"You asked for me, your Holiness?"

With a knee upon the ground, Milne was looking at the ground, waiting for the Cardinal to talk. The fat man was praying before the tall statue of a man represented with his two fists at his shoulder level covered in flame and a halo above his head; Carendar. After a while, the man answered.

"Indeed, Inquisitor. I've been informed, two or three hours ago, that you've come back with a prisoner. I'm surprised that I still haven't heard any word from you since..."

"Your Holiness, I'm sorry to make you wait, it's just that interrogation takes time and..."

"What have you done to her?" asked the man on a detached note, still facing the statue.

"I...questioned her, of course."

"For two hours? Without any results? I didn't think our persuasion tools had become so useless that even a little creature would be able to resist them..."

"Cardinal...I'm sorry this is taking a bit longer than you expected, but..."

"Speak your mind, Inquisitor."

"It's only a young girl, your Holiness. I just thought using the tools on her would be cruel."

The man sighed as if the response from the Inquisitor was expected and at the same time bothering him.

"That's what I feared..."

"Cardinal?"

"Your heart is full of compassion, Inquisitor, but it isn't needed here. Remember the role of the Inquisition is to be the armed side of the church. We make heretics talk; we do not pity them..."

"But, she's just..."

"A beast perverted by a demon in disguise. Don't be fooled, Inquisitor, as innocent as she may seem in your eyes, she's nothing more than a demon's tool, certainly being used to pervert other defenders of Carendar's light..."

The man had spoken without a hint of neither anger; nor ferocity towards Lin-Lin, but Milne couldn't suppress the doubt in her heart.

"Your Holiness...there is a doubt in my heart I must express..."

The cardinal opened his arms cross-like, continuing to talk on a posed tone.

"But of course, Inquisitor. As a servant of Carendar's light, it is my duty to bring light to the shadow of your uncertainty. Ask and you should be answered."

"Would your will be the same about that girl; if she had been human?"

"..."

Hearing no response from the cardinal, Milne looked up. There he stood, his face only an inch or two from hers. The proximity of the fat man surprised her at least as much as the fact he was able to move so fast without making a noise.

"You can doubt everything Inquisitor. But never my will...am I clear?"

Milne looked in the eyes of the man, not really knowing how to respond to that. She finally looked down and nodded.

"O...of course, your Holiness."

"Very well, I'm glad this doubt of yours has been taken care of. It would have been a shame to deprive the Inquisition of members like you and your sister..." said the man as he went back to standing near the statue.

The man's last sentence had made Milne look up again.

"Your Holiness! My sister has nothing to do with this; I assure you her faith isn't to be questioned."

"I'm glad to hear it, Inquisitor, more so with her illness requiring the constant help of Carendar's Priests. How has she been doing?"

"Her...her training is going well, even in her condition."

"Very good, let's hope she'll be a good servant of Carendar, like her sister."

"Your words honour me, Cardinal."

"They are well deserved, my child."

"If that's all, your Holiness, I think I should go back to my prisoner."

Milne got up to go out, but was blocked on her way by two paladins.

"Actually, there is another thing for us to discuss, Inquisitor. Your contribution is once again required for the trial of your 'group'. I would appreciate if you could spare some time to accompany me."

Milne looked at the Cardinal then at the two tall paladins blocking the exit.

"What about my prisoner? She is still locked in an interrogation room underground."

"Do not worry about her, someone has already been sent to take care of her."

"Someone? Who?"

"This is not something for you to worry about right now. Come, Inquisitor, we still have work to do out of headquarters before the trials begin."

Milne was going to talk again, but was prompted by one of the paladins to move forwards, clearly indicating she was to follow and be quiet.

"Of course, your Holiness..."

.........................................................................................................................................................

"SHOOT IT!!!"

A volley of arrows flew in Maximilian's direction, only to be burned to dust mid-air.

"MAGES!!!"

Once again, a paladin leader ordered the ranged fighters to attack, this time ordering the mages to cast their spell on Maximilian.

In a combined attack, showing how the mages were used to fighting together, they cast a water spell, a big magic circle appearing before the fighters of the inquisition.

"WATER WAVE!!!" said the dozen mages as one.

From the magic circle came a big wave of water, like a mini-tsunami flowing in Maximilian's direction.

"Futile..." muttered Maximilian to himself.

Maximilian took a step further, making a wall of ice coming from the ground before him. The water wave hit the ice wall without making it move one bit.

As soon as the water attack had failed, Maximilian made the ice wall disappear.

"Let me show you what a real water spell looks like..."

"MAGES, PALADINS!!! SHIELDS UP!!!"

When Maximilian spoke, the paladin leader ordered everyone able to do it to protect against the upcoming attack. Immediately, the mages started to chant while the warrior planted their feet in the ground and raised their large shields, preparing.

Not impressed by their quick action, Maximilian simply raised a hand before him, pointing at them with his palm.

"Water wave..."

If before, the group of mages had managed to create a wave looking like a mini-tsunami, what appeared at that moment was a wall of water, going from the ground to the ceiling and threatening the fighters of the inquisition by his size alone.

With a simple gesture, Maximilian made the wall of water dash at the men and women desperately trying to defend, some of them at least. Others were running away into the numerous hallways, screaming, trying to evade the attack.

The magic shield made by the mages broke in an instant and the paladins, as well as the others, were swept away by the powerful attack, their shield simply not useful at all in that situation.

Screams coming from their ranks stopped in an instant, drowned in the heavy mass of water.

Once the attack was over, the water disappeared and the room became quieter.

Using the bit of calm he had managed to made in the room, Maximilian talked, using the ring he had made in the dungeon to be sure his voice was heard everywhere in their headquarters.

"Now that I have your attention; hear me out. I'm here to retrieve someone precious to me, stolen, from me by the Inquisition. I'm going to search every room, and I mean 'every' room, if I have to. You can try to stop me, if you do; you'll die. You can try to call for reinforcements; they'll die. You can attack me with swords or magic, arrow or spear, even barehanded if you want; you'll die. All of those who will get in my way; will die today. Do you want to survive? Go away...get out of my way and you'll live."

Done with his speech, Maximilian started to advance.

*Now...where should I go?*

*Maybe we should ask for directions?*

*Good idea.*

One of the paladins had taken off his helmet, coughing out some of the water he had received in the attack. Maximilian seized him by his chest plate and lifted him off the ground.

"I'm looking for the place where you keep your prisoners, any ideas?"

The man looked into Maximilian's, horror and fear almost tangible on his face as the two draconic eyes looked at him.

"I...I,I..."

"No need to talk if you can't. Just point in the general direction..."

The man lifted a trembling hand, indicating to Maximilian which way he had to go.

"Thank you."

Maximilian dropped down the man before going in what he hoped was the good direction.

.

.

.

"You are stupid..." said Maximilian.

In one of the hallway was a group of Paladins and guards, grouped in a fighting position. Three crossbowmen in the group had fired at Maximilian as soon as he had arrived at the corner. Using his sword, Maximilian had cut the three projectiles in an instant, looking at his future victims with burning eyes.

"Wasn't I clear enough? All you have to do is go away..."

"SILENCE DEMON!!! WE ARE THE DEFENDERS OF CARENDAR'S FLAME!!! WE WON'T FLEE B..."

The man could not finish his sentence. Not waiting, Maximilian had dashed in their direction, punching the man's helmet. The metal before his face bent under the pressure and pushed through his skull. The man flew back a metre or two, fell down, gargled a bit and died.

The guards took a horrified look at the paladin before looking back at Maximilian, clearly not willing to stay there.

"Another volunteer?" asked Maximilian as he showed them his flamed-covered fist.

The two paladins in the group charged at him while the guards just fled. The two paladins that had attacked; instantly died, their heads crushed one against the other.

"What a waste of time...where to go now?"

.

.

.

Maximilian advanced quickly through the hallways, scanning the doors quickly as he was passing them. When he felt no energy inside the room, he simply ignored the door. Sometimes, he felt one or two people inside and went in, destroying the door as he checked.

One time or two, he came across one or two paladins and guards, waiting to ambush him, they didn't live long enough to regret their actions.

.

.

.

"DEAD END?! YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME?!"

Maximilian shouted his rage as he arrived at the end of the hallway to face a dead end.

"FUCKING PALADIN’ MESSED WITH ME!"

*That was to be expected, you thought they would tell you what you wanted to know like that?* Dragnïr, like a conscience on his shoulder, talked to him in a pensive tone.

*To be frank, I planned that they would be just too surprised to think about tricking me...it seems I underestimated them...back to the entrance then*

.

.

.

"How long did it take me to go and come back!? Where is everyone?"

Back at the entrance, Maximilian was kind of surprised to see that, apart from the dead bodies on the ground, no one was there anymore.

"THEY WERE TOLD TO HIDE WHILE WE TAKE CARE OF YOU!"

Maximilian looked around. He was in the middle of the room, near the central hallway exit. From the other hallway came thirty and so different people, some were Paladins; others were Inquisitors or Mages.

The differences between them and the ones before were clearly visible. Their equipment was older, but also visibly enhanced and well taken care of. Their weapons were out and ready to attack with deadly efficiency. The few faces without helmets showing older veterans, covered with scars and steadfast resolution in their eyes.

"...And I suppose you’re all veterans? Let me guess, you’re here to stop me?"

Shields up and slowly approaching from every side, the paladins didn't talk. The mages were already chanting their spell, gathering energy for a powerful attack. The one who answered was one of the Inquisitors; who were currently aiming at Maximilian with their crossbows.

"You guessed right. You should surrender before it's too late...is what I would like to say, but seeing what you've done here, I won't lie, you're not leaving alive and..."

Maximilian interrupted him.

"Don't waste your breath; I thought that you, as veterans, might be able to tell when a fight is unnecessary and impossible to win..."

Maximilian lifted his hands, flames appearing on them.

"BLOCK HIS MAGIC!!!" shouted the inquisitor as he and the others fired at Maximilian.

The mages cast their spell against Maximilian; apparently some kind of magic-nullifying spell.

"Good call, but..."

A stone wall came from the ground to block the projectiles. Concerning the spell from the mages, Maximilian wasn't even bothered by it and let go of his flames.

On his left and right, gigantic fireballs were created and dashed forward; destroying the veterans on Maximilian's side in a few seconds.

"DON'T LET HIM RECOVER, ATTACK!!!"

Was it because they didn't understand the situation or because they understood it too well? No matter the reason, a dozen veterans that were still alive charged at Maximilian in a desperate attack.

"You should have listened..."

Maximilian stomped on the stone ground, making hundreds of spikes coming out from it before him. The three paladins and two mages died, not able to escape the attack from underneath. The inquisitors managed to jump off to the side and pursued in their attack, still charging at Maximilian.

"And still…you run to your deaths..."

Maximilian put a hand on the pommel of his sword and walked towards the charging inquisitor's direction.

"Don't hate me for this..."

As they finally arrived in reach, they stopped mid-air as if time had frozen. Maximilian seemed to simply walk between them while calmly pulling out his sword before slowly putting it back. As the guard of the sword hit the scabbard, time seemed to return to normal speed again and the five remaining inquisitors fell down, all dead or almost.

"...why..."

The talking inquisitor from before, gargling with blood that was coming from his mouth, was looking at Maximilian with eyes full of desperation more than hatred.

"...why all this? Why...killing us, demon?"

Maximilian sighed.

"I am no demon...just a very powerful guy that you took someone precious from."

"All this...for one soul?...you killed dozens...to save one?"

"No...I killed dozens because you didn't listen and tried to stop me. Don't resent me for your mistake. This could have gone down without any death, but you chose to resist."

"You realise...this won't end like that, right? You made...the church your enemy...today."

"Maybe...but I'm not the one fearing the church, it will fear me. Stop talking, maybe you'll survive...maybe. Let it be a test of luck for you, pray that Odds is feeling generous."

Maximilian stopped the discussion there and advanced into the hallway that the talking inquisitor had come from.

.

.

.

Another hallway, another set of doors. This time, though, no one was there to fight him.

*Have I already decimated the entire Inquisition?*

*I doubt it, a lot of them must be out on missions; some have probably fled or are going to get reinforcements.* said Dragnïr.

*You're probably right...there are a lot of people in here...*

Maximilian had stopped before another door, the high number of different energy coming from inside indicated that at least two or three dozen people were inside.

*You think she could be in here?* asked Dragnïr.

*I don't detect her energy...*

*How come you can't localise her?*

*You tell me; I'm new at this kind of things...I'm able to say she's inside their headquarters, but I can't situate her precisely. At least, I know she's alive, that's a good thing.*

*Let's not waste time then.* concluded Dragnïr.

The door was locked, but by his strength alone, Maximilian tore it out, throwing it in the hallway before going in.

Everyone stopped doing what they were doing as he entered. Maximilian expected a bunch of soldiers and guards planning another attack on him, he found partially that.

There actually were soldiers and paladins, trainees and more experienced inquisitors, but they were all laid on beds and when there was no bed available, simply on blankets on the floor. All of them were injured, some worse than others. The ones with the fewer injuries painfully stood up to place themselves between Maximilian and their comrades that were unable to defend themselves.

"YOU! DEMON!!! WE WON'T LET YOU HURT THEM MORE THAN YOU ALREADY HAVE!"

One of the few standing paladins, his helmet and upper armour parts, removed to be able to have bandages put on his injuries, was raising his longsword with two hands, his state not allowing him to use his shield. Around him; guards, inquisitors and one or two other paladins, all in a state as bad as his, stood their ground to protect their friends.

"Haven't you had enough already? Stop trying to attack me..." said Maximilian, raising a hand which started to be covered in flames.

"STOP, PLEASE!!!"

Someone else spoke. Coming from behind the injured fighters who stepped to the side, came a priest followed by a dozen women, also dressed in religious clothes. Be it the man or the women, they didn't have that superior attitude Maximilian was used to seeing that the inquisition presented. They looked humble, but at the same time in that you wanted to respect them, even if just a little. 'Likeable' would be the most fitting adjective for them.

"Please...there is no one here able to fight you. Please, just let us be; don't spill more blood than it has already been done today."

Maximilian looked a bit around, guessing what the place was.

"Is this...some kind of Infirmary?"

"We called this room the Healing Ground. People come here to be relieved from their pain, not to receive more of it."

"So...I suppose you are healers?"

The priest looked at the women for a second as if fearing for their lives.

"We are, indeed...we all heard what you said earlier. You swear no ill would be done to those not getting in your way. May I hope you will keep your word? As you can see; there are here only injured men, women and children."

"Children?" asked Maximilian, surprised "what are children doing here?"

"They are young Trainees. Some were simply here to get injuries, from their training, healed, others were..."

"Others were hurt by you!" finished one of the religious women.

"Sister!" quickly said the priest, surely calling the woman sister as a Title, as the two didn't look anything alike.

"He is certainly going to kill us anyway, brother. Why should we be polite with this bloodthirsty demon, if our lives are about to end anyway?!"

Maximilian looked at the hatred-filled eyes from the sister looking at his draconic eyes, impressed with the lady's courage. He stepped forward further, the fighters tried to move to place themselves before the healers, but were unable to move, their feet locked in stone shoes emerging from the ground and locking them in place.

The priest faced Maximilian, fear slowly rising in his eyes as he saw the man approach. Maximilian raised a hand and he closed his eyes, waiting for the fatal blow to come. He opened his eyes in surprise when he simply felt the hand on his shoulder, slightly but firmly pushing him off to the side. Maximilian passed next to him and came before the sister who was doing her best to still look into his eyes, although the proximity of the man had managed to make her resolution start to crumble.

"You are healers, right?" asked Maximilian.

"What is it to you, demon?" bravely taunted the woman.

"If you are healers, prove it..."

Maximilian took off one of his gauntlets and cut his palm open, showing the bloody injury to the woman.

"Heal me..."

A silence fell upon the room. The sisters looked at each other, before the one in front of him answered.

"Impossible. I can't heal a demon." she stated.

Maximilian sighed and pointed at the nearest line of injured, a fireball appearing in his palm.

"The Priest assured me you were not a threat, but just healers...was he lying?"

Seeing the sphere of fire, the sisters started to panic.

"PLEASE, NO!...I'll do it, please, don't kill them."

"I'm waiting..."

The religious woman hesitantly came near his hand and put her own hands above his injured palm, incanting some holy prayers. Her hands shined for a few second and Maximilian felt his injury closing, far quicker than it would have normally.

"It's...done?" the woman seemed surprised and Maximilian noticed it.

"You seem surprised, why?" asked Maximilian as he examined is healed hand, the fireball disappearing.

"Holy magic isn't supposed to work on demons, not like that. Using that spell should have hurt you, not healed you..." confessed the sister.

"...I am not a demon sister; just a powerful human."

"No human is that powerful, not as much as to be able to attack the Inquisition like you did..."

"Believe me; I could have done far worse."

As he was speaking, Maximilian felt in him, the new skill that he had been hoping to get for ages, appeared at last. Two things appeared actually; 'Holy Magic' as a skill and 'Heal' as a spell. Maximilian quickly maximised his new skill and immediately felt the new possibilities opening to him.

*Only now do I realise how easy it would be for me to heal others...why haven't I noticed it before? It would have been so useful so many times...*

*It's because of me, I'm afraid. To be able to realise it, you would have to think about it, imagine it. Your 'fantasy amnesia' is blocking this kind of discoveries. It's like you already know all this, but it is locked behind doors in your mind. Feeling the magic, learning it directly from a book or someone else provides you with a 'mental key' opening the door in your mind.* explained Dragnïr.

*The important thing is that I know it now.*

*True it is.* concluded the dragon.

Maximilian nodded to himself. He passed next to the sister and came near the beds where the children were.

"Please! Not the children!" pleaded the sisters and priests at the same time.

Maximilian looked a second at the worried eyes of the few children awake. Too young to be considered a threat and too young to be really considered enemies.

"Was it me who injured you?" calmly asked Maximilian to the nearest one looking at him, doing his best to look brave; but failing miserably. The boy nodded, not able to mutter a simple word.

"In that case..." Maximilian raised a hand before him and made a large gesture, passing his hand before all the kids in the room. Some kind of shiny dust fell from his hand, the children actively tried to protect themselves against it, but the dust passed through their clothes in a second and entered their bodies.

"No child should suffer the consequences of adult's mistakes..."

"What have you done to them?!" inquired the priest as Maximilian past back next to him.

"You'll see soon enough...Priest, I'm going to respect my word and continue to search for my friend. If you want no more blood to be spilt, tell me where to find her."

The priest worriedly looked at the children for a second and pointed at the exit.

"Take your left at the end of that hallway and then head underground, that's where the cells and interrogation rooms are..."

"Thank you."

Maximilian exited the room, snapping his fingers as he passed next to the fighters to break the stone on their feet. As soon as he was gone, the priest and the sisters hurried to the children's side, still wondering what cursed had been put on them.

"But...It cannot be...they're healed! All of them!"

It was as the sister had said. The adult and experienced fighters were still injured, but the children were completely healed, some even looking at where their injuries used to be in wonder; clearly not believing their eyes.

"Sister. Do you think?..." asked another religious woman to the one who had healed Maximilian.

"Indeed, that was holy magic...but at a level I've only seen used by a High Priest or maybe a Saint...how can a demon use holy magic like that?"

The priest looked towards the exit where Maximilian had left through.

"Maybe he didn't lie after all...no demon could have used holy magic."

"How are the children?" asked a paladin as he sat on one of the beds, after some of the children were up to check how their injuries were.

"They'll be fine, Paladin...but will you be?"

"With time, I should be alright. I know your healing spell needs time to completely heal wounds like mine...we were lucky to survive, weren't we, sister?"

"Indeed we were, Paladin."

"Praised be Carendar..." sighed the man.

.

.

."I think this is it. This place is far too gloomy to not be what we're looking for..." said Maximilian to himself.

All the underground levels looked far too much like a dungeon for Maximilian's taste. He quickly advanced down the hallway, passing before door after door, without noticing any presences. When, at last, he felt two energy presences behind a door, he knew that one of them was her.

"Lin-Lin!"

The door was quickly taken care of and Maximilian entered.

Inside, he saw Lin-Lin, injured, sitting in a chair with its restraints un-locked from her wrists and ankles. A young girl was cleaning the blood from her injured face.

As he saw the state of Lin-Lin's body, he couldn't suppress the hatred in his heart, his aura clearly showing it. The girl before Lin-Lin didn't have time to turn as the weight of Maximilian's aura crushed her onto the floor.

....................................................................................................................................

"W...what?!" Nilen exclaimed in shock.

Nilem looked with horror at the tall man who had entered the room. Each of his steps felt like a thousand armoured boots hitting the floor, the pressure from his aura was tremendous, so heavy she had trouble breathing.

"Pl...please...c...can't breathe..."

The man ignored her and advanced, until he reached the panda-girl on the chair. The hatred in his eyes changed to sadness as he saw the sorry state of the girl. His aura disappeared as he crouched before her, slightly caressing her cheek with the back of his hand. Nilem took small breaths as she felt the weight getting off her back.

"My dear Lin-Lin..."

The man took the girl in his arms and held her like something precious. His body shined for a second and Nilem opened her eyes wide as she saw the injuries on the girl's body closing in a few seconds. The panda-girl slightly opened her eyes.

"Ma...ster..."

The man passed a hand through her hair as he smiled at her.

"I'm here, Lin-Lin, you're safe now..."

The girl smiled as she put her head against the man chest, visibly relieved.

"So it's you, you’re her master?" asked Nilem almost involuntarily.

As he heard her talk, the man looked back at her and the aura came back like a mountain on her shoulder, crushing her once again.

"You...you dare to talk after what you've done to her?" the man was speaking far too calmly compared to his aura, making the girl's heart scream in fear.

"I'm going to make you endure a thousand times what you did to her..."

With one arm, the man was holding the panda-girl against him and with the other he used wind magic to raise her into the air, paralysing her before him with an invisible hand gripping her throat.

*I'm gonna die...*

That was the only thought Nilem could have at that time. She knew no words to help herself; even if she had managed to speak, she could not have convinced him of her good-will towards the girl. Nothing could stop his fury, not her, not any paladin, not even her sister, no one...

"Master...not her."

In a second, the man stopped his spell, letting Nilem fall down, to direct his attention on the girl in his arms.

"What did you say, Lin-Lin?" asked Maximilian.

"Ratman...hurt me. She...saved me...Ratman was...gonna kill me..." the girl had trouble staying awake and was visibly fighting to stay conscious for Nilem’s sake.

"Is this true?" the man confirmed with the panda-girl who simply nodded before her head came back to rest against his chest, losing consciousness once again.

As she felt the aura around her getting lighter, Nilem could only think of one thing.

*Thank you, Lin-Lin*

......................................................................................................................................

"I hear you, Lin-Lin..." Maximilian patted the girl's head who slightly smiled even with her eyes closed.

The girl on the ground, Nilem, coughed loudly, blood coming from her mouth as she did.

"I didn’t realised I hurt you that much..." said Maximilian as he picked up Lin-Lin's equipment from the table and put it back into the Havenbag. As he saw the remnant of the blood pendant, he immediately realised what happened.

*That's why she's so tired even after I healed her, she's taken my blood, certainly so that they weren't able to take it from her...do you think it will go well?*

*She'll be fine. From what I remember, important evolution needs the one evolving to be asleep for it to happen. I suggest we find her a quiet place, away from here.*

*Good idea.*

After he had taken back all of Lin-Lin's equipment, Maximilian walked towards the exit.

"Wait! Please..."

As he passed next to her, the girl called after him.

"What is it?" asked Maximilian, not really wanting to stay here any longer."

"My sister...is she...?"

"I don't know who your sister is, girl."

"...Milne, my sister is the Inquisitor Milne. Did you kill her?"

Maximilian looked in the young girl's eyes, her determination being the only thing allowing her to withstand his look.

"She's alive...because I didn't meet her in here...she can consider herself lucky."

"Please! Don't resent her; she...she is an Inquisitor for my sake and...cough! cough!!!"

The stress that the girl was enduring seemed to worsen her condition, blood coming from her mouth as she coughed loudly.

"What is happening to you?" asked Maximilan

"Sorry...I've been ill since I was a baby...my sister became an Inquisitor just so I could be healed by the healers of the Inquisition, but...they can only make my condition better for a short time and COUGH! COUGH!!!"

Maximilian stayed silent as she, once again, started to cough loudly, even more blood coming from her mouth.

"Sister is not a bad person! She wouldn't have hurt your friend, I swear! She did as she was ordered because she feared what would happen to me if she didn't, but, but...COUGH! COUGH!! Please! Don't resent her! I beg of you!"

Without a word, Maximilian came near her. With a simple hand gesture, he used wind magic to raised her up into the air once again. Only this time it wasn't like he had gripped her by the throat but more like someone was raising her from underneath.

The girl looked at him without any idea how to react.

"What are you d..."

"Don't talk and don't move..."

Maximilian put a hand on the girl's chest, making her blush.

"wh..."

"Not a sound..." interrupted Maximilian.

By using his scan spell, but only directed at the girl's body, Maximilian saw what was wrong with her in an instant.

*Her lungs are malformed...and the constant friction and stress she inflicts herself when she tries to breath is causing some bleeding in her throat...I'm impressed she has survived so long with a body like that.*

Maximilian's hand shined for a few second and Nilem opened her eyes wide.

......................................................................................................................................

The pain.

If you feel it for long enough, some say you can learn to live with it. But you never do.

Of course, you can try, after a time, to understand it. You can learn to expect it and guess, even if just a little, when it's going to happen. But when it comes, you can only suffer; you can't fight it, you can't win against it. You can only pray for it to pass quickly, to not take you away from the ones you love, not so soon.

Nilem had lived her entire life with this pain, this fear. She had seen her sister's eyes more than one time filled with pity, with sadness and hatred towards herself; to not be able to help the one she loved the most.

She had tried to fight; to live no matter what, but every time the pain came back. Even when the healers were taking care of her, she could feel the pain was only 'sleeping', not gone but just calmed for a bit.

Not anymore.

This day, in the shadow of the headquarters, in a room that had seen so much pain be delivered for so much time by people who had lost their humanity, to people who sometimes would lose theirs; there…something happened.

When she had come to give her sister's prisoner something to eat and drink, she found her tortured and ready to be killed by a man who had ceased to be one. She had saved her at the last moment by ordering the guards to move, then sent them for help while she did her best to clean her, even if it wasn't much. She had heard her when she had said her master was there, and she had felt the world shaking as he had arrived.

When after some time the door was torn apart; she couldn't believe how right the girl was to say it wouldn't make any difference in how when she explained herself to her. When she felt the murderous aura, crushing her on the ground like she wasn't anything more than an insect, under the foot of a giant, she could only pray while her horrified eyes looked at the incarnation of terror walking in the room. She didn't call for help because she couldn't muster the force to do so, and also because she knew no one in the inquisition could have helped her against...that.

Then, she had seen the hatred in the man's eyes vanished to look at the panda-girl, how important to him could she be to make this demon's aura disappear; in an instant?

She saw, but didn't believe it when he healed her in an instant. No demon could use holy magic like that. Her words came out of her mouth without her noticing and hell came crushing her once again; as the man thought she was the one responsible for the panda girl's state. It was only thanks to her that she survived.

She had begged him, pleaded to know if her sister was still alive, worried about her. Then it came once again. The stress she had felt because of that situation had awakened the pain; which had been far worse than she had ever felt before. She had trouble speaking or even breathing as if an invisible hand was destroying her chest from the inside, but she didn't care. Knowing that her sister was alive was all that mattered, the one who had sacrificed so much for her was alive and it was all that mattered.

Then, without her knowing why, the panda-girl's master raised her up into the air without a word, using air-magic as easily as was breathing. She couldn't suppress a blush when she felt his hand on her chest, but when she tried to ask what he was doing; he ordered her once again to keep silent and she complied; knowing perfectly well he could have done with her whatever he desired without her being able to do anything against it. Shortly after, a few seconds passing, she felt a warm feeling, unlike anything she had ever felt before running through her chest, then her entire body.

She opened her eyes wide.

For the first time in her life she breathed; as she was meant to do. The pain wasn't 'sleeping' like it had done so many times before, it was gone. She could feel it in her chest, she was cured for good.

Tears of joy fell from her eyes as the air-magic disappeared and she slowly descended to the ground.

......................................................................................................................................

Once done, Maximilian turned to leave the room.

"Thank you..." the girl said.

Brushing away the tears on her face, the girl was doing her best to not cry too much.

"A life; for a life. You saved Lin-Lin's life, I saved yours. We're even now...try to not waste the life I gave you today."

Without looking at her, Maximilian left the room.

"I won't..." promised Nilem.

......................................................................................................................................

*Where do we go now?* asked Dragnïr.

*I was thinking of an inn in town.*

Maximilian managed to get out of the headquarters without any more serious encounters; using his high speed to pass-by any possible enemy without being noticed. Now on the headquarters roof, he saw some paladins and inquisitors going inside the building, bringing reinforcements.

Now done with Lin-Lin's rescue, he took off his hood and let his eyes take back their normal appearance. It wasn't much, but those slight changes made him look totally different in the eyes of the ones looking at him. As when he was while fighting the inquisition, no one would even bother looking at his equipment or clothes, to concentrate on his eyes or trying to evade his look altogether.

He took a blanket and put it around Lin-Lin, covering her.

*It would be better to not go in the most known one, just to be sure we won't raise too much attention for the time being.* suggested Dragnïr.

*I was thinking the same thing. Let's look for a good inn, but not in the best part of the town.*

Maximilian silently jumped from one room to another, looking around for a good place to stay. While he was searching, he took the time to contact Octavia with his Ring of the Free Talker.

"Octavia; do you hear me?"

"MASTER?!" responded Octavia instantly.

Maximilian couldn't suppress a chuckle.

"I'm using the Ring of the Free Talker to speak to you, Octavia. It’s the same as if I was next to you, no need to shout."

"I'm sorry...did you find Lin-Lin?"

"She's sleeping for now, but I've saved her."

He heard Octavia sigh in relief.

"I'm glad she's okay. Are you coming back to the village, should Binvo and I go back?"

"No, continue on the road; come to the capital like I told you to do. Lin-Lin and I will meet you there. Is everything going okay on your end?"

"One monster or two, but nothing my arrows cannot kill...Binvo helped a bit too."

"Good job, Octavia. We'll wait for you here, don't hesitate to contact me if you need help."

"Alright...Master?"

"Yes?" answered Maximilan.

A bit of silence came from her, then...

"I miss you...I mean...I miss you both!"

And the communication was ended, certainly by her taking off the ring.

*She's an interesting one too...*

*Shut up, Dragnïr*

The dragon chuckled in Maximilian's head.

......................................................................................................................................

After a while, Maximilian found what he was looking for. An inn; visibly well maintained even if not the most richly decorated.

*'The Golden Amazon'...I like the name* said Dragnïr

*Me too...do you know the place?*

*Are you kidding? Last time I visited, all this part of the capital wasn't even constructed.*

*Oh...I guess it will be a discovery for the both of us then.*

Jumping down from the roof, in an alley where no one was, Maximilian went inside the inn; Lin-Lin still in his arms.

The inside was cosy, not pompous in any way, but well-maintained and arranged. The ceiling was a bit high for a simple inn in this part of the town but apart from this detail, everything else was welcoming. Behind the counter was a man so small he barely could see above it. His physique suggested he wasn't a dwarf, but simply a very small human man, short but strong looking. He let a big smile appear on his face as he welcomed the newcomer.

"Welcome to the Golden Amazon traveller! How can I serve you today?"

Slightly bowing to the man, Maximilian kindly smiled at him.

"Hello to you too good sir. Me and my friend..." Maximilian made a head gesture in Lin-Lin's direction. "have made a long journey and we could use some rest. Do you have a room with two beds available?"

The man looked at Lin-Lin for a bit, her race clearly visible even when partially covered by the blanket.

"Your friend is a beast-kin?" said the man with a little smile on his face.

"Will that be a problem?" asked Maximilian, not willing to waste too much time with more racism than Lin-Lin had already suffered from the inquisition so far.

Not directly answering; the man turned to the back of the room, where the entrance to the kitchen was.

"Sweetheart? Can you come with Litel and K'yrch for a while?"

Coming from the back of the room appeared three people. The first was a two meter tall and muscular woman with a pretty mature face and long golden hair. Following her was a young lady nearly as tall as her and just a bit less muscular. As pretty as the first one, only younger, she had golden hair a bit shorter than the other lady, a lock of golden hair covering one of her eyes. Finally came a man with his skin partially covered with dark green scales, reptilian eyes and tail; with long and clawed fingers on his hands and some kind of long black scaled plaits coming from his head.

"Let me introduce you my wife and daughter; as well as our trusted friend and worker...so? Do you think I have a problem with beast-kin’s or people a bit different at all?" asked the small man with a big smile.

*They say some like them taller but isn't that a bit exaggerated?* comment Dragnïr as he chuckled.

*Love doesn't care for size, Dragnïr...*

*I know some who would disagree with you...but now we know where the name of the inn comes from.*

Not bothering to answer his draconic friend, Maximilian slightly bowed and smiled to the three newcomers.

"Sorry to have bothered you in your work. If you have a place for us to stay, we'll be more than happy to do so." said Maximilian with a frank smile, already liking these people.

"Dear? Is something wrong with this young girl?" asked the Amazon to her smaller husband, her voice so sweet and pleasant it was hard to imagine it coming from someone so well built.

"Nothing to worry about Madam. She's only exhausted and needs a good place to rest."

The tall woman thought for a bit, her eyes looking at the ceiling while doing so.

"We have one room still vacant, but I'm afraid it only has one bed..."

"It's alright; I'll sleep on the ground if I need too. As long as she has somewhere cosy to sleep, I'll be glad."

"In that case; there will be no problem. The night costs ten copper coins per person, plus five copper coins per meal you desire." stated the man, in a friendly, but nonetheless, professional manner.

"Here..." Maximilian took out a silver coin and handed it to the man. "I still don't know how long we plan to stay, take this toward the balance for now".

The man quickly put the silver coin in his purse.

"Thank you, sir! Litel, could you show this man to their room?"

"Of course, dad. Please follow me, Sir." answered the young lady in a tone sounding a lot like her mother's; before going up the stairs followed by Maximilian.

"What do you think, sweetheart?" asked the man to his tall wife.

"I don't know...something is strange with this man, but I can't say what exactly."

"You think we shouldn't let Litel alone with him?" inquired the man.

"I don't think so. He is well-built, but I didn't sense any fighting spirit coming from him. He certainly wears a sword as a dissuasive tool more than to fight with it." observed the amazon.

"That's what I thought too. What about you, K'yrch?"

The lizard man answered in the human language, although the way he talked showed it clearly wasn't his native language.

"Man carry beak'st like treak'sure...and k'smile to K'yrch with k'sincerity. More than a lot do." the accent of the lizard man was sounding a lot like an alligator clapping his big mouth, every 's' sound was preceded by a 'K' sound.

"Well... I suppose we will see if he is as sincerely good-willed as he looks at first. You two can go back to work for now, but be careful if you come across him." warned the small man.

The two nodded and went back in the kitchen to ready the meal for the evening.

......................................................................................................................................

"Here is your room, Sir. Do you want me to bring you another blanket for you to sleep on?" kindly asked the tall girl after she had opened the door for Maximilian to go in.

"That won't be necessary. Thank you for your service...Lite, was it?"

"Yes, Sir?"

"I don't think she'll be up today, there's no need for you to come inform us when the meal is ready." Maximilian carefully put Lin-Lin on the bed and placed the blanket over her.

"Very well, Sir. Should I let you know when breakfast will be available tomorrow?"

"You don't need to; we will come down on our own when she's awake."

"As you wish Sir. I hope you have a good night, you and your friend." the girl bowed slightly and left the room.

Maximilian locked the door and sat on the ground, facing the bed and crossed his arms over his chest.

*Finally, now all we have to do is wait.* said Dragnïr.

*Indeed. I hope she'll be fine.*

*With all the energy you gave her when you healed her, she's going to be more than fine.*

*All’s good then. Then she'll be fine. I'll take care of your heart.*

*That's kind of you.*

*Don't be too thankful yet, I could very well kill you in the process...*

*That would only be the second time you did...*

*You Dragon. You defineitly know how to put somebody at ease.*

The dragon answered him with a chuckle.

Maximilian stayed awake for a while, looking at Lin-Lin sleep. Then, without noticing, sank into a deep sleep.