Among Aron's "allies," Jin was the only genuine human there, and Aron had given him the responsibility of managing the newcomers.
Being as talented as he was, Jin completed the assignment without difficulty and even started chit-chatting with them, particularly the older woman of ordinary birth.
Aron couldn't perform such a task because he had already revealed what his true self was like in Pesia; therefore, any attempts at acting now were useless unless someone had never met him before. The more at ease they were, the better.
"It's clear, we can move forward. Though there's something you must see for yourself ahead."
Rose appeared to pass her findings after surveying the terrain ahead of them, breaking Aron's train of thought.
Aron simply stood up without asking her what it was; he would learn more after seeing it for himself, after all.
"Let's move."
Their pause was over with just two words, and the group started moving once more.
…
At the same time in a region similar to that of the woodland Aron and his group was in, several figures could be seen laying on the ground in odd positions.
"Argh, I feel sick."
She spoke in a feminine voice as she stood up and wiped the dirt off her body. Despite the gloomy lighting and eerie atmosphere, her attractive features stood out.
Anastasia Rosenberg was the woman.
"Guys? Guys!"
She had briefly turned her head in uncertainty before noticing some of her companions lying down.
Her brother, who appeared to be comatose, was the first person she approached. As she did this, people started to wake up.
Henry, Lucas, Anastasia, Emilia, and a few other strange characters were all there. There was no sign of Brutas, Esmeralda, Sebastian, Lady Vonstein, or even Juliet.
"Henry are you okay?"
He too groaned as he moved away from her and stood alone. As she lifted Henry, his eyes started to flutter a little before they opened fully.
"I'm good, is everybody okay?"
"Everyone here is safe but I can't see some of the others." Anastasia made known.
"Dammit, let's gather up first and we'll search for the others, they can't be far." Henry soon overcame his lethargy and adopted a serious demeanor.
He was, in part, just relieved that his sister was unharmed.
"Grah!!"
A brief moment of relief was followed by a terrible roar that made everyone in the vicinity tense up and look scared.
"Come on everyone, remain focused! Dammit…" Henry worriedly bit his lip and scanned the area.
It was time for them to find out more about Limbo's nature.
….
Aron and his team arrived at the location Rose had directed them to at the same moment. They discovered a horrifying scene there.
The three newcomers couldn't help but cover their mouths and noses as they took in the scene, which was littered with numerous human corpses. The scene also had a strong odor that was difficult to ignore.
"I guess we now know what happened to some of the others." Jin commented while showing a disgusted expression.
He was used to bloody situations, but this one was different. All ages of corpses could be seen, devoured, and completely dissected.
"It'll be hard for the humans to survive now." Aron immediately made a revelation as he looked around the area.
The three arrivals were terrified by his statements; Jezir in particular gasped and questioned. "What do you mean?"
As he waited for Aron's response, the anxiety was clearly seen in his eyes.
"The creature's in the area have now gotten a taste for human flesh. As far as they're concerned a new easy prey has appeared."
Aron stopped and approached one of the bodies to examine it quickly in an effort to identify the type of beast that had carried out the massacre.
"The bodies are in too much disarray." As he was unable to uncover any information, Aron snapped his tongue in annoyance. He then sighed and turned to face Jezir.
"Do any of these clothes look familiar to you?" Asked Aron.
As he approached the area and started to glance about, Jezir raised his head but kept his hand over his nose since every direction he turned made him feel sick.
"I can recognize some torn emblems belonging to minor families, the other garments look simple they're likely commoners." He spoke while making an effort to avoid looking at any of the bodies.
"Then, nobody of importance. Let's-"
"Hold on."
Jagu intervened and turned his head in the direction of the east as Aron was about to deliver the command to proceed.
Aron didn't inquire as to the reason, choosing instead to watch as Jagu approached the eastern side of the scene while looking solemn.
More than anywhere else, they were heaped high there with a profusion of corpses.
He started throwing the bodies off without any prior notice, quickly dismantling the pile.
He ignored the even worse smell emanating from the bodies buried beneath.
"Come see."
He reached the bottom and motioned Aron over, pointing at the floor.
N0 v el Next. CoM
"Foot prints, and from the looks of it these individuals managed to ran away." Aron reasoned fast.
These tracks were more cleaner than the other ones on the site, which displayed evidence of panic and disarray.
Jagu nodded in agreement with Aron's conclusion because he had a similar impression.
"What's more it doesn't look like the creature chased after them. It probably didn't want to abandon its catch, all these corpses must've lasted it a good while."
That was the most likely scenario based on what the two could infer. Lady Rose jumped into the discourse at that precise moment with a query.
"How do you want to proceed?"
"Nothing changes, if these people are still alive then we'll encounter them soon enough since our routes intertwine at some point."
The group left the area after coming to this conclusion and continued traveling north-west. Once they arrived at the coast, they started moving westward, passing the north and north-east, before eventually joining the east.
Aron had no need to devote any time or energy to looking for people or other Pesian residents.
The main concern was to develop strength without drawing notice from or inciting enmity from the locals, while basically sketching out the area he was in.
Everyone took one last look at the unsettling scene before turning away and moving on.
….
The others became more acclimated to Limbo during that time, and time would seem to pass quickly.
For them, a day was defined as the period between falling asleep and waking up. Aron hadn't even attempted to do this; for the time being, time didn't matter to him. Jin was the one who came up with this.
The others, however, had a sense of realism because they knew approximately how many days had passed. This made it easier for Jin and Jagu to track their development in their individual training regimens.
They arrived at the coast in around twenty-three days using Jin's method. Sadly, nothing helpful was discovered there.
After deploying her scouter a hundred kilometers, Rose gave up trying to determine if there was another land mass present across the water.