"D-Demon..." Alvaro stuttered. His face paled visibly as beads of cold perspiration trickled towards his chin.

Giselle spread her lips in a snickle, revealing pointed teeth as sharp as miniature daggers. As she lifted blood-stained claws to her face, a forked tongue slithered forth. She licked the blood off a finger of pale violet.

"Delicious." A second tentacle-like appendage erupted from the demon's back, joining its purple twin in the air. Yurisivel screamed, "Giselle, what are you doing?!"

Demonic talons sunk into a body before Giselle. As they withdrew, a wedge of grisly flesh was clutched within those serrated claws. The demoness regarded Yurisviel for a moment, her eyes exuding nothing but a glint of demented amusement. Her jaws opened wide, and she swallowed the haunch of human meat whole.

Giselle began to eat her mother alive.

Yurisviel's mind lurched from disbelief and utter revulsion, but the truth was monstrously apparent. The girl who came from a village and lost her mother, the girl who was tortured at the hands of vile bandits, the girl who-

A bolt of realization surged through Yurisviel.

"The Scent. Looks like Aderis dabbled in vile demonic arts," Zenvix uttered calmly.

So that's why she had the scent. Yurisviel realized to her dismay. The demoness tore a second chunk of flesh from the mangled corpse before her, scarfing it down before turning her horned head slowly towards the trio.

"I must admit‒I thought my little surprise here would be ruined because of that man. Concealing my aura was...difficult." The irises in her eyes have shrunk forbiddingly to slits, reminiscent of a pit viper. They now glared unblinkingly at Alvaro.

"Fortunately, the fools beside you were so eager to protect poor, poor Giselle. Especially the she-human," the demoness cackled. Alvaro clenched his fists in fury. "Why, you little..."

"Giselle, I know you are in there! Please, please...come to your senses!" Yurisiviel cried out. The demoness only shrieked with laughter. "Stop it, Yurisviel. There is no Giselle, only a demon to be killed," Zenvix responded quietly.

"If we do not exorcise this demon, we will become its next meal. What will happen to your goal then, the goal which you have so arduously sought to accomplish all these years?" Zenvix asserted.

Turning his head towards the foe, Zenvix declared his assault, "Men, surround the beast!" He charged towards the demoness, sword in hand. His four retainers fell into stride behind him before dispersing their positions at different angles facing the demoness, encircling her. A brief rush of hot air fanned out towards Zenvix as a raging fireball struck the monster. Or would have, if not for the demoness's purple claws, which sunk into the fiery sphere, dissipating it.

"You will perish today, spawn of Aderis," Alvaro said, his face an icy mask of contempt as he began to whisper the next set of power words. Zenvix locked eyes with the sorcerer briefly before giving his command.

"Attack!"

The prince and his men assaulted the demoness on all sides. "How foolish," Giselle smiled. As two soldiers closed in on her position from left and right, sword and shield raised, tentacle-like appendages came hammering down with unnatural force, buckling the two men who tried to parry the blows. An instant later a discordant sound of breaking steel resounded, as the abominations punched a hole through shields, perforating the soldiers where they stood.

Zenvix swung his sword in an overhead strike, missing its mark as the demoness sprung agilely behind one soldier, sinking its fangs into the man's neck. The protection of his gorget stood no chance, rupturing beneath the powerful incisors.

Curses... the prince thought as he took a couple of deep breaths to steady himself. The murder of three soldiers happened in such a short space of time that calling it murder is laughably erroneous. It was a slaughter.

The last surviving soldier hesitated, his sword arm trembling slightly after he witnessed the utter butchering of his comrades. As the tentacles swayed beguilingly in front of him, he faltered, dropping to the ground in fear.

The last he saw was an obsidian hook as black as night shooting towards him, and the beginning of a guttural cry erupted. It was cut short, however, by the din of brute force. A brass gauntlet smashed against the appendage, batting it away with concussive force, flailing it wildly through the air.

The next instant, spearlike icicles crashed into the demoness, piercing gaping holes within her torso and belly. A spiritual pressure radiated from Yurisiviel in menacing waves, as she stood with her fist outstretched to the right.

Thank Kush'tar I removed her limiter in time. The sight of three soldiers dying in lightning succession had forced Zenvix to remove the spirit warrior's limiter by half. He had seen Yurisviel begun her sprint, but knew she would not make it in time without lifting the limiter.

"One step too slow, mister Avla - sorcerer, damn it," Yurisviel remarked, folding her arms as Alvaro lowered his hands.

"You repulsive, blithering, puny fools. You think you can destroy me with these parlour tricks? I will tear you, dissect you, rip you, shred you, and devour your organs inside out!" the demoness screeched. She ran her claws through her hair, tearing it out in rage.

"Impossible..." Alvaro's eyes widened. The icicles began to dislodge themselves one by one from her body, and in their place, scaly purple skin unveiled. It was as if nothing had happened.

"Looks like our demoness friend can regenerate," Zenvix stated, making eye contact with and signalling his last soldier to retreat to the trees.

"Then let's see how much she can recover after I'm done." Yurisviel sprung from her position in a direct charge towards the demoness. The twin appendages arched briefly before snapping down towards the incoming warrior. But the warrior was quicker now. At the last second, she spun gracefully away from the revolting tentacle and lifted her leg high in a perfect split, before slamming it down with pulverizing force.

A shockwave scattered out, one that could not be seen by regular mortals save for those able to discern magical signatures. The abomination was visibly crushed.

As the second appendage zipped close towards her head, Yurisviel swivelled her body almost elegantly, dodging the appendage before accelerating the turning momentum into a crushing force, landing a roundhouse kick of blinding velocity on the monstrosity.

It flew rapidly towards the side, buffeted. If not for the reactive control exerted by the demoness, the appendage might have landed forcefully on a neighbouring tree.

The way she fights is almost like a cross between a prodigiously strong technical fighter, and a dancer. Graceful in its beauty, yet that elegance belied a minacious lethality. Alvaro mused.

Blood of the Valkyrie indeed. In mythologies as old as the Gods, the Valkyria, as they are known by the Old Tongue, are renowned for their beauty and martial prowess. In many ways, these winged, feather-armoured warriors of divinity epitomize the force and power of women. The symbol of defiance to stand on equal grounds with men. And Yurisiviel earned the title swiftly in a short one year, having gained fame fighting under Nox against bandits and marauders that plagued Western Elaria.

As Yurisviel darted rapidly towards the demoness, she felt a presence track her from behind.

Too fast. Zenvix's eyes widened in trepidation. They have already healed. An appendage tailed the warrior lady who kept her eyes forward. As the tentacle attempted to wrap itself around Yurisviel, she pirouetted dexterously out of reach, keeping stride while weaving in and out between the appendage's strikes.

The other tentacle stayed close to the demoness's body in defense, but that proved to be largely futile. Yurisviel landed a blizzard of uncannily swift and heavy blows across the monster's body.

"I pity you, spirit warrior. You are strong, I will give you that. But your weak human of a master isn't. A spirit-master relationship can be more, much more than the sum of its parts, yet woefully limited by its parts."

The demoness smirked, as her injuries healed from demonic regeneration. It casually swatted away a razor-sharp, high-pressure aqua disc fired from Alvaro, sparing not a second glance at the nonplussed sorcerer.

"You are utter fools if you think you can finish me. I am indestructible."

A long pause filled the air, as Yurisviel panted slightly from her exertion, and Alvaro started furious preparation for his next spell. Then a slight sizzling sound began, unheard by ordinary ears. The sound only grew in volume with every passing second, developing into crackling noises of abnormal origins.

It was almost as if a portal or wellspring of energy had unearthed itself in the fabric of reality. Arcane particles in the atmosphere began to coalesce and layer upon each other, much like a blacksmith who folds metal upon metal, creating a pressure cooker of magical ponderosity felt even by the demoness.

"......the only fool here is you." The prince raised his right hand, and on his glove of pure onyx the undying sigil of Nox burned hot-white. The stark contrast was reminiscent of a supermoon's brilliant majesty.

The onyx glove gave way to unveil a black withered hand of scars and mutilations. It looked almost demonic - a hell-spawn of the darkest pits, and yet it burned intensely with bizarre energy. Magic, yet not quite so. Real, yet tinged with subtle artificiality. A magic bearer ignorant of its origins would have been perplexed at the taste of its contradictory aura.

"What...is this power?" The demoness questioned, her lips pulled back in a wary snarl.

"You called us fools, and yet here you are, blabbering your jaw off like the lying fool you are." Zenvix intoned coolly.

"You are not indestructible. Your weakness...is the crook of your left elbow, isn't it?" the prince questioned, a smile spreading across his lips.

The demoness's eyes narrowed, and while her voice betrayed no hint of alarm, it hid an undercurrent of rage. "You...what blasphemy is this? You stand there, powerless and helpless like a child behind your protector, and you dare say - "

"I dare." Zenvix said simply.

"I dare because I have not been standing there flabbergasted while you wave your bloated, freakish tentacles around like a strangled octopus. Only a fool will continue to assault you with mortal weapons when you can simply regenerate. I was waiting, and observing." the prince continued.

"Back on the main pathway of Merchant's Hill, when Alvaro startled you with his fury, you covered your left elbow crook with your right hand, almost as if you were afraid that your true identity had been revealed. An instinctive reaction born out of chance, you would no doubt say. But you repeated that same action when I questioned you further in the forest about why mere villagers such as your "human" self would be kidnapped. Lastly, when Yurisivel rained a series of rapid blows too quick for you to fend off entirely, your subtle focus was yet again...on protecting that same spot. Why is that?"

"Because you...like all creatures, like the humans you dare belittle, share the same fragile psyche when exposed to imminent danger. The instinct to protect your life. Best guard it well now, monster. For I am just about to snuff it out forever."

The demoness shrieked in anger as her appendages began their furious descent towards the prince. Zenvix grasped three arrows in between the fingers of his blackened hand, and in masterful succession, loosed them in various directions at lightning pace.

The first two arrows struck each of the tentacles point-blank in midair while the remaining one pierced the demoness's right claw as she raised it to shield herself. For a moment, the air was still.

The demoness cackled. "Only a fool will continue to assault me with mortal weapons, you say? Why isn't that amusi-"

A sharp jolt of magical signature pierced the monster's consciousness. In the next second, her tentacles plummeted sharply to the ground, pinned underneath by an unseen force of epic proportions. Her right claw lurched steeply downwards, forcing the demoness to her knees. In utter alarm, she raised her left claw instinctively to pull up her right, only for another arrow to perforate it squarely in the palm.

The demoness knelt, with her claws squashed tightly to the grass. It was as if an invisible titan had placed a finger on her back, pressing her downwards in a posture of servitude.

"You aren't laughing now. I suppose not, when five hundred tons of weight had been placed on each of your claws. A demon of your ilk couldn't lift a gargantuan statue the height of a small palace, could it?" Zenvix sheathed his bow and approached the demoness, who continued to struggle in her demeaning state.

"What...what devilry is this? Magic? But that speed of casting...and your arrows...wait." The monster who went by the name of Giselle spoke.

"Impossible. A magic warrior? You can't be a sorcerer, nay, not with that speed of execution. There's no other explanation..."

The prince shrugged. "I guess you could say that."

"It's the Warlock's Hand, isn't it? The power to warp the reality of all it touches." Alvaro voiced out, his tone measured.

"That's putting it a tad too grandiose." Zenvix knew that the sorcerer had an inkling of his power's existence. Yurisivel stared at the prince, her eyes conveying a shade of concern that Zenvix knew well.

He stood before the demoness, and unsheathed his bastard sword. Clutching the blade face-up in front of him, Zenvix placed two fingers on the steel surface near its hilt and uttered a single syllable.

"Ignis."

He drew those fingers along the blade, almost in caress. And wherever his fingers touched, infernal runes engraved themselves within the steel. At the emergence of the last rune near the blade tip, the sword burst into raging flames.

The demoness screeched in defiance and consternation, as she resisted the cosmic weight chaining her to the ground. "Puny mortal! I will slaughter you, I will tear you to shreds! I am indestructible -"

"Tell that to Aderis when I send him down to hell to greet you," whispered Zenvix.

The blazing blade came down in a half-moon arc, leaving a transient wake of wicked flames in its path. It severed forearm from the upper region, slashing precisely at the demoness's left elbow crook and setting the arm ablaze.

The hungry flames began to spread like wildfire across the demoness. In its all-consuming madness, it travelled down the appendages of the monster; the arrows buried vehemently within them never wavered, indicating a halt of the dreaded regeneration.

As Zenvix gazed into the now-blazing inferno, he thought he saw the demoness stare at him with her viper-like eyes. Except that...those slits have begun to widen.

The flames moved. In astonishment, Yurisviel stepped forward but the prince put out his arm. The shape within the fire lumbered awkwardly in a painful gait towards a still figure at her right. She fell, kneeling beside the mangled corpse before her. Reaching out, her arms embraced the mother she once had, the fire moving to engulf them both.

"I am sorry, I am so, so sorry....mama." The prince thought he heard.

Hoisting her head, the flaming figure turned towards Zenvix. Her horns have vanished, and what were once claws are now fingers of earthly flesh. There were no tears, for the flames had taken them. Yet on that slowly disappearing visage, a semblance of relief showed, intermixed with profound grief.

Giselle the young girl of twelve smiled sadly.

"Thank you sire. I..I fought it as long as I could."

Her last sentence broke as the growing chaos of fire and ash swept past her countenance, erasing her from sight.

Giselle...was no more.