Vlad quietly did what he could to try and make it more comfortable for her. The angels were only good for one other thing besides being food, their feathers were so soft and silky that nothing else could beat their texture. He mercilessly plucked their feathers out at top speed and gathered them beside Vanora. He then took off his blazer and shirt to lay them over the feathers so that the bloodied ones would not dirty Vanora further. Without checking with her nor asking her, he gently picked her up and laid her down on the makeshift bed.

Vanora was still awake but she did not feel like responding to Vlad's kind act at the moment. She felt completely drained inside and out. However, if she did not stop and suppress her thoughts and emotions, she doubted that she would be able to fall asleep.

Vanora... You're really not as bad as you think you are... BaoBao could no longer take it and tried to help. You may be stronger and better than you think you are. After all, you smoothly dealt with the angels that the others struggled with.

I know it's supposed to help me feel better but it feels kind of pathetic that I have to compare myself to such lesser demons to feel better.

Lesser demons?

Don't you think they're far more basic than the other hell beings we've met in the cave? That's probably why they struggled so much with the angels.

Ah... But, but, you do have something the original soul definitely did not have! Your hellfire! You're not back at square one!

As she was sleeping in a fetal postion, she easily hid her face behind her left arm and smiled faintly. Thanks for the reminder BaoBao. I can only hope the hellfire really helps... Oh, one more thing, do you know what would really help me?

BaoBao perked up immensely upon hearing Vanora's question. How? How can I help?

Please don't think you're of no help. Please don't feel bad because of me. That itself would be a big help to me already.

There was a momentary pause as BaoBao did not know how to answer. He felt complicated. He wanted to help but found that this was a weird way to help her. Nonetheless, he decided to abide by her wishes as he has always done. Mm!

That's my reliable BaoBao. It took Vanora a long and tough time to finally suppress her thoughts and emotions that half the night passed by before she fell asleep.

Vlad had taken Vanora's spot by the tree with his back against it. An arm rested on a bent leg while the other was stretched out and he rested his head against the trunk. He never took his eyes off of Vanora so it was obvious to him that she was not asleep yet. When he checked in with her emotions, it was less of rage and more of sadness and despair. An ache grew in his heart and made him frown. He could not understand what his feeling was nor what it meant, it was something novel to him. He has been experiencing new feelings ever since he met her. However, there was one desire that burned brightly within him at the moment. Will you ever let me share your burden?

When he noticed that her breathing finally became deep and slow, he smiled faintly but sadly. He had been monitoring her emotions the whole time and found out that she fell asleep after her aura became dim and faint again. He leaned forward and wanted to caress her cheek with the back of his four fingers, but his hand hovered above her face. Not wanting to wake her up after she fell asleep with much difficulty, he very gently pushed her hair out of her face instead, then looked at her arm that was already halfway done growing back. He took a deep breath then grabbed the hem of her shirt as usual before going to sleep.

By the time Vanora woke up the next morning, her wounds have completely healed. BaoBao also diligently reported to her how long she has slept for. Another 8 hours huh... It's kind of amazing that we could sleep through 8 hours peacefully when its wartime.

She sluggishly sat up and realised that Vlad was nowhere around her. BaoBao helpfully relayed to her that he was above her. He's been awake and up there since the wee hours of the morning. He didn't get much rest. 

She looked up and found him sitting on the branch completely alert, as if he was studying something far away in the distance. Seeing him shirtless in broad daylight highlighted his well defined muscles. The state he was in coupled with his serious expression and devilishly good looks enraptured even someone like Vanora. She could not help but stare at him. Unbeknownst to Vanora, BaoBao has done his fair share of oogling while she was still asleep. Suddenly, Vlad looked down as if he felt her stare and their eyes met. 

Vanora immediately looked away and could not hold back the heat creeping up her face. Well, I guess that explains how I could sleep so soundly. 

He jumped down and squatted to look squarely at her, giving her no chance to hide her face. 

She looks a little better than yesterday. "Ready to eat?" He asked with a warm smile.

"... I don't really have an appetite..." She admitted after thinking for awhile. "Let's just start finding our battles for today." I've wasted too much time sleeping.

"But you haven't eaten anything since yesterday." He gently persuaded. As if on cue, the group of self-declared followers came to where Vlad and Vanora were at to present their catch for the day. 

"Boss, we've caught all the animals you've asked for!" A ghoul said. 

"Take your pick. Anything whets your appetite?" Vlad continued to speak to Vanora without acknowledging the ghoul.

Vanora glanced across the crowd and noticed a variety of fowls and venison. Nothing interested her but she knew that even if she did not need to eat, the others may need to, and they could only move on after that. Is it really good to travel with them...? I need all the time I can get.

Seeing no response from her, Vlad proactively picked out a mixture of fowls and venison then began cooking it himself. Everyone stared at him weirdly while they dug into their catch for the day as it is. 

It did not take long to cook only the surface of the meat. Vlad presented to Vanora the different cooked meat one by one. "At least eat a little before we move off. We don't have to follow their pace if you don't want to." 

Vanora nodded then silently dug in, however she took no more than a few bites of each before she would return it to Vlad. 

"Is it the taste?" Vlad smiled wryly. 

Vanora understood what he was referring to. The food he made tasted nowhere near as good as the usual meals he provided her with. In fact, it was the same standard of the meat she cooked for herself on the first day she became a demon. "No. I just really can't seem to get any appetite."

"You really want to leave now, don't you?" 

Vanora nodded. 

He sighed helplessly and gave in. He ordered the rest to head west after they were done eating. "Group up with the others that also strayed from the main battle area. Prepare for a big battle in the near future." 

He then turned to Vanora and spoke gently while reaching a hand out to help her up. "Let's go."

Vanora got up without his help and handed his shirt to him instead. "Thanks, but I really don't need this next time."

Vlad was just done putting his arms through the sleeves. He raised his eyebrows then grinned. With his shirt left unbuttoned, he pushed the front of his shirt aside while putting his hands on his hips. "What, are you actually affected by this?" He said teasingly while cocking his head slightly.

Vanora frowned a little then took off first. Vlad could not stop grinning while he quickly grabbed his blazer and chased after her. He had caught sight of the hint of redness on her ears just before she took off and it pleased him greatly.

Vanora had wondered why Vlad chose to progress Westward instead of heading deeper into the forest but she got a hunch by the end of the day. The situation today was almost the the same as the previous day, even the "followers" they gained at the end of the day was the same. The only difference was that for her final battle, she met one instead of two warrior angels. She guessed that these angels strayed from the main battle area to clean up the hell beings that ran off and that Vlad intends to clean them up.

Now that she was more wary of warrior angels, she did not suffer injuries as severe as the first time. However, she did not come out unscathed either. After all, warrior angels fighting sensibilities and abilities were of another caliber compared to the normal angels. Today she suffered a broken bone and some fractures instead as the angel who used a giant hammer managed to score a hit on her. 

It was another emotional and tiring day for her so she immediately retired for the day without washing up again. Vlad was worried if she was neglecting her well-being but kept his concerns to himself while he went to pluck the feathers of the dead angel again. As the feathers were not enough to make a bed this time, he only made a pillow for her head.

The days passed in the same way with Vlad and Vanora slowly changing their direction towards SouthWest. Every night, their entourage grew bigger as the group from the previous night would catch up by nightfall of the next day. While the hell beings grew even more excited in anticipation for the upcoming battle, Vanora only grew more listless and battle-crazed. She moved with only one intention on her mind. I have to get stronger.

Finally, the day came when Vanora met a challenging opponent. She faced off with an angel who was a dual sword wielder. Somehow she just knew from the way he carried himself that this angel would prove to be trouble to her. But it was not impossible to end this fast. 

The angel had his guard up against Vanora. "What is a demon like you doing here?" Could it be reinforcements? They're trying to flank us!

He looked at Vanora's empty expression. It was as if she had not heard his question. His impression was not too far off.

Bait. Strike back. Straightforward. These words appeared in Vanora's mind. As soon as it did, she jumped into action. 

The angel clicked his tongue and bravely faced her attack directly. He was very skillful and managed to injure Vanora lightly even though she tried to dodge every swing of his swords. He easily kept her on the defensive, giving her no chance to attack, and as he expected, she started to run away. 

He knew that there was another demon lying in wait nearby but he did not seem to intend to intervene with the fight. The angel was not surprised since one of the hell beings' major weakness was their poor coordination and teamwork, especially when they were of different kinds. Nonetheless, he did not let down his guard. He aimed to keep this fight with Vanora as short as possible to reserve his energy to deal with the next one. It was with much difficulty that we managed to purge this much of the land of their evilness! I shall not let some reinforcement upset it all!

He bore down onto Vanora fiercely and prepared to decapitate her from behind. Just as he raised his sword, Vanora rebounded off the tree she had been running towards to shoot straight back at the angel. 

I'll die! The angel widened in fear as Vanora got within a feet of him. 

No! I can't! He still had one chance of taking Vanora down and that was this moment. It was all or nothing. He gripped his swords very hard and successively struck out a few times at a new speed that he has never reached before.