SPELLBOUND

On the surface.

The two dark faes were moving so silently and fluidly in the dark as if they were one with the night. Appearing and disappearing every now and again, even if one were to catch a glimpse of them, they would only chalk it up to a shadow or something they might have mistakenly seen.

When Gideon felt that they had stepped out of the border of the light fae's land, he halted.

"Are you certain that this is the vampire's land?" Gideon's deep voice echoed around them. 

"According to Kione, all we need to do is head South and we'll reach the vampire's land for sure." Azrael replied.

"South…" Gideon echoed, and then his gaze sharpened as he glanced at Azrael. "Isn't it supposed to be the North?

Azrael's eyes widened with an 'ah' look of realisation. And when he realised Gideon was narrowing his eyes at him, he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, laughing a little embarrassedly.

"Aahh… right, right. Now that I think back on it, I think I remember Kione did say it is the North." The large, striking man replied while feigning with an apologetic grin and Gideon's eyes immediately turned deadly as Azrael sensed a flash of lethal aura before disappearing the next second.

Gideon did not say anything anymore and just turned around to leave.

Azrael quickly appeared before him. "This land is definitely the humans' land. Don't you want to see the so-called humans? I heard from the light faes in the castle that they are extremely weak. Aren't you curious to find out how weak are they?" he asked him in a serious tone.

However, Gideon seemed to already realise what Azrael was doing. It was obvious to him that this friend of his was trying to stop him from going to the vampire's land. If it was just the incident with them headed for the exact opposite direction they were supposed to, then he could still excuse that as an accident. But now that Azrael was pushing him to try and visit the human lands, he was sure that it was all a last-ditch effort in trying to distract him from going to the lands of the vampires.

"You know I can only tolerate your interference… twice, Azrael." Gideon's voice became venomous now and though Azrael's expression did not show any changes outwardly, it was apparent that the man understood Gideon more than anything. He sighed in surrender, knowing full well what Gideon would do if there was a third time when he tries to stop him.

Just as Azrael was about to step aside, they both sensed a presence. Something was coming their way. And whatever it was, it was something they had not seen before. They could only tell that they were creatures… but not like them. Neither were they like the vampires nor the light faes. These ones were weaker… far weaker than any other creatures they have seen before.

Only one possibility came to their minds – humans. They thought these must be the so-called humans. The weakest race in the entire land. From what they could pick up from their presence, the humans seem to be weak – dismally so. The both of them had not thought that the humans were so weak to this extent.

They immediately concealed their presence as they just stood there, not even bothering to find a hiding place. These creatures were so pathetically weak that they were quite sure even by standing here and concealing their presence, they would not be detected at all. After which, they faced the direction where the noise was coming from.

They were just at the edge of the woods near a road. Seeing through the darkness, Gideon spotted someone running towards where he was. A girl. Her hair that was fiery red and wavy stood out as her most prominent features. There was someone coming after her, a man.

It was obvious that the girl was being chased. Gideon could sense malice and lust in the air.

Azrael just looked at Gideon, waiting to see what he would do. He could only hope that this would distract him even a little and he would not turn around and leave. Azrael already knew that time ran differently on the surface, and it passed faster than in the Under Lands. He needed more distractions to happen so their time would run out quick.

Following Gideon's line of sight, Azrael's gaze fell on the girl. She had a head of hair with the brightest shade of red. He had never seen a creature with hair colour like hers before. Though her skin was not glowing like how the light faes were, she was very fair and… the overall effect she presents was such a beautiful outcome.

But the beautiful little creature was obviously in a pinch. No, it was more right to say that she is in grave danger. She looked utterly horrified, like a poor little prey running for her life.

One look and Azrael could tell she would not be able to escape the predator chasing right behind her. But the girl futilely continued running no matter how many times she fell. She immediately rose and frantically ran off again.

Just by watching, even Azrael, a man who had been in countless battles for many years, could not help but feel pity for the little poor prey, knowing that her effort will never save her. No matter how much she tries, she would not be able to win against someone more powerful than her.

Azrael looked over at Gideon again and to his relief, this scene seemed to have really distracted him. It surprised him how intent his gaze was as he watched the chase. It nearly looked like he wanted to see how long she would be able to hold on or what will happen next.

This made Azrael narrow his eyes.. He did not understand the look in Gideon's eyes because to him, the outcome of this was already very obvious. Was he actually expecting something else to happen like perhaps for the little prey to suddenly magically win against her predator?