I look in the tiny mirror and see my brown eyes with a hint of red looking back at me. I touch my face and feel it is my own, but the hint of red isn’t leaving despite me being firmly in control. Worrisome, but maybe a harmless side effect of wielding his power. I’m honestly a bit tired of being paranoid and afraid of it all. Besides, my passenger has been rather quiet lately. A possible ruse, but again, I don’t find it in me to care that much.

I get up and walk out of my tent. It is the second day after we liberated the last mine and not a lot of them decided to join. I’m not that surprised considering how the speech went and I can’t help but smile as I recall Tibald’s outburst at the half-rat. Besides, half of the slaves were either old or too young to truly be useful, so the potential recruits were rather low to begin with. We still got about fifty new soldiers training. Soldiers might be a stretch but in time it will be true, for those that make it.

I truly was lucky to get the first group of about two hundred men from the start. I know that despite some of the new recruits being eager, they lack the stamina and strength and I reckon another chunk of them will give up and leave. I honestly don’t mind that much. I look around the camp as I make my way towards the designated training area. I cross a lot of my men that I recognize. Not by name but by our ‘wrestling match’ or whatever it was. Despite not remembering all of their names, I remember how they tried to take me down, or how they charged me this or that way.

Strange how much insight it gives into each and everyone of them. I spot a half-bull on my way and remember how he was deceptively agile despite his heritage. Or how that one almost made me fall using a trick and the uneven ground instead of strength. They look back at me with the same knowledge and most simply nod. Some do add the ‘Boss’ as they nod and I acknowledge them back. It doesn’t take long for me to reach my goal and I look at the new recruits getting introduced to basic training.

I see more than one of them being on the verge of collapsing and I wonder if maybe we should tone it back for their first few days while they get their strength back. I look and spot Tibald gently helping a recruit up and firmly telling him to continue. The recruit is confused by the gentle help but cruel task at hand as he seems to barely be able to continue. To my surprise it was Tibald that insisted that we make the new recruits go through a grueling training on their first day.

I know it’s not a bad practice. We’ll get more quitters, but the ones that stay will be more determined and loyal. Quality over quantity in that sense. Still I feel a bit bad for some of the more malnourished and slim ones and decide to help them out a little. I walk into the center of the area and more than a few heads turn my way. Especially the newcomers. I point at one of them that is resting and motion for him to come over. He points to himself as if asking me to confirm that I really mean him. I nod and wait for him to come over.

“Here.” I tell him and hand him a wooden sword which he takes clumsily. I show him how to hold it properly and take a stance. He corrects his grip but doesn’t seem to understand I want him to try out the stance too. I repeat the motion and exaggerate it a bit. He copies me and I nod at him.

“Good. Now show me what you can do.” I tell him and gesture at him to come at me. He gulps and I refrain from smiling as it might come across as condescending, which couldn’t be further from the truth. I admire these former slaves and their determination after everything they have suffered. I see in them a kindred spirit as tortured souls at the hands of the Empire.

We stand across from each other and I wait for him to engage me. For a moment I’m not sure he ever will but he suddenly charges at me, completely messing up his footwork in the process of moving. The former stance is nowhere to be seen and I easily sidestep his telegraphed attack and lightly tap him with the flat of the sword as his momentum carries him too far.

“Mind your footwork.” I tell him as I show him how to move and keep himself balanced and steady. I even show him a fake charge similar to his own in another direction and he nods in understanding.

“Again.” I tell him and he nods, determined. Good.

His charge isn’t that much better this time, but he is clearly doing a bit better, which is all I can ask for. Honestly he lacks muscles to be truly stable right now and I fear I won’t be able to help him much more unless he continues training.

“Good. It will become easier once you regain more of your strength.” I tell him and nod at him. He seems to get the hint and gives me the wooden sword back.

“Next.” I yell to no one in particular and I soon see Tibald tell one of his tired trainees to come my way. This time it’s a half-cat. Not as cute as one would think however. He is rather spindly but maybe that will change once he gets to eat enough every day.

I give him the wooden sword and he actually takes a rather surprising stance. It’s nothing that special but it’s clear he isn’t a complete beginner. He stands with his arms high and sword pointed straight at me. It’s a stance designed to make it hard to judge the weapons distance as he keeps it trained on my eyes. I think it might be especially effective for someone with rather long arms like his where he can surprise his opponent.

I just nod at him and motion for him to come, but he clearly has other plans as he shakes his head and returns my gesture, telling me in no uncertain terms that he wants to defend my attack. Alright, I’ll bite. I still raise an eyebrow in question to make sure and he nods confidently at me. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Sadly, with everyone looking, I can’t give him a chance. For most this will be the first time they see me fight and as the boss I need to set a strong image.

I calmly walk forwards and enter his range. Drawing my sword back for a huge telegraphed swing, I wait for his response. He is quick to make a decision and lunges at me before my swing even has a chance to start. I effortlessly move out of the way and swing my sword rather slowly at him. The point isn’t to use overwhelming speed here, flashy as it is. Instead I activate my best strength skill as I draw lightly on his strength to make sure everything goes according to plan. My swing is deliberately slow enough to give him enough to time block it despite his missed attack.

He puts his sword between himself and my swing at the last moment and blocks the attack. However I do not stop but use all of my strength to make my swing continue despite him blocking it. He isn’t strong enough to hold me off and his wooden sword is immediately pushed against his body. I don’t stop however and continue as I push him along on the dirt. His footwork is good enough that he doesn’t topple and he glides sideways on the loose dirt. I add a bit of oomph at the end of the swing to push him on the ground and he falls despite his best efforts.

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“Great form.” I tell him as I extend a hand to help him up. He doesn’t take it and gets up. He looks at me with a mix of anger and warryness as he takes his stance again. I look at him and wonder what I should do. It seems I hurt his ego but at the same time I cannot afford to appear weak here. He can, but clearly doesn’t want to.

“Again.” He tells me and I sigh. It seems a lesson is in order. I nod at him and take my stance.

My expression changes and he seems to notice. I don’t care. I activate [Burst Of Speed] and rush at him. His eyes open wide but it’s already too late. I’m behind him with my wooden sword on his throat before he even has time to blink. He freezes as he feels the dull edge on his throat and I release him. He turns to me and I know this is an important moment. I either make a strong follower, or he will be gone in the morning. I also suspect he might take some of the others with him should he leave.

“What’s your name?” I ask him as I extend my hand to take back the wooden sword.

“Ecaf.” He tells me as he hands over the weapon.

“Sorry for the show, can’t be seen losing just yet.” I tell him in a whisper as he is closer to me and he looks surprised by the honesty.

“Great form, you a fighter?” I ask louder this time, for everyone else to hear.

“I learned from my dad.” He tells me proudly but not overly loud. So not a bragger, simply a proud man. Half-beast, whatever.

“Good.” I tell him and I pause as I think about something. I felt it yesterday during the speech, and again just now. I regard my opponent and wonder if he isn’t the right person to try this with. As much as I’d rather use Tibald for these sorts of things, I’m not sure he is the best as I can’t afford to lose him. My face must betray my thoughts as Ecaf stays there and looks at me.

“Do you mind if I try something on you?” I ask him and he looks around as most of the others have taken a break to look at the spar. His pride seems to decide for him and he nods. I throw him the wooden sword back and he catches it easily and retakes his defensive posture. I look at him and wonder how I should go about this. I don’t want to accidentally kill him, but I feel like that won’t be the case.

I’ve been having this strange feeling lately which spiked during the speech. Like I have this… energy or something that is itching to be used. It feels so different from his power because I can feel that it is mine in truth. I hesitate for a moment before I draw the energy out. I gather the energy in my empty left hand. I let my hand face upwards as I gather more of it. Soon it is too much to contain and I let it slip out and into a ball in my left hand. It looks like a golden yellow energy of some kind and it feels completely different from the red one he uses.

The red energy is… uncomfortable to look at and scary in a sense while this one… It’s hard to put into words to be honest. But if I had to, I’d say it feels like pride and awe. Comforting to a certain degree. The energy has no outlet and holding it there in my hand is getting difficult, but I have no idea what to do with it. I throw it at my opponent on a whim but he avoids it. Another trainee is behind him however and it hits him straight in the chest.

Everyone is stunned, looking at him as the energy hits him. The impact doesn’t move him at all and his eyes widen in response. He stands up slowly and looks down at his body. Everyone else turns to him as we wait for his reaction, anything to tell us what is going on. He tentatively moves his body and smiles in joy. He looks at his friend right next to him and hugs him. To everyone's surprise he easily lifts him up and spins around while laughing.

“I’ve never felt better in my life!” He exclaims and I release a breath I didn’t notice I was holding. Holy shit that was stupid. I know I felt like it wouldn’t hurt him, but why the hell did I do that? Ecaf turns to look at me with his brows raised. I grin at him like I had planned all that out and laugh a bit. I pass it off as a planned joke but I’m honestly relieved as I look at the new recruits who seem positively surprised.

“Back to training, no slacking.” I tell them lightly as I walk away and they do.

I make my way away from the training area but discreetly look at Tibald. He seems to understand and it doesn’t take long for him to find me in the camp. He doesn’t say anything and simply waits. It’s the small things that I appreciate about him, like now. I open my mouth and pause, close it and think for a moment before I open it again.

“Do you mind if I try it on you?” I finally ask him and he raises his eyebrows at me.

“What is it?” He asks me and I find it hard to answer. I think about how to say this for a moment.

“I’m not sure. I think it’s emotional energy.” I tell him honestly. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while now and what seems to make the most sense.

“Is it dangerous?” He asks me and I suspect he will accept whatever I answer.

“I don’t think so, but I can’t be sure.” I warn him and he nods. His mind is already made.

“Not here. My tent.” I tell him and he nods, again. It also lets me gain some time to change my mind. I’m not sure about much here and maybe this isn’t such a good idea. I’ve been thinking about how his energy works for quite some time and I think I have figured it out. It makes sense with what I know at least. My tent comes into sight far too fast and we enter, I turn to see Tibald standing, clearly ready for whatever it is.

“I think I know how demon energy works or whatever the name is.” I tell him to gain some more time. I know I could just not do this, but at the same time I want to know. I want to be sure.

“I believe demons get more powerful the more emotions are directed their way.” I continue to explain my theory to my silent audience of one.

“The more powerful the emotion, the better.” I tell him and somehow it makes me more certain the more I talk.

“And what’s the easiest and strongest emotion you can elicit in humans?” I ask without letting him enough time to respond to my rhetorical question.

“Fear, terror. It doesn’t matter what we call it. I suspect that is why demons are always ‘evil’. They are simply being efficient and true to themselves.” I tell him and I feel as if I’m right on the money. It just makes so much sense.

“I think this new energy is simply another type of emotion.” I explain and I’m not sure how much Tibald is following along as his face stays neutral through it all.

“Awe, gratitude, pride? I’m not completely sure, but I felt it stronger when the slaves knew I was to thank for their freedom.” I explain.

“Like I gained more of it. It would also explain why it’s so much weaker than his bottomless reserves. But this means I have an alternative which doesn’t require me to become a crazy murderer.” I tell him with triumph. And then it hits me like a ton of bricks.

“What is it?” Tibald asks me as he notices my defeated expression. I ignore him as I think about it for just a moment longer. But it makes sense. The implications of this epiphany are huge and I hesitate to tell him. I look back to my second in command and decide that I might as well be honest.

“I’m using demonic energy Tibald.” I tell him and he doesn’t seem to understand.

“He was always the one who had the energy and I only used it through him.” I tell him but he doesn’t seem to understand.

“Now I am wielding the energy myself…” I let the words hang as I see Tibalds face changing and I wonder if it was such a good idea to share my theory. I wonder what it means but I suspect it might be the reason for his silence.

The reason for the hint of red in my eyes that won’t go away.