The catgirl looked up at Frey, who was in front of her, sitting against the trunk of a fallen tree and staring into the depths of the fire; he watched the flickering flames as if he could divine some mysterious truth in them. His hands played idly with the flints he used to light the fire; lit from below, the severe angles of his face seemed as roughly carved as the granite wall of a cliff. The oscillations of the fire made the shadows chase each other across her cheeks. The light reflected off the pupil of her eyes, which shone with inhuman sparkles like a star. Beside him lay Kat, motionless and breathing regularly, apparently asleep on Frey's crimson cloak which was spread out on the ground.
The sight of Frey taking care of Kat brought a strange question to Elysia's mind. What would Frey be like as a father? If they had children, how would he treat them?
Frey felt Elysia watching him, and she looked up at him.
"What's troubling you, Elysia?"
Catgirl averted her eyes from the fire. The bright afterimage of the flames negated her night vision, but she still searched the shadows beneath the trees for any sign that there were hidden observers. The image of the unsuspecting inhabitants of Kleinsdorf slipping into bed with the forces of darkness creeping up on them formed in her mind without warning. She searched for something to answer him with, and decided on the truth.
"I'm actually…, I'm a bit worried, Frey. For some strange reason, what we saw in that town has terrified me; my sixth sense keeps screaming at me that this place is dangerous."
"Fear is for cowards and children, Elysia. You were a warrior."
"You don't really believe what you just said, do you?"
Frey smiled, and in the firelight his expression brimmed with confidence.
"Yes."
"You don't expect me to truly believe that the strong and grown-ups are never afraid, do you? Or is it champions and heroes that know no fear?
"Believe what you want, Elysia. Anyway, I didn't say that. Only a fool or a maniac does not know fear; only a child or a coward allows his fear to dominate him. A true warrior is distinguished by mastering the fear he feels."
"The destruction of the village hasn't scared you? Aren't you afraid, now? There's something out there, Frey; something evil and powerful."
The dark hero laughed.
"Nope. I am a Warder, Elysia. I was born to die in combat. There is no place for fear in my life."
Elysia shook her head, as she didn't know if Frey was making fun of her. She was getting used to Frey's erratic mood swings and she was beginning to suspect that there were times when the dark hero displayed something close to a sense of humor.
Frey put the flints into his backpack and gripped the hilt of the greatsword Lævateinn.
"Rest easy, Elysia. You can do nothing for the dead, and if what has killed them is predestined to find us, you can do nothing to prevent it either.
"And that's supposed to reassure me?"
Suddenly, the atmosphere of camaraderie evaporated as quickly as it had been formed, and anger burned in Frey's voice as he spoke again.
"No, Elysia, you don't have to; but believe me what I am going to tell you: if I find the murderers, they will pay in blood. An evil similar to what we have witnessed today will not go unpunished."
At that moment, there was no trace of human feeling in Frey's voice, and looking into the deep eyes of her mate, Elysia saw the madness, the burning inhuman violence that was waiting to erupt. She just for a second believed Frey's words and shared her insane conviction that she could take on the Dark Powers that had destroyed the village. She then remembered the colossal magnitude of the damage caused, and the moment passed.
No warrior, not even one as powerful as Frey, could resist something like that. She shivered and pulled her cloak closer around her.
To hide the anxiety she felt, she leaned down and added more fuel to the fire. The thin stems withered and caught fire, and the sparks began to creep up. Acrid smoke stung her eyes as lichen-covered branches began to burn. She wiped her tears from the smoke and spoke to fill the silence.
"What do you know about beastmen? Do you believe the story the girl tells about the attack on the village?"
"Why not? You are half beastman and you are notoriously aggressive. Many times throughout history, his hordes have attacked cities."
Bitterly, Elysia nodded. She knew that every once in a while her primal instincts got the better of her. "The churches preach that the beasts were mere mutants, exiled humans who had devolved into beastmen, altered by the power of darkness."
Frey shook his head as if he despaired because of the stupidity of humanity.
With a dry stick, Elysia tried to fan the flames of the campfire before continuing her explanation. "These mutants follow the hordes as lackeys or adepts, but the beastmen themselves are a group of different races totally independent of humans, whose origins date back to the time of the first incursions of the dark gods in this world, from the times when the Dark Powers first ventured to afflict this sad world. They could well be the children of the dark powers."
With a serious expression, Frey fixed his gaze on his partner. "Elysia, you are not like them."
Clenching his hands into fists, and unable to resist Frey's gaze on her, he directed her eyes to the ground. "I'm not so sure, Frey," she commented. "Lately, being that I am no longer the same, I have changed. I am more aggressive, more ruthless, the battle makes my heart beat faster, and every time I take down an enemy I feel my body foreign. Frey, I'm not sure what I am. I feel like I'm turning into a monster."
"Maybe, I've noticed the change, but don't worry. No matter what you become, you will still be Elysia."
Salivating, Elysia kept her gaze fixed on a small ant on the ground. "I have heard stories that many werebeasts aided the Dark Lords in their mission to bring misfortune to the world. It is said that they made up the bulk of the troops that attacked the North two centuries ago. It is said that the commanders of that Dark lord were powerful beastmen who rose to become Demonic Knights."
"I'm not surprised, Elysia. Beastmen worship strength, it is part of their nature; I heard that beyond the Kaleth Empire, sharing a border with the Minotaur Kingdom, there are three powerful nations that dominate the center of the continent, they are known as the Triumvirate alliance, it is said that these nations are countries ruled by beastmen.
"Yes, the rumors are true," Elysia uttered as she nodded bitterly. "My mother is from that place. They are nations where humans, and other similar humanoids, are cattle. Although it was my mother's home, I am not drawn to that place."
"Any reason is specific?"
"I don't hate humans, I'm just being a little awkward. But I have never seen them as food, the mere fact of the possibility of eating human flesh makes my stomach turn."
"It's understandable, after all, you're half human, right?"
"If you're right…"
"But..." Elysia was interrupted by Frey's sudden word. "If the situation calls for it, you must do it, if it is what you need to do to survive, remorse must not stop you."
At that moment, those words provoked a vision in Elysia. "Frey..." Elysia started. "What do you think of Demonic Knights?"
"Demonic Knights are among the most powerful warriors to walk this world. I hope that the story of the human girl is true and that she will soon be able to face those warriors in black armor. It would be a worthy fight and, if necessary, a worthy death."
"It sure would be" replied Elysia, who fervently wished that this situation would not occur. Any circumstance she could imagine involving Frey's death at the hands of a Demonic Knight would undoubtedly lead to her own end soon after.
"And what about the girl?" she whispered she then she. "Do you think that is what she claims to be her? Couldn't she be in cahoots with the attackers?"
"She's just a human girl, Elysia. She doesn't have the stench of the Dark Ones, demons have a very distinctive smell, she should learn to identify it. If she was a domain or something similar, she would have already killed her."
"You said they were black armored warriors" Elysia began "You have abnormally powerful black armor. Are you a Demonic Knight?
Picking the wax out of his ear, Frey shrugged. "Does the answer matter?"
"Yes, it does matter" Elysia began to tremble slightly, she was nervous about the answer.
"Maybe yes… or maybe no; I think it depends a lot on your point of view. Just be content knowing that you are not my enemy."
At that moment, those words provoked a vision in Elysia. "Frey… If these new urges, if what is hidden within me arises, if my instincts overpower me and cause me to become a Demonic Knight; or the gods forbid, in a Dark Lord. What will I do?"
"Listen to me carefully, Elysia," Frey uttered in a powerful voice brimming with confidence. "If you become a Dark Lord, what you do or don't do is up to you. Remember these words: With great power comes great responsibility."
To her horror, Elysia noticed that Kat's eyes were wide, and that she was watching them both with a frightened expression. Her eyes met, and the catgirl was embarrassed to see such enormous fear in the eyes of someone she had already suffered as much as she had. She got up, walked around the fire, pulled her worn cloak over her, and tucked her in.
"Go to sleep," she told him. "You are safe." She wanted to believe it herself.
He saw that Frey's eyes were closed, but his hand was firmly on the hilt of his sword, so he lay down on the leaves he had piled up to form his bed, and for a long time he gazed at the stars that gleamed coldly through the sky. the branches. When she fell asleep, her sleep was restless and old nightmares haunted her.