Her hands moved on the strings as a beautiful sound echoed. Her fingers played the strings like a deep song that enlightened the trembling demons behind her door and covered their hearts with a gentle layer of hope.

"Never get scared, never feel unease, our hero on his way, the peace will return with his breeze."

Her voice was low but broad, gentle, and honest. All demons trusted her words because she never lied. The demons behind the door, fell on the corridor, the fear of the enemy dissipated and their sleep-deprived eyes closed. 

The strings kept moving, and her music didn't stop. She recalled the voice of Marshal and her heart was relieved again.

She smiled, and with one finger curled her silver hair…

I miss him…

……..

Forest of Glades. A huge forest by the east of Shalton a small and underdeveloped land of 3 million humans. Unlike most forests, Glades was safe to venture by humans. The Shaltonions came into Glades throughout the year, drank of its crystal clear water, ate of its non-poisoning fruits, and hunted its wild animals with no fear of the unreasonable death some countries went through…

Inside this peaceful forest, a man ventured. The roots under his steps broke as he walked, every few minutes he took a piece of fabric out of his cloak and polished his twining horns. 

"It would take some time," the man sighed "to take over this forest."

The forest of glades, the peaceful forest that never attacked a human. Was getting attacked, by a demon. Trace was a prideful demon, and a demon of a short temper. Venturing the lands he looked for a suitable spot to recreate the demonic wolves land that had been wiped a few centuries ago.

But for his misfortune, this land was abnormally united. As if the demons here had some kind of tender relationship with one another, they attacked him in groups and all of them seemed to have good terms with one another. 

Cutting his line of thoughts, "Who are you?"  A demon asked as he landed from a branch. 

"I'm Trace, a high demon who wants to conquer this forest. I want to see your master, if she gives me the forest I will kick her out, if not I will  kill her and whoever mournes her."

Trace stared at the demon, a red demon with long lamb's legs and a bull’s head, both of his horns curled forward as if they were looking at Trace.

"I'm sorry but we can't. Mistress Rozalia is attached to this place," the bull's face said as a sweat bead flowed down his cheek.

Trace was a wolf demon, during the past thousand years he kept getting stronger and developing. From a simple demonic wolf into a high demon, one who walked on two and had intelligence similar to humans.

"I will need to kill another demon to advance then," Trace said and lunged, in a split second he stopped at the side of the bull's demon, his punch flying to the neck. The bull demon stopped it with his claw and said: "you aren't as strong as I heard."

"Yes, I'm much stronger."

The veins popped up his arm and the punch broke through the bull's finger smashing his neck and throwing him to a trunk.

The bull stood, his neck swollen, his horns grew bigger and sharper. As the horns pointed at Trace, the bull sprinted on four, his horns branching like a tree at amazing speed. It wasn't impossible for Trace to dodge, however he chose to take it head-on. He flexed his body and the horns jabbed.

The bull smiled, but then he heard cracking sounds, he rose his head.

"You are ten thousand years away from reaching me," Trace's wolf teeth shone in a sneer. 

The bull's eyes widened as they saw his horns broken under the locks of his armpits and mouth.

Trace grasped the horns from their roots.

"What are you doing!"

The bull's pupils shrank as he witnessed the wolf sneering again.

"What, I'm just twisting your neck."

"N-"

Before he could beg or plead Trace twisted the head, and the bull dropped dead on the ground.

Trace looked up and saw another bull, short and arched with a stick to help him stand. His beard reached the ground and his eyebrows covered his eyes.

the old bull hit the ground twice with his stick, two young bulls appeared from the woods by Trace's sides.

"What a good greeting, I like it," Trace sneered as the young bulls lunged at him.

But their heads fell before reaching for trace. 

Trace rose his palms, each of his claws had already grown to be fifteen centimeters.

"I've killed all of your children old man."

"They bought me enough time." 

Between the old bull horns, red energy was accumulating in the form of an orb, throbbing like a heart and emitting enough heat to burn the plants around him.

"Do you think I'm slow, old man!" A vein popped up Trace's forehead and he flexed his legs. However, before he could move tens of chains wrapped him, their roots extended deep into the forest.

"Did you think I had only three children?"

Trace sneered as sweat dripped on his cheek…

As the battle was reaching its peak, a woman swallowed her saliva while peeking from the side of a trunk. 

Good opportunity. 

She put her sword in its sheath behind her back and sprung away from the battlefield. She shouldn't have crossed this forest.

I thought it was safe.

She was looking for a demon, her sword edged to kill it. However, if she was to continue through this forest she might get in trouble. If she died before killing that demon she wouldn't be able to face her family and friends. 

She would just travel through another forest. For now, her life had the highest priority.

Her green eyes worked harder than usual, they needed to follow her fast running legs so she wouldn't pump into any trunk. 

Suddenly, the ground shook and a hot wind stormed, she tripped and tumbled through the floor. The sound just now was caused by that red ball of energy she had seen. For sure.

Standing on her feet again she gave a sigh of relief "Thank god he died."

"Who died?" someone said from behind. When she looked back, the wolf was already sneering.