Jaxith perched on a chair before the inn’s counter, clutching a hefty glass of orange juice. Two empty plates, speckled with the remnants of a meal, sat near him. Miller, on the opposite side, meticulously arranged glassware before collecting Jaxith’s discarded dishes.

“I gather the food was to your liking,” Miller remarked, wiping down the counter.

“Obvious, right?” Jaxith replied with a grin.

“Indeed it was,” Miller concurred.

“She ate voraciously, especially considering her usually meager appetite,” Jaxith observed.

“You’re welcome, by the way. She looks much better than she did last night. I was worried the inn would burn down with all her screaming. Honestly, I thought she’d wake up in a terrible state, but she seems fine, Jaxith,” Miller said.

“I have my own way of dealing with her,” Jaxith replied calmly, taking a sip of his juice.

“Good thing you can handle her. You’ll definitely need that if you want to help her,” Miller said. Jaxith listened, then looked down at the glass in his hand, seemingly lost in thought.

“You okay?” Miller asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Jaxith said, his eyes still fixed on the glass.

“So, did Emelia help you with Irene?” Miller asked.

“Yes, she did. Even though she doesn’t know much about them, she helped me make this potion for Irene’s face. She even went to your house to look for a book she remembers that has a section on hybrids, like Irene,” Jaxith said.

“Well, that’s good. She really wasn’t concerned about the demons at all. You know, Emelia is obsessed with alchemy, but I know she’d do anything to help you, just like me,” Miller said with a smile.

“I know, Miller. That’s why I trust you most in this kingdom,” Jaxith replied.

“Don’t mention it. You’re a man of honor, Jaxith. Oh, right, did she mention her little surprise to you? I told her I didn't tell you about it," Miller asked. Jaxith looked at him.

“No, nothing about a surprise,” Jaxith said.

“Then I guess she hasn’t found the right time for it yet,” Miller replied. Just then, the inn door opened.

“Speak of the devil,” Miller said, smiling as Emelia closed the door behind her and entered, a small book in her hands.

“Hey, Father. Sorry I couldn’t help you until now, but Jaxith needs help with Irene, so I was searching for something for him,” Emelia said, walking towards them before sitting beside Jaxith.

“Here it is, Jaxith. This book was written by one of the high priests in Reldret Holy Church. It’s about the dangers of dark energy and avoiding its use in all its different forms, especially dark magic. You can consider it an educational book. Anyway, it has a section, albeit small, that might be useful to you,” Emelia said, opening the book to a specific page. Jaxith began to focus on it with her.

“Look, this part talks about the demons who descended to Plistura after the great gods began destroying them. Do you know the story behind that?” Emelia asked.

“I know the important parts,” Jaxith replied.

“Well, listen to me. The demons who escaped were just lesser demons, not strong at all. You could say they were the normal civilians of demon-kind. While they weren’t comparable to the demons who fought in the ancient war, or the strongest ones named by the Scarlet Army, they could still have done a lot of damage to humans. So, the great god himself ordered his son to be responsible for cleansing the continent created specifically for us,” Emelia explained.

“Yeah, I know about that part too,” Jaxith said calmly.

“Good. In the end, the prince of the gods nearly finished them all, including some of the dangerous ones. Only a few non-harmful demons managed to hide among the humans, and after years, they even started loving some humans, and vice versa. That’s when the hybrids started appearing. But that doesn’t change the overall way humans viewed demons, and even hybrids,” Emelia said.

“I don’t see what that has to do with Irene,” Jaxith said.

Stolen story; please report.

“I’ll tell you. See, I took a look at the types of demons who lived here while hiding from the gods and most of the humans, after the gods nearly wiped them out,” Emelia explained.

“And did you find anything important?” Jaxith asked.

“Indeed. Listen, all those types are nearly harmless, with weak dark energy. They could just use it to defend themselves, and it’s not that dangerous. Any good warrior could deal with them easily. The thing that piqued my curiosity is that none of those demons uses that strange vapor Irene used last night. Nothing even comes close to that strength. Also, I read about the hybrids. I didn’t find anything that involves a severe headache with bleeding from a single eye and strange sounds constantly in her head that sometimes drive the hybrid insane. There was nothing like Irene,” Emelia said, as Jaxith narrowed his eyes.

“What do you mean by that?” Jaxith asked.

“I know it may sound crazy, but what if her demonic side comes from a strong demon that the prince of the gods might have missed?” Emelia asked seriously.

“That’s far-fetched, Emelia. All the scarlet demons were sealed,” Jaxith said, surprised.

“I don’t mean a scarlet demon. We know all of them were sealed. I’m talking about the few demons who escaped from the demon army, the normal ones who were going to lose before the scarlet army even existed. Maybe one of them, or more likely one of his sons or daughters, was the one who fell in love with Irene’s human parent, don’t you think?” Emelia suggested. Jaxith couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He understood it, but he still couldn’t believe it because she actually had a point.

“Jaxith, listen to me,” Emelia continued. “Irene may be good at heart, but that doesn’t mean she’s safe to deal with. We know nothing about her, and that makes her even more dangerous. I’m not trying to make you abandon her, but be careful, Jaxith.”

“For the second time, she’s not dangerous, she’s helpless,” Jaxith countered, looking seriously at Emelia. He felt that Emelia was trying to make him abandon Irene’s situation. Emelia herself sensed that Jaxith wasn’t reacting well to her words.

“Okay, I didn’t mean to upset you,” Emelia said. “I knew you wouldn’t leave her alone. I didn’t even mean that, Jaxith. Even though I dislike all demons, even hybrids, she seems good, and what’s more important is that you care about her, so I would do the same just for you. But you need to know that we care about you, Jaxith, the one who helped my father with several things and saved my life. Irene didn’t do that. We haven’t known Irene for seven years, but we’ve known you.” Emelia said in a caring manner, closing the book and looking away.

“It’s okay,” Jaxith said calmly. “I understand the motive behind your words, but you just can’t imply that we can do nothing to help her. Come on, Emelia, I know you’re smarter than that.” Emelia sighed before looking back at him.

“Maybe that’s not everything,” Emelia said.

“What do you mean?” Jaxith asked.

“What’s written in the book—maybe those were just examples, and there were other types the writer didn’t talk about. This book was written over a hundred years ago, and I told you it’s for educational purposes, so I mean you shouldn’t lose hope,” Emelia explained.

“I won’t, but don’t you know someone interested in studying demons who could help us?” Jaxith asked.

“Seriously, no. It’s already rare to find books about them or people interested in them. But I think Vidin’s great library at the capital Arlyn might hold some books that would interest you,” Emelia said.

“That’s a long journey, but thanks. I’ll see what I can do after getting her to that man named Lance,” Jaxith replied, taking a sip of his juice.

“By the way, I read another article that might help you, but I need you to focus on a specific part,” Emelia said.

“I don’t lose focus even while sleeping,” Jaxith said boldly before looking at her. Emelia seemed startled for a moment.

“Yeah, I just witnessed that this morning. Anyway, was she always like that, or no?” Emelia asked.

“She told me she started having those strange nightmares after her last birthday,” Jaxith said.

“And before that, there was nothing like that?” Emelia asked.

“No, but she was still able to use divine energy before then,” Jaxith replied.

“We previously talked about the divine energy part. It’s unique that she can use both types of energies, and I think divine energy at this age is strange enough without proper training. But that’s not what I wanted to say. About those dreams, sounds, and pain with bleeding, maybe that’s a defense mechanism from her human side against the demonic side,” Emelia suggested.

“Do you mean that her body is somehow trying to resist her demonic side?” Jaxith asked.

“Exactly! Brilliant thinking, Jaxith. Although I didn’t find any similarities between her case and normal hybrid cases who suffered from the same problem, and although it's uncommon, in some cases, the hybrid body tries to prevent the demonic side from taking any sort of control. This leads to painful aches across the body. This happens gradually after the moment the demonic power inside the hybrid starts getting active,” Emelia explained.

“And how long does this process usually take?” Jaxith asked.

“Until her body accepts it, that is, if we’re sure she’s suffering from this. It could be an entirely different thing,” Emelia said.

“I get it,” Jaxith replied, thinking about what she had just told him. He remembered how Irene had begged for death due to the intolerable pain. Emelia noticed his reaction.

“Did I say something wrong?”, Asked Emelia.

“No, it’s not about you, you’re trying to help, I’m trying to connect between what you said with what happened to her.”, Said Jaxith.

“Do you mean losing control?”, Asked Emelia.

“No, requesting death, she requested that I should end her life better than to endure what was happening to her.", Said Jaxith while looking annoyed.

“Did she ask that yesterday? I thought she was asking you today because she was afraid to lose control again and hurt someone.”, Said Emelia.

“Both of them.”, Said Jaxith.

“Oh gods, is it that bad? Even if she’s a hybrid that’s too much, you’re right about the part where it’s not her fault that she’s born like that, I’m really sorry about her Jaxith.", Said Emelia while looking both afraid and surprised.

“It’s okay, thank you for your help by the way, at least I got some leads for now.”, Said Jaxith before looking back to the unfinished glass of orange juice.