A soldier’s body was found near the river. It was the same soldier who had accompanied the Great Witch to the river before meeting his end.

The body was in such a horrible state, apparently pecked at by numerous birds, that the first person to discover it lost his appetite for days.

Chiron’s soldiers searched tirelessly beneath the waterfall, day and night, despite the harsh weather. But all they could recover was the soaked cloak of the Inquisitor, the burned remains of crows and countless black feathers.

With the river swollen from the continuous rain, it was possible that the Great Witch had been swept further away. On that assumption, they widened the search area, but not a single strand of her black hair was found.

Meanwhile, orders had been issued from the castle for the Inquisitor’s return. Rumours had spread that the High Priest’s most respected heretic inquisitor had been captivated by the Great Witch.

To add insult to injury, the Inquisitor had sent back the person the High Priest had assigned to him without permission. The High Priest, in a rare display of anger, immediately summoned the Heretic Inquisitor.

The exhaustive search was halted and the Inquisitor was brought back to the castle. He was held responsible for allowing the Great Witch to escape, placed in solitary confinement, and began a period of penance to restore his faith.

Other heretic inquisitors continued the witch hunt in his place, but none could lead the hunt as distinctively as he had.

Eventually, the suspicion raised by rumours of his enchantment with the Great Witch began to fade. One by one, the people began to await the return of the castle’s rightful leader.

Around that time, the demons – thought to have been eradicated – began to reappear in Tempe and run rampant. Though few in number, the reappearing demons cunningly attacked Chiron.

Tempe, which had been involved in a witch-hunt, became a battleground due to the sudden involvement of the demons.

As the situation worsened, all of Chiron’s followers had no choice but to hope that the strongest heretic inquisitor would once again wield his hammer of justice.

And so it went for a whole year. That is how long it took for Heretic Inquisitor McClart to return to his rightful place.

* * *

The uneven sound of footsteps echoed through the cave in an irregular rhythm. The damp entrance was so dark that only the floor below could be seen, but the owner of those footsteps moved confidently, as if she knew the path well.

Occasionally bending low to navigate the narrow passages, the cave gradually began to brighten. Passing the scattered burning torches, they eventually reached a large room so bright it was hard to believe they were still in a cave.

It wasn’t just the torches that illuminated the area. A hole in the high ceiling of the cave let in a beam of sunlight. Fortunately, the weather was very clear today, so the cave was exceptionally bright.

After glancing up at the ceiling, she removed the hood that had been pulled low over her head, allowing her black hair to fall free. With a pale expression, she scanned the cave and spoke softly.

“Gentian.”

“Oh, it’s you. You scared me.”

A rock in the darker part of the cave shifted and moved aside with a loud crash. Gentian popped his head out, saw who it was and smiled broadly.

“En.”

He motioned for her to come in. She lifted her red eyes to look briefly at the hole in the ceiling before nodding.

With a slight limp in her right leg, she followed Gentian inside and was greeted by a well-decorated hiding place. She removed her cloak, feeling the exhaustion at her temples, and tossed it aside.

After closing the stone door, Gentian picked up the discarded cloak and folded it neatly.

“Messing things up right when you get here? Do you have any idea how hard I worked to get everything in order?”

Ignoring his grumbling, she sat down in a chair while Gentian, clearly irritated at being dismissed, glared at her. Then, in a mischievous tone, he spoke abruptly.

“Vienny.”

The hand that was about to roll up her sleeve stopped. Gentian pouted when Vienny finally responded when her real name was called.

“Come on, you could show a little interest. It’s pretty cold to ignore someone who’s been waiting for you all day.”

Vienny gave Gentian an indifferent look before turning her attention back to her arm. She rolled up her sleeve to reveal a bandage wrapped loosely around her arm.

The bandage had already turned red in the short time since it had been applied. Vienny began to unwrap it with a familiar ease, speaking in a calm voice.

“If you’re healed, then get out.”

“Ugh, I’m not completely healed yet. Do you know how dangerous internal injuries can be? They don’t heal that easily.”

“Judging by how much you’re talking, you seem pretty cured to me.”

When the bandage was completely removed, a dried, blood-encrusted wound was revealed. It was the mark of a bite from sharp fangs.

As Vienny took out disinfectant to clean the wound, Gentian spoke with a sigh.

“Even if this is your hideout now, aren’t you being a bit cold as a host? Let me stay a little longer. Considering our relationship.”

“What relationship do we have?”

“Hmm, the kind where we trust each other with our lives?”

He replied playfully and sat down across from her. Vienny looked at him briefly before turning her attention back to her wound.

After wiping away the dried blood, the raw, red flesh was exposed. The uneven wound was grotesque to look at.

Vienny applied the medicine with an expressionless face, as if she were treating someone else’s body, and replied indifferently.

“I have repaid my debt for saving your life.”

Gentian clicked his tongue at her rather cold reply. The fire in the brazier that warmed the hiding place was just beginning to die down. He stood up quickly, adding more wood to the flames as he grumbled.

“Heartless as always. Haven’t you heard the news? That fanatic obsessed with your blood has returned.”

The hand applying the medicine paused for a moment. But Gentian, busy tending to the fire, didn’t notice her reaction.

“That damned bastard, he came back after all.”

There was an unmistakable tone of hatred in Gentian’s voice as he spoke.

“What if he comes back?” 

“Do you know how relentlessly and persistently this guy has been hunting us? If we’re unlucky enough to be in his sights, it’s over. We’ve decided to approach this situation with caution.”

Gentian visibly shuddered and grimaced. As a demon, he and Chiron’s Heretic Inquisitor had been lifelong enemies – it was the natural state of things.

The same was true of his remaining relatives, who were now few in number. The demons no longer had any hope of rebuilding their people.

All they wanted to do now was to block Chiron’s path until their last breath. And since the ‘blood-obsessed fanatic’ had gone into seclusion, they had been able to pursue their goal quite successfully.

It seemed, however, that those good days were now over. Gentian, his dark eyes gleaming as he tried to suppress his old grudge, spoke to Vienny in a tone of concern.

“Shouldn’t you avoid going out for a while?” Gentian asked.

“I’ll handle it myself. More importantly, have you contacted the others?” Vienny replied.

Vienny didn’t know how the demons communicated with each other and she didn’t care enough to ask. She only had to intervene when something affected her directly.

“Oh, well, I had to let them know that I’m alive, at least…”

“Don’t tell me you mentioned our location?”

For once, Vienny’s usually indifferent and tired voice took on an edge. She should have found a way to send Gentian back when he showed up injured.

Gentian had no way of knowing what Vienny was thinking, but his eyes lit up instead. Considering her usual lack of reaction, even this negative change seemed welcome to him. Amused by her rare display of emotion, he joked cheerfully.

“Don’t worry, I only told someone I really trusted…”

“Get out.”

Before she had even finished her treatment, Vienny abruptly stood up. The determination in her demeanour made it clear that she’d throw Gentian out if she had to. Seeing this, Gentian finally raised both hands in surrender.

Seriously, she always reacts so sensitively when he tries to tease her, even a little.

“All right, all right, it was a joke. Do you think I’d dare reveal anything? I’m just letting them know I’m alive, that’s all.”

Vienny looked at Gentian with suspicious eyes. Even though they had known each other for a year and had developed a fairly close working relationship, Vienny still showed no trust in him.

Gentian understood that the only reason she had taken him to her hideout when he was injured was because she could leave at any time and move elsewhere.

He would be lying if he said he wasn’t hurt by her cold attitude, but Gentian tried his best to understand.

“Anyway, we’re planning to lay low for a while, so there’s no need for you to do this crazy stuff for now. That’s what I wanted to tell you.”

He nodded to Vienny’s arm. Gentian suspected that all the information Vienny was giving the demons came from her blood.

If the activities of the demons stopped, Vienny wouldn’t have any reason to spill her blood for a while. Understanding that Gentian’s words came from concern, Vienny reluctantly sat down, although her expression showed her dissatisfaction.

As she continued her unfinished treatment, Vienny noticed Gentian slowly creeping back to her side. Though she made a point of not paying attention to him, he was nothing if not persistent.

If she had known how troublesome he was, she would have been more cautious in her decision to join forces with him. As she silently regretted her choice, Gentian asked casually.

“But it’s been a year. Don’t you think it’s time you met the others? Aren’t you curious?”

The others Gentian meant were demons like himself. They seemed to think that Vienny’s situation was similar to their own and felt a sense of kinship with her.