A tendril shot toward Ili's heart, but Zephyr fell from above, impaling it into the ground with a dark crystal dagger.

On Ili’s arm, the severed tendril tightened, its claws digging into her flesh. She gasped at its sudden movement, having thought it harmless once detached. Thinking quickly, she slashed it from the side, but it clung on, regenerating and covering more of her arm.

Zephyr dragged her out of the cave, creating a brief reprieve from the attacks. He cut his palm with the crystal knife and pressed it against the dark tendril. Crimson thorns burst from his blood, causing the tendril to loosen and fall to the ground.

Ili’s arm was a mess of deep wounds, shaking as blood poured from it.

"Zephyr, watch out!" Ili screamed, pushing him to the ground as a massive lump of flesh smashed the spot where they had stood. It retracted, preparing another attack.

Ili winced, pressing her right hand to her bleeding arm, focusing on healing enough to prevent blood loss. A bloodshot eye appeared on the mass, glaring at her. It lunged, smashing into the wall, but Ili ducked underneath, touching it briefly and igniting it with flames.

The demon's body erupted in a chaotic frenzy, lashing out blindly. Zephyr took his chance, summoning a crystal axe and cleaving through the burning flesh before kicking the mass over the edge into the darkness.

"It’s vulnerable to fire!" Ili shouted, setting both her sword and Zephyr’s axe ablaze.

"I’ll hold it off," Zephyr said, gripping the flaming axe. "You stop the bleeding and join in as soon as you can. I’ll try to find its heart."

Ili nodded, placing her right hand over her left and continuing the healing process as Zephyr charged.

The demon lashed out, growing new limbs to attack Zephyr. Just as a massive lump was about to crush him, it was sliced cleanly by a flaming sword. It was Ili's. She leaped at the demon, diverting its attention, giving Zephyr a chance to hurl his axe into its main body. The demon turned to face him, his attention dividing between the two, unable to keep up.

In one swift motion, she landed in front of it, cleaving the main body in two with a slash. The heart lay exposed, and with another strike, she destroyed it. The demon let out an unearthly howl before collapsing over the edge, its burning remains fading into the ravine's depths.

Zephyr rushed to Ili's side as she collapsed from blood loss. Before she lost consciousness, he fashioned a tourniquet from his shirt sleeve and a crystal rod, stopping the bleeding.

“Ngh…” Ili groaned, pain wracking her body.

“Please, stay down,” Zephyr muttered. “I’ll go to the wagon, see if they have some bandages.”

Ili nodded softly, looking up at him with weak eyes, as she remained on her back. Zephyr leaped up, and with the help of a rock that was sticking off the surface, he managed to throw himself over the edge of the ravine

A few moments later, he jumped back down, with a roll of bandages and a few herbs.

She slowly looked up at what Zephyr had brought, and his questioning eyes regarding the herbs.

“Those,” she spoke weakly... “The darker ones, with the really thin leaves... You grind those into a paste and place it over the wound underneath the bandages to help heal and disinfect the wound...”

“Right...”

Zephyr made a small crystal bowl, along with another rod to help grind the leaves. He put the leaves inside and started to mix them, making a dark-yellow paste.

“This will probably hurt...” Zephyr said, taking some of the paste on his fingers and rubbing it over the girl’s hand.

Ili winched in pain, her back arching slightly as she felt the deep sting of the paste, but managed to keep herself calm. She took a few deep breaths.

“Alright, that’s about it,” Ili said, calming herself a little more. “Now you can wrap the bandages. The other herbs won’t help.”

Zephyr nodded, wrapping the cloth around her arm, securing it at the shoulder. "Is that okay?" he asked, concerned.

"Yes, much better," Ili replied with a grateful smile. "Thank you..."

"Don’t thank me. You’ve saved my life more than once. It's the least I can do."

Ili smiled softly. 

"How’s your other hand?" Zephyr asked, glancing at her right hand. "I have more bandages if you need them."

"It’s fine," Ili said. "I mostly healed it before we got into the fight, so it’s nothing to worry about."

Ili unwrapped the cloth from her right palm, revealing the sign of a deep cut along its length, now only visible as a lighter shade of skin. The two of them stood there for a moment, catching their breath and calming down after everything.

"So, Zephyr... What did you do back then? When you made the tendril let go of my arm?" Ili asked, trying to take her mind off the pain.

"Oh, that?" Zephyr began, recalling the moment. "Well, we dexus have some magic specific to our race. You saw the dark crystal manipulation and self-blood manipulation. Basically, when I put my hand on that thing, I injected it with my blood, running it through its roots before making it explode into the thorns you saw. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I didn’t have much time to think back then."

"I see," Ili said, a little impressed. "Thank you..."

"Tch. Just stop thanking me, alright? I only did what I had to do for both of us to survive."

Ili looked at her feet, taking a little more time to calm herself. "The demon... It used the child’s voice as bait. It must have used its vocal cords to lure its next prey. And I..."

"Hey, there’s no way you could have known that, alright?" Zephyr said, patting her shoulder. But as he looked into her eyes, he could tell that wasn't the real issue bothering her.

"That poor child..." Ili said quietly, her voice hoarse as she hid her face between her knees, starting to sob quietly.

Zephyr looked down at her, feeling a deep sadness. He brought his hand to her back, wanting to comfort her, but pulled it away, unsure of what to say. "I’ll... leave you alone..." he spoke, slowly getting up.

"No, don’t go…" Ili asked quietly, grabbing his arm softly, her head still between her legs. "Please stay..."

"A-Alright," Zephyr replied softly, sitting back down next to her. "I’ll stay..."

After a while, Ili’s sobs finally died down. She wiped the last tears from her eyes and slowly stood up. "Let’s go," she said quietly.

"Alright," Zephyr nodded. "Do you need help getting back up?"

"No, I’m alright. Thanks..." 

Ili took another deep breath, steadying herself before launching herself back to the top, landing softly on her feet. Zephyr followed soon after, using the same protruding rock to help himself climb up.

Once there, he saw Ili kneeling in front of the wagon, eyes closed in prayer. Zephyr hesitated, but then joined her, kneeling and offering a small prayer of his own. After a moment, Ili finished, letting out a soft sigh and stood up.

"What do we do now?" Zephyr asked, looking at the destroyed wagon with a sad expression.

"There’s nothing else we can do," Ili responded quietly. "Let’s just go…”

"I see," Zephyr replied reluctantly, sighing. "Alright, let’s go."

Battered and bruised, the two got back on the road, walking silently toward the exit of the mountain pass. The path, though unchanged, felt darker now, the excitement of their journey replaced by a somber, mournful atmosphere. 

Not long after, to Zephyr’s surprise, Ili spoke up. "I was scared..."

Zephyr glanced at her, confused by the sudden admission. "Huh?"

"When we fought the demon…" Ili began, "I was scared... I froze up, stopped thinking clearly. Because of me, we almost died... I would have died if you weren’t there..."

"So?" Zephyr snapped, his irritation growing at her self-blame. "It's normal to be scared! You’re not some heartless mercenary who’s been through hell and back!"

"But I didn’t know what to do..." Ili continued, her voice quivering. "My mind went blank, I was useless… I was supposed to be strong…"

"Ili, get a grip!" Zephyr barked, exasperated. "If it weren’t for you, I’d be dead! And not just now! You’ve saved my life more than I can count! If I hear you say you're useless one more time, I swear..." He paused, taking a deep breath to calm himself. 

"Ili," he began more gently, "have you ever fought a demon before?"

"Well, yes... I did..." Ili replied, hesitating.

"Alright, let me rephrase that," Zephyr said, rubbing his temples. "Have you ever fought a demon without that all-powerful master of yours there, ready to save your ass if things went wrong?"

"I... No," Ili admitted, shaking her head.

"Then there you have it!" Zephyr exclaimed. "This was your first real encounter with a demon! Your first, real fight! Did you die? No! Did I die? No! That’s what matters! So stop whining about being scared! You'll learn to manage it, eventually. But for your first time, you did pretty damn well! Be proud of yourself, dammit!" He patted her on the back encouragingly. "We killed a demon—a demon that would've probably killed dozens, if not hundreds until the army took notice!"

Ili's eyes widened at his words, the forceful pat on her back helping shift her perspective. He was right. She hadn’t just killed a random demon during training. She actually did something that mattered. The demon might have killed many more if left unchecked. With this new understanding, risking her life felt... a bit more bearable.

"Thank you..." Ili said softly, a small smile forming on her lips underneath the tears.

"No worries!" Zephyr responded, glad to see her cheering up, even if slightly. "We make a good team, don’t we?" he added with a smile, placing his hand over her shoulder in a friendly manner.

"Yes, we do..." Ili replied, wiping the tears from her eyes. "We really do..."

Author's note,

If you've enjoyed this episode of "Ililith - A Journey Through This Beautiful World", please don't forget to rate it and give your feedback on it! I'm always open to constructive feedback! 

Thank you for your support! :)