“(Is that…Ifrit’s voice?)” said Anubis as he looked at the fight that started between Ifrit, whose demonic aura was very prominent, and the Infernal, whose aura encompassed his vision.

“(That hound really has a death wish. And I don’t mean the regular personality),” said Arnulfe.

“(We need to help him! He can’t fight that demon alone!)”

“(Save that for later, Anubis).” Rhynsa then readied his rifle. “(That Infernal’s not the last of our worries).”

Rhynsa was right. While Anubis saw the ferocious fight between Ifrit and the Infernal unfolding, the other demons did not seem to be drawn to the fight. Rather, with the Infernal occupied, the other demons, all of which looked too monstrous to be considered an intelligent race, turned their attention to them. Rhynsa acted first, trying to give them an advantage or even the odds. Without warning, he shot one of the demons with a revolver he pulled from a holster on his hip. The cleansing bullet in the revolver instantly damaged the demon, creating a gaping hole that struggled to be filled in. The demon certainly felt it, with it letting out an unnerving shriek that made Anubis shudder.

The other demons, unlike the blob-like monstrosity Rhynsa shot, were built to be nimble like wolves. One of them was a Barghest with a red skin, comparably different from Sammael’s pale skin. The next three shots missed entirely as they moved in a zig zag pattern, already knowing how to deal with gunners, or someone using projectiles. However, they clearly did not account for the fact that Arnulfe was a Fuzandre that not only moved and fought like a beast, but also had superior echo sense compared to Rhynsa. The furless Fuzandre managed to intercept one of them before it pounced Anubis, who raised his hands to defend himself. Without even hesitating, he bit through the wolf-like demon’s neck and tore off part of its flesh, but stopped just inches before he sank his vampiric teeth in. He recounted the memories of almost getting himself killed by being too bloodthirsty.

Rhynsa did not want to be upstaged. He also trained his echo senses to accommodate his shots. He took a deep breath and aim carefully at the Barghest enemy, which was moving about to try and pounce Rhynsa again. Without hesitating, Rhynsa took the shot, deliberately aiming it slightly away from the Barghest’s position, but correctly predicting its movement using the subtle changes of the echoes caused by its rapid movement, which disturbed the air and let out sound waves.

The bullet hit the Barghest in its head, disintegrating it almost instantly. Rhynsa couldn’t relax, however. The last demon, with a more anthropomorphic form, but did not resemble anything human or hellhound, attacked Rhynsa from the back. The Fuzandre would lose one of his wings if he did not expect the demon’s attack. Even then, he wasn’t fast enough to stop it from smacking his arm. The pain stunned Rhynsa enough to cause him to lose his grip on his rifle, and enough to let the demon to kill him.

But in a nick of time, Sammael pounced at the demon, digging his claws into the horror. It did not seem to feel the pain, but the Barghest’s pounce force pushed it away from Rhynsa, who promptly got up. He turned towards the car and saw Anubis being accosted by the blob-like demon, which somehow survived Rhynsa’s bullet. The blind Jackal managed to realize the danger and turned towards the blob-like demon. Rhynsa then quickly prepared his rifle to shoot the demon, but soon found that he did not need to.

Anubis was not entirely defenseless. Despite of seeing only darkness, his opponent was a demon. Its outline was very clear in the ‘darkness’, not to mention a very loud shriek-like sound that made the Jackal shudder. He quickly felt the head of the cane Anarim gave him and twisted it, quickly pulling out a long, thin sword out of the cane. The Jackal then thrusted the sword through one of the demon’s eyes. However, it wasn’t enough to stop its movement, forcing Anubis to let go of his cane sword and jumped aside, falling into the cold snow. He turned towards the demon and, to his surprise, saw its aura dissipating. What Anubis could not see, however, was the demon starting to disintegrate starting from where he stabbed it.

Rhynsa witnessed this and started approaching Anubis, who seemed to be glad he managed to kill the demon without getting any injuries. He heard the footsteps in the snow approaching him and said, “(Arnulfe?)”

“(Rhynsa),” said Rhynsa, confirming his presence. The Fuzandre tapped the blind Jackal’s shoulder to let him know where he was.

“(I…wasn’t sure where its heart is),” said Anubis. “(Though I’m not sure if that thing even has a heart to begin with).”

“(Even if you don’t, that cane sword the old hound gave you was made with cleansing silver),” said Rhynsa as he pulled the sword off the rapidly disintegrating demon. It was shimmering as it reflected the limited light around them. The silver looked like it had been treated to shine.

“(Cleansing silver?)” asked Anubis. “(He didn’t tell me that).”

“(It’s properly blessed, much more potent compared to my bullets).” Rhynsa smiled, remembering the training he got from Albert, before he gave the cane sword to Anubis and said, “(I suggest you handle it carefully. You don’t want to accidentally poke someone’s eye out with that, or maybe the demons that are on our side).”

Anubis, knowing how two of their fellow travelers were demons, nodded as he accepted the sword. He tried walking towards the car, but soon realized that after jumping away, he lost his sense of direction, only knowing where to look when he saw Ifrit and the Infernal’s continuing battle. Even so, the snow was invisible for him, so he tripped and tried to find his bearing by touching anything he could get a hand on, not knowing that he was standing in the middle of a plain of snow with no waist-height object to touch. He looked confused and was unsure where to walk. Rhynsa started to question whether Anubis could last the length of the journey like this while shaking his head.

Arnulfe, who flew back to where his friends were, noticed Anubis being confused and desperately trying to find something to hold on to. He did not hesitate to land near him, causing him to turn his head towards the noise and held out one of his leathery wings. But then, he realized that, with Anubis unable to see the furless Fuzandre properly, his long and razor-sharp claws could accidentally rip his delicate leather wings, causing him to take the initiative and held him with his wings (Arnulfe had wings, not hands).

“(A-Arnulfe?)” asked Anubis.

“(The one and only, handsome),” said Arnulfe with a smile, even though he was aware that the Jackal couldn’t see it. “(Careful with the claws, Ani. Those things look sharp).”

“(O-oh! I…).”

“(It’s fine).” Without warning, Arnulfe kissed Anubis’ cheek, causing the Jackal to feel the Fuzandre’s unusual snout and blushed. “(You did well, Ani. That was spectacular).”

“(Hehe…thanks).”

“(C’mon, let’s get you up onto the car. Snow’s not good for a scrawny prince like you).”

“(Who do you call ‘scrawny’?!)” snapped Anubis, feeling slighted by Arnulfe, who only chuckled.

The light-hearted banter did not last long. Anubis was quickly drawn into the overwhelming demonic aura that seemed to vanish when he felt relaxed, only to return when he heard a very loud yell. Arnulfe, Rhynsa, and Sammael could see what happened in the fight between Ifrit and the goat demon, with the demon ramming Ifrit with his horns towards one of the thicker trees that would not break so easily. Ifrit would not let the Infernal to injure him; he grabbed the ram-like horns and strengthened his legs to prepare himself for the blow. The Infernal, however, was much stronger than Ifrit thought. Even when he lost most of his momentum, his strength was enough to push Ifrit, who desperately tried to hold him in place. While it wasn’t going to injure Ifrit, he was still being pushed towards the tree. The slight distraction was enough for the Infernal to raise his head, flinging Ifrit over him before headbutting him to the snow-covered ground. The only thing that prevented Ifrit’s instant death was the snow, though it was still very painful.

“(Shit!)” exclaimed Rhynsa as he prepared his rifle. “(That monster’s killing him!)”

But far from being mortally wounded, Ifrit’s Infernal blood gave him quite a resistance to the severe poundings. While the rest of them were being occupied by the other demons, Ifrit had been fighting the Infernal from the start. He was not on even grounds, however, with him being thrown and hit by the Infernal. The attacks could normally be fatal, but Ifrit was far from being close to death.

His only problem was that, being a half-Infernal, he did not have the same resistance to the Infernal he was facing. In the course of his fight, he had broken several of his ribs, with the pain starting to affect his agility and resilience. He was bruised and bleeding all over his body as he was being attacked by the Infernal. Yet, despite the clear possibility of being killed, he was somehow enjoying the thrill of the fight. His more impulsive, and possibly psychotic, darker personality enjoyed it so much that it started to bleed into Ifrit’s own. Ifrit, who earlier in the fight was trying his best to preserve his body, started to enjoy the fight, too, which worried him. If both of them agreed that the fight was fun, there wouldn’t be enough vitality left for Ifrit to stay alive.

What made it worse for Ifrit was that even after being heavily battered and severely injured, his dark personality taunted the Infernal so many times to keep fighting, not even letting up. If Ifrit could assert his control then and there, he would just stop the fight and escape, knowing this was a life-or-death situation. However, the Infernal he fought instead taunted back.

“Come on, demon spawn, I know you can do better than that,” taunted the Infernal. “What’s holding you back?”

“This body, for starters?” said ‘Ifrit’.

“That’s a bummer, isn’t it? You inherit the blood of an Infernal, but you are cursed to be born inside the body of a hellhound. Even now, that body is reaching its limit. Sooner or later, you will die without ever unlocking your true potential. Wait…I think your body is not the only one holding you back. It’s yourself, isn’t it? There is that part of you that wants to stay alive. Is he holding you back?”

‘Ifrit’ chuckled and shook his head. “Maybe. Too bad he’s not in control. You know what? I think you’re right. I can do better than this. Let me show you something fantastic.”

Then to the astonishment of the Infernal, ‘Ifrit’s smoldering hand slowly burned bright like a hot metal before the fire moved as if they were alive. The fire slowly formed a sword made of fire with undetermined length and width as if the fire was coating the blade. It did not look sharp due to the fire, but the sword looked solid enough to be wielded.

Elsewhere, Rhynsa, Anubis, and Sammael, witnessed this spectacle. They were very astonished by it, but the one most astonished was Anubis.

“(Incredible),” he said. “(He formed a sword out of nowhere).”

“(That Infernal half of him clearly knows his tricks).” But then Rhynsa realized Anubis said something peculiar. “(Wait. You can ‘see’ the sword?)”

“(It lit up like that demon’s aura),” said Anubis.

“(It’s hellfire),” started Sammael. “(Only Infernals produce them. It is the only fire that can kill demons).”

“(Including Infernals?)” asked Rhynsa.

“(Don’t ask me, Fuzandre. I’m a First Circle demon. Anything with hellfire can kill me).”

The Infernal was impressed by how quickly ‘Ifrit’ learned how to control the hellfire like an Infernal would. Yet, he knew the hellhound was taking too much risk doing it.

“Impressive,” said the demon. “But you forgot something very crucial, demon spawn.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

The Infernal, as if to match Ifrit, produced a hellfire-construct sword, but there were less flickers with the blade formed like the blade of a broadsword. He then showed his hands, which started to burn.

“You don’t know hell until you know how to bear the pain.” said the demon. “But you are not a true Infernal. Even if you don’t mind the pain, your body will burn itself out before you land a strike.”

“You’re just trying to make me lower my guard, aren’t you?” said ‘Ifrit’. “I don’t feel anything.”

“I bet your other half’s screaming in pain, begging you to stop. You are an Infernal, yes, but you are still a half-blood. Also, you are right on one thing. Time to end this.”

The Infernal dashed forward, hellfire sword in hand. Ifrit tried blocking it, but in the split second of deliberation and realization, he dodged. The dodge broke his concentration enough to cause the fire sword to dissipate. The Infernal stood tall and pointed his hotter blade on ‘Ifrit’s’ head. He was going to swing the blade for the kill when he sensed something. He sighed in annoyance as the hellfire sword dissipated, leaving his hands sizzling.

“Well, time’s up,” said the demon as a circle formed around him. “No one can properly make a pact with me, so I can’t stay out of the domain for too long. You know what you’re capable of, but you’re holding yourself back. Have a little talk and consider it, demon spawn.”

“Stop calling me that,” said ‘Ifrit’. “It’s Ifrit Schelkz.”

“That your name or your hellhound self?” The demon chuckled. “Ah, what the hell. You gave me your name, so I take it as a challenge. I am Azgal, servant of Belial, the prince of violence. We’ll meet again, one way or the other. Hell or Earth. Either way, it will be fun, Ifrit Schelkz.”

As the demon said that, there was a flash of light, and he was gone, leaving a burned circle around where he was just standing. ‘Ifrit’ chuckled and said, “(You heard what he said, Ifrit. The sooner you accept that you’re different, the sooner this conflict ends. I’ll leave the talking to you).”

Then all of the sudden, Ifrit found himself in control of his body again, though the first thing he felt was immeasurable pain on his cracked and searing hands. It felt as if his hand was burned by an intense fire, a feeling that he was unfamiliar with. He screamed in pain, waving his hands around as if trying to put the fire out. Instinctively, he quickly put his hand into the snow. They freezing temperature dulled the pain, but slowly.

Sammael was the first to reach the stunned Ifrit as the pain slowly died down.

“(Are you okay?)” asked the Barghest.

“(Do I look like okay to you? That son of a bitch burned my hands! What the hell did he do?!)”

“(Something that will surely destroy your hands if you try it again),” said Rhynsa. “(Let me see your hands, Schelkz).”

Despite the pain, Ifrit slowly and painfully raised his hands. Rhynsa reeled back in surprise when he saw them. They looked like they suffered a third-degree burn, but blood still flowed, and the cracked and charred flesh caused it to let out a great amount of blood as if Ifrit lost a hand. Even Ifrit was repulsed by it.

Good thing Rhynsa was a quick thinker. He remembered how Ifrit was healed by regular fire, so he quickly did the same trick he did in their previous encounter. He took a flare and light it up. Against his better judgement, he put the flaring end on Ifrit’s badly charred hand. The heat of the flare was enough to start healing Ifrit. However, he was worried that the fire would cause his dangerous personality to take over. Surprisingly, it didn’t.

“(That’s new),” commented Rhynsa. “(I thought the mere sight of fire would turn you into a murderous psychopath).”

“(I guess he’s tired),” quipped Ifrit, causing Rhynsa to chuckle with him following suit, albeit reluctantly. It did not sound like a joke.

After making sure that Ifrit could still use his hands, they got back to the car, which miraculously survived the whole ordeal. The group then sped towards the first gas station they could find and decided to rest at the inn nearby. They were tired, shaken, and dirty.

Due to the frequent attacks on motorists around that part, the area was almost deserted. Only the Lycan keeper of the inn was around, and he did not seem to mind the unusual bunch of travelers. Rhynsa did not even think that he was trying to act calm and trying to alert demon hunters discreetly. In fact, he was more surprised that there were still travelers around the part.

Curious, Rhynsa told the others to get to their rooms and get cleaned while he talked with the keeper. The Fuzandre started talking in Dusdolfian, albeit slow and accented. He only learned how to talk a couple of words, but he still had a long way to go in conversations.

Then to his surprise, the ‘Lycan’ spoke Hordo, and that’s when he noticed the yellowish reptilian eyes he had. He was a lupine hellhound, like Ifrit, though Rhynsa noticed that he had no horns.

“(I’m surprised),” said Rhynsa. “(I never thought I’d meet a friendly hellhound this far away from An’ah. In fact, I didn’t expect any allies).”

“(We heard of the base in Avicelis, but we decided that not centralizing our efforts makes things more efficient. Our leader told us that it creates redundancy in case Avicelis fall to the demons),” said the hellhound. “(Then again, better late than never).”

“(What do you mean?)”

“(I noticed the lupine hellhound’s tail. He’s a Royal, isn’t he? Well, what would you do if I say that I was once a revolutionary?)”

“(It depends. Is this inn a trap or not? Your answer’s going to decide what happens next).”

There was a tense stare between the two before the hellhound said, “(If it is, then I would’ve been acting dodgy. What’s your impression of me, then?)”

“(That you’re telling the truth).” Rhynsa then let his hand off the holster of his revolver.

The keeper sighed and said, “(It’s hard to trust each other these days, huh? I thought the Uprising was just and right. The monarchy I served under was too corrupt to even care about their subjects. So, I, along with the others, decided that enough was enough. We could not abide to the king’s rule, so we decided to rebel. I never thought it worked).”

“(Then, why leave? Your comrades are beyond the borders. Why didn’t you join them)?”

“(Because I soon realize that even we are not as just as I thought).” The lupine hellhound’s expression turned sad. “(I assumed that the monarchs would just be imprisoned or, given that I wasn’t that naïve, to simply be executed and be done with it. But a gruesome event opened my eyes to the real enemies. The same monarchs were tortured and…sacrificed in a blood ritual that summoned the demons. Even I did not wish it to happen to them…the moment they involved children, they went too far).”

“(They were not spared)?”

The hellhound winced as he remembered the gruesome details of what he witnessed, most of which he did not want to remember again. He soon shook his head and said, “(How…how can they betray themselves like that? I asked myself that question, disillusioned by what we stood for. It was all nothing but lies, at least half of it, anyway. The monarchs deserved their comeuppance, yes, but they were still hellhounds. They were not demons or…things. The children could at least be spared. They were barely ten. When they violated them…torturing them…).” The hellhound shook his head. “(I knew. I knew they were the demons all along. At that point, I don’t care if it is justified. I don’t care if they try to paint it as justice. It’s not worth losing your soul for. The irony of all this is…we earned our freedom, but we sold our souls to the demons. That is the price of our freedom).”

“(I’ve seen what those demons can do. It’s not pretty).” Rhynsa also reminded himself of the same betrayal he experienced, one that was replaced by a moment of sympathy when he saw how the king and queen that he once swore loyalty to suffer a fate that even they did not deserve.

“(And now, all our ideals and beliefs are for nothing).” The hellhound sighed. “(I don’t…I don’t know if you can understand me. Am I…am I doing the right thing? I turned my back against the monarchs, but now I turned my back against my comrades. Am I a coward?)”

“(Let me be honest with you. I don’t like my monarchs, either. Hell, if the Uprising did not happen, I would go back to his cold castle and kill him with my own hands. The king and queen were both a match in ruthlessness and deceit. But, by the end of the day, they were still hellhounds, and like surface dwellers, hellhounds are vulnerable and weak).”

“(So, is it yes, or no?)”

“(It’s not my place to judge. What do you think)?”

The keeper contemplated about it for a moment, thinking whether his decision was right or not. He only turned against his former comrades when he saw how they twisted their ideals for the demons they now served. Once, the Uprising was to justify freedom and justice, free from the whims of a monarch. Now, the Uprising turned into a curse, for the hellhounds became slaves to the demons they unknowingly followed under the promise of a revolution. It took them more than two decades, but the damage was done.

After deliberation, he found an answer. He said, “(I know it’s late, but I do not regret my choice).”

“(Yeah. You keep on doing that),” said Rhynsa with a smile. “(Anyway, thanks for the room. Sorry for bothering you).”

“(It’s fine. I need someone to talk to, anyway. By the way, you can remove that cape of yours. I am not the one to judge. No one else are here, anyway).”

Rhynsa, who by this point covered his head with a hood to cover his clearly chiropteran face, then removed it to show the astonished hellhound his face. There was nothing canine or lupine there, only the face of a leaf-nosed bat.

“(Wow),” he said. “(I never would’ve guessed).”

“(It’s part of the charm),” said Rhynsa with a wink. “(See you around, hellhound).”

“(It’s Crayle. Krillan Crayle).”

“(Thanks, Crayle),” rephrased Rhynsa as he walked to the second floor, leaving the keeper alone to do his job. The Fuzandre kept his sensitive ears to Crayle, expecting him to do something that might indicate that he was an enemy or not. But, after a while, Rhynsa knew Crayle could be trusted. Even if not, he could always ask Arnulfe. Unlike him, the furless Fuzandre was easy to read others and judge accordingly, which helped Rhynsa avoided fights and confrontations if he could.

He started to wonder if he could finally let go of that mistrust after things were finished and he finally settled down with Mizarka. He could try calling her, reassuring himself that things would be fine.