Ronny awoke to the noise something big brushing against the leaves. He’d slept poorly and based on the fact that Enzi was already wide awake, watching the adventurers carefully, it was safe to say that his companion was in the same boat. Well Rested didn’t come.

He turned his attention to the source of the noise. The corpse of an impossibly large bird, a little larger than Enzi, was being dragged to the camp by one of the adventurers that had been sleeping when they stumbled upon the place on the night before. Context clues told him that it was Saul.

After Saul and the carcass, he dragged behind him, he put his palm on the bird. He then took his palm off and took a few steps away. After he was a good distance away, the creature burst into violent flames. The scorching heat cooked the meat—and the area surrounding it—in seconds.

Ronny hadn’t seen such a powerful display of magic before, and was taken aback, “Was… that your ability?”

Saul shook his head, “Regular Magic.”

“R-right.” Ronny reckoned that if he’d been on the receiving end of that spell, he would’ve died in under a second. If that was just ‘regular magic’, he didn’t want to know what the man could do with his actual ability.

Saul turned his attention to the roasted bird and drew a knife. He skinned it effortlessly and cut out some chunks of meat. The other adventurers were all awake by then and came over to eat. He also cut some pieces for Ronny and Enzi.

After they were all settled in, the one called ‘Rivv’ spoke. His face looked as though it had been cut from stone, and was strange to look at, “What’s the plan for today? Go north and return to the ship?” His tone was more commanding than questioning, “And who are these people? Why is there a Royal Demon eating with us?”

Nvili sighed, “We should camp out a little longer. I imagine that The Queen is expecting us to do that. Plus, I’m in the process of writing a letter to the VP right now. I’ve already summoned a Messenger Bird, so it’d be unwise to go anywhere while we’re waiting for it to arrive.” He turned to Ronny and Enzi, “These two are refugees from Barnock, more or less. They left when they found out we’d arrive. As for the Demon, he claims not to be a member of the royalty. He said that his horns transformed to look like that a few days ago and…”

Rivv didn’t let him finish, “He’s lying. I’ve specialized in dealing with Demons for years now. It doesn’t work like that.” He turned to Enzi, “Tell me, Demon. Who are you really?”

Enzi looked him dead in the eye, “Enzi Adeyemi. A serf from Sundenspur. I moved to Barnock recently, following the decision to grant dual citizenships to every citizen. I take it that you’re Rivv Slyk?”

The stone-faced man chuckled, “You know me?”

“You’re one of the most notorious Demon slayers in the world. Word spreads fast about sub-human trash like yourself.”

Ronny covered his friend’s mouth, “Enzi! Show some restraint!” He looked to Rivv, who smirked in amusement, “Forgive my companion’s rudeness. He doesn’t mean it. We owe you and your allies our lives for letting us stay the night under your protection. You should apologize, Enzi.”

“I’d rather not.”

The other Mythrills looked to Rivv, who still seemed to be enjoying the rabble. He got up to his feet and approached Enzi. Nobody dared stop him, “You’ve got spunk, Demon. I like that. You should try to kill me.

Enzi rose to his feet and glared down at the adventurer, “I’ll pass. If I fight back, it gives you an excuse to justify murdering me.

“Wow! Two interesting Demons in the past two days…”

“Who is the other? Did you kill them?”

“No, they’re probably still alive. I think his name was Risitro? It definitely started with an ‘R’. The guy was the head General of the Barnock Army. I only cut off his horns, so unless the Corpse Chimera got to him, he’ll survive.”

“You…”

“Yeah, I know. Traditionally speaking, a Demon has to have red-ringed horns to be part of the royalty. If his father is as ruthless as I’ve heard, he’ll probably be expelled from the line of succession—maybe the nobility too! What a stupid little ‘culture’ you Demons have.”

“Why you little…” He reached for his hilt, but Ronny caught his hand before the blade was drawn.

“Grab the bag, we’re leaving. We got our sleep and food. There’s no reason to stay any longer.”

Enzi grimaced, “No… I suppose not.” Slowly, he put the knapsack around his shoulders.

They started leaving as soon as they had their things together. As the two started getting further from the camp, Ronny turned back to the adventurers, “Thanks for the help! Good luck in your travels.”

Nvili and Saul waved, the others did not.

Ten minutes later, Ronny felt that they were far enough way to talk openly again, “Well… that was an experience I won’t be forgetting any time soon.”

“I’m surprised they didn’t kill us.”

“Same. For all they knew, we were spies. They shouldn’t have told us all the things they did. Not unless they were hoping for that information to spread. Not sure why they’d want that to happen though.”

“Who knows? They could have been lying. I hope they were. If not, Barnock and the people that lived there are gone.”

“Yeah.”

They walked in silence for a while, pondering the news. Ronny was surprised to find that he was mostly unphased by the news. Ever since the incidents from when he was a mason, he’d consciously tried not to care about strangers. It was an effective, though severely flawed coping mechanism. Deliberate indifference helped to keep him afloat in the wake of it all, but at the same time, he felt guilty for not caring. He wasn’t angry at Madison, The Guild, or even the adventurers that were indirectly responsible for Barnock’s destruction. There was a void in the place of his emotions, and he embraced it.

Enzi also seemed mostly unbothered. His walking sped up a little as he thought about it, but that was the only change Ronny noticed. The Demon already had more than enough problems of his own to deal with. Just surviving was hard enough as it was.

Ronny ended the silence with a question, “So… Risitro lost his horns… and might not be the Prince anymore. What do you make of that?”

“No clue,” he sighed, “But I have a feeling that he’d be happy to leave his duties as Prince behind… he always seemed reluctant to take on the responsibilities associated with his position. If his father doesn’t execute him, I think he’ll go on to live a good life. He’s strong.”

“Why would his father execute him?”

“The Devil King is pure evil. A few years ago, there was an incident where one of his most trusted advisors tried to retire. The King responded by ordering their death. Among other things, he’s rumored to have imprisoned his wife, murdered his brother, and killed his father. Nobody, not even the nobles, likes him. There have been several rebellions even in my lifetime, but all of them have failed in a gory fashion.”

“You think this guy would kill his own son—someone who won a war for him—just because he stopped being useful?”

“I wouldn’t put it past him.”

“Huh. This world can really suck sometimes, “Ronny sighed, “Well who would be next in line for the throne then?”

“Not sure. A cousin, maybe? I’m not sure if he still has any family left. He executed most of his relatives to prevent uprisings.”

“Of course he did. This guy sounds awful. I don’t care much for Risitro, but even I feel a little sorry for him now. I wonder what this king would do if he found out about you…”

“Execution. He could just cut off my horns, but that’s a little too merciful for someone like him.”

“Let’s not go anywhere near Sundenspur then. Hopefully Alice will have some sort of plan ready by the time we arrive get to Ignar.”

For the next ten hours, they walked. During that time, they found the path that led to Ignar, and their progress accelerated considerably after they started along it. It was much easier to follow a road than it was to traverse the forest.

Eventually, they came upon the torn-up gates to the city. After slipping through some demon-sized cracks, the two arrived at what remained of Ignar.