The landscape had changed over the past few minutes.
Emrys was moving through a dense forest, following a direction that seemed completely unremarkable at first. There was no village nearby, nor any road important enough to justify his presence in this region. Yet something had caught his attention.
He could sense several magical presences approaching him.
There were many of them, and they were moving quickly.
Emrys stopped in the middle of the path and activated his Observation Haki. Through it, he sensed around a dozen demons moving ahead of him.
And they were being pursued.
The pursuers were more numerous, but what truly caught Emrys' attention wasn't their number.
It was their emotions.
Fear dominated among those who were fleeing.
But it wasn't just fear. There was also shame, anger, confusion, and a strange determination.
Emrys frowned slightly.
"Those aren't the usual emotions demons have."
Something was wrong.
A cry suddenly echoed in the distance.
"We didn't desert!"
The voice was getting closer.
"We just don't want to keep going like this!"
Emrys didn't need to hear anything more.
The pursuers would soon catch up with them.
He moved.
His body disappeared from the path before reappearing farther ahead, and then he did it again. With each use of Blink, he crossed a short distance, rapidly closing the gap between himself and the group.
A few seconds later, he caught sight of the first group of demons.
There were eleven of them.
Their appearances differed from one another, but all of them bore signs of a recent confrontation. Some were limping slightly, while others were struggling to hold onto their weapons. Several kept glancing behind them.
They were in no condition to fight.
Yet they continued running.
Emrys slowed down when he got close enough to be noticed.
One of the demons suddenly turned his head.
His eyes widened when he saw a human appear in front of them.
"A human!"
The others reacted immediately.
Some grabbed their weapons despite their exhaustion, while others instinctively stepped back.
They all had fairly humanoid appearances. It was the first time Emrys had ever seen demons like this with his own eyes. He had already heard about them, but he had never encountered them personally.
He used Structural graps on them and realized that, aside from their multiple hearts, there weren't many anatomical differences between them and humans.
Emrys simply raised one hand.
"I'm not your enemy."
They didn't regenerate. They had to be almost out of magical energy.
The demons hesitated.
However, they didn't have time to answer, because a growl suddenly echoed behind them.
The pursuers had arrived, and there were far more of them.
Emrys slowly turned his head.
He watched the group emerge from the trees.
"Human," one of them said with contempt.
Emrys remained still.
His gaze passed over each of them before he sighed.
"I don't have time for this shit."
He raised his hand.
The air around him began to vibrate.
Dozens of yellow spears appeared within a silver glow.
The pursuers stopped in their tracks.
Emrys didn't wait.
The Gáe Buide appeared above him in a single formation, their points aimed toward the opposing group.
Then they were launched.
"Fire."
The movement was so fast that several demons didn't even have time to react.
The spears crossed the battlefield and struck the pursuers one after another, pinning them to the ground or sending them flying away. Those who attempted to dodge were caught by a second wave.
Within moments, the fight was over.
Silence returned to the forest.
Emrys looked at the neutralized opponents before turning toward the eleven demons.
None of them spoke.
They stared at him with an expression that was difficult to define.
Emrys knew that expression.
It was the look of someone who had just witnessed something they were completely incapable of understanding.
"You can stop staring at me like that."
Nobody answered.
One of the demons finally lowered his weapon.
"Why..."
He seemed to search for the right words.
"Why did you help us?"
Emrys shrugged slightly.
"Because I felt like it."
The answer was almost too simple.
The demon remained silent.
Emrys then looked toward the group behind him.
"And because you said something interesting."
"What?"
"You said you hadn't deserted."
His gaze became more serious.
"So explain to me why you're being pursued."
The demons exchanged glances.
Nobody seemed willing to speak.
Emrys didn't pressure them.
He had learned over the years that someone who felt cornered rarely wanted to tell the whole truth. It was better to give them time to decide whether they wanted to speak.
Eventually, an older demon stepped forward.
"We were part of a unit sent to a city where some of Stigma's strongest humans live."
Emrys said nothing.
"Our orders were simple. We were supposed to eliminate everyone living there."
Emrys sensed something change in their emotions.
The fear was still there, but it was accompanied by a deep exhaustion.
"We refused."
"Why?"
This time, another demon answered.
"Because we're tired."
He lowered his eyes.
"It's been decades, perhaps centuries, since we've done anything but fight..."
He clenched his fist.
"At first, it was against the goddesses. Now it's against every major clan. Centuries of killing, exterminating, and watching our comrades die. And for what?"
The older demon took over.
"For a war whose meaning we don't even understand anymore. So we decided to run."
"And your superiors considered you deserters."
"Yes."
Emrys looked at each of them.
He couldn't perceive any obvious lies.
But he still didn't trust them.
After all, they were demons.
He couldn't simply forget what he knew about their race because a dozen of them claimed to have refused an order.
"How many of you are there?"
"There are around fifty of us, but we split up from the weaker ones to throw them off our trail."
"Why would they pursue you specifically?"
The demon hesitated.
"Because the eleven of us worked with the human fighters to allow the civilians to escape."
This time, Emrys understood.
Not only had they refused an order, but they had also prevented its execution.
He looked behind him.
The pursuers were still pinned to the ground by the Gáe Buide, unable to heal themselves, but none of them were dead. Emrys had made sure not to strike any vital points because he didn't know what the situation was.
Now that he knew her, he no longer needed to be so careful.
The Gáe buidh began to whirl and they tore the group of pursuers to shreds.
He then turned his attention back to the eleven demons who became even more on their guard.
Damn, what a stupid mistake. I should have waited before doing that, thought Emrys, realizing his foolishness.
"So you left your group after opposing the order."
"Yes."
"And now you're looking for somewhere to go."
Nobody answered immediately.
Their silence gave him the answer.
Emrys sighed.
He knew this situation.
For several months, he had been traveling the world in search of populations he could save and bring into UBW. He had encountered humans fleeing wars, families who had lost their homes, and entire communities that no longer had anywhere to go.
But this time was different.
They weren't humans.
They were demons.
And unlike the villages he had saved until now, he couldn't simply bring them inside UBW without thinking about the consequences.
Emrys couldn't take the risk of bringing eleven demons into their territory without considering what it might cause.
He eventually sat down on a rock.
"I have a question."
The demons waited.
"If I give you somewhere to live, what will you do?"
The older demon frowned.
"I don't understand."
"Just answer."
He thought for a moment.
"We'll work."
"For whom?"
"For whoever gives us a safe place to live."
Emrys shook his head.
"That's not what I'm asking."
He stared at them.
"I want to know what you actually want to do."
This time, the silence lasted longer.
One of the demons finally answered.
"Live."
Emrys looked at him.
"Nothing more?"
"Nothing more."
He lowered his gaze toward his hands.
"We're tired of this war."
The others slowly nodded.
"We don't want to fight anymore."
"We don't want to take orders anymore."
"We simply want to live somewhere without having to look over our shoulders."
Emrys remained thoughtful.
He could sense their emotions.
The fear was real.
So was their desire to live.
However, he couldn't afford to make a decision based solely on what he felt.
He wasn't yet at a level where he could read their thoughts with Haki.
A person could be afraid and still lie.
So he needed to ask the right questions.
"You've killed humans before?"
Several demons lowered their eyes.
"Yes."
The answer was immediate.
Emrys showed no surprise.
"How many?"
"We don't know anymore."
Emrys remained silent.
That made sense. After killing so many, you eventually stopped counting. Especially considering they had been fighting long before the beginning of the Holy War.
The demon raised his eyes again.
"We're not going to pretend we're innocent."
That statement caught Emrys' interest.
"Then why do you think you deserve my help?"
"We don't."
Emrys raised an eyebrow.
"Did we ask you to help us?"
"No."
"We aren't asking you to forgive us."
The demon paused.
"We only want the chance to live differently."
Emrys didn't answer.
He looked at the sky through the branches.
He had met many people since he began traveling the world.
Some were innocent.
Others weren't.
But he had always tried to give them a chance to start over.
He didn't yet know whether the eleven demons deserved one.
What he did know was this.
If he abandoned them here, they probably had no future.
They would either be pursued until they died or forced to return to those they had betrayed.
Emrys finally stood.
"I have a place where you could live."
All eleven demons raised their heads.
The older demon looked at him suspiciously.
"Why are you telling us that?"
"Because I prefer being honest."
Emrys paused briefly.
"I created a refuge."
He gave them no further details.
There was no reason for him to reveal the existence of Unlimited Blade Works to strangers.
"Humans live there."
The demons stiffened.
"But they won't attack you."
One of them gave a nervous laugh.
"You really think you can guarantee that?"
"Yes."
His answer was calm.
"Because I'll tell them not to."
"And if they refuse?"
"Then I'll deal with the problem."
Emrys didn't explain how.
He didn't need to.
"But there's one condition."
The demons waited.
"You won't be soldiers."
The older demon frowned.
"You won't work for me. You won't fight anyone for me. I won't ask you to take part in any war."
He watched them carefully.
"If you come, you'll come as inhabitants."
One of the demons seemed unable to believe what he was hearing.
"You would really accept demons among humans?"
"I didn't say it would be easy."
Emrys looked toward the path.
"Most of them will be afraid of you. They'll probably hate you, and some may even refuse to come near you."
He turned his attention back to them.
"And I won't ask them to pretend everything is fine."
The demons remained silent.
"But I also won't let you be treated like monsters simply because you're demons."
Emrys paused.
"If you decide to come, I'll protect you."
This time, the silence was different.
There was no longer fear.
Only hesitation.
Emrys understood why.
They had spent their lives belonging to something. An army, a group, a cause. Even when they had refused their orders, they had continued moving according to a logic imposed by the war.
Now, he was offering them something they had probably never had before.
A choice.
"You don't have to answer now."
Emrys turned away.
"I'll come back."
The older demon looked at him in surprise.
"You'll come back?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Emrys thought for a moment before answering.
"Because I gave you an invitation."
He began walking away.
"And because an invitation has no value if the person who gave it isn't willing to wait for an answer."
He walked a few meters before stopping.
"You have until I return to decide."
The older demon clenched his fists.
"Can we bring the ones we left behind?"
"If they're sincere, yes."
"And if we refuse?"
Emrys slightly turned his head.
"Then I'll leave."
"You won't force us?"
"No."
"I didn't build a refuge to imprison people," Emrys said before dematerializing.
The eleven demons watched him disappear between the trees.
None of them moved.
For several seconds, nobody said a word.
Then one of them finally asked:
"Do you think he was telling the truth?"
The oldest one stared at the place where Emrys had disappeared.
"I don't know."
"He could have killed us."
"Yes."
"And yet..."
He looked at the neutralized pursuers.
"He didn't."
Another demon sat down against a tree.
"I can't understand that human."
The leader of the group gave a tired smile.
"Neither can I."
They remained there for a while.
For the first time in several days, nobody was chasing them.
But that wasn't what occupied their thoughts.
They were all thinking about the invitation.
A refuge filled with humans.
A place where they could live without fighting.
A place where nobody would ask them to become soldiers.
The idea seemed almost unreal.
For some, it was even unsettling.
They had spent too long living through war to believe that a different existence could truly be offered to them.
And yet, the man they had just met had given them that possibility without asking for anything in return.
And that was precisely what made them suspicious.