As the sun disappeared in the horizon, signaling the arrival of night; Eren turned his back on the distant moon.
"Are you leaving?" Ruby watched Eren approach the door without saying anything to her.
"Stay inside the room," Eren told the girl, reaching out his hand towards the doorknob. Before he could swing it, he felt someone's warm embrace from behind him.
"What do you think you are doing?" he asked with a slight frown.
"Please return safely," Ruby said, unable to hide the worry in her tone.
Eren was her last hope. To save her family, he was placing his life in danger. As a Great Elder from the Demon Sect, he didn't have to worry about strangers from the Northern Continent, but still he was going so far.
Meanwhile, she had nothing to repay him. She didn't even know if he was going to return safely. Was it the last time she was going to see her? Just the thought alone scared him, and she couldn't help but hug him from behind.
"I don't plan to die." Eren slowly removed her hands from his chest, freeing himself from her embrace.
He opened the door and stepped out of the room, leaving Ruby behind. The door slowly closed and the room returned to the normal silence.
Eren walked through the long corridor amidst the watchful gaze of the servants of the Kiel Family. Strangely enough, none of the servants reacted strangely when they saw him.
Instead, they greeted him as the young lady, as they could only see an illusion carved by the Dragon Tongue. They weren't strong enough to see through the illusion either.
"Why is it that everywhere you go, you find a girl to keep you company and warm you up?"
Eren was walking away when he heard the complaining tone of Yelen.
"Please don't say words that can easily be misunderstood. When did I find someone to warm me up?" Eren innocently answered.
Even with all his strength, he wasn't able to break through Eren's defense.
"That's not how you do it," Eren answered as he grabbed the middle aged man's neck. In the neck moment, a cracking sound resounded in the hall.
The middle aged man's eyes widened as his neck was crushed, blood splattering all over Eren's plan. He was still in disbelief as he lost his life.
His grip around Eren's neck weakened while his body fell on the ground with a thud.
The other guards in the hallway were also momentarily frozen. Many of them reached fast enough to attack Eren at the same time.
"Acceleration," Eren stated, his figure disappearing from sight with only a reflection left behind. A sword materialized in his hand which could occasionally be seen flashing through the corridor at random places.
The sword only appeared properly when Eren stopped moving after reaching the end of the corridor. His sword was covered in fresh blood of the guards which was dropping on the floor near his feet.
One after another, the sound of bodies falling on the ground echoed in the corridor. Eren glanced back, watching multiple heads roll on the ground, the entire hallway being painted red.
Eren turned towards Fey's room. The room's door was the only thing left standing between him and Fey.
Eren stood in front of the door in silence, remembering the Author's warning.
"If death is waiting for me on the other side of that door, then I will just have to destroy that death myself."
Eren pushed the door, which opened easily as it had been left unlocked. The room was completely dark with only moonlight coming in front of the window which was lighting it up.
"You made me wait long," Fey's voice came from inside the room before Eren could even step inside.
He was standing next to the window, facing the beautiful moon outside. There was a glass of wine in his hand, half emptied already.