The silence that followed was different from the previous ones.

It wasn't the tense silence of a battle.

Nor the curious silence of an unexpected encounter.

It was the strange silence that arises when something makes sense… but at the same time shouldn't.

The small creature continued to look at Strax.

Her silver eyes shone softly as she kept her paw resting against his chest for another instant, as if confirming something.

Strax's heart beat normally.

Nothing happened.

No energy explosion.

No hidden spell.

Just… contact.

Then she withdrew her paw.

And took a small step back.

Shura was the first to break the silence.

"…Connected?", she repeated calmly.

Strax continued to look at the symbols floating in the air.

They were still there.

Three thin marks of silver light.

Small.

Unstable.

As if they were about to disappear at any moment.

Albedo crossed her arms slowly.

"That doesn't make sense."

Strax raised an eyebrow.

"You usually say that when something makes perfect sense."

She ignored the comment.

"Connected how?"

She looked at the small creature again.

"You mean magical bond?"

The creature tilted its head.

Then it made a small gesture with its paw.

A circular motion.

As if searching for the right word.

Then it pointed at Strax again.

Then at itself.

And then it made a gesture with both paws… bringing them closer.

Touching them.

Joining them.

Shura watched intently.

"Connection," she murmured.

Albedo frowned even more.

"That's impossible."

Strax finally looked away from the symbols and looked at her. "Why?"

Albedo answered immediately.

"Because demonic bonds don't appear out of nowhere."

She pointed at the creature.

"Especially with something that clearly doesn't belong to its domain."

Strax looked at the small creature again.

It seemed… satisfied.

As if it had finally managed to explain something.

Then something strange happened again.

The symbols in the air began to dissolve.

The silver lines trembled.

They fragmented.

And disappeared.

The creature blinked.

Then looked at Strax again.

And opened its mouth.

"…Krr."

Strax sighed.

"Yeah, that still doesn't help."

Shura took a step forward now.

She approached the small creature slowly.

Very slowly.

The gigantic tigress was easily ten times larger than her.

Even so, the creature didn't back down.

It just watched.

Curious.

Shura lowered her head slightly, bringing her snout closer to the small silvery figure.

She sniffed the air.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Her golden eyes narrowed.

"…Interesting."

Albedo looked at her.

"What did you smell?"

Shura answered without taking her eyes off the creature.

"The smell."

Strax tilted his head.

"Metallic and burnt?"

Shura shook her head.

"That too."

She inhaled again.

More deeply.

"But there's something else."

Albedo was curious.

"What?"

Shura took a few seconds to answer.

"…Strax."

Strax blinked.

"Me?"

Shura nodded.

"Her scent is your scent."

Silence fell again.

Strax looked at the creature.

Then at Shura.

"This doesn't make sense."

Shura replied calmly:

"I know."

Albedo also seemed surprised now.

"Are you sure?"

Shura answered immediately.

"Yes."

She moved away from the creature a little and returned to Strax's side.

"It's not identical."

She looked at the small figure again.

"But it's there."

Strax ran a hand over his chin.

"Okay."

He looked at the creature again.

"This is getting stranger and stranger."

The small creature watched the three of them attentively.

It seemed to follow the conversation even without fully understanding the words.

Then it did something unexpected again.

It sat down.

Simply… it sat on the ground.

The silvery tail—which until then had been partially hidden by the fur—slowly coiled around her body.

She seemed comfortable.

As if she had finally found what she was looking for.

Albedo noticed this immediately.

"…She doesn't intend to leave."

Strax noticed it too.

He pointed to the forest behind her.

"You were being chased."

The creature blinked.

Strax continued.

"Demon dogs."

Another blink.

He pointed to the forest.

"Are there more?"

The creature was silent for a few seconds.

Then its ears lowered slightly.

And it nodded.

Once.

Slowly.

Shura murmured:

"How many?"

The creature looked at its own paw.

Raised it.

And spread four toes.

Then it thought.

And he opened another one.

Five.

Albedo exhaled slowly.

"Five demon dogs."

Strax tilted his head.

"And you killed two."

The creature nodded.

"And scared one away."

Another nod.

Shura concluded calmly:

"Then there are still two left."

The small creature nodded again.

Then he did something that made everyone fall silent once more.

She pointed to Strax.

Then to the forest.

Then to herself.

And then she made the same gesture as before.

Joining her paws.

Albedo frowned.

"…She wants us to go with her."

Strax smiled slowly.

"Of course she does."

He put his hands back in his pockets.

"Because we are…"

He pointed to himself and to her.

"…connected."

The creature nodded immediately.

Enthusiastically.

Shura sighed.

"This is going to be hard work."

Albedo murmured:

"It already is."

Strax started walking again.

Strax into the forest.

"Good."

He looked over his shoulder.

"Looks like we have a mission now."

The little creature stood up quickly and trotted after him without hesitation.

As if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Shura looked at Albedo.

"…Did you notice?"

Albedo crossed his arms.

"Yes."

Shura asked calmly:

"You mean?"

Albedo watched the small creature walking behind Strax.

"…She trusts him."

Shura nodded.

"Completely."

Albedo narrowed his eyes.

"…And I still don't know why."

Ahead of them, Strax walked calmly through the forest.

The small silver creature walked beside him.

As if it had always belonged there.

And somewhere deeper in the woods…

Something howled.

The howl that echoed through the forest was not solitary.

First came one.

Long.

Tearing through the silence between the trees.

Then another.

And another. And another.

The sound spread like invisible waves traversing the forest, causing the birds to flee again and small animals to disappear into the holes in the earth. Even the wind seemed to stop for a moment.

Strax stopped walking.

The small silver creature also stopped immediately beside him, its ears rising like antennae while its eyes gleamed.

Shura turned his head slowly.

Albedo narrowed his eyes.

Then the ground began to vibrate.

Not like before, when the small creature had used its strength.

It was different.

It was the kind of vibration that arose when many heavy things began to move at the same time.

Many.

Among the trees ahead of them, shadows began to move.

First a few.

Then dozens.

Branches began to break.

Thin trunks cracked.

The vegetation began to open up as if something were pushing everything aside.

And then they appeared.

Demon dogs.

Not three.

Not five.

Dozens.

Black bodies like living smoke emerged from among the trees, their red eyes gleaming like embers in the dark. Some were the size of giant wolves, others almost as big as horses.

They growled.

Dark saliva dripped from their enormous fangs.

And they kept appearing.

More.

And more.

And more.

As if the forest itself were vomiting monsters.

Shura let out a low sound.

"…That's far more than two."

Albedo also seemed surprised.

"That doesn't make sense."

The small silver creature took a step back, its ears drooping slightly. It didn't seem terrified… but it clearly recognized the danger.

Strax calmly looked at the swarm of demon dogs spreading through the forest ahead of them.

Then she looked at Albedo.

"Quick question."

She answered without taking her eyes off the monsters.

"Yes?"

Strax casually pointed to the demonic army.

"How exactly do so many demons appear out of nowhere?"

More dogs kept appearing.

Now there were easily more than fifty.

Maybe a hundred.

Their dark bodies filled the space between the trees as they slowly advanced, forming a predatory circle.

Albedo watched intently, analyzing the energy in the air.

Then her golden eyes narrowed.

"…I think I know."

Strax tilted her head.

"Enlighten me."

She pointed to the forest floor.

"The energy."

Strax frowned slightly.

"Portal?"

Albedo nodded slowly.

"Probably."

She looked around the forest.

"A major demon in hell must be bored."

Shura snorted.

"Bored?"

Albedo replied calmly:

"Some demons do that."

She crossed her arms.

"They open small portals into the mortal world just to create chaos."

More demon dogs emerged from among the trees.

Now the number exceeded one hundred.

Their growls echoed through the newly formed clearing, creating a horrible cacophony of fangs clattering and throats vibrating.

Strax looked again at the sea of ​​red eyes.

Then he sighed.

"I understand."

He looked at the small silver creature.

"So that's why you were being hunted."

She nodded slowly.

The dogs began to move.

First one step.

Then two.

And then the circle began to close.

Shura lowered her body again, the tigress's muscles tensing like steel ready to explode.

Albedo slightly opened her black wings.

"Strax."

He didn't seem worried.

In fact…

He seemed bored.

Strax cracked her neck slightly.

"Good."

He took a small leap forward.

Just a leap.

But when his feet left the ground…

The air exploded.

BOOM.

A wave of pressure swept through the forest as Strax's body shot into the sky like a projectile.

The demon dogs froze for an instant.

All the red eyes turned upwards.

And then it happened.

Strax's human body began to grow.

First, his back ripped open in two gigantic lines.

Wings.

Enormous.

White.

Scales began to spread across his skin like a living tide.

His arms lengthened.

His fingers transformed into gigantic claws.

His spine extended.

His head changed shape.

The roar began even before the transformation was complete.

A deep sound.

Ancient.

Primordial.

When the colossal body finally revealed itself completely among the low clouds of the forest…

The shadow it cast covered everything.

A dragon.

Gigantic.

Colossal.

White scales gleaming like ivory under the sunlight that streamed through the trees.

Its outstretched wings were large enough to block half the sky.

Golden eyes gazed down.

At the demonic army.

Shura raised his head.

Albedo smiled.

The small silver creature looked up with wide-open eyes.

Impressed.

The dragon inhaled.

The forest air was drawn into its lungs like a hurricane.

The leaves began to swirl.

Branches swayed violently.

The demonic dogs began to growl louder.

But it was too late.

The dragon opened its mouth.

And roared. It wasn't just a roar.

It was fire.

White flames.

An ocean of white fire exploded from its throat like a celestial river descending from the heavens.

FWOOOOOOOOOOOOSH.

The flames swept through the forest ahead of them.

Trees evaporated instantly.

The earth split open.

The demonic dogs didn't even have time to react.

The tide of white fire engulfed them completely.

Bodies of black smoke disintegrated in the same instant.

Horrible howls echoed for less than a second before disappearing into the white inferno.

The fire advanced.

Ten meters.

Twenty.

Fifty.

One hundred.

A gigantic line of destruction cut through the forest like a divine blow.

When it finally ceased…

Silence returned.

The forest front simply… no longer existed.

Just a gigantic path of scorched earth and white ashes.

Not a single demon dog remained.

None.

In the sky, the white dragon slowly closed its mouth.

Small sparks of fire still escaped from its fangs.

Shura looked at the destruction.

"…Exaggerated."

Albedo smiled.

"Not at all."

The small silver creature looked at the sky with shining eyes.

Impressed.

Or perhaps…

Proud.

Up above, the white dragon slowly flapped its gigantic wings.

And then began to descend.