It turned out that hunting down the being of conflict wasn’t all that difficult, when one followed the trail of destruction and carnage.
Demon wasn’t about to forgive such a being for intruding upon his territory. He’d managed for so long to cow the local populace and keep the peace in his domain, and this thing of legend dared to disturb that? Unforgivable!
He flew at top speed above the forests, the mountain ranges, ignoring the remnants of peoples’ plights as he passed, and finally, he reached the edge of his claimed homelands. With a huff, he pressed on, ignoring the cycles of day and night. He had a mission, and he would see it through.
Eventually, while resting his wings and traveling on foot, he saw a large winged shadow glide across the ground, and he slowed his pace to glance skyward. It was hard to tell in the glaring light of day, but he thought the figure overhead was… pink? He called out to the other kiji, and in response, the pink one circled to descend. Soon they landed, kicking up grass and dust with their feathery bat-like wings, and greeted Demon.
Demon eyed the smaller kiji, standing up to his impressive full height, and seemed to appraise them before returning the greeting. “Are you following the same trail?” he finally asked, his voice coming out as a deep growl.
The pink kiji flinched at first, but got over Demon’s surprising tone. “Yeah. I’ve been tracking the… the thing for a while now. It’s an armored man on a red horse, but I don’t think it’s a human.”
“No, not from the aura and miasma it radiates. If you’re headed that direction, then-” Demon paused, blinking as a tiny dark red figure poked its head out of the pink kiji’s long mane. Now that he got a better look, he realized the much smaller kiji had been sitting on the other’s back, between their wings. “Who’s this?”
“Aradace!” the little red one chirped. “Lyrid is giving me a ride! Who are you?”
“I am called Demon,” Demon replied, his long, thick-furred brown tail swaying. A flurry of smoke and embers trailed in its wake.
“Spooky!” Aradace laughed. “But cool. We’re hunting the war-horse thing. Wanna join us? I’m gonna kick its ass!”
Demon blinked slowly, but then nodded. “It intruded upon my home. I cannot forgive that. You will continue to fly?”
“I will,” Lyrid answered before Aradace could interrupt again. “I hope something isn’t wrong with your wings?”
Demon shook his head. “I was giving them a rest. I have been flying for most of the week. But I can take to the sky again.”
“Well, I just so happen to have-”
“This!” Aradace announced, and produced a small, fluffy herb from somewhere within Lyrid’s mane.
Lyrid turned their head to give the little kiji a most unamused expression, and rolled their eyes. “That.” They plucked the herb from Aradace’s paw, and handed it to Demon. “Here, chew on this, it will help you recover quicker and we can then move on.”
Demon stared at the little leaves, then shrugged and took the offered plant in his maw, chewed on it, and swallowed.
“Y-you weren’t… supposed to eat it…” Lyrid stuttered.
“It will convert faster that way.” Demon flared his wings out. “Now let’s go.” He ran past Lyrid to get air under his furred, leathery wings, and then launched skyward and ascended rapidly.
Aradace clutched Lyrid’s mane as Lyrid followed suit, and quickly caught up with Demon, staying just out of wingtip-touching range. Conversation died as they resumed their hunt.
--
Finally, they caught up to their quarry. With a snarl, Demon wasted no time in diving for his unearthly foe, and slammed his full weight into the back of both horse and rider before either could turn to face him. The rider toppled from his mount, but quickly spun around with a flaming sword in hand.
The horse recovered and trotted in a circle, and then hurried to return to its rider, but Lyrid intercepted and knocked it aside a second time. Aradace hopped off and onto the horse’s back, and dug his sharp claws into its unnaturally hot flesh.
The fight began.
Demon kept the rider’s attention, attacking with fang and claw and the cinders of his own powerful tail, and took rending, smoldering gashes in his side and chest for his troubles. He backpedaled, great mane standing on end as he took a more defensive stance, and roared.
Lyrid let Aradace keep the horse busy, and turned on the rider themselves. Their wispy-furred ears were slicked back, and their eyes wide, but they were here now, and there was no turning back. While the rider was distracted with Demon, they launched themselves at his back, and teeth sank into unnatural flesh. They tore their head back, taking a literal chunk out of the rider’s shoulder, sending viscera in a trail through the air. Lyrid hopped back and spat, and a shiver rushed down their frame.
The rider howled, and then swung their wickedly curved sword at Lyrid, who only scarcely dodged. The two went back and forth, exchanging blows and swings, and Demon harried from the sidelines, soon seeing which between them were having more of an effect on the rider’s condition.
It irked him, but it was true he hadn’t had the reason to build up much strength until now. A problem he would have to rectify, once this fight was done.
The fight dragged on, with the rider barely seeming to tire despite his increasing injuries. Demon felt himself growing angrier, almost unnaturally so, but instead of being consumed by the mounting rage, allowed it to flow into him and through him. He launched himself again at the rider, and knocked him to the ground, where he sank tooth and claw into him and ripped away.
So much blood on the ground formed puddles, and the full moon of the dark, clear night shone brightly in the numerous gorey surfaces.
There was no telling when the fight would be over, at this rate.