"If I hadn't met him, I wouldn't be the same man as now."

For someone who was the embodiment of ice, it was the first of the longest time he felt the warmth of a human. Dmitri thought to himself, was he still running? Hope not. It had been a while since he saw Rin, and Dmitri had given up wandering out in the country. Those were already the old days when he only started to discover the beautiful world underneath his suffering as a young boy. In those days, the world was against him. He probably shouldn't be dwelling himself in the past too much. He knew this too well. He settled himself in Kiva now, working odd jobs day and night just to spend them all to try and get drunk.

Dmitri ran his thumbs on the rim of his mug, wiping off the foams of beer pouring out from the rough edges. He shut his eyes and chuckled, then chugging the whole container empty, then slid it across the table to the tavern keeper. Drinking would have been nicer if someone was with him. It tasted bland to him, maybe dead would be a better word. It didn't help that it was impossible for him to get drunk because of how he is. Dmitri could hear the intoxicated slurring from behind him. Conversations, but most of the topics were nonsensical. However, this one...

"There's news that emperor Izia plans to abolish the witch hunt laws."

"Is he crazy?"

"If you think that's crazy, just a reminder that the one who took Sviato off the throne was no more than a twelve-year-old!"

"Those are just rumors I bet!"

"Not joking here! It's a cambion boy, and they said he wore all white— and carried some magical white flag along with it!"

Dmitri chuckled to himself. He just couldn't help it. It was amusing to hear his own 'legend' passed around while having his presence in the same room. Back then, he only thought of himself as nothing but an outcasted young boy with a curse. Everywhere he went caused a series of great misfortunes and destruction. Hardly anyone applauded for it, and people would rather forget about his existence. He rolled and toyed with his golden ring around his finger, then heard giggles from the corner of the same room.

They were women, who couldn't help but blush and swoon at Dmitri's virile appearance. Who wouldn't swoon over him? Blonde hair as golden as wheat. His eyes were green as the emeralds reflected by the sun on a hot and bright summer day. The angles of his face were near perfection; a perfect balance of confidence, fierceness, and innocence. One could say that he's been blessed by the blood gamble. For a cambion, he wasn't too special. It was common for a cambion to be unusually attractive. However, a regular human wouldn't know the difference.

"Imagine having a child with him, a handsome son and a beautiful daughter!"

Dmitri almost choked on his drink. How did the women jump into conclusion that having children with him could guarantee a face equal to the parents? He kept these thoughts to himself, but his ears were visibly red from imagining or even thinking about that. These maidens were indeed very beautiful, but he wasn't interested in any of them. Even if he did become interested, being with them would be impossible.

He set his fourteenth mug down on the table and wiped off the drops escaping from the corners of his lips. He spent most of his time just thinking in the tavern. He hadn't talked to anyone since he came and gradually became bored. Dmitri turned around to face the people on the roundtables, crossing his arms and placing his ankle on his opposite thigh.

"Someone join with me already-"

Dmitri's forehead was suddenly smacked with a solid mug.

"Some music would be nice too."

Dmitri rubbed his forehead. All this time, he wasn't aware that there was a fight behind him. Had his hearing been dulled from his thoughts? He should remind himself not to get too caught up with his memories. Dmitri grinned to himself, rolling up his sleeves and cracking his knuckles. He took a large gulp from the last mug and jumps into the fight that brewed. It was time to party.

Three men launched themselves towards Dmitri. He tossed the next mug up in the air. With the given short period of time, Dmitri kicked the table in front him, throwing all three men off course. At the end of it all, he caught the mug and drank everything. He slammed it down on the table and grinned, winking at the group of women who watched over him.

The women sighed.

A few moments after the fighting. An arm-wrestling match took place. Of course, Dmitri was eager to see how strong he was. The men cheered loudly with whom they favored the most. Dmitri grunted, his sweat poured down to his brows. With the last push, he slammed his opponent's hand on the table. The rugged men smashed and hollered even louder, patting and tapping Dmitri on the shoulders to congratulate. Dmitri took another sip from a beer mug to reward himself from the hard work.

A dagger flew by, almost inches away under Dmitri's eyes. The tavern was held in silence. He could feel the blood drawn from his cheek. He rubbed it with his fingers and looked at it, then at the dagger that was pinned on the wall.

Celestial iron.

The dagger's design was evident that this was owned by an exorcist, however, the material used was a sign they aren't one of the usual ones he met.

Dmitri pivoted himself towards the door. The exorcist was a woman. Her brown hair was braided, obviously unmarried. Her face was scarred by multiple cuts, most were over by her left eye. Something about her felt familiar.

Wait—, Dmitri's eyes widened.

"You damn Cambion!" She glared, grimly walking with two more daggers in her hands.

Dmitri sighed and shook his head as he stood up to face the preying young woman. He looked at her with a disappointed frown.

"Let's bring this outside, shall we?"