In the dusty village square, surrounded by a throng of jeering children, I endured the cutting taunts of Zhou, the son of the village chief. His insults were like barbs, each one digging deeper into my already wounded pride. "Look at this bastard," he sneered, a smirk playing on his lips. "No matter how much of his food we take, he just watches us do it. What a coward!" His words were like a knife twisting in my gut, but I remained silent, unwilling to give him the satisfaction of a response.

Emboldened by my silence, Zhou delivered a swift kick to my stomach, causing me to double over in pain. As I gasped for air, trying to regain my composure, he continued his tirade. "You're a waste of demon blood, Ashoc," he spat, his voice dripping with contempt. Beside him, his right-hand man Jin joined in, adding his own cruel jibe to the chorus of laughter that surrounded us.

I felt a surge of anger and humiliation, but I knew better than to retaliate. I was no match for Zhou and his cronies, and any attempt to fight back would only result in further humiliation. So, I hung my head in shame, silently enduring their mockery.

But when Zhou turned his attention to Baomu, my caretaker and the only person that was kind to me, something inside me snapped. "Take back what you said about her," I growled, my voice trembling with suppressed rage. Zhou's eyes widened in surprise, clearly not expecting such defiance from me. But he quickly regained his composure, dismissing my feeble attempt at defiance with a disdainful laugh. "The Demon Kings ordered the death of all kind demons on the grounds that they might be traitors. We only kept you around for entertainment. You two were never worth anything but are a danger to Heim."

With a burst of adrenaline-fueled courage, I lunged forward and punched Zhou in the chin with all the strength I could muster. To my surprise, my fist connected with his jaw, knocking him back a step or two. The other children, sensing a shift in the dynamics of the confrontation, quickly moved to restrain me. Jin, ever the loyal lackey, stepped forward to check on Zhou, who was now rubbing his chin where my punch had landed. "Uh...Zhou? Are you alright?" Jin asked, his voice tinged with nervousness. Zhou, still reeling from the unexpected blow, glared at me with renewed malice. "Of course, how could this worm ever hurt me. All he did was give me good reason to request his extermination along with that bitch of a caretaker he has."

I started struggling harder, suddenly aware of how dire the consequences for my momentary loss of self control was. "Worried eh? Should've thought of that before hitting someone better than you. Let him go. Even if they leave now, they wouldn't get far enough to escape." Zhou cockily spoke, with a wry smirk. As soon as their grips loosened, I scrambled to my feet and fled, my mind racing with fear and uncertainty. 

What have I done? How do we get out this alive? Can Baomu move fast enough to escape? What do I do if my mistake gets her killed? Is there any way to stop them, or even delay them? The questions never ended, only furthered my self-hatred. Please, if a higher power exists like the other races believe, don't let them hurt Baomu. Take me if anyone has to die.

Reaching her hut, she was doing the same thing she always did, drying the clothes from the last week and preparing what little food she had. She heard my frantic footsteps, and whipped her head in my direction. Her eyes widened upon seeing my distraught appearance. For a second, I could've sworn I saw her utter something before coming closer to me.  "You're injured again, Ashoc," she said, her voice tinged with concern. "Was it Zhou and his posse again?" I tried to speak, to warn her of the danger we were in, but the words caught in my throat.

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"...kill us!" I stammered out, hoping she'd catch the message. "Hm? Kill us? Are you okay Ashoc?" She questioned again, with a worried look spreading across her features this time.

"IhitZhouandhesaidtheyreceivedorderstokillkinddemonswhichisusandhesaidtheywouldkillus!" I spat out in one breath, still not entirely recovered from my sprint over. "Ashoc-" Before she could finish her thought, a war trumpet sounded, and an arrow whistled as it came toward my eye. Baomu, always quick to protect me, stepped in front of me, taking the arrow in her left shoulder. Blood began to trickle and fall on me, but her eyes remained fixed on the approaching soldiers. 

"So...it's already time, huh," she said, her voice calm but tinged with sadness. "Seems I failed." The soldiers, led by the village chief, approached us, their weapons drawn. "Baomu! Ashoc! You have both been deemed traitors and are to be executed promptly," the chief declared, his voice cold and unforgiving.

Baomu turned to me, her eyes filled with a mixture of sadness and determination. "Ashoc, you need to get out of here," she said, her voice firm. "You have a whole life ahead of you. I'll hold them off." I shook my head, tears streaming down my face. "This is my fault, Baomu," I said, my voice choked with emotion. "I can't leave without you. There's no point in living in this hellish world without you." I picked up a nearby stone, prepared to fight to death.

"Heh, what'd I tell you about cursing?" Baomu's expression softened, and she reached out to touch my face. "I truly wish we could both escape, but I do have to admit, I'm proud of the character you've developed," she said, her voice filled with pride. "No matter what happens, don't blame yourself. I chose this path, kiddo." She solemnly answered, looking at me with eyes full of pity. Without another word, she whistled and a griffon appeared out of the shadows. It was my first time seeing one for myself, rather than hearing its description from Baomu. 'Head of a lion, body of a horse, a snake for a tail,' though her descriptions barely did it justice. This thing was barely bigger than Baomu, but simply being near it had all my instincts shouting at me to get as far from it as possible. Its eyes seemed to stare straight through me and see all my insecurities.

"Get him out of here, Rin. Don't stop running until you're certain he's safe. Once he's safe, our contract is over. Go!" She commanded, right as the soldiers began their charge. The griffon casted some sort of binding magic on me, put me on its back, and began to run out of the village. Guards stationed at the gate shouted for us to stop, but the griffon simply jumped clean over both them and the gate. Time seemed to slow down while we were in the air, as I spotted Baomu fending off the guards. I internalized each of her movements, not missing a single moment of what could be her last. Several arrows whizzed past her head, with her dodging them by a hair's breadth. The soldiers, following the chief's orders, attacked relentlessly, their swords and spears flashing in the sunlight. Baomu dodged and parried, her blade dancing through the air, but it was clear that she was tiring. In a moment of distraction, the chief seized his opportunity, dismounting from his horse and grabbing Baomu's arm, separating it from her body with a sickening crunch.

While I was in that torturous moment, I put it together. She was turning to look for me. Once again, I had caused her to get hurt. She gasped in pain, yet continued to try and see how far we'd made it. She noticed the guards looking up at us and followed their gaze, then our eyes locked. I cried out in anguish, my heart and soul shattering at the sight of what I had done to her. She mouthed 'Stay safe' and gave me one last genuine smile, even as blood was oozing from her mouth. The last thing I saw before the griffon and I began to descend was the chief grabbing her head and slamming it into the ground, making a crater.

The griffon and I continued on, leaving the village and its horrors behind. I tried to reach out to her, to comfort her in her final moments, but the binding magic held me fast. All I could do was lament my own weakness until I was released. I swear, for as long as I live, I'll never forgive demons for this, myself included.