Several hours had passed when Banran’s eyes flickered somnolently open. The wagon was wobbling, and he could hear the nervous neighs of the horses. Something had spooked them in the front, and it was now scuffling by the back door.

“Thieves?” He hissed softly and stood up sluggishly in the darkness while searching under the seat for his magic rifle. Grabbing ahold of it, he lifted it in position and stalked carefully to the door. It wasn’t unheard of for bold adventurers traveling through the night to steal goods from camping traders. But, this didn’t sound like a person.

The scuffling suddenly stopped. Hearing the thuds of a large creature heading toward the tent, Banran inhaled sharply, whipped the door open, and jumped out, ready to fire. In the dimness of the early morning, he spied a large, black silhouette grappling with the protective spells that had activated around the tent. The magic stakes emitted a cobalt light when triggered. Once Banran’s eyes adjusted to their brightness, the sight of the figure nearly made Banran shriek in alarm. It was a reptilian jaguar with amber irises and blood red pupils, and forearms that extended into leathery wings. The enraged beast demon was assaulting the magic barrier with astounding force. At the pace it was going, he deduced he had only a minute to stop it before the spell shattered.

Taking a shaky breath, Banran swallowed hard as he centered his rifle on the beast. He turned the weapon’s knob to the fifth gear, the highest magic setting. Usually, only the lowest gear was needed to quell most animals and lowly demons. But with this creature, he had a hunch that merely injuring it wouldn’t suffice. If he didn’t kill it in one powerful shot while it was oblivious to his presence, then he would be risking his life firing several less powerful shots once it did notice him.

Steadying his resolve, he braced himself for the recoil and let the magic bullet fly. It hurtled toward the demon in a beam of copper light and hit it squarely in the side. The monster yowled in pain and dropped away from the tent. The nearby sound of the bullet and injured monster jolted Essairyn awake. She looked bewilderedly around in the dim light before realizing that Chona and Akari had also started awake. Gerran tossed fitfully in the covers but stayed asleep.

“What is that?” Essairyn whispered edgily, listening to the sound of a creature fumbling outside.

“I-I don’t know.” Chona stammered anxiously as she groped above the pillows for the lamp.

Akari stood up apprehensively and flattened her ears against her head. “There’s a beast demon outside.” Now awake, the stench of a demon more dangerous than an erhinde filled her nostrils.

Essairyn’s breath hitched at Akari’s words. Carefully, she got up from the covers and crept toward the front of the tent. The thrashing and growling of the creature nearby grew in volume.

Outside, the jaguar beast writhed tormentedly on the ground. It turned toward Banran with a crazed look in its amber eyes that were slowly turning more red. Even as it struggled to get up, the demon’s eyes were furiously fixed on him, making his skin prickle with dread.

With trembling arms, Banran lifted the rifle to shoot again, but the barrel clicked emptily. It had been a long time since he last reloaded as he uncommonly used it. Terror rose in his gut, and his eyes shot back to the beast which was now on its feet. Smoky black tendrils gushed out of its wound and covered its body, seeming to make it larger. Dead silence filled the space as the beast stared wildly at the petrified man.

The sudden silence made Essairyn pause by the exit. Wary, she closed her hand in a loose fist, letting magic flow into her palm. A sharp snarl followed by a terrified cry snapped her out of cautiousness, and she flipped the tent flap open. The lamp clinked behind her as Chona lit the wick.

With the light illuminating behind her, Essairyn’s eyes swiftly sharpened. A demonic, reptilian jaguar was careening toward Banran while he rushed toward the open wagon door. Black smoke trailed in the beast demon’s wake. Just as his right leg crossed the threshold of the entrance, the jaguar had swiftly crossed the distance from the tent to the wagon. Flaring out the wings on its forearms for turning stability, the jaguar clouted the man with claws on its right foreleg.

“Banran!!” Chona shrieked in terror as she saw her husband slump to the ground. At his mother’s scream, Gerran jolted awake and looked with shocked eyes at his mother’s devastated face. His head jerked from his mother to Essairyn as she dashed out from the tent. At the sight of the jaguar beast perched on a side of the wagon, he skidded backwards in horror and entangled himself in the covers.

The jaguar’s cochineal eyes snapped toward the incoming girl. It had picked up a particular scent on her and snarled viciously as she drew near. The beast scrunched its muscles and lurched at Essairyn from the wagon. The wood splintered into gaping holes where its claws had embedded into the wall.

In the background, Essairyn could hear Chona’s shrill cries calling for her to come back, but she stared defiantly at the airborne demon. Gritting her teeth in anger, she hoisted her hand into the air and released the spinning magic ball that she had built on the way. The deep lavender light knotted into the beast’s underbelly, and the impact sent the demon spiraling away from her to the left.

Essairyn huffed in stimulation as magic suffused her body. She took a deep breath and walked calmly over to the fallen demon while forming a magic weapon in her hand. The stunned beast laid motionlessly on the ground, but as soon as she began approaching, it bolted up in alarm and scrambled to its feet. The jaguar growled menacingly and flicked its eyes from her to the wagon to the tent. Noticing a small fox in the corner of the tent entrance, its red eyes lit up in recognition.

Essairyn’s eyes widened as it darted toward the tent. Chona and Gerran screeched in fright and clambered away from the entrance. Akari tensed, ready to bolt. These damn demons just won’t let me go! She hated her powerlessness. And a prick of guilt slipped into her heart. Just as she was beginning to feel that Essairyn was opening up to her, Akari had put her in danger once again. The fox could only helplessly watch as the girl raced after the beast demon.

In Essairyn’s right hand, the magic weapon swiftly took on the shape of a spear. With her left hand, she quickly cast a barrier in front of the beast. It crashed into the barrier, making it shatter into shards of light. But it was enough to slow down the demon for the one second Essairyn needed to pinpoint it.

Hurling the spear into its upper back, she impaled the demon to the ground. It howled in agony, and its skin sizzled around the spear wound. Essairyn tromped over, a magic sword in hand. After her repeated practice forming weapons in the Spirit and Demon Forest, she hardly needed to think before the sword came into shape now.

Without any hesitation, she hacked the beast across its back, just below the spear. The thick flesh put up some resistance, but the sword severed the beast cleanly into two. The edges of the halves began dissipating along the split, and a low growl echoed in the air as the demon dematerialized. Only the spear remained lodged in the ground.

As soon as the demon vanished, Essairyn retrieved her spear, spun on her heel, and raced to Banran by the wagon. Seeing that the danger was over, Chona scrambled to her feet and rushed over to them. Gerran remained seated in the tent, sobbing with small fists covering his eyes. Akari looked on mournfully and placed a consoling paw on the boy’s knee.

“Banran!” Chona hysterically screamed as she tumbled to her husband’s side. The man weakly opened his eyes and grunted in pain as he tried to sit. The jaguar’s claws had lacerated him across his chest and down his stomach.

“Stop.” Essairyn commanded. “Don’t move.”

Banran flicked his eyes hazily toward the girl on his other side. “T-The beast demon, I-I couldn’t—”

Essairyn stopped him short by putting a hand on his wound, making him flinch. “Just keep lying down. I’m going to try to heal you.” Since Akari had mentioned that magic could heal others, then Essairyn was optimistic that she could will it to happen. Just like cutting trees and compressing wood, she believed she could imagine the healing process too.

Taking a deep breath, she shook aside any concerns and looked at the wounds resolutely. Easing her mind, she retracted the magic in her spear and laid her hands on the injured man. Then, Essairyn let her magic flow gently into the gashes and imagined the tissue closing up and the bones fortifying. The magic glowed in response, and Banran let out a gasp as particles of lavender light sunk into his flesh. They began reforming and reattaching tissue and bone, and Essairyn smiled in success.

Meanwhile, Chona looked at the girl with riveted eyes. She couldn’t believe what she had just witnessed. Not only were they unexpectedly attacked by a strong beast demon in the middle of the night not far from town, but the stray girl they had picked up wielded magic and single-handedly defeated the aforementioned beast demon, and now, was healing her husband.

Chona was both terrified and transfixed. She glanced over at Akari who was with her boy, wondering if the girl’s magic had attracted the fox spirit, and that was how they met on the cliff. At least, considering how Essairyn’s magic seemingly burned the demonic reptilian jaguar, her magic likely did not attract demons.

On the other hand, it was common knowledge that spirits and demons disliked one another. Except for in the Spirit and Demon Forest, the two species lived in separate habitations and often clashed with one another when meeting. So, it was possible that the stray demon was lured by Akari’s presence or had a feud with her. This meant that the whole ordeal could’ve been caused by her. Chona returned her gaze to Essairyn. Even if that was the case, Chona’s intuition indicated that she could trust the girl, regardless of her relationship with the fox spirit.

“I’ll go get some healing potions. They aren’t potent enough to heal this kind of injury but…they might still be helpful.”

Essairyn nodded as Chona left to fetch the potions inside the wagon. As more of her magic flowed into Banran, a faint ache began throbbing in her center. She furrowed her eyebrows in distress but continued healing him. The magic seemed to be pouring out of her as if his body was siphoning all of her magical energy. She was being depleted fast, and Essairyn wasn’t sure if she could maintain it for long. Her arms were growing weak, and her body, heavy. But the wounds were rapidly healing, and she was determined to finish.

Just as Essairyn’s vision was becoming hazy, Chona returned with the healing potions. Seeing the girl’s strained state, Chona rushed over, knocked her away from Banran, and caught Essairyn in her lap.

“Essairyn! Essairyn!” She called frantically as she held the blankly blinking girl. “You overdid yourself! Are you okay?” She gently scolded with a worried face.

Essairyn squeezed her eyes shut and held her pounding head. “Thanks,” she murmured. “I guess I overestimated myself.” She grinned apologetically at Chona.

“Here,” Chona ordered, holding a bottle of green potion up, “Take this.” She flashed her eyes toward Banran getting up slowly. “It looks like you’re the only one who needs this now.”

Essairyn gave a short, light chuckle. “Looks that way.” She took the bottle lightly in her fingers and slowly drank the potion. A warming and cooling sensation spread throughout her body, and she instantly felt the tension subside. “Wow,” Essairyn exclaimed, looking at the empty glass bottle. “That was kind of cool.”

Chona chortled. “Hardly. I’d say what you did just now was ‘cool’. I couldn’t be more surprised and grateful to you for saving my husband’s life.” She bowed her head in gratitude while grasping the girl’s hands fervently.

“However…” She looked at Essairyn seriously. “You have a lot of explaining to do, young lady. I thought you just arrived today, or rather, yesterday now. So how can you know how to heal someone already? Although, the method did seem rather unorthodox.”

Essairyn laughed nervously. “Well, it was my first time actually. I wasn’t sure if it’ll work, but I’m glad it did.”

Hearing the scurries of small feet approaching them, she turned around and saw Gerran and Akari running toward them. More specifically, she saw Akari’s furious expression as she glared at her. Before Essairyn could say a single word, the fox harshly admonished her.

“You did a crazy thing trying to heal someone else for the first time! You could’ve died you know! Do you even value your life you foolish girl?!”

Essairyn chuckled weakly. “Is healing another person dangerous?”

“Not unless you’re a healer which you clearly aren’t.”

“But I healed him!” Essairyn protested.

“In the most unconventional way!” Akari countered. “You mended his tissue and bone by creating new tissue and bone! You’re supposed to amplify his magic with your own magic so he heals himself!”

“I thought you said some humans can’t use magic! How can they heal themselves?!”

“It’s the natural healing process, you idiot! You strengthen their little magic cells and send them on their merry way to the wound site!”

“What kind of explanation is that?!”

The Andelrins burst into laughter at the girl and fox’s squabbling, and the two looked curiously at the family.

“You guys are so funny!” Gerran giggled, looking quite a wreck with his tear-stained eyes and runny nose. “I was so scared, Mommy and Daddy, but Akari helped me here, and…” His round eyes watered up again. “Thank you for saving my Daddy, Miss Essairyn.”

A ball of emotion choked Essairyn’s throat hearing the little boy’s heartfelt thanks, so she could only nod in response. At his son’s words, Banran also expressed his gratitude and thumped his chest.

“I feel like new right here. I couldn’t have made it without you. But it’s true. That’s not the proper way to heal someone as it can potentially backfire on the healer while also causing them more stress and magic loss. I do appreciate what you’ve done, but I would never ask you to also put yourself at harm while saving me… I guess you must be somewhat new to this world if you don’t even know how to heal someone correctly?”

Essairyn sighed, knowing she could no longer continue her ruse after exposing her cards. “Yes, I arrived four days ago in the Spirit and Demon Forest from Earth. It wasn’t easy surviving there, but luckily, I learned quickly and discovered I could do magic. But living there is out of the question, so I came down the cliffs and met you guys while heading to the nearest human town.”

Chona slowly nodded in understanding and replied thoughtfully, “People appearing from Earth is a common occurrence, so that’s not surprising as I had assumed that was where you came from anyway. But thinking about it now… you have rain magic, don’t you? It took me a moment, but I recall seeing that light purple color from the rain elementals in As’rien.”

“Yes, I learned I have rain magic from the faely– spirits in the forest.”

Chona chuckled hearing the girl’s slip up and reassured her. “You don’t have to hide it, Essairyn. So you befriended the fae folk in the Spirit and Demon Forest? Somehow, I’m not even surprised.”

Banran agreed, adding, “I hope you feel comfortable with us Essairyn. You’re still new to this world and had a shocking experience in the forest, so I understand why you were so cautious in hiding your power and story from us. And many in this world, humans alike, would try to cheat you because of your lack of knowledge. Honestly…” He scratched his head sheepishly. “I might have done the same as a merchant myself. Although, seeing your tremendous abilities, I would’ve thought twice for fear of retribution later when you learned, haha!”

Chona lightly smacked Banran’s back, interrupting his hearty laughter which also made Essairyn chuckle along.

“I’m sorry, Essairyn. He’s only joking…” Chona looked at the girl compunctiously. “I do hope you don’t think too poorly of us.”

“No, no, not at all.” Essairyn waved her hands. “Rather, you’ve already shown me plenty of kindness while knowing I was new, so I’m grateful for that.”

Chona sighed. “Well, if there is anything that we can do for you, please let us know. Though, I don’t believe we could ever repay you enough for saving Banran.”

“We’ll try,” said Banran before looking pensively at the exposed interior of the wagon. “However, it’ll take more time getting to Reisparte in this shape.”

“Oh, I might be able to help you fix that actually,” offered Essairyn.

“You can?” Banran exclaimed, then shook his head. “But not now. You’ve done enough for the night, so rest up instead.”

“Yes, it’s late, so we should try to get some more sleep.” Chona interjected. “Thankfully, the spells are still functional and weren’t also broken by the beast demon. So hopefully, we’ll get no more demons before morning, but we’ll know just in case we do.”

And with that, the weary crew headed back to their beds, and the night passed with no further incidents. After a quick breakfast, Banran and Essairyn reassessed the damage in the morning light.

“Are you sure you can fix this? I don’t mean to be rude after what you demonstrated last night, but this is hy’lkron, one of the most durable woods in all of Sol’h’meyr. It’s three times stronger than iron but much lighter, so that makes it one of the best materials for wagons and buildings. It’s a wonder that beast demon could tear through it so easily…” Banran frowned at the four large holes surrounding a wide dent in the wagon. He had invested a considerable amount to order it from a magical crafter under the well-respected Artisan’s Guild affiliated with the Knight Mage Academy. “But since I couldn’t even kill it with a fifth gear shot, it must have been a third class demon. So, perhaps it’s not surprising after all…”

“A third class demon?” Essairyn repeated curiously.

Before Banran could answer, Akari had trotted over with Chona and Gerran on her heels. The little boy stuck out his hands, presenting Essairyn with two burnished, midnight black scales, and a finger length, ecru tooth.

“They’re from the beast demon,” Akari explained as Essairyn took the items. “Since it rampaged, it left these items in the grass after it disappeared. And yes, it was a third class demon.”

The fox’s words confirmed Essairyn’s speculations about rampaging demons disappearing upon death. But she wasn’t familiar with demon classes, so Akari explained after Essairyn questioned it while storing the monster drops in her magic cache.

“Spirits and demons fall into five classes or tiers. And at the third, they can reincarnate, so their bodies break down into pure magic in order to be reborn later. Lower tiers don’t have souls strong enough to manipulate their bodies like that, but they can still rampage and will lose their bodies when killed.”

Disconcerted, Essairyn asked, “So then, does that mean that demon will go after us after it reincarnates?”

Akari raised her eyebrow tufts at the girl’s concern and laughed. “No, don’t worry. It takes a long time to reincarnate. You’ll probably all be dead by the time it does. Besides, while I don’t know what life it was on, third tiers can’t reincarnate that many times.”

“Then what about you?” The question slipped from Essairyn before she could realize the implications behind it. “Sorry, I don’t mean to––”

“It’s okay,” said Akari with a small smile. She understood that Essairyn was concerned about revealing her complicated, dark past with demons to the Andelrins. “It’s probably right for me to tell you since I’ve been putting you all in danger because of it. I’m sure that question must have been on your mind with me being a spirit. After all, it’s not unusual for our two species to fight one another and assert our power instead of greeting like respectable people or simply ignoring.” She smiled ruefully and paused, sorting her mind before speaking again.

“The reason why my name sounded familiar to you Banran when we first met is because I’m that same Akari that terrorized demon villages long ago. While I’m not sure how ‘long ago’ that is now––”

“Three thousand years…” Chona muttered in shock upon realizing who Akari was.

“––So, three millennia ago. Wow, that’s a much longer sleep than I had thought. No wonder the world has changed so much…” The fox furrowed her tufts in reflection. “Well, even after all that time, my enemies, mostly demons, still hate me since I got attacked as soon as I reincarnated, not long after Essairyn arrived in this world, actually. I woke up in the worst of places, the Spirit and Demon Forest. Though, I suppose it could be worse in a demon settlement, haha!”

Seeing the cute little fox laughing, Banran and Chona found it hard to believe that this was the same spirit god whose destructive actions had made news and history even among the humans. But knowing that newly reincarnated spirits and demons were weak at first, it wasn’t unimaginable.

“Hmm…” Banran considered Akari’s confession, understanding that she was in fact the cause of last night’s scare. He also was hesitant to ask Essairyn how much of this she already knew. But, it was clear from her immediate reaction and selflessness that Essairyn hadn’t anticipated the demon’s attack and extorted them for repayment in saving him.

However, one detail did bug him. Little was known about how the spirits and demons got along in that mysterious forest, but it was the closest demon habitation. Thus, Banran asked, “While I’m not happy hearing that last night could have been avoided if you were not with us…did the demons follow you out of the Spirit and Demon Forest?”

Akari and Essairyn looked at one another simultaneously. Answering for them, Akari replied assuredly, “No, I’m almost positive they did not. So I’m equally surprised why and how they found me, especially this close to a human town.”

“However…”

Everyone looked at Essairyn. She recalled the demon teleportation portal she had unintentionally broken, wondering if it was more than just Akari causing the demon disturbances.

“I might have triggered something when saving Akari one time.” She turned to the fox with a grave expression. “Is it possible for a demon to know if another demon died?”

Akari inclined her head, not following Essairyn’s train of thought until it suddenly dawned on her as the memory of the demon portal came to mind. Gasping, her face darkened. “You don’t mean… When the demons found out that I reincarnated, they immediately organized a mission to take me out?” She stamped her paw angrily on the ground. “Since it was the Spirit-Demon forest, news travels fast. No wonder that patronizing demon mocked me, saying they were chasing me down! I thought he just meant the demon race collectively and not an organized operation!”

“That is rather troubling indeed…” Chona murmured with a hand over her mouth. “So what are you two going to do? If this is not a typical case of demons and spirits hating one another, then I think going to Reisparte will be safer. But it’ll be better if you go as far away as possible. Also…” She narrowed her eyes, giving Essairyn a solemn frown.

“I don’t recommend you traveling with this spirit. Before this talk, I thought it should be fine since no demons other than lowly phantoms go near human civilizations. And while I don’t know how you two came to be together, this situation is really dangerous, even for a mage of your caliber. You might be able to handle a mid-tier demon, but can you deal with several of them attacking you in the night? Or a demon god? No offense Akari, but you’re rather infamous, so it’s not inconceivable.”

The spirit fox shook her head. “Actually, I take that as a compliment.”

Chona sighed. “I suppose you would. But I say this with the best intentions for you, Essairyn. You haven’t…” The woman’s eyes trembled vaguely. “…signed any contract with her, have you?”

Essairyn immediately quirked her head, giving Chona the answer.

“I see you haven’t… That’s good. Contracts with spirits and demons don’t usually turn out well, after all.”

“This is the first time I’ve heard about contracts, so thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.” Essairyn cast a quick glance in Akari’s direction. Rather than a contract, all she wanted was to get out of those woods. But since she’s been following me, was she planning to offer me one eventually? Maybe when she got stronger? The girl inwardly frowned.

It didn’t take much for Akari to know what Essairyn might be thinking right now. As usual, humans put their guard up against spirits and demons. And with her infamy, Akari presumed it wouldn’t be long until Essairyn requested they split despite them getting along rather well so far.

“What tier are you, Akari?”

“At my peak, I was fifth tier, the level of top spirit and demon gods. That was when, err, I was destroying demon villages. But I started out as a second tier, like most other spirit animals, so that makes me a latyml, a minor god only.”

Essairyn hummed in acknowledgement. So Akari is actually pretty strong, huh? I can see why reincarnation really hurts for gods. But, it also seems like they use their multiple lives to get stronger too.

“Again, further reinstating why you should consider…parting ways.” Chona looked apprehensively at Akari, but the fox didn’t get upset.

Sighing, Akari peered up at Essairyn impassively. “So, what it’ll be? It’s true I followed you because I thought it’ll be safer until I get stronger. And I won’t lie, because you were new to this world, I figured you might be open to it and the knowledge I can give you. But I’d understand if you never want to see me again.”

Although, it was due to the current circumstances that Akari was being so forthcoming, Essairyn was nonetheless surprised. Pausing, the girl asked herself what she wanted. Battling demons frighted her, but she couldn’t lie to herself and admit that she didn’t enjoy fighting them. But I don’t want to put my life on the line for it. At least until I learn more about the world and magic and grow stronger, I’m not confident. But… She glanced at Akari waiting patiently for her response. I also can’t lie that I like Akari. She may be arrogant and nosy at times, but I genuinely have fun with her. And truthfully, it’s not like I’ve been honest with her either… I also can’t expect someone to tell me everything about them, especially when we just met. So then…

Essairyn knew what her ultimate decision was. She was logical and would always weigh the pros and cons of everything. If possible, she’d plan everything ahead of time, even if she didn’t end up following it. But no matter how rational she was, how rational she forced herself to be, her heart always won over her head in the end.

“Thank you for the advice, but I think I’ll take my chances on her.”

The girl’s sanguine countenance put Chona’s mind at ease. Even if the two involved didn’t realize it themselves, they had already started to form a bond which was apparent to others. This was Chona’s way of testing the strength of that relationship. She knew as long as mutual understanding and effort existed between them, she firmly believed that they could make the partnership, no, friendship work despite any future obstacles awaiting them.

For Akari, Essairyn’s reply was a pleasant shocker. And soon after, the fox could no longer look at the girl with a straight face. So, she turned and briskly walked away, hiding the joyous grin that blushed across her face.

Glimpsing a little of Akari’s expression as she scampered away, Banran chuckled. “While we were indeed worried for you, the story told to us is not always the whole truth. I think there’s more to Akari than the terror that we hear about. Still, do be careful, miss. And let’s try fixing this old buddy up.” He slapped the wagon. “If that doesn’t work out, some tarpaulin should hold us together until we arrive in Reisparte.”

“All right.” Essairyn cheerfully replied, and she began reaffixing the splintered wood back together with their help.

Several minutes later, the wagon was repaired, and they set off on the roads once more, conversing along the way.