CHAPTER 126: CHAPTER 125: DO NOT ENTER

Axelius watched him with one eye closed now, his head tilted just a bit to the side holding the dagger like a dart, aiming and he narrowed his gaze slightly, watching the man run.

"He runs like a leech when you sprinkle salt," Axelius muttered, tilting the dagger in his hand slightly to line it up.

"It’s your fault," he added, still watching the man who had just reached the edge of the open street, blending into the market crowd, "You brought me too far from the crowd..."

The man, panting and thinking he was safe now, Axelius flicked his wrist and threw the dagger.

It spun clean through the air, and a moment later, before the man could take another step it struck the back of the man’s head—straight into the center, between his eyes as he turned—and he dropped immediately with a heavy thud in the middle of the crowd.

People screamed.

First just a few.

Then more.

Panic surged like a wave through the marketplace as the body hit the stone street, a dagger sticking from his forehead, blood already pooling beneath his head. Shouts of "There’s a murder!" and "Call the guards!" erupted while some people ran, others just stood frozen, and the air filled with the chaos of too many voices and too much fear.

"Hurry, Axel! This way!" Owen’s shouted coming from the top.

With one quick jump, he grabbed the edge of a nearby balcony and pulled himself up, using narrow ledges, support beams, and gaps between walls to climb swiftly higher with until he reached the the roof..

Once there, Axelius stood still for a second, glancing back down at the street below.

From above, he could see the guards already pushing through the panicking crowd, some bending down to check the body, others shouting orders, and the people—all looking everywhere except up.

"The dagger pierce through his skull, You put too much strength." Owen said,

Axelius laughed, "Who cares? atleast they will think its a grown man did it." and grin, brushing his coat lightly where dust from the climb had clung to it, then turned and started walking across the rooftops. until he found another narrow alley.

He crouched near the edge, dropped down carefully onto a low ledge, then slid the rest of the way down, landing with a light step.

The street was still buzzing with noise—people pushing past, talking fast, looking around nervously. Some were pointing back toward where the body had fallen. Others were already whispering about what they saw.

"Did you see that dagger? It came from nowhere, It pierce from back to forehead!"

"I swear it flew straight from the shadows."

"Poor guy didn’t even get to scream..."

"Who could’ve done that?..."

The guards stormed past, eyes sharp and weapons drawn, scanning the crowd, barking out orders to make way.

"Clear the road!"

"Step back, all of you!"

"Did anyone see the attacker?!"

Axelius, walking slowly now, kept his head down and adjusted the hood over his black hair. He stepped aside as the guards passed, giving them space like any good civilian would. One brushed shoulders with him but didn’t even look twice.

Once the guards were gone, Axelius pulled out his map again, unfolding the slightly crumpled parchment as Owen peeked out slightly from his shoulder.

"Hmm... North street, turn left after the fountain..." he muttered, scanning the nearby signs and stalls.

"Should be somewhere around here," Owen looking around as well.

He walked casually until he reached a small vendor at the corner of the street—a cart stacked with roasted nuts and dried meat, steam rising from a metal pot beside it.

The vendor, an older man with a thick apron and an easy grin, looked up as Axelius approached.

"Lost, lad?" the man asked, waving a stick of roasted skewers. "Or hungry?"

Axelius gave a small smile, holding out the map. "I’m looking for this place," he said, pointing to a marked area near the edge of the city. "Is this road correct? I think I missed a turn."

The vendor squinted at the map, scratched his beard, then nodded. "Ah, you’re close. Just follow this road straight until you see a big water wheel—turn right after that, then keep going past the old bell tower. You’ll see a fence with ivy on it. That’s your stop."

"Thanks," Axelius replied, folding the map again and tucking it inside his coat.

The vendor chuckled, handing him a warm skewer. "Here, on the house. You’ve got sharp eyes for a kid."

Axelius took it without hesitation, gave a quiet "Thanks again," and turned back to the road, biting into the skewer as he walked, eyes forward, mind already on the next stop.

Few minutes later, As Axelius continued down the road just as the vendor had instructed. The city slowly gave way to quieter surroundings, fewer people, older houses, then fences and trees, until only the sound of wind and the crunch of leaves underfoot remained.

Eventually, he came to a split in the trail.

Two paths.

One was clean, with small wooden markers showing the way, and signs of recent use—wagon tracks, footprints, even a small cart parked beside a post.

The other path?

Thick with roots and brush, the wooden sign next to it was half-rotten, barely hanging on one nail. Carved roughly into it were the words:

"WARNING. MONSTER TERRITORY. DO NOT ENTER."

Then he turned toward the second path and walked forward without hesitation.

As they walked deeper into the forest, the trees grew taller and the light above faded little by little, the air turning cooler and the sounds of birds replaced by silence that pressed gently against the ears.

Owen spoke, "Fellfang Grizzly, They don’t live alone. They move in groups, sometimes even small packs, especially during the nesting season...

they’re huge, twice the size of wagons, and their lower fangs grow long and curve upward, like tusks but sharper—they use them to pierce right through trees. Their claws are black and long like spears, and they can swing down with enough force to crack boulders."

Owen paused, realizing something as he looked sideways at Axelius.

Axelius kept walking, but his shoulders were stiff, his eyes serious, and something around him had changed.

A faint black mist flickered around him like a candle struggling to stay lit in the wind, thin wisps of aura leaking out in short bursts that made the air ripple around his feet.

Owen’s eyes widened slightly.

"This guy..." he thought, watching Axelius from his perch. "He’s been holding back for so long."

No one dared to attak him Then finally, after walking for several more minutes, they saw it. A clearing ahead, and right outside a wide cave opening, there they were.