Lily watched Lidien fight the horde of Hungers, while monitoring the movements of the caster.
"You have become soft now, Lidien. Don't worry... sister will help you train to get back to your original shape."
Then her gaze snapped to the fleeing caster. With a flicker of movement that was too fast to follow, she was gone, chasing the caster deep into the forest.
Lidien was left behind, ripping apart the bodies of the Hungers who clawed him and chewing the flesh of those who bit him, making the Hungers think twice before attacking him.
This gave Lidien a rest from their assault.
Smiling, he spat the flesh he had chewed, while the remaining blood cascaded from his mouth.
"Tastes like fish gut..."
Then he rushed at the nearest Hunger, clawing and biting it to death.
Realizing his Demonic Transformation was not built for a fist fight, Lidien immediately accepted that the only weapon he needed was himself.
Lidien beamed with pleasure every time blood splashed on his face and the screams of those dying by his hand reached his ears.
He also didn't know if it was his personality getting twisted, or just that being a Demon influenced his mind toward brutality.
Yet, he still chose to enjoy himself,
massacring the Hungers until the morning light touched his pale face.
As the sun ray met Lidien's crimson eyes, he blinked and his eyes turned dark instantly. His white hair went shorter, turning black, while his fangs returned to normal.
Badump!
"Urgh!"
Lidien fell and knelt on the ground, gripping his chest against its loud heartbeat that echoed in his mind.
He grit his teeth against the pain while his saliva dripped like he was a rabid beast.
Until he heard the soft tapping of footsteps approaching behind him.
"Purify..."
Lidien's agony eased. Then he looked at the woman smiling like the sun.
"So, how was your fight? Looks like you overused your sparkline again..." said Lily, before throwing a head that rolled beside him.
"It was fun..." Lidien beamed, making the soldier who saw his smile step back unconsciously.
Lily gestured, and Mad Dog immediately knelt in front of her.
"Gather all the corpses! it's time to feed the beasts..."
Mad Dog left and commanded all the soldiers to gather the dead bodies.
Though everyone was exhausted and drowsy from the attack last night, no one could rest, yet no one dared complain.
Lily helped Lidien stand, his legs involuntarily shaking from overusing his sparkline.
Without experiencing the limitation of his ability, the shattered fragments couldn't give him the exact details on how to use his demonic transformation, forcing trial and error.
Unlike the ability that came from the crimson shard, which enabled him to use it instinctively. What and how, he didn't know; it just came, like a part of him.
Lidien was having a hard time walking even with the assistance of Lily.
He looked around and saw the unnatural formation of trees beyond.
Even with the sun high, its light still couldn't penetrate the mist within the Bone Orchards.
"Hmmpp..."
With another suppression of his voice from the emotional pain brought by the shattered fragments, he saw the past and tragic experience of the previous Lidien inside the dark and misty forest.
Visions overlapped his sight with dead and bloody corpses hanging on the gnarled trees.
Below, hundreds of villagers stood, looking at him with their bleeding and hollow eyes.
He blinked, and everything was gone, back to its original ambience.
'Am I hallucinating?'
Shaking his head, Lidien and Lily entered the damaged carriage.
Lidien looked at the window and stared outside, watching the soldiers' movements as they marched towards the dangerous forest.
Lily, on the other side of the table, just watched Lidien curiously. When Lidien felt her gaze, he looked at her, and Lily offered him a smile.
"Are your memories coming back now?" asked Lily.
Lidien shook his head gently and stared once again outside.
Lily held his hand on the table and gently rubbed it with her thumb.
"Don't worry, my little brother, I'm sure Mother will know how to fix it..." her voice filled with longing.
"What if... I don't get back my memories... what will happen to me? What will Mother do to me?"
Lily's grip tightened.
"Of course she would still love you! Mother is Mother... she loves us no matter what we are..."
Lidien smiled faintly and stared into Lily's eyes.
'Liar... Mother only adopted him because of his naivety, easily controlled... right? Only a fool would fall for that Demon Lady...'
Then he looked at Lily's hand where she wore the space ring, as if he could see inside it.
'Well, I should thank you all, really. If not for that small chest, I would not be here occupying this body.'
His smile turned bright, showing his white teeth.
"Yes, sister! I'll trust you and Mother..."
As Lily heard his response, she immediately got up from her seat and sat beside him, hugging his small frame.
"W-wait! W-what are you--?!" Lidien shouted, panicky.
"Nothing, my little brother..." said Lily while rubbing Lidien's face against her almost bare chest.
Lidien was forced to free his head from her hold, and when he finally got free, he took a deep breath and stared sharply with his now crimson eyes at Lily.
Lily's rose-like Verve seeped out, her own crimson eyes staring back at Lidien.
"I like that... your memories are slowly resurfacing now, my little brother..." She licked her lips seductively.
Lidien closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them, his eyes had turned back to normal.
"I'm tired, I need to rest, Sister..."
Lily smiled as her rose-like Verve was absorbed back into her body, and she watched Lidien move to the other side of the carriage.
'I hate to admit it, but this body thinks of her as someone irreplaceable... what I need now is to fully take over this body, without the influence of his emotions and regrets...'
Lidien stared at the sky thanks to the broken roof that mirrored his fractured mind, until it turned grey and hazy before exhaustion swallowed him.