Could someone you know have consorted with a demon, and possibly become a hybrid themselves? Check for these symptoms before reporting them to the proper authorities in secret: Does the person display abnormal agility, strength or reflexes? Do the produce a sinister aura of unholiness, giving you a sudden urge to run away? Are they suddenly more confident in their mannerisms? Be warned, do not attempt to apprehend or confront them if you do suspect them. Should they already be a hybrid, they will easily be able to overpower a normal human under most circumstances.

The air stilled in anticipation of their moves. Koshchei stepped towards them slowly while Gwindon took a step away from the door. He nodded to Lilith once and she followed the silent order. In a copy of his move, she traced closer to the door, her weapons readied to fight. Against his prediction, Koshchei fell for the bait easily; his eyes switched between both targets quickly.

Once they’re on opposite ends of his body, where he can no longer keep an eye on both at the same time, he glanced down at the floor and opened his robe. From an inner pocket, he drew a fancifully hilted dagger and held it up towards Gwindon.

“You know, I’m so used to having to deal with others though guile and charm, planning four steps ahead just to survive. It’s a struggle to maintain an empire like mine so readily, you know. But this?” He asked, flipping his weapon into the air and catching it again with a laugh. “I feel rather liberated. You’re using tactics and still have no chance to beat me. Even when I can’t for the life of me think of who to strike first, I know full well I’ll survive the encounter with the both of you.”

Gwindon grit his teeth and looked for Cherno. He had moved underneath the table while they readied to fight. Pushing himself down, he dragged Icara out from the other side, holding a hand to Gwindon to signal him not to watch. Without even a nod, he turned his attention back to Koshchei.

“What did you do to her?” He asked sternly.

“You mean you can’t tell? I’ll explain with an analogy then, I’m thoroughly enjoying this suspense.” Koshchei said, bringing the dagger towards his other hand. “Imagine that a river rolls a large rock or a series of them up onto one path, cutting off the flow of water for a small space. The water would only flow around it, right? They might even form a smaller river that would pool somewhere else entirely. If you forced the rocks away, however, that second river might start to feed back into the main one.”

“What the... you mean you’re the source of Icara changes? You’re the demon that killed her parents?!”

“Well done!” Koshchei said, tossing his arms to the side. “While I had originally planted myself as a nobleman in this country to gain power naturally, I had a curious thought to myself as I watched the people live their lives. Why bother forcing them to worship me when I can provide them the means to come to that conclusion naturally?”

“So this was all just to get worshiped?” Lilith asked, moving forward with a glare. “You put that girl through so much suffering and pain, murdered the king and queen of this country, all just to satisfy your own hunger?! Who would worship someone like that?!”

Rather than answer, he surged towards Lilith at a sudden speed. She barely had time to raise her swords and block his dagger. The blow rattled her arms and forced her back a solid foot even with just one hand. She lifted her leg to kick him, but he knocked it away, making her spin and fall to the floor. Before he could stab down at her, Gwindon charged forward and hacked down at him. Once more, Koshchei caught the weapon with his own, heavily knicking the blade as he did.

“Do you get it now?” Koshchei asked as he swung at Gwindon’s torso.

He managed to dodge away from the punch, but could feel the wind brush over his tunic when he did. Without proper armor on, he could only guess what one of Koshchei’s strikes would do against him. With a hard swallow, he made a horizontal chop at his body and hoped the awkward to block angle would force him away. Instead, Koshchei used the guard of his handle catch his sword and parried it over himself.

“This is, of course, what I plan to use Icara for. Should she survive, I suppose, since that is now something of a gamble. Humans see other humans as equals, as they rightfully should, but it means that they’ll always think they have a chance to win. You think there will be some window, an opportunity to snatch victory as the opponent ages in the worst of all cases. What if that never happened, however?”

Koshchei raised his foot and shot it towards Gwindon, the latter only catching it with the flat of his blade. The firm steel didn’t bend from the strike, but he was sent tumbling backwards and onto the floor. As he gathered himself back up, the dagger suddenly ripped across his upper arm and made him shout in pain. He looked up and saw Koshchei admiring his own arm, empty handed.

“Simple physical intimidation? That was all you planned? Only an idiot would base an empire off of something like that. You need more than just the ability to win fights in order to govern.”

“Have I shown myself before now to have brute force alone? You’ve probably pieced together how I used the Alastair apples to sow dissent and poverty to my neighboring countries, right? They suck up far more water than most plants, and absolutely kill the soil for things around them. Once I take the territory, often with minimal challenge, I have them chopped down and fertilize the land again while the apples are carted off to be sold.” He explained with a small laugh at the end. “Forgive me, I was prepared to explain these things to Icara only, but now that I’m unsure I’ll get the opportunity, I’m indulging myself a bit before I murder you all.”

Gwindon tossed the dagger behind him, further away from Koshchei. As the motion flexed his arm, more blood rose from the wound. Lilith was on her feet now and look in horror at the rapid, red coloring of his tunic. She glared at Koshchei and charged forward with both her swords, hacking down at him from two sides at once.

Before the swords hit, Koshchei dropped down into a crouch. Using the full power of his legs, he leapt up into the air, well above her head. He landed on his feet behind her and rushed forward with a punch, one that landed firmly on her shoulder and nearly dislocated it. As she fell, Gwindon sheathed his sword and moved up again, catching her before she reached the floor.

“Lilith! Is your arm alright?” He asked fast, eyes locked on Koshchei.

“Definitely bruised, not broken. Let go of me though, your arm is bleeding! We need to get you out of here and patched up.” Lilith said, standing up on her and keeping her swords in a more defensive posture.

They circled around the table to gain some distance, but Koshchei leapt up onto it with ease. Crouching down again, he picked up one of the high-backed chairs and flung it at them full force. Throwing themselves both forward, with Gwindon shielding Lilith out of reflex, they managed to avoid it. The chair instead shattered to pieces on the tiled floor as they scrambled back to their feet. Koshchei followed their path to the door until he spotted Cherno already there. He had Icara besides him and was pulling hard on the knocker, trying to force it open but barely making headway.

Koshchei glared at him and turned around, rushing for his dagger on the other side of the room. Gwindon and Lilith managed to catch up to him before they started to help open the door as well. Once it budged, it slid more easily than it did the start. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Koshchei rushing forward again.

“He’s coming, dodge!” Gwindon shouted to the other two.

Lilith grabbed Icara from the ground and jumped to the side in one motion. Cherno dropped the knocked and ran in the opposite direction of the both of them. Gwindon drew his sword, aware that Koshchei would have to jump again to strike him. As he pulled it out from the sheath, his eyes widened and time slowed for him.

Koshchei had proved to be faster than he thought, already falling by the time his sword had left the holder. Both his arms held onto the sword, he could only flex his core and press himself back into the door in an attempt to escape. All he managed to do was lodge himself into the opening of the doorway. Propped up in the entrance, Koshchei’s blade dug straight into his ribcage, brushing against one of the bones as it entered.

His muscles seized up around the weapon and he felt Koshchei’s body slam harshly into his own. The doors opened a little from the blow, but not enough for him to fully slip through. Gwindon’s vision shook, he could feel the blood seep out of his skin and his care wrench from the pain. No sound escaped his lips by a subtle gasp of breath, too shocked to even scream.

“Odd, the first time I killed, it was much more sudden than this. The king and queen were crushed almost instantaneously, so I didn’t actually get to speak to them much before it happened.” He said in a quiet voice to him.

Lilith looked up from the floor where she landed and immediately saw the knife buried in his chest. “Gwindon!” She screamed.

At her yell, he latched onto Koshchei tight, unintentionally digging the knife even deeper into his side. The blood on his arm poured out a little more, and he could feel a burning sensation pass over him. It took only a few more seconds of struggling before the pain faded, and with it he finally felt panicked. Koshchei let go of the dagger and forced himself away from Gwindon, looking over the stains on his clothes.

Lilith reckless moved back to the doorway and threw a sword at Koshchei as tear flowed out of her eyes. The blade managed to his hand as he went to deflect it, cutting it open slightly and making him wince in pain. As he prepared for another strike, he watched Lilith instead pull Gwindon from the door frame and into her lap. She rolled him onto his front and cut off some of his tunic to apply pressure to the wound. All the while, her hands shook like leaves in the wind, and heavy sobs wracked her body. Cherno and Koshchei both watched in silence as she worked.

“Stay alive! Dammit, have to keep the pressure on. Please, Gwindon, please stay with me! I-I can’t see straight, Gwindon!” She cried at him, tear mixing with his blood on the floor.

His body already deep into shock, Gwindon could have easily responded to her, but he had nothing to say. All he could do was place his hand over hers and help apply pressure as he felt himself getting lightheaded from blood loss. Her skin felt warm, but he knew that just meant his own was already growing cold. As he turned up to face Lilith’s crying eyes, he could see the panic and fear in her eyes. Some of the tear dripped onto his face, and Gwindon raised one hand to wipe her cheeks off, accidentally smearing some blood over it instead.

He waited for Koshchei to come back and finish the attack, turning his face from Lilith so he didn’t have to watch her when she knew he was dead. Instead, his attention landed on the distant and blurry shape of Icara. Even through the shaking as he bounced from the attempts to plug his knife would, he could see her moving little by little.

“What the...?” Koshchei asked, looking down at his own hands as the veins bulged in them once more.

Cherno moved to get a better look at what was on the other side of the table, and grew wide eyed as well. Lilith followed her husband’s eyesight and turned to where she had jumped from. She swallowed hard and looked in confusion as Icara stood back on her feet once more and stared at Koshchei.