I loitered on the outskirts of the town, wanting to give the Clunaics a decent head start. It wouldn't do for me to run into them before we got to Warthford. I decided two hours would be enough of a lead for them. That way I wouldn't run into them on my journey but I also wouldn't miss much of the action.
After twiddling my thumbs for what felt like forever and desperately trying not to think about my recent betrayals, it was time to set out. I sighed, this would be unpleasant. I drew my mana deep within myself, constricting it into a tight ball. Now that I was more familiar with Suetin's mana awareness affinity I knew I would need to conceal my mana signature or risk him discovering me.
I figured once I got to Warthford I'd be fine to release my mana since Suetin would probably be distracted by the many other mana signatures of the townspeople and demons. But on the long stretch of wilderness in between I would stick out like a sore thumb. I wouldn't be surprised if Suetin was familiar enough with me to be able to identify me by my mana signature. Hence the suppressing my mana.
Unfortunately suppressing my mana had some annoying consequences. Namely the fact that I wouldn't be able to use any magic as long as I kept my mana sealed. That meant I would be traveling relatively defenseless. Plus I wouldn't be able to use mana scan to sense nearby demons so I'd basically be blind to any attacks.
I'd considered fetching Lamentation, my trusty angelite blade, but decided against it. Not only was she conspicuously beautiful, but she also had a decent amount of stored mana. That meant that Suetin might pick it up in his mana scan.
So I settled for an average steel sword I'd swiped from the amory. It bounced at my side as I made my way out into the plains, the setting sun painting the sky bloody.
I made my way east towards the forest, feeling jumpy and exposed. I hadn't really thought about how much I relied on my mana to inform me of my surroundings. My mana sense was nothing compared to Suetin's, but without it I felt like I was missing one of my senses. It felt like I was experiencing the world through a wobbly reflection, everything distorted and off.
After an hour or so of walking some of the uncomfortable feeling subsided, and my other senses stepped up to the plate. It was sort of like how when you can't see, your hearing gets sharper. I felt my senses sharpening, though they were still laughably dull compared to my demon form's senses.
I eventually reached the edge of the forest, the sun hiding behind the horizon now. Well, this would be fun. I got to go into a dark forest with nothing but my human senses to alert me of any incoming danger. Danger that would likely include famished mongrel demons. Not that they were hard to kill, but it still wouldn't be fun to get mauled by one before I could put up a fight.
I crept into the forest, keeping my footsteps light. It was less for stealth and more out of habit that I stayed silent. Demons would hunt me by my mana and scent, so being quiet wouldn't exactly be a deterrent.
After walking for hours with nothing but the chirping of crickets and the occasional hoot of an owl I was lulled into a dangerous complacency. Fate seemed to think this would be a golden opportunity to prank me. Enter demon.
Quickly and without warning, I was blindsided by a huge mass that knocked me clean off my feet. I felt the breath woosh out of me and my head smacked back on the hard ground. Disoriented I tried to make sense of what just happened, but my fuzzy thoughts were struggling to compose themselves. I realized belatedly that I was about to be on the menu when a dark form streaked into view, slamming into the demon looming above me.
The demon staggered back a few steps from me and I scrambled to my feet, drawing my sword. A wolf hung from the demon's neck, its jaws clamped down tightly despite the demon trying to swipe it away. I quickly approached while the mongrel demon was distracted and sliced at it with my sword. The demon fell to its knees and the wolf jumped back, growling. I swiftly decapitated the brute and watched the body dissolve.
I turned to see the wolf staring at me, its head cocked to the side. Despite the dim light I recognized the creature as the she wolf I'd saved back when I'd first gotten to the Human Realm. Though it was unmistakably her, there was something a little different about her. She seemed larger and more muscled than before. Maybe she had just been malnourished before? Or she wasn't as in shape after having puppies? Or maybe I'd accidentally given her a little too much mana? I'd never tried to heal another living thing with my mana before so I didn't know if this was normal. But thinking about it wouldn't do me much good, so I threw aside those pesky ponderings.
"Hey there, girl. How have you been? Thanks for helping me out with that demon."
I stepped forward and slowly extended a hand, not sure if she wanted to be touched. My magic was sealed so I wouldn't be able to communicate my intentions to her like I had last time. But to my surprise, she closed the distance between us and pushed her head into my hand, practically begging me to pet her. I happily obliged, enjoying the feeling of running my fingers through her thick fur.
After a brief massage session I think both of us thoroughly enjoyed, I straightened up.
"Well, I've got to get going. If there's a demon all the way out here that's not a very good sign. They're probably getting overrun."
I took a few steps away and she whimpered, but didn't follow me.
"You're welcome to come with me until we get to the town. I could use an extra set of eyes and ears." I swear the wolf understood me perfectly even without me linking my mana with her mind. She eagerly jumped to her feet, tail wagging and trotted up to me.
With that we set off into the dark forest, nothing but dappled moonlight spilling through the shadowy canopy to light our way.
It was a long night. The wolf and I settled into an efficient rhythm. She would growl when a demon was nearing us. I would draw my sword and get ready. Then she would start barking right before the demon came into view. Then I would vanquish the monster. But while efficient, it was still exhausting. By the time the sun was awakening, I was about ready to pass out and sleep for a day. I knew arriving completely drained was probably not ideal, so when I figured I was pretty close to the town I climbed a tree and took a snooze.
It probably wasn't the safest idea since this was a demon infested area, but mongrel demons tended to be less active during the day, especially on a sunny day like today was already promising to be.
The wolf laid down dutifully at the bottom of the tree. She closed her eyes, but her swiveling ears and twitching nose said she was still surveying our surroundings. Feeling significantly more relaxed knowing she was on watch I drifted off to sleep.
I awoke to the echoes of a scream resonating through the trees. It was early afternoon, the sun beating down from above. I sat up from my perch upon the wide branch. I looked down to see the wolf standing, her ears perked in the direction of the town. I sighed. I guess that was a good enough wake up call. Time to go kill some demons!
I leaped down from the tree beside the wolf, giving her a quick pat on the head. Then I proceeded to do my stretching routine. Oh, you think that's lame? Well I think it's lame to get stabbed because of a cramp. Cifer had always drilled into me proper preparation for known battles. Of course he had also trained me to be able to react quickly to the unexpected, but he also said it was negligent to skip preparation when the situation allowed it.
I stretched and did some warm ups, once again annoyed at the shortcomings of the human form. I'd whipped this body into reasonable shape from my training sessions with the men, but it was nothing compared to my streamlined demon form that I trained hours everyday to optimize.
After I felt thoroughly warmed up, I turned to the wolf.
"You've been a great help, but I think it's best if you stay in the forest for now. I don't want any demons or people hurting you."
The wolf licked my hand and then trotted off into the forest. I swore that wolf could understand me perfectly. Before I could feel sad at the loss of her presence I hurried on toward the town.
It took me about ten minutes to reach the edge of the trees. I peered cautiously through the leaves at the town that was situated in a large clearing. I sucked in a breath. They weren't doing well. The ground was scattered with bodies, mostly men, and streaks of blood painted the grass. A makeshift barrier of huge logs rimmed the settlement, spears stuck into the dirt around the barrier, poised against oncoming demons. Unfortunately it looked like the barrier was in the process of being breached, all its guardians already fallen. Mongrel demons clawed at the wall, splintering the wood.
I saw the moment they gained entry. A narrow opening was cleaved through the barrier and the first demon squeezed through. I decided that was my queue to move. I ran forward, drawing my sword and pulling my tightly coiled mana back to the surface.
I felt the world sharpen into focus, my mana pooling around me like a second skin. With my released mana I could sense more than two dozen mongrel demons in the immediate vicinity. I didn't dare waste timing scanning farther out, content to deal with the immediate threat first. Inside the barrier I felt multiple human mana signatures near the breach. I also noticed the faint remnants of mana in the air around the barrier. Maybe they had had a mana barrier at one point. Had they run out of mana?
I pushed all thoughts but the fight in front of me aside as I neared the edge of the recent bloodbath. My presence was finally noticed by the mongrels, serving as a brief distraction from the hole in the wall. Good.
I felt a giddiness overtake me, adrenaline sizzling through my veins as I reached the first demon. I slashed out before the brute even had time to react. By the time he was reduced to ashes I was already three more kills into the mob of mongrels. I danced through the fray dodging and striking, jumping and slashing.
Just when I was about to be overcome by the sheer number of them I let my fire out to play. It behaved gloriously, my training with Kivani and the rush of battle forging it into a deadly weapon. I blasted demons back creating some breathing room for myself. Then I burned a path of destruction to the breach. With my flames momentarily clearing the immediate vicinity, I dashed through the wall into the town. Inside three demons were already terrorizing the towspeople. A few mauled corpses followed in the wake of the monsters.
I darted forward, vanquishing a demon looming over a woman before pivoting around to shoot a precise flame arrow at one of the others. As they were disappearing into ash I sprinted at the third demon that had gotten farther down the street. I ran and leapt on the demon pushing it down on the ground. I stabbed my sword through its back, straight through its heart.
I whirled around at the sound of more screams back in the direction of the wall. Another demon was clawing its way past the wall. Stupid humans. Why hadn't they evacuated farther back into the town? They were just foolishly frozen in fear, waiting to be devoured.
"Everyone get back!" I yelled, charging back to the wall. "Retreat towards the center of town!"
I kicked at a man who sat paralyzed with terror on the dusty ground. He just looked up with a dazed expression.
"Get going you idiot!" I shouted. "Unless you prefer to be eaten." I didn't wait to see if he would heed my advice. It wasn't my fault if he was too dumb to help himself. Maybe humans like him didn't deserve to live if their survival instincts were that dismal.
I sent another flaming arrow at the demon using the mana currents like Suetin had showed me. Even at a relatively long distance my aim stayed true, striking the demon straight in the chest. I really was getting pretty awesome at my fire magic. Too bad no one was appreciating it properly.
A child cried near the wall, her mother laying on the ground with a nasty slash across her chest that was weeping crimson. I ran past them already pushing them from my mind. They weren't a priority. Plus, while I was doing the humans a huge favor fighting off the demons on their behalf, they were hardly my responsibility. I saw this experience as more of a fun challenge. How many demons could I take down while in this pathetic human body? Sure I'd save a few humans here and there to make the experience more difficult and exhilarating, but I wasn't about to stop and help a human when there was a fight to be had.
I reached the hole just as the next demon was peeking its ugly head through. I quickly felled it and leapt back through to the chaos beyond the wall.
My heart sang wildly in my chest as I surrendered to the rhythm of battle. There was something so freeing about fighting all out. No dull practice swords. No pulling strikes. No good sportsmanship. Just the rush of battle. The frantic pounding of one's heart, the next beat never guaranteed.
This is what I was made for. What I had trained my whole life for. I was a weapon forged in the flames of hell. And I reveled in it.
The silence was deafening. I panted, looking around in confusion. The battlefield was empty of the living, piles of ash the only trophies of my victory. As the adrenaline faded, the pain and exhaustion hit. How long had I been fighting for? It felt like an eternity yet only a moment. I wiped my sweaty forehead, my hand coming back covered in gore. Ewww, disgusting. These townspeople better have the courtesy to draw me a bath after all I'd just done for them.
I turned to head back to the breach in the wall when I noticed a figure standing in the opening. Suetin looked at me in shock, his ice blue eyes wide. His clothes were bloodied and his short white blonde hair was streaked with crimson. He must have just finished with his own battle.
"Hey! You happen to know where a girl can get a nice hot bath?" I asked as I neared him.
He simply stared at me.
"Hello, I'm talking to you."
He blinked. "Where did you learn to fight like that? I've never seen anything like it."
"Oh, I've had some training before I came here. Anyway, back to the bath…"
"What you just did wasn't something someone with just a little training could have done. It was practically inhuman."
Whoops. Looks like I might have gone a little overboard. I thought I had been doing pretty well considering I'd manage to only use my fire magic and sword. But I guess it still might seem suspicious that I'd single handedly killed an entire horde of demons. But they were only mongrels. Surely skilled humans could do as much. Though judging by Suetin's expression, that may not be the case.
"Who are you?" He asked. We were getting into dangerous territory.
"Not that it's any of your business, but I'm a traveler."
"From where?" He probed.
"My King prefers me to remain anonymous unless absolutely necessary so I'm afraid I can't tell you." I didn't want to go with what I'd told Brietta. Suetin was too clever and he would likely figure out what Abbadon meant if I claimed to hail from there. Hopely Brietta wouldn't gossip about it to anyone.
Suetin gave me an assessing look, seeming to weigh the risk of further associating with me. I could see the decision in his eyes as he finally spoke.
"Very well." He said, seeing the advantage of having me as an ally. "We just finished sealing another breach on the north side of the village. I've already assigned a team to seal this one as well. I was on my way to help clear it of demons, but it seems you've already taken care of that."
"Sure have!"
"It seems like you did a pretty good job clearing the area so hopefully there's enough time to seal the wall before more demons arrive. In the meantime why don't you come with me to the command center."
"Will there be a bath there by chance?"
"A bath during battle isn't a luxury we can afford, but there will be some buckets of water and rags you can use to clean up." I groaned. "But there should also be some food too." Suetin added, giving me a knowing smirk. It was no secret I was obsessed with food.
"I guess that will have to do," I sighed.
We made our way through the eerily quiet town. There was the occasional patter of footsteps inside buildings or the hushed whispers from behind closed doors. Those out in the streets hurried to their destinations, eyes darting around nervously.
We eventually reached a stone building at about the center of the town. It must be the church turned command center. Suetin trudged up the steps, looking as exhausted as I felt.
Suetin opened the door for me, beckoning me inside. I walked in, blinking a few times to adjust to the dimness. A plain foyer greeted me and I idled, waiting for Suetin to direct me.
"This way."
He led me down a hallway to the right until we reached a large room at the end. The rest of the Parish was there sprawled out in various positions of exhaustion. There were also two others who I assumed were some of the Clunaics from this town. Kivani sat at a table in the corner looking at some papers intently. His fancy braid from yesterday was now a mess, blonde strands sticking out every which way.
"Sir, we have a new recruit for the fight." Suetin said.
I felt all eyes in the room go to me, taking me in with various expressions of surprise and disbelief. That is all eyes except Kivani's. His remained glued to the table.
"Good, we need all the help we can get." He said distractedly.
"Happy to be of service!" I piped in. At the sound of my voice Kivani spun around. I gave him a wide grin. Unfortunately I don't think the smile did much to calm his shock. He stood abruptly, knocking over his chair.
"Ara? You're hurt!" He said, his eyes wide in panic. He rushed forward, reaching out a hand toward me and letting it hover uncertainly. "Where are you hurt?"
"Oh, I'm totally fine. This isn't my blood. The worst I've got are a couple of scrapes and bruises. Nothing to worry about." That wasn't entirely true. I had suffered some nasty gashes, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle.
"Are you sure?" He said, still not quite believing me.
"I'm sure. Though it would be nice if I could wash some of this nasty demon blood off."
"I can escort her to the washroom, Sir." Suetin offered.
"No, I'll go." Kivani said, still seeming to be alarmed.
I walked out the door and back down the hallway to the foyer, Kivani following behind.
I paused when we got to the foyer, waiting for him to direct me, but he just kept scanning me as if a thorough examination would reveal some mortal wound I was hiding from him just for fun. Fortunately, I had enough demon blood caked on that my actual wounds were well hidden. I really didn't need Kivani overreacting over some cuts, even if they ached annoyingly.
"You know, usually leading involves a lot more participation from the leader. Unless you would prefer me to just wander around until I find the washroom on my own."
"How did this happen to you?"
"Demon fight." I said nonchalantly. "I thought it was obvious."
"No, it's not obvious. You were supposed to be back in Luton where there weren't any demons," he said sharply. "If that were the case there should have been no possible way for you to have gotten into a demon fight."
"Well, clearly that's not the case."
"Clearly."
"So, the washroom?"
"This way."
He led me down a different hallway and opened a door for me.
"I'll wait for you in the hall."
"Wow, such a gentleman." I teased. But he was definitely not in a teasing mood because he just stared at me irritatedly.
I took that as my queue to enter the washroom and close the door. The room was rather small with a wash basin in one corner and a cutout hole for relieving oneself in the other. A shelf with clothes and towels lined one wall. A cloudy mirror hung above the basin and I curiously stepped forward to check my appearance. I snorted at my reflection. I looked absolutely disgusting. My chestnut hair that I had tied back into a braid was stiff with dried blood and my clothes were painted dark crimson. My face was smeared with gore, my golden brown eyes peeking through the dirty streaks. No wonder Kivani had been so taken aback by my appearance.
I quickly grabbed some rags from the shelf and dunked them into the large basin in the corner of the room. The first wipe brought back a clod of caked blood and the next few wipes were not much better. After what felt like an eternity of scrubbing I finally deemed my face reasonably clean. But that still left the rest of me.
I rummaged around the shelf until I came across what looked like a uniform. I decided it looked about the right size so I claimed it as my own. I peeled off my disgusting clothes, tempted to just burn them then and there, but decided it wasn't worth the effort of summoning my magic. I quickly wiped myself down and dunked my head in the basin to rinse out my hair.
With most of the grim wiped away I was finally able to inspect my wounds. I had a fairly deep cut across my back and a few shallower slashes on my stomach. I poked at them gingerly, hissing at the pain. Now that the adrenaline of battle had completely disappeared, the pain was starting to filter in. But I'd endured much worse at the hands of Cifer so I wasn't too fazed. Sure, the pain was really annoying, but I could still function fine.
I cleaned the wounds as best as I could and then pulled on the fresh clothes. They didn't fit perfectly, but nothing was falling off so I decided it was a win. It felt good to be in clean clothes. Plus there was also the added bonus that the loose clothes concealed by wounds nicely.
After toweling out my hair I opened the door and walked out, refreshed. Kivani was leaning against the wall, waiting for me. He looked up when I came out, giving me another thorough scan. I guess seeing me cleaned up proved I wasn't seriously injured and some tension seemed to drain out of him. Of course with all that tension gone it left room for more anger.
"What were you thinking, Ara?" He seethed.
"I just thought fighting some demons would be fun. So I decided this was the place to be."
"You could have gotten yourself killed."
"Ha, I think I did just fine. I know my own limits."
Kivani sighed, seeming to want to argue further but not having the energy for it.
"I guess if you really want I could just head back to Luton."
"No! Are you stupid. There are demons crawling all over the area. You'd be attacked immediately. Honestly it's a miracle you got here on your own in one piece."
"Not a miracle, skill." It was starting to get annoying how little he thought of my skills. "If it's really so hard for you to accept that I'm just a good fighter, I'm more than happy to demonstrate my skills."
Kivani just shook his head in exasperation. "I need to get back to the others to figure out our next move. You're coming so I can keep an eye on you and make sure you don't do anything reckless."
I rolled my eyes dramatically. "Whatever you say, oh mighty Holy Knight!"
Kivani cut me a warning glare and made his way back to the planning room.
When we got back the men were much in the same position as before. Clearly they'd been fighting pretty nonstop over the course of the last day.
"All the breaches have been sealed and the townspeople are currently reinforcing the barriers to prevent more break ins." Suetin said.
"Good. Thank you for securing the northern breach."
"I actually can't take credit for that, Sir. Ara here is the one you should thank."
Kivani turned to me, confused.
"You're very welcome." I said in a mockingly sweet voice. Take that for underestimating me.
"What?" Kivani turned back to Suetin, searching for an explanation.
"Ara's the one that cleared that area of demons and secured the breach." Suetin said.
There were grumbles of doubt from the men in the room as they looked me over more closely now. Kivani gave Suetin a hard look, waiting for him to say it was just a joke. But he should have known Suetin was serious. Suetin wasn't the joking type.
"How many demons did you have to take on?" Kivani asked, turning back to me.
"About twenty, give or take a few."
"Twenty?" One of the men exclaimed in disbelief.
"I only got there at the end of the fight, but that seems about right based on all the demon ash scattered across the ground." Suetin affirmed.
I stared at Kivani, daring him to argue with my claim. But as he stared intently at me I could see a sort of respect growing in his green eyes. It was probably all starting to make sense on how I'd traveled here alone with no problem. But as some questions were answered I could also tell more questions were brewing. Like how I even learned to fight like that.
Fortunately, he had the restraint not to ask me those questions in front of the others.
"She's got to be lying," Pratz whined. He knew I was good at swordplay, but fighting demons was an entirely different skill set.
"If she says she killed twenty demons, she killed twenty demons." Kivani said, still watching me. His confidence in my truthfulness made me feel good, despite his recent slights.
I nodded. "That's right. Now, where could a girl get some food? I sure worked up an appetite."
Kivani shook his head, a phantom smile ghosting across his lips. I had to remind him I was still me, even as an epic demon slaying warrior. Food would always be the love of my life.
"Of course, we can strategize over dinner. Pratz and Ramin, you'll have to take your food to go because it's about time you relieve Sterkin and Walke from patrol."
Everyone got up and filed out of the room, heading towards where I assumed the food would be. Pratz of course complained about having the next patrol shift, but Suetin glared him into silence. I trotted along happily, my weariness momentarily forgotten at the thought of food.
***
After a filling, but rather flavorless meal of beans and rice, Kivani got down to planning.
"After recording on a map the locations where the most demons were reported, I suspect the tear to be somewhere around here."
He pointed at a spot a little ways into the forest, not far from where I had been fighting.
"We're not exactly sure who corrupted and opened a tear, but we are fortunate that it didn't happen in town. Our top priority is closing the tear to prevent more demons from spilling through. Until we can close it, no amount of fighting will completely secure this area."
I wondered why Kivani was the one leading everyone. Didn't the other Parish also have a leader? The two unfamiliar Clunaics who had just returned from patrol didn't look particularly authoritative. Neither did the other two I'd seen earlier. Had their leader already died?
"I'm going to take a team out to try to find and seal the tear while another team stays to protect the town. I'm going to wait until morning before we attempt this so until then, those of you not on patrol go get some sleep."
The men trudged off, presumably to go sleep. Soon just Kivani and I were left.
"So, do I just sleep one the floor?"
"No, of course not." To be honest I wouldn't have minded the floor. It's not like I wasn't used to sleeping in less than ideal places thanks to Cifer's belief that comfort wasn't something to count on.
"Here, I'll show you to your room."
He led me through the building to a small room with a cot. It wasn't much, but it was mildly better than the floor.
"I'm sorry."
"Wow, it seems you're having to apologize to me a lot recently. What is it this time?"
"I'm sorry I didn't believe you when you said you could handle yourself. I thought you were just being reckless, but I was wrong."
This man really knew how to acknowledge his mistakes. If it were me I would likely go to my grave before I admitted I was wrong. Because I was never wrong. Except when I was. But that hardly ever happened.
"Yes, you were." I said haughtily. Even if I was already softening towards him again, I didn't want him to know that a couple words were all it took to get back into my good graces. He needed to show a little more remorse first, if only for my entertainment.
"I know, I know. You don't have to rub it in."
"What, can't take the burn, princess?"
"I'm a fire master so I think I can handle a little heat."
"Is that so?" I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Oh, most definitely." Then some of the playfulness fell away and a seriousness overtook his countenance. "I know you're an amazing warrior, but is there any chance you would be willing to be on the team that stays in town to guard the people tomorrow?"
"Nope."
"I thought you'd say that," he sighed. "Okay, you can come to help seal the tear, but promise you'll stay near me."
"I'll consider it. What, do you need me to protect you from the big scary demons?" I teased.
"Something like that."
Kivani bid me a good night, promising to fetch me in the morning. I shut the door, listening to his retreating steps. Then I climbed onto the hard cot and fell asleep almost instantly.