The harpies were how I imagined them to be, with wings instead of arms, and taloned feet that looked destructive and graceful at the same time. Their bodies were lithe, and their feathers ranged from white to black and all the fifty shades of grey in between. A small group of them flew above the battlefield and cast spells of wind from the sky. It was not the most destructive element, but they could manifest something even greater if they flew around in a continuous circle and summoned a growing tornado that locked down, tossed around, and heavily injured their enemies.

  Are they somehow joint-casting without physical contact? Or is this simply the result of several separate spells of wind coming together to form a greater storm?

  Then came the dwarves. I could barely see their faces not only because of their helmets, but because their ‘beards’ covered their entire face. Beneath all that hair, I could just barely make out their small beady black eyes, tiny bat-like ears, and a nose that was reminiscent of a mole’s. The rest of their bodies were only a little bit less hairy, with thick curls of it running through almost every spot of bone-white skin. The hair was barely just sparse enough to not be considered outright fur.

  The frontlines of their formations consisted of many different species, but the dwarves got a whole section all to themselves. They stood stout and unified like an iron wall, periodically using earth magic to create outright walls in front of them, and then fending off any enemies that got through with their shields.

  Whenever the vanguard was about to be overwhelmed, one or more of the harpies above would swoop down to assist. Oftentimes they just stalled the enemies with their magic, but if the situation was more dire then they were willing to fly down to the ground and crush the opposition in melee. Those talons of theirs were certainly not just for show as they were powerful enough to crush through helmets and pulp the heads of their enemies. They preferred to stay far away though, and it was easy to see why when one of them got an entire leg hacked off before he managed to fly away. The harpies were quite fragile.

  “Well, we’re here,” I announced what we could all see. “What’s the plan?” I drew my greatsword and roused my mana, letting the wrath linger further, before anyone could reply.

  “I think the New Grandera forces will lose if things keep going as they are,” Therick said after a moment of thought. Countless arrows and spells flew in the distance, and the explosions mixed with the screams to create the din of battle. “They are outnumbered.”

  I looked at the uneven clearing just beyond the trees. It had been flattened either by the battle itself, or by design. The New Grandera army’s formation was interesting because they were more than halfway into the treeline as their mages cast spells from the elevation of trees, and a robust set of guards prevented any attempts at infiltration by the enemy. It seemed to me like they had the better tactics here, and aerial superiority, so I remained unsure as to the total outcome.

  It would be certain if I got involved.

  “Protect each other,” I said, and then took flight. The enemy forces were too focused on the harpies that they failed to notice my very imposing figure on time despite having their eyes on the sky. Shouts of alarm rang out just before I hovered above their backlines, but by then it was too little too late. I unleashed the spell that I had been favoring so much recently.

  Hellfire rain.

  The results were to be expected. People burned and they screamed louder than they probably ever had. I did not let it end with one barrage, but kept up the pace as I traveled through the sky. I flew unimpeded for a few more precious seconds, before some of their mages and archers were finally redirected towards me. I began to fall back before they could shoot, happy to see that those few seconds of work had already caused such great chaos. People generally survived the flames themselves, but they just could not function upon the pain of hell. The panic would only spread further, either directly because my burning enemies ran into their friends, or indirectly due to the screams of anguish and the people trying to flee from that horror.

  I took a quick glance down at where my friends should be, but saw nothing amiss. They would signal me if something was wrong, which meant that I was free to wreak havoc here for a while longer.

  But first I had to deal with a very hostile harpy approaching me from the air. The curtain of wind mana around her was palpable, and it was manifested constantly to shove away all the projectiles that dared to come towards her. I smiled and waved at the woman, only for the frown on her face to not be turned upside down.

  I was being nice here because we were supposed to be allies. I was the mighty reinforcement, and I did not appreciate all this suspicion.

  “Hey! Fine day we’re having, eh?”

  Her eyes narrowed even further, if you could believe that. And the voice with which she spoke was noble and imperious, in a way that did not belong on the battlefield. “Who are you?”

  “Haell. Haell Zharignan. Your newest recruit. Well, sort of. Consider me a mercenary, or an adventurer. I guess you guys still have those.”

  “What are you?” Her voice remained calm and dignified, despite having not addressed a single word of my response.

  “I’m glad you asked.” Bizarrely, I was. I purposely raised my voice so that the people could hear. “I am a demon! A devil! Haell Zharignan! And I am here to be the doom of my enemies!” Hellfire formed into a massive ball around me, and I tossed it at where the command structure of Edengar’s forces should be. My voice dropped a bit lower. “And I’m your ally. We have a common enemy. So let us not kill each other for their amusement.”

  “...Very well. I have heard about you. You’re just… different, so I was surprised. But you did attack them and not us.” The harpy looked me over, less suspicious now but more curious. She somehow made even that seem elegant. In the middle of a warzone. “A new species? Something called a demon?”

  “That’s right. I can tell you more about it later, but it seems to me like we are both too busy for a casual chat right now.” I gestured to the war happening below us.

  “That is true,” she said, as if making a grand decree. “Let us slaughter our common enemy, as you say. The rest shall be decided later.”

  I smiled, a bit annoyed but also somewhat amused with how she acted. New Grandera had already taken the opportunity I’d provided to advance on our enemies, and now the harpies redoubled their efforts to cut off the path of retreat of those trying to flee from the hellfire and the pandemonium it had caused.

  The Edengar forces had also taken measures of their own, of course, using mundane barrels of water or magic of differing elements to put out the flames. Their shepherd leaders shouted in command as loud as they could, speaking of courage and of hope and to trust in the Angels. Their battlefield preaching did have a noticeable effect on their troops, and the soldiers began to calm down, but it was not enough for they had not actually resolved the problem. The skies continued to bleed red flame, and it shall persist so long as I remained in the air!

  Naturally, they tried to shoot me down. I swung my greatsword in front of me to repel the projectiles, and I maneuvered as best I could to dodge, but it quickly became clear to everyone that I paled completely in comparison to the harpies when it came to my ability to actually maneuver in the air. Couple that with how I was doing more damage, and the enemy leadership did the sensible thing and concentrated even more of their firepower on me. Spells and arrows got through my defenses, damaging my armor and the flesh underneath in many places. I allowed the momentum to carry me back a ways as I coughed blood and began to retreat, but my wings were shot down before I truly could. I fell rapidly and glided away, which was when I saw the harpy from before along with a few others protect me from an even greater volley from our common enemy.

  “Thank you,” I said with genuine gratitude. I wouldn’t have died either way, but I definitely would’ve taken more damage, and it was good that I was able to avoid that.

  “Blinding Sunlight.”

  A ritual came to fruition before the harpies could respond. It came from where my friends were, and just as advertised, a blinding beam of light shone through a section of the Edengar army. The brightness of it hurt my evil eyes even from here, but the effect was definitely far more severe for those in the path of the actual beam. They yelped in pain as they experienced sunburn hot enough to sear flesh in seconds, but like my hellfire, the real danger was not the amount of people it could kill outright, but how many it could incite into a panic.

  The enemy was blinded. And my new allies did not let this opportunity go to waste.

  Projectiles rained upon the soldiers and adventurers who were desperately trying to feel for their surroundings. The templars who were hit by the light actually managed to remain calm, but they were a small minority of the Edengar forces, and more importantly, they were still blinded. That made it difficult to dodge anything, as they were more likely to just trip over their own ranks instead.

  The shepherds came out to rouse their forces once again, and like before they managed to stall the tides of terror, but once again it did not prove to be enough. The momentum of the battle was firmly against them, and they were forced to retreat. But not before sending out forces to go after my friends who had literally shone a light to show everyone where they were.

  Thankfully, I had landed and was already running towards them. Berry kept the soldiers at bay, Angerly took out several with each swing, Moonwash sent great gouts of magic that forced the enemies to fall back, Therick clashed with anyone who tried to circle around, and Granuel helped at whichever front was faring the worse.

  I was the hammer to their anvil, and I crushed the enemies from behind like an unstoppable torrent of rage.

  By the time the final body fell, the war was over, and our allied forces had won. The enemy army was in full retreat, and our new allies were taking as many chunks as they could out of the fleeing soldiers.

  “Come to think of it, is that okay?”

  “You’re asking that now?” Therick asked incredulously.

  “Well, hey! We’re one random party trying to survive. I just remember it being a bad thing to do back on Earth. When one army does not accept and honor a good surrender, then it’s classified as some sort of warcrime.”

  “And they won’t think the things you–we’ve been doing is bad too?”

  “...They probably would, yeah,” I admitted. “I guess it’s fine then! Who wants to join the hunt!”

  ~~~

  I reached the busy main camp of the New Grandera army. I had launched some fireballs at our fleeing enemies earlier, but I just wasn’t feeling it, honestly. I supposed there were still parts of Earth left in me. Despite everything that had happened, and how many I’d killed in cold blood as they begged and tried to flee, the sight of an organized army doing the same just brought to mind everything I had believed back then in regards to warcrimes and the lessons of our history.

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  It felt incredibly hypocritical for me to do this now. That army had probably done a lot worse than any random group of bandits I’d slaughtered. I certainly hated them more. But… I did not protest any further when my friends suggested that we leave. I decided to indulge in this rare moment of mercy, however misplaced. And so I found myself here, in the middle of a chaotic camp. People ran around, taking care of various tasks. Plenty of New Grandera’s soldiers had been wounded in that battle, and their screams echoed across the space as they were healed. Some were not lucky enough to survive, and their deaths were mourned by those who were left.

  Slowly, through whispers and pointed fingers, their attention turned towards us, particularly to me. I noticed this and squared my shoulders as I walked in front of my party even more confidently. They began to murmur louder among themselves, confused, maybe scared, but mostly appreciative for they knew that I had helped them, and that I might have done more damage to our common enemy than anyone else here.

  “Haell Zharignan!” Someone of obvious import cut through the crowd and walked towards us on five legs. It was a level 40 crustecar man with a red shell that was almost brown from how much dirt covered it. He was missing all his hands, and only one remained long enough to have a hook prosthetic attached. The big claw was still there though, and it looked more dangerous than any other as its ruby red was made deeper by the slimy coating of blood that covered it. “That’s you, correct?”

  “In the flesh,” I grinned. I took charge and spoke for all of us because I had for so long been forced to remain quiet. But now I could be open about myself, I had nothing to hide, and I basked in the attention brought towards my demonic features proudly on display!

  …I would rely on my friends for negotiations again soon. But I just wanted to live this moment.

  “Great! I’m General Halord. We’ve received word of your arrival, and we were supposed to escort you back to the homefront if we ever met, but you ended up helping us instead! We’re the ones who were supposed to do you a favor, but now I’m not so sure.”

  “It is fine. No one’s keeping score. I’m sure we’ll help each other out a lot more in the future. But for now, we would appreciate that escort to New Grandera.”

  “Oh, of course! As soon as we break camp, then we are going straight home! But allow me to express my gratitude before any and all of that. Without your help, we might have been forced to retreat on a defeat, so thank you.”

  I smiled. That was nice. “You’re welcome.”

  ~~~

  “So, what is a demon?” a fountan man asked. He was Favon, the primary strategist of this detachment. “I’ve heard the reports and your own words. You seem to imply that you are a new species?”

  “Yesh!” I swallowed a mouthful of stew, before turning towards him. The harpies were very efficient hunters, if less so in this terrain, but they still managed to spice up the diet of the army every so often. “I am a demon! A DEMON!”

  A few confused cheers followed, but it soon grew louder as they remembered how I had devastated our common enemy. It was decided that we should rest tonight, and then march back home tomorrow.

  “A hero then! A new hero!” Harold laughed. “To think that you have sided with us all along!”

  I turned to him with a smile, but it did not reach my eyes. “I do not believe in such things. There are my friends, there are strangers, there are allies, and there are enemies. Today, like in all the days that will follow, I shall destroy the latter group. And of course, I am not against cooperating with those who are my allies.”

  “...I see?”

  “Well, as long as you remain on our side,” Favon added. He seemed more pleased than not with how I had responded to the allegations of being a hero. “But you are the genuine children of Mahka and Rallem, correct? The granddaughter of Hero Golex?”

  I narrowed my eyes a little at the question. The silence stretched on as I thought about how to answer. Maybe I should claim to be some monstrous creature that had taken over their child like some of the Edengarians now seemed to believe.

  “Yes. I am. And they’re great.”

  I decided against lying in the end. I trusted that my family could protect themselves. Their wonderful party of the Piss Hunters still commanded far more violence than mine did, and we were perfectly fine.

  “I see. But how did you become a demon then? Is it possible to have… a spontaneous species change when being born to human parents?”

  “No… Not to my knowledge at least. Though that would be pretty funny. Even the mother would not be sure if she’s the mother!” I laughed, and got way more chuckles than I thought I should.

  “That makes sense. It would be pretty hard to hide something like that for thirty years.”

  “Oh yes. Just this decade has been hell. In a very bad way.”

  “A decade?” He raised a brow. “You’ve been like that for a decade? And no one figured it out? You’ve been a very visible figure, you know?”

  “Yes. I’m aware. But well, no one’s really been looking. People had their suspicions I’m sure, but honestly, it was my status that protected me from being exposed too soon. Not that I wasn’t confident in fleeing and surviving them anyway, but it definitely would’ve been more troublesome.”

  “I see…” He looked around and dropped his voice, though I was sure many of the people around us could still hear the conversation. “Can you tell me anything about how you became a demon?”

  “Nope. That’s a secret.”

  He snorted lightly, then his voice rose again. “I figured as much. Can I ask about how you feel about it, then? About being a demon?”

  “Oh, it’s awesome!” My wings were released from my back and unfolded to their full size. It hit a few people beside me, and I gestured to them apologetically. “I am free. I am powerful. And I love it. Being a demon is great!”

  I considered going into some specifics about how much it actually sucked and how I had overcome it anyway, but I decided not to reveal my weaknesses in the end. It was a close contest, but I made the difficult choice between showing off even more or being safe in the future.

  ~~~

  “Road! ROAD!” We marched back home early the next morning. Our large caravan reached the nearest road a few hours into our trip, just because there weren’t really much of them this close to the borders of two hostile nations. This road was a little bit worse and more crooked than what could typically be found in Edengar, but we were still in the outskirts so that could be it. I was just happy to finally see a road again, and the people around me laughed at my perfectly understandable reaction.

  I and my friends were actually given a place of honor among the leadership in the central column, with a wagon dedicated just for us if we wanted it. That felt bittersweet considering how we had just lost our own. There were periodic attacks from enemy soldiers and enterprising goblins, but none of the violence ever came close to reaching our position. For once, I allowed this to play out and just enjoyed the relative peace instead of flying off into whatever flank became the frontlines. Even I enjoyed a day of rest after being harangued for over an entire month.

  The next day, I flew into the air feeling refreshed. People were marching, and they looked towards the skies as I rose ever higher. But I was not alone this time, for the harpies also flew above the army. They floated there imperiously with their wings flapping and flat tails swishing as they all stopped to gaze upon my intrusion into their space.

  “Ah, Haell Zharignan.”

  “The demon.”

  “Good morning.”

  It appeared that the harpy I interacted with before was no exception, but rather the norm. They spoke like nobility when their society should not even have the exact concept.

  “Yep. That’s me. I hope you don’t mind sharing the skies.” ‘Cause I’m here to stay.

  “Of course not.”

  “We welcome any and all who can reach this place.”

  Someone got close to my personal space, and I actually worried I might bump into them.

  “But… Your wings look fine enough, but why are you moving like that?”

  “Oh, you do not have a tail or anything to help you maneuver.”

  “It is impressive that you can even fly this well without it.”

  “Are you trying to compliment or insult me?” I snapped, then took a deep breath to calm myself.

  “We mean no offense.”

  “Would you like some help?”

  “We’ve never interacted with someone like you before.”

  My eyes narrowed. My anger boiled, but only hair above normal. They were offering me help, and it was the kind of advice that I had wanted for so long. Astan could inherently fly, but he could not talk, so it was hard to interpret his advice.

  I swallowed my pride and nodded. “That would be great.”

  ~~~

  I flew with the harpies. At first they tried to get me to copy their movements, but it was blatantly clear that the balance of my body was entirely different. One of them in specific was surprised to learn of how heavy I was, and I did not elaborate on how I needed to charge my wings and could only stay aloft for a set period of time.

  I flew back down to meet my friends when the time came, and then I flew back into the air after lunch. The harpies proved to be masters of flight of any kind, and after having had some time to think it over, they already had suggestions on how I adjust my body depending on how I wanted to fly. From kicking my foot if I wanted to turn more rapidly, to how my limbs played a massive role in my balance. I went back and forth with them, and I enacted their suggestions in reality as we discovered how to best fly as a demon together.

  It was actually a whole lot of fun.

  The soldiers and adventurers below us thought so as well, for they had somehow been following my progress for some reason.

  I didn’t mind and did a couple of flips in the air in response.

  I almost lost my balance and fell, but the harpies caught and steadied my back.

  ~~~

  I’ve had enough peace.

  I fell from the sky and towards an Edengarian raiding party that sought to harass our caravan. I killed them all and saved a few soldiers in the process, earning me their cheers and praise, especially when I helped out with the healing. I swung my greatsword around and made some fancy displays with my magic in response, and while the elements I wielded scared them at first, they soon cheered for even my curse-aligned wrath after I had fended off more attackers.

  It was good to be a demon. It was good to be loved.

  ~~~

  “Hey! Haell Zharignan right?” A level 40 centaur woman asked. She was Benta, the leader of the Asanorious adventurer party. I had no idea what that meant, and I had no intention to ask.

  “Yep. That’s me.”

  “Nice. Can I just say that you look very cool?”

  ‘You can, you may, for it is all true.”

  “TRUE! Damn, I love your energy. Being a demon seems awesome. Any idea where I can find more? Perhaps those who are… open?”

  I laughed. “I’m afraid not.”

  “Shame. But you’re the one in front of me now! So how about it? Would you guys be down to team up with us sometime?”

  “Team up?”

  “Yeah! Like take a quest together.”

  “Aaaaahhh.” Now that she mentioned it, I wasn’t opposed. Not anymore. I was actually quite curious. I didn’t need to worry about being exposed anymore, it’s already happened! What a weight off my chest, truly. “Well, maybe. I’m not sure if we’re still ‘The Harvesters’,” I looked at my friends, and I could see that they were all of different minds because we had not discussed this yet, “but I am down to try. We might as well register as adventurers again, which is actually something I have questions about. You guys kept the adventurer thing going, but what does that mean in New Grandera? Is it just like how it is on Edengar?”

  “Oh, no! Not at all! I’ve been an adventurer back there, and it’s so much less fun! Too much bureaucracy, and like complicated social bullshit. It costs too much to even register as one or to raise your rank. It’s crazy. Here, any random schmuck can try their luck at it, see how it’s like. No religious bullshit, no… well, okay people are still fucking arrogant and love to brag and embezzle their accomplishments. But who doesn’t! It’s all in good fun, the booze is great, and the energy is amazing. You should really try it out.”

  “Well, that certainly sounds far more appealing to me!” I laughed, and toasted her mug with my own. There was a barrel of ale somewhere, and it had been gifted to me for my contributions. “Let’s talk about it once we’re back in civilization then!”

  “Sounds good!” she took out a pair of drums, and we sang with hundreds of people.

  It was a good night.

  It was time to commit, and I actually struggled to finally finalize the designs for the dwarves and harpies. It was something that I have been putting in the back burner for a while, but I hope they’re fun and fascinating enough! I’ll go into more detail about the dwarves next chapter. Just couldn’t find the place for it here.

  Oh, and I don’t wanna spoil, but there was supposed to be one more scene break here, and then just one sentence saying that they had arrived at the closest city. So don’t worry about another caravan traveling arc. It was one line, and I debated as to whether or not I should include it, but I had reached a stopping point that was too good, and I decided that this would be a better chapter for the book as a whole.

  Anyway. Hope you enjoyed. New horizons coming!

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