The interior is exactly what you'd expect from a centuries-dead torturer's lair. Dusty. Cluttered. Filled with instruments I don't want to identify.
But Lilith navigates it like she knows every corner. She should—she spent decades in the cage outside, but they brought her in sometimes. For experiments. For study. For the mage's amusement.
I don't ask for details. Her expression tells me enough.
"The study is this way." She leads me down a stone corridor, past cells with open doors—empty now, but I can smell the faint residue of fear and pain that lingers in such places. My jaw tightens.
If I ever meet another mage like this, I'll kill them myself.
{Agreement. Such practices are abhorrent.}
{System Note: The Holy Empire employs similar methods. Their Inquisitors are trained to "purify" demi-humans through torture.}
{This is why you were chosen.}
The study is a large circular room at the mausoleum's heart. Shelves line the walls, stuffed with books and scrolls and strange preserved specimens in jars. A desk dominates the center, its surface buried under papers.
And behind the desk, slumped in a chair—
A skeleton.
Rotted robes. A gold chain around its neck, still gleaming after all these years. A ring on one bony finger, set with a purple gem that pulses faintly with residual magic.
"The mage," Lilith says quietly. "He died about five years ago. Heart failure, I think. I felt him collapse through the cage wards. Couldn't even celebrate—I was too weak by then." She looks at the skeleton without pity. "He lasted forty years longer than he should have. My life force kept him alive."
I put a hand on her shoulder. Squeeze.
She covers my hand with hers. "I'm okay. He's dead. I'm not." A deep breath. "Let's find those maps."
We search.
The papers are a nightmare—arcane notations, experiment logs, lists of subjects with cold clinical descriptions. I find entries for Lilith. Subject 7: Succubus, pureblood. Longevity experiments successful. Recommend continued draining protocols.
I crumple that page and shove it in my pocket. Evidence. For later. For revenge.
Lilith, meanwhile, has found a map. She spreads it across the desk, weighing down corners with books.
"This is the continent." She traces lines with one finger. "We're here, in the Witch's Grave. And here..." Her nail taps a marked location. "This is another 'collection point.' One of his associates. He mentioned it once, bragging about a 'fresh specimen' he'd acquired. A Beast-kin child, I think."
{New Location Discovered: Eastern Ruins}
{Potential Subject Detected: Wolf Beast-kin}
{Compatibility: Scanning... 94%}
{Status: Unknown}
My blood runs cold. "A child?"
"Beast-kin age differently than humans. A 'child' to them might be older than you think. But..." She meets my eyes. "Yes. Young. Vulnerable. If he's still alive."
I'm already moving toward the door.
Lilith catches my arm. "Kael. We need supplies. Rest. You just died and came back to life—"
"And there's a kid out there who might be in a cage just like you were." I stop, take a breath. "I'm not leaving him there a day longer than necessary. But you're right. We need to be smart."
She nods, relieved. "Then let's be smart. There's a storeroom nearby. Old supplies, but preserved. We'll gear up, rest a few hours, then move."
{Quest Updated: Rescue the Wolf Cub}
{Objective: Travel to Eastern Ruins}
{Time Limit: 72 hours}
{Bonus Objective: Retrieve before Empire scouts}
"Empire scouts?" Lilith reads over my shoulder, alarmed. "They're coming here?"
{Probability: 87%. The Golem's destruction released a magical pulse. Inquisitors are trained to detect such disturbances.}
{Estimated arrival: 8-12 hours.}
We look at each other.
"Storeroom," I say. "Now. Grab everything we can carry. Then we run."
Lilith nods, already moving. "This way."
---
Two hours later, we're equipped.
Not well—the mage's stores were old, but functional. Dried rations that still taste like something. Waterskins. A bedroll. A cloak for Lilith that hides her wings if she keeps them folded tight. A decent sword for me, scavenged from a display case.
And a pouch full of coins. Always useful.
We stand at the mausoleum's entrance, watching the eastern sky. Dawn is breaking—pale gold bleeding through the black trees.
"The Empire will be here by midday," Lilith murmurs. "We need to be far away by then."
I nod. "The Eastern Ruins. How far?"
"A day's hard march. Two if we're careful." She looks at me. "We can make it."
{Current Party:}
{Kael - Combat Power: 76}
{Lilith - Combat Power: 318}
{Combined Power: 394}
{Threat Assessment: Low vs Empire patrols. Avoid direct combat.}
"Great. So we run and hide." I grin tiredly. "I'm good at that."
Lilith smiles back—a real smile, warm and genuine. "Me too. Forty years of practice."
She takes my hand. I squeeze.
Together, we step into the dawn.
---
The forest changes as we travel.
The Witch's Grave lives up to its name—twisted trees, strange sounds, flickers of movement at the edge of vision. But nothing attacks. Maybe they sense Lilith's new power. Maybe they're just smart.
Either way, I'm grateful.
We walk in companionable silence for hours. Occasionally, Lilith asks about my life before—about the mercenary company, about the mission that got them killed. I tell her. The words come easier than I expected.
She listens without judgment. When I finish, she says simply, "They died protecting someone innocent. That's a good death."
"Still dead."
"Still good." She squeezes my hand. "And you're alive to remember them. To honor them. That matters."
I don't have a response to that. So I just hold her hand tighter.
By midday, we've reached the forest's edge. Ahead, the terrain opens into rolling hills, dotted with ruins—ancient structures from some long-fallen civilization. The Eastern Ruins.
And somewhere in them, a wolf cub waiting to be saved.
{New Area Discovered: Eastern Ruins}
{Subject proximity: 3 kilometers}
{Status: Alive but weakened}
{Empire scout proximity: 8 kilometers and closing}
{Recommendation: HURRY.}
I break into a run.
Lilith matches me effortlessly, wings half-spread for balance. "There's a village ahead—or what's left of one. That's where the mage's associate kept his collection. If the boy is anywhere..."
She doesn't finish. She doesn't have to.
We run faster.
---
The village appears over the next hill.
Or rather, what's left of the village. Smoke still rises from collapsed buildings. Bodies lie in the streets—demi-humans, mostly, their distinctive features visible even from here. Beast-kin. Elves. A few I don't recognize.
And among the bodies, moving slowly—
Armor. White and gold. The colors of the Holy Empire.
Inquisitors.
Lilith grabs my arm, pulling me behind a crumbling wall. "They're already here. They must have gotten wind of the collection."
I peer over the stone. Four Inquisitors, armed and armored, poking through the wreckage. One carries a strange device—a glowing orb on a staff—that he sweeps back and forth like he's searching for something.
{Detection: Life-sign scanner}
{If that orb passes over a living demi-human, it will glow red.}
{The boy is still alive. They're looking for him.}
My hands clench into fists. "We have to get to him first."
"How? There's four of them, two of us—"
{Combat Power Comparison:}
{Inquisitor Team: 680 total}
{Your Party: 394 total}
{Victory odds: 23%}
{Recommendation: Stealth}
"Stealth," I mutter. "Right. Because I'm so sneaky."
Lilith's eyes gleam. "I can help with that. My aura—I can project calm. Make them less likely to notice us. It won't last long, but it might be enough."
{Lilith using: Succubus Queen's Aura}
{Effect: -40% enemy perception in 20m radius}
{Duration: 5 minutes}
{Cooldown: 1 hour}
"Five minutes." I scan the ruins, plotting a path. "We can do this. Stay close, stay quiet. If anything goes wrong—"
"We fight. Together." She meets my eyes. "I'm not losing you now."
We move.
The aura wraps around us like a blanket, muffling sound, blurring our presence. The Inquisitors continue their search, oblivious. We slip between ruined buildings, over bodies I try not to look at, toward a structure at the village center.
A cage. Just like Lilith's.
Smaller. Meant for a child.
And inside, curled into a ball, fur matted with blood and tears—
A wolf cub.
He can't be more than ten, in human terms. Small and skinny and terrified, his eyes squeezed shut as if that will make the nightmare end. His leg is twisted at a wrong angle. Broken. He's been here for days.
Something in my chest cracks.
I'm moving before I can think, crossing the last distance, reaching for the cage—
{Alert: Wards detected}
{Same type as previous cage}
{Mana cost to disable: 50}
{Current mana: 97}
I don't hesitate. I press my palm to the bars and push.
Mana floods out. The wards flare. I grit my teeth against the pain—
Click.
The cage door swings open.
The boy's eyes fly open. Gold eyes, wild with fear. He sees me—a human—and snarls, scrambling backward despite his broken leg. "Stay away! Stay away or I'll—I'll—"
He grabs a shard of broken bone from the cage floor. Holds it like a knife.
Behind me, Lilith whispers, "Kael. The Inquisitors. They're turning."
I hold up my hands. Slow. Careful. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm here to help. Like I helped her." I gesture at Lilith. "She was in a cage too. I got her out. I can get you out."
The boy's eyes dart to Lilith. Take in her wings. Her horns. Another demi-human.
"You're... you're like me?"
"She's a Succubus. You're a Beast-kin. Different, but same where it counts." I keep my voice low, steady. "The people who put you here—the ones in white armor—they're the enemy. We're not. I swear it."
The boy hesitates. The bone knife wavers.
Behind us, a shout. "The scanner's picking something up! Over there!"
{Aura duration: 30 seconds remaining}
"Please." I hold out my hand. "Trust me. Just for a minute. Then you can hate me forever if you want. But right now, we have to move."
The boy looks at my hand. At my face. At Lilith, who nods encouragingly.
He drops the bone.
Takes my hand.
I pull him gently from the cage, wincing at his leg. "Broken. Can you walk?"
"I... I can try—"
I scoop him up instead. He's light. Too light. Malnourished. "Hold on to me. Don't let go."
His small arms wrap around my neck.
{Aura duration: 10 seconds}
We run.
Behind us, Inquisitors shout. Something whistles past my ear—a crossbow bolt. Lilith spins, her hand outstretched, and I feel her pull—Soul Drain activating. The Inquisitor who fired stumbles, his bolt going wide.
Then we're through the ruins, into the hills, the shouts fading behind us.
We don't stop running until the sun sets.
---
We make camp in a cave, hidden deep in the hills.
The boy is asleep, finally, exhaustion overcoming fear. Lilith splinted his leg as best she could—it's a clean break, she says. He'll heal, especially with proper care.
I sit at the cave entrance, watching the stars emerge. Lilith settles beside me, her warmth welcome against the cooling night.
"We saved him," she murmurs.
"We saved him." I let out a long breath. "One down. Four to go."
She leans her head on my shoulder. "We'll find them. All of them. Build somewhere safe. Somewhere no one gets put in cages ever again."
I look at her. At the boy sleeping behind us. At the blood on my hands that's finally, finally not my own.
"Yeah." I put my arm around her. "We will."
{Quest Complete: Rescue the Wolf Cub}
{Reward: 500 System Points}
{New Subject Acquired: Fenris (Wolf Beast-kin)}
{Compatibility: 94%}
{Bond Level: 2 (Trusting)}
{Potential for Harmonization: High}
{System Note: Harmonization will accelerate healing and unlock primal potential. Recommend when subject is physically and emotionally ready.}
I read the notification. Then close it.
The boy needs time. Needs safety. Needs to learn that not all humans are monsters.
That can wait.
Tonight, we rest.
Tomorrow, we build a sanctuary.
---
End of Chapter 2
---