So I thought long and hard about leaving this as a one shot. Buuut April Fools is still April Fools! I'll update my main fic ASAP I swear, I just have run into a giant writer's block.

I have no idea when I'll post a chapter of this again, but it's not a priority.

~Kalafinn


Rena waited until the very late hours of the night to tell the two heads of the Black Crow mercenaries what they had found. Ain had kept the same frown on his face after he recovered from his shock.

Raven took a deep breath, passing his human hands over his face, "Come again?"

Rena straightened up in her chair, "That's what we saw down there. Well, I can't let a kid like Elsword see that kind of place or let Aisha hear about it, but that's really what we saw."

"The gall of that mortal…" Ain hissed under his breath, "He shall be judged by the Goddess."

Seris had a tense smile on her face the whole time as she listened to the rather absurd way the demons had taken over Velder, "Ain, the people of Elrios judge the criminals first."

The blue-haired priest seemed to pay her no mind. "Calling it the Archangel," he continued to mumble, "What an insult…"

Raven looked down at the map of Velder, "Ok, so you said that it was near the Central Cathedral. There has to be a reason why Owen chose that location."

"Superficially," Seris added, "it just seems like an even bigger insult towards the Church. The demons must know something more about that place."

Raven glanced at his wife, "Or maybe he coordinated it all. He knew there was something the demons wanted in there, and he gave it to them in exchange for..."

The black-haired commander furrowed his eyebrows, passing his hands through his hair with a long, tired sigh, "In exchange for what? The demons back in Feita backstabbed their allies left and right. Maybe Owen is not even in Velder anymore. But he wouldn't be so stupid to get himself killed by demons. He would've seen right through that."

Rena tilted her head at Raven's words, noticing Seris was not correcting Raven's flow of thought. Perhaps she, too, thought that Raven's thoughts were correct.

The elf cleared her throat, "I may not be very familiar with Owen, but even the best tacticians make mistakes. It is very possible he was too quick to trust the demons, or that the demons tricked him using magic to force him to trust them blindly."

Seris softly shook her head, her emerald gaze was still drowned in thought.

"Am I wrong, Seris?" the Grand Archer asked.

The blonde woman snapped back to reality, blinking a couple of times before looking at Rena, "Hm? Owen...Owen is...not a mage. It's not impossible he got tricked by magic or somethi-"

Her eyes widened, "Oh. Oh, no. It has to be her."

Raven turned around towards his wife, "Who?"

"Remember how I told you Owen married a redhead?"

"Mhm?" Raven mumbled, raising an eyebrow at where Seris wanted to go with that.

Seris gaze went briefly up, squinting as she tried to recall her. "Her name was, uhh, Karen!"

She snapped her fingers, looking back at her husband, "Yes. That was it. It sounds too foreign even for a Fluonian name, doesn't it? And they never mentioned which noble family she was from. Just that she was a noble."

Raven blinked, expressionless. He raised his index, as if he was about to deny his wife's theory, but he soon refrained against it, grabbing his quill on a rush. He opened the small notebook over his desk and scribbled more notes down onto the empty pages left.

He nodded softly as he wrote, "Yes. There's no way Owen would have settled down with some mysterious lady like that. And he stopped being his cold, calculating self afterwards. That must have been a sign that the spell was kicking in..."

Ainchase and Rena glanced at one another, silently bracing themselves for the combined genius of the couple at work. However, the mystery they had settled on solving tonight was incredibly absurd. The blue-haired priest feared they seemed more concerned with understanding their former friend rather than solving the problem. Rena, on the other hand, was wondering if they were picking at straws trying to imagine how someone would end up walking the path Owen was walking.

Seris dashed to the other side of the room, pulling out a mobile chalkboard. The wheels chirpsed as they rolled next to the room's window, covering up the quiet, moonlit sky beyond.

Raven opened a drawer and quickly tossed a piece of chalk towards Seris, who swiftly caught it. She began scribbling Owen's name at the centre of the board, "Ok! So, what we know about Owen..." she traced a straight line towards the top of the board, "First! His allies."

She finished up writing the last word she had said and circled it, "So, currently, we know for sure that Karen is our first person of interest. She presented herself as a noble from a foreign kingdom. Of course, now we know Karen is not a human but one of those horrible lizard monsters we saw in Feita. A demon. So, we can assume that one of the necromancers must know about her...uhh...him? Honey, do you think those lizards have a gender?"

"Let's just call them an 'it'. They're from another dimension anyhow. It's no different from animals or things like that."

"Gotcha!" Seris replied with a thumbs-up before writing down Karen as an 'it' with a side note that read 'lizard-demon'.

Ain took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose at the incredibly ignorant assumption the couple was making. However, he had known them long enough to understand that saying anything against their logic at this very moment would be pointless.

Raven nodded, "That said, besides Berthe, demons didn't know how to speak. So, Karen is another leader of the Glitters. It must be. Otherwise, it would've blown its cover."

Rena glanced at Ain, whose gaze said enough about his thoughts. A part of him probably wanted to slam some of his knowledge onto the couple, but since that was pointless, Rena looked around to see if there was any table Ain can slam his head onto. There was none.

The blue-eyed priest glanced at her as the other two adults in the office continued to argue and theorize among themselves. Ain could not help but fear the mad scribbles that would cover the entire room once dawn came along. Any normal, cozy room could become the lair of a mad scholar in less than a night. Leaving was not an option at this point, lest they made too much noise and incurred the fury of two madmen.

Rena patted Ain's shoulder, offering a brief smile, which the priest returned before contemplating the long night ahead. He laid back on his chair and closed his eyes. Rena stretched her arms and yawned as she glanced at how the board was becoming a labyrinth of runes and arrows.

'They probably will keep at it until dawn…'

"Aand," Seris continued as she scribbled more text next to the 'Karen' ellipse, "It must have also used some kind of illusion. All...the time? Hmm. It must be a very, very powerful demon."

"So, Karen is behind that barrier. If the Black Crow can't get through it, then they set up something even Nasod laser cannons can't break through."

"Mhm. So, before we speculate on Feita, let's start by laying out the timeline of when Owen met Karen. First…"


Rena woke up at dawn. She furrowed her eyebrows as she straightened up. She stretched her sore shoulders as she released a yawn. She noticed Ainchase was already wide awake, staring at a troubling mess of scribbled notes, holograms and three chalkboards that covered the left side of the room.

The elf scanned the office from side to side, soon seeing that Raven was sitting down on the comfortable chair behind his desk, holding Seris in his arms.

They were still soundly asleep, and it would be a shame to wake them up when they looked as comfortable as they did. Rena used some wind spirits to stop the chair from creaking as she got up and joined Ain in his silent contemplation of something that, for normal people, would have been days of work.

"Those two are...something," the priest quietly said.

"I know, right?" she replied as she read the notes typed on the holograms of Velder, the surrounding villages and Feita, "No matter how many times we see it, they manage to work at a superhuman pace. I don't think even elven scribes could keep up with them."

"Rena," the priest said, "Let's not tell them that demons can also look fairly human."

The archer tilted her head, "Why?"

Ain smirked, "Well, because the way they connected some dots is very amusing. That is, if I'm reading this cursive correctly. If not, then they're lunatics."

"Both things mean the same to you."

"One is a compliment and the other is not, Rena. There can be genius in madness."

Seris took a long breath in, groaning softly as she exhaled. The two members of the El Search Party turned around, noticing she had woken up. Raven opened his eyes not even a minute after Seris, and, soon, the two military geniuses were on their feet. They did not even let Rena greet them before getting straight to business again.

"Alright, listen well," Raven said with a long yawn, "I'm just explaining this once to you in simple terms so you can tell it to your other comrades and come up with an action plan by 1600 hours. Understood?"

"Of course," Rena said, while Ain simply nodded in silence.

Raven and Seris began to walk from one side of the office to the other explaining where each piece of the puzzle connected to the bigger theorized that a very powerful Glitter necromancer had infiltrated Elrios for a long time now. It had to be more than enough time to not only learn the language, but also experiment with human souls and corpses until they could successfully make one into a perfect puppet. And, of course, that was under the orders of the leaders of the demon realm. So, it had to wait for the perfect opportunity to start the invasion. According to the family records of the Senancian nobility, there was once a clan of redheads, but they went under after its last heir, Clarisse Veldar, died under mysterious circumstances twenty years ago. She was about twenty-two at the time of her was the body the Glitter had used to later appear without raising too much suspicion in Velder. That glitter puppet had probably contacted Owen during the Winter Ball eight years ago, and she had planted a time-bound curse to make Owen a disposable double-agent.

"Uhm," Ain began, "Eight years ago, Owen Felford was…"

"Twenty. He's a year older than Raven," Seris clarified.

The blue haired angel looked up, gathering his thoughts, "I see. But don't you think it's a bit of a stretch? Why would a demon choose one of the lowest ranking families to use as its pawn when the Cronwe-?"

"Good question, but leave it for another time. Let us finish first." Seris coldly replied.

The priest crossed his arms, rolling his eyes.

Raven took over where his wife had left off, adding that, at the time, Owen was in the adolescent phase where any guy would fawn over a very attractive woman. The demon probably targeted him since he was the weakest knight and, therefore, the easiest to manipulate. He went over one big section of the timeline, focusing on the thickest traced oval in the second board. The word at its centre read 'Feita'. The black-haired man added that, since Owen was disposable from the very beginning, there were very little chances he was kept alive. So, the Owen they had come to know from the time of the Civil War onwards was a puppet, made with just enough of Owen's original soul to fool everyone until the rest of the demon forces could strike. They had used his name and influence over some noble families in Feita to begin the silent takeover of the temples.

Demons, obviously, could not know everything about Elrios themselves, so Owen had served them as an informant to calculate their chances of success.

"But everyone knows that souls fade away after the body they belong to has died. Not even gods can retrieve them. So-" Seris continued before giving a cold stare towards Ain. The priest was covering his mouth, but it was obvious he was at the verge of laughing at their faces.

Only Rena understood why what Seris had just said was somewhat funny to him, if only to make light of his frankly horrible past at the hands of the Goddess. It was not the moment to intervene. She trusted that Ain could calm himself.

"Is there something wrong, Ain?"

"No. I'm fine." the blue-haired priest loudly cleared his throat. Then took a deep breath and any laughter was completely gone from his face, replaced by his eternal stoicism, "Please, continue."

Although she raised an eyebrow, Seris did as he had told her. She pointed at another section of the board, where the word 'Feita' was circled three times and underlined twice. The second-in-command of the Black Crows continued her rambling. Once the Black Crows had begun their strike on Feita, it was obvious the enemy needed headquarters to plan their advance. And they soon found their perfect cover. The restaurant was a facade for the leaders of the invasion to start their plan to take over Velder. It most certainly held a spell to make the aura of the town change to something so vile only a select number of people stayed.. And yet, it now looked somewhat like a ghost town. It could only mean that the demons had used the lives of those who had gotten addicted to the style of the restaurant to empower their troops through forbidden magic rituals. Of course, that meant that even if Owen had perhaps betrayed Elrios willingly, which they doubted, he would be dead by now.

"So, basically, prepare to fight the worst war of your lives," the Blade Master concluded, crossing his arms, "Because these demons might not only have access to reinforcements, but they're on strength-boosting potions. Karen will lead us to the real mastermind."

Seris nodded before she yawned, "Now, if you'll excuse us, we're a bit tired. Right, Raven?"

Her husband nodded, and the couple walked outside of the room, holding hands.

Rena took a deep breath, taking one last good look at the decrypted message in front of her eyes before glancing at Ain, "Is it really ok to laugh off what Seris said?"

"It's better than overthinking it and getting angry beyond any reasonable reason about it. Laugh at the fools or throw spears at them until they look like porcupines, as a certain Goddess would have once said."

"I, uh, did she really say something like that?"

The Celestial's blue gaze sank to his feet, and an eerie energy began surrounding him, "No. But she might as well have said that."

Rena looked at his hands and began to see his skin turn white. If something was not done soon, Ain's celestial power would tear the Black Crow in half and then turn it to atoms. She needed to calm him down, now.

The elf put a hand over his shoulder, "It must be hard to forgive it."

He took a deep breath, realizing first-hand that he had unknowingly released part of his true power, "Of course. But the only thing I have left is the future."

Rena rested her head over his shoulder, knowing where the bitterness of his words came from. After all, he could never remember or save the only memories that mattered before it was far too late.

The elf wished she had the right words to get him out of his grim remembrance. But, she could only let him know she was still there.

"Sorry about that, Rena. I forgot to keep my power in check for a second."

"Oh, don't worry too much about it." The elf gave him some space once again, "I bet it takes a while to get used to your previous form, considering how far you were corrupted back then."

"Yeah." Ain clenched his hand in a fist and opened it, "You know, I never thought I'd wish to forget everything again. Maybe it'd be better for you and everyone else."

The elf pressed her lips, "Don't say that. I like Ain more than Ainchase. Although, you do a good job at acting the Ainchase part."

The blue-haired man chuckled joylessly, "I wonder how much of an act it is when I believe it, sometimes."

For a moment, his smile became more honest, warming the traits of his face with the gentleness she had missed for years, "Thank you for saying that you prefer the human soul in me over the Oath that binds it, Rena. It means a lot."

"Anyone else would say the same."

"No. Only you can say it so honestly. As strange as it is, in hindsight, you were the only one to always be by my side," his voice grew quieter, "I wonder if I can keep you closer."

Rena curled a lock of her hair around her finger, feeling her cheeks burn up to the tip of her ears. She found herself glancing back, until her eyes finally captured the ocean in Ain's eyes. Right then, she noticed his cheeks were slightly pink.

"No way. I'm the one who should be blushing at that, so why are you blushing?"

"I'm not blushing, I'm just hot."

"You're always hot, Ain. But you're definitely blushing."

The Celestial opened his mouth, lifting his finger up as if to reprimand her, but he looked away and decided against it, muttering something in old Elrian that Rena did not understand.

Ain took a deep breath and carried on his analysis on Raven's notes as if the conversation they just had never happened, "So, what they wrote here is not half-bad. It's safe to assume demons don't keep humans alive for long once they've fulfilled their purpose. Humanoid demons are not known for their mercy. That said, Karen is probably a pseudonym, even if it's not a very good one."

The elf nodded, taking a step back from the Celestial, pursing her lips before taking a deep breath. She stared at the board, trying to set her mind back to the words scribbled on it.

"You don't think there's a chance Owen is still alive?"

The priest glanced at her, "Why do you care about that?"

"Hmm," Rena combed her hair behind her ears, "It might be nothing, but the forest spirits here haven't said that they saw his soul around. It was the same in Feita."

"Then, he is probably being kept as a slave. Or worse."

"Ain, did she-" Rena cleared her throat, combing her hair behind her ears, "I mean, demons can be merciful. You said so, back then."

Ain furrowed his brow, "I suppose I did, Rena." The Celestial took a deep breath, then glanced at her, "And I'd like you to not force me to take your memories away. It'd…"

The Celestial scratched the back of his head, turning completely away from the elf, "It'd just be, ahem, very inconvenient."

Rena looked up at him, hoping she had not pushed him beyond the conditions for his pardon, "Sorry. I thought that it was okay to talk about it. As long as we didn't say a name."

"Well, you're not wrong about it," he took a deep breath, "Ah, fine. It's only for the mission, in any case."

"You don't have to force yourself, Ain."

The Celestial finally returned to look at her with the cold gaze that sloppily tried to seal away everything else. His cold fingers reached her wrist, and he softly grabbed it before turning his focus on the board.

The elven archer lifted an eyebrow at him, "Uhm, did you want to, uhh, hold ha-"

"No," he categorically responded as his grip contradicted his words. It was not the way a couple would hold their hands, and Rena never had such expectations. Ain still needed time.

Still, she softly clasped her hand tighter within hers and looked straight ahead of her, where the words lost themselves within links and theories.

"When I met her," Ain quietly said, "she was as ruthless as the rest. Nobody should be optimistic about Owen's odds. Not even you."

The elf looked down, her ears drooped slightly, "You say that, but I can't help but think there's a tiny chance he's at least alive."

"Well, the possibility exists, but it's not big enough to give anyone more than false hope. If he's alive, he'd beg us for death."

Rena gravely nodded, "...Understood."

Ain let go of her hand and crossed his arms, "I'll make an effort to find Owen myself. Even if the demons only left his corpse, no one should see the injuries that demon torture would leave behind. Especially not Seris. I, uh, have a feeling it'd hurt her the most."

"Because she and I think alike?"

"Yes. And I'd rather spare her the grief. For the good of the Crusade."

The elf chuckled, thinking to herself that, despite what he always said, Ain was still as 'imperfectly mortal' as one could be. She was worried for naught, "Yeah, for the Crusade."

Ain's gaze widened for a moment, but he swiftly turned away from the elf, crossing his arms.

"...I meant what I said. I don't care about humans at all. Not one bit."

Rena briefly flashed a smile, "Of course, Ain."

Then, she walked up to the small window next to the chair Raven and Seris had sat on before. She had only briefly been into Velder the day before, but the chills she got from the air itself were fresh in her mind.

A crimson dome covered the city, tainting the sky with its colour from within the walls. It was a permanent sunset, no matter where the sun was.

A flash of blue light briefly consumed the horizon. Lento was firing the highest caliber El energy cannons at it. When the light vanished, the dome was still there, without a single crack on its surface.

"I wonder just how many Magi it takes to keep that blood field going."

The blue-haired angel walked to her side, gravely giving her the answer, "One."

Rena's gaze widened, "Only one? Are we facing one of the demon kings?!"

The elf clenched her fists, trying to stop herself from trembling. If the demon lord who took over Velder was this powerful, would they even stand a chance?

"I'm afraid so. And I'll have to go all out for you to make it out alive."

"No. You won't need to do that. We've all grown stronger together, Ain. We have hundreds of allies now," Rena grabbed his shoulder, shaking it a bit to get his attention away from the Blood Field as another round was fired.

"You've sacrificed yourself enough, Ain", she whispered.

His blue gaze met hers, and he smirked. It was a sad, timid smile, "Don't make that face, Rena. Ishmael's pardon gave me true immortality."

When the natural light of dawn returned, however, Ain's expression was as cold as it usually was, "This demon king is a relatively smart one. They're careful enough to hide their demonic powers."

Rena cocked an eyebrow, "Is that even possible?"

"It wouldn't be the first time one of them snuck into this world. This one was smart enough to stay hidden until now. Besides, there is no chance that a human could have made such a thing. Do you know if Dark Elves use blood magic?"

"Some do, but not to this degree. It'd take hundreds of elven Elders to keep that barrier up."

"I feared so. I have no idea how much the demon realm has changed, but we might be facing the Namakigal clan. And yet, something doesn't add up..."

Rena tilted her head at him, "What is it?"

Ain pointed at the notes Raven had taken of Feita, glossing over the words, "They're not known to be shape-shifters at all. I can believe a handful of Glitters could have been exiled and taken in as slave soldiers by the Tohil, but for the Namakigal to be this close to Tohil territory," He shook his head, "Why isn't this whole area a warzone between those two clans?"

"The Tohil...Berthe's clan?"

"Yes," The blue-haired man replied, carefully taking a sheet of paper from the desk next to the board, which Rena assumed to be one of Raven's multiple maps, "That said, I must admit it's been a while since I infiltrated demon territory..."

"Mhm," the elf nodded, curling locks of her hair around her fingers, "Very deep into enemy territory."

"Yes," Ain absentmindedly said, reading some of Raven's notes on the board. Then, he looked down at the map in his hands, pointing to different places around the mountains at the north of Feita.

"You even plowed some flowers in virgin soil. Blue virgin soil."

"Mhm," he answered before his gaze grew wide and turned towards Rena, completely flabbergasted, "Wait, what?"

"What?"

Ain hid his face behind the map, "You really did not have to say it like that."

Rena smiled smugly at him, "But it's true."

"I'm not saying it isn't. I'm just saying it was neither the moment nor the way of bringing it up."

"Nobody's around to hear it, but alright. It's just that hearing her talk about it got me curious."

"Huh? Curious about wh-?"

She cleared her throat as loud as she could, leaving that conversation for a night when they had a cup of wine or two. "Anyhow!"

Ain stared at her silently for a second, and then furrowed his brow and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Right...Ok, that conversation is dead. We won't bring that up ever again. Got it? Because I got it."

"Of course, of course! Now, what about the Namakigal you talked about? Who's the heir?"

"It could be anyone born after Zouren Namakigal. I can't be sure about who it might be beyond that. That clan is known to seemingly select successors at random."

"I see. How much demonic energy will we be dealing with?"

"I don't know."

"What?" Rena furrowed her brow, "How can you, of all people, not know that?"

"There was no trace of demonic energy in that shield. Whoever succeeded Zouren not only perfectly hid their demonic appearance, but they also..."

The elf and the Celestial realized what was the answer at the same moment:

"...learnt Elrian magic compatible with theirs."

The two briefly glanced at each other, smirking at how their thoughts had coincided.

"Well, I got some clues as to where the portal for this invasion is. The sooner we cut their supply line, the better. But without Raven's approval, we can't do much more than this. So, care to join me for breakfast?"

"Of course!"


Karis, like all succubi, naturally woke up an hour before the sun rose. However, this morning, she felt far too comfortable, cuddled in Owen's arms, to get out into the cold morning.

It was comfortable, yes, but…

'After what Lord Barkat told me yesterday...Wouldn't it be fair for Owen to simply start over and see where his heart really lies? I forced it on him. But I just was so happy a man was so shy and yet so gallantly offered me a cup of Daemon in front of Lord Stirbargen and Lord Barkat! It was just-!'

The red-haired succubus felt her cheeks grow beet red again at the memory of what had happened about four years ago. She softly shook her head, trying to cool down.

Instead, Owen's sleepy voice rang behind her, "Are you alright, Karis? Did you have a nightmare?"

The feeling of the mattress around her changed as Owen rose up just enough to see her face. He looked more his age after he had cut his hair down to his neck. His lilac gaze had even changed, but Karis could not remember when he looked so different from the man she had initially married.

'It's not a bad change...actually- No! Karis Sethlangit, don't go there!' she swiftly hid her blushing face underneath the sheets, 'I'm an idiot!'

"I'm perfectly fine!" she hissed underneath the sheets.

"...Are you sure?"

"Yes," she answered with a pout.

There was a long pause before Karis felt that Owen was laying slowly back down. After a while, she felt his fingers playfully get entangled in her hair, combing the locks of hair she had left outside of her cocoon of shame.

"W-what are you playing at?"

"Hm? Nothing. I'm just appreciating the way your hair curls." he paused again, "But, well, I can also leave you be, if you want to take the morning for yourself."

His quiet voice, usually so neutral, had a hint of hurt as he suggested to leave her alone. She uncovered her face swiftly, knowing full well she had not made her blushing any better. Karis looked away from Owen, raising the sheets just over her mouth to make her words harder to hear.

"I was just thinking that...it bothers me…" she began.

Owen's gaze widened briefly before turning away from hers, "Oh, so you don't like it. I see. Sorry for playing with your hair. I won't-"

"No, no! That's fine!" she hastily replied, shaking her head at how her words had confused Owen. But just as their eyes met again, the liveliness in her voice hid behind her inherent shyness, "I...don't mind if you do it more often."

"Then," Owen replied with a soft smile, "Don't mind me, Karis."

The succubi chuckled when her husband touched near her bat-wings. She was very ticklish.

"Oh?" Owen smirked as he continued to tickle her.

Karis's chuckle became giggles, as she shifted around as a knee-jerk reaction to Owen's gesture. However, that inevitably only incited him to find new angles to get to her many ticklish spots. Her giggles soon became a hearty laughter as she tried to find enough air to tell Owen to stop.

"Owen...enough…" she managed to say in between her laughter, noticing he was beginning to chuckle as well. It was a quiet, polite, almost painfully restrained laughter, "My stomach…"

"Alright, alright," he stopped tickling her and let her have more space to lay comfortably on their bed once more. He still had a smile on his face, although it was as hidden away as everything else about him. The only thing that betrayed the feelings he could not express were his eyes. "We don't want you replacing your worries with a stomach ache, do we?"

Karis's ruby gaze widened, "Wait...so that tickling was on purpose to get my head off what was bothering me?"

Owen shook his head, "I didn't even know you were ticklish until now. But if it made you feel better, then that's all that matters, no?"

The red-haired succubus shook her head with a chuckle, "By Sult, Owen, you've changed so much, and I can't even tell when it happened. It just did and now..."

She rolled just close enough to be cuddled again by Owen. He welcomed her back in his embrace, and every now and then, played with one or two locks of her long, crimson hair.

"Now," the succubus continued as she closed her eyes again, "I feel like we were missing this at the time we were newly-weds. It's so...energizing!"

"Who said that we can't have more things like this from now on? No need to rewrite the past."

"But, you're basically only helping us to save your...well, the woman you really love. I forced this marriage onto you and, well, just ignored you for the longest time. I should give you the chance to re-do everything and decide what you really want for yourself."

Owen sighed heavily, and pulled her closer to him, "Karis, let's go down memory lane for a bit."

"O-Ok…" she muttered, wondering if she had annoyed him.

"A year ago, you were so sick you might as well have been at death's door."

"Yeah...well, I can't absorb vital energy like the other succubi, so it's inevitable I would eventually starve to death. But you didn't want me to journey to Sander to fuse my life to Behemoth's."

"Why would I? You could barely talk, and you didn't even know where to look for that ancient beast. It was suicide."

"...The alternative you chose wasn't any better. You could've died just trying to bind a Residential Area under a Blood Field, let alone the entire citadel."

"But I didn't. Remember what I did?"

"You used the ring and sword I gave you to bind it entirely by yourself," she replied, trying to remember the good outcome and not the countless worries that had plagued her mind after she woke up. If Owen felt happy to save her, she should also be happy, right?

"Yeah," He rested his chin over her head, "It was stupid, but you know, death is a tiny price to pay. Especially if it meant saving you."

'No...I shouldn't keep trying to hide this.'

The succubus sighed, "For you, perhaps. I'd have to live only knowing one outcome. The worst outcome."

Owen remained silent for an uncomfortable eternity. She bit her lip, knowing she had surely hurt him, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, Karis. It's true that I've grown to be quite the selfish man the more I've lived with this curse," he muttered before chuckling softly with that joyless, self-deprecating laugh she had come to hear from him on rare occasions. She could not look at him, but it was not hard to guess that his eyes were that nebulous shade of lilac that forced itself to hide its hurt, "I really owe you an apology for being so reckless, even if it ended up working out."

Karis took a deep breath, her conscience a bit lighter, but it was at the cost of her heart sinking under an ocean of guilt as heavy as lead. Some tears rolled down her cheeks. One fell over Owen's fingertips.

"You're-"

"I'm not," she whispered before swiping away any traces of her tears, "I'm really not."

Owen left a kiss over her head, "Alright. I just wanted you to know that I won't put my life on the line like that anymore. I swear it."

"You better swear it," the succubus thought out loud, "Sult doesn't bless fools twice."

Owen's fingers combed her hair behind her bat wings, "That's not true. I'm fairly certain that was thanks to Sult that my magic, for the first time in hundreds of cycles, saved the life of the woman I love."

Karis shifted around, turning around to see the expression on Owen's face. It was calm, but far warmer than the ice-cold expression that sometimes slipped through during their first months together. He had told her he loved her a lot at the beginning, wearing a smile that seemed honest, but not completely; most of those 'I love you's' never felt honest, to the point where she was glad to not hear those fake words as the years passed. Now, he was saying something similar for the first time in a long time, "Do you really mean it this time?"

The albino raised an eyebrow, "Did I ever say that, word by word, before?"

'Ah, well…' The succubus blushed at the realization she might have inadvertently used her charm on him during those times. It made sense. She shook her head, "No. I guess I was remembering some bad dream. One where an 'I love you' meant nothing."

"A dream, huh?" He gently put his hand over her cheek, "It must've been a sad dream for you to craft."

The succubus blinked, "Wait...what do you mean by that?"

"You used your magic on me quite often when we were just getting to know each other."

Karis's eyes widened, "Wait, you knew?"

Owen nodded, "I'm theoretically on par with demon nobility in terms of sheer magical power. Of course I knew. I just didn't fight against it. I thought it was only fair you got something out of our union even if it was empty words. It's been, what, about four years since then?"

"About that long."

He nodded softly and lowered his voice, "In that time, I've come to love you, Karis," Owen paused, his lilac gaze froze for a moment. It was as if he wished to ask: 'Can I trust you?'

Karis put her hand over his, closing her eyes as she slowly nodded. If he wanted to talk about everything that haunted him, it was alright. She would listen to everything, even if some of it is going to hurt her.

When Owen spoke again, his voice had a hint of guilt, "I did question myself about it at the beginning. Seris had been my sole obsession for so long that I could not see myself ever letting go."

His lilac gaze filled with a glimmer of hope as he continued his confession. A small smile curled his lips, "But you know, Karis, I also thought to myself that maybe I should stop trying to bring back a future that can't be mine anymore."

He lowered his gaze, his lips tightened as he continued, "Living for the sake of the past made me lose sight of the value of life. The same tragedy unfolded time and time again to the point I decided it'd be better if I stopped caring about saving anyone. I just accepted that my only purpose would be to destroy everything I had known."

Perhaps it was because succubi fed on emotions, or perhaps it was because of her abnormal empathy that was the reason why Karis could almost see that through the hundreds of blades that bound Owen's soul to his body. There was a sea of regrets so vast it would have numbed every other emotion. Its depths only seemed to ask: 'Do I deserve to feel alive again?'

For the demoness, the answer was evident. She wanted to accept the many sins Owen had committed towards the world he lived in. Karis thought that, perhaps, she could be the one to forgive him when no one else would. Owen's gaze returned to her, and the ocean she was seeing seemed to be just a little less dark.

"I can't tell exactly when it happened, or how far I am on the road to forgive and forget my past, but you've certainly taken me down that road. It's been enough to make me glad to be alive for the first time in a really long time. And, for that alone, Karis, I'm choosing to stay with you."

Karis rested her head over his chest with a soft smile. His heartbeat was strong and slightly fast. He was indeed alive, speaking words true to his mind. She never imagined finding someone who would say something like that to her without being influenced by her charm. No, she corrected herself, it was impossible for anyone to force those words out of his mouth, "I'm glad to know I'm that kind of person for you. I hope that I'll be that person until the end."

"I don't think that'll change, Karis."

"But you admitted that you were just playing along at the beginning."

"...Well, yes. Nobody ever told me about demonic culture around Daemon Licorice until after I was forced to say my vows. Who would want to enrage the Demon King anyway?"

The succubus chuckled, "Yeah, His Majesty was glaring at you all the time until you finally said the traditional vows. Your Demonic pronunciation wasn't too bad, honestly. I was pleasantly surprised."

"Yeah, well, I guess hearing the language so often helped."

Owen turned around to face her. She had already thrown herself into this conversation, so she encouraged herself to ask him the question she had buried away through the years, "So, when we met...how annoying was I?"

Owen squinted at her for a minute. His gaze sank for a moment as he briefly pursed his lips. His gaze returned to look at her, "To be honest, I wasn't even expecting to marry you. I never remarried or had any affairs since I got cursed. It honestly felt as if I was forced to break the few virtues I still kept. It could've been any other arranged marriage, and I would still have felt the same. It's not about you."

"...Were there other morals you found yourself breaking?"

"For sure. Namely using my power. I don't mind using it for recreating maps and the like, but nothing more than that. I'm past wanting the priestess and the town that punished me to boil in their own blood."

Karis felt her courage get smaller and smaller at each word her husband said, "So, that's why you were so worried after I gave you those artifacts for your birthday?"

The albino chuckled, "Oh, definitely. I was worried sick about anyone finding that. Blood Magi don't live long in the Church's hands. I'm unfortunately talking from personal experience."

'Ah, of course… that's probably where they laid the Eclipse on him.'

The crimson-eyed succubus was now the one who looked away, "I'm sorry… I just thought you'd like someone who embraced what others would otherwise find repulsive and wrong."

Owen remained silent for a long time. His lilac gaze grew just a bit wider, and he blinked a couple of times, still shocked, "Wait, that was it? Is that why you gave me that ring, that sword, and that grimoire?"

Karis nodded, "Yeah."

"So, the whole plan about me using that to become demon king and take over the world..."

The succubus turned away from him, "You still remember that?! That was so embarrassing!" Karis rolled away from him until she found herself at the edge of the bed. Once again, she hid herself under the cocoon of shame, "I'm so sorry. I just thought you were the kind of person who'd like to be a warlord, instead of having a wife who you can talk to about the magic you learnt without fearing that I'll be disgusted or afraid of it."

Seeing that seconds upon seconds of silence were passing by, Karis soon filled the silence with furrowed eyebrows and mumbled words of honesty, "Look, I'm too sentimental for a demon noble, but I wanted to impress you. After all, you accepted me as your wife."

"By the El, you're adorable. Come back here, please."

Karis slowly pulled the covers away and turned back towards Owen. He was sitting down, his bare torso slimmer than what's expected of the average knight, but he was by no means scrawny. He had subtly carved muscles, and that was, to Karis, far more attractive than any meathead.

Owen looked at how she was peeking at him from her cocoon and chuckled, "You don't need to hide when you want to look, you know? Come here for a moment."

The demoness crawled out of her hiding and slowly sat down. The sun had barely risen, but the sunlight that filtered through the windows was already warming their room. Owen turned slightly to his right to face her, cupped her face in his hands, and left a soft kiss on her lips. It was not passionate, but it made her heart flutter much more than the most heated kiss. They touched forehead to forehead, each searching and finding subtle signs of love that rested on something more than mere desire.

"Karis," he said with a smile, "How about we take the day off, just the two of us, after today's meeting?"

The crimson-haired succubus nodded, "Sure, you just have to give me another morning kiss before we go."


The royal palace was the only zone that looked completely deserted compared to the rest of the town. What once had been the residences of nobles close to the royal family were now mostly abandoned. It was no wonder, considering that out of the dozen families that once lived here, only a few select demonic warriors had remained. Anything beyond the Hope Bridge was not a place where common citizens could venture into without a request from the new king. Two imposing Glitter Panzers guarded the entrance to the bridge, but those were by far the first and weakest line of defence that the palace had under Owen's absolute control.

Three hours after dawn, when the clock tower square rang nine times, all the military generals gathered in what had been the Court. Joaquin, Chloe, Stirbargen, Spriggan and Karis stood in a line before the throne, where Owen sat.

He dressed almost like all previous kings before him, yet that alone was outrageous. There had never been a Felford king who donned golds and reds, the colours of Royalty, before.

Velder's Court forced Owen's family to don white, the colour of death, so that no one forgot their place within the noble families. When he had put the bloodied cape of the Traitorous King on for the first time, Owen remembered laughing, finally liberated from the least worrying curse that he carried. He thought he could prove the Court wrong by saving Velder, back then. It was so foolish. The only thing it got him was losing Seris's cross.

The fine demonic silks, on par with the finest Sanderian craft, fit him better. If he was to rule Velder, it could only be with the help of demons. He had, in his own way, become a demon king. The golden crown over his head casted a shadow over his eyes, making his smirk look all the more ominous as he waited for the last members of his Court to take place.

Once the gates closed again, he took a deep breath, erasing the smile off his face.

Owen understood that he had gained the demons' respect because of his power, just like countless times before. It was a shame he could not drop his mask for the entire morning. Once this was done, though, he could be able to walk through the renovated Gardens with Karis.

Now, it was the time to act like the leader of an army.

"I hear we have unwanted visitors near the western gate," the albino coldly said as he looked to Chloe, "That's part of your watchzone, isn't it?"

"Yes," the dark elf gravely nodded, "We summoned Kenaz to keep watch of the sky, as you ordered. The battleship you warned us about has made its way here." She looked briefly away.

"What is it?"

"Their weapons are different, Commander," the pink-haired elf continued, her purple gaze darted back at him, "Their traditional cannons were upgraded with Nasod technology. Laser cannons to be precise."

"So?" Owen barely raised an eyebrow, "Are they a risk to the Blood Field?"

Chloe shook her head, "No, Commander. They fired for a good hour, but they did not even scratch it. I think they strengthened it."

Owen briefly looked at his feet, 'It's like he's begging me to kill him again. Maybe sparing him and imprisoning him instead should suffice.'

The King of Velder could not show his true thoughts in front of his Court, especially not Chloe. The dark elves seemed to revere those who used taboo magic indiscriminately against their enemies. Owen had already done everything in the book with his magic to torment Raven until his last breath. Doing it again to gain more respect among the dark elves of the Marsides was not worth his time or his magic.

On the other hand, gaining the favour of Joaquin's clan, the Vanthu, was much more advantageous for his ultimate goal to get rid of his curse. Owen smirked, not so much out of the uselessness of the enemy's attacks, but at the prospect of letting Raven rot in a cell with the scholars of the Vanthu clan as his everyday tormentors. That was something he had never witnessed before. "As expected. We have the mightiest defence against our enemies. Lord Stirbargen, how are the operations on the ground?"

The red-eyed king nodded, "The business is doing well, Owen. The Nephilim tears mixed into the desserts are keeping the populace from dying to your Blood Field. There's some strife because of Ran. His operations are blocking trade with Sander and Senace, but it's not hard to silence the pesky merchants who are becoming too rowdy. We have the king's approval."

'So, new exports from fine demonic goods were authorized by Barkat. Good. That will give us time to readjust if Ran decides to attack like Berthe.'

Owen acquiesced, "Good. Any new customers as of late?"

The red-eyed king looked up for a moment, trying to remember before a revelation came to his mind, "Oh! Actually, there was this forest elf who came with a Celestial and a human kid."

Owen furrowed his eyebrows, 'Interesting. The El Search Party's members are divided this early? If I isolate that Celestial, Barkat's goal is going to be right within reach before we even move a single Glitter archer to battle.'

The rest of the court gasped at the mention of the Celestial.

"A Celestial?" Karis worriedly asked, "How is that possible? After the El collapsed, they were all supposed to be gone."

Joaquin, the Grand Alchemist, rubbed his chin, "To think one of Ishmael's killing machines still survived...I might have to try that potion."

Owen looked at the Grand Alchemist. The old Glitter half-blood looked deep in thought. However, the only question in Owen's mind was: 'Just what potion is it? It better not be that one.'

"Joaquin, are you talking about that potion? How many times do I have to tell you it's too hazardous for the people?"

The old glitter nodded, "Yes, Commander. But I believe that I can hide the antidote in the meals to spare the populace from its effects."

"Make sure of it, Joaquin. We all know that a full-blown war against the red-haired boy is not in our favour as long as we don't have his sister as our puppet. We need to fight a chosen one with another chosen one."

"Oh, but that part of the plan is coming along nicely," Karis intervened, "dar-" she cleared her throat, "Ahem! That part of the plan is going smoothly, Commander."

The albino rested his head over his knuckles, keeping a straight face even as his heart sank a little at how Karis had 'corrected' the way she addressed him and the clearly forced, cold, and calculating tone she had in her voice.

"What's her status?"

"She's taking her stay at the Crimson Cradle far better now. She's come to see the greater purpose of demon supremacy."

Owen nodded, 'It's so hard to keep a straight face when I know she's just trying her best to sound as ominous as everyone else. She's adorable.'

"Commander," Spriggan's ghastly voice intervened, "I trust that you know the best path through what, for the rest of us, is uncertainty. However..."

The seemingly miniature knight looked straight at the throne through the five small holes that let him see.

The king tilted his head slightly. It was unlike Spriggan to speak, let alone publicly praise him. "What are your concerns, Spriggan?"

"We managed to negotiate, or rather, force that filthy Tohil's hand to leave this kingdom alone. How confident are you that we can do the same with this new invader without sending the populace into a panic? The lasers had a lot of the residents in my watchzone very worried."

Owen nodded gravely, taking a deep breath to choose his words wisely. Raven was not someone to simply accept that the demons under the demon king only wanted to coexist with humans. Not to mention that it was very likely that more demons would try to set entire kingdoms ablaze because Berthe was not executed as a traitor but rather died at the hands of an enemy. Demons had raided entire citadels out of lesser sentiments of revenge. He had helped them with that not so long ago.

"Anyone watching yet another senseless attack would be worried. The first cycle when Raven came in with his allies, he did not come with any intentions to negotiate," he announced as he straightened up on his throne, "Raven Cronwell and his allies are knocking at our doors with war in their mind."

"I feared so, Commander," Spriggan sighed, looking at its feet.

"Spriggan, did you finish the underground refuges I ordered you and Joaqin's men to build?"

The small armoured knight looked back up, "Yes, Commander!" His voice sounded a bit more hopeful, "Now that you mention it, it should be enough. If Chloe, the Grand Alchemist and, of course, you, Commander, set up that circle of surveillance, there'll be more than enough time to save the populace."

"I knew this would happen eventually, Spriggan. I've prepared for everything," Owen smirked, "Our forces have grown tenfold, and soon we will have the power of the Grand Master herself to weaken their morale. I know Raven very well. He'll come in here without knowing a thing. We won't give him war. We will isolate him from the Celestial and the boy. Then, and only then, he will feel true despair and bend his knee to our rule. And, to make them feel truly insignificant, we must make sure to only use a fraction of our forces to bring this victory to Sult."

'Or so I hope. Honestly, this is the weirdest timeline I have ever reincarnated in,' he mentally added.

Chloe chuckled, "Make him feel true despair, huh? I wonder how long that ship will last against an army of Kenaz and blood wyverns. I want him to watch it all burn, powerless to do anything. That's what moronic enemies deserve."

Joaquin shook his head, "To think they did not even gather intelligence about us before coming here to wage war. Such insolence…"

"Come on, Joaquin," Tyr said with a wolf-like smile, "Insolent enemies are the best ones to crush. Just like ants. As a Vanthu, you should be happy you just got new prisoners to experiment on."

"Of course, Lord of the Crimson Eye," the Grand Alchemist nodded, "I simply think it's a shame we have to delay our King's plan to squash some flies. I'll make sure our forces completely crush them before they even enter the gates."

Owen clenched his fist, 'Damn it, did I screw up? I don't need them thinking we're fighting with everything we got. Ran's a shadow magus; he controls the only magic that naturally counters mine! If we get pincered, it's over!'

Joaquin took out his pocket watch and adjusted his goggles, "That said, I'm afraid the representatives of the subjects of the kingdom would like to meet with the Commander soon."

Owen sighed, his gaze briefly meeting his wife's 'Ah, of course. Today is one of those days…'

"Very well," the king of Velder concluded, "You are all dismissed. Karis, a word, please."

The heads of the new Velder kingdom went out of the room after giving a polite nod to Owen, save for the succubus. She glanced back once the door closed, making sure that there was no one to see them.

The albino king passed his hands over his face, "I'm so sorry. I forgot that today was an Open Audience. I'm going to be stuck here all day..."

"That's fine, Owen," the succubus climbed up the steps leading to the throne and sat on the smaller throne next to Owen's, "We can still spend the day like this. If you're king, then, as Queen, I can also listen to the Open Audience, right?"

The king nodded, "Of course, honey. Under one condition."

"What is it?"

"Don't be afraid to call me by my name or something more affectionate."


Aisha had been staring at the incredibly powerful barrier at the edge of Velder's walls for minutes now. Elsword shook her shoulder, "Hey, Aisha, come on. Don't you want to see what we're up against?"

The purple-haired mage vigorously shook her head, "With this Blood Field lingering around, I'm surprised none of you got turned into a pulp just by going in. We can't win against this."

The red-haired teen looked at Conwell, asking for its counsel. The enchanted sword reassured him that the field was made to completely disintegrate anyone who stepped in it. Yet, the Magus who had casted could control it so it only harmed newcomers under some conditions. It was impossible to tell which ones since Conwell had not cast the spell himself, but he shared Aisha's apprehension. Whoever had put this spell around the entire kingdom could not be beaten. It was best to proceed as if they were entering the poisonous underground gardens. The Infinity sword nodded, acknowledging the weapon's last warning.

Elsword searched his leather bag and took out the purified leaves of the Underground Garden Ain had given them. He took out two and handed one to Aisha, "Let's be careful."

The purple-haired mage nodded apprehensively, taking one of the bright blue leaves in her hand, letting its pure mana protect hers. Each leaf could last up to half a day. That should give them more than enough time to really scout the town.

The first thing that was shockingly obvious after they were on the other side of the portcullis was how demons and humans walked by each other's side without much thought. In fact, the guards of the town seemed to be exclusively Glitters.

A demon, which both teens assumed to be part of the cavalry, considering the giant bipedal bird it was riding, approached them.

"Rare sight. Visitors. State the region you fare from."

Aisha and Elsword looked at each other. Attacking the guard seemed extremely reckless, not to mention its mount could be as dangerous as the demon itself.

Cronwell warned Elsword to answer the question as if the demon had asked where he was born. Since the spirit within the sword had always guided him towards the best path, Elsword followed its advice. Aisha was smart enough to catch up on how she should answer.

"Uh, Ruben. The trip was long."

The purple haired mage glanced at him for a moment before looking up at the mounted guard, "Sander. The, uhh, seas were calm."

The Glitter's eyes widened at Aisha's answer. The young knight put a hand over the pommel of Cronwell's sword, fearing the worst, but his worries were unfounded. The demon chuckled and hollered in Demonic, its growls and roars loud enough for the guards five blocks away to turn around and whistle and clap.

"Did...something good happen?" the mage asked.

"Hm?" The demon turned back at them, "Oh, quite. Visitors faring from Sander deduce no havoc in Hamel yet. The Crimson King is sighting the populace today. You must inform him of the best fortune. Follow. I shall be the guide."

Aisha looked at Elsword, raising an eyebrow, "The Crimson King? Elsword, that's probably the demon who erected this Blood Field. We should go back."

The boy looked at his weapon, asking it for advice. Cronwell was a weapon of light. It could not counter blood magic perfectly, but it would give him a chance to see the King's attacks before it was too late.

Elsword gravely shook its head, "I can't go back without finding out what happened to this town. My sister should be here, too. Aisha, I need to know who the tyrant is."

The boy dashed behind the demon who had talked with them. Aisha looked at her feet and clenched her fists before taking a deep breath. When she exhaled, she looked back in front of her and noticed people were emerging from what looked to be underground shelters. If she didn't hurry, she would lose sight of Elsword. With a flicker of mana, she teleported forward, closing the gap between her and Elsword. She spun her wand, creating a carpet of mana underneath both of them. It moved on its own, slightly slower than the guard's mount.

"Damn, Aisha. Your magic is really useful sometimes," the redhead said with a smirk.

Aisha scoffed, "Sometimes? You wish I didn't have to save you with it so many times."

Velder had definitely changed from what Elsword remembered from his sister's tales. There were no signs of the Red Knights, or any human guard for that matter. Civilians lived guarded by demons, and the most stunning to both teens was that, besides the fact that they had been hiding underground minutes ago, there really was not a sign of anything wrong with the town itself.

"Makes you wonder why they were underground," Elsword thought out loud.

"I think Raven fired again on the Blood Field earlier today. I overheard Lento repeat the order to his men."

"So...the demons are protecting them?"

The young man frowned, looking at how the real inhabitants of Velder were too calm about walking among demons. Something more was going on in this town, but he had to ask his sister about it to be sure it was nothing evil, "Why aren't any Red Knights around?"

Aisha shrugged, "Maybe they're prisoners. Or maybe they're guarding another side of town. Velder is huge."

The red-haired frowned, "I hope they're just guarding the Citadel."

The mage briefly glanced at him, "I hope so, too."

Then, she looked ahead, squinting at the gap between them and an inner-city of some sort. The Glitter who was guiding them was slowing down. It was best to follow its speed, considering the steel armour that protected her.

The red-haired boy gravely nodded, almost instinctively putting a hand over the ancient weapon who chose him. The scenery ahead of them was as grim as they had expected on the day they saw the former Royal Capital on the horizon.

When the Glitter finally halted, they were in front of an imposing bridge of stone that separated the Royal Citadel from the rest of the capital. The relative cheerfulness of the town was gone. Now, the only thing that laid ahead was an austere fortress where white-armoured colossal demons guarded the entrance at least a mile ahead of them.

The guards were almost as tall as turrets, and their square armour only reinforced that effect. If they were standing perfectly straight, unarmed, they might have fooled the two young adventurers. However, the colossal war maces they held in their hands were dripping with what could only be blood.

The citadel itself looked like anyone would have expected of a conquered land. Some sections of the wall had cracks and traces of explosives on them. The old Velder flag that hung from the highest tower was ripped into shreds. The only decorum at the entrance were two giant banners with the colours of Velder, and yet representing a noble house neither kid knew of.

However, they instinctively knew it had to be the flag of the Crimson King, the demon tyrant who had conquered Velder using Owen Felford as his puppet.

"End of guiding, travellers. The Panzers, those guards over there," the monster said as he pointed to the two giants, "look big scary, but they speak Elrian much gooder than me. Merely say you fare from Sander with the best of news and you enter."

The Glitter rider waved at them before ordering his mount to go back where they had come from. Aisha slowly let her mana carpet fade away after they both stepped down to the ground.

"Why is this the only place that looks like a warzone?" The mage mumbled, frozen in place.

Elsword clenched Cronwell's pommel, thinking the worst had happened to his sister. That spiral of thoughts was soon stopped by the sword itself, telling Elsword he had his time within Velder counted. As long as the Blood Field was there, it was near-impossible to stay more than half a day in town. He could either run away now or uncover the real face of the Crimson King.

The red-haired boy took a deep breath, repeating Conwell's words, "This is what demons do, Aisha. The rest of the town is a mask. They have no mercy or interest in humans beyond treating them like cattle."

Aisha grabbed his shoulder, "Elsword, don't you dare go ahead before I make sure the bridge's safe."

"The end of the bridge is clearly not safe regardless," Elsword clicked his tongue but stepped back. Aisha's magic was the best tool they had to detect traps when Eve was not around.

Aisha's wand began to glimmer with blue mana, the sound of an out-of-tune guitar ripped her concentration away with each small cry of agony from the instrument. The purple-haired mage inhaled sharply, turning in sync with Elsword to see just who was the person -or demon- who was approaching them from behind.

A tanned, tall man with a white mane and a sharp green gaze hummed along his horrible melody. His ample, mismatched clothes told the story of a failure of a travelling bard, but Elsword immediately spotted the twin swords that hung to his waist. His knuckles and sleeves were stained with blood.

The man's emerald gaze was cold and ruthless. Aisha put a hand over Elsword's shoulder, taking a step back to teleport themselves out at any minute. The man who was coming their way looked human, but they had no allies in Velder, especially at the gates of the warzone.

This was a demon in human clothing, undoubtedly. And he was there to fight.