Theo struggled to open his eyes, they were heavy and rock-stiff. His chest felt like a huge dog was sitting on it. Even breathing made it feel like his lungs would rip itself apart any second. His head rang like a bell, foggy. He couldn't make a single thought before feeling it would shatter to a thousand pieces.

"Are you awake?" The voice of a girl woke him up. It was a soothing and beautiful voice. A calming sensation washed over him as he opened his eyes, but a blinding light forced him to close it again.

He used all of his strength to push his body to a sitting position. Then he rested his body on a tree trunk behind him. He needed to, he was unsure if his broken body could withstand its own weight. A slight touch or nudge aginst the grass or the rough tree bark sent pain all over his body. The pain was unbearable, hell, even that was an understatement.

He felt his own body. Magic-weaved fabric covered his chest and his head. It was soaked wet with his blood. "I.....I'm sorry for doing that to you. I was so consumed, so blinded by anger that I didn't realize that you're trying to help me." She said with a small voice. There was an undercurrent of guilt and regret in her voice.

He realized who she was. It was the demon-kin girl. Though he didn't think help was a right word considering what happened to her companion because of him.

He opened his eyes again. This time he forced himself to see through the blinding light. When his eyes adapted, he could see a green haired girl sitting next to a campfire. A campfire that was better than his. Far better.

The scenery changed around him. He was still inside the forest and it was still night, but no corpse could be seen around. The girl stayed silent as she knew that he was unable to speak. Not without suffering a great pain. The silence lingered for an hour more. Though in truth, Theo was silent not only because of the pain but also because he was thinking what to say and what to do. Looking at his condition now, he was at the mercy of the demon girl. One wrong word or one wrong movement could be the end of his life.

"Why? Why did you help me? Why did you choose a demon-kin instead of your own kind?"She stopped and stared at him." What kind of irrational thought lead you to believe that helping me, what your kind called a monster, is a better choice?"

Theo sighed and chuckled. The pain was visible on his face. "Cause..... you're cute." Said Theo with a smile and a hoarse voice. "And I... am the ally of every cute and beautiful female."

The girl stared at him curiously. "I can't tell if you're joking or not, but.... Thank you."

"I'm not....joking." The silence returned as Theo waited for his pain to subside before speaking. "I.... never had any plan to save you. I met the soldiers during my travel and they told me that they were hunting a monster. I wanted to make some quick coin and..... didn't ask much. So when I see you and your..."

"...Sister..." Her voice was heavy.

Theo realized from what she said before that she saw all human as a demon-hating monster. Which wasn't far from the truth. If he wanted to survive this ordeal, however, he needed to appeal to that side of her. "Your sister...... I realized that you're not a monster. You're not so different than us."

"Even the horn and all of that?"

Theo chuckled. "Have you ever met a lizard-kin or beast kin?"

"A non-demon beast-kin and lizard-kin? No."

"They are...... vastly different than a human. Yet...... we still treat them as friend and family, even..... lover and spouse. But I..... can understand....... the mentality of those people. The scar.... and horror..... the demon-kin inflict upon the rest of the continent during the great war....... is still fresh on everyone's mind..... And those who saw...... the horror, tell the story to those who didn't see the horror." His speaking was stammered because of the pain.

"So why? if you understand the hate and..... Why did you help me?"

"Just.. because you understand something, doesn't.. mean it's the right thing. You can... understand the reasoning behind a killer or bandit, and at the same time, think that what they do is wrong. Just because.... you know a lion is hungry and want to attack people, doesn't..... mean that you will it happen."

"But you took too much risk. They are the soldiers of.... whatever country we're in. And they number aren't small."

"37 grunts is nothing for me." Theo fixed his sitting position. The pain was still excruciating but was much better than before. " When I saw you crying over your sister." He sighed." It.... It reminded me of my younger self when I.... experienced something similar.It's just blind rage and everything blacked out."

She turned and stared at the fire. "Sorry for asking."

"I should be the one to apologize. If I act sooner..... I might be able to save your sister." The silence returned. "Thanks," Theo said.

She turned her head toward him. "For what?"

"For..... not killing me, or letting me bleed to death. For saving me and patching me up with this magic."

"Honestly, I don't want to. Not at first, but you helped me. My sister died protecting me. If I let myself die, it would have made her death a vain death. And I want to uphold her last word and the last promise we made." She took a deep breath. Her face was red from trying too hard holding her tear. "My sister always believed that one day, every race on the continent can live peacefully. It's a foolish dream, a fool's hope. And now I'm trying to believe it...... Starting from you."

"Thanks again then. Funny, my father also had a dream like that." 

Lyana chuckled while still crying. "But my sister is stupid. A fool. She's a true pacifist who believes that nothing will be solved by using violence. She rejected the idea that sometimes we must fight to maintain peace. She only sees violence as senseless, she couldn't accept that sometimes violence is necessary." She wiped the tears from her eyes. "I...am a fool. For not warning her about it. A fool, for going by her whim and wishes."

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"You mustn't blame yourself. The thing that happened to your sister was not your fault."

"But it IS my fault. If only I was more...more..more decisive. She would be still alive. She would hate me for what I did, but at least she will still be alive.... sorry, but I need some time."

Theo laid his body down. He was exhausted and his body needed rest. The demon girl didn't speak anymore.

Theo didn't sleep immediately. He was curious and interested in the demon girl. After all, meeting a demon that didn't want to kill you on sight was not a normal event. She was also beautiful, but he wasn't sure if trying to make her his, was a good idea. Bringing a demon everywhere was a recipe for disaster and could throw a wrench into his well-laid plan.

Thinking again, he also couldn't leave her alone like this. Her eyes, while trying to be tough, was filled with despair. It was a familiar eye for Theo. It was the eyes of someone who has their soul ripped forcefully. Someone who has their world turned upside down. The eyes of someone who witnessed the death of the most important person in their life. It was the kind of eyes he saw countless times in the mirror before he met Mary.

If he let her alone, she would surely follow the path of self-destruction that he also walked in the past. A path of self-destruction that would not only hurt herself but everyone around her. Even those who only pass by her.

He hasn't decided what to do with the girl, but for the time being, he will stick with the girl. Until he recovers from his injuries at the very least. Or maybe he would ask her to join him in his journey and try to make her his girl. Who knows? He let his future self decide it.

------

The moment Theo opened his eyes, the sky was already blue. Bird chipped and insect filled the forest with their song.

He sat up and looked around. The demon girl was sleeping on a tree bark not too far from her original position. Their campfire was extinguished and his belonging was placed near his body by the demon-girl.

He couldn't believe how the girl could fell asleep after what happened to her. Or maybe it was because what happened to her, she was so exhausted that she fell asleep even when she didn't want to.

He stood up. The pain has lessened but it was still painful. He grabbed his forehead. "Varah, grant me your light." A divine light shone from his hand to his forehead. The pain was reduced, but that was it. It was not a healing miracle, only a pain-reducing one.

He walked toward the forest to hunt for something for breakfast.

He tapped the girl's shoulder lightly, trying to wake her without surprising her. Not everything went as planned. She jerked up awake and in her panic, pointed her finger that was armed with magic toward Theo's neck.

"Easy. Easy." He said trying to calm the girl. He offered the girl the rabbit he had just cooked.

"Why didn't you leave me?" She asked. "You have all the chance and all the reason to leave me alone here."

"Why would I?" He asked back. The girl went silent and began eating the rabbit meat.

"You sucks at cooking." The girl commented while chewing on the hard overcooked rabbit meat.

"Well, I think I have Class zero for cooking. It took me half a year before I could tell whether a meat was overcooked or undercooked. And to this day I'm still unable to do cook a good food."

They rested for a while after their breakfast. They just sat and not speak to each other. It didn't feel awkward for Theo, he had used to it. Sometimes what a girl need is silence and a time alone with her own thought.

Suddenly she opened up a conversation. "You said that you have experienced something similar before, Who?"

"My father." He chuckled. "I can't believe how similar it is. That night it was also in the forest, a burning forest. We were being chased also."

"Are they-"

"Soldiers."

"What happened?" She asked. There was a curious look in her eyes.

"We bit more than we can chew. My father is not a normal paladin. He was a champion among champions, a hero among heroes. Wielder of the Lightbringer. But there were only two of us against an army. I was still weak back then. If it was my father alone, he would have survived, But... that night, I insisted that I go with him. He died protecting me. Even to this day I still regret it. Why did I even come with him that night? Why am I being so insistent."

Her eyes opened wide. "Wait! Your father is the Lightbringer?!" She asked, full of enthusiasm. It caught Theo by surprise. There was no more animosity or worry in her voice. He never thought that bringing up his father during a conversation was the best choices of action.

"Uh...yes."

She laid back on a tree and exhaled air. She then looked at Theo like no girl ever looked at him. It was a mix of curiosity, fear, anticipation, excitement, and seriousness. "Your father, what is his name?" 

"Theo Gladium."

"And are you saying that you are his son?!"

"Yes."

"Wow." There was a look of astonishment on her face. "I can't believe it. The first human I know is the son of Theo Gladium. Holy shit. Is, is this fate playing with me?"

"You...you seemed to know him." Theo was confused. Utterly confused. Was it a normal reaction for a demon-kin or was she just bonkers deep inside?

"Me? Every, single, demon that can read know him." She opened her mouth, but no voice came out. She made a strange gesture with her hand that he couldn't understand. Did she lose her voice from excitement, or was it because of something else. She grabbed her own chest, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. After a few repetition of deep controlled breathings, she opened her eyes. "The light of destruction, the white death. That's what we called him. We have many other names for him, but, even twenty years after the great hunt, his names are still is a taboo for us to say." Her body trembled, from excitement or fear he didn't know.

She was bonkers. There was no way a sane person could speak with so much excitement after a significant part of their life was taken from them just a few days prior. Or maybe, it was her mind playing tricks on her. She was grieving deep inside, that much was sure, but her mind denied her sister's death. Maybe this was also part of a subconscious denial. She tried to bury all that grief deep inside her and cover it with forced joy and excitement.

"You seems excited." 

"Excited? Of course, I am. I mean Theo Gladium, the human who killed Demon King Racar. The one who stopped the great hunt. His son... sitting in front of me, and I almost killed him the day before."

Theo laughed. So hard, that water came out from his eyes. So hard that his whole body hurt. The girl stared at him with an annoyed and angry look. "Is it funny, laughing at someone excitement?" She asked with an irritated tone.

Theo still couldn't hold his laugh despite him wanting to. He didn't want for the girl to get the wrong idea."Sorry, sorry. I don't mean to laugh at your excitement. I'm laughing after realizing something."

"Ohh?" she asked with a mocking tone, not buying his excuse.

"I'm saying the truth. I'm laughing because it's really ironic, how my father is more appreciated by his enemy than his own kin."

"What do you mean?" She asked, confused by what Theo said.

"Ask...anyone outside the demon realm. Ask them about the Lightbringer. Few would have known, even fewer know about my father. Here, he is not the hero that you think he is."

"Wait, how is that even possible? He basically saved the rest of the continent from the demon invasion."

"Um...you...uh, we haven't introduced ourselves have we?"

"Oh yeah, we haven't introduced each other. I'm Lyana."

"Lyana. Lyana what?"

"Just Lyana. Demons rarely have more than one word for a name. We rarely have surename."

"Okay, I want to ask something, but let's save it for later. I'm Theo. Theo Gladium. Nice to know you Lyana."

"You have the exact same name as your father?" She asked. It was obvious on her face how ridiculous it sounded.

"Not originally. It's a long a story. Anyway, so here's the thing Lyana. How much do you know about the great war?"

"Quite a lot. We learned it at school."

"You have school?" Theo asked, but before Lyana could answer him, he stopped her. "Sorry, that's rude of me. We always think demon as cultureless uneducated savages. I know that is not true, but old habit die hard."

"It's fine. We view human as livestock or toys after all."

"Fair enough. So let's see, what did they teach demon at school about the great war?"

"Okay, where do I start....."