Traveling back to the forest where Evelyn had been staying required at least a full day’s journey.
They set out early in the morning to avoid the dangers of the night, aiming to reach her hut by evening and rest before heading back to CROSS HQ the next day.
Since it was a short trip, they traveled in small numbers. The organization’s mbers were already spread thin, each busy with their own missions. Humans who fought creatures of the night were rare, and those who actually knew how to fight them were even rarer.
Most were driven by personal vendettas—loved ones lost, lives ruined. The average person, understandably, preferred to stay far away from such horrors, leaving the responsibility to specialized organizations and the church.
By the ti they reached Evelyn’s hut, the sun was already dipping toward the horizon, casting long shadows through the dense trees.
"We’ll camp here for the night," Valerian announced, stepping inside after Evelyn—only to find her in the middle of what looked like a small-scale evacuation effort.
She was shoving jars, pouches, scrolls, and various unidentifiable objects into a large satchel, muttering to herself as she double-checked labels.
Valerian crossed his arms, watching her with growing skepticism. "Exactly how much are you planning to bring?"
"These are just the essentials," Evelyn replied breezily, tossing a bundle of dried herbs into her bag. "You never know when you’ll need a paralysis potion or an ergency curse-reversal tonic."
Valerian’s brow twitched. He pointed at a cauldron she was attempting to wedge into another bag. "Are you bringing your entire hut with you? Should I arrange for a second carriage? Or maybe a small army to carry all this?"
Evelyn ignored the sarcasm entirely, beaming at him. "That’s so thoughtful of you, Cross! I appreciate the support."
Valerian exhaled slowly, closing his eyes for patience. "That was not—" He stopped himself. It wasn’t worth it. "Just . . . finish packing."
She humd in response, tossing in another pouch labeled ’Definitely Not Explosive’, and he silently questioned every life choice that had led him to this mont.
As nightfall approached, the soldiers were already busy sprinkling salt in a wide periter around the campsite, muttering prayers and protective chants under their breath. Their movents were thodical, honed by years of superstition and experience. So even tossed dried herbs into the mix for good asure.
Evelyn watched from the side, arms crossed, a small amused smile playing on her lips. "That’ll work . . . on weak creatures," she murmured to herself. "But the stronger ones? Yeah, not so much."
Just to be thorough, the soldiers also scattered ginger, garlic, and a few vials of potion Evelyn had handed them—ant to ward off vampires and werewolves.
The problem was, they had no idea what half the vials contained. One soldier sniffed a bottle and promptly gagged. "Ugh! Slls like rotten eggs and my wife’s foot!" he groaned, quickly tossing it away.
As they were busy preparing their evening al, Evelyn erged from her hut, carrying a massive cauldron of steaming soup. With a proud smile, she set it down in front of them. "Here you go! I made this for all of you!" she announced, hands on her hips.
Silence.
The soldiers exchanged wary glances. So subtly leaned away from the cauldron as if it might explode at any mont.
No one dared to be the first to touch it. Because on one hand, rejecting food from a witch could result in a nasty curse. But on the other hand . . . it was food from a witch. And there was a non-zero chance that it could turn them into frogs, make them sprout extra limbs, or worse—give them diarrhea for a week.
Sensing their hesitation, Evelyn rolled her eyes, grabbed the ladle, and scooped up a big spoonful of the soup. Without hesitation, she took a sip, smacked her lips, and dramatically turned back to them. "See? No poison. No hexes. No sudden urge to sprout wings or croak like a toad."
The soldiers continued to stare at her. Then at the soup. Then back at her. Their expressions remained deeply skeptical.
Evelyn sighed, placing a hand on her hip. Then she tilted her head, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Fine. If no one eats this, I will personally curse every single one of you."
Before she even finished her sentence, soldiers leapt to their feet, shoving and jostling each other to get to the soup first. Spoons clattered, bowls were snatched, and one particularly desperate soldier just grabbed the ladle and drank straight from it.
"Hey, you greedy bastard, share!"
"I was first!"
"LIES! I saw you hesitate! You don’t deserve it!"
Evelyn grinned triumphantly, watching the soldiers scramble for the soup like starving wolves. But her grin quickly faltered when she noticed Valerian’s unimpressed glare fixed on her.
She shrugged, completely unbothered. "No worries. It’s just normal soup," she said coolly, waving a hand as if she had never threatened them with a curse just monts ago.
With that, she turned on her heel and strolled back toward her hut. But just as she reached the door, she paused, throwing a sly glance over her shoulder.
"Want to sleep here with ?" she asked, voice dripping with mischief.
Valerian didn’t even flinch. His frown deepened, his expression a perfect blend of exhaustion and disgust. "Go to sleep, Night. We leave first thing in the morning."
Evelyn just smirked. "Suit yourself, Cross. Enjoy sleeping on the cold, hard ground with the monsters."
And with that, she shut the door.
A nearby soldier leaned in toward Valerian. "Sir, if you need a blanket, I got a spare—"
Valerian shot him a look.
The soldier wisely backed away.
Hours later, deep into the night, Evelyn lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Sleep wasn’t sothing she truly needed, so she passed the ti idly counting the hours.
Then, faint noises stirred in the distance—restless shuffling, like sothing moving through the darkness. She didn’t react at first, rely listening. But seconds later, the quiet was shattered by sudden screams, the clash of blades, and the guttural snarling of unseen creatures.
"Form a circle! Watch each other’s backs! Don’t fight them alone!"
The sharp command cut through the chaos, unmistakably Valerian’s voice.
Only then did Evelyn finally get up, stepping outside to find all hell breaking loose.
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