Three days had passed. Lodwin knew that he needed the rest, but it still didn’t quell the urgency he felt to change their lodging often. Veduca seemed unbothered by it, and he couldn’t manage to convince her to leave earlier. She would always tell him that the barrier of her father was protecting them, but he hated to rely on the demon's magic more than he disliked her open approach to using this craft. The innkeeper himself also seemed not too keen on having them around. Lodwin suspected that it had something to do with Veduca’s magical meddling. While the innkeeper hadn’t mentioned anything and was most likely chalking everything he had seen up to a nightmare, he was weary around them.

“I’ve come to think that this demon, your friend pledged himself to, isn’t a real demon”, Veduca said while they finally prepared to leave the inn.

Lodwin looked at her with an annoyed expression.

“I know that you don’t think there’s a difference”, she continued. “But there are actually vastly different tiers of what people like you call demons. First, there are fallen angels like my father. Second, there are those gods once worshiped here. And third, there are the real demons, who are their own kind but the most diverse in terms of ability and looks.“

He told her with gestures that he was well aware of those differences.

“I know”, she replied with a warm smile, but there was also a certain sadness in her eyes. “One word fits all. And you would’ve counted me among them, if you were still a member of your order, right?“

While it was true, her gaze made complex and contradicting feelings rear their head within him. Yes, he would’ve counted her among those fiends. After all, her father was a fallen angel and her mother a witch. There hadn’t been much difference in the way he would’ve dealt with either of them, or even her.

Ward against their powers and strike before they can, was one of the many tenants the Order of the Crimson Hand once upheld. Tenants Lodwin lived by nearly his whole life. But…

She wasn’t evil. She didn’t hurt innocent people. She was very much what Lodwin thought of as a good person, but there was still her inhuman ancestry. He couldn’t overlook it. Whenever she didn’t use some charm to appear more human, she couldn’t even hope to hide her otherness. And he needed, no, depended on her to keep him from finding an end much worse than had been already dealt to him.

“It must be maddening for you”, she continued with an empathetic smile, while vanishing the last piece of her luggage within her staff. “But once this is over, you don’t have to deal with me any longer.”

Lodwin frowned.

“Don’t look at me like that. You needn’t pretend to like me.“

He deepened his frown.

“So, you do like me?”, she asked in a fake-surprised voice and smirked.

Realising her deception, he let out a huff and left the room. Veduca called and ran after him, laughing. He didn’t slow down, but his frown eased against his will into a soft smile, which stayed even as she fell in step with him.

Arriving in the main room, Lodwin didn’t slow down and went directly towards the exit. Veduca, in the meantime, went to the innkeeper to pay the remaining dues. They did this whenever they stayed in an inn or something comparable. This time, Lodwin decided to wait for her on the porch instead of on the street in front of it.

Taking a deep breath, he let his gaze wander over the trees and the worn path, which barely could be considered a street. The sun was out and a warm late summer wind was pushing past the trees. For a moment, all his worries seemed not too bad, despite always being on his mind.

“I’m glad you still know how to enjoy yourself”, Azazel said right beside him.

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Lodwin spit at the demon's feet and glared at him.

“My, my, so hateful…”, the demon mused with a grin.

At least he had the decency to be in his human form. A form too much alike Rosomil than Lodwin liked but still different enough for him to be able to ignore it.

Hateful? I detest you, you vile creature, Lodwin thought, knowing that Azazel could read his mind.

“Says the one whose life I saved.”

I didn’t ask for this.

“You, indeed, didn’t ask, but you did beg for a chance to get revenge. Anyway, I’m not here for idle chit-chat. I snooped a bit around and found out that there’s not only two more Dark Priests skulking around the city of Eldebourg, but also one of the Divine Lord’s Knights. The man has sized the castle about two years ago and has decimated the population ever since. There are still people around, tho, who serve him in some sort of perverted cult. No one knows what they’re up to, and anyone trying to find out hasn’t returned. At least not alive.“

So, you tell me to find out what happens there and kill the Priests and the Knight?

“Exactly.”

Is Rosomil there?

“No.”

Then this isn’t of my concern.

“Have you forgotten your Order’s vows?”, the demon remarked in an attempt at sarcasm. “What about saving the helpless from the forces of darkness?”

I’m no member of the Order anymore. All I want to do is find Rosomil and destroy him.

“I see, I found myself a man who knows what he wants in life.”

Spare me your meaningless drivel, goatman. Just go and leave me be.

“You think, you can take on the Divine Lord right now? He’s surrounded not only by his henchmen, but also the demon he summoned. Until we’ve found out what’s up with those Priests and Knights, you can’t even hope to defeat the demon, let alone him. We also need more information about said demon, as it’s the source of his power.”

They still die all the same.

“And leave you incapacitated for days. Even my sweet Veduca can’t constantly patch you up like this.”

…

“I understand your eagerness to get back at your old friend for what he did not only to you but also your comrades. But, Lodwin, you need to understand that even with the advantages I bestowed upon you, you aren’t a one-man-army.”

That moment, Veduca left the inn and went straight towards him and Azazel. She wasn’t even surprised to see her father. After greeting him, she received the same update but seemed more inclined to go after the Priests and the Knight.

Still, Lodwin didn’t felt like playing the hero. Once he had thought otherwise, but what good had it brought him? Being murdered by the man he had thought of as a true brother was all he got.

Let evil fight evil, goatman, he told Azazel and crossed his arms. Once Rosomil’s dead, they can and will kill each other.

“You’re too stubborn for your own good, Lodwin”, he replied and turned towards him. “Need I remind you that I can and will force you down the path I want you to go? One word, nay, one thought is all that is needed.”

Are you threatening me, goat?

“Threaten? Oh, my dear Lodwin, I don’t threaten people, I simply make them do what I want.”

“Father? What are you two talking about?”, Veduca asked, alarmed.

“Our hero wants to ignore the Divine Lord’s henchmen and go straight to him”, the demon explained, clearly miffed about the situation. “Please, be a dear and tell him how stupid this plan of his is. He seems to listen more to you than me, his saviour.”

“Oh, my…”, she breathed and stepped towards Lodwin. “I understand that you want to deal with Rosomil as soon as possible, but don’t you think we require additional information about him? I mean, we can try to walk into Castle Gabáuan and try to fight him, but we know nothing about the demon and the powers it has. What if it turns out that it’s immune to my magic and your weaponry? What if it destroys your body so thorough that I can’t heal you? What if it kills me?”

Her last questions left a sour taste in his mouth. To avoid her seeing his face, he looked away, despite knowing that this alone showed her enough of his feelings.

“Lod, you’re not a lost cause. You can still do a lot of good, if you try, but you have to try”, she continued and slightly touched his arm. “And this world needs all the good things it can get. For, if kindness dies, what’s left will be consumed by evil. Remember those words?”

He nodded.

“Then let us go to Eldebourg and get a feeling for the demon's might. And should we find Rosomil there, I won’t stop you unless it becomes clear he’s too much for you.”

Lodwin’s facial features softened against his will. For a moment, he suspected either of them working a spell to mellow his emotions, but the expectant way their eyes shone didn’t fit. Instead of telling Azazel via their mental link, he signed Veduca his decision.

“I wish you were as agreeable with me as you are with Veduca”, the demon mused and stepped away. “See you around! Good luck!”

Lodwin looked after him with narrow eyes.

“Let’s go, Lod”, said Veduca with a bright smile on her face.

He looked at her for a moment before gesturing to her to go ahead. She thanked him and immediately went down from the porch onto the street. Lodwin followed her less enthused than she seemed to be, judging by her feathery steps.