“I told you, from the dung flies.” - I grinned mockingly. – “The ones that flew around dragon shits.”

“That's a lie! The elves originated from pure air spirits!”

“Yes, from spirits of the air that mated with flies.” - I confirmed this version.

“No!”

“Yes!”

“G-r-r-r-r-r!!! Untie me, and I'll prove to you which one of us originated from flies by beating you in your face!”

“Ha-ha, you can't even touch me. We high elves are so above this filthy world that dung flies can't even get near us.”

With those words I snapped my fingers, and the rope that bound the elf turned into ashes.

“Oh, you!”

As soon as he felt freedom, Puck immediately attacked, but like Guts, he couldn't even touch me. After a few minutes, he hovered in the air, breathing heavily and looking at me with childlike grudge.

“Okay, follow me.” - I gave him an order. – “Or the bandits from whom I rescued you will soon wake up and catch you again.”

Puck glanced at the moaning bodies that were already trying to get off the dirt floor, snorted capriciously, and flew toward the exit. I oriented myself outside and followed Guts, who was already wearing several tracers that I had placed through magic, chakra, and psionics, as well as a pair of purely technical beacons implanted under his skin and in his skull bone. Now the swordsman had no chance of hiding from me.

“Get acquainted, Puck this is Guts, and Guts this is Puck.” - I introduced my companions to each other.

“You brought another pest with you?” - The swordsman grimaced, already trying to figure out how to strike both of us with a single sword blow.

“Careful, he's violent.” - I warned the elf. – “He may lunge at you and bite you. So be careful.”

“Hmm, fuck off.” - Snorting, Guts continued on his way.

“Are you traveling together?” - Puck squinted fearfully at my companion.

“Yes, we hunt evil demons, chthonic monsters, and immortal Apostles of Darkness.” - I boastfully declared.

Guts hesitated at my words and looked at me with surprise and suspicion.

“Mo-mo-monsters?” - Puck rounded his eyes.

“Yes, you'll meet them soon. We'll have to pick you up some weapons. We have a rule that everyone must kill at least three monsters in one day.”

“But-but-but I'm just an elf.” - Puck tried to get rid of the honor.

“Don't worry, I'll personally train you, and in a month you'll be able to kill a fly with one punch. Oh, no, they're your relatives. A mosquito, then. Slap, and it's done.”

“Hey! Flies aren't my relatives at all!” - Puck was indignant, unwilling to acknowledge his ancient lineage.

“I think you look alike.” - Guts said. – “You're buzzing around, just like him. Shut up, will you?”

“Don't mind him, he's just shy of you.” - I whispered loudly to Puck, making sure that this whisper would be perfectly hearable to the 'shy one’. – “He's so vulnerable at heart, and that's why he prefers to push away those he cares about. Because if you get eaten by demons, he'll cry nonstop for at least a week.”

“Wouldn't he? He's that kind?” - The faithful elf fell for that lie.

“Of course. But he hides that kindness behind his barbs. Look at him, he looks like an angry hedgehog who wants cuddling and kindness, but he pushes other hedgehogs away so he wouldn't prick himself on them.”

Guts rolled his eyes and quickened his pace, trying to get away from the pesky elves.

“But I'm not a hedgehog.” - Puck made a logical point.

“No, you're not. That's why you have to show him your love. Then he'll accept you and become your best friend. Before then, be careful, because if you get too close to him, he'll cut you to pieces with his sword in a second.”

“With what sword?”

“There it is, hanging on his back.”

“So that's a sword? I thought he'd just stolen all the iron from the Emperor's forge.”

Guts gritted his teeth audibly, and accelerated even further, almost to the point of running. But all his efforts were in vain, because it was impossible to escape from the elf in that way.

After a few hours the sun had set, and our friendly company began to make their way through the woods, following the established track. By this time Guts had already snacked on a rabbit that came his way, so he was full of energy and eagerness to punish the next batch of demons.

There was a clatter of hooves behind us, and a carriage pulled by two horses approached. It was ruled by a good-looking old man with a gray beard and bright blue eyes. Over his shoulder peered a pretty-looking blonde girl about seventeen years old. When Guts had busted into the tavern today, the two of them had already been there, and they had seen the fight.

“You want a ride? You know, walking at night in the rain ain't the best idea. - The old man talked to Guts.

“Go ahead.” - The swordsman replied.

“So, this is angry hedgehog syndrome in action.” - I made a comment about the scene to Puck. – “Instead of riding in a wagon and having sex with this girl at the same time, he prefers to walk and get wet in the rain.”

Upon hearing my words, Guts immediately agreed to the old man's offer and climbed into the wagon. However, it wasn't just a reaction to my jibe, but also a desire to protect the two new companions. Unknowingly, they had already attracted the attention of the demons lurking among the leaves, so without help they were doomed to become food for the creatures of the Netherworld.

However, he did not have sex with the girl, but crouched down to sleep. As a true samurai, Guts never lay down to sleep, so that in the event of an attack he could instantly parry or dodge an attack. But in his sleep, the swordsman had a dream about demons. The scene of Femto's 'ascension', in which all members of the Band of the Falcon were killed, was imprinted firmly on Guts' mind and kept him awake at night. The memories involved the demons, who had swarmed in response to the 'call' of their coveted prey. From the dream world, Nightmare Eating Demons infiltrated first. And the evil spirits came after them, searching the surroundings for 'vessels' to possess, and... they found them.

Guts woke up with a scream of hatred and immediately stabbed one of the incubus, the materialized nightmare-eaters. I'd argue with the local classification of demons, but Guts was the only one among the connoisseurs around, and he wasn't much of a conversationalist. The old man and the girl, seeing the demon already dead, became alarmed, and began to realize that Guts' 'tales' of evil spirits haunting him were not tales at all.

At that moment the Brand of Sacrifice on the swordsman's neck began to bleed, and he jumped out of the wagon, readying his sword for battle. Now we were on the former battlefield, and under the ground lay the bones of hundreds of fallen warriors. The restless souls of men had united with astral spirits and 'come back to life' in the form of hideous skeletons and zombies. All this filth began to crawl out of the ground, aiming to get Guts and eat him alive. The energy of the brand worked on the demons like catnip, so the creatures didn't even think about retreating, they just kept on comin', thinkin' only of attacking.

The carriage's four horses suddenly started to startle and kicked up a fuss, threatening to gallop away. The girl jumped out of the wagon to calm them down, but she paid the price. Armed with a spear, the skeleton burst out of the captivity of the cold earth and pierced the young fool in the area of the stomach. The girl only had time to cry out before she lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground as a sack of shit.

In the meantime, the neighborhood was filled with hundreds of dead bodies, and Guts had no more time to think about random victims. He was not a random victim at all, so the demons were all lunging at him. Guts' monstrous swords raked and crushed bones, armor, and rusted weapons, crushing the frail bones to pulp. But the number of demons only increased, so that the situation became worse by every second. When the archer skeletons emerged from the forest, things got even worse.

There was another frightened cry, and a dazed Guts saw the dead girl emerge from the cart, holding her father's severed head in her hand. Within seconds, the 'derelict' body was used as a vessel for the demons to take over. The blonde picked up a sword taken from one of the skeletons and lunged at Guts. He froze in place, worrying that he'd lost his time with such a beautiful woman. As a result, the demon was able to wound the swordsman in the stomach, after which he woke from his depression and sliced his opponent in half. The disfigured female body collapsed to the ground in two disfigured pieces and froze, staring into the dark sky with its innocent eyes that were filled with pain and wonder.

The enraged swordsman pounced in anger on the skeletons, crushing them in dozens with each blow. Finally, after about ten minutes, all the dead men were gone, and Guts stiffened, kneeling beside his sword stuck in the ground. He tried to catch his breath and recover from his stomach wound. But that wasn't the end of today's misadventures, because right in front of the astonished warrior's eyes, a tree root emerged from the ground, picking up the upper part of the girl and pulling her somewhere.

Turning around, Guts saw an entire forest of 'possessed' trees stretching their clawed branches toward him. Only a moment's delay caused his arms and legs to become entangled in the sturdy branches, trying to hold his victim down, squeeze him, and bring him close to the hideous jaws on the tree trunks. And furthermore, the girl's corpse was already being pulled into one of those mouths, after which her ruined beauty would become chewed fodder for the demons.

He couldn't bear the sight, Guts roared wildly, and used the spiritual energy dormant in his body. Just a moment ago he was crushing skeletons with his sword. With each blow he was destroying not only the flesh, but also the spirits that had possessed the bodies. And all of the demonic energy of those spirits was not dispersed in space, but absorbed into the sword and into Guts himself. Now it was time to use unconscious profit to strengthen the body to a level no human could ever dream of.