It's been hours and the rain is still pouring heavily. There are no signs of it stopping anytime soon. We were starving so Komraad had no choice but to scavenge for food. Anything would suffice as long as we can intake food and satisfy our hunger.

He's been out for minutes now, I stayed in the cave to monitor the girl we found earlier.

I think she's around 10. Her physics is that of an innocent girl, her hair is color brown. She's wearing a cute dress, though it's already drenched in mud and dirt. I don't know how she got into this dangerous forest but I believe something bad happened and she had no choice but to run away. Thankfully, it was us who found her first and not those pesky creatures.

She's crying in her sleep, muttering help me. I wish I could help her but as of now, I can't do anything until I hear her whole story.

Komraad came back soaked in rain with fruits in his hands.

“Welcome back,” I greeted him.

“You should dry yourself first before we eat,” I added.

“Yeah sure, let's save some for the girl too,” he answered.

Komraad stripped his upper clothes to remove the excess water and dried it near the fire. I smiled seeing Komraad care so much, I kinda thought he was a jerk and a man-child, but he's actually pretty cool and kind. I'm starting to like him more.

“We should remove her clothes and dry them. By we, I mean you, 'cause I'm a man,” he said while looking away.

“If she keeps on wearing those wet and dirty clothes, she'll definitely catch a cold,” he added.

“Yeah, you're right. Now go look away,” I replied.

Komraad handed me his jacket and told me to use it to cover her while waiting for her clothes to dry.

“How thoughtful of him, I didn't know he was this sweet toward humans. I thought he'd snap right away as soon as he sees one.”

“I didn't know you liked humans,” I assumed.

“Not all of them, just her,” he answered.

“What do you mean? Do you know who this girl is?”

“Yeah I know her, she's from the village I mentioned earlier.”

“The village in the north? The place where we're currently heading to?”

“Yeah, I've been there before. I actually used to steal food from them. There was this one time when someone caught me stealing their food and drove me out of the village. I don't hurt people who are clearly weaker than me. I was about to leave when someone approached me and gave me freshly-baked muffins, it was that girl. Let's just say I'm repaying her. That was actually a very long time, she was way smaller at that time.”

“I don't know why she's here in the woods, maybe something bad happened to the village,” he added.

“We don't know that yet. Let's wait for her to wake up and ask her directly,” I replied.

We ate and rested for a while.

It was getting dark, the rain is still pouring heavily. I was getting sleepy, my eyes and body were so heavy I can't even move a single muscle. I need to take a nap to replenish my energy.

*Yawn*

“You can go to sleep you know, I'll stay awake and guard this place,” Komraad suggested.

“How about you? Aren't you sleepy yet?” I asked.

“I'm not, I can stay awake for 5 days straight without getting sleepy. Just trust me and go to sleep already,” he replied.

“Fine, but you should rest afterward. That way you'll have more strength for when emergencies happened.”

“Gah, fine! let's change shifts later. You sleep first and I'll wake you up later when it's your turn to stay up. You happy now?”

“Tee-hee… Good night," I answered.

I took a nap after our conversation.

...

I was dreaming of delicious food when Komraad woke me up.

“Hey cat, wake up. It's your turn.”

“One more minute, I answered.”

I was gonna go back to sleep when the girl we rescued earlier finally woke up.

“W-where am I? W-who are you?” She asked.

She looks so scared. You can literally see the fear in her eyes.

She looked at herself and noticed she was naked.

“W-why am I naked?” She embarrassingly asked.

“C-calm down. We saw you unconscious in the middle of the forest and it was raining really hard so we rescued you and brought you here. For now, you should change back to your old clothes, it's still dirty but at least it's already dry,” I explained.

“Komraad look away!” I shouted.

The girl changed back into her clothes. I feel like she still doesn't trust us even after I explained what happened. It's understandable though because she looked so traumatized, but for her to calm down, I have to earn her trust first.

“Are you okay? Could you tell us your name?” I asked her kindly.

“Y-you can talk?” She asked me back.

“Aah, I see now. That's why she looked so pale.”

“Y-yeah, I'm sorry if that surprised you but please believe me, We don't intend to harm you,” I responded genuinely.

“Most monsters in this forest can't talk so I was shocked that you can,” she added.

“Aah yeah, it's understandable that she thinks I'm a monster. I mean look at me, I'm a cat who can talk and shoot laser beams out of her mouth,” I thought.

Komraad interrupted us in the middle of our conversation.

“Hey kiddo, what happened to you?” He asked the little girl.

“H-hey Komraad, be considerate! She just woke up! At least let her process everything first.”

“It's okay. Uhm, Mr.? H-have we met before?” The girl asked.

“Yeah, you might not remember it because you were still little at that time but you gave me food before,” he answered.

“Oh, I remember that! You were the food thief our chief drove out of the village before.”

“Y-yeah,” he answered looking embarrassed.

The girl is lightening up little by little. The fear in her eyes is fading.

“I know something bad happened to you, and we would love to hear your story but if you're still not ready to open up then it's okay. For now, you should rest more and replenish your strength,” I suggested to ease her mind a little.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“It's okay, I can't sleep anymore and I don't have an Appetite either,” she replied.

“C-can I ask what your name is again?”

“My name is Fae.”

“So Fae, would you mind telling us what happened to you?”

“Y-yeah, I think I can tell you. After all, you just saved my life. I am eternally grateful.”

…

“It all started when my grandma, the only family I had, died. She died of old age. Everyone in the village loved her because she was kind and was always there to help those in need. I was so devastated when I lost her but the villagers were there to cheer me up and help me overcome the pain of losing a loved one. I told myself not to give up because as her granddaughter, it is my duty to continue her legacy.”

“I was still sad about my grandma’s passing but I gotta keep pushing forward. I was out in the woods looking for herbs when I found something and brought it inside the village. It was a small monster. It looked so harmless and it was covered in wounds and blood that's why I helped it. Our medical equipment was inside the village so I had no choice but to bring it, though it had to be a secret. You see, my grandma was a medical expert and she taught me everything there is to know about curing people and creatures. We make medicines and potions from herbs so I treated the wounds of the monster with the knowledge my grandma left me.”

“I was gonna release it as soon as it recovers but instead, I took care of it for months in secret. I fed it and noticed it was growing significantly. It's only been a week and it already doubled in size. I decreased the amount of food I was giving to it but it was still rapidly growing. I don't know how it was possible, that's when I noticed something was wrong with the village. The atmosphere changed. Our people used to be cheerful and lovely but now they all ended up sad and depressed.”

“the monster feeds on the emotions of the people around it and uses it as an energy to get stronger. The monster I took eventually grew as big as our house and the villagers ended up getting caught by the monster and became mindless beings.”

The moment she said mindless beings, I thought of zombies and they scare the heck out of me.

“I was spared, I was the only one who noticed what was going on. It was hopeless, all I could do was run away, and here I am now,” she added.

She started crying and blaming herself.

*Sob* *Sob*

“It's all my fault, I'm the reason why everyone in the village is suffering. The chief. The villagers, because of me, everyone is, is…”

“H-hey Fae, please calm down. They were being held captive by the monster right? That means they're still alive, it means we can still save them.” I told her to cheer her up.

“No, the village is beyond saving. The monster… No, that demon is too powerful,” she answered.

“Even if I go back, nothing will change.” She added.

“Who said you're going back alone?” Komraad interrupted with a brimming hope on his face.

“Y-yeah! He's right, we're coming with you. We'll save the town and bring everyone back to normal,” I said to give her hope.

“We were planning on going to that village anyways so it's a win-win for us,” I added.

Fae paused for a while, she was speechless but you can see that she was so happy that someone was going to help her make things right.

“R-really? You'd do that? Y-you just met me and barely knew me but you're already willing to do so much, I don't understand why you're doing this. I won't be able to give you anything in return.”

“Seeing a little girl suffer just doesn't sit right with me. I won't let anyone suffer, especially a girl like you,” I answered.

“Yeah, we’re strong! That demon's no match for us,” Komraad added.

“I do sure hope we’re strong enough to defeat it. We barely survived earlier. Well, we'll never know until we try,” I thought.

“We'll go there tomorrow, for now, we should rest and prepare,” I suggested.

The girl lightened up a bit and was able to eat and rest afterward.

...

Morning came and we immediately prepared to go to the village.

“Are you sure you're ready to go back?” I asked Fae.

“Yes, I'm ready. I'll lead the way,” she answered with so much determination.

We started walking towards the village with Fae leading us the way. As we were walking, something came to my mind, and told them about it.

“I'm curious, if the village has been there for a long time and is pretty close to this forest, why is it still fine? I mean wouldn't monsters be swarming that place already?” I asked Fae.

“Our founder enchanted our village so that no monsters would ever come near it,” she answered.

“Then why was a demon able to enter it?” I asked out of confusion.

“A demon is a different species. They're actually pretty rare and uncommon, that's why I was shocked when I heard a demon was in the woods, especially a powerful one,” Komraad answered.

“I see, now I'm getting scared, but the village might be able to help me find out my identity so I'm doing this no matter what. I got Komraad here by my side, things won't go wrong, right? Right???”

After some time, we arrived at our destination. The village looks small and average.

“I can see the village!” I said excitedly while forgetting the fact that the only thing waiting for us was trouble.

“Yeah. For now, let's try and distance ourselves. Let's observe the demon first,” Komraad whispered.

“Wow, this is so unlike you,” I whispered back.

We only arrived but we could already see the demon roaming around. It’s as big as the houses in the village. Just the sight of it gets me so scared. The demon's skin is purple. It has huge horns, huge teeth, and huge claws. It's releasing a thick purple smoke from its mouth every time it breathes and the ground shakes every time it stomps. I don't even know how we can beat such a thing.

...

“I know a way inside the village beside the main entrance. We can use that instead,” Fae suggested.

We followed her and she led us inside the village without the demon noticing us.

The closer we got, the more menacing the atmosphere and mood got. My heart was pumping fast, just getting closer to the village was suffocating. It's like my lungs are about to pop out.

We entered the village and were shocked by what was in front of us. The villagers' eyes are glowing purple and are walking like zombies. They don't look dead or hurt but it's sad and painful to see these innocent people suffering.

Fae stopped. She was frozen in place after seeing the villagers in agony. She was filled with guilt and regret. Fae started crying so Komraad grabbed her shoulders.

“Snap out of it kid!”

*Sob* *Sob*

“I... It's all my fault... I…”

“Fae! Do you remember why we’re here?!? We're here to save them! So get yourself together,” I reminded her of the reason why we have to be mentally and emotionally stable during these times.

“Wait for us here. We'll defeat the enemy and save the village no matter what!” I added.

Fae stayed while Komraad and I approached the demon.

“Hey cat, what's the plan?” Komraad asked.

“Ohh... I thought you'd just jump in and fight. I'm impressed you're willing to follow a plan.”

“I don’t care anymore. Time to get serious,” he replied.

“I know, I know. We'll take this seriously and free the villagers from its grasp,” I answered.

“So, Here's the plan...”

I whispered the plan to Komraad and we took action as soon as we finished strategizing. Komraad positioned himself in front of the demon while I was preparing my beam for a surprise attack. Basically, we're doing the same plan as before. Luring the prey to its doom.

Komraad shouted to grab the demon's attention.

“Hey! You big pile of meat bag! Over here!”

The demon noticed so it followed and attacked him. Komraad dodged its attacks. The demon is slow but its strength is unbelievable, it destroyed a house in one swing. The demon kept attacking him, but he was able to dodge all of it and at the same time lead its attacks where there would be no villagers getting caught.

“Nice! Keep doing what you're doing Komraad, the plan is working!” I thought while preparing my surprise attack.

Komraad led the demon directly toward the spot we talked about during our strategy meeting. My beam is ready to be released. I flew directly in front of the demon and shot it. It was a direct hit! Half of its face is gone and its shoulder and right arm were obliterated.

“We did it Komraad!”

I was jumping joyfully when Komraad suddenly interrupted me.

“Don't celebrate yet. Look closely, it's regenerating,” Komraad said while sweating in fear.

“W-what do we do now?” I asked Komraad while stuttering.

“There's no time for a plan. Just attack it while it's still down!” Komraad replied.

He jumped in the air, ready to attack when the demon suddenly released a huge cloud of gas enveloping the whole village.

“This is dangerous. Komraad, don't breathe it in!” I shouted in a panic as I covered my mouth and nose.

Komraad just stood in front of it, frozen in place. The demon is trying to control him but he's trying to reject it.

“Komraad fight it!”

“Grrr…”

Komraad wounded himself and was able to get out of its control but it was already too late. The demon recovered and completely regenerated. Before he could even dodge, the demon attacked him with full force sending him flying to who knows where.

“Komraad!” I shouted in panic.

“I-I hope he survives that.”

The demon’s next target is me. I just used the only attack I know and it was useless. All I could do now was to run away.

“Think, think, think... What should I do? Komraad is not here. The villagers are in danger. If I ran away now, everything we did would be for nothing,” I thought in panic.

“I... I don't know anymore.”

I was at my wit's end once again. I was dodging the demon's every attack. Everything in its range is being obliterated. I was out of options when someone suddenly shouted, it was Fae.

The demon stopped pursuing me and instead responded to her.

“P-pls stop already. You've already taken everything! I know it's all my fault…”

*Sob* *Sob*

“All I did was help others. All I wanted was to be of use to someone, but why? Why is the result of my actions ending up like this?”

*Sob* *Sob*

“If you're going to hurt someone, it's me who deserves it. So please Mr. Demon, enough already,” Fae said in desperation.

The demon looked at Fae menacingly.

If there's one thing I learned during my time here, it's that you can't reason out with a monster, especially a demon like this.

“G-get out of there Fae! It's useless! You can't reason out with that thing! Run!” I shouted in despair.

The demon attacked Fae with no hesitation. The attack was so strong that it created a smokescreen around them. I couldn't see a thing.

“Noooooo!” I rushed towards the scene but it was already too late.

Or so I thought.

The smoke faded away and I saw Komraad stop the demon's hand from reaching Fae.

“Komraad! T-thank goodness.”

He was thrown somewhere far away. I don't know how he was able to get back here so fast and how he was able to stop the demon's attack when it could even destroy a house, but he was able to save Fae in the nick of time.

“Fae! Don't you dare give up! You did nothing wrong! Helping others is what makes you who you are, don't ever change that. Not all you did resulted in this, just look at me! You helped me and it resulted in me helping you! So stop crying and get out of there already!” Komraad said while struggling with the weight of the demon's hand.

“Oh no, they're gonna get squished!”

“What do I do? Why? Why am I so useless? Someone is about to die in front of me, if it's me in their place then I wouldn't mind, but someone important is about to die in front of me! I don't want that to happen.”

“Grrrr... Ugh…”

“Komraad is about to lose strength! There's no time.”

I prepared my beam one last time, hoping it could at least obliterate the demon's hand to give Komraad and Fae enough time to escape.

“This isn't enough. I'm gonna give my every ounce of power into this attack even if it kills me in the process.”

“Please, one last time, give me strength.”

I was preparing my final attack when something happened to me. I turned into something else. I turned into a human.

“W-what just happened? Wait, what is this energy? What is this strength? My hands are about to snap!”

The attack I was preparing changed color and became more condensed. It was so strong that the pressure on my body was unbearable.

“I-I have to release it!”

The demon noticed me and lost its grip on Komraad.

“Komraaaaaaaddd!!! Get Fae out of there!”

Komraad noticed the energy around me and was quick to react. He grabbed Fae and ran as far away as possible. The demon was not fast enough to react. As soon as Komraad and Fae were out of range from my attack, I released it directly to the demon.

“Get obliterated!”

My beam was amplified, it was a thousand times stronger than when I was in my cat form. It obliterated the demon from its very bones, splitting the sky and destroying the top of a mountain in the process.

*Pant* *Pant*

“W-what was that? Did I just do that? And what's with this form? I-I'm a human? I have so many questions.”

The heavy atmosphere around the village was gone and the villagers slowly turned back to normal. It means the demon is gone for good.

*Pant* *Pant*

“Cat!/ Ms. Cat!” Fae and Komraad shouted in sync.

The injured Komraad and crying Fae rushed toward me.

"What happened? Is that really you?” Komraad asked.

“Ms. Cat, thank you,” Fae said while crying.

“Thank goodness, you're both safe,” I said with a huge smile on my face.

My energy and strength were completely drained from my previous attack and the moment I relaxed and knew they were safe, I lost consciousness.