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A Mutual Problem

Another day, another life. That's what Rhynsa though about his life now. With him recovering from broken bones, he was bound to a wheelchair being wheeled around by either his assistant or Lilac, who was kind enough to help him. Her presence in the camp was a relief to all of them, so that they could lay off the cheap rations and simple bland soup. Never thought a surface dweller could cook. It made him felt embarrassed, given how he always cook himself, but with his current condition, he could not do that.

Due to her being a werewolf, most of her menu consisted of meat, with no vegetables at all. It was okay for a hellhound, given that while they could eat anything they wanted, they still could not stand the smell of plants, let alone its taste. Meat was something he could like.

Again, even though he craved for them, it did not mean he wanted to each just meat. Hellhounds were also partially omnivorous, but someone like Nergora was fully omnivorous. At least he could eat any other thing aside from meat, so he could at least have a big variant of taste.

But his thoughts of food and stuffs were cut short when one of the soldiers by the Arbal's gate came to him and said, "(We've got visitors)."

"(If they are civilians, then let them in. We do not discriminate)."

"(No... they are not from this place. The hellhounds looked like...rebels)."

Hearing that statement made Rhynsa turned his attention to the hellhound. He turned his wheelchair towards him and said, "(Take me to them)."

"(Are you sure?)"

"(Don't worry)."

Rhynsa was trying to be independent and tried to wheel his chair himself. Still, his current state, and sentiments from anyone around him (apparently he was the only one with the wheelchair in Arbal), made him unable to do it himself. One just person who wanted to help was Lilac. A good-nature werewolf by heart, she almost always wanted to help Rhynsa pushed the wheelchair. In this occasion, she also did just that, helping Rhynsa push the chair after teaching some female hellhounds how to cook with proper ingredients and portion.

"(Ifrit is lucky to have a girl like her)," thought Rhynsa while waiting for Lilac to go to his aid. They walked down the path through a long road made specifically for Rhynsa. Seeing this made him feel so useless, given that now he must use his brains more than using his broken rifle, which was still being repaired. He should've known using an old wooden rifle wouldn't do him much good when it was broken. It may had the kick of a full-grown hellhound, and it could pierce three heads in a single shot, but once the firing chamber is busted and the mechanism were broken beyond repair, there would be no chance to getting it to the old level of fatality. He could only use it for close combat, and right now he still needed to repair the mechanism. That was the problem in using old surface world rifle. He should've used the newer version.

But rifle aside, he returned to thinking about the rebel's representative. Something was not right. Arbal was a very strategic place and was a border town between the Tragorian and the Adaline region. Not only that, by this point, the rebels might had known of the place's defenses and everything. They found a lot of spies just some months ago, and some sabotage to the defenses. But then, talking about that, Rhynsa also could see how the town had not seen any spies or saboteur for the past month, especially the month where the Three Kings were away. It was a miracle they came occasionally to look on Rhynsa, but even then their power was not enough. He only wished them well, and their mission a success. The problem was...representatives were the first.

He walked to the gate's top and could see the representatives. One of them was clearly a hellhound, but the other was a human. He could be a slave to that hellhound, or a possessed one. Rhynsa could not tell. It was not as if Azgal could be seen in his true goat form if not for him burning up the body he possessed.

"(Huh, I wonder where that girlish demon went)," thought Rhynsa. Azgal had not been seen around Arbal for half a year now. He could be wandering around the continent. He also wondered about the catsith enchantress. Did she just give a one-time help, or did she wanted to help?

Rhynsa quickly turned his focus towards the representatives. He tried to make up a face that looked like a disgusted hellhound, but apparently they could not see it from down there, seeing that the hellhound was growling at him with killing intent.

"(Where's your army?! I never thought you two are the one they sent)," said Rhynsa with a sarcastic tone. "(Are you underestimating us?)"

The hellhound was clearly unable to hold his emotions and started running towards the gate. Rhynsa pulled a nearby rifle with reflex and blindly shoot at the hellhound. It grazed him, but it was intentional. He was glad his eyesight was still top-notch.

"(I won't miss next time. Say something convincing or I'll shoot both of you through your head)."

Lilac could hear then say something in their own language, but could not understand it. Rhynsa heard them said, "(Tyrall, this is not the time to be angry at them)."

"(Those fuckers killed my husband! Why the hell am I here?!)"

"(I don't want you to die, you understand? I've lost a fucking army and I'm stuck with you. So bear with this and get the hell back)."

Tyrall was holding himself, but he relented and walked behind the possessed human (Rhynsa could see because he could speak Hordo). The possessed then said, "I'm talking in the surface language so you surface dwellers can understand. My name is Kghron. I am a demon of wrath, from the fifth circle."

"Do you understand how ironic this situation is?"

"Being called a wrath demon does not mean we are a being of pure hate! That's the perk of possessing a level-headed human. We do not need asylum, but we need your help."

"Why don't you find a comfortable place out there, say, under the tree?" said Lilac to them. "I'll make you some tea."

This surprised the rest of the hellhounds, even Rhynsa. He quickly said, "Are you out of your mind? They could be spies!"

"I do not feel any mischievous intent or any killing intent from them. Rhynsa.... Don't worry, I know what I am doing."

Rhynsa did not understand, but seeing how Lilac was not aware of the situation since she was abducted, Rhynsa thought he needed someone who had no killing intent to them as to not make the situation worse. She came from Tragoria, so of course she had courtesy.

Rhynsa and Lilac came down to the two, with Lilac taking on a tray of tea. Tyrall, the dark gray fur hellhound, was clearly annoyed, but somehow, Lilac's presence made him calmer somewhat. The Fuzandre-hound could not believe what he saw. Was this the same thing that made Ifrit loved her?

And so, they went on and enjoy the little tea party in peace, though it was awkward given how Tyrall was clearly not accustomed to it, while Kghron, somehow possessing a Tragorian blonde man, knew about it by taking on his mind and ability to feel.

"Ah, yes, Tragorian black tea is simply the best," said Kghron while smiling, exposing his teeth. His eyes momentarily changed into something goat-like, intimidating Lilac.

"Now, what are you trying to say, huh? You came here without any soldiers, or even without anyone trying to jump at us from the tree or the bushes. Is this some kind of a ploy?"

"I may be a demon, but I am not that idiot. You may know our intention, right?"

"If you are talking about taking over the surface world, I can understand. I can also understand you trying to kill the young monarchs."

Tyrall growled at Rhynsa, but Kghron stopped him. He then said, "That is just a misinformation, which unfortunately caused the rift in your 'peaceful' Outer Ring community. No, we have a bigger problem than that."

"Then spit it out."

"Are you familiar with the knowledge of the 'Deep Hell'?"

"Isn't that supposed to be a myth? I know it existed, but being a hellhound, how the hell do we know that? It's beyond the tenth layer of hell!"

"Yes, of course it is beyond the tenth layer, where the elder demons lived. But...one of them escaped, and started the revolt."

Rhynsa laughed. "That's one hell of a bullshit you got there, goat. Are you saying that this war is because of that demon?"

"No, you war happens because of your own stupidity and jealousy to system, but yes, that demon is responsible. Ensalder Winsel broke that system and caused the revolt."

"That traitor has nothing to do with this whole situation."

"He started the revolt."

"Look, you are testing my patience here, goat. Tell me your fucking story or I'll spill your human guts everywhere."

The possessed human also lost his patience and momentarily burned himself up. He then said, with distorted voice, "Are you challenging me? I'm gonna pop your fucking head first, you dog!"

But he quickly died down when Rhynsa pulled out a gun and put it on his head. "Let's see who pull the trigger first," said Rhynsa calmly. This stand-off made even Tyrall lost his will of anger, and Kghron even stopped his transformation.

"How many of my kind you have killed?"

"You'll barely even notice your numbers dwindling. I am not that much of a killer," said Rhynsa while holstering his gun. "Now tell me the story."

Kghron sat and said, "The story is simple; my army is gone in a blink."

"Do you expect me to believe that?"

"It literally happened, dog," said the wrath demon. "I blinked my eye, and they were gone. Poof, like a smoke."

"Both me and Kghron were not affected by it, which struck me as strange. We first thought they ran away, scared of what you people might have in mind, seeing how your trio of princes killed a whole group of hellhound cultists. We knew what happened then, Rhynsa Vantwork. They killed my husband."

"I'm sorry to hear that..."

"No, you're not," said Tyrall. Kghron did not heed that small talk and said, "We don't know what happened, but then we realized a bizarre truth when my fellow wrath demon came to me, considerably aged."

"He claimed that he tracked me down to the same place where the rest of the demons disappeared, which was the town we captured. We both forced the townspeople as our vessels, and I know my fellow kind. I did not want to believe what happened, thinking that this wrath demon was a different demon. He gave me something we both know, and I realized he was the same demon.

"He claimed that he and the hellhounds were stranded some 500 years ago. Some of the hellhounds were not lucky, as when they travelled back in time, those hellhounds stood at the place which was once a tree. They became the tree, absorbed by them. He said it was bizarre enough that he could not imagine what happened."

"Wait, I don't understand your story," said Lilac. "Time travel? As if a time machine?"

"I see this werewolf knows a little about the concept of time travel," said Kghron. "He lived on as a human until his vessel died of old age, and he continued alone in his true form, for 500 years, until he met me. I could not believe what I saw. I thought he was a different old goat demon, but he said he was my friend."

Seeing this demon said 'friend' made Rhynsa winced.

"He died in front of me, exhausting his remaining energy only looking for me for the past 500 years. He told me that there was a danger far more dangerous than your stupid civil war, and warned me that the fifth layer demons would not even stand a chance, not even the prideful pride demons below us."

Lilac did not understand anything that person said. She only understood the time travel part for there was a story she killed to read when she was young about this human time traveler who used steam-powered time machine to go to the Earth's distant future. It was left unresolved, though, since the author died.

"What are you trying to ask us, then? You are risking yourself with walking towards this town through liberated towns," said Rhynsa.

"They say demons don't have honor...well, all of us don't believe in honor, right?" said Kghron. "We took the fact that hellhounds were also in a town and blend in. As long as we don't try destroying the place again, we won't be branded as such."

"And that's the reason why he stopped me from drinking booze, drowning my sorrow," said Tyrall.

"We can't risk being exposed, you know."

"A-anyway...we can't be sure you two are talking the truth or not, given you outrageous that story is."

"Of course you won't gonna believe us. I have thought about that. That is why we are giving you this."

Kghron pulled something out of his coat and showed it to Rhynsa. After looking at the small object, Rhynsa seemed surprised, but he calmly said, "Are you trying to betray your comrades?"

"Do I want to explain how demons don't have honor? We survive to win, that's how wrath demons work."

"But be sure to be quick...or at least try to find a way to stop the tracker," said Tyrall. "There is a virus in that card, so when you plug that device to an interface, it will send your position to the rebels. You can't risk that, so look at it for your own good."

"What's in this thing?"

"We don't know either. It's not something that we can open casually," said Kghron. "Oh, and we are not trying to deceive you. If you need more proof, we'll provide you anyway we can. We would love to see how you guys manage with all the information."

"Try me," said Rhynsa while licking his lips, though he was oblivious of the fact both the demons were smiling with a wide grin that made Lilac worried.

Time fast-forwarded to 10 hours later, it was in the dead of the night and Lilac was preparing to go to sleep when she saw the door leading to Rhynsa was open. She could see a figure crawling out of the door while shaking. Lilac thought something happened, but she was so surprised when she saw Rhynsa crawling out of his wheelchair.

"Rhynsa?! What bloody happened?"

"I underestimated their information...Fuck, I can't even feel my legs..."

Lilac turned towards the two demons, who were grinning. She made a battle stance and said, "What did you do to Rhynsa?!"

"We gave him information, like he asked for."

"Depends on what kind of 'information' you are giving him! He looks like his head might explode!"

"Well, we wrote everything on all the papers we could get in his office," said Tyrall. "We don't just give the short version. We gave him detailed and specific things we can give him. Fortunately, Kghron has a strong memory, so he gave everything before Rhynsa could even finish one."

"That's...weird."

"We wanted to help him with the information in the data bank, but he does not want to risk safety, so we gave him everything we know aside from that data bank. Oh, and I guess we warmed up a little around the way."

"That still does not explain why he comes out crawling with his head sizzling hot!"

"That? Well, he was a bit exaggerating. He's fine."

"Fine, my ass! How do you supposed I know how to put all of these into my brains! Seeing how you guys wrote are killing me! Why are you forcing yourself to write in English!"

"Because this information is not just for you!"

"Learn how to write, will you?"

Lilac was confused with the whole situation, but she smiled to them. Seeing how Tyrall somehow forgot his vendetta to Ifrit and co., and how seeing Rhynsa made quick friends with them made her thought that Rhynsa had changed a lot since they met.

While cooling down, Rhynsa turned towards Kghron and said, "Why didn't you kill me when I intimidated you? Wrath demons have short fuses, as far as I can remember?"

"Which wrath demon are you talking about?" replied Kghron.

"I know someone...who looks like a girl but is actually a guy."

"Hah, that appearance is deceiving you! I bet he's a good fighter."

"Yes, he is one of our best fighters. He is travelling, though."

"It's good for you...to have a wrath demon who does not feel embarrassed by their bodies and walk around as a true satyr instead of possessing humans like I do."

They went silent for a moment, before Kghron said, "I know...from your gun."

"Why? That's a perfectly normal gun."

"No, not the gun. The bullets. You hand-crafted special bullets that could cancel possessions. Some kind of exorcism, but far more dangerous than I thought. Demon slayers used those kind of guns to expel demons and simultaneously kill them permanently. Yours is not that strong enough to kill our kind, but we are vulnerable when we are in our true form."

"Vulnerable as if...?"

"Our race is a race of pure fighters. We may have a decent bit of strategy, but we never find ourselves on the defense. You are a sharp-shooter, I can see that, and a quick trigger person. I won't be able to attack you fast enough."

"Wow...you know a lot just by looking at my gun..."

"No, not the gun, but you, Rhynsa Vantwork. Your eyes tell me everything. When you challenged me, there was no doubt in your eyes. It may look like you have a blank black eye, but I can see your pupil. They were narrow slit, just like an aware reptile. You were so sure you could kill me."

"I've...killed rogue ones.... Ah, but that's in the past now."

"For a mere hellhound to easily kill a wrath demon, even in their true form...you are one hell of an enemy to the rebels if you have the function to your legs."

"Ahahah...thanks..."

"With that, and the story of these so-called hellhound princes...I am interested in meeting them one day."

"Oh, you will...."

While Rhynsa was talking with Kghron, Lilac noticed Tyrall was trying to stay away from her gaze, which made her uneasy. She moved closer to him, startling him, and said, "Are you okay?"

"Me? I-I'm fine! Why you ask?"

"You seem to try to avoid me. Well...after you came out of Rhynsa's office, you seemed changed. Is there something you don't want to tell me?"

"I...want to say sorry to you. It's about my husband?"

"Uh...husband? Never thought there are people like you down there."

"It's hell, and we can do whatever we like. Why do you even ask?"

"Never mind. Dad always told me that homosexuality will condemn you to hell. Hearing that from a hellhound made me feel weird."

"I thought you have a hellhound boyfriend."

"Seriously, how much do you know about me from Rhynsa, anyway?"

"Enough to know...that my husband was involved in a cult."

Lilac wanted to understand which 'cult' he was talking about, until she realized what he was talking about. It was the cult that drew blood from unwilling victims, including Lilac before the heroic saving from the Three Kings. It was like an orgy of blood, as if she was in a gathering of vampires.

She never thought Tyrall was somehow connected to that place.

"I knew all along that dealing with those loonies will cause him problems, even death, but my love for him clouded my mind and before I realized it, I hated a prince of the Schelkz family! I know I should be his enemy, but...seeing how even my comrades died in the past, I can't help to imagine we were were walking down the wrong path of life! I know I shouldn't be like this given how often we kidnapped surface dwellers, but I can't stand fuckers like them!"

"Tyrall...so you've developed a genuine feeling," said Lilac to the surprised Tyrall. "I know this indecisiveness from Ifrit when we first met. He fought purely by instinct, but after he found the feeling to love me...he changed into more or less...'surface' if I got that right."

Tyrall made a small laugh, with Lilac following him. "Yeah, I guess that changes things, huh?" said the hellhound. "But...Lilac Rezmirn...I know you were in that building when the Three Kings...massacred our brethren."

"I know...I'm sorry about your husband..."

"You've said it once, but I was too worked out to realize that it was genuine. I did not explicitly tell you about my husband's involvement with the cult. You might have assumed that he was killed separately."

"Yes...but because of me, Ifrit and the others were forced to kill his own race and...I never thought about the consequences of their actions..."

"Hellhound culture is a bloody one, and full of violence. Like this rebellion, we are all so bend to kill each other. The Outer Ring where we lived in is a desolate place with almost no food to hunt. The princes, the kings, and the common people were all hunters. We hunted food, but sometimes, when food was scarce, we either allied ourselves to find a common goal, or fight for it. That is why...the monarchs could fight. They did that to survive, and to return to the ones waiting for them, given how everything turns out now."

When Tyrall saw that Lilac was still thinking about his husband, he said, "I loved him. I know I do, but he was doing things that could get him killed. I wished he could abandon everything...but it was too late. Heh, it's kind of ironic, thinking about him. Usually, I am the one who is prone to violence. I might've not come to this place and request asylum. I might've chose the path of revenge and tried to track down those princes. Hell, I might even get killed before I got the chance to deliver the killing blow. Now...I feel like everything changed after looking at you."

He made a small laugh. "A wolf with a boyfriend from hell. That's one hell of an autobiography title you might write, if you choose to. But then, everybody's been thinking the same about you and accept us Outer Ring outcasts as more humane than you might think. Your name gives inspiration for them to not be afraid of pursuing their true love. Well, technically, you are a hellhound now, but you were a Lycan before, so that still stands out."

"Really?" Lilac didn't realize that her name was pretty much an inspiration for interracial relationship. It was as if she was the start of everything. While she was glad of that, she was curious as to how much extent it started. It could just be a small spark, then the flame died out all too soon. Lilac and Ifrit were...let's just say it was because of their devotion to each other. Ifrit acted like a loyal dog (despite of having a pet himself) to Lilac. He was so devoted to her. There was some arguments and tensions, but it was normal between their relationship.

It was so much that Lilac wished there was something they could do...or if it actually happened, what future it might hold for them. Marriage was not something that could be taken lightly. Being a girlfriend to a hellhound prince may have its merits, but again, Ifrit was a hellhound. True, Nergora was the product of an affair between his father and an ice demon from the third layer of hell, but they were still demons. Ifrit also had a wrath demon heritage from his mother, but in this case, he was their true son, conceived from legal marriage.

"Oh, what am I thinking? I should not talk about marriage if Ifrit does not even think about it now," thought Lilac, returning to the current situation.

"If you don't mind, I'll just go get something to eat. Talking about the information we gave Rhynsa starves me."

"No, of course not."

Back at Rhynsa...

"But Kghron...let me ask you something. These...demons...you are talking about...how did they harness the ability of time travelling? I know technology is far more advanced the more you go down the layer, but how did they..."

"They are not technologically advanced, Rhynsa. If you are living in a deep layer, you will know the scary stories about those demons. It is said that if you feel a slight chill in the air, and you tried to warm yourself up, you'll be taken to the unknown land. Now, it seems so outrageous it stays a scary story, but after seeing things work out in front of my eyes...it was...so surreal...yet terrifying at the same time."

Kghron gave Rhynsa two different-looking bracelet. "The left one is mine," he said. "It looks shining and brand new. The other one is old and battered. It is the same thing. Normally, our technology gives out a special reading that could be captured by your computer here, but they did not give out that kind of reading. Yes...not even any energy."

"So that means we are fighting against the unknown. Fuck this shit...."

"Hey, we can always fight, right?"

"There is a quote from a book I read. It says 'The oldest and strongest kind of emotion is fear. The oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. Do you understand what I am talking about? It's normal for every being to have fear. It's instinct. But if something unknown is preying you, then make sure you know what you are facing, or die without knowing what's wrong. Yes, even courageous race like you, Kghron. We must find out about this..."

"Enemy attack! Ring the bell!"

There was a bell ringing all over the town, prompting non-combatants to run into their houses. Kghron wheeled Rhynsa out, where the hellhound said, "(Where is the enemy?)"

"(Right ahead, Rhynsa. There's a lot of it coming from the south and west. From what I can see...they are using techs)."

"(Are you fucking kidding me?! They are going all-out to an outpost?!)"

Rhynsa turned to Kghron. "What do you know about this?"

"Something's not right...I know our kind utilized technology but like you said, they cannot waste their resources to...give me that binocular!"

Rhynsa gave Kghron the binocular and he proceeded to look towards the general direction of the enemy. He looked at them with contempt, often showing his sharp teeth.

"Oh, I get it...those motherfuckers..."

"What can you see?"

"Those are not an army of hellhounds, Rhynsa. Those are an army of partially augmented demons. Goddamn those fuckers...thinking that they are strong enough just because of some upgrade."

Rhynsa looked through the binocular and could see that Kghron was right. The hellhounds were wearing technologically advanced suits capable of withstanding damage. It was something the outpost had, but the problem was that they only had one wrath demon with them. It was a one-sided battle.

Then Rhynsa could see one lone hellhound sticking out of the crowd. It was his old rival and current nemesis. The one who caused his current predicament. He wanted to return a row of things towards that hellhound, and wanted to do it now.

"(Hounds, battle stations! Remember of the strategy we devised!)"

All the hellhounds around him understood and run to find any way possible to scramble towards their posts. Kghron did not understand what was Rhynsa thinking, but the bat-hound knew his confusion and said, "We are outgunned. The only thing we can do is to fight against them with cunning skills, not strength. Right now, Kghron, don't do anything risky unless it's your turn."

"Then what the hell am I supposed to do?"

"Sit tight and watch."

Rhynsa turned towards the computer and opened a public channel to all of the hellhounds using wireless earphones. He licked his lips and smiled.

"(Boys...it's time to rain down fire upon them)."