Suddenly, something made a loud noise in the other room, breaking the flow of their conversation. The two turned, and then a bottle hit something wooden, followed by a scream.

"Shin." Morio squinted his eyes, before standing up and looking out the blurry window of the door, spotting a few drunken men chasing after ten coins of Silver, which were in the hand of another figure, running around, panicking.

Atomu quickly stepped, crouching and gazing out. "I'm not sure if that guy stole the money or is baiting the drunken- oh, never mind."

"Did he just jump out of the window?"

"No clue." Atomu shook his head, sighing.

All of a sudden, the door swung open, pushing the two away. "Why did you just leave without telling me anything?" Jyuzou asked.

"Hey, liar! We left a perfectly fine note, okay?" Morio said.

"You complained about being hungry the moment you woke up, so of course, you were planning to eat something!" Jyuzou raised his voice. "I had to get through this parade of drunks by myself! They were yelling at some Mirillian guy with a bandana. You guys know who that is?"

"I think he died." Morio smiled.

"He only jumped out of a window!" Atomu was shocked at Morio's version of what they had witnessed.

"Food!" Bruno kicked the kitchen door open, carrying three plates, and placing them on the table. "Oh, Jyuzou's here too? Thankfully, I made three. Well, one was supposed to be eaten by me, but that's okay, enjoy yourselves!" Bruno bowed.

"What about our drinks?" Morio asked.

"Crap!" Bruno closed the door again, as the three sat down.

"I'd like tea!" he raised his hand. "You paid for this?" Jyuzou asked, sitting next to Morio.

"No, it was on the house! Bruno's a lovely-dovely bartender!" Morio began eating the food, almost burying his face into the plate. "Eat, y'all! Before it gets cold!"

Atomu was slightly shocked, holding the fork with his shaky hand.

"It's mister Bruno, Morio. Have some h-humility." Jyuzou shook his head.

Morio breathed in, looking at Jyuzou. "What's with you and that formality?! Don't you think it makes all of them feel old?!" Morio returned to consumption.

"Y-You call Bancho mister as well!"

"Because he's ancient, isn't he?!" Morio continued.

"Who's Bancho?" Atomu asked but was too quiet to get through to the two.

"Here are your drinks!" Bruno announced, proudly putting two cups of tea and one of cocoa on the table. He sat down, as Morio immediately began sipping, already finished with his meal.

Atomu was both shocked and impressed, and Jyuzou's face seemed to tell a different, more 'used to it' story.

Bruno leaned back, putting his hand on a small dent in the bench and then sighed. "So, future Demonears, huh? I've seen lots of people like you come and go over the years. It's always the same thing." he shook his finger.

"What do you mean?" Jyuzou asked.

"You lot come for the same reason. To become a Demonear, which coincides with the idea of becoming someone important to this world. Be it, exploration, promises of defence and everything else." he turned to Morio, who spotted a small beam. "Bear in mind, though. The world isn't as simple and clear as you might think it be. The test itself is extremely difficult to pass, and even then, you'd find people in power to doubt what Demonears can achieve for various reasons."

"As in?" Atomu asked.

"I heard here and there through passing Paladians that Linno Palski of Prope Portam wanted to ban Demonears for good. Reason cited, siding with the demons. You know what I'm talking about, right?"

"Not really," Jyuzou replied. "How does it side with the demon?"

"Oh boy." Bruno breathed out, before putting both hands on the table. "I'm sure people have told you just how dangerous Errarion is, over and over again. Let me guess, they refused to elaborate further?"

"Ehh?" Morio looked confused.

"Okay, what do you really know about demons?" Bruno asked.

Morio and Jyuzou looked at each other and Atomu coughed out.

"That they're scary, dangerous, out to kill people? That's barely scratching the surface, in my opinion. I haven't been to the exam, but I know that amongst the fifty to sixty people who gather to pass, only three are selected to become Demonears. There isn't a limit, far from it. It's just nobody's really ready. They don't know how to fight Demons. They don't know what they're facing."

"Well, I know my stuff!" Morio raised his voice.

"Lots of people say that, and then they fail, awkwardly waiting for someone to take them out of Magna." Bruno continued.

"But, I'll pass! I'm sure of it!" Morio punched the table. "I've trained for so long, I have to! I can't waste this opportunity!"

"Calm down, son." Bruno signalled. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"Demonear exams are said trials of different things meant to see if you're ready to handle the task. What does Demon knowledge h-have anything to do here?" Atomu uttered.

"I don't want you boys looking for excuses. As a Morian who's lived his entire life in Wendigo, I've seen or heard whatever passed from one mouth to the other ear. Politics, demons, Demonears, food, money, essentially everything. So, I'll use this opportunity to make sure all of you know the very basics."

He stopped, as the silence filled the room from one corner to the other. You could instantly make out the drunken songs happily sung in the other room, and another person, presumably falling on the ground.

Bruno did his best to ignore the said noises.

"Demons could be classified as just another race amongst many in Errarion. Believe it or not, before the First Errarion War, they were just like humans. They weren't looked down upon and were essentially treated as just another horde in the bunch. Frankly, no different than any of us." he explained.

"One day, though, something sparked a conflict between the other races and pitted the two against each other. They fought, and humanity won. They enslaved demons, and killed them, with only one remaining on their side. Then, he started the Second War all by himself. Some places still haven't recovered. So many things were destroyed, and Osmania fell. This union between the entirety of Lignoria, you know it, don't you, Atomu?" he pointed.

"My friend once told me," Atomu mentioned. "Prope Portam was once part of something else."

"Exactly. Osmania tumbled because of the wrath of demons, and their grudge is still held to this day. Almost like a wire in their brain, telling them to act upon instincts, creating brainless mass meant to simply satisfy their carnal needs."

"Humans created demons?" Morio asked.

"That's not what he said," Jyuzou added.

"I haven't lived for two hundred years, so I can't be the judge of that. You could argue who started what and who's on the wrong side of history. Frankly, I think there's both good and bad in everything."

Atomu turned to Bruno.

"You could explore those thoughts, though. If you had more time, I'd recommend checking the library on Nowlech Street. A couple of philosophers, like Asti Tundra, pondered over the same topic."

Jyuzou nodded, making a mental note.

"A-Anyways, I'm getting off track." he shook his head. "After the First War, humans found a way to identify demons, which to this day works as it used to all those years ago. Not every demon looks like one, most of them are very similar to other races. Firstly, look at their features. Remember if anything seems out of the ordinary, ears that don't fit any other race, eyes that don't resemble a familiar colour, clothes that look too worn-out for someone to bear them." he chuckled. "Anything. It's a dead giveaway."

"Don't all demons have horns?" Atomu asked.

"They do, however, they can easily conceal them, among a plethora of their other traits. Sharp teeth or a long, thin tail. That leads me to my second point. You can always tell if a demon has hidden its presence when you see a human in pain seemingly caused by nothing. Thirdly, they don't need to eat anything.

"They can, however, it just does not benefit them whatsoever. If you see someone who hasn't snacked on anything in days and they're not complaining or having any physical downsides, be wary. Fourth, demons can heal themselves, in exchange for some energy. Demons bleed way more than others, and of course, only a demon can kill another demon."

Morio furrowed his eyebrows, Jyuzou glanced to the side and Atomu bit his lip in stress, as he kept playing around with his hair.

"Coming back to my earlier point, the weapons the Demonears use are called Guardian Demons, because they house all of their blood. I'm not too well-versed when it comes to how it all works, but think of using a demon's claw, without its consent."

"Brutal," Jyuzou muttered.

"Cool!" Morio raised his voice.

"M-Makes sense," Atomu added.

"Yeah, and if it wasn't obvious already, the fifth and final thing, is demons will always try and kill you. They can wait a few days, standing by your side, pretending they're someone friendly, and then murder you when no one's watching. They don't care if you've done something to them or not. They won't spare you if you can't strike back." he explained, and even the hush of the room seemed to muffle out the alcoholic parties on the other side of the wall.

Morio and Jyuzou blinked a couple of times, and Atomu fidgeted with his fingers.

"There's no good demon in this world," Bruno said. "You could argue with thousands of the other dangers present. Harpies, Malikan orcs, clowingers, goblins, fairies, hell, even Mirillians think that a chimera is a reason they have a place to live in. Demons, though? No. They'll never show an ounce of their kindness ever again. They were always stronger than humans, and I don't expect things to change as quickly."

"I-I think I'll go back to the apartment," Atomu stood up.

"Huh? Oh, I was just about to serve you the second meal!" Bruno said.

"Second meal?" Morio's eyes lit up.

"Sorry, I'm tired. I almost drifted off now." Atomu said.

Morio and Jyuzou glanced at Bruno, who put both hands together, as Atomu strolled out of the Edge Silver Line bar.

"So, boys. You think you're ready?" he asked.

"One can't make a cool map without a massive dragon flying atop a mountain!" Morio clenched his fist.

"Dragons don't exist," Jyuzou added.

***

The Morians stepped out of the bar and met with a strange silence. The sky was dark, and the streets would be too if they weren't illuminated by the same orange lights as before. Except for the drunken inside, nothing else spoke of that same humanity.

"It's late again." Jyuzou squinted his eyes. "This entire journey completely ruined my sleep schedule." he sighed. "...and damn that Atomu." Jyuzou shook his head. "Why'd he have to leave us alone here?"

"He was sleepy." Morio excused him. "I don't think you realize how important sleep is."

"Did you s-selectively ignore everything I just said?!" uttered Jyuzou.

"Meh, whatever, it's cool! We can make it back to Milagro Street on our own to even further prove our maturity."

"Surrounded by drunk men." Jyuzou gulped. "Okay."

"Sorry, my maturity," Morio added, as the two started moving forwards.

"That's now what I implied!"

"You're not even participating in the Demonear test and you listened to Bruno's words as if they mattered to you!"

"They matter to anyone, you dumbass!"

"Back to you, glassy idiot!"

The two trod right back through all the quiet snowy terrain, into the stony Milagro Street. As they stepped around the taller buildings, some faces were revealed. A few men tumbled here and there, empty bottles of alcohol in their hands, navigating from the other, nearby bars into the rather homely streets.

"Um! Excuse me!" Morio smiled nicely.

"We'd like to pass through. You're blocking the way." Jyuzou said, with a straight face.

"Heh, sorry gentlemen." a drunk laughed, pushing himself towards the wall, before stopping and eyeing the two.

Morio glanced at him for a while longer, and Jyuzou quickly grabbed his hand, pushing through.

"Come on," Jyuzou whispered.

"He was nice!" Morio muttered.

"Not everyone is." Jyuzou continued. "It's just a matter of time. Where the hell was that building anyway?"

As they trod further along the road, the same man's drunken eyes followed through. When a lamp, hanging off a small wall to their right faded out of view, something flashed near Morio's neck.

"Shiny." the man muttered, taking a step forward, before digging into his pocket with one hand. Two small coins of Silver were revealed, and he ground his teeth, before glancing at the bottle. With one final sip of physically nothing from the inside, he smashed it against the building nearby, leaving only half.

"What was that?" Morio asked, instinctively speeding up.

"Exactly what I just said. Someone out there is probably fighting. Come on..!" he pushed him further, as the two turned the corner.

What followed was yet another noise. More of the leftover glass crashed into something else, as two arms found themselves wrapped around the drunk's neck. A sharp nail revealed itself, almost digging into his neck, before they abruptly let go.

The drunk man collapsed, and when the other person looked down, they were met with a strangely calm expression. The hat they earlier wore now covered a part of their eyes, but then, snoozing sounded, and they glanced forward, before gulping.

***

In the morning, the three left the apartment. To make a rather long story short, Morio realised a thing or two and Jyuzou called him out. They thought about it for a while, and it turned out, that if Atomu was heading to the Demonear test, they could just simply tag along, or even they themselves could guide him through the dangers of Shimori.

Atomu said that he waited for Morio to figure that out, and Jyuzou went on a seventeen-minute-long rant about his incompetence. Morio punched him, and Jyuzou went to the library to calm down.

The two waited, and after some time, Jyuzou ran up to them.

"Two minutes late." Morio looked at the windmill.

"I don't think that's a clock," Atomu said.