Sleep did not come easy that night. Too much had happened and now the group had a Demon sleeping near them. It was a nerve-wracking experience considering the history of their world. Yes, The Church lied a lot, but to what extent? Demons ate souls and had wanted to turn Monsters and People alike into cattle for such purposes… Kazius was not sure there was any wiggle room in that fact.

Surprisingly enough, Azanor didn’t try anything while they slept. Even Alice, who was the most on edge about the situation had nothing to complain about to Kazius once he woke up from his turn sleeping.

“Good morning!” Eve exclaimed once Kazius woke up.

“Good morning.” Alice stated with a sigh to Kazius, she seemed drained.

As for Azanor, he was sitting right next to Eve. The carefree Elf was far from bothered by it though. It really was like she had not a single care in the world.

“Good morning.” Kazius stated in return. He stretched a bit, studying Azanor carefully out of the corner of his eye. As discreet as Kazius tried to be though, Azanor noticed quite quickly. Rather than get upset, Kazius’ stare was returned with a sly grin and a shameless wave from the Demon. Kazius really could not make heads or tails out of him.

Kazius averted his gaze, deciding to not say anything about it. He did not want to make a misstep and end up without a soul.

“I will hurry and pack up the tents, we should get moving. After today… The Church will be able to send more Knights after us… And I don’t want to be within Ratier when that happens.” Kazius admitted. The Church was a problem and now they were traveling with a Demon that was a concern of his own. The possibility of Edicts instead of regular Knights being sent their way did not help either. There were so many things weighing on them. It was hard to not be anxious despite just waking up.

“I think so too… We should be near the border town of Remus… It should only be a little while longer. I’ll help, we should hurry” Alice agreed, getting up and joining him.

“Oh! Me too! I will help too!” Eve exclaimed contently.

As this occurred, Azanor would simply watch them pack. Thankfully it was easy enough to do so with almost everyone working together. Then again, even if he had offered help, Kazius was not willing to take any chances… So, it wasn’t like they would have accepted his help.

Once they were all packed up, they would all head out.

There were almost no roads this close to the border of Ratier. Very few brave traders and Knights ventured this way… So, there was little risk of running into anyone.

After all, who in their right mind would want to be near what was considered the edge of civilization? At least if you believed The Church and its associates. Other than the Knights stationed at Remus itself, there was nothing to worry about.

Whether you were from Zelphar, Ratier, or Thimdur… You believed the same thing. Only Monsters, death, and Wastelands awaited those who left the safety of the three kingdoms.

To sum it up, the fact they were doing this was crazy.

It was strange how life could change so fast. Even with his vision at the age of 15, if someone had told Kazius a week ago he would be willingly going to the Wastelands with a hooded woman, a Demon, and a dense Elf woman, he would not have believed it.

Still, he no longer had a choice but to do something this extreme. None of them could stay in the kingdoms. They would be hunted like dogs if they tried. Though the idea of Azanor causing mayhem to those who betrayed him did sound a little amusing…

Realizing what he was thinking, Kazius quickly scolded himself mentally. Such thoughts were not good.

‘Who knows what could happen to bystanders…’

Then again…

Should he care about the fate of Humans?

Such questions were things that Kazius did not have the answer to. He would have to figure out what he believed in. He understood he was no longer some sort of Holy Knight… The Holy Knights weren’t even good people to begin with, but did that mean he could just give in to such thoughts?

Finding out so much he believed was a lie… And finally accepting it… To Kazius it felt like his entire moral foundation was pulled out under him. He no longer had rigid structures that attempted to control his thoughts.

Despite the situation though, Kazius found himself feeling far from hopeless. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he had two new friends… Friends that came with a lot of crazy things around them… But for once he did not feel alone.

Who knows. Maybe one day will see this chaos that had become his life as normal? If his vision was right… It may very well be the case…

His thoughts were soon interrupted though by a loud sigh from The Demon who ruined their previous night.

“I finally came back to the mortal realm, and it is just trees, trees, and trees. I’m booooored. Eve, we should play a game.” Azanor groaned looking drained before perking up at the idea of playing with Eve almost immediately. He was surprisingly eager. His personality and motivations confused Kazius so much.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Eve seemed to brighten at the idea of a game for the road, but before she could agree, she was interrupted by Alice.

“Sorry you didn’t get the mortal realm vacation of your dreams, have you tried going back where you came from?” Alice asked with a huff. The two got along like water and oil. Alice seemed agitated with the Demon while Azanor seemed to be enjoying it when she got upset.

“Ooooh, ouch. How hurtful… I see manners have been lost in your family after so many centuries. Yet here you are, same tastes in friends… I wonder if it is genetic. What are you, anyway, Kazius? A Vampire? No… You would’ve been burnt to a crisp by now… I can’t quite tell… Your soul is… Hmm...” Azanor laugh out before looking at Kazius closely.

Too closely.

Kazius did not like how deeply he was looking at him at all.

Before Kazius could ask Azanor to knock it off, Alice would freeze, stopping right on her tracks.

“Shut your mouth.” Alice would threaten, appearing to be fuming. Kazius couldn’t see her face, but she sounded quite angry.

‘Her family might be a sore subject… It seems Azanor knows something about her…’

“Or what? We both know you can’t do anything even if you wanted to~” Azanor taunted.

“No! Fighting is bad! We’re friends!” Eve exclaimed, getting very pouty and huffy, giving the two a determined yet firm look.

“I can’t believe I am saying this, but Eve is right… There are enough people trying to kill us, let’s not add each other to that list, alright?” Kazius sighed out.

“Fine fine, I will play nice…” Azanor dismissed with a wave.

“I… I will do my best to tolerate.” Alice hissed out, gritting her teeth.

Eve would grow pleased at that, beaming happily.

“Yay! We all have to be friends.” She cheered.

‘At least someone is having fun.’

After that event, the walk would go back to being peaceful… Though of course once they were actually near town, things changed… As they approached, they could spot the heavily guarded gate of Remus.

It wasn’t like the four of them could just stroll in, but Remus was more than just a town. It was the former capital of Ratier during the early days, a fort… and the last bastion of civilization before The Wastelands… And it also was the only gate in Ratier that led to The Wastelands… Everywhere else there was a wall.

Of course… That was also why The Orcs’ arrival still felt off to Kazius… Still, that was not his problem anymore.

Due to the place being a fort, it was incredibly well guarded even with most Knights at Layton for the ceremony.

Azanor would cause a panic if anyone saw him, Kazius himself was no better either. If anyone associated with The Church spotted him, there would be trouble. Eve did look the least suspicious out of the group, but… She was Eve… Who knows what she would do if she was sent into town alone… There was also the chance word about her being a Demon worshipper already spread. Then there was Alice… She was hiding her face for a reason… And Kazius wasn’t sure she would be allowed past the gates with her hood on.

Azanor might know a way through… But that was risky…

“I don’t think we can go into town… There is just no way…” Kazius admitted.

“Boo, I want to go into town.” Azanor whined.

“Yeah, and then what? Have the guards on us within seconds? Cause a mass panic?” Kazius questioned with a sigh.

“Yes! Exactly, it would be hilarious! They’ll freak out even if I don’t do anything to them. I could buy you some time while at it.” Azanor snickered out.

Alice frowned at his words but seemed to be holding her tongue. They were close to the entrance of Remus, so yelling was not wise.

“Fine fine… Stop giving me that look. I’ll behave… I was just trying to help.” Azanor stated with a huff.

Kazius did not even realize it, but he had been also glaring at Azanor good amount.

‘I am glad at least he is listening… Who knows what he would do in town… Still… I know that Azanor is probably stronger than us… He is so compliant despite his complaints. He was here to be entertained yet he whined about being bored often… If he really was that bored then why not take Eve’s soul and leave? I still don’t get what he is after…’

“For someone here for entertainment, you sure complain about not getting to have fun… What are you after?” Kazius would finally ask. Eve still had her soul… Yet part of him felt like he was being played. It could be the trust issues he had after dealing with his former friends… But trusting a Demon was also…Not something he was ready to do. Even if Azanor seemed to not be a liar nor be causing trouble, how long would that be the case?

“Hmm~ You are quite smart… I will be honest… You all entertain me as you are… But the show hasn’t even begun.”

“What do you mean?” Kazius responded wearily.

“Well… Demons, we consume souls and gain more power from them… We usually obtain them through deals… That is the only way most Demons are entitled to the soul of someone we kill… So, considering we deal with souls… I can see certain things in you… Not all, but… I know things about your soul you probably don’t even know.” Azanor explained, pointing at his open eye as he winked.

“So… I suppose I have three reasons for staying… One… I am just curious… What sort of being will you become… Will you keep playing hero? Or will you learn to enjoy the pain of others, even if just a little… Become a bit like me… You really do have the most interesting soul I have ever seen… Second… Well, I am sure Alice will be a pain if I spill her business. She is an entertaining soul herself… As for Eve and my third and main reason… Well…” Azanor would chuckle, his gaze meeting Eve’s for a second before he would look away. The way he looked at Eve, it confused Kazius. There was almost a hint of sadness in his eyes… But that had to be his imagination.

As Azanor spoke, the group could feel the glare from Alice even with her hood in the way. It didn’t seem like Azanor cared though. He spoke of her as if she wasn’t there.

“I won’t tell you everything, not for free anyway.” Azanor would finish, his expression growing sly once again.

‘My soul, huh? I don’t like him peaking at it… But I can’t say I am not curious about what he sees… Then there is Alice… Why is she so secretive? Not like I can blame her… I understand it, especially with my past... Still, this is all I will likely get out of him, better not try my luck and have him trick me into some sort of deal. I will ask about more some other time… Even if I am curious. ’

“Don’t get me wrong though, I still very much enjoy witnessing suffering… It is just my nature. So, if you fail at whatever it is you want to do… That would be interesting too… I would enjoy that just as much, especially if it is Alice.” Azanor cooed with a wide and wicked grin.

“How do we know you won’t lie and just sabotage us?” Alice questioned with a frown.

“He is our friend, he is nice. He wouldn’t lie or do anything like that.” Eve responded innocently but was ignored.

“I am not as tasteless as my-… Our ‘King’. He is boring… Other Demons too… They lie to get their way… What fun is that? I would worry about other mortals more than me. It isn’t like Demons have a monopoly on lies… I am sure you all are aware of that. I won’t lie to you, not once. I don’t like lies.” Azanor admitted, sounding offended at the accusation. He was being surprisingly serious as he spoke of not liking lies too… It was hard to not believe him… But… A Demon that did not lie… Was there really such a thing?