Lowen could hardly believe her eyes. She gently laid her claws on Pluck's still wings. They were just as impressive as they were in his dragon form, and they had actually kept most of their ominous red flame. She ran her talon along the silver scales lining the wing, letting the red static run up her claw. It felt off, like a numbing feeling, but it didn't bother her too much.

Pushing him onto his back, she could only hope to disguise the amazement currently spreading across her face. He, like Kushala, had kept his horns, or in his case, his crest, and was without the flowing silky hair mamono were known for. His beak and scales that once covered his head took the appearance of a helmet rather than a set of horns or the scaled ears on reptile mamono. His face, she would never admit, was handsome, and his skin had a pitch-black color to it.

His chest still had his vents, but their glow was far dimmer than they were before. She could even make out a hint of purple from the Demon Energy that flowed through his body. The pitch-black skin beneath his silver scales urged her to caress the oddly colored skin. And so, she did, 'Soft? How could he be so soft?', Her claws moved to his scales, 'Hard, as expected, but they are… pleasant to the touch? Smooth even. These stupid dragons can't even be scaley… I should check Kushala's scales later.'

The thunderous sound of Kushala and the hunter's impact brought her out of her musing. She turned to find the two of them in a crater, nearly a foot deep in the ground. Lowen watched in horror as Kushala began digging his heel into the injured hunter's chest. He raised his heel talon high, poised to strike, and a hateful grimace marring his features. His single blue eye radiated the hatred for the man beneath him.

"STOP!", Lowen screamed, barely registering Pluck's groan.

Kushala glanced her way, and reluctantly set his talons back on the hunter's chest. He sighed, "What is it Lowen?"

"You were going to kill that man!", The griffon growled, "You promised that you would spare the humans!"

"Oh," Kushala chuckled, "this… thing, is a hunter. He is no ordinary human…"

"But he is human," Lowen pulled Pluck up by his waist, "let him go. He hasn't done anythi…"

"He is a hunter!", The Elder wrenched the unconscious man from the ground, "Now listen closely, Lowen, I will try to keep it simple as you do not know hunters as I do… They are to be killed, we must break their spirit so they may learn their place like the rest of humanity, and if they don't… we kill the hunters that come after them. If they're still too stupid to realize how foolish they are in challenging us, then we keep killing until all of the stupid ones are gone."

Scowling, Lowen trudged over to Kushala with Pluck in her claws, "Humans are greedy, devious, zealous bastards, but they aren't stupid. They defeated you, didn't they? Isn't that why your old body was so broken?"

Halfheartedly tossing the hunter to the side, he crossed his newly created arms in an oddly human fashion, "I never said they weren't stubborn… Listen," he placed a metallic claw on her shoulder, "naïve little mamono, hunters are little more than humanity's attempt at surpassing us. Look at that hunter, look at how he arms and armored himself in the hides of my kin, and now look back at myself."

He pointed to the scarred remnants of his previous body. The horrible scars on the wings and ribcage, sent a shiver down the griffon's spine, but she remained stalwart. She turned to look back at Kushala, his missing eye only punctuated his statement. She glanced back at the slowly recovering hunter, "Do you hate them that much?"

Kushala smirked, "No I don't hate them… They may have taken my eye, and they may have broken my body. Do not mistake me as some blood-thirsty beast. Now if you will excuse me; I have a hunter to kill."

"Don't!", Lowen found her jaw seized by the Elder.

"Leave with Pluck," he said, "I will follow shortly."

Grumbling, Lowen watched as the hunter slowly got to his feet, 'At least I bought him some time, hopefully no one else has to die today.' She nodded and took flight, 'I need to get out of the city anyways… Druella's horde is closing in, and they don't look like they're in a talking mood.'

Kushala sighed and turned to find the hunter lifting his helmet to down the entirety of his potion. He smirked and turned back to see the griffon carrying his kin over the city walls. Gathering his wind, he felt his true strength surge throughout his body as the storm above grew furious. The hunter unsheathed his Great Sword, Kushala smiled, "Hunter, are you prepared to die?"

-0-

"EVACUATE THE CITY!", Sasha watched as the little cat chef pushed passed the guards.

"YOU NEED TO EVACUATE THE CITY!", Tatsuo screamed out as he pounced from pew to pew.

Commotion shot through the once silent audience as the monster ducked beneath grasping gauntlets and thrusting man-catchers. The guards scrambled as they desperately tried to catch the screaming feylne. Mimil snickered as one of the guards accidentally caught one of his comrades by the leg.

Her childish giggling didn't make Sasha feel any better, 'Has the raid already began?'

"Someone! Catch that blasted monster!", High Priest Noscrim roared from the stage.

"ELDER DRAGONS ARE ATTACKING THE CITY!", Tatsuo yelled out before getting grabbed by the scruff of his neck by the first princess of Lescatie.

The woman smacked the werecat across the jaw, and forced him into silence. She growled, "Why have you defiled our ceremony, cat! If you weren't the hunter's pet, I would be butchering you here and now."

Sasha saw the horror in the felyne's eyes turn to disgust. A pang of guilt ran through at the fact that she had done nothing to remedy the situation. The chef spat, "Elder Dragons are attacking the city! You need to evacuate everyone, now!"

Murmurs ran through the crowded pews as rain began pelting the church windows. Lightning struck outside of the castle walls, but the resounding thunder was enough to worry the commoners in the pews. The nobility looked out the windows from their vantage point to see that a storm had suddenly overtaken the once clear blue sky.

"Preposterous," Noscim clutched at his robe as the rain grew furious, "the sky was clear of such horrid storms… MONSTER!"

Tatsuo was forced into a bow before the High Priest, the woman's grip on the back of neck didn't make the floor any more comfortable. The chef struggled to look up at the old man, and grimaced as the woman shoved him against the tile. She leaned in, "Speak when spoken to, monster."

"Yes?", He choaked out.

"What are these Elder Dragons you speak of?", Noscrim asked from his station, "Is this storm coming from a monster from your pagan world?"

"Yes," Tatsuo squirmed, "there is a Kushala Daora and a Valstrax assaulting the city. You need to evacuate Lescatie!"

"Do not raise your voice, cat.", The hero growled. The chef found himself shoved further into the floor. At this point it was becoming harder for the rest of the people to watch. Some even appeared sympathetic to the felyne's plight.

Sasha had enough of it, "Release that mamono, now!"

"Mamono?", Noscrim's face twisted at the word, before he turned to face the senior hero, "Miss Fullmoon, this beast has disgraced our most holy temple, and you would have it released? Look at it!"

The firebrand gestured to the struggling chef beneath the hero. An air of righteous indignation coming over the High Priest, "This fowl demon-spawn from another world, came to OUR most holy place of worship, screaming at the top of its blasphemous lungs to leave the house of GOD! And you, Lady Fullmoon, tell me, the interpreter of the Chief God's will, to let it go? Have you gone mad?!"

Whispers of dogmatic hatred ran through the crowd as the nobility prepared to leave for their carriages. The crowd, now roused, began shouting abuse at Sasha and Tatsuo. However, another explosion of light brought the people out of their zealous rage. And silence returned to the church as a roar of unfiltered rage shattered both their eardrums and the windows. Allowing the red glow of Dragon to surge into the holy ground as a silver comet with a red tail shot into the sky with a boom.

Noscrim cowered behinds his lectern, a look of primal fear marring his elderly features. In fact, Sasha believed he would have a heart-attack if anything worse happened. The High Priest waved for the princess to allow the felyne up, "Monster, what are the dragons doing in my city?"

Dusting himself off, the felyne shrugged, "I don't know, but it would be best… if you EVACUATE THE CITY! Nǐ bèn dàn mùshī!", He covered his mouth as the profanity left it, and swiftly bowed his head in apology, "Forgive me, today has been rough."

"We need to evacuate the city! Lescatie is lost, Elder Dragons and the Demon Lord's forth are invading the city!", The voice of a young hero rang out. Wilmarina followed by Estrid busted through the church doors, a look of determination in her eyes, and resolve in her voice.

Sasha heard a distant wheeze as she turned to see Noscrim fall to his knees, clutching his chest in pain. She was about to call for help when a soft, yet firm hand grabbed her by the shoulder. She looked up to see the motherly minotaur staring down at her, "Miss Fullmoon, I need to get you out of here. Dawn needs to see you after this!"

"That's fine," the crowd began to calm as Wilmarina began leading them out the castle side entrance, "but I need your help with something."

The minotaur's glare narrowed, "As long as you answer whatever Dawn asks of you. I don't care."

"You will," Sasha grabbed onto the minotaur's hand, "mamono like you always care about children. I need you to take me and the children to your wagon."

Tatsuo coughed to gain their attention, "This better be important. I'm supposed to meet up with Elt after this; Said he had a favor to ask after everyone got out of the city."

"And what would that favor be, Tatsuo?", Mimil smugly poked, "Did that fool do something stupid again?"

"Mimil, Tatsuo," Sasha waved away the little girl's question and began motioning for her children to stay close to her, "if you two can come help as well, that would be most greatly appreciated."

"I'll do what I can."

"Anything for you, Sasha."

-0-

Druella watched from on high, literally floating above the battlefield as the hunter and the Elder fought. She honestly couldn't tell who would defeat and then presumably skin the other; Dawn, the hunter, was human, but he has also proved that he was more than just a capable dragon slayer after he defeated the other Elder. While Kushala, fought with the strength and intelligence that only the most ancient dragons were known for. He still wasn't exactly comfortable in his new body yet.

She grinned as the hunter ducked beneath a swipe of the dragon's claws, and countered with a shoulder charge that led into a horizontal swing. Only for the metal mamono to propel off of him with the use of his odd power over the winds. Druella found herself fantasizing over the both of them; how both the hunter and the Elder could conquer dragons and bring them into her fold. It sure as hell would have made planning for the invasion a hell of lot quicker, and a hell of lot easier.

"Druella," Ala, the sylph, hovered beside her, "you're playing with yourself again."

"Oh, you would too if you just gave in to the corruption.", Druella dismissed her and continued to rub her privates, "Speaking of corruption, how is Miss Dascaros holding up? Still resisting?"

Ala winced at the sight of the hunter scratching the Elder with the prongs of his clutch claw. The grinding of metal on metal was never a sound she was particularly fond of, especially when she had to supervise the gremlins. She nodded, "We got her arm in a sling, but none of our magics are working on her. Her body is rejecting all of the Demonic Energy we've given her. Even when one of the girls tried seducing her; all she got was a zap to the tongue, and a sore jaw after the hero punched her."

"Interesting," Druella's grin faltered, "but I think I can make that work… Are those hellhound sisters in position?"

"Ready and waiting.", Ala nodded.

-0-

He couldn't land a solid hit; he would either swing and miss, or be forced into countering in some other way. His Great Sword was just too slow for him to actually hit the Elder turned mamono. A fact that was going to get him killed if the claw markings on his armor were anything to go by. If Dawn lets a single glancing blow become anything worse than that; he wouldn't be leaving Lescatie alive.

"What's the matter, hunter?", Kushala chuckled, "Are you hurting? Does it feel like you're about to collapse? Does it feel like your body is about to give up on you?"

The deep baritone voice of the Kushala Daora only made it harder to concentrate. The idea of a talking monster, from his world, was incredible alone, but the fact that it was an Elder Dragon of all monsters. This was either one of the biggest discoveries in the history of the guild, or the death of the guild as a whole. Regardless of the potential danger, regardless of the stress on his shoulders, he was having fun.

"No, I just don't know how to hit you.", Dawn calmly maneuvered away from a swipe of the dragon's claws, "Your whole body is made of metal, and I don't really want to hurt you… We can stop now if you come quietly."

"Oh, really," Kushala smirked, ignoring the proposition, "you're one of those quiet adventurous types.", He kicked the hunter onto his side, but had to avoid the clutch claw that grazed his metallic wing. He readied himself for another attack, "I thought you to be one of the boastful hunters… that weapon type is not used by the most subtle of your lot."

"How many hunters have you actually fought?", Dawn ducked beneath the metal pole Kushala called a tail, "Calm and collected might be rare, but I know a couple of the hunters that are like myself."

Kushala hummed to himself, almost disengaging from the fight in it entirety, if Dawn hadn't actually gone for a swipe with his weapon, they might have just stopped there. He nodded while catching the Great Sword in his metal claws, "Before you there was… two other groups, but I don't remember how many exactly… Wait wasn't I trying to kill you, hunter?"

"Yes, you were… Why do you ask? We're still fighting, aren't we?", Dawn kicked the Elder in his stomach. Doing absolutely nothing to the dragon, as his face continued to screw at the thought of killing the hunter.

Knocking the hunter's boot aside, Kushala smirked and kicked the hunter back. Sending the unfortunate human flying with a crunch of the ribs. The Elder almost looked pained by the sound, "That did not sound good. Are you already dying on me, hunter? You we're doing so well; it would a shame for you to die from a love-tap!"

Dawn slowly wrenched himself out of the rubble the Elder had sent him through, and rolled his aching shoulders. He dived for safety as Kushala sent a torrent of wind his way. He coughed as it grew harder to breath, "Love-tap?! Are you even trying!"

"Not one bit, hunter!", Kushala sent another shot of his concentrated wind, "Now are you going to lay down and die; making this much easier for the both of us, or am I going to have to keep launching you into more walls?!"

Kushala felt a faint tapping on his tail, and turned to find the changed Shakalaka banging on him with their clubs. Sighing, Kushala summoned a tornado beneath the two of them, and sent another half-hearted blast to send them flying. Both flailed through the air, before vanishing from sight as the rift, they had originally fell through, appeared in their exact trajectory.

"Huh," Kushala tapped his chin, "convenient… Hunter, are you…"

Kushala turned to find that Dawn had not only covered the distance between them, but that he had also prepared a full charge of his Great Sword and was currently cleaving into the Elder's chest. A familiar sensation of rending metal grinded into Kushala's every thought, reminding him of past trauma, as Dawn continued to push his blade into the Elder's chest with all of his might.

Roaring, Kushala knocked the weapon to the side, showing that it hadn't actually cut into his carapace, and wrenched the hunter into the air; wrapping both claws around the hunter's throat as his fury returned in force. Growling, "That was a cheap shot, hunter!", His grip tightening, "And I was starting to warm up to the idea of letting you live! I'll be making sure to make this part incredibly painful."

Dawn reared back his legs, and kicked the Elder in the stomach in hope that he could knock the wind out of the dragon. But for all of his effort; his only reward was a newly sprained right leg, and the tightening of the Elder's grip on his throat. His vison began to flash with black spots as air was slowly deprived from his lungs, finding himself growing weaker and weaker with each passing second.

"How does it feel, hunter?", Kushala whispered, "To be hopeless… to lose all control… to know that you are going to die, and that there is nothing you can do about it?"

"…Please…"

"Pass, hunter… pass on, so that I may be done with you."

A sudden migraine came over Kushala, forcing him to fling the hunter away as defiant voices tore at his mind. Visions of this foreign world's gods staring down at him, demanding him to conform to the ways of the mamono, and to spare the human. Growling, he knocked his head in agony, before turning to glare at his wounded adversary. His fury surged, "Where are you, hunter?! We're not done yet!", Dragon began sparking at the Elder's mouth, "Where are you?! Show yourself, hunter!"

"Cease Kushala, you must cease! I brought you to this world for a greater purpose!", A mamono woman with bright white hair, pale white skin, and red eyes cupped his face in her palms.

"The hunter does not deserve to die! This battlefield has shed enough blood!", Another woman in armor, this one human in appearance with sun tanned skin, with short red hair, and beautiful green orbs for eyes metaphysically grasped his claw and demanded his submission.

A frightening chill came over him, "Enough! I refuse to let anyone else die this day!"

The chill was replaced with cold water running through the cracks in his skin, "Please stop! This hunter will form a bridge between out worlds! Lilith nee…"

A sultry image of a naked woman caressed his cheek, "You are a mamono, now! You must love humanity! Give in to your desires! Forget the hunter, find a woman, and ravish her till she…"

"ARGH!", His claws scraped at his temples as the voices reverberated from every corner of his mind. The voices continued until he fell to his knees, heaving as heat built up in his claws and maw. A new voice echoed from the recesses of his psyche, silencing the terrible pleading.

He was faced with a blinding light, and little else, "Dragon! Hear my voice and tremble! I am the Chief God! The one above all! You have slain my children, and stole my own angels' blessed metal! I sentence you to…"

"ENOUGH!", Dragon flared from the Elder's mouth as his rage and pain flooded his thoughts, purging the voices in their entirety. The rain, once furious, now became little more than a drizzle as the Elder desperately cradled his head in his new palms. The clicking of heels against tiles drew his gaze to the lilim cautiously edging closer to him.

Blinking, he recognized her as the mamono that helped him, but the image of the first voice was burned into his mind. He growled, "Stay away from me!", He then took off in the direction that Lowen had carried Pluck. His wings creating an updraft as he left, blowing away the debris around them as he did so. Leaving Druella confused and disturbed by what she just saw, as the storm slowly followed the Elder outside of Lescatie.

-0-

"Stop here!", Sasha yelled over the rocking of the wagon.

Estrid grounded her hooves into the dirt as her charge came to end. They were in the forest right outside of Lescatie, beside what looked like an abandoned shack hidden behind a number of overgrown trees. Its wooden walls had bits of mold growing from within them, and the interior hadn't faired any better due to the lack of a proper roof and door. Overall, the building looked like the ruins of a monster attack rather than a childhood home of a veteran hero.

Tatsuo held the children back from getting off of the wagon, before getting off himself, "Stay here there might be mamono around."

A little boy patted his head, "Kitty!"

Sasha picked him up, and placed him back with the others. She silently thanked the felyne as she carefully got off the wagon's driver seat. Mimil following close after with her staff at the ready in case of any patrolling mamono. Estrid waiting next to the doorway eyeing the destroyed home with suspicion.

"So, what are we doing here?", The minotaur carefully stepped onto the entrance stair, and then stepped off when she felt the wood give way.

"I will answer whatever questions you have after we get out of here.", Sasha quickly moved up the steps, and over to the worn, rain drenched rug in the middle of the building.

She moved it to the side, revealing a metal hatch for the three other adults to see. Taking out a key from between her breast, she unlocked the hatch, and waved to whatever was beneath. What followed was the most shocking thing, Estrid believed she would ever see. The Deviljho, if she was being hyperbolic, paled in comparison.

Children of all shapes and sizes pounced from the depths onto the surface. Some even actively clung to the hero, before noticing the older mamono among them. They stared up at Estrid in fascination, a group of little salamanders coming up to her to marvel at the muscles lining her body. She looked away in both embarrassment after getting excited from their red scales, and because of the growing mass of young mamono coming out from beneath the floorboards.

"Come on everyone," Sasha carefully helped a wyvern out the hatch as she was struggling with her lack of proper hands. She looked over the crowd, "we need to leave soon… Miss Daniels can you pull the wagon with all of these girls in it as well?"

"I…", Estrid didn't know if she could. Pulling five people as well as a wagon was one thing, pulling a wagon filled to brim with children was another. As she surveyed the children some seemed to be even heavier than the original party. The werecats practically weighed nothing, while Shizuka would put some stress on her. Though the lamia knew how to distribute her weight around the entirety of the wagon. Dawn was heavy on his own, his equipment was far worse, but she could handle that.

Sasha was asking her to carry nigh twenty children as well as a couple of the others for miles. Could she do that? Was she strong enough? How long could she go if she could? These questions racked her mind, until she settled with a sigh. Letting the exasperation leave her; she swallowed the lump in her throat, 'I'm supposed to get laid tonight… I guess I should work for it… If I can't stand afterwards, I'll just make sure Dawn can't either… maybe I'll get some quality sleeping time with him too.'

A young orc grasped at her hand, pulling Estrid from her fantasies. The adorable little girl happily smiled up at her as she let her take her hand, completely unaware of the situation in Lescatie. Estrid smiled back as she mentally scolded herself, 'Priorities Estrid! Save the children! Fantasize about break Dawn's pelvis LATER!'

She nodded to Sasha, but kept her thoughts to herself, "I can pull it, but you better explain everything when we meet back up with Dawn."

"Okay, everyone," Sasha ushered the children over to the wagon shocking both the felyne and the young hero, "into the wagon. This nice mamono is going to take us somewhere safe, okay?"

"Okay!", The children scrambled into the wagon, startling the orphans already hiding within.

"Mimil, can you make sure they keep quiet? I don't want anyone else knowing about them.", Sasha asked as she help a harpy into the wagon.

"Um… uh," The little mage carefully nudged a greenworm away with her foot, "gross… I mean, of course Miss Sasha, but why are you harboring mamono?"

"Everything will be explained in time.", Sasha nodded, "That should be everyone… Miss Daniels can you take us to the other side of Lescatie? The castle's back entrance will lead to the road your group came in on."

Nodding Estrid lifted the harness bars up. Struggling to keep the weight at first until she put more than her usual amount of effort into picking it up. She felt sweat run down her face as she finally lifted the arms, and began pulling the wagon across the rough patch of dirt called a road.

-0-

Dawn woke to the gentle touch of fur on his neck. His eyes shot open as he took in air, usure if he was alive, or if he had died and gone to this world's afterlife. His gaze fell on the red cloaked hellhound rubbing his neck. She stared back, a look of uncertainty in her burning eyes. She blinked and then edged away as another hellhound took her place; the lead Helldrome straddled his hips as she sat on top of him.

She gave a lustful growl, "Good afternoon, husband."

She leaned in closer, taking a whiff of his scent, and her expression turned from one of triumph to one of disappointment and annoyance. Pushing Dawn onto his back causing the hunter minor pain in his ribs as he felt the cracked bones shift. Licking her lips, she said, "You were our mark, hunter…"

"Get off of me.", He managed to wheeze out, his voice still ravaged by his mangled throat.

"Get off of you?", She growled with lustful glee, "No… My sisters and I are going to bear your pups one way or another. Now you're going to tell me where your wife is, so that we can have a 'chat' on who gets to own you."

"He's already marked?!", The oldest mamono he met in the prison appeared by his shoulder.

"No fair!", A hellhound he hadn't seen before appeared over the other.

The cloaked girl hugged her knees as she sat beside them, "Druella said we were supposed to bring him to her once he woke up… so I don't think we would even get to have him if he didn't have a wife."

"No, no, no, no!", The hellhound on his lap shook her head in defiance, "We tracked him down, we fought him, we caught him, and that means HE IS OURS! We deserve to keep him; I don't care what Druella said… He belongs to us!"

"Is that so?"

Druella lowered herself to their level. A smirk growing across her beautiful face, and a swish of her tail along the alpha hellhound's neck made it clear that she stepped over a line. Her gaze moved from subordinate to target as she too took in his essence. She frowned, "You are marked… how disappointing.", She leaned in and caressed his cheek and asked in curiosity, "Was it the bunyip, the minotaur, or both?"

Druella peered into his eyes, heedless of whatever he was about to say. She saw the images of the night he lost his virginity. She saw the connection formed between him and Shizuka and Estrid, she then saw its severing, and its immediate fortification. She quirked a brow, "Henrietta, Alpha, whatever you call yourself… get off the hunter."

"But…", The mamono felt the lilim's tail rap around her neck; the tail gave her a threatening squeeze. She gulped, and as ordered, slinked off of the hunter. Making sure to caress his privates as she did so. Much to Dawn's chagrin as he felt Druella take the, now named, Henrietta's place.

"How did you do that?", She asked, an unsettled look in her black-red eyes.

"Do what?", He wheezed.

"Shrug off the corruption.", She squeezed his shoulder's as his memories continued to play in his eyes.

Coughing, he gave her a weary glare, "What are you talking about?"

"After you lost your virginity, you woke up feeling off, and then you shrugged it off?", Druella looked down at his crotch, "Why aren't you horny! Why aren't you telling me how badly you need me! You're human!"

Baffled the hunter could only express his confusion through mutters as the idea that she could see into his memory only added to the list of questions. The fact that she expected him to be horny, while suffering from a sprained leg and half a dozen cracked ribs only made it worse.

She pushed him down, careful as too not cause him anymore pain, and kissed him. Making sure to make the action as lewd as possible as she snaked her tongue into his mouth. Only after a full minute of forced mouth to mouth did she release him.

She peered into his eyes once more to see sprites of Demonic Energy form, and then slowly dissipate. Panic began to surface, but was covered in her frail façade of control. She got off of him to check if he was any harder, but found him just as soft as before.

Dawn took his chance and sat himself back up, while getting to one knee as he felt his leg buckle beneath him. A look of worry appeared in the eyes of the present mamono, surprising the hunter, and adding on to the frankly absurd predicament he was in.

"Okay, okay," Druella collected herself, 'nothing's going as planned today, huh,' she brought up her hands in surrender, "Let's start over shall we."

She motioned for the hooded mamono to help him to his feet, giving back his helmet in the process, and showing him that his weapon was not molested like he was. He reequipped his helmet, and was about to pick up his Great Sword when he felt the cracks in his ribs shift. Coughing, he decided to let his weapon remain where it was, and turned to address the elephant in the room.

"What the FUCK was that!", He growled, letting loose the stress that had slowly built up since coming to Lescatie. Uncaring for the cloaked mamono that was keeping from collapsing, he continued, "What the FUCK IS GOING ON! AND WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!"

The mamono visually recoiled at the hunter's outburst. Druella especially, after she had gotten to know him, while in her false persona. They inched away from the man, until he slowly let the rage die within and let his usual calm take its place.

He sighed, "Please explain what is going on."

-0-

The hunter sat atop a mountain of rubble as Druella presented the new order she created in Lescatie. Men, women, and mamono alike made what she called love in the streets. Heedless of the destruction and chaos that demolished their city, or the fact that they were literally having sex right next to friends and relatives. The once fair city was reduced to an orgy filled ruins with citizens that cared not for the world around them.

"This is your paradise?", Dawn asked.

"This is paradise, Dawn," Druella moved to sit beside him, "do you see it? The peace, the love, isn't it better?"

"I see depraved people fucking in the street.", He grumbled.

"That is love.", She corrected, "We are showing the Order that we love them. This is depravity, this is beauty."

"I see," he sighed, tired and unconvinced, "can I leave now. I would like to get back to my people."

"You may," Druella relented, "but you need to tell your guild of how we the Extremist Faction had not only saved your life, but most of the people in Lescatie."

"I wouldn't call you a savior if you managed to cure all of the diseases in the world.", He got to his feet with the help of the cloaked mamono, "Thank you… where was I?"

"You were going to give Lady Druella a piece of your mind.", The young hellhound added, much to the lilim's annoyance.

"Again, thank you.", Dawn strapped his Great Sword to his back, "What makes you think you saved my life? My ribs are still crack, and I can't walk without help. How does that sound like you saved me?"

"We were going to distract Kushala when he for some reason lost his mind.", Druella pointed out, "We were lucky to get you out of harm's way when we did."

"Fine," he grumbled, "is there anything else?"

"I want you to take at least one of my own with you to act as my representative.", She added, "I'll even let you pick."

Dawn surveyed his options: A, he could say no, and just leave. B, He could pick one, and bring her to His Immenseness and trust his judgement. Or C, he could pick one, and ditch her along the way. All of them had pros and cons, but the more he thought about it the more frustrating the easier options became.

He knew mamono to be stubborn so options A and C would be more than just annoying. He knew that Druella wouldn't let him go without someone coming with him, and that she would be keeping an eye on him one way or another. So, his only real option was B, and that didn't sit well with him.

He looked over the available mamono, and found his choices wanting. He could go with the high orc currently raping King Castor and his Queen, or her many, many underlings currently piling on the royal guard. He could go with the ocelomeh currently sulking as they sadly picked from the captured soldiers, but he had learned of what happen with Ace from Druella, making them a no-go. Or the rest of the countless horde of newly wed mamono.

And then there was the hellhounds patiently waiting for his decision. The three that weren't holding him up were wagging their tails hoping that he would pick one of them. Until his gaze fell on the girl currently holding him up.

"What's your name?"

"Huh?", The girl stared up at him.

"I asked for your name.", He repeated.

"Chloe?", She answer, unsure of herself.

"I will take Chloe.", He nodded to the lilim.

She stared at him for a moment, but relented and the made order for the mamono to move off the road. She smirked and gestured for him to leave, "You may go now. I hope you recover soon, Dawn, having to satisfy three mamono is hardly something any human man can hope to accomplish."

Ignoring her, Dawn and Chloe slowly made their way out of the city. A deep blush across the young hellhounds cheeks, and an annoyed scowl hidden beneath the hunter's helmet.

Once out of the city, Chloe tried to speak, "You don't have to… t-to do anything like that."

Sighing the hunter ruffled her short hair, and kept walking as the sun began to set in the distance. They took a break and sat down by a tree as Chloe reeled from helping carry a man the size of Dawn as well as his weapon.

"Why are you scared?", He asked.

"I-I'm not scared," she mumbled, "I'm just nervous."

The darkness fell, leaving the hellhound's eyes as the only source of light for them, beneath the tree roof. Dawn rubbed his chest in pain, "You're not acting like other mamono."

"…"

"Why is that?"

Silence came over the two of them, Dawn's ragged breath being the only the sound they could hear over the occasional chitter of insects. She nodded, "You're too different."

"How so?"

She scooted closer to him, "You feel like another mamono."

'Her stutter's gone.', He nodded, "That doesn't explain much."

Chloe shifted uncomfortably, "You're like a human that's as strong as an ogre, but you're not a hero. And you radiate power."

"Power?"

"Yeah, like… you know… strength.", She nodded.

He chuckled, "And that makes me like a mamono?"

"Yeah," Chloe pointed to her relatively lithe arms, "mamono are stronger, smarter, and can do anything better than a normal human."

"Who told you that?"

"Alpha," she beamed, "she's the strongest of our pack, so she has to be right."

"I see.", He smirked beneath his helm, and slowly got up. Using the tree as support, he beckoned the hellhound to help him, "Come on, we have to keep moving."

-0-

The refugees didn't have much, a couple of them used cloaks as blankets, but otherwise most had to huddle together for warmth. A couple of Order soldiers took up guard duty, while the rest slept next to one another in preparation for their shift. Wilmarina and Primera cared for a battered Mersé, only the two humans acknowledged his arrival.

Shizuka, Estrid, and the werecats weren't fairing any better. The wagon had a splash of blood across it's side, and from what Dawn could see it was filled with the orphanage children. Ace and Mia slept together on Shizuka's tail, while said bunyip was glaring Dawn's way. Angered that he didn't keep his promise. Estrid sulked with her face in her hands, while Sasha and Tatsuo comforted her. There was blood on her hammer.

"Hey, Dawn!", Came the cheery voice of Elt as he rode in beside him with another cloaked figure on his horse. His smile faltered as he noticed the hunter's limp, "Are you okay?"

"No," he sighed, "I don't think I am."

AN: Finally I'm done! Took awhile to write this because of the start of Summer courses, but I'm glad I can actually take a break after finishing the arc. I won't be gone for long, just a week or two. I would appreciate it if you guys could leave your thoughts in the reviews, or PM me on what you think I could have been done better or what you like about the story. I had to rewrite this chapter a lot just to satisfy my inner perfectionist, so pointers would be nice.

Regardless, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and continue to enjoy the story moving forward.