The sky was pitch black, filled with clouds which hid both the stars and moons.

The land was dressed in a black mass, gathering on the tree's branches and lazily resting on the ground. Not even letting the cold breeze break its comfortable position.

The silence was meant to be thick, like a man's arm, but a bunch of footsteps were breaking it with stride.

A young, boney, girl was leading a dozen men at a chase. Her ear-long white hair was playing in the wind, her ruby-red eyes reflected the dark surroundings, filled with fear and some other terrible emotions.

Her bare feet ached from the exposure to the black mass, still they were forcibly shoved into the mass over and over again.

The girl didn't dare to look back at the dozen of men. Knowing that she wasn't allowed to fail, a mistake could result in her death, or worse. Taken back to the damned place she escaped.

The men had been following her for a long distance and she thought they would've given up by now, but she'd been dead-set wrong. And even worse was that they didn't seem bothered by the mass of cold air.

"DON'T LOSE HER, MEN!"

"YOU KNOW HOW IT'LL END IF WE FAIL!"

The men had their reasons for not letting her get away, and even she did know that. But she couldn't care less about what happened to them. For all that she cared, so could they get hanged in their own intestines. She wouldn't feel the slightest guilt for either them nor their families.

All that mattered was that she got away from that hellhole in one piece. And it was even if she would be forced to sacrifice her feet to the mass.

The black mass and trees were bathing in the moons' pale light. The clouds had finally let the moons peek through. Watching the girl standing defensive as she tried to keep an eye on all the men surrounding her.

Alerted, shivering and ready to strike with fractions of a second's notice.

She'd made a mistake. For a second so had she scouted for another route to take, instead of straightforward, and it'd been more than enough.

Not only was she threatened with things worse than death, but her clothes were now also wet. So the freezing cold was racing straight through her clothes and chilling her thin body straight to the bones.

"Young Miss. I would recommend you to stop fighting and following us back as a kind girl." One of the men, in front of her, took a step forward as he spoke. The armour at his chest reflected the shy moons, and so did his helmet. Both were well-polished and in stark contrast to what the girl was wearing. Thin rags, which merely covered the bones to body.

"I honestly rather die than go back there, Sir " She could feel her body tensing up even more as she talked, her eyes rapidly running through all the threats.

"Let's just take her, Sir."

Just as the random man said, so was it the only thing they could do. And if they honestly gave it a shot so would she make sure that she didn't make it easy for them.

One man attacked, rushing at her.

The girl swung at him with an open hand, hitting and watching the blood as it left large scratches on his throat.

Warm blood covered her fingers and claws, out of the tips, slowly warming up her poor body.

There was no way she could smile at the enjoyable feeling, even though it wasn't like anything she'd experienced before. But she'd no doubt she would've loved it more if the situation had been different.

"EVERYONE GRABB HER!"

There was no hint of fear in the men's voices, but they'd probably expected it would end in that manner. They'd, after all, gone after her, even though they knew well that she was a Demo lord in training. And even worse, for them, was that she was one of the strongest ones.

All the corpses were bathing in the moons' light, body parts scattered in the black mass. Over twenty corpses and even more parts, the bloody result of their meaningless attack.

In the middle of the massacre was the girl standing, drenched from head to toe in blood, with an excited look on her face. Surprised how good it had felt to kill all those men, how good it felt to no longer need to obey the rules of that elderly biddy. It really wasn't like anything she ever had experienced before. Not even the drugs she'd been given; back there, was anywhere near this feeling. And even better was that she was free from all that suffering, all that study and training. There was no need to spend her time even thinking about it ever again.

Turning in the opposite direction from where she first came, and started walking. The girl was sure she would enjoy her newfound freedom, no matter what the life possible could throw at her.

There were trees everywhere, far too many of them. And they were spread out all around a thin girl, giving enemies tons of chances to ambush her.

Both the rags she wore and her ear-long hair played in the scentless wind, giving her a slight feeling of safety. No scent carried in the breeze meant that there shouldn't be any enemies nearby.

It'd been a couple of days since the gorgeous night when she truly broke out and escaped the hellhole.

She'd enjoyed every second of it, but she wouldn't have minded finding out where she was. Or how she could get even further away from that place.

Dropping a sigh and continuing to strive through the inkish, black, mass. She didn't know what it was, but it was cold and her feet were numb from the chill. And she hated it.

As soon her power as a Demon lord was awakened so would she make sure to burn that mass to ashes. Maybe she also would handle those trees, simply giving back for giving the enemy a chance to lurk on her.

The dried blood all over her body had dried since long, and even though the straining feeling had broken up soon afterwards, so couldn't she deny that she maybe needed to take the time to take a bath. But she didn't want to strip in the cold winds, which she knew would rob her of her very last warmth. And it wasn't anything she could risk at the moment.

She had to get away from there as fast as she possible could. Even if she would have to injure someone to get away.

The sun grew weaker as the day grew closer to its end. But it was at least letting its rays lighten up an; almost invisible road. Appreciated dressed with trails of a waggon and a horse. Which she only could tell because she remembered seeing this kind of trail back in the hellhole during one of those few times she was outside the building.

Following the trail, both ways, with her eyes as she tried to decide which way the waggon had gone.

Neither of the ways was satisfying; none seemed to lead further away from the place she escaped. But, still, so was it only as it appeared for the moment. If she was lucky so could the way turn further down the road.

The night was arriving quicker than she had hoped. The air felt colder, but it would soon be better since she had decided on a direction a while back, and she could see the dancing light of a fire in a short distance. Meaning that she, at the very least, had found someone else, so now she only had to decide if she had to kill the person or not.

She tripped and fell, landing with her face into the black mass. Silently cursing her frozen feet before getting up again and continuing toward the fire.

It was a woman sitting in front of the fire, reaching out toward the fire to warm her hands.

Her shoulder-long blond hair wavered in the wind, just as her clothes as they partly reviled her well-formed body.

The girl was partly hiding behind a tree, a short distance away, and spied at the potential threat. Trying to judge if she would be necessary to kill her or not. And as she could say this far, so didn't it seem as she posed any dangers. As far the girl could see so wasn't the female having any weapons either.

Still, even though she couldn't see any direct threats to her safety, so was she growing more uncertain if it really was a good idea to walk up to the woman.

Humans were false and a rear-licking breed, doing whatever they could to please the creatures standing above them. In the case of this part, the same biddy as the girl was escaping.

Still... The fire looked dangerously seducing. And it would change her whole situation if she just could get close to it and warm herself up a second or two.

"WHO'S THERE?!"

The comfortable calm was broken by an aggressive shout, as the woman apparently had noticed her.

The girl knotted her fist and took a few steps toward the woman, "I do apologies, but is it possible for me to get some of that fire's warmth?"Just like back in the fight with those men so was she on high alert and ready to strike at a second's notice.

"You're free to join me by the fire, but may I ask if you don't have any company, Girl?" The woman seemed to relax when she saw the girl alone, but she seemed to have her suspicions.

"Thanks, I'm very grateful for your kindness." "And there's none with me. So you don't have to worry about that." The girl started to rapidly walking toward the fire as she followed herself up.

"My name is Helena, and may I ask what your name is, girl?" The woman's eyes were bleached by hesitation as she looked at the girl, now sitting as close she could without getting burned.

"To be honest so doesn't I've a name to use anymore. So you can try to call me something, and if I like it so can I use that as my name." She wasn't even looking at Helena as she answered. But it wasn't because she felt guilt for lying, she was honestly more entailed of how the flames moved. And to be honest so did she has a name, but it wasn't owned by herself but by the biddy, which was why she didn't want to use it. And even if Helena would come up with a name she could bear, so would it in the end be her own decision to use it.

"You're leaving me in a pickle, Girl. I think it'll be best if you decide on a name yourself." Helena could think like that if she wished, it didn't change the girl's idea.

Her tiny ears suddenly perked up and she could smell the wind carry a scent. "Do you happen to have a weapon, Helena?" A threat was coming closer with rapid steps. Something she couldn't say straight of, but at the very least so didn't it seem to be another Demon lord or a human.

"I do have a short sword, but why are you asking?"

The girl didn't answer her, slowly raising and turning till she faces the wind. Trying to think of what it could be coming their way.

A howl broke the silent night, scaring birds who had been sleeping in the trees.

The girl let out a relived sigh, knowing that she easily could scare of the wolves. Only her presence had been enough earlier, but those dogs maybe had grown resistance to her aura.

"REMAIN CLOSE TO THE FIRE, GIRL! ALMOST ALL KIND OF WOLVES HAS A FEAR OF FIRE!" Helena seemed to have been in this kind of problem before. But did she really think that wolves were scared of a mere fire?

"I suggest you do the same, Helena. And I suggest that you let me handle those lowly dogs." She'd no fear toward those wolves. They wouldn't be able to do her anything, not even if they came in a flock of thousands.

The wolves were communicating as they came closer, she could hear it. Still not able to understand what they were saying, but it was something she knew would grew out of her by the time.

After only a short time so could she see them, and noticed that they looked just as magnific as the one back in the building she escaped.

"Just stay close to the campfire, Helena. And don't come over here to help me." If things were about to go down, so wouldn't she need the woman's help. Instead so was she sure she just would be in the way.

"STAY BACK WOLVES! AN ATTACK WILL LEAD TO YOUR!.." She was cut short by one of the wolves leaping toward her, and soon was it meet by her claws. Once again coming out from her fingertips.

Throwing it to the side, "I DO WARN YOU! ONE MORE STEP AND!.." This time she was cut of by a deep growling by one of the wolves, who signed their death warrent.

If they wouldn't play nice, so wouldn't she either play nice. And with a light growl in her throat so did she also leap forward, aiming and slashing the wolf across its throat.

As if the wolves hadn't expected it so did they halt, barely for a second, before running straight toward her. Making it clear that they also wished to die, a wish she was willing to fulfill.

An almost mythological battle evolved in front of Helena. The girl was only about a head taller than the wolves, and yet so did she almost seemed to be playing with them.

The girl swiftly dodged their large jaws, often answering with a knee from bellow. She made blood rain down in the black mass, rapidly slashing the creatures to pieces.

She succeeded on keeping all the wolves company and taking all their attention from the other prey. A far easier prey that none would have to sacrificed their life to kill.

Massive jaws chomped down in the girl's arm, forcing a light shriek out of her, before she turned down and bite the side of the wolf's throat. Penetrating the skin before ripping it apart and sending blood spurting all over her front.

With the wolf rapidly bleeding out so did she spit the flesh out and forced the jaws open, as she at the same time dodged and answered attack from the remaining flock.

The blood dropped from her face and clothes, she stood still in the cirkel of dead wolves. Once beautiful creatures reduced to immobile pieces of waste.

She was breathing heavily as she watched the remaining few wolves escaping the one-sided massacre. Slowly feeling her arm sneakily starting to ache.

"Are you fine, Girl?"

Dazed the girl turned to see a female watching her carefully. At first was she surprised and prepared to attack if the woman came any closer, but memories flooded back and she could remember than the woman should've been there the whole time.

"I'm fine. But my arm hurts, and I'm getting cold. So I want to go back to the fire." She wasn't fine at all. Not only was the arm hurt, but she found it uncomfortable that she'd lost herself in the killing. Which could've meant she could've killed more without knowing it.

"Feel free to. And, thanks for the help, Rose." The woman called her Rose?

The girls tilted her head slightly and tried to think of a reason Helena had called her Rose, which Helena caught up to fast. "You said you doesn't have a name, so I did decide to call you rose as you are red as a Rose for the moment."

So that had been the reason, and it wasn't as if she minded being named Rose the slightest. So as far as she could tell, so would she go by that name for now.

The sun was sneaking up in the horizon, promising to chase the night's chill away. But it wasn't soon enough for Rose's taste.

Helena had woke Rose up before the sun itself so the two of them could get going. But they'd only been on the road till the sun peaked out, then Helena had found a grove close to a small spring. Telling Rose they had to do one thing before they continued.

Rose wasn't enjoying the situation she found herself in. Kneeling beside the spring, nude, as Helena both kept an eye at her and their surrounding. Making sure none interrupted them as Rose was washing herself off.

"Doesn't it feel wonderful washing off that blood and grim, Rose?"

"I don't know if it'll feel better, Helena. I so only do it because you've promised me that you'll give me some clothes." It was only partly truthful. Rose was washing herself of because of the new clothes. But it was also because Helena had said they would reach a village, where they would spend the night, and it meant she couldn't be that blood stained.

"I see..." Helena looked down at Rose, "Then I hop that the clothes will be to your satisfaction , Rose." Helena made it sound as if Rose would demand good clothes, but honestly so couldn't Rose care less about it as long as the clothes were better than the rags she's worn earlier. And it wasn't difficult in any way.

Thanks to the cold air so did Rose making sure to get done as soon as possible, chilled to the very bone from her thin body.

And as soon she was done so did Helena hand the girl the new clothes. A plain shirt, an undershirt and a blouse. All made out of a thicker textile, which Helena explained was to keep the cold out and the warmth in.

"By the way, Rose. How are you arm doing?" Did Helena even have to ask?

"I think it's fine with my arm, Helena. You did saw the arm earlier and said that it looked surprisingly good." To be honest, so couldn't Rose say how her arm was supposed to look. Sure, she'd got injured during her time back in the hellhole. But neither she or the other Demon lords had been bitten, so it was impossible to tell what was in or out.

But neither way so did Rose started to dress, "It did look good, but I feel as if it's healing too fast. So, may I ask what skill you posses which let you recover that fast?" Helena continued to talk while Rose slipped into the clothes. Which she already could feel really did keep the cold out.

"May I ask you what you mean with skills?" Rose couldn't remember she ever had heard about it, "Or rather, what are the skills you're talking about?" Suddenly thinking that it maybe was best to take it from the beginning.

Helena eyes shot wide before throwing them into explaining about skills, which continued even after they were done and sat in the waggon, heading further down the road.

And as Rose understand it so was it a horrible simplified version of the magic she'd learned about back in the hellhole. The only difference was that skills only were small throwaway parts of the whole magic part.

"May I interrupt you a little, Helena? But doesn't you need to reach adulthood before being able to learn those skills?" As Rose had heard about magic, so wasn't it possible to truly learn it until the Demon lord reach adulthood. But if it would turn out that HUMANS could learn it before adulthood, so shouldn't it be difficult for her to learn magic before she was an adult.

"Most people starts to learn it before they're considered adults. But there's still a difference, from person to person, when they start learning skills."

Rose meant that it meant she surely could learn magic before she was an adult, which simply meant that she needed to start training soon. The only question was where she should start, but at least so shouldn't it be during the time she was on the waggon.

Rose looked at the greyish sky, keeping an eye at the sun as it got closer to the horizon.

Her small rear felt sore after sitting in the waggon the whole day, only with a few short brakes when either of them needed to take a piss. Still, she couldn't say that she minded it too much. Spending the whole time listening to Helena, not only about skills but also about the places she'd been visiting.

"You can see the village, over there, Rose." The woman was only holding the reins with one hand, using the other to point out the city.

"I see." Rose followed Helena s pointing. Caring less as she tried to scout out any possible threats.

She was sure the biddy still wanted to bring her back to the hellhole, so she had to keep her senses on high alerts, in case some of her people were nearby.

"I think you might need relax, Rose. Villagers will notice if you're too jumpy and suspect you for things, which might lead to even further problems." As Helena expressed it, so did it almost sound as if Rose was wanted for a crime, but it maybe was to be expected when considering that Rose still hadn't explained why she was blood stained and alone in the middle of the forest.

Rose was sure she should've told Helena already about the situation, but she was still uncertain how well she could trust her. Sure, she hadn't seen anything other than kindness, but it didn't make a human more trustworthy.

"I'll keep that in mind, Helena. But is it really a good idea to be too relaxed where there can be possible thieves and murderers?" She'd been taught humans couldn't be trusted, and was sure there existed an explanation to why she was taught that.

"You're right on that you can't trust everyone, but there'll be tons of indications to why some can't be trusted." Helena maybe could see things like that after all the time she spent traveling. But this was the very first time Rose left the hellhole, so she didn't have the luxury to learned that .

The houses looked shabby, making Rose relax slightly more. Sure none of the biddy's people willingly would set their feet in a wrecked place like this.

Helena had stopped the waggon in front of one of the largest buildings, close to the road, which had a stable beside it. "We'll be staying here for the night, Rose. So I hope you likes it."

No, Rose didn't like it. The building was looking just as bad as the other buildings, and she wouldn't be surprised if wild animals could enter through the possible cracks in the walls. But, once again, so might it be a good way to avoid those people.

"I see. But as I indicated earlier, Helena. Are you sure we're safe sleeping here?" It was probably not only wild animals coming in through the cracks, there might be humans too.

"You doesn't have to sweat it, Rose. It's safer than it looks, and to be honest, so doesn't we've the luxury to be picky." Helena jump off the waggon as she spoke and lead the horses toward the stable, kindly talking with a boy standing outside the entrance. Telling him they would leave in the morning, again, and giving him a couple of coins before gesturing to Rose to follow her.

The inside of the building only looked slightly better than the outside.

The tables, floor, wall and even the roof was dirty. The tables were lined up tightly and who ever had set them out seemed to have tried to fit in as many as possible. Even more impressive was that over the half amount of tables were filled by men drinking their time away.

Rose stood with Helena by the bar, as she listened to Helena booking them a cheap room and paying for using the stable.

Rose was even less impressed by the situation than when she'd looked at it from the outside. Not only was the room filled with a strong and off-putting scent, but the bartender had the very same scent. Which Rose suspected meant that the man behind the bar counter had been drinking just as much as the rest.

"I would like to see you leave as soon as possible in the morning, Lassie." The man handed Helena the key to the room as he called her something strange. But it didn't seem to be bothering Helena the slightest, so she could suspect it wasn't something too bad.

Helena turned to face Rose, "Shall we get going, Rose?" Passing her before she even answered.

The room they would be sharing was barely large enough to fit the two beds. Or, rather than beds so was it simply two heaps of hay on the floor, covered with two blankets.

"I know it isn't much, but it's about what we need for a good night's sleep." Helena hadn't even seen Rose disliking glare at the so-called beds, yet so could she already figure out how she felt.

"So it's just to be glad with what we can get, Helena?" Even the bed Rose had back in the hellhole had been better than this, and it had been a board on the floor, a thin madrass and a thin blanket. And honestly so shouldn't she'd minded that instead of this.

"But on the bright side, since we've picked this kind of room, so does we've some money for booze." Helena turned around as she spoke and, again, passes Rose as she spoke.

The surrounding noises, down in the bar, was growing louder as the night arrived. More people had arrived and none of them seemed to understand that they could talk in a low tone, instead screaming out what they wished to have said.

Still so had Rose found out one good thing with being there, Helena had ordered food for them. A kind of filling soup and some dry and dark bread.

Rose had't been expecting much, but was gladly surprised by the luxury food they got. Far, FAR, finer food than she ever had eaten before.

"You must have been starving, Rose." Helena could say that again.

Rose had been wolfing down the first bowl of soup so fast that Helena had decided to order another one for her. Helena didn't know it, but she shouldn't be able to judge Rose for being hungry. To be honest, so had Rose only eaten a slight piece of dried meat, Helena had offered during their travel, since Rose escaped that place.

After finish her second bowl so did Rose looking curious at the drink Helena had bought her, sure she'd called it wine, and felt an uncomfortable and lingering strong scent of it. Unsure if it was fine to drink something like that. Even though Helena, in front of her, drank it with gusto.

"Shouldn't you at least try the wine, Rose? And if you doesn't like it, so maybe we can get you something else." Helena's eyes were looking kindly at her as she asked, and sure Rose could consider at least trying it. A horrible decision she couldn't remember the result of.