Knock. Knock.

It must be time.

Rey swiftly got up and tied Leon onto his back with his smoky tendrils.

It may look a little ridiculous, carrying a full grown man like a child. But Rey didn't care, it was easier this way. Like this, he can use both his hands if needed and keep Leon safe at the same time.

Rey opened the door.

Rosalie's father stood a bit shocked by the sight, "You're bringing him?"

Rey nodded.

The man chuckled nervously, "He's still sleeping,"

"He won't get in the way,"

". . . ."

The man sighed, "Look, this is a very important job. I don't think your friend is-"

Rey glared, "If he can't come, I'm not going,"

". . . ."

The man was lost for words.

Why would you bring your friend, who is still sleeping, into possible danger?! Especially since you said your friend does nothing?!

Nonetheless, they began making their way out of the inn. At the exit, there stood Rosalie. Her arms were crossed and she had a frown on her face. She stared silently at her father and Rey before opening her mouth.

"You're bringing a stranger into this?" she said with no stutter.

"Go to bed," her father demanded, "this doesn't concern you,"

"It does!" she took a step forward, "You're my dad!"

"Go to bed,"

Rey stared nonchalantly at the scene, not interested in interfering. This family drama wasn't any of his business. He barely even knows them. He just knows that the father knew that he was a demon and that this village is doing something shady.

It caught his interest, that's all.

Originally, by this time, if Leon was still acting like Leon, Rey would have already grown quite close with the father and the daughter. He wouldn't be standing on the sidelines like some side character. Rey still doesn't even know the father's name! He would have already known the quest details as well. He wouldn't still be nosy and curious!

The father shoved his daughter out of the way, "I don't have time for this,"

"Dad!" Rosalie yelled from afar.

Her father ignored her and made his way out, Rey followed behind. Rosalie was left standing alone, anguish.

They made their way out of the village and towards the church. Just as Rey had predicted, the cargo was inside the church. There, Rey was met with the few guards of the village and a few other villagers he's seen at the inn. In total, there were at least fifteen people present. He had also met the priestess once more, much to the priestess's dismay.

Nobody seemed to comment on how Rey strapped his friend to his back, but they did give him a few weird looks. Questioning looks, but didn't dare to ask.

"Why is he here?!" the priestess pointed at Rey with panic.

"He's with us," Rosalie's father replied, "He came from the forest, he's gonna help us,"

The priestess could only gawk, "He robbed me!"

He ignored the priestess's distress and turned towards Rey, "This is Marla, the village's healer and priestess, she may be a little dramatic but she's a nice person,"

Rey only nodded in acknowledgment.

A priestess who closes her church and denies to heal someone in need is not someone he wants to associate with.

"Let's go,"

Marla didn't know she would meet her robber so soon. He came in like a whirlwind and left as if he wasn't there at all, it was pretty bewildering. She hoped that there wouldn't be any more surprises.

She sobbed as she led the crowd inside her church.

She moved the statue of her goddess and led them down the tunnel.

The tunnel was dark and quiet, but Rey could hear and see slight movements at the end of the hall.

He wondered what living beings this small village was keeping that they needed a stranger's help with.

He kept walking until they made it to a large, circular opening. The opening was lit up with firesticks, allowing everyone to see.

Rey already had a feeling way before he was even here, but he still frowned at the sight.

At the center of the cave was no other than a crowd of people.

Specifically, there were elves, nymphs, half-beasts, and even demons huddled together, malnourished and scared. Many of them were at least in their early teens, others were young adults and elderly. Scanning their wounds, it looks like they've previously been tortured or beaten.

Rey didn't like the sight. It was horrible. Disgusting.

It brought him bad memories of being sold on the black market.

Though Rey looked nonchalant on the outside, he was burning with rage on the inside. It seems that things like this happened everywhere, not only in Aruvar. This must be the reason why Fay warned him about the human lands.

When the crowd saw Rey, hope immediately brightened their eyes. They knew he was one of them. They wanted to plead for help but were also too scared to say anything.

"This is the cargo we're transferring?" Rey asked, indifferently.

"Yes," Rosalie's father replied, "let's get moving everyone, we don't have all night,"

Just as one of the soldiers grabbed a hold of an elderly half-beast, Rey summoned his tendrils and threw the man across the cave.

"What are you doing?!" Rosalie's father exclaimed.

Rey glared at him, "I should be asking you that,"

With a flick of his finger, Rey's tendrils tied everyone up. And with just a blink of an eye, Rey could have easily ended everyone's lives, but he didn't. He needed answers.

"I'll give you three seconds to explain yourself," Rey demanded.

"What?"

"3,"

"Wait!" Rosalie's father pleaded, "Wait, wait, wait!"

Everyone began to panic as they couldn't escape.

"2,"

"It's not what you think!"

The tendrils began strangling them.

"1,"

"We're saving them!"

Rey stopped strangling them but didn't let them go just yet.

"Elaborate,"

Rosalie's father coughed, "We're saving them! We're taking them to the forest!"

Rey furrowed his eyebrows, "You're sending them to their death,"

The forest was a dangerous place. Monsters were lurking at every corner. During the three days of travel, Rey had to fight most of the way here. He was strong, so it was easy for him. But most of the prisoners here were either children or elderly. There was no way they could fight off the monsters in the forest. It would just be a road toward death.

Rey curled his fingers, tightening the tendrils once more.

"We have people waiting for them!"

The tendrils continue to tighten.

Rey didn't trust them. Just saying 'people' was vague. It could be anything.

"Believe us!"

Just as Rey was about to end their measly lives, an elven child crawled up and held his leg.

"Stop!" the child cried, "You're hurting Marla!"

Rey glanced at the child.

He was silent for a moment, before deciding to examine the crowd once more. Their injuries have already been healed. They were only littered with past scars and scabs. They also didn't have any chains stopping them from escaping. And it didn't look like they were starving nor were they on the brink of death.

Rey glanced at the priestess.

If he remembered correctly, the priestess was drunk and disheveled. But she was also tired and exhausted to the point of being unable to keep up with appearances.

The church must have been closed for a month because the priestess was too busy caring for these people, healing, and feeding them.

Rey looked at the guards.

There were very few guards in the village, which left the village vulnerable yet no monsters have come to destroy the village. The main force must be waiting for them in the forest. To help transfer these victims to the other side and to also fight off monsters on their way.

Rey immediately released his fellow humans.

He must have acted too soon.

"Count yourselves lucky, a child saved your lives,"

Everyone looked at Rey exasperated, wanting to yell and beat him. But they knew they would lose immediately and they didn't want to face Rey's wrath if they did happen to offend him.

"Let's go," Rey ordered, dismissing everything that he had just done.

They all glared at the man who brought Rey into the plan before heading to their destination.

They made it to the edge of the forest. There, they were met with a larger group of soldiers. And immediately, everyone began packing up, splitting the crowd, and putting them into carriages. It did not take very long. It was as if they'd been doing this for many years already.

"What took so long?!" The captain of the soldiers scolded.

"Sorry sir!" one of the soldiers saluted, "We just ran into a little misunderstanding, but everything's good now,"

"Is this everyone?"

"Yes,"

"It's time," the captain got on his horse, "Split up!"

And just like ordered, every group went their separate ways.

Rey watched as all this happened. This was an incredibly easy mission and it looked like they were doing this for years already. There was no need to get help from an outsider.

"Why did you ask for my help?" Rey asked, eyes still looking at the disappearing figures.

"I wanted you to see this," Rosalie's father said, "It's not safe for people like you over here, you should go back to the other side,"

Rey ignored him. It's not safe anywhere for him. Humans don't like demons. Enchanted beings don't like Leon. He'd rather be at a place where at least Leon would be accepted before heading out anywhere else. Humans were easy to deal with. It's the other races he was worried about.

"If you're planning to stay in this land, you should cover-up. Half demons are popular these days,"

That seemed the catch Rey's attention, "There are others like me?"

". . . Kind of?" the man turned towards Rey, "You should be careful. I don't think carrying your friend around is gonna help you,"

Rey nodded in acknowledgment. He supposes it does catch a lot of attention, especially if he can no longer walk around freely. Looks like he'll have to start covering up as he did in the past. But to think there were others like him, he thought he was the only one.

An abomination in this world.

Seeing that everything here was done, he walked back to the inn. But before he could open the door, he could feel Rosalie's presence awaiting their arrival on the other side. He remembered the fight earlier and realized that Rosalie was probably against her father doing these acts of kindness. She wanted her father to stop before the royals find out and punishes him. She wanted to keep her last-standing family member safe from harm.

Noticing this, Rey didn't want to witness another family drama, so he walked around the corner, jumped onto his balcony, and into his room. He had someone to keep safe too. The only difference between him and Rosalie was that he was strong and she wasn't.

Rey laid Leon down on the bed, fingers running through dim golden hair. Leon was still asleep, dreaming good dreams. It scared Rey sometimes. Mostly because Leon looked happier asleep than awake. That if Leon could, he would rather sleep forever. Rey hated it. It felt as if Leon was still slipping out of his fingers.

Just then, a tear dropped from Leon's eyes.

Rey wiped the tear away and leaned his forehead against Leon's.

"I can't let you go yet," he whispered, "I'm sorry,"

Rey laid down, eyes still watching as Leon slept. He knew he had to sleep. There were only a couple of hours left until the sun rose. He needed the energy to travel for tomorrow.

His destination is Tevalon. He wondered what was there. Was it anything like Aruvar? Will he find others like him? Will it remind Leon of home?