Rustle.
The sound of a moving cart in the woods made the birds on the ground fly. Chad opened a jar of water given to him by June and chugged it down with no hesitation.
Gulp. Gulp.
"Pwa! Ah, that feels good."
Chad leaned back to the unconscious chubby kidnapper's butt.
He flicked his bangs away from his view and made himself comfortable. Unexpectedly, it was cushier than a normal pillow you can find on a street market.
Beside him is the sleeping Eli who is also using the taller kidnapper's butt as his pillow. The one who told him to do so was Chad. He told Eli to use whatever he can to make things easier for himself, especially if free.
Chad nodded at himself.
He really is good at teaching. Maybe by the time he sees Michael again, Eli wouldn't need to be taught anymore. After all, it's Chad who is traveling with him. Just being by his side is already an honor to anyone in this world.
"You must be anxious."
Just when he started feeling relaxed, he heard Vick, the cart driver, speak to him.
His left brow curled up,
"Why? Aren't we just going to the next village?"
There was no reason for him to be anxious. It was a strange thing to ask.
Vick looked at him worriedly,
"Next village? Ah, you mean Neval? June must have forgotten to tell you earlier. That village was shut down last week from outsiders by its chief. We're going to the bigger city next to it, to Velmire."
'They shut it down?'
This made Chad get up. He hadn't expected it. His brows furrowed. Eli's grandfather didn't mention anything about it. But then again, he was already too old. Chad was certain that the old man forgot.
"I see. Is there a good reason, though?"
It's unusual for a village to shut its doors to outsiders completely. Something must have happened for the village chief to make such a decision.
"I heard some demonic creatures were sighted in the woods. The village is now on high alert."
'Demonic creatures?'
That shouldn't have been possible.
Chad saw how closed tight the Oakenford village is, so its surrounding villages shouldn't be too different. There are only humans living there, but are there any demigods on Neval?
'Neval, Neval…'
He tried to think if he could remember anything about it, but nothing came to mind.
These places are far too different from the ones he used to know. Nothing rings a bell about Oakenford, Neval, nor Velmire.
'There should be no demigods there if they decided to shut down the village.'
Once demonic creatures start wreaking havoc in one place, nearest demigods naturally would fight it. He rubbed the bridge of his nose.
'He did say it was just sighted, though. Was it a low-class demon who got separated from its pack?'
He asked Vick,
"Was anyone harmed?"
The cart driver shook his head,
"No, not that I know of. If there was any harm done, someone would've already gone to one of the nearest divine clan's thresholds to ask for help."
"So there is a divine clan near… probably not a major one if they're this slow. Tsk."
Chad quietly murmured.
'But if the demons aren't harmful, then it should be fine. They can handle it themselves.'
He started to relax once more at that thought. He laid back on the chubby butt. Even if that clan seems slow to act, a divine clan is still led by an Archeion, a mark bearer. He was sure they wouldn't be so neglectful.
Vick clicked his tongue,
"I can only hope it continues to be harmless. After all, Ocnus isn't really known for doing much about these kinds of things."
"Cough! Cough!"
Chad shot up. It felt like something was shoved down to his throat forcefully.
"O, Ocnus? You mean, that Ocnus? They're the nearest divine clan here? No, wait, Ocnus has a clan?"
He asked frantically.
"Hmm? Ah, didn't you know? I guess that makes sense. I heard they're pretty new compared to the other clans."
Cold sweat started forming on Chad's forehead,
"N, no… ha ha, not at all. Is the current Ocnus leading well?"
"Sigh, that's the thing, you see. Ocnus is living true to his name. When someone asks for help, he's not one to move quickly. They say it takes ages for him to decide when a problem arises. Truly fitting for being the God of Indecisiveness!"
Vick wanted to slap his leg out of frustration.
If it wasn't for his hands being occupied by driving the cart, he would have already done so.
Their village is closed off from outside, which is both a blessing and a curse. Because of it, there was hardly any trouble you would normally see in a major city.
However, when a demonic creature causes trouble, they have to request help from the divine clans.
Requesting for help is not the issue, but the attitude of the clan. If they're lucky, they can get help from a major clan. That rarely happens, though.
Most of the time, they had to rely on the nearest clan, which is the House of Ocnus, led by the Archeion of Ocnus, the God of Indecisiveness. They just have to be unlucky, having such a divine clan near them.
"God of Indecisiveness? Is there such a thing?"
Eli, who just woke up because of Chad's ruckus, asked while rubbing his eyes.
Vick shook his head.
"Unfortunately, he exists. Neval had to close its doors immediately because they didn't know how Ocnus would react if they asked for their help. It'd be really good if another divine clan could live near here, although it seems impossible given their population…"
Chad wiped the sweat off his forehead. Just hearing the name Ocnus made him nervous.
On the other hand, Eli got curious.
"Uncle, you seem to know a lot about these divine clans, don't you?"
Vick smiled,
"Well, it's just something everyone else knows. "
Eli felt excited. He has tons of questions he wants to be answered. The young and innocent child thought he could finally learn more about the outside world.
"What's a divine clan? And who is Ocnus? Are they good?"
"Divine clans are made up of demigods, led by an Archeion, who is a mark bearer. Well, I guess you can say they're good, considering their job mainly consists of protecting the realm when demons cause chaos."
Chad decided to answer for him.
The kid's eyes sparkled.
Eli had been busy trying his best to survive all these times. Before his grandfather took him in, his daily problems consisted of finding food or a place to sleep in. His village was full only of humans, so he never even knew demons and demigods existed.
Like a frog who lived his whole life on a well, that's how Eli would describe himself.
His reaction made Vick chuckle. As June's good friend, he naturally knows about Eli, the child that the lone old man took in months ago. Everything must be fascinating for this child, who is only coming out now to see the outside world.
Vick smiled,
"You see, the House of Ocnus is actually not bad. They're pretty decent and competent, if they try. The problem is Ocnus himself. If the leader cannot make up his mind, then the whole clan would have not made its move either."
This explanation made Eli frown.
'House of Ocnus? Ocnus himself?'
"Uncle, I think I'm getting confused. Are they different? Is Ocnus a clan or a person?"
"Ha ha! I knew you'd ask that!"
Vick's loud laugh made the tree leaves shake.
Chad who now had his arms folded sighed,
"Ocnus is the name of one of the divine marks. The one who bears the mark ends up embodying it, so it becomes the bearer's name. A title, which is a way for people to address them."
Eli tilted his head,
"So, we call the Archeions based on their title? Not their personal name?"
"That's what happens once you become an Archeion. People would rather address you by your title by then. It's kind of a way to show respect for the bearer too."
Chad nodded.
Vick giggled,
"Some of those Archeions ended up building their own clan, which we now call divine clans. Ocnus used to be a loner, but is also a clan leader now."
'So Ocnus is a name of a mark and a title that is used by one person? And the name of their clan is the same as their title?'
This made Eli's head tilt. It was making his mind jumbled up.
"...If the leader's title and the clan's name are the same, won't it cause confusion?"
Eli rubbed his one eye,
'Since I have Solomon's mark, does that mean my title is Solomon? I'm the Archeion of Solomon? Is that how it is? I should ask Mr. Chad more about it later…'
Chad shook his head,
"The divine mark is the source of demigods' ability to use the Atlas of Verse according to the nature of their innate divine power."
He used the wind to put a small rock on his palm.
"If the divine mark of Ocnus vanishes, then the demigods who use Ocnus' Atlas would lose their abilities related to that very same Atlas of Verse. That's why it's only fitting to address the clan based on their Archeion's divine mark."
The small rock turned to dust within a second which made Eli flinched.
Chad continued,
"It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that members of a divine clan worship their Archeion like their god."
His eyes widened,
"I, is that so?"
Chad laid down comfortably on his personal cushion.
"Well, pretty much."
"That's why those demigods are extremely loyal to a fault, haa…"
Vick sighed.
Is it because he's a human? Old man Vick doesn't understand demigods' blind loyalty to their leaders and he also did not want to understand.
***
Step. Step.
Small prints of footsteps left a mark on the muddy soil as these creatures with small bodies formed a line, trying their best to keep the sound hidden.
"Kiek."
Three of them were holding a basket full of dry leaves.
Step.
They slowly opened up a path when they heard the sound of their liege's footsteps.
Clink.
A child wearing iron shackles with broken chains on both of his feet and hands came into view. His eyes showed no signs of any sparkle.
The weight of one shackle would normally hold down an adult, but the child was dragging his body as if having one on each limb was nothing.
"Kiek. Kiek."
One of the small creatures reached out its hand, holding a bunch of wild blueberries, and offered them to him.
The child opened his dry lips without saying anything, and one of the small creatures climbed to his neck and put a piece of blueberry inside. The child ate it silently and continued to walk forward.