“Hey, hey, hey, Ghilanna, where are you g-g-going?” Gmizavi asked in a worried tone as he saw his elven comrade dash for the now-famous tent once again.

“I’m tired of his games! I’m about to give him a piece of my mind, for real this time!” She responded without bothering to slow down in the slightest.

“Come on, be reasssonable! He needsss time to interrogate the demon.”

“He is taking his sweet time, isn’t he?” She said as she passed Gmizavi by, forcing him to jog after her due to his shorter stature, “How much time does he really need? The demon came to us on his own, and he certainly didn’t come here to keep quiet. Besides, how many times do we need to remind that porky bastard that he is not our leader?”

“I ssshare your frussstration, but he isss the only one knowledgeable about the demonsss.”

“That guy doesn’t look like a demon to me. I bet the bastard is lying to us again. Gods only know why he came with us in the first place.”

“We need him againssst the devil!”

“No, we don’t. He’s the one who got us into this mess in the first place.”

Yanking the curtain at the entrance violently, Ghilanna stepped into the tent. There, she saw her porky comrade having a very lively, engaging conversation with what was supposed to be their prisoner.

“Having fun, aren’t we?” She said in a venomous voice.

Porky froze in place instantly.

“Interrogation, huh?” She continued, “This has to be the friendliest interrogation in history. Is this how you inquisitors usually question demons?”

She made a few steps towards him, “Look at you go! Look at you throwing your hands around in delight as you’re “interrogating” this demon! If I didn’t know you, I’d think you made a friend here.”

Porky slowly turned to face her, “This demon … he is far more complicated …”

“Stop with your bullshit!” She yelled at him so loud, even the demon was caught off guard, “I swear to my god Svinjko, I’m going to kill you if you keep on putting us in danger!”

“I’m trying to …”

“You’re having a friendly conversation with what is supposed to be your worst enemy!” She yelled as she pointed at the demon, “Do you really think we are that stupid? Do you really think we can’t see what you’re doing?”

“I’m just trying to …”

“Do you really expect me to believe that an inquisitor would have such a pleasant conversation with a demon? I swear Svinjko, if you keep insulting my intelligence any further …”

“This demon doesn’t know that he is a demon! That’s what’s interesting.”

She grabbed him by the collar, bringing her furious face close to his, “We are not here to do interesting! We are here to kill the damn guardian, take the riches, and get out of here! This expedition has already cost us way too much, and you’re responsible for a good chunk of it!”

“Look, I’m really sorry about your sister …”

Ghilanna’s eyes flared up as she spoke through her teeth, poking him all the while with her index finger, “Don’t you dare bring her into this! We’ve been delving for centuries before you came along!“

“I understand you’ve been through a lot, and I understand your anger. I respect it and …”

“Then get this done already! You want to show me you’re truly sorry for your lack of judgment? Then how about you get some useful information from this … whatever the guy is! You may be the only one speaking his language, but I wear Svinjko, that won’t save you from my wrath if I learn you’re bullshitting us again. From our wrath! You know everyone hates you here!”

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“I know. And I understand why. I realize I can’t make another mistake, so I’m taking it carefully with this guy. This guy is … beyond strange. I need a brand new word to describe just how strange he and his words are.”

“You’ve been interrogating him for a while now. What did you learn?”

“His devil used to be the guardian before she gave up on it.”

“His … devil?” Her eyes narrowed in confusion.

“I told you the guy is strange.”

“How can that devil be his? What is he in the first place? He looks like … an ugly Sun Elf with no ears.”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out. He came here asking us to cooperate and take the guardian down together, but I’d rather know what we’re dealing with before we start trusting him. At first, I thought he was just a regular demon. After all, it makes sense for a devil to have a demonic thrall. But this guy is … strange in so many ways.”

“Like what?”

“For a start, I can’t sense his soul.”

Ghilanna’s brows furrowed in doubt, “An inquisitor can’t sense a soul?”

“Yes. And it’s not due to my lack of skill, regardless of how low your opinion of me is. This guy has found a way to hide his soul from others. And good, decent people who can be trusted don’t need to do that.”

“Why would …” Ghilanna’s face eased up as the realization hit her, “… oh …”

“Exactly! He doesn’t want us to know what he is. Add the fact that he is still alive, even after we’ve filled him with arrows, and everything gets far more disturbing. Do you now realize why I’m opposed to the idea?”

“… and how do I know you’re not lying again?”

“Ask Gmizavi. He was there when we shot this guy up.”

“Yeah … he did mention that at the table …”

“The thing is, I can’t sense his soul, our mages can’t sense his mana, yet we know for sure that he can easily survive mortal wounds while his magic is powerful enough to hide his presence completely. The question is, why would someone so powerful need our help to take the guardian down? Especially when he has a powerful devil by his side.”

“Then how did you manage to hit him with arrows? How come he didn’t kill you all if he is so powerful?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out! He appears to be very weak, as weak as your regular commoner, yet he is pulling off things that even archmages would struggle with. And when I start pressing him on anything, he just feigns innocence, pretending he knows nothing of demons or magic.”

“And yet, he is in a dungeon.”

“This guy can’t be trusted at all.”

“Why didn’t you mention these things on the table?”

“I’ve only realized them now, during the questioning! Maybe I am dragging this interrogation on, but it was definitely worth it.”

“Assuming you’re telling the truth.”

“I know you don’t trust me anymore, but Gmizavi will confirm this guy is supposed to be dead.”

“Maybe he just has a great healer.”

“The demons and devils aren’t known for their healing magic.”

“What if there are more people with them? If we ran into a party of two, why couldn’t we run into a party of three? Or maybe they are already cooperating with someone else just as they are trying to cooperate with us?”

“If that were the case, this guy wouldn’t come to us to negotiate. They would send the third guy.”

“Hmm …” Ghilanna pondered something as she observed Eric carefully, “Is it possible he is a vampire? Maybe that’s why he can recover so easily.”

“No. I saw him bleed, and he was bleeding like a regular demon. He is definitely not undead. His devil though … she could be. Not only is his devil a blood mage, but she is a cubus demon too. And vampires …”

“Are just a clan of cubus demons.”

“Yes. And she is an exceptional blood mage as well. He explained how she does her magic, and it’s just …”

“Can blood mages heal?”

“Blood magic in and of itself can’t, but she may know some healing magic. Demons aren’t good at it, but if she is such a talented blood mage, then … it could be possible.”

“So there is a chance he is telling the truth.”

“There are so many things that make no sense. There is probably some truth to what he is saying, but …”

“But we would rather trust a devil than tolerate your machinations any longer. Sure, I bet this guy isn’t honest, but you aren’t honest either. And considering your disastrous results, I don’t think the devil could do any worse.”

Hearing that, Svinjko got quiet. Ghilanna knew he wanted to respond but was trying his best not to. She knew he feared what her reaction might be.

“How can I trust a devil that killed my sister but not you?” She said, “Is that what you’re thinking about?”

He looked her in the eye but didn’t say anything.

“I don’t blame the devil. The devil saw a prey and did what we’d all do. It’s survival of the fittest down here, so I can’t blame it for being more fit than our friends and winning. But the reason why my sister had to go out there in the first place is because of you. Your antics have reduced our numbers, and if there were more of us, it would certainly be some lower-ranked adventurer in her place. So not only were you at fault for stopping me from saving her, you were at fault every step of the way.”

She turned around and started walking out, “If you don’t get this done soon, we’re kicking you out together with that creature. We’re tired of waiting.”