Lucia found herself facing a podium. On it stood a man, a priest in harsh white robes, who bore down upon everyone sitting on the pews below. She couldn’t make out much of anything behind him, his surroundings seemingly fading to the color of nothingness the farther away her eyes tried to wander.

  The priest’s words were caustic, painfully acrid to Lucia’s ears. The actual words coming out of his mouth were unimportant, but the meaning behind them was plenty clear. Hate, vitriol, utter contempt for those who shy away from God’s light.

  The men and women sitting beside Lucia nodded in agreement, their imposing figures looming over her as much as the priest’s. Their attention, starting out wholly focused on the priest, slowly shifted as the vitriolic sermon went on, soon pointed directly at her. It didn’t take a genius to realize what this whole speech was all about… or who.

  With a huff, Lucia kicked her legs to rise from her seat. She wasn’t about to take this abuse. However, her body remained stationary no matter how hard she tried to move. Lucia looked down to see what was keeping her in place, and to her surprise, it was a large bulge in her stomach. She continued to kick her teenage legs harder and harder as the shadowy figures on the pews began to crowd around her. As soon as they were upon her, she let out a scream and the world shifted.

  …

  Lucia awoke to soft streaks of light filtering through the canopy. She could feel a steady rocking as the light and foliage above her steadily moved. When she turned her head to follow their trail, she found Jayaka’s stern face looking directly ahead.

  “Damn, I haven’t had that nightmare in years,” she mumbled groggily.

  “You’re awake! Thank the gods,” softly exclaimed Jayaka, letting out a long sigh of relief. He stretched his muscles and sped up his walking pace with renewed vigor, with Lucia cradled in his arms in a one-person lift.

  “Are you my prince charming here to save me?” Lucia asked. Before she could get a response, she remembered exactly who was carrying her. “No wait, you already have a princess. Never mind.”

  “I am no prince, but I do intend to save you,” he said back. “Though I do not see what this has to do with my wife.”

  “Don’t worry about it. So what’s going on? I remember eating your food, finding that cabin, and… I killed a person.”

  “You killed a rakshasi, a demon who wanted to eat your flesh. She struck you with her poisoned nails and you’re still suffering from the toxin.”

  Lucia moved a hand over to her stomach and found no bloody wound. She felt something wet under her ripped shirt and apron, which left the tips of her fingers covered in a light green residue.

  “I fed you some gooseberries when you were half-awake, and whatever fire prana that was left in you from your fight seems to have healed the worst of the injury. But the poison is still present, and we need to find you an antidote, so I am taking us to the village the rakshasi was terrorizing in the first place.”

  “Two birds, one stone, huh? Tell them the job’s done and to heal me up as a reward?”

  “I undertook this mission with no expectation of recompense, only to do the right thing and save these people from a terrible fate. I simply hope to call upon whatever gratitude they may have for your accomplishment.”

  “Right, my accomplishment.” Lucia turned her head towards the ground. Rather than meeting the dull brown soil, she found herself face to face with the rakshasi’s head hanging from Jayaka’s side. It took all of her remaining willpower to keep her stomach calm, not that there was anything left in her stomach to purge. “Why the fuck are you taking that with you?!”

  “As proof of your deed! Her brother’s head was too big to carry.”

  “Yeah…”

  “You are not happy? You saved these people from a terrible monster, I am sure they will help you!”

  “I was never much of a ‘greater good’ kind of gal. I mean, I’m happy for the village, but does it really justify what I did? I killed someone, and demon or not, it’s still awful. Honestly, the worst part about all of this is how I didn’t even hesitate when I swung my knife. I just fucking did it.”

  Jayaka remained silent. He closed his eyes for a brief moment before looking ahead and continuing his walk wordlessly. A chill wind blew through their path, making Lucia instinctively grab at her bare arms for warmth. Jayaka didn’t react to the cold.

  Eventually, the archer spoke up. “You would not have had to go through with it if I did not pull you along with me. Slaying the rakshasi was my duty, my burden to bear.”

  This time, it was Lucia’s turn to remain silent.

  “I am deeply sorry for what I have put you through.” Jayaka turned towards the sky, but Lucia could see the faintest streak of a tear fall down his right cheek. “I am sorry for having killed your innocence.”

  “Hey! Don’t beat yourself up over this,” replied Lucia in a huff. “I knew exactly what I was walking into when I decided to tag along, and I made sure you didn’t have a choice in the matter. Besides, my innocence died a long time ago, I just never thought I’d have to actually kill anyone.”

  “Sadly, that is the world my compatriots and I live in. A world we were dragged into, and later chose to fully embrace. And now I am guilty for having dragged you into it all the same.”

  “Oh please, if anyone’s to blame, it was those assholes who brought me and my son here in the first place! If anything, you’re only responsible for making my transition here easier. In a world like this, having to kill to survive was an inevitability. So thanks.”

  Jayaka simply nodded. His eyes began to dry and his lips curled into a soft smile that did not betray the sincerity behind it.

  “Hey, I think I’m starting to feel a bit better. If you want to let me down, I think I can walk the rest of the way.”

  The archer complied and slowly set her down. Lucia’s unsteady legs were able to support her weight, but the first step she took had her tumbling to the ground. Jayaka caught her arm, and after helping her regain her balance, offered his own shoulder as a support. The two continued their walk, albeit somewhat slower. Neither of them minded however, it was for the best.

  The sun had almost fully set by the time the two reached the outskirts of their destination. Twilight hung over the village as the duo passed by a pair of massive boulders that marked the entrance. Several demure buildings spotted the flat land over a long distance, with several fields surrounding a large lake making up the settlement’s most spacious developments. The duo’s unsteady footsteps loudly kicked up the gravel beneath their feet, but did little to get in the way of their conversation.

  “So I wonder what kind of feast they’ll be throwing us for saving them?” asked Lucia. “It’d make up the shitshow the past few days have been.”

  “Feast?” asked Jayaka, seemingly snapped out of his thoughts.

  “I mean, yeah. It’s dinner time, I’m sure you’re just as hungry as I am, and we’re heroes! I could be moping about the fact that I’m a murderer right now, and I really want to, but I want to fill my stomach first. I can worry about that after I can think clearly again.”

  “Yes… we will need to eat before heading back, as well as stock up on a few rations for the trip back.”

  “So who do we need to talk to-”

  Before Lucia could complete her sentence, she was interrupted by a trio of newcomers. The three men had a lighter complexion than the duo, and looked more similar to Peng Cheng in every way other than their builds.

  “Who are you two, and why do you come to our village?” asked the first of the men. He was relatively short and stocky.

  “We haven’t gotten visitors since the demons started attacking travelers,” added another. He was taller than the first, and much wider.

  “Maybe these two are the ugly demons?!” exclaimed the third. He was taller than the others but as thin as a twig. “They’re masters of illusion, and they’ve disguised themselves as travelers! It must be some kind of trick!”

  Rather than waiting for an explanation, the three pulled out makeshift weapons. A large, wooden stick, an iron knife, and a hatchet.

  Lucia regarded the trio with tired eyes and let out a sigh. “You know, I’m just glad that you didn’t say that I look ugly as I am. But you’re right about one thing; the demon’s right here.”

  “See, I knew it!” shouted the third man.

  Before they could charge, Jayaka unfastened the string across his belt and tossed the rakshasi head to them. It landed in front of the trio’s feet who looked closely at it with curious eyes.

  It didn’t take long for them to realize that it wasn’t some kind of ball, and when the demoness’ lifeless eyes rolled to the front and stared back at them, the three quickly turned around and ran away.

  As the dust cloud they kicked up began to settle, the form of a short, older woman appeared where the trio once stood.

  “And so the one terrorizing our village lies dead,” slowly said the old woman, her voice steady despite the wild look the rakshasi’s head was giving her. “But did she not have a brother?”

  “His head was too large to carry, but it lies to the South, close to the nearby martial sect” replied Jayaka, extending his arms out as far as they would reach. “It was about this big.”

  “Do not mention the sect,” spat the woman. “One whole month and our pleas still remain ignored! But you, who live so far away, journeyed for days just to help us mere peasants. How can this one thank you?”

  “I would seek no reward,” began Jayaka. “But my friend here has been poisoned while delivering the final blow, and I have no antidote with me. It has been three hours, and I fear she may be at her limit.”

  “Say no more. We have plenty of antidotes, but no use for them otherwise. Ironically, we were to trade them for other medicines, but with the demons, no merchant has dared come near here.”

  “Well, that should change now. I’m Lucia, by the way.” She took a wobbly step forward before falling to a knee.

  “This one is Tan Fu,” replied the old woman, as she turned around. “Now come, it is a miracle you are still alive after so long. I have heard that her poison can kill in just one hour.”

  The two wordlessly followed, Jayaka raising Lucia by her arms and helping her forward.

  “You cultivators really are a different breed than the rest of us.”