Pushing their way through bustling streets, filled with a multitude of diverse races, Ru, holding Elelth's hand, marched towards the centre of the town.

Even though during his 'service' in the Alliance, Ru had seen many species, even during his ten years, that number paled in comparison to what he saw now causing him to display a wiry grin. -"I wonder if they exist?"

His good mood was ruined as yet another person bumped into him, falling backwards as if they had walked into a steel beam and cursing at the unimposing man in front of them not seeing Ru's free hand flickering into his pocket.

Ru ignored the man and continued walking. "Why are there so many people?"

"Why are you complaining?" muttered Elelth, her rosy cheeks showing she was embarrassed to be holding his hand. In elven culture, they would only hold hands if they were engaged or married, even if they were the same gender. "It just increases your ill-gotten gains."

Elelth was unsure if Ru was ignorant of the significance or what he was doing, didn't care, or enjoyed messing with her, though it wouldn't surprise her if it weren't a mixture of all of them.

"Bumping into Ru Tax," chuckled Ru Darkly. "It's not like they need it and those bounty hunters didn't have a lot of coins on them and from what you say, selling bloodied gear is asking for trouble. Why is everything such a pain?"

Over the few weeks, they had been travelling, Elelth was shocked when she realised just how little Ru knew of the world or his warped way of thinking. It seemed that Ru and the rest of the summoned had been intentionally kept in the dark as much as possible. "Who would think selling stolen, bloody armour would be a good idea? Even if you washed it off, it's still suspicious as hell."

If the others were anything like Ru, then she could understand why.

Intelligent, only in weird things, resourceful, merciless and beyond a doubt, crazy was how she would summarise him. A danger to himself and others would be another.

Sighing, Elelth looked around at the crowd. "It's market day. People from the surrounding area come and sell their produce, and everyone else stocks up."

Ru stopped and looked at the dirty-faced dark elf, her short, messy hair making it seem like she was a boy. "Are you OK? You're not still mad at me, are you? Well, more so than normal."

"Do you even know how important her hair is an elf?" bitterly responded Elelth. She had momentarily forgotten that Ru had pinned her down and cut her hair before rubbing dirt in her face in an attempt to change her appearance. "It's one of the few ways to tell our genders apart at a young age."

"So as you now look like a boy, you admit you are a kid?" said Ru as he started walking again, dragging Elelth through the crowd. "And if you're getting all embarrassed, think about me. I have to walk around holding the hands of a small boy... What will people think?"

"You don't care," rebuked Elelth dryly.

Ru could only chuckle. "Why would I?, They mean nothing to me. Now come on. We need to get a map and then," Ru's face turned serious as if he was about to walk to his own execution.

Elelth rolled her eyes and sighed. "You want to get food and sleep in a soft bed right?"

"Don't forget the bath," added Ru, still completely serious. "My god I want a bath or shower."

Eleth crinkled her nose. She had got used to the smell after a few days, but that didn't mean it had stopped causing her eyes to water when the wind changed. "And they know you need one, but you are missing out one important detail. If I let go of your hand, the town spirit will be able to sense you."

It had only been a few weeks, but with Ru's less than helpful aid, he wasn't a manaless but had met one who could control their abilities, she was able to get the basics down. At the moment, she could absorb the eliminate the mana that Ru released, masking his presence, and if she concentrated to the point of getting a severe a headache and nosebleed, could turn his hand to liquid metal, though it would regenerate quickly.

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Ru's face fell, and despair could be seen in his eyes as his steps faltered. "My... bath."

"You seriously didn't think about that?" Elelth shook her head -"Maybe I should remove the intelligent part. All he is good at is killing."

Ru, once again, turned towards Elelth causing her to try and back away. "Oh, hell no. Like hell am I going to share a bed with you, let alone a bath."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm the Devil, not a pedo," responded Ru as his eyes hardened. "Looks like I am goi-"

"You destroy the town, and there won't be any food, beds or hot water. It's not like you are subtle in the art of killing," interrupted Elelth. Even though it wasn't long, the time she has spent with Ru was enough to realise start to understand they way he thought. "And even if you were, we would have to leave immediately so it would be pointless."

"But-"

"No buts. Remember the deal. I hold your hand and help you integrate with society without getting noticed by town and city spirits, and you wouldn't do what you did to the last place." Elelth shivered slightly. Part of her training had been to fight some of the bounty hunters that somehow always managed to find them. Although she hadn't been able to finish them off, Ru always stepping in when it was clear she couldn't do it, while they fought they had told her of the atrocity that befell the town and why her bounty was so high.

When she had asked Ru, he had just shrugged his shoulders and told her they weren't exaggerating before carrying on with whatever he was doing, normally looting their corpses.

Taking a deep breath, Elelth forced herself to relax. "Let's just stick to the plan. I remember seeing a poster when we entered about a hot spring on the way to one of the dungeons. You can bathe there. I am sure they offer food and beds as well. No wanton killing of innocents."

Elelth didn't exactly hate the world, or everyone in it, like her pledge, suggested. She just hated those who oppressed others, just like she had been and, although it had seemed like an impossible task before, standing next to Ru, she felt that it might be possible to change the world.

A chilling smile appeared on her face. If it meant the world would see her as evil or the Devil's priestess, it did not matter, and although their goals might be different, it seemed that their paths were the same.

If she wanted to change the world, then certain obstacles would need to be removed. All but one of the demigods, one of the main sources of persecution, were gone and now, only the Alliance remained. It was the one that enforced the laws and tailored everything to suit their own agenda. It was their fault that her kind was persecuted. It was their fault that her parents were killed and she lost everything.

-"They should have left Ru alone or killed him outright. Their mistake hasn't just caused me pain, but millions of others." In her mind, they had lost the right to rule.

It was debatable if the world she started to envision was better than the current. No, she knew it wasn't. If anything it would take things back to darker days. To those of war, atrocities and fear but, to her, stability appeared to be a curse. By removing the worst, they had also stifled the ability for people to show their best. 

Something deep down screamed at her that her thoughts were wrong, broken and made little sense but she ignored it. The world would change or it would burn. Resolve smouldered in her eyes.

Ru's laughter brought her out of her dark thoughts. "Come on, admit it. You want to burn down the town. I can see it in your eyes.... I can tell by the moon light~"

Elelth shook her head, ignoring the fact that Ru had once again, broken into a song she had never heard of. Although even if she achieved a fraction of what she wanted, it would undoubtedly cause the deaths of countless innocents, it didn't mean that they should do it for no reason. Even if she knew that logic was warped, she could only sigh and carry on. Once again, Elelth felt a cold chill run down her spine." What am I becoming?"

Ru rubbed his chin, "Hmm, maybe we aren't so different after all. I ask myself that question all the time."

Elelth jumped, not realising she had spoken out loud. In an attempt to redirect the conversation, she snapped back. "You don't have to tell me... you say it out loud at least four times a day along with many other pointless questions."

"I do?" Ru shrugged, "Oh well, come on. Let's get to the mercenary union and then we can work out how to achieve the important stuff."

Elelth grunted as Ru turned away, looking at the exposed skin on his hand. The black skin had reappeared recently and was starting to grow again. "Don't you think finding a dungeon is a little more important at the moment? Don't expect me to carry you around when you are nailed to the floor."

She still had not forgiven him for the death's of her parents, but slowly, she was starting to see that, for her, he was her only chance of survival. He gave her the means to gain strength, protected and fed her and, would actually listen to her advice and suggestions. Something that only her parents had done before.

This had confused her at first, but he waved off the question with a 'No matter who it's from, good advice is good advice' response.

A small tug on her hand reminded her of a more pressing issue, and her face returned to his red glow. "Yes. Then we can get out of here, and I can let go of your sweaty, stinky hand."

She looked at Ru, expecting a sharp reply only to find that he looked genuinely hurt. "Hey, you are the first person I have had skinship within an age... Be kind with your words, or my issues might get even worse."

"Issues?" responded Elelth, a pang of guilt rippling across her chest as she saw Ru's downcast expression.

"Never mind," sighed Ru. "We are going to be together for a long time, so you will work it out eventually."

Elelth nodded without thought, her heart giving a subtle jump at his words as she refocused on his hand. "What the hell does he mean by that?"