While Albert and the others were speeding away from their pursuers, Ifrit and Rhynsa still fought among the forest trees. Ifrit chased Rhynsa through the forest until they got to a clearing near the big waterfall with a stone bridge bridging the cliffs on both sides of the waterfall. Rhynsa did not waste any time and quickly pulled out a pistol and fired at Ifrit. Ifrit kept moving until he finally found a rock big enough for cover. Rhynsa kept shooting while Ifrit scrambled into cover, with some of the bullets grazing his cheek. It felt searingly hot when it grazed Ifrit’s cheek and he felt it, but he was too focused with the fight to even wonder why a hellhound with fire invulnerability would feel the pain of the heat grazing his cheek.

“(Rhynsa!)” said Ifrit from behind a rock cover. “(Can we talk about this?!)”

A gunshot was heard and Ifrit noticed the bullet ricocheted from the rock. He then heard bullets clinking and, thinking that it was Rhynsa reloading, he broke cover and tried to tackle the hellhound. However, it was a trap. Rhynsa dropped several bullet casings on the rocky terrain as Ifrit broke cover. The black-furred hellhound had no time to dodge when Rhynsa shot his leg. Ifrit tripped after this and fell to his back, grabbing his leg in pain. Rhynsa approached Ifrit as he reloaded his gun. Upon noticing the gun, Ifrit realized his mistake. Rhynsa was not using a revolver, but a semi-automatic gun. Spent magazine should not make clinking sound like empty casing.

“(One shot in the head and it’s all over for you, prince),” said Rhynsa after he cocked the gun. “(You said in street fights there are no rules, so I simply improvise).”

“(Stop this!)” Ifrit did not hesitate to grab Rhynsa’s pistol and diverted his shot. In frustration and anger, Ifrit headbutted Rhynsa and kicked his stomach while wrenching out the pistol off the Fuzandre’s hand. The pain dazed Rhynsa enough for Ifrit to scramble to the revolver he tore off and checked the bullets inside. Just as he was pointing at Rhynsa, the Fuzandre had recovered and pulled a different gun.

“(Well, will you look at that),” said Rhynsa. “(We are at an impasse. I wonder who has a faster trigger. You or me).

“(I said stop, Rhynsa),” said Ifrit, gun still pointed at Rhynsa. “(I don’t give a goddamn fuck for your feud with my parents, and I don’t mind the horn. I do mind the ear, though).”

“(That street wisdom or your words?)”

“(Who cares? Stand down, Rhynsa. Just listen to me).”

“(How about no? And besides…)”

Rhynsa aimed his gun elsewhere and pulled the trigger. There was a scream of pain as a hellhound fell from a nearby tree. Ifrit was too surprised by this sudden action, so Rhynsa stood up, stomped the chest of the hellhound he just shot, and promptly unloaded the whole magazine into the hellhound, killing him in the most brutal way possible.

“(That’s…a bit excessive),” said Ifrit, surprised by how brutal that execution was. “(You know one bullet to the head is enough, right?)”

“(There is no honor among those who sold their souls to the devil),” said Rhynsa as he reloaded his gun. “(I hate traitors more than liars. They betrayed their own monarchs out of circumstantial evidence, justifying the Uprising as something noble while in fact they’re as dirty as the one they betrayed)."

“(Uprising? But I thought you…).”

“(Hynorsi and Leahn deserved to know that screwing around with anyone’s trust isn’t going to get them sacrificial pawns. I was just going up to their chambers to tell them that and hear what they have to say when the Uprising happened. Hynorsi was burned alive and impaled while Leahn…I don’t really want to describe it. She got it worse. Violated in the worst way possible…did make you think twice about vengeance. Fate does like some ironic twist, so reluctantly, I exacted their revenge instead. I didn’t even think that they even know I did it for them. On the bright side, the Fuzandre tribe I was part in managed to prevent the Uprising destroying them, but as a result, Fuzandre-hellhound relationship were damaged beyond repair).”

“(Then why are we fighting? Is this a test?)”

“(Just because I think twice about revenge, doesn’t mean I completely abandon it. Your parents ruined my life. I’m now a pariah who can’t even show his face because there is no such think as a ‘werebat’ on the surface world).”

Ifrit listened as Rhynsa explained everything to him. He never thought his parents would meet such gruesome ends. Even so, he did not really have any lasting connection with them, knowing that he was raised by foster parents who cared for him and, unlike his parents, were loyal to a fault, even dying to save him.

But that still did not stop Ifrit to ask about his fosters.

“(How about my foster parents, then? Are they part of your revenge because they worked for my blood parents?)”

“(My hatred is only for your parents, not their servants. Sammael’s different because his obedience is forced. I think you should know that before you start thinking why a lesser demon even bothered to protect you until adulthood).”

“(I don’t have anything to do with his enslavement),” said Ifrit. “(Even I loathed those words).”

“(But your blood are, so if you’re willing to sacrifice your life to a Barghest, be my guest).”

“(Uh…no).”

“(Yeah. No one’s stupid enough to sacrifice their life for a demon. Well, I won’t comment on how you two act more like friends. To me, that looks so forced on his part).”

“(And you’re going to blame my blood? Rhynsa, you’re pathetic).”

Rhynsa chuckled dryly. “(I do, don’t I?)” He then sighed. “(To think that a human makes me think about that. He won’t understand that we do thinks differently in the Underworld. But blondie’s right. This is not helping me at all).”

He soon offered his hand. Ifrit was hesitant and cautious after being tricked before, so he declined it and helped himself up. However, the pain from the gunshot wound sapped any strength he had. Rhynsa quickly grabbed and supported him with Ifrit’s arm slung over his back.

“(Lost your appetite for revenge?)” said Ifrit.

“(Don’t tempt me, kiddo. You said no killing in this challenge, so let’s hope I don’t try and bend the rules while I’m in a good mood).”

“(Who won?)”

“(Who scored the kill)?”

Ifrit scoffed. “(Yeah, right).”

“(And besides, for someone with a lot of street cred, you have low pain resistance).”

“(No),” said Ifrit as he winced. “(The bullet’s eating at my wound. You don’t happen to stuff your bullets with anything corrosive, right?)”

Rhynsa became suspicious with his remarks. His bullets were different, but it wouldn’t affect a hellhound in any way except the pain of it lodged inside their flesh. He started to think something so improbable, which could potentially fuel his hatred to the Schelkz family even more. Even then, he shrugged it off and dragged Ifrit until Ifrit lost the strength to walk, forcing them to stop near the bridge. He then gave Ifrit a gun.

“(You know how to shoot?),” asked Rhynsa.

“(I wasn’t born yesterday, Rhynsa)”

“(Let me rephrase that. Can you aim? Everyone can pull the trigger, but not everyone can aim).”

“(I know how to kill, Rhynsa),” said Ifrit, starting to get annoyed.

“(Okay, I trust you know what you’re doing. Now, the bullet).”

Ifrit tried not to screa, bumt Rhynsa using his dagger to open the wound and pull the bullet out did not exactly help, so he loudly screamed. The loudness could potentially attract enemies, but also attract his friends, so Rhynsa did not even bother.

“(Yup. Bullet got you good),” said Rhynsa as he put some gunpowder over the wound. “(I’m gonna close it now).”

Unlike what happened with the bullet, the gunpowder wasn’t exactly painful. It was a dull pain at best as it lit up. Then, to Rhynsa’s surprise, the wound closed almost suddenly.

“(Interesting),” said Rhynsa. “(That’s something you don’t see every day).”

“(Fire heals me),” said Ifrit. “(It helps me recover when there’s no bandages to close wounds).”

“(Yeah, well, not every hound is as lucky as you. Come on. That roar must’ve attracted some of them).”

“(I didn’t see anyone in the forest).”

“(I killed most of them).”

“(Right).”

As they waited for enemies to come towards them, Ifrit started to wonder if Rhynsa knew a lot more about the whole incursion business than he did, considering that he was there when the Uprising happened. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to ask about it, considering how their feud quickly changed into something different. Was it Ifrit’s words? Rhynsa had 20 years to hunt him, but he only did so because he shot one of Ifrit’s horn to issue a challenge. He wasn’t even sure if this bat was seriously trying to kill him.

“(Can we talk?)”

“(I told you not to talk during a battle, right?)”

“(I’m just asking some simple questions. Why stop? I thought you got robbed of it during the Uprising).”

“(While we were fighting in the forest, I started thinking about what blondie said. The sins of the father are not his son’s. I know that’s surface crap, but then he’s right. Hynorsi might be your father, but he is not your daddy. Don’t take that the wrong way, kiddo).”

“(What’s that supposed to mean?)”

“(Blood isn’t always the way to judge someone. Ah, what the hell. Let’s get this over with before I change my mind, Schelkz).”

Ifrit smiled. He never thought that someone with 20 years of planning his revenge would simply realize his mistakes without ever being consumed by it.

“(Or maybe he never considered this seriously),” thought Ifrit. Maybe somewhere deep inside the Fuzandre’s heart, he always believed that Ifrit would never follow his blood parents’ footsteps. Ifrit even thought that maybe his challenge was simply to test whether Ifrit was going to be different.

Rhynsa pointed his gun into the forest and shot several hellhounds ambushing them. Ifrit tried to help, but his aim was not as great despite some of the bullets hitting the hellhounds. Rhynsa helped finish what Ifrit did. The Fuzandre noticed several beasts that were not Underworld native. He tested this by shooting them, and sure enough, the bullets disintegrated them into dust.

“(Demons?)” asked Ifrit when he saw that.

“(Nothing more than beasts from the first circle),” said Rhynsa. “(Much like your Barghest pet).”

“(What do you have against Sammael, anyway?)”

“(I can’t fault him for being loyal to your family, but maybe you should consider the reason why he’s so loyal. He’s a broken slave, Schelkz. A demon who lost his fangs. Sure, he could still eat dreams, but then again, he is like a muzzled wild dog. All he did is observe, but not eat).”

“(So, Sam was…?)”

“(You really believe a demon that easily, Schelkz?)”

“(Okay, I get your point. That doesn’t mean I believe your version of the story).”

“(Nope. I know you won’t. Let’s just say by this point the story’s no longer original).”

They shot more hellhounds and demons as they continued their pace towards the bridge. The clearing opened to a ravine high enough that the river could not be seen. While it made such great scenery, it was also dangerous, especially without guard railings like the clearing was. It opened directly to a cliff. Both did not even bother trying to walk on the edges and quickly climbed the stairs up to the main road where they could see a car pass.

“(Well, well. Your friends are here),” said Rhynsa. “(I think this is where we bid goodbye to each other).”

“(Rhynsa, wait),” said Ifrit. “(If the incursion is real and getting worse, we shouldn’t be fighting among ourselves. I know this sounds crazy, but I need you to be my ally).”

Rhynsa looked at Ifrit with disbelief before he scoffed. “(What? Look, Schelkz. I can tell you’re desperate enough to ask your enemy for help. He may not educate you with his life, but his blood still flows in your body. Even if you’re not as corrupted as he is, you are still his son. Your fur color and your red eyes are splitting images of him. I don’t need to be involved with someone bearing the Schelkz name. Not you. Not Nergora).”

“(Whatever your grievances with my father, I don’t care about it. I wanted to have a quiet life, away from all the violence and politics. I will fight for that cause, but I know I am not alone. In fact, I owed her a lot. I caused Lilac to lose her home. With her brother still out there, she’s all alone. He’s out of the continent right now, risking his life for a discovery of the ages. In any case, I felt responsible).”

“(That Lycan’s life has nothing to do with why they’re hunting you. She’s collateral).”

“(She’s not. I love her).” Ifrit stopped after he said that before he grabbed a hellhound and kicked him off to the cliff. “(She’s here because of me. I want to protect her, but I can’t do this alone).”

“(You already got three allies to help you).”

“(Won’t hurt having another one, right?)”

Rhynsa contemplated on Ifrit’s proposal and request. On one hand, he did not like the son of Hynorsi to be bossing him around because he did not want to suffer the same repeat of events that happened years ago. On the other hand, he knew Ifrit was doing this out of pure love. The werewolf was not even part of the whole incursion business, but Ifrit tried to protect her, anyway. Even if Lilac became a warrior, she was doing so to protect her home, not to become like Leahn Schelkz, the former queen of the Drundas kingdom who ended up as ruthless as her husband.

Rhynsa sighed upon acknowledging that he wasn’t being serious about revenge. If he was, he would be so blinded by it and either he or Ifrit would die. After that...he will lose all purpose in life and die, anyway. And besides, he already exacted his revenge back when he saw what happened them. Even their lies and their ruthless ways did not warrant a gruesome fate. When he put his knife into Leahn’s heart, it became ironic. In the end, he gave them the final service he could give them as one of their generals. In the end, he was not exacting his revenge, but theirs. By killing the hellhounds responsible for the Uprising, both in the Underworld and the surface, he maintained his allegiance to them. As stupid as it sounded, he finally realized this when he contemplated Ifrit’s request while in conflict with their enemies.

“(Alright),” said Rhynsa, albeit reluctantly. “(But I really hope I won’t regret this, Schelkz).”

“(You won’t, Rhynsa. I swear upon my words).”

“(Then I swear that when you betrayed the trust of any of your steadfast allies, I will be the one to put the bullet in your head, Ifrit Schelkz. But, I swear, if you betrayed your girlfriend, I’ll make sure these demons aren’t your worst nightmare. You got that, Schelkz?)”

Ifrit silently nodded before he said, “(Wait. What if...?)”

“(What if what, Schelkz? No exceptions).”

Ifrit was going to say if it included the accident that turned Lilac, but he chose to say, “(No. Nevermind).” Rhynsa’s alliance was still fragile at best. It was better not to give him any reason to shoot him from behind.

The moment they reached the road was when the attack intensified. They tried to defend themselves as they approached the car. Everyone was already ready to get away from the conflict until the saw Rhynsa’s chiropteran face behind Ifrit. They quickly became alert.

“(What the hell is he doing here?!)” exclaimed Sammael. His body was covered in bandage after the demon cleansing water injured him

“(Long story. I’ll explain later),” said Ifrit as he jumped into the car.

“(But, Ifrit!)”

He could hear some bullet made a ‘zing’ sound as they barely missed Ifrit. He got in front of Lilac as she ducked under the car’s seating.

“Step on it, blondie!” exclaimed Rhynsa as he climbed onto the car. But, just as he did so, he felt his body being dragged off by a hellhound. He turned his head to face this hound, but then realized that this one looked like a twisted, monstrous version of a hellhound. It was as if all its common sense were stripped to make a beast, which then contorted his body horribly.

Soon, the car was engulfed by these persistent monsters. They tried to drag off its occupants. Everyone tried their best in taking them out, with Albert even running over one when they got dragged under the wheel. Rhynsa tried to fight back, but his leg was being held by one of them and his grip was failing. When it did, Ifrit held on to it.

“Ifrit! Use this!” exclaimed Albert as he threw a revolver to Ifrit. Ifrit proceeded to shoot the monster down. It quickly disintegrated like a demon. He turned and took aim, but not before he saw Lilac being overwhelmed by one. She bit the monster’s throat and pull out its windpipe, but to her horror, the monster was not dead. She was going to be dragged off when Ifrit helped her. Unfortunately, he was the one who was being dragged off. He tried clinging to the car, but was unable to do so, finally losing his grip along with Rhynsa.

“Ifrit!” exclaimed Lilac. “Al, stop the car!”

Albert did so and found that it was a better idea as now he could concentrate on shooting down the monsters. Lilac ran towards Ifrit to at least help him, but then, the unthinkable happened.

Several twisted monsters that were once hellhounds started overwhelming him and biting him like a predator. He screamed in pain as his flesh was torn off by the monsters. The horrifying sight stunned Lilac, causing her to stop and helplessly watch the ensuing carnage. Rhynsa managed to shoot several of them down, but more came. Ifrit, filled with rage and pain, grabbed one of them and fire started to burst out of his hand as he burned the monster he grabbed to crisps. It was not enough to stop all of them. To make things worse, he was out in the open. The hellhounds found him an easy target and started shooting at him. Ifrit screamed in agony as the shots hit his body, injuring him fatally. Somehow, despite, his fatal injury, he still had strength to weakly limp away as the hellhounds were shot down by the combined efforts of Rhynsa, Eshdar, and Albert while Sammael dealt with the mutated monsters.

Then, to Lilac’s horror, Ifrit lost his balance and fell out of the bridge. He still managed to grab the railing, but his grip was failing. Lilac managed to grab his arm, but the combined weight of the hellhound and the monsters tearing him up was far too much for Lilac to handle. Rhynsa tried to help him by shooting off the monsters, causing them to fall to the ravine. However, it was clear, even for Lilac, that Ifrit’s injuries were fatal. Lilac struggled to help Ifrit up, remembering that he could potentially be healed by fire. Rhynsa tried to help, but was quickly distracted by the hellhounds shooting at them.

Ifrit, still in agony, soon realized that he was dying. His body was broken and the bullets damaged his organs. Even if he could be healed by fire, he doubted that he could survive long enough until his injuries were properly healed. Moreover, he doubted it would grow one of his legs, which was torn off by one of the mutated hellhounds. This was the end of his road, and there was no way he could change it. He could feel the pain of Lilac’s sharp claws digging into his hand as she desperately tried to hold him.

Knowing he would never get any more chance in saying it, he looked at Lilac’s eyes. Lilac looked at his red eyes and realized that look. She knew.

“No,” she said as tears formed on her blue eyes. “No, Ifrit, don’t.”

“Lilac…thank you,” said Ifrit with a content smile. “And goodbye.”

Before Ifrit could even broke free of Ifrit’s grip, one of the hellhounds pointed his gun at them and shot Lilac’s arm, causing her to lose her grip. Ifrit saw Lilac calling for him while under fire, prompting Rhynsa to pull her from the bridge’s edge and protect her under him with his unfurled wings. He never thought his journey ended this way, but he knew he could trust his friends to continue protecting her. He dragged her into his mess, and he had done his part. Closing his eyes, he surrendered himself to fate

Lilac could only let out a sorrowful howl as Ifrit plunged into the ravine, his body disappeared among the white stream of the waterfall. Her tears, and her desperately calling Ifrit’s name, made Rhynsa sympathize with her, while at the same time regretting his actions. All he could do now was protect Lilac with his wings as they both ran to Albert’s car and sped away from the ambush.

Like Ifrit said, Rhynsa felt hollow. Again, in an ironic twist of fate, he got his wishes.