[Human slain. +745 Power.]

The notification should bother me, but I don’t feel anything. It’s not even numbness… it’s like it doesn’t matter. I want to feel happy. I removed someone evil from the world. A callous enabler to unspeakable horrors can no longer threaten anyone.

Rav’s still gone.

I buried him. Dean’s horrible screaming didn’t phase me, nor the sounds coming from the corpse that he continued to destroy long after the body was incapable of supporting life. I didn’t look after him when he ran away. I couldn’t be there for him… I can’t even be there for myself. Somewhere along the line, Lauren had started helping with the grave. More hands appeared, but even so much assistance couldn’t lessen the weight of the task. Everyone that knew and loved the man was there to help lower him into the ground.

It made things hurt even worse.

I was able to ignore Nate’s burial. What did I care for him? An asshole and a monster, good riddance. But Rav was important. He wasn’t… done, yet. He was going to teach me magic, help me recover my abilities as a mage, and be there with me when we got to the tower at the end of all this, and killed the mother fucker who brought us here. He had so much left to do.

Things that I need to do alone.

Arms around me, squeezing. “It’ll be ok. I swear it will.” Lauren. I don’t believe her. I struggle a bit, and she releases me and starts to pull away, understanding, but I pull her back into a more equal hug. The feeling of another human- no, a close friend- being so close, caring about me… my exterior stoicism cracks.

I weep for the man who was the best of us all.

---

People talk. The mood slowly starts to change from one of deep pain, to one of remembrance. It’s better. We have the time to mourn for now, but we can only spend so long idle. This attack marks the beginning of an onslaught; our protective illusion has been disrupted, and the only person who could possibly have fixed it is now dead. Our greatest defense is down, and the next pack of Carnine that pass by our cave will likely spell our defeat. The endgame is approaching, and we aren’t ready. Not yet.

“Everyone.” The remnants of our ragtag group turn to me. “I know I’m not really in charge here, but I’m going to talk like I am anyway… because we’re very nearly fucked.” I look up and address them. Fear lingers in the gazes of a few, but the majority look incensed. Ready. “We have a time limit now. Without the illusion, we will need to maintain a guard sufficient to take down an entire pack of Carnines before they can escape, at all times. If even one manages to find this place and get away, we have strong reason to believe that their entire army will be headed this way. When that happens, because it will happen, we need to be ready to fight, day and night, until we win. Until they’re all dead. We’ll divide into three watch cycles. I will be with Lynn and Lauren. Marie, with Amy and Samuel. Lorian will be with Seth and Tom. Tom, we need weapons. How is the woodworking progressing?” Lorian, Seth, and Amy aren’t around right now, but they’ll be filled in when they get back.

“Ah, we successfully crafted bows for Lynn and Amy from the monster. They’re really quite remarkable, actually. We’ve turned the remnants into arrows.”

“Great. I need you to provide everyone who doesn’t have a strong weapon with the best you can make. Take whatever is left after that and start creating armor.”

“I’ll do what I can, Anthony.”

“Marie, how are we on wood supply?”

“Mmm... have enough to continue working for a few days at least, though I would love for someone to go get some more of that wooden monster. I bet their bodies would make amazing shielding, even without the system adding bonuses.”

“We’ll have to be careful with our excursions now that we’ve been exposed, but that should be possible.”

“Are… you sure I need to fight? I mean, I won’t refuse, but…”

I look her in the eye, a grim expression on my face. “Anything you can do would help. If you don’t want to fight directly, maybe you can spend your time on watch building pitfall traps around this valley. Mark them in some way so we don’t accidentally trigger them, if you choose to do that.”

She nods solemnly.

“Samuel, I know we just met, but are you alright following orders and sticking it out with us?”

He looks over sharply, as though surprised he’s being addressed. “Ah, yes, well I do believe I made a deal with… Dean and Rav. Neither of them are here anymore, but I have yet to receive my compensation. I believe I will ‘stick it out’, as you say, at least until then. But… it would be unjust to leave those in need ‘to the dogs’, so yes, you may count on me. I do not know how much use I will be on guard without a sword, and some training on how to use it, but I can prevent any assault from getting into our home.”

I nod, smiling slightly. “Great to hear. Everyone else, you are to make the most efficient use of your time possible. When on guard, take turns training. When off duty, train more intensely with Zathis, help gather materials or allies on excursions, and take the time to sleep. We will handle the night attacks with the minimum people we can, taking those who would be training and giving them live target practice. Everyone clear?”

A chorus of nods.

“Nominate a group leader for each of your three groups. Trade members if both teams feel it’s a better balance. Decide internally how to structure your time. My squad will take guard duty during the night. Feel free to address me with any questions.”

A moment of silence passes before everyone breaks into motion.

----

Dean could feel his blood boiling in his skin. It hurt. It always hurt. But… he didn’t mind the pain. Something about what he had done, what he had agreed to, had changed him. He didn’t feel emotional pain anymore, just physical. In fact, he was pretty sure he felt emotional pain as physical instead, and the relief was immense. To make matters better, the pain made him stronger.

The only trouble was that he wasn’t quite in control of his emotions anymore. He no longer disliked feeling anything, and sorrow was completely gone, but things like rage? It felt almost too good. He had barely maintained the presence of mind to run off after physically taking the bandit apart. He was worried he would have kept attacking… hurt the others… if he had stayed.

Not that he particularly minded the idea, but they were useful. They didn’t deserve that kind of treatment. So, he had imposed exile on himself until he figured out how to control his newfound status as a [Lesser Demon].

In the height of his torment, while he lay on the ground, regretting putting his friends in danger with his arrogance… when he had watched Rav die… a notification had appeared. It had been different from the others. It promised him a massive increase to his Primary Skills, all combat Secondary skills, quicker skill leveling, Power, and access to a host of very strong Secondary Skills that he would eventually acquire. It had also taken his path, ‘The Path of Berserker’, and turned it into ‘The Path of the Demon’. He had experimentally put some Trait points into it, and every point rewarded him with some Health and Stamina, every other point gave him Strength, Endurance, Toughness, or Dexterity, and every five… advanced his status. A second horn had emerged when he hit the five mark. It hadn’t been a pleasant experience the first time, and the second was no different, but he found the difference to his balance to be only slightly inconvenient. The next five had darkened his skin considerably, making it almost ashen. He was curious to see what other interesting effects would happen over this fifty point path. But, for that he needed to level skills, and without any bandits to train on…

He supposed he’d go see what the monster camp was up to.