The next few days were uneventful. Though Fang seemed to stick around the cave more. Still went out to hunt, but not nearly as long, and usually only returned with small game.

I was prepared for a quick exit, though I felt the sooner we left the better. Fang did not seem like they wanted to go though, I tried to gesture to them but either they did not understand, or just wanted to stand their ground. Of course, I could just be misreading the entire situation too.

Leaving Fang to themselves was something I was not keen on doing. But what could I do here? I had to leave at some point, but I was indecisive.

Unfortunately, my fears were realized one morning when I woke to Fang growling.

It was a breezy day, and that seemed to be the opportunity this interloper was looking for. It was downwind of the cave and managed to get close without Fang being able to smell them until it was too late.

I frantically got up and looked outside, not far, was a giant bear with red eyes and purple and white fur. Looking into the cave right at us.

There was a standoff. Both Fang and this challenger were looking for an opening. Should I run? The bear would be tied up fighting Fang, but could I abandon Fang?

No, I had to help somehow, if I could even distract it that could give Fang the upper hand.

Facing the bear I reached beside me and grabbed my sword. I kept it beside me as I slept. My only clothes were my armor so I just slept in them. I was as prepared as I was going to get.

My movement though seemed to break the stalemate. The bear lunged and Fang charged out of the cave at it.

Fang tried to claw its face, to blind it. But the bear got on its hind legs and went to grab Fang at the same time. The clash was loud. Fang succeeded in getting an eye but was grabbed in return. The bear’s claws dug into Fang’s back.

I had to do something so I rushed out with my sword ready and channeled some fire mana into it, giving it a flame.

The bear had taken no notice of me until I swung at one of its legs. The impact succeeded in drawing blood and singing its fur, but not much else. I should have used dark mana as well.

The bear stepped back to move its leg away from me. This allowed Fang to slip out of its grasp.

For the first time. I witnessed a demon use magic. Fang roared. It was no simple roar though, it was packed with wind mana. Nearby trees swayed and I could not help but cover my ears. Leaves coming off nearby trees.

The bear stumbled back, and unable to bear the hit fell on its back.

Fang took this opportunity to go for its throat. But once again, the Bear latched onto them. Clawing at Fang’s sides. Miasma, the sign of heavy wounds was coming from Fang.

But Fang was latched onto its neck and was not letting go.

Recovering from the sound, I ran up to assist, pushing dark mana throughout my body I slashed the arms of the bear, trying to give Fang a Reprieve.

My cuts went much deeper, but not deep enough. While the arm lost some of its power, it continued to assault Fang.

Seeing it as futile to try to slow it down much, I had to make sure it died quicker and did not get out of Fang’s grasp.

I went around to its head and with all my dark mana infused power and the remnants of heat that were still on the blade. I pushed my sword deep between its neck and collarbone.

The bear struggled, thrashing more than before, with its change of target to me, Fang lost its balance and was thrown off. Landing to the side.

As the bear tried to rise I was thrown back, with my sword still stuck in its neck. Miasma spewed from the wound as a sizzling sound could be heard.

The bear struggled to remove the sword but ended up pushing it deeper in and snapping it at the hilt.

As I got up, the bear stood there for a moment, looking at me, before crashing down with a loud thud.

I looked around for a weapon to fight with, without my sword how could I contend with it? I had to rely on raw fire magic, even if it set the entire forest on fire.

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But as I prepared a follow-up attack, it dissipated. Turning into miasma.

I was stunned. Did we kill it? We killed it!

I cheered at the sight but tripped as I saw all the miasma drift toward me.

Closing my eyes, worried about what might happen my body thirstily absorbed it. And….. Nothing. I felt the same. Just as if my mana reserves were higher.

“Fang!” I called out, realizing my companion was heavily injured. I snapped myself out of the victory stupor and rushed over.

Fang was on its side, heaving, a constant stream of Miasma flooding out of its body from its heavy wounds. It did not look good.

Could that miasma have helped? Why did my body have to absorb it so freely?

I looked around. There was a large mana crystal that the bear left behind, as well as the blade of my sword.

Hopefully, the mana crystal could help so I grabbed it and rushed it over to Fang. Seeing if they could make use of it. I had no clue how to help Fang. I was grasping at straws.

Fang’s eyes locked onto me, they looked calm, and content.

“No, use the crystal, take some of my mana, anything!” I cried, tears coming down realizing Fang was truly on death’s door. I offered my arm to Fang and filled it with mana like before.

Fang just continued to look at me. Calmly. The heaving turned into gentle, but labored breaths. Making no effort to use the crystal, or take any of the mana from my arm.

“Don’t leave me….” I cried. We had been together for months now. An odd combination but despite that, Fang had broken many of the prejudices I held. The world wasn’t like what I was taught at all.

Fang’s eyes slowly closed. The calm breaths slowed. They seemed to be smiling?

I felt like I understood now. Fang didn’t want to spend the last of its days alone. They had lived a life of solitude but as they got older and more feeble, they were looking for someone to share their last days with.

Demons were not what the order made them out to be. They were like any other living thing.

The breathing stopped and I froze, they were gone.

I wailed at the loss of my friend. This was more direct than the pain of leaving Silvergrove. There was finality here. Fang would not be coming back. I would not see them again.

Fang dissipated. Like other pure demons.

“NO!!” I screamed as the miasma started to come toward me. I crawled back, trying to get away from it. It was all that was left of Fang. I didn’t want to absorb it!

The miasma stopped. I was not far from it, I was even father from the bear when it happened. Did it listen to me?

The shape was vaguely like Fang like they were looking at me.

“Just come back….” I asked the cloud of miasma. I knew it was probably my imagination putting projecting Fang into it. It was just miasma, Fang was gone.

However, as I thought that. The miasma started to churn, spinning and condensing.

I watched it, wondering what was happening. It condensed more and more, turning almost cylindrical. The mana crystal I had left near Fang rolled over to it and was absorbed into it.

Inside the miasma, I could see something there, its form was hard to make out and it was spinning rapidly with it.

Finally, it ended, with a boom. The remaining miasma blasted out and dispersed. The object still spinning, landed and sank into the ground slightly, leaving it upright.

A sword. A huge one.

It was the largest sword I had ever seen. The blade itself was red, and it was one-sided. With the back half of the blade having a silver sheen.

The end of the blade was thick and someone curved. The hilt had was seemed like claws angling out towards the blade. The handle looking simple and uniform with a black and silver wrap.

Fang turned into a…. Sword? I had heard that demons could drop mana crystals when they dissipated. But nothing like this. Was this a gift from Fang?

I didn’t care to consider it anything but.

However, I didn’t move. I was not ready too. The pain was too fresh.

After a few minutes. I finally gathered myself and stood up. The area around the cave was a disaster. I could not see the hilt of the blade, or where it went. Only the blade itself. Not that grabbing it would help me at all. I had no idea how to fix a broken sword.

But this greatsword? How could I wield it? It was about as tall as I was.

Walking over to it, I grabbed the handle with both hands and prepared to use all my strength to pull it up. One of my arms still was infused with dark mana so I should be able to at least lift it.

I pulled. Thinking it would be an ordeal, but it was….. Light. Lighter than I would have thought. I almost fell back.

The sword was heavier than my previous sword, but it did not feel like it by much. Was this right?

I figured it could be the dark mana still in my arm, so I prepared to use it up. However as I thought to ‘get rid’ of the excess mana, I felt a pull from the sword. It absorbed it.

Dumbfounded I looked down at it. It could absorb mana? My arm returned to normal, but the weight still felt about the same as before. Even holding it in one hand was not much of a challenge.

Fang had pulled mana out of my arm before, maybe that was why? I could not deny how useful that would be. Not having to use up excess mana. But did the sword need it?

I did not have any answers. It seemed like I would need to find out. However, without a doubt, this was a sword meant for me. Even if I was never trained with a sword like this I was going to need to learn.

But this cave would never be the same, would it? I had no attachment here with Fang gone. It was time to continue.

I resolved myself to spend a day or so to get some basic familiarity with the sword and use up some of the food stockpiles I could not carry. Then it was time to leave.

Some manner of sheath would be needed as well. There was no way I could carry it the entire time.

Looking down at the sword I decided to give it a name. Fang. It was created from their essence and was their final gift to me. As long as I wielded it I could remember these days.

A majestic sword like this was going to have to deal with a piss-poor attempt at a sheath for a while though.

Thankfully I had quite a lot of shitty scraps of leather I could fashion into something resembling a sheath. Covering the whole blade was probably a bad idea, something to rest it on, so I could swing it out easily seemed like the way to go.