Mirena's Journey

The once silent Rodena now has vibrant streets. A girl with long silver hair takes a leisure walk going through the vendors that set up their kiosks in front of the palace that used to be a place of oppression and fear.

The intimidating structure doesn't have an occupant at the moment. Instead, the townsfolk turned it into something of a museum where any visitors passing through Rodena can pass by and learn of what took place.

Mirena and her grandfather, who contributed to creating the peaceful atmosphere, made the people view them with respect. They revered the old man when the majority voted him mayor of Rodena Town.

While Mirena is taking her stroll, greeting everyone, a mysterious power caused the world surrounding her to freeze, with her be the only one able to move and interact in the Town's space.

She draws her bow and prepares her arrow. Keeping it close, she takes cautious steps, looking around, searching for anything out of place.

「'Mirena!'」

The girl gasps and puts her bow away. She turns around and sees the short-haired woman descending in a bright green light. "Goddess Minerva!"

「'Your friend, the Demon Lord, is in trouble!'」

"What happened?"

「'There's no time to waste... '」

Minerva approached the silver-haired girl and touched her forehead. 「'The beast will guide you!'」

Mirena ponders for a few minutes. "I thought you didn't like him…"

「'I don't... But, I'd rather be on your good side!?'」

Before the girl could respond, the Goddess vanished into nothingness, and time resumed. When Mirena came to, she found herself in an Abandoned Village. The girl runs frantically runs around the village, looking for Nox, but he's nowhere to be seen.

A familiar howling, thunders throughout the village, dealing a burst of mixed emotions in her heart. At first it was fear that creeped out that was soon replaced by nostalgia when Mirena thought she will see Umbra again.

Following the howling, the silver-haired girl finds the Mana Hound proudly walking by the fence as if it was patrolling. Unable to hold in her excitement, she runs towards the black furred beast. "Umbra!"

The girl's voice reaches Umbra's ears. He wiggled his tail and let her hug him. He licked her face a few times, tickling her. The two reunited and enjoyed each other's company until Mirena remembered the Goddess's words.

"Umbra, we must go find Nox. He's in trouble!"

The beast bit her clothes and threw her onto his back. As fast as it could, it ran all the way to the Scorching Desert without stopping. After a brief break because of Mirena's pleas, they rested and replenished their rations.

When the temperature dropped to an acceptable for their body degree, a little before the sun completely set, they continue their journey at full speed. Umbra, as if he has an internal compass, pointing where his master is, goes forward, thinking nothing else.

Night time is cool and pleasant to their skin as the silver stars and full moon show the way to Mirena and Umbra. She takes a few sips of water while laying on the beast's back. She even asked him if he wanted water, but only Nox's wellbeing was on his mind.

Keeping up with the fast pace, they reach a gigantic boulder emerging from the golden sand. As the sun appears and it shows its burning fangs, Mirena convinces Umbra to take a break as the fatigue from running all night has his shaking.

Unable to stand, Umbra lies under the shade of the pillar and Mirena casts her healing magic to help the beast relax and recover. Once he feels a little better, Umbra stands up and is about to run off when Mirena prevents him from doing so. "You need to rest a little longer…!"

Umbra's growls of protest get carried with the wind, silencing his voice before it reaches the sand hills. While the two argue, chatter distracts them from their banter. Sinking in the soft sand, Umbra and Mirena push through and climb the hill with waves of sand obstructing their advancement.

They look down and a group of people surround an already broken carriage and take it apart, piece by piece. Next to them, a pair of half-buried Desert Scorpions adds a frightening touch to their presence.

Mirena nudges the beast next to her and directs its attention at the well while Umbra notices the walls of a town and arfed. After some thought, they agree to wait for the people at the carriage to leave, which doesn't take long.

One of them, presumably the leader, approaches the others. "It's time!"

A rough-looking man with wavy black hair and a scar on his cheek. Taller than the rest and with a slightly more muscular build. Icy eyes that almost seemed white as the faint blue color glinted with malevolence most of the time.

The short sleeve on one side revealed a tattoo going down his arm, but from that distance, Mirena couldn't make out what it was. But she took notice that it's the same hand he kept on the hilt of his curved blade. Not once does he take his hand off even while giving orders to his crew.

They smirk and take out their swords. The leader points his sword toward the town and utters in a chilly tone. "I'll send you demons, back where you came from!"

Two break out of the group and get closer to the dead scorpions. They spill some blood and throw pieces of the carriage over the corpses. Following that ritual, comes an incantation that creates a cold to the soul feeling, that reaches all the way up where Mirena and Umbra are.

Moments pass and a thick red smoke that is too heavy to go up spreads and covers the bodies of the Desert Scorpions. Beams of red light shoot out of the smoke like projectiles, landing in different parts in the surrounding golden endless plain.

After puffing on the soft ground, the projectiles emit a faint fragrance which Mirena cannot recognize. Umbra, though, becomes restless. It takes everything she has for Mirena to manage and calm down the beast. "Easy buddy. It's ok!"

It growled a few times and tried to bite her. If they were somewhere, not as taxing for the Mana Hound, she wouldn't be able to restrain it. The growls were still there, but the beast kept it under control.

Mirena looks at the people near the well that are about to leave. She can't help but wonder what was that all about as she clung herself on Umbra, patting and calming him.

After making sure that it's clear, the duo packed their things and slid down the sandy slope. As soon as they reached the bottom, out of instinct, Mirena pulls her bow and arrow, securing their surroundings.

Mirena took her time, filling the flasks from the well while monitoring the Mana Hound sitting beside her, anxiously wiggling its tail.

Right after finishing with her task and they are about to set off, tremors make them lose their footing. Sand particles jump up to Mirena's knees as if they are bouncing.

Umbra's fur stands up and his tail tenses. His bloodshot eyes emit bloodlust as he growls. Saliva drips from his mouth and his sharp teeth seem ready to tear up anything they come in contact with.

Mirena tries to find her footing while holding onto her bow. After seeing the state the Mana Hound is in, she follows along, mentally preparing herself for what's coming.

Out of nowhere, sand shoots up, and a hole appears. Desert Scorpions creep out one after the other, surrounding Mirena and the Mana Hound. The screeching of the creatures, sends a never felt before chill down her spine. Umbra feels her fear and jumps in front of her, growling at the scorpions.

A Desert Scorpion with a darker hue than the others rams its black tail to the ground, forcing the others to step back. Its eyes see the two half-buried ones with missing tail. It's high pitch screech has Mirena bleeding from her ears.

The same thing happens to Umbra, but he keeps his stoic posture against the creatures, growling at the Scorpion in front of him. The Mana Hound moves to the side, hoping to keep Mirena out of harm's way.

The red tip of the black tail follows the movements of the Hound and, like lightning, it strikes. Umbra evades and bites the tail, only to be interrupted by the other scorpions who helped their companion.

Even though Umbra didn't succeed, the damage is enough for the scorpions to turn towards the town. Umbra limps back to Mirena and licks her. She casts a healing spell on him when a force pins him to the ground. Mirena, in shock, looks up and sees a black tail with a red tip emerging from the sand.

After a wave of tremors, the tail retracts and any signs of the scorpions vanish.

Mirena casts one spell after the other, in her attempts to heal Umbra. Endless tears run down her cheeks. Her chest feels heavy and her panting makes it harder for her to breathe.

Umbra, with shaking feet, stands up and howls, letting her know that he's ok, painting a smile on her face.

Moments later, an explosion directs their attention towards the town with the massive walls. Mirena stands up and pats the beast. "Shall we?"