"Damn girl, you sure know how to ruin the mood" Spat Athor as he gave a violent kick to Claire's stomach, maintaining his twisted smile. "Save your tears for later; you're going to need them."

As he turned as towards his men to issue orders, every hair on his body abruptly stood on end as a soul clenching chill snaked down his spine causing him to shiver fiercely. -"What the hell is this feeling?"

The once noisy battlefield descended into an eerie silence as everybody lost the will to fight, the sense of terror and despair gnawing at their insides. Holding a collective breath, they all mechanically turned towards the south and gazed into the shadows of the forest.

The only sound that could be detected was the slight rustling of leaves as a light breeze blew across the road.

Leaves plucked from their branches danced beautifully as the moonlight illuminated them against the starlit sky belying the tense atmosphere that had set in.

Hal significantly paled as he stared unblinkingly out into the southern part of the forest before letting out a terrified whisper. "A contract demon? No, she has none of the markings. How can she control it."

As if in response to his words, a blood-curdling scream pierced the night, rapidly followed by others, each more gruesome and bone chilling than the last causing everyone but Athor and Claire, who was pinned to the floor, to take a few steps back.

The few remaining birds that had refused to give up their roost due to the earlier confrontation now took flight at unbelievable speeds, scattering in every direction leaving haunting cries in their wake.

Not immune to the atmosphere, the adepts huddled together as they tried to retain their composure. They had an inkling into what could be causing it however even this offered very little protection against the debuff.

Alec shuffled towards Bruce while trying not to attract the attention of the bandits that had only just stopped attacking them. "Do you think its Mors? That he is here to help us?"

Frowning, Bruce bit his bottom lip causing a small trail of blood to fall. "Knowing what that demon is thinking is impossible. He probably has a hundred motives for anything he does, and ninety-nine of them are, at least malevolent."

Bruce's statement caused Alice to nod her head in agreement as she continued to shake in fear and watch her sister, worry evident in her eyes. "People shouldn't call for demons in their time of need, unlike devils, they do not wait until you die to take their due."

Aron's eyes were focused on the patch of forest directly ahead of Athor and Claire. "Be ready, if my guess is correct, the wolf is about to enter the hen house, and he has already feasted on the dogs."

==== In the Forest ===

Mors had been following the confrontation between the bandits and Pathfinder adepts with keen interest. Using his skill, shadow step to avoid detection, he had found the best vantage points to analyse the situation.

His plan was relatively simple. He would watch the bandits as they killed the adepts, examining their strengths and weaknesses before picking them off one by one during the night using hit and run tactics while honing his skills.

His primary objective was to acquire evidence that proved he was not responsible for the adepts deaths. Once he had collected it, he would send it to Verz via messenger when he reached the next populated town and continued his trial, solo. He would be away for another 10 or 11 months so any issues should have been sorted out by the time he returned.

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Claire's high pitched cry as she took an arrow to the thigh, caused something deep within Mors to surge forth as both his blood and soul hammered at his mentality, screaming for him to act. It wasn't that he had any romantic feelings for the girl, more that she had grown on him over the last few days.

Not many were willing to hold a conversation with him let alone treat him like a normal person. Yes, she was extremely irritating and always getting into his personal space but in a way, the fact that she continued to try had at least earned his respect.

Memories of past life situations, similar to the one that Claire now faced, overlapped his vision causing him to shake his head violently and grit his teeth. -"She used a fucking spell to manipulate my mind, why the hell should I care! I don't even know her; she is a nobody to me."

Carefully standing on the branch he was perched, he watched Claire transform into her lamia form and make astonishing progress towards the others. -"See she can handle herself, why am I getting so worked up? I was... am willing to watch them die. It's survival of the fittest. If they get away great, if not, its nature."

Mors's silhouette flickered before he appeared at the base of the tree and began walking in the opposite direction. -"Damn I thought I was stronger than this! I guess I will have to leave and collect the evidence at a later time. Know an irritating girl for a little over a week, and I want to risk my life to save her.. pathetic Mors PATHETIC!"

A second, agonising scream echoed through the forest causing Mors to halt, hesitation flashing across his face as he struggled to contain his emotions. He found that part of him didn't want to let Claire die at the hands of the bandit; that he should be the only one to hold sway over her life. -"Will I really be getting revenge if that bandit kills her? Aren't I just letting him get his way? Am I just making excuses?"

As if sensing Mors' weakness, Claire's pitiful sobs filtered through the trees with broken words that resonated deep within him. Out of his many lives, the bad far outweighed the good mainly due to the greed and selfishness of others. This had developed into disdain falling close to pure hatred for sentient beings as Mors held no illusions that any of the races were better than the humans in his old world. He had already made one exception recently with Verz and had no intent of making another. However, the words uttered by Claire instantly destroyed his resolve.

The one, absolute rule that the instincts from his bloodlines and well as his soul converged on was trust and honour.

How could any self-respecting dragon let the one who trusted them, perish? How could a demon let another harm someone he held, even a fraction of interest towards? How could his soul accept that he had turned into what he hated most? One that would abandon those who had placed their faith in him when they were at their most vulnerable. He had found himself in similar situations many times in his past lives. He hated every one of them with a passion.

-"KILL."

The feeling Mors had when he tore the throat from the boy rippled through his body as every fibre came alive and pulsated with energy. This wasn't a desire; this wasn't a fleeting fancy, he needed to do this.

A light, foot high mist rose from the ground around Mors as his skin greedily absorbed as much mana as it could from the air around him. Kicking off from the ground, Mors' body turned into a black blur as it shot through the mist causing it to swirl majestically.

-"Kill."

-"Destroy."

-"Devour."

-"Dominate."

Having already scouted the locations of the bandits remaining in the woods, Mors quickly reached the one that was closest. A young, heavy set beastkin girl that had been peering around the edge of the tree was currently frozen in place as she shivered violently.

Without as much as a warning, Mors slammed her body into the tree causing her to gasp for breath as terror filled her eyes.

Knocking the bow from her hands and grabbing her arms, he placed his foot on the centre of her back and slowly pulled her arms back.

A blood-curdling cry left the girls mouth as loud cracking noises resounded throughout her body before her arms finally tore and came away from her body.

The pain, shock and blood loss caused her to faint and fall to the floor where Mors' boot immediately descended, turning what was once her head into a bloody pulp. A cruel, sadistic smile crept across his face as he began to synchronise with his instincts. -"It's so much more fun to be the villain, even when you're forced to be a hero."

Once again turning into a fleeting shadow, Mors disappeared into the night as he began his hunt.