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The trip back to the Tanah Region was a painstaking long journey that could put a strain to our now big group. Rhynsa, Anenka, Miza, Mitchel, and Azgal were the only one that used the car, while the rest of the group, around three groups from three names in our list, made their own journeys with their own groups, trekking along the way from the borders of Adaline to Tanah. It had been two months since we left Tanah, and we need another two months to return after we received Karkos' summon in the form of the telegram found inside Mitchel's wagon (that's what he said about his boxcar).

Our journey wasn't as smooth. We needed to endure the attacks from bandits, poachers, and of course, the rebels. With our big group it looked like we were leading a mass evacuation of a town...or maybe several towns with around a hundred of the humans and Lycans involved. We were fortunate that from the hundred, we only need to lead a dozen, but that didn't come with an easy price. With only Mitchel as our group's medical force, we were severely underhanded with the harsh winter of Dusdolf that took one of us when we couldn't provide him with adequate medicine from his infection. While the hellhounds could endure the cold, we were more concerned on the humans. Without any thick fur covering their exposed skins, their rates of survival were lower than our wolfish counterparts.

In one particular cave, where we set up a warm camp, a human girl offered me a hot chocolate when her mother was accompanying her. I actually was pretty much warm with my internal heat, but I nevertheless accepted the kindness. The adult was more suspicious, but she left us without saying any words, both to me and to her daughter.

As I drank the tasty chocolate, Rhynsa sat beside me and started to put his rifle on his back as he pulled out a napkin, possibly to clean it. At this moment I took notice on his rifle. It had a black polish, yet age started to take its toll. Some of the parts were broken and dented. Seeing Rhynsa able to shoot me with that thing was truly remarkable even for someone who could adapt with any situation faster like me (it ran in the family. Always surviving).

"(Hey, kid, are you sure you can trust this Karkos fellow? I never heard of him when I was a general)."

"(Don't know him either, yet he claimed to be an acquaintance to my father and Anarim Winsel)."

"(Maybe Anenka knew more about Anarim's 'friends' than I do. Their kingdom was reclusive)."

"(You can ask him about it, right? You two go way back to the point of being brother-in-laws)."

My statement caught Rhynsa in the face. He was clearly surprised by that. He stood up and said, "(What the fuck? When did you hear about that?)"

"(How about if I told you that an entity is currently writing a story about us and everything we're doing right now are pre-determined? If he stops writing then we stop being alive. ALIVE, get it?)"

"(I don't believe that shit, kid. I know you have an exceptional hearing true to a hellhound's ear. And kid, you don't have any sense of humor)."

"(Damn...I wish that was funny)." Why did I tell him that? It's obvious that I am not funny. Rhynsa just chuckled on my comment.

"(Kid, you don't need to be a humorous hound if you want to live. Your father didn't have that kind of humor with me, though he was energetic. Still, our lives are not in peace yet. A hundred people, humans, Lycans, hellhounds, all are trying to find a safe place from the rebels. Those two guys are leaders from tormented souls. I am still concerned on the place, though. Is it a big place?)"

"(With those giant Jati trees and a whole district massacred? That place's gonna live up again)."

"(W-wait a second, did you say a whole district massacred? Isn't that just dark...)"

I took a scent immediately. The now-familiar scent of both a dog and burning ashes made me aware. Rhynsa who was a half-breed couldn't smell it, so I guess I had to be the one who need to engage it.

Rhynsa saw my actions and said, "(What's wrong?)"

"(There are five demon dogs and three inner circle demon)." Yes, I had also realized that there was another stronger scent that came from the demons. An unholy aura emanated from them like rotten corpses which caused my nose to feel stingy and I reacted with disgust.

Rhynsa reacted as soon as I said that, putting back the components of his rifle as fast as he could do it as if it was a simple puzzle for him. With no time at all, he cocked the rifle and it was ready for action.

It was not only me, though. Anenka and Miza, both pure hellhounds, had also sensed the danger. Azgal could sense them and despite of his usually cool manner, he readied his blood sword and said, "Oh, now there's a fight from the Circle."

As they approached from behind the storm veil, I could see two Lycans and a humans walking behind five demon dogs that were very hungry. The group now realized that they were in danger, and Mitchel helped them to run back into the cave interior.

"Careful, Mitchel, there might a dragon in there," said Azgal jokingly.

"Oh, just shut up, Azgal! There are no dragons on the surface. It's just a story book villain! Now go on, fight them like you're born to do!"

I did heard Azgal said "Oh, you'll never believe what's beyond this mass of land" under his breath while smiling. I did hope he wasn't trying to say that it's true.

Now, to the problem at hand. The same enemy we were fighting outnumbered us five by eight, and they were powerful demons. Demon dogs were natural enemies of the outer circle (except me, of course) demons, and the inner circle demons had stronger demonic powers. If this was a normal circumstance, I would be tucking my tail between my legs and run.

What made it different was Azgal's statement. Arrogant as he was, he was still a fifth circle demon.

"Don't make me laugh, you weaklings. How can three second circle demons can win against a fifth circle?" said Azgal calmly. "You don't expect me as their ally, do you?"

"You are going to be obliterated by the forces of the true devil. We are merely his pawns," said the three of them in unison. "But, you assume wrongly of our strength, and it will be your demise."

"Really?" He then whispered to me. "How do they smell?"

I quickly said "Like rotten meat."

"Then without any stronger demon, we're doomed. They are from the second circle, gluttony, and what do you know about that particular sin?"

"Eating too much to die?"

"You dogs don't know our circle, do you? They eat damned souls, and...they ate the ones from the sixth circle."

I knew damned well that the only thing that made a circle demon less arrogant and showed concern was a higher circle being an adversary. The demons started their attack on us from both sides and with no time at all, we were surrounded. The demon dogs had started barking on us with their unearthly sound, a slightly flanging rough voice, a twist from the normal surface dogs. I knew too well on that sound from Sammael, my own dog and friend, when he was barking to me. Despite of my heritage, I couldn't be sure of the demon dogs' language, and thus they only barked to me, because they couldn't talk like Sammael.

Out from my memories with him, this time I needed to understand that they were enemies. One lunged to me with precise movement to tear me into shreds, but I had a great reflex (I loved having that) and I grabbed the demon dog's head. The force of the dog's jump was strong enough for me to snap its neck with a turn in my part. The next one was clever enough to try to grab me from behind, but I grabbed its paws and smashed its body to the rocky floor, breaking its back and front legs. The third demon dog was killed by a simple shot to its head, courtesy of Miza.

Yet, when the fourth one attacked, Azgal pushed me out of the way when a giant form suddenly attacked the position I was. The wrath demon conjured up a giant shield, red as a blood. But then, he was thrown by the force. If not for Rhynsa flying to save him he would have hit the ceiling and lost his host body.

"Sixth circle demons have the ability to expand the mass of their host's body with ease by the help of supernatural manipulation," said Azgal panting. "Each of our types has different abilities so be very careful, especially if you're fighting gluttons who are allied with the pride or wrath demons."

"What are we going to do, then? We're merely the outer circle demons. We can't defeat as easy as we defeat ourselves."

"So what do you propose us to do? We've got some frail humans in our care and we're fighting some nasty opponents. If my option is to abandon them, I would gladly take it, but you hellhounds are still too much of a surface dwellers, so I guess I must follow you on this matter. Then again, pride demons are powerful beings, and we won't get out from this condition alive."

"I agree with you, wrath demon," said Rhynsa. "We will need a good luck if we want to survive this, which is kind of...huh?"

Rhynsa's eyes were quick enough to catch a glimpse of an arrow passing us, which he quickly dodged. I saw it after it had lodged to the rocky floor, which by my own experience, couldn't even do that (believe me, even bullets had a hard time being lodged inside a rock). The arrow made a fizzling sound and it subsequently melted. But I then knew what really happened.

The arrow went past through a demon in front of Rhynsa, gurgling in pain. The Lycan-possessed turned around and saw a figure before another arrow was shot and it was dead with the arrow between its eyes. The remaining demons turned to face the attacker but again, another attack unseen by them attacked one of them and ripped its hand off. Retaliating, it used the other hand. As it grew in a monstrous and grotesque size, however, Azgal took the chance and made a blood sword went through its heart, yet it was absorbed. Another surprise came to me in the form of the figure exploding to bits, spewing black blood everywhere.

The last one hesitated for a moment to attack, but then it ate the remaining demon dog from beside it (damn, that was quite a betrayal), and its form was warped into a mix of a demon dog and what was once a human, as it ran away in fright.

The commotion was over just in a minute, and we were lucky we were all still alive. What luck we had. From beyond the snow veil, I could see that the figure was a hellhound, carrying a bow with some arrows at its back. To the side, I could see a figure of a creature, but I wasn't sure with the snowy veil. What came after then made me confused if it was fate or merely luck

"You lads have seen the better day from a fight, haven't you? Out of your luck, I presume?"

I could see Anenka gasped and Rhynsa just stared at the figure with surprise.

"It can't be possible..." said Anenka. "After all these years..."

"Anenka, a voice I have trusted and loved. It's a pity, you see."

The hellhound came into the cave and as he walked, I could see how his figure looked like, and I somehow felt nostalgic already. Aside from the bow and arrow, the hellhound was remarkably short and looked younger than his voice. The yellow colored hellhound eyes took a quick glance around and made a small smile. I knew that smile looked similar to someone I knew, especially the red fur, and this almost made me cry.

"(You look a lot like a friend of mine, hound)," I said, trying to hold my tears. "(But I know you're not him, because he's...)"

"(Dead. Yes, I knew my grandson's fate. Are you Ifrit Schelkz)?"

"(Yes...)." I came closer to the figure, and I realized that I had started to be overwhelmed by my feelings. The hellhound was just like Eshdar, but a lot older and experienced in archery. I knew it wasn't right, either, but I just hugged a stranger as if he was my late friend, and I cried to his fur. The hellhound again embraced me and said, "(It's not your fault that Eshdar died, Ifrit. Don't take the blame to yourself alone. Please, young cub...I know how sad it is to be taken from me a precious family).

"(How did you know Eshdar died?)"

"(If there's a source of information I can get. I will be your old friend. Ifrit, your ulshurfak is the best one I've ever met. Hey, it's your master, right? Help him ease his pain)."

I didn't know the right term at that time, but I quickly knew what Ulshurfaks were. Another figure approached me and with its paws, it took my attention. I made a quick jerk to where it came from and I froze, staring at the skull and the seeming black vacant eyes with six of them underneath. Only one ulshurfak had that skull, and the one I had missed for quite a time.

"(Ifrit...it's me, Sammael)."

"(Sammael...I'm sorry...I'm so, so sorry)."

"(Don't be, my young master)," said Sammael while trying to make a smile from its otherwise unearthly canine face. "(I'm right here now, Ifrit. We're not going to make the same mistake again)."

That was out of context, but I was intrigued to say "(What do you mean?)"

The hellhound smiled to me, and quickly switched into the human's language.

"Hello, my dear boys. It's time for you to find more allies. Karkos of the fifth division is right to take you in this mission around Ternor. It's the time of the devil now, and right now, you surface dwellers are going to need more protection. My name is Anarim Winsel, and I will assure you that the hellhounds are on your side, as we always do, in the form of the Lycans as our surface cousins. The world is a cruel world, yes, we know it, but right now trust is important, and we will end this journey to the Tanah region without losing anyone anymore. Is that clear, surface people?"

I didn't know what spell did Anarim gave to them, but it worked and they started to walk to us. Slowly but sure they had started packing and ready. Anarim smiled on his attempt, yet, I knew he was still upset on losing Eshdar.

We continued on the journey, trying our best to avoid the towns and cities that we started to find more frequently. I reckoned the other groups had reached the megapolis already, as they used another route that went directly to Tanah. We braved this snowy route because of my status as a former prince, two former generals, a wrath demon, and a former king, which made our group as the most targeted one.

Learning from the mistake beforehand, we took night watch. In fact, all of us took it. The new guy, his name was Mark, was polishing his swords (yes, he used two) while staying under the influence of coffee. Rhynsa in particular had an itchy finger, Sammael stayed alert, Azgal took a small nap, while Miza and Anenka was talking with Mitchel, possibly about Anenka's eyes.

As the night grew late, I wanted to find something to drink, and Anarim came to me carrying two cups of coffee. I didn't know what effect of coffee to me, and my hesitation was seen by Anarim.

"(Hellhounds have a similar metabolism to humans, Ifrit. The caffeine in coffees can help you stay awake)," said Anarim.

"(Caffeine? Anarim, I appreciate you talking to me, but some of your words are not understandable)."

"(I invented that word, you see. The family loves to make new words to accommodate our researches. Well, most of them are translatable to human language, you see, since they understood the words. Some, like Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid, or DNA, are new, so Ensalder put it into a set of new words. Science runs deep in our family, Ifrit, but it's disastrous if not tended to. That is why, I don't give Eshdar the privilege to study more. I prefer him to be our traditional hunter, nothing more)."

He then sighed. "(But, whatever I did, by time, the Winsel family is dying. Some betrays others, some killing each other, and some...like Eshdar, died. I always question myself for a bit, and to you, Ifrit. Do you consider me a good hound?)"

"(Why are you asking me this now?)"

"(Because of the choices and the consequences, it all depends on your point of view. It's alright if you're mad at me for giving Eshdar a life of hunting, or maybe for being a former prince, or maybe it's because of having the name of Winsel).

I hesitated. It was true that Eshdar died because of having the name Winsel, just like me having the name of Schelkz endangering my friends and companions. My first meeting with Lilac ended with her childhood home destroyed by the hellhounds trying to hunt me, and she knew of my demonic origins. We were frequently attacked by hellhound bandits and rebels, but despite of me, Eshdar, and Sammael were able to defend ourselves, I knew that by time, our human and Lycan companions would eventually had enough of us. I, especially, didn't want my Lilac to die. I had thought about it for 2 years of our journey, but everything started from our fate.

"(Anarim...I'm sorry...I truly am. You're a good hound, I know it deep inside your heart. For undoing the damage done to everyone you harmed, you put your faith into your grandson. Without you teaching him the way of the hunters, we might never met, and you might never have known that another monarch survived).

"(You should have blamed me for my incompetence that cost Eshdar his life)."

"(Don't take it all on your shoulder, Ifrit)," said Sammael while approaching him. "(I also blamed myself on how Eshdar died. I always thought why I didn't try to save him while Al had Lily alright with him. I recently realized that I was scared of losing you, and so I stayed by your side, yet we thought you died in that ambush. We have bits to blame ourselves)."

"(Thank you...Sammael. But, I have a question for you)."

"(What is it?)"

"(It's about Lilac and Albreich.... What are they doing now?)"

"(About them...after your 'death', Lilac became more and more not like her. By the time I realized it, she became a proficient night hunter who didn't hesitate to kill her victims or giving a pray of peace to her preys. She slowly became more of a werewolf than a human, which concerned me on what will happen if this goes on. Albreich...seems more devastated and he frequently talked to me if I can sense my master. He was staring at his cross many times and I thought he wanted to purge me, but in fact, he also blamed himself the most when he said he refused to wield a sword in a dire time, abandoning his life as a demon slayer, all for the sake of giving the demons another chance. I couldn't bear seeing them change, so I ran away...I don't want them to suffer. Watching me is like watching you standing beside me, Ifrit, especially for them. To them, you and Eshdar were more than friends. Your human value gives them a way for them to know that you're no longer behaving like a demon, but as more of a...)"

He stopped. I knew why he stopped. When I heard of Lilac, I never felt...happier that she was okay, but at the same time, two years were too long for me to return to her again. If she knew I returned from the death and hugged her as if nothing happened, she wouldn't understand why a ghost could touch her, and why I didn't come back when there was time. Sammael saw my resulting expression. It was a sorrow of being so close, but so far at the same time.

Anarim sensed it, too, possibly because of the same sorrow of losing a close relative. He took out a bottle with brownish colored content, and handed it to me. From the smell I knew it was alcoholic, and I rejected it.

"(I can't blame you, young hound)," said Anarim while drinking it. "(Your family has a unique ability to conjure fire like a fire demon does, while giving your body the heat of a blazing fire. A whisky won't cut for your metabolism)."

"(I want to wash away the anger and the sadness, but...I don't want to forget everything and moved on. Eshdar died, and we're in constant danger as fugitives. I want to live in peace, Anarim, and I want to make sure Lilac and Albreich are safe. They are the ones who give me the strength to discover my own feelings, and I won't let them go)."

Anarim sighed. "(Well, Ifrit, I know you have a great sense of honor, just like your grandfather. But, the problem at hand is more than what you thought it would be. Did you see those gluttons?)"

"(Those are second circle demons, right? What Azgal said?)"

"(Gluttons can steal another demon's power by eating them, except their own and those demons over their level)."

I nodded from the explanation, but I quickly snapped back to him when I remembered something from the sentence. I then quickly said, "(Wait a minute, they can't eat demons over their level? You mean, eating sixth circle demons are not even possible?)"

"Oh, you've found the deception pretty quick, it seems," said Azgal, who just popped his head around, which startled me since I didn't see him coming. "Yes, I believe I have become the fool in this matter. Explain, old dog, on how this is possible."

"For a 150 years old wrath demon of the fifth circle? The bad news is, I can't help you without proper help and information. The demons of the inner circle are a mystery to my research, especially the fact on how your ability is manifested in the Schelkz family."

I suddenly gasped. What the hell did he say? Apparently Azgal became surprised, too, but still in his usual cool manner.

"Are you telling me that my brethren are giving the dogs our treasure? This is nonsense blabber from an old dog. I appreciate your knowledge on my age, but what is your standing on your accusations?"

Anarim then smiled. "Oh, you have known it already, haven't you, Azgal? From the moment you met Ifrit, your mannerism changed from a proper wrath demon to an ally. Our races never have the slightest chance of being your ally and yet, you willingly submit to the rightful heir of the Schelkz monarch. Is it because of..."

"The high survival skill of a Schelkz hellhound?" said Azgal at the same time as Anarim. "Yes, apparently it started two generations before you. The corruption of the circle is creeping in you and your brother, Ifrit. Tainted by both a wrath demon's blood and an ice demon's blood, the family of the fire hellhound is the salvation from the time of the devil. A perfect prophecy always gets its way to the most unimaginable situation."

I didn't understand what these two weirdos were saying, yet I tried thinking about it all the time. Were the memories before meeting Lilac modified? Something wasn't right about it. The dreams were not making sense now. What was I before being a hellhound walking on the surface of the earth?

Just then, a voice was heard in my head; the shrill voice I didn't know was coming from my past.

"(The time of the devil is coming)."