‘Magentam. We did it!’ Violet reports through our connection. I can feel her exhilaration. Relief washes over me. From the lack of panic or concern in her tone I can only assume things must have gone well.

That is excellent. Was anyone injured?

‘Everyone but me got hurt a little bit. Fire got it the worst. But nothing serious. Rose can heal him up.’ She declares with confidence.

Rose also got hurt though right? She will need to tend to her own injuries first.

‘It’s fine. She only got bit once and she has already stopped the bleeding.’

You said even Noctis was injured?

‘Yeah, they kind of ganged up on her the most. We couldn’t see them all when we first counted and there turned out to be more than expected. One of them managed to get behind her and bite her on the leg. That does not surprise me. I do not know how smart the creatures they fought were, but there were no larger targets than Noctis out there. So it is not unreasonable to think that they might try to focus on her first.

‘They all ran when she started breathing fire at them, at least, the ones that were still alive by that point.’

...She what?

‘Fire too. They both had flames coming out of their mouths. It was so awesome. But also very hot.’

But you are unharmed despite all that?

‘Ha! They were way too slow to hurt me. The shield helped too. It’s great for bashing and for blocking. I love it. I want to find more shields.’ Is she going to start collecting shields now? I guess that would not be so bad. They are more useful than brooms at least. Especially if we can get some light enough for the others to utilize effectively.

Maybe my imps will get lucky and find an abandoned shield store. Is that a thing? A shield store. They had stores for clothes and a good shield can be just as important as well fitting clothes I think. I see no reason why there would not be such a thing, yet the idea sounds strange nonetheless.

It is a shock to learn that the hellhounds can breathe fire. That would certainly be useful as a weapon. But they will need to be careful about using it inside. It could lead to a perilous situation for my imps if they set the building on fire.

‘We’ll bring one of the creatures back for Lily and Calla to eat if they want, then me and Rose will go out as we’d planned once we’re sure it’s safe.’ Violet states. I am glad she is being cautious.

I am curious to see what these creatures actually are. Violet described them as ‘kind of like biters, but without spikes’. But that description is a little vague. I do not need to wait long though. Violet and Rose soon return dragging one between them. Noctis and Fire are also carrying one each in their jaws.

I recognize these creatures. They are dogs. I feel guilty upon seeing them. But I do not understand why. These creatures presented a clear and genuine danger to my imps, especially with the numbers that Violet reported. Killing them was the most strategic choice to ensure the imp’s safety. There is no reason for me to feel bad. Yet I still do regardless.

Calla runs to Noctis and Fire and hugs each of their legs in turn. They each move to opposite corners of the room. Calla follows Noctis and watches as she tears into her prize. Violet and Rose drag their carcass over to Lily and explain that they brought it back for her and Calla before departing once more.

Lily calls Calla over, but Calla stays where she is by Noctis.

“Want that.” She says, pointing to the carcass Noctis is chewing on. Lily lets out an exasperated sigh and even Noctis stops eating long enough to direct an irritated look at the child.

“They same. That for Noctis. This for us. Come.” Lily commands, But Calla defiantly stays put. Only when Noctis nudges her does she start moving back over to her mother. Pouting the whole way.

From there the rest of the day goes as normal. Violet and Rose do not report seeing anymore dogs when they return. That is good. I hope they stay away. I do not want to see any more die.

Another day goes by. I expand a little further and prepare to make a mana crystal for Calla. I let her know that I can make it for her but she just asks me what a mana crystal is. I remind her of the pink orb I gave to her mother and she tells me again that she wants one. I explain their purpose, but I am not sure if she understands. Her face scrunches up for a moment, then she looks to Noctis as though she expects her to provide some kind of answer. Noctis huffs at the child and her eyes glow brighter for a few seconds.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

I do not know if that was some kind of message that only Calla understood but she now wears a beaming smile across her face.

I can make it into a shape other than a sphere if you would like. She gasps.

“Noctis!” She declares, pointing at the hellhound.

...You want me to make it shaped like Noctis? She nods vigorously. I can see the excitement burning in her eyes.

This is not going to be easy, but I will try my best. It will not be very detailed, I do not want it to have any sharp edges since it is for a child so I will forgo the dorsal spikes. Such fine details like that would likely be far too fragile anyway.

What I end up with is a generic looking four legged animal shape. Not my best work, but it is enough for Calla to be thrilled. She is bouncing up and down in elation. She stops bouncing and stares at it in mystified wonder. She holds it up towards Noctis, who lowers her head to sniff at it.

Calla gently touches it to her nose and the crystal darkens and turns black. The fire in her eyes flares and glows brighter for a moment. Calla stares at the flames, her own eyes wide open. Noctis touches her nose to the crystal again until it turns pink and begins to glow once more. Calla giggles and bounces on the spot again. The two of them repeat that exchange a few more times. That was not the intended objective of giving her the crystal, but it is still an interesting result.

Did Noctis take the mana from the crystal or did Calla intentionally give it to her? That could be an important distinction. The ease with which Noctis refilled the crystal with mana also indicates a higher level of mana control than any of my imps currently posses.

If they can not only absorb mana from the crystals but also give that mana to others, maybe they could also learn to do it without the crystals as an intermediary. It should be possible, I know I can do it. Rose also has to pass her mana into others in order to heal them. But is giving some one else mana for the purpose and intention of healing the same as giving them mana just for the sake of giving it to them? I will ask Rose and Violet to investigate this.

I do not yet know how this knowledge could be useful. But it is better to learn as much as we can while we have the opportunity. We can never know when we might suddenly need it.

----------------------------------------

I think Fire has had enough time to get settled in. It is now finally time for hellhound number three. Everyone gathers around the rift as usual, though I warn the imps this time, Violet and Calla in particular, not to approach the new hellhound until we are sure that it is safe.

I am glad I did because the first thing the new hellhound does take a step towards my imps while growling. Like last time, Noctis growls back in warning. Unlike last time, the newcomer does not back down. It snarls as it turns its attention to Noctis. I fear this is going to turn into a fight.

I quickly tell the imps to back away. The adults do not hesitate, though Calla has to be dragged by her mother, not wanting to leave Noctis’ side. Even Fire is backing up.

The newcomer's eyes flare. Noctis’s own eyes flare in response, brighter than I have ever seen them. Flickering flames spilling from her eye sockets. I assume that must have been some kind of challenge because the newcomer charges towards Noctis. Angling his body low to aim for her throat. Noctis knocks him aside with a viscous swipe of her paw to his head. The impact of it enough to leave him momentarily dazed, blood dripping from the gashes left by her claws.

Noctis does not waste the opportunity and tackles him, easily knocking him to the ground with her superior size and weight. She pounces on him, aiming for his throat this time. He manages to push her away, getting a few good scratches on her in the process. But Noctis is not deterred. She leaps over him and while he is scrambling to get back on his feet, she tackles him again from the other side, knocking him down again.

This time when she pounces on him, she aims for the back of his neck. When her jaws clamp around his neck he starts thrashing and flailing wildly, growling and snarling the whole time. In this position he can not reach her with his claws or gnashing teeth, so instead he tries to angle and flex his body to stab her with the spikes on his back.

He succeeds in jabbing her in the side a few times but she does not let go. Instead she grips tighter on his neck. His flailing becomes more desperate. Snarls and growls giving way to panicked wailing. But still she grips tighter. Eventually he stops struggling. His body going limp as he whimpers softly. Noctis holds on for a few more seconds before finally letting go. She backs up a few paces and stares down at him. The intensity of the fire in her eyes having not decreased at all throughout the fight.

He just lay there on the ground not moving for a while, still softly whining. I wonder if Noctis might have damaged something vital. Is that something Rose could even fix? He eventually starts moving again, slowing getting to his feet and moving to stand in front of Noctis again before slowly lowering himself to ground once more. The fire in his eyes dimming almost to nothing. A sign of submission? Fire did not do that. But he also did not challenge her to a fight.

Noctis’ own eyes return to normal. Calla hesitantly approaches. I ask Noctis if everything is alright now. Not that she can actually answer me even if I know she can understand me, at least to some degree, when I speak to her. It was more of a rhetorical question I suppose. So it is surprising when I do receive a response. Not in words, but in feelings. Confidence and smugness. I guess she is able to communicate. It seems I may be underestimating her intelligence. Much as I once did for Violet. A mistake I do not wish to repeat.

As Calla stands before the new hellhound, he looks up towards Noctis. Her eyes flare again and he lowers his head once more. Calla reaches out and gently pats his nose while he remains perfectly still.

Would you like to name this one as well? Her eyes light up and she smiles wide.

“Spiky.” she says after a second of thought. Once again demonstrating her impeccable naming sense.

So be it.

During the fight the chair holding my core was knocked over. That sudden movement was a little jarring. But the chair was not damaged so Rose righted it and placed my core on it once again. She then checked on Noctis. Most of her injuries from this fight were just shallow scratches from Spiky's claws, but the punctures in her side did look a bit more serious.

Noctis lowered herself to the ground in front of Rose in full view of Spiky. Just as he had done towards her mere moments before. Rose places her hands on Noctis’s head and closes her eyes. After a few seconds all of her wounds had stopped bleeding. They were not fully healed, that would take far more time. But stopping the bleeding is a good start.

Rose looked towards Spiky. Noctis huffed at her and got up, walking out the door back to Room 3, Calla at her side and Fire following close behind. Rose approached Spiky. He still had not moved from where he was on the floor. He did not react when she touched him. When his wounds stopped bleeding as well she stepped back. He stood up with his tail wagging and started licking her face. She pushed him away while sputtering. She gestured towards the door and he took the hint, leaving the room following after the others.

So does this mean that even Noctis recognizes Rose as the leader of the pack? The imps certainly always looked up to her. But I did not expect Noctis to show such deference towards her. Well if she is as smart as I now suspect her to be then maybe she understands the value of Rose’s ability to heal and that Rose is the only one here who can do it.