Chapter 27.

With fluttering eyelids, the world came back to Enora, accompanied by a caustic smell and distant voices. Sitting up, she took her surroundings into her sight but did not discover anything new really : a camp, hidden inside a recess in the grey stone wall, a few meters away from the river. At the centre of the camp shone a bonfire, with the origin of the smell above it being pieces of dark red meat pierced by a bone and stone spear, in the hands of a skinny man. There was a petite woman nearby too, sitting across the man on a flat rock, eyes closed. They both looked quite good all things considered, fed and hydrated, but their expressions contrasted. They had anxious faces with frowned eyebrows.

- What's happening guys ?, asked the tall woman while approaching.

- Enora !, said Rose with a startled voice. Are you feeling better ?

- I'm fine, I think …

After saying so, she looked at her still bandaged forearm. Removing said bandages, she discovered its sorry state, as in quite horrible. It was healed, for sure, but the skin looked like it had been melted and randomly mixed, while her fingers were very thin or the other way around. It was not smooth either, with ugly bumps and pits, irregular muscles too. It completely looked like it was : ravaged. But she was healed.

- Cultivation is dangerous …, she said in a quiet voice.

- It is., confirmed Rose. But your arm is still there, and even if it's not pretty, it is functional.

- We'll find you a glove at some point., said Nick to cheer her up.

She did not care though. The aspect of her hand did not bother her nearly as much as its loss would have. She could still fight and grab stuff : it was enough for her.

- What are you cooking ?

- … Grey Devil., answered a flat tone.

Nick did not look happy at all, more like a mix of aversion and anger. The same for Rose, with the added bonus of fear. They both looked like they were about to puke their own stomachs.

- So, we really are forced to that extreme., noted the tall fighter.

She did not feel very differently. Those little monsters had inflicted so many injuries, and despair to them, so much physical and psychological pain, the idea of consuming them was … abhorrent. Animals are prey, no problem eating them, but Grey Devils ? They were enemies, and nobody should eat their enemies.

- No other choice ?, asked Enora with desperation in her voice. Really ?

- Unless you are willing to starve sweetheart, no., Nick said, crushing her hope.

- Sweetheart ?, she reacted with eyes wide open.

She was not as angry as she was astonished. It felt like the first time someone ever called her that. She could affirm that nobody ever called her anything of the sort, and there were probably reasons to that, whether it be occupation, unwillingness or voluntary distancing. She became somewhat aware of that, and it surprised her considering the situation. She found Nick's next expression very funny though, wearing a 'did I go too far' face. Whatever.

"Let's have a bite then". Truthfully, the meat seemed to have been ready for consumption for a while, only staying untouched because of its origin. Yet, somebody had to try. Starvation was not an option. Enora sat next to Rose, grabbed a piece of that well-done nightmare and positioned it in front of her mouth. Of course, she hesitated a lot ! The other's insistent looks did not help. "Fuck it !", she screamed in her mind before tearing a mouthful off. She had to do it violently, to chew hard and fast, to try and swallow it quickly, or the situation would become unsightly for the other two. It was tough, with minimal taste, and yet that little flavour was appalling, like plastic and paint wrapped in the worst bitterness ever. Before the other's eyes, Enora fought against belches, with great efforts and two tears. But finally, she did it : ingestion complete !

- Easy peasy., she said after a few seconds in a weak voice.

As they focused on feeding themselves, none of them took notice of the change in the scenery. The disgust made them deaf and blind. Enora was the first to react to the fast shadows that appeared, grabbing her spear and shield nearby just before a Grey Devil jumped in front of her. It was, however, quickly followed by two, three, five, and a lot more coming. Nick rummaged around before joining her and said :

- Shit ! These ones are the same I fought last time. Be careful, they are not weak, and they know how to use their numbers.

- Got it., she answered, focused.

But it went way out of hand when something else came out of the nearest tunnel : a two meters tall unknown being. Its long arms could be compared to those of an ape, just like the little monsters, but this was the only common feature. It had thick digitigrades legs, a large bust and those two long, thin but muscled arms. Its face sported four red glowing eyes and a great maw filled with sharp fangs, taking almost half of his face. It also had pointed small ears, no hair whatsoever and a dangerous-looking horn on its forehead. All of it covered in a grey scaled skin. Apart from that, it wore a pelt around its waist and some hard leather armour, waving a huge club-like bone in his right three-fingered hand.

After entering, the big beast immediately spotted the three humans and began his deadly march. It surely did not come for a tea-party. From that point on the Grey Devils tried as much as possible to keep Enora and her companions from fleeing. They encircled them as best as they could, lightly jabbing their spears from time to time while hiding behind their shields. Enora and Nick had managed to join Rose into a corner, protecting her while thinking of a way out.

- What do we do now ?, asked Nick in a sarcastic tone. I can probably take five for myself, but that looks pretty fucking far from enough !

- How would I know ?, angrily answered Enora while weakly stabbing. I just woke up and don't even remember where the other exits are !

- Just shut up, you two !, interrupted Rose. Look, the big guy is coming from the other side of the cave. If we follow the wall to the right for twenty meters, there will be a recess with an exit.

Two of the little monsters attacked at that moment, cutting the exchange short. Nick answered to this aggression with a powerful thrust through the first's shield, then grabbing the other one's and yanking hard on it, throwing it away. The Grey Devil was so surprised that it did not have the time to react before the man gripped its neck and crushed it like an apple. Shattering of bones echoed, and then the corpse joined the first one on the ground.

- I love magic., said he as an explanation that should suffice to the others.

Following that example, Enora tried what she had done before, hoping for better results this time. She took a few careful steps towards the shieldwall formed in front of them. "They are waiting for the big thing's help to secure an easy victory.". She was infuriated by how much more cunning her enemy had become. Using that strong feeling as fuel, she took out a large part of her fire energy from her appendix and projected it in front of her, through her left hand, pushing her shield aside in the process.

A great commotion and panic ensued, as the whole area separating the monsters from the female human caught fire, spreading towards them faster than they could react, burning their protections and the hands holding them. Rose took advantage of the momentary distraction to grab the bags and throw them to her companions one by one. Then they all ran along the wall to the nearest exit. The whole event happened in less than thirty seconds, long before the huge beast could get close to them, but still, there was no telling whether the enemy would chase them or not. And if it chose to, for how long ?