It was after midnight when Dawn finally exited the decoy building.
By that time the people have long gone home and the streets were now emtpy.
Dawn looked up to see the magic crystals on the ceiling no longer emitting light since they were turned off.
He did not know how they worked, but he was impressed by them.
The long roads of the settlement were now only lit up by the occasional torch placed near the road and light coming out of some houses.
With a sigh Dawn began his long walk to Ryuran's place.
As he walked he began to reflect on his actions.
At the time he did not feel the weight of them, but as he walked in the streets reality kicked in.
How big of a mistake he made by letting his emotions take over and let loose.
Thankfully he managed to somewhat control his strenght and did not kill any of his foes.
But what if he did?
What if the cursed desire to burn the city to the ground fully took over his body?
No doubt the elfs would never trust him, not to mention how it would have geapordized their journey.
He also noted the changes in his body.
While he does not wish to rely on Devour and Berserk he would need to use them if he wished to see this to the end.
He also felt stronger, faster and his healing consumed less effort to maintain due to the side effects of stealing a large amount of life force in such a short time.
His skin and bones became tougher aswell.
This was the result of him regularly going back to the Dark Woods to hunt beasts and steal their life force.
Unlike mana, life force had several limitations to it that made it a very unpopular choice among aspiaring warriors.
The years of gruesome and deadly training to be able to sense it did not help aswell.
But it was not meant to be used in the first place.
Those who could were considered anomalies by sociaity and many do not even know that it can be accessed at all.
Suddenly Dawn was snapped out of his thoughts when he began hearing a strange sound echoing throughout the settlement.
He stopped and began to listen to it.
It was the sound of someone hammering metal.
It was coming from one of the workshops down the road.
Much to the displeasure of Dawn, he had to pass by it to reach his destination.
As he got closer he decided to ignore it.
But as he got closer the more curious he became.
Altough it was just a simple thought at the back of his head, it was still there.
Thus when he finally reached that illuminated workshop, he stopped and looked.
What he saw was quite surprising.
He saw a fairly short oni girl, hammering hot iron on an anvil.
She had considirably less muscle on her then the rest of her kind, even by teen standerds she was rather underdeveloped.
That was not to say she had none.
If put next to a human boy who trained all his life she would still be more muscular.
However what was the most surprising for Dawn was that her technique was at a master's level.
Every one of her strikes to the bright metal carried just the right amount of force.
Not to mention the fact that she hit it at just the right places aswell.
For a teen this should have been impossible.
It took years of dedication and hard work just to be able to make simple tools like hammers and saws, but the girl in front of Dawn was making a weapon.
Her gaze was fixed on her work, even as sparks bounced on to her bare face and burnt her red skin.
In Dawn's eyes she burned brighter then the fire next to her.
Her passion and determination was a sight to behold.
There were few things Dawn apprichiated in life and hard work was one of them.
This young flame was illuminating his eyes.
After a short time the young girl put down her hammer and grabbed the searing iron and cooled it with nearby oil.
She then pulled out a pristine blade.
While it looked like a normal sword with nothing special about it, from the way she held it Dawn could tell that the balance was almost perfect.
Its edges were sharp, most likely being able to cut a persons head clean off.
However when she inspected it more closely her face turned to sour and rage took over.
She then smashed the sword against the anvil several times until it broke.
Why would she do such a thing?
Ordinary blackshimts would hang that blade up on their wall and brag about it to anyone they could, yet she was unsatesfied.
However Dawn's thoughts were interrupted as the oni girl slowly descended on to the floor while holding her head.
She then stopped moving and her body went limp.
Dawn watched her for a minute before approaching.
He crouched down and looked for any sign of life.
Thankfully she simply passed out due to exhaustion.
With her oni biology she should have no trouble surviving the night in this cold underground cave.
Nonetheless Dawn decided to pick her up and move her closer to the fire.
He then added some firewood that was nearby so that it would burn throughout the night.
He then turned to leave, but before he did he noticed the broken blade by his feet.
He picked it up and inspected it just like the girl.
He was quite surprised as he too noticed a glaring mistake in the blade.
It was as light as a feather.
This was not a problem for a knife or a dagger, but for a sword it was a major flaw since this meant it was likely not sturdy enough.
That is why it broke when the girl struck it against the anvil.
In most cases the blade would become chipped or bend, but this blade outright broke.
Dawn then looked around the workshop to see if there was some place where they put the defects.
In the corner he found a wooden box full of weapons.
Not intending on staying any longer Dawn threw it in there and left the workshop.
He then entered the dark street once again and headed home.
Morning quickly came for Dawn.
He has been unable to sleep the entier night.
The magic crystals lit up and the residents began their days.
But unlike a regular day the people were prepearing for an event.
Even in the secluded mansion he was residing in was subjugated to the people's joyus converations and work.
Dawn sat up on his bed and scratched his head.
He only wore his underpants for sleep, a bold move.
Instinctivly he reached down beside him to try and grab his imeginary axes handle.
Sadly it was no longer beside him.
Annoyance quickly came on his face.
He has been repeating this since he has spent the first night here.
Frankly it was gettin irritating repeating this mistake.
But for now he brushed this asaide.
There were more important things thrn dwelling on a simple tool.
Dawn then stood up and went to a wardrobe in the right corner of the room.
He opened it and a several coats were revealied to him.
Dawn ended up selecting a simple black one.
It was padded with thick fur on the inside and had 2 pockets.
He then bent down and picked out a white shirt and brown jeans aswell.
Once he got dressed he left the room.
Suddenly a rumbling sound came from below as he was closing the door.
"Hmmm."
After a few short minutes Dawn arrived at the dining hall.
The matriarchs mansion was quite strange.
It was filled with small hallways with wooden floors there were some select few places where Dawn was reminded of a castle.
Just like this dining hall.
It was fairly large, about half the size you could find in a castle.
It was decorated with paintings of beatifule scenery and landscapes.
The hall was lit up with lanterns that burned with a strange red fire.
In the middle of the room was a long table with 9 chairs on each side.
Dawn decided to pick a chair near the middle and sat down.
After a few short minutes two oni women entered the hall.
They strided forward with grace and pride.
The went beside Dawn and slightly bowed their heads.
Then the woman on the right spoke.
"What may we bring you today?"
"Meat and mead." Dawn answeared without looking.
The two bowed once again and left the hall the same way they entered.
While they were prepearing his food and drink Dawn looked up at the painting before him.
It depicted Djandel mountine during a sunset.
Reddish orange was the most dominant color on it with the sky and sun being painted with that color.
He then looked at another.
It depicted a single human with the sigil of the berserkers on a flag, standing firmly against a towering tide of demons.
Hell hounds to be precise.
Fucking pests that were weak on their own but bred fast and came at you in the hundreds.
They were a nightmare on the battlefield.
Dawn's eyes however were fixated on the sigil.
There was a time when he would have laid his life down for it.
What a fool he was.
With a creek the door to the hall opened and the two oni women stepped inside, carrying the mead and meat Dawn requested.
The one on the right held a large wooden jug.
The jug was even larger then Dawn's head.
On the other hand the one on left held a large plate with 3 steaming hot steaks.
Each piece of meat was large, just barely smaller then the plate.
The onis came to his side and placed the food and drink infront of him.
While they were bent over Dawn noticed that their kimono's were looser then before, especially on the chest area.
Dawn's stare did not go unnoticed by the two beuties.
A seductive and playful smile appeared on both of their faces as they ran their hands along Dawn's muscular arm.
Then one tried to bend forward to whisper something in to his ear, but before she could a chill ran down her spine.
The same happened for the other one aswell.
They found themselfs unable to move and were frozen in place.
Dawn turned his head to the one who bent forward and glared at her.
"Never try this again!" He said in a hars tone.
But unlike what he expected the two oni women's smile only grew wider as their bodies trembled in excitement.
"Tch-"
Seeing that his killing intent only made them desire him more Dawn turned his head forward.
"Take your leave!" He commanded
The bewildered onis shakingly bowed and rushed out of the room.
Dawn held his head.
He could not understand these women at all.
But for now he will focus on eating.
He grabbed a steak from the plate and elevated it to his mouth.
He then bit a large chunk out of it.
With each chew the meat's juices seeped out and filled his mouth.
He used his hands to eat instead of the cutlery in front of him.
It was an old habit that he picked up during the war, when he had no time and just shoved the food in to his mouth.
He finished the first steak in no time.
After that he reached out and grabbed the jug.
He then took several large gulps out of it.
Mead was Dawn's favourite drink.
Its balance between sweetness and bitterness was one of the few things he enjoyed in life.
He continued to eat in peace until a door creeked open and a large figure stepped in.
"Oh~, you sure slept well did you not?"
It was Ryuran.
She strided forward to the head seat, the ground slightky shook from her steps.
She then sat down and loudly snapped her fingers.
It even produced a little electricity.
Suddenly 4 young men entered the hall and rushed to her side.
They bowed their heads and awaited her command.
"Bring me the usual."
"As you command matriarch!" The servants said in union.
They then turned around and exited the hall.
Meanwhile Dawn was eating his last steak and the mead in his jug was almost gone.
He was a fast eater.
Ryuran stared at him as he ate.
His clothes were tight around his body revealing the outlines of his muscles.
"Did you sleep well?"
Dawn answeared without looking.
"Yes"
"Liar~." She said while a smile appeared on her face.
This earned her Dawns attention as he stopped eating and turned towards her.
"In the short time you have been here I noticed the circles under your eyes lessen, but your mood and body language did not change at all."
"Observing such trivial things is your hobby?" Daen said eith a mouth filled with food.
Ryuran snickered.
"No, but-"
She then stood up and walked to Dawn's side.
"I find myself doing so when I meet someone worthy."
Ryuran then sent a wave of killing intent Dawn's way.
As it washed over him Dawn's senses went in to overdrive and his muscles tensed.
Dawn then stood up with enough force to send gushes of wind everywhere.
The food before him and the chair he was sitting on were sent flying while the candles and torches were put out, but the table was fine.
He then glared in to her face.
"What are you doing, oni?"
The atmosphere became that of a warzone almost immidietly.
"As much as I want to fight you right now you are not in the condition to do so."
"Explain"
Ryuran laughed.
"It amazes me that you don't know. While your body is healthy, your mind is in scrambles."
"I am fine."
"Don't lie to yourself Kazamir. The road ahead is long before you and your companions. A chance like this to truely rest will not come by every day."
"What I do is none of your concern."
For a moment the two giants remained silant.
They stared each other in the eye.
This continued until Ryuran sighed.
"Your choice."
She then turned around and headed back to her seat.
Dawn no longer had any apitite, thus he decided to leave.
He headed towards the door Ryuran entered from.
After he passed by her side she opened her mouth to say one last thing.
"There is a hotspring near the blacksmith district."
Dawn stopped.
He then tried to turn back and say something, but the servants from before entered the hall, carrying various foods and alcohol.
With that Dawn swalloved his words.
He then turned back end left.