As Corym lets out an exasperated groan, his partner hurriedly says, "I swear it's out there. We can't move from this spot, or else it'll see us!"

"It's been an hour already. It's probably gone looking for easier… food." He hesitates at the word, but it's the right one. In his sand-invaded corner of the sinking building, Corym clings to all the provisions they managed to scavenge from other buildings up until this point.

In his mind, he can't find any blame to the Demon's hunger; in fact, he sympathizes—on the brink of starving himself, it's easy. Right now though, all he wants to do is—

"I don't think I can hold it in anymore. If you won't let me go out, I'll have to do it in here." In truth, he's been holding it in for much longer, long before I ever became something for either of them to worry about. "I'm scared too but… it's your choice." He breathes out heavily, fingers curling around the band of his trousers.

"Stop!" Meira says, her brow heavy with sweat and face caked with dirt. She frowns, but staring at Corym a moment longer has her easing into depressing resignation, since she believes a step out of the shelter means his death. And possibly has, as Corym always comes back running. "If I die because you took a dump… I'll never forgive you."

Rolling his eyes, Corym tosses the bag of provisions at her and climbs out the sand-buried base of the building to the outside. Meira clips the provision bag over her pack, adjusting it so it doesn't obstruct her reach before looking right back out of her favorite crack in the wall.

Balancing herself on a box leaning on a piece of collapsed roof, Meira keeps stern watch for me. I've stood with them for around an hour gathering whatever I could from their minds without directly asking. It's far more dynamic this way—their thoughts skip, branch, and evolve with the slightest noise, smell, or sound.

I've learned their names, a bit about who they were before this as they yearn for Hescaria's haven again, and I've learned quite a bit about their encounters in Kyis.

In extraordinary fashion, this pair of basic infantrymen drafted from Hescaria's willing population survived a month in the Demon-infested city with nothing but the elementary equipment assigned to each of them. The most important of which is the pack of fine Gestalt Crystals Meira has strapped to herself.

As a part of Navi's regiment, each infantryman is fitted with this, educated in basic mana manipulation and identification if they could, and entrusted with a weapon emblazoned with three larger Gestalt Crystals. Corym would have a pack of his own, but not after chucking it into some Demon's mouth.

The city wasn't always like this, even after Navi and Valery took charge. They patrolled it like any other occupied fief, not minding the locals and paying close attention to nobles likely to scurry off for trouble.

Then King messed it all up. I have a couple suspicions about what happened to bring this amount of Demons into Kyis, but neither Meira or Corym have had their thoughts drift in that direction, so I'll have to ask.

With Corym gone to do his business, I can calm Meira's soon-to-be-panicking mind with the little Essence I have to spare—the higher level my traits and abilities, the more Essence it takes to wield them efficiently.

"Meira." I call out, seizing the entirety of her thoughts as she turns to meet my eyes. Nearly screaming at my appearance, she swiftly scoops a handful of Crystals. "That won't be necessary," I say, already holding onto her wrists.

"Who…?" she starts, loosening up as [Mesmer] takes hold and calms her battle-ready mind.

"I'm a friend," I say, and it's not entirely a lie either. "I'm the one who saved you from those Demons."

"You… you're the one who…" she struggles to speak through the general thought scrambling [Mesmer] has her mind under. Only relevant thoughts or ideas come through.

"Yes. Now, tell me what happened after Valery took the city. How did the Demons arrive here?"

Holding her head in her hand, she shrinks, squatting to the floor as a part of her mind attempts to fight [Mesmer]. "We… held Kyis, and then it exploded. Queen Lumina was here somehow, and she… the Demons came after her. A gate swallowed the sky above the city for days, pouring sand and fire and Demons. It was hell before the week was over. The Grand Marshal and Colonel Navi, they retreated with the Queen, abandoned the city to the Demons."

Having seized her thoughts, I can experience some of these events through them, see what she remembers happened. The gate that swallowed the sky may as well be the same one I went through when I first entered Reais from the Wall of Deaders.

This added, with the fact that throughout the war itself Demons had been spawning seemingly out of thin air over to the north—where Denkel the Orc kingdom sits— means Ire is certainly being invaded by demonic forces.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

King's spell must've ripped the gradually thinning split between the two Realms, creating an opportunity for Reais and its Demons to spill through.

"Lord Crimson," Meira drones, grabbing my attention.

"What was that? Lord Crimson?" I urge, pulling her thoughts for answers.

"Meira!" Corym screams, surprising me. He doesn't stop there. He lunges himself across the room, channeling mana adeptly through his feet and fists to land a punch I catch in my palm.

Without delay, he twists, swatting at my head with flexible use of his legs. Breaking away from his onslaught of kicks, he takes a guard position in front of his companion, sneering at me.

"Meira! Meira!" He hesitates to look over his shoulder at her, not willing to lose sight of me.

Raising my hands up and going down on one knee so I'm not as imposing, I retrieve the shortsword I picked from the brute Demon's neck and Corym bursts with more mana.

Sliding the sword across the dirt ground, I speak to him in Lumina's elvish tongue, "I'm a friend, ask Meira."

He isn't comforted that I can speak his tongue, merely ready to fight should I attack. "Meira! Hey, what's wrong with you? What did you do to her?"

A bit sheepish at the question, I shrug, "I wasn't intending on getting caught while I probed her mind, but you're here now as well, so you might as well help me like she was. Lord Crimson, where did you hear this title?"

In truth, I'm certain Meira doesn't feel that way, but that's all the more reason to keep her quiet under [Mesmer] and focus on Corym. He's got little choice here—either be friendly or fight, and from earlier reconnaissance I know he's got little fight left in him.

"What's it to you? Who are you?"

"I told you, I'm a friend. Now you, tell me where you heard it."

Torn, he looks over his shoulder at Meira, whose actions, thoughts, and ideas are all subdued under the weight of [Mesmer]. I close the gap between us by the time he looks back, startling him to launch a mana-packed punch I once again catch in my palm. This time I don't let his fist go.

Looming over him and Meira in the cramped space, I insist, "Tell me, Corym."

Squinting away, he blurts it all in one breath, "Demons like you fought and injured Colonel Navi when she wouldn't answer where Lord Crimson was! She said she didn't know, and when the Marshal came to save us the Demons only got angrier!"

The moment he started speaking, I abandoned Meira's mind for his own, nothing invasive or subduing, simply reading between the lines. And between the lines Corym was never near any of these happenings, Meira was. She and a group of other infantrymen witnessed it, and Corym heard it from her once they found each other in the resulting mess.

It's no wonder Meira has a greater respect for Demons, obsessing enough to stare out a crack in the wall for over an hour. Corym's mind doesn't hold any visual descriptors of the Demons, nothing he didn't get from Meira when she spoke about the encounter—which was once and never again.

Just then, she groans to consciousness behind Corym, blinking out the confusion of her companion squashed up against her and her against a wall. She finds me and it all makes sense once again.

"Corym, move!" she strains.

Whimpering, Corym cries, "I can't!"

"Ugh, shut up, the both of you." I let Corym free and find a corner of the room to rest in. The two quickly check themselves before Meira once again faces me, hand already full of Crystals.

I'd forgotten about those. That could be annoying.

"What do you want with us! There's no Lord Crimson here, please!" Meira weeps, stressed out of her mind. From my influence and the war, it's no wonder she hasn't broken down already.

I point behind them, at the long box Meira used as a stand for her crevasse. "Are there any clothes in there?" I say, wrapped in King's worsened dark veil.

Meira stutters, but Corym's quick to action, rummaging through the box to find a dirt-brown tunic and belt. The sleeves are free and easily billow as Corym carries it over with an equally billowing trouser.

"You can taper those to your… oh, you don't have any shoes. I'll find some!" he says unenthusiastically.

"No, this is fine. I prefer my bare feet," I say, and he returns to Meira's side. Both regard me with a cautious look. Meira still hasn't let the Crystals go, so I figure it's time. "I'm a friend."

"So you've said," Meira bites.

Ignoring the interruption, "I can return you to Valery, to Hescaria. I'm heading there myself, after all."

"Heading there? Why?" Her eyes narrow at me, but it's all a charade. I lean back, applying [Somatic Manipulation] a bit so I fit well in my new clothes—though neither of them notice me change size.

"I won the war for Lumina au Hescaria. Her sister summoned me into this Realm and I made a pact with your Queen. It's simply time she honors her side of it."

Confusion gives way to realization, and then doubt. "The Demon Hescaria used was-!"

I press a finger to my lip, shushing her on the spot. "I'm not here to banter. We're both headed to Hescaria, and one of us can't survive the journey."

Meira and Corym share a look. Of course, leading a Demon over to your Queen and kingdom must be a very treasonous thing to do, but at the moment I have greater things to worry about than their place in this crumbling world.

Some of the Demons roaming Kyis may be from the Desert Divide, and worse, they're asking for me. I haven't given a lot of thought to the life, or rather horror, I left behind in Reais, but it seems it hasn't forgotten about me.

Calridian hasn't.

Whatever reason these Demons have to look and ask for Lord Crimson can't be good. I doubt Calridian is in search of me to reward my killing Morthul—not that I need him to anymore, I remember it all. King, Reinmer, Anera, Teirs, and their Heroes… that's another issue I've got to avoid while I'm still here.

Damn it, I'm cornered. If Calridian or Gerim find me in this malfunctioning state, I doubt I'll survive through it. I have to retrieve Seeker soon, level the playing field at least, and then… then what?

"We'll do it!" Meira says, cutting my deepening thoughts. "But you have to promise not to hurt anyone we say is an ally."

"Only if they don't hurt me first."

Meira and Corym begin packing and wrapping their things, but I shake my head, "Where do you two think you're going? We wait till dawn, when we can see the Demons coming… some of them anyway. Plus, you're just about collapsing from fatigue, aren't you? Eat, sleep. I'll keep watch until it's time."

Again, they share a look, but still having little choice in the matter, they quickly sit together and peel apart their bread and butter. Meira has a passing thought to invite me to eat but restrains herself.

Stomachs filled, it's not long before they're fast asleep and I'm left with the crashing, howling noises echoing through still-burning Kyis.

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