Next Morning
At dawn, Kael stood before his knights, arms crossed as he surveyed the battlefield. The stench of blood and death still hung in the air, and the sight before them was no less grueso than last night.
"Alright, ti to start working," he announced. "We need to clear this ss. Move the corpses, gather anything useful, and check if there’s anything unusual left behind."
The knights moved with groggy reluctance, dragging their feet toward the massive piles of bodies. But as they worked, lifting slabs of broken armor and tossing aside shattered weapons, they quickly realized sothing.
"Gods above... there’s more!" one knight gagged.
"This isn’t just from the battle! Look at these bodies—they’ve been rotting for days."
"Shit! There’s a whole mountain of them back here!"
Kael turned and saw it too—a grueso mass of corpses, hidden behind the ruined structures. Unlike the ones from last night’s battle, these bodies were pale, shriveled, drained of life.
"Damn it... they were sacrifices." Kael’s face darkened.
One of the knights doubled over and vomited.
"Enough bullshit. Stop reacting and start working," Kael snapped. "We don’t have ti to stand around crying about it."
The knights swallowed their disgust and forced themselves to continue. So covered their faces with cloth, others hardened their expressions and began the grim task of sorting through the bodies.
But then—
A loud scream tore through the air.
"My Lord! We found soone alive!"
Kael’s head snapped up. "What?"
Without hesitation, he strode toward the source of the voice, his heartbeat quickening.
The knights parted, forming a tight circle around sothing or soone. Kael stepped forward and imdiately saw her.
A woman lay among the corpses, her body battered, her breath weak. She was no ordinary survivor.
She had long, flowing red hair, cascading down her shoulders like flas. Her skin was a pale shade of crimson, and a pair of curved horns jutted from her forehead, dark and smooth like polished obsidian. Even in her weakened state, she possessed an undeniable beauty, her sharp features both delicate and fierce.
Kael’s gaze hardened. He knew exactly why she was still alive.
"DEMON!"
Demons had vitality far beyond that of humans. Their long lifespans made them resilient, and even though most of her life essence had been drained, she had barely clung to survival. If she had been human, she would have perished long ago.
"She is damned pretty...Hehehe...You have got a jackpot kid,"Ramos asked with an expression that only n know only to make Kael bite him.
"Do you only think with your lower part?"
"What the fuck did you say?"Ramos shouted raising his knuckles but Kael ignored him while looking around at the knights who were pretty nonchalant that made him feel weird.
"Aren’t you surprised to see a demon..You don’t want to kill her or hate her."
"Huh?Why would we do that?"Ramos asked with a frown , making Kael confused.
That’s when a sudden thought stuck in his mind and he asked.
"Are finding demons in human land quite common nowadays?"
"It’s not common but it’s not uncommon either."
"In the Capital, you can find quite number of brothels run by succubus.Also there are quite a number of demons around who also occupied high positions in rchant groups and all that."
Ramos said, which made Kael understand.
’Haa!Sotis, I forget that this isn’t the war era.And we aren’t fighting them now and have established a good relationship.’
In his ti, if you find a demon in human land or a human in demon land, people would already start ringing alarm sign and begin the huntm
But since the war was over naturally, the distance and barrier between the two species must be lessened a lot.
"She’s still breathing," one knight muttered in shock.
"Get her out of here," Kael ordered. "Bring water and dicine. I’ll handle this."
The knights hesitated at first, their distrust of demons clear in their eyes. But a single glare from Kael shut them up, and they quickly moved to follow his orders.
Later, in the Camp
Kael sat beside the unconscious demon, watching as the firelight flickered over her face.
He had carefully cleaned her wounds, wrapping bandages around her arms and torso. She was frail,a stark contrast to the strength demons were known for.
He placed a damp cloth on her forehead. Her breathing was slow but stable.
"Hah! Taking care of a demon woman, huh?"
Kael looked up and saw Ramos, the old man, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed. His wrinkled face split into a smirk, his eyes gleaming with amusent.
"Damn, she’s got a nice face. Maybe I should have let myself get cursed if it ant being saved by a beauty like that," Ramos whistled.
Kael snorted. "Shut it, old man."
Ramos chuckled. "Just saying, lad. If I were younger, I’d definitely try my luck." He gave Kael a knowing look before walking off, whistling all the way.
Kael shook his head and sat down on rock.
’That damn old man%
Monts Later,she awakened.
A soft groan reached Kael’s ears. He imdiately turned to see the demon woman’s fingers twitching slightly.
Her eyes fluttered open—deep crimson, glowing faintly even in the dim firelight. For a mont, they were blank, unfocused. But as soon as she recognized her surroundings, her gaze turned sharp and cold.
She sat up abruptly—then winced, clutching her side.
"You’re awake," Kael said simply.
Her eyes snapped toward him, burning with a quiet rage.
"Where am I?" she demanded, her voice rough yet unmistakably strong.
"You were found among the corpses. I saved you," Kael replied.
The demon woman clenched her jaw. Her fingers dug into the fabric of the blanket covering her.
"Saved ?" she repeated coldly.
"Save ....From who?Why?"
"..."
Question marks appeared on Kael’s face wondering if this woman is sane.
The demoness looked at Kael with a confused gaze and asked,"Tell .... Do you expect gratitude?"
Kael’s expression changed a bit as he asked. "No. Just doing what needed to be done."
She studied him for a long mont, her crimson eyes unreadable.
Then, with a slow, controlled movent, she exhaled. "Hmph. A strange human."
Kael didn’t respond—just handed her a waterskin.
She hesitated before snatching it from his hands. Even in her weakened state, she still carried herself with pride.
As she drank, Kael finally spoke.
"What’s your na?"
The demon woman paused, lowering the waterskin slightly.
She looked at him, her eyes cold yet thoughtful. Then, she answered.
"...Lyria."
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