The two make their way into the forest with Khain going ahead and Lori staying behind , a safe distance away. But they won’t make it far before the first problem arises and Khain could smell it.

  -Uhh I smell… bad. –He said after sniffing his arm , then turned to Lori.

  -Hey , before we go any further how about we take a bath in the river? This blood stinks.

  Lori looked up at him and then down , she also had some of the Oni blood on her , she took a sniff and…

  -Eww, it does smell… bad… maybe a quick bath in the river wouldn’t be a bad idea…

  -For sure… and you know what? Let’s just go to the waterfall.

  Lori’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

  -The waterfall?! I… I was never allowed to go there…

  -He? Why?

  -Mom always said it was dangerous…and that many scary animals go there…-Lori looked a bit sad saying this

  -Yeah , im about to be that scary animal , come. –Khain noticed that and tried to move on from the conversation.

  Lori followed him and soon they were at the river , and there she noticed a place she remembers.

  -It’s that cliff you pulled me from…

  Suddenly her eyes open wide as she realizes something she did not do.

  -I forgot! Thank you for that!

  Khain slowly turns around to face her completely dumbfounded, he had not expected to be thanked for that.

  -No problem little one. Anyway we should go down there now to that waterfall.

  -Oh? But… how are we gonna get down?

  As she spoke these words Khain was struck with a realization , she can’t just get down there , not on her own at least.

  -How about… uhh… I carry you down there?

  -Oh…you can do that? Well if it’s not a problem… then why not..?

  Lori was unsure about this , but was willing to try , she watched a bit scared as Khain approached her and picked her up.

  He put her on his back like for a piggy back ride.

  -Now remember , hold on tight and don’t look down, keep your hands on the Kaijan and we’ll be all fine.

  Lori had no intention of looking down and letting go , she grabbed onto his horns instinctively but then remembered the fight , was grabbing his horns okay?

  -Umm… Is it okay if…I hold onto your horns?

  -Oh? Oh yeah I don’t mind.

  He didn’t? Lori wasn’t going to ask again either way.

  -Okay little fox , ready?

  -Ready.

  -Here we go.

  And with that Khain jumped and held onto the wall with his claws , slowly letting himself go , lower , lower and lower until they touched the ground, in the meantime Lori kept her eyes closed , she failed her task as she looked down and got scared , but didn’t want to show it.

  However her fear was short as soon they got down safely.

  -Okay we are down… you can let go now, you got scared didn’t you?

  Lori got quite embarrassed , he did indeed notice her fear , she let’s go of his horns and he puts her down , the sound of the waterfall blasting on the side.

  -So yeah , we should take a bath here , the water should be nice , it’s summer after all.

  Lori was quite unsure however.

  -Are you sure it is safe? What if someone attacks us?

  Khain looked back a bit surprised.

  -Huh… you really try to keep your neck safe…okay then idea , we will take turns , you

  go wash yourself first and I will look out for threats...how does that sound?

  Lori considered his words for a moment.

  -That’s better but…one more thing…

  -Yeah? What is it?

  -Don’t peek okay?

  Upon hearing those words Khain chuckled.

  -Ha! Sure sure , I won’t.

  Khain then turned around and sat down looking out into the forest , watching out for any possible threats.

  Meanwhile Lori look off her robes to clean them up , there was more blood on them than she expected , and it was hard to get rid of it , but after a few minutes she succeeded and then cleaned her body , she set her clothes aside so they can dry , then she turned to Khain , relived he seems to not have moved even one bit.

  -Umm… Khain?

  -What is it?

  -Do you have anything I can cover myself with while my clothes dry out?

  Khain sighed and pulled out a blanket from his bag , then he tossed it back without turning around.

  -This should do for now, so are you done?

  Lori took the blanket and covered herself.

  -Yes, I will watch guard now, you can go clean yourself.

  Khain slowly turned around and walked over to the waterfall. He went into the water and submerged himself.

  Lori was unsure if she should look but curiosity got the better of her , she looked over with great intrest , finally getting a good look at her new guardian.

  He was smaller than she remembered during the fight…was it just her imagination? Also his horns seemed shorter , and the wound he had on his shoulder is barely visible…but still …he looks rather terrifying , and dangerous.

  She observed and was shocked when suddenly the plates of his carapace moved away exposing charcoal colored rough looking skin , and immediately as said skin came it contact with water a puff of steam emanated from it, as if the skin was hot enough to boil the water, but aside from that in a few minutes Khain got all the blood off himself.

  Yet Lori couldn’t take her eyes off him , thus she got startled when he suddenly spoke.

  -You’ve been staring at me for a good few minutes now , aren’t you gonna say anything?

  Lori was surprised but quickly recovered from the shock.

  -Ah…umm…your wound is almost gone..

  -That? Oh yeah , well it wasn’t going to be there forever…But speaking of wounds…

  Khain turned back to face Lori with quite a serious look.

  -This might be a difficult question but…you lost… a lot… and it was very recent… how are you so… collected?

  Loir saw Khain was truly curious about that.

  -Well… I knew my friends… I knew my mother…they wouldn’t want me to be sad…they would want me to stay strong…to live on… so im doing my best…

  Tears slowly start falling from down Lori’s cheeks.

  -But im afraid…really afraid… what will I do? I will never see them again…it hurts…

  Khain walked out of the water quickly.

  -Hey, listen, as little as it might mean now , even though you barely know me… I promise you I will help you all I can, just…stay strong okay? For them…and my job will be a lot easier.

  Lori washes off her tears and nods.

  -Okay… I will do my best…

  They sat there together , mostly silent, waiting for the tension to drop and her clothes to dry.

  -So uhh... if you don’t mind me asking… how was your life at the village? Like… what were you doing daily?

  Lori looks up at him a bit surprised.

  -Oh… I usually just wandered around , it was a calm village, sometimes I would train with my mom too, but she was often busy with other stuff so we trained about once a week.

  Khain raised an eyebrow

  -Trained? Like with a sword right?.

  -Yes , with a sword… I got the basics but not much else… -Lori spoke It a bit more quietly…

  -Well , I can’t blame you. It takes years to learn how to fight with a sword efficiently, but say , did you ever leave the village?

  Lori turned her head to the side.

  -No… I mean… I did go out hunting with mom once… but it wasn’t that far from the village…

  Khain sighed.

  -So you never really experienced anything outside the village huh? That can be a problem , you might get quite lost and confused out here… But don’t worry I’ll help you out best I can , just listen to me okay?

  Lori smiled a bit at his response , it was surprisingly reassuring, then suddenly she sneezed.

  Khain instantly picked up on that.

  -You are getting cold… That’s not good, let’s start a fire.

  Lori’s ears perked up.

  -A fire? I can do that! – Yelled Lori with confidence.

  She stood up still holding the blanket to cover herself , she quickly gathered a few branches in one spot and then used her fox flame and set up a nice cozy blue campfire.

  Khain stared at it confused.

  -That’s not normal fire is it…? What is that? Why is it… blue?

  -Oh that’s just my fox flame , its something my mom taught me how to use!

  Lori was quite proud of it.

  Khain decided to get closer and tried touching the flame , then quickly took his hand back.

  -Now that’s interesting… It hurt me.

  Lori worries a bit.

  -Please don’t try that again! It can burn your very essence… your soul or something like that… mom always said to be very careful around it.

  -Huh. It ignores heat resistance , that’s pretty handy if you ask me, and you can just summon it like that?

  -Well… in a way. I can summon a small fire , roughly the size of my palm , and I can set things on fire with it… That’s all I learned so far…

  -You should practice with it then , it could be good in a pinch , well maybe you could even coat your sword in it or something.

  -You think so? That would be cool…Well I will do my best then…

  -Good, keep up that attitude.

  They went silent again… it was about to get awkward when suddenly Lori built up the courage to ask.

  -Um…Khain? – She asked quite unsure If this was a good idea or not.

  -Yeah? What is it?

  -Umm…well…Why where you in this forest anyway?

  -Ah, fair question. Well , I wander a lot , and decided to wander around this forest, so yeah , just a coincidence.

  -And yet… That coincidence saved my life…

  -Yeah , but let’s change the topic, and If you have any more questions that won’t make your mind go back there then feel free to ask.

  Lori had to think for a moment and build some more courage but eventually…

  -Khain… do you fight often?

  Khain’s expression shifted to a serious stare.

  -I know what’s on your mind , no I don’t go around looking for fights , but yes, I fight quite often.

  Lori’s head went down from Khain’s intense stare , but eventually she took a deep breath and…

  -That’s not what I had on mind…. I just… Well… Could you teach me how to fight?

  Khain seemed surprised by this.

  -Really? You wish to learn how to fight? What for?

  Lori’s gaze fixed onto Khain and intensified.

  -I don’t want to be weak. I don’t want to have to be saved everytime there is danger , I want to help others , to protect them, like you protected me.

  Khain could not help but smile.

  -I see that determination in your eyes little Lori, and I have to say I have not seen it in anyone in many years, but know this , I can teach you some things, But if you want to be strong , you have to learn on your own. Learn your own fighting style , because if you copy someone else’s , you will just be a weaker version of them.

  Lori thought this through for a moment.

  -So… that’s a yes?

  -Yeah , it’s a yes.

  Lori felt great joy at this news , but she understood there is a lot of work in front of her.

  -Thank you, Thank you really I… well… I will do my best! –Said Lori smiling.

  -Good , now get dressed , your clothes should be dry enough.

  And Lori did just that , in a few minutes she was ready to go.

  And so they set off , deeper into the forest , with Khain taking the lead again.

  -Oh right , by the way, Is Lori your full name or short for something?

  -Hm? Oh, its short for Loraliel.

  -Im sticking to Lori.

  -Everyone does.

  And so their adventure went on , they walked away from the river deep into the forest , where eventually the tree crowns concealed the sky as it got quite dark.

  But that did not deter them one bit , as they pushed onward , marching non stop for at least a few hours until….

  -Khain… Im getting tierd…

  -Hold on just a little while longer.

  -What… will we reach the village? We have walked for hours.

  -No, but it will get easier to walk.

  After a few more minutes Khain suddenly stops.

  -Now look at this Lori.

  Lori walked up right behind Khain and took a peek in front of him , there she saw ground , but it was just empty ground , no rocks , no grass , just hard flat ground.

  -Is this a path?

  -A road to be exact , should be easier to walk on than the uneven forest.

  Lori could not argue with that , it already felt better on her feet as soon as she took a step on it.

  -So is the village far?

  -Yes , but we will set up a camp first , the sun will soon set , we won’t make it one go.

  -Will there be food?

  -Naturally , you need to eat a lot if you want to regain your strength.

  -What about you? Won’t you need to eat a lot too?

  -I will be fine , do not worry.

  -If you say so… but please don’t give up your food for me.

  -Lori, I will be fine , really.

  Around 2 more hours walking on the road they finally stepped off it and set up a small camp in the forest, with Khain doing most of the work while Lori observed ofcourse.

  -Okay Lori , now , set up the fire again.

  -Oh? Gladly!

  And so she did , giving the area a nice blue tint from the light of the campfire.

  -Great , now rest , I will watch guard.

  -Okay… take care… and please try to get some rest too.

  -Sure thing , now go to sleep.

  Lori did not say another word , her legs hurt and she was exhausted , she never had to walk this long without stops , she laid down under a tree and closed her eyes.

  But it it would not be an easy night for her.

  For as soon as she closed her eyes , she saw it again… The village , the slaughter…these…monsters… she saw Zelle again and she heard their laughter when suddenly.. she abruptly woke up screaming.

  She could barely breath , her heart was beating fast in her chest it almost hurt, she looked to Khain who was observing her silently till this moment.

  -Nightmares?

  -Y…yes… I can’t sleep… not like this… I don’t want to…

  -It’s okay , if it comes to it I can carry you tomorrow, now lets just hope that scream didn’t…

  Suddenly Khain bolted up , his expression growing serious, he looked around the camp staring into the forest.

  Lori was still sleepy , her senses where dull , but she knew she can’t just stay down so she stood up aswell.

  -K..Khain? What’s happening?

  -Something is there , hiding behind that bush.

  -W..what? what do we do?!- Yelled Lori clearly startled.

  Khain let out a low heavy growl as he tried stepping closer to Lori, when suddenly something jumped from behind the bush , landing right between them.

  A male voice spoke out.

  -Stand back monster!

  Suddenly a man wearing an armor made of wood rushed into their camp , standing between Khain and Lori , and aiming his bow right at Khain’s head. It didn’t take any time at all for Khain to notice his pointy ears.

  -An elf. – Khain grunted clearly unhappy about the whole situation.

  -Don’t worry little girl , that monster won’t hurt you. – Said the elf to Lori, to her utter shock confusion.

  -Hurt me? Monster? He’s helping me! Who even are you!

  -I am Schinael , A wood elf , and I can feel the truth behind this monster’s disguise. He isn’t human.

  -I know that! He saved my life! He is not a monster! – Yelled Lori , just now truly waking up from her dizzy mind.

  -He saved you? Is that true? From what?

  -Some rather ugly fellows , Oni’s. – Grunted Khain again.

  -W..what? impossible , YOU? beaten one of the brothers?

  -All of them to be exact, now put down that bow , stand back pointy ear.

  The elf was shocked , he hardly belived what Khain was saying…yet…

  -All three? They are dead? Is it not a lie?

  -No, can you please put down your bow? -Asked Lori.

  The elf did so , putting down his bow , his face still in disbelief.

  -I do not trust your word monster , but for now let us say it is true , and you truly saved this girl… now where are you taking her?

  -With me , to a village beyond this forest , why do you care?

  The Elf’s expression grew serious once again.

  -Listen… if what you are saying is true , then please , I have a request of you mon… creature.

  Khain was surprised by his sudden change in attitude.

  -Humor me then , what is it?

  -My village… its haunted by a monster aswell , it comes every night taking away our supplies, and if we don’t have any… then our people…so please , if you truly beaten those Oni’s , help us escape this endless torment!

  Khain was just about to laugh at the Elf’s request when suddenly he saw Lori… she was looking at him , with pleading eyes… she wanted to help them ,and Khain knew it.

  -You know what elf? Fine. I will help you, but not for free.

  -Well… what do you want? We don’t have much…

  -You’re a wood elf right?

  -Y..yes that’s what others call us I suppose.

  -You know a thing or two about plants in this forest right?

  -Yes , naturally , why?

  -If I help you , I want you to gather me some rare herbs and plants or whatever you can find , anything that could be good for alchemy , I need a gift for a friend.

  -Ofcourse! That I can do , if you truly help us I will gladly do so!

  The Elf smiled for the first time , perhaps he did belive them after all , perhaps he was just gifted… hope.

  -So , how far away is your village? – Asked Khain.

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  -About 40 minutes from here , towards the mountain.

  Khain look over to Lori.

  -Can you manage?

  -I can try… I can’t sleep anyway.

  Khain sighed before walking over and picking up Lori , putting her on his shoulders , to her surprise it looked as if his horns extended so she could hold onto them.

  -This way you will save up some energy , now Elf , tell me some more about that monster.

  -The elder of our village will explain everything to you , if we hurry we will get there before that beast shows up.

  And without further halt they moved out with haste , the elf was quick and nimble , it was clear he knew the forest well as he leads the way.

  It did not take them long at all to reach the Elf village , it was modest , with houses on trees and under them , everything made of wood and whatever the forest could produce.

  Immediately upon their arrival many eyes from within the houses begun staring at Khain and Lori , and while Khain seemed unbothered Lori felt a wave of unease pass through her body , the village itself had an interesting smell , it was full of natural scents such as grass and bark.

  The Elf pushed onward until they reached an old wooden house in the middle of the village.

  -This is where our elder lives , I will go talk with him, you wait here.

  And without another word the elf went inside , leaving Khain and Lori surrounded from stares of what could only be assumed to be other elves.

  -Khain…they are staring at us.-Said Lori still feeling unease.

  -Ignore it , its nothing to be worried about.

  -If you say so…

  Lori held onto Khains horn with one of her hands , while the other held her mothers blade.

  -You have been holding onto it the whole way.- Commented Khain to break the silence.

  -It makes me feel safer…

  -Yeah I can get that , in fact…

  Yet before Khain could finish the elf they met bursted out of the old house.

  -It’s him Grand Elder!

  Behind the Elf was another much older elf , with a long white beard , wearing robes and supporting himself with a wooden walking stick, He stared down Khain and Lori before finally speaking.

  -I have not seen anything like you in my whole life , but that is besides the point,

  Stranger, tell me , is it true that you took down the three brothers?

  -It is, I did.- Said Khain with confidence.

  -And are you truly willing to help us?

  Before Khain could muster a word Lori spoke up.

  -We are.

  Yet Khain did not deny , he only let out a sigh.

  The Elder however seemed surprised.

  -You…girl…you are from that village…yet… are there any other surv…

  Before the Elder could finish his sentence he froze as he felt Khain’s angry gaze pierce him while Lori’s head lowered down.

  -I see… Im sorry.

  -Enough about that old man , tell me , what is that thing I will have to deal with.

  -Ah yes! Apologies again , the monstrosity that has been tormenting us is the scourge of this forest ,in fact, he used to be one of us , but he abused his knowledge and went down a very dark path , a very dark path of no return, and thus he became just a monster , and every night when the moon reaches its zenith , he comes and demands resources or a sacrifice , and if we do not give it to him , he takes it and ravages the village. We tried to fight , but we stood no chance , not against his dark powers. Do you think you could help us stranger?

  Khain didn’t understand much about all those dark powers the Elder is speaking of , yet he knew he has to help them , that’s what Lori wants after all.

  -Yeah , I will see what I can do, you said he should be here at moon zenith?

  -Yes , every day , every time.

  -Aight , what are those “dark powers” anyway?.

  -A Twisted power, I do not know how , but he can transform into deformed dark forms of animals he killed , and any damage inflicted upon him fades within moments.

  After hearing that Khain put Lori onto the ground.

  -Stay somewhere on the back Lori , if it goes south , and you see an opening , feel free to use it , like last time okay?

  -Okay. I will be looking for it… and umm… be carefull Khain… that thing sounds dangerous.

  -An elf with dark powers… I think I will manage.

  After giving Lori one last smile Khain sat down in the middle of the village, waiting.

  The air was dense , the nice smell of the village was gone , and in a while the whole village was shrouded in a dark fog.

  Lori hid in the Elder’s house , watching out of the window together with the two elves.

  -He is here.-The elder announced with a grim look.

  And soon from within the fog a shape took form , it was a tall man , wearing hides from various animals , he walked out into the village looking around.

  -Come out leaf eaters , its time to pay up hehehe. –Said the man , his voice raspy and chilling.

  -Come out before I burn these worthless little houses… Where is that old mushroom?

  Lori was watching from within the Elders house , and still she was terrified of this figure , her whole body was shaking.

  Then the silence was broken as Khain spoke up , getting the intruders attention.

  -Hey weirdo!

  The man instantly turned his gaze towards the voice clearly furious about the insult , yet where he expected to see an elf , stood something else…

  Despite his large build Khain towered over the intruder, to Lori’s utter confusion.

  “Khain wasn’t that tall…was he?” she thought to herself. She could swear he wasn’t just a few moments ago.

  The man however took a step back.

  -The hell are you supposed to be?- He asked with anger.

  -I could ask you the same , but instead im gonna ask you to get the fuck out of the village.

  -Ha! You think you can take me on? What a fool. I posses powers beyond your comprehension you mindless brute! Heh , let me guess.. that foolish Elder asked you for help huh?

  The man turned to the Elder’s house with a smirk , and there , he spotted Lori.

  Lori who’s heart froze as she gazed into his madness filled eyes.

  -Now that’s just hilarious!

  The man begun laughing hysterically.

  -You! Fox. You have no idea just how lucky you are!

  Lori was still terrified , and she had no idea what that “thing” is talking about.

  -What are you laughing about freak? –Asked Khain furious.

  -You see , by now everyone at her village is probably a snack! A few days back I found their village , and then for a favor sold out its location to some rather powerfull Oni brothers! By now everyone in it was probably slaughtered and eaten! You heard that fox? Your family is probably dead!

  Lori could not stand straight , everything this man said shook her to the core , yet , what she felt was not just fear anymore, what started building within her was pure hatred.

  The man meanwhile kept laughing.

  -What’s wrong? Gonna cry? Or maybe try to attack me?! HA! And don’t even think about revenge , those Oni’s have a pretty strong family! With some quite good connections… Ohh my… such a good deal it was… Too bad I couldn’t see the slaughter myse…

  Before he could finish Khain struck him right in the face , sending him flying back , and disfiguring his face.

  Lori saw it and her feelings of hatred where replaced by worry, Khain was looking even less human than when he fought the Oni’s , his eyes where bloody red.

  The Elder and Schinael stood there in shock , caused both by Khain’s looks and his powerfull attack.

  Yet the man stood up.

  His lower jaw nearly torn off , dangling on patches of skin, yet suddenly it reattached itself back into position and any sign of damage on him was gone.

  -That hurt… I will make you pay for that whatever you are.

  Then just as he said that the man was surrounded by darkness , his form changing , transforming into an enormous bear with black fur and empty white eyes.

  Lori was surprised by this ability , but Khain seemed unbothered , staring him down with intense anger.

  The bear charged at Khain with insane speed , colliding with him , yet Khain did not even flinch as the bear recoiled back.

  It stood up on its hind legs and begun swiping at Khain with its claws leaving marks on his armored skin.

  When suddenly Khain grabbed one of its arms , and with a quick swipe of his own claws tore it right off.

  The bear roared in anguish but Khain was not done , he struck the bear with his own arm with such strength that the arm itself was nothing more than a tangled mess, it was clear that broke some ribs , the bear begun falling down but Khain grabbed him by the head , and with a swift motion completely tore off its lower jaw.

  The bear finally fell down on the ground as Khain dropped its jaw and the remains of its arm and turned around to Lori.

  He gave her a quick smile with his sharp teeth , before suddenly a black tiger with same white eyes pounced onto his back biting into his shoulder.

  The bite was strong enough to draw blood , but Khain was quick to react , he grabbed the Tiger pulling him off his back , and without wasting a moment tore it in half.

  The tiger however simply turned into black goo as it reformed again, this time into a giant snake , which without any hesitation constricted Khain and started crushing him.

  Lori turned to the two elves besides her.

  -We have to do something!

  Yet the elves stood silent , staring in fear.

  She knew the wouldn’t be of much help.

  Her mind started racing when suddenly she heard a scream.

  But it was not Khain’s.

  It came from the snake , as Khain bit into him with his teeth.

  The snake quickly let go of him as Khain tore off a large chunk of flesh which turned into black goo as he spat it out.

  The snake stared him down as it turned back into a man.

  -You got some guts. But it does not matter , you cannot harm me. –He said with a smirk

  Then in a moment he turned into a large black Bull.

  Khain’s face was no longer decorated with rage , but with a near crazy expression , and his lips formed a creepy smile.

  Lori was watching the battle carefully , she was a bit scared of Khain’s weird expression , however quickly her keen sight noticed something else.

  The man had a ring on his right arm , which glowed with a dim light when he transformed, and with that , she got an idea.

  Meanwhile The bull charged at Khain , only to have it’s neck snapped in a quick notion.

  It fell down but quickly reformed into a new form.

  This time it was a giant mountain mole with large claws.

  It jump at Khain and with a swift swipe it cracked through Khain’s armor and left somewhat deep wounds on his chest.

  Khain staggered back in pain when a voice echoed from the mole.

  -Not so tough when your struck with claws that can easily shatter steal huh?

  The Mole suddenly changed back into a bear , but this time , its claws where replaced by those of the mole as it begun pushing forward and swiping at Khain.

  Khain had no other choice than to back away as he tried blocking the claws with his arms, but each strike left deep wounds on them causing him great pain.

  Yet quickly he managed to grab the bear’s arms and hold them in place, staring the enitity right into its eyes , with his sick smile, and just as quickly as he took hold of it he headbutted the bear , shattering its skull and then ripping its arms off.

  Yet suddenly a sharp pain pierced his stomach as out of the bear’s chest another claw took form and pierced him.

  Khain finally lost his balance and feel to his knees , and just as the bear was about to strike his head he felt an immense pain on his back.

  He turned around to see his skin melting off , as Lori struck him with her mother’s blade.

  Both the bear and the fox however where shocked at the outcome.

  -Y..you?! H…how the hell do you have a weapon like that…I will kill you for this!

  He quickly turned around with the remains of his form and using the claw from his chest he took a swipe at Lori.

  She was afraid , terrified even , she could hear her own heartbeat as the claw was coming her way…

  Yet it was slow, so slow that she could easily step of the way.

  But it wasn’t just the claw, the whole area surrounding her was slow , and so was Khain , she could see his blood dripping onto the ground in slow motion.

  She could hear no sounds nor smell anything, the Monster’s attack missed her as she took a step to the side, and then despite her confusion she took a swing , cutting the claw right off as everything went back to normal.

  The entity screamed in pain.

  Khain used that moment and struck it with his hands , forcing it to go back to its human form yet again, in a critical state.

  The evil elf took a few steps back and tried to transform his arm again…yet nothing happened.

  He was shocked by it , and quickly looked at his right hand, his eyes filling with utter terror and he noticed his ring was missing.

  Suddenly he felt extreme burning pain in his chest , and as he looked down he saw Lori’s blade that has pierced him through.

  Lori pulled out her blade as the man fell onto his knees , he felt cold surrounding him.

  With his last bits of strength he turned around to see Lori holding his ring looking down on him.

  His hand moved up with great effort , in an attempt to grab the ring.

  -Oh you want the ring back? – Lori asked with a cold voice.

  -Here, have it. – She said as she suddenly set it ablaze with her fox flame and forced it into the man’s mouth.

  His face showed that he tried to scream , but just couldn’t.

  Then suddenly the ring exploded , quickly and painfully “removing” the Man’s head, ending him then and there as his body fell down onto the ground.

  -This is for my Mom , For Zelle , and for everyone else your actions have killed. –Said Lori while looking at the corpse with a cold stare.

  Then as she looked up she saw Khain looking at her , his expression turning back to normal from his crazed gaze, as he shook his head as if in confusion.

  She was fully expecting to see him get angry for what she did , yet his stare was more calm and tired.

  -Not bad. –Said Khain nodding , as he begun tending to his wounds.

  -Are you hurt? You are bleeding Khain.- Said Lori worried , she only now saw the gaping wounds Khain had.

  -Eh, could have been worse , I will be fine. Are you okay?

  -Yeah…Yeah I am.

  Suddenly the elves begun leaving their houses , as did the elder and Schinael.

  The elves started talking amongst themselves.

  -Is he really dead?

  -Is it really over?

  -Are we free?

  -What do we do now?

  The elder approached Khain and Lori.

  -We… thank you , for freeing us from this accursed being, please , feel free to rest at our village , at least for the night , we can help you with your wounds.

  Khain turned to face him , holding one hand on his side to stop the bleeding.

  -Ah , fine , we do need some rest. –Said Khain with a bit of pain in his voice.

  -Very well then , behind my house is a shed, you can stay there , now excuse me , I need to calm my people, it was an eventfull night.

  Khain did not pursue any further conversation with the Elder , he look over to Schinael giving him a short stare , as if to remind him about their deal.

  The young elf clearly understood it as he nodded his head.

  Then Khain looked over to Lori , only to see her focused on the remains of their opponent.

  -Lori. –Said Khain with a stern voice, snapping her out of her trance.

  -Ah, eh… Yes? -Said Lori a bit startled.

  -Leave it be , he’s dead , and that’s it , let’s get some rest before you faint or something.

  Lori gave the remains one last glance , before following Khain into the shed.

  It was an old shed , with leaves on the floor as if beds, it’s inside full of different smells , as if from flowers and moss.

  Khain sat down on the leaves and pulled out a rag and a bottle , he poured some water on the rag and begun clearing his wounds.

  -Are you sure you will be okay Khain? –Asked Lori still worried.

  -Im sure , don’t worry about it and try to get some sleep , we will head out in the morning.

  -Khain… There is something I need to tell you.

  -What is it?

  -During that fight… when I was about to get hit… the world around me seemed to… stop? I don’t know how to explain it , it was weird , but it saved me from getting hit.

  -Stop? Like completely freeze you mean?

  -Yeah… or at least slow down a lot.

  -Huh. Intresting. Well its certainly something , but its something for tomorrow. Get some rest , seriously , we will talk about it all tomorrow.

  Lori knew he had a point as she could feel the exhaustion creeping up on her , she laid down on the leaves , it was an tiring day , yet it was her first day outside of her village , in the wild.

  And despite everything that happened it wasn’t that bad.

  As soon as she closed her eyes her mind drifted away , this time, without any nightmares.

  All that is left , is to see what tomorrow brings.