《Blood-Forged》


 Prologue

    I once held the hand of a prince. A strong, beautiful prince with a wild smile and wilder eyes. With a loud, clear voice and a heart full of kindness and empathy. And a thirst for adventure that could not be quenched.


    I was content with my place at his hip, wielded to protect his country, the world, from threats big and small.


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    Together we slayed the Demon Lord, in his hand I cut him down.


    I thought we would die together in glorious battle too...


    But one day he was stabbed in the back where I couldn''t reach him. And when I refused to be held by the hand that betrayed and killed him I was sealed away under a mountain.


    For centuries I laid alone with nothing but the memories of my prince.


    And then I opened my eyes.

 Chapter 1

    As a sword spirit with a name and a bonded master I had the privilege of sensation. I felt everything my prince did. His pain, his pleasure.


    Even without a body I knew what cold steel slicing flesh felt like, what fire licking at my heels felt like, what earth shaking beneath feet and a heart dropping into a stomach felt like, what the pang of hunger and the scratchiness of thirst felt like.


    And I knew the feeling of wind through long hair, of cool water washing away sweat, of hot baths, of soft blankets, of friendly hugs, and a lover''s caress.


    When I received a body, I realized how muted those sensations were...


    The rough stone and small pebbles dug into the new tender flesh of my legs. It almost felt as if hundreds of small blades were biting into my skin, yet the skin wasn''t broken. Because of the exertion of existence, sweat poured down my new body, plastering its long black hair to its neck, back, and chest and chilling me deeply when the wind stirred in the cave, the heat of the eternal fires doing nothing to warm me.


    Hesitantly, I stood. My knees shook like branches during a storm. I took a few uncertain steps. Then a few slightly more confident ones as my muscles loosened and I grew numb to the pain of walking. Then I pivoted towards the altar where my sheath laid, falling back onto my butt, pain shooting up my spine.


    I sat for a few moments, wallowing in self-pity and desperately praying to be a sword again. And then I tried again. This time I made it to the altar without issue and was able to behold my sheath with my own eyes. One of the first things that I noticed was that there were actually multiple shades of red within the intricate designs, through my prince''s eyes it all looked like the same color. I reached out to touch it, startled when it burned, stumbling back with a hiss.


    The sheath laid in a blood red array, shredded talismans peeling off it. The talismans were most likely what hurt to touch. Hundreds of years and it still had enough strength to sting. Bracing myself, I picked up my sheath, attempting (and failing) to pick it up without burning myself on the talismans and used all the strength of my new body to fling it at the small pond in the cave. I overestimated the strength of the body and the sheath landed a few feet short. With a sigh, I trudged up to it, slowly nudging it with my toe until it fell into the pond.


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    The talismans fully peeled off, floating up and away on the ripples. I knelt to retrieve my sheath, catching sight of the reflection in the water.


    "My-" I started to speak, my hoarse voice echoing eerily in the cave. "My prince..."


    It was his face. My prince''s. Ves''hil''n''s...


    I bit my lip, caring not for the pain as a drop of blood rolled down my chin. I sat back, away from the pond, and wrapped my arms around my shins. I took a deep breath...


    ... And I screamed.


    Over two hundred years of pain, rage, loneliness, anguish, despair... It finally had an outlet, a voice. And I screamed and I screamed and I screamed.


    Tears poured down my cheeks and I kept screaming I kept screaming I kept screaming.


    My throat burned but I still screamed but I still screamed but I still screamed.


    I screamed until I couldn''t scream anymore and yet I continued screaming.


    I screamed.


    I screamed.


    I screamed.


    I...


    I...


    I stopped.


    Slowly, I closed my mouth. Then I crawled back to the edge of the pond, splashing water onto the face that looked like Ves''hil''n''s and drinking a few gulps from my palms. Before taking another look at it.


    It really was his face, but his face from when he was a young teen, before he set out to fight the Demon Lord. Lily pale, soft and round with baby fat and devoid of any scars. I reached a hand out as if to touch it.


    The ripples destroyed the reflection.


    I took a deep breath and plunged my hand deeper into the water to grab my sheath.


    My tears only half dried, my head pounding and my throat still burning, I left the cave.


    Two hundred years and I still remembered every twist and turn of the maze.


    Two hundred years and there was still someone waiting to stop me from leaving.

 Chapter 2

    At the mouth of the cave was a man standing with his back to me. His shoulders were broad and his hands clasped together loosely at the small of his back. His black hair was about chin-length and seemed slicked down with some substance. His clothes were extremely simple, tight, black pants, the clothes of a warrior.


    Just like me, the man in front of me did not have a human form before but still, I knew who he was immediately, "Piercing Gale!" I called out, my voice hoarse and cracking, still raw from screaming.


    "Blood-Forged." He turned towards me, his traitorous face set with cold and serious eyes. His eyes moved downwards and then his face snapped to the side, a bright shade of red taking over his cheeks and the tops of his ears, "Why aren''t you wearing any clothes?!"


    "Huh?! It''s not like there was any cloth in the cave. Besides, it''s not like my body is anything you haven''t seen before." I took a few more steps towards him, "This body looks just like Ves''hil''n''s. And you have seen every inch of his naked body many times through the eyes of that back-stabbing, two-faced, black-hearted bastard!" Each word hurt my burning throat more but I still got louder and louder.


    Piercing Gale''s head snapped back to face me, the red on his skin splotchier in his anger, "You-!"


    "What? Are you going to say that he didn''t stab you through the heart of my prince from behind? That he didn''t slay him in cold-blood, when Ves''hil''n loved him? Trusted him?" I closed the distance between us in a few steps, grabbing hold of his shirt. Just like Eun was to Ves''hil''n when they were younger, he was a good head shorter than me, and I dragged him up to my level.


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    He shoved me off easily, stumbling back, my body that was still unused to itself unable to hold on, "You''re mad! Just like he was!"


    My vision went red and lunged for him. But before I could get my hands on him I found myself flat on my back.


    "This can fucking wait!" A new but familiar voice snapped; Death-Bringer.


    "Huh-" My voice crackled into nothingness when I sat up. Sure enough standing over me was Death-Bringer. Her face and body looking exactly like Tejara''s but her dark hair was far messier than Tejara would ever allow hers to be.


    "This grudge between your wielders has waited two hundred years already; it can wait until we do our job."


    "What j-" I couldn''t finish my words, the scratchiness of my throat forcing me to dissolve into a coughing fit.


    Piercing Gale pointed his nose up into the air to look down on me as much as possible and spoke over my coughing, "The Demon Lord is rising. It has been peaceful in the past two hundred years. The people have grown soft, they cannot take him down without us." He tilted his head down to properly look me in the eye and held out his hand, "Will you help us continue the divine mission placed upon us and our master''s over two hundred years ago."


    I took a deep breath, "Yes." I croaked out, standing up without taking his hand, "But when it''s taken care of I will kill you."


    Piercing Gale sighed and turned away from me, starting down the forest road.


    "Here." Death-Bringer pulled something from her bag, "I figured you''d need something to wear so I acquired some clothes that I thought were Ves - er - your size... I''ll help you dress, you''re probably still stiff."


    Even as I stepped into the pants Death-Bringer held out for me, I couldn''t take my eyes off the retreating form of Piercing Gale.

 Chapter 3

    Two hundred and some odd years ago...


    "Please, please, please. Come on, just a few more matches. Like ten!" The young second prince of Kon, Ves''hil''n, dangled off the arm of his teenage  bodyguard and sword instructor, Eun.


    The stone-faced Eun stared down at Ves''hil''n''s red, sweat-soaked face, wild black hair, and bright sparkling eyes. He sighed, "fine. Pick up your sword."


    Ves''hil''n let Eun go, throwing his hands in the air with a whoop. As Eun straightened his waist sash and rolled his neck and shoulders the ten year old Ves''hil''n ran back to where he had dropped his sword after his last loss to Eun. The sword was brand-new, a gift for his tenth birthday. A gift he shoved aside all other gifts to "play" with. Despite it being too big for his young body, he swung it around like it weighed nothing.


    He picked it up and pointed it at Eun, his form sloppy but full of enthusiasm. Eun had given up on correcting him for the time being. "Ready!"


    Eun gave a short nod, drawing his sword. He rushed forward with no more warning. Ves''hil''n held on for about six minutes, two minutes longer than the last sparring match. But still Ves''hil''n was disarmed and knocked to the ground.


    Eun sheathed his sword and held out a hand to help his prince up. Eun frowned when Ves''hil''n grabbed his hand with his own warm and wet with sweat one. Once Ves''hil''n was on his feet he pulled his handkerchief out of his waist sash and went to wipe his hands, only to find they were wet with blood not sweat. He tucked the handkerchief back into his waist sash and strode forward, grabbing Ves''hil''n''s wrist with his right hand and taking his sword away with his left, "Hey-!" Ves''hil''n started to protest but Eun shut him up with a scowl.


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    "You''re bleeding," Eun flipped over Ves''hil''n''s hand palm up, so they could both see the ruptured blisters, "Why didn''t you say it hurt?"


    Ves''hil''n shrugged, "I didn''t feel it."


    Eun''s eye twitched as a thousand words came to mind. But he swallowed them all back down with a sigh, "We''re done, come on."


    "Awww," Ves''hil''n whined but let himself be dragged.


    Eun took Ves''hil''n back to his room. He laid Ves''hil''n''s sword on his low table and made Ves''hil''n sit down on his neatly made bed. As he hunted through his things for ointment and bandages he scolded, "You are a prince. What am I supposed to tell your mother if your hands become unseemly." He found what he was looking for and sighed, bringing it over to Ves''hil''n, along with some water that had been left by servants for his evening washing up, and knelt in front of his young prince. He gently, carefully, and thoroughly treated each ruptured blister on Ves''hil''n''s royal hands. As he wrapped the bandages he spoke, "If you are hurt or getting blisters you need to tell me. I know you like sword fighting but you don''t need to push yourself so hard." Eun finished bandaging, letting Ves''hil''n''s hands go and placing his right hand on his heart, looking up to meet Ves''hil''n''s eyes. "I''ll always be here to protect you."


    Ves''hil''n smiled and threw his arms around Eun''s neck, nearly knocking him over, "I know you''ll protect me! That''s why I wanna get stronger and protect you back!"


    Eun''s heart skipped a beat and he almost hugged the prince back. But he took a deep breath and gently pushed the prince away. He gave him an exasperated smile, "No sword practice until your hands are fully healed."


    Ves''hil''n''s face collapsed into a pout, "Aawww, but-"


    "No buts. Now go on. And leave your sword here."


    Ves''hil''n puffed his cheeks out in an angry pout but still did as he was told, hopping off Eun''s bed and running out his room, briefly sticking out his tongue at Eun''s on the way out the door.


    Once Ves''hil''n was  gone, Eun stood from his kneel and walked back over to the low table. He picked up Ves''hil''n''s sword and ran his fingers along the cold metal with a sigh.

 Chapter 4

    The fashion of Kon changed a bit in the 200 years I was sealed away. The clothes Death-Bringer brought me were loose and flowing with tight, easy to move in undergarments with simple colors. Inoffensive. Something Ves''hil''n would wear on a daily basis. But the people around us in the tavern wore clothes that were more colorful and decorated than Ves''hil''n''s ceremonial garb. Completely inappropriate and utterly gaudy for peasants.


    Piercing Gale and Death-Bringer sat across the table from me, staring coldly while I glared back.


    Finally Piercing Gale opened his mouth to ask something I did not expect, "Are you hungry? We can order something to eat."


    "I don''t know." I didn''t know what it felt like. For Ves''hil''n hunger was something that did not happen frequently nor did he pay it much mind when it did so it was not a sensation I remembered.


    "You must be." Piercing Gale said in a tone that reminded me of Eun and made my eye twitch. He flagged down a waitress and ordered a few dishes.


    "How do you know the Demon Lord is rising?" I asked, voice still hoarse. I had asked Death-Bringer but of course Piercing Gale opened his bastard mouth instead.


    "I was enshrined with the seal indicator in Kon, I could see it fraying from the moment I woke up."


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    "Why not just go to reinforce the seal? Why must we all gather together?" why must I let you live?


    A few steaming plates were set on the table. Piercing Gale pushed one of the hot plates closer to me, "Do you suddenly know advanced exorcism techniques? Please enlighten me on how one of us could do that."


    Unable to respond, I stabbed at the dish in front of me with my chopsticks and brought the bite to my mouth... And immediately regretted it.


    Spice exploded in my mouth. I almost spat it out but felt that would be too satisfying to Piercing Gale so I swallowed it even though it burned my throat the whole way down. "Sorry. Spicy food may be a bit too much for your first real experience eating." A light and wholly unapologetic smile adorned Piercing Gale''s face. I gripped my chopsticks tighter, fantasizing about stabbing them into Piercing Gale''s cold, black eyes. As if reading my thoughts, Piercing Gale chuckled. I half stood and raised my fist with my chopsticks in it leveled at his eyes.


    Death-Bringer sighed, "Will you two stop acting like children?" she pulled the plate away from in front of me and pushed another one to me, "Eat these instead. They''re sweet and the cream should soothe the spice a bit." I slowly sat back down and set the chopsticks down and picked up one of the sweets with my fingers, settling for kicking Piercing Gale in the shin under the table.


    Piercing Gale grunted, his eyes briefly narrowing at me before he shook his head and leaned back against his chair, "The three of us are nothing but dumb muscle. We need Eternal Lullaby. Only she will know what we can do about the seal and whether all of us will be necessary."

 Chapter 5

    200 and some odd years ago...


    Tejara stood with her back as straight and unbending as an old oak tree. In front of her eyes was a noose. There was a world stretching out beyond that noose, a sea of faces, some angry, some indifferent, some grieving, some triumphant. But Tejara did not study them, she focused on the noose, studied the knot and found it passable; It should grant her a quick death.


    Tejara studied the rope, not thinking about the world beyond it. The world filled with sweet cakes, laughing children, and beautiful women singing and dancing. Women like...


    Tejara closed her eyes. The world beyond the noose no longer concerned her. It hadn''t for a while.


    Suddenly the voice of the old man droning out her list of crimes was cut off, "Master Eun, what is the meaning of this?"


    Tejara opened her eyes once more. Standing across from her, just on the other side of that noose, was the man who had arrested her.


    If Tejara''s posture was like an unbending oak tree, the Swordmaster of the Royal Guard''s was like a sword, straight and poised to cut. His eyelids drooped indifferently under his thick, straight brows, his long glossy black hair was pulled into a high, tight ponytail, leaving only a few tresses of baby hairs loose on his forehead.


    "Death is too kind a punishment for the vile villain that ruthlessly cut down my cousin," the voice that spoke was not coming from Eun, but rather from behind him. Tejara tilted her head to the side to look around Master Eun''s broad-shouldered frame in time to see a slender, agile teenage boy effortlessly leap onto the gallows platform. "Especially when it seems to be what she wants." He stopped beside Eun, a smile in his eyes even as he seemed to fight to keep it off his lips.


    Based off his words and his apparent age, this youth was none other than the second prince, Ves''hil''n. However, he looked nothing like a prince at all. He wore his black hair in a high ponytail, like his bodyguard, but his was far sloppier, with tangles and random cowlicks standing up out of the bangs that fell in front of his face. His face was tan and there were even a few small scars on his royal visage.


    "Instead of running off to the gods of the underworld, why don''t you sell this bloodied life and soul of yours to me?"


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    Before anyone, least of all Tejara, could say a word in response to this wild prince, he drew his sword, cutting the noose in front of Tejara''s eyes.


    Suddenly and aggressively opening up the world beyond it.


    *


    Tejara swung the wooden practice sword with the heaviness of an ax at the second prince''s shoulder. She expected him to dodge but instead he met her blow with his blade, Blood-Forged, head on.


    Despite the fact that many underestimated her due to her gender, Tejara had never lost a test of strength to anyone. And yet this willowy-looking teenager held her strike at bay with a force that rattled her bones.


    "That''s enough." Eun''s voice gently, but firmly, interrupted. He had returned to the training yard, a tray of drinks in hand, "It''s time for a break, Your Highness."


    Prince Ves''hil''n obediently disengaged and trotted over to Eun, a big smile on his face. "Did you bring me fruit juice, Teacher?" Without waiting for an answer Ves''hil''n took one of the cups and started drinking from it.


    Eun turned to Tejara, the soft smile he wore for Ves''hil''n turning to neutral indifference when looking at her, "Come drink some water, Tejara."


    Tejara nodded and made her way over, "Teacher how was my form?" Ves''hil''n asked, like an over-enthusiastic puppy.


    Eun slid his eyes back over to Ves''hil''n and raised his eyebrows, "Do you not know already? You still need me to outline your faults?"


    Ves''hil''n stuck his tongue out, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.


    A few months ago, when he first cut the noose in front of her eyes he was still shorter than Swordmaster Eun and Tejara, but now he towered a full head taller than both of them. With that sudden growth spurt his moves were bound to get a bit clumsier for a time. But even with mistakes in his forms and clumsiness in his steps he could still crush any member of the guard, aside from Eun, in a duel.


    As Eun coldly recounted every wrong step he had seen Ves''hil''n make that day to his carefree, smiling face, the Crown Prince Ka''shin''lai walked briskly through one of the covered halls between buildings that bordered the training yard. Unlike his younger brother, Ka''shin''lai looked more like a prince, with pale, unblemished skin that had never seen the sun or an ounce of training and a severe look. He kept his hair loose and wore pristine white clothes, too loose and flowing to run around, jump, or fight in like Ves''hil''n did. Tejara dropped to one knee and bowed to him, drawing Ves''hil''n''s and Eun''s eyes to him.


    "Brother!" Ves''hil''n called out with a wave.


    At first Ka''shin''lai only glanced at his younger brother and gave him a nod but after a few more steps he stopped and turned. He looked at Ves''hil''n and then down at the sword in his hand with pursed lips, then called out, "If you want your endless playing around with swords to have some meaning, come with me."

 Chapter 6

    The three of us started to make our way out of the city. I trailed behind the other two, staring at Piercing Gale¡¯s back. A familiar back, Eun¡¯s back. A back Ves¡¯hil¡¯n saw a lot as it blocked in front of him, protected him. A strong, steady back with broad shoulders that would have held up the sky if it had fallen on Ves¡¯hil¡¯n¡¯s princely head. A back Ves¡¯hil¡¯n left deep scratches on in the middle of the night as panted breaths passed between their lungs.


    But in that moment, I wanted nothing more than to be a sword again so I could stab straight through that back just as Ves¡¯hil¡¯n was stabbed. My chest hurt as I remembered the pain of Ves¡¯hil¡¯n¡¯s final moments and I clenched my fists, redirecting the pain to four crescent moon cuts in each of my hands as my fingernails dug into my palms.


    It looked as if that back was coming closer and I realized that Piercing Gale had suddenly stopped. I stopped as well, trying to glare at him even harder, and croaked out, ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°A weapon spirit.¡± Death-Bringer answered, backing up a few steps towards me, her head firmly turned towards the alleyway to the right.


    ¡°One of the Demon Lords weapons, ¡°Piercing Gale added, also backing up so that the three of us were closer together. Much like Eun and Tejara did for Ves¡¯hil¡¯n they blocked in front of me. And much like Ves¡¯hil¡¯n and tried to shoulder my way into standing and facing the danger right beside them.


    Finally, I sensed it as well. The energy of that thin blade the Demon Lord often kept at his side, ¡°Night Lover,¡± I hissed out under my breath.


    ¡°The three of you don¡¯t have to be so on edge,¡± A voice drawled. Out of the shadows of the alley stepped a beautiful, androgynous man. He wore the dark, loose, flowing clothes of Kon nobility. His long, black hair was pulled into a high ponytail and he had two dark red beauty marks; one under his left eye and the other by the right corner of his mouth. Unlike us, those beauty marks were the only features he shared with his wielder. He held his hands up in a gesture of non-violence, his long eyelashes fluttering innocently in spite of the smirk on his lips, ¡°Really, it¡¯s three on little ole lonely me. I¡¯m the one who should be on edge.¡±


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    I remembered the silver flash of Night Lover buried in a chest, a body crumpling to the red dirt of the Waste. I took a stride forward, ignoring the arm Piercing Gale threw out to stop me. People passing by shot us strange looks as we stood off in the middle of the street. Night Lover took a step back, his cheeks twitching, ¡°The events of 200 years ago have nothing to do with me. I have no intention of impeding you or helping Valeron. So why don¡¯t we continue to have nothing to do with each other.¡±


    Death-Bringer stepped up beside me and out of the corner of my eye, I saw her look at me. Tejara was Ves¡¯hil¡¯n¡¯s most frequent sparring partner and the two had been of one mind in battle almost as much as Ves¡¯hil¡¯n and Eun; in that moment I felt that connection with Death-Bringer.


    ¡°Wait.¡± Piercing Gale hissed but the two of us ignored him, rushing towards Night Lover together.


    ¡°Shit!¡± Night Lover¡¯s knees shook and buckled as he turned. His knees hit the road, kicking up dust, but he was back on his feet in a fraction of a second, sprinting down the road.


    But that slip was enough and Death-Bringer - Ves¡¯hil¡¯n was always faster than Tejara but I guess I was still new to legs - caught hold of one of his trailing sleeves, throwing him off balance. He fell to the ground, tucking and rolling, and trying to get back to his feet. Before he could once again get back to his feet, I lowered my center of gravity and leapt forward, tackling him to the ground.


    I straddled his waist and as he looked up at me with wide eyes and a sneer, I wrapped my hands around his neck.


    I wonder if a sword can suffocate to death.

 Chapter 7

    Night Lover didn¡¯t look quite as pretty anymore. With his eyes blown wide and fearful, his teeth clenched, cutting into his bottom lip. But the shade of red his face was turning was quite satisfying. So you can suffocate a sword.


    A hand gripped my shoulder and tried to pull me away. I shrugged it off and tightened my grip. ¡°Blood-Forged,¡± Piercing Gale hissed, grabbing my shoulder again. ¡°You can¡¯t kill him here in broad daylight.¡±


    Night Lover¡¯s hands on my forearm started getting weaker and the legs around me stopped kicking.


    ¡°Why not?¡± I sneered, not taking my eyes off of Night Lover¡¯s face, watching as his eyes rolled back.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Piercing Gale crouch down and get a bit closer to hiss, ¡°because you aren¡¯t Prince Ves¡¯hil¡¯n and he¡¯s not obviously a servant of the Demon Lord.¡± Piercing Gale¡¯s fingers dug into the flesh of my shoulder.


    ¡°He¡¯s right.¡± Shocked, I looked up at Death-Bringer but she wasn¡¯t looking at me. Rather she was staring down the road at a group of men coming our way. One of the men shouted, ¡°halt!¡±


    Piercing Gale tugged at my shoulder again and this time I let myself be pulled off of Night Lover. Night Lover rolled onto his side, coughing and sputtering and sucking down air. ¡°We have to go!¡± Piercing Gale barked out, grabbing my hand. He entwined our fingers together and pulled me down along the road. My mind flashed to how often Eun would take Ves¡¯hil¡¯n¡¯s hands after they became lovers and how he would kiss each scar on Ves¡¯hil¡¯n¡¯s fingers. The sudden intimacy from Piercing Gale stabbed through my heart with the force of cold steel. I felt myself unable to breathe for a moment. Hatred and pain clogged up my throat but I was unable to take my hand out of Piercing Gale¡¯s as he pulled me through the city streets. Death-Bringer followed a few steps behind us, Night Lover slung over her shoulder.


    I was too focused on Piercing Gale¡¯s hand, which was rapidly growing clammy, in mine to even notice when it happened but we lost any pursuers and made it out of the West gate of the city. We slowed to a walk and Piercing Gale dropped my hand. Unconsciously, my hand twitched at the sudden emptiness and I clenched my fists.


    Night Lover was still slung over Death-Bringer¡¯s shoulder, hanging limply to the point I had thought he lost consciousness. But then he whispered, ¡°Please let me go,¡± his voice weak and rough.


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    Death Bringer flung him down, stepping on his chest before he could scurry anywhere. I crouched down beside him and sneered, ¡°why would we let you go?¡± My voice was even rougher than his, still raspy from screaming, ¡°Do you have a knife, Death-Bringer? We should slit his throat and get moving.¡±


    Death-Bringer shook her head and Piercing Gale opened his stupid fucking mouth again, ¡°We shouldn¡¯t kill him. If he¡¯s working with the Demon Lord then we might be able to get some information out of him. If he was telling the truth and isn¡¯t working with him then he¡¯s innocent.¡±


    ¡°Innocent?¡± I stood and turned to glare at Piercing Gale, who met my gaze calmly, ¡°he killed-¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t kill anyone!¡± Night Lover snapped, before succumbing to a coughing fit, touching his hands to the already dark purple bruises forming on his neck, the force of his coughing making him strain against Tejara¡¯s foot on his chest. ¡°I was a sword. I didn¡¯t choose my master and I didn¡¯t choose how he used me.¡±


    When Night Lover finished his bullshit plea of innocence he turned his panicked, fearful gaze to Piercing Gale, some hope sparking in his eyes. I raised my foot to kick his pretty boy face in, but was yanked backwards by Piercing Gale, stumbling a few steps. ¡°Blood-Forged! You have a brain now! Use it to think instead of acting like a blade without a sheath!¡± Piercing Gale snarled.


    I wrenched my arm from his grip, ¡°Piercing Gale, traitorous whore, how dare you show mercy to the ene-¡±


    A crisp smack, a stinging pain in my cheek, and my head was turned sharply to the side. It took me a long, long second to realize I¡¯d been slapped. I couldn¡¯t stop my mouth from falling open or my hand from raising up to my right cheek, still prickling with pain.


    Without a word, Piercing Gale brushed past me to step closer to Death-Bringer, ¡°the authorities might be following us, we should get moving and bring him with us, we can question him on the move... Death-Bringer?¡± There was silence behind me, as Piercing Gale looked beyond me to Death-Bringer. I couldn¡¯t bring myself to turn around until I heard Night Lover sigh in relief. I spun around to see Death-Bringer walking away and Night Lover sitting up and rubbing at the boot print on his chest. Piercing Gale offered a hand to help him up.


    Feeling an itch in my heart, I forced my eyes to Death-Bringer¡¯s back, ¡°Death-Bringer!¡± When she glanced back at me the only word I could get out was, ¡°...why?¡±


    She sighed, ¡°he¡¯s right, Bloody. Night Lover¡¯s worth more to us alive.¡±

 Chapter 8

    Two hundred and some odd years ago...


    ¡°If you want your endless playing around with swords to have some meaning, come with me.¡± Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai did not wait around to see what his younger brother would do. He turned on his heel, loose black hair, long sleeves, and the top layer of his clothes fanning out around him elegantly before he continued on his way.


    Eun¡¯s sharp eyebrows knit together and the corners of his mouth turned down slightly. He looked over at Ves¡¯hil¡¯n who looked down at him at the same time. Ves¡¯hil¡¯n grinned, then, with a sloppy, goofy flourish, bowed low at the waist, ¡°Requesting permission from Teacher to leave lessons early?¡±


    Eun fought to not roll his eyes and waved his hand dismissively. ¡°Just go. If the Crown Prince wants you, who am I to keep you?¡±


    Ves¡¯hil¡¯n jogged after his brother, turning halfway around to wave, ¡°thanks for the spar, Tejara!¡±


    Eun¡¯s eyes slid away from Ves¡¯hil¡¯n and widened when he found Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai waiting for Ves¡¯hil¡¯n at the end of the covered hall. Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai didn¡¯t usually show concern for this wild little brother of his. He was too busy learning diplomacy and law, learning to be king, while Ves¡¯hil¡¯n ran around freely, doing whatever he pleased.


    Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai¡¯s expressions towards Ves¡¯hil¡¯n were usually ones of exasperation or mild disapproval, but in that moment Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai looked at Ves¡¯hil¡¯n with concern and sadness.


    That look frightened Eun. The desire to call Ves¡¯hil¡¯n back surged up within him but it was too late, the two royal brothers had already stepped through the doorway and disappeared from view.


    ¡°...I will take my leave, Master Eun.¡± Eun¡¯s soul, which was chasing after Ves¡¯hil¡¯n returned abruptly to his body and he looked down at the bowing Tejara.


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    Feeling his hands and heart itch nervously, Eun shook his head, ¡°no. Stay and spar with me.¡±


    Tejara¡¯s eyes widened in surprise but relaxed quickly, ¡°yes, sir.¡±


    *


    Ves¡¯hil¡¯n followed his brother to one of the meeting halls of the palace, where their father and a random woman was waiting. The woman turned to face them, then bowed low to the princes. The king didn¡¯t seem to notice his sons until the woman bowed. He tore his eyes away from the documents scattered across the table in front of him to look at Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai, then at Ves¡¯hil¡¯n, before his eyes once more settled on his eldest, ¡°You brought Ves¡¯hil¡¯n.¡±


    Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai, with his ever straight spine, bent slightly in his father¡¯s direction, ¡°He is an excellent warrior, second only to Swordmaster Eun himself. If the soothsayer,¡± his eyes flicked to the woman, ¡°suggests a small group of highly skilled warriors from the three nations rather than sending our armies to face the Lord of the Demons then perhaps we should consider sending him.¡±


    Ves¡¯hil¡¯n¡¯s brows furrowed, ¡°demons?¡± he looked between the three other people in the room.


    It was the young and pretty soothsayer that answered, ¡°Demons have begun appearing in the Kuvir Plains, already wiping out the nomadic tribes and burning their way through the Borderwood faster than my dreams could warn.¡± A look of pure desolation crossed her features and her bottom lip quivered, ¡°I had my first dream of this invasion the night before a ranger from the Borderwood arrived to warn the Xora king.¡± She looked down at the documents on the table, placing her hand down on a map of Kon. ¡°The enchantments set by the sorcerer¡¯s of Daraien in the Borderwood and the stealthy warfare of the rangers should slow the demonic invaders down but still... it won¡¯t take long before...¡±


    ¡°Before the border towns of Kon are swallowed up.¡± The King interrupted, scowling darkly down at the map. ¡°This Xora soothsayer suggests we send our armies to slow down their main force and send a small group of elites after their homebase and leader. And your brother has just volunteered you.¡±


    Ves¡¯hil¡¯n glanced at Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai, who was staring resolutely at the soothsayer. Before Ves¡¯hil¡¯n was a chance, a chance to prove himself to a father and brother who always looked down at him with disapproval. The sword at Ves¡¯hil¡¯n¡¯s waist seemed to tremble excitedly at the prospect of drawing blood. ¡°I accept this mission, Father.¡±

 Chapter 9

    I once again trudged behind the group, glaring at Piercing Gale¡¯s back as he chatted with Night Lover. Chatted! With the enemy! Death-Bringer kept glancing my way and sighing. Finally, she slowed her step to walk in stride with me. ¡°Bloody...¡± she started, trailing off.


    Bloody, huh. A nickname? But Tejara was never one to call people by nicknames.


    Death-Bringer took in a deep breath, placed a hand on my shoulder, and continued, ¡°Bloody... Gale is loyal to the cause of stopping the Demon Lord, don¡¯t ever doubt that.¡±


    ¡°Why not,¡± I sneered, my voice cracking hoarsely, ¡°what makes you so sure? Eun betrayed Ves¡¯hil¡¯n, but Piercing Gale can¡¯t betray us?¡±


    Death-Bringer frowned and pushed a hand through her rat¡¯s nest of black hair, ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened between Eun and Ves¡¯hil¡¯n, Tejara and I weren¡¯t there, but I trust that us, as Sacred Weapons forged to defend our nations, have a common goal.¡±


    I looked once more at the backs of Piercing Gale and Night Lover, pursing my lips. Death-Bringer leaned in a little, ¡°Gale is smarter than both of us so for now... let¡¯s just trust his judgement.¡±


    Slowly but surely day turned to night with the four of us still walking along the roads, far from any civilization. We only saw a few people on the roads here and there, but as the sun got low in the sky we saw less and less humans... And Night Lover began to whine... ¡°Are you planning to walk through the night? Did you guys even bring bedrolls? Do you know how to set up a camp? You do realize you¡¯re in human forms now, right? You need to sleep and not walk nonstop. Are you just planning to sleep in the dirt with the bugs? My Lord Below, were you expecting me to sleep in the dirt and mud and grass with the bugs all night? I would rather you had just killed me-¡±


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    ¡°I could just kill you now.¡± I muttered, glaring at him.


    Flinching, Night Lover moved to put Piercing Gale between us and quipped, ¡°Why so serious? I remember Ves¡¯hil¡¯n had a sense of humor-¡± Quick as the wind, Piercing Gale reached out and gripped Night Lover¡¯s throat, not hard enough to choke but hard enough to threaten, ¡°Perhaps you should keep the names of the Eight Heroes out of your mouth.¡± Night Lover nodded rapidly and Piercing Gale let him go. ¡°And yes, my apologies, but your arrival made us forget about purchasing supplies so we will be sleeping in the dirt with the bugs until we reach the next town.¡±


    And so the next few days passed with little conversation and the nights with us sleeping in the dirt with the bugs as Night Lover so aptly put it. After a few nights like that I started to understand why Death-Bringer¡¯s hair looked like that. Even Piercing Gale was starting to look slovenly. On the other hand, Night Lover protected his hair from getting dirty or tangled and his face from getting bitten by insects by sleeping upright in tree branches with a cloth wrapped around his hair and face. Still his complaints grew louder and more frequent the more time we spent on the road until, finally, the next town came into our sights.


    ¡°Finally! If we don¡¯t immediately go to a bathhouse I will lay down right here in the street and make you carry-¡± Night Lover abruptly stopped walking in the middle of the road.


    I rolled my eyes and bumped his shoulder as I walked passed, even after days of barely speaking my voice was still hoarse when I said, ¡°Stop being so dramatic, we¡¯ll stop by a bathhouse if it¡¯ll make you shut up.¡±


    Night Lover¡¯s hand snaked out and grabbed my elbow, stopping me in my tracks. I turned back to glare at him. He threw his other arm out to stop Death-Bringer from walking past him. His face grave and voice low and quiet, he said, ¡°There¡¯s a demon in this town.¡±

 Chapter 10

    Two hundred and some odd years ago...


    Tejara stabbed her wooden practice sword into the ground and leaned against it, panting hard. Her long black hair had shaken loose from the pair of neat buns she usually kept it in. Clumps of hair stuck to her face with sweat, the rest falling in waves down her back.


    Across from her on the small training field with the grass all torn up into dirt was Eun. He held his blade off to the side, pointed down, also panting hard. He slowly leveled his balde at Tejara and said, ¡°again.¡±


    Tejara barely had time to parry the heavy blow Eun struck out with; she was nicked to the ground with the weight of the blow, her wooden sword falling from her hands. She instinctively closed her eyes when she fell and when she opened them she was staring at the point of Piercing Gale.


    At the edge of the training circle were a handful of guards that had stopped to watch after their shifts. Many of them didn¡¯t like sharing their training and eating spaces with a former death row criminal but even still, they couldn¡¯t help feeling a stab of pity as Eun once more barked, ¡°again.¡±


    One of the off duty guards leaned over to his friend beside him and asked, ¡°so do you think he¡¯s punishing her for something or is he just in a bad mood?¡±


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    ¡°Oh, he¡¯s definitely just in a bad mood.¡± A voice answered from behind and the pair of guards jumped.


    They turned around and both immediately dropped to one kniee, calling out, almost in unison, a respectful, ¡°Your Highnesses.¡± The other guards also noticed the two princes and the strange guest from Xoran and knelt down as well with a chorus of ¡°Your Highnesses¡±.


    However, the sparring pair in the center did not notice the arrival of Ves¡¯hil¡¯n and Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai. This time Tejara was on an exhausted, desperate offensive and Eun on a bored defensive. After watching them for a few seconds, the Xora soothsayer turned to Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai and said, ¡°those two are destined for this fight.¡±


    Ves¡¯hil¡¯n grinned as he watched the fight. He waved and called out to the Swordmaster, ¡°Eun!¡±


    Eun¡¯s ears turned pink and he looked over to Ves¡¯hil¡¯n. Tejara, unable to stop the momentum of her swing, struck Eun square in the head. Eun crumpled to the ground.


    ¡°Teacher!¡± Ves¡¯hil¡¯n cried out, running for him. Tejara dropped her wooden sword and knelt down, her head bowed.


    Eun sat up, rubbing his head. While everyone else was frozen to the spot, Ves¡¯hil¡¯n rushed over and bent down, offering a hand to Eun. Eun took it but didn¡¯t use it to pull himself up, instead asking, ¡°what did you call me?¡±


    Having already forgotten his crime, Ves¡¯hil¡¯n tilted his head to the side, frowned, and answered, ¡°Teacher?¡±

 Chapter 11

    ¡°Where?¡± I asked, my heart pounding and my hand clenching empty air as if I was Ves¡¯hil¡¯n reaching for his sword, reaching for me.


    Night Lover gave me a look of disbelief, then his eyelid twitched and he rolled his eyes, ¡°I¡¯m not a fucking bloodhound.¡±


    Piercing Gale frowned at the entrance of the town. Without fully turning around he looked back at Night Lover, ¡°How do you know?¡±


    ¡°Ahh hmmm...¡± Night Lover pursed his lips and cocked his hip to the side as he spoke, ¡°well demons are a lot less communal and a lot more territorial than humans. They even have an ability to mark a place as their territory or their clan¡¯s territory and only other demons can sense it. Or, well, I guess I spent enough time with Valeron that I can sense them too, I suppose.¡± Night Lover frowned contemplatively.


    ¡°Hmmm...¡± Piercing Gale hummed to indicate he heard and... took a step forward. My heart skipped a beat.


    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Night Lover¡¯s eyes flew open wider and he grabbed the back of Piercing Gale¡¯s shirt. ¡°They¡¯ll know we¡¯re here the second we enter their territory.¡±


    ¡°What? Are you scared?¡± I sneered. Not wanting to lose to Piercing Gale, I stepped up right beside him.


    Or at least I tried to. But Night Lover grabbed my arm with surprising strength, ¡°do you three even know how to fight?¡±


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    ¡°We beat you, didn¡¯t we?¡± I said, trying and failing to shake his hand off.


    He let go of the back of Piercing Gale¡¯s shirt and pressed his hand to his chest. His thin, dark eyebrows pinched together and raised, he made his eyes as big and round as he could, and batted his long lashes once, twice... ¡°I¡¯m a lover, not a fighter.¡±


    Piercing Gale took the opportunity to step forward. Night Lover threw out a hand to stop him but pulled back, as supposedly Piercing Gale crossed the threshold only Night Lover could see. ¡°Whyyyy did you doooo that?¡± Night Lover whined, a hint of desperation in his voice.


    Piercing Gale turned back to him and said with a cold expression, ¡°we are the weapons that defeated the Demon Lord, the strongest of his kind. And if we want to beat him again, we can¡¯t be afraid of some random demon.¡± Piercing Gale didn¡¯t look at me but I almost felt like he did, like he was Eun telling Ves¡¯hil¡¯n, ¡°don¡¯t be afraid, this is what we¡¯re here for. This is our destiny. And I¡¯ll be with you all the way.¡±


    Though I wasn¡¯t afraid to begin with I still felt emboldened and I stepped forward. This time Night Lover didn¡¯t try to stop me. Death-Bringer quietly crossed the invisible threshold with me.


    Piercing Gale suddenly smiled at Night Lover, ¡°didn¡¯t you want a bath? Who knows how far away the next town is.¡±


    Night Lover¡¯s mouth was set in a thin straight line. For a few long seconds he just stood there, facing off with us. Then he sniffed his own armpit, gagged, and made his way over to us, arms crossed over his chest and feet dragging in the dirt as he pouted a little.


    ¡°Wonderful,¡± Piercing Gale said, turning Night Lover¡¯s pout into a glare, before he continued on into the town, ¡°hopefully the demon will let us have a nice long soak before it attacks.¡±

 Chapter 12

    Piercing Gale led the way into the town with Night Lover bringing up the rear. I kept glancing back at Night Lover to make sure he was still behind us. He dragged his feet with his arms crossed and his head lowered.


    Piercing Gale put an arm around my shoulders, pulling me a few inches down to match his height, ¡°he won¡¯t run... If he was going to run he would¡¯ve done so before we entered this town, you saw how scared he was.¡±


    ¡°Let go of me,¡± I hissed, trying to wiggle out from under his arm.


    He just grabbed my arm and held me tighter against himself. ¡°I¡¯m not done talking,¡± he turned his head halfway to me to give me a mocking smile.¡° With his black hair short and messy and a smile like that on his lips, he almost didn¡¯t look like Eun... almost. ¡°Besides,¡± he continued, looking ahead again, ¡°I don¡¯t think it would be so bad if he ran away. He clearly doesn¡¯t work for the Demon Lord and doesn¡¯t want to.¡±


    ¡°How can you be so sure, ¡° I huffed.


    ¡°Because I¡¯ve spent the last few days talking with the guy.¡± Suddenly, Piercing Gale stopped and I was forced to stop alongside him. He turned to face me completely. Ves¡¯hil¡¯n - I - was taller but Eun - Piercing Gale - had broader shoulders. With his arm around my shoulders, holding me down at his level, I felt small. Our faces were too close together, our noses almost touching, our breaths mingling. His eyes were hard and challenging; that was another way he was different to Eun, his expression could change so much so quickly. Eun had always been stony-faced and stern, at least outside of the bedroom... ¡°Why are you so combative and close-minded? You seem to think of yourself as Ves¡¯hil¡¯n but you act nothing like him.¡±


    Piercing Gale let me go and took a step back but it caught me off guard and I didn¡¯t straighten back up to my full height before he spoke his next words, letting him talk down to me, ¡°no, scratch that. You act like only the worst parts of Ves¡¯hil¡¯n.¡±


    Before I could formulate a response, Death-Bringer cleared her throat and said, ¡°I hate to interrupt but... the townspeople are hiding.¡±


    I straightened up and looked around. Sure enough, though we were walking down what should have been the main road through the center of town, it was completely deserted.


    ¡°It¡¯s the middle of the day, there should be people milling about, children playing, but it¡¯s dead quiet.¡±


    I glanced around. Sure enough, I didn¡¯t see or hear any humans, ¡°It¡¯s a ghost town... Did the demon kill them all?¡± I furrowed my brow.


    ¡°No,¡± Night Lover shook his head, pointing at a few of the houses, ¡°I saw movement behind some of the shuttered windows... and there is smoke coming out of that chimney.¡±


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    ¡°Seems so.¡± Piercing Gale answered me as if he hadn¡¯t just noticed the situation at the same time as me.


    ¡°If the people are hiding will an inn even let us in?¡± Night Lover let out a sigh that was annoyingly close to a whine.


    Piercing Gale shrugged and started walking again, ¡°only one way to find out.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t too much longer until we found an inn. Piercing Gale pushed on the doors and, surprisingly, they opened easily. As we stepped in, a young woman with a long, messy braid popped her head up from behind the counter, ¡°Welcome! How can I help you?¡±


    Piercing Gale, at the front, opened his mouth to answer, but Night Lover pushed his way past him, taking quick steps to the counter. He leaned over the counter and grabbed one of the girl¡¯s hands in both of his. He brought his hand up to near his face, knit his brows together, and did what he did best, whine.


    ¡°A bath please. We¡¯ve been walking for days. We smell so bad that people have been hiding from us in their homes.¡±


    The young woman giggled into her free hand, ¡°No one is hiding and especially not from you, everyone is just inside preparing for tonight¡¯s festival.¡±


    I looked over at Piercing Gale just in time to meet his eyes as his face twitched into a contemplative frown.


    ¡°What kinda festival? Maybe we¡¯ll check it out.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s to pray to the gods and spirits for protection. Tonight¡¯s events are rather stuffy and traditional but there¡¯ll be a celebration tomorrow! Also if out of towners want to use the bathhouse they must pay for a room.¡±


    Night Lover smiled at the girl and let go of her hand, ¡°No problem, we planned on staying the night anyways.¡±


    As Night Lover began to haggle the price of 4 rooms with the girl, I suddenly remembered money existed. I leaned towards Death-Bringer, ¡°do we have money?¡±


    Death-Bringer nodded.


    ¡°How?¡± I whispered.


    ¡°Piercing Gale said he was sealed with a bunch of fancy stuff and he sold it all.¡±


    Night Lover came back towards us, throwing each of us a key, saying, ¡°you owe me.¡±


    I stared down at the key, ¡°shouldn¡¯t we try to find the demon first?¡±


    ¡°An hour or two isn¡¯t going to change anything. And I¡¯m not taking another step until I¡¯ve bathed. ¡°Without waiting around, Night Lover walked off in the direction of the baths.


    None of us followed. Without thinking, I turned to look at Piercing Gale for a decision, internally cursing at my body for betraying me. Piercing Gale stared down at the floor until he noticed mine and Death-Bringer¡¯s eyes on him. He looked up, chewing his bottom lip, and said, ¡°this festival feels a little suspicious... we should try to find out more...¡±


    Death-Bringer, who hadn¡¯t undermined him once so far, even on a thing as petty as how to catch and roast a rabbit for dinner, actually shook her head, ¡°you¡¯re not wrong... but neither is Night Lover. A nice, long, relaxing soak will do us good.¡±


    Almost as surprising as Death-Bringer disagreeing was how quickly Piercing Gale yielded. Soon the two were walking to the baths, leaving me behind. Even the girl behind the counter was gone. I didn¡¯t really want to sit around wasting time but I had no idea where to begin on my own so, reluctantly, I walked towards the baths.


    Just as I was about to step over the threshold of the men¡¯s bath, Piercing Gale came stumbling out. He tripped over his own feet, crashing into me. His hands gripped on tight to the front of my clothes and his head dropped onto my shoulder.


    ¡°Run,¡± he groaned, collapsing weightlessly against me.

 Chapter 13

    Two hundred and some odd years ago...


    For a few breaths, Eun stared into Ves¡¯hil¡¯n¡¯s eyes... Ves¡¯hil¡¯n stared back, wide, open, unassuming... and completely oblivious... Eun sighed. Ignoring Ves¡¯hil¡¯n¡¯s offered hand, he stood up.


    With the grace and decorum of a man that didn¡¯t just get hit in the head very hard, he walked over to Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai and the Soothsayer. He bowed a few inches at the waist, ¡°Your Highness.¡±


    The kneeling guards exchanged a look. When Eun wasn¡¯t instructing the second prince, he was a menacing shadow behind him. The two prince¡¯s didn¡¯t have many opportunities to interact and so the guards had never seen the crown prince and the Swordmaster interact. Never seen the blatant disrespect the Swordmaster was treating the crown prince with. And it didn¡¯t seem to bother the crown prince one bit.


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    Eun tilted his head up and stared coldly at Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai, his eyes dark, narrow slits. ¡°What did you call Prince Ves¡¯hil¡¯n for, if I may ask?¡±


    One of the observing guards flinched, expecting to hear the crown prince scolding him for his flippant tone at least if not much, much worse but Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai merely answered him normally, ¡°Ves¡¯hil¡¯n has been given a mission. You and Tejara will be joining him. You will protect him with your lives.¡±


    Hearing her name, Tejara stood up from her kneel, walked a few steps closer, and kneeled again, ¡°I will do as I am commanded. My life belongs to the second prince.¡±


    Eun rested his wrist on the hilt of Piercing Gale, ¡°naturally.¡±

 Chapter 14

    I almost fell to the ground when I suddenly had to catch the limp Piercing Gale. My knees buckled a little bit under his weight. Without wasting time to think or consider any options, I got under him and hoisted him up on my shoulders.


    Piercing Gale¡¯s gangly limbs and deadweight made him a bit awkward to carry but a burst of panic and adrenaline helped me move with Piercing Gale. I ran towards the women¡¯s bath, shouting out Death-Bringer¡¯s name. I threw open the curtains to the women¡¯s bath, but she was nowhere to be seen.


    A sickly sweet smell wafting up with the steam from the water hit me and I instantly felt dizzy. Even as my head was growing cloudy I realized there was something wrong with the scent. I covered my mouth and nose with my forearm and sleeve and stumbled back, almost tripping and falling over the threshold of the bath.


    Piercing Gale¡¯s body heart against my neck and shoulders was starting to make me sweat and my vision was getting blurry; there was nothing I could do to save Death-Bringer in this state. I had to do what Piercing Gale said and run.


    The front desk girl was nowhere to be seen as I fled the inn. I didn¡¯t go back to the main roads, instead ducking down one of the alleys and trying to get to the edge of the town.


    My body felt like it was floating away from me, uncontrollable, but at the same time I was acutely aware of my body and its sensations, similar to how it felt when I first got my body. I could clearly hear my own panting breaths, feel my heart pumping my blood through my veins, feel sweat dripping down my face and soaking through my underclothes. Some of my hair was caught under Piercing Gale, pulling it and leaving a dull ache on my scalp.


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    Also, Piercing Gale was far from silent, whimpering and nigh-on moaning in my ear. His body was hotter than it should be and something hard was poking me in the back.


    ¡°Really? Now?¡± I rasped through gritted teeth as my feet pounded on the dirt alleyway.


    ... But then I felt a strange sensation in my own... ¡°Aphrodisiacs! Shit!¡± I needed to find somewhere to stop and hide quickly...


    Buildings got sparser as I got closer to the edge of town. I saw what looked like an abandoned farmhouse and ducked inside, hoping I had lost any potential pursuers I might have had. I shrugged Piercing Gale off of my shoulders, not bothering to be too gentle. I stumbled backwards until my back hit a wall and I slowly slid down to the floor. I drew my knees up into my chest and pressed my forehead to my knees.


    I tried to control my breathing but it felt like my body was quickly spiraling out of my control. Aphrodisiacs, while rare, were still a known weapon of some lower demons. Ves¡¯hil¡¯n had fallen victim to them once before. He clung to Eun, begging him to kiss him, to touch him, to... to...


    I slapped the sides of my face, hoping the welts would cover up the blush spreading across my cheeks. I couldn¡¯t lose myself; Piercing Gale was completely out. I needed to maintain control.


    ¡°... Bloody...¡± Piercing Gale whimpered. I looked up to see him looking at me, tears in his half-lidded eyes, his face an alluring rose red. He rolled onto his side, reaching a shaking hand towards me, ¡°please...¡±

 Chapter 15

    I covered my face with my hands, blocking my view of Piercing Gale, and shook my head, ¡°no, no, no, no. Fuck off and deal with it yourself.¡± Unfortunately, I could feel a tent forming in my own pants. I squeezed my legs together to hide it from Piercing Gale but the pressure and friction only made it get harder.


    My ears burned as I heard Piercing Gale shifting around. Was he coming closer? Was he... touching himself? I spread my fingers to take a peek at Piercing Gale. He wasn¡¯t where I had put him on the floor.


    Before I could find where he had gone, my knees were forced apart. My elbows lost their base and my hands slipped away from my face. I fell forward until my head cracked against Piercing Gale¡¯s.


    I snapped upright, my back pressed flat against the wall behind me. Piercing Gale knelt between my legs, his hands pressing down on my knees, his eyes peering up into my face. My heart was beating wildly, my breath speeding up. I put both of my hands on his shoulders and tried to push him away but his flushed face just came closer. I closed my eyes. But what I was expecting didn¡¯t happen. Instead...


    Piercing Gale poked me in the forehead, right between my brows and started to rub circles. I opened my eyes.


    Piercing Gale was still staring intently at my face. ¡°You¡¯re much cuter when your face isn¡¯t all scrunched up,¡± he slurred his words slightly like a drunk man. He scrunched his face up in an over-exaggerated expression of anger. ¡°Like that!¡± Then he relaxed into a wide grin, his eyes closed.


    He stopped poking my forehead in order to cup my cheek with his hand, sliding the hand back until his fingertips were tangled with the hair behind my ear. His other hand was pushing down on my knee, pressing closer to me until our chests almost touched. He tilted his head down and his eyes slowly opened, looking at me with a smile that was kinda seduc-


    I closed my eyes and shook my head again. ¡°Please stop, Gale,¡± the rising body heat between the two of us was starting to become unbearable.


    Piercing Gale didn¡¯t seem to hear a word I said. His hand slid across my face until his thumb was resting on my bottom lip. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve smiled once...¡± his voice was suddenly much clearer, ¡°... I just want to see you smile...¡± I opened my eyes once more... His face was still flushed rose red, his eyelids were drooping, giving his dark eyes a hazy seductive appearance as he stared at my lips. But he was exceedingly, impossibly still.


    I was painfully aware of how close his thigh was to my cock, how easy it would be to shimmy a few centimeters closer to rut against his leg and get the friction my body craved. And glancing down I could clearly see the outline of his dick through his tight, form fitting pants.


    I looked back up at his face just in time to see him blink and watch a tear fall out of his eye and slide down his cheek. Finally, I looked past the aphrodisiac induced haze in his eyes to see that the expression on his face was one of... pity.


    A spark of anger and indignation joined the fire in my belly. I grabbed both his biceps in my hands and leaned forward as I pushed him back and off balance, my eyes trained on his mouth...


    However, my sudden movement caused his left hand on my knee to slip and for him to lose his balance too soon, his forehead knocking against my teeth. My lip split and I could immediately taste my blood on my tongue. I turned my head to the side and spat the word, ¡°Fuck!¡± along with some blood onto the packed dirt floor.


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    ¡°Bloody...¡± Piercing Gale said my name as his burning palms pressed down on my hips. Under the weight he pushed down on me, I slid down the wall a bit. When I looked back at him, I was looking up as he leaned over me. He lowered himself, blood dripping from a new cut on his forehead onto my face. I grabbed the back of his shirt but was too late to stop him from pressing his lips to mine.


    With that kiss the drug started burning quicker and quicker through my reason. I opened my mouth, I let his tongue in. I spread my legs further apart and even raised my hips up to rut against him.


    Soon clothed friction wasn¡¯t enough for me. I needed skin-to-skin, complete entanglement. As if reading my mind, Piercing Gale¡¯s right hand moved from my waist to under my over-robe and the waistband of my pants. Our mouths parted. He trailed kisses along my jaw and down my neck, sucking a bruise onto my throat.


    I moaned.


    The uncontrolled sound that came out of me resurrected a stubborn shred of sense. I can¡¯t let him take control of the situation. So I punched him in the side of the head. With the awkward angle it wasn¡¯t a very strong hit but still, surprisingly, it worked...


    Piercing Gale froze and pushed himself up. After staring at me in mild bewilderment for a few seconds, he looked away, shuffled a few inches back on his knees and mumbled, ¡°sorry...¡±


    Before he could get too far away, I grabbed the abc of his head, threading my fingers through his short, black hair... I should ask him why he cut his hair short... or if it was Eun who did after Ves¡¯hil¡¯n died... I pulled myself to him, biting down on the vulnerable strip of neck just above the high collar of his shirt. I slipped my hands under his pants to knead his ass and poked at his hole with my finger. He gasped in my ear and it was his turn to grip my shoulders.


    For a moment, I wondered what I would do if he pushed me away. Would I let him go? Could I? Did I want to?


    BUt in the end it didn¡¯t matter. Gale wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled us closer together. I unlatched from his neck and began to suck a bruise right next to the bite mark as I slowly pushed a finger and then a second into his hole.


    Ves¡¯hil¡¯n had usually enjoyed receiving but it didn¡¯t interest me much at that moment; perhaps Gale was right... maybe I am nothing like him.


    On the other hand, Gale seemed more than willing to receive, helping me to remove his pants and free my cock, even wrapping his legs around my waist as I lined myself up. He pressed his forehead to mine, his cut was still bleeding and the blood dripped down my face. Panting, his face even redder than before, he asked, ¡°didn¡¯t Eun and Ves¡¯hil¡¯n use some sort of oil?¡±


    I scowled, ¡°do you really wanna stop now and try to find some in a demon controlled town?¡±


    Gale bit his bottom lip and looked down. I jerked my own cock slowly, rubbing the head against his rim. His cock laid against my stomach, leaking precum onto my clothes. His arms trembled against my shoulders and then his hold on my shoulders tightened and he pushed himself down on my cock.


    With just the head in he paused, burying his face in my shoulder. But with the tight heat around me and the drug burning through my veins, I couldn¡¯t wait any longer.


    I grabbed his hips and forced him down the rest of the way. He threw his head back and let out a choked gasp. I took advantage of his exposed throat and kissed him there, buried deep inside. The button keeping his high collar closed came undone and I was able to trail kisses down to his collarbone as I began to move inside at the pace my body demanded.


    At first he leaned a bit away from me, hands gripping my shoulders, fingernails digging in, and not letting out a single sound. But as the pleasure built, he hugged me tighter again, our chests pressed flush against each other, his legs wrapped around my waist tight enough I could feel his thighs flexing against my sides and hear the quiet whimpered moans that spilled out of his lips into my ears.


    I threaded my fingers through his short, black hair and pulled his head away from my shoulder to kiss him as I came inside.

 Chapter 16

    200 and some odd years ago...


    Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai looked over Eun¡¯s shoulder and rolled his eyes. ¡°Ves¡¯hil¡¯n, come here.¡±


    Ves¡¯hil¡¯n sprung to his feet from his kneeling position on the torn up and packed down grass where he was pondering what Eun¡¯s reaction had been about. Ves¡¯hil¡¯n jogged over to Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai, dry blades of grass clinging to his pants. ¡°Yeah- uh, yes, brother?¡± he called back.


    As Ves¡¯hil¡¯n leisurely approached, the Soothsayer leaned in to whisper something in Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai¡¯s ear. Ves¡¯hil¡¯n was still too far away to hear it. Tejara dared not. But Eun could hear her words, ¡°we should bring them to meet the Borderwood Ranger that came with me, Ka.¡±


    At that telling last syllable, Eun raised an eyebrow. Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai returned the look with a narrow eyes glare. Then he inclined his head towards the Soothsayer and nodded, ¡°Ves¡¯hil¡¯n, Tejara...¡± his eyes somewhat reluctantly slid back to Eun, ¡°... Swordmaster... Please come with me.¡± Then he turned on his heel, the flick of his long sleeves hitting Eun on the leg as he did so. His sleeves were long, even for a noble, trailing on the ground and completely hiding his hands.


    Eun fell into step beside Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai. Their shoulders almost brushed and Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai flinched away, hurrying his steps to get ahead of Eun.


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    The Soothsayer smoothly slid in besides Eun, ¡°I¡¯m Uling by the way, nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Eun.¡± Eun responded with a smile that clearly didn¡¯t reach his eyes.


    They reached a guest room in the palace, Uling keeping Eun occupied along the way with questions about his past deeds and his work as the Swordmaster of the Royal Guard.


    There was someone sitting on the floor in the center of the guest room, inspecting each arrow in their quiver for quality. They had a lithe body and long, thick black hair pulled back in a high ponytail. Their clothes were worn and dirty but not dirty like they needed to be washed but dirty like they had been through rain and mud and grass and bloody injuries countless times before and would never truly be clean again.


    They stood up. The cut of their clothes was masculine and any minimal, loose pieces were tied down, giving a form-fitting look. But their features held some soft femininity that made it hard to tell their gender. Ves¡¯hil¡¯n, as usual, lacked subtlety and asked as soon as he stepped into the room, ¡°are you a man or a woman?¡±


    The Ranger smiled good-naturedly and bowed, ¡°a man, Your Highness. The name is Kliali. It is an honor to meet the first and second princes of Kon.¡±


    Uling moved further into the room and stood beside Kliali, ¡°Kliali is a Borderwood Ranger that was sent to Xoran to report the situation to the Xora King.¡±


    Eun crossed his arms over his chest, ¡°what situation? Start from the beginning.¡±

 Chapter 17

    When I woke up, Piercing Gale¡¯s arms were wrapped around me and my limp dick was resting against his inner thigh. Piercing Gale¡¯s shirt was still present and intact, only the collar having been undone but his pants had disappeared at some point during the drug-addled rolling around. One of his bare, pale legs was hooked around my hips. My face was loosely pressed into his collarbone, his chin against the crown of my head.


    Eun often held Ves¡¯hil¡¯n like that after they had made love. Wrapped around him completely, protectively. And Ves¡¯hil¡¯n felt so safe and protected with him. Safe from anything that might harm him. Everything except his teacher, his bodyguard, his lover.


    Disgust surged within me and I pushed Piercing Gale away. He jolted awake, glancing around for enemies. When he saw we were alone his shoulders relaxed and he started to turn towards me. Before our eyes could meet, I turned away and stood, adjusting my pants.


    ¡°Now that the drug is out of our system, we need to find and rescue Death-Bringer.¡±


    ¡°Very mature, Blood-Forged; not acknowledging anything and not even looking at me.¡± Piercing Gale scoffed, his voice still frustratingly even and calm.


    ¡°What? You wanna talk about it?¡± I sneered, ¡°I only fucked you cause I couldn¡¯t stand that pitying look in your eyes.¡± I turned to glare at him. He was half sitting up, propped up by his hands with his legs folded under him loosely. He made no effort to hide that body part and I was forced to look away again, ears burning.


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    ¡°I am currently leaking cum and blood from my anus, I think I deserve you not acting like a brat.¡±


    ¡°Brat?!¡± My head whipped back to him. His hair was sweaty and disheveled, his face still a little flushed but he had the same tight jaw and cold, unwavering gaze that he always did when he was telling me what to do.


    ¡°Find my pants.¡±


    ¡°Find them yourself.¡±


    It might have been my imagination, but for a second I thought the rims of his eyes turned red but they were back to normal in an instant.


    He shifted until he was on his knees, wincing from the movement. That wince sent a pang of guilt into my heart. And when he stood on wobbling legs that seemed on the verge of buckling, wincing the whole time as he limped a few steps forward, the feeling of guilt became overwhelming.


    I shrugged off my outermost robe and wrapped it around his waist gently forcing him to sit back down on the ground. ¡°Fine, fine! I¡¯ll find your pants!¡±


    The abandoned hut we had taken shelter in wasn¡¯t very large so it didn¡¯t take long to find them. Unfortunately...


    ¡°They¡¯re torn, aren¡¯t they?¡± Piercing Gale asked, as I held them up with a grimace.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll... try to find some new pants for you. Wait here.¡± I threw the ruined pants at him and started to walk past.


    He grabbed my arm tightly as I got close, ¡°wait!¡± I stopped and looked down at him. His look of panic turned serious, ¡°be careful, I don¡¯t think you can deal with this enemy alone.¡± His hand slipped off my arm and he sat back.


    ¡°I¡¯m just going to go get pants.¡±

 Chapter 18

    In the hours Piercing Gale and I had been under the effects of the drugs day had turned to night and the ghost town had become lively. It seems the girl from the inn wasn¡¯t lying, there was a festival going on. I could smell food frying, hear the low murmur of voices, and the sound of an entire village¡¯s feet. But something felt off, felt unlike the festivals in Ves¡¯hil¡¯n¡¯s childhood memories.


    I quietly kept to the alleyways and shadows and made my way closer to the main road. As I crouched at the edge of the alley and watched the villagers mill about I realized what was wrong.


    There was no shouting, no running around, no laughter. There didn¡¯t even seem to be many smiles on the villager¡¯s faces. I frowned as I watched them go through the motions of a fake, hollow festival.


    ¡°Are you looking for your friends?¡± I had to quickly clap my hands over my mouth to muffle my shout of surprise. Then I looked down at the source of the voice.


    A little girl was crouching next to me in the alley, looking up at me with wide, innocent eyes. The red and orange festival lanterns cast sickly looking shadows across her pale face and her black hair was pinned down in a neat and intricate updo. The top half of her outfit was layered, elegant, and pristine. Her skirts were not so lucky on that last point. It was clear her crouching here was not the first time her long skirts had touched the dirt and there were even stains where she had obviously wiped sticky, sweet syrup off her hands.


    I stared at her, briefly weighing the pros and cons of answering truthfully. Finally, I nodded.


    The little girl seemed to grow tired of crouching and flopped down on her butt, two dirty, bare feet poking out of the many layers of her skirt. ¡°I can lead you to your lady friend, no one is really guarding her. But your other friend is with Big Bro- the Master so he¡¯s in a lot of trouble.¡±


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    For a moment, I worried that Piercing Gale had been caught but then I realized the little girl had no reason not to assume Night Lover was my friend, ¡°who is this ¡®master¡¯ and why is my... friend... with him?¡±


    ¡°The Master is big brother Tenin.¡± The girl looked around before leaning in conspiratorially, cupping a hand around her mouth, ¡°but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s really big brother Tenin,¡± she whispered in a voice barely quieter than her normal speaking voice.


    I leaned in as well and asked in a raspy whisper, ¡°what do you mean?¡±


    ¡°After Lord Lochu died, he changed a lot. He used to sneak me candies and pick me up all the time. And he hated the way Lord Lochu treated everyone in the village. But then when Lord Lochu died he moved into his house and made everyone call him master. He still married big sis Raan like he promised but she cried on their wedding day. Mama said people cry when they are really happy sometimes but I don¡¯t think she looked happy at all. Both of them used to play with us all the time but big sister Raan always says she¡¯s too busy now and a few weeks ago big brother Tenin his Kul for calling him big brother. And I know I¡¯m right cause when I told my mother she said to never say it a-¡±


    ¡°And what does he want with Night- with my friend?¡± I asked, cutting off the talkative little girl¡¯s ramblings.


    She shrugged, ¡°big sister Raan just told me it¡¯s cause he¡¯s special and we are holding this festival because of him. She seemed really happy about it.¡±


    I rested my heels on the ground, settling lower into my squat as I thought about the situation. The demon in this town seemed to be some kind of body-stealer and it wanted to steal Night Lover¡¯s. Could the demon tell he was one of the demon lord¡¯s weapons? Is that why?


    ¡°Tii! Where are you?¡± a woman¡¯s voice called, breaking through my thoughts. The little girl¡¯s eyes flew open in panic and she stood, ¡°oh no! That¡¯s my mama!¡± She brushed off her backside as if that would clean her filthy skirts, ¡°do you want me to show you where your lady friend is or not?¡±


    ¡°Be careful, I don¡¯t think you can deal with this enemy alone.¡± Piercing Gale¡¯s words echoed in my mind.


    But I ignored them and nodded, ¡°take me to Death-Bringer.¡±

 Chapter 19

    Surprisingly, the yappy little girl, Tii, was stealthy when she needed to be. She led me through the backstreets of the town, keeping mostly parallel to the main road. We quickly left behind the voice of her mother and the sounds of the festival faded in and out as we passed by more ¡®lively¡¯ sections.


    Soon I saw a building I recognized; we were moving towards the inn from earlier.


    She led me around the back of the inn, where there was a tall fence blocking off a backyard. She dropped into a squat with her back pressed against the old, wooden fence. She beckoned me over. I crouched down beside her but apparently not close enough. She reached up and grabbed my outer robe where it crossed in front of my chest and pulled me closer, cupping her other, still sticky, hand around my ear. She whispered with her lips touching my ear, ¡°she¡¯s locked in a shed. Big sis Raan might be in the inn though, so you gotta be real quiet.¡±


    I pulled away from her, my face twitching, and nodded. I took a few steps away from the fence, then, with a running start, I ran a few steps up the fence, grabbed the top, and flipped over into the yard. Like Tii said there were no guards, just shriveled crops in a dry garden and a small tool shed that was barely big enough for a person.


    There was a padlock on the shed¡¯s door that looked solid but the walls of the old, wooden shed itself looked flimsy, someone with Teja-Death Bringer¡¯s strength should be able to easily break through. A sinking feeling settled in my guts and I rapped my knuckles against the door, ¡°Death-Bringer? You there?¡±


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    No response came.


    I knocked and spoke a little louder the second time but still Death-Bringer didn¡¯t respond. I backed up a few steps and launched myself at the door. It buckled against my weight instantly.


    Snap!


    The sound came first. Then the pain...


    Something but through my calf, crunched through my shin. The pain was like when Ves¡¯hil¡¯n was a child and he fell out of a tree and snapped his leg clean in half, the bone poking through the skin, only it was so much worse.


    I wrangled my breathing under control and looked down at the animal trap ensnaring my leg, ¡°fuck.¡± I breathed out.


    ¡°... Bloody...?¡± Death-Bringer¡¯s weak voice asked. My heart sank. Back against the back wall of the shed was a small cage and curled up inside it on the floor was Death-Bringer. Her face was flushed and her eyes were glassy. With no... ¡®help¡¯ it seemed as if the drug was still in her system. She shivered as if cold even while her hair was wet with sweat. ¡°You need to get out of here Bloody... Where¡¯s Gale?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s safe.¡± I answered, crouching down to try and pry the trap apart. I didn¡¯t have the strength and when it budged, even just an inch, my blood poured out.


    ¡°You can¡¯t let the demon take Night Lover¡¯s body... It¡¯ll become too strong...¡± Death-Bringer murmured, ¡°you gotta go before they catch you...¡±


    ¡°It might be too late.¡± I said, through gritted teeth.


    ¡°Yes it is.¡± A woman¡¯s voice behind me said. I twisted my upper body around as best as I could and saw it was the hostess from the inn... with little Tii clinging to her skirts


    Tii looked down at my leg and her face went sickly pale, ¡°I¡¯m sorry mister. Big Sis Raan said Big Brother Tenin would go back to normal if I led you here...¡±

 Chapter 20

    200 and some odd years ago...


    Uling gave the same explanation to Eun and Tejara that she had given to the royal family. Bored with hearing the same explanation twice, Ves¡¯hil¡¯n began inspecting Kliali¡¯s weapon; even asking barely whispered questions about the Borderwood and life as a Ranger until Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai¡¯s glare shut him up. Having been chided silently, Ves¡¯hil¡¯n plopped down in a chair and pouted up at the ceiling.


    When Uling finished her explanation, Eun stood still, staring at the floor, the knuckles of his closed fist pressed to his lips as he soaked in the information. Tejara watched him with a deadpan stare, waiting for his response. Uling also waited for him to speak, her hands clasped nervously in front of her.


    Eun narrowed his eyes, scrunching up his eyebrows before raising them and turning his head slightly to look at Uling. ¡°Kon is sending a prince and its Swordmaster. What great warriors will Xoran send?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re looking at them!¡± Kliali announced, gesturing at himself and Uling.


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    Eun tilted his head towards Kliali, ¡°as a Borderwood Ranger, you hardly count as a warrior of Xoran.¡± He looked back at Uling, disdain coloring his features, ¡° and you... can you even fight?¡± Tejara looked her up and down as Eun said that and had to agree. She was even more waifish and frail looking than the courtesans of Madam Minn¡¯s brothel. Eun took a step towards Uling, turning his nose up at her, ¡°and you are a mere soothsayer and you dare ask a prince to risk his life when all Xoran risks is you.¡±


    Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai¡¯s jaw tighten and his eyes narrow but the crown prince looked down at the floor and said nothing.


    Ves¡¯hil¡¯n stood up, furrowing his brow, and said, ¡°But Teacher, I want to-¡±


    Eun shot the second prince a glare and he immediately clamped his mouth shut and sat back down, properly this time.


    ¡°Um...¡± Uling began nervously, ¡°Kliali did misspeak a little bit. There is a third warrior from Xoran here and, while he¡¯s not quite a prince, he is a nobleman.¡±


    ¡°And why is he not here?¡±


    ¡°His fragile wittle tummy is upset.¡± Kliali mocked in a high-pitched baby talk voice.


    Eun raised an eyebrow. Uling slid in front of Kliali, arms out, blocking him from Eun¡¯s view with a tight smile on her face, ¡°Young Lord Xeit is suffering from a bout of food poisoning and is resting in his room at the moment.¡± Uling lowered her arms, face turning serious. ¡°And as for my ability to fight... you¡¯re right, I¡¯m not strong. But I know magic beyond divination. I can heal... and more importantly, I can seal the Demon Lord.¡±

 Chapter 21

    I grit my teeth and tried to ignore the pain in my calf. ¡°Well someone lied. There¡¯s no way he can come back, he¡¯s long gone.¡±


    Worry crossed over the little girl¡¯s brow and she looked up at her ¡®big sister Raan.¡¯


    The young woman pushed Tii behind her and snapped back at me, trembling slightly, ¡°shut up!¡± She crouched down, putting her hands on Tii¡¯s shoulders, ¡°don¡¯t listen. He doesn¡¯t know anything, he''s just saying stuff to scare us.¡±


    Tii nodded, ¡°I know.¡±


    Raan stood up sharply and walked towards the shed. I stepped forward as well, trying to drag the trap along behind me. She reached the door first and slammed it shut, plunging Death-Bringer and I into darkness. A lock clicked.


    ¡°Shiiiit.¡± I hissed out, dropping to one knee.


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    ¡°This isn¡¯t good.¡± Death-Bringer said weakly.


    ¡°Yeah, no shit.¡± I gritted out, straining as I tried to pry the trap apart.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Gale?¡±


    Grunting as I struggled against the trap, I answered, ¡°he¡¯s on the outskirts of the town.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯d you come alone to rescue me?¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t supposed to.¡±


    Death-Bringer fell silent. Even her feverish panting stopped for a moment. Then she sighed, ¡°this is really bad...¡±


    The biting jaws of the trap finally released my leg. Blood gushed out as I pulled my leg away. I sighed as I let it snap shut.¡±


    ¡°Are you ok?¡± Death-Bringer asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I got my foot out.¡± I scoured across the floor until my back hit the wall. I rested my head against the wall and closed my eyes. In, one two. Out, one two. Blood was oozing from my leg in time with my heartbeat. I turned my head to where I remembered Death-Bringer was, ¡°hey, what do you think will happen if the demon takes over Night Lover¡¯s body?¡±


    ¡°Not sure... But with his connection to the Demon Lord... it can¡¯t be good.¡±

 Chapter 22

    I¡¯m running out of clothes...I thought bitterly as I tore off the sleeves of my inner robe to make a bandage for my calf.


    Once the bleeding seemed to have lessened, I tried to stand. The pain was far too intense to put any weight on my leg, so I leaned against the wall and limped my way towards the door. I threw my weight into the door once, twice, but it didn¡¯t budge.


    ¡°Bloody, stop, you¡¯re hurt. Come untie me and let me try.¡±


    I hesitated, but shuffled away from the door, towards Death-Bringer. I crouched in front of her but before I could begin to untie her hands and feet, there was the sound of wood cracking and splintering behind me.


    ¡°Blood-Forged, Death-Bringer, you there?¡± a familiar voice asked.


    Dread and embarrassment settled in my chest, ¡°Piercing Gale? How¡¯d you find us?¡± I turned my head back to look and watched as Piercing Gale shoved a sword through the wood, hacking away the lock. ¡°And where the fuck did you get a sword?¡±


    ¡°I found it,¡± he grunted as the sword got stuck in the wood, ¡°and I can sense when I¡¯m near other weapons. Can¡¯t you?¡±


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    I frowned and closed my eyes, trying to ¡°sense¡± Piercing Gale but didn¡¯t feel a thing, ¡°no...?¡±


    ¡°Weird.¡± Piercing Gale pulled the sword back and ripped the lock out. The door swung open slowly, ¡°I sent you to find pants, what the fuck happened?¡±


    ¡°Pants?¡± Death-Bringer asked.


    Backlit as he was, it was hard to see Piercing Gale¡¯s face or really any details at all about him but just from his silhouette I could tell he had somehow fashioned my outer robe into pants.


    Piercing Gale came into the shed and crouched in front of me. He pulled aside the cloth I tied around my leg a little bit and grimaced, ¡°that looks bad... can you walk?¡±


    ¡°Kind of... not really,¡± I muttered. This close I could see his furrowed brow and pursed lips. Somehow he had slicked back his hair again and my hands itched to mess it up.


    ¡°What about you, Death-Bringer? Are you hurt?¡±


    ¡°Just drugged,¡± she answered, trying to sit up.


    Piercing Gale leaned over to help her up and drew the sword again to cut the ropes tying her, ¡°where¡¯s Night Lover?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help my face scrunching up a bit. Death-Bringer answered him, ¡°the demon is a body hopper and wants to take over his body.¡±


    ¡°Shit!¡± Piercing Gale grabbed my arm and yanked me upright. ¡°Death-Bringer please tell me you can walk?¡± She nodded and uneasily got to her feet. Piercing Gale put an arm around my waist, pulling me closer and half carrying me out of the shed.

 Chapter 23

    200 and some odd years ago...


    Eun¡¯s brow furrowed, ¡°what do you mean seal?¡±


    Uling straightened her spine and raised her chin before answering, ¡°although there haven¡¯t been many demons in the past century my mentor was always certain they¡¯d return in full force and studied their abilities and weaknesses with fervor.¡± Her eyes drifted away from Eun¡¯s face and she stared at the wall as she spoke. Her lips quirked downwards in a grimace when she mentioned her mentor. ¡°I suspect the leader, this Lord of Demons, to be an Immortal Demon. A subspecies of demon that are nigh impossible to kill so sealing him may be our only option.¡±


    ¡°And how do you seal him?¡±


    From her long flowing  sleeves the soothsayer Uling produced a pure white flute. ¡°He needs to be weakened and held in place and then I just need to play a spell.¡± She twirled the flute then slipped it back in her sleeve.


    Over to the side Ves¡¯hil¡¯n sat in a chair with his feet folded under him, likely getting the cushion dirty with his shoes. His knees bounced rapidly like flapping butterfly wings as he slouched over with his chin in his hands, clearly not paying any attention to the conversation. But when the soothsayer produced the flute from her sleeve and mentioned spells, he perked up with eyes wide. He sat up straight and asked, ¡°will you show us some magic?¡±


    The woman who had just put her flute away turned to look at Ves¡¯hil¡¯n with an unreadable expression on her face, ¡°what... kind of magic would you like to see Your Highness.¡±


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    Ves¡¯hil¡¯n pressed his lips together into a thin line and furrowed his brow, ¡°you said you can heal, right?¡±


    Uling raised an eyebrow and tilted her head to the side, ¡°...yeah?¡±


    Ves¡¯hil¡¯n reached for Blood-Forged where it rested against his chair. Suspecing what he was about to do, Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai frowned and started to ask in a low voice, ¡°what are you-?¡±


    At the same time, Eun, knowing what Ves¡¯hil¡¯n planned to do stepped forward and scolded in a harsh tone, ¡°Ves¡¯hil¡¯n!¡±


    But neither brother nor teacher was fast enough to stop Ves¡¯hil¡¯n from drawing his blade and cutting deep into his own forearm.


    Kliali exclaimed, ¡°shit!¡± and even Tejara¡¯s eyes went wide. Eun made it to Ves¡¯hil¡¯n¡¯s side a half second too late. He ripped the sword from Ves¡¯hil¡¯n¡¯s hands and threw it to the ground, ¡°what the hell do you think you¡¯re doing, you fucking idiot!¡± Tejara¡¯s eyes widened even further hearing Eun yell with such emotion.


    Ves¡¯hil¡¯n let his bleeding arm be held up by Eun as he tilted his head and innocently said, ¡°well, if she can¡¯t heal a wound like this then she¡¯s not much use to us, right?¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean-!¡± Eun started to argue but was cut off by a somber melody. He looked back over his shoulder at Uling, who had pulled out her flute again and started playing.


    ¡°Whoa!¡± Ves¡¯hil¡¯n exclaimed and Eun¡¯s head snapped back to him to see the wound stitch closed. Eun wiped away the blood on Ves¡¯hil¡¯n¡¯s arm with his sleeve. When he saw that there wasn¡¯t even a new scar left behind, he sighed and let go of Ves¡¯hil¡¯n¡¯s arm.


    Ves¡¯hil¡¯n wiggled in his seat and cheerfully announced, ¡°I¡¯m satisfied!¡±


    Eun pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, ¡°I would like to meet this Xora nobleman now.¡±

 Chapter 24

    Piercing Gale ducked into a nearby building, with me in tow.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we get farther away?¡± I hissed in his ear.


    ¡°They won¡¯t expect us to stay this close. You two will hopefully be safe here while I try to rescue Night Lover,¡± he whispered back, breath tickling my ear. He gently lowered me down to sit on the floor. I glanced around the dark, closed shop filled with all sorts of food items.


    Death-Bringer stumbled in a second or two behind us and leaned against the doorframe, ¡°unfortunately, Bloody is dripping a path of blood leading straight towards us.¡±


    Piercing Gale, who was searching for something in the store, cursed under his breath. ¡°Fuck,¡± he pushed his hair back, squeezing the strands in his fist as he stared off into a corner, ¡°then... we keep moving together?¡±


    Death-Bringer shook her head, wiping the lingering sweat from her brow, ¡°no, too dangerous, we¡¯d be in the way. I¡¯ll take Bloody and get out of here while you find Night Lover.¡±


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    ¡°Can you even carry Blood-Forged in that state?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s wearing off..¡± Death-Bringer said, somewhat unconvincingly due to her bright red cheeks.


    ¡°Do you really think you can fight the demon on your own?¡± I asked, shifting to sit up straighter.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to fight. I¡¯m going to go in, get Night Lover, and get out.¡±


    I rolled my eyes, ¡°like it¡¯ll work out that well.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just hold your tongue until you have something productive to say.¡±


    I wanted to suggest we just abandon Night Lover to his fate but I knew, objectively, that it was a bad idea so I held my tongue and crossed my arms.


    ¡°I¡¯ll help get you two out of town then come back for Night Lover, and I won¡¯t let Blood-Forged leave a blood trail.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯ll take too long! Who knows if Night Lover-¡± Death-Bringer was cut off by the sound of fireworks going off, surprisingly close.


    When the fireworks stopped a booming voice rang out, ¡°let the ritual begin!¡±

 Chapter 25

    ¡°Let the ritual begin!¡± A voice called out. Young, male, strong and powerful, but with a strange quality to it that I couldn¡¯t quite place.


    Death-Bringer¡¯s gaze became hard, ¡°I don¡¯t think we have any more time left.¡±


    ¡°Shit...¡± Piercing Gale pressed his back against a wall and looked out a window through the rotten boards across it, ¡°I can¡¯t see anything. We are too far.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t let them...¡±


    ¡°I know... I¡¯m going... You two stay here.¡± Piercing Gale quickly moved to the door.


    Death-Bringer¡¯s eyebrows scrunched together in concern, ¡°but there¡¯s probably no chance of getting Night Lover out without being seen now.¡±


    ¡°I have to try!¡± Piercing Gale snapped.


    I braced myself against a shelf and stood, ¡°I¡¯ll help, maybe a distraction.¡±


    Piercing Gale shook his head, ¡°not a chance. You¡¯ll die before we get anywhere near the Demon Lord, we can¡¯t have that.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re really arrogant, aren¡¯t you?¡± I scowled, limping forward a step, ¡°you can¡¯t do it without help.¡±


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    Piercing Gale¡¯s eye twitched, ¡°fine.¡±


    The three of us left the store, Piercing Gale in the front. We didn¡¯t have to go far before we could see the whole village, dozens, maybe even a few hundred, crowded in the main street, their quiet festival completely silent now. All listening as the voice continued, ¡°I thank you all for your cooperation up to this point!¡±


    Piercing Gale stopped and turned back to face Death-Bringer and I. He raised his hands up, his two index fingers together and pointed up, then slowly separated his hands, a sign meaning to split up, before he continued along the back street parallel to the crowds, moving towards the voice and where the people were facing, Death-Bringer ducked into an alleyway, getting closer to the crowds. Once they were both out of view, I turned to a low-roofed home with some crates stacked up against a wall, the perfect way up.


    Ves¡¯hil¡¯n was always quite adept at climbing. But whether it was my shorter limbs or the still throbbing pain in my calf, I struggled in the short climb. But, breathing hard, I eventually made it on the roof. I crawled across the roof on my belly until I could see everything.


    The crowd was much larger than I expected and I wondered how they were all so quiet while we were walking through the town. I followed their line of sight to a stage where a man stood arms outstretched, making a speech. He was a handsome young man with sun-kissed skin and a solid, laborer¡¯s body. In front of him was a half disrobed Night Lover, kneeling and tied up, his head down and  long black hair unbound and hiding his face from view. From this distance I couldn¡¯t tell if he was conscious, injured, still drugged or not.


    I focused back in on the speech the man was making the entire time, ¡°... And so I must apologize, friends, for once the ritual is complete, I must leave you!¡±

 Chapter 26

    Despite myself, I felt a pang of pity for Night Lover. He looked small and vulnerable on that stage. His pale skin was marked with what I could only guess were bruises from rough handling.


    From my vantage point, I could see Piercing Gale making his way closer to the stage, moving parallel to the crowd. Death-Bringer was a bit harder to find as she blended in surprisingly well. Once I was satisfied that I knew where both of them were I settled down and watched.


    The man on stage started speaking in another language. The crowd grew restless and uncomfortable. While I didn¡¯t know the words. I had heard enough of the demon language through Ves¡¯hil¡¯n to recognize it. And Night Lover seemed to understand. His head snapped up, eyes wide. He wiggled his shoulders and arms, trying to work his way out of the rope keeping his hands bound behind his back. All the while trying to talk over the man in the demon¡¯s tongue. The crowd grew even more restless as their voices rose, ¡®arguing¡¯ in the deep, guttural language. The man pulled a knife from his belt, raising his voice until it was hoarse trying to continue louder than Night Lover.


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    Out of the corner of my eye I saw Piercing Gale getting closer to the stage, hopefully unseen to everyone else.


    The man grabbed a fistful of Night Lover¡¯s hair, cutting off his voice by forcing a hiss of ¡®shit¡¯ out of his mouth. At the same time, Piercing Gale grabbed the edge of the stage with both hands.


    My own fingers ached as I dug my fingernails into the roof.


    The man, still shouting in the demon¡¯s tongue, began to carve into Night Lover¡¯s skin.


    The murmuring of the crowd grew louder, a few people gasped, and some adults covered children¡¯s eyes.


    As Night Lover screamed, Piercing Gale flipped over onto the stage and rushed in.

 Chapter 27

    200 and some odd years ago...


    Eun pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, ¡°I would like to meet this Xora nobleman now.¡±


    Kliali snorted, ¡°you don¡¯t really.¡± It was clear the presumptuous words were supposed to be quiet but Kliali didn¡¯t have the quietest whisper. Eun and Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai were gracious and didn¡¯t comment. Uling lightly smacked him on the arm and Ves¡¯hil¡¯n...


    Well, Ves¡¯hil¡¯n was never one to hold his tongue.


    ¡°Do you not like him?¡±


    Much to their chagrin Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai and Eun¡¯s reactions were in sync though Eun pinched the bridge of his nose a bit harder than the Crown Prince.


    Despite Uling¡¯s deathly glare, Kliali seemed all to happy to air his grievances with a wry, forced grin, ¡°oh no, I like him well enough, it¡¯s just that he¡¯s decided to hate Uling and I for ridiculous reasons and somehow believes himself to be above us despite being the clear weakest link.¡±


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    ¡°Kliali-¡± Uling hissed but before her reprimand could continue, Ves¡¯hil¡¯n tilted his head to the side, dark brows rising slightly and asked...


    ¡°Weakest link? Is this truth or irritation speaking?¡± Ves¡¯hil¡¯n¡¯s open, unflinching gaze moved from Kliali to Uling.


    ¡°Truth,¡± Kliali answered without hesitation.


    Uling¡¯s jaw tightened and she tucked some stray, black hairs behind her ear, ¡°all those in my visions are necessary.¡±


    Kliali rolled his eyes and jabbed Uling lightly in the ribs then hooked his arm around her shoulders and dragged her in close. With a chuckle, he said, ¡°sure, sure he¡¯s very necessary... Still the weakest link.¡±


    Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai stiffened a little and the display, though the only one watching his reaction was Eun.


    Uling huffed and blew away the strands of hair that had fallen into her face after Kliali¡¯s jostling.


    Finally, Eun spoke again, reluctantly taking his eyes off the Crown Prince and even more reluctantly not glancing at Ves¡¯hil¡¯n as he fixed his gaze on Uling and Kliali again, ¡°all the same... I would like to meet him.¡±

 Chapter 28

    200 and some odd years ago...


    ¡°Knock yourselves out! I¡¯m going to wait here.¡± Kliali dropped into a cross-legged position in a fluid motion. He flicked the tail of his long, silky black ponytail over his shoulder and pulled his materials onto his lap to continue constructing arrows like he was doing when they entered his room.


    Eun scowled, ¡°I would like us all to discuss the situation and make plans together. If we are to be working together on protecting our nations from demons, then we really should start now.¡±


    The last of Kliali¡¯s good humor disappeared from his face as he scowled back at Eun, ¡°y¡¯all are a bunch of nobles and advisors and shit. I¡¯m from the Borderwood. You cannot tell me you actually plan on listening to my opinion.¡±


    Tejara, who stood next to the door with her back almost leaning against the wall, spoke up, ¡°I¡¯m a criminal; I was almost hanged for my crimes.¡± Ves¡¯hil¡¯n jumped a little bit in his seat, having forgotten entirely that she was there.


    Kliali pointed the feathered end of the arrow at her as he responded, ¡°and those are the first words I¡¯ve heard you speak. So, no offense but that really doesn¡¯t change my mind, dear.¡±


    ¡°Well, I was once a deathrow prisoner as well,¡± Eun said, drawing all eyes to him. Everyone, aside from Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai and the soothsayer, looked at him with shock at the revelation.


    Ves¡¯hil¡¯n¡¯s surprised expression melted into a frown. Eun was his bodyguard, his teacher, his... his... why didn¡¯t he know about this?


    Kliali recovered his jaw from the ground and cleared his throat, ¡°fine. If you want me to go so badly I will.¡±


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.As the group left the guest room a servant rushed up, stopping a few feet back and bowing low at the waist, ¡°my apologies for the interruptions, Your Highnesses, but the King requests the Crown Prince¡¯s presence in the War Room.¡±


    Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai nodded at the servant than folded his hands together in his sleeves. He glanced at Ves¡¯hil¡¯n than looked between the two guests, finally settling on Uling, ¡°it seems I must take my leave, give Lord Xeit my apologies for not yet greeting him in person.¡±


    Uling returned Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai¡¯s small bow with a soft smile and a slightly deeper bow of her own. ¡°Of course. He will understand.¡±


    Crown Prince Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai left, gliding through the halls with elegant, quick steps. When he was gone Kliali muttered under his breath, ¡°I wish I could¡¯ve missed meeting Xeit like that.¡±


    Uling gave him a disapproving stare but didn¡¯t say anything.


    She led the way to Lord Xeit¡¯s room. Along the way, Ves¡¯il¡¯n stared a hole into the back of Eun¡¯s head, not even looking away when Uling stopped in front of a door and knocked. Nor when the door opened. ¡°What do you- Ah! Your Highness, Prince Ves¡¯hil¡¯n, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. Apologies for not coming to greet you earlier.¡±


    Hearing his name, Ves¡¯hil¡¯n finally turned to look at the man in the doorway. He was pale in a sickly way (Ves¡¯hil¡¯n vaguely remembered something about food poisoning). His long, black hair was pulled back from his face and braided down his back, his eyebrows were small and thin, and his lips looked perpetually pursed.


    He looked annoying and Ves¡¯hil¡¯n had forgotten his name.


    So he smiled serenely and said, ¡°nice to meet you, weakest link.¡±


    Out of the corner of his eye, Ves¡¯hil¡¯n saw Eun cover his face with his hand, shoulders shaking slightly. Kliali didn¡¯t even try to stifle his own mean-spirited laugh, barking it out.


    The young nobleman¡¯s head whipped towards Kliali. ¡°You b-¡± he cut himself off and turned back to Ves¡¯hil¡¯n, still seething while fighting to keep his tone polite, ¡°I assure you, Your Highness, I am far from weak.¡±


    Ves¡¯hil¡¯n shrugged, ¡°couldn¡¯t remember your name sorry.¡±


    The young noble smiled, His cheeks clearly straining with the effort, ¡°my name is Xeit, Your Highness, of the Third House of Xoran. Please do remember it.¡±

 Chapter 29

    Human bodies are a little inconvenient. While they are a powerful driving force, they are rather fragile, easily injured by a blade. Which was made painfully obvious by Piercing Gale¡¯s barehanded charge of the demon possessed young man.


    Piercing Gale tackled him to the ground, then immediately cried out in pain as the knife was plunged into his back. The demon pulled the knife out and stabbed again as Piercing Gale scrambled to try and pin his arms to the ground. This was not a fight Piercing Gale could win on his own.


    Up on my rooftop, I looked over to Death-Bringer and saw her running for the stage. The villagers around her looked lost and unsure, many seeming half-prepared to flee, a few looking like they wanted to try and stop her. But only one person actually stepped in her way; the young woman from the bathhouse, Raan. ¡°I won¡¯t let you interfere,¡± she shouted.


    Death-Bringer paid her no mind and just barreled on ahead, knocking the waifish girl aside. Unfortunately the small cry the girl let out as she fell into the crowd spurred many of them to spring to action against Death-Bringer.


    ¡°Fuck, shit.¡± I couldn¡¯t sit still any longer. I pulled myself across the roof tiles, wincing at the drag of my wounded leg behind me but pushed through. I dropped from the roof, tucking and rolling, and biting my bottom lip so as not to cry out and call attention to myself.


    I landed, crouched behind the crowds. My line of sight to Piercing Gale and the demon was blocked by the crowds at that angle; all I could see was the bloody knife being raised again.


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    Ves¡¯hil¡¯n only needed to be stabbed in the back once to die. I couldn¡¯t help the cold feeling taking root in my soul that Piercing Gale would die if that knife stabbed him again.


    I stood and rushed into the crowd. With each step forward the pain in my leg faded further and further back in my mind.


    I tried to push my way through the wall of bodies, my eyes trained on the crimson blood dripping off the tip of the knife. But I couldn¡¯t move fast enough and the blade was thrust downwards.


    ¡°STOP!¡± Without thinking I screamed.


    I doubled down on my efforts to get through the crowd. When two men turned to me to purposefully block my way, I shouted, ¡°move,¡± instinctually. And, seemingly by instinct, the two men stepped aside.


    I made it to the stage faster than expected, running into it full force and knocking the wind out of me. I dragged myself up onto the stage and looked over at the two on the ground and saw...


    Piercing Gale still on top of the demon and breathing, now pinning his arm, the knife scattered just out of reach.


    I got unsteadily to my feet, the adrenaline draining away. With the pain filtering back in, I limped towards them and the knife.


    As I got closer I could see Piercing Gale¡¯s arms shaking as he pinned the demon, blood poured from his wounds, seeping into the wood of the stage. I grabbed the knife and dropped to my knees by the demon''s head, raising the knife to stab him through the throat.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Night Lover shouted, but it was too late to stop my swing. I plunged the knife deep into the demon¡¯s throat. His eyes went wide, then the light in them dimmed...


    And then something other than blood began to pour from the death wound.

 Chapter 30

    No blood flowed from the demon¡¯s throat. Instead, thick, dark red mist rose out of the wound, coiling in the air in front of my face, before suddenly racing towards Night Lover.


    ¡°Bring the knife!¡± Night Lover screamed out, struggling against his binds... They didn¡¯t break.


    I yanked the blade out of the young man¡¯s throat, stumbling over his body as I rushed to reach Night Lover before the mist. But midrun my injured leg gave out on me and I fell, sprawling out across the stage, the knife falling from my hand and sliding across the stage, uselessly landing far away from anyone.


    The mist moved at the speed of a man running and now, with Gale still laying bleeding, Death-Bringer harried by the townsfolk, and me unable to get my leg under me to stand without nearly passing out from pain, there was no one to beat the body hopping demon to Night Lover.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Night Lover cursed. From his kneeling position he rocked back on his feet and stood. The rope around his ankles kept him from running but he was still able to leap and dive towards the knife, narrowly escaping the mist. The mist slowed down as it changed direction to continue chasing Night Lover. Night Lover shimmied the last few inches to the knife. He grabbed the knife handle with his teeth and began to roll towards me.


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    I crawled forward to meet him halfway, dragging my injured leg behind me. When we were close enough he spat out the knife and shouted, ¡°cut the mark!¡±


    I grabbed the knife as the mist closed in and, praying for all our sakes that I understood his meaning correctly, slashed his chest with the knife, right through the design the demon had carved into his skin.


    Night Lover¡¯s cry of pain was drowned out by a scream of rage from the mist. But its rage proved useless as it circled around Night Lover and I, unable to do anything but slowly diminish in size and speed.


    I cut Night Lover¡¯s arms free then rolled onto my back, letting out a sigh of relief that turned into victorious laughter as the demonic mist finally dissipated completely.


    My laughter was interrupted by that girl¡¯s voice, screaming, ¡°MURDERERS!¡±

 Chapter 31

    ¡°MURDERERS!¡± The bathhouse attendant girl, Raan, screamed out from her place kneeling by the body the demon had vacated. She was pressing her hands to his throat to staunch the bleeding that wasn¡¯t fucking happening.


    I vaguely remembered the little shit saying something about the demon''s body being her boyfriend. I laughed at her, a headache forming around my temples and behind my eyes. ¡°He¡¯s been dead for a long fucking time. Look, there isn¡¯t even any blood left in his body, the demon absorbed every last drop.¡± I took a step towards her, my eyes shifting to Gale laying on the stage, unmoving.


    Her eyes followed mine. Before I could do anything, she lunged for Gale, pulling a large kitchen knife from behind her back. She pointed it right under the base of his skull and screamed, ¡°I¡¯ll kill him! I¡¯ll kill him! Don¡¯t move!¡±


    I paused, one foot hovering in the air, ¡°what do you expect to accomplish?¡± I let my foot land, ¡°resurrecting some months dead poor bastard isn¡¯t in our list of skills.¡± I took a step forward, the girl tensed, ¡°we saved you all from a demon. We deserve some fucking gratitude instead of this,¡± I threw my hand up at her and took another step forward.


    ¡°Uh... Blood-Forged?¡± Night Loversaid behind me but I didn¡¯t spare any thought to reading his tone or stopping to listen to him.


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    The girl raised the knife and raised her voice, ¡°I¡¯ll do it! I¡¯ll kill him!¡±


    ¡°And then I¡¯ll kill you and anyone else who jumps on here to perform a parody of revenge!¡± I raised my voice so the whole crowd gathered could hear me. I took another step forward.


    The girl breathed hard, her shoulders heaving, her face red. With both hands on the hilt of her knife, she lifted it, torchlight glinting off the blade as it shook. I took another step forward. She plunged the knife downwards. I lunged forward to grab her...


    I was still too far away...


    ¡°Stop!¡±


    And she did. Her brows screwed together in consternation. I grabbed her by the collar and lifted her off of Gale. ¡°Drop it.¡± With a yelp, she let go of the knife and it clattered uselessly to the stage floor.


    She grabbed my forearm with both hands and glared into my eyes, ¡°I¡¯ll kill you,¡± she forced out through gritted teeth.


    ¡°Good luck with that.¡± With a grunt and all the strength I could muster, I threw her to the crowd. She hit the edge of the stage and rolled off.


    I scanned the faces of the crowd, searching for Death-Bringer. The expressions  of the villagers ranged from angry to scared to confused; not a single one of them grateful or happy. Blood was starting to roar in my ears. ¡°Death-Bringer!¡± I called, unable to find her.


    ¡°Right here!¡± She climbed up onto the stage, face black and blue and bloody but movement unimpeded. She crouched down in front of Gale¡¯s prone form. I crouched as well, keeping one eye on the crowd.


    Gale¡¯s eyes slowly moved, ¡° ¡®sover...?¡± he croaked out.


    ¡°Yes, the demon¡¯s gone,¡± Death-Bringer placed her palm on his forehead as if to check for a fever then combed her fingers through his hair. His eyes slid shut and there was a flash of light. I flinched and when I looked back Gale was gone.


    Swaddled in the tattered remains of his clothes, was the blade wielded by Swordmaster Eun.

 Chapter 32

    200 and some odd years ago...


    Still straining to smile politely, Xeit stepped to the side and gestured into his room, ¡°come in.¡±


    Ves¡¯hil¡¯n went in first without a word and collapsed into the comfiest looking chair in the room. He pulled his legs up under him, rested his elbow on the armrest, and laid his chin in his hand while the others filed into the room.


    Xeit turned his fake smile on Eun, ¡°I guess you are to be part of our merry band as well? Could you tell me your name, good sir?¡±


    Eun gave him a quick look up and down before responding, ¡°Eun.¡±


    Xeit¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°the... the Swordmaster!¡± he bowed deeply, but briefly, ¡°it¡¯ll be an honor to fight alongside a renowned warrior such as yourself.¡±


    ¡°I suppose we will find out if the honor is shared.¡±


    Kliali interjected, ¡°she¡¯s also joining us.¡± He put an arm around Tejara¡¯s shoulders and pointed at her. Surprised by the sudden contact, Tejara jumped and pulled away, leaving Kliali¡¯s arm hanging in the air.


    Xeit¡¯s smile fully slipped away, the shadow of a sneer overtaking his features, ¡°another woman? Was two not enough already?¡± He looked at Uling, ¡°I¡¯m starting to lose faith that your ¡®prophecies¡¯ are leading us to a victorious future, soothsayer.¡±


    Uling balled her hands into fists, ¡°you dare doubt the spirits... the gods?!¡±


    Xeit pursed his lips, ¡°I¡¯m not doubting the gods, I am doubting you.¡±


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    Before Uling could make a response, Eun, who had been staring at the floor with furrowed brows, suddenly spoke up, ¡°two...?¡±


    Kliali finally lowered his hand, bringing it to his chest, ¡°he thinks me a woman.¡±


    Xeit slid his sneer over to Kliali, ¡°because you are a woman. I have seen your chest unbound.¡±


    ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    Xeit¡¯s lips were pressed thin and his eyes were narrow as he said, ¡°she is a woman pretending to be a man. Whether it is because she wanted to steal a life amongst the Rangers or for perverted reasons, I don¡¯t kn-¡±


    Xeit was cut off by Tejara¡¯s fist connecting with his jaw. The blow was unexpected and Xeit hit the ground hard. It took a few long seconds just to sit up, holding his jaw, ¡°...wha...?¡±


    Tejara, still standing over him with her chin raised and her fist clenched, didn¡¯t let him speak, ¡°he is a man if he says he¡¯s a man.¡±


    Xeit¡¯s jaw visibly tightened and he pursed his lips but didn¡¯t try to say anymore.


    Tejara turned to face Prince Ves¡¯hil¡¯n and dropped to her knees, bowing her head, ¡°I apologize for committing violence without permission, Your Highness. I will accept whatever punishment you deem fit.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Aaah, I¡¯m no good at these kinds of things...¡± Ves¡¯hil¡¯n tilted his head up, staring at the ceiling. He closed his eyes and flapped his hand dismissively, ¡°whatever, I didn¡¯t really think you were wrong anyways.¡±


    Xeit¡¯s jaw dropped as if he had been hit again. Still on the ground, still holding his swelling cheek, he stuttered, ¡°Y-Your Highness, what do you... why would you.... Wha...?¡±


    Eun responded for Ves¡¯hil¡¯n as the prince sat completely unmoved and disinterested, ¡°if we are to be comrades in arms we should have each other¡¯s backs not be at each other¡¯s throats.¡± Eun seemed to include everyone as he locked eyes with each person in the room while speaking. His eyes landed on Uling last, ¡°now that we¡¯ve all made each other¡¯s acquaintances I suppose it¡¯s time to prepare to leave for Daraien.¡±


    Looking nervous, Uling sighed in relief then smiled, ¡°yes.¡±

 Chapter 33

    ¡°G-Gale...?¡± I felt cold. Blood rushed to my head, roaring in my ears. My hands shook, fingers like ice as I curled them into fists. I whirled to face the crowd, looking for that girl. I found her easily, still on the ground, face cut up and bleeding, her mouth drawn tight, and her eyes mirroring the indignant rage I felt.


    I took a step towards her but Death-Bringer grabbed my wrist, holding me back. I ripped my gaze away from that girl to look at her. Her face wasn¡¯t flushed anymore but her eyelids looked heavy and her lips pale and dry, ¡°let her go. The demon is dead. We have bigger things to worry about.¡±


    ¡°But... Gale?¡±


    ¡°Will be alright.¡± Night Lover¡¯s voice, a soft murmur, came from behind me. I looked back, watching as he wrapped up the sword known as Piercing Gale in his clothes, ¡°this has happened to me before, he just needs time to recuperate.¡± Night Lover stood, cradling the wrapped up sword to his chest like a swaddled child.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± I asked, my voice surprising me with its softness.


    He nodded and I felt all my rage slip away with an exhausted sigh. Suddenly the wound in my leg ached terribly. Not looking at any of the ungrateful villagers, I climbed down off the stage and began to walk to the nearest exit of the town.


    *


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    We walked for an hour, maybe two in silence before we came upon a fork in the road. I squinted at the sign, trying to think through all of my memories from Ves¡¯hil¡¯n to see if I recalled the name of the village Uling lived in after the war.


    Death-Bringer sidled up next to me and pointed down one of the roads, ¡°her hometown is that way.¡± She spoke with confidence, so I just shrugged and started down that road in step with her.


    After a few steps, Night Lover cleared his throat behind us. I turned back to face him.


    He pouted, still holding Gale¡¯s sword form in his hands, ¡°do I really need to keep going with you?¡± Before either of us could answer he stood up straighter and continued with more bite in his words, ¡°you are off on some long hero¡¯s journey I want no part of. I hope you can tell by now that I¡¯m not a part of some demon plot to resurrect Valeron. I¡¯m in as much danger from the demons as you are!¡± He strode forward and shoved the bundled up Piercing Gale into my arms. ¡°I¡¯m going to leave. Do you plan to stop me?¡± He tilted his chin up, trying to look confident in defiance. But his eyes darted away from mine instantly and his knees shook. He was frightened, whether of fighting us or of the demons we would face if he was forced to come with us, I wasn¡¯t sure. My eyes trailed down at the bloody mark carved into his chest, he hadn¡¯t tied his shirt closed tight enough to hide it completely. I closed my eyes and saw Piercing Gale¡¯s blood soaking into the wood of the stage. I shrugged and turned away, making my way down the road to Uling¡¯s hometown, without answering him.


    A few seconds later I could hear his footsteps carrying away from us, down the other road.


    After we couldn¡¯t see or hear him anymore, Death-Bringer said to me, ¡°I think you were right to let him leave. I think Gale would agree to.¡±


    I didn¡¯t answer her either.

 Chapter 34

    200 and some odd years ago


    Kliali drew his bow and aimed quicker than any archer in the Kon army. It struck the target¡¯s center cleanly. Kliali ignored the prince Ves¡¯hil¡¯n¡¯s little burst of applause and quickly nocked and fired another arrow. It landed right next to the first, so close that it shaved off some of the first¡¯s wood. Only then did he turn and bow to Ves¡¯hil¡¯n, a wide grin on his face.


    Ves¡¯hil¡¯n renewed his clapping with the utmost vigor. ¡°Amazing! Truly amazing! Are all Borderwood Rangers as skilled as you?¡±


    Kliali laughed and flipped his high ponytail in a cocky manner, ¡°we do have to protect all your squishy little citizens from mischievous spirits and the Kuva tribe,¡± he put a hand on his hip and cocked it to the side, ¡°still, I¡¯m one of the best.¡±


    Ves¡¯hil¡¯n lowered his hands after clapping and pursed his lips, ¡°why join the Rangers? With your skill you would enjoy an easy life if you joined the Kon royal army, you would live a life of luxury. My brother would probably make up some random position for you like he did for Eun.¡±


    Kliali¡¯s eyebrows quirked up, ¡°are you trying to poach me?¡±


    ¡°Just curious.¡±


    ¡°Why are you going along with the soothsayer¡¯s plan? You could stay safe in the palace, enjoying your life to the bitter end. Instead, you¡¯re going to risk your life in a suicide mission.¡±


    ¡°I do not intend to die.¡±


    Kliali rolled his eyes, then plopped down across from Ves¡¯hil¡¯n. Unlike Ves¡¯hil¡¯n he did not have a blanket to protect himself from the chill of the morning dew, though he did not mind. ¡°Well, regardless, why risk yourself?¡±


    Almost every one of the prince¡¯s teeth were visible in his next smile, ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to pass up the opportunity to finally rest my blade against a real enemy.¡±


    For a moment, Kliali just stared at Ves¡¯hil¡¯n with wide eyes, then, ¡°pfft... that was not what I was expecting you to say.¡±


    Ves¡¯hil¡¯n pouted as the other man laughed at him, ¡°and what were you expecting me to say?¡±


    Kliali flicked away a tear that formed at the corner of his eye as he tamped down any more laughter, hiding the gesture with a wave of his hand and an upward tilt of his head. ¡°I was expecting talk of duty, to your people, to your kingdom, or even to your family.¡±


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    Ves¡¯hil¡¯n¡¯s cheeks went a little red, ¡°oh, well, uhm, yes, that-that too.¡±


    Kliali¡¯s spine curved in a bit as he propped up his chin in his hand. His amused smile looked a little lopsided when he tilted his head to the side. His pose was far too casual for the presence of a prince but nobody who passed by seemed to bat an eye at the two of them. ¡°I¡¯m not judging you. You just ruined what I was going to say.¡±


    ¡°And what was that?¡±


    Kliali turned his head slightly so that he was talking into his palm, ¡°oh, just that we are not so different. The Borderwood is my home and my kingdom. The Rangers are my people, my family. I feel a sense of duty to them. And I will do anything to protect the Borderwood, including leaving it behind for the first time in my life for a suicide mission.¡±


    Vees¡¯hil¡¯n nodded along, his expression dull but contemplative, ¡°your accent is Kon so I thought you were from here... There are people born in the Borderwood?¡±


    Kliali looked back at Ves¡¯hil¡¯n, smiling once more, ¡°of course! Rangers can rarely leave so if they have or want a family they must bring them to the woods.¡± Kliali stood, brushing off the back of his pants as if that would wipe away the dampness from the dew. ¡°There are women and children in the Borderwood, fighting alongside the Rangers to slow down the demon¡¯s army and keep your people safe...¡± Kliali¡¯s face went cold and serious, ¡°I should hope you are prepared to give your life too.¡±


    *


    Xeit stared at the ceiling of his room in the Kon palace, his stomach... and his jaw... still in pain.He had promised he would be prepared to leave in two days when they finished gathering supplies. That was two days ago... The hands he had folded over his stomach tightened and he groaned before finally dragging himself out of bed. Some of them were probably already waiting... perhaps they all were. It was improper to keep a prince waiting... not that the second prince of Kon seemed to care a rat¡¯s ass about propriety. He picked up his bag and hooked his sword and whip to hsi belt. He hesitated at the door, glancing back at the last view of comfort and luxury he¡¯d likely have for a while. He slid the door open only to try and fail to promptly shut it again.


    A strong hand blocked it from closing completely, before forcing it open. Xeit was forcedto be eye to eye with the brutish woman that had punched him in the face.


    ¡°It is time to go, little nobleman.¡±


    Xeit felt his cheeks heat with indignation immediately. She was tall but not taller than him... She was thicker though, in a way he initially dismissed as fat but now that he was looking closer he realized it was muscle, ¡°excuse me, li-?¡±


    The woman raised her hand and to his shame, Xeit flinched. ¡°I don¡¯t care who you are. To me you are nothing but one more slimy noble. And I know I¡¯m nothing but filth as well but I have nothing to lose so until Prince Ves¡¯hil¡¯n sends me back to the gallows he took me from, I won¡¯t let you disrespect the soothsayer or the Ranger.¡±


    She took a step back, finally giving Xeit the space to breather. Her face never shifted from its impassive chilliness, ¡°don¡¯t keep the prince waiting. He¡¯s a man who¡¯s actually worth the price of his noble blood.¡±

 Chapter 35

    When night fell I realized with no small amount of annoyance that we never actually got to sleep in the inn, nor buy supplies. Once more we were forced to lay directly on the grass under the stars.


    There was a farm with a few little houses not too far away. Death-Bringer had tried to suggest asking for hospitality but the fear of being vulnerable around humans while still a bit injured and with Gale in sword form was not outweighed by the possibility of a roof over our heads. And so I fell asleep, one hand on the cold metal of Gale¡¯s blade...


    I woke up with my cheek pressed against warm, bare skin rather than dew-covered grass. I jerked fully awake, finding myself trapped in place by Gale¡¯s tangled limbs. The bloody scraps of clothes that had been wrapped around his blade were now haphazardly wrapped around his body, not doing much to cover him at all. With my ear pressed to his chest I could hear a slow, steady heartbeat and soft, gentle breathing. My hands twitched as I shifted, moving slowly until I could press my palms flat against his back and feel smooth skin... not one sign that he had been stabbed so many times. Feeling my leg still throbbing with pain I couldn¡¯t help but find it a bit unfair.


    With the strength of purpose I managed to push Gale away and extricate myself from his limbs. Once free, I looked up to see Death-Bringer smiling knowingly at me. What she presumed to know I had no clue. ¡±What?¡± I snapped. Apparently too loudly since Piercing Gale started to stir on the ground next to me. He sat up abruptly, eyes flitting around, tension in his body easing slightly when he met my eyes and my heart felt a little squeezed. ¡°What happened? Are the villagers alright? Night Lover? Is the demon dead?¡±


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    ¡°Demon¡¯s dead. Night Lover went his own way... The villagers are assholes.¡±


    Piercing Gale raised an eyebrow, ¡°assholes?¡±


    ¡°No one was seriously hurt.¡± Death-Bringer answered for me, ¡°but they weren¡¯t exactly grateful to us so we couldn¡¯t stick around to get supplies, including...¡± She pointed at him, her finger slowly trailing down.


    His eyes followed her finger and he looked down, his whole body twitching when he saw his nakedness. He hurriedly tried to arrange the shredded, bloody remains of his clothes to better cover himself, blushing deeply, ¡°why am I...?¡±


    ¡°You were a sword.¡± I helpfully supplied.


    Piercing Gale frowned for a moment before realization dawned on his face... Then he frowned again, ¡°am I just supposed to walk around naked until we make it to the next town?¡±


    I looked past him to the small scattered cabins where someone was hanging up laundry on a line.


    Soon we were on the road again, Gale grouchily wearing a stolen outfit in style much more similar to mine than what he had been wearing previously.


    After a few days of travel, we reached the border between Kon and Xoran, buying what supplies we could afford from smaller settlements along the way. The village that surrounded the bridge over the river to Xoran was the biggest town we¡¯d been in since the demonically controlled one so of course... it had a similar, sinister presence.

 Chapter 36

    ¡°Has it been like this since Ves¡¯hil¡¯n died or is this because of the seal weakening?¡± I muttered, my eyes constantly roving around, peering at each person we passed for seconds at a time. And there were people to see, unlike the last place. The town was bustling. People were everywhere; walking, running, talking, shouting, playing. It was lively, the complete opposite of the last town. When people caught me staring at them, they glared back or looked away with furrowed brows.


    While my head was turned away, Piercing Gale dropped an arm around my shoulders, holding me tight against his body, ¡°I think you¡¯ve been in this body long enough to act like a normal human being.¡± Piercing Gale hissed through smiling teeth.


    I turned my head to him, leaning as far away as I could while still in his grasp, ¡°the demon could attack at any moment.¡± I tried to keep my voice quiet, a harsh whisper that gradually got louder.


    Piercing Gale pulled me right back in and tilted his head down until we were practically nose to nose. With his eyes darkening even as his mouth kept smiling, he said, ¡°and you scaring the locals and drawing attention to us will not help us deal with it.¡±


    Death-Bringer threw her arms around the both of us, our heads knocking together, Piercing Gale¡¯s mouth and nose smashing into mine. ¡°Fuck!¡± I shouted, breaking away and covering my nose as I felt a few drops of blood fall from my nose. Piercing Gale snickered. ¡°Bastard.¡±


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    Crouching so that he could stay under Death-Bringer¡¯s arm, Piercing Gale smiled until he squinted, ¡°none of us really have parents so doesn¡¯t that make us all bastards?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t drag me into this.¡± Death-Bringer deadpanned, ¡°also neither of you are helping anything. Bloody stop being paranoid. Gale stop antagonizing him.¡±


    Piercing Gale stood up straight, Death-Bringer¡¯s hand sliding down his back and eventually falling to her side, ¡°I¡¯m hardly antagonizing him,¡± he scoffed.


    ¡°And I¡¯m not being paranoid if we really could be ambushed at any time.¡± I crossed my arms over my chest, then immediately uncrossed them to gesture at Piercing Gale, ¡°and he¡¯s still wincing in pain every time he thinks we aren¡¯t looking-¡±


    ¡°-I am not-¡±


    ¡°So I think I¡¯m entirely justified-¡± I was cut off by a person walking in between me and the others, the person running directly into my outstretched arm, knocking me off balance.


    I stumbled then righted myself, barking out a ¡°hey!¡± at the retreating figure.


    At first, I thought they were wearing a white silk veil but when the strands split as they stopped, I realized it was actually impossibly straight and smooth white hair. The person turned to face me with a cold, dark gaze.


    A familiar pair of dark red beauty marks; one under their left eye and the other by the right corner of their mouth. Thin arched brows, a prominent widow¡¯s peak, and lips so red they seemed stained with blood.


    ... It was his face.


    Valeron, the Demon Lord.

 Chapter 37

    200 and some odd years ago...


    In a dark corner of a quiet hallway the Crown Prince of Kon and a soothsayer from the Xora Court found a false sense of privacy. Uling held Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai¡¯s paralyzed hand in both of her calloused but slender and beautiful musician¡¯s hands. She traced a thumb over the scar on his forearm.


    The silence was suddenly broken when Uling let out a breathless laugh, tilting up her chin to look at him. The big smile she forced onto her face made her eyes narrow into slits. It would¡¯ve looked genuine, if not for the furrow of her brows. ¡°It... pains me to leave so soon. I would¡¯ve really rather our first reunion not be when everything is so... apocalyptic.¡±


    Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai¡¯s other hand came up to cup Uling¡¯s cheek, gently brushing his thumb under her eye, relaxing the tension in her face. He didn¡¯t say a word at first, instead just looking down at her with a subtle soft smile, his eyes mapping every inch of her face. Uling¡¯s forced cheerfulness slowly melted into fond confusion. Finally, Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai spoke, ¡°in our time apart your features blurred in my mind. I need to drink you in deeper so I don¡¯t forget how beautiful you are.¡±


    Uling let out a strangled giggle, leaning into his hand more, a genuine smile on her face. She let go of his hand to instead hook her arms around his neck, twirling some strands of his long black hair around her fingers. ¡°You charmer,¡± she teased through her giggles. His smile became just a tad bigger and he leaned down to kiss her. She returned it happily, arms tightening around his neck.


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    Footsteps echoed in the hall and Uling suddenly let go, stumbling back to an appropriate distance. A servant rounded the corner, stopping in her tracks when she saw them. Lung resisted the urge to wipe her mouth. The servant bowed low, a shocked, ¡°Your Highness¡± falling out of her mouth.


    When Ka¡¯shin¡¯lai just silently nodded and waved his hand, the servant scurried away a look of relief on her face. Once she could no longer hear the girl''s footsteps, Uling sighed in relief. But she struggled to put her smile back on, her mind latching on to another buried fear to keep her heart beating at its panicked rate. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that my prophecy is putting your brother in danger. I didn¡¯t know,.. I wouldn¡¯t have.. I won¡¯t let anything happen to him, ¡° she said, raising her head once more to look at him with determination.


    He fondly smiled back, ¡°don¡¯t worry about him. Eun and Tejara both would sooner die than see him lose even one hair on his head.¡± He stepped forward, closing the small distance that had been put between them, cupping her face as well as he could with both hands. ¡°Just... focus on keeping yourself alive and coming back to me. By the time you return I will convince my father to let me marry you.¡±


    Uling¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°you-?¡± the question on her tongue was stolen away as he once again captured her lips in a kiss.

 Chapter 38

    The Demon Lord tilted his head to the side, his gaze on me heavy, making me feel as if my feet were sinking into the packed dirt road. ¡°Oh... the blade that struck the final blow.¡± His voice was cold, emotionless, nothing like the smooth charm I remembered. Also, Valeron¡¯s hair wasn¡¯t white, but rather a dark brown that blazed red in the sunlight.


    The questions forming on my tongue were answered when the ¡®Demon Lord¡¯ wrapped his hand around his hair at the base of his skull. He tugged and the hair separated where his fist was, becoming a short, chin-length cut and a long, gleaming, curved blade in his hand. A blade like a scythe.


    The thought entered my mind just as Piercing Gale hissed it out through his teeth, ¡°Massacre.¡±


    *


    Valeron should have been less terrifying at a distance. Surrounded by beastly looking demons, the uncanny humanoid Valeron should have looked unremarkable. Maybe if he was still... or maybe if he was wielding that thin ¡®legendary¡¯ blade Night Lover.


    But he danced on air above the battlefield, twirling a scyther bigger than his body. Gorgeous sprays of blood followed the arcs of the curved blade, so silver it looked almost white.


    ¡°That¡¯s what we are supposed to kill?¡± Xeit asked in awe... or, more likely, terror.


    Ves¡¯hil¡¯n¡¯s hand on my hilt was heavy and shaking, ¡°Teacher,¡± he hissed out and Eun hummed an acknowledgement. ¡°How do you parry a scythe?¡±


    Eun tilted his head to the side, watching the Demon Lord Valeron¡¯s dance. The decapitated head of a Kon soldier flew through the air. Eun¡¯s eyes followed the arc, expression unreadable. ¡°I guess we will have to experiment and see.¡±


    *


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    I barely managed to dodge the first swing of the scythe, Massacre.  A few clumps of black hair fluttered away in the wind following the arc of the blade. Massacre clicked his tongue, shifted his grip and swung again. I danced back again, only for two hands to grab one of my arms like a vice and yanked me to the side. I was thrown off balance and the scythe sliced through layers of clothes and nicked my hip.


    I ripped my arm out of Piercing Gale¡¯s grip and shot him a glare, ¡°fuck off.¡±


    Piercing Gale ignored me and instead shouted a question at Massacre, ¡°I suppose you remain loyal to Valeron?¡±


    Massacre swung again, his strike interrupted by Death-Bringer tackling him, his ethereal grace destroyed as he was knocked to the ground.


    He struggled under her but she held tight, keeping him on the ground with his arms restricted. With his impassive face finally twisted in rage, he cried out, ¡°Rain!¡±


    Three arrows sunk into Death-Bringer¡¯s back in quick succession, her scream of agony cut off as she reverted back to the form of an axe. Massacre got back to his feet and flung her at us. Piercing Gale pushed me to the side so that she flew between us, embedding herself in the wall of the building behind us, drawing screams from the cowering civilians.


    I took a step towards Massacre, only for Piercing Gale to grab me once more and hold me back. Before I could tell him to fuck off again, an arrow hit the ground in front of me. I tried to follow its trajectory with my eyes but I couldn¡¯t see an archer on any roofs.


    Piercing Gale¡¯s hand tightened around my arm, ¡°I think it¡¯s time for a strategic retreat,¡± he hissed through his teeth, dragging me back towards where Death-Bringer was. It took a hard tug to dislodge her from the wall and Gale grunted as an arrow buried itself in his bicep.


    Massacre suddenly sprinted for us and I barely managed to duck out of the way, this time pulling Gale out of the way. From my crouch, I launched myself into an alleyway, Gale a half-step behind. At least the alley was narrow and limited some of Massacre¡¯s movements.


    ¡°Can we do that?¡± I asked breathlessly.


    ¡°Do what?¡±


    ¡°Turn our hair into a weapon? Like a sword?¡± I glanced back at him, ¡°well, maybe more a dagger in your case.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know! Give it a try if you think it¡¯ll help!¡± We took a sharp turn and ducked down a new alley.


    ¡°Catch.¡± I tossed Death-Bringer back to him and judging from the lack of cursing he managed to catch her just fine. Then I wrapped a fist around my hair and concentrated.

 Chapter 39

    ¡°Ow! Fuck!¡± I hastily let go of my hair when tugging on it, perhaps predictably, did nothing. My steps stuttered and I fell a bit behind Piercing Gale. I heard a woosh of air and felt a tug at the bottom of my pant leg as a swing of Massacre¡¯s scythe came dangerously close to slicing through my ankle. ¡°Didn¡¯t do anything!¡± I shouted at the back of Piercing Gale¡¯s head.


    ¡°So surprising.¡± His sarcastic tone was ruined by his out of breath huffing. He planted a foot solidly on the ground and right after I ran by him he swung Death-Bringer. Behind me I heard metal clash against metal. Glancing back, I saw Piercing Gale swing Death-Bringer a second time but Massacre jumped back, just barely able to dodge. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of red on the roof. I looked up and locked eyes with the archer aiming their arrow at me. When we locked eyes, I immediately recognized the archer as BloodRain, the bow I saw wielded by the Demon Lord Valeron only once before...


    BloodRain jolted in surprise when they met my eyes and for a moment their aim drifted, before they shook their head and corrected it. I braced myself to run but before I could an arrow embedded itself in their chest. In the blink of an eye they had become a bow wrapped in red cloth.


    Massacre and Gale traded a few more blows, barely dodging each other¡¯s strikes and I looked to the opposite roof. Massacre called out, ¡°Rain.¡± When BloodRain didn¡¯t respond, he called out again with a hint of panic, ¡°Rain!¡±


    The other archer peeked over the peak of the roof. He drew his bow and aimed at Massacre. Finding himself surrounded and alone, Massacre clicked his tongue and fled.


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    Piercing Gale let the ax head of Death-Bringer droop to the ground, ¡°Tejara really did need all those muscles to wield Death-Bringer.¡± Only half listening to him, I took a few steps back, trying to crane my neck enough to see the second archer clearer.


    His head was turned, watching Massacre¡¯s retreat, but Massacre must¡¯ve gotten out of view because his gaze suddenly snapped to me.


    Long black hair threaded with gray, messily pulled back into a low ponytail. A scruffy beard. Deep eye bags under small, dark eyes and a furrowed brow. I knew him, Kliali¡¯s boy, Gods¡¯ Smile.


    He held my gaze for a few seconds then disappeared behind the peak of the roof. ¡°Hey, wait!¡± Piercing Gale shouted, running for the building. He sighed, lifting Death-Bringer with a grunt and resting the ax head on his shoulder and resting his cheek on the flat of the blade. ¡°Who was that? I couldn¡¯t tell.¡±


    ¡°Gods¡¯ Smile.¡±


    Piercing Gale looked back at me with a raised eyebrow, ¡°really? Why would he be here of all places? Is Viper Sting here?¡±


    I shrugged just as Gods¡¯ Smile rounded the corner and joined us in the alley, his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face. ¡°I¡¯m here to be as far away from Viper Sting as possible. Now come on, the guards in this town may be lazy fucks but they¡¯ll be here eventually.¡± He turned to walk further into the alley, gesturing at us to follow.


    I glanced up at where BloodRain was laying on the roof in their weapon form. ¡°Should.... We gran BloodRain? So they can¡¯t ambush us again?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Gods¡¯ Smile snapped, briefly looking back at me before looking away again. ¡°It¡¯s more trouble than it¡¯s worth trying to cage them. Better off just trying to avoid them. Now shut up and move faster.¡±

 Chapter 40

    200 and some odd years ago...


    ¡°This doesn¡¯t feel like the start of an epic journey.¡± Ves¡¯hil¡¯n said with a pout, staring out the window of the carriage.


    ¡°Oh? Why is that?¡± Eun asked.


    ¡°Ves¡¯hil¡¯n slowly turned to face him, leaning back. There was an open book on Eun¡¯s lap that he was looking down at intently. Ves¡¯hil¡¯n crossed his arms over his chest, his pout getting more prominent. ¡°I just thought that ¡®riding¡¯ out to battle would have more...urgency to it.¡±


    Eun calmly turned the page and said without looking up, ¡°we are not exactly riding off to war yet. We are on a diplomatic mission to Daraien to collect the Soothsayer¡¯s prophesied final hero.¡±


    Ves¡¯hil¡¯n slouched lower in his seat, ¡°well, it¡¯s boring.¡± Eun merely hummed in response, letting the carriage with the two of them in it driven by Tejara lapse into silence.


    Within seconds Ves¡¯hil¡¯n¡¯s leg was bouncing and his fingers were tapping against his arm. The silence only lasted two minutes before Ves¡¯hil¡¯n killed it, ¡°what are you reading?¡±


    ¡°Records of past diplomatic missions to Daraien.¡±


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Ves¡¯hil¡¯n threw himself to the side, slumping against the wall of the carriage. ¡°So! Fucking! Boring!¡± He lurched forward and ripped the book out of Eun¡¯s hands, unceremoniously tossing it over his shoulder. Eun sighed and relaxed against the back of his seat, slowly looking up. Ves¡¯hil¡¯n crouched in the center of the carriage, looking up at his teacher and bodyguard.


    After a few beats of silence, Eun sighed, ¡°are you trying to start a fight, Your Highness? I assure you it won¡¯t be a fun one in this cramped space.¡±


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    ¡°No,¡± Ves¡¯hil¡¯n sighed, leaning forward to rest his cheek on Eun¡¯s knee. Eun jolted, ears turning red. ¡°Just talk to me, Teacher, I¡¯m bored.¡±


    Eun swallowed thickly, ¡°sit in your seat properly. You¡¯ll bite your tongue off like that if we hit a bump.¡±


    Despite it being what he asked, Eun frowned a bit when Ves¡¯hil¡¯n raised his head off his lap and sat down. Eun rested his chin in his hand, staring at his prince. When Ves¡¯hil¡¯n didn¡¯t say anything for a full minute, Eun raised his eyebrows, ¡°well?¡±


    Ves¡¯hil¡¯n pursed his lips, thinking of something to say. Finally, he said, ¡°I think there is something going on between Brother and the Soothsayer.¡±


    Eun smothered the smile that quirked at his lips, ¡°oh? What is something?¡±


    Ves¡¯hil¡¯n shrugged noncommittally, ¡°I don¡¯t know they just seemed to be planning something together.¡±


    ¡°I think what they are planning is their wedding.¡± Eun crossed his legs.


    Ves¡¯hil¡¯n¡¯s eyes went wide and he jumped out of his seat, nearly hitting his head on the roof of the carriage, ¡°REALLY?¡±


    Eun nodded, ¡°they kept rather close to each other, whispering often. And I caught a few smitten looks being sent between them.... Plus a servant caught them kissing.¡± Ves¡¯hil¡¯n settled back in his seat, chewing on his lip contemplatively. ¡°What do you think? Are they a good match?¡±


    ¡°Well if they are happy that¡¯s all that really matters to me... Uling seems like a good woman...¡± Ves¡¯hil¡¯n¡¯s face suddenly shifted into a sneer, ¡°much better than that Xeit guy. I don¡¯t like him one bit.¡±


    ¡°Neither do I. He has far too big of a chip on his shoulder.¡±


    ... Following behind the small carriage holding the three heroes from Kon was one being driven by Kliali that held Xeit and Uling inside. Uling stared out the window, her forehead pressed against the glass, her eye twitching as Xeit droned on and on about that ¡°bestial woman¡± attacking him and how Kliali couldn¡¯t be trusted to drive the carriage because ¡®she¡¯ was crazy enough to crash it just to spite him. Uling closed her eyes and tuned him out as best she could on the long road to Daraien.

 Chapter 41

    God¡¯s smile led us to a rather grimy part of town, past several people passed out drunk on the streets despite the early hour. Most of the people avoided even looking at us, but especially God¡¯s Smile, nervously looking down and away when he walked by.


    He looked more different from his wielder than the rest of us. Taller and broader, with a scruffy beard Kliali could never have grown. But even more than looks, his attitude and presence was completely different from Kliali. Kliali was good-natured, friendly, and often smiled even when threatening people. But a deep scowl seemed permanently sketched on God¡¯s Smile¡¯s face.


    I leaned closer to Piercing Gale and whispered, ¡°why do you think he¡¯s so different from Kliali?¡±


    Piercing Gale¡¯s dark eyes flicked to me, then back to God¡¯s Smile¡¯s back before answering. ¡°He¡¯s a different man.¡±


    I frowned, my brow furrowing, ¡°but we aren¡¯t so different from our wielders.¡±


    He turned to me, tilting his head and raising an eyebrow, ¡°aren¡¯t we?¡±


    Before I could formulate a response, God¡¯s Smile called back to us, ¡°come on.¡± He was holding open a door that was barely holding on to its hinges. I stepped into the shack with Piercing Gale right behind me.


    God¡¯s Smile¡¯s home was...


    Well, it was.


    There wasn¡¯t much to it at all. A mat on the floor in the corner. A cooking pit dug into the floor, a trunk full of clothes with a broken lid, and various cooking utensils and drying food hanging from the walls. Everything seemed to be made of dirt or covered in a layer of it. ¡°Hungry?¡± he tossed us some jerky before we could answer. He sat cross-legged on the ground and gestured for us to do the same. Gale sat down and I followed suit. I tried to take a bit of the gifted jerky, squinting and using my whole head to pull off a bite when I found it too chewy to bite through normally.


    ¡°So, what are you three doing here... And together? I can¡¯t imagine you were all stored in the same place.¡± He easily bit through the piece of jerky in his own hand.


    Gale answered him, ¡°we found each other shortly after we awoke. We are on our way to where we hope Eternal Lullaby is.¡±If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°What do you want with her?¡±


    I gave up on chewing the jerky and swallowed it mostly whole, my eyes watering with the effort.


    ¡°We need her help to reseal the Demon Lord Valeron.¡±


    ¡°You should come with us.¡± I added.


    God¡¯s Smile stared at me like I¡¯d grown a second head, ¡°why the fuck would I do that?¡±


    I frowned, ¡°huh? Why? To save the continent?¡± I slowed down to enunciate the obvious.


    He narrowed his eyes, ¡°what did ¡®saving the continent¡¯ ever get the Eight?¡±


    I straightened up, my frown deepening, ¡°glory and honor, of course.¡±


    God¡¯s Smile laughed, short, sharp, and humorless, nothing like Kliali¡¯s laugh at all, ¡°glory and honor? And you think you¡¯re like Ves¡¯hil¡¯n.¡± He shook his head, ¡°you can rest up here until Death-Bringer¡¯s back on her feet. I¡¯ll even escort you out of town but I¡¯m not coming with you.¡±


    ¡°But-¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡± Piercing Gale said over me.


    ¡°Gale!¡± I couldn¡¯t help snapping at him.


    ¡°What?¡± he asked, barely even looking at me, ¡°you want to drag him along against his will like Night Lover? Think you can?¡±


    God¡¯s Smile looked between the two of us, ¡°you have Night Lover with you?¡±


    I crossed my arms, ¡°no, we let him go.¡±


    ¡°Pity,¡± God¡¯s Smile rubbed his scruffy beard, ¡°I wanted to get a look at him. He was forged a good century or so before us, did he look like an old man?¡±


    ¡°No, he was a young pretty boy.¡± I said.


    God¡¯s Smile huffed through his nose, the lines on his face looking deeper for a moment, ¡°not fair.¡±


    Gale laughed, shocking some of the tension out of my shoulders, ¡°don¡¯t worry, Smiley, you¡¯re plenty pretty.¡±


    I flinched slightly and started to speak, ¡°huh-?¡±


    Only to get drowned out by another one of God¡¯s Smile¡¯s barked laughs, ¡°now that was a Kliali-like line.¡±


    Piercing Gale smiled and God¡¯s Smile ever so briefly returned it. Then he stood up, ¡°you all caused a bit of a scene. Lay low here, I¡¯ll grab you some supplies. But you¡¯ll have to pay me back.¡±


    God¡¯s Smile left us alone and we quickly fell into silence. I pulled Death-Bringer onto my lap and inspected her blade, curious to see if her weapon form showed any signs of wear and tear. After a few minutes, Gale broke the silence, ¡°you really think I¡¯m like Eun?¡±


    I looked up but Gale wasn¡¯t looking at me, ¡°uuuhh, yeah?¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± he hummed, his feeling unclear. He laid down on the floor without another word.


    When it was clear he had no intentions to continue the conversation, I looked sullenly back down at Death-Bringer, hunching slightly and continuing to inspect the imperfections in her blade.

 Chapter 42

    While waiting for God''s Smile to return, I fell asleep leaning against one of his barren walls. When I woke up it was slowly, hours later, to the sound of Piercing Gale and God''s Smile talking in hushed voices, "¡­ if he''s surprised by it."


    "I know but I''d rather he didn''t learn it while he still thought of himself as the same as Ves''hil''n."


    I tensed, my breath catching and my eyes almost opening before I regained control of myself and pretended to stay asleep.


    "He''s not going to be happy with you, if-"


    "Look like the Dream Spirit released her hostage." Piercing Gale raised his voice. I jolted when his hand grabbed my shoulder and finally gave up the act by opening my eyes


    Piercing Gale smiled down at me, the low lamplight casting deep shadows on his face, "it''s good you''re awake. We should head out while it''s dark." Piercing Gale stood up from his crouch, offering a hand to help me up.


    "What were you talking about?" I asked flatly.


    Piercing Gale shrugged, still holding out his hand, "nothing that concerns you."


    I smacked his hand aside and rose to my feet, feeling an extra wave of anger that I couldn''t tower over Gale like Ves''hil''n did Eun. "Bullshit! I heard you mention Ves''hil''n''s name!"If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "Well, it''s not your name, is it?"


    "Oh, fuck you."


    "Not if it''s like last time."


    I choked on my own spit, face growing hot instantly. A few feet away, sitting on the ground, God''s Smile cleared his throat. "If you two are done flirting, I''d like you to leave so I can sleep." He stood with a grunt and handed a bag to Gale.


    Piercing Gale nodded as he took the bag and followed God''s Smile to the door, like the conversation was simply over. "Grab Death-Bringer" was the only thing he said to me. By the time I located her and picked her up, they were already out the door. I held her tightly, rolled back my shoulders, and ran after them.


    "Hey, I wasn''t-" Piercing Gale turned around to shush me. Sullenly, I clamped my mouth shut and followed in silence through the dark streets. We went down unfamiliar roads and wound up on the other side of the town from the way we entered.


    Piercing Gale gave God''s Smile a grateful smile, "thank you for the help. I hope it doesn''t cause problems for you with Massacre and Blood Rain."


    "They''ll probably chase after you three."


    "Great." I muttered.


    "Well then we better move quickly," Gale adjusted the strap of the bag, "until we meet again."


    ¡­


    Without issue we crossed the bridge into Xora and by morning Death-Bringer was back in her human body and Piercing Gale filled her in and when night fell again we set up the tent we finally had. Gale took first watch. In the darkness, I asked, "do you think I''m like Ves''hil''n?"


    "In some ways," was Death-Bringer''s answer. She fell asleep soon after while I couldn''t sleep at all.


    Days passed without much happening. Aside from buying food, we didn''t stop in any small villages and towns along the way as problems seemed to find us in populated areas.


    The day we were meant to arrive at Uling''s home, I trudged along with my head down, thinking of how to handle it if Eternal Lullaby was as unhelpful as God''s Smile. I ran right into Death-Bringer''s back. "What-!" I looked past her into the town, "¡­. the fuck?"

 Chapter 43

    200 and some odd years ago¡­


    "I am not sleeping in the same tent as her. It would be improper." The exhaustion of a long day in a carriage made it very difficult for Eun to resist the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose and groan. Uling, who had spent all day in a carriage, with Xeit, was unable to resist doing just that. Xeit crossed his arms over his chest and pointedly turned his nose up, ignoring everyone else''s withering glares.


    Kliali, still seated on the carriage''s driver seat, leaned down and blew cold air on the back of Xeit''s neck. Xeit jumped away from the carriage, slapping a hand over the nape of his neck, and whirling around to glare at the archer. Kliali stayed bent in half at the waist, his chin in his hands. "What do you suggest then? I sleep with the women? Are you sooo sure that''s appropriate?"


    Xeit opened his mouth, face red, but before he could speak, Tejara said, "no, and the tents only have enough room for two people."


    "Then she should sleep in the carriage!" Xeit hissed. His shoulders hunched, his body becoming an angry little ball with a single trembling, outstretched arm pointing at Kliali.


    Uling loudly groaned, dragging her hands down the sides of her head, pulling at her skin, "no, no!" she shouted. She stalked up to him, lowering her voice to a hiss, "you are acting like a child in front of the Prince of Kon. Is this the impression you want to give of the Xora noble houses?" Xeit pursed his lips, looking anywhere but Uling''s face. Uling''s hand shot out and grabbed his chin, forcible turning him back to her, "if anyone is sleeping outside it''s you." After a tense moment of no one moving or speaking, Xeit violently pulled away from Uling and reentered the carriage, slamming the door behind him.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Kliali let out a low whistle, sitting back and lacing his fingers behind his head, under the ponytail. He opened his mouth with a smug grin like he was about to say a smart-aleck remark but a sharp glare from Uling made him snap his mouth shut with an audible click of his teeth.


    Uling turned to Ves''hil''n and Eun and bowed deeply, "my apologies for that display."


    Ves''hil''n laughed awkwardly, choking on his own spit when Eun elbowed him in the ribs, "we certainly don''t blame you."


    Uling nodded, her eyes still downcast, and backed away to join Tejara in setting up their tent.


    Eun turned to stare silently at Ves''hil''n, his lips slowly becoming more and more pursed.


    Ves''hil''n raised an eyebrow at him, "what?"


    "Perhaps you should talk to him." Eun said, ever so slightly nodding at the carriage Xeit was sulking in.


    "Why? He''s the one causing problems."


    Eun stepped towards Ves''hil''n, looking up into his eyes, his brows coming together in concern, "because discord means death and you are the closest thing to a leader we have."


    His fingers grazed Ves''hil''n''s sleeve as Ves''hil''n backed away, his eyes swiftly breaking contact, "I don''t know¡­ whatever, let''s just¡­ put up the tent."

 Chapter 44

    ''Town'' was probably not the most apt name for the sight in front of us. There were buildings and roads, even people and animals¡­ but everything was made of pure white stone. Statues on the streets with faces twisted in pain and fear, arms and legs bent like-


    "Looks like they were running away." Piercing Gale murmured. He stepped forward, right up to the edge of that white stone and poked it experimentally with the toe of his boot. When nothing happened, he put his foot down flat on the stone. He slipped, his arms wheeling wildly to keep him from falling over. Once he was stable again, he put his hands on his hips, the tips of his ears red and announced, "it''s a little slippery."


    I stepped closer, my arms wrapped around my middle, "what kind of demon could do this?"


    "This isn''t demon magic." I looked back over my shoulder at Death-Bringer. She looked paler than usual, her dark eyes wide, and with her unkempt hair framing her face she looked a bit crazed, "it''s Uling''s"


    Hesitantly touching a stone tree near the entrance of town, Piercing Gale asked, "how can you be sure?"


    For a good minute Death-Binger didn''t answer him. She slowly stepped ito the town, right up to a ''statue'' of a little boy on the ground, curled up on his side with his arms hugging his head. She crouched down, covering his hand with one of hers. "it''s the same spell she cast on the Demon Lord right before Ves''hil''n stabbed him with Bloody."


    I followed the other two onto the strange stone ground, my brows furrowed, "but he only paused for a few seconds when she-E!" my voice cracked as I slipped on the smooth stone. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Piercing Gale smirking at e as if he hadn''t slipped far worse. I glared at him, barely managing to keep from sticking my tongue out at him like a child. I cleared my throat and continued, "when she cast it. For Uling to have cast this spell, it would mean it''s lasted for well over a hundred years."


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Death-Bringer''s fingers ghosted across the frozen boy''s forehead, as if she was trying to brush his hair out of his eyes. "That was the Demon Lord, these are normal people. And unlike the other heroes, Uling would''ve only gotten stronger with age."


    I found myself staring into the terrified eyes of a fleeing woman. Saliva pooled in my mouth and I swallowed it down with an audible gulp. "But Uling is a hero, a kind-hearted person. Why would she do this?"


    Piercing Gale turned his back on the two of us, stalking deeper into the town, "if we want to learn anything we should find the center of the spell."


    As we made our way deeper into the town ew could see that not everyone was fleeing in fear. There were some statues peeking curiouslt out of front doors and glancing through windows we could see people going about their daily lives, frozen in place.


    There was nothing special about the center of town. Piercing Gale paused in his blind march forward, turning back to Death-Bringer to finally ask with his lips pressed tight together, "do you know where Uling lived?"


    "She lived on a small farm on the outskirts of town." Piercing Gale pointed the direction he had already been walking with his eyebrows raised. Death-Bringer nodded and Piercing Gale resumed his march, a bit quicker this time.


    It wasn''t until we reached the other side of the town that we saw color again. A dark spot laying against the statue of a cow laying in the fields outside of town. As we got closer I could tell that it was clearly a man with long black hair draped loosely over the back of the stone cow. I also realized, with a wrinkle of my nose, that the man was buck naked, every inch of his tan skin fully visible.


    Piercing Gale stopped, grabbing my wrist when I stepped up next to him once more deciding it was his job to hold me back, to direct my action. I would have stopped anyway. And I glared at him opening my mouth to say as much only to sourly snap my jaw shut when Piercing Gale turned to me with his finger to his lips and his brow furrowed so tight there was no space between them. "That''s Killing Intent."