Pwong!

Luna kicked the translucent, hazy blue ball into the air. She heard the muffled calls of people declaring they were going to get it, yet she couldn't comprehend their words. Cosain jumped up roughly three times the height of the average adult, human male and hit it towards Lasair. Still too high in the air for her to reach, she squatted down slightly. Out of her back emerged two fiery wings and she attempted to take to the sky. In the time required for the appendages to materialize, however, the ball had already long passed her. Lasair landed then Luna and Cosain silently teased her while chuckling.

Luna waved to them, signalling that she would go grab it. It seemed like the logical solution to her who could follow its scent, even if it had bounced away in an obscure path. They nodded in agreement and took part in a mute discussion as Luna jogged into the forest. When the other two were out of sight, she slowed to a walk, affirming that the ball had indeed gone on an adventure. Her nose twitched, searching for the salty scent the toy gave off. Unable to detect anything, she raised one eyebrow and ventured further into the forest. She based her direction by predicting the route it would have taken. The terrain was uneven by the plethora of tree roots sprouting up from the earth and the slight incline would have meant that it wasn't likely to have slowed to a stop on its own.

She gazed around her, scanning in all directions with every step. She let out a sigh after half a minute, unable to believe that it could have gone in any further than she already was. Her ear twitched and she straightened out her body when she heard what sounded like a splash and followed the noise. She arrived at the edge of a crystal clear pond, surrounded by lush green grass. In the middle of it was a small segment of land, with one cherry blossom tree, which had petals that appeared to smoulder. Beyond that, the water broke into a channel, leading straight into the ocean south of the forest.

Luna smiled as she noticed three people standing around the island, two on the edge of it and the last in the water. One of the chaps on the land was concealed in black armour, covering everything except for his right eye. The other beside him had dark blue wolf ears and a tail, though in the apparent light they appeared purple. He kept his torso bare, wearing only a ring of studded, brown leather on his right bicep. Above brown, leather pants, he also wore a loincloth made of animal furs. The last was a woman, leaning against the small island, only her arms and head exposed above the water. Her skin was undoubtedly white though it had a bluish tinge and her hair seemed to be an aqua green. Her ears were also comparable to fins that started blue at the base and turned to the same colour as her hair towards the ends.

Luna waved and called out to them, no sound coming from her lips, They all turned their heads just the same and without a word, nodded to each other. Their expressions seemed uneasy and they hesitated before going their separate ways. The blueish woman ducked under the water, becoming nothing more than a shadow below the surface. She swam rapidly toward the channel, disappearing into the ocean. The shirtless demi-human jumped from the platform and soared over the drink and Luna's head alike, landing in the trees where he jumped from branch to branch, returning to the village. The man in black waded through the liquid and stepped onto the shore just beside his daughter. From his cloak, he offered her the translucent ball that she had been looking for. She accepted it graciously and he closed his eye, as though to smile at her without removing his face mask. When it opened again, she noticed that it seemed to be more or less cloudy. Remembering with a jolt that she had to finish her game, she made a mental note to ask him about it later and retreated back from where she came.

She peered over her shoulder as she ran. Cain hadn't moved from that spot and though it was tricky to tell, he appeared to be tightly gripping the hilt of his sword. Luna became lost in thought, overcoming herself with worry. She pondered to herself, wondering if maybe he got a new job request which struck a nerve in him. She decided then with a triumphant huff that she'd help her mother make a nice meal for him that evening to alleviate his concerns, even if ever so slightly.

Suddenly a sickening scent filled her nostrils and broke her train of thought. She halted in her tracks, dropped the ball -which turned into a puddle as it hit the ground- and immediately drew her claws. There was no doubt in her mind what the smell was; the unmistakable aroma, the foul, iron stench of blood. She let out a low growl and focused her hearing, unsure as to whether or not she'd be able to make out any other shred of essence within this savage incense. Seemingly the only living person within the range of her senses, she decided to backtrack and regroup with her father.

She arrived at the pond once more, which was now a misty red and Cain nowhere to be seen. “Luna...” someone called out to her and she whipped around to see Stella, dressed in an unfamiliar armour, approaching her. A flash of relief fell over Luna as they embraced each other in a short hug. Her worry immediately came back as she felt something warm and wet on Stella's back. She pulled away, keeping a grip on Stella's left shoulder, only to now see a trail of blood from the corner of the woman's mouth. “It's not your fault...” she whispered before falling sideways, a crimson pool forming about her. Luna tried to scream, tried to call for aid and reached for Stella's corpse. She froze as she noticed that she herself was holding a broken and bloody, black sword blade in her right hand. Her left arm withered away as a whole, leaving not much more than a black husk of her limb.

She took a step back, appalled and terrified at the sight ahead of her. In doing so, she slipped on the mud and fell into the water, sinking below the surface. She lifted her head above the drink and gasped for breath from the cold shock. She then began to hyperventilate as the abundance of green grass, the healthy leaves, and the thick trees either turned yellow and fell or shrivelled like raisins. Some branches had bodies of other demi-humans hanging from them, nooses tied around their necks. Directly in front of her, towering over Stella's body, was the purple wolf man's head on a pike. He had a ferocious expression on his face, as though he continued fighting up until the moment he was decapitated. Luna tried to turn away and stopped again when she witnessed her own reflection. The withering in her arm had started to spread and already consumed more than half of her body, and the Ríastrad stared back at her. She gazed up at the cherry blossom tree, the only living thing left, unable to move at all. It flared up, dropping sparks into the pond like it was angry at the state of its home. A steel blade coated in a brown liquid was waved before of Luna's eyes and a cold hand gripped her shoulder. The moment it touched her skin, her vision blurred and her senses dulled so much that she couldn't even feel it lacerate her flesh. The only thing she could hear, if only barely, was someone whisper in her ear, “It's all your fault.”

“Luna! Luna, wake up!” Someone hollered and violently shook her awake, sending jolts of pain all through her body and strong enough to put stars in her eyes. It took a moment for her senses to settle but when they did, she recognized Idel standing over top of her. Past his shoulder, she could see what looked like a purple, glowing line running across the ceiling which shortly vanished. He let out a sigh of relief and released her. “Crisis averted.” He mumbled under his breath.

Luna attempted to sit up in her bed, recoiled in pain as her body protested, then managed to raise herself onto her elbows if she went at a snail's pace. “What crisis?” She asked, her voice groggy.

Idel sat down on the computer chair in front of her desk and gestured to the entire room. “Your blood resonated with whatever dream, or nightmare rather, that you were having. Had I not stopped you when I did, you would have moved the entire house to a new location.”

“Do I even have the mana for that?”

“That was my primary concern. You could have moved only a portion of the house and I didn't want to risk being caught in the middle.”

Luna allowed herself to fall back down into her pillow and Idel watched her expectantly. “Can I help you?” She growled.

He shook his head, more so in confusion than it was he was actually saying no. “Tell me about your dream.” He stated calmly. Getting nothing more than a blank stare in return, he explained, “It was pretty obvious you were having some kind of night terror. You almost lost yourself just a few hours ago, so it's no surprise. Whatever it was though almost caused you to cast a fairly high tiered spell. That's not the type of magic you can use in a panic. It requires a clear image of where you want to go and the state the target area is currently in. So, here's what I think just happened; you weren't casting the spell to run away from something, you were casting it to try and prevent something or save someone. So, tell me about your dream.”

Luna stared up at the ceiling with a sigh, hoping to avoid the subject. “It was nothing. Maybe I just wanted to go on vacation and dreamed about a resort somewhere.”

Idel pointed down towards her waist. “If that was true you wouldn't be in need of a new bed and blanket.” She followed his finger as best and as quickly as she could to see several tears in her comforter and beyond that, holes in her mattress. She lifted her hand to see that her claws were in the process of retracting. “Those aren't meant for tickling. Something forced you to tense up so badly you drew your claws and gripped your bed until you were white-knuckled. So, again, what did you dream about?”

She grunted to herself and stayed silent for a moment. Idel waited patiently, without moving. Figuring that he wasn't going to leave until she told him, she gave in. “I was playing some kind of game, similar to kickball with a couple of other demi-humans.”

“Do you know their names?”

“Lasair and Cosain, I think.” Idel breathed in loudly but remained expressionless. Luna dismissed it and continued, “One of them knocked the ball out into the forest so I went to grab it. It rolled a considerable distance and I tracked it down to a pond where Dad and two people I've never heard of were talking. One was a wolf, with dark blue fur, the other was a fish lady or some other aquatic species with aqua green hair.”

Idel scratched his chin. “The wolf was probably Sealgair, your father's best friend. A fish lady though, most likely a mermaid or at least a demi-human from the same tree. I do recall Cain mentioning something about a mer-folk person he worked with sometimes.”

“They split up when they noticed me. The woman went back to the ocean, the wolf made a mad dash back to the village. Dad handed me the ball that I had been looking for. It must've rolled into the water where he picked it up.”

“Or he simply realized it was what you were looking for and had the mer-folk make a second one.”

“What do you mean?”

“Demi-humans didn't make use of a lot of the same materials humans did due to their beliefs so making a rubber or plastic ball would have been out of the question for them. Instead, they used magic to replace some basic items like sporting equipment. They used 'spirit' -remind me later to go into more detail about what that is- to give the water, as an example, a semi-solid form and change its properties to further serve their goal. In this case, to make it more bouncy. Cain couldn't use water magic himself, so he likely had the mer-girl make one before you got there when he heard you coming.”

That would explain why the ball turned into a puddle when I dropped it, I guess.

“What happened after that?”

“He had a cloudy look in his eyes.”

“Cain did?”

“Yeah. It seemed like he was hurting or at least distracted by something. I returned to the village but as I did so I remember thinking about helping mom make a meal for him, to cheer him up. I didn't get that far though. I stopped when I smelled blood, and a lot of it. I went back to inform him, but he had already left. That's when...”

Idel perked up slightly, assuming from her hesitation that the important part was on its way.

Luna bit her lip softly before finishing. “Stella emerged from the woods. I hugged her, relieved to see someone I cared about wasn't hurt. She told me it 'wasn't my fault', whatever that meant. When I pulled away, I had already stabbed her in the back. I fell into the pond, body withering away, and someone put a knife to my neck. It was coated in something that made my mind go numb as soon as it touched me. As it slit my throat, he whispered that it was all my fault. Then I woke up to some old cunt shaking me.”

Idel hummed to himself and tapped his fingers on the desk. Without warning, he lunged towards Luna who tried to pull away but was paralyzed by pain again. He quickly removed her eye patch and stretched the skin above and below her eye to make sure it stayed open. He tilted his head up slightly, like a doctor trying to see through his bifocals and silently backed away, letting Luna reposition the patch again. “Well, it hasn't advanced to the next stage yet, though it is undoubtedly related.” He muttered and scribbled notes down into a notepad on the desk. “I'll need to research this in more detail going forward. Perhaps I'll discuss it with Stella when she returns and see if Cain told her anything about something similar that happened to him.”

“Stella isn't here?” Luna inquired, shifting in the bed so that she could more readily get her hands up if he came towards her again.

“Nope. Her, Aileen and Nao went to eliminate the known beast bane farm here in the city. Ah, that reminds me...” he reached into his satchel which was leaning against the leg of the chair. He pulled out a white, metal mask that had a green, glittery resin coated on one side. “My initial reason for coming down to visit the three of you was to give all of you one of these each.” He placed it down on the nightstand beside her bed. “While wearing this, you need not worry about breathing in the fumes from the beast bane. It still won't do you any good if you come into direct contact with it, especially if it enters your system, but this can at least enable you to be in the same room without effectively going brain dead.”

“Wouldn't it have been better if they waited for me to recover and then all of us take care of it?”

“In terms of efficiency, maybe, although they had much bigger concerns I'm sure. They must've decided that it needed to be disposed of as soon as possible. It could be catastrophic if you were exposed to it again after all.”

“How so?”

Idel leaned back in the chair, a shallow and nervous smile twisting his lips. “I've just put my foot in my mouth, haven't I?” He sighed. Luna blinked at him and he shrugged his shoulders while bringing both hands out wide. “It'll take me some time to prepare the spell.” He stood up to leave the room.

“What spell?”

“A memory walker. I can't risk you using your ability as it may result in a branching effect that could make Stella and Aileen's efforts to keep you away from that flower in vain. So, I'm going to have you gaze into my memories and walk alongside you to answer any questions you may have. That way you get the information you seek without taking in my pain.” He stopped in her doorway. “In any sense, keep resting for now. I'll come back up when I'm ready to begin.”

* * *

“We need to discuss our next course of action.” Kent fumed while swinging open the main doors of the church with a loud bang.

“Can our next tactic not involve breaking a car? They took the wheels off my own and tore the engine block of the other. Trying to exorcise this lass is getting to be a wee bit expensive.” Thomas asked, following in right behind him.

“What else does that book say? Is there anything that would indicate her weakness?”

“The only thing we know for certain is that she's vulnerable to bestia nocuit which I grow in the greenhouse out back. Other than that we have nothing on her. This book only covers the previous known generation of beasts and demons, not the current.”

The Chief snatched the journal out of the priest's hands and started furiously flipping through it. “In some movies, werewolves are weak to silver. If one of the other recorded monsters in this book is weak to some kind of metal, like that cursed prick, she may be as well. In that case, I could make a bullet tip out of it and take her out from behind.” He thought aloud and stroked the grip of his newly acquired firearm.

“Be gentle with that book! It's far older than either you or I. It's remarkable that it's still readable, let alone in one piece.” Thomas snapped and tried to reach for it carefully. “Regardless, It isn't fully translated, only bits and pieces. I haven't had the time to do the rest in light of recent events. Not to mention I have a far more important matter to immediately discuss.”

Kent slapped the book into the priest's chest. “Don't you dare fucking say what I think you're going to say.”

Thomas rolled his eyes and hushed his tone. “The objective is not to kill her. What we need to do is subdue her so that I can perform the exorcism.”

The Chief stepped forward, just shy of touching their foreheads together threateningly. “That bitch murdered my son!”

“She didn't murder your son, the demon possessing her did.”

“She's just as much to blame for not being able to control it. What would you do after the fact anyway if it turned out that she was still just as much a monster without that demonic possession?”

“By that point, I would allow the law to take care of things and I could be satisfied with at least giving her another chance at life. One where she would be free to make her own decisions.”

“What a load of shite! She's already tasted blood once, she'll do it again. Her only option is to die.”

“Um... Father?” A shy voice interrupted their heated argument. They both whipped their heads toward the deacon standing in front of the altar. He cautiously raised one hand, a finger pointed to the back of the church. “I realize this may not be a good time, but someone broke into your greenhouse.”

Thomas and Kent exchanged glances. The Chief closed his eyes and fell down into one of the pews, rubbing his face. “Was anything taken?” The priest inquired.

“Most of the basic herbs and the like were left untouched but they did take all of that strange flower with the red and black petals.”

Thomas let out a sharp exhale and muttered under his breath, “Fuck.”

“What now?” Kent demanded as he laid down, tone sharp and face flushed.

“I'm thinking.” The deacon departed in the moments of silence that followed. Thomas finally spoke again. “We still have the journal, so I can grow more, but it'll be a number of weeks before we have enough to combat that girl.”

“So we have no choice but to sit around and wait for her to get a 'one-up' on us?”

The priest didn't immediately reply. Lost in thought, he heard something that demanded his immediate attention. “Do you hear singing?”

“What does it matter?”

Thomas scanned the room, first the floor than he even dared to eye the ceiling, where one black and one white bird circled above them. “How did they get-” He cut himself off as he realized that the pair was a large raven and dove. “Get up officer. Now.”

“What are you on about?” He barked and lazily got up into a sitting position. Noticing that Thomas's face had turned ghastly pale, he matched his gaze to see a woman dressed in what appeared to be a combination of armour and a dress, wearing a white face mask. She stood at the back of the main chamber, singing to herself. “I didn't even hear the doors open.” Kent exclaimed.

“The Raven...” Thomas mumbled as the black bird from the ceiling landed on the woman's shoulder.

She ceased her singing, closed her eyes, canted her head slightly then playfully asked, “Shall we dance?”

* * *

Eight anchor points should be sufficient... Aileen thought to herself and threw a dagger with a cloth-wrapped hilt into the ground at her feet. Using it as a starting point she drew another blade from a sheath on her back and ran a circle around the church. At set intervals she pinned one after another until she returned to the first, her eight scabbards empty. “That should do for the initial setup.” She exhaled and wiped her forehead with the back of her sleeve.

“Is that all you need to erect a barrier with nature magic?” A curious Nao asked, landing outside the perimeter set up by the planted weapons.

“As a catalyst, yes. Stella should be distracting them at the moment. That should give us the time we need to gather the spirit to keep it in effect. Once it's ready, it should work as a cloak so that we don't draw unnecessary attention should things go south. We'll be counting on you to provide an impassable barrier since I'm only giving this enough time to conceal, not block.”

“Leave it to me!” Nao exclaimed with one hand extended over her head in a fist. Her expression softened and her eyebrows furrowed. “But this will only prevent entry on the horizontal plane. Shouldn't we give it a ceiling?”

Aileen shook her head. “If we run into a dire problem, I'd like the ceiling to remain open so that Stella and I can retreat upward. Besides, I don't think we'll be in there long enough for any humans to devise a method of getting over the wall.”

“I see.”

Aileen turned towards the entrance of the church and marched forward. “I'm going to get ready to enter and back Stella up. Once you see those daggers light up, the spell is active. That should suffice as your signal to activate the barrier.”

“Roger.” Nao said and took to the skies. Blue runes started to glow and travelled up her both arms, all the way to her shoulders. She nodded to Aileen, indicating that she was ready to start whenever.

Aileen returned the nod and snapped her fingers, just in time to hear gunshots on the other side of the door. It's time.

* * *

“To think,” Stella gripped the hilt of the sword on her back, eyes dead set on Thomas, “I'd have the pleasure of killing you twice.”

Kent dashed in front of the priest and drew his handgun and fired at Stella before anything else happened. Her irises glowed a faint purple and as the officer pulled the trigger, his foot slipped and he put the bullet into the door frame. Giving him no time to line up another shot, Stella flicked her left wrist and caught a dart that fell out of her sleeve. She threw it at him and hit him right in the wrist of his shooting hand. The Chief grunted in discomfort but otherwise ignored it, pointing the barrel at her again. The world around him started to spin and he started taking pop shots wildly, hitting everything but her. After every round was spent, he dropped the nine millimetre and leaned against one of the pews for support.

Thomas grabbed Kent by the shoulders and inspected his face closely as it turned pale and clammy. He turned his attention to Stella and snapped, “What did you do to him?”

She pointed at the needle in his wrist, lips curled under her face mask. “They're coated in a strong toxin from a pairilis. Think of them like king cobras the size of an anaconda. They use it to dramatically weaken their prey before strangling them, even when they can't make use of camouflage. It isn't fatal on its own, but will still take several days before he can comfortably move under his own power again.”

The priest backed away as Stella stepped forward and Aileen entered the building. “It's you...” He muttered meekly, recognizing her from the hospital despite headgear. She only waved at him innocently and stood beside her partner. “Why have you two come here? You already took the bestia nocuit! We have no more weapons that you need to be afraid of.”

The women exchanged glances. “Someone already took it?” When they only got silence as a response, Stella instructed Aileen, her voice dripping venom, “If he's lying, it should be in the greenhouse. You check it out, I'd like to have a chat with the Father.” She nodded and released her wings, quickly moving to the back of the church. Stella dashed towards the priest in a blur of motion, grabbed him by the throat and pinned him on the ground. Before she loosened her grip, several tree roots broke through the tile floor and bound his limbs.

“Let me go!” He cried. Stella ignored him for the time being and he started wailing, “Help! There's a madwoman in here!”

“This place is surrounded by a cloak. Anyone outside the barrier will see nor hear anything out of the ordinary.” She spat.

“I am a man of God! Surely your actions will enact his divine punishment upon-”

Stella drew her black short sword and pressed it against his throat, saying nothing.

He calmed his tone and asked again, “Why have you come here?”

“Our priority is to get rid of that damned flower. Aside from that, I wanted to ascertain something.”

“Something?”

Stella leaned in closer to him, keeping the edge of her blade against his neck. “You're older and skinnier, but you are a spitting image of the man who used me as a sex toy when I was a child.”

Thomas gulped which caused his Adam's apple to be cut by her weapon. “I would never do such a thing.” He informed her as confidently as he could.

“Eh?” She mused and pulled away though kept a foot on his chest. She scanned the room, letting her eyes fall on the Chief of police. “What's your relationship with him?”

“He's just someone who believed in me when the world didn't.”

“I know that feeling.” Stella said dryly and with a sigh, released her prisoner.

He slowly sat up, rubbing first his neck than his wrists. “You're... why?”

She picked up the old journal that he dropped when she pinned him and slowly started flipping through the pages. “Nothing would give me more pleasure than to stick that ugly mug of yours like a pig, but I've a feeling you're just an ill-informed pawn who thought he was doing the right thing.”

Thomas gingerly rose onto his feet. “That book mentions a black-haired woman called the Raven, travelling with a pair of mercenaries. She's-”

“Me, though I'm not the Raven, I'm the Raven Guardian of Síochain. This journal was written by Aldus, the Royal alchemist in service to the king of the Human Empire a thousand years ago. No wonder it's so prejudiced.”

“What do you mean?”

She leafed to the page where it discussed the war between humans and demons. “Without a doubt, demons were involved in the conflict, but they were in service to both sides as mercenaries. This recording uses demi-humans and demons interchangeably though. Not to mention it only basks the humans in a heroic light when they were the real monsters during the ordeal.”

She tossed it down at Thomas's feet. “You should find other sources before you start following that shit religiously. It only mentions that humans waged war against us, not that you people instigated it. Twice.”

Before he could reply, Aileen returned. “All of the beast bane has been swiped, he's telling the truth.”

Stella clicked her tongue in frustration and glared at the priest again. “Who else knew you were growing that repugnant rose?”

He shook his head. “Most people who asked, I told them about it. There's no shortage of people who are aware of what it can supposedly do.”

She sheathed her blade aggressively and marched towards the entrance. “Stella?” Aileen called after her. “What about him?”

“Before I came in, I overheard him tell that sleeping prick not to kill Luna. As such, I've decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.” She then removed her face mask and stared at him menacingly over her shoulder. “Don't make me regret my decision.” She began moving again and Aileen caught up to her. Without looking back, Stella continued, “Keep your schedule open. In the near future, I'll explain our side of the story. If you still believe that we're monsters afterward, we can settle the score at that point. In the meantime, don't grow any more of that fucking plant. No good will come out of it for either side. Try to keep that bastard on a leash as well.”

Thomas let out a sigh of relief and fell down into the bench nearest to him. “I thought I was going to die for sure.”

Suddenly, the women jumped further into the chamber when they heard Nao call out, “From above!”

There was a deafening crash and fragments of plaster and splinters of wood littered the floor. A man clad in brassy, singed armour with four wings dived through the ceiling, landing where the two had just been standing. He stood tall as the priest got back onto his feet, mortified. The stranger brandished an azure blade and stared down Stella and Aileen. “You two seem... familiar.” He mused, his voice booming in the large room. “Demi-humans!” He growled as his eyes flared with some degree of recognition and he took his blade in both hands.

Aileen flapped her wings and flew up towards the ceiling while Stella redrew her short sword. “A friend of yours?” She yelled out to the priest.

“I don't believe so.” He squeaked.

Stella rolled her eyes and whispered bitterly, “It's always something new.”

* * *

“Ow.” Luna exhaled gradually as she struggled to lift herself out of bed. With both feet on the floor, she shut her eyes and breathed in through her nose then out through her mouth. After a silent self-motivating monologue in her head, she stood up straight while clenching her teeth to keep from yelping in pain. The fur on her tail stood up in protest and every jolt made it difficult to keep her claws contained.

Idel knocked and opened the door without waiting on an audio cue, a glass of water in his right hand and a bouquet of pink peonies nuzzled in between his arm and torso. “The effects of the Ríastrad are quite a nuisance, are they not?” He observed and handed Luna the drink. She scowled at him without a word and raised it to her mouth cautiously. “These were also left out front during your nap.” He disclosed and set the flowers down on her desk, pulling out a note that was nested inside. He read it aloud as she drank, “I heard you weren't feeling well, so I got these as a little pick-me-up.” He flipped the paper around and stated, “There's no name on it.”

Luna downed the last of the water and put the cup on her nightstand. “I've got a pretty good idea who sent them.”

“Potential love interest?”

“Fuck off.”

He flinched. “You certainly don't mince words.”

“Get on with it!” She snapped, irritable from the anguish that coursed through her body with the smallest movement.

“Fine, fine. We need to go to the living room first. Can you handle the stairs or do you need a hand?” He asked, already extending a hand to her.

She slapped it away and immediately winced. Through gritted teeth, she grunted, “I can take care of myself.”

Idel backed away, concern written all over his face but he kept his distance. Luna walked sluggishly, using the wall for support in case she lost her balance. Each step felt first like she was walking on pins and needles, then several hairline fractures were being sent up her legs and finally, like her knees were being dislocated. Despite the extreme discomfort, she pressed on, refusing assistance the whole way. When they finally got down, her face had turned pale and her breathing was shallow. Idel stayed as close as she would allow, in order to catch her if she passed out.

“You should be fine to sit for the majority of the spell, as long as you don't want to interact with anything.” He explained. “Nothing we do will affect the outcome of the memory but should you want to inspect something such as an item in greater detail or open a container, the memory will freeze until you finish. Granted, it has to be a detail that I've seen. If you open up a container and I had never looked into it myself, all you'll see inside of it is void. Now, any questions?”

“What exactly are you showing me?” She asked as she pulled up a kitchen chair and gently lowered herself into it.

“In the simplest terms, I can think of, Cain's story as I know it. The primary take away from this will be why Stella and Aileen are trying so hard to keep you away from beast bane. Are you ready?” Luna nodded in response and he continued. “Very well then.” Idel grabbed a staff with a hole embedded in it at the head and grabbed a clear scíth from his bag. He placed the gem into the opening and tapped the ground with the butt of his staff. “Let's begin.”

The crystal glowed and carpeted the room in a pale mirage. Reality twisted and churned as the walls and furniture disappeared, replaced by log cabins, woodpiles, and forestation. A light brown dirt path switched out with the floor beneath Luna's feet and the ceiling became a deep sky blue with the odd fluffy cloud here and there. Men dressed in fur shirts and pants carrying large hunks of wood coupled with women in woollen dresses. Luna's ears perked up as she heard someone start to call out, “Cain? Styx? Where did you go? Oh, bugger...” Idel turned in the direction of the voice himself and their position in the memory moved. Around the corner of the nearest house was a man with brown hair wearing half a suit of steel plate armour, a short sword with a brassy hilt on his back. One young teen stood beside him, his fingers fidgeting.

“I saw that blade in my dream. It was partially hidden by his cloak, but I'm fairly certain my dad was carrying it.” Luna mumbled.

“Claíomh Solais,” Idel stated and the mirage paused. “A divine blade said to be forged from the blood of an archangel. Our father was it's chosen wielder before his death where it was then passed onto Cain who had an affinity for light.”

“Then that man is-”

“Your grandfather, Ceartas.”

The vision resumed and Ceartas sighed. “I didn't think they'd be late today of all days.” He turned his attention to the child. “Idel, can you go check the creek alongside Síocháin for Cain? I'll go check the archery range for Styx.”

The boy nodded and lightly jogged to the tree line as the man went in the opposite direction. Like a movie on fast forward, the actions within the mirage became accelerated, not slowing down until the young Idel stopped behind some thick shrubbery, overlooking a brook in the middle of a stony clearing.

It's identical to where I meet Abaddon and Lilith. Luna thought to herself. Another teenage boy sparred in the water with a red-skinned, horned girl. Little Idel recoiled and backed up a step, a bead of sweat forming on his forehead.

“The village elder, who taught me the basics of magic, always told me that demon kin were a pox to humanity.” The bigger Idel clarified with gloom. “That was my first time seeing Lilly, your mother, and it would be the last time for a number of years. I assumed right then and there that Cain was in danger, but my legs froze in place.”

“She had white skin yesterday...” Luna hummed.

Idel lowered his head slightly. “At some point or another, I think Cain let it slip that humans couldn't naturally be that red. That, coupled with the unfavourable rumours surrounding her name, she had Cain give her a new one and altered her reality to appear human. It put a restraint on her overall power so when the going got rough, she could still change back into her succubus form.”

“A new name?”

He nodded. “Lilly was the name your father gave her after her shift. Her original was Lilith but people associated that with a demon who steals babies and seduces men in order to mind control them. Afterward, whenever someone, save Cain, addressed her as Lilith, she immediately silenced them because she wanted nothing to do with it. It was the same if anyone mentioned that she was supposedly a seductress.”

Luna turned her attention back to the two sparring in the water. So she really is my mother...

Her thought was interrupted by the sound of little Idel stepping on a twig. Lilith instinctively disappeared from sight and Cain snapped, “Who's there?”

“Could he not smell you?” Luna demanded.

“He wasn't a demi-human yet so his senses weren't much stronger than a human's.” Her uncle claimed.

Small Idel appeared from the forest with his hands up. “I-I came to grab you but then I saw that demon girl and-”

Cain relaxed his stance somewhat and waded through the water, coming closer to his brother. “What girl?”

“The red-skinned-”

“The hell kind of mushrooms did you munch on during your journey here? Why did you come to grab me anyway?”

“He's playing dumb?” Luna raised an eyebrow.

“As I said, I was taught that demons were a pox to humanity. That was the leading belief within the human empire. Demon kin were hunted down and executed for simply existing, so Cain continuously lied to protect her. I didn't know at the time that he was half-demon himself.”

“You weren't though?”

“It's complicated. I'll explain in more detail shortly, or at least, my memories will.”

The vision advanced. “I leave for the academy today. You and Styx said you'd be there to see me off. That girl though-”

“Ah, right. We'd better get moving then.” Cain replied tiredly and trotted into the woods.

“The demon-”

“Do you really want to be late for your own departure?”

The boy nervously watched Cain's back and looked over his own shoulder before dashing to catch up.

The scíth glowed blindingly bright yet again and when the light died down, the forest had been ousted by a mystical looking office. An oak wood desk three times larger than Luna's bed sat at the back, littered with neatly organized books, scrolls, and tomes. Several ink pots lined the end of it closest to the entrance and a quill for each scribbled onto detailed sheets of parchment without the requirement of a human hand. The walls were decorated by an assortment of translucent maps that had splotches of varying shades of blue on them. Shelves were filled with handwritten journals on the other wall, and above them were floating orbs that looked like the night sky. The floor was covered in a velvet carpet that rippled like water when someone stepped on it and the ceiling was entirely replaced by an image of what Luna guessed was the Academy's courtyard. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that she could see people moving within the image, and wagered that it was the magic equivalent to a security camera.

A rigid old man with a snow-white beard reaching down to his feet sat on the far side of the desk. Beside him was a far younger man in gold armour, holding a jewelled claymore in both hands, the tip placed in between his sabatons. Behind the ink pots was a slightly older looking Idel, wearing blue, silk robes instead of fur. He stood at attention and appeared confident, but turned purple as soon as anyone looked at him. “Idel Cathasaigh...” the bearded man purred. “You're growing rather quickly in the arcane field. You've surpassed even my most talented mages, who have been here since birth. You, a country bumpkin raised in the sticks, who was only admitted into this academy less than a year ago at the request of your father.”

“Did Grandpa have a lot of authority?” Luna inquired.

“Well, yes. Not just with the headmaster of the academy either. The only people that wouldn't dare listen to him were necromancers or similar. Aside from having Claíomh Solais, he was the former captain of the kingdom's paladins. A hero in the human empire, so people granted his requests with the same level of enthusiasm as royalty. More so even, since he helped them himself instead of sitting on a throne and sending others to do it.

“Former?”

“Yeah. He had some kind of disagreement and started to doubt whether or not the people he was fighting for were as innocent as they made themselves out to be. That all being said, it only makes the next part worse...”

Luna blinked but said nothing and kept watching.

“I'm honoured to hear you say that. I think.” Little Idel replied, his eyes nervously dancing between the headmaster and the armoured stranger.

“It was meant more as a suspicion than praise.” He clarified and Idel swallowed loudly in a mix of fear and confusion. The headmaster stood up and walked around the side of the desk, closer to Idel. “Do you know what an exalted is?”

“That would be... a half-demon who had their demonic blood forcefully removed from them. The resultant body is fragile but possesses astronomical magical aptitude. It's all a theory though. No being has ever survived such an operation.”

“So we believe. Tell me, my boy, has your father, at any point in time, ever had a second wife?”

“Not... not that I know of.”

The man crooned and stroked his beard. “So you and your brothers have the same mother?”

“I think so.”

“Hm. What if I told you that your father, the former, strongest paladin in the world, responsible for executing thousands of demons alone, was executed just yesterday?”

Idel visibly recoiled. “Please don't jest about such topics.”

“It's not a joke.” He barked and put his face right beside Idel's. “Your father was executed for treason. He not only housed but raised two demons who are now on the run and you, my boy, share their blood. Or rather, you did.” The man backed away and raised one hand. “I'm not saying that you're to blame though, or that you've done anything wrong. By all accounts, you are human. Being the first and only exalted makes you a valuable asset. As such, we have a proposition for you.”

“A proposition?” Idel echoed, his voice shaky but he remained at attention.

The armoured man, who had been both still and quiet thus far, stepped forward. He took the claymore in his left hand and extended his right out to the teen. The headmaster explained as they shook hands, “This is King Arthur, Excalibur's chosen. I have served as both his highness's personal mage as well as the principal of this facility for almost a lifetime now. As I near my retirement, we need someone gifted and powerful to take my place. Should you swear loyalty to the Human Empire, you will not be branded as a criminal and instead will become a valuable cornerstone in our foundation. What say you?”

There was a short pause, then without letting go of the King's hand, Idel knelt down onto one knee. “I swear.” He squeaked.

“Even if it means fighting your own flesh and blood?”

Arthur's lips curled slightly as Idel's grip on his hand tightened. He raised his head, fire in his eyes and tears down his cheeks. “Undoubtedly.” He spat.

The mirage turned smokey as they jumped to another memory and Luna cast a cautious glance towards her uncle.

Without matching her stare, he solemnly said, “At that time, I couldn't help but remember how Cain protected Lilly. It fit so perfectly with the claim that he was a demon. I blamed him and Styx for our father's death and worked tirelessly for the year to follow in hopes that I could get my revenge. Meanwhile, Cain had a similar idea, though I wasn't necessarily one of his targets. Not at first.”

The smoke cleared and gave away to Cain and Idel staring each other down in a large crystal cavern, largely empty except for several giant scíths floating above them. Idel appeared tired, but otherwise fine. Cain on the other hand, had his cloak ripped off, revealing shards of metal sticking out of his shoulder and no arm in sight. Several black lines like veins could be seen sticking out from under his face mask.

“Not long before this encounter,” Idel started, “Cain went berserk much like how you did before. Lilly used that song she taught Stella, 'Silencing the Trumpets', to bring him back. The Ríastrad took his arm and several organs though before she did. At this point in time, he was barely being kept alive by a concoction made from several strong herbs from Síocháin as well as Lasair's blood, which had strong regenerative capabilities. Even so, he challenged me one on one because he couldn't bear to put his chosen family at risk. As it turns out, they felt the same way about him.”

The mirage flashed a warm orange and when all was visible again, Lasair, with smoke coming off of her fist, stood in front of Cain who had passed out. On the other side of the cavern was Idel, laying flat on his back. Nao landed in front of him, her arms spread out as though to block anyone from getting closer. “Let's skip the embarrassing parts and just let me admit that your father, even if he had help, won the fight. He spared me and told me exactly what you had said yesterday if you remember. 'I'd have to be a fool, ignorant of pain, or a weakling searching for one last excuse, to fall for a fraudulent heaven within this Hell.' I had tried to trap him in an illusion, where he would have lived his ideal life with the people he cared about most until his real body gave away. He saw right through it though and broke out almost immediately. It wasn't until I woke up sometime later, and I thought back upon those words, that I realized he was just protecting the people he cared about. The only difference between him and our father was that he saw how filthy humanity was far sooner.”

The vision swayed and turned black, returning in a large open field where Idel, Nao, Styx, and Shaffra hid behind a giant boulder. They overlooked a battalion of enthusiastic knights who were standing in front of a forest blanketed in a thick, brown miasma. “What is this?” Luna asked.

Idel shot her a gloomy sideways glance. “For Cain, Hell on Earth. That gas is made up of several thousand flowers of beast bane.”

“Then that forest is-”

“Síochain.”

“What are the knights doing there?”

“Preventing any demi-humans from leaving.”

“Huh?”

“Humans feared demi-humans, so King Arthur gave the order to eradicate them. Despite that, though, his primary target was still your father who could have taken on the entire Empire single-handed if he wanted to. Arthur decided that he would eliminate him and his people before that happened. All he did in the end, though, was dig his own grave.”

Luna watched the mirage as all the knights let out a war cry. The biggest of them, who had a white stripe painted diagonally on his chest piece like it was a sash, stepped in front of everyone. “An esteemed general,” Idel revealed, “promoted for his battle prowess. That man, in particular, was thought to be the strongest human, save King Arthur with his Excalibur. However...” The man readied a weapon that looked like a battle staff but had flanges on either side of it. They pointed at a silhouette in the mist and the general charged straight for it. He didn't even make it three steps before a red wave of light broke the miasma and in the blink of an eye, cut him and every soldier behind him down the middle.

The knights scattered in a panic as Cain emerged from the mist, the miasma burning away when it got close to him. Smoke billowed out of every opening in his armour and the sword in his hand was coated in a scarlet flame. His left eye smouldered and shed a crimson tear. Lilly followed just behind him, donning a loose, linen dress. She had one hand clasped over her mouth and the other holding her stomach. “It was still in the early stages, but she was pregnant at this time. As such, she was trying her damnedest not to breathe in any of the toxins. They wouldn't affect her, but you on the other hand, would have been killed instantly.”

When Idel finished his comment, Cain lifted his sword beside his head and swung it horizontally. A wall of fire appeared before him and quickly spread throughout the clearing, consuming almost every soldier in one fell swoop. A purple ring was summoned in the air behind Lilly and out of it came several rays of light that tracked down and pierced the hearts of any who weren't immediately reduced to ash. “Eight-hundred soldiers dead in the blink of an eye, and that was when he was weakened by poison,” Idel stated. “And now Cain has his fury set straight for all of humankind.”

The two of them pressed forward, eventually meeting up with the other four but Cain walked straight past them. “You made a real mess here.” Styx called out to his back. When Cain didn't respond, he upped his volume, “So you couldn't keep your emotions in check after all, huh? How pathetic of you.”

“What the hell are you thinking?” Shaffra hushed him.

He grunted and turned away. “It's not worth the effort anyway.”

At that moment, the mirage faded away. Luna and Idel were once more standing in her living room. “Styx and Shaffra followed after him and kept tabs on what he was doing while Nao and I tried to clear the venomous cloud. Sure enough, he marched straight for the royal capital, destroying any human settlement in between and freed all the demi-human slaves. When he arrived, he not only beat King Arthur but locked him in that curse of yours.”

Luna stayed quiet, staring at the floor.

Idel went on. “Do you see now why they don't want you going anywhere near that plant? It would be a direct branch into your father's memories and his pain. The next time you're exposed to it, you will be almost guaranteed to lose yourself. He started out a hero to your people, but in the end, he was nothing more than a suffering man, dying to get revenge, regardless of the cost.” He dipped his head, as though to apologize. “You still need your rest. Now that the spectacle is over, you should get some sleep. I'm sure you'll hear the rest of his story in the near future.”

She nodded, lost in thought and crept towards the stairs. As she did, she heard Idel mutter, “They probably would have been able to watch you grow up if he didn't let his emotions get the better of you. I think that's what Styx realized at that moment as well. Hell, even if he had stopped there it may have been enough.”

Luna stopped where she was, opened her mouth to say something but only closed it before moving again.

* * *

“I didn't think there were any demi-humans left.” The winged man gloated. “I had heard that all of you were killed off a thousand years ago. No matter.” He roared and readied his weapon. “Just means more fun for me.”

Aileen prepared a healing spell, Stella gripped the hilt and placed the flat of her blade on her forearm, holding a needle in between each pair of fingers in her left hand. “Let's dance then, ass-hat.”