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This chapter contains mature themes including brief nudity, scenes of physical violence, and depictions of abuse and assault. Reader discretion is advised.

Zephyr finally woke up after a while, his head spinning slightly. Looking around, he couldn't see Ililith anywhere. He tried to get up, but hit his head into something as he did, staggering back to the ground. The hit sent a small wave of light over the translucent surface of an object that stood around him. A barrier... Touching it with his hand, he finally saw it more clearly. It was a magic barrier, likely put up by Ili to keep him safe while she was away.

The kalzraak remained still for a few seconds, his mind still foggy from sleep. He rubbed his eyes, trying to shake the grogginess, then decided it was time to break the barrier. As far as he knew, it could only be opened from the inside, and the method was simple, by focusing a strong burst of mana into the shield. Easier said than done, he thought, trying not to waste too much power. After a few failed attempts, his frustration growing, Zephyr finally managed to release the spell, the barrier dissipating into faint trails of light before vanishing completely.

Free at last, the kalzraak rose to his, stretching his sore back. He needed to find Ililith. Closing his eyes, he made the familiar hand-sign, crossing his index and middle fingers of his left hand around those of his right. A pulse of invisible energy spread from his position, expanding outward until he could map out every living being within a two-kilometer radius. As he scanned, he quickly found Ililith’s distinct mana signature near the edge of his field, to the east.

He started moving towards her. She had probably wandered off to scout or train… Still, something in her mana felt unusually calm, almost... tranquil. Curious, Zephyr suppressed his own mana signature to avoid being detected as he continued in her direction.

As he drew nearer, the sound of rushing water reached his ears. He peered through the trees and saw a small river flowing calmly through the forest. Just past the bank, near the water's edge, he caught a glimpse of something: Ililith’s bright hair. She was sitting on a rock, looking completely relaxed, facing the opposite direction, washing herself. Her clothes were neatly folded on the bank, away from the water.

His face flushed instantly and his eyes widened, panic rising in his chest. In his startle, his control over his mana slipped, not being able to suppress it anymore. He quickly hid behind the bushes, suppressing his mana once again as fast as he could. Ili turned her head as soon as she felt someone’s presence behind her, looking back with fear and uncertainty. "Z… Zephyr? Is that you?"

Zephyr froze. He thought about staying silent, but then reluctantly accepted his fate, getting up from the ground, looking down, away from her. “I swear I didn’t mean to...”

“Zephyr!” Ili’s eyes widened as she saw him, jumping straight into the water to keep herself covered. “What are you doing here?!”

Zephyr’s breath caught in his throat, not knowing how to explain himself. “I just woke up and saw that you were missing, so I thought I’d come look for you! I didn’t mean to…!”

Ili’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment, knowing that she was mostly at fault here for not even letting a message to tell him where she was going. She thought about doing it, but then she decided that she would only be gone for a quick soak, not thinking he would wake up that early! ‘How did he even know how to open the barrier, after all?!’ Not knowing what to do, and too embarrassed to say anything, Ili got out of the river quickly and ran behind a tree, taking her clothes along with her.

After a few moments, she got out from behind the tree, dressed, with her hair and clothes soaked. Without saying a word, she walked quickly and took Zephyr’s hand from behind, pulling him along with her towards the river.

“Ili, uh...” Zephyr looked at her perplexed, having no idea of what was going on in her head.

Suddenly, he felt his arm pulled forwards with force, as he lost his footing and was thrown straight into the river, falling head first into the water. Zephyr quickly got his head out to the surface, breathing heavily and coughing water.

He quickly ran a hand over his face, whipping the water from his eyes. “Ili, what the hell?!”

As he opened his eyes, he saw Ili’s half embarrassed, half annoyed expression, looking at him. “Now we’re even! Both our clothes are soaked in water! Hmph!”

“How was that my fault?!”

“Shut up…" Ili said, splashing some water back at him, before letting out a slight chuckle.

“Why you..!” Zephyr retaliated, throwing some water back at Ili, soaking her even more. “Wait… Wait wait wait..!”

He barely managed to take a step back, before Ili jumped in the water over him, pushing him below the surface. Ili chuckled, but was soon to stop, as from below the water, a hand gripped her hand and pulled her below as well.

“Haha, how’s that feel!” Zephyr chuckled victoriously, getting his head back out. 

The two started to fight inside the water, splashing each other and trying to pull the other one below, before running for safety. After a while, they both got outside of the river, falling on the ground, laughing.

“River rat…” Ili said with a chuckle, glitching Zephyr’s forehead from the ground, spreading her arms as she stood on the sand like a starfish.

Zephyr chuckled back, letting his back in the sand as well. “Takes one to know one…”

“Happy?” Zephyr asked, as the two of them stood on the ground in the forest, wrapped in blankets, shivering in the cold of the night.

“Mhm” Ili chuckled, shivering as well, warming her hands at the campfire they put up some time ago. Darkness engulfed the forest, as the two gradually drifted to sleep, unintentionally close to one another, keeping themselves warm in the coldness of the night…

The night passed and the sun rose, waking the two up once again. The sky was clear, so without waiting any more time than needed, the two took their things and left, going back to the main path through the forest.

The road seemed peaceful so far, nothing too interesting catching their attention, aside from a few animals crossing from one side of the path to the other.

But then, a few sounds were heard in the distance. The voices started to be heard dangerously close, so Ili put her hand on Zephyr’s shoulder.

"Wait," she spoke, stopping him. "Let's go around until we know what's there."

Zephyr nodded, seeing a few lights show up in the distance. The two made their way into the woods, slowly approaching from the side.

Getting closer, the silhouettes of a few soldiers started to be seen, sitting around fires, drinking, laughing and talking between themselves. The camp seemed to be much larger than they first thought, tens of fires being seen in the distance.

Ili wanted to get closer, but she was quickly stopped by Zephyr, who caught her hand from behind.

"This flag..." Zephyr started, staring frozen at the flags that were surrounding the camp. A hound skull with two broken jaws on each side of the head, all on a dark background. "Ili, let's leave. These are the Black Hounds. They are an infamous mercenary group formed of only former criminals and prisoners. Let's go, we'll find another way to get around." Zephyr pulled Ili's arm, and she almost followed him, but stopped as soon as some desperate screams were heard from deeper inside the camp.

"Ili, it isn't worth it..." Zephyr spoke softly, keeping her hand in his. But he soon let go, seeing that she had made up her mind.

“If you don’t want to come, that’s alright. But I’m going.” Ili spoke seriously, jumping in a tree.

Zephyr clenched his fists in frustration, but jumped after her.

"Alright..." he says, creating a crystal dagger. "We go and see what's happening, but we don't engage. We’re leaving the moment it gets too dangerous.”

Ili looked inside the camp, scanning the surroundings. Her eyes fell on the center of the camp, a place surrounded by tall, wooden palisades. The screams seemed to be coming from there.

"That must be the stronghold." she said, pointing towards the walls. “They might have some prisoners…”

Zephyr hesitated but nodded, following her through the trees, silently.

The soldiers below seemed unaware of their presence, caught in their booze and laughter.

"Damn, they sure are a lot. Must be at least 300 soldiers around here..." Zephyr whispered, looking below the trees. The band of mercenaries consisted of mostly humans and the likes. "I didn't think there were this many left..." he muttered, displeased by their situation.

"What do you mean?" Ili asked, scouting the way ahead.

"They used to be thousands," he started. "But they would pillage and burn villages, so the Iron Mountains sent their main army to hunt them. At the end, they were almost annihilated. But the ones that remained alive were pardoned by the king after doing him some service, not sure what that was exactly. They received the royal pardon and became mercenaries for hire, with the condition to remain as such until they die. But even so, I didn't think there were this many left..."

"I see..." Ili spoke, with a thoughtful look on her face. "Shh, we're getting close." she said, jumping to another tree, smoothly like the wind.

From that tree, they could slightly see over the palisades. A small camp was visible, with a hole at the entrance. Inside, tied to wooden poles, were some young women with torn clothes, covered in cuts and bruises.

Around the center were a few armed soldiers, speaking between themselves. One of them approaches a girl, looking at her lustfully.

"Hello there, pretty." he said with a perverted smile, grabbing her breast.

"Ngh! You beast!" the girl shouted and struggled, but failed against the thick ropes that were pinning her to the wooden poles. "Let go of me!" she shouted, spitting in his face.

The man's face darkened, as he slapped her with his knife in hand, making a cut on the girl's cheek. "You bitch! I'll bury you!"

Behind him, the other men started laughing heartily. 

But soon, all the laughter died down, as a figure approached. The men quickly got in a kneeling position, looking at the ground.

From the entrance of the camp, four men approached. They were dressed differently than the other soldiers, probably being part of the command. But they weren't the reason for the soldier's bowing. It was something else, walking in between the four... A man... No, that creature wasn't human. It was a beast, reeking of violence and death.

Ili and Zephyr froze from their watching spot, feeling a sudden dark aura entering the battlefield...

"Uhl... The White Death..." Zephyr muttered, feeling a sense of dread growing in him. "I thought he was dead... The commander of the Black Hounds, and the one that formed them. It's said that he killed his torturers when he was imprisoned by biting off their faces... A captured soldier of the Dark Legions... A white orc..."

Ili's heart started to beat faster hearing his words, her eyes not leaving the massive warrior with white skin, making the heavy steel armour he was wearing seem as nothing more than a thin chemise.

Simply looking at him was making Ililith forget about everything else around... She felt her chest tightening...

One of the four men surrounding the orc came closer to him. He was a rather thin man, compared to the rest, with a sharp face and half-closed eyes, wearing thin leather as armour. He approached the orc and whispered something in his ear.

"Run!" was the only word that came out of Ili's mouth. She was barely quick enough to push Zephyr out of the way of a massive war spear thrown at him. The spear hit the tree, cutting straight through and disappearing through the leaves of the trees. The tree fell, making a loud crack as it fell over one of the common soldiers from the ground, killing him.

'He doesn't care if he kills his soldiers...' Ili thought to herself, shaking. But her thoughts were quickly interrupted as she looked back at the orc, who had his hand open, requesting another spear from his men.

It was too late. They have been spotted…

The two were running through the trees, but before they could react, a figure blocked their path in the trees. It was another one of the four soldiers that were surrounding the white orc. A man dressed in a black cloak. Ili immediately moved her hand to take out her sword, but another spear came from behind, impaling her palm to the tree, as if it was aimed that way.

"Ngh!" Ili let out a pained groan, feeling the tear through her palm. She looked at Zephyr. He turned back as soon as he heard the scream, but just as he did, the dark figure of the cloaked man appeared behind him like a shadow. Before he could react, the man put his cloaked hand over his mouth, keeping it there until he lost consciousness, before dropping him towards the ground.

"No!" Ili shouted, trying to pull her hand away from the spear. She looked in front of her towards the cloaked man, but he was nowhere to be found anymore.

Suddenly, a hand was brought over her face. Underneath the cloak, the hand had a deep, dark purple tint... Her vision started to become increasingly blurrier, as she started to lose consciousness...

"Poison..." Ili muttered, before her vision went dark, feeling her body falling from the tree, towards the ground.

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! :)