The dusting of dawn light on the horizon hurt my raw eyes. This was my fourth break since starting and I felt like I was neither here nor there. The scent never drew any closer and the landscape never changed. Running in circles would have been faster.
Quaint, emerald green fields of long grass wavered in a gentle breeze. The trees had started to thin out now, opening up the land of rolling hills. If I wasn't in such a hurry, I'd stop and roll around in the grass a bit. But nothing around me looked remotely like anywhere I'd been before.
Wherever Leraj had sent me, it was as far from Liones as you could get. There weren't many houses around; I'd passed a few but they had been still and silent. There'd been no travellers either which I counted as a blessing. They might have tried to kill me and I had no time to play cat and mouse with humans.
The storm had rolled over some time in the late night to early morning. I'd caught food before then and managed to find shelter in the roots of a fallen tree. The flashes of lightning in the sky had been a spectacle to behold, the thunder an angry chorus from the heavens. The downpour of rain, I feared it had washed away the scents, but when it finally passed, the stench of demon still clung to the air.
That had been stop number three. Since then, I hadn't stopped running for several hours until now. Hollowed out, I strayed into the bushes and laid down. The last time I felt this tired was running around in Liones after throwing up that demon heart. The sting of the memories bit sharp, a physical pang in my chest.
Power surged with a sudden urgency to the forefront of my mind.
My eyes snapped open, the flames that had danced behind my eyelids fading in the light. The strength and ferocity of the magic I'd wielded against Hendrickson called to me again. I reached for it but it slipped away. It felt like the magic I'd wielded as a Holy Knight except a hundred times stronger and frustratingly too far away to grasp.
Whatever that power had been, it had been strong enough to cause a Grey demon to falter several times. If only it had lasted out longer, I thought bitterly, and I would be resting in some castle bed all snug.
The soft breeze sent water droplets plummeting onto my head. Time to move. I heaved myself off the leaf litter, shaking water and dirt from my fur. I could dwell on all these head-hurting mysteries later.
With the coast clear, I trotted my way down the lane. The gravelly ground beneath my paws was rough but well-worn which gave me hope that it led to a large town at least. My stomach gave an almighty rumble. Hopefully food, maybe some Vanya ale. It took all my effort to stop salivating all over my paws.
The path split then and in one direction I smelt woodsmoke. A town hopefully. The other way lay demon. My stomach growled again but I ignored it and followed my nose. The ground started sloping upwards and I quickened my pace as the wind brought a stronger smell of demon. It only passed my mind when I breached the crest that the smell of demon was much too strong for just Meliodas.
In the near distance, a castle sat, like nothing I'd seen before. The sun brought out the colours of the strange adornment, like frozen waves or exotic flower petals extending in every chaotic direction you could think of. The greenery ended abruptly not even a hundred metres away.
Every fibre of my fox being screamed that this was a bad idea. The stench of demon - for it couldn't even be counted as just a scent anymore - permeated the air so thickly that I found it hard to breath. Erring on the side of caution, I slunk off the path.
The path I'd just left continued to snake towards the strange castle, a strip of brown against the harsh black. My nose crinkled. Whatever had happened here, it hadn't been a human's handiwork. I tiptoed my way down to where black and green met. Curious, I pressed a paw onto the blackened side. I thought it would be ash beneath my paws but I left no footprints on the hardened earth.
This was much too strong to be Meliodas' smell. But I didn't back away. My tail flicked behind me in indecision. I could retreat but... the mere thought of it sent my heart into overdrive. If this wasn't Meliodas, wasn't Hendrickson, then we had more trouble.
I had to know. It was stupid to risk this second chance at life I had; yet if they posed a threat to Liones... My family came first.
I was never known to pick the smart decision but instead of being completely stupid, I headed right and curved my way up the hillside and round the side of the castle.
There was no vegetation at all to hide in so I had to be quick and agile up the slope. By the time I reached the shadow of the castle, I was drenched in sweat. Not from the run but the terror that slowly ate away at my courage.
You'd think I'd crawled into a den of demons with how potent it was up here. There had to be more than twenty. There had to be at least a hundred.
Had this been Hendrickson's plan all along? An army of demons to wreak havoc on Brittania while he took control of Liones.
I need to see them. If I could report this back to the others, we'll be prepared if they make it to Liones.
Paws silent on the iridescent paving that started the castle, I slipped closer. It seemed even the heavens held their breath as I neared the soft hush of voices. A corner shielded my view of them. My heart pounded so hard it hurt.
Breathe, Estra. All you need is a look at the army. Calm yourself.
I dropped low and belly-crawled.
Before me were nine figures. No army in sight.
I willed my breath to calm, my heart to slow just a tiny bit. Even though I trembled in my very bones at being so close to such raw power, I reasoned that I needed to study each briefly so I knew what they looked like.
One was a toned woman with long, spiky orange hair. And she had no clothes on. Her modesty was protected only by the darkness I'd seen before on Meliodas' skin. One of her arms was covered completely in the darkness. Second was a very large giant, much larger than Diane, with four arms hanging by his sides. He sat hunched forward, a sheet or something over his head.
A young woman wreathed in darkness caught my attention next. She floated off from the ground, her pastel purple hair swaying gently around her head. And right beside her hovered another disturbingly disgusting demon. It was covered in a sphere of darkness dotted with severed demon heads.
Another of the demons was cocooned in something weird. A pretty, young individual surrounded by green tentacles? Were all demons so strange? A man with dark purple hair stood beside him, a cloak around his shoulders. They were all watching demon number seven and eight at the edge of the castle.
I jolted at the resemblance of the man with black hair. Similar height, similar demon mark on the face, the same facial features. Looking like Meliodas couldn't be a coincidence at all. Arguing with the man with black hair was a demon covered head to toe in silver and red armour. It waved a large spear or lance or something around, too fast for me to make much out.
"Have you forgotten that it was this type of arrogance that led to us being sealed up in the first place?" said Meliodas' doppleganger.
"Well, memory loss in old men can be somewhat severe," replied the armoured demon.
"So what direction are you going to take?" I couldn't be sure who spoke that but the green tentacle demon was gesturing in a random direction.
"Hmm, let me see," said the armoured one.
I drew myself away from their conversation. The ninth figure had his back to me. The harder I stared, the more I was convinced I knew who it was. But the smell didn't match anyone I'd met before.
A chirping bird fluttered to perch just above my head, singing joyously, and almost scared the literal shit out of me. Each high pitched note wound my nerves so tight that all my fur stood on end and I tasted iron in my mouth.
My eyes snapped back to the scene of demons when a blast rang and a cloud of dust rose. The armoured one was gone.
"Meliodas," the one with black hair muttered, face hard.
The blood drained out of me. They really were intending to go to Liones. I couldn't wait around inspecting any longer. I had to warn the others. They won't realise the danger they're in unless I can beat these demons!
"Oh, what's this?"
I froze, a chill running head to toe. A tenth demon?!
"A fox has wandered in," came the voice again. Directly behind me. "With a bird friend too."
Where did he come from? When did he get behind me?!
I couldn't move. The stupid bird above me bounced on its perch and chirped again. A click of fingers.
It ballooned into a hideous mass of reddish flesh, facial features contorted and misplaced. My ears drooped and the ground fell out beneath my feet. It was like it's soul strained against the confines of the flesh as it writhed and twitched before exploding.
I scuttled backwards and ran into the man's legs. Something inside me snapped. The flow of fire in my veins spilt out in a burst of violent static. An explosion resounded and I bolted in the confusion of smoke, flames in each of my steps.
I did not care a single iota about anything besides getting the fuck away from him. I ran and ran and ran until I could run no more. Lungs screaming for air and legs shaking like a newborn, I collapsed against a rotten stump a few lengths from the path. At least I had the sense to do that and not keel over in the middle of the road where he could find me.
I couldn't stop shaking. I'd been so unprepared for the show of power. That man, he most definitely had enough time to kill me and he let me flee.
I almost died a second time.
The only thing that worked in my favour was that he didn't know I was more than just a fox. Besides the fact that I had used my powers. I threw a glance in the direction I'd just come but no one followed me. Thank the gods for the primal, animalistic urge to run that overtook me.
I needed to get home and fast. A threat of this magnitude truly spelt disaster for maybe even Brittania itself. While I didn't doubt the strength of my family, I clearly couldn't doubt the fact that we would be severely outmatched.
If those demons set foot in Liones, there would be the chance I returned home to ashes and corpses.