In Pursuit of the Demonic Howl
Bella poured another round of village beer for Anita and Lazuro, then took a deep breath, as if she were about to share something particularly intriguing. Even Fireburp paused mid‑bite, a piece of apple cake still in her hand, to listen.
"About the Succubus you hunted down — there were no rumors at all," Bella began. "If those two girls hadn't seen something fly out the window that night, no one would've ever realized a demon had nested itself inside the Honeyed Pear brothel. But what I heard in the village… they were talking about a demon quite openly."
"One of the nearby villages?" Anita asked.
"Exactly the one where I bought this beer," Bella nodded. "I had just paid for the five barrels and shaken hands with the old brewer when his daughter started talking to another woman. Their topic? A demon. Naturally, I got curious and went over to ask. Apparently, not far from the village there's a small estate where a mage has been living for many years. His name is Marek the Watered."
'Watered?' Anita raised an eyebrow. "He got that name because of his magical element?"
"Yes," Bella confirmed. "The man is a water mage. He used to be a Royal Mage, but he was expelled for some suspicious experiments. Since then he's been living in seclusion on his estate, and no one heard from him for years."
"But if we know a mage lives on that estate, how does that connect to a demon?" Anita asked.
"You know how village youths are," Bella sighed. "They sneak onto wealthy estates for fun. Some out of curiosity, some as a test of courage. And when these kids wandered near the mage's land, they heard screams — the kind that definitely didn't come from a human throat. Word spread quickly in the village that a demon was lurking on that eerie estate where the mage lives."
"Okay, so let me summarize," Anita said. "We have a water mage who likes experimenting on his own land, far from people. That's… pretty standard mage behavior."
"The villagers swear they heard a demon's howl," Bella insisted.
"Sure," Anita waved a hand. "Because villagers have obviously heard tons of demons howl in their lives. Maybe the mage is experimenting on some weak monster. Or he butchered a goblin and they heard its screaming."
"Maybe," Bella admitted. "But demons have already appeared all over the Kingdom. And right now, this is the only lead anyone can follow… especially a demon hunter."
Anita nodded.
"Fine, I'll look into it. If there's even a single damn demon on that estate, my Dark Sword will sense it immediately. If not, we leave the poor mage alone."
"What about the Succubus's body?" Lazuro asked. "Should I take it to Wolfwood tomorrow?"
"I froze it with demon‑ice," Anita replied. "That ice won't melt for weeks. The corpse will be fine."
"Then should I come with you to the village?" Lazuro asked.
"Well… the wagon might be useful if we end up bringing back another demon corpse," Anita said.
"When do you want to leave?" the man asked.
"What time is it anyway?"
"Four in the morning," Bella answered. "Dawn's coming soon."
"Then I'm done drinking," Anita stretched. "I'm going to sleep. Don't wake me before noon."
"Should I be ready by noon then?" Lazuro asked.
"Yeah, noon. We'll eat, then head to that famous beer‑making village."
Bella escorted the female Wolf Knight and the young dragon girl to one of the rooms upstairs. After the exhausting night mission, both of them slept like rocks until midday. They didn't even wake when Bella shouted at Bloki, the dog beastman, for carrying a sack of potatoes into the kitchen while they spilled out one by one through a hole at the bottom — leaving a perfect trail of potatoes behind him wherever he walked.
On the Road to the Mage's Estate
By noon, after a hearty lunch, Lazuro was already waiting on the wagon in front of the Ironclaw Inn, ready for another demon‑hunting adventure with the female Wolf Knight and the young dragon girl. The wagon rolled slowly toward the village road, and as the noise of the city faded behind them, they had plenty of time to talk and go over their plan.
"Lunch was good?" Lazuro asked, holding the reins loosely.
"Yeah," Anita replied. "I'm still burping up monster meat. Fireburp even licked her plate clean."
"In the slums, even monster meat counts as a luxury," Lazuro said. "Most of those creatures have tough, chewy meat. The tastier ones get sold in the capital for good money. You know how it is… even nobles can't always tell if they're eating rabbit or frog‑beast thigh."
"I didn't even ask what kind of monster Bella used for the stew," Anita muttered.
"Chewy? Really?" Fireburp chimed in with her mouth full. "I didn't notice anything like that."
"Of course you didn't," Anita smirked. "With those dragon teeth, you could chew through a rock."
"Is the village far?" the dragon girl asked.
"Since we only left at noon, we'll get there by evening if we're lucky," Lazuro replied.
"Better to sneak onto a mage's estate under the cover of night anyway," Anita noted.
Lazuro laughed.
"If someone had told me last year that I'd one day break into a mage's estate with a demon hunter and a dragon, I'd have laughed in their face."
"Yeah, it's hilarious," Anita said dryly. "Demons run around right under the Hero's nose, and she just sits in the royal castle sipping tea with the Princess."
"I always thought highly of the Hero," Lazuro admitted. "But then I learned firsthand who the real heroes are."
He shot Anita a meaningful wink. It was meant as a compliment, but the female Wolf Knight didn't seem moved in the slightest.
"Don't expect salvation from me," Anita replied coolly. "I hunt demons because I'm bound by a soul contract to my Dark Sword. I have to kill a hundred demons, or who knows what kind of curse will fall on me."
"You were strong even without that cursed sword," Lazuro said. "And now, with that Ice Demon power… I think you could even stand against the Captain of the Royal Knights."
"So you still think I'm weaker than the Hero?" Anita asked with a crooked smile.
"Well… the Hero is the Hero," Lazuro shrugged.
"Sure," Anita grumbled. "And what about you? What kind of jobs did you do before you started working with us?"
"Adventurers mostly get hired by small‑time merchants," Lazuro explained. "People who can't afford their own guards or escorts."
"So you only worked for broke merchants?" Anita raised an eyebrow. "Must've paid great."
"For someone who grew up in the slums, that money was plenty," Lazuro said. "And the jobs weren't that bad. We escorted merchants from the capital to other towns or villages. Most of the time, nothing happened. Bandits don't like attacking caravans with well‑armed guards. And the smaller monsters… well, they only caused minor injuries to my team. Luckily, we never ran into anything big. That would've been the end of us. Though maybe then I wouldn't be here to tell the story. Hahaha!"
Arrival in the Village
The wagon ride lasted until evening, but since summer days were long this time of year, the group arrived at the village around six o'clock while it was still bright outside. Life was still bustling in the streets: farmers were heading home from the fields, children chased each other through the dust, and dogs barked at one another from behind fences.
The village inn stood out from the simple wooden houses around it. Its walls were covered in colorful paintings, as if someone had been given far too much time — and far too much paint. Lazuro parked the wagon and led the horse into the inn's stable, which, at the moment, held no other animals. Anita and Fireburp waited for him by the inn's front gate.
"Come on," Lazuro said, waving them over. "I know the innkeeper. Getting information won't be a problem."
"Do they sell pastries here?" Fireburp asked hopefully.
"Don't ask me," Lazuro laughed. "Ask the inn girls."
Long wooden tables and benches stood outside the inn, all filled with villagers who had finished their day's work and were now relaxing with cold beer. At the third table, a group was playing dice — something that didn't escape Anita's attention. The female Wolf Knight smirked but didn't stop; she followed Lazuro into the inn.
The moment they stepped inside, every gaze turned toward Fireburp. Especially toward her horns. The room fell silent, as if everyone had collectively forgotten how to breathe. No one dared speak — seeing a horned creature standing beside a wolf‑crested female knight was not an everyday sight.
Only a small child broke the silence, running in after his father. And village kids are what they are: whatever is on their heart comes straight out of their mouth.
"That's a demon," the boy declared loudly.
He said what everyone else was thinking, though the adults had enough sense not to say it.
Lazuro immediately raised his hand to calm the crowd. He had noticed from the start that everyone was staring at Fireburp.
"Relax, everyone," he said clearly. "This girl isn't a demon. She's a lizardfolk. A beastkin. She's even met the Hero."
"She met the Hero?" the boy's eyes lit up. "What's the Hero like? How does he look? Tell me!"
He ran straight to Fireburp, who seemed to be about the same age. Fireburp was eight — the village boy looked similar. The tension in the room dissolved, and the villagers returned to their drinks and conversations.
"What does the Hero look like?" Fireburp asked back. "Do you mean the Royal one or the Wolf one?"
"What? There are two?" the boy blinked. "Uh… the one who lives in the castle and fights demons."
"They both live in castles, and they both fight demons," Fireburp replied matter‑of‑factly.
The boy scratched his head. That much information about heroes at once was far too confusing, and he suddenly had no idea what else to ask.
Meanwhile, Anita and Lazuro sat down at an empty table. One of the inn girls hurried over to ask what they wanted to eat or drink.
At the far end of the room, four armed men sat together — the village guard's daytime shift. One of them stood up and began walking slowly toward Lazuro and Anita.