Dantega:Volume 3 Chapter 3

(PART 3)

"Hey you got a bug on your neck Ubica." said Daey while pointing her finger at him.

Ubica raises his eyebrow and slaps his neck. "Did I get it?"

He looks in the palm of his hand to see if he did but nothing is there.

"No it's still there, let me do it for you."

She slaps his neck extremely hard causing him to jump back and yell, "Owww!!! That was a little rough don't you think!?"

Daey waves her hands in a nonchalant way while she apologizes as unapologetic as possible, "Sorry sorry."

She then leans her head close to him and finds that it was not a bug after all.

"Huh? What is that?"

Looking closely it actually seems like a small black tattoo in the form a fly.

"What is what?" Ubica asks.

She gets even closer and pokes at it. "When did you get a tattoo?"

"I don't have a tattoo."

"Well there is one right here and it looks like a fly."

He backs away and looks really surprised, he thinks about it for a second and realizes that this mark came from Beelzebub back when they were at the tundra village.

He understands that a marking like this coming from a man like him would either mean he has been cursed or injected with a poison. The problem is that he doesn't know which one it is, and he doesn't know what it does. In order to find out he'll have to ask Beelzebub himself or perhaps Rage might know something about it, but neither of them are anywhere near him.

Trying not to look panicky he smiles at Daey and says, "Oh yeah... I got this a little while back."

However, his carefree words are contrary to what he actually feels, he is really nervous about this because he knows Beelzebub all too well. He is positive that there is always an ulterior motive behind the majority of things Beelzebub does, in this case the motive to harm him is blatantly obvious.

"It was from that fly guy right?" she asks.

She remembers that day perfectly so she assumes that it was him who sent the bug that bit Ubica causing him to lose his strength.

"It seems that way..."

"What do you think it means?"

Ubica rubs is neck and replies, "No clue..."

Daey can see that he is a little distraught about this so she tries to lighten his spirits by grabbing his hand. With a smile she says, "Well you're alive now and you aren't sick, so we'll worry about that later. For now let's just get some lunch!"

"Sounds like a plan to me."

The two are walking down a long line of street vendors in the center of the town, they are trying to decide which food stand they want to stop at for lunch. It is the seventh and last day of the festival so they are getting ready to leave the town and head north toward the Gate. A lot of things happened since the the time they got here, but the week long stay was basically spent working and enjoying the festivities when they had time off. Leaving this place is bittersweet, this was as stress free of a week they've had since they were abducted, leaving such an environment and returning to the harsh reality they've found themselves in is not something they look forward to. But at the same time, enjoying themselves here is not getting them any closer to home, at least once they leave they'll be heading in that direction.

After a few minutes, Ubica and Daey end up sitting at a food stand that serves fried meat buns.

"Wow this is delicious!" said Daey the moment she took her first bite.

She has never eaten something like this before, it is made with local meat and vegetables that are wrapped with salted dough and then deep fried until crispy and brown. Back in Eiyalazo, this kind of food was considered primitive and barbaric by the royals; they only eat the most premium of foods and wear the most expensive of clothes because they feel that out of all the kingdoms of the world, they exude the most class. This stuffy lifestyle of hers never allowed her to enjoy such things as eating meat buns from a sketchy food stand around hundreds of drunken blowhards in middle of the day.

Ubica is wearing a smile as he watches her eat with such an exited look on her face.

As soon as she spots him looking at her she becomes flustered. She's blushing when she asks, "Is there something on my face?"

"Actually there is." he answers. He leans over the small two person table and takes a peace of the bun off of her face with his finger and puts it in his mouth.

This causes Daey to become even more flushed, she scrambles for words until she notices that hardly a bite has been taken out of his bun.

"H-Hey Ubica, you haven't eaten much... Is something wrong?"

He leans back in his seat and says, "Nope I'm fine, I just don't eat much."

"Well you should start eating more... It isn't healthy you know."

"Yeah yeah, but I find it a lot more satisfying just watching you."

Daey drops her bun and hides her face in embarrassment; one of Ubica's problems is that he says these kind of things so easily, it's amazing that none of them have thrown a pan at his face.

"Hey why'd you stop eating?"

"How in the world do expect me to eat after you say something like that!?"

"Huh? Like what?"

"Damn it all Ubica! Why do you have to be so dense!?"

Before Ubica can say his retort and continue their argument, he feels a slight tug on his left sleeve, he looks over and sees a little boy who is looking at him with eyes full of youthful ambition.

He is a plain boy with brown hair and brown eyes, he looks to be around ten or eleven and is wearing rather tattered clothes. Though it may seem like he is a poor kid, it's more than likely that he is the assistant of a merchant that owns a shop. It is quite common for a shop owning merchant to hire young children because they can pay them less and the chances are they will not complain about doing grunt work like an adult would.

"Uh... Can I help you?" Ubica asks.

The boy scruffs his nose and replies with a question of his own, "You are the one that won the dance competition right?"

"Y-Yeah..."

The boy sighs in relief and smiles, he stretches his arms and says, "Thank goodness, I've been trying to find you and that girl all week." The kid then looks at Daey and raises his eyebrow. "Though... That doesn't look like the girl who was dancing with you."

"Geh... She isn't the girl." Ubica replies, a cold sweat runs down his temple when he feels that something bad is about to happen.

The boy laughs really loud and pats Ubica's back quite hard. "Buahahah, amazing! I've never met a real player before."

"Player?"

"You know, those guys who always have more than one girlfriend."

They both jolt back in their seats, Ubica is becoming nervous because he can sense Daey's anger.

The boy scans Daey from head to toe with his eyes and says, "And this girl is just as cute as the other one too! But this one's boobs are way smaller."

Ubica screams in shock, he honestly thinks that both him and the kid are about to be killed; he slowly turns his head and sees Daey with the dark aura of death surrounding her.

A vein can be seen in her forehead as she steps off of her high chair and down to the boys level. "Are you saying that I have a flat chest??" she asks in an evil voice.

The boy looks at her and is completely unworried when he replies, "Well you do don't you?"

The horror on Ubica's face can not be described by words, he jumps off his chair and grabs her with all of his might. "Listen kid, if you want to live you should hurry up and tell me what you want or I recommend you leave now!!"

"Okay then, I'll cut to the chase, I need you to help me find the God of Harvest!"

Daey stops struggling in confusion and both her and Ubica tilt their heads and say, "Huh?"

"She shows up somewhere in town on the last day of the festival each year. You won that contest because you pleased the God of Harvest the most... Since she knows who you are it might be easier to find her." the boy says as he shuffles his feet.

Ubica and Daey look at each other and then back at him.

"Why should we help out a shitty brat like you?" Daey asks bitterly as she huffs air out of her nose.

"Because I'll pay you." he bluntly replies. This catches their attention and he knows it. "Well I guess technically it won't be me who pays you, it'll be my boss."

Ubica is intrigued but he is also not interested in dealing with deities unless he absolutely has to. "Sorry kid, but we're leaving soon so we won't have time."

"You mean all seven of you?"

Daey frowns and is increasingly getting more and more annoyed by his presence. "Are you some kind of stalker or something!?"

He shrugs his little shoulders and replies, "If that is what I'm paid to be then that is what I am, besides, you guys stick out like a sore thumb. But that's not the point, my boss said that he will give you two horse drawn carts if you find the God of Harvest before sun down."

This offer is one that can't be refused; a horse and a cart would make their trip to the Gate go twice as fast, plus all the added energy is always good, two of them would be like a godsend.

Both Napoleon and Ubica have been thinking about buying one but that would take up a majority of the money that the group has made this entire week so they decided not to. A cart is quite expensive because many people rely on it as the base of their business and livelihood. For example, if a merchant's cart were to break on the road in the middle of a delivery being made to a different town, it would be as bad as a death sentence.

He would fail to make a profit on the goods that he bought and was wishing to sell, and be vulnerable to bandits, wolves, and if they make it through those two, ruthless debt collectors. The fact that a shop owning merchant is offering such a high price to find the God of Harvest must mean that this task is important enough that it might actually worthwhile.

Ubica glances at Daey with a smile and back to the kid.

"Alright." He shakes the boy's hand and asks, "So what's your name?"

The boy scruffs his nose and states, "The name's Ian."

---

"Are we all ready to go?"

Napoleon has a large packed duffle bag over his shoulder, he is addressing the group in the lobby and they are holding different variations of travel bags as well.

Trojia pats herself to see if she had forgotten anything and replies, "Yeah, so all we need to do is wait for Ubica and Daey to come back and we're out of here."

Tsubiri chimes in with a complaint, "How sneaky of Daey to pack both hers and Ubica's stuff just so they could go out and get lunch while we get ready..." She pouts and finishes, "...I should've thought of that."

Niomyo walks up to the lobby door and peeks out of the window. "Hey guys, they're back."

Tsubiri's and Trojia's faces light up and they rush to greet them. In comes Ubica and Daey, and to everyone's surprise comes a little boy as well.

"Who the hell is this brat?" asks Strauphius. His rude tone of voice is partially because he is already frustrated at Tsubiri's feelings toward Ubica.

Before they could reply Ian jumps in front of them and asks, "Who the hell are you?"

A vein surfaces in Straupius's head and with a voice full of anger he speaks through his teeth. "Cheeky little shit."

Ubica jumps in between them and nervously laughs, he feels that there is some kind of battle between two children that are fighting for their right as number one, except the problem is that one is twenty years old and the other is eleven.

After a sigh, Ubica looks to Napoleon and says, "We need to hold back on leaving for a little."

Napoleon looks confused and asks, "What?"

---

After telling them the story of why they should stay, Napoleon instantly agrees and now they are all looking for the God of Harvest. Since they had already checked out of the motel, the entire group is walking the streets while the festival is staging its last hoorah.

"So, can't you sense this deity Ubica?" asks Napoleon.

"The thing is, for some reason I can't." he answers.

"So you're telling me you accepted this job blindly?"

"Well yeah, think about how much those two carts will come in handy if we pull this off, I couldn't say no."

Napoleon sighs and rubs his head, "I guess you're right. Now we just need to figure out how to go about this."

Ubica turns to Ian and grabs him by the ear. "Alright kid, I'm sure your boss gave you some kind of clues on how to find the God of Harvest, spill it."

"Ow okay okay! Let go of my ear!"

Ubica releases his ear and Ian rubs it with a sour look on his face.

"I guess she comes at random spots all over the city, one year, some guy found her dancing around in the flowers outside of the city walls."

Ubica takes a deep breath and says, "Great... A wild goose chase."

"No it's not! If you and that girl who you won the dance contest with looked around, I'm sure you'll find her easily!"

Ubica looks at Trojia and then back to Ian. "I gotta say, I'm really interested in what this God of Harvest is like." He turns to the group and says, "Alright guys, we're going to split up and search around the city. Trojia, you're coming with me."

Trojia smiles and agrees wholeheartedly, but she is quite annoyed when he adds,

"Ian, you're coming with us also."

So now the groups have been settled and are searching throughout the city. As a strategy to cover the most ground, Napoleon is searching the center of the city, Niomyo in the north, Strauphius in the east, Tsubiri in the west, Daey in the south, and Ubica's group is searching the outskirts of the city walls.

"Wow! This place is amazing!" shouts Ian.

His eyes are full of excitement at the sight of all of the different colored flowers that tatter the grassland.

"Haven't you been out here before?" asks Trojia.

Ian is wearing a wide smile revealing two missing teeth when he replies, "Nope!"

Ubica is taken aback by this, the city is quite big but it's nothing more than a half hour walk to its outskirts.

"Why not?"

The smile on Ian's face fades just a little. "Well, I've been working for my boss since I was six. I live at the shop so if I'm not sent out of the city, I won't leave. That is till now!"

Ubica and Trojia can't help but think that is just a little cruel; sure a job like his is important but it might as well be working in a cage if it is like this. But the fact that he is finally experiencing the outside world makes them feel a little better about it.

Ian runs to a small hill and looks over the flower covered valley that is occupied by numerous squares of wheat fields and other farmland as far as the eye can see.

He takes a deep breath and turns to the two, as if sensing how they are feeling about his situation, he shows another big smile and states, "But don't worry because one day, I'm going to see the entire world as a traveling merchant! Just like boss was!"

These kind of dreams and ambitions really give Ubica a lot of energy, every time he sees the dedication in people's eyes when they talk of goals, it reminds him of himself trying to fight to get out of the situation he is in.

"It sounds like you really look up to your boss. What's he like?"

Ian replies and speaks quickly with enthusiasm, "He is great! He let's me live in the shop and he teaches me everything I need to know about becoming a traveling merchant!"

Ubica walks to the top of the hill to join Ian, he pats him on the head and ruffles his hair. "That's good Ian, don't ever give up on your dream."

"There's no way I will!" Ian says with a laugh as he runs around through the flowers.

Trojia walks to Ubica's side and gently leans on his shoulder, with a smile she says, "This is kind of funny."

"What do you mean?"

"You remind me of my dad."

Ubica laughs in confusion, "Um... Is that a good thing?"

Trojia remembers her father and replies, "Yes it is... You're good with kids just like him. I bet you'd make a good father."

Ubica has never even thought having kids. That's actually the one thought he can honestly say has never crossed his mind. Though he does notice that when he sees families that are happily doing such things as shopping or going out to eat, he gets a little envious. Such normal activities that humans are blessed to be accustomed to really make him want to experience that kind life.

The three are walking down a stone pathway that winds throughout the many small hills of the surroundings, out in the distance people are gathering bundles of wheat into silos to make many different kinds of bread. Most towns that are similar to this one would usually make rye bread because it's the least expensive and easiest to harvest, plus, it lasts much longer than any kind of white bread many others, but most people find rye to be very bitter so they try to refrain from eating it unless they have to.

This city on the other hand has an abundance of wheat so expense of certain breads is the least of their worries, and in case of a drought, other crops of many different foods are at their leisure for consumption. No doubt, this is all the result of the God of Harvest and this is making Ubica very interested in seeing what this person is actually like. Most deities that reside in Purgatory only do things that result in being worshiped and will quickly kick the worshipers to the curb after they have had their fill, so the fact that this one is seemingly humble is surprising.

"So... Which one is your real girlfriend Ubica?" asked Ian as he throws a rock from the pathway off a hill.

Ubica's shoulders jump at the suddenness of that question and he doesn't answer.

Trojia raises her eyebrow and asks, "What do you mean which one?"

Ian turns to them and starts waking backwards. "He was looking really comfy with the other girl at lunch earlier."

"Oh..? Is that a fact?" she replies with a suspicious tone.

Ubica's face drops, Trojia, who was once leaning on him tenderly is now squeezing his arm violently and he can feel the blood circulation being cut off.

(This kid is gonna get me killed!) he thinks to himself.

"Neither of us are his girlfriend Ian." she says, she sighs and releases the tension in her hold on Ubica's arm.

Ubica is a little stunned at hearing her say this, he was thinking about saying it himself but he was worried that it would only make her more angry.

"Really? Well it sure doesn't look like it."

It looks like he is about to continue but Ubica interrupts him so they can get off of this touchy subject.

"Anyways! So what does your boss want with the God of Harvest once we find her??"

"Well he met her once when he became a shop owner, she gave him advice and helped him become very wealthy. All he wants to do is ask her for help in future business deals again, they say that if you are the first to find her, she will grant one wish that involves a harvest of some sort."

This, although be it simple and nice is really pitiful; the use of this deity brings so much happiness to the people of this town, but by them accepting the deity's help, it's damning them to Hell. With each passing day, they are losing their chance at becoming human once more and returning to Earth. Any chances of going to Heaven are completely blown by believing in the God of Harvest.

"Well, we've walked more than a couple miles now, should we head back to the city and look?" asks Trojia.

Ian shows a sour face because he is thoroughly enjoying being outside of the city walls.

Ubica agrees with her until he looks out in the distance and sees a batch of trees on top of a rather large hill.

"Hey kid, up on that hill where those trees are... "

Ian looks over to the miniature forest and asks, "What of it?"

"The wood that is made into the statue of the God of Harvest... Does it come from that small forest?"

"Umm, I think so... Boss always said that the statue is made from the wood of the trees found just outside the city walls."

Ubica grabs Trojia's hand and says, "I got a feeling that we will find her there, come on let's go!"

With that they all rush through the flowers and up the hill.

"What's so special about that place?" asks Trojia as she is helplessly dragged along.

"Remember when they said that the winner of the dance competition are the ones that pleased the God of Harvest the most? Well, assuming that it wasn't just up to the judges, that would mean that she was watching us, and if that were the case she would be watching us through the statue that was overlooking the dance platform." Ubica purposes.

"So you're saying that since she was dwelling in the wood of the statue, she'd be in the place where the wood came from?"

"Yeah, if I'm right then that's where the God of Harvest will be. If I'm wrong, it was worth a try anyways."

Ian runs in front of them and says in an excited tone, "You're smarter than you look Ubica!"

They enter the forest and look around, it is actually larger than what it looked like from below, it's easily over 15 acres.

"Hey do you hear that?" Ubica asks as he gestures the two to be quiet. "It sounds like humming."

With open ears, the sound of a faint humming of a girl can be heard on the other end of the batch of trees. They walk quickly toward the sound. Ian's face is brightening up with each step, so is Ubica's for that matter, his interest has been piqued and he can't wait to meet this person.

A few trees away they can see the figure of a girl, though her body and face are being blocked by a tree, there is no doubt that this is the source of the humming. Her hands can be seen holding a palm full of seeds, she is tossing them on to the ground and within an instant flowers bloom and small trees begin to grow, this sight leaves no doubt in their minds that they have found the ever elusive God of Harvest.

She is leaning against a tree, she takes a seedling and from her hand turns it into a stalk of wheat, moving closer to around twenty feet away her body and facial features can be seen. She is wearing a plaid painter's cap, a plaid button up shirt with its sleeves rolled up to her forearms over a small white thin strap shirt that makes the skin of her chest and belly visible. Small jean shorts barely cover her bottom and long black socks stretch from her brown boots all the way to her lower thighs.

She has astonishingly beautiful white hair and seducing gold eyes with similar pupils to Ubica's. The sight of her causes Ubica to turn blue with shock, though the outfit is different, this girl is no doubt the one named Messor.

Ubica immediately snatches his hand away from the hold of Trojia's when Messor shifts her attention to them.

"It's you! You look just like the statue!" shouts Ian with a big smile on his face.

Trojia finds it odd that he'd say that because to her, the girl doesn't look anything like the wooden statue.

"Are you the God of Harvest?" she asks.

Messor smiles and replies, "Indeed I am."

Ian starts jumping around in excitement. "This is so great! We did it!"

Messor chuckles gently and asks, "Were you looking for me?"

"Yes! We are the first to find you right!?"

"Yes you are."

"Then that means that you'll help us!?"

Messor stands to her feet, revealing a perfect body figure that makes even Trojia jealous. "Yes it does. What is it that you need?"

Ian tells her the story and she agrees, Ubica is still standing in the same position as stiff as a rock. The last time, she appeared in what seemed like a dream, but this time she has shown up in reality just a few feet away from him.

"Let's hurry back to the city guys!" Ian shouts.

With a cracked voice, Ubica responds, "Okay... You two go on ahead, I'd like to talk to the God of Harvest for a moment."

Messor smiles and with an air full of kindness says, "Please, call me Messor."

Ubica flinches at how easily she threw out her name, though, in Latin her name literally means Harvester. It's almost like he could have figured that it could have turned out like this if he had just thought about it.

"Okay, we'll meet you at the bottom of the hill!"

Trojia looks back with a wary face but Ubica gestures for her to leave so she reluctantly follows Ian.

"Is your name Ubica?" asked Messor with a voice full of sarcasm.

Ubica frowns, grabs the scarf she wears over her neck and shouts, "I don't want to hear your damn jokes! What the hell are you doing here!?"

She smiles and says, "How tense you are... Didn't I say that I was going to prove that I've changed?"

She grabs his hand and moves it off of her scarf as she continues, "Well, this is the beginning."

Messor walks over to the side of a hill that has a good view of the city that rests a couple miles away. "Don't you find it sad that these people are so reliant on this deity? My first act in changing my ways is saving these people from damnation."

Ubica is surprised that she would do such a thing, though taking away their ever so loved God of Harvest and leaving them to live by their own means may sound cruel, this is actually a gesture pure kindness.

"So what did you do to the God of Harvest?"

"I just took her place for now, I warned her to leave otherwise I'd kill her. Naturally she obliged when she found out who I am, I don't think she was all too keen on spending the rest of eternity in Limbo."

"So that's why that kid thinks you look just like the statue. This isn't like you Messor, I'd figure you'd just kill her off to make things simple."

She turns and shows a smile full of happiness and states, "I'm not that person anymore."

Ubica and Messor start walking through the forest and down the hill to meet Trojia and Ian. Birds can be heard singing and they are flying close and landing on Messor's hands at will. Ubica sees this and is amazed at this happening; back in the past, both of them were like repellent to animals because they could sense their evil.

"So what are you planning to do after this?" Ubica asks, visibly wary of the answer he's expecting from her.

Messor releases the bird and watches it fly off when she answers, "I guess it is to meet that child's boss and grant his wish."

"No I mean after that."

She turns to look Ubica square in the eyes and replies, "To help you in any way I can."

He sighs and shows a troubled face.

Messor sees this and walks in front of him, she puts her hand on his chest and says, "Let me guess what you're thinking. Number one: I don't think that is necessary. Number two: You don't have to. Number three: I don't want your help because I still don't trust you."

Ubica grabs her hand and shouts, "That's not true!"

Messor frowns and her eyes glow a bright gold, "Then what is it then!? Why won't you let me help you!?"

He jolts back in surprise, she is normally a level headed person to the extreme, for her to show such emotion over this he finds very shocking.

"Because... I---"

"It's because of that girl isn't it..? No... It's not just her, there are two others right?" she asks as her calm demeanor returns.

Ubica shifts his eyes away from her and begins to walk again.

"What do you think?"

Messor clicks her tongue, "I can make them strong you know?"

This catches his attention and he raises his eyebrow as she continues.

"They are in Purgatory and they are 'aware', if you let me join you I can teach them how to use the powers that come with having that knowledge."

"How?"

"Can't you see it? Everything about the old me is gone, all of the malice that gave me the power I once had has been given up. The only thing I am capable of now is helping people, to give your comrades the abilities that are available to them will be as easy as flipping a switch."

Ubica looks up into the sky as he does so often and ponders. This kind of thing is drastically needed in order for them to defend themselves if something were to happen to them; they got Strauphius to try to teach them but he couldn't explain it to them in any kind of sensible manner. So having someone who can is very important.

He turns to her and teasingly pulls her painters cap over her eyes. "Listen Messor, I want you to change for yourself, not because of me..."

She lifts her hat and smiles happily. "Everything I've ever done and will ever do is only because of you Ubica."

He takes a sigh of resignation and softly says, "I guess I never could say no to you."

She tries to straighten her soft white hair that has been roughed up when she asks, "Does that mean you'll accept me?"

Ubica starts walking down the hill when he says, "Yes it does... But I'll always be watching you Messor... Don't forget that."

Messor watches him gain distance from her, her eyes glow when she says under her breath, "I wouldn't want it any other way."

---

"What's your name?" asks Messor.

This question is directed toward a certain girl who is amazed my Messor's beauty. "My name is Trojia."

The three quickly introduce themselves and head toward the city; Ubica is curious as to how well Messor will get along with Trojia. Back when they were the Anti-Christ and the False Prophet, she would usually kill any woman who was foolish enough to make an advance on Ubica so this is making him somewhat nervous.

Trojia slows down and walks to Ubica's side, Messor and Ian are holding hands as Ian dances, and Ubica can't help but smile tenderly at this scene.

Trojia finds this a little odd so she asks, "Hey... Do you know her?"

He jumps back and tries to find words, "Eh... ah... No, why would you think that?"

She scratches her head and ponders a reason, when nothing comes she replies, "I dunno, I guess it just seemed that way for a moment... Also, you guys both have the same kind of eyes."

He nervously laughs and is quite passive when he says, "Oh? Now that you mention it, we kinda do. And here I thought I was unique."

Trojia chuckles, "Trust me, you are the most unique person there is... But she is also unique because she is so pretty, maybe that's why I feel that you two are alike."

He flicks her forehead and joins her in laughter, "Flattery will get you no where."

"I'm not trying to flatter you at all! Where did you get that idea??"

The two shove at each other playfully and merrily walk along the road. Though she is not looking, Messor can sense the happy vibe from behind her back and is becoming somewhat angered by it. But this feeling disappears when they reach the walls of the city.

Ian tries to rush the three to his shop by yelling "Let's go!" and running through the labyrinth of people.

In order to not lose him the three move briskly through the crowd in pursuit.

---

The job has now been done; the three of them went to Ian's boss's shop and granted his wish. Though saddened at the fact that Messor, who is taking place of the God of Harvest said she planned on leaving after this, Ian kept his head held high and said his thank yous repeatedly.

After acquiring the two carts they all wave their goodbyes and head off into the sunset.

"Wow that was a lot easier than I thought it would be." said Ubica while scratching his head.

The group met up in the town square and left the vibrant city.

This past week has been a break from all of the dangers that occupy their minds with the current situation that they are in; it is kind of a shame that they have to leave a place where they had such good times.

They are all sitting in their two horse drawn carts heading north once again, but this time there is an added person.

"Yeah, all I did was tell him what to expect in the market place in the next few months with the God of Harvest’s departure." said the added person. This girl is none other than Messor the fabled False Prophet.

Naturally, none of the group knows this except for Ubica the Anti-Christ.

Trojia is sitting with the two along with Napoleon who is riding up front, guiding the reins for the horses, she smiles and says, "Ian seemed really happy that you helped him, he couldn't stop saying thank you."

Ubica adds, "It's probably because the more success that comes to his boss, the better chance it is that he will fulfill his dream of becoming a traveling merchant." He turns to Messor and puts his hand on her shoulder and continues, "Thank you for helping him Messor, that was really kind."

Trojia puts out her arm for a handshake and says, "We never got to properly introduce ourselves... It's nice to meet you Messor, I hope we can be good friends."

Ubica freezes in curiosity at what her reaction will be to this, if Messor is truly committed to what she says, she would not show any animosity toward her.

Messor shakes her hand and politely speaks with a voice full of delight, "It's my pleasure, I look forward to our journey together."

"I'm sorry to intrude on your conversation, but I am quite interested in how and when you will teach us how to gain abilities." Napoleon bluntly interrupts.

Messor giggles and sarcastically replies, "Nice to meet you too."

Ubica cringes when he sees Napoleon's eyebrow twitch in annoyance, an army man like him finds it very difficult to tolerate even the simplest of things when the topic of talk is important.

"My name is Napoleon. Now please answer my question." he replies sharply.

Trojia and Ubica have cold sweats rolling down their temples, the tone of his voice signifies an impatience that he is terrible at hiding.

It seems that Messor senses this and decides to make him wait.

"You see, the thing about that is, I find it hard to explain anything when I'm tired. How about I tell you when we set up camp tonight?"

This is obviously a blatant attempt at purposely making him wait. She is smiling and shooting a 'gotcha' look into the back of his head and he feels it beating on him, he can't really say anything because he knows that if she is telling the truth, she is vital to the groups survival.

All he can do is sigh and say, "Fine."

The simultaneous sighs of relief from Trojia and Ubica can be heard as they lean back in their seats and head of off into the upcoming night.

"This looks like a good place to stay for the night." says Napoleon as he pulls the cart into a batch of trees just a few dozen yards off the dirt road in which they are traveling on.

He jumps off and begins to set up the tents that they had bought back in town with some of the money from all of their part time jobs.

From behind them comes the other cart with the rest of the group being driven by Niomyo, she parks and steps off to help him with the tents.

With camp almost completely set up, the group and Messor have all been acquainted and seem to get along fairly well. Ubica is leaning against a tree from afar and watching her interactions with his comrades with a soft smile on his face.

Messor turns to him and heads over to his area, leaving the others behind and talking amongst themselves.

"You look relieved Ubica."

"I guess you can say that... You were normally not this personable."

She laughs and says, "You weren't either."

"Hahaha, well that is true."

Messor walks past him and proceeds deeper into the woods.

"Hey where are you going?" Ubica asks.

She turns and sticks her tongue out. "Even someone like me has to use the ladies room every once in a while."

Ubica blushes and mutters, "Ah... Oh."

"Oh? Could it be that you're having perverted thoughts about me?"

Ubica shuts his eyes and holds out his hands in a swaying motion.

"N-No I'm not! I'm not at all!"

"Hahahahaha awww how cute your flustered face is."

She turns to walk away and thinks back on how she has never seen that side of him before, looking back on him she sees that he is still standing there with a stupid look on his face.

"A little privacy?"

Ubica scrambles and shouts, "R-Right!"

He quickly walks away toward the rest of the group.

Messor has a smile as she watches his back become smaller the further away he walks, but it turns sour when she loses sight of him and she says under her breath, "Relax Ubica... It's not like it's anything you haven't seen before."

Messor walks into the dark of the trees until she can't hear the voices of the rest of the group. She reaches into the pocket of her skinny jean shorts and pulls out a small locket with a pentagram on it, she opens it and what lies inside is just a blank piece of black paper velvet.

"Have you joined them yet?" A man's voice is heard coming from the locket.

Messor has a confident yet blank smile when she replies sarcastically, "Would I have answered your call if I didn't?"

"Such a sharp girl you are. I must suggest that you remember who rescued you from the eternal lake of fire before you use your usual tone of voice towards me."

She clicks her tongue and replies, "If it wasn't for you, I never would've been in that lake in the first place."

A chuckle can be heard from within the locket, "That is where you're wrong, do not blame other people for your own foolish decisions... Oh my, it seems that we are getting off topic."

Messor takes a deep breath to suppress her anger and says, "So what do you want?"

"I just wanted to make sure you knew exactly what the plan is... And perhaps I'd like to know your whereabouts."

She laughs and answers, "I do know the exact plan, how could I forget? It benefits me as well... As for where I am, I will not tell you. I won't ever let you do something to harm Ubica."

"You are a walking contradiction Messor. I will find you eventually, it's just a matter of time."

She stretches out her arms and says, "When that time comes, I'll deal with you appropriately."

The voice coming from the locket slowly fades away, "Very well then; until that time I would like for you to keep this little secret between us two, none of our comrades can know about this for now... Goodbye Messor."

The voice dissipates, leaving Messor with an unbecoming frown on her face. She shuts the locket and slips it back into her skinny jeans shorts.

Heading back to the rest of the group she turns the frown into a conniving smile and says, "Don't put me in with them, they are not my comrades... Especially not you Damien... My loyalty only rests with one man, and I have my own plans for him."

Northbound Reunion: (END)

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