Noir's next destination was the decadent brothel where Recon's mercenaries used to meet. It would not take him long to get there, as the guild was located in the same district but a few streets over. He used to watch his rear to make sure no knight followed him to the hideout, but he did not care about that anymore. After his visit the place could go up in flames if the Holy Trinity so wished. He would not lift a finger.

And yet, some uncertainty pervaded his thoughts. It was easy to hate those who had shown him nothing but evil. But Cerberus, Jane, even Wolf... They welcomed him with open arms when he was a nobody. He could hardly imagine a situation where he would have to face them as enemies. But that was the reality. They were just enemies, nothing different from Regin or William. Or at least that was what he forced himself to believe.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to leave the brat in that guild?"

"Yes... Adventurers are not like bandits or thugs. They have a code of honour. They're not going to hurt her just to find out if I'm the man they're looking for." Noir's insides roared with a ravenous appetite. "I should have eaten something at the guild... Those pork steaks looked delicious. I'll have a problem if I need to fight again."

"Indeed. Your reserves are running low. You won't be able to heal next time unless you eat something nutritious."

"I hope I don't have to fight for quite a while, then."

He walked up the widest street in both districts, which connected the main gates and back gates of the city, to leave the wealthier neighbourhoods behind and enter the city's legitimate marketplace. As soon as he walked in he could hear the merchants shouting out their new wares. It was the noisiest place in the kingdom, but the hustle was also synonymous of prosperity and wealth.

Hunters proudly displayed the new furs and meats, and armourers spread out the woollen cloths on which they would place their best weapons and armour for the customers to see. There were also carpenters and woodcutters, who sold wood and furniture altogether. Tailors were the most popular among women, as their fabrics came from distant continents never visited by the vast majority of Ivonians. Jewellery was also highly coveted, especially from miners who had ventured into the most unstable and narrowest of caves to extract such treasures.

Noir wandered through the various merchants' shops hiding his face as best he could. Though his mind was on paying a visit to his former companions, a few things in the marketplace caught his eye. Unfortunately for him, what his stomach demanded most was the least abundant thing in the market. There were no sweet sellers, butchers or bakers, not even anyone selling clean water. A clear reflection that in the northern district one did not survive. One lived.

"You could use a sword and some armour. Those rags you're wearing won't do you any good."

"I hate to admit it... But you're right." Noir pointed his finger at the weapons of an old blacksmith to see if he could pick one up, to which the man nodded. "A sword or a dagger? Which one did you use when... you know... you were alive?"

"I wielded a scythe forged from metals that humans would not be able to handle. Its blade was capable of cutting the skin of an archangel with a mere touch. I myself crafted the hilt from the bones of a horrible beast that terrorised the demons of the peaceful villages."

"Saying you used a scythe was enough... It's original, but I don't know how to use one. And it doesn't sound very practical." The boy saw in a basket a sword that stood out from the others. He put down the sword he was holding and asked the merchant to show him the other one. "A straight sword? I can't identify the metal it's made of, but it looks very sturdy."

"It's Aremonian metal. It comes from the Tricontinent. It's used to kill beasts with harsher skin than a bear. All experienced adventurers have a similar one. Its blade is rustproof and withstands sword clashes easily. And it doesn't need to be oiled. It's great, don't you think? It's yours for fifty gold coins."

"I see... It's true that normal swords break easily in duels. Not having to oil it saves a lot of time. Decided, I'll buy it. Fifty coins is a fair price."

"A sword with a white blade and a hilt made of gold and lapis lazuli... Absurd. What are those senseless engravings? It is an aberration of a sword! The smiths of yore did not pay attention to such trifles."

"You sound like an old man. Stop complaining so much!"

Noir sheathed his newly acquired sword in its black leather scabbard after leaving the appropriate payment. He bade farewell to the blacksmith and his attention was now fixed on an armour saleswoman.

"These are not meaningless engravings. These seven chained rings symbolise the crowns of the seven kings of Ivonia. It is important for Ivonians to maintain that feeling of unity against other nations, even if it is all a sham."

"I understand... I retract from my previous statement. Humans can't cooperate even among themselves, but at least they try. Insulting a nation's symbol of pride is inappropriate."

"Well, who knew. You have a code of honour too."

The young demon glanced over the armour that the saleswoman had placed on her wooden mannequins. Most of them were plate-heavy, overpriced sets. He did not hesitate to discard those and moved to the right to get a better look at the lighter protections.

"Heavy armour is completely out of the question. I would only lose speed and mobility. I can't wear chainmail either, any blunt attack would shatter it... There must be something more balanced."

"Yes, but don't get your hopes up. You've spent half your money on that stupid sword."

"You're looking for a middle ground, aren't you?" The saleswoman said, surprising Noir with her thick voice. Her arms, abundant with scars, moved to pull five pieces of the same armour out of a box. "You don't look like the kind of adventurer who likes to wear a helmet, so you'll find this interesting. This armour is not very resistant against heavy attacks, but it can withstand a battle of attrition. It's also useful for surviving high falls and has some invulnerability against fire. Best of all, it's not expensive, its materials are quite plentiful."

Noir lifted the breastplate with both hands prepared to hold a great weight, but it was much lighter than he expected. He pressed with a finger on the areas that would cover his vital organs to see how strong the metal was. To his surprise, or discontent, his finger dug a little into the armour.

"You must be confused right now. I'll explain."

The woman pulled a dagger from her belt. She tried to pierce the metal of one of the gauntlets with all her strength, but upon contact the blade of the dagger was deflected.

"See? It's flexible, not fragile. It has a thick layer of Misantrian metal that's difficult to pierce. It absorbs blows from swords or maces, and sharp weapons like rapiers don't work well against it. The secret to making it so flexible is..." The woman indicated him to come closer by wagging her index finger at herself. Noir heeded and the woman covered his ear with both hands to whisper, "...to impregnate its surface with demon blood. That blood, for some reason, has magical properties..."

Dayfall quickly turned away from the woman, for a moment he thought she had found him out. However, the armourer flashed him a smile and a thumb after revealing her secret. The boy's worries dissipated, the last thing he wanted was to cause another commotion because of his ineptitude. But seeing the woman's smile as she spoke so lightly about using a person's blood did not reassure him in the slightest.

"If I could I'd kill her right now... Dirty despicable human."

"They use demon blood as they would use the feathers of a bird... Wasn't it enough to chase them down and imprison them? Why do we have to be like this..."

Despite his complaints, Noir set down the twenty coins the woman demanded and donned the armour starting with the breastplate. Most of the pieces had the relief and roughness of reptilian scales, especially the gauntlets. They looked as if they had been ripped from a great beast. The mobility in his arms and legs was much better than he expected, it felt like an armour that even a child could wear. As he looked closer at the surface of the armour he could make out the pigment of demonic blood above the deep black of Misantrio's metal.

"If I have to use anyone's blood it will be mine. Being..." Noir sighed. He still struggled to accept it. "Being a hybrid it should work."

"Maybe. Hmm... I'm not sold on that armour. It doesn't cover the whole body, it's not like the ones I know. Those poleyns and pauldrons stick out too much. The gauntlets don't protect the fingers, the greaves don't even reach the heels. You should have bought a helmet, your head will fly off when you least expect it. Seriously, your taste is awful..."

"Nothing ever convinces you... That's how medium-light armour works, Blazh. Seems like a good choice to me. The bigger it is the heavier it gets, that's a big disadvantage for my fighting style. The fingerless gauntlets help me handle the sword better. It's easy to remove and moulds well to the clothes I wear underneath. What else do you want?"

"Whatever you say. I've already warned you."

There was nothing left in the marketplace that interested Noir, so he headed towards the other entrance to get out of there. As he walked a group of children surprised him by pushing him against the stall of a little handmade potions vendor. At first he thought they had stolen his bag of coins, but when he touched his waist it was still there. He looked up to discover that, in fact, it was the sweet sound of a flute and a harmonious voice that had caused the boys' excitement.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"They could be a little more careful..." Noir stood up soaked with the liquids of the broken potions. The salesgirl held her hands to her head, even if she tried to repair the flasks the liquids would soon evaporate. "Sorry about the mess, I should have paid more attention. Will twenty coins be enough to repair the damage?"

"There he goes again, wasting money."

"S-sure, it'll be more than enough..."

The breathing of the salesgirl quickened as she watched the money slowly approach her hands. When she felt the cold but tempting gold come into contact with her skin she could no longer dissemble. She rubbed the money against her cheek and tucked it under her witch's hat as quickly as possible.

"It's a lot more than I needed! How lucky! Hooray, hooray, hooray!" She thought.

"She celebrates as if she's found a treasure. She's swindled you."

"She hasn't swindled me, Blazh. I gave her more for the trouble." The young demon walked guided by the sound of the wind instrument. It did not take him long to find the place thanks to the fact that people, especially couples and children, had gathered around the source of the music. "You don't have to worry about the money, Blazh. I've got plenty more at Evie's..."

"Oh, finally. He remembers."

"At Evie's house..." Noir shook his head sideways in disapproval of his own behaviour. "I'm back at Trinity and it hasn't even crossed my mind to visit Evie and Wayne. I'm a terrible boyfriend and son..."

"That's correct."

"When I'm done with all this business I'll stay with her for a few days. Remind me."

"Do it yourself."

"You could be friendly sometime..."

Noir opened his way through the crowd by gently pushing the people aside. The music intensified as he got closer. Some people even got up the courage to dance, for certainly the composition not only boasted a sweet melody, but also a rhythm that encouraged the body to move.

"What could that be? A group of artists?"

"Looks like it. Oh, I know those guys. They're Aedos, aren't they? Musicians who roam the kingdoms telling stories in song or poetry. There were many of them when I was alive, it was soothing to listen to them in the evening after a mission. Though sometimes I felt like beating them with their own instruments..."

"Uh, yeah... I remember Evie wanted to be an Aedo. She used to write poetry when we were at the academy. Every time her father bought her a new instrument I was the first to know... I wonder why she gave it up. She was very talented."

The music suddenly stopped. The jovial citizens of the northern district wondered what had happened as they dropped their bizarre dance postures. The band leader, the piper, ordered the other musicians to leave their instruments in the horse-drawn cart with which they moved from town to town. He then unrolled a long piece of paper which fell to the floor and which he embarrassedly picked up.

"A comedy act?" Noir asked himself.

"I have a bad feeling about this."

"Citizens of Trinity, Kingdom of the Valleys! King Alexander has two messages for his people! As you know, the Holy Trinity is conducting an exhaustive search to capture the criminals responsible for the assassinations of Regin Sighur and William DeLoire!"

"There's the confirmation. This is bad..."

"The status of the most dangerous member, the demon Noir Dayfall, is currently unknown! His death was expected to be confirmed a few days ago, but his body has not been found! If anyone has information on his whereabouts or suspects that an acquaintance is harboring him, please contact the authorities! Do not attempt to capture him on your own!"

"Get out of here, Noir."

"Nothing will happen as long as I hide my eyes. I have to listen until the end..."

"To finish with the first message, the Holy Trinity has allowed us to reveal the names of the other two members! Cerberus Urahal, the man who murdered several knights on his escape, is one of them! He is extremely dangerous, so do not attempt to confront him directly! The other is a woman, Jane Mist! Don't let her appearance deceive you! She is an unscrupulous mercenary who will not hesitate to end your lives! If you manage to capture them alive the Holy Trinity will reward you accordingly! Ok, now the other message... A relic has disappeared from the king's personal museum! It has no apparent connection with the other case, but it is very important to bring it back! It's the sword...!"

No one was interested in the disappearance of said sword after hearing the first news. Many adventurers who had gone to enjoy the spectacle responded with pleasure on their faces to the new information about the Recon incident. Even the old blacksmith, the armour seller and the little witch were curious about the bounty available to very few. Noir was surrounded by predators who, fortunately, did not yet know that their prey was among them.

"He mentioned everyone but..."

"Yeah, he didn't mention Wolf at any point. That bastard..."

Noir got out of there as quickly as possible, trying not to arouse suspicion with his haste. The music returned when he was already far away, almost out of the marketplace. No adventurers were on his trail, so he turned his eyes forward and continued uphill.

"The king has messengers all over the city. It won't be long before they know I'm here. At least I know they haven't captured Jane and Cerberus. I have to hurry..."

"I can't see the point of what you're doing. You're straying from your priorities to carry out a revenge that will get you nothing. It's risky and stupid. You should think about whether this is good for our interests."

"There's nothing to think about. You're saying it won't get me anything? You're wrong... I will free myself from the anger that consumes me. It's the only way to mitigate it."

"You're being irrational. That's not what I want from you. I thought that..."

"I don't care what you want from me! You don't have the power to decide what I should do!"

He was getting closer and closer to the brothel. Two abandoned buildings hid the alley where the entrance was. Many stairs had to be descended to get there, and the door was not in plain sight. Two heavy wooden planks camouflaged the entrance to the brothel, as they were painted in the same colour and shape as an ordinary stone wall. Moreover, the surrounding buildings plunged the alley into eternal darkness, so no one could have imagined in that sinister corner there would be anything more than rats and waste.

"If I move the planks roughly they might hear me. I have to be careful..." The mercenary carried a plank on each shoulder and slowly placed them to one side. The door, which was made of a metal resistant to gunfire and explosions, opened without much trouble. Noir was thankful he did not have to use his strength to get in. "There are no padlocks... Will they be waiting for me?"

"There's still time to go back."

"Never."

The next thing he did was descend the stairs that led to the round table room. His hand was ready to draw his Aremonian sword at the slightest movement. He advanced slowly with his back against the wall. He ducked his head to peer below the ceiling at the height of the stairs, but darkness and silence is all he found in the room.

"There's no one..." His body straightened as he heard crying coming from the next room. He gave one last disdainful glance at the throne towering above the round table before walking towards the door leading to the storage room. "I can only hear one person. Jane?"

Noir clenched his fist while gripping the handle of his sword as he heard a chair being dragged roughly against the wooden floor. Through the gap of the door he could catch the aroma of burning wax. He peeked out to find that the room was empty and that the smell simply came from the candles that lit the storeroom.

"I swear I heard crying. You heard it too, didn't you?"

"I don't care. We shouldn't be here."

"We'll be leaving soon, Blazh. I'm going to investigate a little more."

Noir pushed the door open slowly, for he knew everything in the lair was old and creaky, and looked behind it in case anyone was lurking. Everything was truly dead, the only movement there was the flame of the candles.

"If Jane and Cerberus are not here, where the hell are they?"

"There's a letter on the table. The ink is fresh, someone wrote it recently."

"How can you tell from here?"

The demon placed his sword on the table at the end of the room and picked up the letter. The room, apart from said table, was empty. There were no weapons or armour, the food crates contained nothing but dust and cobwebs. Nor did he detect any rotting stench, so he ruled out any dead bodies in the place. At least not old ones.

"You're right, the ink hasn't dried yet. My fingers smudged when I ran them over it."

"Is that the most important thing to you?"

"I know, I know... There's an envelope next to it. Whoever wrote it wanted to send it to someone. They didn't have time to seal it. Let's see... It's signed by Jane." He said, startled, before reading:

I hope that one day you will read this, Abraham. I do not know if I will be alive by then, so putting my anguish in this letter is the only way for my thoughts to survive the passage of time. Maybe I'll leave the city, maybe I'll let myself be killed by sadness and loneliness in this damned lair... I feel like I won't stand a chance anyway. There's nothing out there for me, nothing I deserve at least. If only I could have told you everything I thought I would not have to live with this torment.

You were wrong about Noir. You wanted to put all our problems on his shoulders and now we are all paying our share for failing him. You were not fair to him. Noir was scared of who he was, I could see it in his eyes. That poor kid was not even in control of his life. He needed support, and we turned our backs on him. He was flawed, but he was noble and his motivations were genuine. He idolised you, always striving to live up to you... I deeply regret not stopping you when I had the chance. I can no longer fix anything, he is dead now. My cowardice has caused this.

Cerberus has also suffered for your selfishness. When you were captured he resisted against all those knights to help you escape. He almost gave his life for you, he did not hesitate for a second. You didn't value your best friend. Even after what you did, he still cared about you... And so did I. I wish I could tell him he is a great man, but I don't know anything about him. He disappeared that very night, wounded and dying. I don't know if you could live knowing that this might have affected Ruby and Agnis. I can not.

Now it's just me. Ironic, huh? When we first met, you told me it wouldn't be long before I was killed. Well, here I am, hanging on, not quite knowing how... I don't want to survive anymore, Abraham. I realise that now. I looked for you because it was the only way to help my family, but there was no solution for me. I don't blame you, it's just that... I want something else. I feel that it's no longer worth living if this is all I exist for. To contribute to the misery of this world.

I always knew you had feelings for me. We've been through all sorts of things together, after all. Sooner or later it was bound to happen. You tried to cover it up with your mask and your bad jokes, but your eyes couldn't lie. I was happy to know that I wasn't just a companion for you, but... I didn't want to give you false hope. With the life we've chosen something like love is out of our reach. I wish we had met in another situation, in another life. Maybe something beyond our hatred and spite for humanity would have blossomed. Now we will never know.

Farewell,

your dear friend Jane.

"Jane..." Noir could fool himself all he wanted, but his heart could not lie. Tears began to flow, and those tears turned into heartbroken cries. He furiously pounded the table until it broke and fell to his knees. "Why... Why am I reacting this way...? Until a moment ago... I..."

"Always so emotional. I expected something like this to happen. You being killed or discovering a painful truth. I have to admit I admire that woman. She's not like the other humans you've met. She has a good heart."

"Jane has always been kind to me... Why did I think she betrayed me?" His nose was runny just like when he was a little boy. His eyes became glassy as they filled with tears. His cries were just as powerful as those of that stormy night twelve years ago. He remembered again what it was like to lose a loved one.

"I'd like you to think of something when you run out of tears. The ink is fresh, the candles are lit and someone moved the chair before we came in, not to mention the cries. She is still here. She knows how to hide her presence very well."

"What do you mean? Is she hiding from me? But she should have recognised my voice..."

The creaking of wood in the adjacent room confirmed Blazh's theory, or at least proved they were not the only ones there. After the creaking he could hear stifled moans and a taut rope. He feared the worst. Dayfall kicked down the door as fast as he could, and what he found broke his soul.

"Jane...?" Her own name reverberated in her head.

A string tied to a beam in the ceiling. A box high enough to jump off of. Jane struggled to not run out of air, her legs flailing in desperation. The rope around her neck would soon stop the flow of blood. She coughed and coughed, but the rope would not loosen. Her face changed to a purple hue, her watery eyes turned red as she looked at Noir. Her life was slowly fading away.

"What the hell are you waiting for!? Cut the rope!"

Noir finally reacted. Witnessing Jane's suicide attempt left him paralysed. He picked a knife from his belt at high speed and with one clean cut broke the rope. Jane fell from a short height, but the impact was still painful. Noir rested her head on his arms, but did not know what else to do. Her throat had closed, she coughed up blood and saliva, and air was still not coming. She could not breathe or swallow, let alone speak. An indelible mark had been etched around her neck.

As the minutes passed, her lungs received air again. Her speech returned and the bleeding stopped. Noir held her hand, she tried to reach the ceiling for some reason. The woman suddenly began to laugh, risking irreparable damage to her throat. Noir frowned, not out of anger, but because he did not understand Jane's behaviour.

"I can't believe it... Are you really Noir...? You look different... Your eyes... Where's that innocent boy...?"

Her hair covered her trembling lips and her tear soaked eyes. With both hands she pulled her hair back and looked at Noir flashing a smile so fragile that a single word could break it.

"I sure do look pathetic... While you come back from the dead I'm trying to escape the world of the living... I'm sorry... I can't take it anymore..."

"Don't apologise, Jane... You've been strong for a long time." The boy held his canteen out to her. Even though there was not much water left, it was the least he could do. "Here. Your mouth must be dry. Don't exert yourself yet, your injuries could get worse. Rest for the time being."

"Thank you, Noir... Thank you..." Jane managed to drink some water despite the coughing. "Tell me... Why did you come back to the guild...? I thought after what we did you wouldn't want to know anything about us... I appreciate you being here, but..." Behind Noir, on the table, she could see the Aremonian sword. "I get it... Were you coming to kill us...? Is it for revenge...?"

The boy shook his head. "Forget that. I know the truth now. I'm here to help you, Jane. Please, your life is too valuable to throw it away like this."

"Valuable?" Jane let out a weak laugh as she touched Noir's cheek. A single tear slid down the corner of her eye. "My life lost all value when I saw those people suffer because of me... So many years looking the other way for believing in a greater cause... I'm already rotten inside. You can take what's left of me if you wish. The Holy Trinity will, sooner or later..."