On the south-western reaches of War Field, there once stood a prosperous country where all races lived in harmony, even the dragons. That place was known as Zulnaba, The Dragon State.
However, that very same country fell a little more than five months ago to mass waves of monsters that had come from a nearby No Man's Land.
Currently travelling to the now ruined Zulnaba all the way from Mercy, was a convoy that could only be called massive in scale.
With a little more than one hundred personnel transport vehicles, dozens of medical evacuation vehicles, IFV's, tanks, artillery, and even a handful of Forged Titans, one could only only say that this convoy was meant for war.
And as of right now, sitting inside of one of the many transport vehicles, Vigil was currently surrounded by people that he'd never even seen before, much less met.
A few hours ago, just before the start of the convoy's predicted two week journey to Zulnaba, Vigil was told by Witch that he would not be riding with them at all throughout the entirety of their expedition there.
When he tried to inquire about the reason behind her decision, Witch had told him that he needed to get to know the people that he would be working with better. Especially since this job will take a few months to complete.
'Better earlier than later, I guess.'
With that sound logic being her reasoning, Vigil was left with no room to retort and instead just hopped in the back of a random transport vehicle.
Back to the present, sitting on his right was a boisterous demon with four jagged horns growing out from his forehead, two sets of arms, and three dark red leathery wings that matched his skin tone.
The irises of his eyes were of the same color as a blooming viola flower with a contrasting deep black sclera. Everything paired together with the blood-soaked steel armor that he was wearing, made the man look akin to... well a demon...
... He looked the part.
Contrary to how the man seemed however, he appeared to be rather kind. Every time that his large wings would bump into someone or he would talk a bit too loud, he would apologize profusely.
While to his left was a calm looking dryad with sun kissed skin, long moss green hair with eyes of the same color, and two large deer antlers protruding from her head with vines hanging down from them.
To top it all off, the woman was wearing a light white dress under wooden armor.
Although she had yet to speak a word, she did seem to be listening in on the discussion quite intently.
Meanwhile, the conversation, currently being led by the large demon sitting beside him, was focused entirely on the job in which everyone there was taking.
More specifically, it was about a certain piece of information that Vigil wished he had known before accepting the request.
"Yeah, the Creatures of War, from what I heard, left the No Man's Land because they were fleeing from another monster."
Following up the large demon's words, one of the other people in the transport vehicle, an insectoid that looked like an ant, spoke in a creaky voice that reminded Vigil of old wooden stairs.
"Oh yes, I have heard that rumor as well. Which one was it again... Venastrix right?"
Another insectoid, this time one that looked like the perfect hybrid of human and moth, responded.
"Indeed, Venastrix the Serpent God, one of the thirteen Calamities, was spotted just a few days before Zulnaba fell. From what I have heard, it apparently entered the No Man's Land and has yet to exit."
What the moth woman had said made a few of the newer mercenaries start to panic, Vigil being one of them.
That was because the Calamities were beings that could bring ruin to even the most powerful of nations. And one of those very same beings was no more than a few hundred kilometers away from their destination.
Now although that may seem like a far distance, to beings like the Calamities, it was the equivalent to that of a city block or two for regular people.
With concern gently wafting through his head, Vigil spoke up for the first time since the expedition began, garnering a majority of the people's attention.
"Excuse me, but are you implying that we have set off to clean up the mess caused by one of the thirteen calamities- what was its name, Venastrix?"
Not even a beat later, the demon replied in a matter of fact tone.
"Exactly!"
As a result of the man's reply, Vigil raised his hand to his head and slowly began to shake it in exasperation.
'This is not going to end well...'
Just moments after thinking this, he could hear the low murmurs of people that have begun to panic for fear of having to come in contact with one of the world's apex predators.
A few moments earlier, when Vigil had first listened in on the conversation, he had felt more than just a small pang of fear.
I mean who wouldn't?
However, as the discussion progressed, he saw how none of the higher ranked mercenaries had panicked at the news of this information.
At first it did not make any sense to the boy, but as time went on, a small thought as to why began to bloom in his mind.
Not to toot his own horn but, although Vigil did not believe himself to be the strongest or the smartest, he still believed that he was pretty gifted when it came to reading into situations.
Afterall that was how he was able to survive for those two long years out in War Field.
So he decided to test the waters and ask his previous question in order to gauge people's reactions.
So when he had finally been able to get a good look at the more experienced mercenaries and their reactions to his question, he was able to notice that all of them, for some reason undenounced to him or anyone else, had a calm response. It was almost as if they felt like there was nothing for them to worry about.
With that in mind Vigil began to calm down a little from how he was previously feeling.
Sadly, that couldn't be said for everyone else.
Now normally when a person asks a question that has been worded like his was, the correct response would be to answer and then follow up with something reassuring so as not to make anyone panic.
But instead of doing that, the demon just gave a plain answer with no explanation.
Because of that, the lower ranking - and therefore less experienced - mercenaries began to feel a rush of fear and anxiety.
Thankfully however, before the newer mercenaries could let the panic sink in, one of the few Veteran ranks in the vehicle, a human woman with medium length grey hair, quelled their rising concerns.
"Now, now, everyone. There is no need to be afraid. I heard from one of my higher ranked buddies that three of Mercy's Empyreans have taken up the post of watching Venastrix for any sudden movements. With that in mind, we should all be safe..."
Her words hung in the air followed by a persistent silence.
A few seconds later, the woman opened her mouth once more, drawing the attention of everyone around, back to her.
"...Well, from the Calamity at least."
This time there was no outburst or form of unnerving panic that settled into the transportation vehicle even though a more experienced mercenary just implied that they wouldn't be too safe on this mission.
The reason behind it was because everyone within the convoy already had a good understanding of what they were going to get into when registering for it.
The only reason why they began to panic in the first place was because of the threat of one of the Calamities.
Soon after that one ended, an entirely new conversation was created by someone else. Only this time it was about something much less involved with the task at hand.
While Vigil was listening in on their discussion without saying a word, the dryad sitting beside him finally spoke. However it was in a quiet tone and only addressed towards Vigil himself.
"I saw what you did there. That was quite smart of you to use other people's reactions as a form of reassurance."
As the woman garnered Vigil's attention, making him turn around and face her, he could see the dryad holding out one of her hands, seemingly asking for a handshake.
When she did she began to speak once more.
"The name is Marya. It is nice to meet you."
Vigil thought that it'd be rude to let her greeting go unanswered. So he proceeded to reach his hand out towards hers and give it a firm shake.
While he was reaching towards her outstretched hand, he thought that, at one point, he would definitely have to introduce himself to everyone in the transport vehicle. Less he wanted to be the social outcast of the group.
'Might as well rip the band-aid off now...'
Vigil then went off to speak in a voice that was purposefully meant to resonate throughout the back of the vehicle and grab everyone's attention.
"I go by Dread. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
As he did so, everyone's persisting conversations had come to a screeching halt.
Quickly turning their heads towards him like a flock of geese that's just heard a loud noise, everyone stared at the young boy with different emotions running along their faces.
'Yep, of course this would-'
Before Vigil could even finish his thoughts, Marya, the dryad whose hand he was currently shaking, began to speak in a buoyant tone.
"Oh my! So you're Dread, huh? Well that would explain the childlike voice and short stature."
She said as she began to let out a light chuckle while looking Vigil straight in the eyes as if to tell him something.
And Vigil, being as perceptive as he was, immediately picked up on the small hint that the woman had dropped. Gently letting go of her hand, he responded to her previous words with a tone that matched hers.
"Haha... Well I am still growing after all. I intend to become at least similar to this guy when I grow up... As similar as a human like me can get at least."
He said whilst slightly nudging his head in the direction of the demon sitting beside him.
A second after he did, the large demon brought his arm up and wrapped it around Vigil's neck. He then introduced himself in the same boisterous voice that he had been talking with since the beginning.
"Sorry to intrude but I couldn't help but overhear your little conversation... So kid, you want to look like me when you get older? That's great! I am sure that if you keep working as hard as I have heard you've been then I am sure that you'll get there in no time!"
He then let out a hearty laugh that echoed throughout the transport vehicle.
When he finally finished, he pulled his arm away from Vigil's shoulder and introduced himself.
"You can call me Vin! It's a pleasure to meet you, kid!"
And from the looks of it, that small interaction with the two people sitting beside him broke the ice for everyone else, as soon they all began to introduce themselves. Not just to Vigil, but to everyone inside the vehicle.
'Whew... Thank the gods' that that went smoothly.'
After he was finished with his thoughts, he felt a small nudge come from his left side.
There, he saw the dryad giving him a smile and a well hidden thumbs up.
However, before Vigil could give his own show of thanks, his attention was drawn back to the demon who was now whispering to the two of them from atop Vigil's shoulder.
"Hey guys, I would appreciate it if you didn't leave me out of this. I thought that I was of pretty great help just then..."
After completing his sentence he flashed the two of them a wide smile.
From the looks of it, he knew just as well as the dryad what he was doing.
Seeing this, all that Vigil thought of doing in this moment was giving a small thumbs up to the unsuspecting pair while saying-
"Thanks."