- POV Hestia -

I had been running for 4 minutes now, following the trail that the mysterious boy had left behind, and I felt that I was reaching my goal. The sounds were still faint and not having such great hearing as Kali it was still hard to be sure but I seemed to hear voices. I didn't know where I was or who they belonged to but I had definitely reached my destination soon.

It was close, just a few more meters and I would finally understand what was going on that was so dramatic and the feeling that I was about to experience something incredible. Thanks to my knowledge of hunting and wild environments, I knew how to move quickly and discreetly despite my lack of agility. Pushing on my legs I propelled myself on the branch of a tree before continuing my race.

[If I understood correctly, his mother's life is in danger. Sigh...talk about a first night at Gaze, I'll remember this one !]

I was still shocked by the decision I had made to go into the forest like that, telling myself I was crazy and unpredictable even with myself. I jumped from branch to branch avoiding the others who were running at me at full speed, thanks to the moon which was lighting very well it was however easy to move. Taking out my hunting knives I saw a small clearing in the distance...there it was.

"AAAARGH NOOOO !!!"

"STAY PUT, SLAVE !!!"

Suddenly, the voices I had heard earlier reached my ears distinctly leaving me to identify an assaulted woman and a man. Adjusting my hood over my face I finally reached the edge of the branch of the last tree in front of me before the forest partially stopped. Down below, I could finally see the scene that the unknown little boy had been desperately fleeing, depicting four people around one begging.

There were two giggling girls on the left side, a man in his thirties tying the distressed woman's hands, and a final older man on top of her to hold her down. I didn't need an explanation to know that the person being assaulted was the famous mother I had come to save. She was screaming as loud as she could to break her voice while the man who was supposed to be her Master was laughing at her situation.

"L-LET GO…OF ME !!!"

"Oh no ! I can finally get rid of you and that thing you have inside you so I'm going to proceed as planned despite the little incident. Don't worry, in the state he's in, your little bastard son won't get very far. If he hasn't been eaten by the wild beasts by the time I'm done with you, we'll track him down and send him to join you hahaha~"

"Ev-Every...everything but my son...I-I...please."

The man's words were horrible, harsh and for a mother who seemed to have done everything to save her son's life, they were deadly. I couldn't see her because she was hidden by a huge back but I could already imagine the kind of face she must have had. Her voice had become weaker, pleading, breathless but her Master had no mercy, twisting again what seemed to be her already damaged ankle tearing a scream from her.

"AAAAAAAARGH !!!"

*SLAP*

"FUCK OFF ! Son, go get the tools, it's time hahaha~"

[What the...]

Turning my head towards the place that the father had pointed out to his son, I saw a small iron table where different things were placed. There were pliers, knives, iron rods, and many others, but that's all it took for me to recognize tools of torture. I didn't know what they were planning to do to this poor woman but to me for doing something unforgivable she didn't deserve this at all.

I had seen enough and heard enough, these four scumbags were simply planning to torture and kill her, but why ? Because she was a slave ? Seeing the boy's condition again, I felt my fists clench and anger explode within me as I charged forward without thinking. With my hunting knives in hand, I targeted the son who had strayed a bit too far to avoid running away, being the fastest for me.

I quickly reached him and before he knew it I slit his throat with a sharp blow before running to the other side of the clearing. The two young women who must have been the daughters and their father didn't notice anything as I came upon them. I always treated women like Queens but if there was an exception it was when she attacked a defenseless one.

"Go to Hell !"

Finally one of them had looked up in my direction and caught sight of me but it was already far too late since with my speed I had already placed myself at their back. The two hunting knives that I had stuck in their skulls at the same time before I turned my wrists making their heads explode from the inside. Again I was covered in blood but this family of bastards had made me squirm with disgust.

"W-Who are you ? M-My children...that..."

There was only that scumbag of a father left, whom I was going to make suffer quickly so that he would not understand even a little of the pain he was inflicting. At this moment I had my eyes riveted on him in spite of the woman next to me that I didn't think to look at, much too focused on the man. Rushing on him, I grabbed him by the neck before propelling him on the ground at several meters, my hand still on his throat that I could crush at any moment.

"AARRG ! W-What...? W-Why ? Who...uuurg...are...you ?"

Speaking with difficulty, much to my delight the man asked me the same question again, not understanding what was going on. A few minutes ago he was about to kill one of his slaves along with his children and the next second they were all dead and he was about to be. This distress was nothing compared to the distress I had seen in the little warrior's eyes so it was in his honor that I answered his soon to be dead Master.

"Who am I ? I come from the little boy, I am his Avenging Demon~"

[Urg ! Can't believe I said that…]

Giving him my most beautiful, most terrifying smile, I saw his face turn livid and his eyes sink in turn into despair. At the mention of his little slave, the father understood that he should never have let him escape and I liked what I saw. Regret, guilt, pain, despair and more as I grabbed his own ankle to break it like he had done to the little boy's mother.

*CROOOCK*

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH !!!"

His scream was divine and after what I had seen, it sounded even more exquisite and perfect for a scumbag of his kind who didn't deserve a painless death. How many years had he abused this mother and son ? I knew men like him well, the kind who thought they were all powerful because they had a dick. I was repulsed and disgusted by him and I understood better the dangers of the neutral continent.

If one man could threaten a slave in the street and another could kill with impunity in a forest near a city, it was indeed very different from other continents. Spitting next to his face, I stood up before crushing my heel on his crotch because...I felt like it. A very special noise sounded like a squirrel being boiled, followed by another, even more powerful and intense scream.

"UUUUUAARGGGYMLKGTDG !!!"

"Hahahaha~"

[H-Hestia stop playing around and hurry up and get it over with, you came for the mother not to indulge your sadistic urges !]

I felt my blood boiling in my veins as the desire to torture him grew more and more making me laugh in spite of myself. In the end I was no better than them, I saved those I wanted to and tortured those I wanted to torture. But I didn't come here to do that or to analyze myself, so with a sigh I finally lifted my knife before cutting it directly into his heart, ending his life.

"That's it little one...it's over"

Observing the lifeless body of my victim, I muttered these words, sincerely hoping that the others would take care of him and that he would come out of it. It was over, his torturers were dead, he and his mother were now free and above all still alive. Putting away my two knives even if they were full of blood, I got up slowly and finally turned around to go forward and discover the one I had just saved, the mother of this little warrior.

"Everything is fine now, you are safe and they won't hurt you anymore"

"DON'T...*cough cough*...come near me !"

"Let me at least help y-..."

As I tried to reassure the woman I had just saved by stepping forward, I finally discovered her face and at that moment my mind went blank. I felt my heart miss a beat and then accelerate faster and faster, pounding in my chest and in my ears. I didn't know what was happening to me, at the mere sight of her I felt emptied of all my energy as if my body was floating in an incredible fullness.

She was there, under the moonlight, trembling, helpless, barely clothed, making me want to protect her, to take care of her and to hug her, whispering to her that everything was okay. The woman's hair was a tangled silver-gray, but to me it was shiny and beautiful. Her eyes were a clearer and purer blue than the sky and were puffy but to me they were the most beautiful I had ever seen.

The frightened woman wore a dress that barely covered her and on her body, scars, some of them indelible, only accentuated her beauty for me. Just by seeing them I could see the strength and courage she had shown with her Master which made my head spin even more. She had been beaten, was dirty, completely lost and scared, but I thought she was gorgeous under the moonlight.

"A-An angel..."

The silver-haired woman may have been wounded, scarred for life, or even aroused pity, but all I could see was an angel whose wings had been clipped. She was adorable, attractive, beautiful, so fragile and at the same time so strong and she intrigued me more and more. We were facing each other, she was lying with her back to the grass and I was standing covered in blood going through so many sensations…feelings I didn't know.

That was not all, I thought back to the phrase that the man had said to her "get rid of you and that thing inside you" which now took on its full meaning. The mother of the little boy was carrying life inside her, she was pregnant which only shocked me more. This angel with eyes as blue as the purest sea had not only survived watching over her son but she had done so while living through her pregnancy ?

[T-This woman…incredible…I…]

Time around me had stopped, I could only see her, I could only think of her, not even remembering what I was doing here or where I was. I was trembling, I could have even collapsed if my two legs were not firmly anchored to the ground thanks to an extreme concentration. My face was heating up, my hands were clammy, I was lost as for the very first time I didn't know how to act or what to say in front of a woman.

"C-Criminal !"

"I-..."

Suddenly, the boy's mother uttered this word that for some reason felt like a dagger in my heart when it was the truth. I hated it, I felt angry, strangely hurt and above all unable to answer. What was happening to me ? Sure I was covered in blood all over my face, I had just killed four people in front of her, sure I was a criminal, but why did it sound so hurtful ?

Putting all those emotions I couldn't decipher aside, I finally managed to take a step towards her slowly to reassure her. Every time I moved forward, the boy's mother backed away, crawling backwards as if I were a wild beast ready to do the same to her. For the first time I hated myself for looking terrifying when all I wanted to do was take her to her son and heal her.

"I-I...I don't mean you any harm, I'm..."

"N-NO MURDERER !!! DON'T..."

Unable to finish her sentence exhausted after all the pressure of the events, the silver-haired woman was suddenly fainting due to trauma from that night. I had just enough time to rush over to her to catch her head so she wouldn't hurt herself further, finding myself closer to her than I had ever been. My heart was beating fast, too fast, and I couldn't take my eyes off her face.

"Rest now. You fought well, princess~"

[May you have wonderful dreams, when you wake up you will be by your son's side]

I didn't know her name, I didn't know where she was from or who she was, but while I usually hypnotized women, this woman hypnotized me. Getting up and carrying her like the sleeping princess she was, I finally saw some of my group arrive. Lucas, Edward and Joe arrived in the clearing, noticing that it was over and noticing the one I was carrying in my arms.

"Is she the kid's mom ?"

"Mmmh..."

"As for the others, they went back to the little house to treat her son's wounds, warm him up and let him rest, his life is not in danger. We came here after making sure no one was roaming around in the forest but I see it's already over."

"..."

"Hestia, are you listening to me ? Our lair is on fire and the ship crashed into the rocks."

"Mmmh yeah yeah very well.."

In fact, everything Lucas was telling me was not being analyzed and processed by my brain which was not sending me any information anymore. My mind was so exhausted, this whole thing hadn't even lasted 30 minutes and yet I felt like I had been in a fight for hours. As I was lost in my thoughts I felt someone tap me on the shoulder before Edward the culprit's voice sounded behind me.

"Okay so what's going on with you ? Usually you would have dodged and even hit me back. What happened here, Captain ?"

"N-Nothing, I don't know...well everything was normal...I think. I just...I don't know...well whatever, it's time to go home and treat her back."

Why was he asking me these questions ? Okay, I happened to find this woman very attractive and touching, but nothing unusual, at least in my opinion, right ? Sighing and trying to forget about it, I walked towards the forest, making sure not to hurt her because of my strength. Soon arriving at the first trees of the forest, I looked down once more to contemplate her face as an unexpected comment came from Lucas.

"W-Wait a minute...don't tell me...you...you just blushed ?"

"No that's blood."

"Wait wait, no no, I could have sworn I saw you blush, your right cheek is not stained !!"

"Well, it will be with your blood if you keep talking bullshit !"

"Aye aye, but hey...Hestia Hellfire blushed, the bitch's heart of ice melted !!"

"YOU..."

"Hahahahaha~"

My arms were busy and I had to be careful so I couldn't run after Lucas to make him eat his hair and maybe break a rib or two. He knew better and would run off into the forest first, laughing, proud of the crap he had just said. Heart of ice ? Melted ? Bullshit. What heart to begin with ? It wasn't me and deep down I was sure my little brother was wrong.

[Everything is absolutely normal, isn't it ?]

So it was with this main question in mind that we slowly returned to the little wooden house we had found. I didn't know how the five days we had set before leaving would go and if we would get into trouble after that. That said, I didn't regret what I had done, even if acting like that for someone I didn't know was not my usual course of action.

I had come in with the idea of saving a simple slave, an honorable mother, but I was leaving more confused than I had ever been before. Since I had met this woman I had not been feeling my usual self, but putting that down to the special nature of the events, I passed. I didn't want to fry my brain over a situation that would soon be over.

"Anyway in her eyes I'm just a criminal she'll soon forget"

I had helped the little boy and his mother, but I knew that after their recovery our paths would part for good and forever. It was inevitable and even if the desire to know her name was unbearable, in a few days everything would be over and it was better that way. At least that's what I thought. This woman was just a beautiful nameless face among many others, so why was it so... different ?

[Fuck ! What the hell is wrong with me ?!]