Demon (15)

Needless to say, the assassination attempt had made me quite the celebrity in Calenon City for a while. The story of the 9 year old heir surviving an assassination attempt was enough to prove my strength to the people. Even more so when a devout high priest kept preaching my name in every big ceremony he could.

Telùris managed to convince the people that it was a sign that I was an avatar of Serena, even as ridiculous as it might have seemed. But, the word of the Pontifex was enough to convince any devout followers. After that fateful day, when I visited the temple again for the monthly moon festival, I was bombarded with legions of followers who may or not try to assassinate me again, thankfully Haril had managed to keep them at bay. Ever since that day, she was a lot more cautious, hence the distance between us was a lot less.

Thankfully, neither mother nor Master Zani was injured during the entire ordeal. Mother was fainting due to the panic, but she recovered shortly the next day. The next day after that, the security around mother's palace was increased exponentially. Haril and Helga now had 8 other guards to rely on, although they were still mother's personal guard.

Yohan was furious when he received the news and doubled back to Calenon, he only managed to deliver the message, yet couldn't guarantee that it would be read by the emperor because he sent it via a pigeon. He punished several of his agents who failed to detect the assassins and made an example of them, although he kept the method a secret from me.

When I came back to Silveril Fortress the next week, Zani thought it would be ideal to spend more time there due to the place being isolated from civilization. Any attempt on my head would be easily discovered due to the presence of a druid inside the forest, which relied on the humming of the trees for guidance. The druid had made a pact with the guards so she was trustable. I said goodbye to my routine lesson with Yohan, Nazhif and Qwerin as I hid myself in the dense forest of Silveril. It was also beneficial because I needed the public to calm down about my divinity, the constant crowd to see me everyday in front of the castle had only increased ever since that day, which could deter the peace.

It wasn't all bad, I quite enjoyed the fresh mountain air myself. The routine morning marathon across the forest had kept me busy in the morning, practicing dual-blades sword-dancing in the afternoon helped improve my combat skills and finally, sleeping in tents out in the wild at night.

At first, I was paranoid, I looked in every corner for animals with golden tints, but somehow, I never found one. So, in time, I believed that I was safe from his eyes here, maybe it was because of the druid detection capability, this compromise his spies or maybe because they never found me in the forest, either way my paranoia faded over time.

And so, with my 15th birthday coming, I would officially have spent 6 years in this forest. Mother's letter had always kept me informed about the latest intrigue in the capital. Although, they were covered with an extreme layer of unnecessary flowery language such as "I love you, dear daughter" or "be safe out there". One interesting letter sent to me by her 6 months ago was concerning father's health. It had gone from bad to worse. He was bedridden now, but he didn't even ask mother to see his daughter while he was sick, not that I cared about it.

Training with the guards in the fortress helped distract my mind off the outside world. We chatted around the campfire every day, although they still thought I was a child. It wasn't like I lacked a companion of my age. One had joined the training with me about 5 years ago.

Here she was dropping down from a tall tree like it was nothing. Her auburn red hair had grown beyond her shoulder, flying free as she was falling through the air. If it weren't for her lifeless eyes, one could mistake her as a princess. At first the guards looked at her with suspicion, how could they not, a non-elf practicing elven arts was something they never liked. But Zani convinced them otherwise, somehow. And somehow she knew about Yohan's daughter.

Sera had grown to my size in the last 5 years. Aside from her lack of muscle, we weren't so different in terms of size. She received the same training as me but because I was trained at a younger age than her, our results would ultimately be different. Still, she didn't lack any strength just because her muscles weren't as defined as mine. On the contrary being an undead vampire made you very strong.

She arrived here one day when Yohan came to visit this place. He and Zani had a little talk and the result was Sera staying here to accompany me. He insisted Sera was only there to receive combat training but I know he needed someone reliable to be my bodyguard, and to keep watch on me at all times, nothing better than his adopted daughter after all.

But unlike me, Sera would still spend 3 days of the week back on her father's side. There's something weird I found with her being loved by her father, it was something strange that was growing inside of me, by continuously watching their interaction every daym. When I'm back on earth, my father had never been that caring to me, and my current one was worse. But Sera? She had an adoring father to guide her.

I sighed. Maybe I'm just jealous of her.

"Is there something wrong Eli? You're staring at me weirdly"

"N-no! Nothing! Uh…just thinking about life, that's all"

Her nonchalant expression of calling me by my first name was still very surprising. If she was a nobody, she would've already been hanged by imperial law. A simple peasant calling royalty by their personal name was enough to even procure a death sentence. Yet, even as the punishment was that severe, that law never clicked with her.

How many reciting lessons Zani had given her, she never managed to fully grasp the importance of calling me by saying 'her highness'. But personally, it is fine, it broke the monotony most of the time, since everyone was calling me 'her highness'.

She was a lot more open compared to when I first met her. It never came to my mind how she regarded me as a friend. Me and Yohan had basically saved her from an abusive household, which made her very happy. Next, she was left with no friends aside from me in the castle yard, she had only adults to talk to, assassins, maids and guards. I was fine talking to them because I was an adult in my previous life, but Sera, she felt isolated. So she had only me to socialize with, on the outside I was still a kid just like her.

At first, I didn't try to befriend her, but there's something I like having someone I could trust by my side. It was a new feeling, something I had never experienced before even during my previous life. Was talking to someone this fun? Isn't it wasteful? Regardless, we became friends ever closer when now that we had the same routine almost every day.

"I smell something! Fresh blood, must be a newly aged adult" She raised her nose, opening it up to take in the iron odor.

"The same dear?"

"It wasn't a dear, Eli! It only smells like one!"

I sighed loudly as she moved at a steady pace, flinging her nose left and right to smell where our current prey was. Usually, it wouldn't have taken more than a second to determine the direction, but this time, she had a hard time pinning where it was.

"We have been chasing this thing since morning Sera! Now I don't even know where the sun is, but I suspect it is almost dusk!"

"Oh please, be easy on me. The smell, it's just…"

"Strong? Enticing?"

"It is that yes, but that's not that uncommon, this one it's…"

"Esoteric?"

"Yes that! Wait, what does that mean? I don't know what it means, but somehow I fits the description I want to give to you"

I sighed. "Fine…let's just quickly find whatever this thing is and quickly return back to camp. Master Zani is going to kill us for this"

"Hey! Whatever this thing is, it is special, I could feel it"

"Fine…yeah. I'm just hoping we're near where it is"

"Oh don't worry, it would take no more than a moment!"

===============================

"Sera! It's almost midnight, and we haven't found a single sighting of this animal you're tracking!"

The woman in front me kneeled down and put her hands on top of her head, as if trying to damp a headache. She got restless immediately, something was wrong with her. She grunted while flinging her head left and right. She clutched her hands harder and a loud 'urgh' sound was coming out from her throat.

"I can't handle it anymore! The smell it's EVERYWHERE!"

She looked at me, fangs visible on her mouth. She had a feral look in her eyes. It was wild, the two red pupils were shaking non-stop like a wild dog.

"Sera, calm do-"

Before I had a chance to get a grip on her, she turned into a black mist and began chasing whatever is making her crazy. Her mist form was hard to track, but with a keen eye, I was able to differentiate between the lightless night and her black hue. One looked like pitch black charcoal, while the other was like a black diamond, refracting any light that came in contact with it.

"Sera!!"

Even with my knowledge of identifying her supernatural form, I still couldn't match her speed. She was moving like the wind, faster than even my running speed. With it, she overcame any obstacle whether it was falling tree barks, tall rocks, and even a small steep stream. Of course, my agile body was able to overcome any obstacle, this area, while dark, this place was our usual hunting location, so I had it mapped in my mind.

However, Sera's path was going further and further away and into somewhere we hadn't explored yet. It was a place blanketed by thick fog and a much colder temperature. It was becoming more apparent to me because my hunting outfit did little to shield it away. The fog blurred my vision, hence made it harder for me to track the black hue moving at twice the pace of a running animal.

Chasing her had led me to the top of a hill. It wasn't steep nor was it high, but I had a clear view of the land surrounding it. There was a swamp to the north of here, yet I couldn't find where mount Silveril was, based on my calculation, it was supposed to be west of my current location, but it was nowhere to be seen. The pitch black night didn't help with navigation as the moon was being blocked by numerous clouds.

SHHIIIING!!!!

A blinding light shone over the entire forest before it was extinguished not a second later. I shielded my eyes from it using my hand. And then, there was the ear-deafening scream.

"AAAAARGGGHHHH!!!!!!!"

"Sera!"

That scream was definitely hers. The sound was loud enough for me to get a good grip on her position. It was to my right, some distance away from the swamp. I rushed over, uncaring about the obstacle in front of me, my mind was focused on finding her.

I found the redhead, who was supporting her body with both her hands and knees. She was being pushed down to the ground by a giant magical dome, which surrounded her entire body, preventing me from getting closer.

"Sera!"

"Eli! I…lost control…that smell, it was a trap!"

She pointed me at a small hand-drawn symbol below her body. It was glowing red, like blood. The color had the same shade as the magical trap-dome. This rune was the one attracting the prey and the one trapping it, it was obvious.

"Calm down, Sera" I gently knocked at the dome barrier, before progressively knocking stronger and stronger. "I'll free you"

The next wasn't a knock, it was a full power punch using my dancing attack stance, which would also use my momentum to maximize the power of the fist.

BAM!

Crrkk!

It cracked! A little bit.

It was the size of a small twig, no larger than my palm. But it was something.

"Hyaaah!"

I punched it again, with the same strength as last time. The size of the crack doubled instantly. I smiled, maybe this barrier wasn't as tough as it looked like.

"Eli…"

"Stay silent Sera, safe your strength for the journey home"

"Behind…you…"

My instinct flared not a moment later and told me to move out of the way. My body moved on its own and dodged a massive fireball which hit where I was a second ago. The ground beneath the impact was burned by some sort of eldritch black fire.

I followed the direction where the fireball came from. The red hue of the magic dome had provided some light to point the silhouette of the man. At least I thought he was a man until two large wings emerged from his back, two horns appeared on top of his head and a tail wiggled around behind him.

My eyes went wide and my nape hair rose sharply. A sharp sting was felt across my body at the same time. Was it the midnight cold? Or was it the ever presence of an extinct and infamous creature in front of me? The increasing weariness prompted me to shout its name out loud. The name of the creature who had trapped us here.

"Demon!!!"