I dropped the fox to the ground with a grunt. The first one, her mate, was already restrained nearby, barely conscious and staring groggily at the second with wide eyes.
"Wait… mate?" The male fox croaked, blinking rapidly.
The vixen stirred and sat up slowly, then immediately rushed to her partner's side. Her hands roamed over him, checking for injuries, and her glare landed on me with barely contained fury.
I watched them quietly, brushing ash from my shoulder. "Still a bit surprised you two can talk," I muttered. "And even more surprised, I can understand you."
The vixen snapped her head toward me. "What do you mean by that, demon? Why can you understand us?"
I gave her a lazy shrug. "Perks of being complicated."
'Guess the translator is working like I thought it would.'
All around us, soldiers were watching the exchange like they were witnessing something from a different reality.
"Now then," I said, stepping closer. "Are you two going to tell me what is happening in that forest? Or will I need to start uncovering the secrets you're keeping?
Before they could respond, Zelda approached again, arms crossed.
"Before you start interrogating the prisoners, General Ren—"
I shot her a look.
She smirked faintly. "Princess Ren, then. Fine. But you're covered in blood, dragging captives like hunting trophies. I'd like a proper report."
I nodded. "You'll get it soon. For now, the situation's under control. The stronghold holds. We bagged both foxes alive. Thought it was worth a chat."
"Fair," she said, expression softening. "Take them inside. I'll handle containment protocols for when you're done."
Without another word, I grabbed both foxes by the tails, earning twin growls, and teleported us to a secure courtyard within the Kriti base's inner perimeter.
We landed just outside the command compound, and the male fox immediately slumped to the ground, groaning. "Could you please stop doing that?"
His mate crouched beside him again, clearly more worried about him than the whole being-captured situation.
"Wow," I muttered. "You two seriously don't care that you've been caught?"
The vixen looked up at me, eyes burning. "My mate is all that matters to me."
Her voice was calm, but it had that dangerous weight I recognized—like a blade being unsheathed.
"Alright then," I said, dropping into a crouch across from them. "Let's get to it. Who's in charge? Who's leading these monster raids?"
"Don't know," the male muttered.
I stood slowly, letting my hand drift toward my blade.
"Wait, wait!" he said quickly, panic flickering in his voice. "We're not lying, we just don't know who took over after the last one died. But we've met the general. His name is Khan. He's the one who started all this."
I tilted my head. "Khan, huh?"
The name didn't mean much to me yet, but I could feel its weight in the air.
"Alright," I said. "Tell me everything. And maybe I'll keep the others from killing you."
The two foxes exchanged a long, tense glance. The male gave in first. "Mate… just tell her."
The vixen nuzzled her tongue. "Fine," she growled. "Only because he asked."
I couldn't help smirking. Huh. So she wears the pants in this relationship.
"Heh," I muttered aloud, arms folding. "You two are unexpectedly entertaining."
The male leaned back against a wall, breathing heavily, while the female remained crouched. Her eyes were sharp, calculating.
I crouched too. "Let's talk about hierarchy. I know you're scouts. So, who do you report to? Where does this 'Khan' sit on the food chain?"
She scowled. "It's not that simple. The forest doesn't run like your armies. It's chaos. Directed chaos."
"Try me."
"There are four main types among us 'Pillars'. Each commands a section of the wilds. Khan is the youngest. He took over after the elders died during your last purge. He leads the remnants now. Not with wisdom, just fear."
"The others?"
The male coughed. "We don't know all their names. One commands the giants, one the swarms —rats, insects, things that crawl. And the last is the Sky Queen, we call her the Howler. Harpies, bats, winged nightmares. No one speaks her true name."
"And above them?" I asked.
Their expressions darkened.
"A name whispered," the vixen said quietly. "'The Dreamer'. Something old. Not a monster. Not exactly. Just… asleep."
I narrowed my eyes. "And Khan wants to wake it?"
The male nodded. "He believes it'll burn the world clean. That it'll give him power to reshape everything."
"Charming," I muttered. "And he's organizing the clans for this?"
"Yes," the vixen said. "Tribes, swarms, ogres—anyone who'll listen. He promises revenge."
"And you two?"
"We were scouts. Messengers. Assassins, when ordered," she said flatly. "But we didn't sign up to burn the world."
"Until today," her mate added softly.
There was a long silence. Wind rustled the trees outside the courtyard.
"You know this won't buy your freedom," I said. "But it'll buy time. And if you keep talking, maybe you'll live long enough to see what happens next."
The female's eyes narrowed. "Just protect him. That's all I care about."
"I protect what's useful," I replied. "And right now? You both are very useful."
I gestured to the watching guards. "Escort them to high-tier containment. Magic wards. Nothing they can chew through."
"Yes, Commander!" One of them barked, eyes wide as he stepped forward.
As the foxes were led away, the vixen looked back at me one last time. The vixen showed no trust, but she also didn't snarl.
I stood in the courtyard, arms crossed, mind racing.
Four pillars. A Dreamer. A mad creature is attempting to awaken a so-called god.
Well.
This just got fascinating.
[Three Hours Later — Military Base, General Briefing Room]
I stood at the front of the briefing hall, hands resting on the edge of the central command table. Holographic maps of Africa flickered behind me, glowing red where the strongholds had taken hits. Senior officers, both human and demon, crowded the room, and the tension was palpable.
'I expected pushback, sure... but aren't they being a bit too hostile?' I thought, watching the crowd's reactions.
"I'll repeat it one more time," I said calmly. "The monsters we're fighting, some of the stronger ones, are evolving. They're not becoming demons. But they are gaining humanoid forms. That's why they look like us."
A human colonel stood abruptly, eyes wide. "What the hell are you saying?! Are you suggesting that there are demons in Africa as well?
I resisted the urge to groan. "No. I'm saying the monsters, some of them, develop bodies that resemble ours. That doesn't make them demons."
"So you're admitting there's a rebel demon faction hiding down there?" Another officer barked.
"Seriously?" I raised an eyebrow. "If that were true, don't you think we'd know? Still, good thought. I'll contact General White and see if anything strange has come up in his internal scans."
"You didn't even let us interrogate the foxes!" Someone else snapped. "You protect them, won't execute them, and now you're telling us there might be monsters walking around looking like us?!"
I tilted my head. "Are you listening at all? Yes, they can take on humanoid forms, but they still look like monsters. Tails, fur, glowing eyes, claws. They might mimic us superficially, but no one's going to confuse them for anything but what they are."
An uncomfortable silence spread across the room.
"Moving on," I said flatly. "From the foxes, we learned they have three major camps: one near Stronghold 1, one near Stronghold 4, and the third, oddly, here in central North Africa."
Murmurs rippled through the room.
"Why would they be out there?" someone asked. "It's just a barren desert."
"They're flanking us," said a voice from the side. I turned to see a human captain with crossed arms. "This is obvious. They've placed camps in a triangle formation around our strongholds. That's a siege pattern."
"Watch your tone, Captain Davidson," one of the human generals snapped.
"No, he's right," I cut in, nodding. "Let's say we didn't get this intel from the foxes. Right now, Stronghold 1 has lost over half its defensive forces. Stronghold 4's down by a third. If we do the logical thing and reinforce them using troops from the central base…"
"Then we're weakening our strongest position," Zelda finished, arms folded at my side. "And this base is our primary command center. It controls communications, logistics, long-range scanning…"
"And the place where most of your fat asses sit around giving orders," I added dryly.
That earned a few choked coughs and nervous snickers.
"Jokes aside," I continued, "they're baiting us. Force redistribution weakens our core. They're not just raiding anymore. They're organizing. They're thinking like generals."
"So what's the plan?" someone muttered. "We can't afford to let them keep this up."
"That's why I brought back those foxes. They're scouts from the enemy's core faction, led by someone named Khan. He's one of the four 'Pillars' running this operation. And he's trying to wake something bigger. Something they call The Dreamer."
A chill ran through the room at the name. Even the hard-faced demon officers looked unsettled.
"And if he succeeds," I said, my voice low, "none of this will matter. Because we won't be fighting a war anymore."
Zelda glanced at me, then addressed the room. "We'll revise the deployment map and create a flexible defense formation. For now, no further troop movements until tomorrow's recon reports come in."
"And the foxes?" a general asked.
"They're in containment," I said. "They're mine. If they do something, I'll deal with it personally. From this moment on, they are part of my people, you cross them, you cross me."
'I mean, they never had any loyalties to begin with. They only cared about each other.' I thought about remembering when I told them they were going to become my property.
The room stayed quiet. Nobody wanted to be the one to argue with me. Not after what they'd seen today.
I looked over the war table, the maps, and the red warnings flaring along the African coast.
Three camps. Four Pillars. One Dreamer.
We had limited time.
And the monsters were already making their move.