“So, how is it?” Fatty asked as the girls jumped down from the sky. Although they were on the ground, Nana was still on Yuki’s back. She seemed to be enjoying the free ride.

“It’s strange. We need to be careful.” Yuki answered as she let Nana down.

“Why, what did you see?” Fatty was wondering what they had seen for Yuki to say they would need to be careful.

“The whole ridge has a red mist or fog. I am not sure what it is. I can’t tell from this distance, but no matter what, we will need to be careful.” Yuki explained. 

Fatty nodded and rested his large axe on his shoulder: “I know. Let’s go investigate.”

Yuki led the way with Nana on the right, Fatty on the left, and Maiko in the middle. They pushed through the forest for almost twenty minutes when Yuki and Nana suddenly came to a dead stop. Fatty and Maiko followed suit. “What’s up?”

“We have a visitor.” Yuki’s eyes, “Come out.”

“Oh? You sensed me?” A voice filled the air as a figure suddenly appeared from the shadows of one of the trees. 

    “An Arachne!?” Fatty cried out. He had only heard about this race. They were descendants of an ancient clan said to stay hidden from the world. But they were known to be very powerful.

“So you know what I am….” The Arachne spoke softly. This particular Arachne was a young girl no more than seventeen years of age. She was on the short side with purple hair and four spider legs coming out of her back. She had long bangs that covered the top half of her eyes, making it hard to see the deep purple eyes that matched her hair which had a silvery sheen to them.

“Do you have business with us?” Nana asked as she stepped forward.

“No. Not with you. I was just passing by and spotted four fools running off to their deaths.” The girl replied.

“Hm? Are you talking about the red fog?” Yuki was wondering if the red fog was really dangerous or not.

    “Maybe I am? Maybe I am not? It’s up to you to decide what is what. As for me…. I will be going; I still have a mission to accomplish.” The girl took a long glance at Nana and Yuki before smirking and then disappearing into the shadows. 

“I can’t sense her anymore….” Yuki wrinkled her nose. She disliked when she could not sense people.

“She is gone… But who was she?” Nana pursed her lips. She had never heard of the Arachne before.

“I do not know about her, but the Arachne is a race we do not want to get involved with. They are a mystery since they are usually secluded. But her…. She seemed to be strange….” Fatty couldn’t put his finger on it, but he felt there was something very dangerous about that girl.

“She had a strong scent of blood on her. Even her killing intent which was not directed at anyone flooded out of her. She has killed many people.” Yuki bit her lip. She could tell that girl was strong. She wondered if she would be that strong when she reached that girl’s age.

“For now, what are we going to do?” Maiko asked. She was wondering if they would continue or not.

“I will head up and take a look overhead. If it really is dangerous, we should not head to the ridge.” Yuki was wondering if she could get a view of the place from the sky now that they had gotten closer to the ridge.

“I will go with you.” Nana wanted to be sure to be there in case, for some reason, the red mist rose higher than they had thought.

“Alright.” Yuki squatted down, and Nana climbed on her back. She then looked at Fatty and said: “Protect Maiko. Yell if you get attacked by demonic beasts.” 

“Roger that!” Fatty replied. He looked over at Maiko, who was staring at Yuki and Nana with a bit of jealousy. It seemed she wanted to go up into the sky as well. But she could only watch as Yuki carried Nana above the treetops. Fatty chuckled and said: “In no time at all, you will be able to use a flying sword,
 so I wouldn’t be too jealous.”

“It’s not the same! She is literally standing in the air!” Maiko protested. She really wanted to do that too. But she knew she could not. She had really no control over her spiritual qi besides what was circulating around inside her.

Fatty scratched his head, trying to think of something to say to the girl. “Well… I can help you with anything you might need help with. I might look like this, but I am pretty good with many things….”

Maiko looked at Fatty for a moment before nodding her head. “Then I will trust Senior Brother to help me.” 

Fatty smiled. He hoped maybe he had taken one small step for Fatty kind. “As you wish, my princess.”

“Don’t call me that!” Maiko blushed as she playfully slapped Fatty’s arm. She did not know why, but she felt comfortable around this big oaf. 

Yuki and Nana went high into the sky and looked down over the now very visible Ridge. The red mist was in a dome like shape around one area near what looked like a cave opening. “Nana, what do you think?”

    “I sense malice. I am not sure, but I think there are demonic cultivators here…. And not the good kind either.”