“A first aid kit!” Yoichi thought aloud, opening one of the ointments. A pungent smell similar to that of some strange plant pervaded his nostrils. 

Yoichi looked inside the newly opened vial, peering at the bottom and trying to figure out what it was. The liquid in the first bottle was yellowish, while the other contained a purple ointment.

The young tamer remembered waking up after the Blackvault Mines under the care of his master Ryutaro. The gatekeeper had used a yellowish ointment to heal his wounds. Thanks to it, even the deepest cuts had healed immediately.

Without wasting any more time, Yoichi poured part of the bottle onto one of the sterile gauzes. He folded the gauze and placed it on Takuma’s stab wound. “Aaargh!” – As soon as the yellowish liquid made contact with the Grimbrook warrior’s skin, he immediately came to his senses and began to scream in pain.

“It stings! It stings so much!” Takuma gasped, unconsciously moving his hand towards the gauze. Yoichi clutched his wrist, preventing him from removing the ointment. If the sensation Takuma felt was burning, whatever was in that ampoule was working on his damaged tissues. 

Fortunately, his photographic memory had not betrayed him, and the Goldhaven warrior had chosen the right liquid to treat his comrade’s wounds. Takuma began to sweat; then, when Yoichi wiped the sweat away, the red-haired warrior began to shiver from the cold.

At that point, Yoichi used the last pieces of wood collected by Takuma and Karasu to fuel the campfire and moved his comrade’s body closer to the fire. 

When the situation seemed to stabilize, Yoichi sat down on the grass and moved away from Takuma, resting his back against the bark of a tree. He let out a deep breath and looked up at the sky, narrowing his eyes and letting the fresh air gently enter his lungs. 

Simultaneously, his hands touched his cheeks and eyes, scratching away the tiredness. An iron smell of blood pervaded his nostrils, and when he looked at his palms, they were as red as ripe tomatoes in the sun. 

Having to take care of Takuma, Yoichi had utterly forgotten that he was dirty with Taisuke’s blood. Behind the bloodstained hands, the sky was gradually beginning to be tinged with the colors of the dawn of a new day. 

Yoichi tried to think about what to do, not having calculated that to reach Oakenfair, he would encounter all those difficulties. Although Taiusuke’s head had been detached from the rest of his body and had fallen down the hill, sooner or later some of the Demon Hunters would start looking for the missing archer.

The lake that housed their camp was only a few miles away and, armed with their horses, and following the infallible nose of their hound demon called Inoku, those evil-looking men would surely reach their hiding place in no time.

Images of the man with the horned kabuto riding that huge beast quickly flashed before Yoichi’s mind’s eye. If Taisuke was such a strong warrior, he dared not imagine what the strength of the Demon Hunters’ leader had been. 

With Takuma in that condition, meeting the other members of that group of villains would have put Yoichi backed into a corner. Even a warrior as strong as him would not have been able to defeat them and would have ended up like Taisuke.

“No, I don’t want to lose my head,” Yoichi thought aloud, touching his neck and getting up from the lawn. “I’m sorry, Takuma, but we can’t stay here and rest. Dawn is just around the corner, and with the sunlight, we’ll be easily identifiable,” he added as if Takuma could answer him. 

The dappled steed of the Grimbrook warrior was not far from the bonfire. It was busy ruminating on the grass at the foot of a tree. Yoichi approached it and extended a hand towards its neck, trying to convey its good intentions.

He stroked the horse and grabbed its reins, leading it in the direction of its injured rider. As soon as he let go of the reins, Takuma’s horse stood right there next to Karasu.

“Ildriss,” Yoichi spoke, recalling Kenji inside his chest. The little dragon disappeared in a stream of red air and entered the core of draconic power. “Azron” – Now used to switch between his two main demons, Yoichi summoned Ichiro. 

When the Inoshuma was summoned, it exchanged a look of understanding with Takuma’s steed. It was as if Ichiro was reassuring the other horse, telling it that everything would be all right if it followed Yoichi without objecting. 

The young Goldhaven tamer, without a moment’s further hesitation, slipped a hand into one of Ichiro’s saddlebags. Taking care not to break anything, he pulled out of it a not too long rope, which he had used to hold Ryutaro’s ancient tomes in place. 

He then tied one end of the rope to the reins of Takuma’s horse and another to the back of Ichiro’s saddle. In less than two minutes, Yoichi created a sort of bridge between the two horses to move them simultaneously while driving only one of them. 

“Well, now it’s your turn,” Yoichi huffed, looking at Karasu and Takuma. Carrying the scarecrow demon would not be a problem: it was reduced to a pile of wood and straw, and, without any difficulty, it was laid on the back of Takuma’s horse.

As soon as Yoichi’s hands touched his companion’s neck, he opened his eyes wide and grabbed the young tamer’s leather jacket with one hand. “Yoichi… Yoichi” – Takuma’s eyes were half-closed and watery. 

“Hey. How are you doing, Takuma? Can you grab my shoulder?” Yoichi asked, soothing his companion with the sound of his voice. “Buckle up. We need to get out of here.” 

“Quick… you have to be… quick…” Takuma continued, unable to speak as he would have liked due to the burning caused by the ointment healing the wound. 

“Yes, of course. I’ll be quick, but why are you…” 

*tk*tk*tk*tk* – Suddenly, although Karasu had been resting on the horse, two of its woody limbs began to make the sound of danger. That sound was repeated numerous times as if the scarecrow demon was completing its tamer’s sentence.