"Belial, Belial, are you there?"
The shadow approached the carriage and spoke softly.
Belial, exhausted from crying and drifting toward sleep, jolted awake when he heard his name.
He knew that voice all too well and hurriedly called out:
"Dad, Dad, is that you?"
Hearing Belial's voice, the black figure trembled and quickly came to his side.
By the starlight overhead, Belial could make out the visitor's face.
It was his father, Eao, captain of Brown Village's hunting party!
The moment he saw his father, the terror and unease in Belial's heart burst forth.
Tears streamed from his already swollen, reddened eyes.
When those Black-armored Knights from the Hunting Temple had taken him from the village, Belial had thought the village and his father had abandoned him.
After all, the Hunting Temple's power had long been deeply etched into everyone's hearts.
Later, Belial remembered that pool of scarlet blood in the middle of the villagers.
And during that incident, the village chief grandpa had vanished.
Belial was no longer a child. He vaguely guessed what had happened.
But the instant he saw his father, warmth surged through his heart again, which had already gone cold.
Still, he hurriedly covered his mouth and suppressed his sobs.
Now that he was beginning to understand things, he knew very well that his father had taken an enormous risk by coming here.
If he cried now, he might wake those Black-armored Knights.
Eao did not say much. Calmly, he began dismantling the iron lock on the carriage's wooden cage.
By then, some of the other children had awakened as well.
But they only stared wide-eyed at Eao, hope hidden in their gazes. Not a single one made a sound.
Eao carefully felt around for the chain locking the wooden cage.
Having learned some hunter's