The Dawn of the New World

Eurig walked over to Alfen and knelt down beside him. There were several open wounds on Alfen's body, especially on the back where the claw of the masked creature was still digging into his flesh so there was plenty of blood to go around.

Eurig dipped his fingers into one of the wounds and brought it back to his mouth for a taste. He closed his eyes and nodded not much different from how an experienced chef would try to dissect a dish.

The blood spread on his tongue which was covered in rows of tiny backward-facing spikes, disseminating through his mouth.

"Mhm, definitely recognize that taste. It was a little younger and overflowing with vitality but the taste is the same. That hint of birch tree bark is unmistakable."

Half of the weight of the masked demon was resting right on top of Alfen and it took every bit of strength he had not to scream out from the pain and pass out but upon hearing Eurig mention the birch tree his pupils constricted.

As if by magic all the pain dissipated in an instant, in fact, his ears start to burn up from the rush of adrenaline which gave him enough strength to even lift his head.

But Eurig was how he was struggling so he motioned for the masked demon to back off, freeing Alfen.

Alfen raised his head until his eyes locked with Eurig's.

"H-How did…you know that…?" he asked hoarsely.

There was a birch tree planted in Alfen's garden and his entire family used its bark to make tea at least once a fortnight because of the aromatic taste and flavor.

Eurig smiled from ear to ear hearing his voice.

"Ah, so it really was him. Both of your voices have that same undertone of authority, even when you have none, haha-"

Alfen punched the ground in anger, "ANSWER ME!"

"-hahaha!"

Eurig laughed even harder hearing that. He stood up and looked back towards Arnett.

"How did you find this old man? Was it really a coincidence or did you know he was?"

Arnett gritted his teeth, still thinking Eurig was playing games with him.

"Let him go!"

Eurig frowned momentarily when he saw no recognition in Arnett's gaze but that made him even happier.

"Oh my, they say there is no such thing as a coincidence but…how could this even be possible? It's just too…beautiful hahaha!"

Alfen had managed to get on his knees in the meantime although that was all he could do. Having lost so much blood he was on the verge of losing his consciousness but still forced himself to stay awake.

"Answer…me…where is he!"

Eurig looked towards the masked and the hulking demon for confirmation first.

"Is this why you didn't kill him? You felt that connection too right?"

They both nodded which confirmed his suspicions.

He glanced towards Arnett with a mischievous smile, "What a wonderful day this has been! The invaders will be taken care of soon enough now that their leader is dead but now you also give me this. You never disappoint boy, ever!"

It was obvious no one else in the room knew what he was talking about so before rejoicing in their pain he gave the background so all intended parties could partake in this displeasure.

Giving a playful wink to Arnett as if to say 'Listen carefully' he turned towards Alfen.

"My name is Eurig. You people used to call me Eurig the Viper. Now I know you must be thinking 'Eurig was an old man so how could this youngster be him' so let me explain."

"Some time ago someone came to me with an offer. If I decided to serve him he would give me another chance at life, allow me to take over the body of one of my descendants. But the ritual was quite complicated you know."

"One of the most important items needed was the blood of individuals born on the first night of winter. A total of sixty-six individuals from each of the races in our world. As you can imagine this took quite a long time to finish, especially finding out when they were born and then draining all of their blood while they were still alive but that last one was the easy part."

"And me being as famous as I am, I couldn't really be seen walking about and needed some help luring in these sacrifices."

He moved aside a little so Alfen could see Arnett clearly as he spoke to them both, "And who do you think helped me? Let me give you a hint, it was a brave little orphan boy who would deceive people and bring them to me so I could butcher them one by one."

He turned to see Arnett at this point who had a horrified look on his face which him particularly happy.

"Not too long ago he brought me one of the last sacrifices. A young demihuman boy that was too young for his armor, a juvenile youth pretending to be a city guard of Argham. Ahh, I still remember him so clearly."

"He was so confused when he woke up in the cave. Even in his last moments when he knew he was going to die all he asked was for Arnett's release. He knew he had been tricked by this child yet he never cursed him. But…I wonder, will you do the same? Look at him in the eye and tell him how you feel."

"This is the boy that killed your one and only son, th-"

*Slap*