"Wait." Jane sheathed the sword Cerberus gave her in her sword belt and walked over to the round table to pick up the letter Wolf refused to read. "I have to know why Wolf was so afraid of reading it. Let's see..."

After seeing the few words that were written, Jane tilted her head and rubbed her chin. It didn't even take her ten seconds to read the single line of text the letter contained, but she didn't quite understand the meaning of such a trivial message. The woman handed the letter to the pyromancer so he could read it and continued to think about the purpose of the scarlet envelope.

"Hey, what does this mean? Finish them off for us. That's it? Maybe Wolf was right after all. Maybe it was the people at the sawmill who sent this."

"It's possible, but... Hmm..." Jane sat on the round table with her eyes closed and her legs crossed, something didn't add up about the whole thing. Besides, the smile Wolf gave her a few minutes ago was too suspicious to ignore. "I don't know, but what Wolf is doing is too strange. Taking Noir with him and not accepting help from anyone else knowing how unstable that boy is... Does he think he can kill him?"

"Being sick and against a demon? Abraham isn't that stupid." Cerberus looked away to think about what he had just said. "Yeah... He's no idiot. We should leave as soon as possible, Jane."

On the way to the sawmill.

Noir and Wolf walked several metres apart. Very few people walked the streets, as the weather outside was simply unbearable. Their leather armour did not protect them from the blizzard, let alone their thin scarves that even their breaths managed to get through. Their boots sank easily into the thick snow, which already reached the height of their heels. It would have been impossible for them to find the path had it not been for the lamps hanging above the tavern doors, which managed to provide some light amidst the fog. A real freezing hell had hit that city, which was barely standing after several weeks of tragedies and catastrophes.

"If the weather is like this in October... imagine what it will be like in December..." Noir covered his mouth with both hands to warm them with his breath. Wolf looked back only to nod. "Hey, Wolf. Are you sure you're going to be okay? I know you haven't been in the best of health lately. This could be bad for your lungs."

"Don't worry about me, buddy. I've taken care of myself all my life. This time will be no different." Wolf stopped before a street that went downhill and put his hands on his knees to take a short break. Noir reached him struggling against the weight of the snow to check if he was okay. "I'm fine, Noir. Look down there. Those are the other gates of the kingdom. If we go through there we'll get faster to the sawmill on the outskirts."

"I see... Let's hurry then. Let me know if anything is wrong. I'll help you walk."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say... Start walking, rookie."

Wolf smiled and pushed the boy to move ahead of him. The mercenary soon caught his breath and kept walking, though every so often he had to take a swig of medicine to keep the coughing from returning. Noir turned every few steps to make sure he did not fall behind. It took them a little over an hour to cross the back gates of the city and reach a town that belonged to Trinity's kingdom but was not protected by the main city walls.

"Ah, yes. Misery at its finest. The villages outside the walls are always the hardest hit. If there's not enough food, it's their fault. If there is no wood to warm the houses, it's their fault. If something goes wrong inside the walls, the people outside the walls are always to blame. It doesn't seem like a very fair deal to me." Wolf said. Noir was silent as he watched the smoke rising from the few chimneys of the modest village, which had only a square surrounded by a dozen houses. The streets were not paved, and there was no lighting apart from the lamps that the villagers carried with them as they moved from place to place. The only remarkable sound was the sound of animals, such as sheep and cows, which could be heard far in the distance. People were sheltering in their houses, and no one was fighting over a gold coin or a piece of meat. Everything was too quiet for city men like them, who had to witness the darkest side of mankind day after day. "It's very different from the city. I'm surprised that anyone would want to disturb the tranquillity of these people. The beautiful things this world has to offer are always destroyed in one way or another."

"Yes... But that's going to change soon enough." The boy stopped walking in the middle of the square and pointed to something beyond the village limits. "Over there, by the frozen river. I can see logs piled up near a sawmill. There are still some men working despite the weather."

The leader was surprised as he was unable to identify anything the boy had described. "What? How can you see that? Boy, you've got eagle eyes. That must be like a hundred or a hundred and fifty yards away. And with all this fog..."

Noir put his hands in the pockets of the trench coat he wore over his armour and kept walking. "Cerberus said it well. I am a demon. I am different from humans."

"Noir..." Wolf lowered his gaze and his lips dropped to be the opposite of a smile. He hid half his face under his scarf, as if he was ashamed of himself. He followed the footprints the boy left behind with his eyes thinking about many things at once. "Noir, I have a question. Why did you want to become a mercenary? What is your goal in the guild?"

Noir looked sideways at him with one eyebrow raised above the other. He never thought he would hear such a direct question come out of Wolf's mouth. "I have many reasons. It all comes down to responsibility and duty. A long time ago I promised someone that I would change the world and take care of it. I thought this would be the best way to do it, that's all."

Wolf, even though his legs were already tired, managed to catch up with the boy and walk beside him. Their eyes met for a moment when Wolf asked a question, pointing to Noir's chest. "That's a good reason, but that's someone else's dream, not yours. What do you want to achieve?"

"Me?" Noir pointed a thumb at himself. At first it was hard for him to understand why what he wanted was so relevant, but he soon realised what his leader really meant. "Well, I have other reasons. My family, my home, my future... It all depends on these missions. Evie and I will need money to start a family. We'll also need a good place to live. I don't want my children to grow up seeing what I've seen. And I... I want to grow old in peace."

They both remained serious for a moment, until Wolf smiled and slapped him on the back. "I like the way you think, my dear friend. You are just like Cerberus and Jane. Always thinking of family and the future. Those are the only reasons they have to keep doing what we do. To give a promising future to their parents, siblings, partners, children... I think there is no better motivation than that".

The steps they had to take to get to the sawmill were fewer and fewer. Noir noticed sadness in his friend's voice, and so he wrapped an arm around him. "You'll have someone soon, Wolf. It doesn't matter what others think of you. You're a hero. My hero. Sometimes people who are destined to change the world have to sacrifice a lot in return."

Wolf smiled at him and looked forward without breaking away from the melancholy that was flooding his heart. "I'd like to believe that's true. My will has not always been strong, Noir. More than once I have wondered if what I do is really worth it. No matter how many criminals I kill, the real problem will never go away. Hunger, hatred and poverty are hard to eradicate if all you can do is kill. That makes me think I'll never be able to change the world on my own."

"Well... We can change it together." Noir tried to smile, though he could only lift one end of his lips. But for Wolf, that was enough. The mere fact that Noir was trying to make him feel better made him reflect on many things. Though as he pondered, Noir saw something in front of them. "Let's finish this conversation another time. Look at that."

The mercenary leader was so distracted that he didn't notice how quickly the locals dropped their tools and ran up the street to their houses. Saws, axes and knives were embedded in the tree trunks. All activity ceased within seconds. After the villagers left, the place was completely deserted and ready for the show to begin.

"I guess they already know how to anticipate attacks." Observing the surroundings, Noir brought his hand to the hilt of his sword and slowly walked in circles with his back pressed against Wolf's. "I can't see anyone yet, but I have a feeling they will appear very soon. I think you'd better step back and rest, Wolf."

"Very funny! What do you take me for, Noir? I've been in worse situations." The wind came back with more force, as did Wolf's coughing. The mercenary dropped his rapier to clutch his stomach with both arms. His body was sore and his legs were shaking so badly that they caused him to fall into the snow. Noir wanted to turn to help him, but the situation required his attention to be focused on their surroundings. "Looks like I'm not so well after all... Why did this have to happen now? Being so close... Noir!"

"I'll take care of this, Wolf! If you can still move, take cover!"

Noir continued to observe without taking his hand off his sword as Wolf crawled into a wooden warehouse. The whistling of the wind put his senses on alert, he knew that in such a wide place the enemy could attack from anywhere. In addition, the environment and the weather worked against him, as his sword was limited to close-range attacks and his legs were slowed by the snow. The first blow would be the one that would decide the rest of the fight, and he had to be the one to strike it.

"It's impossible... I can't open it." Wolf's hands slipped away from the warehouse door and the mercenary fell roughly next to some planks. The cold had frozen his fingers, and soon the rest of his body would suffer the same fate. He looked both ways for a better hiding place, but all the houses had been locked. "I guess I'll have to rely on luck to get me out of this one. Maybe... if I don't move... I can get warm..."

"Come on, come out and fight! You're brave enough to beat up a helpless girl, but not brave enough to fight me!?" Noir's sharp ears instantly picked up a sound behind him. The boy turned with his mouth and nose twitching like those of a rabid dog, but there was no one there. However, he could smell a discreet scent of oil very close to the logs piled by the river. "Don't tell me that... No!"

"Get out of there, Winry! The fireworks are about to go off!"

Four wooden sticks flew over Noir's head and then landed on top of the oil-soaked logs. The tips of the sticks were engulfed in flames, causing the fire to spread easily through the plank stores and the roof covering the sawmill. One person jumped out of reach of the flames with a bucket in her right hand, which she then threw into the river. Noir watched in astonishment as the flames reached the nearest houses, unable to do anything to prevent it.

"I couldn't see it coming... Were they behind me all this time...?" His sword slowly came out of its scabbard and the boy turned around scowling. His teeth couldn't stay still, his blood was flowing so fast he couldn't calm down. Four figures stood in front of him, looking down at him from the top of the street, knowing that the young man was there to kill them. The fifth member returned with the rest and the leader of the group finally took a step forward. "You... You're the one responsible for what happened to Evie, aren't you? You must have felt very powerful when you brutally beat my girlfriend. If you wanted to make me angry, you succeeded. How do you plan to fix it?"

The thugs looked at each other and let out several laughs. Noir opened his eyes wide and they flared with black flames. No one was taking him seriously, and that was what infuriated him the most. When the laughter stopped, the leader of the group, large in stature and with features befitting nobility, began to applaud as he descended to meet Noir face to face.

"A magnificent show, Dayfall. It was truly a pleasure to see you in action. Well, I'm sure you're wondering what the hell I'm talking about." The leader tapped two fingers on the badge he wore on his chest. "As you may know, we are part of the organisation of the man you brutally killed. You remember that, don't you? Oh, but surely you can't remember me... Disappointing coming from a professional killer like you."

"No... I do remember you. You're one of the degenerates from William's party." Noir's black flames began to slowly circle the leader of the thugs to separate him from the others. The blond man watched his avenues of escape disappear with an attitude too calm to be normal. "You've come straight into the lion's den for no reason. How do you plan to get out of this situation?"

"Relax, hero. There's no need to be so aggressive. Why don't we have a nice chat while we enjoy the weather? I'm sure you've got a lot of questions in that little head of yours." The nobleman brushed away the snow piled on his shoulders and head and stepped even closer to Noir. In response, the young demon manifested six limbs. "We all know that for us mere humans, it is impossible to kill a demon like you. So revenge through the sword is not a feasible thing. However... I can do worse to punish you. I can destroy more than just your body. I can destroy your sanity and your morals, as well as your loved ones. How about that?"

Noir's eyes widened further at such arrogance. "It sounds like an unfunny joke, and I'm getting tired of listening to you. You'd better draw your sword now, because I will show you no mercy."

"Of course. You must mete out justice like the hero you are. We're the dirty criminals who must be exterminated, aren't we? Those stories are always so... unreal. People like you, who think they have the absolute truth, always end up worse than the criminals they're after. Why, you mean? Simple..." The slender man grabbed Noir's trench coat to show him the wicked smile hidden beneath the mask. "Because there is no such thing as good guys and bad guys. Only strong and weak. And your girlfriend is definitely one of the weak."

"You'll be sorry you said that." Noir raised his sword consumed by the Born Power. The nobleman was not intimidated by the demon's growing magic, and managed to knock him down with a kick to the legs before he could do anything. Noir was back on his feet after a few seconds, enough time for the leader to escape through the curtain of black fire at inhuman speed. "What...? How could he take me down? He's really fast... But not fast enough!"

Noir could still see the silhouettes of the five thugs through the fire. They hadn't fled like anyone else would, but were waiting for the demon to respond to the attack. Seeing that they would not retreat, Noir strengthened his muscles with demonic magic and disintegrated the curtain of fire with a swing of his sword. But the thugs were no longer there. In their place, five matchlock muskets were aimed directly at him.

"Who...?"

A hail of bullets rained down on Noir as soon as he showed himself. The boy tried to cover his weak points, but even his demonic limbs couldn't stop the power of the bullets. His legs took so many hits that they could not hold firm any longer. The young demon was dragged by the gunfire to the end of the sawmill, where he saw for the last time the face of his best friend, who was watching without being surprised at all.

"Wolf... Did you know about this...?" A shot hit his face, shattering much of it. The boy screamed in disbelief at the pain he was feeling. One of his eyes no longer worked, and the other was covered in so much blood that he couldn't see anything with it. The shots now concentrated on his arms, as his sword was still between his fingers. His limbs came off along with the weapon, staining the snow with his blood. "It can't be... Who are you...? Am I going to die here...?"

A powerful shot sent Noir rolling to the edge of the frozen river. When he stopped, he tried to crawl to escape his executioners, but it didn't take him long to realise that his arms were no longer there. All he could do was lay his head in the snow and cry inconsolably.

"I'm sorry, Noir... I wish there was another solution." Wolf dropped the act and got up from the snow to escape the place. But as he crossed the corner of the warehouse someone grabbed him by the neck and slammed him against the wall. Feeling the heat that radiated from the person's hand, Wolf knew immediately who it was. "Cerberus... Didn't I tell you...?"

"I don't give a shit about your orders, you bastard. Don't you see what you did to Noir? Is this the reason you stopped us from coming here? So the Holy Trinity could finish that boy off? Answer me!" Jane grabbed Cerberus' arm and shook her head. That was not a good time to argue. "You'll explain everything when we get back to the guild... You knew something we didn't and you took advantage of that rookie. You betrayed the person who looked up to you the most to save your ass. How can you be so calm?"

Wolf pulled the hands of the pyromancer away and walked into the fog. "I did what I had to do. This is the best solution. If you want to know more, you better start walking. They'll be coming for us after Noir."

"Wait. Are we really going to leave him in the hands of the Holy Trinity? Aren't we going to do anything to help him?" asked Jane. She was the only one who bothered to look at the dying boy, who was slowly losing his life with every shot he took. Cerberus had no choice but to carry her on his shoulders against her will and escape with Wolf. "No! Let me go, Cerberus! This isn't just Noir's fault! We're all responsible!"

"I know... But there's nothing we can do for him anymore. They never let prey go."

"Dad... Evie... I don't want to die..." One of the shooters put a foot in the boy's face and shot at his legs until they too separated from his body. Noir had no strength left to scream, the only thing that came out of his mouth were moans of agony. The shooter then removed the silver helmet he wore and crouched down as he heard Noir's faint voice. "Who... Who are you...?"

"Oh, you still don't know? After all that show? We are the Holy Trinity, Noir Dayfall. The famous order of knights hunters of criminals. I'm sure you've heard of us before. Yes... Your tears tell me you have." The knight put his helmet aside and sat on the ground as if it was a chat between two friends. "You are truly amazing, Dayfall. Since The Infamous incident no one has dared to do anything like what you have done. I have to admit, you've got a lot of guts. But you know what? Luck doesn't always smile on the brave. You've gone into something that's beyond your capabilities. You've played with things you don't understand, and we've had to stop you. I hope you understand."

"No... This doesn't make any sense... Why is the Holy Trinity working with William's organisation...? Aren't they criminals like me...? Why don't they...?" The knight laughed as if he had been told a joke. Noir felt completely tricked, he couldn't understand that the knights' interests went beyond that. "That means that all this time you have been working together... That's how you found me...?"

"Yes, that's right. The truth is that not so long ago they were in a similar position to you. The difference is that it is not so easy to take down a criminal organisation when all its members are important figures of the seven kingdoms. So we had to come to an agreement. They would be our eyes and ears in every corner of every city, and in return we would let them continue their misdeeds in the shadows. Impressive, don't you think? Since then, no criminal has been able to escape us. It's infallible!"

Hearing his cry of euphoria, one of the knights accompanying him came over to kick him in the back. "Frank, stop talking to that demon and let's get this over with. Sir Meyer is waiting for news."

"Yeah, yeah. Give me a minute, Faith. I'm sure the kid's got a lot of questions." Frank's long, curly black locks fell to each side of his face as he leaned towards the young demon. Noir could clearly see his smile as he held out three small vials. "Look carefully. These are the clues we got from the incident at Dawson's farm, one of your contractors. The first vial contains a black flame that cannot be extinguished by anything and can be handled as if it were a solid object. The second contains a black, viscous substance called demonic miasma, known to be the main source of demon power. And the third..."

"That's..."

"A lock of hair! Oh, but why would there be a lock of a girl's hair in a place as sinister as that? Besides, it's not just any lock of hair. It's hard to cut and has the characteristic colour of demons..." The knight by the name of Frank put the vials away once Noir understood what he meant. "We captured the girl you let go and she told us everything she knew about you. Apparently, since it wasn't an assassination mission against a human being, you got overconfident and let the contractor see your face. Dawson also gave us a brief description of your companions. One wears a wolf mask, one is a pyromancer and one is an ordinary woman. Quite a colourful bunch."

"I won't let you harm them..."

"Let me finish first. Faith!" A weapon somewhat smaller than a blunderbuss materialised in the knight's right hand. Frank loaded the weapon with a single bullet, which had a different colour and shape than a conventional bullet. The weapon radiated a powerful light as the knight aimed at the demon's heart. "But we didn't have a clear lead until you killed William, the most important member of the organisation. Naturally, his death worried us a great deal, and we began to search more intensely. We were able to link the deaths of Regin Sighur, the demon family and William DeLoire to a guild and a demon. The only thing left was to find out exactly where this guild was. So we used the same method we used a few years ago with The Infamous. We waited until we had a good enough description to then lure the targets to a location in each realm. If someone appeared who did not match the description, we simply did nothing. After all, not everything is always perfect. Sometimes you have to resort to trial and error. Until it finally happened... Today was the chosen day for our paths to cross."

The knight raised the hand he wasn't holding the weapon with and two other knights brought Noir to his knees. The boy raised his head to look at him, but his hair stained by his own blood kept him from seeing anything. The barrel of the gun locked on Noir's chest, and Frank's finger slowly pulled the trigger. "You were very careless, Dayfall. Regin Sighur was our target too, and if you hadn't killed him before us none of this would have happened. It's not even worth mentioning how we found your girlfriend. Remember the guy you worked for before all this? He never mentioned to you that he was associated with King Trinity and us? Not once? Well, it seems he didn't like you very much, because once we found out you were at Trinity he didn't hesitate to rat you out. Your friends in the slums did the same. They showed us where you lived and where you came from. It was easier than we expected."

Frank laughed.

"But we took so long only because we also wanted to confirm the identity of your companions. In fact, we already knew how to find you because you left your job at the construction site the same day Regin died. We could tell it was a guild because the guards saw your companions. Also that you were a demon, as you left several pieces of evidence at the crime scene. And the only realms with adventurer's guilds near the county of Voltair are Laffrith and Trinity, so... It wasn't such an exhaustive search. Seriously, you were so incompetent!"

"I'll kill you..."

"Mmm? Did you say something? I didn't hear you very well. Can you repeat it?"

"I'll kill you...!"

"I thought so."

The bullet pierced cleanly through Noir's chest, who flew out into the frozen river, breaking through the thin layer of ice on its surface. The demon's body was swept downstream by the current as the five knights watched from the shore. One of them sighed in relief, two others celebrated and the rest remained silent.

"Are you sure that's going to be enough? Demons can regenerate their wounds with good nutrition. If he manages to survive, we won't have a surprise effect anymore." Faith mentioned. The leader of the knights holstered his weapon and picked up his helmet to return to Trinity's castle. "Are you listening to me?"

"There are many ways to kill a demon, Faith. When he drowns, his body will run out of oxygen, and that will inevitably kill him. He won't be able to regenerate his wounds either if his body is completely pulverized. But if none of that works, then that bullet will end his life. There is no demon that can resist that magic." The knight stopped at the top of the street and surveyed the dark horizon. "But we are not done yet. We must find the rest of the mercenaries and give them their due punishment."