A/N: Here it is. Thank you for your reviews and favorites, I truly appreciate it. Enjoy!

Chapter 7

I lunged to my right and landed hands first, stumbling a bit before regaining my balance on my crouched knees. I turned my head to see the scorched burn mark that planted itself neatly on the tree I was originally occupying in a charcoal ring.

How the Gehenna did they find me so fast?!

I jumped to my feet and faced my assailants; surprise and dread apparent on my face.

Iblis, who stood lunged over and fist outstretched, glared at me with intensity, a smirk that almost rivaled fathers plastered on his face. Surprisingly the most amount of expression besides indifference I'd seen on him since I'd met him. When did he grow a personality?

"You missed" I jumped at the sudden voice and my eyes shifted to the tree to my right.

Egyn was perched on a branch, looking up at the sky at who knows what, as I had come to find he does often. How long had he been…?

"I noticed" Iblis said and crossed his arms, looking up at Egyn with a hint of annoyance in his eyes. "I didn't see you helping"

"I was observing" he said matter of factly, finally tilting his head to look down at us.

"Is that what he calls it" I managed to think sardonically to myself, despite the tornado of reactions and instincts my mind was attempting to sort out due to my predicament.

"Whatever" Iblis rolled his eyes and looked back towards me. "Let's just grab her card and move on"

My body tensed as he took a step towards me, my mind still deciding on which reaction to perform. As he took another step, I instinctively reached for my sword that lied next to me.

Or so I assumed.

Keeping my eyes on Iblis, I felt around for the weapon, meeting nothing but dirt and a sort of panic rose in my chest. I shifted my hand this way and that and still didn't feel the metal of the weapon. I dared to take my eyes off of Iblis for a moment, and looked behind me to see if I could locate it. My body relaxed if only a little when I saw it lying just a few feet away from me, still unfortunately out of my arms reach.

My head snapped back around when I heard another step, this time from Egyn who had jumped off the tree and next to Iblis.

"Wait" Egyn said and they both stood still. "Wouldn't it be boring if we just took the card?"

Iblis arched an eyebrow and scratched his head. "What the Gehenna are you on about?"

This was my chance. I didn't know what Egyn was getting at, but at the moment I didn't care. All I knew was that I needed to act fast and grab the sword while I had the opportunity.

I kept my eyes on them and moved back, just a little at a time so they wouldn't notice, inching closer and closer towards my weapon.

"Father did say he wanted a demonstration of our skills right?" Egyn said, a subtle hint of excitement in his voice. His neutral expression did not change, however, there was a certain glint in his eye that unnerved me.

"He did. But whoever wins also gets to keep that human. She'd make a good meal don't you think?" Iblis said and toothily grinned.

"Just a bit closer" I thought to myself, the weapon becoming more and more within my reach.

"I'm not interested in the girl" Egyn responded. "I just think there's fun to be had here. Why waste it?"

Almost there.

"That's ridiculous" Iblis said. "The whole point of a game is to win. Let's do that and you can have your fun on your own time"

I felt my fingers faintly brush the handle, my body relaxing mildly now that my only means of defense was within reach. However, there was one question that I had yet to decide.

Fight or flight?

"You're no fun" Egyn said, pouting with a slight whine in his voice. Seriously, when had these guys grown personalities?

"Hey, it was your idea to partner up in the first place"

I silently gripped the handle, relieved that I successfully retrieved my weapon. However now that I had it, what was I going to do? I considered attacking them and attempt to grab their cards, though they outnumbered me two to one. Another downside was that I had absolutely no gauge on their powers, but I had a feeling they'd be able to overpower me if they worked together regardless of their strength. No, there were too many disadvantages. I had to stick to my one on one plan.

"It was. And I expected you to be more fun than the others. More flexible" Egyn continued to pout and heaved a rather dramatic sigh.

Flight it is.

"Whatever. Let's just-hey!"

I pushed off of my left heel and sprinting forward away from their little comedy routine. I had already made a fair amount of distance, about ten feet or so, before Iblis reacted and they started to chase me.

I huffed as I dodged trees and stepped over rocks, running as fast as I could to get away from them. If I could just do that, I could calm my nerves and perhaps think of a new plan. I had no idea how they'd gotten to me so quickly; perhaps I'd miscalculated my time? Regardless it caught me off guard, leaving me majorly disoriented. Running was the only sensible thing I could do for now.

I looked behind me for a split second, curious to see how far away they were from me. They were quite a distance back, but still close enough to where I could see them. Iblis was running on the ground and Egyn had returned to the trees and was jumping between their branches.

I could hear Iblis growling under his breath, clearly not happy that I had ran. Egyn, however, seemed excited, a faint but visible smile adorning his lips.

I was gaining distance, though very little. I couldn't run any faster than I already was and I knew I couldn't keep it up forever. Slowing down was certainly not an option, but I had to find some way to lose them. I couldn't just keep running in a straight line, no, I had to get out of their sigh-

"Ah!" I was forcibly thrust to the side completely off of my feet as if I'd gotten caught in an underwater current.

The force had hit my side, knocking me off balance and sent me tumbling. I felt myself rolling downhill, that I hadn't even noticed was there, rocks and sticks striking me as I went down. Ow ow ow ow ow ow.

Thankfully, I eventually stopped and lied face down on the ground, heart beating fast and hair tangled in ways I didn't know existed. I groaned faintly, and managed to lift my head to scan the new area. I was a lot more disoriented than before, that was for sure, not to mention extremely dizzy. I squeezed my right hand and was glad to find that I had managed to keep a grip on my sword.

After a few brief moments, my dizziness subsided and I managed to lean on my hands and knees. I looked around; I was still in a very tree ridden area, however, it was at least a bit clearer. I looked to the rather steep hill that I had stumbled over and stared at it begrudgingly. How had I not noticed that?

However, my mood evaporated quickly and my face paled as I heard footsteps that no doubt belonged to Iblis and Egyn. They'd probably seen me tumble and were trying to find out where I went.

I had to get up and run, or at least hide until they went away. I went to stand up when I was pulled back by the hem of my shirt and back onto the ground. I gasped but soon found a hand clasped over my mouth.

Out of reflex, I turned my head and was met with Cepheid, a mischievous smile on his face and one finger, his index, over his lips in a hush sign.

Panic rose in my chest again and my eyes widened in fear. There was no way I could take on three of them at once, let alone Cepheid who I was almost sure was stronger than me. However, what he did next made my fear evaporate.

He pointed to a nearby tree, one that had a surprisingly large opening in between its roots. Relief washed over me as I realized he didn't intend to hurt me, at least for the time being. I nodded and we made our way over, quietly as to not have Iblis and Egyn hear us.

We crouched and he lightly pushed me inside. I had to put my knees to my chest and more or less curl up into a ball, my sword resting on my side. I turned myself around so I was facing the outside, mostly out of sight from anyone looking down the hill. The outside was partially covered by leaves and tall grass, so anyone who looked in my general direction still wouldn't be able to see me.

Cepheid, however, did not come in and simply stated, "I'll come back when they're gone"

Before I could respond he smiled and left, to where, I wasn't sure. I couldn't even hear his footsteps as he left.

"Can't you do anything on your own?"

My blood froze over and my eyes moved back and forth rapidly, looking for the source of the voice. It was definitely the same voice I had heard in the foyer, but where was it coming from? It sounded as if it was right next to me. Was this game already making me lose my mind?

But my focus instantly turned to the footsteps that were getting closer and closer. I couldn't see them from where I was, but I could hear their voices approaching.

"Dammit, we lost her" I heard Iblis grumble, an undertone of annoyance in his voice. Their footsteps became louder and I heard one of them sniff loudly.

"I can't smell her either" Egyn said and coughed faintly. "Seems like Samael and Amaimon's scents are kicking in"

Indeed, a sickly sweet scent began to invade my nose and I had to stifle a cough. It wasn't a bad smell, it was just very strong and obnoxious.

"Where could she have run off to?" Iblis said, clearly getting more irritated by the second.

Their footsteps were closer now, only a few feet away. I doubted they would actually see me since I was hidden remotely well, however, my body still tensed out of instinct.

"No idea" Egyn said. "She couldn't have gotten too far"

I heard Iblis sigh in frustration. "How are we supposed to win in three hours if we're stuck searching blindly like this?"

"I dunno" Egyn said nonchalantly. "But we won't find her if we just stand around"

Iblis huffed and sighed, "Whatever"

The footsteps got quieter as they moved away, Iblis rather audibly grumbling under his breath. I let out a noiseless breath that I didn't realize I had been holding and my body relaxed.

I waited for a few moments until their footsteps died down, and still a few more to make sure they weren't within sight. I poked my head out a bit, looking left and right to make sure the coast was clear. Seeing nothing, I crawled out and dusted myself off.

"That was certainly close"

If it was one thing Cepheid was good at, it was giving me heart attacks. I turned around to find him leaning on a tree, arms in his sleeves per usual.

I narrowed my eyes at him and gripped my sword, nervousness creeping back into my body. Now that those two were gone, he could easily take my card for himself with no hassle from outsiders. Even though he didn't seem like the type, I didn't know enough about him to think that he did this purely out of the kindness of his heart.

I took a small step back, keeping my eyes on him and responded, "Yes it was"

I sounded more uneasy than I had meant to, but I couldn't help the slight waver in my voice. I was still a bit jumpy from my previous encounter, and trust was one thing I had almost nothing of at the moment.

Cepheid's eyebrows rose, not in a condescending way, but in a more amused expression. He stood straight and took a few steps towards me, putting his hands up in a surrendering position.

"No need to worry Freja, I'm not planning anything" he said, chuckling a bit at his silly looking gesture.

My posture didn't change and I continued to look at him suspiciously. It was obvious I wasn't just going to take his word for it. We were silent for a few rather awkward moments, neither of us changing positions.

Eventually, Cepheid put his hands down and sighed softly, but still kept his usual warm smile on his face.

"Heh, I can understand why you would be wary of me" he said gently. He took a few more steps and a reached into his sleeve, digging for something.

"Here. I hope this will put you more at ease"

He held out his card without a moment of hesitation, nothing but sincerity in his eyes. My eyes widened mildly, a mix of shock and surprise present in them.

I eyed the card for a moment, one eyebrow arched and doubt apparent on my face. I didn't fully trust him that was for sure. But I supposed if I were to trust any of them, Cepheid would be my first choice. Still, this seemed too sketchy to simply accept without questioning.

"You don't want to win?" I asked, looking back up at him.

He chuckled again. "No. I'm not very interested in a human. But…" he paused and smiled again. "I do think the odds father set for you was a bit…unfair"

"A bit? Try impossible"

"Therefore I'm willing to help you if you want"

I must admit, his second phrase caught me by surprise. He didn't seem to be interested in winning, just like Egyn wasn't. However, this could still be a trap; trying to earn my trust and then attack me later. His simple reasoning's of 'helping me' seemed all too suspicious. But now that I thought about it, it would be easier to navigate this game with another person. Even though I never imagined that I'd be the one partnering with someone. Besides, if I ran into someone, having Cepheid fighting with me would help my chances of winning. Yes, partnering didn't seem like such a bad idea.

"Fine" I gave a soft sigh and finally took the card from his hand. "Let's go"

By my vague estimation of time, an hour had almost passed since this game started. I only had two hours left, and so far I had only obtained one card. I really had to pick up the pace.

Cepheid and I had been walking for about fifteen silent minutes, with no distinct direction in mind. Since neither of us could smell the others, nor they us, we were left to wander around until we found someone. Cepheid had said that since everyone had to have my card first, it would be best to have them come to us. There was no way all of them would find me at once, therefore we could beat them and take their card as they came. A pretty solid plan I must admit.

The downside was that there was no guarantee all of them would find us in time. Now that I thought about it, father never specified what would happen if none of us won. But I had a pretty good guess nothing good would come of it.

Since Cepheid had remained silent, I took this time to sort out my thoughts, if only a little.

I already knew Iblis and Egyn had partnered; that was useful information. They were certainly an interesting pair, almost like a married couple. As I had gathered Egyn wasn't very interested in the game, which I would think would be good for me. Unfortunately, he didn't seem as willing to help me out as Cepheid was. Then there was Iblis who had full intentions to win, for reasons that were quite…unusual.

Yes, that was another thing. What was with these guys and cannibalism? I thought it was just some sort of sick kink that that bastard Astaroth had, but Iblis seemed to have the same disposition. It disturbed me quite a bit, that's for sure. And then there was that word again, human.

"Freja"

Deep in my thoughts, it surprised me a bit to hear his voice. I actually had forgotten he was there for a moment.

"Hm?"

"You've been quiet for a while" he said, a hint of concern on his face. "Something on your mind?"

"I am being hunted down by six other people who are all probably half deranged to save a little girl who I left alone with a demon God and is probably pissing her pants right now. There's way more than 'something' on my mind"

"Not particularly" I said instead. He's gone out of his way to help me, the least I could do is not be rude. He continued to look at me, but didn't say anything more. But then, I had a thought.

"Cepheid" I said after a brief pause. "What is a human?"

He seemed almost taken aback by my question, as if I had asked what the meaning of life was. The meaning of a human was probably, as far as I could tell, pretty common knowledge, and my question probably seemed stupid. But if I wanted to know, I'd have to ask eventually.

"A human" he said more so to himself than to me and furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "They're quite hard to describe"

He was silent for a few more moments before speaking again.

"They look a lot like us" he said finally. "But their bodies are very different on the inside"

"How so?"

"Well for one, they regenerate at a much slower rate"

That was something I had noticed with Clair. I remembered when she had gotten a paper cut from one of my books, it didn't fully heal for over a week. Of course, I thought that was odd, since minor injuries like that usually take only seconds to close and heal.

I nodded and he continued.

"I suppose in general, their bodies aren't nearly as strong. They're much slower too"

Pfft with Clair, that was for sure. She could barely outrun those ghouls that had tried to eat her, and they're the slowest things around.

"I suppose the biggest difference would be that they age rapidly and die off very quickly compared to us"

That was something I hadn't seen for myself. Clair didn't seem much different from any other child, at least physically. In fact, she seemed perfectly normal for a ten year old. What did he mean by age rapidly?

But then again, it's not like it mattered much anyway. My contract wasn't to find out what a human was. It was simply to get her home. I had a much more important question.

"Cepheid" I stopped walking this time and turned to him, a serious expression on my face. "Do you know where Assiah is?"

He stopped as well, looking at me with a puzzled look on his face, though, still managing to smile at me.

"You'd have to ask father on that one. He's the only one that could open the gate to it"

This time it was my turn to be taken aback. Father? Gate? What sort of town needed a God to open it? Let alone one with 'humans' that seemed weaker than all the rest. And I highly doubted father made it that way to protect them.

I arched an eyebrow at him. "What do you me-"

The ground suddenly began to violently rumble, almost knocking both of us off our feet. I gripped a nearby tree, looking in all directions as to what was causing it. Cepheid crouched on the ground, looking intensely in the opposite direction we had been walking. His smile was completely gone, replaced with a grim frown and gritted teeth slightly showing.

I looked in the same direction, a mild chill running down my spine. I grit my teeth and unsheathed my sword, getting into an offensive stance.

This conversation would have to wait.

We had company.