Ardent Exorcist

by Cvicel

Althea (a medicine student or perhaps a spy) enrolls into the True Cross Academy where she finds new friends and turns Mephisto's carefully-planned world upside down. ***Rated M because it contains some mature content, but the focus is on my own story - characters, relationships and fights. The story does have an ending and you have much to look forward to.***

26. A brute's salute, rain en route

Chapter 26 - A brute's salute, rain en route

Thea was sitting in the True Cross Academy library, surrounded by anatomy books and notes. There was so much to cover and so little time… Scribbling here, crunching some data there. Her thesis still needed polishing. At least Ayami could enjoy the nice, sunny Saturday. She went out with Toshiro again. Good. They deserved some quality time together. She shook her head firmly - focus time. Minutes went by fast. Or were those hours?

A sound startled her. A whine? A bark? Out of nowhere, a small white dog appeared. How long has he been sitting next to her? The extravagant pink polka-dot bow seemed familiar… Another bark came out, demanding her attention. She looked around to search for the dog's owner, but weirdly, the library was empty. Her every move seemed to echo in the vast space. Where was everyone? In the meantime, the dog stood up and put his paws on the desk, sniffing at the chocolate-chip muffin Thea had there. She shook her head firmly yet again, this time explaining the negative effects of chocolate on canines to her little visitor.

Puppy eyes. Of course he would try to pull that little trick on her… Her resolve was a doctor's resolve, knowing what was good for you and what was harmful. Another bark. There was determination and mischief in his eyes. Those eyes… looked too smart to be a dog's eyes. She caught him in her arms before he could bite in. Maybe she could free some ham from her sandwich for him…

That feeling… An aura. A demonic one, too! All of her senses went on alert. Something finally clicked in. She knew that dog! The one from Wadakura Fountain Park. But… It reminded her of Sir Pheles' aura… She could swear they were similar… Only this one was so faint, far from the rainless thunderstorm Sir Pheles radiated. So, could the dog be a demon, too? Was she getting paranoid? Was she seeing demons everywhere, now that she has spent a few weeks studying at the special Academy for exorcists?

The dog certainly didn't look evil. Unless that's what he wanted her to think. Like all demons. Cruel. Misleading. Manipulating… Wait… Why would she think that way? They have haunted her ever since her grandma collapsed a long time ago, duh! She had to run from them. Hide from them. Fight them. Pretend they were never there in the first place… But… That wasn't true anymore, right? There was Rin, Kuro, even Sir Pheles… They were kind, right? They could be trusted… Right? She felt really confused for a moment…

The white dog was running through the library hall. When did he free himself from her arms? She started after him. If he was a demon, she'd better caught him. He couldn't just run around freely. Was he dangerous or good? Other Exorcists could purify him… For some reason, she really didn't want to let that happen. But what could she do? Sir Pheles! That's right. He would know what to do with him, she was sure.

…Almost! She almost got the dog. But every time she seemed close enough, he would just disappear from her sight. As if she was seeing him only from the corner of her eye. His tail was wagging, though. He was enjoying that little catch play. That little Spaßvogel!

Long halls. Corridors. Stairs. She kept running and running. Calling for him. Trying to bribe the little dog with a piece of ham. Proof of concept - the ham did lure a demon, but the wrong one. A half-demon, that is… Rin appeared in the hall, sniffing the air. He grinned when he saw her and waved at her. The simple gesture somehow warmed her heart. She hasn't felt that way for a long, long time… Wait, where did that come from? Why would she not feel content, even happy? So strange…

Both her and Rin set off to search for the dog. Rin was grinning from ear to ear even more after she explained what she was on about. "Yeah, that's an evil dog, alright. You should definitely try to catch him." he laughed and kept running after the white smudge with her.

The dog always seemed to be a few moves ahead of them, though. How was he doing that? The sun was setting outside. Have they been trying to catch the dog for so long?

Suddenly, the white dog came to a halt, facing her. A challenge? She moved forward, only to realize she was stuck. She was running as fast as she could, but she made no progress at all… She couldn't even move. Frozen… No! She had to get to the dog!

Out of nowhere, a huge carved door appeared before them and opened ever so slightly. She peeked inside. The dog sure was mischievous, sitting on the huge comfortably-looking chair so smugly. She had to get him out of there, Sir Pheles was very protective of his personal space - a strong contrast to his intrusions on the others… And he might just think she let the dog in to spite him. "Come, I have some ham for you, little guy. Please…" she pleaded with the dog who just wouldn't move from the spot. "Come ooon, trust me, you really shouldn't be sitting there. There are plenty of other places which are a thousand times more fun." she reached with her hand, getting a strange feeling of a déjà vu.

Rin's bright laughter reached her ears. He was gripping his stomach, tears at the brink of his eyes. What was so funny? They were trespassing! And Sir Pheles wouldn't want to help the dog if he damaged his things…

"At this exact moment? No, I most certainly doubt that, dear." a self-assured, sonorous voice sounded from the chair. The dog was talking! And… She knew that voice… She has even heard that exact phrase before! A pink cloud with little confetti obscured her vision, only to reveal… "Sir Pheles?!" she heard her flustered exclamation. "Just like the last time, Miss Heilbrunn. Remember?" he leaned on his hand with a pleased, victorious smirk and arched an eyebrow. And she indeed remembered - they had had the very same conversation when she had first visited Sir Pheles' office and had been accepted to the True Cross Academy.

The headmaster's forest-green eyes played as he stood up and strolled towards her with a spring in his step. "Well, of all the other places which are 'a thousand times more fun', I choose to be right here." he winked as he took and ate that little piece of ham from her. "Muffin?" the headmaster smirked as a tray full of sweets appeared levitating above his hand. A defeated sigh. Soft smile. Heartful laughter. "You devils." she grinned, getting chuckles from those two.

And just like that, the sweet if confused dream of a dear memory of hers was over. Thea opened her eyes slowly, taking in the surroundings of the crescent-shaped canyon where she had chosen to camp for the night. After a long, long time, she finally felt well-fed and well-rested. And yet… Tears started streaming down her cheeks, and she clutched Mr. Wooly tight to her chest. No matter how much she focused all of her thoughts on the tasks at hand, no matter how much she kept pushing the memories of Assiah away, there was nothing she could do to stop the dreams… Dreams of her life back in Assiah. From the time when her biggest worry was her thesis and whether she would buy a cinnamon roll or a chocolate-chip muffin as a little treat for her efforts. From the time when the Lord of Time and the Son of Satan decided to join forces and play a little trick on her by letting her run around the True Cross Academy in efforts to capture a demon dog… She choked through her soft cries with a soft smile on her lips, her heart aching and warmed at the same time. She dusted herself off and started packing. It was time to move forward again. Ever forward… "And I will see them again. I will!"

OoO

Thea looked around from the secluded spot on the top of a desert ravine. Ever since her encounter with the fire basilisk in the crescent-moon shaped valley two weeks ago, the landscape had been awfully uniform and flat. However, it had changed a bit over the last few days of her journey through Gehenna. The sky was still reddish and murky, the light from the suns dim and unpleasant to the skin, and the temperatures reached unbelievable heights. But at last, the scenery had changed, and first little hills had started appearing here and there. And now a ravine! That sure got her excited, despite the fact that no river flowed through it, so she couldn't resupply her water reserves. Still, she was nodding to herself in satisfaction while scanning her surroundings carefully. Yes, this place could do for a temporary camp. Yukio would approve of the spot she chose; he could always appreciate a good vantage point. As soon as she made sure she wasn't followed, she finally sat down to rest for a while, leaning her head on her knees. A deep exhale escaped her lips. Lord, was she exhausted! The dark circles under her eyes could easily rival Mephisto's. She rubbed them, then looked at her dear plush companion positioned in front of her. "Looks like we finally shook off Abaddon's patrol, Mr. Wooly." a small smile graced her lips as she thought those words.

Abaddon's search parties had started showing up about two weeks after her escape from the dungeons. The delay was most perplexing to Thea. Abaddon must have had resources and soldiers at his disposal, not to mention faster means of transportation. Why wait? Why give her a head start? In the end, she credited the strange development to another of Abaddon's dirty schemes and also to her not-too-shabby evading and hiding tactics. None of the patrols had actually gotten close enough to spot her, though the fourth one had been really close. A shiver ran down her spine despite the scorching heat - yes, it was way too close for her comfort.

"I know, I know. The patrols will make our goal to reach Mephisto somewhat more complicated… But as you can see, it's not impossible to evade their notice. We can do this, Mr. Wooly!" she mustered another smile, patting the plush companion on his fluffy head. "But I do agree that I should rethink our strategy. See, first I thought that we could stay off radar long enough if we traveled through the wilderness instead of taking the roads and passing through villages. For all I know, the villages could be just as dangerous now. I don't know much about demon villages to behave inconspicuously enough when visiting one… So many things could go wrong! And if I were to use my powers, I would betray my position. Aaargh…" Thea covered her face with both hands in frustration, massaging it. "But yeah, it might be a better course of action. Abaddon's patrols are everywhere now. And between the harsh weather and all the hungry things out here and some demon villagers of questionable character there, me being one of them… well… Let's say that villages will at least have supplies. And I wouldn't mind too terribly sleeping on something softer for a change…" she cracked a grimace as her fingers trailed through the dusty, rocky ground.

"Speaking about supplies… Time to run a check." she turned to her rucksack to inspect the remaining inventory. Another sigh escaped her lips. "I thought as much… Oh man… How is a girl supposed to scavenge and search for supplies with demons trailing her butt day and night?! I barely slept a wink for the past two days." she pouted. Her food and water supplies were completely gone. Except for an emergency reserve of dried locusts and a flask of water she pretended didn't exist. And she would continue to pretend so as long as she could! Even when the last time she ate was about two days ago, when she had stolen two slimy ostrich-egg sized eggs from the nest of an exotic lizard demon. Her mouth watered just thinking about that little feast. "Hmmm, they made wonderful fried eggs. Not to mention they were done in a minute on that heated rock under the two suns. Oooh, you know what would go well with those, Mr. Wooly?" her hands met in an enthusiastic, though silent clasp. "That snake-meat! I would cut it into really thin slices and fry it too, it would be like ham and eggs! I wonder whether we will come across another fire basilisk again… It was so… so surprisingly delicious…" she mused, tapping her finger on her lips. Should she stumble upon the creature again, she would be tempted to attack it - on purpose this time. Her stomach suddenly grumbled in response, reminding her that she should probably change the train of her thoughts to something less mouth-watering.

Thea kept rummaging through the contents of her rucksack, grimly confirming that all holy water and almost all shotgun shells were gone, too. She had used some of it for hunting, but most of the shells had been fired in self-defense, when some thing or another was hunting her - either for food or for Abaddon. Her encounter with the fire basilisk was not the only fight she had gotten herself into. Gehenna's fauna as well as flora turned out to be a bunch of ever-hungry species. Animals usually ate other animals, but apparently, so did some plants. She had had the privilege to learn that firsthand. "Well, I couldn't have possibly known, Mr. Wooly. When I spotted the trees… I just wanted to finally rest a bit, pick some fruits and herbs. I thought it was an oasis. I mean, I finally stumble upon a patch of greenery in this barren land… and it turns out to be carnivorous!" she threw her hands up. "One thing is for sure - I will think twice before even approaching a blooming meadow in the middle of a desert." Thea's hand immediately reached for her bandaged right thigh, rubbing it gently. Under the bandages, there were several long lines of itching wounds where one of the tree-sized flowers had bitten in. Its tiny, razor-sharp teeth had unexpectedly sprung up from the flower's pistil. It had then launched her in the air upside down, preparing to devour her. The same wounds were on her left arm - from when another hungry flower had decided to get its fair share.

"I really thought I was a goner back then. I was ready to use my powers… Well, good thing I didn't. Seems like I wasn't quite as appetizing as I looked." she chuckled dryly, remembering how the flowers had enveloped her with their huge petals, only to spit her out after a few seconds. Then, the demon-trees had raged for a while, thrashing around until some of their huge petals had fallen off. Thea was sure that if they could have, they would have uprooted and replanted themselves as far as possible from her. She had lost some blood, but fortunately, the wounds hadn't been too deep, just numerous. She had been able to bandage herself and limp away as fast as she could in that state. "I don't know, Mr. Wooly. You would think that the plants wouldn't be so picky about their food, especially here in the middle of nowhere. Maybe it's because I'm human." she shrugged, then her eyes played mischievously. "Or maybeee… Maybe they were allergic to me. Imagine that! A flower allergic to a human. Sounds like one of those parallel universe things, huh?" came a silent chuckle, then she got serious again. "But you know, I bet that it was the beetroot nightmare potion I was made addicted to. Yeah… even a patch of grass knows better than to feed on something with that vicious drug coursing through its blood." she pursed her lips. "That reminds me…" she reached for the necessary ingredients and fixed herself another dose, adjusting the ratios to a lower amount of the effective substance. Just a few more… Then she would be done with that vicious thing. Hopefully.

When she was done, she searched her rucksack yet again, as if hoping to uncover some secret stash of forgotten snacks. But no such thing happened, and she had to accept the fact that her herbs and other medical supplies were also significantly depleted. Her thigh and arm would need to wait, then. With her powers subdued so as not to attract attention, it would take at least a full night's rest to recover from some of her injuries. She chuckled dryly. "Riiight, a full night's rest. I haven't had that in ages. Perhaps when I passed out in the dungeons… But now? That dungeon with my daily fill of gruel now seems like a luxurious bed and breakfast establishment in comparison." she sighed, reminding herself of Abaddon's patrols and all the hungry creatures lurking around.

She couldn't even change her bandages. She massaged the root of her nose in a frustrated gesture. "I know, I know. I would not be in this mess, had I not used those bandages to treat the wounded 'Anubis' demons a few days ago." she admitted to herself. In her mind, Thea wandered a few days back to the peculiar encounter. "Two demons, some… jackal-humanoids? I don't know… the image of Anubis from Egyptian mythology just sprung to my mind… Both were pretty roughed up and tied to a wooden pole under the burning suns in the middle of nowhere… Just left to their fate. Left to die a slow, agonizing death. God… I just… I couldn't have possibly left them there. Especially not the little one… Not him…" Thea shook her head - one of the demons had been rather normal, full-grown, though already unconscious from some kind of serious beating and probably dehydration. But the other one… He was but a child. She was sure of it. He couldn't even talk. Or chose not to from the sheer fear. Thea closed her eyes, but she could still see the despair and helplessness on the little demon's face. "I've never seen a demon act that way in Gehenna. He must have been so scared, the older demon must have been important to him, perhaps even a family. And the look he gave me when I approached them… He must have believed that I was about to strike them down… And he appeared grateful for it…" Thea shook her head in disbelief. "Must be that 'Executioner' tattoo on my face…" she sighed, touching the place over her right eye absentmindedly. "It took me ages to persuade the kid that I didn't mean to kill them. That I meant no harm, that I wanted to help. But thankfully, I did it - despite my limited understanding of demonic language and the demon's limited understanding of compassion. I can tell that the whole concept seemed completely foreign to him. Can you imagine that, Mr. Wooly? Such a cruel world that the idea of receiving help is past one's comprehension…" Thea sighed.

She had treated both demons, had left some of her food and water with them, but she had left before the bigger one could wake up. "It's better that way. I already spent way too much time with them, Abaddon's patrols were closing in on me. And I didn't want to risk the big guy waking up. The little one was genuinely concerned, but who knows where the big one had his alliances? For all I know, I might have very well treated some of Abaddon's men who are after me… Jeez… Talk about 'Verschlimmerbessern'" Thea chuckled dryly. "Yes, Germans really do have a word for just about everything. Including screwing up and making things worse by initially trying to help… But… I still believe that it was the right thing to do." she assured herself of her resolve. She was first and foremost a doctor. It was one of the few remaining things which reminded her that she was still a human, despite the appearances. "I wonder how they are doing…" her eyes turned somewhere into the distance. It was strange to worry about demons. Demons she didn't know, that is. But there she was, worrying nevertheless. Just like she would for any of her patients…

Thea probed the bandages on her thigh and arm carefully. "It's OK. The bandages have almost stopped all the bleeding. And when they won't hold any longer, I can make use of some of my spare clothes." she started cheerfully, then the realization hit her. "Oh wait… These are my spare clothes…" memories rushed to her head, and her hand met her forehead with a loud smack. Her original clothes had gotten torn to the point of no return. "Aaaargh, stupid, persistent, annoying patrols!" she pouted. Avoiding Abaddon's patrols had been incredibly difficult, especially the last one. After half a day of running from them and escaping their notice, she had been forced to take a most painful path by delving into the thorny bushes of a thick desert rose field. "To think they would push me so far as to willingly dive into a desert rose field! My poor pair of favorite cargo pants!" she whined inwardly. Mephisto's cloak wasn't big enough to cover her from head to toe, so it had only protected her from a portion of the thorns as she had pried her way through the field. However, she was sure that was sitting there relatively safe and sound only thanks to the cloak's protective abilities.

That, and also thanks to a combination of her quick thinking, Zahar's journal, and some built-up resistance against desert roses from the months of torturous experiments. Well, she had rather mixed feelings about the last part... "Yes, Mr. Wooly. Taking Zahar's notebook was an act of pure brilliance, if I say so myself." Thea puffed up her chest proudly. "Munching on the bark of the Weeping Golden Willow worked like a charm against the poisonous effects of a desert rose. I was able to prevent my heart rate from dropping to a dangerously low pace. Zahar's journal also came in handy that time I was picking the strange, yellow berries - I still have no idea how to translate their name, but at least I know they are safe to eat. See? I knew the book was important! I'll give it another read after a bit of sleep." she patted the plush sheep on his head, then took it and stretched on the ground, cuddling. She desperately needed to catch up on some sleep. Especially with Abaddon's patrols on her trail.

Unfortunately, Thea's 'bit of sleep' couldn't even be classified as a 'sleep'. It was not even a nap! Her stomach kept growling in the most embarrassing way, keeping her from resting. The moment she finally started dozing off, an unfamiliar distant sound caused her to shoot up from the ground in alert and combat-ready. Could Abaddon's patrol have caught up with her? But how? She had been careful! She had even crossed the desert rose field to escape their notice. But wait, no, it couldn't be the patrols, they wouldn't make such noise. She looked out from the top of the ravine carefully, then spotted a large caravan making its way through the desert. An idea suddenly came to her mind. "Hmmm… This could be our chance, Mr. Wooly. The caravan will definitely pass through this ravine, the road leads straight through it. And I'm sure the merchants will have some supplies for their journey. I could try and trade some of my stuff with them." she beamed, suddenly energized by the prospect of a full stomach, then readied herself to pursue the caravan from the top of the ravine as soon as it would enter.

The caravan did indeed enter the ravine, and at first, Thea couldn't be happier about what she saw. The wagon was pulled by four goat-like animals and led by two imps. "Wow, look at that, Mr. Wooly. Imps! I can't believe it! After all this time, I finally stumbled upon intelligent demons that are not too bloodthirsty. This could be my chance to send a message to Mephisto, to warn him about Abaddon, and maybe to… Oh no…" her enthusiasm evaporated the moment the caravan drew nearer. The wagons bore Abaddon's crest. They were well-guarded, too. Four really tall, insect-like demons were positioned around the caravan. They resembled an overgrown praying mantis. Thea hesitated. Even though her existence had been kept a secret, she was sure that Abaddon had found a way to search for her in secrecy. For all she knew, the caravan guards could have her description and recognize her. And she was definitely not ready to fight in her current condition, not without resorting to using her powers. "Damn, what do I do? There's no way I can waltz in to trade now! Let's see… The ravine is long, they would probably need to break a camp for the night. So, perhaps if I play it safe and sneak in carefully, I might be able to steal something to eat." she kept tapping her finger on her lips, assessing the situation. The mantis demons could be a problem - she didn't recognize that demon type from her studies, so she had no idea what she would be up against, should she be discovered. But she dismissed the disturbing thought and focused on her plan instead.

In a few hours, the suns started setting slowly, and with every fading beam of light, Thea's optimism was fading, too. The top of the desert ravine started descending, so her advantage of a good vantage point was gone while the probability of her being discovered kept rising steadily. Also, the caravan hasn't shown any signs of stopping. In fact, it seemed like it actually picked up the pace, and Thea found herself struggling to keep up because of her exhaustion. "Just what is going on? Will they not camp for the night, then? It looks to me like they want to keep going even through the night. Like they are doing their best to be out of here… But why? It's even more dangerous out there in the open. Right? Maybe there are some dangerous, nocturnal predators in this ravine? Or maybe they are just tight on schedule, chasing profit?" Thea racked her brain for some answers, but her sleep-deprived mind must have made some twisted pact with her stomach, for it only kept supplying images of food, each one more mouth-watering than the other. Her spirits fell even more when she realized that the food she kept imagining consisted of basilisk meat, sun-dried grasshoppers, her prison gruel and the like. "Oh, seriously? Grasshoppers?! Don't tell me I've forgotten all about normal food! Come ooon, brain, at least show me the good stuff. Like onigiri or pizza…" she pleaded. The moment that idea crossed her mind, her stomach growled so loudly that the sound of it actually carried through the valley.

Immediately, shouts of orders sounded, and the caravan came to a halt. The guards slipped into a perfect defense stance and their antennae started twitching in the air in various directions, probing for the presence of an intruder. "Oh crap! Oh crap, oh crap. Nooo. This can't be happening!" Thea thought in a combination of dismay and utter embarrassment. She pressed herself tightly to a ravine wall niche, holding her breath and her arms around her stomach. One of the guards must have sensed her presence, though, because its head turned in her direction. She gasped at the disturbing sight - its head turned but its body remained perfectly still. It was just the head that turned in a hundred and eighty degrees! Her heart started pounding like crazy - she couldn't possibly fight them. Not without using her powers and betraying her presence to Abaddon in the process. However, further orders followed and the attention of all guards turned towards the opposite side of the ravine.

Thea didn't dare move a muscle, but she carefully peered to the other side as well. Suddenly, her eyes caught a glimpse of motion. Reddish silhouettes were creeping along the ravine wall, making their way inconspicuously towards the wagon in an organized formation. "An ambush!" Thea's eyes widened. "Wow, just where did they come from? I never noticed their presence… And the caravan guards probably wouldn't have either, had I not just alerted them." she thought with a strange hint of sympathy for the attackers, who had probably put a lot of effort into devising a sound strategy, only to fail due to some ridiculous one-in-a-billion chance of a stupid human walking through Gehenna on an empty stomach. Still, she was rather impressed. "Of course, this would be a perfect place to attack. The timing couldn't have been better with the colors of the setting suns masking their reddish skins." a smile appeared on her face. "This is even better! I can save myself the trouble of sneaking in and simply scavenge whatever the attackers leave behind, if they prevail. And if not, at least some of the caravan guards might be out or hurt, improving my chances." she nodded to herself and waited patiently for the outcome - just like the proverbial third party in a fight of two.

As soon as the attackers realized they had been busted, they switched to a rapid advance and started roaring intimidatingly. Thea recognized those shouts. And their muscular build. "Oni demons!" she gaped. There were nine of them, and some were accompanied by black dogs. They were charging head on towards the caravan with their wicked-looking sabers and maces drawn. Some, already taken over by their battle instincts, went into a frenzy. "Unbelievable… They were sneaking! Oni demons devised a stealthy strategy and attempted a sneak-attack! That's just so unlike the brutish and rather dumb demons I remember them to be. True, one of the Oni demons did manage to trick me during my training at the Academy, but this is on a whole different level… They are supposed to be primitive…" Thea racked her brain, strangely excited about the upcoming fight which has already made her rewrite some notes on this particular demon kind.

While the imps took cover and tried to calm down the skittish animals, the four mantis guards faced their attackers in a disturbingly calm manner. They stood perfectly still and held their front legs in an upright position - just like a regular mantis would. The moment one of the Oni demons made it close enough, the mantis demon extended its arms with lightning-quick speed and grabbed the Oni in an iron grasp. Before the Oni could react, the mantis bit off its head in a swift motion, letting the limp body fall to the ground. They were lightning-fast! Thea gaped - this was one of the rare moments of her time in Gehenna when she was actually glad she hadn't eaten anything. During her doctor practice, she had seen some gruesome and unsettling things, but at least she hadn't seen how they had happened, only the results. "Sweet Jesus… what the hell…" she gulped at the horrifying sight. "The praying mantis would better be called the preying mantis… This is bad." she thought as another mantis demon managed to repeat the scenario.

However, the Oni demons didn't seem to be intimidated by the power-move the mantis demons just pulled. For all Thea knew, the violent sight only triggered them and the rest of the Oni demons entered their frenzy mode. They looked like mountains of raging muscles and boiling blood - just as she remembered them, though more intimidating thanks to the unexpected presence of intellect. The fight became surprisingly even. As far as Thea could observe, the mantis demons were taller and faster, but they also had a rather thin, delicate build. It was incredibly difficult to get into position to attack them, but once the Oni demons landed a hit, it was unbalancing or downright crippling. Especially so if they managed to hit a little circular spot on the mantis' chest. Mantis demons and their razor-sharp front legs would strike true, but Oni demons did not seem to care until they took enough damage and just dropped dead. Some of them even went down in 'friendly fire', struck by their comrades so overtaken by frenzy that they blindly attacked everything alive within their reach. Not even the animals pulling the wagons escaped their fury. The imps weren't standing by idly, either. They protected their merchandise by firing from small crossbows, focusing on the black dogs. The demons were cutting and slashing at each other, they were biting, wrestling, and tearing the opponent's limbs apart ferociously. Intimidating shouts and growls mingled with pained cries and howls. The skirmish was gruesome. Vicious. Bloody. And it lasted till the dusty ground was soaking with demon blood and gore. Yellow blood of the mantis mixed with dark red of the Oni, and the viscera on the ground looked as sickening as it smelled.

And then it was still. Single demon remained standing - an Oni. Battered as he was, his amazing regenerative abilities somehow kept him on his feet. A loud roar tore through his throat as he raised his huge, curved blade in one hand and the head of one of the mantis demons in the other like a trophy. The gesture was victorious and proud, then he staggered slightly as the state of frenzy faded. The small bow of the Oni demon towards the fallen comrades didn't escape Thea's attention. Then, he slowly made his way towards his prize. From the ravine niche Thea was hiding in, she could see only one of the two merchants. He was lying on the ground, but Thea could feel a very faint aura, so she suspected he was just unconscious. She couldn't see the other one, but the Oni demon did the searching for her - he reached behind a wagon's wheel, pulling out a terrified imp demon. Or rather, a demoness - Thea realized from the dress-like garments and the overwhelming amount of jewelry which was covering her from head to toe. She was wriggling in his grasp, speaking so fast that Thea didn't get a word. The Oni demon let out an annoyed grunt, then dropped the scared imp to the ground and stepped on her, readying his saber for a fatal blow.

Thea's eyes widened in alarm. If the Oni killed the imps, she would lose her chance to talk to them and contact Mephisto. She had to act immediately! And so, before the Oni could strike, Thea barged out from her little hideout with her shotgun. Three loud shots echoed through the ravine, each announcing a precise hit to the Oni demon's chest, none missing a heart. The Oni demon's eyes bulged in surprise, then in a combination of terror and hate upon realizing just which parts of his body got hit. He took a few laborious steps towards Thea, anger burning in his eyes. "Coward!" he spat, blood gurgling in his throat. Thea couldn't blame him - even to her, it felt like a pretty dirty move. Then again, there was no way she would stand against that kind of opponent in a close, hand-to-hand combat just to feel honorable about her victory. "Tactics." she answered simply, looking the demon straight in the eye. He chuckled at that comment, then fell down to his knees. His mouth curved into a wicked grimace and then, with the last remnants of his strength, he swayed his right hand, throwing the monstrosity of a blade swirling at her.

Thea's instincts kicked in and she threw herself to the side. She immediately pulled herself up, combat-ready, but there was no need. The wounds from the previous fight combined with the surgically-precise hits Thea just delivered straight to all of the Oni demon's hearts were simply too much damage for him to regenerate. He hit the ground with a loud thud, sending clouds of dust in the air, alarming amounts of blood spilling from his body. Nevertheless, Thea didn't dare move anywhere closer to him. Instead, she shot the demon again, this time in the head. With those crazy regenerative abilities, one could never be too sure. "There go my last shells…" she thought grimly. The prospect of her roaming Gehenna without her trusted shotgun truly unnerved her, but it had to be done.

She then looked behind. Her jaw dropped when she saw the huge sword sticking half-way out of the ravine wall. She couldn't help but whistle. That was some throw! The guy must have been insanely strong. No wonder he was the last one standing. He might have been her opponent, but somehow, Thea felt a strange sense of respect for the warrior. Even more so when she unknowingly busted his cover and pulled out such a dirty trick on him. She scratched her horn in thought, then turned towards the demon and bowed her head slightly in a similar fashion he had towards the fallen warriors. There. That should do it. As her gaze was turned to the ground, she noticed a dagger hidden in the Oni demon's boot. Thea wasn't comfortable with blades bigger than a scalpel, then again, she was also long past the luxury of picking her weapons. And the small gems adorning the handle looked kind of pretty, too. And so, she picked it up, probing the feel in her hand.

It took her a moment till the realization hit her. "He could talk!" she thought in disbelief. "Just how… The Oni demons were supposed to be primitive. At least the ones in Mephisto's training arena were. None of them ever spoke, they would only growl and shout indistinctly, more animals than humanoids, really… Then again, Mephisto said that they have been there for a very long time… Actually, no… His exact words were 'longer than I could ever imagine'." a shiver ran down her spine as an idea crossed her mind. "Could it in fact be long enough for the demon kind in Gehenna to reach another evolutionary stage? Or… long enough for them to… to forget?" Either possibility was incredibly disturbing to say the least… She knew the demons in the training area No. 12 were all 'foolish beings who dared cross Mephisto' at some point in their lives, mostly by breaking rules of his Code bestowed upon Assiah to protect humans - she had asked him about that once. Their punishment varied from case to case, but mostly, they served as practice targets. It was a most humiliating fate for any demon - to be eliminated by a bunch of newbie exorcists. But to think it could last for so long… And with the new-found knowledge of a demon's potential to be resurrected… Her heart got stuck somewhere in her throat. "Well, Mephisto sure wasn't exaggerating when he said that demons could hold a grudge." she thought nervously. He always acted so kindly towards her that sometimes she forgot he really was a demon.

A sound resembling wind chimes made Thea snap out of her musings. Her grip over the newly acquired dagger tightened immediately and she spun in the direction of the sound. It came from the little imp demoness - she was covering behind a wheel, trembling so much that all the fancy accessories were jiggling all about her in a most comical fashion. The imp could make a nice jingle-bell background sound for any Christmas hit. The idea brought Thea to silly chuckles, which sounded more menacing than jolly with her parched throat. But she composed herself quickly and made her way towards the imp, eager to task her with carrying her message to Mephisto. The demoness looked even more panicked than before, during the bloody fight. Her hands went right over her head in a defensive gesture. "No! Wait! ### #####! Spare my life. ###, I beg of you, don't kill me…" came a squeak from the demoness, followed by some more rushed words, too fast for Thea to understand. Thea halted her steps cautiously, thinking the words over. "She thinks I'm going to kill her…" her eyebrows rose in surprise, but then it hit her. "Well, duh, Thea! 'Executioner' tattoo - the killing intent is literally 'written all over your face'... Not to mention I'm the only one standing after this massacre. Well, I can't blame her for that assumption. Perhaps I can even benefit from it." Thea thought, taking another step forward.

"I can be ### for you, I have ### #####! ##### ## ### make a deal." the little demoness more gestured than voiced the offer. "Straight down to business, I see. I can always count on demons' entrepreneurial spirit." Thea smirked, feeling particularly lucky today. It seemed like she wouldn't need to force the demon to do her bidding. Still, she reminded herself of some best practices - like negotiating from a position of strength. She still wasn't entirely sure whether the demoness was fully cooperative or just bluffing. And so, Thea kept her poker face up, feigning just the right amount of disinterest. That's right, she was the scheming, powerful demoness who had just taken advantage of both skirmishing demon groups - the guards as well as the attackers. She wanted the riches of the caravan and so she walked in, left everyone dead, and took them. As simple as that. She could have what she desired and didn't need to rely on the services of a measly imp. She started playing with the dagger, doing her best to make the gesture look absent-minded. "A deal, you say? Why?" Thea arched an eyebrow, her voice haughty. "When I want things, I take them." she pointed with her dagger meaningfully at the caravan.

"Y-yes, of course, ######, a-and you have them! The ### is yours. All! Red tree! But you ### have much more! Yes, anything you ### or ### #####. A service in exchange for my life. ###, on my Demon's heart!" the imp stuttered through her words, then raised one of her hands in an honorary gesture. "Oh, good! Words I understand - trades and deals vocabulary. Although I'm sure I must have misunderstood that 'red tree' part." Thea's mastery of the demon language was tenuous at best, some words she simply did not know or misunderstood, but she sure as hell knew her vocabulary when it came to 'making a deal'. Thea grinned internally, considering the proposal. True, it would be incredibly easy for the imp to trick her - the language barrier was a great disadvantage, especially when it came to nuances in contracts. However, if she was careful and voiced her request well… There was a very important service she had in mind. And finally, after weeks of her journey, she had just captured the right demon she needed to put her plan into motion - an intelligent demon capable of speech. What's more, a clearly well-off merchant with connections!

"Very well, demoness." Thea exhaled in her best 'amuse-me' way, curving her lips up ever so slightly. She tucked the dagger behind her belt, silently praying it would hold there, as it was already barely holding up her pants and toolkits. She straightened her somehow still perfectly clean, snow-white cloak from Mephisto over it just in case and folded her hands in front of her chest expectantly. "You live. In exchange, I have your service." Thea agreed and the imp bowed three times in acknowledgement, then said some words Thea didn't understand. The lack of understanding didn't unnerve her as much as she had originally feared, though. After all, if the demon tried anything funny, she was sure she could take her down, ridding herself of any misfortune the demon might be trying to bring upon her. "What is your desire, uhm… Executioner?" the demoness eyed Thea carefully, spreading her bejeweled, pleated skirts with the clinging metallic sound of wind chimes.

In the course of the last weeks, Thea had thought hard on how to best handle her current situation. One of the many steps to her freedom was contacting Mephisto. However, she had to be incredibly crafty and careful about that. As much as she wished to see him again, she couldn't risk a direct encounter with him, else her Blood oath would kick in… She quickly banished any thoughts about that scenario. In fact, she banished all her feelings towards that Head-Idiot-Master-Demon (who should have been there for her ten times already), burying them deep down, much much deeper than her memories from her imprisonment even. Remembering pain was unpleasant, but safe. It kept her vigilant and alert. Remembering her days in Assiah, though… Let's just say that she had long learned that those did not act as the promised little light carrying her through the darkness. Instead, those happy memories left her shaking, despairing, longing, feeling. They made her vulnerable. A state she could absolutely not afford in a place such as Gehenna. "That's right, Thea, just be patient. Focus. Priorities. A plan." she repeated one of Mephisto's mantras in her head, diminishing his voice to nothing more but a practical, pleasantly-sounding audio guidebook. Instead, she focused on the wording of her request as well as the actual message. She had to make sure he would know that she is alive and in Gehenna, but she had to prevent him from coming right away. He would need to wait till she managed to do something about the Blood oath. And she needed to warn him of so many things, too…

Hoping that the long pause came off as rather dramatic, Thea voiced her request. "You must go and… take my words." she said carefully. "Take your words? ### ##? Like a 'message', then?" the imp raised an eyebrow questioningly, confirming she understood the request. "Yes, a message." Thea recognized the word, then rolled her tongue through it, trying to sound natural. The imp seemed to ease at the proposal - she probably expected a more demanding task. "I speak my message… to you. You remember it." Thea resumed her order, helping herself with some gestures. "And you take my message to Samael. Then, you come back. You come to me and give message from Samael… for me." Thea finished with a finger raised importantly, quite pleased with herself. "S-Samael?!" upon hearing the name, the imp's eyes widened suddenly, and she made a strange gesture in front of herself. The movement looked like the imp was painting the number eight. "Ah, not an eight. It's an hourglass. Right, that is something like Mephisto's symbol, a sigil." the meaning clicked in. "Yes, message to Samael. Time lord." Thea nodded in confirmation, emphasizing his title.

The imp stumbled backward, so that her back hit the walls of the ravine. Her jaw dropped and eyes almost popped out of her sockets. Despite the scorching heat, goosebumps showed on the demoness' arms, and it looked like she just lost a few shades of green. "N-no! I-I will not ###. Not to Samael!" the imp was shaking her head furiously, words pouring out of her mouth so fast that Thea had serious trouble understanding any of it. "You will not?!" Thea asked offendedly, as if she didn't hear quite correctly. "I'm ### to do this. ### #####, but not to Samael. Ask anything but ### ##." the imp continued, picking up the speed again. Thea pursed her lips. "Wow, what's gotten into her? Just seconds ago, the imp was pleading with me to strike a deal and now she wants out? What's her problem? Does she have something against Mephisto? Well, I don't care, I need a messenger! I must contact him."

"Silence!" Thea bit off and took another step closer, pinning the imp down with an intense glare. She couldn't afford to let this opportunity go to waste. She had to go full out, borrowing some of Zahar's vocabulary again to sound persuasive enough. "You will do as I say, you insignificant little pest! You will take message for Samael." she insisted, silently thanking Zahar for the abundance of threatening vocabulary she had drilled into her mind. "No, I beg of you, Executioner! Samael is ### ## #####! The demon lord will ### #### ### and he will not just kill me, he will ### ! And torture and ### ##. The rules are ### ##### and if not, then ###### ###." the imp interrupted her, completely crazed and anxious, as she was backing away even further. If it were possible, Thea was sure the imp would just blend in with the wall behind her. "We have deal, demoness." Thea reminded her in a threateningly low growl. She was now standing mere inches from the imp, her bright orange eyes burning an imaginary hole in the demoness' forehead. The imp gulped and her big eyes kept darting to and fro, till they rested on the wagon. She pointed at it. "Take it! It's yours! And I can do ### ## for you, I know ### ##### demons - strong, wealthy. #######. I can ###, and I can kill. But don't ### #####..." the demoness went on in her fearful ramble, her head pressed down in a deep bow. "Insolence! You offer service for life!" Thea pressed, but the little green imp just wouldn't budge.

The 'Executioner' inhaled sharply, channeling all of her frustration into the fists her hand just formed. "Bravo, Thea… Jeez, you pushed the little imp too hard and now she's too scared. I don't think any amount of persuasion on my end would help now. Honestly, what kind of reputation does Mephisto even have down here? Some would laugh at him and claim that he's but an excuse of a demon, who grew all soft because of his life in Assiah. And then there's… this - demons who tremble at the mere mention of his name…" Thea shook her head in disbelief, then a defeated exhale escaped her lips, accompanied by a noticeable eye roll. "Tsk… Useless… What an utter waste of time…" she bit off, borrowing another of Zahar's phrases for when she had been displeased with how her experiments had turned out.

"Oh well, the imp can still be useful in other ways, I guess. Maybe she could run some errands for me, find some food, teach me some new words. Yes, yes, this could work! Hmm, I bet she could also point me in the right direction, even escort me - she's a merchant after all." Thea tried to think on a more positive note. "If you no take my message, then you…" Thea started and reached inside the inner pocket of her cloak swiftly, her hand searching for Zahar's map. She had had trouble reading that blasted piece of parchment properly, so perhaps the imp would know better. Suddenly, Thea could hear the imp yelp and before she could even blink, a dark-green liquid was oozing down the imp's frilly blouse. The imp merchant slid down to the ground, a handle of a small dagger sticking out of where her heart would be. It only took Thea a heartbeat till the realization dawned on her and her doctor's reflexes kicked in. She ducked to the imp swiftly, pushing her hands firmly on the imp's chest in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding. However, it was already too late - the demoness' aura faded away.

"What in Gehenna…" Thea breathed out, completely stunned. "Did she… Did she just take her life rather than delivering my message to Mephisto?!" she gawked in disbelief. She hadn't really disarmed the imp and it would be foolish of her to assume that a merchant would be unarmed. But Thea expected that if the imp were to use a weapon, it would be directed at her. "But… But whyyy? I didn't lay a hand on her! I was all business-like and stuck to the correct etiquette and everything… Just when I decided to stop pushing it… And she picked suicide over such a simple request? God, I didn't know… I didn't mean to scare her like that, poor thing. Dammit, I'm such an idiot…" her hand met her forehead and slid down her face in a frustrated gesture. Surprisingly, it was emphasized by a weird, splashing sound and the feeling of something wet on her skin. It made her realize that her hands were still dirty from the imp's blood, which she just managed to smear all over her face.

"Oh, maaan!" Thea whined inwardly, then stood up swiftly, irritation boiling inside of her. She really wanted to kick something. Mostly herself, as she started feeling sorry for the little imp she had just scared to death. "I know, I know, Mr. Wooly. It's OK, I'm calm now." she finally exhaled, though the feeling of guilt kept nagging at her. And so, she bowed her head slightly towards the demoness in a sincere apology. Then, she strode towards the other imp - the one who had been laying on the ground, rendered unconscious. "Well, good thing we have one more demon to bargain with. But this time, I'd better handle it with kid gloves." Thea concluded. She searched the imp thoroughly, making sure there were no secret weapons up his sleeve. Then, she tied him up and leaned him on the wall carefully, letting him rest for the moment. "OK, time to check out the loot." she turned on the heel to walk towards the wagon, clasping her hands in front of her enthusiastically. Inhaling deeply, she tried to ignore the fact that she just got the imp blood on her other hand, too. So, she approached the wagon and cleaned her hands and face with the fabric of the top cover.

Based on her study sessions with Tomoe, she knew that caravans usually contained something of particular value, but the good stuff was always disguised by wares of rather ordinary quality and occurrence. One just had to know where to look or search thoroughly. She opened the door of the wagon and her lips instantly curled up. Some alcohol and food, mostly dried or conserved in various flasks to keep it fresh. Herbs and spices to give the ashy aftertaste at least some resemblance of flavor. And as the sigils on the crates confirmed as well - all of that belonged to Abaddon. "Well, not anymore~" Thea mused, relishing the thought of taking something from the demon for a change. "No, Mr. Wooly. The wagon is too eye-catching, and we do not want to attract unnecessary company. Besides, it would only slow us down. I will only take whatever I can use and carry easily, the rest stays." came an absent-minded answer to her companion's unspoken query, then she returned back to the task at hand.

She ran her eyes past the containers of various beverages, glad that her stomach didn't embarrass her again by announcing to the whole valley just how hungry she was. Apart from beverages, there was a huge assortment of fabrics - a vulgar assault of black and fifty shades of red Abaddon fancied so much. She moved on with a sour expression, stumbling upon some extravagant jewelry. "Well, that's more valuable for sure, but still not quite it. Although… it might be worth it to take it for trading. It's small, so it will be easy to carry." with that thought in mind, Thea packed some of it and moved on, noticing a small collection of weapons. With her shotgun shells completely gone, she considered the various pieces - from curved sabers to pikes. In the end, she settled for a particularly light bow and a pack of arrows.

"Ah, bingo! Here we go." Thea's lips curled up as she pulled loose one of the wooden boards building the bottom of the wagon. It came off easily, revealing a secret level of the wagon and along with it, its true treasure. Herbs, roots, leaves, solutions, flasks and containers of various sizes - a beautiful assortment of resources for any demon alchemist. Or a poison-maker. Or a torturer. Thea's blood boiled at the sight as she remembered just what effects the various combinations of the ingredients could create. What they would create had she not busted herself out. She shook her head firmly, banishing the anger and also the strange anxiousness which crept in upon realizing the absence of Silverleaf and beetroot-colored liquid in the stash. She just realized she had been hoping for it since the very beginning… "God, addiction really is one terrible, terrible thing… But it's OK, I have to cut down on the dosage again anyways. I will beat this. Slowly, gradually…" she calmed her breath and focused on the feeling of today's accomplishment instead. She scooped up everything useful and of value, filling her rucksack to the top with as many things as she could safely carry. Noticing the state of her clothes, she added some of the fabrics, just in case. A shuffling sound caught her attention - the remaining imp must have regained consciousness. "Splendid! Time to send a message. Second time's the charm." Thea encouraged herself and made her way towards the merchant with a smile on her face. "Greetings, imp. I have deal for you.~"

OoO

"So, let me get this straight…" Khan massaged the bridge of his nose, trying to regain his composure. "While I was out gathering intel in nearby settlements, the human somehow went from gathering, hunting and scavenging to robbery?!" the snake demon asked Ramil to re-confirm the story he had just shared. "Nice summary. Yes, that would be accurate." came an affirmative nod from the brutish companion, his black eyes playing with amusement. "Seems like she's fed up with all that running and hiding and decided to switch to a more offensive strategy." he said in a tone which sounded awfully close to approval to Khan's ears. "But why would she expose herself, especially now when her arm and leg are still healing? That's just too much unnecessary risk, not to mention… H-hold on, is that…" Khan stopped mid-sentence and peered from the top of the rocky hill they were positioned at, careful to not betray their presence. His eyebrows furrowed and he leaned on his hands with a look of utmost interest, then his eyes almost popped out. "Satan's Flames, that's one of Abaddon's convoys!" "Indeed. The crest would suggest so." Ramil nodded smugly. "No, no, no, no, no… This is bad, Ramil. Really bad! She. Robbed. Abaddon!" Khan started pacing around nervously. "Well, she robbed a caravan. I highly doubt she did it just because it belonged to the duke." the brutish demon tried to prevent his comrade from jumping to conclusions. Again. For some reason, ever since the human had broken free from the prison, Khan had been seeing intrigues and schemes in every action the girl took. She couldn't have possibly planned for all that. Right. Right?

A vehement protest met Ramil's theory. "Oh, no, no. We've been through this already. She clearly has a plan. I just thought she wanted to remain untraceable. She had been masking her aura all this time, never using that freakish power of hers… And now? Just look at that! All that, without betraying her aura to us. The caravan wasn't even taken, the human left it right there on the trade route, for every passerby to see. The guards and the other robbers are all dead. And you can see the cover of the wagon overturned, Abaddon's crest is soaked in their blood - that's a proof right there, don't try to deny it - this is not about the loot, it's about sending a message!" Khan counted out, pointing at the wagon urgently. "That… wasn't exactly what happened… I think…" the brutish demon scratched the place close to his right horn. "Well, what did happen, then?" Khan folded his hands importantly in front of his chest, unconvinced. "I told you - she probably just needed some supplies and…" "And drove Abaddon's merchant to suicide while at it? I don't think so." Khan shook his head, then added. "We must be extremely vigilant. It's possible that the human possesses some mind control skills."

Ramil took a deep breath and forced himself not to chuckle at that preposterous idea of his paranoid friend. "I said this before and I'm saying this again - if she had such skills, don't you think she would have used them long ago before Abaddon could push her into the Blood oath?" Ramil arched a quizzical eyebrow at the other captain, causing him to hesitate for a moment. Khan ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, then exhaled. "Fine, I guess you have a point. So... You're positive that she didn't…" the lean demon asked awkwardly. "I'm positive that's not what happened. I couldn't get close enough to listen to the full conversation, but at some point, they were discussing a contract of sorts. And when that didn't quite… uhm... work out, she made a deal with the other merchant. He got out of the negotiations alive, heading somewhere in the direction of the Warren Caves." Ramil paused importantly, letting Khan ponder the implications for a moment. "Well, that's not good! The imp is a merchant, surely he has enough for payment to secure a passage. He might be able to get to Assiah, maybe even alert Lord Samael… We should split up, I'll follow the imp, make sure he doesn't talk." Khan started pacing around. "Or maybe we can disregard the imp. Remember, he first needs to make it through the Wastelands." Ramil reminded him.

"You are right…" Khan nodded after a moment of thought, massaging his temples. "Not to mention that the Warren Caves must be swarming with Abaddon's patrols by now. They won't let anyone cross, especially not with a message for Lord Samael." the snake demon added. "What?" Ramil bulged his eyes in surprise. "Yeah, I bring interesting news from the villages nearby. Looks like we've been lucky the first few days when Abaddon kept his pawns at bay. For some reason, he hadn't made his move for days after the human's prison-break. Undoubtedly some well-calculated move on his side… However, according to the intel I managed to acquire, the whole Wastelands are now being combed through by Abaddon's patrols." the snake demon supplied, causing Ramil's eyes to furrow in confusion. "How curious, I thought he wouldn't want to make this a big search, so as not to bring Lord Samael's attention here." he rubbed his chin in thought.

"I thought so too, until I saw this…" Khan reached into the inner pocket of his uniform, producing a wanted poster of their troublesome human. "Why, look at that!" Ramil cracked a silly grin, taking the paper into his hands. "Our little human went from the biggest secret of Gehenna to the most wanted rebel! …disobedience, incitement to riots… By my Demon's heart… even assassination attempt at some lesser vassals… Damnation, Abaddon sure went big with this. Calculating bastard." the brutish demon kept shaking his head in disbelief. "Exactly…" Khan returned a sour grimace, then started pointing at various sections of the poster. "The poster only shows the usual identification signs - basic facial features, mainly the Executioner mark. He can search the whole Gehenna without anyone knowing the truth behind the mark or her identity. Nobody would ever even suspect she's a human, the mutagens took good care of that… She's just another rebel grasping for power to be brought to justice." Khan pointed out.

"So… what do we do now?" Ramil brought up the piece of paper in front of Khan, tapping his finger at one particular passage. "Wanted alive. Reward - lands to rule, the same part of the realm Leraje was in charge of before organizing the coup on Abaddon. Not to mention the title of 'marquise' which goes with it. Your ticket to the higher ranks…" he held Khan's eyes and waited patiently, trying to hide just how curious he was about his comrade's answer. Khan's expression grew thoughtful, but he soon snatched the paper from Ramil's hands, gracing him with his trademark eyeroll. "Tsk, don't be ridiculous. Abaddon might hold his word with others, but with us? We let his prisoner escape… Besides… The human seems to have some game running, too. Tsk, meddling in and ambushing Abaddon's caravan, while she shared her water and bandages with some left-for-dead Anubis demons just two days ago. She's completely unpredictable, and yet I'm sure there's more to those seemingly random actions. We must learn what it is before we even decide and make our move." the snake demon added silently, slightly taken aback by his own words. However, he couldn't help but wonder. This human, this living soul trapped in Gehenna was just, it was… no, she was simply something out of the world! Literally. Khan shook his head, amusement playing in his green eyes. To think that the day would come when he, captain Obi Khan, the proud leader of the Thueban clan, would refer to a human the way he would refer to a being worthy of respect and not like to cattle. One thing was certain - the girl sure made him question and re-evaluate his knowledge and opinions about the creatures residing in Assiah…

A firm pat on the back pulled Khan back to the present. Ramil was grinning at him from ear to ear, clapping him encouragingly. "Aye, aye, master schemer. Let's learn what she's up to, then, shall we?" "Right. OK, where is she headed to?" Khan rolled up the poster, waiting for directions. "Valley of Winds." came a calm, careful answer. "What? Now? During the monsoon period? Is she insane?!" Khan gaped in disbelief, packing his things with utmost haste. A low, throaty chuckle escaped Ramil's lips. "No, no, captain. You said it yourself - she's clearly the mastermind of scheming."

OoO

"Hot… So hot… Lord, is it hot! How is this even possible?" Thea kept shaking her head in disbelief. "I would love to go into a good Finnish sauna now, just to cool myself down a little…" she giggled inwardly at her joke. The heat wave which had hit at the beginning of the week was unbearable. Nights were no better - she spent them twisting and turning in shallow sleep. That kept effectively robbing her of the remains of her nap time which was already scarce. She desperately wanted to cool herself down a bit. Did it ever rain in that blasted wasteland? "And how come there are animals in the area? What could they possibly drink? The rocks?" she shook her head in befuddlement, thinking about the herd of oversized, goat slash antelope-like animals she had passed just a few minutes ago. Well, she had not exactly passed them… She had actually managed to hunt down a particularly resigned-looking one! And with the very first arrow she shot from the bow she had picked from the caravan! True, the animal with a weird death wish had made it quite easy for her, but Thea still felt proud of herself. "And to think I considered the archery lessons with Yukio an interesting, but useless leisure! Now look at me… I just secured a few dinners for myself." she thought enthusiastically. Tonight, she was thinking maybe a nice, grilled goat-antelope cutlet with herb and root sauce variations. "Come to think of it, would a combination of a goat and an antelope make a goatelope or an antegoat? Antigoat? Antigoatee? Nah, I can't use that, I like goatees." her lips curled up into a silly grin, but Mr. Wooly did not look particularly amused. Thea blushed. Perhaps her jokes had really gone as dry as the land she was crossing, she grinned at Mr. Wooly.

She kept pushing somewhere in the direction of the Peaks of Peril. That's right, not the Mountains of Menace. Nope. Those were the opposite direction - as the other, non-suicidal imp merchant had so kindly explained to her a few days ago. Apparently, the cardinal points were reversed in Gehenna! No wonder she had been missing all the important milestones marked on Zahar's map! Admittedly, it was not a very detailed map, and she kept off the main roads in order to avoid Abaddon's minions, but still, she couldn't help but curse her ignorance. The terrible heat must have baked her brains or something for her not to even consider the possibility… Now, she was too far off and Abaddon's patrols too close for her to return. And so, she had been heading right in the direction she had been trying to avoid from the very beginning of her prison-break. "Ah, I can't believe I went from prison to death zone… From frying pan to fire, right? But this heat feels like I'm in an oven already…" Thea chuckled dryly and shook her head. At least, because she had been avoiding roads, she and the Poison-maker had not crossed paths. "Well, maybe that's for the best." Thea though, nodding to herself.

Another gust of wind from behind almost toppled her to the ground, making her duck deeper into the small ravine she was camping in. The Valley of Winds sure was true to its name. Shame the wind was far from refreshing, it actually felt like someone directed a super-hot fan at her. Still, she liked this part of Gehenna better. Everything was better than endless flatland with nothing but sand and dust. The canyons and desert ravines she had passed last week and now the high mountains lemming the huge valley she was crossing at least provided some change in the scenery and landmarks. "Perhaps the weather would be a bit cooler there." Thea mused, but Mr. Wooly seemed rather skeptical. "It's OK, Mr. Wooly. Even if the weather doesn't get better, we only have two more days until the settlement, remember?" she encouraged her companion and pulled her scarf up, so that only her eyes were visible from under the cape of her snow-white cloak. The wind was strong and kept swirling the dust all over, creating a red mist-like effect, making it painful and painfully difficult to see. "At least that's what the imp said…" she added nervously. Fortunately, the merchant had been cooperative even after hearing Samael's name. Not that he hadn't broken down in curses and pleads first, but he had overcome the initial shock after Thea had finished dictating her message. Then, the imp had actually been more than eager to deliver it to the Lord of Time personally. From what she had understood from the clumsy conversation, not all demons liked Abaddon. According to his own words, the imp surely didn't. And everyone knows how the saying 'enemy of my enemy' goes, especially demons…

"Maybe I should open with that part next time I negotiate." Thea grinned inwardly. She could still envision the stunned face of the imp - his jaw dropping and eyes wide after the 'Abaddon must die' part. It was probably too forward, but her vocabulary was simply too limited to pull off something more eloquent. As was the imp's memory, for that matter. The message had to be oral, she couldn't risk anyone finding a letter of some sorts while intercepting the merchant. Oh yes, even Hell adopted the practice of taxes, checks, road tolls and various tithes when moving from one realm to another. Why, maybe Hell was the first one that came up with it, bringing that evil thing up to Assiah! In any case, she hoped she had managed to dictate her message to her best abilities. She just hated how restricted her options were due to the Blood oath. Even if she happened to know the right words, she couldn't use them because they went against the do's and don'ts Abaddon had bound her with. She couldn't use any but the demon language, she couldn't betray her name, her very identity, couldn't explain the Blood oath, couldn't ask Mephisto to come and take her back to Assiah or she would be bound to attack him… Couldn't, couldn't, couldn't! It was simply infuriating!

She could only hope that Mephisto would be able to understand her message and act upon it. And by 'act', she mainly meant getting rid of Abaddon. It was the only way for her to be free - if the one who bound her with the oath died, the Blood oath would be nullified. At least she assumed as much based on her studies at the True Cross Academy. However, if her stay in this Pit of Doom has taught her anything, it would be the necessity to re-think and re-learn things she had long believed were true. Even her basic general knowledge, such as the cardinal points. Or the basic sense of taste. Or how demons really behaved. "Da steh' ich nun, ich armer Tor, und bin so klug als wie zuvor." Thea felt a sudden, surprising vibe with Faust, who too felt rather useless despite having already learnt so much. Like 'a fool for sure, no wiser than he was before'. She was sure that Mephisto would have appreciated the reference and answered with some other witty quote and… She shook her head, banishing the image before her emotions could resurface. Keeping them in check has been more and more difficult lately, especially after memories of Mephisto started appearing more and more in her dreams. Instead, she focused - there was work to do.

Taking a deep breath, she concentrated, navigating a tiny portion of her energy with utmost care and caution towards her heart. Minuscule scars were running along the ever-working muscle. It took her a lot of time with the restricted amount of power she could use, but gradually, she had learned that the scars were actually symbols, characters of the demon language and some almost characters… Runes, perhaps? In any case, it was Abaddon's Blood oath. The words of fealty etched directly into her body, sending waves of unbearable pain through it upon each breach. It almost felt like a permanent tattoo. However, even tattoos could be erased with the help of a laser… And while she didn't have the luxury of modern medicine, she had her talent and experience. Besides, she had not become a Meister Doctor just because she had been dating the headmaster. And so, she had to try on herself. Maybe it wouldn't help at all and maybe it would set her free. In any case, she couldn't afford to wait with this. She wasn't sure how long she could last in Gehenna on her own and the oath proved increasingly limiting in her endeavors. Not to mention it had to be gone before Mephisto came to fetch her. The oath had to go!

Ignoring the strong wind picking up even more, she channeled a tiny healing wave - small enough to go undetected thanks to her barrier and her grandmother's earring in its place - in an attempt to make the tissue grow over one of the symbols, disrupting it. Only one of the twenty-four symbols had been erased this way and she was now in the middle of erasing the second one. Getting rid of the first symbol had no effect so far, but Thea kept trying again in hopes that perhaps a series of those symbols had to be erased first. Word by word. Maybe even the whole thing. The process was incredibly drawn-out, but she couldn't risk using more of her powers from the fear she would be discovered, or from the fear of what an error with more power could do… She was no Oni, she only had one heart after all.

The task was also incredibly delicate and error prone. And such an error could cost her. She proceeded in micrometers, why, nanometers even, she was sure! She could actually feel the difference. There was no way for her to see the progress, but thanks to her powers, she could feel it, no matter how faintly. "Slowly. Take your time. …Careful around that left atrium… That's it…" Thea encouraged herself, trying to ignore the piercing pain which occurred every time she came even close to not being perfectly and flawlessly right on. It was the most difficult thing she had ever attempted to heal, especially since the heart was an ever-moving organ, making it almost impossible to trace properly with her waves. She had to sync her attempts with its pulses. She proceeded steadily, with the excellence and finesse requiring equal measures of skill, practice and talent.

Abruptly, a loud crackling sound rolled above her head. Thea's concentration resolved like a mist, resulting in a shooting pain spasming her body. A curse escaped through her teeth as she toppled to the ground ungracefully. She managed to keep her powers and barrier in check, but she messed up her technique in the process and ended up injuring herself. "Ouch, ouch, ouch! That was a close one. Too close… Damn… it hurts… like hell!" she whined inwardly, clutching her chest. So, she learned that with severely limited great power still come great responsibilities, but the consequences are at least slightly more forgiving… Channeling her power carefully, she patched it up before she would go into cardiac arrest. "What just happened?" she caught and heaved, trying to get herself together. Gehenna really didn't allow any of its inhabitants to drop their guard even for a moment. She sat up shakily and peered into the distance, but a cloud of dust was obscuring her vision.

Then, she heard it again. That crackling sound. Alert and combat-ready, her eyes darted left and right in the search for an enemy. In a second, she was blinded by a flash of intense yellow-green light, then another rolling sound thundered so loud she could have sworn the ground was shaking. "Wait a minute… thunder?" Her head shot up and her eyes widened. "A storm?!" she gawked incredulously - she never noticed it coming, probably because of the clouds of dust and the immense focus required to perform the 'weavelengthomy'. Her mood went from pained and frustrated to excited in an instant. "It really is a storm! Oh, thank God, finally… This place could use some nice, refreshing rain." came a pleased exhale. She started packing her things and looked around in the search for a shelter. She could definitely not stay in the ravine. The cave system had to be close, though, and somewhere up in the mountains, safe from flash floods, unlike the ravine.. She didn't really mind getting soaked, but her supplies might get spoiled, so she picked up her pace.

More noise reached her ears in a few moments, it sounded like heaving and ground trembling. Soon, she spotted the 'antegoat' herd from earlier, galloping her way at a break-neck speed. The animals were still pretty far away, but Thea could recognize their tall, lean, yet muscular silhouettes… and the slower specimen in the back falling to the ground. Her heart quenched for the second time that day - she really couldn't catch a break in that damned place. Whatever the animals were running from, she had no intention of meeting it. She started running, too, but towards her goal - the mountains. However, her muscles - still sore and far from restored - were protesting against such athletic attempts. Despite that, Thea managed to cover a good two kilometers. The sound of the herd rushing towards her became more prominent, and so did another sound - the soothing sound of falling rain. She halted for a brief moment - just a second, just to catch her breath and maybe the feeling of the first droplets on her skin. Then she would run again.

It would appear that the day was full of new sounds. The last one was probably the most unsettling one, though. The sound of sizzling and searing, followed by the sound of her own pained voice. Thea pulled her hands towards her chest quickly. Burnt spots appeared where the droplets touched her skin. Corrosive. Melting her flesh away. "Oh crap! No, no, no… It's acid rain!" the realization hit her. "Tomoe mentioned acid rains, but they were supposed to be rare, seasonal… Could this be one such…? Oh, who am I kidding, of course it would be… Because screw me, that's why!" Lord, she was angry! But at least her anger wasn't wasted - it helped her catch a second breath. Her heart was beating fast from the rush of adrenalin, and she had never run faster in her life. "Who's below-average in runs now, Dr. Inoha?" Thea allowed herself an absolutely silly, slightly cocky thought, remembering her university P.E. teacher who had never failed to voice her disappointment in Thea's sprints and athletics training results, despite her great stamina and endurance.

Unfortunately, the adrenaline didn't last for long, and the rainfall started picking up. Thea panicked. What if she couldn't reach the shelter fast enough? Could she outrun the storm? Would she just end up there, disintegrated by acid rain?! She glanced towards her companion nervously, only to notice a small hole in his ear. That was simply unacceptable! In a second, the rucksack together with Mr. Wooly was firmly pressed to her chest, and she held her cloak over her precious friend as she ran. Staying on the course was getting more and more difficult, though. Clouds of dust kept rising and swirling all around her, obscuring her vision. The swirling dust made her cough as it found its way through her scarf. Soon, even the mountains vanished from her sight, so she hoped she was at least still running straight. She almost couldn't breathe from all the dust and exhaustion. She loved summer storms, but this one was positively ruining her fond memories. What was worse, it started to feel like it would be the last storm she would ever see… In a moment of distraction, she slipped on the slushy ground, landing on her knees and with one hand supporting her while the other still clutched Mr. Wooly, pressing him and the rucksack to her chest. "I got you, Mr. Wooly, I got you." she assured her plush companion. The moisture from the ground seeped through her clothes fast, disintegrating it and burning her skin. She cried out in pain. She was almost there. Almost…

Suddenly, she heard something. Roaring? Calls? Has anyone called for her just now? She turned her head left and right but couldn't see a thing apart from the swirling dust. Surely she must have imagined that. Agonized sounds reached her ears as the herd of 'antegoats' ran past her. Her eyes widened in horror at the sight. The creatures were pushing themselves just like her, panting and heaving, running for their lives at a break-neck speed. And then, there were those with their skin burnt, patches of flesh hanging loose from their bodies, holes disfiguring their limbs. They were still half-running, half-limping, pushing their bodies to the limit. And the soft rain turned into a downpour. It felt like time just slowed down. The sound of her own heart felt deafening in Thea's ears. Her whole body was trembling at the sight of the animals falling to the ground around her as the acid rain was stripping them to their bones. A terrible, terrible fate. In that instant, she understood the old animal approaching the hunter. The hunter was quick and merciful - unlike this liquid torture… Tears swelled in her eyes. This was just cruel. Cruel! And it looked like… the same fate awaited her. Another series of lightning and thunder shook the skies and the ground, along with her body and soul. It was clear the storm could not be outrun. At this point, she no longer cared if the enemy would spot her, she was ready to use her healing powers to the fullest. She was just afraid that it wouldn't be enough to withstand the cruelty and ferocity of Gehenna's weather. Not at this magnitude, not for long…

OoO

"No… What in Gehenna is she doing? This isn't the time to sit and meditate, damn it!" Ramil kept pacing nervously, his fists clenching and unclenching. The human had been pushing straight through the Valley of Winds at a rather slow, yet steady pace. Only about an hour and she would reach the mountains. So why stop to camp in the ravine in the middle of the plains when a storm was brewing? The wind was picking up, the clouds of dust were swirling around, even the herd of baphomets - the sabbatic goats - was growing skittish. The monsoon season in the Wastelands could get pretty devastating, especially in the Valley of Winds where the storms crashed against the wall of mountains. "Ramil, calm yourself. There's no guarantee a storm will come out of this wind. You know how unpredictable the weather is during the monsoon season. One moment it looks like a storm is brewing and the other moment it's gone, all clouds blown apart. Even if this turns into a storm, there's still plenty of time… The human just needed some rest. It's been only around ten minutes." Khan tried to calm the other captain as well as himself. She knew what she was doing, the snake demon was sure of it. And so, he merely continued sharpening his blades, waiting.

"It's been fourteen minutes." Ramil interrupted pointedly, displeased that Khan would downplay the facts like that in order to bring him some peace. "And if she keeps the same pace, she won't make it to the mountains in time. You know how intense the rainfall can be around these parts… We haven't followed her this far just so she could get her head cracked open by hail." the captain pouted, his silhouette but a smear of red as the cape kept blowing all around wildly. "I know, I know. Look, we agreed to keep our distance. 'We'll watch and we'll see.', remember?" Khan used Ramil's own words to support his point. "Besides, it looks like she…" Khan trailed off as the skies flashed in yellow-green hues, followed by a powerful, ground-shaking thunder. The wind brought the first smell of the storm. His eyes widened in horror. He turned swiftly to Ramil only to meet his equally alarmed eyes. "Satan's mercy be upon us…" the snake demon breathed out. "... that's acid rain!" he jumped to his feet quickly, all senses on high alert. The captains exchanged quick, knowing glances, then made their way towards the mountains as fast as their feet could carry them. Acid rainfall was a one in a dozen chance, but always a death sentence, unless one found a shelter in time or carried the right protection.

"Wait!" Ramil called out towards Khan as they were sprinting. They could see Thea started running towards the mountains, too, but she was still some distance away. "She's fine, she's running, so let's go! Go, damnation, or we all end up wishing we went back to Abaddon, empty-handed or not!" the snake demon pushed. They reached the safety of the mountain pass within a few moments. They were out of breath and the blasted acid rain left a few holes in their clothes, but they escaped practically unharmed considering the amount of damage this kind of rain could and would inflict. "Satan's flames! My best boots!" Khan thundered as he peeled off part of the boot, turning it into a shoe before the acid could burn his leg even more. "Khan, look!" Ramil urged, his gaze turned firmly towards the swirling dust and acid clouds approaching from behind it at an accelerating speed. Khan didn't hesitate, he too wanted to make sure the human made it to the mountains safely. "Tsk…" he clicked his tongue. "What? Well?' Ramil pressed. "I can barely see her, there's too much dust everywhere. I… I think she's on the ground and…" before the snake demon could finish the sentence, Ramil was out in the open, rushing towards the human. "Ramil, no! Wait, you fool! Damnation!" he gritted his teeth before joining his comrade.

"Human! Over here!" Ramil kept shouting at the top of his lungs, running, hoping the girl would be able to hear him through the storm and find her way through the dust. The acid rain was slowly soaking him wet, burning through the pieces of armor and uniform, through his skin… "This way! We will not hurt you! Hey!" he tried again, waving his hands while he was running in her direction. "Ramil! Get back, you Cyclops Brain! We won't make it to her and back!" Khan's voice reached the captain. "No! I owe her this much!" came Ramil's answer thundering back through the storm. "And I owe this much to you…" the snake demon said inaudibly. Before Ramil could even process what was happening, Khan's green eyes flashed, getting hold of his companion with their paralyzing gaze. Ramil found himself stupefied, unable to even speak, let alone move a muscle. He could only rage and swear inwardly at the idiot of a comrade who was carrying him as fast as he could back towards the shelter, while the human girl was out there in the downpour of death…

OoO

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Disclaimer: Blue Exorcists belongs to Kazue Katō. Please, do not re-post or publish my story without my consent.

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Author's note: Hello everyone!

Thank you so much for the wait! Even though this chapter has been finished for quite some time, I had to get back to it and re-work some parts rather fundamentally based on some additional feedback from my wonderful proof-reader. I really hope the wait will be worth the improved quality, though!

As expected, some of you asked about our other hero who is currently missing in the last chapters. I assure you that Mephisto will make his entrance, but there is a very good reason for why you haven't heard much of him lately, so please give the Lord of Time a bit more time ^^ (You know, The Lord of Time is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to - or when he can :D)

So, enjoy the chapter and let me know how you liked it. I think that I can actually see some progress in my writing skills after all these chapters, and I'm sure it's also thanks to your helpful messages and comments. Thank you so much for the encouragement, everyone! I hope you will stay with Thea through her adventure.