Chapter 2:

Plague child

After a full night of walking, the trail of blood Aidan followed disappeared once he exited the forest.

With dawn already a couple of hours behind him, Aidan scanned the surrounding countryside for any signs of the demon. Though grass expanded for a while past the forest, the further away Aidan looked, the scarcer and scarcer the vegetation became until the land was entirely barren.

While looking over the area some more, Aidan caught a glimpse of a smoke trail coming from the distance where the earth seemed to take a sudden decline.

---

Standing at the top of the decline revealed a small cliff. From atop it, Aidan saw an expansive valley and, more importantly, the source of the smoke.

A village. The first of five villages resting in this isolated area. According to the soldiers, the people here lived almost independent of the control of the great Antarian empire. Few such regions still existed as the empire’s reach expanded to cover the vast majority of the continent.

Aidan took some time to observe the village from above.

To say it had seen better days would be to undersell its condition. Its buildings were riddled with scars and tears, some looking so fragile that a mild breeze could cause a collapse. Meanwhile, the streets were ripped apart by foot-long wide crevices that seemed to run across the entire length of the small town.

Several parts of the village stood above others on unnaturally raised blocks of earth. This must have been a relatively recent change as Aidan saw caught glimpses of houses that had been torn in two, with one half remaining at its original level while the other half had been raised a few meters.

Even more striking was a slight shift in temperature that he only felt coming from the village below. The cold morning breeze was weirdly warm, while the rays of the sun made his hair stand on end.

When a demon chooses a place as its resting ground, it binds its soul to it. For as long as the demon remains there, its corruption will ebb away at the rock and soil until nothing remains.

His father’s words echoed in his mind.

Aidan breathed in deeply. The demon was there.

---

Aidan approached the entrance of the village. Only a lone sign, its wood half-rotten, stood there to greet him.

“Talbareth…The demon must have lived here for at least a decade for it to be in such a state.”

Aidan pulled his cloak’s hood over his head and made sure to cover the bags containing his valuables and food. He then brought the sword down to his hip to make it as visible as possible. The people of the village were a bigger danger to him at the moment.

The demon knows what I look like and what I can do. What would Valerian do in this situation? Hmm…

Keeping as small of a profile as possible, Aidan entered Talbareth.

Though at first seemingly abandoned, this changed as Aidan traveled deeper into the town. There, he came across two villagers talking to each other by the edge of the road. They did not notice Aidan’s approach, allowing the young man some time to take note of their appearance.

It was a sad sight that fit well with the state of the village. Their clothes were old and torn, and their colors bleached out. Their faces were sunken in and boney, showing signs of malnutrition. Overwhelming exhaustion was the only thing he could read on their face, as intense as missing sleep for a thousand moons in a row.

“You hear what happened last night? They found another cow ripped apart. I fear the plague child has come for us again.”

“Did Rana catch word of it? If she leaves us so early, we won’t have anything to hold us over until next time!”

Aidan grit his teeth. He had to talk to the villagers himself now. Out of all the steps necessary to go through to defeat demons, this was the one he hated most. He’d much rather converse with the monsters. At least they were honest about their intentions to kill you.

If humans carried such honesty, his father would still be alive.

“Excuse me, sirs-” The two villagers snapped their eyes to Aidan, making the young man shirk back.

“Who are you? What are you doing here?!?”

“Me? I’m…I’m just a-” Aidan fumbled until he finally succeeded in pulling out the mandolin. “-a traveling bard. Can you please point me to your mayor? I would like to discuss the terms of my stay here.”

Aidan could feel himself being minced under the gaze of the men. It was not with doubt that they looked upon him. It was something he was all too familiar with receiving.

Hate.

“...You want to know?” One of them finally spoke out. “Give us all the food you have!”

“What?!?”

The two walked towards Aidan, their eyes and words tainted by desperation. Aidan made a showing by flashing his blade, but it did nothing to deter their approach.

“You’re an outsider. You have safe food. Give it to us. We won’t let you see anyone if you don’t!”

Aidan grabbed his bag and looked back at them. They looked ready to pounce on him if he refused.

---

Aidan grumbled to himself. His bags were much lighter to carry, but that was no blessing.

The walk to the village center had been more of a pain than Aidan expected. The men had to give him detailed directions to navigate the village. Thanks to the shifts in elevations that split the town into pieces, Talbareth had become something of a maze to navigate.

After a good twenty minutes of walking, the ground beneath Aidan’s feet started to rise. It was just as they told him. The village center was resting atop the highest point in Talbareth, raised above the rest by the demonic influence in the ground.

As he got closer to the village center, Aidan heard villagers' voices. Not wanting to be robbed again, Aidan stuck close to the buildings to hide while maintaining his approach.

“We can’t let the plague child get to Rana! If she sees her, it’s all over for us!” A strong voice ordered.

Aidan hid away behind a house as more voices joined in. He peeked past the wall to see several villagers wielding pitchforks and axes guarding the roads to the center. These men also showed the same signs of exhaustion and malnutrition as those who mugged Aidan, but their frames were much larger and more suited for combat.

Among them, a single man stood out. He was the only person so far to look truly combat-ready, being dressed in leather armor and a long, emerald-colored cloak and armed with a crossbow. Several black lines spread out across his face like dark veins.

“Stay strong, fight the hunger!” The hunter addressed his fellow men.“The soldiers will arrive soon! The only thing left to do is keep our sick healthy enough to see the day when the plague child is slain!”

The title of plague child was being thrown around a lot. Aidan’s first thought was that this was their term for the demon’s human form. It was worth investigating, though Aidan had more pressing questions he needed answering first.

The first of which is how to get past those people? They looked on high alert, and from his previous encounter, Aidan could tell that the villagers did not look positively upon outsiders.

No problem! Valerian could fool humans, demons, even celestials! I just have to follow his example.

Aidan opened his mouth to speak, only for his words to come out slurred and stammered. Aidan covered his mouth and retreated to his hiding place before anyone could notice him.

“W-What’s wr-wrong with me?” Aidan said as he stared at his quivering hands.

The young man panicked until he remembered what Valerian used to do for him. Aidan checked his legs, his torso, and his shoulders. They were all shaking.

When you see them, even if you don’t remember, your body will. The fear they branded upon you.

Aidan held himself by the shoulders while trying to bring his shivering under control. Wave after wave of phantom pain shot across his back as his body relieved memories of the past.

“...Give me a break. I have nothing left to fear in the first place.”

Cold sweat ran down Aidan’s face as he fought to calm his body. Attempting to talk to the men guarding the village center, at least, was out of the question now.

Aidan got up, pushing through his body’s reaction, to see if he could sneak around them when something strange happened. The world around him shifted ever so slightly. The air around him was getting thinner, like it was being sucked away, leaving nothing but cold, empty space behind.

Such a change could only mean one thing!

“The plague child is here!” The hunter warned as he readied his weapon.

Aidan himself looked around frantically for any signs of the demon. He caught a glimpse of a human shape, hidden behind some trees not too far from him. It was watching him intently with its striking auburn-colored eyes.

“There you are….” Aidan muttered.

Before the young man could do anything, the shape suddenly moved. It grabbed a rock from the ground and threw it toward him. The rock smashed into the wall Aidan leaned up against with immense force. Stones and pebbles flew everywhere as part of the wall came crashing down, destroyed by the toss.

“There, men!” The hunter rallied the armed peasants and rushed over to the house Aidan was hiding behind.

Seeing this, the shape quickly rushed through the trees and houses.

Aidan quickly understood that he had been used as a distraction. He tried to run away from the approaching men, but his legs froze. A familiar smell of rotten blood emanated from them. After his long trek through the forest, his legs had reached their limit.

With the men coming ever closer, Aidan had no other choice. He drew his mandolin and slowly played them a song.

When faced with people who wish to hurt you, you need to match their emotions with your song. Turn your melody into a rose; let your voice be its thorns.

Aidan’s song carried through the air and into the villagers' hearts. At first wary of the melody, the men quickly let go of their weapons and dropped to their knees. They tried to cover their ears, but it was far too late. The song was already inside, grounding up their soul into dust.

Aidan’s heart beat loudly as he carefully listened to their reactions. The balance he had to hit was incredibly delicate. Stop a second too late and…

Now!

Aidan ceased his playing. He took a moment to calm down before leaving his hiding spot and entering the main road. There, he found all of the men lying on the floor. They showed the same traits as the people Valerian played for in the past. Even though their eyes were wide open, they were completely knocked unconscious.

“Good, they’re still alive. I stopped in time.”

The young man stepped past the bodies when all of a sudden, he heard a voice behind him.

“You…monster!” The hunter said as he fruitlessly tried to move his body.

Aidan froze. The hunter had resisted it much better than everyone else. If Aidan sang anymore, he would kill all the other people lying unconscious on the ground.

With no other option left, Aidan rushed for the village center as fast as his legs allowed him. They screamed at him with every step he took.

Still, the young man managed to reach the peak of the hill upon which the village center rested. The area was encircled by buildings, past which rested several food stalls.

A myriad of voices filled the air. A little under one hundred people were there, running back and forth, carrying bundles of vegetables and fruits to the same stall.

They were all so preoccupied that they didn’t even notice Aidan’s arrival. Getting closer to the stall, he heard the requests of the villagers dropping off food there.

“Please, Rana! My father is barely breathing anymore! He needs clean food, or he will die!” A young man begged the person running the stall.

“Everyone’s suffering, darling. Just give me the coins, and I will handle it.” The person replied with a tone that tried to be gentle, but underneath, it was clear that it was hiding a tinge of exhaustion.

The woman running the stall stood half a head above Aidan’s height with shoulder-length, ultra violet-colored hair. Her tastes were quite clearly expensive as she wore a burnt umber-colored blouse with frilly cuffs and a charcoal-hued skirt and leggings combo. In her hair, she wore a single midnight blue hair clip in the shape of a reversed heart. To finish off her lavish appearance was a single red opal laid in the middle of her silver necklace

Compared to all the other villagers who sported dark vein-like cracks on their faces, her face didn’t bear even a single blemish. She didn’t look a single day over twenty. Her perfect golden eyes looked upon everything with a gaze so refined you’d be forgiven for mistaking her for a noble.

The young man dropped twenty copper coins in her hand. Rana placed them in a bag filled to the brim with coins.

Her payment received, she grabbed the bag of vegetables the young man provided her and then shoved her fingers into them. She ripped each vegetable open, at which point she rubbed her fingers into its flesh. After a few seconds, what looked like perfectly fine and healthy produce suddenly turned dark and rotten. With the corrupted parts revealed by her touch, she was then able to rip them out, leaving only the healthy parts behind.

Once all the fruits and vegetables were clean, she cut up some of them and threw them into a stew cooking in a large grey pot sitting at her side. She then returned the remaining food to the peasant.

“Help yourself to a serving. Your father will breathe as normal, again.”

The peasant grabbed a plate and poured himself some of the stew before running off to his family with the food.

Aidan swallowed nervously. He would normally never be so upfront, but he had no choice this time!

“You…you can take out the corruption from the food?” Aidan asked as he stepped up to the front of the stall.

Rana didn’t look at him at first, too busy cleansing her next order.

“Hmm? I’m swamped with work right now. Don’t waste my time unless you have something to order.”

Aidan reached into his bag and dropped a silver coin on the table.

“I want information.”

Upon hearing this, Rana finally looked up. The moment her gaze fell on Aidan’s mandolin, her eyes went wide.

“You’re not from here….”

Aidan could feel everyone’s maddened gazes fall upon him. He clenched his fists in an attempt to push back his body’s reaction to them.

“I know, and please understand that I’m not a bad guy, alright? People here already robbed me of my food, and I really just want to talk to someone that can make them understand that I’m harmless and don’t want to hurt them!”

Rana looked Aidan up and down as she considered his words.

“Harmless, you say? And what brings you to this ruined little town?”

“Rana, is the kid bothering you?” The villagers asked.

“Oh, not at all. Put your coins in my bag, and I’ll continue working.” She said and continued to cleanse food as she spoke to Aidan.

“I…am a traveling…bard looking for inspiration. It is by chance that I came across Talbareth.”

Aidan thought back to his time with the soldiers. For some reason, he found it much harder to lie to Rana. The way her eyes probed him made him feel like she’d see right through him.

“Hmm, and what is it you wish to know?”

“What happened to this village? What is the cause for all this suffering?”

Aidan tried hard to sound concerned. Rana tilted her head slightly and flashed him a cheeky smile. She wasn’t buying it.

“If you must know. This town, along with all the others in the region is haunted by the presence of a certain monster. She takes the form of a girl with auburn-colored hair and eyes. She wears a long black scarf, much like your cloak.”

Aidan ran his fingers over his cloak. This was likely a meaningless detail, the similarities just a coincidence.

But if they truly were the same….

“It is her fault that the buildings are falling apart. Her fault that the ground is coming undone. Her fault that the food is rotten to the core.”

“The plague child.”

Rana raised an eyebrow.

“So, you’ve heard? Really.”

Rana glanced toward the other villagers. Under her cold gaze, everyone stopped in their tracks.

“You all knew….”

Rana got up and grabbed her coin bag.

“Rana, please, you don’t have to leave!”

“We had a very simple deal. I won’t risk my life by staying here.”

The villagers begged her to stay to no avail. Rana gathered up her items, leaving all the unprocessed, tainted food untouched lying on the floor in their bags.

Realizing that she wasn’t going to listen, the townsfolk gathered in front of her.

“You’re not going anywhere…We’ll starve to death if you leave now!”

Aidan recognized the same desperation in their voices and faces as in that of the men who mugged him. Rana was not safe.

Provided with a chance to get in well with her, Aidan jumped in between them and placed his hand on his blade.

“You all need to back off. She already gave you more than enough!”

Aidan’s words had the opposite effect. Being addressed by the man who had exposed their lies, the desperation of the villagers turned into anger.

The villagers approached Aidan in eerie unison, ready to attack him. Aidan’s mind flashed him with memories he had long tried to bury.

Before the villagers could reach Aidan, Rana stepped past him and addressed them.

“So quick to turn on the hand that feeds you. If you wish me to stay, then chase the plague child out of Talbareth. You have until tomorrow. In the meantime, I will hide. I think that’s fair enough to all of you.”

The villagers broke out in yells about various family members that needed clean food to recover from their conditions, lest they die. To this, Rana simply tilted her head and smiled.

“Then you have all the motivation you need, no?”

---

Aidan walked alongside Rana as they left the village center. He could feel the angry gazes of the villagers thrown at him as he walked away. Rana assured him that she needed to stay at his side for this short while, lest they attack him in retribution.

“This plague child, can you tell me more about her?”

“Just that you should leave as soon as possible. If you stay here, you will meet your end at her hands.”

I think the villagers are more likely to end me first.

“That’s a risk I’m prepared to take.”

“Oh? Singing to insane peasants is that important to you?”

Aidan stopped in his tracks. He gave himself away.

Rana simply giggled in response.

“Do what you must. I won’t get in your way.”

Rana reached for one of her bags. She spent just enough time riffling through the bag for Aidan to grow worried. At last, she threw him an apple from it.

“It’s not a lot, but it should hold you over. Consider it a token of my gratitude.”

Aidan looked the apple over.

“Oh, I didn’t remove anything from it because it’s not from this village. I brought it from the outside as a snack for myself. You have nothing to worry about. It’s safe to eat.”

“Well…thanks.” Aidan couldn’t hide the suspicion in his voice.

The two continued to walk together for a while until they at last separated.

Looking to get away from the prying eyes of the villagers, Aidan walked until he found a perfect spot. Resting elevated three meters above the rest stood a patch of land three houses wide upon which two stood run-down and abandoned houses with one tree in the middle of them.

Aidan climbed to the elevated area, and just as he hoped, if he hid in between the houses, there was nobody who could watch or disturb him. He could finally take the time and think his situation over.

I still need to find the exact resting spot before the day ends. I can’t allow the demon to free itself from Talbareth. Otherwise, it’ll be able to escape in whichever direction it wants.

Aidan sighed. The villagers he knocked out would soon recover and spread the word of his actions. What a tall task laid ahead of him for his first solo hunt.

“No point in whining. One way or another, I’ll get it done.”

Aidan took a bite of the apple Rana gifted him.

A rotten taste filled his mouth the moment the fruit touched his tongue. Aidan tried to spit it out, only for his muscles to freeze up, forcing him to swallow the rotten tasting fruit.

Still reeling from the horrible taste, Aidan looked at the apple in his hand, only to see a perfectly healthy specimen with no signs of rot or filth within it.

After just a few seconds, what looked like dark tendrils extended from the edge of his vision and burrowed into his mind. His eyes wouldn’t open, and his breathing became ever more difficult.

Aidan grasped his throat as his vision faded.

---

Is this all you wanted to accomplish before the last embers of your life faded, Aidan? Are you truly ready to give up? Of course, you aren’t. You need to wake up…

Wake up!

“Wake up!” A female voice yelled.

“Huh…?”

Aidan weakly opened his eyes to a haze of colors. He could only vaguely make out the shape of a person as it backed away from him and then hid behind a tree.

“You alright there, bud?” The voice asked.

“What? Yeah…” Aidan slurred his words as he spoke.

“You sure don’t sound like it.” The voice paused for a second. “You moron, why did you eat this?”

Aidan felt a round object hit him in the stomach lightly, the apple he had taken a bite from.

“Didn’t you see what everyone else who feeds on this crap looks like?”

Aidan struggled as he willed himself to get back up to his feet. His mind was still in a haze, and his body felt like it was being weighed down by several boulders. Still, with great effort, he managed to rise to his feet.

“I know, but…They stole my food…Rana gifted me the apple so I’d have something to eat.” Aidan’s words trailed off as the realization hit him.

She tried to poison me.

The tree the person hid behind shook heavily as if hit by a very heavy object.

“You can’t trust anyone here! This town is cursed!”

“I noticed. Still, thanks for saving my life.”

“Yeah, yeah. Think you can walk without puking your guts out?”

“I, I’m not sure about that, but-” Aidan tried to recall if he had heard her voice among the peasants but came up blank. “-Who are you?”

“If anyone’s asking questions here, it’s me. Got that?”

“I…that’s fine, I suppose? Do you have questions for me then?”

“...” She remained silent for a few seconds. “You’re not a local, right? I mean I’ve never seen you around before, so like, you’re not from here…”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m a traveling bard, to be exact.”

“You’re for real?”

“I wouldn’t lie to the person who saved my life.”

“...Turn around.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said turn around. It’s awkward to keep talking like this, but I don’t want you to see me, so turn around.”

Aidan hesitated. Exposing his back to her could result in his death.

“Don’t trust me? Heh, can’t blame you, I guess.”

“No! No, it’s fine. If you wanted to hurt me, you could have while the poison was flowing through me.”

Aidan did as asked and turned around, leaving him staring at a run-down wall.

“...Alright. You can come out now if you want.”

“Good. Now, you better stay like that if you know what’s good for you.”

As Aidan heard the crunching of leaves beneath the girl’s feet, his heart started beating louder. After Rana’s betrayal, he couldn’t help being nervous.

And there was something more. For a second, It felt like the air around him changed, though due to the poison that ran through him, his senses were completely dulled.

“So much better. Why should the hero be the one inconveniencing herself, right?”

“Y-Yeah.”

Calm down. She won’t hurt you.

“So, first thing’s first. Where are you from?”

“...A small city called Talgoron. It’s quite far away from here, on the opposite side of the empire. My name is-”

“I didn’t ask for your name.”

Aidan remained quiet.

“What’s it like to live in a city?”

An unfortunate question. The only thing he could give her was a lie.

“Ah, well, it is quite hectic. People run back and forth all day long. Not much time to look another person in the eye.” Aidan tried to sound as convincing as he could, speaking of things he experienced little of.

“No time to look another in the eye...that does sound rather nice.” Her voice picked up as she spoke.

Aidan remained silent, sensing another question coming up.

“How do families spend their time together there?”

This time, he couldn’t hide his reaction. His body shuddered visibly as her question tugged at painful memories.

“Hey, are you alri-”

"Ask that of someone who has a family!" Aidan snapped, still looking away "Not me."

An awkward silence set in between the two of them.

“Guess I spoke out of line. Forget it.”

“You can ask me other things if you want. Just not that. Please.”

The silence continued for a while. A slight sense of guilt and shame washed over Aidan.

Why? Why did she have to ask me that? Why couldn’t I just swallow it and lie?

“...What is it like to...No, no. Listening to fables won’t do any good. False hope always tastes real sour.” Her voice dropped again, gaining a bitterness to it that made Aidan shudder ever so slightly.

“Are you alright?”

Again she took a while to reply.

“What did your mother name you?”

“...Aidan.”

“Well, Aidan, I ask nothing of you but that you forget that we met and not speak a word of it to anyone. Can I have your promise on this?”

“Wait, why-” Aidan reflexively turned around only for a hand to grip him and push him back with a strength that greatly surpassed his.

“Can I have your promise?”

“...Yeah, I promise I won’t speak a word.”

“Good.”

Aidan heard her footsteps go further and further away from him.

“One last thing. Leave as soon as you can. Things here are going to get real mad, real soon.”

“W-What?”

“Thanks for the talk. It wasn’t horrible.”

She didn’t elaborate any further, dropping back down into the streets.

Aidan walked over to see if he could catch a glimpse of her, but she was already long gone.

Aidan rubbed the part of him she grabbed. It hurt, almost like a hand was still holding on to him. Her strength, for a malnourished villager, was absolutely unreal.

Aidan ran his fingers through his hair. He just had to act out when she asked him about his family. If he just ignored the pain in his heart, he could have lied and kept the conversation going.

“No use crying over spilled milk, I suppose…Damn it!”

Having just barely recovered from the effects of the poison, Aidan sat down and leaned up against a wall. By the time he recovered, the sun was starting to set.

When Aidan was finally ready to continue his search, something was different. There was a tension in the air that was not present before. In the distance, he could hear angry voices yelling through the streets.

In mere minutes Aidan found himself forced to hide as a group of armed villagers passed through the streets in front of him.

There was no point in speculating now. Talbareth was out for blood.

Despite the threat, Aidan continued onwards. Even though they were determined to find their quarry, Aidan still found plenty of blind spots in the patrols to slip through.

He avoided group after group, but their numbers only increased the deeper into the village he went.

With such a heavy presence, finding and securing the demon’s resting ground was out of the question. Aidan had intended to get Rana to get the villagers to tolerate his presence, but now it was clear that she wanted him gone just as much as the rest of the village did.

My only chance is to convince them of my innocence before night falls. Reaching out to them individually won’t work. I need to hit their leader.

Aidan swallowed nervously. He had to find the hunter.

Slipping through patrols slowly, two full hours passed before Aidan again arrived at the village center. Even from the bottom of the hill, he could hear constant yelling coming from above. The next strange thing he noticed was the complete absence of security around the hill.

Aidan was breathing rapidly. He gave his legs a quick check-up. Their state was just as bad as always, but they had more to give now before they broke.

“Calm down. You can do this.”

Aidan cautiously walked up the hill. His greatest fear at that point was that at any point, a squad of villagers could come running down at him, and he would have no way to avoid them.

Just as he feared, villagers came running down from the center. Aidan readied to draw his mandolin, only for them to run right past him.

“She’s here!” They yelled while fleeing.

Aidan’s eyes went wide. The plague child was at the top!

---

Aidan arrived at the village center to find it in complete chaos. At first, he could only see a giant mass of villagers running for their lives in whichever direction they happened to pick at the time.

As his eyes scanned through the mass of villagers, he caught a glimpse of a red blur dashing through the crowd. He could barely tell anything apart besides her long auburn hair, but he could see her carrying several bags full of food.

“Clear my sight, morons!” A familiar voice boomed above the chaos.

Aidan’s head snapped to the source of the voice. It was then he saw the hunter. He was circling the group from the outside, clearly aiming his crossbow for someone in particular.

“Hah, what’s the matter, Turburn? Can’t ya aim for me with those worms running across your face?”

It was the voice of the girl who saved his life. She was the plague child everyone feared?!?

Aidan rushed to the hunter.

“Please, don’t shoot! You don’t know what you’re doing!”

“What the hell are you saying-” Turburn’s words trailed off as he turned to face Aidan.

It took him only a second to recognize Aidan. He immediately pointed his crossbow at him.

“You’re the freak from before!”

Aidan grit his teeth. It was do or die now.

“Wait, stop! I came with the soldiers you asked for to help get rid of the creature plaguing your village!”

The mention of the soldiers seemed enough to stop the hunter from shooting Aidan on the spot. Still, he was heavily on edge.

“Yeah? Where are they then?!?”

“They…the monster got them. I am all that’s left.”

“She killed them?!?”

The hunter turned back to the crowd. Everyone was still running around in complete chaos, giving the plague child ample cover from his crossbow.

“Hear that everyone?!? The plague got our saviors! All of the soldiers are dead!”

His voice reached the villagers this time.

“It’s up to us! We are the only ones who can kill her! If you hear me, then get down on the floor!”

The villagers listened and dropped down to the ground. At last, the plague child had no more cover to hide behind.

“Damn it, let me finish! She’s not the demon you are hunting!” Aidan yelled.

The hunter ignored him and fired several bolts at her. She quickly blocked these shots with the bags she was carrying.

The hunter aimed his crossbow at her legs next. Before he could fire, Aidan tackled him to the floor.

The fall knocked the weapon out of the hunter’s hands. Aidan quickly got back up and kicked the weapon away. Before the hunter could rise to his feet, Aidan drew his sword and pointed it at his neck.

“Hey, you! Get out of here while I hold him back!” Yelled Aidan without taking his eyes off of Turburn.

“You freak! I knew you were in cahoots with her!”

“Say what you will, I’m not letting you kill an innocent!” Aidan yelled back at him.

“Aidan, behind you!”

Aidan turned around too late as several villagers grabbed him from behind.

Aidan fought against them to no avail. To begin with, Aidan’s blade was dull and incapable of even scratching a person through their clothes. Against humans, it only served as a bluff.

Turburn stood back up and rushed to grab his weapon. Aidan’s eyes went wide as the hunter reloaded it and pointed it at his head. Before Turburn could fire his weapon, a bag filled with food slammed into him with so much force that it sent him flying off his feet.

A momentary shock set in the peasants holding down Aidan when they saw Turburn fall to the floor. Terror quickly took the place of the shock, however as heavy footsteps sounded behind them.

The air around them thinned out, stealing their breaths.

“Hey.” The plague child’s voice came from behind them. “Let him go.”

The villagers required no further persuasion, letting Aidan go and running for their lives.

Now freed, Aidan turned to face his savior, only for her to already be running away.

“Come on, we’re getting out of here!” She yelled at him.

“Right behind you!”

Aidan did just that. He tried to run after her, but he couldn’t keep up with her and was soon left behind.

With the villagers not far behind, Aidan ran as fast as his legs let him. Running downhill was hell on them, and he could feel his bones bend slightly from the pressure.

Aidan managed to reach the bottom of the hill before the group reached him, but it was already too much. Streaks of purple blood oozed out of the tears in his pants. He had pushed them too far.

“Come on, come on!”

Aidan walked as fast as he could with a limp to the nearby houses.

“There he is!” Yelled Turburn.

They had reached the bottom of the hill before he could hide.

Bolts flew through the air after him as he tried to get away.

“Hey, did you forget who you’re here to hunt down?!?” The plague child yelled from behind the group.

They all turned around to see her hold a large boulder above her head. She tossed it at their feet, causing a large impact that threw up a lot of dust.

Despite the intensity of the impact, Turburn recovered shockingly fast. Aidan caught a glimpse of him through the dust cloud, raising his crossbow in her direction.

“Girl! Cover your ears as tight as you can and run!”

She did just as he said. Aidan drew his mandolin and sang a reprise of the song he had already played for Turburn before. The song reached him and burrowed into his body. Turburn managed to push through and fire some shots off, but his aim was greatly off, making each bolt hit nothing but air.

With everyone stunned by his song, Aidan continued his retreat.

As Aidan limped away, he couldn’t hear anyone following him. Still, with the size and mazelike roads of the village, escaping the village in his state was not possible.

Thus, he decided not to. Instead, he chose to return to where the girl had saved his life from the poison.

He made sure to climb when nobody could see him. There, Aidan’s legs finally lost whatever strength they had remaining. Seeing this, Aidan decided to just rest up against one of the houses and wait for her.

Time passed, and as the sun started disappearing behind the horizon, the cold air of the day was replaced with the warm breeze of the night. Yet another sign of the demon’s presence altering the world around the village.

As Aidan laid on the ground, the sound of crouching leaves drew his attention.

“You have a knack for trying to get yourself killed.” A familiar voice said from behind the tree.

Aidan shrugged.

“I didn’t exactly get the opportunity to make a first good impression.”

“I…I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were an outsider at the time. I didn’t want to put your life in danger back there.”

At this, Aidan smiled weakly.

“And you can’t keep saving me and not tell me your name. What am I supposed to call my savior?”

“...Alaya.”

“That’s a beautiful name. I don’t understand why nobody uses it.” Aidan spoke on pure instinct.

A second later, he realized what he had just said, but it was already too late to take it back.

“You! You!” Alaya punched the tree once more. “This isn’t funny. Why are you here? Everyone in the village thinks you work with me now. You stay, and they’ll hurt you to try and get to me!”

“It’s specifically because of that danger that I am here. A-Alaya-” Aidan said her name with a great deal of hesitation, “-I know that the villagers are blaming you for all their tragedies.”

Alaya’s voice grew somber as she spoke.

“Do you, now? Really? And do you believe them?”

“Would I be sitting here if I did? Listen, Alaya, I-” Aidan hesitated once more.

Is there a chance I’m being led along? Demons are great manipulators, they change forms, and she was right there both when villagers attacked me and when my body got infused with the corruption - and now I am helping her fight off the entire village….

Aidan grit his teeth. Thoughts and voices were spinning in his mind wildly.

Never reveal your identity to anyone, my child. Deception is as much our shield as it is the demons’ blade. Surrender that advantage, and human, monster, or divine, all will be able to tear you apart. There is no one in this world worth putting your trust in.

Valerian’s voice was cold and commanding, just like it had always been. The same one Aidan always surrendered to.

Father, you don’t understand. She could be just like me. They might be blaming an innocent for the crimes of a demon!

Even if that is the case, it is her burden to bear. Do not get attached. Every connection you make will become a chink in your armor. As far as you are concerned, she is either the demon, or she is irrelevant!

The voice grew somber and harsher. It would not take Aidan’s backtalk.

I…I am not going to let anyone go through what I have!

Aidan pushed through his father’s orders. He turned back to the tree Alaya was hiding behind and confidently addressed her.

“Alaya, I am here because I am hunting a demon. I chased it to this village and confirmed that it uses it as a resting ground. It is to blame for the erosion in the ground, for the change in temperature, even the corruption of the food.”

“A demon?” Alaya’s voice was shaking with disbelief. “R-Really?!? And you expect me to believe such nonsense?!? You’ve got to be kidding me. That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard in my life!”

“I am speaking the truth!” Aidan yelled at her. “You said you don’t want false hope! I bring you the exact opposite!”

Aidan stood up and walked to the tree. He leaned against it as he spoke to Alaya, hiding on the other side.

“This is the absolute truth! Demons are creatures of conflict, of contradiction. They twist the world with their mere presence! I have seen and faced many like them during my life, and what I see here in Talbareth I’ve witnessed before! Everything that the villagers blame you for is, in fact, due to the demon!”

“...”

“Do you understand? You are innocent!”

A period of silence ensued. While Alaya remained silent, the leaves at Aidan’s feet flew into the air as a gust of wind set in. The longer the silence continued, the stronger the wind became.

After what felt like an eternity, Alaya spoke again. The wind died down instantly the moment the first word left her lips. This time, however, her voice was audibly cracking.

“Again with the fables…Why must you remind me of her…Haven’t I been led around enough? Just leave me be!”

“Alaya, I promise you! What I say is true!”

There came no reply, and the presence Aidan felt behind the tree disappeared soon after.

Aidan grumbled.

And so, hours passed, and the sun was almost gone. The only thing keeping Aidan company were the songs of the birds and the angered yelling of the villagers as they continued their search.

Hah, keep making noise. As long as you are, I’ll know the demon didn’t resurface to untie itself from its resting ground.

His stomach grumbled, and his eyes begged for him to sleep, but he refused to move from the spot. He was drifting in and out of consciousness when Alaya’s voice rang from behind the tree once again.

“Fine, I give up. I’ll listen to you. Honestly, are all city boys as persistent as you?”

Aidan smiled faintly.

“Only for those who deserve it.”

“...What do you want from me?”

“Nothing,” Aidan stated plainly.

“...What?”

“I don’t want anything from you, Alaya. I just came to tell you that your days of woe are over. I’ll prove to everyone that you are innocent so just take care that you don’t get caught until I’m done.”

Alaya remained silent for a long while, though she did not leave this time.

“Do you even listen to yourself speak? How do you think you can change anything when you can’t even deal with the peasants alone?

“Alaya, I-’

Alaya stepped out from behind the tree and into a spot where the moonlight shone brightest, revealing her fully.

“Without help.”