"Boy, why are you such a wimp?" Gideon laughed as I struggled to carry a pile of wood.

"Well, I am sorry for being a wimp," I answered him, sarcastically. I put down the wood I collected and started making a fire.

Despite his rude behavior, he is my best ticket to the gates of the demon realm. I learned after the incident in the inn that he is a wolf traveling to the demon realm to visit his relatives.

I am not very good at fighting and my knowledge of spells is quite limited. Having him beside me would surely increase the probability of me reaching the demon realm in one piece.

Though there were some cons, like his loud snores at night, his lack of manners, and his narcissistic tendencies, I could definitely endure them.

Also, he made it a routine to train me at dawn when most creatures from all realms are asleep. He said that a man needs to be a man at some point in his life. Better to start early so I don't get behind.

Right.

Aside from the fact that his words don't really make any sense, I don't have the slightest desire to be a man. Na-uh! Not in this lifetime!

One day, we camped near a lake. Before, when I was traveling alone, I would surely take the chance to bathe and clean myself. That wouldn't be possible now since he thought that I was a boy. I waited till he was asleep then I secretly took a bath.

It wasn't that he had shown any signs of ill intentions. In fact, if I had a father, I would like it to be someone similar to him. Honest and carefree.

It's just that, after my fallout with Alaric and Ruse, trusting another person would be a huge step for me.

"Uh, Aaron" he called me. "Wash my socks! They smelled terrible." He told me as he waved his socks in the air. I almost puked, how dirty could he be?!

"Who told you not to change them for weeks?" I scolded him. "No! Wash them yourself!"

"Come on boy!" he continued. "This is how you serve your elders!"

"No!" I said and walked inside the tent.

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The following day, we were planning on how to get inside the ship with our limited funds.

"Why do I have to be the one hiding in the luggage?" I asked him. "Why not you?"

"Because you are small..." he paused for a moment "and even if I would like to, I could never fit inside this one."

Despite my objections, I did not win the argument.

That same afternoon, Gideon bought one ticket. We boarded the ship, him on his own two feet and me inside one of the luggage. Ugh, I hate him!

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It was already evening when he finally released me from the luggage.

"How come you did not release me immediately?!"

"Oh, that's because..." I waited for his answer, hoping that it would be reasonable enough to leave me inside that tight smelly luggage for hours.

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"Because?" I probed.

"I fell asleep."

He fell asleep. That's why he left me inside this luggage. Together with his smelly clothes and unwashed socks!

If he hadn't seen hell, he was about to see it now.

"Gideon!" I picked up the broom and started hitting him.

"Calm down boy!" he said, trying to evade my attacks

"Ow, ow, ow!"

Later that night, Gideon begrudgingly gave up his bed for me. Of course, I accepted it without a second thought.

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The following day the ship encountered a storm. Most of the crew had to stay up all night just to secure the ship. In the morning the storm finally came to an end. It left a lot of damage to the ship so we had to dock on a nearby island for repairs.

The island seemed uninhabited. Except for the traces from wild animals, I didn't see any shelter for humans or demons. However, Gideon thought otherwise. He seemed off the moment we stepped on the island.

"What's the problem, old man?" I asked, noticing his uneasiness.

"Boy, don't you feel that there's something weird about this island?"

"What do you mean?" I replied.

"Everything seemed fine to me."

"I don't know," he started scratching his neck. "Just feeling itchy."

"Have you eaten something bad?"

"Listen, boy," he said seriously. "I don't know what's wrong with this place, but don't let your guard down."

I looked at Gideon. For some reason, he was serious about this. And Gideon was never serious. Until now.

"Got it," I answered.

We continued touring the island together with other passengers and crew. Everything was alright until evening came.

While we were eating our dinner, we heard a female voice singing. It was beautiful and eerie at the same time. Suddenly, Gideon stood up and began walking.

"Where are you going, old man?" I asked Gideon.

"Hey!" I noticed that the others were also doing the same. They were going in one direction.

"Hey!" I tried to get their attention, but no one answered me.

Are they asleep?

I followed them. Later on, we entered a cave. The water level started to rise as we went deeper into the cave. When we finally reached the end of the cave, we saw a creature I only heard from myths and legends. There it was, on top of three huge rocks...

A siren.

I tried to wake Gideon by shaking him, but he seemed deeply hypnotized by its voice.

As I was doing this though, the siren suddenly stopped singing. I looked at her to see what was going on, but it was too late when I realized she was also looking at me.

"You!" she shouted. "Why are you unaffected by my voice?"

I tried to ignore her and pretend that I was also in a daze, but she didn't buy it.

"You are not a man!" she finally realized. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" she exclaimed as I covered my ears. Then she started mumbling.

I had to think of a plan. My eyes landed on Gideon, still under the siren's spell. There's only one thing I could do. I grabbed Gideon's knife from his waist. With trembling hands, I slashed his arm and the blood started oozing from his wound.

"Aw," said Gideon. Then, he scolded me. "Have you gone crazy, kid?"

"Sorry," I told him. "I was just trying to save you."

Then I pulled him behind a huge rock, "It felt like I was there but I had no control over my body," he said.

"It's a siren," I looked at him, waiting for the question I was afraid to hear, but his mind was thinking of another thing.

"Listen, kid," he started explaining. "I am weak at the moment. If that fish started singing again, I might lose control again. So, you have to do it yourself."

"How?" I asked him nervously.

"The only way to defeat a siren is to stab her with a bronze knife coated by its victim's blood."

I looked at the knife I was holding. It was made of bronze, and it has Gideon's blood.

"You mean..."

"The one thing that could defeat it is now in your hands."