“Are you alright?” Baston addressed both me and Moonwash. All four of us, Luine included, were currently at the nearest river, having a picnic after all of yesterday’s craziness. It’s wild really, that it took this long for someone to stumble upon our secret hideout, although there had been people that passed around the periphery. They were fooled by Baston’s preparations.

“I’m perfectly fine,” I answered Baston… and I found that I was telling the truth. I didn’t really think that what we did to those adventurers was just… but I was at peace with it. It was just… just like any other day here, where I killed and my prey tried to do the same.

Except they were all sapients like I am, and they have lived full and rich lives.

I will not deny that, and I won’t blame it on Luine who would’ve done it whether we helped or not anyway.

I briefly considered if my reaction or lack thereof could have something to do with my new demonic biology. And it… probably did. But I also knew that I didn’t really feel bad at all for that one guy I killed a lifetime ago. I reasoned at the time that he deserved it, which he did, but maybe I was always like this. Cold. A killer. I just stayed away from murder because of the consequences it would bring.

Or maybe I’m not. Who fucking knows! I sure do wish I don’t just go on a massacre for no fucking reason!

I swore to myself on this day that I would not kill hapless civilians in the same way that I killed those adventurers. They were different, those men and women were combatants. They braved the forest with the full knowledge that they’d have to fight, and that they might die. I would have to kill more like them in the future, many more. But I would not extend that treatment to those who just wished to live their life in peace. Somewhere, somehow, even if it’s arbitrary and dumb, I had to draw a line.

“Yesh. I’mm alshright.” Moonwash eventually answered after wolfing down her sandwich. She claimed to be perfectly fine with killing people. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

If she even knows what we’re talking about…

“You do know we’re talking about the two of us having killed people, right?” I asked. “Baston is worried that it may have damaged our psyches, yes?”

“Oh, that. Yeah, I’m fine. I guess maybe there was this one moment when my heart beat faster, but that could also be attributed to the adrenaline of the battle. I am still examining those events more, but at the very least, I don’t think it would affect my combat readiness. And my forging has not suffered either. It’s only grown more exciting actually, because of all the equipment and materials we harvested from those we killed. I especially like the shield, it weathered your attacks very well. I intend to fix it and make it my own.”

Ooookay. That reaction is more problematic than mine, I think.

That being said…

“How about your staff? It’s very cool, by the way! Can I have it?”

Luine chuckled at the turn in our conversation, but didn’t say anything.

“No. It’s mine,” Moonwash answered bluntly. “I made it from the horns of a goeath, mixed with a fire focus. Instead of stroking all nearby fires, it now enhances all fires that I specifically make with it.”

“It just sounds even more awesome now! Can’t you make me one? Really? Pleaasseee???”

Moonwash thought hard about it. “I don’t mind, of course. But I don’t have the materials. Bring me the materials I need, and I’ll make you something.”

“Hooray!” I cheered. “By the way, Luine,” I addressed… my other friend. It was still hard to think of them as such. She was the friend of my parents, but we’re basically friends now too, right? “What was up with that whole disappearing act back then? I didn’t know you could go invisible!”

“Oh. That was illusion magic.” She took out a wand from her robes. It had lots of peach and pink colors.

“I am very interested.” Moonwash homed in on the wand like she was about to snatch it.

Luine hid it away again. “It’s rare. Very rare. This element has never been held by a fountan far as I’m aware, so it’s very very hard to recharge. But it’s strong. If I was willing to use a lot, then I would’ve been able to kill all of them with trivial ease very quickly. So good job you two! You saved me a lot of mana.”

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“You’re welcome!” I said. “But then how do you even have it in the first place? If no one has the element.”

“I killed a few invlades in the Lost Reflections wonderzone within the southern rainforests. There were some leftover in their repositories. This is my last one for now.”

“Ah, so you’re just taking like the leftover mana in their repositories to recharge it?” I grabbed a sandwich for myself and started eating.

“Yep. Exactly.”

“Is it always like that? You know, without the fountans…”

Luine shook her head and chuckled. She tossed out a line into the water to fish. “No, of course not. The typical method before was to tame the animals who can use magic as pets. Which is admittedly, much more limited than having an entire race under your command that can do it. And I have nothing against fountans doing that job either. I think it’s mighty convenient, and we are all… unequal. We’re born unequal. There are differences, even within the species, what more so for those with differing Mutations. But you don’t have to go too fucking hard on that! Yes, they’ll gravitate to what work suits them best, but there is no need to force anyone. There’s no need to limit their rights and to discriminate.”

“Is that why you’re helping the revolution?” I blurted out absentmindedly.

Luine looked at me for a second. We never really talked about it, even if we were both well aware. “Yes. That’s why. What about you, Haell? What do you think?”

I shrugged. “I agree with you. We have a common enemy. But I will always be an individual actor. I’ll not join up with any faction. I am free.” It’s why I’m so desperate for power to begin with. To be confident that I’ll be fine, no matter what I choose in the moment. To remain free.

“I see. Well, that’s fair. That always came through with everything that you did. And I for one respect it.”

“Nice.”

~~~

We were just about to pack up and leave when a little green man walked out of the treeline and towards the water. He was on the other side of the river.

“What are the chances that it’s alone and won’t be a problem…”

“None,” Baston answered. “Absolutely none.”

The goblin snarled, looking at the river and then back up at us, as if gauging his chances.

“I have an idea,” Moonwash said.

I typically liked her ideas, but this timing was worrying.

“I like it!” I gave her a thumbs-up, before I could even hear what it was.

Moonwash nodded and grabbed Luine’s fishing pole.

“Hmm? What are you…”

The goblin jumped, and fell laughably short. But then Moonwash caught it right on time with the reel, and began pulling the creature in.

“Help me.”

None of us knew what the fuck she was planning, but we grabbed the rod and helped Moonwash fish the goblin out regardless. Its tiny green body landed on our side of the riverbank, and Moonwash quickly ended its life by knifing through its throat a couple dozen times.

“Hey, that’s dangerous,” Baston said. “Wicked mana can influence your mind just by being near it…”

“It’s fine. I was able to take living with Haell. This isn’t a problem either.”

“Wait, what? I can’t be that bad. Come onn…”

“No, no. She has a point.” Baston nodded. “You are leaking menace mana everywhere, and I do feel it sometimes, even if it’s way too small to affect me.”

“Eh, wait, really?”

“Yep! You just reek Haell,” Luine laughed.

“Oh piss off.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m being serious. Is this a problem?”

The rogue shrugged. “Not really. It is stronger than like, a single goblin, but this isn’t enough to actually affect anyone. Not at our level certainly, and Moonwash seems fine too.”

“It’s interesting,” Baston added. “I guess all the paranoia about them is overblown. A single goblin isn’t actually going to cause the apocalypse and cause everyone to kill each other.”

“But it is a danger,” Luine finished. “The tradition makes sense, and there’s no reason not to destroy the goblin just in case. Especially to prevent them from multiplying. They already leave their seeds everywhere just by existing day to day.”

It was at this moment that Moonwash finally emerged from the corpse she was dissecting, triumphant with the reproductive sack of a goblin in her hand.

Baston blinked. “Uhh. What are you planning to do with that?”

“Experiments. I have an idea for something I can craft with them, and I also want to observe the creation of one of them.”

“You’re going to seed them on something? On purpose!?”

“Yes.”

Baston did not take that well. He looked to Luine for support, but she just shrugged.

“This is a terrible idea. But we’re not their mums.” Her gaze snapped to my friend, and then quickly amended, “Well, I am Moonwash's mom. But I doubt they’ll die from it. So let them have their fun.”

She could not hide her own curiosity from me.