CHAPTER 37: CHAPTER 37 - THE KILLERS.

For a while, there was silence as Alenia kept her eyes locked with Kael before the dragon leaned forward, his golden eyes gleaming, his voice elegant but edged with blunt truth.

"First of all—with me here, you aren’t strong enough to do anything, Alenia. No matter how evil you think you are, without power, your fears are meaningless."

Alenia’s wings stiffened. Her deadpan stare rose despite herself. "...You really know how to make a woman feel comforted."

A low chuckle curled at Kael’s lips as he tilted his head, his voice softer now. "I’m not trying to comfort you here. I’m telling you why I never once doubted you. Because I know what kind of woman you are."

As Alenia stared at him with her lips slightly parted, Kael continued.

"You’re the one who saved children you didn’t know. The one who stood between strangers and danger when it wasn’t your fight. The one who still calls herself ’evil’ while being more human than most humans I’ve seen."

He leaned back again, his golden gaze unwavering. "That’s why I asked if that’s all you were worried about. Because that thing you worry about isn’t anything but an ability. A name. Not who you are."

Lyra nodded quickly, her red eyes glowing warmly. "Exactly. You were someone who helped me without anything in return, Alenia. If that’s evil, then... I’d like more of it, please."

Even Selene and Evethra smiled at Alenia, as if telling her that they trusted her.

Alenia’s throat closed as she saw all of their reactions. She searched their faces for doubt, for suspicion, for the shadow she had seen in so many others before. But there was none.

Only warmth.

Her chest ached, her composure splintering. "Why... Why don’t you see it?" She whispered. "Why don’t you see me for what I am?"

Kael’s smirk softened, his voice lowering into velvet finality.

"Because here, Alenia, evil isn’t what you are. Evil is only what people choose to see. And in this house, we see a kind-hearted woman who stands up for the right thing. That’s what defines you. Not your horns. Not your tail. Not your fears."

The fireflies glowed brighter, as if answering his words.

For a moment, no one spoke. Then Lyra smiled softly, Selene folded her wings with quiet ease, and Evethra placed a calm hand over Kael’s armrest as if sealing his words.

Alenia lowered her head, trembling—but for once, not from fear. Her voice cracked as it slipped past her lips. "...You’re all insane."

Kael chuckled, elegant and lazy, leaning back as if the matter were settled. "Probably. But that’s why you are with us, aren’t you?"

The hall filled with gentle laughter, easing the last of the tension.

And for the first time in years, Alenia felt what it was like not to carry her secret alone.

It was then that Kael rose from his seat, stretching. "I can feel my bed calling to me."

The others chuckled, shaking their heads, but didn’t bother stopping him, as it was pretty late.

Deciding that it was time for sleep, they all moved to their respective chambers.

The rest of the night was quiet for them.

However, that wasn’t the case for everyone else in the village.

Because while every house in the village was filled with snores and sighs of men and women who had worked the day to build walls, there was one house at the far end of the settlement still lit with yellow-orange light.

The flames burning the logs in the firepit cast long shadows across the walls, while the metallic scrape of steel on stone echoed steadily. Someone was sharpening a knife, dragging it continuously against a whetstone with unhurried precision.

Around him sat nearly twenty demihumans—hulking brutes with scarred hides, wiry assassins with restless hands, and lean predators whose eyes gleamed faintly in the firelight.

They sat in a rough circle, their gazes flicking often to the knives, the swords, and the axes stacked near the wall.

A lizard-headed man with jagged teeth finally broke the silence, his tone sneering.

"Tell me something—how the hell are they all so damn happy? Like children in a festival square, laughing and smiling. Did they forget what we are? Criminals. Every single one of us."

A bull-horned demihuman snorted, exhaling heavily through his nose. His voice rumbled like low thunder.

"Lay off them. They were never really criminals to begin with. Just a bunch of soft-hearted idiots who couldn’t stomach violence, so they ran from it. Farmers. Trappers. Traders caught in the wrong web of politics. Half of ’em were tossed here because some lord thought they were better off feeding the forest than eating his food."

A thin, fox-eared man chuckled bitterly, leaning back with his dagger dancing between his fingers.

"Not evicted, bull. Sold. You think the nobles waste effort ’evicting’ pests? No, they traded them off to humans like cattle. Get rid of problems and pocket some coin, all at once."

The group murmured, as a few spat on the ground.

Then the lizard-headed man slammed the butt of his blade into the dirt.

"Fine. But tell me this—what do we do now, eh? Sit here and play house with these happy-go-lucky bastards?"

The circle stirred. Their voices overlapped, sharp and restless.

"I don’t like it."

"Yeah. They group us with them, like we’re the same. But the moment they realize who we really are, they would cast us out."

"I already feel the urge to kill something, so I’d better not stay here."

"Man, they asked us to help them cut trees, stack logs, and make walls because we had weapons and stronger physiques. We are criminals for fuck’s sake."

A scarred bear man with a jagged ear leaned forward, growling low.

"We’re killers. Always have been. That’s what we are. This work—this... this tree-cutting—doesn’t fill the hole inside. Without blood, without fear, I can’t sleep."

A silence rippled through the group. Many didn’t nod, but none openly disagreed.

Then, from the back, a quiet voice broke the silence. A younger demihuman, slim, with soft antlers barely grown, spoke, his voice almost a whisper. "...It’s not that bad."

The fire crackled. Everyone turned to him.

He shifted uncomfortably but pressed on.

"I mean... think about it. It’s better than the slave pits. Better than chains. Better than being carted like beasts, sold like cattle. At least here, no one’s branding us. No one’s whipping us. We eat. We rest. And... above all, with that dragon here, we are safe."

The last word carried weight.

Muttered voices rose again.

"He’s not wrong."

"Yeah. That dragon—whatever he is—he’s strong."

"Probably stronger than the beasts in the forest. If we stick close to him, we don’t have to worry about being torn apart."

"We could live safely. For once."

The lizard-headed man scoffed, but even he didn’t sound entirely sure. "Safe. Hah. Since when were we safe? It’s only a matter of time before others oust us."

Silence enveloped the house again.

That was until a wolf demihuman, massive and broad-shouldered, finally shifted from his silence. His fur caught the firelight, silver streaks glinting like steel as his eyes, cold and sharp, swept across the circle.

He was Ronan, the wolfman Kael had talked to when he made houses for everyone.

Seeing Ronan stand, everyone turned to him as he spoke, his voice carrying the weight of a pack leader, steady and final.

"The best we can do is talk to the dragon—Kael. Whether he has answers or not, sitting here chewing air won’t help. He’s the only one with power in this place. If we want clarity, we’ll get it from him."

The circle quieted. Heads turned toward him. A few nodded instinctively—he was the strongest among them, after all.

But before their agreement could settle, another voice cut through, sharp and venomous.

"Oh, how noble of you."

A slim figure stepped forward from the shadows, her green eyes gleaming like poisoned emeralds.

Black hair fell around her shoulders, and in her hands, two daggers twirled with the ease of second nature. Her smile was cold and mocking.

"Of course you’d say that, Ronan. Easy for you, isn’t it? You’ve got yourself a family now." Her tone dripped disdain. "You’re already part of their merry little circle. The happy, smiling fools."

Ronan’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t speak yet.

The woman’s voice sharpened, venom coiling tighter.

"You don’t even belong here anymore. You’re no killer now—just a wolf who chose to play house. Tell me, Ronan, should we still call you one of us? Or just a tamed mutt, wagging his tail beside that whore you used to sneak off to in Veldera?"

The circle stiffened. The scraping of knives stopped.

The woman stepped closer, her blades glinting in the firelight. Her voice dropped, cutting deep.

"Wait, no. Let me change the question. What did you even see in that cheap whore, Ronan? Was she that good in bed?" The woman’s eyes narrowed to slits as she added. "If you really were one of us, then you wouldn’t mind sharing her, would—"

Before she could complete her words, Ronan moved, and with one stomp, he appeared right before her, his hands gripping her neck.

"Did this answer your question?" He growled, his fingers clenching around her neck. "Or do you want me to show you if I still have a killer in me?"

Everyone in the room tensed, but the next second, the woman in Ronan’s grip shimmered, turning into mist with a grin.

"I knew it," her voice echoed through the room, her form invisible. "You are nothing special."

Others in the room panicked, their expressions alarmed as they all looked around, failing to find the woman while she continued. "You are all useless, so I think it’s time for you all to die."

The sound of metal cutting through the air echoed the next instant as the young demihuman with soft, barely grown antlers shivered, only to see the woman standing next to him, her dagger right beside his neck.

"Let’s start with you, shall we?" She purred.

But before she could move further—

"Hah..."

—A soft sigh echoed through the house.

"And here I was thinking that things were better than I had expected."

Everyone in the room froze as the voice rolled, their bodies stiffening from tension because they, who had killed people before, were pretty familiar with killing intent, and right now, they could feel the killing intent of an apex predator.

Slowly, some of them who could turn their heads glanced at the source of the voice, only to see Kael sitting relaxedly among them as if he were a part of the group.

None of them had noticed when he came or what he had been doing until now.

But right now, all of them knew that someone was going to die.