FSE

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"(Finally! Man, this felt nostalgic, isn't it?)"

"(I can't be sure if 'nostalgic' is the word for me, but the familiar soul particles can suffice. Is Mizarka in this town?)"

"(We promised to meet the rest of the group here, so here we are. I can't see Mitchel's motor home, so I guess they haven't reached this place yet)."

Ifrit's group finally reached Arbal after travelling for the whole day non-stop, fully aware of the danger they had been through since the shanty town. They all decided to remain silent on their experience in the shanty town since it was embarrassing and hurting their dignities (except Sovarn, who actually enjoyed it). Anubis was the one that hurt the most. Blind since very young, he could perceive the experience for the past months as torture, not a sexual fetish others would think. All he wanted to, and inside his mind, was all to find Mizarka, his long lost love.

When they reached a parking lot (since the introduction of motorized vehicles, there were dirt parking lots in some big towns), the original group noticed a familiar gray vehicle on the other side of the road. When they approached it, they saw it was still being repaired. It was riddled with bullet holes and the interior was all but trashed.

Concerned, Ifrit approached a human mechanic and said, "Excuse me, but...what happened to this motor carriage?"

"This motor home was shot by some bandits along the way, said the owner," said the mechanic. "He agreed to pay more for the body repair, but I can't say it will be as perfect as it looks like the first time he saw it."

"Where's the owner?"

"Dunno. He left the car here and went elsewhere with his motley crew of weird individuals. I wanna bet they're fugitives, but who actually want to spend their money on this thing? This thing is expensive around here, you know?"

After thanking the mechanic, Ifrit came back to his group and said, "They are here, but I think they are hiding from the enemies who attacked them."

"It may be possible, considering this is the borderline between the enemy's front and neutral ones," said Albreich. "We have to be very careful here. Who knows what the demons have in store."

The three monarchs decided to walk around together, knowing that they would be safer that way while their generals were trying to find other ways to find the group. With Sammael with them, they looked like some werewolf friends chilling out together (except if you saw Anubis's head looked different than the wolves).

"(This sucks, man. We have reached this place but they are not even everywhere)," said Ifrit after getting out of the third inn they searched. "(I'm sorry Ani)."

"(It's alright. I know this is dire times, and we must be cautious)."

But suddenly Anubis sensed something that caused him to stood up, clearly surprised with an expression he could make as a blind hellhound.

"(What's wrong, Ani?)"

"(There's a weird swirl of soul particle from someone)," said Anubis. "(It's as if, it's not alive, but it's moving in a solid object)."

"(Which one of them?)"

"(How can I tell? I'm blind)."

Ifrit started scanning on the suspicious person Anubis sensed, but he couldn't see anyone, not even hooded ones. At first, he wanted to find the person, but then he thought that Anubis was just surprised by the unique person, so they just sat there, with a disappointed Anubis said, "(Sometimes it's not advantageous being blind)."

They sat there, watching people past them, while still aware of enemies around them. The day started to turn to night, prompted Ifrit to say, "(C'mon, maybe they've met Al and the others)."

Just when he stood up, Anubis suddenly sensed the same thing again, only this time it was closer and aware of their presence. He tried to warn Ifrit and Nergora, but when he tried to find Ifrit, the black wolf hellhound put his hand on Anubis's shoulder and said, "(I know.... He's someone you'd never expect to see again)."

Before the three of them, there was a red-furred hellhound who just stood there, yet Ifrit knew who he was. With the tribal outfit that exposed most of his body except his tail and loins, it wasn't mistaken anymore.

It was Eshdar, standing there. But when Ifrit wanted to hug his old friend, Anubis held his hand and said, "(He's dangerous, Ifrit)."

"(I'm sorry if you're offended, but you need functioning eyes to see him)," said Ifrit to Anubis. "(I know him...and damn how I miss him. I never thought he'd survive the fall and the wound...and the burning. You're always...)"

"(Ifrit, did you say...he survived?)"

"(Yes, wh...)"

He saw Anubis's expression, and he was puzzled. The jackal didn't show a relief, but of a scared one, despite of not seeing anything. The next moment, Anubis snarled at Eshdar, who strangely didn't react. The jackal started growling, but Ifrit knew he was scared.

"(Ifrit, get off that hellhound, right now. Just do what I say. This is why functioning eyes can deceive you)."

"(Ani, what do you mean?)" said Nergora.

"(This hellhound...is not alive. He's already dead but he still had his soul. The particle is of a swirl because it's unnatural, and for one other reason)."

Suddenly Eshdar's hand grabbed Ifrit's with a speed not normal for him, and also for strength unlike Ifrit had ever seen before. Eshdar pulled out his ornate hunting knife as Anubis said, "(He's controlled)."

Ifrit reacted quicker than Eshdar, conjuring up a spectral knife that wounded his hand. The sudden turn of event caught Ifrit off-guard. Coupled with the revelation and the attack from a good friend, Ifrit lost his will to fight. His senses went wild, trying to find a way to save Ifrit, but it was useless when Eshdar threw his knife with terrifying accuracy that it would went through Ifrit's skull if not for his senses to hold the knife with his palm.

His friends realized that Eshdar was not himself when he went in for the kill with a sword. Nergora managed to hold the red-furred hellhound at bay with his ice sword, which drawn Eshdar's attention to him. It was a wrong move for him, as Anubis used his telekinesis to throw a wood to his head, yet it didn't do much damaged except making him bleed.

"(He's dead, Ani, just finish it!)"

"(Didn't you hear what I said? He's dead but he still has his soul!)"

"(Technically, he's dead, right? So it's alright to...)"

"(I may be blind, but I can sense it. Even Ifrit can and got fooled by it. He's resurrected and mind-controlled. If he's a walking corpse, he would smell like rotten flesh!)"

Eshdar attacked Nergora again, this time grabbing the blade without any reaction from his freezing hands, except the white furred hellhound, who shouted, "(Eshdar, if you're alive in there, stop touching the blade! You'll lose your hand!)"

Yet the red-furred hellhound didn't heed him. With extraordinary strength Eshdar pulled the blade towards him with Nergora still grabbing it. Without enhanced senses Nergora had no time to find an alternate way to block incoming attacks, which was Eshdar's punch to his abdomen, throwing him 5 meters away to a wall. It was particularly hard for the white hellhound that it dazed him, yet he could still see what was going on.

Right at that time, Ifrit wasn't able to recover the sudden change of event. He knew his friend was still alive but was trying to kill him. Eshdar was upon him and almost kill Ifrit with his sword when a sniper shot, which finally scared the onlookers, hit the sword, sending it flying away. He glared at the position of the shooter. Ifrit saw it too. It was Rhynsa.

"(Goddamn it, kid, get away from that hound)," murmured Rhynsa from under his breath. "(Don't you see he's trying to kill you?)"

Just then Rhynsa saw that Eshdar took the bow from his back and readied an arrow. Rhynsa's first thought was how the arrow wouldn't hit him because of his protective position on the open roof of a building, yet he suddenly realized that Eshdar wasn't concerning the sniper at all. He suddenly turned his aim to Nergora, who was still dazed from the attack.

"(Shit! I gotta end that kid before we lose more allies!)"

But as Rhynsa prepared for another shot, he felt something tingling behind him, and he quickly turn around with a gun drawn, yet it was mysteriously deflected by an unknown force. It was Rhynsa's good eyes that he could see lights reflecting off a surface, and he drew another gun to shoot it. A roar of pain suddenly ringed in front of him, which was the indication that he was correct.

"(Get off that fancy get-up of yours. I can see it)."

The hound materialized in front of him, which startled Rhynsa, but he wasn't stunned. He knew the hellhound in front of him.

"(Well, well, what do we have here? Just now you're back from the dead?)"

"(Just like old times, huh, Rhynsa?)" said the hellhound with a smirk. "(You never changed, always undermining me with sarcastic remarks)."

"(How sarcastic as seeing how you came back with stolen technologies? It's funny on how my best pupil is actually a hound without a face)."

"(Then what are you then? I'm not taking orders from a half-bat hellhound)."

They glared at each other with killing intents, but it was only a good timing to finish the mind game. Rhynsa had known this particular hellhound who betrayed his trust and kill innocents, prompting the fuzandre-hellhound to kill him. Apparently he returned and tried killing him again, yet Rhynsa knew that shot before hit the mark, which was a bloodied shoulder.

"(You sure about trying to fight me?)" said Rhynsa trying to provoke him. "(This is not a sniper battle anymore. It's here, you and me, one on one. All bets are off. You play dirty, I play dirty. Wanna bet?)"

"(Always underestimating me, huh? You want it your way, then let's play dirty)."

Rhynsa knew this fight wouldn't be a fair one, especially the fact that it wouldn't be a one on one battle when an archer just at the right side of Rhynsa was shooting him. Luckily, he knew it was there, and he managed to dodge the arrow while pushing the mysterious hound to the ground, where they fell with Rhynsa breaking his own fall with his wings.

As what he had challenged, Rhynsa was playing dirty. He didn't immediately land, but drew his sniper rifle and shot the vulnerable hound, yet the kickback throw him away since he was flying. He managed to control himself and kept flying, but he was surprised when the hound wasn't actually hurt, climbing the wall with supernatural agility, and jumped, trying to reach Rhynsa, which he didn't. Unfortunately, he drew a gun and shot Rhynsa repeatedly, tearing his wing and making him fall. He knew the emergency landing, which was when he rolled to the front, yet he was caught off-guard by Anubis throwing Eshdar directly to the bat-hound.

"(Hey, I'm the good guy!)"

"(I'm sorry, Rhynsa, but I must get Eshdar out of his trance by any means necessary!)"

"(Just kill him already, Anubis, he's a lost cause!)"

"(Not if I can help it!)"

Anubis pulled Eshdar's body back to him and said, "(Eshdar, I know who you are. The enemy is not us, but your father. Get out of it before we really have to kill you!)"

Eshdar didn't reply, which was natural, since his soul particles weren't making different patterns. What he was more concerned of was Ifrit's particles. The black furred hellhound's particles were unstable and prone to collapse all-together, which could mean that currently Ifrit lost the will to fight, especially when his best friend was still alive and was trying to kill him.

Throwing Eshdar again, Anubis ran to where he could sense Ifrit's particles, but with no sight, he couldn't perceive if there were objects between him and Ifrit, despite of being able to scatter the particles in the air to find objects around him, and thus, he tripped on a raised sidewalk, which suddenly took Ifrit's attention.

"(Ifrit, I cannot be of help to save Eshdar Winsel. You must do it, or else he'll be lost from us forever!)"

"(B-but, I can't kill him! If you're right, then, somewhere inside there, he's still Eshdar, not an undead killing machine! Also, I don't know if Eshdar's body won't turn to dust after I release the hold of his dark magic!)"

"(I want you to trust the real world and not the scenario of a fictional book)," said Anubis. "(Listen, I've got a plan. You may need to follow me, whatever it is, to save your friend)."

Ifrit was intrigued by it. He wanted to trust the jackal, but of course he didn't know to what extend Anubis's strategy would work, yet if he claimed to be able to help them despite of his blindness it must be something that was worth counting for.

Meanwhile, at the other side of town...

"So, would you tell me when you have the feelings for your dragon, Hans?" asked Lilac during their breakfast together.

"How about you? You're in love with a demon. I normally don't believe in demons, but some of them are quite the merry bunch."

"You know some demons along the way?"

"Blimey, the only demon I've ever met is Azureath's instructor," said Hans while taking a sip of the morning tea.

"Really? Is it really that strict?"

"It's not like that. He's a bloody demon, a literal one. He's a brooding one when with Azureath, but cheerful with other senior members and humans at best. I'm quite fond of him that way, but I don't agree on how he taught Azureath like that."

"But just recently you told me that Azureath is a thousand years old dragon. Why does she need an instructor in flight?"

"Because, younger sister, is the fact that I'm more than a thousand years that I need an instructor," said Azureath behind her. "Living in confinement with no change to stretch out your wings can make your flying a little rusty, so Ramusk taught me many maneuvers that are useful in combat."

"The problem is, she's not a wyvern, so following his style is not going to make your rider healthy all the way," said Hans while growling slowly. "It's better to go with his rider than with the dragon."

Azureath made a low growl, but she also made a noise akin to a human's small laugh. "I love seeing you dangling on my side trying to help balancing me. It looks...arousing."

"Uhmm...you're not really..."

"Yes...and given another chance, we might consider finishing what we've started...my little wolf."

Seeing Hans blushing, Lilac sensed a romantic awkward moment, and chose to back off their private conversation with a guise of trying to find Vlantus back in the town. Just as she went back, though, she bumped into a man wearing a grayish blue outfit, who was somehow in a hurry. He didn't seem to mind Lilac, which annoyed her.

"He might not be a Tragorian," thought Lilac.

She finally reached the inn when it became apparent that it's almost nighttime, when the gas lights started to lit. She found the rest of the group talking at the restaurant near the inn, so she went there, where they greeted her.

"Oh, hey, Lilac. Isn't your brother coming?"

"He's in quite a bind. Just let him be," said Lilac while sitting on a chair, ordering a cup of evening tea. When Mizarka offered the menu to her, she said, "You know, your brother of yours is quite hot. I mean, he's buff, and he got a dragon with him. Seems like he's out of some wild fairy tale, huh?"

"Is he? Miza, if you think he's that attractive and you're attracted to him, let me give you a warning. He's taken."

"Taken? You Lycans also can find who's hot?" said Jo beside Miza.

"Well, he's attractive, for a Lycan. Who actually want to deny his black fur, his nice-looking yellow eyes, and...did I mention that he had white fangs? Those were something great for a werewolf."

Just then Lilac realized that both Jo and Mizarka were staring at her with mixed feelings. Jo even said, "Lily, are you actually describing that? In my place you're called an obsessive fan."

"What? I..."

Lilac's sharp hearing then caught something that was alarming.

"Hey, did you hear? Some mad Lycans were fighting in the southern plaza!"

"Why can't the police do something?"

"Are you bugging me? Those Lycans are not normal! If you stay, you'll get killed!"

An explosion was then heard by the group, as they realized the danger that the man had said.

"Did you hear that?" said Mizarka.

"There's a fight in the southern plaza. We need to go there!"

"(Shit, those guys are such a hassle!)"

Lilac ran first, knowing the town firsthand. The southern plaza was where she opened the store with Ifrit when they first reached this border city. 4 years after, it had become a paved open air park like it was now. She was grateful she still could drop on four to run as fast as she could despite of her obvious humanoid body.

Reaching there in only just a minute, Lilac was almost hit by a thrown bench when she saw the death jackal trying to hold an archer's arrows. He was clearly struggling while a black hellhound tried to flank him, only to be thrown to where Lilac was.

Lilac was quick enough to step aside, yet the hellhound wasn't all that lucky when his head hit the raised pavement. He was dazed and disoriented, but Lilac managed to grab hold on his hand. Yet, upon seeing the tail of the hellhound and the state of his horn (which by now, would be both cut), she realized who he was. With undeniable maroon eyes and the red stripes, it wasn't an illusion at all.

"Ifrit?"

Ifrit was also surprised by the sweet voice, and he replied, "Lilac?"

Both stared at each other awkwardly before Ifrit returned to his senses and said, "Lilac, you must not be involved in our fight."

"Huh? But I'm your bloody girlfriend! I can't leave you out here alone! That hellhound is pretty damn tough, too, and you three aren't going to win!"

"Of course we can. We are fighting against Eshdar."

"Eshdar?" said Lilac with a gasp. "You mean, he also survived?! Then what is the purpose of my grief for two years?!"

"Do me a favor. Find Albreich. He might be ambushed from a position. Tell him that this is definitely a hellhound's base."

"But, it's only Eshdar here. There's no other..."

Lilac knew Ifrit was right. When she turned, her friends were ambushed by some other hellhound from a nearby building, hiding to wait for the chance to strike. Yet, Lilac knew that finding Albreich wasn't an option, as she knew he was attacked somewhere in the border town. It was then Lilac realized that they got a strong arsenal with them.

She turned to go to the other side of the town, trying to find her brother. After all these years, she would still rely on him, yet she knew, if it wasn't done, they would be overrun, and their mission to free Tragoria from demonic clutch would end tragically.