Mwahahaha, beat the 6 months deadline...... Honestly when I'm proud of that it means my schedule is pretty poor.... or non existent.

Thanks to all the people who left reviews or just said something down the bottom. I do read all of them and it means a lot and is the best motivation i have for writing more.

Not going to say sorry for being later than i said. I feels its just expected now, and to all those who can still be bothered to read my story, thanks! I hope its good enough.

This is the longest chapter to date with 24000 words so.... that's gotta count for something right?

Hope you enjoy

Myo~

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The icy storm above belied the moderate temperature in the Cobra’s Nest, as the tip of the sun (barely visible through the clouds), crested the tip of the stadium like bowl. Casting a soft glow over the blindingly white buildings inside, which were made to accommodate the lack of light.

As if the light were a signal, people began to stream out of their homes. Coming in all shapes, sizes and species as the Cobra’s nest make no distinction towards those it sheltered as long as they could be useful.

Amongst them stood a tall and well-built man draped in the flowing blue robes of the Lin family. The quality of the material and the leather underneath presenting his affluence for the world to see as he scanned the crowd with a deep scowl. It said a lot about the mercenary that he could afford to stay in the large and expensive houses closer to the outer ring of the nest, rather than in the cheaper accommodation reserved for soldiers in the barracks. Almost comically the crowd of people parted ever so slightly to distance themselves from the man, most likely caused by the scowl that split his normally handsome face.

To the man, or Clive as he was known. He may as well have been spat on by the patriarch himself.  After years of faithful service to Roy (a patriarch who Clive had an almost boundless amount of respect towards), he had been pushed aside to serve the man’s half breed granddaughter. The injustice was visible as a red haze that surrounded the man’s vision. However, like the good subordinate he had trained to become, Clive had simply bitten his upper lip and nodded subserviently when told about his new role in the family. Remembering this, Clive trudged his way down the side of the bowel, making a beeline through the streets towards the oblong shaped building with the sky blue roof, the barracks of the Lin family.

It didn’t take him long before he stood at the entrance. The white stone that made up the Cobras’ nest giving way to a rustic wooden opening that reminded Clive of his family house back in his homeland.

Many of the prominent family’s would laugh at the lack of decorum that the Lin family used in their infrastructure. But for the soldiers under their command, there was definitely something more down to earth about it which made each of the members sigh pleasantly as they passed through the door. Where they would be pleasantly assaulted by the enticing smell only given off by varnished wood, a luxury not often given in the white metropolis that was the Cobra’s nest.

Stopping briefly in front of a tall noticeboard situated directly in front of the door, Clive ran his finger down the list of names, finally stopping his on ‘Aurelia’, who had apparently booked briefing room thirty four. With a soft sigh Clive ran his hand through his hair brushing back a few black strands that had fallen in front of his eyes. It would take him a while before he was used to not being in briefing room one.

So turning quickly on his light feet, the man entered the building, taking a moment to delight in the familiar surroundings before making his way down the long corridor, with numbered rooms on each side.

The number thirty four hovered above his gaze like a taunting smile as Clive reached for the door handle only to pull back at the last minute, a look of disgust crossing his face briefly. It had taken the man years to accumulate enough attention from the higher ups before being placed in Roy’s personal unit, and to be reassigned like this had undone all of his life work. What’s more was that Roy had seen the names of those joining his new unit. Each of them a monster of combat, and had proven themselves time and time again. Amongst this group Clive may well find it impossible to distinguish himself in the same way that he had once done.

He couldn’t do it, he couldn’t spend his life as a common foot soldier again. Perhaps if he begged the administration of the Lin family, or even Roy himself he could ask for a post change. It was a long shot but it would be worth it. So with that in mind Roy turned to leave, only to pull up abruptly as he came face to face with two half giants.

A lifetime of combat prevented Clive from flinching away from the hulking figures but even he couldn’t stop his hand reflexively closing around the long spear clasped to his back. An action the larger of the giants briefly noted before glancing up at the large thirty four above the door to the mission briefing room before falling back to Clive. A spark of recognition flashed across the giant’s eye before he broke into an eye watering smile. “No fear little one”, the giant’s thundering voice echoed down the long passageway, drawing a few weary eyes. “We have also been assigned to this unit so you can expect no difficulty from me”. A large hand grabbed Clive’s own before shaking it with a deliberateness that couldn’t be expected from such a large man. “My name is Herog, and this” the giant continued, gesturing towards the smaller giant by his side, “Is Truog. Pleased to make your acquaintance”.

“The pleasure is mine”. Clive replied automatically to the friendly greeting, withdrawing his hand as he stared dumbly at the being in front of him.

Just as he regained his wits a great large placed itself in the centre of his back, lightly pushing him through the door which swung open in front of him, exposing him to a beautifully decorated entirely wooden room. The scent of crushed lavender stained the air as Clive recollected himself and rose to his full height. After cursing the giant under his breath he coolly inspecting the room. Amongst the carefully sculpted pillars that adorned the wide room were several dozen wooden benches placed on either side of a large rectangular table, which had been masterfully crafted into the likeness of a dragon, mouth open in a viscous snarl.  

The room was already half full and immediately Clive noticed several prominent members of the Lin Family sitting in isolated groups around the room, and from the looks on their faces, none where particularly happy about their reassignment. He couldn’t blame them though, several of them were the most competent the family had to offer. To place them in such a new unit, with zero political standing was an insult, regardless of whether it was a special unit.

“Clive reporting in”, He said loudly to the group. Usually you would say your rank before your name, however having been reassigned, Clive’s rank was currently non-existent. Many looked towards him and nodded respectfully, though immediately they returned their attention to the group.

As for the giants who had forced him through the entrance, they stepped past Clive without a care for procedure before quickly scanning the room. Despite the smile that lingered on Herog, it was obvious by the glint in his eye that he wasn’t as light hearted as he made himself out to be. The smile became a genuine grin as the giants gaze rested on two demons towards the back of the room. Before he trudged quickly –despite his impressive size- towards them, oblivious of a few scowls he received due to his lack of respect towards the unit as a whole.

Surprising even himself, Clive found himself following behind them. For even though he knew the names and faces of a few littered around the room he would hesitate to call them anything more than acquaintances.

As they made their way towards the two demons at the end of the room Clive had more time to examine them individually. The one that immediately drew his eye was a crimson Shedim, who’s mixture of shining plumage and sharp eyed gaze looked almost royal as it looked down to its companion, who sat with his/her back turned to Clive. The second was tiny, with perhaps the build of a nine year old, though with the small jagged tail that waved gracefully behind it, it could be far older.

“It seems you two arrived before us”, boomed the voice of the giant as he sat down next to his companions on a small seat that seemed to bend beneath him. Once again the voice drew a few looks of annoyance but the giant either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

The Shedim simply nodded, apparently concentrating on something that was obscured by the Incubus sitting between them. Though said incubus turned slightly in its chair to glance over its shoulder, which caused the grizzled Clive to blink twice. Honestly the androgynous features on the demon in front of him where astoundingly beautiful. Where all incubus like this? It would explain their high price on the few in the slave market. Upon seeing the two giants the face lit up in a wide smile, “Red was just excited, wanted to be here early despite my best efforts”. Behind the child the large Shedim shifted awkwardly, though whatever had its attention was obviously more important.

The Childs eyes shifted to meet Clive’s and its smile eased but didn’t fade altogether. “Nice, to meet you, my names Aare”. So the child was male, “and that”. Said Aare, tilting his head to point out the Shedim demon. “Is Red”.

“Clive”, he replied noncommittedly, Aare’s voice had literally been mesmerising, also he had just caught sight of the small animal between the two. “Who’s that”?

Surprisingly it was Red who answered his question, “Wyvern…. Called Green”. The words were simple but the slightly wary tone and the protective gleam in his eyes transmitted a silent warning.

Forcing himself not to recoil, Clive studied the small green creature that was jumping between the two, trying to catch the small orbs of fire that flew from the two demon’s hands. A small part of Clive was impressed. While it seemed to be only a game for the wyvern the two demons were showing off a surprisingly high level of mana control. “Impressive”, Clive muttered to which the Giant snorted.

“If you think that’s impressive wait un….” Though the hulking figure was cut off as the door slammed open to reveal Roy's half breed Granddaughter storming in, visibly upset if the clenched hands and gnashing teeth were anything to go by.

Upon standing on the small podium at the front of the room however the petite girl, drew several deep breaths calming in front of their eyes, eventually a small smile appeared on her face and although it was obviously faked, Clive was pleased by her control. “Alright everyone, first things first. It’s a pleasure to meet you all and sorry for that display earlier. My name is Aurelia and I will be taking command of this unit”. The girl glanced around the room, eyes briefly stopping on a few glares she received from the more experienced members.

“I understand that a few of you may think this reassignment as a burden but I assure you every member in this unit was picked because they are the best. And I promise that given a few years you will realise that you were rewarded for your service rather than punished”. Clive grimaced, if she thought that would make it all well and good she was too naïve.

“As for a chance to prove ourselves we have been posted for a mission in two weeks”. Groaning resounded throughout the room, Clive himself was admittedly a part of it. No wonder Aurelia had been in a terrible mood when she walked in.

The Cobra’s nest was renowned for being run by a senate consisting of the four current primary families with each wrestling for control. The other families must have banded together to send the young women on a mission. Throwing away her first few weeks in the senate which were imperative for building a solid foundation and creating the necessary alliances. This ‘mission’ could potentially be crippling for her.

“You’ll understand”, Aurelia continued “if I, and subsequently you, have an invested interest in finishing this mission as soon as possible”. Harsh nods were viewable all around the room. “Fantastic, until then we will be participating in small training exorcises to make this unit into a team. I promise you that not a single member of this unit will hold you back”. He couldn’t help himself but Clive inadvertently made a small hidden glance to the black haired child, who seemed generally disinterested with the proceedings. He noticed others giving the incubus the same look. From experience they knew the consequences of a weak link.

“For today however we will participate in a small series of tests. We are a small unit and it would be easier to have a grasp on where you excel”.

Clive nodded sagely, all together there were about fifty of them. The Cobra’s nest was expensive and a unit wouldn’t be hired unless they buyer would get his/her worth. More times than not this unit would find itself outnumbered. To not know the units specialities would be an oversight from a commander’s point of view. “You are dismissed, please gather at training ground thirty four as soon as possible”. With a swish of her cerulean blue robes she spun on her high heels before walking straight through the door with half the unit on her heel. The rest, generally the more experienced took their time as they gathered what they had with them. It appeared Aurelia had her work cut out for her.

The group arrived at the training ground without problem, although to call it a ground was an understatement. Underneath the Cobras’ nest itself, amongst the labyrinth of white tunnels were colossal dome shaped bunkers. Lovingly labelled the Cobra’s Havens by the enthusiastic veterans. This particular one was several hundreds of metres wide and was oddly reminiscent of a professional sports ground. With a running track circling the great exterior, and several obstacle courses situated at key points. Hundreds of black lines and markings had been etched into the ground, no doubt to host numerous activities.

The crown jewel however was a towering pyramid made of a light red stone, with a series of sharp steps that led to the top, bare metres below the roof of the dome. At the peak, instead of a capstone, lay an alter bearing a luminescent marble, which flashed almost magically in an undeterminable series of colours.  

The newcomers to the Cobra’s nest looked around in awe, though the ones who came from the more prestigious units huffed haughtily. The sight before them, while resembling the upper training grounds was fairly lack lustre in comparison.

“Ok listen up”, came a deep familiar voice that commanded respect. Instantly Clive spun to see Roy standing beside a slightly smug looking Aurelia. “I have great expectations for this unit, and have come to host the tests personally, however I will not have my time wasted so listen closely and don’t fall behind. We will be starting with an endurance run so I want you all on the track in twenty seconds”. There was no sign of the joking persona Roy put on in front of the other families. Here, amongst his own he was dead series, and no one dared to not listen. After all, if you upset a patriarch from a main family, it would be impossible to find work in the Cobra’s nest.

So in record time the group was lined up on the track, each raring to run at Roy’s command. “I want you all running as a unit, no pulling away until someone drops out, OK, Begin”. Clive nodded as he and the group began a quick jog. Intermittently they were told to sprint and slow and soon the air was saturated with sweat. The training dome was naturally a great retainer of heat, and so even if the change was minimal there was definitely an increase of temperature as the group continued to run. Most likely it had been built with this in mind.

Two hours passed before Clive noticed the first soldier fall, tumbling to a halt on the smooth floor purposefully softened to reduce the strain of a runners ankles. And almost as if this was a signal several runners came to a halt, some leaning over and retching off to the side, others hands on knees and panting heavily as their heads hung almost lifelessly.

Another hour and Clive was beginning to struggle, there were only fifteen left and those who had dropped out had been moved onto the other tests, without barely a pause to catch their breath. Perhaps he should drop out early to have an advantage on the other tests? No, of course he couldn’t. Roy was watching. His best was all he would allow himself to do. Looking ahead most of the other runners weren’t human. In fact only three humans (including himself) were left. “Sprint”! Came Roys commanding voice from the centre of the dome. Adjusting his speed, caused Clive’s heart to ram against his ribcage, pleading with him to stop. But surely the other contestants felt the same and yet they kept going. A cry of pain and suddenly only two humans were left as the other fell to the side, his head hitting the ground at a nasty angle.

Stepping over his fallen comrade Clive forced himself to keep going, if only to beat the child that ran gracefully at the front of the pack. The child that Clive himself had almost immediately written off as the weak link. But no, there he was, without a drop off sweat as he ran happily alongside the Shedim who’s pace was matching the child. In the back off his mind somewhere Clive noted that the Incubus species as a whole were known for their speed and skill in transformation if nothing else. But still, to have a child outrun you was a blow to the ego that Clive didn’t need. No he would keep running until the child fell. It was made worse that the demon would often pick up the wyvern that bounded behind them, happily mewling when it became too tired before jumping onto the child’s back who would merely laugh. As if he had been walking for the last hour instead of running at a military pace.

Another hour and a half past before Clive fell, his knees grazed by the poor landing. At least he had been the last human to fall. It hadn’t escaped his notice however that the twelve remaining were the only demons in the unit(The giants had long ago dropped out). Was the gap between the species really that wide? Roy seemed to notice as well and he shouted something that the exhausted Clive couldn’t hear over his desperate intake of breath.

Then, the groups speed doubled, no, that wouldn’t be fair. Tripled was closer and those still running seemed content to go at this pace? A small pang in Clive’s chest alerted him to his own frustration. They had been holding back for him. Over the last hour as he desperately held on, those still running had been waiting for him to drop out so they could actually start to run.

A single tear ran unbid down his cheek as a rough hand grabbed his shoulder. Looking over his shoulder Clive could barely find the energy to be surprised when he saw the understanding look of Roy. “You’ll learn to accept that they live in a different world, but to keep going for so long, you’ve made us proud.” Behind him were the faces of the ‘elites’ from the higher divisions. Nodding their respects. Evidently they had finished their own tests and had stayed to watch the results. It was endearing in a way to find those you admired, giving you their respect. So with a clenched fist Clive rose to complete the other tests.

Weightlifting, two obstacle courses, a quick problem solving test, several more endurances tests such as ladder runs and side jumps, shot put and finally a mana capacity test.  

By the end Clive could happily say that he had been exhausted to a point he never thought he could be. Each test under the watchful eye of Roy and the delegation of human elites forced him to press past his limits and no regrets were held even if he marked poorly on the final one, rank D was nothing to be proud of after all. Yet as a warrior he only needed to augment his own body so a particularly high rank wasn’t needed.

But still, a bitter taste was left in his mouth when he noticed that five demons still ran. The Shedim ran slightly erratically but still he seemed to be following the pace (which had increased every time another runner dropped out), the child who ran unhindered even with a wyvern wrapped tightly around his shoulder. Two purple skinned demons seemed ready to drop out, but another demon, an incubus as well, if his jagged tail was any indication, was keeping pace easily enough. How long could they keep running? How long had they been running already? Clive had forgotten and judging by the grimace on Roy’s face so had he.

“To all those still running”. Roy shouted, his voice slightly husky from the humidity and genuinely hot air. It was only thanks to several natural water fountains that many hadn’t died from dehydration, yet those running hadn’t had such luxury. “Just run three more laps, the last one however should be as fast as you can”.

“Yes sir”. Came the practiced response. One positive thing that had been drilled into them over the exorcise was the respect that they hadn’t shown this morning.

Quickly doing the math Clive figured that three laps would be close to two and a half kilometres and even at the pace they were going it would take a few minutes before the final lap, and as he turned to grab a drink he noticed the two half giants happily laughing over by the obstacle course.

“What’s so funny”? Asked a baffled Clive. For two such intimidating figures the giants were surprisingly laid back.

“Ahh, Clive was it?” Replied Herog, still trying to smother his own laughter. At Clives affirmative nod he continued. “This little one”. The giant continued while playfully hitting his laughing brother over the head, “Just received a DDD rank for the mana test. Giants are usually unable to use magic but seeing as we’re half breeds he’ll be one of the few that can. Anyway, he was so surprised he fell off the pyramid. Little tyke bounced all the way down”.

“Herog”! The younger giant spluttered, slightly embarrassed now.

“Don’t be upset brother”. Herog replied, ruffling his younger brothers hair with obvious love. “This is a day to celebrate. Imagine the strength of a giant with the augmentation of human magic”! Clive himself had to nod in agreement at that statement. “Anyway”. The elder giant suddenly became serious. “They’re reaching the final lap now”.

Looking back over his shoulder Clive jumped in surprise to find the group of five running around the final corner before their last lap. “In just that short time….” Clive said in amazement as they crossed the starting line.

The two purple demon’s speed stayed the same, as tired as they were. As for the Shedim and the older incubus, their speed once again doubled, fighting it out between them for the second place. As for the child. He simply disappeared. Becoming a blur that phased in and out of the their sight each time seemingly blinking around the track before finally coming to rest on the starting line a mere ten seconds after his final lap began.

Silence fell upon the training ground as the child casually prized the dizzy wyvern from his shoulder before placing it on the ground, where it shook its head briefly before trotting after him to the next test. It didn’t take long before the other four demons joined Aare. Breathing hard but easily completing them and blitzing past the records made that day. In fact the large crimson Shedim demon managed to surpass the older giant’s seemingly impassable weightlifting record with considerable ease.

“Impossible”. Muttered the gathered ‘elites’ as the Shedim was given a modified bar to surpass the supposed maximum weights

Shot put wasn’t much better as the Shedim as well as the two purple demons created large holes in the side of the dome where the shotputs had impacted. A quick apology was all they muttered to the gaping instructors who quickly wrote down the results on a clipboard.

At this rate it didn’t take them long before they reached the pinnacle of the red pyramid. Though before they reached the apex Clive managed to pluck up the courage to ask Roy what had been on his mind for the entire day.

“Sir, these results have been unprecedented. But we’ve had demons before, why is it different now”?

A grave look loomed over Roys face but he kept pointedly gazing at the top of the pyramid. As if looking away for a second would make him miss something incredible. Absently Clive wondered if that could be true. “It’s because of my Granddaughter”. Roy said at last. “You need to understand that the demons still live in an incredibly primitive society where the upper echelons are decided by who can beat who in a fight. Even if they can be convinced to work for money, it goes against their very existence to be commanded by those weaker than them. I can only guess that by having a demonic commander they will fully exert themselves”.

No wonder the bastards in the senate want her gone, Clive thought morbidly to himself. If just her presence can motivate monsters like this.

“Enough talk now, they’ve reached the top”. At Roys ‘not quite’ command, Clive shifted his attention back to the pyramid. Sure enough one of the purple demon had placed his hands on the orb, a look of determination in his eyes as he gave a quick glance to the beautiful demoness that stood by Roy’s side. It seemed as if Roy’s assumption was correct.

Slightly anticlimactically the examiner said in a shaky voice. “Examinee number 46. Rank: BBB”. The Purple demon nodded its subdued emotions showing in its blank face as it waited for the second purple demon who at that moment was pressing its hand against the glowing orb. “Examinee number 47. Rank: A” Without further comment the two purple demons began to walk down the side of the pyramid.

The elder Incubus was next. With unnatural grace which seemed to be a trait of its kind, it waltzed to the sphere and waited for his judgement. “Examinee number 48. Rank: CC”. Clive blinked. While that would be incredible for a human, a rank of CC was fairly disappointing for a demon. It must have shown on his face as Roy immediately launched into an explanation.

“Remember there are certain races of demons that are clearly above others. The Incubus for example is renowned for having a poor magical aptitude, CC is actually relatively high for them. Some argue that they developed their illusions because of their need to hide in the demon world”.

Clive nodded in understanding as the Shedim stepped forward. His large clawed hands threatening to tear the orb apart. Still the test went without problem as the examiner said, “Examinee number 49. Rank: BBB”?

Clive wondered at the slightly questioning tone when Roy came to the rescue. “That’s another odd one”. The Patriarch said slowly. As if choosing his words carefully. “I was under the assumption that Shedims where almost incapable of magic”?

The Shedim looked back briefly at the child, only stepping off the pyramid when the child smiled. Unsaid words passing between them.

Clive noticed the atmosphere darken immediately as the child stepped up to the orb. Beside him, Aurelia and Roy were holding their breaths. But hadn’t Roy just said Incubi don’t have high magical affinity?

Yet while the world stood still, the smallest member of the group with unnatural elegance placed his hand on the orb and waited expectantly for the examiner. However before the reading was complete the orb suddenly became lifeless and split perfectly in two.

Clive blinked, once, twice. What did that mean?

The older giant’s voice echoed across the silent training ground. “Was he too strong for the orb”?

The examiner, after regaining his wits flushed and looked slightly embarrassed. “Nonsense, orbs can break. Not often, but when over used this can be expected. We’ve had several high mana levels measured today alone and who knows how many years this thing has been down here”.

Roy shook himself out of his shock. Looking slightly pensive, he whispered. “Aurelia. Go look through this room’s expense sheet. Find when that orb was bought”. Without a word in reply she spun and ran through the exit, no doubt on her way to the briefing room.

The examiner continued, no doubt unaware of Roy’s movements. “Regardless. This orb is capable of testing up to S rank mana signatures. Do you really think an incubus could produce such a thing”?  

“From what I’ve seen”, the giant started. Scratching his chin thoughtfully. “I wouldn’t be overly surprised”. The Room was hushed once again before soft laughter could be heard throughout the chamber. Not everyone was close enough to see the seriousness on the giants face. To them it might have seemed to be in jest. Though standing barely ten metres from the giant Clive could see quite clearly that this was no joke. Clearly by the dangerous look in Roy’s eye, he didn’t think so either.

The examiner standing on the pillar chuckled slightly as well as his gaze turned to meet the despondent gaze of the demon in front of him. “It’ll take a few weeks before we can acquire a new mana crystal for this teams use, I hope you can wait until then”.

“Of course”, smiled the demon though even from the base of the pyramid Clive could see that it didn’t reach his eyes. Was he upset about the barb towards incubi? “I’ll be back after the mission then”.

Though as the progression walked down the side of the pyramid chatting animatedly between themselves, Aurelia rushed back though the door to her farther side.

“Well”? He asked expectantly, his voice still kept deliberately low.

“That orb was replaced less than two weeks ago, but this training room was kept clear in preparation for our new unit”.

“So that means,” He started before trailing off,

“So it means”, Aurelia picked up where he left off, “That it was used for the first time today. There was next to zero chance that it could have broken”.

Roy closed his eyes with a smile. “You’ve hit the jackpot Aurelia”. As he opened his eyes and there was a new energy, dancing energetically within his iris. To the group he called. “Congratulations, unit thirty four! Today you have exceeded my expectations, tomorrow the results of your tests will be posted in the briefing room, and I expect great things from you in the coming mission. Don’t disappoint”! And with a final swish of his blue robes, he spun and walked purposefully thought the exit. The skip in his step evident.

For Clive, today had been a turning point. Not only had he been given the ear of the patriarch but also his recognition and apparently his pride! Perhaps this unit wouldn’t be so bad after all.

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Aurelia closed her eyes as she pointed her head towards the glaring sun. Never before had she been outside the walls of her home, so the lack of a mana barrier meant that she felt the warm caress of the sun’s rays for the first time. It was true that the snowy surroundings made this time of year cold, but with enough warm clothes the sun more than made up for it.

It was a great respite from the shit storm she had been through concerning the senate. Upon somehow hearing the results of her squad test the other main three families had become even more constricting with her movements. Very few outside of her own family would even talk to her when they weren’t in the senate let alone approach her. In all honesty she had been looking forward to showing her family that she could keep up with the fast pace political rubbish the patriarchs spat out. But the last few weeks had been incredibly disarming. It was made slightly better by the potential of her own squad however. Perhaps the fear she saw in their eyes would work to her advantage later on. Her Grandfather had certainly said so when she had confided with him.

Aurelia was torn from her own thoughts when she heard the quite shuffling of clothes and the crisp sound of boots churning through the snow. Meaning her subordinates had started to arrive. Well damn them, they could wait while she enjoyed all these new sensations for just a bit more. A light breeze brushed against her face as she thought this, only confirming her choice to be the right one…. At least in her mind anyway.

“Ms Lin”, came the steady voice behind her.

“Yes”, she replied wistfully. Not truly in the moment.

“Master Lin, has ordered us to accompany you for the duration of your journey”. Suddenly the wind didn’t seem so soothing. Those behind her were obviously sent to shadow her every move, and no amount of freedom the wind promised could help her escape this confinement. Opening her eyes was a task as her heart urged her to keep them closed though the white snow did paint an attractive image so not all was lost.

Speaking of attractive however. There were now blank faced guards standing before her. Dressed in the white robes with blue trimmings that marked the strongest under the Lin command. The one on the left was not much to look at, all short and plump. But the one on the right, strong chin and cheek bones, check. Short stylishly cropped hair, check. Flawless skin, check. Slightly but not too toned, check! God he was the full package.

She held herself back from cooing, she didn’t need another reprimand for such behaviour. Instead she put on the calm façade that she had mastered so well. “Pleased to meet you”. She said daintily. “I hope you fit in well with our unit, it’s only new so they should be fairly accepting of new additions”.  

The plump one cracked an easy smile as his arm reached around to scratch the back of his neck, “I’m sure we'll have no problem Ma’am, the name’s Nodran by the way”. An easy one to get along with then, Aurelia smiled in response, “charmed”.

Though apparently the lack of decorum that Aurelia honestly enjoyed was not to be. “My name is Neo, Ms Lin, and I apologise for my associate here, I will talk to him later about how he addresses you in the future. As for fitting in there is no need. We are here to make sure you are safe, not to make friends”.

The plump one, or dwarf, as his name suggested, frowned at his partner. There was no difference in rank between them and this condescension would not have been welcome. Aurelia had to force back the frown that threatened to match the dwarf’s back as she re-evaluated the attractive blond. ‘There goes the excitement of this adventure. Just when an attractive one shows u~ She never finished that thought when a voice etched with an almost crystal quality caught her ear.

“Are we too early”? Glancing past her newly appointed guards were two demons which couldn’t be more vastly different. The Crimson Shedim that stood out in direct contrast to the snow, and the most attractive demon she had ever seen. Of course she had seen him before, but those features which would look equally good on both a male or a female caught her off guard each time.

“No, you’re right on time”. She cooed in response. ‘Wait cooed? Damn’ She hoped it would go unnoticed but judging by the way a single eyebrow rose in disapproval from Neo, and the great grin that almost split apart Nodran’s face, she highly doubted it. Oh well, it’s not like she hadn’t got the lecture she would no doubt receive before…… Who was she kidding, Roy was terrifying when he was mad.

This would probably be a long trip.

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I laughed cheerfully as the scaly Green slipped from my neck to latch onto my wrist. Over the last week he had gotten stronger, and perhaps exasperatingly, more energetic. Gone were the days our reptilian friend slept happily in our arms, now it was all about chasing ice mice, and fetching variously sized sticks. In fact it didn’t really matter what it was as long as it was made of wood and could fit in her mouth.

Although Red had made it abundantly clear last time the small wyvern had run off with his halberd that somethings just weren’t meant to be touched. I won’t go into details but I will say that to this day the halberd was the one safe possession in the barracks.

It was around mid-day and the weather was surprisingly clear for the middle of winter, leaving our group trudging through the ankle height slush. However, despite the fairly low atmosphere no one would disagree that the white snow when coupled with the umbrella shaped trees made a fairly picturesque scene.

Red walked in front of me, deliberately dragging his feet to create a path for my smaller, more childlike body. I hadn’t asked, the overprotective Shedim had simply taken it upon himself to help me out. I smiled at the thought even as the tiny wyvern leapt from my wrist to the crimson figure in front of me. Entwining its claws into the Shedim’s feathers to haul itself up onto Reds shoulder. Impressive in a way considering the thing was only 2 months old.

**There isn’t much more I can do at the moment to improve these defences**, came the echoing voice from my mind.

I cocked my head at Blues sudden speech. I knew that the dream had been playing around in my mind for the past two months. Ever since we had come across the celestial, Blue had been putting in place several vast planes of illusion. It was impressive in a way that you needed to pass through each stage before getting access to my mind. ‘I’m sure you can think of something’ I replied in thought, ‘but you know you are long past the point where I can help you’.

A small humph of pride echoed though my mindscape as the demon swam around its mental playground. I had long since removed the seals restricting the dreams actions, theoretically leaving me to its mercy. However I would easily put my life in the Blue's hands if it meant he would have extra freedom to protect my mind.

Which just left me to protect myself in the real world, and with Blue rapidly becoming more adept at defending my mind I was given more time to work on my other abilities. My hand reached out to the snow beneath me, as I willed mana out through the pores in my fingertips. Hundreds of individual snowflakes responded to my call and flew towards my palm, only to join into a small sculpture of an ice mouse. I grinned in anticipation as I waved my other hand over the sculpture letting my mana flow into the creation, equally dividing itself amongst the snow. I bit the edge of my tongue in concentration as I willed the mana construct to move, urging it to move in a similar way to a real mouse.

So with my fingers moving much like a puppet master I watched as the mouse in my hand sprung to life, jumping to the ground and leaping through the snow. Unfortunately for the construct it didn’t make it five metres before a green sack of scales barrelled into it, dispelling my creation in an explosion of snow. I laughed briefly before taking pity on the spluttering creature, who was trying to stand in the soft snow only to sink further in. Mimicking picking up the wyvern the snow once again responded to my call, echoing my movements as a hand of ice formed, and picking up the now still wyvern and depositing it in my outstretched hand.

I was getting better. One good thing about living in the Cobra’s nest was that I could always go outside to hone my water affinity with the almost unlimited supply of snow. And my work on mana constructs was becoming more and more natural. I hoped by the end of this mission to find a human subject to try it on. The process would be almost the same. Cycle my mana through their system. Divide the mana up equally in every part of the body, and move it in accordance to my will. It would have been a task beyond my control a month ago, but now? I could see a problem arising however. The targets own mana system would fight against my control. Which left me with either directly overpowering it, or cycling out their mana entirely.

**I could just take control of their minds** Came the thoughtful voice from my mind. **Controlling someone through their mana pathways is pretty complicated and there are plenty of ways it could go wrong**.

I chuckled inwardly, ‘every enemy we’ve encountered so far that has been worth controlling, would be able to resist you. Also I can’t always count on you to be in my head when the need arises’.

**I still think it’s a lot of work for something we can already do**. Came the disgruntled voice.

‘Perhaps, but even then, just consider it another mana exorcise. I can already directly manipulate someone else’s mana. This might be the next step before I can detonate it’.

**That, would be something to work towards**. Came the slightly happier Blue, no doubt imagining the result of one’s own mana core exploding.

‘You’re sick’ I thought dryly as the dream cackled in the back of my mind. I don’t know why I put up with you.

**Because I warn you of the advances from numerous smitten females, which by the way is approaching you now. Four O’clock**.

Shaking myself from my own inter-mental conversation I confirmed the approach of Aurelia, who had spied me seemingly lost in thought before making her way towards me. Her two bodyguards never too far behind and upon recognising me Nodran gave a small wave. Inclining my head slightly in return I quickly shifted my gaze to Aurelia to avoid the scowl I knew Neo would be directing at me. “How are you holding up”, she said politely as she fell into step beside me. There was more than enough space in the trail behind Red.

I shrugged in response, “I would be a lot better if I knew where we were going”. I replied without much hope. The Cobra’s nest had made it abundantly clear that rank and file soldiers need not know the details of their missions.

“You know I can’t do that”. The girl pouted playfully. Not typical upper class behaviour, but it was her reputation so I couldn’t care less. "But I can tell you that it shouldn’t be very exciting. One skirmish at the most".

“I would rather a lack of action than too much of it”. I murmured in reply.

“That’s true I guess”. A small silence, “That’s amazing by the way”. She continued pointing back to the now motionless arm of ice sixty metres back. “How long have you been practicing”?

“Since I was born”. I replied easily. “Water and earth spells come easy to me though and some humans could do it to so it’s not that impressive”.

She scoffed slightly. “Not as naturally as you did though. You seemed to barely think about it”.

I smiled, slightly uncomfortable with the praise, and no praise was ever free. What did she want?

“Do you think you could teach me”? She asked innocently.

“Nope”. I replied instantly. I knew her affinity was wind. For her to learn something like direct water control would take years.

She pouted, and I had to remind myself that this child was the sometimes professional leader of our unit. “You didn’t even think about it”. She whined softly.

“You’re affinity is with the wind”. I explained. “Teaching you anything to do with water manipulation would be a waste of time and I’m hardly an expert with the wind”

She shrugged, content with the explanation but not happy about it. She was about to launch into an argument when a soft mewling made me glance at the wyvern still dangling in my grasp. Honestly I’d forgotten about Green and without another second delay I placed him back on my shoulder where he wrapped his tail loosely around my arm.  

A slight giggle from Aurelia allowed me to relax. She would be distracted for a few minutes. I made a note to sneak some extra food to the adorable wyvern later. He’d deserved it.

So after three long hours of deflecting Aurelia’s attention onto Green we finally arrived at a small cattle ranch. Where upon Aurelia –who snapped into a professional state in a blink of an eye- ordered the contingent to halt and lay down our packs. I sighed with relief as my burden fell to the ground, and I carefully sat down, massaging the feeling back into my shoulders. I had used mana to encapsulate and reinforce them but they were still tender.

I glanced around, taking in the rustic ranch that seemed to come from an earlier time period, it was also in dire need of repair. It consisted of a large manor(out of the corner of my eye I noticed Aurelia take a deep breath and knock on the door), a great barn large enough to hold a group of cows through the winter, and four great fields filled with dead and dying plants. Obviously they hadn’t been used since the beginning of winter as the fences themselves were largely broken or downright missing.

The groups eyes suddenly snapped to the door of the manor as Neo suddenly shouted. “You damn ingrate! Ms Lin is an esteemed member of the Cobra’s nest. Just because she’s a wom… MS LIN”!!!

Whatever the man who had opened the door had said to the leader of our unit must have been out of line as Aurelia had drawn back her hand and backhanded the man hard enough for his head to ricochet against the other edge of the door frame. Subconsciously my hand rose to touch my cheek as I sucked a mouthful of air though my teeth in shock.

What followed was two minutes of the most aggressive talking I had ever seen. Whatever Aurelia was saying to the poor man, who was busy kneeling to the ground picking up a few teeth which had been dislodged, had caused Aurelia’ desired effect. And after several minutes of fearful nodding, Aurelia dismissed the man who closed the door behind him far faster than he had opened it.

Half of us gulped as Aurelia stormed towards us, and perhaps fairly, I gathered a solid shield of mana across my cheeks. “Does anyone else have a problem with me being a women”? She asked carefully, malice laced through her voice. Suddenly the females in our group turned towards the rest of us, indignant as if they had been the one insulted. Those who remained, innocent as we were, could only hastily shake our heads. Thankfully, at our denial, Aurelia almost instantly went from furious to bright and cheerful.

“Great, you lot will be sleeping in the barn. You were told to bring blankets and the farmer has enough hay for you to sleep comfortably. If you need me, I’ll be in the Manor. The Farmer was nice enough to spare me a bed”. She spun on her heels head back towards the manor, “Get a good night sleep we’ll be up early tomorrow fixing fences”.

“Fixing fences”? Came Herog’s sullen voice. Apparently during the commotion he had sat down beside me. “We’re a mercenary group, who would pay a mercenary group to fix fences”?

“Does it matter”? I replied non-committedly. “Easy money as soon as we’re finished here”.

“True that”, came the gruff response from my side as the elder giant hauled his panting younger brother to his feet. “Let’s find a place to sleep, I don’t want to be crammed somewhere because we were too late”.

So with heavy feat the group of mercenaries trudged into the barn only to be assaulted by a pungent smell reminiscent of cattle and manure, and it was only after Herog had assured me that I would grow used to the smell that I found an untainted patch of hay to lie down on, barely noticing Red lying down an arm’s length away from me. As Demons we didn’t need as much sleep as the humans of our division, but sometimes it was nice to indulge ourselves.

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The red tint of dawn had barely crested the horizon when the division was woken by Neo.  Who’s hollering voice echoed annoyingly within the confines of the barn. “Everyone up, you don’t get paid to lie around”! I let my right eye open slowly, absently noting the warmth of a cow that had settled beside me at some point during the night. “All of you are to be outside in ten minutes or its coming out of your pay”!

“Condescending pile of sh…” Truog grumbled as Neo turned to leave, only to be cuffed by his older brother.

“Learn to get along with your allies”. Herog reprimanded. His heart clearly not in it as he wiped the sleep from his eyes. “You may rely on them to watch your back one day”.

“Pfft, that’s what you’re for”. Came the cheeky reply as the smaller half giant leapt away from the fist which cracked through the empty air he had occupied moments earlier.

Choosing to ignore the duo, I sat up rather awkwardly, the pains from yesterday worsened from the poor sleeping conditions to the point where not even a soothing stream of mana could completely alleviate the discomfort. As it was it took slightly longer to wiggle out of my sleeping bag, and compress it into the small container. The plan was to stay here over the next few nights so we didn’t need to take our bags but to leave our things in the open was a sure fire way for them to be stolen.

Besides me Red had already finished, having woken hours ago. Choosing to trade sleep in favour of cleaning the gleaming halberd that was now strapped to his back. Noticing my look the crimson Shedim asked. “What… doing today”? I frowned at the poor English but chose not to correct it.

“They won’t tell us”. I replied, fastening the straps on the side of my pack. “But I expect fixing this place up might be part of the deal”.

“Oh yeah, fixing fences”. Cut in Herog from the side who was currently burying his brother’s head into a pile of hay. “Sounds exciting”.

It wasn’t. The group had been split into two teams. The larger members of the group had been tasked with the heavy work. For example, cutting the timber, carrying it to the fence and holding the logs as they were set in place. For the rest of us, guard duty apparently. Although we had no idea what we were supposed to guard the farm from. So I sat in a small chair fashioned from compacted snow, creating miniature catapults that launched small amounts of ice out into the empty field that was apparently under my watch.

It didn’t take me long until I noticed the heavy mana shields encircling the field. Great barriers constructed just inside the wooden fences. We had been told earlier by the farmer not to go in at any point, for any reason. Though until now I had just assumed he meant that not to walk on and consequently flatten the suffering field more. What was the farmer keeping here that was so important? Especially if it warranted a contingent of armed men and women.

I briefly considered merging my consciousness with the earth to scan underground but decided against it when a middle aged women sat down heavily besides me. Mildly disturbing a layer of snow beneath her. Glimpsing her out of the corner of my eye I noticed the coating of muscle that made up the majority of her body. Giving her a bulging figure that could only be gained from a lifetime in active service further accentuated by the tight black full body suit she was wearing. Turning my attention back onto the empty field I continued to exercise my mana control by firing off the series of catapults in time to one of the songs I had learnt in my childhood and didn’t bother her for the rest of the afternoon. She didn’t say anything either, choosing to stay in comfortable silence by my side. It was nice, I wondered absently. Her silent company was soothing and threw away the loneliness that had threatened to settle in. Yet it also gave me the peacefulness that I craved and so rarely received. A few hours passed before we were called for lunch and my companion quickly packed up the stacks of papers she had been diligently writing upon, and nodded in my direction before trotting off to join the throng of mercenaries digging into the pot of food that had been prepared by a thoroughly beat up farmer.

I distractedly waved a hand, removing the bonds that had held together my icy constructs which consequently fell to the ground, before grabbing my bag and seeking out Red who was digging into the largest bowl of broth I had ever seen. Apparently the other group had made a ration system, with the more work you’d done equalling a greater portion of food. So naturally Red’s competitive instinct had come in handy and I was regaled with tales of him completing an entire wall on his own before lunch.

My own portion was naturally small. All I had done after all was watch an empty field, so when a single ladles worth of soup was poured into my bowl I could only sigh and sit down next to my demonic companion who took one look and filled it to the brim. “Need to eat”. Red said briskly before I could thank him.

The rest of the day passed in a similar fashion. I stumbled around disinterestedly until I found a new field in need of a guard and made two chairs for both myself and for the women who once again sat down beside me. As she pulled out her stacks of paper I fashioned a table of gleaming ice for her which she nodded in thanks for before laying out her things and taking out a pot of ink and a quill which she spun expertly around her thumb. My interest only grew when she starting drawing sets of runes. Each beautifully made and without even the tiniest smudge of ink. Ten minutes passed and a small pile of completed pages lay at the edge of the table. Tantalisingly within my reach.

“Take one”, she said softly noticing my wide eyed gaze. “It’s just a simple explosive rune, haven’t made one for a while so it’s good to go back to the basics every now and then but it means I make too many of something I don’t want”. I briefly noted the surprisingly feminine voice on the muscular women but didn’t mention it as I nodded sheepishly. Ashamed at having been caught staring.

“Thanks”. I replied simply, picking up the small, almost mundane looking piece of paper, twirling it around to get a better look at it. Nothing special came to my attention bar the small electric hum of magic that buzzed incessantly, yet too quiet for any human ears. “How does it work”? I asked when I could make heads or tails of the swirling patterns.

A dry look was sent my way before a delicate gesture pointed to the small circle in the centre of the page. “This”, she said, while lightly tracing the circle with her second finger. “Is the central power rune. All you need to do is feed your mana into here and the runes will distribute it through the rest of the page. Be careful though, the fuse is set to ten seconds and the more mana you put in the bigger the explosion”.

Absently wondering what would happen if I fed all my mana into the thing I asked, “Can it be overloaded”?

Once again regaling me with a dry look, my companion sighed with what could only be described as resignation before turning to give me her full attention, looking upon me with deep green eyes sparkling with intelligence. “It’s an exploding rune. The whole point is it overloads itself and simply redirects the energy outwards”. Once again reaching out to trace the swirling boarder on the outside of the page she continued the explanation. “This is a low leveled stasis rune, built in to momentarily place the energy in a catatonic state, so you really don’t have to worry about putting too much in”.

“Ah” I replied suitably out of my depth. There was no way I could put the complexity of the patterns into simple words. “And you said this was the basics”.

A nod. “One of the first things I was taught”. Seeing my look of disbelief she continued quickly. “It’s a challenging but rewarding discipline. It’s true that most don’t stick with it long enough to be any good but those who do are in high demand”.

I nodded before we fell back into the comfortable silence. Eventually, when I realised my companion wasn’t going to keep talking I turned my attention to the piece of paper dangling between my fingertips. Naturally I couldn’t go around setting off explosions lest I scare the rest of the compound so all I was left to do was explore the piece of paper.

Slowly, incredibly slowly, I extended several tendrils of mana into the paper, much like I had done with my ice constructs. Though as soon as I slipped through the surface I felt the intricate system of mana, so many times more complicated that the pathways that made up a living creature, and as a single tendril brushed lightly against a small, seemingly unimportant, section the entire thing collapsed in a sound display of self-destruction. There was no change in the paper itself and the lines were still where they should have been, but there was no longer a soft hum and the inner workings had been completely shot.

How delicate were these things. To collapse on the slightest inspection. Immediately I felt my respect for the art rise. Before I had only been admiring the outer workings when it was the innards that should have demanded my attention. I needed more of them. My head whiplashed as it turned back to my companion about to plead for more only to find her holding a small stack outstretched towards me. She hadn’t stopped her work, still giving it her full attention but there was no doubt that she was intending for me to have them.

“Thanks” I mumbled as I made to grab them.

“You’re welcome, but they’re no use to me after they’re done”, she replied noncommittedly.

With a wave of my hand I extended the table of ice so that I also had a work bench, before placing the stack in front of me. How many were there, thirty, forty? It had been a long time since I had found a piece of magic that interested me as much as this did, so I couldn’t waste a single one. “I’m Grace”. She said suddenly, still not making eye contact with anything but the paper in front of her

“Aare”. I replied distractedly before taking the paper at the top of the pile. Seconds later another ruined rune lay in front of me and I bit my lip in annoyance and concentration. It would be a long afternoon.

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Two hours passed before I grabbed the final piece of paper in front of me. The sky above me had been stained a beautiful blood red by the setting sun and we would soon be called in for our evening meal but I was determined to manipulate the final exploding rune. About forty minutes ago I had first managed to move the paper without disturbing the system inside and my companion had jumped in literal joy. Passing me a few dozen of the runes she had been making before giving me a crash course in something she called origami. With it we folded the paper runes into tiny animals that I would then try to move while Blue illusion them to look real. While it took three of us to even attempt it, it shocked me to realised we were theoretically able to create an explosive that could hide in plain sight as anything we could think of.

After realising that controlling a mana system like a bird was impossible at this stage we tried creating a small frog to hop across the table. It annoyed me that no matter how easily I could make normal paper fly and move at my command, the mana system that made up the runes made it an entirely different exorcise on a completely different scale.

So after my carefully folded frog had been placed before me I began the intrusion of mana. Sliding tiny lances of mana (so fine it was almost mist) into the empty gaps between the systems. Eerily slowly, and making sure not to touch the systems itself, I willed the paper to move. Watching as the tiny paper frog jumped three times on the spot. “Now Blue”. I said, breaking up the silence. To the eyes of anyone who could be watching the paper frog seemed to morph into the real thing, where it would croak and puff out its cheeks. I bit my tongue at the added difficulty. It wasn’t just about moving the construct now, but also making sure to separate Blue’s mana from the system that made up the rune. With a level of finesse that was unrecognisable to how I was a year ago, I moved my hands in time with the frog’s jump, launching it off the table before detonating the central power rune with the tiniest thread of mana. Where upon the frog crackled and exploded in a puff of smoke. After finding out that I could move the paper and safely detonate it from a distance, Grace had removed the timer until detonation greatly upping the potential of our combination.

“Amazing”, Grace muttered under her breath as she began to pack up her things. “To think you only started today”.

“It’s not that big a deal” I replied modestly, inwardly uncomfortable with the praise. “Being a demon has its perks”.

She twirled somehow angry. “Nonsense, I’ve never seen demon with the control to do something like that. Normally you lot just throw the biggest spells you can think of. It’s why your kind struggles against magically resistant foes”.

“What do you mean”?  I replied, intrigued by her last sentence.

“Well magic resistance is a lot like a suit of armour. With a bunch of plates that have mana negating properties. Of course you could try to overcome it with sheer force but for some beasts like the Wyvern for example that would be impossible”. She stopped speaking briefly as she carefully placed the unused paper back into her satchel before slinging it over her shoulder. “But like every suit of armour there are vulnerable areas. Small gaps that you can exploit if you pinpoint your magic. It does go without saying though that the better ones magic resistance, the smaller these gaps are”.  

“And because the demons just launch large scale spells, magic resistance enemies are usually left unharmed”, I finished.

“Exactly, when the spells are so large, they hit multiple plates at once and are easily negated”.

I sighed, slightly annoyed that this was the first time I had heard about it. I had always assumed it just a part of their skin. “How do you find these weaknesses”?

“Hmmm, oh, just cover them with a blanket of mana, if you make it harmless they shouldn’t notice, and all you have to do it aim for the sections that don’t vanish and you’ve found the points within the plates”.

I nodded seeing the logic, promising to test it out in the future. “Cheers for the tips”. I said honestly. “Most don’t give away the secrets of magic”.

She laughed at that, a melodic tone that seemed to light up the bleak snow covered landscape. “That’s another reason why we can fight off the demons. You’re all so arrogant with your large mana pools. We lowly mortals have millennia of magical knowledge shared amongst us available to any who seek it”. She looked sideways at me warily. “If you lot shared like we did, our frontline city’s would have fallen long ago”.

“Even Tesuit”?

“Even Tesuit”.

---------------------------------------------

When dinner was called I left Grace’s company to search out Red, who was currently digging into a bowl of broth in what could only be described as relentless vigor. Green was perched on his shoulder, happily snatching up the small lumps of meat with his spiked tail and ignoring Red’s increasingly aggravated growls.

“How was the work”? I asked as I sat beside him, catching Green as he jumped into my arms with a soft coo.

“Tied”, came the monosyllabic response before the towering crimson figure turned to look at me. “You eaten yet”?

“Not yet”, I replied absently as I scratched the squirming Wyvern under the chin. Thought I’d find where you were sitting first”. I paused briefly before glancing around. “Have you seen the giants”?

“Went to the village”. I nodded in reply, I hadn’t known there was one nearby.

After handing the bundle of green back to Red, I stood to join the line of those waiting to be served. Which had thankfully shortened while I had been searching for Red, and as I stepped to the back I glimpsed Clive handing out the portions with two men I had seen but didn’t know. I waved a quick greeting which he returned happily before serving one of the purple demons.

It didn’t take long before I reached the front of the line where Clive smiled and pulled a ladle, filled to the brim with broth. Before pouring it into a bowl he had pulled from behind the stand. All in all it was about three times the amount I had been given at lunch and just before I pointed it out one of the men grabbed Clive by the arm and took away the bowl before fixing me with a look that contained more than a hint of anger. “Oi, midget. Weren’t you guarding the fields all day”?

I felt my eyebrow raise before I concisely registered it. “Yes, is there a problem”?

“Yeah there is actually. This is a portion for those who worked. Not those who sat on their arse all day”.

“Leave him alone Harry”. Clive interjected. “I poured the bowl, not him”.

“Oh shut up Clive”. Harry snarled in response before looking down upon me with hard eyes. “What makes an entitled prick like you think you deserve this, we all worked for our food why shouldn’t you brat”?

There was nothing I could say really, I had seen these kinds of people before, those who looked for a problem for the sake of it. Nothing I could say would help me here. It didn’t surprise me when Harry tipped the bowl, allowing the contents to drip to the ground with agonising sluggishness. I didn’t bother saving the foul broth with magic. Something told me it wouldn’t have helped my situation.

I shrugged, turning away from the irate man. Hoping to just leave the confrontation behind. When a agile hand grabbed my tail holding me in place, it wasn’t that I couldn’t rip it out of his hand with the jagged end, I was just briefly shocked to the point of immobilisation. It just went completely against the demon’s culture to grab one’s tail. “Where the hell do you think you’re going”? Came the sadistic laugh from behind me and I turned to find myself the centre of attention in the camp.

I noticed the different looks I was getting. Aurelia from her table looked excited, Clive observing horrified, a few of the humans milling around a campfire seemed uncertain, the purple demons watched enraged, Green howled threateningly and Red….

I didn’t finish the thought as a crimson blur shot across the snow covered field passing me before I could even raise my hand to rip the offending mercenary to shreds. I blinked as the hold on my tail vanished and a cry of pain tore through the air. There on the ground lay four fingers and a thumb, neatly severed and bleeding profusely from where they had been pulled across the serrated tip of my tail.

As for Harry, he was being held by the jaw in a single handed grip by the snarling Shedim. Suspended in the air by arm strength alone. I watched as Red drew a deep breath, hastily collecting himself before throwing the poor man several metres away into the snow which crunched loudly in the silence. “You’re lucky”. Red said only two words before he turned and walked towards me, not bothering to move faster than a walk as Harry moaned in the snow behind him. I noticed the healers in the group twitch, eager to rush to the fallen man but no one moved until the Shedim walked far enough away and waved them forward. I reminded myself that my demonic friend had been one of the more important figures back in the mansion back in Tesuit regardless of his age, and knew how to dissolve this sort of situation far better than I did.

“Let’s go”. Red stated. It wasn’t a command, but the tone didn’t leave room for argument. I nodded in reply. Respect for the demon increasing as he led the way out the group. Mindless of the yells of pain behind him.

When we were finally clear of the group I spoke up. “You know I’m thankful but I didn’t need your help you know”.

“Saw your eyes”. He said morbidly. “If you killed him, no one would like you”. I blinked, I remember being furious but I had registered the amount of magic I had instinctively gathered when I had been grabbed. Red was right, that would have killed any human.

I hummed thoughtfully at that. Partially annoyed at myself, but more annoyed at Harry. Who the hell did the bigoted prick think he was, why did he need to butt in? The two of us only stopped when we reached the outer edges of the farm. “You didn’t finish your meal”. I said slyly changing the subject.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“Knocked it over… got to you”. He said with a smile.

“To the village then”. I said wishing my bag was on hand, but only now remembering that I had left it where Red had been sitting. Oh well, Green would look after it, I hoped.

It was more of a hamlet than a village. With only a small market and several resident halls that reeked of rot and mould. A tall church stood in the centre of the village, its cobbled stone walls and stained glass windows painting a pretty image that seemed so out of place with its surroundings. The place was heart-warming and welcoming however, the golden glow of the sunset bounced of the cobbled streets, augmented by the shining lamps that had been placed down each street. The entire village seemed to be out, whether they were talking happily in the street or bartering with the few shops still open at the time. None of them seemed to care that demons were in the midst. With the residents smiling and some even waving in greeting as we passed and for a while I was reminded of my second birthplace.

The smell of cooked sausage covered with honey and rosemary wafted through the streets and my stomach protested when we made to pass. Longingly I glance over at the shop keeper who smiled eagerly. “No money”. Red complained at my side as he emptied out the pockets of his blue robe.

“Maybe we don’t need it”. I replied confidently. Leading the way into one of the empty stalls. It wasn’t much, just a small wooden stand that looked eerily similar to the stand Lye had once made to sell lemonade. I grinned at the memory, of the better days where I could tease my friend for making it too sweet.

Returning to reality, I rose my arms in a dramatic gesture. (Best to add a little showmanship) Before sweeping my magic across the market, dragging the loose snow through the air towards me. There were yells of amazement and some broke into claps as the snow settled to form a small shelter around the stand. Closing my eyes now I moved in time with the snow, imitating some of the more extravagant dance like moves I had seen the human magicians use. Finally when the shape I desired had formed, I snapped my fingers, igniting the mana that I willed between them before directing a lance of mana made fire to launch from an outstretched palm. A rush of heat rushed past my face as it engulfed the structure of snow before dying out without a fuel source. Its momentary use had been fulfilled however as the snow had melted to water, held together within a barely visible shimmering shell of mana. It was beautiful really, as the swirling liquid produced a myriad of different colours as the lights from the town danced within the construction.

I almost felt sad when I willed the water molecules to slow down, watching the water flash freeze into a construction of delicate ice, fashioned in a series of patterns that lined the sides. Turning to the crowd which had gathered in the few seconds that had passed I called out. “Good evening everyone! My name is Aare and this is Red”. I called, gesturing to the Shedim beside me who waved in a show of confident showmanship. “As you have just seen, I’m a Demon with a grasp on magic. For the foreseeable future I’ll be living near the village and will be offering my services as a healer. I don’t need much, just whatever you are willing to spare. Whether that be food, or a few bronze coins, it is up to you”.

Silence descended across the market before whispered mutterings rose from the group. Evidently they weren’t yet convinced. “Red” I said quietly in a voice only he could hear. “Cut off my arm, Blue, numb the pain please”.

**Done** came the echoing voice from deep within my mind before the strange sensation of nothingness spread over my right side moments before Red’s halberd slashed through the bone just below the elbow.    

Shouts of surprise washed over the crowd as a few leant over to empty their stomachs. Some might say this was overkill, but these people lived a hard life between the boarders of warring nations. It was likely that each person in front of me had seen something similarly gruesome in the past.

I smiled as I lifted my other arm in a placating gesture, before concentrating on the stump. Willing my mana to fly to the area and consequently forcing a multiplied rate of cellular replication. First creating the bones, held together with stringy ligaments. Then I plastered on a layer of thin muscle making sure to match it with my other arm before creating the tendons to latch them to their respective bones. The small details came next, blood vessels, nerve endings and tissue that flew out to constrict tightly around the work in progress. Finally, as the last of the capillaries began to settle, I began covering the arm with a layer of skin, unnaturally white but quickly turning to its regular shade. Overall the process had taken close to seven minutes and during that time the audience had watched entranced as I worked.  

“Hopefully”, I began, barely feeling the toll such magic had put on my mana pool, “that has wiped away any concerns about my competence”. It wasn’t an instant change but excited yells spread through the market as several people began to pull on their courage to go first. Finally, after what seemed like an age, an elderly man wobbled uncertainly to the front of the stand. Sitting on the chair before me in agonising slowness.

I nodded at him before attempting a comforting smile. Absently feeling my horns morph to become blunter and more openly friendly. The man gulped and after a deep breath leant forward to begin a long tirade concerning the growing difficulties he had with walking. It didn’t take long to find the actual problem. Turns out an earlier injury had shattered the head of the femur (The upper and largest bone in the leg). The problem hadn’t been immediately apparent as the bone had eventually reformed. However a slight imperfection in the hip joint now caught the edge of the socket whenever the man took a step, only making the problem worse.

From there it was easy to create a mana scalpel to carve away the splinter of bone before reinforcing the joint itself. I won’t bore you with the details but the work was a lot easier without having to cut away at the body to get to the injury. Not to mention that magic works as a great sensing tool.

I spent the next several minutes trying to shake off the gratitude the man had as he jumped to his feet. Throwing away his walking stick as if it were the cause of the injury itself, before reaching forward to clasp my hand. As he did I felt the hard cool feeling of several coins being thrust into my palm before the man turned and slipped through the crowd? Looking down I noticed several silver coins which was shockingly good for less than ten minutes of actual work. This alone would be enough to buy the two of us dinner for a week, yet as the now scrambling crowd dove into the queue I knew we wouldn’t be getting away for a few hours at least.

I was right. In the end the crowd wouldn’t disperse until I had given my word that I would return tomorrow night at the same time, and even then they wouldn’t leave until a blackboard was brought to remember the position of everyone still in line. I sighed as I watched them walk away contently. The night had gone well, and the stack of coins towards the back of the store had grown exponentially until the sack one farmer had given in exchange for curing a small headache had overflowed. Some of the other gifts had been more extravagant. The honey and rosemary sausages had made an appearance when the butcher brought his wife, after a self-inflicted ear piercing had caused infection. A beautiful oil lamp had been given in exchange for removing a stomach ulcer. But my personal favourite was a book on the basics of runes. Given to me by a provocative librarian who had discovered my budding interest as I removed a mole from her cheek.

The walk home was made with a full stomach after stopping at the pub whose owner greeted us with open arms and a free meal. Openly hinting to a sick son in the back room who would see me tomorrow. By the time we arrived back at the farm, several pairs of mercenaries could be seen sparing by the campfire, surrounded by the rest who yelled encouragement. It seemed the commotion had died down as several members of the group who I didn’t know greeted me openly before explaining that a tournament had been set up to discover the best fighters in the group.  

Spotting Truog standing on the outside of the ring I greeted him warmly as I stepped into place beside him.

“Hey Aare, Red”. He said in reply, nodding to both of us in turn. “Where’ve you been? Would have thought the tournament was right up your alley”.

Red nodded eagerly. “Rules”?

“Nothing fatal, you can win by knocking out your opponent or pushing them out of the ring”. The younger giant replied simply.

“How did you go”? I asked. Keen to know the scope of the competition.

“Fairly well, I was only knocked out last round by Salaar”. The giant grinned as he reached up to scratch the back of his neck. I cocked my head slightly at the unfamiliar name before the giant indicated the purple demon who was stretching by the side of the sparing ring. Indicated by a small line that had been dug out in the snow. Herog faced him, waiting imperiously on the other side of the ring, twirling his axe in lazy loops. I noticed the grim smile on the older giants face however, he wouldn’t be going easy on the newcomer after he had knocked out his brother.

On the outside, the group generally cheered for the giant. Half human as Herog was, meant he was their champion and I had no doubt the hulking figure would have knocked out a demon or two in the competition so far.

The fight was over almost before it began, with the purple demon’s hand snapping forward. A loud crack echoed through the freezing air as the space between the two shimmered with power as a wave of force slammed into the giant who merely stepped through it as it were wet paper. “How”? The demon shouted as it tried to backtrack away from the now running giant. His hands spun to gather the ambient mana in the air in what looked like a complicated mana barrier spell. But it was all in vain as a single giant palm wrapped around Salaar’s hand. Causing a soft pop as the gathered mana was released without direction.

Then, with a single flick of his hand the purple demon sailed above the heads of the spectators before twisting his body to land on his feet. An effective display of agility but nonetheless placing the demon outside the ring. Ending the spar.

I saw Red nodding in appreciation. He still wasn’t able to touch the elder giant in one on one combat and to see that it wasn’t just him would have helped.  

A booming laugh, as the giant stooped to shake the demons hand for a good fight. There was no malice, only quiet confidence and there was no offence on Salaar’s face as he accepted the offering with a tired smile. Joyful cheers erupted from the crowd as Herog took his place on the side of the ring waiting for his next competition. It didn’t take long before a similar purple skinned demon appeared across from him. Dropping into a ready stance without comment.

I looked questionably at the giant by my side who only sighed in resignation. “Safaar, though you should really learn the names of the people in your unit Aare”.

“I asked, at least it shows I’m trying”.

“Fair enough, but when we get back to the nest I’m not helping you anymore”.

I nodded, seeing the need to know the names of the people fighting beside me before turning back to the ring in front of us. “Who do you think will win”?

“Hard to say”, came the gruff reply. “It’s difficult to see my brother losing but Safaar is on a completely different level from Salaar”. I frowned, noticing for the first time that Herog’s posture was no longer playful. His weapon didn’t twirl as it did before but was now held in both hands to his side. Ready to crash down if the demon step too close.

The battle began with the demon making the first move, his palms slamming down to the ground as several figures, identical to the smirking Safaar emerged from the soil just beneath the snow. My frown turned into a gasp of surprise as the clone of earth rose to stand at its full height. I’d seen this spell multiple times back in my old life to know that this had nothing to do with the mana manipulation I had recently been learning. No instead it was creating a simple earthen construct and filling it with an artificial intelligence.

Akin to creating life, this second step was an ability only gifted to the champions of life. A gift personally given by the goddess of life herself. I doubted that the demon in front of me had personally witnessed the goddess but perhaps a relative had, and passed on the knowledge. Around me the people cheered at the display, having no idea that they were witnessing a display of a gods might.

Having completely formed, the three clones charged as one. Flying over the barely disturbed snow to close in on the giant who stepped forward to meet them. The first took a back handed swing to the neck, and as the head twirled from the body it crumpled into loose soil that would drift away with the wind. The second, having leaned better dodged beneath the second swing, before lightly touching the ground beneath him where upon a talon of earth lanced up to slice through the giants shoulder. Blood flew through the air as the third clone raised a ginormous hammer, hastily created from a mixture of mana, soil and snow, before swinging it down towards the giant.

Herog, now pressed for space rolled to the side, wincing as his wounded shoulder momentarily took the brunt of his weight before rising to his feet and following up with a sweep of his axe that cut through the knees of the clone still kneeling on the ground.

The original Safaar hadn’t been standing still however, and as the giant lifted his axe to dispatch the wounded clone, (who even now was reforming it’s legs) threw a wave of mana that lifted the giant off his feet and threw him several metres backwards, just to the edge of the circle.

I could see the frustration on the giants face as he brought himself back to his feet. The second clone had already reformed and the third had discarded his hammer and was now lunging at the giant with a serrated dagger pulled from its robes. The original was gathering a second wave of mana that had proved so much stronger than Salaar’s and if released would completely throw the giant from the ring.

A single blink would have missed the movement that had Herog throwing his ginormous battle axe. Barely following it’s movements I watched as it sailed through the air to split apart the head of the second clone who was only now rising to its feet. I observed as it exploded into a storm of soil, it’s artificial intelligence destroyed by the well place axe. A yell from the third clone drew my attention back to Herog as he spun to grab the clone’s wrist mid slash. Stopping the knife as it came within inches of his stomach.

The crowd screamed in excitement as the ball of mana Safaar was building was completed and the demon snapped his palm forward. Releasing the wave of energy with a familiar crack of sound as it roared across the arena, air rippling in its wake. Herog didn’t pause as he swung the arm of the clone behind its back before holding its body in front of him like a shield and bracing for impact.

The wave of energy collided with the clone, which served its purpose by taking the brunt of the force before collapsing into a whirlwind of soil and leaving the giant to weather the storm alone. The audience held their breaths as the energy rolled across his body before the giant took a single step forward, passing through the display of magic and simultaneously launching into a run.

The rest was eerily similar to Herog’s last match. The demon had tried to summon more automatons to fight for him but a single thrust of the giants palm launched him from the arena.

Silence bar the heavy breaths of the panting Herog.

Then all at once, several shouts of jubilation erupted from around the circle as the human members of the troop charged in to congratulate their champion. It didn’t escape my notice that the giant was only half human but apparently that was enough.

I sighed as I watched Safaar painfully rise to his feet and slink off unnoticed by many, nursing a wounded shoulder that had been dislocated at the end. I shrugged knowing that a simple injury would barely be a discomfort for the demon before turning and making my way back to the barn.

I found Green where we had slept last night, curled up around our bags that we had left outside, which, judging by the muddied lower halves, had been dragged in by the tiny wyvern. I laughed softly when the creatures eyes flickered open, briefly widening as they registered my appearance before shuffling over to press against my side, stealing my warmth. I didn’t really mind as I hung the gifted oil lamp above my head and igniting it with a spark of mana. It basked the mound of hay we had settled upon in a soft orange glow and with the light came a layer of warmth that caused Green to warble in delight.

My face was once again lit up in a smile as I pulled out the beginner’s book of runes from within my robes, while absentmindedly sweeping off several strands of hay from the cover. I would be lying if I said runes didn’t intrigue me, and even if I knew that I would never have the time to properly learn such a discipline I wanted to be able to understand what I was looking at. I had been impressed at Grace’s effortless application of her art and the unlimited power a ‘simple’ explosive rune displayed shocked me.

So, resultantly for the next hour I lay in the dying light, flipping through the small and well-worn pages, attempting to understand the gibberish it kept throwing at me. Honestly I wasn’t making much leeway, but at least I would be able to identify certain aspects of a rune when I saw them in the future. Eventually Red, Herog and Truog joined us on the mound. Finding their own spots and settling in with barely a word. Which was the signal for me to try and get to sleep. With a single wave the light above me vanished and the dark swallowed us up.

I had woken long before the humans of the group, leaving Red and I to make our own breakfast from the leftover sausages from yesterday. Honey and rosemary sausages where frankly delicious and I fully intended to buy more tonight when I returned to the village. It didn’t quite beat a good coconut, but it could definitely satisfy when the latter wasn’t available.

After the early breakfast I spared with Red. It had been a while and I was astounded by his continued growth and without magic I had long been unable to challenge him. Still, the Shedim adamantly demanded that I continue to hone my swordplay and had told me that I should ask for lessons from Herog. I had agreed conservatively, it would probably be a good idea as long as it didn’t coincide with my other studies. Seeing the distracted demon gesturing wildly to articulate his point I launched a renewed attack, hoping to catch him off guard while he talked.

So it was after only forty minutes that I sat to the side healing my broken bones and torn flesh, with Blue’s demonic laugh echoing through my head in an almost sadistic pleasure. **Serves you right for attacking when he wasn’t prepared**. A grimace covered my face in response though I couldn’t bring myself to be too upset when the Dream demon had gone to the trouble of numbing all of the wounds. Still, it was kind of embarrassing to be beaten so convincingly by what was effectively a newborn by demon standards.

To the side Red grinned down at me victoriously, waiting until all my ailments had vanished before pulling me to my feet. “Weak” the demon snickered as he led me back to the barn where the noise of waking people drew our attention.

“Of course” I muttered in reply, not wanting to rise to the taunt.

“Too weak, Red: 1, Aare: 0”. I glanced to the side unimpressed before tapping my heel to the ground with slightly more force than normal, allowing my mana to seep into the ground with practiced ease.

I watched with unabashed glee when Reds foot came down mid stride to find the earth collapse beneath him. A small yelp escaped the bird like beak as the Shedims leg became buried up to his knee. Whereupon I strengthened the bonds of the earth around his leg, effectively trapping him in a metre thick layer of rock. “Earth: 1 Red: 0” I replied contently as I continued to walk without missing a beat. I didn’t look back, knowing it would take less than minute for the demon to break its way out of his makeshift prison.

I managed to grab a small second breakfast from a silently fuming Harry. Who didn’t, or perhaps couldn’t say a word with Red leering over my shoulder, before running off to find one of the smaller fields in need of a look out. It didn’t take long for grace to join me and once again the three of us including Blue began to practice our runic manipulation. It wasn’t often I found myself with partners capable of directly augmenting my magical abilities so I naturally found myself rather enamoured with the whole thing.

It turned out that reading through the first few chapters of the rune book helped immensely with understanding the structured of the rune inside the paper, and once you learned the patterns you could predict how to move the mana tendrils in order to not disturb the rune itself. Of course I wasn’t instantly a master but it was definitely a noticeable improvement from yesterday.

Of course as the day came to an end I packed up and with content silence the three of us drifted back to the camp site where upon we promised to meet up tomorrow and parted ways. Red and I didn’t bother staying for dinner, instead we walked quickly down to the run down village and found the ice that made up my temporary stand still upright and looking strong from yesterday. Out the front was the line from yesterday, eagerly waiting in the order dictated by the blackboard. However now the line had extended dozens of meters back. The word had probably passed around overnight and every injured soul in the hamlet was likely standing in the queue.

I smiled civilly as they saw me, causing each person to explode into bubbly chatter until I walked through the entrance. Gesturing for the first women in line to follow. I quickly created three chairs. Two for Red and myself, while the last was for the women who sat opposite. A customary glance showed no immediate problems and the women leaned forwards with a blush.

“Are you able to cure STD’s”? She said in a small weary voice causing me to double take. I spluttered unintelligently, before nodding slightly. The women grinned at my blush before turning to the open door meaningfully. With a quick sweep of my hand the makeshift ice door shifted to block the view of the people outside.

For the first time I took in the appearance of the women in front of me, she looked to be in her late twenties and her face had a sort of plain vibe, neither beautiful nor unattractive. “Great” she said quickly before lifting her skirt, revealing that she hadn’t been wearing anything underneath. The heat rushed to my cheeks as the women was laid bare before me, awaiting whatever treatment I could provide and several deep breaths were made to calm my mind. After a few seconds I raised my hand, softly directing my mana towards the women who giggled in ecstasy.

I gulped nervously.

Several minutes later I was finished and was subsequently exhausted. She hadn’t stopped making noises from the beginning and my patience had been wearing thin. “Done”, I whispered in mortification. I silently cursed myself for being horribly embarrassed, I should have long been desensitised to the female anatomy but my new instincts screamed the whole time. Perhaps it was natural for an incubus or maybe just the beginning of puberty.

“Really”!? The women gushed as she jumped to her feet, still not bothering to cover herself. Thank you, thank you, thank you” she giggled happily, accentuating each one with a peck on the cheek. Once again the blush appeared at the unusual display of affection. Inside Blue was laughing in hysterics and I once again cursed myself for the reaction. “You’re so cute”. The women said softly when she was done. “If you were just a few years older I’d gobble you up”. I felt a small weight on my lap as the women dropped several bronze coins before spinning coquettishly and walking away with a wink.  

The door opened with a creak as the women left but at least she had the dignity to close it behind her. Leaving Red, Blue and I alone in the shimmering room. The former let out a whistle of appreciation as the door closed and I spun to give him an evil look, knowing that my blushing face would have taken away most of the effect. For a single second I wondered why Red was so unaffected but upon remembering the soldiers who he had trained with back in Tesuit. It wasn’t so hard to figure out where he had picked up his habits,

When Red only burst out laughing at my attempt at a chastising glare I let out a groan before turning to drop the bronze coins in the leather bag that the Shedim held open. “Not a word”. I said seriously before turning to the door and opening it with a wave, plastering on a smile as I did so. Moments later an elderly mother brought in a small whimpering child who sat on a newly made chair to complain about a headache which had started a week ago.

My smile widened into a real one as immediately I was placed back into my comfort zone. “No problem”. I said confidently. “Can you point exactly where the pain is”?

The afternoon passed quickly with a small break to the honey and rosemary sausage stand. Where upon Red singlehandedly ate through the majority of our bronze coins. We still had numerous silvers but the golden gleam in the butcher’s eyes unnerved me as I ordered yet another batch. The provocative librarian had come back later in the day once again. This time to fix a co-workers broken toe and this time had given me a book on the crafting of magic items. I had been longing to read that one for the rest of the day actually, and more than a few of the customers had mentioned a distant haze covering my eyes.

After dinner Red and I split so that he could run back to the inter division sparing which was now scheduled to start every night back at the farm. Something I knew he regretted missing yesterday. The last case of the day was a young man called Jacob who had damaged his lower spinal cord a few months ago fighting off a bandit. Apparently he was planning to join the Cobra’s nest until the injury had lost him all control of his legs. That singular case had taken more than an hour as I attempted to completely reassemble the bundle of nerve fibres that had been dislocated but the end result (fifteen silver coins and a book on advanced sword techniques) more than made up for the time spent.

It was a disgruntled crowd that I sent away, once again writing their order up on the black board which had now been hammered into the ice that made up the doorframe, and several fights broke out concerning who was in front of who. I didn’t really mind the hold up. It meant more business tomorrow.

Finally after everyone had left I hoisted the days loot over my shoulder, preparing for the long trip back to the farm and Red’s inevitable moaning about how he lost, unless both Safaar and Herog chose not to participate. I laughed, knowing that in a few years Red would hopefully surpass both of them.

I twitched as a small hand enclosed around my robes and turned to find a tiny disillusioning out of thin air. **An incubus** Blue stated matter-of-factly. On closer inspection, and after releasing the ball of power gathered reflexively in my hands, I noticed the serrated tail that was wrapped around his left leg in fear. Coupled with the small bumps hidden beneath long strands of white hair it was safe to say the perfect looking child (as so many incubi are) was anything but human.

Shining green eyes stared straight through mine and the pure force of will that shone through caused me to hesitate long enough for the child to speak up. “Please help me”. He pleaded, tears gathering but not yet starting to fall. “I haven’t got any money. B-but my brother is sick and no one will help a demon”.

I frowned having heard too many a story about supposedly poor or abused children leading off good people only for them to be mugged in a side street. But on the off chance….. I nodded twice before summoning a shield of mana around my skin. Strong enough to withstand the attacks of any human. Before hurrying after the child that was leading me by the arm. We ran for less than a minute. Before arriving at one of the resident halls on the edge of the hamlet. I braced my shield before walking through the door, ready for a surprise attack that, didn’t come.

The room was empty, bar a single double bed at the far side of the rickety building. Several lighter patches of splintered wood indicated that the room once held many of this beds before they had been removed. It didn’t take a genius to realise that most people didn’t want to sleep in the same room as a demon. I sighed silently as I was dragged across the room to the bunk which contained a tiny figure, shivering in the cold despite the numerous blankets piled atop of him. The figures breathing was short and laboured, but deathly quiet at the same time. It was an ominous sight.

“What happened to him”? I said quickly as I slid to the floor beside the child. I did however absently seal the top of my leather bag with a burst of mana. It wasn’t going to be taken while my attention was diverted.

The white haired incubus didn’t seem to notice however as he sat on the opposite side of the bed. “He’s always had trouble breathing, and the cold just makes it worse”.  With a quick and practiced movement he drew away the cover. Underneath was a child who looked identical to the first, except his hair was a pitch black. I watched his eyes scrunch up in pain as the cold assaulted his face and I hastily summoned several small orbs of fire in response that floated around the room turning the hash cold into a comfortable if not slightly warm state. A small cough drew my attention back to the tiny child and without waiting for further detail pressed my hands firmly against his chest, to more easily allow my mana to transfer to his body. First I checked the lungs: irregularities? Mucus? Anything that could be the cause and was easily removed. Failing to find anything I saturated the child’s airways with a surface layer of mana, and there, just below the throat where the airway began to thicken I noticed a series of inflamed tubing, all the way down to where they connected with the lungs and shuddered. It was amazing that a child could still be alive when the resulting tubing restricted the airflow to such a degree. No wonder the child could barely breathe.

There were two options, the first was a temporary solution which was to sooth the muscles and then isolate them with a coat of mana to prevent further infection. The only problem was that this coat would disintegrate over time, eventually becoming useless. I predicted I could make a coat to last at least twenty years and by then the demons natural immune system should have developed enough to overcome the disease completely. Only problem was that it wouldn’t be definite. A lapse could still occur and without a healer the result would still be fatal. The second option was to remove the airway completely and then to reconstruct it. This way the child would survive but the pain would be almost intolerable, If it was a human the pain would most likely induce insanity. I couldn’t even ask Blue to numb the pain as without it the child’s body would be unable to operate the unfamiliar organ that I would install.

I said as much to the white haired incubus who looked up at me with wide mist filled eyes. “The second one, it’s what Black would want”.  My eyebrow rose without meaning too, once again alerted to the lousy naming sense demons had. I blinked.

“Wait, your name is”?

“White”. Came the soft reply. My eye briefly registered the child’s long white hair before I had to hold back a laugh. Now wasn’t the time.

The work was slow, first I encased the inner tube in mana to create an artificial airway before weakening the bonds between the molecules of the organic airway. At this point Black woke, and I had to briefly divert my attention to secure him to the table. The child screamed, his inners literally dissolving into a paste that worked its way up his throat before slipping eerily from the child’s lips.

“What are you doing”! White screamed when the liquid swept from his brothers mouth to form into a sphere which lay suspended in the air above our heads.

“I had to remove the disease itself” I answered calmly, keeping my attention on multiplying the mitosis rate of the remaining tube “Otherwise when I reconstruct the organ the disease will just latch on again, now please be quiet. This bit is tricky”.

The new organ was almost completely formed however with the demons magical defence fighting my every move, I couldn’t just join the completed airway with the lung or the new organ would be rejected as the body recognised my mana as an intruder. Instead the organ needed to be guided from further up the airway. Slowly I allowed the organ to move into contact with the entrance into the lung and could only watch as the reminiscent effects of my mana sped up the reattachment. Finally when the job was done I drew away my hands. Effortlessly removing the mana barrier inside the new airway.

For the first time I allowed my eyes to fall to rest on Black’s face. Tears streamed down his face but even as I watched the boy took deep full breaths and soon his lips broke into a smile as a small laugh escaped his lips. I removed the pressure my mana had installed onto the child to keep him from moving and Black hopped to his feet only to punch my in the cheek.

“OOWWWW”. The child screamed as his hand came into contact with my mana barrier. Ah, I’d forgotten about it.

“Sorry about that”. I replied automatically. Which caused the agonised child to stare at me oddly.

“Why are you apologising” he said while scratching the back of his head. “You just healed me”.

“So you knew” I smirked, “and tried to hit me anyway”?

“It fucking hurt” came the confident tone. “What was I supposed to do”?

“Black”! Yelled White, who was looking at his brother in shock. “Don’t be rude”.

“Say thank you”? I suggested cheerily. They were both so full of life now, completely different from before”.

“Pffft, why should I”? Black laughed as he indicated the bag of coins that lay forgotten behind me. “You got your money and I got my health. It was an equal trade”.

“Actually brother I didn’t pay him…..” Came White’s soft interjection. “He came even after I said we had no money”.

Black briefly looked aghast before turning to his brother and throwing a punch. Something white expected, dodged and countered. Leaving Black on his back and rubbing his cheek. “White you idiot why didn’t you say so”. Black, making his way to his feet again turned to face me more fully before bowing deeply. “Thank you so much fellow incubus, my life has been saved by you and I now owe you a debt”! All in all it looked quite funny from an entity that looked no older than six.

“No problem”. I replied easily as I stood to leave, picking up my bag and slinging it over my shoulder.

“No there is a problem”. Black said again as he ran to get in front of me. His socks slipping slightly on the wooden floorboard. “You’re the healer White keeps talking about, yeah? The one who came to the market yesterday and today”?

“That was me”. I replied wearily, not happy about where this was going.

“Then consider yourself lucky, because the great Mr Black will help you out from tomorrow on”.

“Black, leave him alone”. Whined White. “You’ve already caused enough trouble”.

“Shut up, White you idiot. It’s your fault we’re in his debt in the first place, now we have to pay him back”! Black commanded with a look of superior confidence plastered across his face. Suddenly two pairs of green eyes found mine, one filled with apologies and the other with satisfaction. “See you tomorrow boss”!

-----------------------------------

The next day passed much the same. After falling asleep late (intermittently reading the book concerning magical items and listening to Red talk about his epic defeat to Herog in the first round of the spars), I woke early to spar with my crimson brother. Breakfast was the foul broth given moodily by Harry who still didn’t feel confident enough to speak against me with Red permanently hovering over my shoulder. Guarding the fields became more enjoyable as we started folding the explosive runes into other animals. Caterpillars, small cats, green wyverns and even dream demons were all attempted with varying success. However no matter how many times we tried to replicate my demonic partners appearance Blue said it didn’t quite match his ‘good looks’.

“Strange”, I had mentioned absently as I began to fold the paper for another attempt. “I thought all dreams of each category looked the same until they turned into an epic dream”.

That, putting it lightly, had been a mistake. Blue had politely informed me that he was the most beautiful of all the lucid dream demons. I had replied equally politely that it was easy to look good when you can change what you look like with a thought. To which he had said Incubi are not only shapeshifters but hypocrites to the last of them.

Over lunch I sat with Herog reading through the book on ‘advanced sword techniques’ given to me yesterday, but he had told me after looking at it for barely a minute that most of it was demonstration swordplay only, designed to be flashy rather than effective. At my look of disappointment he had offered to teach both Red and I in the mornings before breakfast as long as we shared some of the Honey and Rosemary sausages we had brought back. “I don’t care if I’ll be left incapable of work for a week, if I’m told to eat that damn broth again I’ll eat those mushrooms over there instead” Herog had stated pointing to a few dark brown mushrooms in the corner of the barn.

After lunch, Grace was pulled away to work on a runic array that us ‘common soldiers’ weren’t supposed to know about. She had apologised profusely and left a giant stack of explosive notes as an apology which I had taken and practiced on for the next few hours.

Dinner came around sooner than expected and once again Red and I made our way down to the Hamlet.  Where we trudged past the eager line to get into my stand of ice. I hadn’t really been looking, instead focussing on my magic items book, but as I sat down in a swiftly constructed chair I recognised that it was a lot quieter than usual. With a small wave the door opened and an absolutely gorgeous girl of around twenty years old walked through.

She had a lithe figure that was generously filled out in the right areas, her long pitch black hair drifted enticingly over her shoulders complementing a small button nose and piercingly green almond shaped eyes. I blinked twice shaking myself out of my stupor. “How can I help you”? I opened when it seemed that the girl wouldn’t speak.

“What are you talking about”? The girl sneered as she pulled a clipboard from between her cleavage. “I’m just here to tell you that your first appointment is with a seventeen year old human child with a broken arm”.

“What”? I replied slowly just as the door opened once again to let an identical women with snow white hair poke her head through.

“Black”, she said professionally. “Can I send in the first patient”?

“Please no”. I whispered before filtering a small amount of mana over my eyes, dreading what I would see. Of course as soon as I did the beautiful women were gone. Instead replaced by the kids from yesterday who stood in their place. For a second I was amazed by their flawless transformation, and the ability to seemingly change their size, then again, both Lye and my parents could do it so perhaps it was just me that couldn’t. “What are you doing here”? I asked calmly.

Black just looked at me as if I was an idiot, twirling the pen in between his fingers. “We said we would help, so here we are. We don’t go back on our word. That’s our code”!

“Ok, fine”. I conceded. “But why do you look like that”.

White seemed to look ashamed, however Black once again affixed me with a stare of disappointment. “For someone who knows so much you’re actually an idiot…..you”.

“You”?

“I don’t know your name”.

“Aare” I said blankly, literally at my wits end. Behind me Red was looking on in confusion, no doubt he couldn’t see their true forms.

“Ahem”, said Black unabashed. “Then ill repeat. For someone who knows so much you’re actually an idiot Aare”.

“And why is that”. My teeth were grinding now.

“Because as soon as the humans see this form they shut up, wait patiently and listen to every word I say as if it’s the funniest joke in the world. It’s just the best method for controlling the masses”. I blinked. That actually made sense.

“Let’s just get this over with” I groaned, dismissing the two with a wave, “let the first one in”.

The rest of the day went quickly, for as annoying as the two were they knew how to work and I probably saw at least double the number of people today than either of the other two. They were both efficient and knew how to manage the people even if their methods were deplorable.

“I’ve sent the rest away Aare” Came White’s small voice as he slipped into the stand finally letting the illusion slip. He was paler than usual now, the constant drain on his magic would have been tough.

Black seemed to have no such troubles, and he in turn swaggered up to stand above me. Or at least he would have if I hadn’t made my chair slightly higher today for the exact reason. Instead I looked down at him remotely unimpressed. “How was that, not too shabby if I say so myself”.

“You did well” I sighed in resignation. “Here”. Carefully so as not to drop them I picked up ten silver coins in each hand before holding them out to the kids who looked on in awe.

A silver coin if spent sparingly could be used to feed a family for a week, ten coins was quite likely more than these two orphans(As I had found out today) had ever seen in their lives. However as White reached out to take his share Black slapped his hand away. “White you idiot”. He sighed. “We did this to replay him not for money”. Them to me. “Thanks but we can’t. At least not today, see you tomorrow”. Then with heavy footsteps the two left the stand, with White spinning and waving a goodbye briefly before shutting the door with a slam.

I stood still for a second, surprised by the display of chivalry. Before grapping the leather bag with today’s goods. Most of it was food and money but one small item of note was a silver ring that when waved over food could detect poisons and other harmful concoctions. It was an interesting design and while not incredibly valuable to me it would be nice to study as a basic magic item.

That night I didn’t bother to read, and instead listened to Red’s epic loss in the second round to Safaar while Green curled up and went to sleep in my lap. I didn’t want to break it to my crimson friend but it was likely that the spars were rigged by our human allies, so that the demons would fight each other early, while the humans could battle it out amongst themselves. Otherwise what were the chances that Red would be knocked out in the first and second rounds to the two best members of the competition? I shrugged, what Red didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him, and personally he seemed ecstatic that he was facing the stronger members.

I didn’t get to finish that thought as Neo opened the door of the barn with a slam. “Alright, everyone up. Scouts have caught sight of the enemy we’ve been expecting and they’re thirty minutes out. I want you off you arses and out the door ready to fight in five”. All sleepiness was gone from my eyes in seconds, was this a joke? This was why not telling your soldiers basic details was a problem.

Nodran, who looked like he had just woken up himself, stumbled through the open door after Neo. “What should I do”? The dwarf mumbled unintelligently.

The uptight bodyguard just glared at the dwarf briefly before gesturing to the door. “I need to go inside, just hold the door and make sure these idiots don’t get locked in”.

The dwarf yawned in reply “Hodor”?

“Yes Nodran”. Neo replied, shaking his head as he left the barn. Next to me Red was already fully dressed in his plate armour and was now in the process of placing his Lin house robes over the top. Jumping to my feet I hurried to catch up to him. Quickly slinging my chainmail over my midsection and fastening the tighteners. It wouldn’t do much but it was better than nothing and wouldn’t drastically slow me down.

It only took three minutes before the division stood in the central field by the main house, a quick count off revealed there to be fifty four of us which made me frown. I probably knew less than fifteen of them by name.

Aurelia stood at the front of the unit. Her usual attire switched for a more lustrous set of robes that flashed blue and gold intermittently. On her head lay a diamond studded crown that showed off her rank as a member of the Lin family. “Ok listen up, the enemy has been sighted less than two miles from here so we can expect them at any moment. The goal is to make sure no hostiles enter any of the fenced off fields surrounding this farm. Due to the mana barriers that are in place it will take them several minutes to create a breach but know that if they do we can kiss all hope of payment goodbye”.

Murmurings spread out amongst the unit as the seriousness of the situation was put in front of them.

“Remember to stand by your allies” Aurelia continued. “I don’t care how many you kill or how many times you stop a breach, whatever we are paid will be split equally. However, if you leave your post without explicit orders from your squad commander I’ll kill you myself”. She paused briefly before shouting once again. “There are three fields that need to be protected, and fifty seven of us including Neo, Nodran and myself. Which means nineteen members for each field, your postings are on the wall behind me. No complaining and good luck”.

Indeed behind her, on the wall of the main house was a large poster which spilt the troops up into three squadrons and as I got closer I couldn’t help sneak a glance at Red who was staring pointedly in my direction. This could be the first time he would fight for his life that I wouldn’t be there, and though it hurt to know something could happen I trusted the crimson demon enough to keep himself safe.

When the crowd in front of the poster thinned I darted in, scoring a place where I could run my finger down the list of names that made up the group. I found myself quickly, right up the top of group one with Aurelia. Most of the names I didn’t know but Salaar, Truog, Harry and Clive where all posted there amongst the unknowns. “Keep him safe”, Truog huffed from behind me, upset that he would be separated from his brother. I didn’t bother answering, it was obvious I would do my best.

Quickly looking up Red’s position, I noticed him under Nodran’s command along with Safaar and Grace. It relieved me somewhat to see Safaar in his group, a familiar and strong face even if I didn’t know him personally.

Apparently I was taking too long as I was eventually pushed away from the poster by larger and heavier soldiers leaving me to make my way over to Aurelia who was calling us over.

“Ok”! Aurelia shouted when we had all gathered. Let’s move out, Aare you’re with me”. I was surprised at being called out, but as the small group of nineteen began to walk resolutely behind their captain, I jogged to the front so I could walk beside her. “I’m not going to play games with you Aare but our side is likely to see the most of the combat. The enemy was seen to the south and the road they are traveling on leads straight to the south eastern field which is where we’re going”.

I nodded, slightly surprised that the Lin family would post a family asset such as Aurelia at the crucial field without her bodyguards.

“The enemy consists of approximately two hundred entities, most of which are human but there are also a few lower demons mixed in. The leader however is a problem, apparently it’s an archdemon and a strong one at that”.  

“Which is why I’m here”. I guessed.

“Exactly, Herog said you were the only one who would definitely be up to the task, and after the tests I’m ready to believe him, it was a shame you didn’t attend the spars though, Neo thought we should have kept Safaar with me”.

“So the spars were to see who could fight back against the archdemon”?

“Of course they were”.  She replied amusedly. “Until I know this unit like the back of my hand each activity no matter how small will be a test”. She paused briefly before pulling out a piece of paper from her pockets. “Oh, this is courtesy of Grace, we set up a minefield earlier today with those runes of hers. She said you would know how to use them”.

The paper was crumpled but as I rolled it out I could faintly make out the features of a map. It showed the main house in the house on the top left of the page with the south eastern field in the middle and the row of trees that made up the encircling forest on the bottom right. “The red crosses indicate the explosive runes”. Aurelia added quickly causing me to chuckle to myself at the sheer number that littered the ground between the field and the trees.

“This will make quite a blast”, I warned. “Will our client mind his land being turned into a bunch of craters”?

“He doesn’t have a say”, she replied, “but we will lose a percentage of our pay for damages so do try to use them as a last resort, just know that I would rather a hole in the ground than a loss of life”.

“Of course”. I didn’t say anything more as just then, the largest of the three fields came into view. I hadn’t been to this particular field before as the working portion of our group had been station here to construct a new fence. However, this ‘fence’ could really only be described as a fortified wall. It was several metres high and made from a mixture of hardened logs and jagged stone. There was a single ladder which we were told to climb and as we reached the top we found a small hidden walkway that would allow us to both stand at the top and shoot and array of projectiles down at anyone underneath. “You’ve spent a lot of time and resources on this single wall. Wont the enemy just attack one of the others”? I remarked softly

“They very well could”. Aurelia agreed instantly. “Which is why we posted Safaar and Herog with the other two teams, as for the wall. We thought we had more time. These bastards just arrived a few days early”. The conversation all across the wall fell short as Aurelia split our team into groups of four, which she then sent to equally cover the perimeter. Being one short I was left with Truog and Harry, who looked visibly upset to be in what he said was “the weakest group”.

I ignored the bastard, but almost seriously contemplated throwing him off the wall when the battle started. “You ready Truog”? I asked as the giant fastened the straps that secured his gauntlets.

“Always” He replied jokingly. Looking as if he’d had been on the battlefield since the day he was born. Although in an instant his eyes where covered with steely resolve and he pointed towards the Teeline. “Here they come”.

There was complete silence for a few seconds before an ear splitting roar seemed to shake the world as an enormous bull-headed demon crashed through the tree line. Much like the Minotaur, the archdemon was a bipedal abomination with the upper half of a bull. Yet that was where the similarities ended, its lower half was that of a red skinned demon. With hoofs that left waves of purple fire wherever it stepped. Two bright red wings sat comfortably on its back, curled up now that they weren’t in use, but if spread would each be as tall as he was. Its eyes closely resembled the gateways to hell, each with a swirling iris of black and red light, and in its hands lay a glaive that was at least seven metres long, which alone should hint at how tall this being really was.

At its feet, (barely reaching its knees) were hundreds of human soldiers, mercenaries obviously judging by the mismatching weapons and armour. Although some were standing in small clumps holding large orange devices that looked vaguely similar to a battering ram. A few others ran in lines, holding wide and easily climbable ladders that would no doubt scale the wall if they got close.

“Holy shit, there are so many”! Cried Harry as he took up his sword and shield and getting closer to the edge. Before he was yanked back by the giant moments before a volley of arrows rained down on top of us.

I ducked behind the wall, allowing the arrows to pass over us before taking a peak over the top. There was a single road leading towards the field but besides that most of the ground was uneven and muddy from the snow, making it difficult for the men to carry their contraptions.

I stood to my full height, briefly creating a solid wall of mana between the enemy archers and myself. It wouldn’t last for long but it wouldn’t need to. I reached inside me, feeling the magic surge from my chest, along my arm and then out through the mana points dotted across my hand, and a small smile crossed my face as I let the magic sink into the ground beneath the enemy. Watching as the soil loosened and became saturated with melt water. Screams broke out amongst the enemy as the ground beneath them gave way to a bubbling mix of sludge, pulling them down into the depths. Many on the side simple waded to the side and pulling themselves out but those in the middle stood no chance as their heavy armour only sealed their fate. Bulling them beneath the surface where they would drown on muddy water.

Unfortunately it was only quick quagmire spell that would have little to no effect on some of the more demonic enemies, as right before my eyes the archdemon and a few dozen lesser demons (who appeared mostly humanoid except for a pair of wings and two long fangs that they bared as they hissed) launched themselves into the sky on leathery wings. Eyes wide with fury they dove towards our positions. Weapons swinging threateningly above their heads as they swirled around a whistling wave of razor sharp wind, launched from somewhere along the wall, no doubt Aurelia’s doing.

Thrusting my hands upwards caused the surrounding snow to gather into an icy blizzard and surge towards them. The first demon wasn’t quick enough and was resultantly torn to pieces as the icy shards passed straight through him unimpeded though the rest performed several impressive feats of acrobatics to move aside. The archdemon however didn’t bother. Instead he rose a single hand and the air around him ignited into an inferno. Melting my shards of ice upon contact. It didn’t completely nullify the spell however so with the last amount of control I had on the spell I forced the melting ice into spears of water that cut deep into the demons flanks.

A quick scream was the only confirmation I got that the spell had hit as my attention was dragged away by a flying humanoid demon it landed on the edge of the wall, eyes narrowed in anger and hissing incomprehensibly. **That one’s mine** came the voice in my head as a blue wispy form flew into the mind of the demon. Causing it to writhe in agony before launching itself at its brethren in what seemed to be righteous rage.

Next to me Truog stood resolutely before Harry, swinging his battle axe to cleave through a demon which then slumped bisected beside him.

“They’ve reached the wall”. Came Salaar’s shout from across the field. I didn’t have time to see his position but with a quick glance downwards showed me that what remained of the human were scaling their ladders to try and reach us.

“No you don’t”. I said easily, enclosing raw mana around their tiny forms. Without any natural magical resistance their fragile body’s simply caved in. Crunching horridly as their bones and internal organs where compressed into the size of a sugar cube. It wasn’t much of a victory, after fighting a celestial, mere humans were barely worth the effort.

The archdemon’s cry split the skies and I looked up to see his body completely healed and heading in my direction, glaive raised high and in the process of coming down. Sending mana down to augment my legs I leapt to the side, watching the landscape blur as I dodged past the glaives blade which was just as long as the wall was high.

There was a cracks as the piled up logs split down the middle causing the entire section of wall to rupture and fling both Truog and Harry, who hadn’t moved out of the way, into the air. I finished my leap in a roll, bringing me onto my feet and under the swinging claws of another hissing demon who had tried to finish me off. “Piss off” I said becoming frustrated with the distractions. Quicker than the demon could see me move I placed a single finger on its forehead before sending a sizeable amount of raw directionless mana straight through its brain, liquefying the contents.

The hissing demon had done its work however, and in the time it had taken to fall at my feet the archdemon’s glaive had been lined up for another swing. This time it thundered along the top of the wall, slicing through the barricades which had been saving us from arrow fire. The group that had been placed next to ours screamed as the blade cut straight through them, eviscerating their human bodies in an explosion of blood. I grimaced at the death of my allies but I didn’t have time to see who they were as I jumped off the side of the wall, falling to the ground. I landed gracefully, having reinforced my legs for the landing before swinging around to face the archdemon who had finished cleaving through our defences and was now once again fixated on me.

Around me stood several humans who ran after they noticed they were standing so close to something that had caused their masters ire, and for the first time I was left alone with the giant entity. I opened up with a wave a pure force, attempting to create some distance and hopefully some time to cast something big enough that the demon couldn’t shrug off, but the archdemon’s resistance allowed him to charge through before swinging his glaive in an arc that sliced through the ground as it came towards me.

I knelt to the ground, summoning a wall of magically hardened stone that erupted from the saturated soil, I waited for it to take the brunt of the archdemon’s attack, and sighed in relief when the stone splintered but held strong. I didn’t waste the moment, quickly disillusioning myself with a wave of my hand before leaping over the wall where the demon was desperately trying to yank out the glaive. The apex of my leap situated me within a meter of the demons bare chest, and the smell of burning brimstone filled my nostrils as I pulled the moisture out of the air to form a lance of water-made-ice. With a flick of my wrist the lance flew forward into the demon’s body, carving though its chest to create a body sized cavern all the way to the other side. A quick glance showed me the still beating heart which had been ruptured by the attack, and for a brief second I hoped the beast was dead. Instead the demon simply let go of its weapon before swatting me out of the air.

The mana veil covering my body took away the force of the attack but I was still throw somewhere close to twenty metres before I fell to the ground in a heap. A broken rib ached as I brought myself to my feet but with all my recent practice it took barely a second to reconnect the breakage. It amazed me at how much easier it was to heal your own body, as there wasn’t an independent mana source constantly fighting the intruder. I grinned when the archdemon fell to its knees before me, its wounds healing but after every second the effect becoming slower.

I drew back a hand, ready to launch another barrage of energy before holding myself back. I knew the demon had magical resistance, I had always known it would. Yet I still threw these spells which would inevitably turn out to have little to no effect. Was it because of my pride or inexperience? I remembered grace talking about magical resistance working like a set of plate armour. The larger the spell the more plates it would hit. So why did I always throw these overpowering spells. I frowned remembering what grace had said. “But like every suit of armour there are vulnerable areas. Small gaps that you can exploit if you pinpoint your magic…..just cover them with a blanket of mana, if you make it harmless they shouldn’t notice, and all you have to do it aim for the sections that don’t vanish and you’ve found the points within the plates”. I frowned, before releasing the majority of the the mana gathered in my hand before sending it forward much like a net.

Carefully, whilst attempting to hold the mana back from instinctively lashing out, I manoeuvred the net around the wounded demon. eyeing where the mana vanished, negated by the resistance, and where it settled, safely in the gaps.

Done.

I watched intrigued as my mana lit up the archdemon’s weak points, showing the gaps between his natural armour. It was easy from there, much like attacking a human I felt my mana surge forward. Unstoppable as it crashed through the gaps in the demons skin to surge along the demons pathways to evenly distribute itself amongst the body. The practice manipulating runic structures made dodging the demons own efforts to mentally expel look ludicrously easy, and as I felt my mana fully encircle the demon I attacked. Separating the water molecules insides the demons body and calming them down. Essentially flash freezing the dry husk of the former archdemon.

I turned back to the wall as the archdemon crumbled behind me, watching as my comrades fought off the last of the demonic/human force. It wouldn't take much to finish this. I broke out into a sprint, rushing back to my team just as Truog decapitated the last human soldier attacking their position. With a brief nod the two of us turned as one, rushing along the wall to support our allies. Harry, as annoying as he was followed two steps behind, sword slick with demonic blood.

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The villagers of the hamlet watched as the sky above the nearby farm lit up in spell fire. Dark red and yellow lights flew through the air in time with cries of pain, terrible screeches and panicked shouts. The sounds all echoed together, augmented by their own silence. Subsequently the mood was dark and most refused to leave their buildings bar from a brave few who watched from the courtyard in front of the church.

However as the battle reached its climax the churches central spire lit up, shining in a myriad of bright colours showing that even the gods were giving their attention and with a final gasp from the people a Black skinned figure, complete with golden eyes, a stunning spiked halo and wings formed from pure holy light, appeared in a booming flash that temporarily blinding the people in the square. Instantly all eyes were on the celestial who drifted slowly from the building roof to gently land on the cobbled ground without a single sound. For a brief second the divine being glanced towards the site of the battle and a cruel smile spread upon his lips, perhaps he would join in. But only after he had finished what he came for.

“Greetings mortals, my name is No’med, chosen celestial of the god of space. I come before you today to look for a particular demon child”. His voice boomed, confident, commanding and most of all unforgiving. “Tell me where he is and I will be on my way, but do not bother to lie, there is a strong scent of his magic so I know he has been here recently”. His golden eyes panned through the group until he noticed several looks of recognition.

One man in the group spoke up. “There are two of them here”. His voice was harsh, as he indicated two young incubi standing alone in the crowd. “We always knew they were trouble”.

No’med grinned as he walked towards them, he loved it when they shook in fear and the one with white hair was certainly doing so. The other, who looked almost identical, bar his black hair stood firmly in front of the other. “Leave us alone, we’ve done nothing wrong”! The child was backing away, simultaneously pushing the white haired boy behind him. Most likely the child could see the hatred in his eyes and tell that he wasn’t there for a good reason.

It wasn’t immediately recognisable but as No’med stepped closer to the child he could tell it wasn’t Aare. The magic, while having a distinctly similar feel, was nowhere near as strong or apparent. Instead it just felt as though Aare was inside him. Just before the child turned to run No’med’s arm snaked out to grab the child around the neck. “You’re not Aare”? The celestial growled, “But you do smell like him”. The child screamed but by the widening of the eyes he knew who Aare was, and perhaps where he was.

The child opened his mouth to say something but the celestial didn’t listen. Instead he honed in on Aare’s scent, ripping open the child’s chest to find a magically reconstructed breathing apparatus connected to the right lung. He tuned out the child’s screams and his brothers yells of indignation, and turned back to the crowd who were looking on in justifiable terror. “The one I’m looking for has healed this child”. He said simply. “Tell me where he is or I kill the lot of you”.

“He was with the mercenaries”! Came a sudden cry. He’ll be a part of the battle. The young man who had spoken was pointing towards the spell fire lit skies.

“You coward”! Yelled the wounded child in Nomed’s hand cutting off any reply he might have had. “He helped you all”!

“He brought the gods wrath to us”. Was the frantic reply, spit flying from the man’s mouth in terror. A site which caused the Celestial to laugh, it would seem the bravest person here was the demon child.

“Much appreciated”. Came the celestial’s low reply as he turned to leave, done with the hamlet for now.  

“Leave Aare alone”! Yelled the child in his hand as a set of teeth bit into his thumb. It didn’t hurt, No’med had been introduced to far worse pain over the years but the act of defiance still riled him up.

“Learn your place child” No’med spat as he flung the child into the church wall, there was a crack as the child’s head impacted with the wall before he fell to the ground lifelessly.

He didn’t know if it was unconscious or dead, nor did he care about the white haired child who ran to his side in a new bout of tears. All he did was allow his wings of light to fully extend before taking off into the sky, at long last ready to confront the child which had caused him so much suffering in recent times.

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Thanks for reading and sorry to leave it on a bit of a cliff hanger.... especially considering my update schedule its a bit cruel.

Would be great if you post something down the bottom if you see any mistakes, or just to tell me if you liked it or not.

Thanks.