“Okay,” Christoph said with a grin. “You’ll take us to the king, as promised?”

“Of course.” Robert’s response was accompanied by no small amount of grumbling, his beard flicking over the handle of his gleaming halberd. “The corpse is yours as well, but we keep the head. Also… Edward! You owe me a tankard.”

“Of course,” Christoph replied. The small exchange was reminiscent of the Merry Brothers from Manitas, and he spared a second to wonder what had become of their store. Despite his differences with the siblings, they had grown on him over time. Hopefully, they had not been killed in the turmoil of the plains. “What are you going to use the head for, if I may?”

“Want to make a wager?” Edward said. He still had a chance to recoup his losses. “If you can guess-”

“Nope,” Christoph replied. “I prefer to be on the other side of the guessing games, thank you very much.”

Leading the unicorn towards the dwarvish barricade, he had asked them to let him keep the corpse. Although they had refused at first, he had drawn them in with a wager and the assurance that they could keep the head of the beast. Unicorn horns were apparently well valued as crafting materials in the dwarven kingdom.

“Aye,” Robert said. “In the end, we couldn’t guess what you wanted the carcass for. Not money, nor crafting, nor collection, study, sculpting. As promised, you keep the body, and we take you to the King.”

“Why thank you,” Christoph replied with a bow. “As a token of my gratitude, I’ll show you why I wanted it.”

“Eh?” Emilia’s ear twitched at her companion’s words. “That isn’t a good idea, you know? You should wait until later.”

“I’d usually save it, but not this time,” Christoph said, crouching down next to the unicorn’s headless corpse. It would be good to have reserve food, but honoring his bet came first. “I can’t risk accidentally using it for anything the good gentlemen named in their guesses, so it’s better if I get it over with now.”

“Go on then,” Robert said, gathering around the horse-sized body with his partner. “What is it?”

“Just watch,” Christoph said, reaching out a crystalline dagger to carve off a sliver of gem-studded meat. “I’m going to eat it.”

…

“Well.” Looking up at the halberds arrayed against him, Christoph let out a long sigh. “That probably wasn’t the greatest of ideas.”

“I told you,” Emilia said, stretching out against him. The two were seated back to back, with almost the entirety of the dwarven outpost scrutinizing their every move. “I told you to wait until later, didn’t I?”

“Yes, dear.” Reaching up to pet at her mangled ear, Christoph earned a swift elbow from the disgruntled cat-girl behind him. “They let me finish eating, at least.”

“Don’t touch the ear,” Emilia said. He couldn’t see her but there was no doubt in his mind that she had begun to pout. The ear was still a sore spot for her after all. “That’s your fault too.”

“Yes, dear,” Christoph replied. Well, she wasn’t wrong… Looking up at the dwarf in front of him, the adventurer gave a small wave. “Is all this really necessary? We were going to see the king in any case, so the armed guards are-”

“And how do we know you weren’t going to eat him as well?” Robert asked. The leader of the halberd-wielding dwarves was sitting on a small boulder nearby, his weapon laid out over his lap as he used a small cloth to oil the blades. “Defeating the unicorn might get us back into the city, but an assassin would send us straight on to the next life.”

“Well it’s not like I can eat him from here,” Christoph said. “Besides, I’ve only done that twice, and only one of those guys was-”

“Sir!” Calling down from atop the watchtower, one of the few dwarves not guarding the outsiders was waving his arms. “Three humans approach!”

“Humans?” Armor clinking as he moved, Edward clambered onto Robert’s boulder, pushing his fellow warrior to the side so he could get a good look down the slope of the mountain. “Looks like… adventurers, most likely.”

“Adventurers?” Christoph’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. If it was only three of them then it couldn’t be the Shield, right? “What are they carrying?”

“There’s a mage, an archer and another mage,” Edward continued. “Maybe a priest. The first two carry swords as well.”

“Lucius?” Standing, Christoph joined the shorter man atop the boulder. It wasthe church’s trio after all. “They’re from the Church, not the guild.”

“Watch it, boys,” Robert said, holding out a hand to stop his men from moving. “You’re still our prisoner for now.”

“Calm down,” Christoph replied, shaking his head as Emilia bounded up behind him. “We both know the capture is just a formality for now. Don’t worry, I’ll let you take me to the king after we deal with this little nuisance. I don’t suppose you could just shoot him now and call it an accident?”

“Greetings to the watchpost!” Lucius called, raising his arms. “I am Lucius Frame, living saint of the Creator’s Blessed!”

“What do you want?” Christoph replied. “I’m busy. I have prison cells to fill, armed guards to follow!”

“Lucius Frame, you may approach,” Robert said to the young human, waving his men further back. “State your business here.”

“We’re here for Christoph,” Lucius said, walking up to the group as they jumped down from their rocky platform. “We want to have one last talk before he enters the Chain.”

“Again?” Scratching his head, the older world traveler made a face. “I feel like I’m popular all of a sudden.”

“Is he a friend of yours?” Reaching out his halberd before Christoph could walk off, Robert stopped him with the handle. “You grow more suspicious by the second, Chrissy.”

“Don’t call me that,” Christoph replied, brushing the weapon aside. “I guess you could say I have a score to settle with Lucius there. The other two are no friends of mine.”

“They don’t look like knights,” Edward said, stroking his beard. “Are you sure they aren’t adventurers?”

“They used to be.” Taking a step, Christoph let Emilia hold him back for a moment. “But they’re still knights, so keep that in mind. They’re good with the bow and staff, but watch out for the swords.”

“Where are you going?” Narrowing her eyes, the beast-woman tugged at his arm again. “Haven’t those guys tried to kill you every time you’ve seen them so far?”

“Actually, we had a nice little chat last time,” Christoph replied, turning around to pull her along with him as he strolled down the mountain. “Lucius at least is semi truthful most of the time I think.”

“Christoph.” Lucius’s greeting was accompanied by a small nod, and the adventurer returned the gesture. “I’m sure you can guess why I came to see you.”

“Not here,” Christoph replied, walking past the trio towards the trees. “We’ll talk in the forest.”

…

“Let me guess,” Christoph began. Leading the clergymen into the forest, he’d chosen a small clearing and sat down atop a rock, Emilia following suit. “You’re here about Claude and Dane.”

“That’s right,” Lucius replied, bringing his two knights to a stop across from the odd couple. “We found Dane’s body on the way. I can’t be sure, but assume Claude met with a similar fate?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Christoph glared over towards the younger man. “Can’t be sure? You know he couldn’t have died there.”

“I tried to stop them,” Lucius said. “They wouldn’t listen, and this won’t do anything to help. Soon, the entire church will have their sights set on you. I’ll do what I can to minimise the actions taken against you.”

“As if you could stop them,” Christoph replied. “Don’t even bother. Actually it’s probably better if you don’t.”

“You don’t even want me to try?” Lucius asked. “Why not?”

“Don’t worry about that,” Christoph said with a grin. “I suppose it won’t matter if you do or not anyway.”

“Are we only prey to you?” Lucius replied, tilting his head to the side. “I was hoping to improve relations between you and the church with this.”

“Don’t even think about it.” Reaching out, Christoph grabbed one of Emilia’s knives from her belt, and stabbed it directly between his own torso. “Your eyes won’t always see into my mind so easily.”

“Christoph!” Tugging at the blade, Emilia succeeded only in widening the gash as her lover pulled the weapon deeper between his heaving ribs. “Christoph, what are you-”

“I’m surprised that works,” Lucius said, righting his head and glancing between the pair. “Damaging your body causes your mana drain to go into overdrive, meaning that the energy cannot escape from inside of your body.”

“It’s like a black hole,” Christoph replied, blood flecking at his lips. Pushing the worried cat-girl off of him, he twisted the knife a little and drew his sword. “Now cut that shit out before I find another way to stop you from reading my mind.”

“Fine,” Lucius said, holding a palm up to stop his companions from drawing their own weapons. “I’m here to talk, not to fight.”

“Speak then,” Christoph replied. “What do you want to know.”

“Dane is still alive, isn’t he?” Fixing his glasses, the living saint ignored the startled looks his knights were making. “What of Henry?”

“You knew?” Stifling a chuckle, Christoph raised an eyebrow at the siblings’ expressions. “Dane is… most definitely dead. I killed him, but you’re right, I didn’t destroy his soul.”

“What?!” For the first time, Cliff broke his silence to ask a question. “How-”

“That doesn’t mean he still exists,” Christoph continued. “He’s long gone by now.”

“His body was barren,” Sierra said, her face a mask of stone. “You destroyed his soul then and there.”

“I drained him,” Christoph replied with a smirk. “Just like Henry. But technically, I didn’t destroy him. I didn’t destroy Henry either.”

So they survived?” Lucius asked. “How?”

“I didn’t say that either,” Christoph said, drawing the knife from his side. “I didn’t realize it until recently, but now it makes sense. Why does my hunger only get stronger after I eat? Why had I spent those weeks rampaging mindlessly in the forest?”

“You’re a demon,” Cliff replied. “Do you need more reason than that?”

“Why had I felt so horrible after taking that half-elf’s soul?” Christoph asked of no one in particular. “It’s because I carry them along with me. All of the creatures I’ve ever absorbed, from the mindless crystal monsters to those two fools themselves. My crystal ‘soul’ is an ocean of savage beasts, and I feel their hunger as if it was mine alone.”

“You are a demon,” Sierra said softly. “To cast your enemies to such a fate.”

“It’s no less than what they had planned for me,” Christoph said with a snarl. “They would have dragged me screaming to the Gate and smiled as the demons devoured my flesh. It’s only fitting I do the same to them.”

“Henry wasn’t like that.” Spoken softly, Cliff words carry such weight nonetheless. “He would have seen you brought to justice.”

“Justice?” Christoph stifled a laugh. “For what? For killing a unicorn? For the most heinous crime of existing? Where was Henry’s justice when he was tormented by the demons inside my own personal hell?”

“That wouldn’t be enough to destroy him,” Sierra replied. “Henry was strong. Stronger than you can ever hope to imagine.”

“That’s enough,” Lucius said, stepping out between the two pairs. “Enough.”

“Henry was strong.” Nodding along, Christoph ignored Lucius warning and rose to his feet himself. “He survived in that place for longer than I thought possible. I made sure to visit him in my dreams, before I added more monsters to his burden.”

“The dragon…” Cliff’s words had grown softer still, an expression of anguish spreading across his face. “You killed a dragon.”

“The dragon?” Christoph asked. “In my body, I am GOD. The dragon didn’t last one night in that hell before I had absorbed it into my very flesh and bones. Still, Henry survived. He fought and struggled and he survived all the way here, until his brothers came to meet him.”

“No.” Lucius froze, looking back into Christoph’s eyes. “That’s enough.”

“You can see, can’t you?” Christoph was too far gone to stop this now. “Weary and confused, Dane is cast into the hellscape of my nightmares alone. Fighting for his life, he looks up to see his brother wasting away atop a sea of ravenous crystal beasts.”

“No,” Lucius said, pushing back at Cliff as he began to draw his sword. “You can’t”

“Dane didn’t have the mana of a half-elf.” Christoph shook his head. “It was only a matter of time before he was destroyed as well. His ethereal soul, absorbed into my crystalline imitation”

“Stop.” Lucius was struggling now, Cliff’s sword coming free from its scabbard despite his repeated objections. “Just let it go!”

“Swaying on his feet, he made his way to the brother he had always admired so.” Dropping Emilia’s bloodied knife, Christoph drew his other blade, the crystal running slick with the gore that dripped down his side and over his hand. “Maybe he thought they could survive if they were together. Maybe he just didn’t want to die alone. Who knows? Henry certainly didn’t care at all.”

“No.” It was Cliff that spoke this time, his sword coming to a stop as his eyes widened in shock. “Henry wouldn’t have-

“Henry grasped his dying brother by the soul and tore him to shreds,” Christoph replied with a snarl. “Family? What’s family?! Even your precious hero could sacrifice his own brother in the end! It worked, too. The demons swarmed, I swarmed over Dane and Henry lived to see another day.”

“You monster.” Tears had began to drip from Sierra’s face, her lips barely moving as she spoke. “How could you…”

“He was strong,” Christoph repeated with a cruel smile. “That’s why I decided to let him go.”

“What?” Lucius’ head snapped around at the adventurer’s words, and the clearing fell silent for a single moment. “You sent him to the other side?”

“Not quite,” Christoph replied, grinning now. “I pulled him from my bones and sent him into another half-elf I had met.”

“What?” Even Emilia couldn’t contain her surprise at Christoph’s words. “The pirate?”

“That’s right,” Christoph said, sheathing a sword so he could reach out and ruffle the fur on her head. Taking a deep breath, he let the tension run from his body as he turned to address the clergymen once more. “I left your precious Henry in the body of a former pirate. I just hope they both know how to share.”