It was early evening, and Poli was standing on the wall with Kang and Shaman, taking on the role of sentinels against possible attacks that might happen the moment the sun set.

  "Do you think the rest of your friends will arrive today or only by tomorrow?" Shaman asked, getting ready to light up his pipe.

  "Probably tomorrow." Poli answered, "They won't travel through the forest at night. When did the scorpions come before?"

  "During the daytime. But that doesn't exclude the possibility of a nighttime raid."

  "How many were there?"

  "A dozen or so." Shaman shrugged, exhaling the smoke, "At least the ones who showed themselves. I don't expect more to come, because if there were an army of them, they would have overrun us by now. Their main excuse was that when they showed up, they said we are under human influence, and they are here to liberate us."

  "We guessed this would happen sooner or ter," Poli answered, shaking his head.

  "No worry. We deal with bugs." Kang said confidently, standing beside him like a giant tower, crossing his arms, "Savior city stand. Strong."

  "Kang here is especially fired up; one of his females gave birth recently," Shaman expined. "It was a miracle because she was pregnant before they even moved… The little one came out dead, but he turned out to be a fighter. After nursing him, he finally took a deep breath. It took all night to make sure he would pull through, but we could save him. He is still weak but... It is a show that their curse is waning."

  "Congratutions." Poli smiled while Kang just nodded, cracking his knuckles.

  "I kill the enemy. Come any."

  "Rex!" Poli chuckled, "If we can resolve this without bloodshed, that would be the best... I'll represent my Sect and the human side."

  "Speaking about that Sect thing. Is it true what is written in the letter?" Shaman tilted his head, curious, watching him with apparent interest.

  "Hundred percent. Are you thinking of coming with us?"

  "Yes." He answered after a momentary pause, "I can do better experiments there and finally achieve a breakthrough in my research against those bastards... No way I'm missing this!"

  "What happens with the medicine making here?" Poli asked, looking at him and then at Kang.

  "Don't worry, Pongo will take my pce; she is as good as I am if she is not high."

  "She always," Kang mumbled softly.

  "If it's something important, she will not fail you." Shaman said with a chuckle, "I may not like her, but it's because even when she is high, she can point out all of my mistakes in concocting." He held his head, rubbing it with a frustrated expression. "Haaah..."

  "It's coooool, it's coooool, you are betteeeeer now, Eduuu~" her voice appeared at once, as she wobbled over to them with a joint between her lips, still puffing thick clouds through her nose.

  "Speaking of the devil… what are you doing here?" Shaman snorted, looking at her. "Shouldn't you have your daily nighttime trip with the others?"

  "Thaaaaat's why I caaaame; we saaaaw iiiiit~!"

  "Saw what?" Poli asked a bit nervously.

  "Scorpiooooons… dieeeeee. They aaaaaare afraaaaaaid. Weaaaak. Runnnnnning."

  "What does that mean?" Poli asked, feeling a bit weirded out, not expecting this kind of answer.

  "We strongly beat bugs." Kang snorted.

  "Nooooo. They aaaaaare chaaaaased. They cooooome to provooooooke youuuuu and make youuuuu ask for heeeeeelp."

  "Wait… you say they knew we would ask for help and humans would arrive here?" Shaman bit on the end of his pipe.

  "Yeeeeees."

  "So they lured humans here; what for?" He murmured, thinking to himself.

  "So theeeeey caaaaan escaaaaaaape." Pongo took another puff. "The eneeeeemy haaaaaaates huuuuuumans moreeeee."

  "So the thing that chases them... It would attack us because this Vilge is human-reted." Poli muttered, thinking, "Then I just leave or hide, and the problem is averted."

  “Youuu thiiiiink liiiiike a humaaaaan.” Pongo shook his head, and Shaman nodded too.

  "A human scent can linger; you are already here; even if you leave, many demons could smell you for weeks," Shaman expined.

  "Are we that stinky?" Poli sniffed himself, smelling... nothing.

  "Idiot, I'm speaking about the natural scent!" Shaman rolled his eyes, watching him do that, "So it's already te. They probably already left, and whatever chases them is coming this way. Did you see what kind of demon it was?"

  "Nooooo." Pongo shook her head. "But strooooong. Only oooone. It's viciooooous and huuuuuuungry. An execuuuuutioner. We only feeeeelt it was his eeeeeagerness to kiiiiill. He is the punishmeeeeent for the failuuuuuure."

  "Shit… if any of you see something useful again, please tell me immediately!" Poli sighed, looking at the sky, which slowly darkened as the sun went down.

  …..Days earlier...…..

  "How are you feeling?" The Queen's question echoed softly as she caressed Emi's ears with her voice, who was kneeling at the entrance to the cave.

  "I have completely recovered, thanks to your care, Lady Rumira." She answered with a lowered head.

  "Good to hear. I am sorry, but you need to do a task for me again, leaving the Vilge." Her Queen whispered.

  "It is my duty."

  "I had a guest visiting a few weeks earlier; he tried to persuade me into an alliance and was disappointed by my refusal." She chuckled a little.

  "It was the tiger cn… was it not?"

  "Yes." Rumira said with another chuckle, "They had already united most of the east, and they are now battling in the north. They are bringing the tribes under their rule and wanting to expand even further. Which made it inevitable to csh with them..."

  "Them?"

  "They are at odds with the wolves, with their cws stretching into the northern territories. He wanted us dragged into their conflict because it is going slower than he expected it to..."

  "They want us to pincer the wolves from two sides," Emi said.

  "Yes. It sounds good on paper, but I won't subject my people to war." Rumira continued, "If they want to, they can fight it out. Anyway, they are feeling uneasy."

  "Why?"

  "The wolves are stubborn and aggressive, and they failed to conquer them via force. Now it has become a drawn-out conflict. Worse, they failed in the south, and now the southern territory bordering the humans is starting to change. They can't afford to fight on two fronts... And my dear, you told me yourself that the few tribes that can be taken seriously in the south may unite as one and form an alliance with humans. The Tiger King had also heard it... Heh... Most interesting, I did not expect that."

  "The failure in the south… My Queen, you knew they were doing something there?" Emi asked, feeling surprised.

  "I had a guess. Their king is not stupid, even if he is a brute. When I sent you and others on patrols, I did so to get a clear picture. Now that you've brought back the clues, your new report has confirmed my specutions. What I can tell you is that I am sure the tigers struck a deal with the dwarves in the mountains for resources, brought them to the south, and tried to establish a foothold there by building bridges. But they failed before anything even started."

  "I… don't really get it, Lady Rumira."

  "The southern part of the forest is filled with our kind, chased down from the north centuries ago." She said softly, "The weaker, less advanced tribes, who refused to bow their heads when we and the others expanded our influence... They fled south. Why do you think they have always had conflicts with humans? They outbreed what their habitat can support! We may be all demons, but we are all different... This happens when they are still governed strongly by the animalistic urges we all carry... They do nothing but breed, eat, and sleep. They can't control it as we do… With them in the south, it was fine; they were our buffer between the humans and us... But now, all that is starting to change."

  "Did the tigers want to conquer them?"

  "My intuition tells me the answer is yes." She answered after a brief pause, "They are fractured; it's easy to go and conquer them one by one. As far as I know, the first ones they dominated were those poor scorpions. They made them into fodder, using them to build a bridge into the human territories. Only they failed..." She ughed with a cheerful voice.

  "The humans pushed back harder and acted quick, and they now have a footing in the forest."

  "Yes… and even made a move to try uniting them." She added, giggling, "Forming an alliance with humans? Never thought I would see the day. Now the tigers lost their footing AND the resources! Their king was not happy... I know that he sent one of his generals down to the south to wreak havoc. He wants to break up everything before they have time to form a strong entity... But their king can spare no more, not with the war in the north."

  “Is he strong?” Emi gulped, listening to her.

  "Yes. He was the leader of the mongoose tribes before being conquered. He is a vicious predator... If you meet with him, be careful. If not, you could die."

  "I see; thank you for teaching me, Lady Rumira," Emi said as she bowed her head.

  "That's natural. I want you to succeed in life, my dear Emi." Her Queen answered kindly, "I am going to send you back to the south; I want you to be my voice and, as they called you… my emissary. Don't be afraid of the consequences. First, help them repel the threat; I support you in any action you deem correct; if he dies, he dies. Second, bring one or two humans back with you after everything is settled. I want to meet with them."

  "Per...personally?" She snapped her head at the cave, watching the opening of it with her mouth slowly falling agape.

  "No, they probably wouldn't stand a chance against my natural aura. Even you have trouble controlling yourself... But they can stand outside and still talk to me."

  "I-I am sorry!" She bowed her head deeply once again.

  "Ahaha, rex… It's not your fault," came a sad, long sigh from her, "I want to hear some important answers from them directly."

  "I will do as you order, My Queen."

  "I'm sorry, my dear child… You just got back home, yet I already sent you out."

  "It is my duty." She smiled, repeating the same line as before.

  After disappearing from the cave's entrance, leaving her lingering scent behind and quietly sighing, Rumira 's soft murmurs echoed inside, only for her to hear.

  "Times are changing… Soon, we need to choose a path. Will we stay free, or will we become others' tools? Are we even worthy of the name humans call us…? Aren't we becoming more like them every time we evolve?"

  …….…..

  The sun was yet to rise as Zern and Reignar were already on their way, led by Rem and two other fairies. Orsi, at first, was sleepy and tired, but as soon as she saw the fairies, her eyes popped open, asking so many questions that even Rem felt overwhelmed.

  "We should've left her at the Pass," Zern commented again, as it was not the first time he brought it up.

  "Rem, can you bring Orsi to the Vilge? We will be right behind you." Reignar asked suddenly, ignoring Zern's comments.

  "Mm? Yeah, sure! We can!" Rem smiled happily, loving the company of her new friend.

  "Aren't you happy?" Reignar ughed, stroking Orsi's head while the little girl blinked her eyes curiously, as for why, "You can fly before me! Lucky you!"

  "Really?!" Orsi yelped out, excited already.

  "Yup!" He said as he lifted her, and the fairies grabbed her, easily lifting her petite body.

  At first, Orsi screamed loudly, but a second ter, ughter followed as, at Rem's lead, they flew off, straight toward Thunder Valley. Up in the sky, above the tall trees, Orsi couldn't control herself and just shouted happily, followed by the fairies' own ughter, watching the beautiful sky as the sun rose above the horizon, seeing something that she would never forget.

  "Listen…" Reignar stopped and turned towards Zer the moment they were out of sight. By then, his face devoid of warmth, looking into Zern's eyes with a cold light. "If you are only good for yapping, just shut your mouth."

  "What?" He furrowed his brow as he felt Reignar's aura rising. "I tell you this repeatedly because you are putting her in danger daily."

  "Stop it," Reignar said calmly, yet the air around him got dangerous, and Zern was sure he would attack him any moment now. "Who do you think you are?"

  "I-"

  "Why do you feel the need to lecture me at every hour? Are you my wife? Are you my dad? Are you anybody to me?" He asked rapidly, tilting his head, devoid of any kindness. "Nobody can tell me how to raise her. Not my Father, my Sister-in-w, the Sect Head… and especially not YOU. So Shut. The. Fuck. Up." He breathed out slowly, the air around him crackling with different energies.

  "You are going too far!" Zern snorted while his hands turned metallic.

  "No. You are." He retorted as the air started to billow around him, followed by orange embers flying off from his hands while the earth under him began to crack. "You may be at the ninth level, above me by three... But I can make you realize what true talent is. You may look down on me, take me as a pervert, a good-for-nothing, a clown, or whatever. I. Don't. Care. But don't try to tell me how to live my life or raise my little girl... Ever. She is my responsibility and not yours."

  "You're irresponsible. Putting a helpless mortal into danger because you overestimate yourself." Zern rebuked, fully activating his powers, ready to fight at any moment.

  "Maybe," Reignar nodded, "But you don't know her, and you don't know me. You were not there and did not hear what she said to me when I went to pick her up from the pace; how could you understand her? You are projecting your ideas onto others; come down from your high horse!"

  "..." Zern held back his first thoughts, not wanting to escate the trouble further... but he couldn't help himself from asking, "What did she say?"

  "Please, don't throw me away." Reignar whispered softly, "You are unaware of her feelings and her thoughts, yet you try to tell me, tell her, what is right or wrong? Who are you to make those decisions? God?" He snorted, slowly withdrawing his elements, "So from now on, keep your thoughts at that… thoughts. Don't let it spill out from your mouth, or I'll beat them back into you. And if your Master comes, I will fight her too..."

  Zern just stood there, mulling over his words, also retracting his powers before continuing on, and the two never spoke to each other ever again.

  …….…..

  "I can't believe it!" Poli sighed, holding a cup of steaming hot tea, yawning as the morning sun rose above the trees.

  "Honestly, I am gd nothing happened in the night. It's harder to fight in the dark," Olup yawned, as he switched with Shaman in the middle of the night duty. "Maybe the junkies saw wrongly."

  "They not." Kang shook his head. "I feel… unease. Something lurks."

  "I also feel something is close by, but I can't put my finger on it." Poli agreed.

  "Kyaaaaah~" came a sudden cry, and it almost made Poli drop the cup, searching for the sound.

  As they looked at the source, two fairies flew down from the sky, bringing a ughing and screaming Orsi, who, when she nded, cpped happily, almost breaking out into dancing. It seemed her happiness was like a nectar to the fairies, who quickly came to see who she was, happily flying around her.

  "Damn, they scared me…." Poli murmured, clicking his tongue while Olup just nodded, letting out the stuck breath from his chest.

  "Is she with you? Another small monster?" Olup asked, a bit cautious and afraid.

  "No, she is harmless; she is just a kid, unlike my Master," Poli smirked in response, gncing at the chimpanzee.

  "Thank the gods, I couldn't take it if another one pops up… then I would question if we are the demons or you!" He patted his chest, making Poli ugh.

  Not an hour ter, Zern and Reignar also arrived, but Poli immediately felt the air between them was a bit colder than before.

  "Did something happen?" He came up to them, raising his brow.

  "We had a talk." Zern answered simply, "Nothing that would sabotage the mission."

  "I see." He sighed, looking at them while Reignar simply went to see how Orsi was doing.

  Of course, Orsi was still ecstatic, running from house to house, flower to flower, checking everything out, showing no fear towards the demon folks. Some grown-up gorils even lifted her up, holding her close and immediately pampering her as their motherly instincts kicked in, wanting to surround and protect the little one.

  "What's the situation?" Zern asked, turning away from the commotion.

  "Nothing good," Poli answered, shaking his head while he described everything to them.

  "I see… I could scout the perimeter, and my earth affinity could come in handy if the scorpions can move underground. I can find them if they are still here."

  "That's a good idea; take some chimps with you, but don't go too far! If you find them, come back immediately! Here, take this," Poli said as he passed on a communication jade. "This is still the inefficient one, what the Empire uses. It crumbles after one use, but if you meet danger, use it and tell me, and I'll hurry over!"

  "Understood, Elder." Zern nodded, but Poli just patted his shoulder.

  "We are disciples under the same Master. Don't call me that," he said while Zern went to gather some volunteers.

  As for Poli, he stayed behind to keep watching over the others. Somehow... The uneasy feeling was still lingering inside him, even when he watched the happily ughing Orsi, followed by a smiling Reignar as if he were her shadow.