The dirt path wound like a snake through the forest, thick with vines and golden mist. Strange birds called from the canopy, their notes echoing like forgotten languages. Axel walked steadily, the light crunch of his boots the only sound.
His helmet was down. He liked the feel of the air on his face.
Behind him, Kyra dragged her feet with dramatic effort, arms flopping at her sides.
"Uggghhh," she groaned. "My feet are gonna fall off. They're gonna fall off and you'll have to carry two stumps and a crying goblin."
Axel didn't stop. "You have feet tougher than most soldiers."
"They still hurt!"
He stopped.
Turned.
Knelt down.
Kyra blinked, then grinned ear to ear and scampered up onto his back, legs wrapping around his shoulders.
"Yesss!" she sang, victorious. "Best. Human. Ever."
"Hang on," he said simply, standing with her perched on top.
She made herself comfortable, hands tangled in his hair.
"Hey, Axel?"
"Yeah?"
"...Why do you whimper in your sleep?"
He stiffened just slightly.
She waited. No teasing this time. Just a small voice above his head.
He walked for a while before answering.
"I was taken from my family," he said. "Ripped away. I was your age."
Kyra went quiet.
"They trained us. Broke us. Experimented on us. Cut into us. Injected things that burned like fire in the blood. Tried to make us 'perfect', faster, stronger, smarter. They wanted weapons. Not people."
He looked ahead, jaw tight.
"I became an Exterminator. Or like you said... a demon. I guess it fits. They take everything from you until there's nothing left that's human."
There was silence.
Then small arms wrapped around his head from above.
He felt her chin rest gently on his scalp.
"You still have your humanity," she said.
Axel smiled.
"I can't see."
Kyra giggled. "You'll live, Demon."
The forest cleared by late afternoon, opening into a jagged plateau chiseled with towers, bridges, and massive tents held together with iron spikes. Fire pits burned across stone platforms. Trolls roared and bellowed, laughing over bone piles and tossing barrels like dice.
Fistfights broke out in alleys.
One troll breathed fire onto another's coat just to start a brawl.
No one cared about Axel's arrival.
He didn't mind.
His helmet slid back into place, locking in with a hydraulic hiss.
Kyra, now back on her feet, walked beside him, wide-eyed. "Are all troll towns like this?"
"Most."
They passed a group of trolls fighting over who could chug magma the fastest.
Axel approached a heavy stone building with a wooden sign swinging above it: "BRAWL & BONE – FOOD, FIGHTS, ROOMS."
Inside, it smelled like sweat, grease, and old fire. A long counter made from a fallen tree spanned the far wall, and behind it stood a massive troll with gray skin, cracked tusks, and a necklace made of jawbones.
Axel walked to the counter. "Looking for food. And a place to stay."
The troll glanced at him, then down at Kyra.
He held out a wide, open palm.
"Coin."
Axel shook his head. "None."
The troll grinned, revealing a row of jagged teeth. "Then fight."
"Winner gets a full meal and a room?"
The troll cracked his knuckles. "You beat me, I throw in dessert."
Axel nodded. He knew this game.
Trolls. Proud. Brutal. Obsessed with dominance and proving themselves. They the only race that isn't under the humans control, that's why their city is just ruins. And if a exterminator sees a Troll they should kill it with no hesitation.
He walked outside.
A ring was already forming.
Trolls climbed onto crates and barrels. Some took bets. Others just screamed.
The big troll lumbered out, cracking his neck.
He activated his shoulder armor with a deep clang. "You gonna use that demon suit of yours?"
Axel looked at Kyra.
Then down at his arm.
"Black Wolf. Enter sleep mode."
The armor hissed, unlocking and collapsing back into the gauntlet. His body relaxed instantly without the exo-assist. He turned to Kyra, knelt, and gently took her wrist.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
He clipped the gauntlet onto her forearm.
"Black Wolf. Attach."
The metal pulsed and clicked.
Kyra's eyes went huge.
"Wait... REALLY!?"
"You think that's cool?" Axel smirked. "Watch this."
"Black Wolf. Exit sleep mode."
The gauntlet flared to life.
In seconds, black liquid metal surged across Kyra's body, wrapping her in sleek armor scaled to her tiny frame. Red lines pulsed like veins, the helm clicking into place with a miniaturized growl.
Kyra looked down at herself, stunned.
Then threw her hands up dramatically.
"I am the Demon! MWAHAHAHAHA!!"
The trolls roared with laughter. Some cheered. Others pounded the ground.
Axel smiled faintly, then cracked his knuckles and turned back toward the fight.
The big troll snorted, impressed.
"You've got pride. I respect that."
Axel stepped into the ring.
"Let's dance."
The ring pulsed with noise.
A hundred troll voices howled, fists pounding dirt and steel. Kyra stood near the edge, still armored, tiny hands on her hips like a proud warlord.
Axel squared up.
The troll, bare-chested, tusked, towering, stomped once, cracking the ground beneath his feet.
Then he charged.
Axel moved like water.
A pivot. A slide step. Then a jab-jab-hook, fists snapping forward with brutal precision. His knuckles slammed against ribs and stomach, but the troll barely flinched, grunted, maybe but kept swinging.
A wild haymaker roared past Axel's face like a freight train.
He ducked under it, spun, and snapped a low kick to the back of the troll's knee.
Another step back.
Another jab, feint, roundhouse kick to the ribs.
THWACK.
The impact echoed across the square.
The troll growled, eyes flaring with excitement. "You sting, little man."
He swung again. Wild. Powerful. Like a hammer attached to a tornado.
Axel ducked and slipped under the blow, his feet moving with sharp, trained rhythm.
Side kick. Low kick. Jab. Jab. Hook. Elbow...
CRACK.
The troll's tusk chipped. Blood sprayed.
But the beast didn't stumble.
He smiled.
And then Axel slipped.
Just for a second. Just one inch too far in.
The troll's massive fist caught him from the blind side.
BOOM.
Axel's world exploded.
He flew backward through the air like a ragdoll and crashed into a wooden crate, splinters flying in every direction. His body went limp.
The crowd roared with laughter and cheers.
Kyra gasped, tiny armored hands to her mouth.
Axel didn't move.
Darkness swallowed him.
He awoke to the smell of roasted meat and spice.
His eyes fluttered open.
A wooden beam above him. A flickering torch in the corner. And a table in front of him piled high with food, thick slabs of grilled beast, fried roots, glowing fruit, mugs of fizzing drink.
Kyra sat beside him, helmet still on, legs dangling off the bench.
"Did... did I win?" Axel croaked.
Kyra shook her head. "Nope."
She gave a muffled snort. "You flew. Like, whoosh-BAM."
A deep, rumbling laugh filled the room.
The troll stepped in, still shirtless, still grinning, one eye blackened, a bandage on his cracked tusk.
"I'm Brakar," he said. "Chief of this miserable pile of stone."
Axel sat up slowly, rubbing the back of his head. "Axel."
Brakar nodded. "You fight with pride. Precision. Honor. Never met a demon so kind to monsters before. Or so willing to bleed without whining."
He gestured to the table. "Food's on me. And the room."
Kyra raised her armored hand. "I can't eat in this!"
Brakar chuckled and walked off, shaking his head.
Axel looked at her. "Black Wolf. Sleep mode."
The suit hissed, retracting back into the gauntlet with a mechanical hum.
Kyra exhaled with dramatic relief, flopping forward onto the table. "Ughhh, finally!"
Axel reclaimed the gauntlet and attached it back to his own arm. He looked at the food.
His stomach growled.
They both dug in.
Kyra grabbed a glowing fruit and smeared purple juice all over her face. "This place is awesome."
Axel just chewed in silence, eyes scanning the torchlight.
For once, he didn't feel like a soldier.
Later that night, they entered a room upstairs. Simple. One stone window. One wooden bed.
His armor was in rest mode, folded back into standby.
He glanced at the bed. "There's only one."
Kyra jumped onto it, bouncing once. "Good. I like it that way."
She curled up on one side, pulling the blanket up to her nose. Her green skin gleamed faintly in the moonlight.
Axel sat at the edge, staring out the window a moment.
For now, the world outside was quiet.
He lay back slowly.
Kyra scooted closer, resting her head on his shoulder.
"You're not a demon," she whispered.
Axel closed his eyes.
Not tonight.