The trio strolled briskly on the road to Byar'non. Essairyn twirled a teardrop-shaped, viridescent stone pendant between her fingers. Earlier, she had punctured a tiny hole at the tip of the gem with magic. The string was a tad too thick for her liking, so she unraveled the thread and looped a finer string once through the gem. She didn't want to lose too much of the Ayvirdizite, so even if a single strand wasn't durable enough to last long as a necklace, she had already planned to make the jewel into a long earring once she got ahold of some nice enough metal.

In her other hand, Essairyn snacked on a dark pink apple with pale, chartreuse yellow flesh. She had bought the apples and some peaches that were shaped like small mangoes from the marketplace. She sampled them from one of the stands and was instantly sold on their crisp, exotic flavors.

"Why'd you only buy fruit? Why not bread or meat or something else?" Darren chomped down on a golden mango-peach himself.

"...Meat..." Essairyn's eyes lit up at the thought of a juicy steak fillet. "Well, fruit is hydrating, and there wasn't exactly a water bottle stand around. I'm also trying to conserve the water that I brought from the forest. Eh, we'll make it through somehow."

"Make it through? You have no plan?" Darren incredulously asked with a slightly agape mouthful of red fruit. And all along he had thought that she knew she was doing... A dribble of juice snaked down his chin, and he hastily closed his mouth and wiped it.

"This is an adventure! There's no set plan; it's constantly changing." Essairyn's eyes sparkled as she tilted her head to the skies and lightly pumped her arm holding the apple.

"But... we need water to survive," objected Darren.

Essairyn smirked. "Probably." She hadn't yet told him that her two containers had the best tasting water he'll probably ever drink. At this point, she was beginning to treat them as delicacies rather than necessities. Water anywhere else would likely be plain. Hmm, perhaps I should visit some restaurant and just order water and leave... Would that be too rude? Oof, I guess I should buy at least something. Then I'll have a chance to see what kinds of dishes exist here! She suppressed a rising giggle after she saw Darren's stunned expression.

"Probably?!" He couldn't fathom that Sol'h'meyr would be so different from Earth as to not need water to survive!

"Well, there's no sun." Essairyn casually finished her apple.

"Wai-, what—?!" Darren's eyes shot up to the sky, and he spun around frantically searching for the sun. "There's no sun!" He hadn't even thought to look up since the world was already alight. "Ahh, I thought I had already come to the realization that this was a different world. But I'm still so surprised." He furrowed his brows in a 'huh' look.

Essairyn gave a soft laugh, and Akari just raised a mildly amused eyebrow tuft. "Yes, and watch this." Essairyn suddenly broke away at a breakneck speed while Akari hung on for dear life.

"Hey, where're you going?!" Darren shouted, and he sprinted after the girl who was quickly vanishing from his view. To his astonishment, he accelerated at an anomalous pace. The refreshing air whisked silkily about his face, and he felt freer and more invigorated than ever before. Every bound took him closer to her, and he yelled, "Essairyn! This is amazing!"

The girl turned her body in a sideways run to look back at Darren. "Right?!" She spun on her heel and ran to meet him. A few strides before she reached him, Essairyn leapt into the air above him in a somersault.

"Whoa there!" Darren laughed as he reflexively ducked; even though, she was several feet above his standing height.

Essairyn giggled with giddiness when she lightly landed. "It's incredible, isn't it? We couldn't ever do this on Earth."

"Yeah, my body feels light, but not as if I'm floating. I've always been athletic; however, I'm pretty sure I gave any Olympic sprinter a run for the gold." Darren grinned sunnily. It was the first time that he had smiled for real after setting foot into this world. Essairyn really did seem to calm him down with her relaxed yet enthusiastic outlook.

The two laughed and ran carefree on the road for some time. Darren experimented with his robust body and reveled in his superhuman strength. He could certainly get used to this extraordinary feeling of airiness.

As they talked, Akari listened with feigned indifference. Darren shared that he played basketball recreationally, but he used to be in his high school team. He enjoyed video games, alternative music, and action movies. He had a younger brother and sister, and a golden retriever. Their family lived in the suburbs, and he attended college to study business a few hours away in the city.

Essairyn enjoyed many of the same recreations and also had a family dog, a little terrier mutt from the rescue. However, she was an only child and commuted to a college close from home. She also majored in business, but she loved the arts and dreamed of a job that could satisfy her restless imagination.

Before long, they reached a little farmhouse with fenced animals in the back. It was now the evening. They decided to stop here and ask the owners if they could stay for the night. The farm owners were the Welforts, a hospitable, somewhat elderly couple. They had been repairing a section of the fence where a pack of wolves had broken it the night before.

Thankfully, all the animals had been safe inside the shed. However, it was unheard of for wolves to leave the forest much less run into human habitation. The travelers offered to help fix the fence in return for letting them sleep overnight. The Welforts gratefully agreed as they still had their daily chores to do.

While they were fixing, Darren asked Essairyn, "By the way, did you know there would be a farm here?"

She shrugged and honestly replied, "No, I just guessed we'll hit something along the way."

Darren gave her a look of mock exasperation. "Seriously?" He had really read this girl wrong. She really hadn't planned anything at all!

"Yeah, but camping out is not so bad either." She grinned with a wink.

He could only shake his head in amusement. "You're really taking this adventure thing to a whole other level, aren't you? Remind me why I followed you?"

Essairyn tilted her head up in a thoughtful pose. "Because I'm awesome?" Darren snorted. "You didn't have to come with me, but I'm glad you did." Essairyn chuckled. "You were the first person also from Earth that I met, and so soon after I arrived too. I couldn't just let you go."

Sheepish, Darren scratched his chin. "Hah, it's not like I had any other place to go. And I agree it's comforting having someone in the same boat. Although.." He raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm surprised that you're so calm about this whole situation. You just told me about your time in the forest. I can't imagine that I'd be able to survive one night in that forest if I didn't have your powers. You're not scared at all?"

"Hmm," Essairyn hummed. "I suppose it would seem that way. I think I'm just much more excited than upset about the prospects of living in a magical world than a mundane one. Especially with my magic, I feel a surge of confidence like never before. Of course, I'll miss my family and friends, and I'll probably get homesick later, but for now... I'm okay." She nodded to herself and looked over at Darren with a small smile that didn't reach her eyes.

He looked back with mixed emotions. Her blasé attitude was visibly apparent, but he noticed a trace of sadness in her voice at the end. Even if her magical abilities warranted her some security in a strange world, they had both lost everything and everyone they had ever known and loved. Surely, she was suffering on the inside. But even right now, he wasn't as miserable as he ought to be. Perhaps it was a delayed or prolonged reaction that would bite back at random times, or maybe she was simply rubbing off on him.

In this moment, he did feel that the reason why he was still sane was because of her. After all, it still felt like a dream—the way he fell from the sky without breaking a bone; a beautiful girl suddenly taking his hand and running; a glowing, magical sphere of lavender light; a man dressed like a rich, modern wizard; a talking Pomeranian with short fur, a sassy mouth, and twin tails; and an antiquated, cobblestone town encircled by a labyrinth of a market. From the moment she took his hand, he had been engaged every second without a full chance to really stop and ponder his forsaken existence in a foreign universe.

"Aand we're done!" Essairyn announced as she placed her hands on her hips and examined their work.

It had only taken them an hour to repair the seven meter stretch of fence. Essairyn had cut down and transported a tree from the nearby forest with magic, and then they tested their enhanced physical strength by chopping the wood with the Welfort's axe. Needless to say, they and the Welforts were thoroughly impressed. By now, however, it was well past six. So, Mrs. Welfort called them inside for dinner.

The farmhouse was cozy and rustic inside with pastel painted wooden furniture and iron utensils. Several handmade toys and a picture frame rested atop the fireplace mantle. A family of five used to live here.

"Beef or chicken?" Mrs. Welfort asked as she stirred a pot of hearty stew.

"Beef!" Essairyn immediately answered with her eyes shining in anticipation.

Darren gave a small laugh and agreed. "Beef sounds good."

Mrs. Welfort smiled jovially. It was a long time since her children had grown up and left, and she missed the laughter and excitement that used to ring throughout the house. Even though they had welcomed many adventurers and merchants traveling to Byar'non, it wasn't often that their visitors were this young. The two youths reminded her of their youngest a few years before she had gotten married. It seemed like it had all passed by so fast, but the memories of those days were still vivid and alive.

"Suzanne!!"

The sound of her husband's distressed voice brought Mrs. Welfort out of her reminiscence. With her ladle still in hand, she rushed over to the door as it burst open to an apprehensive Mr. Welfort.

"The wolves are back," he shouted as he pointed toward the woods. "They look like the same ones from the other night, but there's something off about these. They're are emitting a strange aura, and there're even more of them than from before."

Mrs. Welfort furrowed her brows in unease. Essairyn and Darren exchanged alarmed glances while Akari narrowed her eyes. They looked past Mr. Welfort's arm and spied the horde of wolves racing erratically toward the farm. Their eyes glowed red, and dark shadows like grainy smoke hung over their bodies.

"I had to close the barn doors quickly, so I couldn't get all the animals inside in time. Hopefully the wolves will just run past like last night and won't harm them." Mr. Welfort voiced tensely as he reached to close the front door. "However, I'm concerned about the crazed look in their eyes.."

"Wait, you're just going to leave them out there?" Essairyn blurted out as she impeded the door from closing. The manic wolves reminded her of the previous beast demons she had come across.

"Unfortunately yes, I have to protect as many as I'm can," the man replied regrettably.

Essairyn's eyes shot back and forth between the quickly approaching wolves and remaining animals. A plan of action to save them was already forming in her mind.

"Bloodlust."

Everyone turned at Akari's abrupt words. "I wouldn't go out there. Those wolves are demonically possessed and out to kill. There's a lot of them to handle, and you'll have to deal with any escaping demons."

"Possessed?" Essairyn echoed.

Akari nodded gravely. "First tier demons aren't very dangerous on their own, but some are capable of possessing other creatures. Unless the demon leaves the body on its own, you'll have to killed the creature being possessed. Also, ordinary wolves are intelligent, born predators. Possession grants them magical abilities, making them even more formidable."

Essairyn frowned. This was now the fourth demon disturbance since entering this world. And in all four cases, it seemed that the occurrences were out of the ordinary. Could they be connected somehow? She looked over at Akari. It can't be because of you, right..? She turned to Mr. Welfort. "I'll stop them, so can you herd the rest of the animals back inside?"

The man gaped at her in shock for even bringing up the idea to fight against them. "You heard what she just said; you shouldn't go out there! Even though you have strong magical abilities, you're still only a human!" In all his years, he had never come across such an audacious adventurer as Essairyn.

"Don't worry, I can handle this." She assured with a grim smile. In truth, she was a little concerned about the large number of wolves—it looked like there were at least fifty. She had only dealt with large demons one-on-one, but she figured each one individually wouldn't take much to defeat now that she had ample experience and plenty of room to fly. Besides, the thought of taking on so many actually enlivened her.

"Then if you're going to do that, is there any way I can help?" Darren asked.

Essairyn nodded. "If you can assist Mr. Welfort in herding the animals, we can escape quicker."

"Ok, sounds good." Darren knew that with no weapon or magical abilities of his own, he wouldn't be able to help her fight. But he didn't like the idea of staying inside either while she was out risking her skin. "So, what's your plan?"

"I'll cast some barriers in front of them and direct their attention toward me while you two get the rest of the animals inside. Shout when you're done and run inside the barn."

"The barn? Why not the house?"

Essairyn smirked. "So I can finish them off with any distractions as you run back to the house of course."

Everyone looked at her in surprise except Akari who had hopped off Essairyn's shoulder and begun casually eating the leftover stew ingredients. The girl glared sharply at the sly fox before sprinting outside. Darren followed, and the older man was left trailing behind and wondering how they were both so fast.

As she ran, Essairyn formed a new weapon in her hand while casting a long barrier a few meters in front of the wolves. In a matter of seconds the foremost wolves crashed into the transparent barrier and the ones directly behind toppled over their fallen bodies. The middle and rear wolves slowed down and searched for the source of disruption. They quickly discerned the source as tiny magic pellets came barreling toward them from Essairyn.

Provoked, the wolves changed direction and rushed headlong toward the approaching human girl. Once she was within twenty feet of the wolves, Essairyn flung a wide arc into the throng and leapt into the air above them. The arc knocked out the front wolves upon impact, and as she came down, she sent a blast of magic outwards from her body that sent the wolves below her flying. She landed on her haunches and sprung toward the wolves with a now fully formed weapon: an eight-foot scythe.

With the blunt back of the scythe, she clouted the nearby wolves down. Rather than killing them, she had hoped to force the demons out by allowing them to escape the unconscious bodies. However, she quickly noticed that the fallen wolves soon regained their senses and staggered up like unfeeling marionettes. She didn't want to kill them as they were simply the victims of demonic possession. But, it seemed it would be hard to get rid of the demons without killing their wolf hosts. She had thought this might be the case, but she was nonetheless disappointed.

"Hyrts, hyrts, i hyrts.."

Essairyn grimaced at the guttural grumbling of the wolves. It was an unpleasant, distorted sound of pain and ire. She gripped her scythe tighter and vowed to give them all a quick death. Taking a light breath, she dashed into the horde and swung the scythe in frenetic spirals. She let her body spin with the shifting centripetal force and took out the wolves in her erratic path in seamless, constant motions.

While scythes weren't realistically ideal for fighting as they were portrayed in some fantasy stories, in this situation, it was the first weapon to come to mind in order to keep a safe distance from the wolves while attacking. Essairyn did find the handling to be somewhat awkward due to her inexperience, but because of her enhanced speed and strength, it didn't prove to be a impediment.

After whirling out of the horde onto the other side closest to the forest, she quickly gauged the situation. Of the two dozen or so wolves she sliced, only about half remained on the ground. The red glow of the fallen wolves' eyes faded into dullness, and their bodies began dissipating. The standing wolves growled cautiously while repositioning themselves to attack. Seeing this, Essairyn readied her stance. She had to take down as many as she could before they reversed their focus onto the farm instead.

However, as if reading her mind, the wolves backed away and resumed sprinting towards the barn. Caught by the turn of events, Essairyn silently cursed and pursued the wolves. Her mind quickly calculated all the possible courses to overtake or beat the wolves to the farm. Circumventing them on the ground would take too long, but if she cut through them, she might get tangled up and still waste time. Flying remained the only other option.

Essairyn gathered her magic into a disk, but before it fully materialized, she noticed that the scythe was losing its shape. Even though she could form an object while casting magic, it seemed that she wasn't able to maintain two full formed magical objects. It was also possible that the scythe was too new and strained her magic. Just as she deduced this and let the scythe disappear, the rear wolves swiveled their heads and fixed their crimson eyes on her.

Startled by their sudden stares, she barely dodged their lunges. Cursing again, she realized she had miscalculated. While she had held all their attention earlier, with their numbers, some could easily remain behind to attack her while the rest ran. Wolves were smart after all. At the current distance, it would only take them ten seconds before they reached the barn.

Gritting her teeth, she sprung as high into the air as she could, hoping she could gain enough height to land on the disk above the wolves' range. But with the short reaction time after dodging, she wasn't able to reach as high as she desired. She would have to hover-hop to a safe height before stepping onto the disk.

Just as she took that midair jump, though, a wolf vaulted up and grazed her calf with its claws. Unexpected pain flared in her leg as she wobbled forward in the air. She was only fifteen feet high; she needed one more jump. She leapt again, reached twenty feet, and grabbed the edge of the disk she lowered in the process. She angled the side of the disk she was holding upwards in order to get a more secure grip as she directed the disk higher and flew toward the barn roof.

"Essairyn!" Darren yelled anxiously while waving his arms.

All the animals were now safely inside the barn, but he was uneasy about Essairyn's precarious situation. Initially, he didn't think that this would be too dangerous because of her confidence and magical abilities. But he had clearly underestimated the wolves and overestimated Essairyn despite knowing they were both still very new to Sol'h'meyr. He couldn't take their lives and this world lightly as if they could revive and start again like a game.

Darren wondered whether he should retreat into the barn with Mr. Welfort as planned, or if there was any way he could help her. A sense of guilt bubbled in his gut, and he turned, slammed, and bolted the door closed.

"Mr. Welfort! Barricade the door! I'm going to help Essairyn!"

"What?! She said to stay inside the barn!"

"Don't worry, I never said I was leaving it!" Darren forcefully smiled.

The aghast farmer watched as Darren ran to the ladder and climbed up to the hay loft. Shaking his head, Mr. Welfort could only mutter in grim mirth at the madness of these adventurers. But he did as he was instructed and quickly went about blocking the door.

Meanwhile, Essairyn beat the wolves to the barn and landed on top of the roof. Her arms were a little shaky, and her amused mind, even in this situation, thought that she would've lost her grip if it had been her body from Earth.

Returning to her senses, she steeled her gaze on the oncoming wolves and lifted her hand. The motion erected a transparent wall a few meters from the barn, and with the end of the gesture, magic needles darted from her open palm. They ruthlessly pricked the wolves' skin and exploded in showers of lavender particles and strewn fur. The forefront wolves smashed into the wall while the middle ones were punctured into submission. The rearmost wolves reflexively retracted their bodies from the range of the needle barrage. They howled indignantly at the plight of their pack and scattered in serpentine directions. Some remained in front of the barn, outside of Essairyn's range, while others encircled the sides and the back.

The girl wasn't bothered by their maneuvers until she spied some streaking toward the farmhouse. The windows situated on the ground level would make it easy for the wolves to burst inside. But if she headed over, she would put the farm animals, Darren, and Mr. Welfort into peril. Even though she didn't know that Mr. Welfort was barricading the door, he wasn't yet finished, so the doors were still susceptible to breaking. A roundtrip from the barn and back would take a minimum of twenty seconds while flying. That was enough time for the wolves to regather and stampede the barn doors. Not to mention, picking them off one by one would increase the trip duration.

A light sweat veiled the back of her neck at her predicament. But before she settled on an alternative course of action, Darren flung the hay loft's doors open. The wolves snapped their focus onto the now exposed second floor. Although the floors of a barn were taller than a residential building, the height was still barely attainable for the wolves whose possession elevated their physical strength.

Essairyn watched with trepidation as Darren heaved a pitchfork tied to the hay loft's conveyor rope at the wolves. They snarled in aggravation when the pitchfork viciously raked the side of one of their members. The wolf yelped upon impact and tottered to the ground after Darren roughly retrieved the pitchfork with a vigorous pull.

He perspired in tension. He had never seriously injured a living animal before. While he had played plenty of fighting games that involved killing life-like creatures, he had been detached from the bloody act as it wasn't reality. But upon seeing the grimy scarlet flowing from the wolf's side, the shredded flesh and bone, and the rolling of the enraged yet frightened wolf's eyes, his stomach lurched queasily. This was his new reality now. He steadied his sentiments, gathered his willpower and continued accurately piercing the wolves in cold blood.

Seeing this, Essairyn's chest lurched in heartache. Darren had put himself on the line all because of her altruistic arrogance in saving the barn animals. They were no longer in a world secured by law and order. This was a kill to survive world where power granted protection. It was possible that for the sake of their lives, they might have to execute future callous acts against innocent animals or even people. In this distorted morality, tossing aside some principles in favor of upholding more vital aspects of their integrity was a paradoxical reality.

Fear for such a future tingled down Essairyn's spine, but dwelling on this prospect was only a distraction in the present. She couldn't let Darren's efforts go to waste. While he maintained the wolves' aggression and fended off their advances, Essairyn hunted down the runaways.

This gave Mr. Welfort enough time to finish obstructing the door. He yelled up at Darren upon the barricade's completion, and the boy quickly fished the pitchfork back up, tossed it onto the hay beds behind him, and started shutting the loft doors.

But halfway through closing them, a wolf vaulted toward the vulnerable youth. Darren strove to snap the doors shut, but the lunatic, cochineal orbs of the triumphant beast blazed into his eyes. With less than one meter remaining between them, and a quarter of the doors left to close, Darren readied himself to dodge the incoming fangs and claws. While dodging, he would finish shutting the door as the wolf crashed into the hay. Then he'd retrieve his pitchfork to fight the possessed creature. Because of his heightened abilities in this world compared to Earth, he was assured that he could beat the wolf in a one-on-one battle.

However, he wouldn't need to follow through this risky plan as Essairyn had just returned within range of the barn to lob a downward angled spear into the airborne wolf's back. Darren cringed upon seeing the wolf's eyes bulge in the prelude of imminent death before it plunged down into the barn wall right below the bottom of the now closed, loft doors.

He released a tremulous breath of relief and slumped down to his knees. He could still hear the dying throes of the wolves and Essairyn's magic whizzing about outside. Darren slowed down the remaining adrenaline rushing through his system, and fifteen seconds later, it was silent. He fretfully waited a few seconds before he heard Essairyn's familiar, mellow voice.

"Hey! You okay in there?"

Darren cautiously opened the loft doors. The elated face of an ebony-haired girl greeted him. He lightly smiled in return. It was finally over. The three cleared the barricade, and in the middle of comforting the jittery animals, Akari and Mrs. Welfort arrived at the barn. They had observed the gut-wrenching battle from the farmhouse windows and rushed over to join them upon its end.

When Mrs. Welfort fixed her gaze on the strewn wolf corpses in front of the barn, she nearly retched. Black mist dissipated into the air from wolves that had been under possession when dying. In contrast to the regular corpses from wolves whose demons had escaped preemptively, these bodies retained a charred blackness as if poisoned. Most of the blackened bodies were from Essairyn's fatal attacks while the normal ones were from Darren's brutal pitchfork throws.

In retrospect, this made Essairyn wonder out loud if for the future, she should severely injure possessed creatures without killing them in order to draw out their demons. But Akari speedily rejected that notion. It was simply too inefficient and sacrificed time and safety for unnecessary kindness. Additionally, these low-tier demons could easily escape due to their nimble, gaseous forms.

"Speaking of safety, you got injured." Akari nervously examined the girl's wound on her right leg. After seeing it wasn't serious, only about a millimeter deep, the fox exhaled a sigh of relief. "Next time, you need to be more careful battling beast demons. I know this is your fourth time, but demon wounds get infected easily and can develop into nasty afflictions. This turns the flesh into soot, much like when beast demon bodies dissipate or those charred wolf bodies over there."

Essairyn internally shuddered at the thought of her body deteriorating away into ash. "Thankfully, my body mostly healed itself while I was fighting. Now, I can probably finish healing it myself." She placed three fingers at the top of the five-inch long slashes and pressed downward, swiping her hand slowly across their length. Lavender light flushed beneath her fingers, and the skin seamlessly repaired itself. Healing oneself took much less concentration than healing others, even for white mages or green elementals. Essairyn figured she could've easily willed the injury to heal without bending down and following through the gestural motions.

"How deep was the wound initially?" Akari was curious about the speed of Essairyn's self-healing abilities. When regular m'u and magical ability was high enough, the body would automatically heal when injured.

Essairyn chuckled mirthlessly and drew her forefinger and thumb close together, gauging the original depth to be about half a centimeter. Akari didn't know whether to grouse on the girl's literal inhuman regeneration or skin toughness. She had only received half-centimeter deep lacerations from a falling wolf that seized her leg with three centimeter claws. If it was a regular wolf, Akari wouldn't be surprised if Essairyn had only gotten a third of a centimeter, but under possession, wolf claws were enveloped in black magic that made them razor sharp.

"That wolf got your leg good." Darren interposed with a slight wrinkle on his forehead. Unlike Akari, he didn't think of her injury so optimistically. "I was worried that you'd be pulled down, and I wouldn't know what I'd do then..." It hadn't crossed his mind until that moment, but if he had to brave this world without her, he suspected that it would be invariably harder. As much as he hated leeching off of people, his best chance of survival was with Essairyn. I need to get stronger, fast. He hated feeling so useless.

The fox only huffed in disgruntlement. Perhaps her getting injured would make these kids wake up to the harsh reality and not take on more than they could manage. It never hurt to be extra careful, but Akari couldn't determine whether Essairyn was unassumingly arrogant or compassionately courageous for jumping straight into dangerous situations. And this Darren boy had it worse for not being able to even gauge the severity.

"Well, now that's over, I guess it's just a matter of cleaning up and figuring out how to prevent this from happening again."

The Welforts looked anxiously at one another after Essairyn's statement. They had only wanted to live tranquilly on their farm for the last half of their lives. It had been that way until now with the appearance of demons. Recognizing the anxiety on the older couple's faces, Darren directed that they first clean up like Essairyn had suggested and then discuss over dinner. By now, the stew was probably overcooked.

Back at the house, they ate the mushy stew in silence for some time. Essairyn roved through her mind for possible causes as well as fixes. Although she expected more demons to pursue Akari, not all of the incidents directly connected to her like with that humanoid demon. With the reptilian jaguar, the valguarkin, it was possible that it had raced over to the tent in the middle of their battle because of Akari. Otherwise, there was nothing in the tent that could possibly entice it over an injured, defenseless human.

But with these wolves, they had been targeting the barn and only redirected their aim to the farmhouse because of Essairyn. They were smart enough to know where the humans lived, but perhaps they had also sensed Akari. Essairyn needed more clues. After eating, she would have to inspect the barn with Akari.

"Mr. and Mrs. Welfort." Essairyn broke the oppressive silence. "I'm sorry that this happened to you again. I have an idea how to protect the farm from any further instances."

The couple cut in before she could continue. "No no, not at all Essairyn. It's not your fault that this happened again." Mrs. Welfort assured with commiserative concern after which Mr. Welfort added, "Those demonically possessed wolves might have been chasing after the ones from last night. If I think about it now, those wolves from yesterday looked like they had been running away from something. Perhaps some rogue horde of demons attacked their pack? I can't imagine any other reason for them to leave the forest in such a panic and not care about crossing over human territory."

Essairyn listened intently with a partially closed hand resting on her chin. "That theory makes sense... When I encountered some demons before this, I think they were acting bizarrely too. Something is causing the demons to go rogue." She flicked her eyes to Akari for the briefest of glances. The almost imperceptible action was not unnoticed by the fox.

"Anyway," the girl continued. "I can try setting up a magical barrier system around the farm. Demons seem to dislike my magic, so it's possible that it can ward them off." Essairyn faintly gulped. It felt odd pronouncing that demons were averse to her magic. She felt like she was boasting about that as well as being able to set up a defense mechanism; even though, she really wasn't sure about either being true.

"Can you really do that?!" The couple started back in astonishment. "What rank are you if I may ask?" They were sure that Essairyn couldn't have been anything less than C-rank based on the abilities she had just displayed.

The girl hesitated before replying, "Umm, I'm not sure to be honest. I just arrived in Sol'h'meyr the other day..."

This news further stunned the elderly couple. They would've never imagined that the gifted human mage was actually a traveler! They were surely lucky that she had been put into their path as the wolves might've destroyed a great part of their living. Agog, they turned to Darren expectantly. He hadn't shown any magic, but his strength was rather high too.

Seeing the couple on tenterhooks about him, Darren sweat-dropped. "I just arrived a few hours ago and met Essairyn..." He oddly felt defeated by the girl whose frame was rather petite. Although he knew he wasn't the most skilled even back on Earth when he played basketball or anything competitive, he still prided himself on being one of the best. This prick of envy about another person was unfamiliar to him.

The couple nodded in understanding with mouths somewhat agape. They finished eating while Essairyn explained her plan. She would cast a spell on the fence so that if demons came near, it would activate and expel them from the premises, much like a warning. Should the demons continue provoking it, the system would go into combat and eliminate the threats. The system could be supplied with magic, and it would save on magic by remaining dormant as long as demons didn't come near.

After dinner, Essairyn inspected the barn with Akari. Without the Welforts near, the fox asked, "That magical system you were talking about before, are you really able to cast such a protective spell?"

The girl honestly replied. "Nope. But it doesn't hurt to try. I never guaranteed the Welforts that I would be successful anyway. And if worse comes to worse, I can probably make a magic sword or weapon for them right? But wait, will it be useable by them even after I leave?"

The fox sighed. She really didn't know why she even asked such a question as Essairyn's answer was exactly as she had expected. This girl was always trying to do the impractical without proper magical knowledge.

"Yes, however, creation of magic weapons is a skill only demonstrated by full-fledged Knight-Mages. You wouldn't have to be an incarnation of the Knight-Mages of old would you?" The fox peered at Essairyn with jesting yet suspicious eyes. The girl merely shook her head with a light, entertained smile. She had been born on Earth, so there was no way that she could be connected to anyone living in Sol'h'meyr.

The fox clicked her tongue and continued. "Items created purely out of magic will eventually dissipate into the magical atmosphere. But they can remain intact for a long time depending on the skill of its creator. Anyone can use them, but they can't directly hurt the creator. The weapon will just sink back into the body. The only way to possibly cause harm to creators with their own magic is if the amount of magic returned greatly exceeds their magical control and capacity, including any amulets or magic storage devices. The sudden over-abundance can cause them to overheat and faint while the body tries to expel excess magic."

"Oof, that sounds kinda scary. Magic overload, huh?" Essairyn paused thoughtfully. "So I couldn't maintain two magical objects because I'm not skilled enough yet. Makes sense."

Akari gave an amused scoff. "That's only because you're creating the magic circle through an unconventional means by first creating a flying disk, an object as you said. You can actually cast the flying spell directly and be able to equip any weapon too."

"Oh. Ahahah..." Essairyn felt like she lost some smarts. She was doing everything the hard way instead of the easy way. She really needed to learn about how to properly cast magic.

Akari tittered at the girl's reaction. "Anyway, let's finish up this investigation. There has to be something leftover from yesterday's wolves that attracted the demonically possessed ones to go after the barn instead of chasing after the previous wolves."

"So it's not at all because you're here?" Essairyn couldn't help asking the question no matter how distrustful it sounded. She needed to know in order to prepare for future incidents.

Fully expecting the question to be eventually asked, Akari calmly replied. "No. I do suspect that the valguarkin from yesterday was sent after me. They sure are quick." A glint of resentment flickered in her orbs. "But these wolves aren't related to my pursuers or even the fact that I'm a spirit. We might naturally oppose one another, but that doesn't mean we can't live in harmony like most in the Spirit-Demon forest."

For a moment, Essairyn felt abashed for interrogating her. Didn't I decide to trust her for now? But she was glad that the fox was nonchalant about it. "That makes sense. So what should I be looking for in here?" She surveyed the dimly lit barn and resting animals.

The fox trotted over to a pen and jumped up on the fence. Sniffing the area as she walked forward from pen to pen, Akari suddenly halted. "Essairyn!" The fox seethed as her hackles rose. "There's a demon hiding in here!"

At her shout, the ragged outline of a shadow manifested in the gloom. Unblinking crimson eyes opened and a sawtoothed smile spread across the face of the demon. "Ah-kar-ee? Hehehe!" The demon lurched toward the fox in delight. Akari leapt away onto the ground while Essairyn sprinted at the unveiled demon in alarm.

"Akari!" The girl shouted as she hurtled a blade of magic at the demon who narrowly dodged the abrupt attack. I thought Akari just said it wasn't because of her? So how does this demon also know her?!

The demon frowned with serrated teeth showing. "H-human, m-mage?" It confusedly edged back from the girl and then cast its gaze back on the retreating fox. "M-must eat, ss-pirit!!" It charged at Akari with a cavernous mouth.

Essairyn raised a barrier in front of the demon's beeline toward the tiny fox. But Akari had managed to leap away at the last second even without the girl's help. Granted, Essairyn was successful in injuring the demon which had crashed through the barrier.

Roaring in agony, it spun around in wary fury. Red cuts were sprayed over its body, and a seared splotch smoked in its center. "E-elmental?!" The demon cried out in surprise before darting toward a spooked animal. The poor cow bellowed in fright as the demon latched onto it and began ripping through its side.

Absolutely appalled, Essairyn dashed toward the aggrieved cow. She couldn't send any magical attacks from afar without possibly hurting the animal, so she materialized her sword. Vaulting over into the pen, she swiped her blade at the gorging demon. It swung over onto the other side of the cow and grinned tauntingly at the girl who missed. Frustrated by the speedy demon, she hooked the sword up by the handle and stabbed it on the other side. But the snickering demon evaded and latched onto another animal a few pens away.

Incensed at being playing with, Essairyn swore to give this demon a painful whooping. If she couldn't catch it, then she'd have to ensnare it. She hoisted barriers around the pen it was currently in, and the daunted demon reflexively jolted and smashed into one of the walls. But before it could escape from the broken wall, Essairyn formed another box around the previous. The alarmed demon knew that it was being trapped. If it kept trying to strong-arm its way past the barriers, then it would cause its own doom. Aggravated, it shot back to the injured animal within the trap and resumed feasting with renewed vigor.

Revolted by the blatant act, Essairyn grimaced and pounded over to the encasement. Spikes formed along the inner walls and the demon's eyes flickered from side to side in trepidation. Just as it was about to spring from the collapsing cow, the spikes speared the demon mercilessly. It dropped to the ground, now a ball of skewers.

Before it could dissipate, she layered smaller boxes around the demon and withdrew the spikes. This demon could talk, so if possible, she wanted to keep it alive for questioning. Essairyn was prepared to heal the demon if she was able and if needed, but puzzlingly, the demon merely smoldered with a few sprinkles of dust. It was still well and alive.

She glared at the writhing demon with contempt. "Why are you in this barn, and why are you after Akari? What's your relation with the wolves and the demons after her?" She hoped the demon would answer at least some of her questions or unknowingly drop some clue. This demon was abnormal. It looked like the first tier demons that had fled some of the wolves' bodies, and it evidently had the wily little demons' speed too.

But this demon was also more solid than gaseous besides being able to talk in the common language. Is this some kind of in-limbo demon between first and second tier? But that wouldn't explain why it could talk but the second and third class demons from before couldn't.

The simpering demon was tight-lipped, but it finally caved with the girl's scathing gaze. "Y-you think you're s-strong e-elemental? J-Just you wait, we d-demihumanss will take b-back our landss!"

Essairyn was momentarily taken aback by the misunderstanding, but she went with the flow in order to grasp the situation. "What lands of yours do you mean?"

The demon spat. "The borderlands! Our c-cities! Y-You e-elementals destroyed our nation and t-turned the world on uss! Futile! Futile! Y-you'll n-never win! All hail Taithar! Our Savior!" It then crashed into the walls and ricocheted around. Unable to stop it or release it, Essairyn could only watch as the demon self-destructed.

"Akari," she softly said after the demon dissipated. "What was that? Why is it so angry at the elementals? What did the elementals do?" Even though she knew she wasn't an elemental, Essairyn acutely felt the raging indignation of the demon's words directed at her.

The fox could only shake her head, honestly perplexed by it all too. "I do not know what happened since I was last alive. Although the elementals loathed the demons for fighting against them in the Great Elemental War, they never outrightly declared war on the demons."

"Demons fought against them in the war?!" Essairyn let out a cry of disbelief. "You mean they were on the side of Water and Light?" After reading the history of Sol'h'meyr, Essairyn felt like the other elementals were in the wrong for trying to kill Cyrienne. Supposedly the rain goddess would cause havoc on the world because the power balance would be destroyed. But it sounded like a bunch of propaganda. Clearly, Cyrienne had restored the lands instead of seeking revenge. Essairyn reckoned that the jealous gods might have even deceived her.

Yet, never once would she have imagined that the demons were on Cyrienne's side. Once again, Akari's past words rung in her ears. Demons weren't necessarily evil. But that didn't explain why they acted as such. Was Cyrienne actually a threat? Did the other gods in fact push her out of the world? What is the real truth?

Akari released a heavy sigh. "Yes. Both demons and spirits fought alongside Water and Light. Since the two gods protected the humans and the beings that were born out of them, of course spirits and demons would support them. But the reason why elementals didn't hate spirits was because after the war ended, the spirits caused them no trouble while the demons continued to rebel."

"Damn." Essairyn didn't know what else to say. Sol'h'meyr's history was indeed more complex than what that brief booklet had told. The current situation arose out of age-old conflicts, but neither she nor Akari knew why it boiled to this tipping point. "Then did you also fight Akari?" Perhaps this was the reason why the fox had looked miserable the first time she spoke of the Great Elemental War.

"No, I was just a baby then." Akari hesitated on telling the next sequence of events. Deciding that it would only complicate matters, she skipped the details and remained silent.

"I see..." Essairyn sensed that there was more to the story, but yet again, the fox's mouth was sealed on matters of the war and the relation to her. "Well, I suppose we'll find out eventually with all these demon disturbances..." She blinked in deep thought. "SHOOT!" The sudden shout made Akari yelp.

"What's—?!" The fox jumped and saw the girl racing over to one of the injured cows. "No way! You're not going to heal them NOW are you?! They're on the brink of death! There's no way you can— HEY! Are you listening to me!??!" The fox dashed over to the girl who had put her hands on the fallen cow's side. The animal's breath sputtered, and its eyes glazed over.

"I have to at least try Akari! The poor cows! What will Mr. Welfort think?" Her forehead wrinkled in consternation.

"NO." Akari's words were stern. "Healing Banran was crazy enough, but you've used up too much magic these last few days. Especially after two fights in a row, you'll only be putting yourself at risk by trying to heal them!"

"But..."

"NO BUTS ABOUT IT!! You're NOT going to heal them!!!" Akari was nearly gasping in emotion.

"Akari..?" Essairyn was surprised by the fox's outburst. Does she really care about me that much? Even though we aren't...? The girl softened her gaze. The fox could very well be protecting her own protector from self-destruction, but somehow, Essairyn knew, hoped, it wasn't just that.

As if realizing her own mistake, Akari coughed and recollected herself. "If you're aren't going to listen to me, your guide in this world, then I might as well find someone else!" Dang it Akari! You let your emotions get the best of you again! How many times do I have to remind you that you need to keep your distance! You can't, not after...

"I'm sorry, Akari." Essairyn's words were heartfelt. "You're right. I can't do everything. If I don't conserve my magic, I won't even be able to make that protective system tomorrow. Then the Welforts and the rest of the animals will be in danger..." She sighed. She had to get a grip on herself and not be carried away.

With heavy hearts, the two headed back to the farmhouse to inform Mr. Welfort that two of his cows had died because of a rogue demon that had been hiding in the barn. Seeing the wretched looks on their faces, he knew that it had been a tough battle. He grieved a bit at the loss of two cows, but at least the situation could no longer escalate had the adventurers left before encountering the sequestered demon.

They all slept fitfully with only a few winks of rest when they woke up at eight o'clock. But like well-oiled machines, the Welforts went about their typical chores with the assistance of Darren while Essairyn studied the fence and layout of the whole farm. Akari followed her on the loop around the premises.

"So, what do you think? Can you do it after all?"

Essairyn thoughtfully inclined her head. "Yes, I laid magic on the fence surrounding the whole farm, so I can give it a shot now."

Closing her eyes and taking a deep, steady breath, she focused on connecting herself to the ring of magic. She imbued a string of commands and courses of action depending on the situation into the magic flow, imagining as if invisible words were coiling around it. When she felt the magic fully suffuse and stabilize, she released her hold on the fence and backed away.

Not even a breath later, the whole farm flushed in lavender as the ring of magic flared and discharged spiraling streams into the air. They hatched themselves together in a lattice, and blooms of magic circles sprung up from their centers.

Spellbound, Darren and the Welforts stopped to gaze at Essairyn's handiwork. The girl herself was pleasantly surprised by the unexpected spectacle. And unbeknownst to Essairyn, but noticed by Akari, a faint lavender glow emanated from her pupils.

After the spell settled into the crevices of the fence and earth, Essairyn surveyed her work with pride. Magic crafted from the will of the imagination was truly magnificent. She had lost quite a bit of m'u, but it was well worth the cause. Of course, she still needed to test that it would indeed function as intended.

"Hey Akari, can you stand over there for me?"

The fox was momentarily confused by the girl's question, but suddenly, realization dawned on her. "No way! You're not going to use me as a guinea pig are you?!"

"Ayy, it'll be fine. I just want to see if it warns intruders before attacking them."

Akari's face burst with indignation. "What?!! You're kidding if you think I'll put myself at the risk of being zapped by your magic!"

Essairyn waved her hand leisurely. "I'm 98% sure it'll work properly."

"What about the 2%? And why 2%?!" The fox was flabbergasted by this girl's logic.

"Because 99% seems too sure without being completely sure."

The fox face-pawed herself. This girl was completely serious. Sighing deeply in a defeated tone, she glared at Essairyn while walking over to the spot directed. Akari decided she might as well entertain the girl.

Pleased, but half in disbelief that the grudging fox acquiesced, Essairyn whistled and started up the magic system. The fence fleetingly illuminated a pale purple before dimming into normalcy. From an outsider's perspective, the fence looked completely ordinary.

"Okay Akari, now think of bad thoughts, threats, that you want to attack the farm," instructed Essairyn once the fox reached about five meters away. She didn't want the spell to discriminate demons, spirits, or any other creatures. As long as the intruder had malevolent intentions while approaching the farm, the spell would pick up on the negativity. Or so, she hoped.

Akari stood still and narrowed her eyes at the fence. Bad thoughts huh? The fox slowly closed her eyes. That was something of which she had a lot. Akari didn't want to remember them right now, but just for a moment, just this once she'd willingly recall them for Essairyn. Inhaling a shaky breath, a myriad of images cascaded across the forefront of her mind. Smog. Gunpowder. Blood. Death. Carnage. Ruins. Desolation. A lone man. Waxen skin. Silver ashen hair. Gorgeous crimson eyes. Mad, demented, possessed, destroyed. Her heart.

Her rage.

A beam of lilac light pummeled the ground, just centimeters away from Akari. Unflinching, she flicked her starless eyes open. The duskiness whirling in those depths evoked disquiet in Essairyn.

"Are you okay, Akari?" The girl's voice was tentative. She noticed that a smoky aura hovered faintly around the fox. But it quickly faded after she spoke.

"I'm fine."

The curt words stung a small corner of Essairyn's heart. But she didn't blame Akari for not confiding in her, for she herself hadn't reached that point either. It would take some time before they could break each other's walls down.

Essairyn dipped her head in a half nod and gestured for Akari to return. The fox dispassionately trotted over, and they located the Welforts to inform them of the protective spell's success. Along with Darren, the couple followed her to the fence and listened attentively as she demonstrated the system's abilities and method of maintenance. After her explanation, the Welforts graciously thanked her and rejoiced in their new security. They would be able to live their daily lives with ease of mind once more.

With her job done, the trio was ready to depart for the last leg of the road to Byar'non. But the Welforts headed back to the house and made the adventurers wait at the front. While Mrs. Welfort gathered the items she had prepared for them in advance, Mr. Welfort retrieved an item from under their bed. The lady finished first and hustled back to the trio. She presented them with large containers of food that reminded Essairyn and Darren of stacked Tupperware. They also received three bottles of cow's milk and a handful of coins.

"I'm sorry I can't offer you anything more sophisticated or useful on your journey, but I hope this along with the item my husband is getting will be enough to show our gratitude." Mrs. Welfort hurriedly fussed and bowed her head. She wished they had more to spare, but they lived modestly and had given most of their savings to their children.

Understanding that they were self-sufficient farmers, Essairyn and Darren warmly assured the benevolent lady that it was quite all right. The hospitable couple had opened up their house to strangers, so receiving gifts was the last thing on their minds. Right after this exchange, Mr. Welfort returned with a long object wrapped in thick cloth.

"We actually received this as payment for a few nights' stay from another adventurer. Many years have passed since then, but we still haven't found a proper use for it, or a person whom to give it to. Based on your fight yesterday with the wolves, we think that this may be suitable for you, lass."

The man handed over the bundle to Essairyn, and she took it gingerly in her hands, thinking it was delicate. But contrary to her speculation, the article had a solidness to its weight. She looked up at Mr. Welfort questioningly, and he correctly perceived her expression as wanting to know what it was. He nodded for her to unwrap it.

As she uncovered the item, he explained, "It's wrapped because it doesn't like being touched by most people. This was why it was hard to pass it on to any adventurers we met. It would just forcibly reject everyone. But it does have an affinity for magical users. Although, it seems to prefer women..." He looked awkwardly to his wife, and she smiled ruefully. Past images of the item literally shocking people who tried to touch it resurfaced in their minds.

Essairyn inspected the unveiled item: a longsword that seemed to be made of ice-blue glass. The guard had two leaf or feather-like structures angled on either side that attached to two supports that melded into the blade. One support was straight while the second sprung off from its middle and curved up and then down in a diamond shape. White engravings traced the form of the blade, hilt, and pommel.

Awestruck by its pristine shimmer and simple, elegant design, she immediately grasped the handle in order to test the sword. This elicited a small gasp of caution which quickly turned into surprise from the Welforts. Even though Essairyn matched their estimates of what the sword would accept, they couldn't restrain the probable notion that it would still reject her. For even if someone could touch it, the sword would suddenly become much heavier when picked up, as if discouraging anyone from ever actually using it. But as fate would have it, the sword swung easily away from its swathes. Essairyn maneuvered the ice sword gracefully through the air and practiced a few, forceful strikes.

"Amazing..." She breathed in rapture. "This sword is so light yet so sturdy." She rocked the sword back and forth while peering closely at its composition and luster.

The Welforts sweat-dropped, not knowing what to make of this absurd statement after all the countless times that they and others failed in performing the same actions. "Well, it looks like the sword likes you, so hopefully it will be useful in battles. But you can probably sell it for a good price too. We didn't sell it ourselves since we felt it was a waste of a good sword, but no one we met knew what it was worth anyway." Even if Essairyn wasn't compatible, Mr. Welfort planned on giving it to her anyway in lieu of coin.

"Ahh, okay. Thanks!!" Essairyn broke out into a brilliant grin. She loved the appearance of the sword and could already imagine how it would feel in battle. This was the most useful item she could receive in order to slow her drain of magic while fighting.

Meanwhile, Darren was staring grumpily at the ice sword. It prefers women? What kind of stupid sword is this? It sounds like it has a mind of its own... He wished that the sword was given to him instead. Although he had done less than Essairyn, he had nothing to protect himself in dangerous situations.

Dangerous situations... That's right. I'm still here. He squeezed his eyes before sighing and turning his head away. This was his second day in Sol'h'meyr. When he woke up this morning and realized that he was still in the unfamiliar bed of the Welfort's eldest son, he nearly jumped out of the second floor window to check if he was indeed awake. But instead, he just sat upright in the bed, listening to the sound of his own body and the chirps and bustle of the morning. After finally heading downstairs, he was greeted with the scent of breakfast and silly chatter between Essairyn and Mrs. Welfort as they fried eggs. Before they noticed him, he wiped away the wetness in his yes and choked out a good morning.

"Darren?" Essairyn's gentle voice brought him out of his brooding.

He whipped his head around to her concerned eyes. "Yeah?"

She looked like she was going to say something else, possibly ask if he was okay, but she thought better of it and dropped the question. "Let's go then. Thanks again Mr. and Mrs. Welfort!" She waved cheerily at the elderly couple and then placed the sword inside her magic cache as they left.

The walk was silent. Essairyn glanced fretfully at the boy beside her. She didn't understand why his mood had turned sour since they left the Welforts. He couldn't possibly be missing the farm, so why is he so downcast? Wait..the sword? Does he..? She poked him in the side. Darren jerked away from the sudden prod and blinked at the girl.

"What?"

She looked at him from the corner of her narrowed eyes, not answering his question. Then she suddenly sprinted off with Akari in her arms, yelling. "The last one to Byar'non is a rotten egg!"

The flabbergasted boy watched as the girl raced ahead like a little kid. "What the f—" He face-palmed and shook his head. He did not feel like chasing after her. He really wasn't in the mood. But after a few seconds alone, the heightened silence suddenly loomed in on him.

"Argh! This girl, I swear—!" He carped while running after her. Although they hadn't been talking, the mere presence of someone else was comforting despite Darren not wanting to admit it to himself. He also knew that Essairyn was also just trying to cheer him up in her own clumsy way. Tch, so you think you can beat me? Just wait until I catch you!