The Pact: Bruno and the Crimson Veil

of View: Flávia

After some time trying to dominate them, without their king, the Fire Horses finally gave in and lay down in submission.

A servant approached to report:

"My lady, there was a confrontation between the king of the Ashmanes — their race — and my lord."

She pointed toward the territory of the Bright Moon Wolves.

"However, it is not possible to know if they left the territory. About one kilometer before the border, the trail of fire disappeared, and the footprint marks were covered by living vegetation."

Worried and irritated, I decided to fly there, but something stopped me.

It was the young servant speaking again:

"My lady, it was not only the Ashmanes who attacked us. Several beast races are invading various points of the barony, and in other baronies as well. Some level 3 beasts collided with the vitae barrier at the border of the barony. The army won't hold out for long."

"At the moment, only Miss Sitha, who is at Baron level, has taken the lead," she continued, "but it is still insufficient to defend the barony."

I sighed and asked:

"Which beast leads?"

She answered, fearfully:

"The Stone Gargoyle of the Pierrot Ruins."

Surprised, I asked if she was sure.

"Yes, my lady. Miss Sitha herself and the main defenders of the barony confirmed."

I felt the weight of responsibility pressing on me. The Stone Gargoyle of the Ruins was a beast of my level, but I had recently become a Guardian Baron. He, in turn, had been at that rank for a long time and had already reached the threshold of the Arcane Baron level.

I wondered: what the hell is happening? First, the snowstorm increased suddenly. Now, a beastly invasion.

Priorities had to be arranged.

With a bleeding heart, I decided to save my barony and the thousands of people who live there.

With tears in my eyes, I left with Selena toward the border.

Is this a farewell?

Right after, finally being able to have you with me...

"I'm sorry, Bruno."

Elsewhere, after several hours...

Point of View: Bruno

My eyes opened slowly. My body was destroyed, still hanging on the cliff. It was already night. Something must have happened because Flávia did not come to my aid.

Beside me, the fire horse was as bad as I was, bleeding and unconscious.

I could feel its weak breath, almost fading.

But mine was worse.

I tried to channel my vitae to probe my body from within, but insane pain ran through me. My vitae had reached its limit — I couldn't use it now.

I felt weak, trapped, without strength to climb back up.

Below, the wolves slept, waiting for our fall.

Despair took hold of me.

Even if my body released a last burst of adrenaline, it would only delay death by a few seconds.

What to do?

How to return?

What must I do to stay alive?

My consciousness, already fragile, began to fade again, swallowed by murmurs of hatred and despair.

Wharrrr...

Did I hear a roar?

I thought I was done. That it was an illusion.

But I heard it again:

Wharrrr...

Am I hearing something before death? Maybe this is the mark of the end.

Then, a voice sounded in my mind — clumsy, tired, and full of fear.

"B... b... b... bbbruno..."

I recognized it. It was Ignis, my loyal companion, still so young.

The roar came from above. There he was, a newborn wyvern, dirty and with his tongue out.

It was him: my salvation.

Without knowing, my tears began to flow gently, along with a trembling smile. I didn't know if he could really save me, but he was there, for me.

Even knowing each other for so little time, he persisted, searching for me all day — young and weak, thrown into the cruel world by his own choice of loyalty.

Ignis, I sent mentally, as tears ran down my fragile body.

He came to me, licking me tenderly in the last days; his eyes shone full of concern.

Through tears, I could only quietly thank:

"Thank you..."

My voice came out weak, pained by loneliness, weakness, and gratitude.

He was confused, not knowing what to do, but his eyes showed fierce determination — the will to accompany me to hell.

"My little one..." my voice failed, an almost inaudible sigh.

I was still awake thanks to the vampire's regeneration pain. My body tried to heal, but the chain strangling my arm and the branch stuck in my leg prevented the process from completing. This created a cycle of regeneration and failure, a terrible pain.

However, that pain kept me conscious and rational.

Amid countless thoughts, only one option seemed possible: fight.

On the cliff, we were closer to the ground than the top.

The wolves were sleeping. If I could recover some energy and heal my leg, maybe it would be possible to fight and scare them temporarily.

I mentally sent a question to Ignis:

"Is there any fruit nearby?"

He nodded, somewhat confused.

What I would do next was to take poison to quench the thirst.

Mentally, I ordered:

"Ignis, pull that branch from my leg."

He looked at me scared, and I stared back determinedly.

I continued:

"Try to pull it out without making noise."

Ignis nodded lightly, trembling a bit. He carefully descended to my leg, secured his tail on one of the tree trunk's branches to steady himself, and bit the branch hard.

When he started to pull, pain ran through my body like fire. Every cell hurt, it was hellish.

I almost went insane. My mind started to get confused, but I didn't make a sound.

As he pulled out the embedded branch, the pain was hallucinatory, as if my soul was being torn. Being stuck for so long, the branch was deeply lodged.

Ignis, tired, pulled slowly to avoid making noise.

I resisted with every fiber of my body not to scream.

I don't know how long it took to remove the embedded branch — maybe seconds, maybe minutes.

Ignis removed it and silently carried it to the top of the cliff.

Confused and in pain, I mentally sent a disconnected word:

"F... fruits..."

Maybe the pain confused me so much that I didn't even understand the reason for the question anymore.

My consciousness started to fail; everything seemed like a hazy dream, with blurry and confusing images.

Until a voice sounded:

"Here."

There was Ignis, bringing a bunch of fruits that looked like bananas, but purple and shiny. There seemed to be a bit of vitae in them.

Confused, I started eating instinctively, overcome by uncontrollable hunger.

Ignis made about six trips, bringing bunches of the same fruit.

I ate them with the peel and all, not knowing if they were poisonous or not.

When the fruits ended and Ignis could not bring more, it seemed to be enough.

My sanity started to stabilize, and under the little vitae present, I began to gather energy.

After about thirty minutes, under the intense moonlight, it was time to act.

"Ignis, burn the chain in the middle," I ordered mentally.

Perhaps pressured, Ignis didn't do as usual.

Instead, he produced a continuous flame until the chain melted.

I was ready.

When the chain broke, I started sliding toward the ground.

With my broken arm, I closed my fist, gripping the chain despite the pain.

Next to me, the fire horse fell rolling, landing hard in a snow-covered corner.

As I descended, I heard the wolves' howls.

There were seven.

I twisted my broken arm, ignoring the pain as if about to sacrifice it. I performed a simple attack with the chain on the wolf closest to me. The chain's tip, hot and sharp under Ignis's flame, cut the white wolf's fur, spilling blood on its coat.

I no longer had the vampiric beauty I once had — I looked more like a monster. My hair was white, soaked with blood. There was blood all over my body, marked by deep wounds. In my eyes, there was a mixture of hostile and savage feelings. My shirt was torn; I was like a demon, swinging that chain with fury.

Every move was calculated, clearly remembered despite the hallucinatory pain in my arm. I couldn't let them get close; every gesture was restrained, limited. Vitae instinctively flowed through the chain, fueling my strength.

If someone watched from afar, they would see:

One demon against seven wolves.

One predator against seven prey.

Suddenly, an arrow hit me.

I couldn't stop. Not even look back.

But I heard people running and shouting:

"There's a demon!"

At that moment, a memory came to my mind — a song I heard as a child, called "Pride," about the lion.

My pride doesn't allow it.

It only satisfies me.

It will always be beneath the sun.

And I remain at peace.

Hey, hey, just so you don't forget.

That in my chest burns.

Baby, you already know.

That I'm not a coward.

So kneel, the lion truly roars.

That I am wild.

You already know who rules.

And it's no lie.

Pride shines, I only feel pity.

For your intentions, it's a bit late.

I enter your game.

I don't hide, it's the truth.

The song echoed in my mind like a reminder: if nothing supports you, rely on your own pride.

Even if I die today, I will kill all these wolves.

Elsewhere, calmer…

Point of View: Flávia

In a small room, it was just me, Sitha, and Selena.

Sitha, worried, asked:

"Are you alright?"

I answered casually:

"Yes. The Stone Gargoyle wasn't really fighting, just trying to contain me."

Selena and Sitha said their opponents acted the same way.

However, they don't seem to be leaving, and the snow seems to be increasing.

I frowned, concerned.

Soon after, Sitha asked curiously:

"And Bruno?"

I frowned even more.

"I didn't have time to check. I left that task to the servants."

At that moment, Sitha clapped her hands, and the young servant appeared again.

"Any news?" I asked.

"More or less, my lady," the young servant replied.

I raised an eyebrow, confused, and she continued:

"It wasn't possible to send anyone there, but civilians reported seeing a white-haired demon, accompanied by a wyvern and a fire horse, below the cliff, in the territory of the Moon Wolves."

I frowned.

"Demon?"

She confirmed:

"Yes. He was bleeding, with a long tentacle, a hole in his leg, and fighting seven level-1 Moon Wolves."

"How long ago was that?" I asked hopefully.

But, like a shadow that never lifts, came a bucket of cold water:

"About five hours ago, around 4:48 a.m."

She said quietly, sadly.

"Demon, huh?"

I murmured.

"I'm sorry, my lady."