Shaky breaths permeated through the rain. A thick wound found itself scaling Kania's shoulder, as the enemy who tried stepping through the castle gates stared at him from a distance.

A similar scar appeared there, ripping through his dark clothes. Right below the elbow, almost cutting his arm off. Kania dropped the knife the other had earlier carried and breathed out.

Either way, that wasn't a reason to give up. Each punch Kania served seemed to move the tides in his favour over the last few minutes.

The perpetrator never avoided his moves, rather, each fist sent them back to strike again.

Kania raised his voice before taking a spin, as the one last strike connected with the man's mask. It wasn't close to budging, and as he blinked, the same blade flailed through the air before meeting his suddenly raised palm.

Almost piercing through, Kania let go with a scream and a kick, before falling.

The figure turned forth, spotting all the lights shining near the entrances of those Goldenleaf halls.

"B-B..." Kania wanted to utter something, but even raising himself was enough of a challenge. The pain seeped in much more harshly than ever before as if there was more to it. However, as quickly as it lingered, it faded with each breath.

He furrowed his brows, and that's when the figure turned in silence.

A few steps through the rain turned into leaps across the walls, with something in their hands pulling them in and out of trouble.

The Haran sat up, breathing heavily, watching in anger and confusion.

If it got this far, then it meant it could've easily slipped past the same gate he guarded.

Yet, it didn't. It fought, for whatever reason, and seemingly won.

Kania grabbed his shoulder and stood, leaning against the wall.

***

Isak grew frustrated. Watching atop a balcony over Grimmora meant tapping his foot against the masonry splitting the room in half. He closed his eyes and ground his teeth before moving, sliding his finger against the rocky walls and going into red corridors connecting to the towers.

A few voices of the demons passing through seemed to only fuel more reason for him to furrow his brows, and everything else reminded him of something.

A few rocks stopped the waterfall in the distance, so it split into separate paths and never reached a solid answer elsewhere. Likewise, the pattern in the middle of Grimmora was circular, and its wells and various smaller, insignificant buildings formed a ring with a few shapes.

He squinted, clenching his fist, before punching through a nearby wall as swiftly as he dared to escape that image.

It all grew silent then. His thoughts pulsated, but as Shi Hon once said, hush meant gathering power. He wanted to focus on that instead. To gather even more and pummel through those weary notions.

Alas, footsteps sounded. He took a deep breath before turning around.

"What's your brilliant plan now, Leiru?" Isak asked, meeting the demon waiting on the few stairs below him. "Telling me off again, like he did?"

The green one bore a smile, and the third eye seemed to scan the environment as fast as the other could follow its moves.

"Simple observation."

"Like I didn't notice that you were spying on me since yesterday." he shook his head. "You want something, don't you?"

"Knowledge could be the answer." he smiled.

"I'm not up with your cryptic, philosophical bullshit. Why does everyone here think they're some sort of new wizard if they complicate the simplest terms? Spit it out!" he raised his voice.

Leiru's eyes shrunk.

Isak twitched, gasping out, before rolling an eye and trying to squeeze right past the demon.

"Khalkos," Leiru whispered, and the other stopped.

One hand found itself near Leiru's neck, but the other forced it down with the scar of the bloody emblem in the middle almost pulsating in the same manner his thoughts were.

At this point, it should've been called a headache, but hearing that word in its cunning glory was what could've broken him.

"Your emblem rests in the Shaiti Temple as far as I could recall."

"Whose emblem?" Isak muttered. "I'm nothing more than a demon."

"Shi Hon told me you remembered back then." he shook his head. "So why try to push off these thoughts now, especially since you're so close to finding out?"

Isak bit his lip, harshly, before he stopped hesitating. With one swift push, Leiru's body was pinned to the wall, but no scream was uttered, and his expression didn't change.

"Bastard." Isak spit out. "What are you trying to accomplish?"

"You want to find more."

"I'm a demon! My only goal is to do what I always did and always will," he spoke through his teeth. "Words said to the wind don't affect the likes of me, as much as they could with Lisbeth." he shook his head. "...or is it you that's idiotic for assuming his position? She tried once and never came close. Who are you to dictate how I'm supposed to be feeling?"

"Your mind says otherwise."

"I have thicker skin, then. I'll keep frustrated if it means doing what I'm meant to do. Do you understand? It never worked with you. No war, no fight."

With one more push, the rocks behind Leiru started cracking. That's when Isak let go, perhaps out of pure spite.

"I'm looking for real fighters this time." Leiru continued, following the staircase up. "One last time, even."

"Again with that bullshit," Isak growled. "You're not winning any fight you picked."

"I'm trying to be helpful, Isak." Leiru smiled. "A real man can't stand atop if something taints him. That's if, you'd even be worthy to call yourself that, afterwards." he chuckled. "Can you still be proud of yourself, knowing that in the end, this might not be your calling? Real fighters, Isak."

"I know myself."

"Prove it."

The green demon disappeared right behind the corner when Isak snuck another peak. The other thoughts came rushing in, atop what Leiru said.

Maybe it'd be better if he never found out, and in turn, became an even greater demon than those he spoke of.

It was his path after all, and finding silence, much like with the strongest, was the right call.

***

"Barely noon and you're already drinking?" Lady Mama asked, as she poured a big pint of beer and chucked it across the bar with Silver coins slung her way. She caught all in her palm, before smiling and stuffing them below the counter.

A Royal Pig was mostly empty at this time of day, with three other customers inside enjoying their meals rather than drinking. Kania took a sip, before chugging a few good more and placing the half-empty pint on the table.

Lady Mama raised a brow with a smirk, and the other rolled his eyes, placing his forearm on the table.

"Not willing to talk either?" she laughed. "Not the Kania I know."

"Let me get my thoughts straight first."

"With alcohol?"

"I'm out of herbs, damn it." he shook his head. "I guess that constantly puffing them out gave me some reason to come here other than... the other thing."

Lady Mama glanced around the bar. Only one more Paladian came in, waving to the other, as he quickly got up, leaving the pub. She looked at Kania, expecting answers, and the other hesitantly leaned in.

"Someone tried getting into the castle yesterday."

"Isn't that an everyday occurrence at this point?" she continued. "Fifty guards patrol the terrain since that's what they get paid for!"

"Inner gates, Mama." Kania looked up.

"Inner gates? That's the job of Patrick, then."

"Sure, whatever you say, but I was cut out to deal with pesky intruders a few times earlier. Hell, I don't have to go back and tell you what I did in that desert."

"But of course. Your greatest achievement since sneaking into the ranks." she chuckled.

"Were you born mean?"

"I caught some of that from one girl who hesitantly saved me on the ship. I can recall the story as if it was-"

"I get it!" Kania slammed the glass on the table, and the bartender poured him more.

"No news in the Daily River means nothing happened. You defeated the man, eh? Good job, Kania!"

"S-Sort of," he replied, breathing out. "Here I thought I could take a dull knife to the arm, but it sent me to the ground. When I thought he'd take the opportunity and storm in towards the defences, he looked at me and left. Leaping over the gates."

"Must be a demon, then," she concluded.

"It didn't look like one." he sighed. "But I can't be the best judge of character. You know that, don't you?"

Lady Mama nodded. "Demons tend to conceal, as I've told you once."

"Yeah, but... gah, I don't know. Maybe that's the better conclusion, then." he sighed. "If I couldn't defeat a demon then that's fine, but I wouldn't forgive myself if it was some puny intruder. Everything seemed off, though."

Lady Mama took another glimpse across the bar. The one other Paladian there finished his meal and talked to a few kids, presumably his, standing outside the window.

She leaned, turning around and looking at the wooden interior of the bar.

"I might've seen a similar fellow last night."

"What? Did he bear a mask and a cap?"

"Mhh, not that." she continued. "You were right on the money with everything seeming off, though. Thought that Sandy was strange when I first saw him, but the guys that I saw yesterday? Even stranger than that Mokotan bunch."

Kania leaned in.

"If you're not sure about your little predicament, maybe he wore a mask earlier since he seemed the type. There was one Mirillian with black hair and a scruffy beard, as well as a few others. Would keep my eyes peered if you wanted the prize."

"That doesn't even begin to calm me down."

"Don't worry!" she raised her voice. "You perfectly know you'll find high time to prove your strength soon enough, don't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Sebastian didn't tell you?"

***

A few knocks echoed on the door of the workshop. Judy turned away from her books, lifted her reading glasses, and glanced at Ranpa, in an argument with Sam, who was busy sketching. Meanwhile, the two demons were preparing food at the table, using items that weren't meant for cooking.

"Won't any of you get that?"

"Hands are busy!" Ronpi answered, with Katha nodding accordingly.

"Sam, Ranpa?" she asked.

"In a minute!" Sam raised his voice. "I almost got this down!"

"This isn't what Sandy said, though." Ranpa pointed.

"Yes, but it's a more c-clever design!" he added, looking up.

"What are Úgau leaves?" he asked.

"That's-"

The knocking sounded again. Judy sighed, before looking away, pretty much the same way everyone else did.

In a separate room in the basement, however, Chyuuichi dug through his equipment, pondering over the few items laid across on the bed he occupied.

The first was an empty sack, well, almost empty, since a few Silver coins were still there after last night's casino outing. The next was Atomu's flute, which wasn't of any interest as of now but he mused the idea of playing a fine tune here and there and impressing everyone with his skills.

Next was the rope, with its five ends splitting across the sheets. He recalled unsuccessfully trying to pull an imp out from a chimney a few weeks ago, but that led to the entire structure shifting a bit and even more money to be spent.

He rolled his eyes, playfully, sticking his tongue out as if that didn't matter in his eyes.

The next one was quite obvious, too. Morgana rested in its leather and wrecked sheath, and when he pulled it out, the handle seemed quite rough around the edges, barely mentioning the icy frost forming cracks in the metal that made the scythe. He carefully placed it down and muttered. "Not this one either."

Everything came back to the casinos. No one was to give him enough money this time, so he was willing to trade something in return. With the first four not being of any value or unsellable in his eyes, he turned to the last, which coincidentally fell off the sheet and onto the carpet.

Sunlight shone through the windows at the sides, painting the marbles a light orange, as Chyuuichi threw himself off the mattress to ponder.

It was the same seashell Mariam bestowed him. Pearly white, with the exterior as smooth as the butter sticks he ate for breakfast since Ranpa started taxing his foods.

Either way, it seemed to serve no purpose. Maybe the answer the witch gave him back then was to sell and impress the few pawn shops in town and then spend its ginormous amount to win even more. Then, he'd be able to use that money to buy himself new fancy clothes atop the ones he already bore and return what he borrowed (although he barely thought about that).

Atomu used his gift according to what he later described. Rowan, as later learnt, did so as well, finding conflict and resolving it.

But the seashell? There could've been no other answer, then. The Mirillian stood up, with a tight smile, leaving the premises and climbing the stairs. All hands and words were busy with the most menial things, and the knocking on the door was the first thing he noticed.

Chyuuichi pointed forward, but the others looked at him like an idiot. "Someone's knocking!"

"Well-spotted," Judy muttered, flipping through a few pages and yawning.

"Why is no one opening the door?"

She shrugged, before rolling over to the side. "Probably more of those chimney guys. It's your debt to pay, after all."

Chyuuichi rolled his eyes, before taking a few decisive steps forwards, and flinging the wooden entrance open. "I told ya beforehand, I'll pay the other half on a sunny day with enough luck-"

He halted his words, there and then. The figure that met him on the other end wasn't some pretentious royal with that golden bag he despised but a seemingly familiar face. A Mirillian stood on the other end, with an unsure smile meeting a drop of sweat rolling down his face.

Chyuuichi squinted, then pointed. "Do I not know ya?"