“Mistress, the master has successfully dispatched the bandits. No need to fear any longer.”

“Excellent… Sigh. Thank you, Ronas... Is it safe for us to see what’s happening now?”

“No, mistress, it would be better if you and your daughter stay in the carriage for the time being. We are currently making contact with a new party... Actually, I need the disposal bag right now in order to collect the body of the bandit leader.”

The woman who is holding a nervous four-year-old girl in her arms calls the attention of the driver sitting with the two of them. The driver of the carriage had retreated to the inside after the fighting had commenced.

He is currently the only member of the party qualified to ride and direct the Miella.

“Yiv, please search that suitcase there for the disposal bag. Ronas, you wish for the body-sized one, correct?”

“Yes, mistress, that size would be enough. A second one will probably be necessary for the heads of the other bandits.”

“...you’re going to behead them here?”

“Yes, the Miella would not be able to get us to the town before nightfall with seven full corpses adding weight to the carriage. Don’t worry about it though, the bandits are just some beastkin.”

“Oh, alright then. Well, then I suppose my husband will... Hm? Wait, you said something earlier. A third party besides the bandits?”

“Yes… we have yet to discern their intent or purpose. For now, they’ve helped us in the matter and even dealt with five of the bandits on their own. They’re… extremely strong--” 

The driver Yiv hands the bag to the guard. The guard Ronas’ simple task was to retrieve a body bag from the car and inform his mistress, the merchant’s wife, about the outcome of their confrontation.

“Oh, thank you, Yiv. I’ll be returning to the master now. We’ll be right back, mistress.”

The guard Ronas steps out of the carriage door. He walks towards his three companions who are currently standing still while the curious man who helped them in their fight holds his head down.

Ronas sees the corpse of the beastkin commander at his feet.

Already dealt with, huh. Hm? Where’s the master?

Standing before Ronas are his three silent friends, the corpse of the beastkin on the ground lying face down and… a pile of metal, mixed with red rocks, parts of which are covered in white frost.

The pile is… smoking… or rather it appears that water vapour is condensing on the surface of the rocks as if the rocks are incredibly cold.

“Hey, Wilney, where’s--”

“Shh!”

Wilney, the guard standing right next to Ronas currently, gives a panicking shush to his comrade.

“What are--”

“Ronas, please… please be quiet. Please. Please!”

Wilney whispers with a voice of panic. Ronas notices Wilney’s helmet trembling. He notices the other two guards trembling as well. This is not a joke.

Ronas keeps quiet. Ronas and his comrades which include Wilney, Pilate and Gundi are a mercenary company who had been hired to escort the merchant and his family along with their belongings to a town called Linis.

These four were lucky to not need to partake in the war because there were a number of guards needed to maintain order in human societies, particularly for the wealthy.

They had found employment as guards for upper-class people who needed to move between towns. They were professionals who were seeking to make a name for themselves.

They are as deeply bonded as brothers in arms and had developed trust with each other after working many guard jobs. They’re powerful enough to intimidate a group of land dragons (but not strong enough to defeat them without taking heavy losses).

If Wilney is afraid in such deep fear that he has to freeze and tremble at a sight he is witnessing, then Ronas knows better than to make any rash moves.

Ronas at least understands who they are standing in fear of. The man who had helped them defeat these bandits. He’s just standing there, not moving. He is... in agony.

Ronas turns his eyes in the direction of the woman. The woman has crossed her arms. She is dressed rather provocatively for Ronas’ taste.

Her skirt is torn to shreds and goes above her knees… these people seem very poor… and definitely not religious…

The woman, Shaula, is looking at Ajax. Ajax has just killed a man by freezing his body and armour into a collection of loose ice crystals.

A normal person wouldn’t even be able to recognize that pile near his feet as human remains.

What are you going to do, Ajax? You’ve been brought this far. Are you going to go further...

“Shit… Shit! What the fuck? What the fuck is this shit!? What the fuck is wrong with this shitty place? Some rich fuck killed a guy without even thinking twice about it… he just killed him, no fucking mercy… what the fuck is wrong with this world!?”

Ajax turns to face Shaula as he starts pacing back and forth in fury.

“First, it was those two guys who laughed at your death and tried to kill me for talking in an interrogation.”

Shaula frowns…

So… that’s what happened to him. I knew he was hurt. I’ll never forgive this crime… They’ll definitely get what’s coming to them...

“That woman Vonis who called you a whore and called us both fucking ‘race traitors’! What kind of racist shit is that!?”

Shaula feels his rage and feels her own. Her expression darkens. The men standing to the side refuse to step forward in revenge for their master, refuse to even act. They notice Shaula’s expression as her eyes sharpen like a predator’s.

I’ll remember that name, Ajax...

“Then those fucking… the ones who killed you… Fuck! I hate this fucking world. Why did God send us here? Why here? No fucking better shithole!?”

The air around them is windy. But compared to yesterday, the warmth is grand, like one of the more glorious mid-summer days. On such a day, Ajax is letting loose in a somewhat juvenile outburst. Not that he can be blamed.

“And now look… I’ve killed this fucking guy. His wife and kid are in the carriage, right? She’s probably just like him, the psychopath. Is the kid going to take a vendetta against me for killing their father? Is that the next trial? I’m not fucking Job, I’m not fucking Jesus Christ, I’m fucking Ajax Leonid! Why do I have to suffer like this? Who the fuck did I piss off!?”

Shaula feels slight nervousness. He mentioned the merchant’s family. He shouldn’t be thinking about them at all in his state of fury. But… Shaula has faith that he would never take his anger out on the innocent. Just an idle consideration.

The air temperature drops. The air around them is still warm but not as warm as before. It is now as warm as an early summer day, perhaps mid-June back in their homeworld.

“I got my fucking heart stabbed, my fucking neck broken, my fucking chest exploded to shit, my liver ripped out, my intestines pulled out like that magician scarf trick and I’ve been forced to kill three and cripple more… fuck...”

The air temperature drops again. It feels like the middle of April now. Ajax’s rage is letting his power leak out, his absorption of energy.

He can’t truly feel it, however. He feels slightly better, less irritable at the influx of energy. But neither he nor Shaula can feel the temperature drop.

Ajax turns his head. He faces the men. Ronas, Wilney, Pilate and Gundi stand there frozen in terror. By now, Ronas has… put things together. It is a drawn conclusion that the pile on the ground is none other than their boss.

“You...”

Ajax raises his finger and points at Ronas.

“M-Me?”

“What is that race? The dead man here with the ears on top of his head… What is he?”

The air temperature drops again. Early March.

Shaula observes Ajax. She recognizes what’s happening to him. He’s faced pain he’s never faced before.

She sees his innocence fading. He will never regain it, like a child being placed on the battlefield.

That’s literally what he is. A child on the battlefield… he’s going to… become someone else now...

Sadness invades her heart.

The four men start to notice the temperature change now. Ronas and his group know who is responsible. The one in front of them is the party to blame.

Is… is this Ajax a magician? I’ve never heard of a magician who could change the temperature without even making any incantations or doing anything… but he was powerful enough to kill the master… How? How does he not know that that’s a beastkin? Is he insane? An insane, insanely powerful freak is our opponent?

Ronas notices a change on Ajax’s face. It darkens. He notices a twitch in his eyes.

He’s angry. We... We’re… we’re going to die unless we… unless we obey him… 

The air temperature drops again. Mid-February chills. Not cold enough for snow to drop but cold nonetheless.

“Th-They’re beastkin! The r-race of that bandit is beastkin! They’re a race of beast people who… were created by… I don’t actually know their origin but they’re like humans except they have beast ears, a tail, better senses compared to humans and… I think... the ability to enter a beast form depending on their blood purity. Th-They’re part of human society now.”

Shaula considers for the first time the past two days. Insanity. Nothing less than insanity has pervaded her life for the past two days.

She has been trying to stay strong. She wishes to keep it together for her Ajax who has lost his entire life except for her. But she feels like she’s breaking down; life has been difficult for the two of them.

They’ve been brought here against their will. They’ve been made something more than human while becoming less human as a result. When they return home, it will all be different. It will all be--

“Why… Why did your ‘master’ hate the beastkin race so much? Why did he take this man’s life without mercy? Can you... tell me?”

Ajax behaves slightly more calmly after receiving the earlier answer. Finally, they’ve gotten somewhere. Perhaps they can deal with him in a more calm manner now.

“He… threatened to cut his ears off… to scalp him… to… Why? His ears? Someone else cut their tails off too… why? Why!?”

Ajax’s anger returns to its original state after considering what the merchant had said. Ajax had killed the man for a reason.

The air temperature reaches the freezing point.

“They are… they are the beastkin… I don’t know our history very well… they’re a race we enslaved in the past, maybe seventy or a hundred years ago... They are a race who have always been protected by the demons and their god.”

“Enslaved? The demons’ god… not Sapiora?”

“No... Th-Their god Azazelin.”

The temperature drops below the freezing point.

“There’s another god? Another fucking god!?”

Ajax is looking for something. Something new to hate. Something new to destroy. Something new to attack in order to rid of his pain. Who can he blame for the pain he’s felt?

What can he target so he can throw away his emotions?

Shaula’s eyes fill with tears.