After a few hours, Ada drove one of her blades into the chronomorph's head, turning it to dust, and looked around for Havel. He found Sidal's son watching, with a blank look, the massacre carried out by their new member, now intent on eliminating the last remaining enemies.

“Holy Emion...” murmured the leader of the Equinox Flowers.

When the dust settled and the echoes of battle began to fade, Shirei stood triumphant. The field was littered with enemy bodies, and the tenebrae hovered around him like guardians. The battle had been arduous, but the demigod had prevailed, the blade of discord dripping with blood wet the ground at his feet.

The son of Cragar looked up at the setting sun, his violet eyes gleaming tiredly.

“He looks like Darryl when he lost control,” Havel commented absently, “Only he's still lucid.”

The two Equinox Flowers watched the demigod from afar, unsure of the reason for their summoning there. Shirei would very well have been able to fight the entire horde alone and win.

“Unlike him, however, Darryl ran out of mana and risked being overwhelmed while he was weak” Ada remembered, thinking of that distant moment, “He's been going on for hours.”

“Do you think he's more powerful than Darryl?”

“Darryl is more experienced, but he certainly has a limit,” assessed Rutia's daughter.

“Him too,” Havel replied, “His body can get tired if he always maintains these rhythms.”

“No.”

“No?” The boy echoed her.

“I don't think he's aware of it, but he's empowering his entire body using the channeling technique Darryl taught us.”

The two stared at him for a few seconds.

Havel grimaced, “Even so, thanks to it you improve your performance, but you drain your magical reserves. He would end up exhausted anyway.”

“But this doesn't happen because he travels to the Interworld where he absorbs all the necessary aether. His body will then convert it into mana so he can replenish his reserve.”

“Infinite energy...” Sidal's son murmured, looking at his hands.

The two uttered the same sentence at the same time. They didn't say it with contempt, but it was a thought that popped out of their heads and they couldn't take it back.

“What a damn monster.”

After the battle that had just taken place ended, Shirei did not head towards his companions, but entered the battlefield again, forcing Havel and Ada to follow him. The land was still scarred from the fierce battle, with scattered debris and the acrid smell of blood permeating the air. The demigods advanced in silence, each step accompanied by the dark reverberation of their thoughts.

Shirei stopped at the foot of a body tortured and disfigured by the beatings he had received. His eyes lowered slowly, observing the now lifeless figure with sadness and respect. The scars and wounds were so deep that it was almost impossible to recognize his face.

Havel and Ada followed him until, in front of the corpse, they understood his identity.

“A… demigod?” Rutia's daughter asked hesitantly.

The sight of the mangled body startled the two members of the Equinox Flowers, who exchanged a look full of meaning, almost in search of mutual comfort.

Ada approached Cragar's son, “Shirei, what does all this mean? What is a demigod doing here?”

The purple-eyed boy crouched next to the body, placing a hand on the bloody dirt. His gaze was fixed, lost in thought.

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Finally, he decided to speak, his voice barely a whisper that seemed to blend with the wind.

“I was about to kill him, until I realized it and managed to deflect the attack,” he said, without taking his eyes off the body.

“As soon as I wounded him, the orcs didn't think twice about stepping on him or not, even though he seemed to be on their side.”

Ada felt a lump tighten in her throat, but she remained silent, respecting the moment of mourning. Havel, still visibly tired, ran a hand through his hair, which was still sticky from the blood it was soaked in.

As silence reigned again, the group prepared to leave that place of pain. Shirei cast one last look at the demigod's lifeless body, promising to return to him, then followed his companions in the direction of their refuge.

The abandoned house that served as the base of operations for the Equinox Flowers stood alone, shrouded in the shade of the large trees that surrounded it. It had probably once been an elegant home, but now it showed signs of age and abandonment. The walls, once immaculately white, were covered in ivy and moss, while the windows, with cracked and in some places broken glass, revealed the dim interior.

The front door, made of solid wood, was ajar and creaked slightly every time the wind blew through the trees. Inside, the air was damp and cold, carrying with it the smell of dust and old wood. A large corridor opened in front of the guests, with parquet floors now worn and creaking. Faded paintings and yellowed photographs adorned the walls, telling stories of a distant past.

A large living room with a marble fireplace occupied the center of the house, the ashes of a fire that had been extinguished for a few days. Armchairs, also covered, surrounded the fireplace, behind them was positioned a long red sofa.

The kitchen, although outdated, was still functional. Rusty pots and pans hung above a large wooden table. Water from an old hand pump in the sink was cold but drinkable, and an old oven had been repurposed to heat food and drink.

A creaking staircase led upstairs, where bedrooms provided temporary refuge for the group's members. The beds, with hard mattresses and dusty blankets, were still a comfort after the fatigue of battle.

Despite its state of decay, the abandoned house represented a safe haven for the group. Its sturdy walls and isolation offered valuable protection, allowing the demigods to rest and keep an eye on the valley from where enemies emerged.

Evening fell and the trio indulged in a moment of rest before preparing for their vigil shifts. Shirei and Ada were sitting on two armchairs in front of a fireplace, while the latter was busy lighting the fire.

If Darryl was there we would have already done it... the girl complained through clenched teeth, “Havel, can you help me?”

Sidal's son was lying on a rough sofa just behind them. He turned away from them and said, “Nope.”

Ada grimaced, but didn't push him further and turned to Cragar's son, “Don't you know how to make a fire easily?”

Shirei remained silent and shook his head.

As I imagined...

Finally, after endless minutes spent with matches found in the kitchen, the demigoddess managed to light the fire.

After making sure the flame was stable, she said to her companions: “Go to sleep, I'll take care of the first shift.”

“You can sleep too, if you want.”

Ada turned to look at Cragar's son, confused. “What do you mean?”

Shirei extended his hand on whose index finger the ring given to him by the god of the dead shone and sent out a wave of darkness. The figures of his ghostly harpies manifested in the living room around them. Some of them squawked, causing Havel to jump off the couch in fright.

Ada took a calming breath and replied, “Actually, I'm still not sleepy at the moment, that's why I'm on first shift.”

“I understand.”

The two remained contemplating the flames of the fire, while the leader of the Equinox Flowers stood up to scold them.

“I'm going to sleep” he said, already walking towards the stairs, “Don't waste precious time and do the same. May Tefine bring you relief.”

Shirei guessed that it was a sort of goodnight in the manner of demigods and thanked him. Sidal's son looked very different from the way he had appeared in the Lilies Park.

He feared it was an attitude caused by his presence there, but he kept those doubts to himself.

Ada stared at Sidal's son until his figure disappeared behind the walls.

“He's been doing this since you beat him, but he has nothing against you” she tried to reassure him.

“He didn't want to lose, I understand that.”

Rutia's daughter shook her head, “It's not that”, She raised her eyes to take a moment to pause and think about the right words to use, “Shirei, it's difficult for us to deal with you. We are a close-knit group and you fight alone every day. We lose track of where you are until all enemies have been defeated.”

The demigod interrupted her, “You are very strong.”

“Thank you, but we know that's not true. We are more powerful than the normal demigods of the Lilies Park and on average equal to the best of the academy, but you are different,” she placed her gaze on the fire, “Knowing that people like you exist reassures the weakest, but for others it can be frustrating.”

“So this is Havel's problem?”

“Yes,” Ada nodded, “He was always the strongest, the hero who threw himself into the middle of the battle. In the park they applaud him for this and it means a lot to him. After the clash with you, the envy of others has surpassed the enthusiasm of the young people.”

Rutia's daughter turned back to the purple-eyed demigod, her eyes softening.

“He's always been under a lot of pressure and this time he lost,” she smiled slightly, “So he just needs some time to digest it.”

Cragar's son signaled that he understood and silence returned to the room, interrupted only by the light crackling of the fire.