Daemon saw her beautiful, crystalline green eyes, her pale green hair braided, and her delicate face. In that square, Daemon felt as if he were in a field of flowers after looking directly into Ereya's eyes; he thought the girl in front of him was an angel, not a demon. Coming out of his stupor, he then noticed that under that thick cloak, Ereya hid a truly sinful figure worthy of a demon.
Daemon couldn't help but blush a little upon seeing Ereya's well-defined curves; deep down, he was still a shy boy. Ereya looked at Daemon with puppy eyes, trying to find the words. She knew she had made a mistake by not coming immediately after being summoned, but as she walked down a path, she noticed a small demonic fire lion cub. The gems on their heads are precious for various purposes, but if they fall into the hands of a skilled alchemist, the fire essence within the gem can be extracted. This essence can be used to imbue objects and even demons, granting them extra power, resistance, and fire abilities.
For this reason, she didn't hesitate and chased after the little lion. She knew she was no match for the cub's parents, so she had to be quick and silent—a clean abduction. Unfortunately, she was so focused on the little lion that she didn't see the tree root sticking out of the ground. She tripped over it, her forehead hitting the ground hard, making a lot of noise. The little lion noticed the stranger and started growling, alerting its mother. Ereya realized her plan had failed spectacularly, freed her foot from the stubborn root in her path, and stood up as fast as she could. Her face showed her urgency as she ran in the opposite direction from the cub without looking back. The mother noticed her escape and gave chase.
She ran like never before, and the mother lion wasn't about to let her go. She had been running for an entire day from the lioness until she finally lost her. Now she was hidden in the tree's canopy, exhausted, with small branches and leaves in her hair. Her eyes were heavy, but she feared sleeping and waking up as the lioness's meal or that of some other creature. Although she was not a weak demon, she could be classified as a high-class, level-two demon. This strength level among demons was not weak but also not extraordinary. Demons classified their strength into low-class, levels 1 to 10; mid-class, levels 1 to 10; high-class, levels 1 to 10; and supreme class, levels 1 to 10. Then there were the seven princes of hell, who were said to be on a different level than the other demons. A high-class level-10 demon, even if it unleashed all its power at the cost of its life, wouldn't be a warm-up for the seven princes. Only supreme-class demons of levels 1 to 10 could rival them. Although even among the seven princes, clear differences in power existed. The lion had the strength of a high-class level-6 demon, though its speed wasn't like that of a level-10 mid-class demon.
Unnoticed, she fell asleep, and morning came, waking her with the birds' singing. Now she noticed there was a nest in the tree she was in, amazed at her luck. She saw that these weren't ordinary birds; they were chicks of the Caym bird. It was incredible that she had found a nest with four chicks. These birds are ruthless; they abandon their eggs as soon as they're laid. They hatch with the cold and heat of hell, and if a predator hasn't eaten them by then, they're born incredibly weak, easy prey for snakes and other birds in the underworld. That's why it's rare for them to reach adulthood and lay their own eggs. As adults, they develop intelligence comparable to that of a demon, capable of speaking with rivers and animals. But their most outstanding ability is their power to prophesy, prophecies that always come true. She estimated that these chicks had hatched last night while she slept, and if she kept them alive, they would bring her good fortune.
Thinking this, she took the entire nest with the birds, pulled out a jar of worms from her bag, and gave one to each chick. Then she put the nest with the chicks into her bag, looked down, and scanned the surroundings for predators. Seeing none, she climbed down and walked calmly, looking for the path she had been on before escaping. After walking for half a day, she quickly realized she was lost. Discouraged, she dropped to the ground, took out a map, a compass, and a watch from her bag, checked the time—it was exactly 15:20—and looked at her map, then around her, and back to the map. She did this a few more times before taking the compass, turning it with a serious look. She pointed it north, then moved from north to south, looked at her map again, and realized she only had to go in the opposite direction of where the red part pointed. With her problem solved, she continued on.
She moved forward, occasionally checking her compass and whistling, as if she hadn't been chased by a lion. She didn't forget to take out more worms for her chicks. While she advanced, she noticed the same little lion that had gotten her into trouble. She quickly hid behind a tree and wondered if she should keep following it. She no longer had the same confidence as before, and she didn't want to end up as a lion's lunch. With a sigh, she resigned and kept walking. She took a few steps through a bush but bumped into something hard and furry. Looking carefully, Ereya realized it wasn't a wall or something strange; it was the mother lion she was so anxious to avoid. Now she didn't know if she had very good or very bad luck; perhaps the universe was balancing things out. With a nervous smile and evident fear in her eyes, she said, "Hello, lovely mama lion. I was just passing by; I don't want to bother you, so I'll just go." She said this as she backed away slowly, and when she finished her sentence, she turned around and ran. The mother lion didn't quite register what was happening, but then she realized she had prey escaping and chased after her.
Once again, they ran for another entire day. They had been in this chase for two and a half days now. Ereya's legs burned, and her feet hurt terribly, sweat running down her face. No matter how fast she ran, the lioness always caught up to her. Ereya was convinced that this stupid lioness was playing with her, but she refused to give up. The lioness would have to chase her until she couldn't get up anymore, at which point Ereya was sure there'd be nothing left but bones, and the lion wouldn't enjoy a meal.
So, she ran like never before, dodging trees with agility and jumping over branches. The lioness followed, smashing through trees, clearing her path. Ereya didn't dare look back—it was truly terrifying. At last, she reached Lucifall Square, where at least there would be other demons who could defeat the lion, though surely they'd take her precious essence. Though she had pushed herself to her limit fleeing non-stop, she noticed Daemon and ran even faster, her survival instinct telling her that if she wanted to live, she had to throw herself into that boy's arms.
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