Lilac and the others reached Arbal much faster than they intended, given how they kept traveling while changing drivers among themselves, not stopping for supplies or rest, only for fuel. The turbo engine helped too, even if they had to stop using the function before the engine overheated, which was within Albert’s predictions. Everyone in the group were aware that Arbal would be an important and decisive town that would either give them an advantage or caused a defeat that would be difficult to recover from. Of course, there was a chance that it could be an exaggeration, but with the devastation that was Tragoria, they knew exaggeration would be the last of their concern. With the help of the turbo engine, they cut their travel time considerably, arriving at Arbal after speeding through the deserted paved motor road.

Arbal did not look like a town that would stand out, but one glance of it was enough to tell that the town was strategically important. It was a town bordering not just one or two, but three regions: Adaline, Tragoria, and Dusdolf. It was situated on top of a hill facing Tragoria, giving a certain natural defense against foot soldiers. The Dusdolf side had a mountain path that led to several neighboring town, one of which was a main road that connected to town to Erben, Dusdolf’s capital city. Finally, the Adaline side also had a paved road, which was the same road Albert’s group drove on. It was clear that even if their enemies couldn’t get through from Tragoria, the relatively flat topography of the Tragoria-Adaline border would be a problem that could spell disaster if they were unprepared.

But they were not the only ones with the right idea. Just as they approached Arbal, they noticed that the townspeople were already preparing for a possible skirmish as guided by someone already in the town: A Lycan who seemed to know what she was doing.

“She seems to know the situation well,” said Sovarn. “Not to mention a Lycan.”

“There’s nothing to suggest that a Lycan can’t do a job as well as humans, right?” said Lilac.

“Except not everyone shares your idea, miss Rezmirn. We saw what the humans are capable of in term of prejudice. To be fair, it is comparable to how bad the situation is in the Underworld against one another.”

“It is one of several reasons of the creation of the Adaline region,” said Albert. “At least that’s what was written in the history books.”

Lilac understood what Albert was talking about, though she must admit that she never got that kind of treatment during their travels or even before she met Ifrit, especially not in her own home village. She could count herself as a fortunate one.

Arbal seemed to be ready for an all-out siege, but the travelers did not expect or forgot that two of their own could complicate matters. When they walked through the town’s gate, Lilac, who walked beside Albert in front of the others, stepped on something that suddenly burst and burned her leg. It scalded her like a boiling water poured on her. It took her by surprise. Still, the surprise was quickly replaced by a howl of pain when she felt the scalding pain caused by the burst

Albert reacted quickly, dulling the pain to calm Lilac down. The Lycan witnessed what happened while the other townspeople quickly scrambled for cover as the Lycan approached the two. The sight of the Lycan, and the injury, quickly clued Albert about the identity of the Lycan approaching them.

“Wait, Hunter,” said Albert. “Let me explain. I hope you understand the situation, but her circumstances are a bit special.”

“What do you…wait a minute,” said the Lycan demon hunter. She turned and saw Lilac in the eyes before she gave what Lilac could say a sympathetic look.

“Is there…something wrong?” asked Lilac as she recovered from the sharp pain.

“I owe you an apology, miss. The trap I set was intended for demons. It did not discriminate. It reacted to anyone carrying demonic essence in them. I did not expect a Tainted to visit this town. You have been corrupted by a demon, aren’t you? That is the only way I can explain the triggering of that trap, and your snake/hellhound appearance.”

“You know about hellhounds?”

“Despite their name, they are not demons. The townspeople weren’t convinced until my friend walked in without being harmed by the filter.”

“Which happens to be me,” said a female hellhound walking towards them. She had a very prominent pair of horns on her head, along with short fur with a combination of black and tan color, along with a pair of cropped ears, giving her a tall, imposing look. To add the fact that she wasn’t a pureblood Lycan, she also had ear piercings, something that hellhounds were usually associated with.

“You do look like a guard dog rather than a wolf,” remarked Lilac.

“I do, don’t I? And to make things even more ironic, I’m a Demon Hunter myself.”

“What?!” exclaimed Lilac, surprised. “Really?”

“Ja. Been trained and inducted to the Schweinhollen chapter. Funny how they didn’t trust the first hellhound, but I think it’s hard to believe someone with ‘hell’ in their race’s name can be a demon hunter. We really should find a new name to be called with.”

“First hellhound? I never heard about that before,” commented Albert.

“I’m sorry, but who are you?” said the hellhound demon hunter as she turned to the human.

“I’m Albert Schafner,” said Albert. “I’m a Demon Hunter from Erben Central, though I was assigned to Tragoria. You say you’re from Schweinhollen?”

“Sophia’s been a member of the chapter for 5 years now,” said the female Lycan. “Anyway, it’s good to know there’s someone else who thinks like me and Sophia. I’m Charlotte Frier. Albert Schafner, isn’t it?”

“Yes?”

“Do you mind if we talk? About the situation? You look like you travel a lot, so I think you have an idea or two about it. Do you prefer we talk Tragorian or Dusdolfian?”

“Tragorian’s better, considering my traveling companions understand that language.”

“Yes, that is a good reason. Come, and don’t mind the traps. I’ll set up a filter for everyone who…”

“I can also be hurt by the trap,” said Nergora as he approached Lilac and Albert. He happened to hear what caused the trap to trigger. “I may not look like it, but I’m…well, I have demonic blood in me.”

“Ah…well, I suppose you can go through if your intention’s not…”

“I can assure you. I am here to help,” insisted Nergora. “I’m sorry if this is an inconvenience.”

“Don’t mind it, white fur,” said the hellhound.

Everyone managed to get into Arbal, though the townspeople were not as receptive upon seeing who they were. Lilac could only look away as they stared at her, not sure of what to do. They seemed to know how bad the demonic threat was, and they were quick to judge someone who could trigger the anti-demonic traps. Only demons and those corrupted by demons could trigger the traps, and Lilac and Nergora happened to be one.

They got to the command center where Lotte, short for Charlotte, quickly coordinated the efforts of the town’s defense while Sophia tended to Lilac’s wound, while the rest of them stood by. As she bandaged Lilac’s badly scalded leg, Sophia looked at her and said, “Sorry. The trap was my idea.”

“It’s not your fault. You can’t possibly know someone like me is going to visit Arbal, right?” said Lilac.

“Still, I owe you an apology.”

Lilac was reluctant to ask but knowing that she would not get the chance again, she said, “Say, Sophia.”

“Yes?”

“The people look at me like I’m an outcast. I…never realized how repulsive it is to be seen like an abomination. Triggering that trap somehow proved to them that I’m a demon, not to mention this appearance.”

“Well, in a sense, you are. You don’t find hybrids like a snake-wolf that often, if ever,” said Sophia. “And to be honest, you are not the first Tainted we have dealt with.”

“Tainted…that word does not make things easier, even if I have heard it so many times at this point.”

“Neither is Afflicted, or Fiend, or…you get what I mean. The point is…”

“The point is, a Tainted is the same as a demon,” said Lilac bluntly.

“Nobody is calling you a demon.”

“But you can tell a lot just by looking at those eyes. It’s those judging eyes that pierces into you, telling you that you’re different. I suppose I can understand how those Lycans felt back in Tragoria. There isn’t a lot of turned Lycans back home.”

Sophia understood Lilac’s distress, so she put her hand on Lilac’s scale-covered hand and said, “I swear that you will not be harmed. They’ll believe a demon hunter, even if I’m a hellhound. If a demon hunter says you are harmless, then you are harmless until you chose not to be.”

“Well, that’s helpful. I hope. Anyway, what’s with the part where I’m not the first Tainted you’ve dealt with?”

“Demonic corruption can be easily cleansed with the right rituals. Most of the time, the corruption caused irreversible damage, sometimes even fatal. You, however, is a peculiar case.”

“How peculiar?”

“I may be young, but I work under Lotte for several years. I’ve seen her dealt with the Tainted and believe me when I say they are behaving erratically. It was an unfortunate side effect, which always cause people losing their minds. The change of behavior will soon be followed by a change in appearance that warped their body to the point they don’t resemble their original form. Most of them refused to believe that’s how they look…and they end themselves. You travelled and encountered demons, so I think you know what I am talking about.”

“So, you mean, I’ll …”

“Don’t be hasty,” interrupted Sophia. “We only do the rites when things have turned for the worst. You are still in control, and for me that is enough. Still, I’ll let Lotte be the judge of that. She had more experience dealing with it.”

Lilac wasn’t sure if she wanted to be cleansed, either, considering that she could possibly return to Ifrit, provided things had not drifted too far apart between the two. It was already three long years for her, and things had changed so much ever since then, speficially her appearance. She wasn’t sure if Ifrit could even recognize her if his last memory of her happened to be her pseudo-hellhound form, not her current snake-wolf appearance.

As Sophia finished bandaging the wounds, Lilac, attempting to change the subject, started talking with, “Sophia…I wonder why that is your name.”

“What kind of a question is that?” asked Sophia. “That’s the name my parents gave me.”

“No, I mean…you’re a hellhound, right? So, why the surface name?”

“Is it really that out of place for me to have a regular surface name?”

“Well, the hellhounds I know have unusual names like Ifrit, Nergora, Eshdar, Anarim, and so on and so on. A hellhound named Sophia sounds too unusual for me. But…sorry. Did I offend you?”

“I’m just tired of people pointing that out all the time. I am a surface-born Dusdolfian hellhound, and my parents happened to choose a more surface-sounding name.”

“Surface-born? Like…born out of the Underworld?”

“My case is a bit special, though,” continued Sophia. “I’m a third-generation surface-born. My father and grandfather were both surface-borns.”

“So, you never saw the Underworld?”

Sophia shook her head. “And personally,” she added. “I don’t regret it that much. People say I should since I was never taught Hordo, the only think that will show them that I am still a hellhound. No one talks with the language of the hellhounds ever since my father’s generation. I identify more as a Dusdolfian than an Underworlder.”

Lilac continued to listen to Sophia as she talked about her life as a surface-born and how the hellhounds around her treated her. She thought she was lucky only a handful of them teased her of her status, but she heard of the treatment of surface-born hellhounds in many different parts of the region, especially by those who lived through the Uprising from both sides. The fact these surface-born could not speak Hordo was another reason why they were looked down upon or even rejected simply due to their upbringing. Sophia found how bad that was when she became a Demon Hunter, though she soon found out that because the ones who instigated the Uprising years ago were in fact allies with the demons, and her choosing to become a Hunter made her a traitor in their eyes. Still, as the years went by and her understanding of demonic corruption developed, the accusations against her sounded more like the demon talking instead of the hellhounds’ genuine thoughts, and she regarded the whole accusations as an irony, for in her eyes, those who sold their souls were in fact traitors and she chose the right side.

“But I got nothing against those corrupted by demonic influence,” said Sophia. “Not all of them are willing servants. Many even comes from families who remained neutral during the Uprising. Some are disillusioned by what they believed in and came to regret their decisions. So, Lilac, what I mean is…we are as vulnerable as you are.”

Lilac listened to the hellhound’s story as she reflected it on her own experience in life and how things could be different if she never met Ifrit that day…or if Ifrit did not end up dying three years ago. She was almost ready to move on from Ifrit when news of his survival came to her. She was elated that it came at the right time, but at the same time, she became involved with the mysterious hellhound that permanently changed her life.

Then she slowly wondered that maybe the start of the change in her life came from when her brother, Hans, stepped out of their home’s door to pursue a possibly suicidal adventure. If he stayed and be the boring small game hunter, maybe they could live a pastoral life until the time they decided to start a family and settle down. But, considering what happened since the Hellish Incursion, that would not be the right choice. They could end up becoming one of many forgettable victims as Tragoria fell to the demons and turned into a wasteland.

In the end, for Lilac, things could simply just fate playing its game. It wasn’t her time to die yet. The wheel of fate kept turning on, and she was still given a change to be a part of it.

And she wished it stayed on long after the whole mess was over. Whatever fate or the moon goddess or whatever the Lycans believed in took her, she would be prepared.

But whether it would involve returning to Ifrit or not would be a different matter altogether.