Chapter 11: Aftermath

----Lilith POV----

As I woke up, I could feel the warm fur of Fenrir, who had snuggled himself up besides me. I knew what I wanted to do, but I still had the intense feeling of sadness.

*My family is dead...*

I wanted to cry, but I knew that it wouldn't help me at all, so I decided to swallow down my grief and go back to Suben first, no matter what awaited me there, I needed to see it for myself.

As I got up, I groaned in Pain, my Stomach still hurt and this wouldn't go away soon. Old Griselda one time explained to me that major demons had a unnaturally high healing rate, compared to humans, but deep wounds would still take much time to heal. She also said that this quick healing would come at a cost, because scars were far more common for us than for other species in this world. I picked up some more of the 'Golden Tears', a dark yellow flower, that helped against pain and could even accelerate the healing process by a little. Then I rubbed some of it around my wound and stashed the rest in my small pouch.

*Grind them and put them into boiling water to lessen pain, or rub them around and on a wound so their pollen help my body heal...thank you Griselda...thank you for every lesson...*

After that, I started to walk in the direction of Suben, it took me around one and a half hour, because I needed to stop and lay down multiple times. But luckily, the spiderwebs, that I infused with Mana and used as a bandage, held together and my wound didn't reopen.

When I entered the village, through a large hole in the palisade, I saw the carnage. All buildings had been burned down and were still smoking. Only ashes and some ruins were left of the houses around the clan's hall.

The clan's hall itself didn't burn down entirely and the rough outlines of the once great building could still be seen. Even some of the rooms still stood, or were at least recognizable.

Then there were the corpses. There were no human bodies, so i guessed the attackers took their dead with them.

And then I saw the body of my father, his head was missing, but I would recognize his stature anywhere and at any time.

*Dad...I am...I am...I am so sorry...maybe if I was here...*

Thoughts ran through my head but in the end I knew one thing for certain.

*I wouldn't have made a difference...*

I decided to hug him one last time. I couldn't help but think about the fact that I would never again sleep in his arms, nor spend any time with him anymore. All of that was gone, with only empty void remaining where he once was. I didn't really know why, but I always was more attached to Dad than to Mum.

*Maybe it was because he was the stark contrast to the man who called himself my father in my previous life? Did I always want to have a loving Father?*

Then I looked at Mum's corpse. Her head was only staying attached to her body though some small strains of skin, her left arm was a few meters away and there was a huge hole in her shoulder.

This was it, I puked the soul out of my body. This gruesome sight nearly broke me and it was only Fenrirs touch that pulled me out of this state.

"Without you I would've probably killed myself...Fenrir...please stay at my side until the end of all..."

He answered me by rubbing his body on my legs, and his gaze reassured me.

*I will survive, and I will end the ones that took everything from me!*

I continued my path through what was once Suben and found the bodies of all the People that lived here, with only Griselda's missing.

*Did she survive? Can I risk to send her a signal?*

I decided to wait some time, before doing something so risky. My first priority was digging graves for all the dead and then burying them. So I first gathered all their corpses near the clan's hall, but the body of my brother was nowhere to be found, being washed away by the river, and I was unable to gather every part of Loti's. I puked many times while carrying them and my wound still hurt, but this wouldn't stop me. I owed this to them!

After gathering them I dug a grave for everyone of them. Mum and Dad lay next to each other, as was my brother and the twins. I knew for some time that he and Loti had a thing going on, and I wished for them to be happy, even if it was in the afterlife.

*How can I still be this naive? Either they just stay in a cold and empty void, or they are reborn just like me and will probably never see each other again...*

But the thought still calmed me a little bit.

My uncle was buried next to my parents, with the Suebos next to him. Finally the Almanis were buried next to their daughters. I haven't had gravestones, so I just build small wooden pillars and scraped their names into them.

It was already evening when I was finished, I still had no idea where Griselda was, so I decided it was time to light a small fire. After I gathered enough wood and lit it on fire, I went too search in the remains of the clan's hall if anything there had been left usable. And just this one time, luck was on my side. My room was nearly untouched by the flames, the gifts I received on my first birthday were still in a chest under my bed, so I pulled it out from under my bed and opened it.

*Unhappy birthday Lilith...*

I still remembered that today was my birthday, I was 14 now.

I took the ring my uncle gave me and put it on my left ring finger. I only wore it on special occasions and it always gave me a strange feeling of protection, but from now on I would wear it every day, even if it was only to remember my uncle. I took my backpack and stored the Grimoire and my coin in it. After this I took the silk shirt, woven by Ginette, and some new clothes. I stored the backpack in the chest and put it back under the bed.

*I am so tired...I could sleep on the Spot, but if I don't wash my wound, it could get infected, and besides I am all sweaty.*

"Alright Fenrir, lets make a torch and go back to the river!"