Time flowed like a river and a week has passed since Dawn fought Ryuran.
The battle was the talk of the settlement.
They talked about it during work, during school and even when they got home.
Erisha found it quite strange how the onis could talk about a single event for so long.
After the battle, Dawn and Erisha accepted Ryuran's offer to stay at her mansion.
It was the largest of all houses with enough room for them to comfortably rest.
Dawn spent most of his time by returning to the forest to replenish his life energy while Erisha took her time to rest near her brother.
However a problem soon arose.
Cain was not waking up.
Physically he was fine, his breathing was steady and the wound on his body has healed, but something was keeping him asleep.
She grew worried with each passing day and on the last day of the week Erisha went to Dawn for guidance.
Thinking through the possebilities Dawn reached a conclusion.
Dawn handed Curt's belongings to her which he took from his body.
After going through it while carefully inspecting everything from his clothes to his viels containing human blood, she found nothing out of the ordinary.
That was when they got to the last item, his sword.
Much like Erisha's it was heavily decorated with a bright red handguard and jet black handle.
Its lenght matched hers too.
However the moment she unsheated the blade a familiar feeling washed over her body.
She brought it closer to her face to inspect the blade.
Then out of nowhere the sword began emitting a subtle black mist.
Dawn however expected this as his face slightly distorted in disgust.
Erisha's face quickly turned pale as she feared the worst.
"Woman?" Dawn called out to her, but recived no response.
Erisha froze in place.
She realised that the attack that hit Cain carried a curse inside it.
"Where is it?" She asked while gritting her teeth.
"Beside my bag in my room."
With that Erisha stormed off in to Dawn's room.
Dawn did not stop her.
He knew what she was going to do.
Soon after, loud screams filled the hallways.
Hearing this Dawn decided to follow her.
About halfway there a door suddenly slided open and a large blue being stepped out.
It was Ryuran.
"What the hell is this noise?" She asked with a strange voice.
Dawn then noticed a large bottle of alcohol in her hand.
His intrest in the bottle was noticed by Ryuran who smiled seductively.
"Hmm~? Want some?"
"No."
"Heh. Your choice."
She then took several gulps out of it.
The burning sake travelled down her throat like water falling down from a waterfall.
Dawn then continued on as the shouting grew louder and louder.
"WHAT DID YOU DO!?" Erisha screamed.
But the only answear she got was Curt's manaical laughter.
As a response she used a small knife to cut the skin on Curt's face.
The cut was not too deep, just enough for her put her hand inside the wound and slowly began to tear his skin away.
But in the midst of agony and pain Curt smiled, if you could even call that a smile on his disfigured face.
"You should say your goodbyes to that twerp now, while he still breathes! He will never recover! You can't see it, but he is in pain and he will die surrounded by it in darkness as his sister did nothing to help him!"
Curt's mockery only served to fuel Erisha's anger, causing her to tear a large chunk of skin and flesh from his face.
A mix of laughter and painful screaming filled the room.
"STOP LAUGHING!"
Erisha's voice changed.
It was like something has taken over her body as the shadows inside the room began to swirl around.
Dawn immidietly acted.
He walked up to her and grabbed her hand.
He held on to it firmly, making Erisha turn her head violantly, revealing her anger filled face.
But that was not all.
To Dawn's horror the darkness has spread from her eyes.
Black veins began to appear throughout her brown face like spider webs.
Her transformation that was halted due to something unknown, has resumed because of the anger Curt caused her.
"Enough! If you kill him we will never know what curse has been inflicted on Cain!" Said Dawn while trying to get a better hold of Erisha.
But Erisha did not listen as she threw the head towards the wall.
The head was immidietly consumed by the shadows.
Suddenly even louder screams began coming from the shadows as the sound of flesh being torn filled the air.
This promted Dawn to grab her shoulder next and make her face him.
"I told you enough!"
"You do not command me!"
Her voice was becoming more and more distorted as if she was speaking with the voice of multiple people at the sane time.
Without warning Dawn swept her feet from under her.
Once she fell he grabbed her by the throat and smashed her in to the wall.
-GUK
The impact made the air leave Erisha's lungs immidietly.
"Release him! He is the only one who can tell us about the curse!"
Contrary to other times the anchient power of the contract did not appear to restrain Dawn.
He did not threaten their contract because he did not intend to kill Erisha and was trying to save Cain's life.
His actions were caused by concern rather then malice.
If Erisha transforms in to a fully fledged cursed one Dawn's plans will be ruined.
He needed the elfs intact for both his and their sake.
"When I let go you will behave and you will release the head! Understood?"
Erisha weakly nodded.
With that Dawn released Erisha.
She fell to the floor while ghasping for air.
Dawn then went over to the newly emerged Curt and put him back inside the bag.
He then glanced at the devestated Erisha who was still on the floor.
"You will stay inside the settlement until your disguise is ready."
He then turned to leave, but was stopped by Erisha's voice.
"Do you even care?"
Dawn remained silant for a moment.
"Don't mistake my lack of words for lack of concern."
He then turned back and faced Erisha.
"You must stay calm and rational. By the look of it, every time you lose your temper the transformation will begin again. I suggest you stay calm while I find help."
Erisha's eyes lit up upon hearing this as she sprung to her feet.
"I will accompany you!" Erisha said in a determined voice.
"No, it is too dangerous. A moment ago you were getting consumed by your curse. The onis tolerate you since you are with me, but do not be mistaken, they are wary of you and will not hesitate to kill you if you turn on them. I will not risk the same happening in the city. I am already frowned upon as it is, you coming with me only invites trouble."
"Then what am I supposed to do!?"
Erisha in a fit of rage delivered a punch to the wooden floor.
"Am I supposed to sit and relax while my brother suffers!?"
"No, for starters you should come with me."
Suddenly a third person joined their conversation.
The response came from behind Dawn.
It was Sharktear.
The wooden hallway creaked with each of his steps as he entered the room.
"The matriarch put me and a professional in charge of finding out how to conceal your identity."
"How long will that take?" Asked Dawn
"Depends. We have never done this before. The touch of the abyss is not something one encounteres every day. We don't know if the traditional disguises will work or not."
"Time is the only thing we have pleanty of. Do not rush, use whatever is requiered."
Sharktear felt a proud that Dawn did not question his qualification.
"Yes sir!"
With that the oni stepped out of the way and allowed Dawn to leave.
It was noon when Dawn stepped out of the secret passage to the oni settlement.
Once he stepped out the molten bricks returned to their original form.
Beside him was an oni disguised as a bum.
"Sir?" He asked.
Dawn turned his head.
The oni did not blow his cover as he simply sat on the ground.
He was smaller then Sharktear, but his voice was deeper.
He used a respectful tone when he adressed him.
"Are you going to the forest as usual?"
"No."
"Then when can we expect your return?"
"At midnight."
"I see. We will change our shifs accordingly then."
Dawn nodded and turned to leave.
"Good hunting, sir."
Geiza's streets were busy even during the winter.
The snow continued to fall from the skies and the sun was blocked by white clouds.
Wind howled as it hit against the windows and doors while water froze.
The streets that were usually filled with stands and people were now empty.
Ofcourse there were those whose children wanted to play in the snow.
Those unfortunate were now standing on the streets, talking to each other.
While the adults complained, the children were having the time of their lives.
Some built snow castles, others threw snowballs at each other.
Dawn walked on the left side of the street while observing the people.
How they acted and interacted with each other.
He had a habit of overthinking things, but that was how he stayed alive during the war.
Suddenly 2 children came rushing towards him.
It seemed like they were playing tag.
The one on the front mocked the one behind for his slowness, but failed to notice that he was running towards a giant of a man.
The child crashed in to Dawn and fell back from the impact.
"Ow!" He shouted.
The kid fell right on his ass while his nose began to slightly bleed.
The other child laughed at his pier while turning around and announcing what had happened to the other kids, who in turn laughed at him aswell.
But the child with the bleeding nose did not even hear them.
He looked up at the man he ran in to and froze in place.
Dawn looked down at the frightened child with pity.
He then crouched down.
Even now he towered over the child, showing how large he was compared to other humans.
From the child's perspective he ran in to something more similar to an ork rather then a human.
Dawn reached his hand out and flicked the kid on the forehead.
"Watch where you run." He said.
With that Dawn stood back up and continued on his way.
In the next moment the child's nose no longer bled and the pain from it was compleatly gone.
The child noticed this and tried touching his nose.
He did not feel any pain from it anymore.
After walking for awhile, Dawn reached the fortress in the center of the town.
He stopped infront of the gate and looked up.
This fortress was the last line of defense 3 years ago.
The monsters who breached the outer walls and massecered everyone on these very streets.
The guards and adventurers took one last stand at the very stones he was standing on.
After they emerged victorious and pushed the wolves back they renammed the fortress Wolfs Bane in honor of the victory they achieved that day.
But this sight only reminded Dawn of the survivors faces when he killed the Alpha.
Deciding not to dwell on the past he went up to one of the guards that stood by the gate.
"I am here to acess the adventurers headquaters."
The guard looked at him nonechalantly while clicking his tounge.
"Any identity stones?"
Dawn then pulled the stone out of his pocket and gave it to the man.
The man then pulled out some kind of device with a hole in its center.
It was made from silver and was lit up with a blue light.
Once he placed the identity stone inside the hole the blue light held it in place.
Then both the stone and the device began to glow with a silver light.
The guards did not check his name or anything else after this.
There was no need to since its validity has been confirmed.
Nodding his head the guard returned the stone to Dawn.
He then signaled to the guard on the other side of the gate.
In a short moment the gate began to be pulled up just enough for Dawn to step inside.
Dawn stepped inside.
Once inaide a large yard opened up to him.
On the right side was the city guards headquarters while on the left was the adventurers guild.
People were moving around left and right even inside the fortress.
Guards doing their patrols, adventurers coming in and out of the guild, nobles complaining with their slaves and servents.
Of all of these people Dawn stood out the most.
He towered over them all with white hair and black eyes.
Many were whispering about him as he passed by.
Unfortunatly for Dawn he heard it all.
"What is that guy doing here?"
"Why the heck is he so tall?"
"Is he even allowed in here? After what he has done?"
With each comment Dawn's face grew more and more grim.
Increasing the speed at which he walked he soon got to the guilds entrence.
He opened the door and stepped inside.
The interiour resembled a brothel or bar rather then a proper headquarters.
The room was filled with prople who were eating and drinking their money away.
Directly in front of him, across the large room was the only bartender.
He was a quite young fellow with light blue hair and sea blue eyes.
It was he who served the hungry adventurers while also doing the paperwork for the requests they accepted.
Maids with purpusfully revailing clothes moved between the tables, serving drinks and food for all as long as they had the coin for it.
Dawn took a deep breath.
The aroma and stench of the bar filled his nose and lungs.
Due to the winter the windows and doors were tightly shut.
This caused the smell of food and alcohol to mix together in the air.
However the adventurers and mercenaries were used to this.
With faint disgust on his face Dawn began moving towards the bartender.
With each step the crowd who enjoyed their food and drinks amongst friends and allies stopped their chatter.
Many were shocked by his appereance as they whispered amongst themselfs.
But sadly the majority recognised him.
They looked at him with malice and hatered.
Dawn however did not bat an eye at their clear hostility, which annoyed a select few that he has passed by.
Suddenly a blonde haired woman stood up while slamming her fist against the table.
"You have some nerve to show up here, Forest Dweller!"
Dawn stopped, then looked back.
He recognised her.
Her hair was short like that of a mans, with green eyes and a large scar on her left cheeck.
The scar consisted of three claw marks left by a beast, more precisly a wolf.
"What business do you have with me?" Dawn asked in a stern voice.
The women snickered.
"Oh, you know damn well! You owe me your head!"
Hearing this, Dawn's face quickly turned grim.
"I owe you nothing Laura."
"Ooooh yes you fucking do!"
She then lounged ar Dawn with the fury of a wild beast and punched Dawn square in the face.
"HAAAA!"
She then proceeded to lay several blows to Dawn's stomach and chest.
The onlookers were shocked by her sudden actions.
They waited for the moment the old giant would strike back.
But he did not.
Blood was quickly spilled from his nose while his mouth teared at several places.
But he did not strike back.
After awhile the woman tired herself out.
She bent over as she ghasped for air.
"It should have been you!" She said with great sorrow in her voice.
She then straightened herself and looked Dawn in the eye.
Her face was that of pure rage.
Her eyes began to water as she grabbed Dawn by his collar.
"IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN YOU!"
Slowely she sunk to her knees while tearing at Dawn's shirt.
"Yes, it should have been him!" Another voice rose up.
It was a bald old man with brown skin.
"It should have been you and not my beloved wife!"
Then rose another and another and another.
Slowly even those who did not recognise Dawn at first began to shout their lost beloveds name.
Dawn could not do anything to stop them.
At the moment he took the job as a forest dweller he was required to make an oath.
At the time he did not think much of it since he never planned to leave the forest for long, but it came back to bite him in the ass after all.
He could not speak ill, betray, or harm the citizens of Geiza in any way or form.
The magical oath was strong, even binding the likes of Dawn.
But that would change soon enough.
In the midst of shouting Dawn shook off the shaking womans hands off of himself and strided forward, towards the bartender.
He was the only soul left in this bar that did not berade him or throw objects at him.
The people who sat between him and the bartender stood up and threw several punches at him, but those were so weak they did not even make him flinch.
"Putting on quite the show as always Kazamir."
"I do not have time to play games. I am here to meet the guildmaster."
"Ahh yes, old Bertram came by and told us to expect you. Can you wait just a moment please?"
He then walked away while smiling to himself.
The bastard was doing this on purpuse.
Nonetheless Dawn could do nothing about it as he stood amongst people with nothing, but pure malice towards him.
Upstairs at the end of a long hallway the bartender walked softly with a big smile on his face.
As he got closer to his destination at the end of the hallway he heard several loud moans of a woman and the groans of a man.
His smile quickly turned sour as he wasen't so jumpy anymore.
Then finally he reached the door and knocked on it 3 times.
When no response came other then moaning he repeated this.
Then finally a voice came from the other side.
"Wh- *ghasp* the fuck *groan* do you want?"
The bartender sighed while he held his head.
"A special guest has come to see you, sir."
"Tell- *groan* them to fuck off!"
The moans and the sound of clapping suddenly got louder and faster.
This made even the bartender blush.
"It is the Forest Dweller, sir."
Then suddenly the noises stopped.
"You mean Kazamir?" Thr male voice asked.
"Yes sir."
"Haaa, send him up. And you get dressed. I have to work."
"Aww~ but we were just getting to the good part~."
"Shut up and get dressed or I will throw you out the window naked and the men below can finish what I started!"
With that the sound of getting dressed took over the room and after a short moment the door was opened.
A beatiful woman with two large breasts stepped out of the room covered in sweat.
She wore a leather attire that made her seem even more curvaceous then she already was.
She had long brown hair and eyes that matched the brown leather.
"Haaah, what a limp dick bastard." She said in a dissapointed voice.
She then noticed the bartander beside her.
Her eyes quickly wondered down to his pants where a quite long thing was showing itself.
She then looked back up with a seductive look.
She then placed a hand on his chest and leaned closer to his face.
"Maybe~ you might get lucky if you follow me~."
Without a word and large smile the bartender followed her downstairs.
As they moved down the stairs the shouting and cursing was still happening.
The women in brown however did not even look at the event and instead went in to one of the rooms on the left side of the room.
"Oi, Dweller! You can go upstairs now!" Shouted the bartender.
He then went inside the same room as the women in brown.
And with that Dawn began to move throught the crowd of people that surrounded him.
They tried to stop him but if they did not move
On the hallway his wounds have began to heal and by the time he got to the open door they were all healed, but the blood on his face and clothes still remained.
Once he stepped inside the office he was met by the stench of sweat in the air.
"So, did you bring the head?"
The guildmaster was a largly built man much like Dawn.
He had short grey hair and a well kept beard on his face.
He wore a loose blue shirt with brown jeans and black boots.
Not too far from him was a coat hanger where a black coat hung from.
Dawn took the bag off of his waist and put it on the desk without saying a word.
The guild master reached for the bloody bag and grabbed it.
He then untied the bag and reached inside and the pulled out Curt's head.
The young vampire was covered in scars and blood.
"Did you do this to him?"
"I took part in it."
"Hmmm. Bertram mentioned that you were carrying a boy and a woman. Where are they?"
"At a safe location"
"And where is that exactly?"
Dawn did not answear.
"This is not like yo-"
However he was cut off by Dawn slamming a paper on to the table.
His actions surprised the guildmaster.
"What is this?"
Dawn however did not answear.
The guildmaster was annoyed by his attitude, but nonetheless reached for it.
Looking over the text at the top froze the blood inside the old veterans veins.
It was then that Dawn opened his mouth.
"I am resigning. I served this undeserving town enough. I relinquish my title as a forest dweller and as per your oath you will grant me my freedom and a request that you must fufill."
The guildmaster could not belive his eyes.
He read papers contents over and over but it was truely a resignation.
He then looked up at Dawn with e bewildered face.
"What happened to you since the last time I saw you? Why the sudden change?" Asked the guildmaster as cold sweat began to come down from his forehead.
"That is none of your concern."
The guildmaster stared at the giant before him with a troubled expression.
Dawn's resignation was not something he expected when he woke up today.
While the common folk despised Dawn for what happened 3 years ago, the guildmaster and the guard captain recognised his worth.
"Talk to me. I cannot simply let you go."
"You can and you will."
Hearing Dawn's voice and the resolve inside it, the guildmaster knew that he could not change his mind.
They stared at each other in the eye for a whole minute.
The guildmaster was used to intimidateing people to get what he wants.
After all he was amongst the most powerful and influential people in Geiza.
But political influance did not work on this dense bastard.
He wasen't even sure he could beat him in a fight, let alone scare him.
Thus the guildmaster could only sigh and hold his head in frustration.
He then stood up from his desk.
He walked beside Dawn and reached out his hand.
Dawn took it and the two shook hands.
The guildmaster then closed his eyes and placed his remaining hand on to his chest.
"By my authority as guildmaster, I approve your resignation. After I release your hand you will be freed from all your oaths and as a reward for your years of service you will be given the authority to request anything from me as long as it is within my power and dosen't cause harm to Gaiza."
He then released Dawn's hand.
Immidietly the guildmaster's and Dawn's hand began glowing with a bright green light that faded as quickly as it appeared.
"You are free you stubborn bastard. Now what is your wish?"
Said the guildmaster as he walked back to his chair.
Dawn looked at his hand and closed it in to a fist.
He could feel it.
He was truly free.
After conforming this he turned to the guildmaster.
"I need someone who can dispel curses."
"Easy enough. I'll contact the churc-"
"No. I need someone who does not work for them."
The guildmaster raised an eybrow before asking.
"Why? What is your problem with them?"
"I have a personal grudge against them."
The guildmaster did not ask for more.
The church did many questionable things in the past.
There were many that secretly despised them even if they shared their faith.
The guildmaster held his head in annoyance.
How the hell is he going to find someone like that?
Then, he remembered a certain individual.
One that had left on a dangerous quest with his party a few days ago.
"I know someone, but it maybe complicated to call them."
Dawn furrowed his eyebrows and crossed his arms.
"I know, I know. This may sound shady, but that guy is your best bet. He used to be an apprentice of a priest, but due to certian events he came to despise those sun sucking bastards. I can personally vouch for his skill for he has saved my son from a curse."
"Then call him."
"I can't."
Dawn's hand cracked as they formed in to fists ready to bash the guildmasters head in, who in turne tried to calm him down.
"Let me finish before we start throwing hands!"
Dawn glared at him for a seacond before crossing his arms once again.
"He and his team took on a job 2 days ago. The job was a scouting mission at the feet of Djandel mountine."
"And?"
"And if you want them to return faster you should go there yourself and help them!"
In an instant the air chilled inside the room.
The guildmasters eyes became wide as Dawn strided forward.
He then grabbed the side of the table in front of him and threw it out of the way.
The table smashed against the furniture, breaking glass and wood in the process.
"I belive you do not know your place guildmaster."
"Oh,belive me when I say I do."
He remained seated even with Dawn standing over him.
He could not give in.
If he showed weakness Dawn might seriously attack him.
"That is the fastest way to get what you want. Otherwise it will take months to find someone who meets your requirments."
Dawn's eyes were like daggers that seeped in to his flesh.
After a minute Dawn swallowed his anger and stepped back.
"Fine. Prepeare a carrige for tomorrow night."
Dawn then turned around and exited the room.
Once he left the guildmaster face quickly distorted to rage, but quickly turned in to relif.
Although it was sudden, Dawn's resigniation was not a necessarily bad thing.
Sure he was the most reliable forest dweller,, but he knew a time like this would eventually come.
With him gone he could assign more people to the post of forest dweller.
"Haaah, I need a drink."
As soon as Dawn got down from the stairs the crowd of people saw him.
Rage returned to their eyes as they charged at him.
Just like before he let everything hit him.
Many even threw tables and chairs at him.
This continued until Dawn was at the entrence.
He then opened the door and was about to step out when a mug full of mead landed on his head.
The brown liquid slowly dripped down from his head and Dawn has reached the limits of his patiance.
He then closed the half open door.
Many were surprised by his action and were even more surprised when they heard the sound of several loud tick.
Daen locked the entrance.
He then turned around and began to unbutton his coat.
He then put it on the clothes hanger that was near the door.
One of the man that was near him took this chance and rushed in to throw a punch, but was met by Dawn's palm to his face.
He then lifted the helpless man up with one hand.
The man struggled, but it was in vain as he could not escape Dawn's grasp.
Dawn then winded up and threw the man across the bar much to the disbelif of the others.
The crowd then looked back with fury in their eyes.
Their hearts began to beat harder as adrenaline began to flow throughout their veins.
Dawn looked at them with a stoic face as he raised his arms and bent his body forward.
"Come."
With that all of the 45 people present in the bar launged at Dawn.