought she caught sight of the trio, but realized it must be her tired eyes playing a trick on her.

The next morning, the Witch and the Succubus, back in male form, visited the Merchants’ Guild. In every Merchants’ Guild, big maps hung in the lobby. They huddled around the world map.

“I can’t pinpoint the Gate. It’s too far away. Since the Gate’s location changes, I can locate it when we get closer. For now, it’s in this direction,” the Succubus said.

They were, of course, talking about the door to Pandemonium. Currently, they were in a country on the east side of the map, but the Gate was in the northeast, three countries and an ocean away.

The Witch wasn’t happy about how long the journey was. It would be one of the longest trips she’d ever had to make.

“Let’s see if we can buy a spot on a teleporter this time,” the Witch said. “The longer we’re on the road, the more trouble we might face.”

The teleportation center was not far away. They entered a simple stone building and talked to the receptionist.

Unfortunately, no one was willing to sell their spot. They were not foolish enough to use black-market teleporters. Being dropped in the middle of the teleportation or teleported to the wrong location was not worth the risk.

Once again, the two friends set out on the road, and once again they saw familiar faces staring back at them when they reached the gate of the city. It seemed like fate. Almost. If the Witch and the Succubus tried very hard to bend it in that direction.

“Do you guys usually set out this late?” the Scholar asked.

“We weren’t waiting here for long, really,” the Paladin said.

The Fleur didn’t say anything and just gave a gentle smile.

The Witch and the Succubus were surprised to see the trio catch up to them. The Succubus wasn’t the fastest runner in the world, but almost nothing in the human world could match the demon’s speed.

Perhaps, if they had travelled through the night, it would be possible for them to have made it here. However, even llamas need to sleep, and the travelers didn’t look at all like they had stayed up all night.

If she couldn’t figure out within five seconds how they’d caught up to them, she gave up trying to think about it. After all, the situation wasn’t severe enough that it required her to use more brain power.

The Witch looked on with an expressionless face. All she wanted was to get to Pandemonium.

The Succubus, on the other hand, was visibly displeased.

“What did you guys do?” the Succubus asked.

“Magic,” the Scholar replied sarcastically.

The Succubus raised an eyebrow and glared at him, but the man shrugged his shoulders.

The Witch and the Succubus turned away from the trio without saying farewell this time. They didn’t want to waste energy on a seemingly pointless gesture.

After the Witch and the Succubus left the city gate, the Witch cast an invisibility spell on them both. In case they were being tracked with mana, she also cast mana cloaking spells. They ran full speed to the next city. They’ve lost count of how many cities they passed by.

However, the next morning, when the Witch and the Succubus set out on their journey, once more at the gate, the trio greeted them. Big grins plastered their faces. All that was missing was the bragging.

“Let’s rest for one more day in the city,” the Witch said to the Succubus.

“Yes, My Lady,” the Succubus replied.

They returned to the inn and discussed their plans over breakfast.

“Invisibility would have taken care of any visual tracking since Fleurs can communicate with animals. Mana cloaking would have prevented them from tracking us through our mana signature. How do you think they found us?” the Witch asked.

The Witch looked down at her breakfast of eggs and sausage, but she didn’t have the appetite to eat them. If she were by herself, without her emotions, she could have stuffed them into her mouth. However, with her feelings alive again, she also began experiencing losing appetite.

“Maybe by smell? The Fleur could have one of the animals track our smell,” the Succubus said, stuffing a sausage into her mouth. Even though the demon was also as unhappy as the Witch at the stalkers, she could regulate her emotions and not let it affect her.

“Maybe. Let’s try erasing our scent next then,” the Witch said. She pushed her food around the plate, then finally cut into the egg.

“That’s Scholar’s a crafty one,” the Succubus said, stabbing his fork into an innocent lettuce leaf in frustration. “Who knows what else is up his sleeve.”

“I can guess what methods he’d use as a fellow arcane artificer. I’m more concerned about the Fleur because we know so little of their abilities,” the Witch said.

The Witch, who had a mana detection range longer than others, also didn’t detect the trio chasing them after they outran them on the road. She could have tried to detect the trio in the cities, but the amount of noise was too much for her to handle.

“Our priority is the Gate. Let’s try the teleportation center again this afternoon,” the Witch said, her eyes shined with determination.

“That’ll also take care of those three people following. Two birds with one stone,” the Succubus said.