"Aah fuck... it hurts." My entire body was in pain when I regained consciousness.

The last thing that I remembered was Azrakar’s furious roar and that strange light swallowing me. I forced my eyes open and a wooden ceiling came into view. The sound of firewood burning echoed somewhere close.

"...Where am I... how did I get here?" My voice was weak. I tried sitting up but that was a bad decision.

"Ghk..". Pain shot through my entire body. A sweet voice entered my ears. "...Don’t move too much or your wounds might open up.."

My body stiffened, I slowly turned my head towards the voice. A woman stood near a wooden table while holding a bowl of soup in one hand. She had purple hair, pale skin and two black horns on her head. Why is a demon here, ’..I’m fucked, aren’t I?" I cursed.

The woman noticed the expressions I was making to and sighed. "You don’t need to give me that look."

"...What look?" I asked cautiously.

"The ’I think you’re going to murder me’ look. You don’t have to be so guarded. If I wanted you dead, you would’ve died long ago."

’That’s true. If she really wanted to kill me, she wouldn’t have treated my wounds.’ No wait, she might want to keep me as a hostage and extract information about human territory by sweet talking.

I narrowed my eyes, "What’s your reason for helping me? From what I know, demons and humans are mortal enemies."

"Fair enough." She placed the bowl down on the table. "Not all demons love bloodshed. Some of us want to live in peace."

"That’s new, I always thought demons were cold blooded killers." I muttered.

"Aren’t humans the same? Would you let a demon live even if they beg you?" She replied coldly. "We have no choice but to defend ourselves.

Good point. Never thought about it from their perspective. Demons and humans have been at each other’s throat for who knows how long. When will it end, will there ever be peace between these two races.

"You’re right, I shouldn’t have said that."

Silence filled the cabin for a few seconds. The only sounds were of the fireplace and the cold winds outside. I quietly looked around the room again.

The room I was in was small but warm. Animal furs were spread across the floor and a large axe was resting beside the door.

The demon woman picked up the bowl again before walking closer and handing it out to me. "Eat before it gets cold."

I glanced down at the soup. ’Even if she is trying to be friendly, I can’t just blindly believe her.’ She noticed me looking at the soup suspiciously and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You humans are really troublesome." Then, she grabbed the spoon, picked some soup up and swallowed it. "Satisfied?"

"Fine.. I’ll believe you for now." I carefully picked up the bowl. The warmth immediately spread through my fingers. The soup tasted surprisingly good. I gulped it down in one go.

"Tasty, isn’t it? I used quite some precious ingredients to make it." She took the bowl and kept it aside.

"Thanks, it really tasted good." I replied honestly. Then I asked the question that has been bothering me for quite some time. "How far am I from the human territory?"

"Not much... just a few weeks of travelling will get you there."

"..haha..a few weeks you say. I’m fucked." I said softly as cold sweat fell from my face. I can already imagine the trouble Professor Cross would go through. I must make up to him later.

She raised one eyebrow slightly. "Fuck? Who fucked you."

I just stared at her for a moment "...Nevermind."

A sudden loud noise came from outside. The cabin door burst open immediately afterward. "Mother! Is the human aw—". The voice stopped instantly.

A small figure stood frozen near the doorway while staring directly at me with wide eyes. Small black horns, The same purple hair as the woman in front of me. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

A little demon girl who was too cute to resist. For several seconds, both of us just stared at each other without blinking.

Then—

"Ah.. the weird boy woke up?!" The girl pointed at me excitedly.

The woman sighed deeply. "...Mira, you shouldn’t call people ’weird’."

"But he is weird. He was sleeping in a dog’s position with his hands spread straight in the snow when we found him!"

"...I was what? Haha... you must have seen it wrong. I won’t do that." I looked at the demon woman who just looked away from me.

Mira quickly rushed toward the bed until her face was only inches away from mine.

"...Humans really don’t have horns." I slowly leaned back slightly. "You’re standing way too close, kid."

"Hm? What’s wrong with that." She blinked innocently. "

"Nothing...Forget it." I don’t have the energy needed to waste on her.

Mira continued staring at me curiously like I was some rare animal in a zoo. "...Your eyes are pretty," she suddenly muttered.

I blinked once. "...That’s random. But thanks."

"They’re different from ours." She tilted her head slightly while looking directly into my face. "But they look tired."

"...I almost died. Of course they look tired." I said.

"That makes sense. You would have died if mom didn’t save you." She huffed proudly. The woman beside us finally stepped forward and lightly flicked Mira’s forehead.

"Ow." Mira immediately covered her head and glared at her mother. "What was that for?"

"You’re bothering the injured guest."

"I’m not!" She refuted. I quietly watched the two argue for a moment before looking toward the window. Snow continued falling endlessly outside. The sky carried a faint crimson tint that made the entire place feel unsettling.

The qi inside my body was circulating slower than usual. "...This place feels odd," I muttered unconsciously.

The woman heard me immediately. "That’s because the demonic energy here is a lot denser than what you have in human territory."

So that’s why. No wonder my body felt uncomfortable ever since waking up. Mira suddenly climbed onto the bed beside me without permission.

"...What are humans like?" she asked excitedly while swinging her legs.

"I don’t really know. Some are kind, some are cruel and corrupted."

"That’s boring?" Mira said with a disappointed look. I just smiled at her. Even I don’t understand what humans are.

The demon woman finally sighed and looked toward me. "My name is Lyra." Then she pointed toward the little demon beside me. "And this noisy thing is my daughter Mira."

"I’m not a thing. I’m Mira, the future strongest demoness that will protect all demons."

"You screamed because of a spider last week." Lyra teased Mira.

"...That spider was huge." Mira said with a flustered look.

"It was tiny."

I accidentally laughed. Both demons looked toward me in slight surprise.

"...You can laugh?" Mira said curiously.

"Of course I can. What image do you have of me?"

"Hehe.." Mira just laughed.

Just yesterday I was inside a dungeon fighting against a demon commander and now I was talking to a little demon. Life really makes no sense sometimes.

Mira suddenly leaned closer again. "So Ren..."

"...How do you know my name?" I never introduced myself. I was on high alert. If they are a threat to me, I will kill them without any hesitation.

"You muttered your name in your sleep."

My expression froze slightly. "...Did I say anything else?"

Mira immediately grinned mischievously. "You also kept saying ’I’m so handsome’."

"That’s true...but there’s no way I said that."

"You did." Mira rolled her eyes and turned to her mother. "...Mother tell him!"

"You did Ren." Lyra shook her head.

I decided to check how strong they were. I activated the Nine Heavens Eyes quietly.

[Name- Lyra

Race: Demon

Rank: D

Status: Cautious]

[Name- Mira

Race: Demon

Rank: Unawakened

Status: Curious]

Good. They weren’t strong. I can kill them or take them as hostages if something happened. I wasn’t completely helpless here.

Suddenly—

BOOOOOOM.

A loud sound came from outside the cabin. Mira instantly grabbed Lyra’s hand nervously.

"...Mom."

Lyra’s expression changed immediately. For the first time since meeting her, she looked tense, maybe even afraid.

Another loud horn echoed across the outside shortly afterward. Lyra quickly grabbed the large axe resting near the doorway. "The hunters are back too early...something must have gone wrong." she muttered.

"What happened? Who are the hunters? I asked immediately.

Lyra looked toward the window. Her expression darkened. "...Something came down from the mountains. Something dangerous."