Holy Alliance War Camp, Nightfall
They say darkness makes monsters out of men. But here, in the dim light of the war camp, it wasn't monsters we feared, it was each other.
The scout returned at dusk. Mud-stained and trembling, he dismounted before the central tent, eyes wide as if he'd seen the dead rise. Maybe he had.
"I...I saw her", he stammered, his voice cracking as he addressed the assembled commanders. "Ayaka Rin. She's... not human anymore."
General Varkos rubbed his temple. "Be specific. What did you see?"
The scout gulped. "She walked among corpses like they were friends. They moved for her. Fought for her. The demons listen to her, but not like they fear her, like they admire her. Worship her."
Murmurs spread like wildfire through the tent.
Doubt.
Fear.
Disgust.
Archbishop Lira narrowed her eyes. "Witchcraft. Demon pacts. We always knew she was dangerous."
Sir Cedric chuckled nervously, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. "And here I thought she just had a sharp tongue."
The laughter fell flat. No one laughed long these days.
Captain Elwin shifted in his seat, voice quiet but laced with tension. "She's turning their chaos into strategy. That's the real danger. The demons were scattered beasts before... now they fight like soldiers."
"She was one of us", Varkos muttered. "She knew our formations, our blind spots. She trained with us, bled with us."
"And now she leads the thing we were sworn to destroy", Lira snapped. "You should have executed her when you had the chance."
A silence fell then, heavy and sharp.
Outside, the wind howled like it knew what we didn't.
Later that night, near the campfires…
"I'm telling you, she looked at me", the scout whispered to a group of soldiers, voice barely audible over the crackling flames. "Like she knew I was there. Smiled like I was already dead."
"Creepy", one muttered, hugging his cloak tighter.
Another tried to laugh. "Come on. She's still just a girl, right? Can't be worse than the last demon general."
"She's worse", the scout said, deadpan. "Because she thinks."
Inside the war room, again…
We argued for hours.
"Rin is exploiting our hesitation", said Elwin. "She knows we won't risk innocent lives. That's why she's moving civilians behind demon lines."
"She's playing us like a bard with a harp", Lira added grimly. "One wrong note and she'll have us singing to her tune."
Then came the ridiculous idea, half-muttered by a drunk scribe, but somehow it stuck.
"What if we offered her forgiveness?" he slurred. "Bring her back to our side?"
Varkos nearly threw a mug. "Are you mad? She made her choice. We're burying comrades because of her tactics!"
But the idea, stupid as it sounded, lingered.
Because deep down, some wondered, if we could get Rin back, maybe we could win.
Even if it meant trusting a villainess.
Private quarters, Lira's journal entry that night…
"She frightens them. Not just the soldiers, but the commanders too. Ayaka Rin, once a mere strategist, now dances with monsters and writes war songs in blood. She sends back scouts alive, but shaken. She sends messages wrapped in truth and coated in poison. And the worst part? Part of me…part of me still admires her mind.
Damn her for making me doubt."
The next morning, the camp woke to more rumors.
"She turned another of our spies", a messenger whispered.
"Three towns switched allegiance overnight."
"They say she walks with a sword made of shadows."
"She's building something. A fortress? A throne?"
It didn't matter whether it was true.
Paranoia grew like a weed. Her name spread not like a curse, but a legend. One you feared, but couldn't stop thinking about.
Back in the war tent…
"We can't afford more hesitation", said Varkos. "She's playing us against ourselves."
Cedric leaned back. "Then let's outplay her. We set a trap. Feed her false intel. Draw her into a fake victory."
Elwin shook his head. "She's too smart for that. We need to think like her."
Everyone turned to him.
"…What?"
"You've studied her", Varkos said. "Do it again. And this time, think like a traitor."
Elwin paled.
"Do it", Lira said. "Or we all fall."
Far across the hills, unseen by mortal eyes…
Ayaka Rin stood in the ruins of a forgotten temple, brushing dust from an ancient seal. Around her, shadowy figures moved like puppets awaiting her command.
She smiled.
"They're starting to turn on each other."