It was dark outside... The blurry image of the fire started to be seen a little more clearly. There were some soldiers around, talking to each other...

"Who the hell does this new boss think he is?"

"Yeah, thinking he can boss us around like dogs. I don't know why the general hasn't killed him yet to take all of his money."

"Something must be really wrong with that guy's head. To think he would actually pay us just to provoke chaos around. Hah, what a fool! As if we wouldn’t do it even without!"

"Hey, look! The white-haired fairy woke up!"

The blur started to fade away, as Ili regained consciousness. Looking around, she saw that she was in some kind of steel cage, locked in the center of the camp, surrounded by the palisades. She slowly looked around, trying to see if the other captured girls were still there, but all she saw were the empty wooden logs...

"Hey, are you deaf or something? I'm talking to you!"

Ili turned her head towards the soldier who was in front of her cage. She didn't really pay much attention to him, looking around to see if she could find Zephyr anywhere. Her head was hurting slightly, her vision still a little blurry. Her search for the kalzraak was abruptly interrupted by the sharp touch of a sword in her shoulder, making her jolt back.

"I'm talking to you, wench." The soldier said with an annoyed look on his face, pulling away his sword from between the bars of the cage.

Ili moved her hand instinctively to her hip, trying to find her sword, but as expected, it had been taken from her. Feeling the pain in her shoulder getting slightly worse, she brought her hand to cover the wound, looking down at the ground, her mind still a little hazy.

"Hah, looks like we've got ourselves a deaf one!"

"Look at her. Ain't she cute?" Another soldier, with a scar running down his cheek and a cruel grin, taunted her as he circled the cage. "A shame this one's in a cage and not out here."

He walked around until he got behind her. As soon as he made his way there, he put his hands between the bars of the cage, taking a handful of Ili's hair and pulling her to the back of the cage. "Why don't you come a little closer, huh?" The soldier asked with a smirk on his face, as he had her pinned with her back to the bars of the cage. He put his other hand through the bars, moving it towards her chest. But suddenly, the girl caught his arm, stopping him. The soldier tried to pull his hand away, but her grip was much tighter than he could have expected.

"Hey! Let go, damn wench!" he said, pulling his hand away harder.

Suddenly, a snap is heard, followed by the soldier's pained scream as he pulled out his broken arm.

"I'll kill you!" the soldier screams furiously, trying to take out his sword with his other hand. He pulls it out and tries to stab her through the cage, but the sword is blocked by a small circle surrounding the girl, glowing a really faint white.

'I see. This cage is sealed...’ Ili thought to herself. ‘I cannot use any offensive magic, but at least I am able to use defensive...'

"Hah, just what did you think you were going to accomplish, boy? That was a stupid move, coming here!" a soldier laughed, looking at the kalzraak.

In the camp, at a fair distance from the center, Zephyr was tied up by two logs, perpendicular to one another.

"Just how the hell did a kalzraak like you manage to travel along with a human girl, huh? Who sent you?" the soldier asked, raising his sword again.

"Your mother." the boy responded with a defiant smile, pushing through the pain of his other wounds.

"You're a funny fellow, aren't you?"

Another slash hit Zephyr's body. The slash drew some blood, but it wasn't deep enough to kill him.

"Tough one, aren't you?" the soldier asked with a smirk. "Say, why don't you join us? We could use someone like you, even as a meat shield."

Suddenly, an explosion is heard in the distance, as colorful lights burn in the night sky.

"What the..?" The soldiers get all distracted, looking in the direction of the explosion.

"Taking your eyes off your prisoners, huh?" Zephyr's voice is heard. As the soldier turns back around, he sees the ropes that used to keep the kalzraak in place cut.

"Shit, blood magic!" the soldier exclaims, trying to take out his sword, but getting his throat slashed from behind by a crystal dagger.

The other soldiers turn back around, taking their swords, but only find the dead soldier, with no sign of the kalzraaks in view.

Zephyr rushes towards the palisades where Ili was being held, but his path is blocked by the same cloaked man from before. From behind, the Black Hound's battle horns are heard, engulfing the forest, showing that they were under attack.

"I'm Rash'aa, the Black Assassin of the East. Prepare to die, kalzraak!" the cloaked man announces, as two blades appear from under his sleeves.

Zephyr opens the palm of his hand, materialising his dark crystal battle axe, catching it with both hands and leaning forward, in a battle stance.

As Zephyr gets ready for the fight, a sea of flames engulfed the sky.

"Eyes here, kalzraak."

Zephyr is barely able to react as the assassin appears behind him, turning just in time to block the lethal attack and avoid being decapitated on the spot. The assassin launches back at him.

From behind the assassin, a dark crystal shard materialised and shot towards Rash'aa, but was nearly instantly shattered by his blades.

"Was that trying to be a projectile?" the assassin asked mockingly, turning his head back towards Zephyr. But he was soon blinded by a handful of blood.

"No, just a distraction." Zephyr smiled, raising his axe and attacking from above as the assassin was trying to wipe away the blood from his face. He felt the axe touching the flesh of his opponent, but suddenly, there was no more resistance, as the cloak was the only thing that remained, hit by the axe, before vanishing.

"Nice try, kalzraak. I'll paint it on your grave!" the assassin spoke from behind Zephyr, with his blades crossed at his neck. As the blades collided with the skin, they weren't able to cut through, blocked by a layer of dark crystal. Zephyr turned back around, kicking the assassin in the stomach and gaining some distance between the two of them.

'That was too close...' Zephyr thought to himself, wiping the blood at the corner of his mouth, getting ready for the upcoming attacks.

Another explosion is heard closer, as the sounds of battle got louder and louder. The flames start to get stronger, jumping at the two combatants.

This time, it seems different, as Rash'aa's attention is momentarily distracted by this explosion, his eyes darting towards the right, as if sensing something. Then, his head turns back to Zephyr, his blades retracting in his sleeves.

"I'd love to dance with you a little longer, but I'll have to cut this short. Don't worry though, I'll come back for your neck later, kalzraak!"

A laugh is heard, as the assassin's form disappears into the cloth of his cloak, vanishing away.

Another violent explosion takes place even closer, making Zephyr lose his footing. He feels another presence and tries to pick up his axe, but soon abandons that idea.

'This isn't a battle I can win.' Zephyr accepts, feeling the level of power of the newcomer.

From the flames, a person emerges, flashing through. A white cloak surrounding his body, with golden string keeping it in place. His hair is a deep orange-red, such as the flames, holding a sword with golden handle in his right hand. The boy's face seemed young, probably in his early twenties or so, by Zephyr's understanding.

The person stops in front of Zephyr, looking at him with a cold and composed expression, giving away a sense of urgency.

"Where are the others?" he asks, letting his sword towards the ground.

"I don't know. There's only one girl in the stronghold. She has white hair." Zephyr responds directly, not wasting any time.

"Understood." the red hair responds, as more clocked figures appear through the flames, all wearing the same kind of white cloaks with golden strings. The red hair seemed to be the leader, as Zephyr couldn't feel any of the others coming close to that one's power. "Azhel, take two men to the stronghold and rescue the girl," the red hair spoke, not wasting a moment. "The rest, scatter and search for the other captives. If you see the white orc, send word to me and don't engage. Scatter!"

With these words, all the cloaked soldiers disappeared through the forest, all in different directions, leaving Zephyr alone between the flames. Not after long, Zephyr regains his focus, rushing towards the stronghold where Ili was held.

In his way, Zephyr sees many Black Hound soldiers trying to fight against the white cloaks, but without much success, being killed like flies. He sees the man that the red hair called Azhel take a small black stone from a bag, infusing mana into it and throwing it at a group of soldiers, causing an explosion.

'So those were the explosions.' Zephyr realizes, looking more interested at the stones.

Azhel takes another stone from his bag as they get closer to the palisades, throwing it at the wooden wall, blowing up another entrance.

As soon as the dust settles, Zephyr sees the cage in which Ili was kept. Without thinking twice, he takes his crystal battle axe back out, infusing it with as much mana as he could, before launching at the cage, cutting it straight in half, opening the top. Looking back at the white cloaks, he sees Azhel making a slight nod to him, before leaving out of sight with the other two white cloaks.

"Ili! Are you alright?" Zephyr asks quickly, giving her a hand to help her up.

"Where is my sword?" she asks, looking towards the ground aimlessly, as if in a trance.

"Wh... What? I don't know. I haven't seen it." Zephyr responds, not expecting her to act that way. "I can help you find i..."

Before Zephyr could finish his sentence, Ili steps out of the cage, bending towards the ground and launching herself out into the camp with blinding speeds.

"Damn, so fast..." Zephyr muttered, looking at the emptiness around him. But he can't rest for much, as a group of soldiers comes rushing inside.

"Look there! Kill him!" a soldier shouts, as they all run towards him. Zephyr sighs, opening the palm of his hand and getting back his battle axe, looking towards them coldly, ready for battle.

Suddenly, a war horn is heard in the distance. The sound it made was more like that of a dying beast than a war horn. It was, simply put, terrifying. It was like the war horns of the Dark Legions...

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! :)