The Railguards were already preparing to enter the Highlands by the time Vincent and Anastasia arrived.
Rifles were being checked beside the road while several men studied old reconnaissance maps and packed food, medicine, ammunition and lanterns for the search.
Vincent did not bother asking for another long report. He had already spent enough time hearing about abandoned territories, fleeing wildlife and damaged forests without anyone actually finding what caused them.
"Search thoroughly. If you see unusual monster behavior, heavier mutations, damaged terrain or anything else that looks connected to the source, report it immediately." Vincent looked toward the Highlands. "Let’s get going now."
They entered shortly afterward.
Vincent remained with the Railguards instead of waiting for reports somewhere behind.
The group spread through the forest as they moved, checking old animal trails and places the earlier reconnaissance had considered suspicious while keeping close enough that a shout could bring the others over.
The Highlands had changed noticeably since last night.
Tracks covered the damp earth, but there were surprisingly few animals around to make them.
Hooves, claws and paws overlapped along the same routes, sometimes enough to completely ruin whatever trail might have existed beneath them.
Several nests and dens they passed had already been abandoned, and even birds had become uncommon in stretches where the forest should have been filled with them.
Vincent kept moving with Anastasia close beside him.
For the first part of the afternoon, he let the Railguards investigate most things before going over himself. That changed as the search continued. If someone found damaged vegetation or strange tracks, Vincent began walking over immediately instead of waiting for the man to return and explain it.
One report led them toward a shallow stream where they found the remains of a deer caught between several rocks.
Its lower body still looked normal.
The upper half barely did.
Dark metallic growth had spread across most of its neck and shoulder, swallowing fur beneath uneven hardened plates. One antler was nearly twice the thickness of the other, while the bone around its skull had grown outward enough to distort one side of the face.
Vincent crouched beside it and brought Leona’s detector closer.
The needle jerked violently.
That told him the same thing it had been telling him for days.
Something was wrong.
It still didn’t tell him where the damn thing causing it was.
They continued deeper.
The sunlight that had fallen clearly between the trees when they entered now reached the forest from the side, leaving the lower ground beneath thicker woodland increasingly shaded. Vincent noticed it while climbing over a fallen trunk and immediately increased his pace again.
They had already spent hours out here.
There was still an enormous amount of Highlands ahead of them.
Anastasia remained unusually quiet. She stayed near Vincent whenever the terrain narrowed and watched the surrounding trees while the Railguards continued their search. Vincent knew she understood the problem as well as he did.
Dusk was getting close and they really didn’t have much time left.
...
At the periphery of the Highlands, tall grass swayed beneath the evening wind.
A woman in flowing purple robes walked through it without following any proper trail. Her long black hair moved behind her while the lower edge of her robes brushed across the grass and gathered a few loose seeds along the way.
Celeste eventually reached the edge of a tall cliff.
Mountains surrounded her, gradually descending into forests farther away. Beyond them lay railway lines, settlements and the lands belonging to House D’Arc.
She calmly lowered herself into a lotus position and looked toward the distant county.
There was no anger on her face.
"D’Arc County is my enemy."
...
Vincent was beginning to think they would have to withdraw.
The deeper shade beneath the trees was already making smaller details difficult to inspect without getting close, and continuing after dark would turn a difficult search into a stupid one.
Railguards would have to start using lanterns, visibility would become terrible, and they would waste more time avoiding holes and slopes than actually finding anything useful.
Vincent looked through the trees ahead one last time.
He didn’t like leaving.
The worsening mutations alone made it obvious they were getting closer to something, or at least that whatever was happening inside the Highlands had grown worse.
Yet knowing there was a problem somewhere and knowing where that problem was were two completely different things.
He turned toward the nearby Railguards and prepared to tell them to call back the men searching farther out when suddenly, a shout came from the woodland.
"Your Lordship, someone unknown is here!"
Vincent immediately turned.
Branches moved farther ahead before a Railguard emerged between the trees. The man had clearly hurried back, breathing heavily as he pointed behind himself.
Vincent did not waste time questioning him and asked,
"Where? Show me."
The Railguard turned around and led them back through the trees.
Vincent and Anastasia followed closely while several others joined them along the way.
The route moved away from the broader animal trails and onto increasingly uneven ground where exposed stone broke through the soil.
The Railguard had found the unknown person while checking one of the higher areas overlooking the outer Highlands. He did not know who she was, where she came from or why anyone would be sitting alone this far from the roads.
Vincent climbed after him.
The trees thinned as they gained elevation. Grass and low shrubs replaced much of the undergrowth, and the evening wind became stronger without the forest blocking it.
Eventually, the Railguard slowed and raised one hand.
Vincent followed his gaze.
There was someone ahead.
The figure sat near the top of a cliff with her back facing them.
Even from this distance, the purple clothing stood out clearly against the pale stone and grass around her.
Vincent narrowed his eyes.
He couldn’t see her face from here.
He also had absolutely no idea who she was.
Considering the hundreds of Railguards running around the Highlands and the number of monsters fleeing in every direction, finding some random woman calmly sitting on a cliff was a very strange sight.
Whoever this was... she seemed trouble.
He moved closer with Anastasia.
The Railguards followed at a greater distance while Anastasia naturally shifted slightly ahead of Vincent as they approached.
The woman at the cliff did not react.
Her long black hair moved lightly with the wind, but otherwise she remained perfectly still.
Vincent glanced toward Anastasia.
He was about to ask whether she recognized anything when her footsteps suddenly stopped.
Vincent stopped as well.
Anastasia stared at the seated woman.
For the first time since entering the Highlands, her controlled expression completely disappeared.
Her eyes widened and she immediately clutched the hilt of her sword with one hand and extended her other hand out to stop Vincent.
"Young master, be careful. Be very careful because..."
Vincent frowned and looked at the seated figure.
"...that is the enemy."
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