Andras smiled.
"The painting and the book together for twenty silver."
The shopkeeper hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"Deal. Thank you for your purchase."
He wrapped the painting carefully so no one could see its contents until it reached the proper wall. Once they stepped outside, Andras opened his magical storage and placed both the book and the painting safely inside.
The party then continued down the streets of Greenwood, ready for whatever adventure awaited them next.
The Demon in the Alley
After they stepped out of the book‑and‑painting shop, Anita was still shaking her head in disbelief.
"And where exactly are you planning to hang that painting of Floralys? Don't tell me in your own room."
Andras laughed.
"Relax. It's a gift for Master Florian. He won't mind that tiny… anatomical inaccuracy."
Anita burst out laughing.
"For a moment I really thought you bought it for yourself."
Then Andras's expression shifted—calmer, sharper.
"Well then… time to deal with our stalker."
Fireburp blinked in confusion.
"What stalker?"
"Someone's been following us all day," Andras said.
Anita instinctively placed a hand on her sword.
"Now that you mention it… my blade really did start tingling."
"They're following us? But why?" Fireburp's tail flicked nervously.
"When a demon sword tingles, it means a demon is nearby," Andras explained. "Which means a demon is following us."
Anita's eyes narrowed.
"Where is it hiding? Want me to grab it?"
"We'll corner them. Patience. Follow me."
Young Wolf's party continued walking as if they were completely unaware of their pursuer. They strolled casually, chatting, browsing—perfect bait.
When they reached a quieter street, Andras suddenly slipped between two houses. Anita and Fireburp followed. The narrow alley was dim, moss growing between the stones, the air cool and shadowed.
From afar, a figure trailed them. Step by careful step, it crept closer, then slipped toward the gap between the houses where it had last seen them.
But when it looked inside…
No one was there.
The demon froze. Its pupils shrank, its breath quickened. It didn't panic—demons rarely allowed themselves such weakness—but its pulse spiked.
It had lost its target.
And not just any target: Young Wolf, personally assigned to it by Quelenna, Princess of the Succubi.
The stalker was a succubus demon—a spy sent by Quelenna to Greenwood. Its mission was simple: follow, observe, report.
But now, in a single instant, the target had vanished.
And in the demon world, that was almost never a good sign.
The Hunter in the Shadows
The succubus scanned the alley with growing unease, but the ones she had followed all day were nowhere to be seen. Tension hung in the air, as if the city itself were holding its breath.
Succubi — as humans called the lust demons — were all female. Not a single male existed among them. Their reproduction was… peculiar. They drained the life force of men slowly, subtly, until nothing remained but a dried‑out husk. And if a succubus found a man she considered "ideal," she used illusions and enchantments to convince him she was the love of his life. The process was slower, but the end was the same — the man's death — and the demon carried new life within her.
Demons had hearts, but they worked differently. They saw the world differently. They felt differently. But love — in their twisted way — existed for them too.
Yet the succubus sent to Greenwood felt fear now. She had watched Young Wolf's group all day, and in a single instant, she had lost them. Her gaze darted in every direction, but she saw no trace of her target. Her chest rose faster, her wings trembled with tension.
When she finally decided to give up and retreat, she turned around.
And Anita was standing right in front of her.
The girl's ice‑blue eyes glowed with a demonic light that pierced straight through her.
"Looking for me, succubus?"
A shiver ran down the demon's spine. The power of the demon sword reflected in Anita's eyes triggered an instinctive terror. The girl had grown skilled at controlling the ice‑demon force within her — switching it on and off as easily as a lantern.
The succubus didn't hesitate. Fear was faster than any plan. Her wings snapped open, and with a single powerful beat she shot upward, desperate to escape.
Because no matter how dangerous a succubus might be…
she had no intention of fighting a girl armed with a demon sword and the power of an ice demon.
Fire and Ice
Anita, unfortunately, could not fly — the demon‑slaying sword had not yet granted her wings.
But Fireburp was there, and ever since merging with the Golden Stag, the little fire dragon radiated so much confidence that the air around her practically crackled.
With a single beat of her wings, Fireburp shot into the sky and gave chase. She darted through the air, launching fireballs she had learned from old Master Florian.
The first fireball — the succubus dodged easily.
The second — she avoided that one too.
But the third…
The third struck her right wing dead‑on.
The succubus shrieked as she spiraled out of control. She crashed several streets away, skidding across a rooftop before tumbling into a narrow gap between two houses — the kind of place only children used for hide‑and‑seek. Now it held only one thing:
A wounded demon.
At one end of the alley, Fireburp landed.
At the other, Anita appeared — her ice‑demon aura radiating so strongly it chilled the air. Her eyes glowed with cold light, and something like frozen fire pulsed beneath her skin.
The succubus stared at them in disbelief.
An ice demon… in human territory?
And a dragon as well?
What in the abyss is happening here?
Then Young Wolf stepped into the alley.
Dressed in his dark, pitch‑black mage uniform, he approached like a shadow given human form. He walked past Fireburp with slow, deliberate steps, heading straight toward the succubus. His expression was unreadable — cold, steady, impenetrable.
The succubus panicked and tried her last resort: her charm.
The enchantment that had brought countless men to their knees.
But Young Wolf did not react.
Not for a heartbeat.
His eyes didn't flicker.
His stride didn't change.
A wave of icy terror washed over the succubus.
A man immune to a succubus's charm?
What kind of monster is he?
Andras approached her the way a child reaches for a favorite toy — calm, certain, unstoppable.
The demon knew she had no chance.
But she had one last escape.
The teleportation stone.
With trembling hands she yanked it out, smashed it against the ground, and the stone activated. A flash of light erupted — and the succubus vanished, teleported back to the location she had set earlier.
Only the three hunters remained in the alley.
The chase was over —
but the demon would certainly report everything she had seen.
Dinner Plans and Dragon Logic
"Damn it!" Andras snapped. "I didn't account for the teleportation option."