Daress' words were slowly getting on their nerves as if he couldn't understand the struggles they were facing. Each time they reached the ground, they had to take a ten-minute break before their next venture, breathing in the air that seemed so far out of reach or trying to drink some of the water surrounding them.

It wasn't as tragic as the roads they went through beforehand, but seeing how easy it was for Daress to cross, stress grew in their minds. Morio was frustrated, his eyes were rather blurry, and he was confused, amidst everything else. He wanted to turn back and beg for Daress to find a different route but knew that his pleas would meet no answer. He wanted to stand above the waters as he did during the snowstorm in Shimori and run towards a safe place, but couldn't.

The waters were deep, reaching their stomachs, elbows and then shoulders, with only their heads sticking out from beneath the mossy liquid. Jyuzou was more annoyed than angry. He couldn't fix his glasses or scratch his nose, and it only seemed that the more hours passed, the longer it took them to get from one side to the other.

At one point, Morio seemingly stopped, startled by something. He reached his hand out from beneath the liquid, signalling for Jyuzou to halt as well.

"What are you doing?" Jyuzou muttered.

"S-S..." Morio couldn't say anything. "Something's in the water." he glanced around, nervously.

"Huh?" Daress flew above them. "Impossible. There are no living creatures here other than those centuras!"

Jyuzou ground his teeth, glancing at the Clowinger, then back at the Morian.

"I'm sure of it!" Morio continued.

"No, Dorians. Come, quickly!" Daress added. "Make haste!"

"Maybe it's that thing again, Morio." Jyuzou proposed.

"Stop it already." Morio spouted, closing his eyes and clenching one fist.

"Stop trying to tell you to not ignore the fact that you're hallucinating things out of thin air?" Jyuzou shook his head. "I'm only trying to help you."

"You're doing the exact opposite. Stop denying everything that I tell you!" Morio blinked, panicking, stepping back.

Jyuzou sighed. "I'm trying to understand," he said, in a monotone voice. "It's the same thing that happened back in the Tukman Woods."

"My only wish now is for you to keep quiet and help me get out of these waters fast enough!" he shook his head. "So just-"

Suddenly, his body disappeared in the blink of an eye, sinking below the waters.

"Huh?" Jyuzou quickly looked around. "Morio?!" he called out. "Morio!" he repeated. He started waving his hands around, trying to find something underwater. His finger finally touched something, and with a scream, he tumbled in as well.

"Ahh! DORIANS!" Daress raised his voice, reaching his hand out.

Morio struggled, putting his hands on his neck, touching whatever material it was that choked him. He barely saw the grey clouds from beneath the surface. His vision got blurry, and the more time passed, the further he sank below.

He shook around, kicking his legs, before something appeared right in front of his eyes.

The emblem danced above the water as if it were evading Morio's grasp. He reached out, grabbed it, and clenched his fist.

Out of the blue, the two Morians were lifted out of the water and dragged onto the shore by the Clowinger.

"Huu, huu, huu..." Daress breathed heavily, laying down in defeat, while the two coughed out anything and everything that had gotten into their mouths.

Jyuzou's voice was one of disgust, seeing the state of his entire body.

"My, my, you're a lot heavier than you look!" Daress stated. "Especially Morio."

"Why didn't you do that earlier?!" Jyuzou raised his voice.

"I'd be dead if I had to carry you through all this! My wings aren't that strong!" Daress nodded. "Remember! Y-You pierced them with your weapon!"

Morio sighed, putting the necklace around his neck and below his vest. "S-Something's in the water." he backed out, in fear.

"I'm telling you, Dorians!" Daress climbed around the tree. "There's nothing except for those centuras! You two must have fallen into a hole!"

"Morio's right, I felt flesh with my hand! Someone was there." Jyuzou continued, before gulping. "A d-demon?"

"E-Everything's strange in the Yuman Swamps, Dorians!" he grabbed Morio's hand, propelling him upwards. "Come on, quickly! We can't waste time before the-"

Something in the water suddenly made a loud, bubbling sound, and thick, grimy fluids oozed out from beneath the surface in little spurs.

The three stared in confusion at the sight, slowly stepping back, before something resembling a hood revealed itself from below.

"Hah." Daress took a heavy breath in, with his white pupils widening.

One bony hand climbed up on the surface, before sticking its thick claws into the dirt.

Both Morians screamed out, before jumping up and running away to the next island, taking a massive leap above the water.

The Serpigo made a loud growl, before crawling on eight limbs and stretching into a massive, black and lumpy, slouched fleshy shape.

Morio swang his fists back and forth, making haste as fast as he could. The three went in different directions, all running across islands that started connecting into one landmass, with small pools of water at the sides.

They felt the Serpigo's shadow growing larger. Its unearthly screams, its hideous appearance, and its presence itself were enough to warn them of something inhuman, something so terrifying that all positive memories would be erased and thrown out of this world simply with the touch of its bony fingers.

Whenever one would dare to look back even for a second, they'd notice its hood extending for meters to the sides, and its shadow only moving further towards the three. Even though it was far, it felt near. Morio could see its eye; he felt its gaze land right on his face.

Jyuzou assumed that the fearless Clowinger wouldn't say a thing in the face of a creature like this, yet he heard groans and cries coming from none other than him. He tried to find the others, constantly searching around the growing fog, his heart beating faster than ever, and his mind racing. His entire body was shaky, his steps were uneven, and fear took over every sense in his mind.

Morio didn't say anything. Something inside of him snapped at that moment, reaching a darker side of his heart. He kept his mouth shut, and whimpered from the pain of the obstacles, but furrowed his eyebrows and looked forward, desperately trying to make it as far as he could. The last time, it stopped chasing them when they reached a populated area, where the Serpigo wouldn't dare to make a fuss or kill someone. But this time, what were making haste for? No one knew, but Morio's legs, much like the last time he encountered the Serpigo, were moving on their own.

It wanted something.

"Quick!" Daress' cries echoed, combined with a weird sob. "Quick, Dorians!" he yelled.

Jyuzou took a wrong step, tripping onto the damp dirt and landing on his hands. He didn't have enough time to stand up. He pushed his legs forward, launching himself towards the thin tree separating the Serpigo's sight from the others.

Daress and Morio didn't look back. Jyuzou grabbed onto his weapon, holding it tightly, grinding his teeth and breathing heavily. The creature let out a high-pitched, ear-piercing scream, which only grew in volume the closer it was to Jyuzou.

The Morian felt its presence more than ever. He saw its massive and impossible shadow extending above the tree, and the black mist that surrounded its dark flesh growing nearer, standing to his left and right.

Was this the end?

Jyuzou held onto the Great Kowitzer tighter than ever, almost ripping through his palm.

With one last growl, the Serpigo passed above the tree, completely shrouding the Morian in darkness, with a massive wind blowing through the open bark, bending it in half and breaking it.

Jyuzou closed his eyes, and before he knew it, the world revealed itself once more. He slowly blinked, sighing out and dropping his weapon to the ground, feeling the dirt with his hands, and then turning forward.

"Shin..." Jyuzou muttered, standing up. "Shin, shin!" he started running, albeit much slower, limping from the fall earlier, eventually speeding up. "MORIO!" he yelled out.

Morio's breath was uneven and out of rhythm. He didn't know where he was going, but he made sure it was as far away as possible. Eventually, Daress' silhouette became visible through the thick clouds of mist, set against a backdrop of sharp rocks that were different from those in the Yuman Swamps. The Clowinger's face entailed one expression as if his life flashed before his very own eyes.

This site didn't calm Morio's heart, instead, it raced furiously, faster than beforehand. How come the Clowinger which promised them safety was unaware of this danger? How come the only person leading them through these dead lands is afraid? How could Daress be afraid?

"Morio! Morio..!" Daress repeated, flying up. "Grab my hand!" his voice was rough and kept breaking down.

Morio stopped in front of a large pool of water separating him and the rocky shore where he first spotted the Clowinger.

"Come on, come on! I can carry you through the water! Morio!" Daress screamed out. "It's only you! Only you!"

Daress' words seemed to resemble nothing but a thick blur that bounced right off his ears and landed elsewhere, not reaching his mind or any living thing in Morta.

"Come on, Morio!" Daress yelled once more, reaching his hands out and landing right next to him, shaking his frozen body. "Only you, only-"

Daress suddenly stopped, seeing the Serpigo approaching from behind, extending its long and sharp bony claws towards the two. With an open, terrified mouth, the Clowinger shook his head and grabbed onto Morio's shoulders, flapping his tired wings as fast as he possibly could, flying upwards, hoping to be fast enough to move out of the creature's reach.

Suddenly, though, something pierced through his other wing, sending the Clowinger flying forward, with Morio tumbling out of his reach.

The Morian made a strange noise as if he was gasping for air, and dying, simultaneously. He stopped midair, with the Serpigo on the other side, with its various limbs climbing into his heart.

"MORIO!" Daress screamed, crying out, trying to fly away, yet, was trapped. He wouldn't let go either. The Serpigo growled, shaking and trembling. Its hand extended from its ribs, which were revealed with the thick shadow moving past.

He closed his eyes, hoping for all of this to just end.

Suddenly, the creature let go, and a shining object flashed in front of Morio's eyes, disappearing in its dark grasp and leaving quite a big hole in his garments. The Morian was propelled to the other shore, falling head-first to the ground before rolling.

The Morian was unconscious, and Daress, stunned, unable to speak. He slowly raised himself, seeing as the Serpigo's massive body grew smaller with each second, retracting back into a smaller, hooded form, with one shining eye visible. It stepped into the waters that separated them and then, disappeared.

"Ha, ha..." Daress breathed heavily, before moving towards Morio, shaking his body around without a word.

"Mmh." Jyuzou found himself on the rocky shore, with a spear in one hand, a bloody mess near his mouth, and a look in his eyes that could only be described in all the words and synonyms for terror. He was crying, but no tears came out of his eyes, and he stared, as Morio didn't budge.

"Morio." Jyuzou spouted, blinking, before dropping down and feeling his cold skin.

"I-I..." Daress mumbled. "I'm sorry, Jyuzou. I tried everything I could. I really, really, really tried to save him." he cried. "I tried pulling the hardest I could! Uuh!" he twitched.

Jyuzou slowly lifted his hand and placed it near the hole in Morio's clothes, where a bloody mark resembling the Serpigo's hand could be seen. Otherwise, everything seemed okay, and he felt a pulse. His eyes shone, and eventually, one of Morio's eyelids lifted itself, then came the other, and soon, he looked directly at the grey sky, with his black pupils that didn't seem to gleam as much as they did in Shimori.

"Shin." Jyuzou sighed, closing his heavy eyes and pursing his dry lips. Morio looked towards the two, reaching his hand out. It landed on Daress' claw, helping him sit up. He looked frail for a few seconds, uttering no words.

Morio's eyes were half-open, and not as big as they usually seemed. His expression spoke of a frown, weary and tired. His face twitched, and he involuntarily closed one eye for moments.

"Is it gone?" Morio muttered.

"The Serpigo disappeared," Jyuzou replied.

"I'm asking if it's dead. Did I kill it?" Morio asked, with a strange hope in his voice.

"I..." Jyuzou wanted to say something but had no courage to muster up a response. Each of Morio's words only struck him more, reaching a part of his brain that he didn't know was responsible for such heavy stress. Jyuzou had denied it for so long, but at that moment, he just wanted to go back home and never step outside again.

Maybe he wasn't ready. Maybe he still was a coward. He didn't want any of this to continue any longer. He turned to Daress, hoping everything that happened until now was just some elaborate dream, a nightmare he couldn't escape.

"You didn't kill it."

Morio stood up, looking back and forth.

Daress turned towards the Yuman Swamps, watching as the sky grew red in the distance, with the fog seemingly consuming what was once written. He furrowed his brows, seemingly in anger, before shaking his head and grinning through.

"It went underwater!" The Clowinger reassured, looking up at Morio. "Quick, Dorians!" he repeated the same thing, before launching himself towards the road erected by two rocky formations on both sides. "We're almost to Encea!"

Morio was confused. He recalled Daress' expression, but in just the span of a few minutes, everything drastically changed, as if nothing had ever happened. Either way, he took one limp step forward, following his words.

Jyuzou stayed for a while, looking to the marshes, unsure. There was no way back home, not one that he knew of, and no road would lead them back to Shimori from now on. He had to rely on Daress' words and trust him to take them somewhere safe, someplace with food, water and a bed they could sleep in.

Hesitating, he eventually trod the same road, and the grey mist lifted itself from above the swamps, following them through the Encea Pass.

"Quick, Dorians!" announced Daress, running off a little.