The demoness was a gray silhouette of a woman with six arms and the same forward pointing bull horns Brivaria’s battle form now sported. Her own wings were bat-shaped but reduced in size as the angel’s wings currently were. Back in the farmer’s house where they’d first formally met, Akashic had been an abomination, a chimera formed from multiple races and beasts. Now the demoness’ appearance was closer to Brivaria’s own. The angel didn’t know if that meant something or was simply Akashic’s way of making their interactions less painful. If it was the latter, it was successful.
“Thanks for the advice on the disguise skills. I wouldn’t have thought of those on my own. It didn’t occur to me that they would potentially use magic to locate her if they searched the forest and found her missing,” the angel began, attempting to start the conversation on a positive note. Brivaria assumed the demoness wanted such a thing because she hadn’t vanished even after the conversation about Giselle’s skills finished.
"Of course,” Akashic said with a fanged smile, “we cannot have them finding the deer.” Even on a face lacking color and substance, that smile was unnerving. It forced the angel to ask the obvious question.
“Why are you helping her?” The demoness smiled wider as the angel spoke.
“Because you are finally behaving like a proper demon. Why would I not encourage such growth?” Akashic said smoothly. The smugness wafting off the demon after giving her answer was palpable but the angel was just confused. In what universe was saving this little creature demonic behavior?
“Did we break something in that fall against the bear? I don’t remember hitting my head,” the angel teased with a raised eyebrow. Despite being a non-breathing false image, the demoness still managed to heave a very expressive sigh.
“What do you think will happen when they don’t find their golden hind?” the demoness asked. Brivaria’s smile wavered as she stopped to think about that. The demon went on. “Yes, a lot of people are depending on this hunt. This is a tiny, insignificant event in the grand scheme but everyone here will be impacted by its success or failure. When it fails, it will be a black mark on this entire region. The Count will likely be stripped of his title if not killed outright depending on who he promised that meat to. The amount of misery and suffering this one act will cause shall be magnificent and I can’t wait to see it.”
“But they’re trying to hurt this poor creature. It’s wrong,” Brivaria defended aloud even as she processed the likely consequences of her choice.
“Who decided that? Not the lords of this land. Not the people of this land. No, you decided it. You have chosen to please yourself and your sense of justice at the expense of every living person in the city.” The demon’s expression showed her amusement and the angel didn’t like it one bit. “And I approve. Your sense of justice and your moral compass are crutches, tools you use to reassure yourself that acting upon your own desires is correct. Eventually you will shed them as a proper demon should or they will drag you to your death.”
“I will do nothing of the sort.” Brivaria’s voice lacked her usual confidence but she refused to acknowledge the demon’s words as anything but falsehoods to lead her astray. The demoness shrugged.
“You and the deer are more alike than you realize. You will learn in time, if you live long enough. For now, steel yourself. No matter how well this goes, someone will learn of what you’ve done here, of what you’re planning to do. No good deed goes unpunished, as the humans like to say.” The demoness’ laughter was audible even after the thing vanished.
Brivaria looked down at the golden hind. She was sleeping so peacefully and happily next to Trixie. Giselle existed to be born then killed for her meat just as every land spirit born in this forest likely was. How many innocent spirits had been born only to be butchered without ever understanding why, let alone being able to defend themselves. Had Brivaria not fallen from Heaven to Zlithia, it was likely that no one would have come out here to save the spirit and she would have died a tragic, senseless death. Heck, that could still happen if the angel failed. The demon’s words only made the winged girl more determined to succeed.
Akashic did not return for the rest of the night making Brivaria’s shapeshifting progress slow, not that she was in the mood for it. Her fight with the bear showed how strong it could be but the idea of being a “proper demon” turned her stomach. The winged girl tried to focus on choosing a new skill with her newly-acquired skill point but didn’t feel inspired. She also couldn’t use her light magic in the woods lest someone happen to notice it. The last thing she needed was to go through all the trouble to get to this point only to be found out through careless use of her magic. All she could do was wait and hope that Kseniya and Nyx were having a better night in Barton.
Trixie was the first to stir in the morning. The golden rose from the cushion and sleepily went to receive her morning hug. Brivaria spread her arms and closed them around Trixie. The affectionate dog would be inconsolable without her morning hug and both enjoyed this ritual that began their day.
“That’s my magic-using good girl,” Brivaria cooed while resting her cheek against Trixie’s soft, golden fur. Trixie had used magic yesterday and holy magic no less. It had been lost in the excitement of Giselle’s situation but it was no less amazing.
For a non-bonded animal to have a skill was rare. It did happen from time to time and there were always animal-shaped monsters with plenty of skills but for it to happen to Trixie was wonderful. That Trixie’s magic was holy in nature was cause for celebration. In Brivaria’s wholly unbiased opinion, holy was the best magic there was. Trixie was, of course, the best dog there was so the two went perfectly together. It was a match made in, well, not literally heaven but close enough.
“Are you ready to blow up all the monsters with Super Trixie Powers?” the angel asked in a singsong voice. She received a happy wuff followed by a torrent of wet doggy kisses for her trouble. Suddenly Brivaria felt something squeeze in with her and Trixie. Giselle’s head popped into view.
“I want hugs too.” The doe had no shame and Brivaria made room for the deer before hugging both. This was the best way to begin a day, the angel thought.
The winged girl packed the tent and cushion into her inventory. Trixie and Giselle were given some water to drink while the angel considered the trip back. The skies were dark even as the sun began to rise. Thick storm clouds were gathering overhead and Brivaria didn’t relish the idea of flying in the rain. Current Control could help her avoid some of the water but she’d still have to make a sharp descent. At least the dark sky would make it more difficult to be spotted.
“Alright Trixie, you’re going to have to go back to the city. I know you’re a very smart girl. Can you find your way back to Kseniya and Nyx?” the angel asked while kneeling in front of her dog. Trixie wuffed and Brivaria hoped the golden sunchaser at least somewhat understood what was happening. Brivaria pressed a kiss to the side of her dog’s head and looked to the deer.
“Okay Giselle, it’s your turn,” the angel called.
“Are you going to kiss me too?” the doe asked. Brivaria spluttered.
“No, we’re going back to the city. We need to get you out of this forest. I want you to shrink as small as you can and make yourself as light as possible,” the angel clarified.
“Oh,” the deer sounded disappointed but did as she was told. She shifted her size down to being even smaller than a cat. Brivaria gathered up the nearly weightless deer in a towel. Someone would likely see the angel despite the stormy weather but the winged girl didn’t want anyone to see Giselle. She began covering up Giselle completely but the doe wriggled her head out.
“I want to see just a little. Please?” came the pleading voice from the tiny deer. Brivaria was unable to resist. The power of cuteness compelled her.
“Okay but just a little. We can’t let anyone see you but you can see out just a bit,” the angel said while adjusting the towel. The doe let out an excited cheer while Brivaria stretched out her wings. “Okay Trixie, go home.”
The angel flapped her wings and rose into the air. She began heading toward the outer forest. The further she was from the teams watching the perimeter the less likely they would see her ascent. Brivaria could see distant flashes of lightning and the sounds of thunder rolled across the land. Not only was this a rainstorm but it was going to be a thunderstorm. At her level, lightning was deadly. She needed to go fast.
No, she needed to go faster. The angel realized the storm was rolling in too quickly. Light rain was already coming down and it was becoming harder by the second. The angel activated Current Control but, as versatile as it was, it was still a low level skill. It could only give the angel so much speed.
“Wow, everything is so tiny,” Giselle squeaked while peering out at the city below. “Is that the city? Oh, oh, there’s a river over there!” The wind was loud but Giselle’s unique sound projection ensured Brivaria heard every word. The little deer was excited about everything she saw. The winged girl would have loved to let Giselle look around but not now; she had to hurry.
Brivaria managed to get over the divide between the town and forest but suspected she’d have to land sooner than later. Her Wind Formation skill was perfect for solving this problem in theory but realistically the invisible wind barriers did not move with the angel. If she had infinite mana then she could have made a road all the way to the inn and flown under it or walked on it for that matter. The angel was about to begin an early descent into the city when she felt the air grow colder.
Just above the angel was a familiar blue bird. Though the bird itself was tiny, the aura of wintry cold it emanated was strong. She knew that was one of Isolde’s summons and, worse, that summoners could see through the eyes of their summons. If Isolde had the bird attack her now then the angel would very likely die. The odds of her surviving a fall from this height were small.
Thankfully, the bird wasn’t attacking. Despite the ice magic making the angel shiver in the cold, it wasn’t freezing the water already in her wings. Instead, it was freezing the droplets above her and scattering them backward. Isolde’s bird was keeping her dry. Well, less wet since the angel had been flying in the early stages of the downpour. This was more than good enough to get her safely down to the ground.
“Oh look at the pretty blue bird!” Giselle shouted with excitement. Brivaria clutched the little doe closer to her chest and wished she could turn Giselle invisible. Her plan to rescue and protect the golden hind had only just begun but it was already unraveling. She blamed Akashic for this. The demoness had jinxed her somehow. Brivaria sighed inwardly. She supposed she should thank Isolde for the help but the angel was already wondering what it would cost.