The silence that followed Kharzoth's dissipation was not rely an absence of sound, but a kind of charged void, as if the world itself were still trying to readjust after being forced to endure sothing that didn't entirely belong to it, while the residual heat of the white flas still slightly distorted the air above the devastated crater.
Strax remained motionless for a few seconds, his eyes still fixed on the exact spot where the demon had ceased to exist, as if confirming, not out of necessity, but out of habit, that it was truly over, that no fragnt remained capable of recomposing itself or escaping to so lower plane.
Then he exhaled.
A long, heavy sigh, not of physical exhaustion, but of sothing more subtle, like soone who had just dealt with a particularly persistent and, at the sa ti, slightly irritating inconvenience.
The energy around him began to recede.
Not disappearing completely, but retreating back into him, like a tide slowly receding after reaching its peak, causing the suffocating pressure that dominated the area to gradually decrease to levels more bearable for the surrounding environnt.
Its horns didn't disappear imdiately.
But its presence… softened.
It was still overwhelming.
But now… controlled.
Strax then turned his face.
Slowly.
His gaze t the small silver creature, which was already there, close enough to have observed everything, its eyes shining with a different intensity, more stable, more aware than before, as if every second of that confrontation had been absorbed, analyzed… learned.
He stared at it for a few monts in silence.
The creature tilted its head slightly.
Mimicking.
Always mimicking.
And then, without any hurry, she took a small step forward, drawing even closer to him, as if that proximity were now sothing natural, expected, inevitable.
Strax observed her.
And then he spoke.
"You're quite troubleso, you know?"
His voice ca out in a neutral, almost casual tone, but it carried a slight trace of sothing that could be interpreted as irony or even a very specific form of observation.
The creature blinked.
Once.
Twice.
And then tilted its head to the other side.
Without denying.
Without confirming.
But clearly… understanding that it was directed at her.
Strax narrowed his eyes slightly for a second, as if assessing that reaction, or the absence of a more direct response, before simply letting out a small sigh through his nose.
"You appear out of nowhere, attract an army of hellhounds, are pursued by a high-level demon, and still manage to forge so kind of strange bond with …"
He paused briefly, crossing his arms as he continued to stare at her.
"…yes, troubleso seems like a fair description."
The creature remained silent.
But sothing about her changed.
Very subtly.
Her eyes softened.
And, for a mont, she took a small step to the side, lightly brushing against his leg, as if that proximity were a sufficient answer, or perhaps the only one she was capable of offering at that mont.
Strax didn't back away.
But he didn't react imdiately either.
He just watched.
Processing.
Then he looked away.
Albedo was still standing a little further back, her arms crossed, but her expression no longer completely concealed the impact of what she had witnessed, her eyes still carrying remnants of the tension accumulated during the fight, although now they were entirely focused on Strax.
Shura was beside her, in a more relaxed posture than before, but still alert, like a predator that doesn't completely lower its guard, even after the threat disappears, its eyes alternating between Strax and the creature with heightened attention.
Strax stared at them for a mont.
Then he spoke directly.
"We're taking this with us."
It wasn't a suggestion.
Nor a question.
It was a decision.
Albedo raised an eyebrow slightly, uncrossing her arms as she took a small step forward, her gaze shifting from the creature to Strax, analyzing not only the situation but also the tone he had used.
"You decided this even before the fight was over, didn't you?"
Strax didn't answer imdiately.
But the slight movent of his eyes was enough.
Albedo let out a small sigh.
"She attracts high-level demons, Strax," she continued, her voice firr now, though not confrontational, but clearly cautious. "You saw what that—Kharzoth—said. This isn't sothing simple."
Shura spoke imdiately afterward, in a more direct tone.
"If others like him co, that'll beco a problem."
Strax tilted his head slightly.
"It's already a problem."
Silence.
He then continued, with the sa calm as before.
"And problems don't disappear just because you decide to ignore them."
The small creature remained beside him, quiet but attentive, its eyes alternating between the three, as if absorbing every word, every reaction, every nuance of that conversation.
Albedo observed this.
And realized.
"…she's listening to everything," she murmured, more to herself than to the others.
Strax replied without looking at her.
"She always has been."
This caused a brief silence to fall between them again, but this ti it wasn't tense, just… full of understanding.
Shura let out a small snort, looking away for a mont before looking back at Strax.
"So what's the plan?"
Strax uncrossed his arms.
He looked around.
The forest was destroyed.
The ground was scarred.
The air was still heavy.
A trail impossible to ignore.
"Staying here isn't an option," he said simply.
He then turned his gaze to the two of them.
"It's ti to go ho."
The words were spoken without dramatization.
But they carried a clear weight.
Decision made.
Direction set.
Albedo kept his gaze on him for a few seconds, as if evaluating not only the choice, but also what it implied from that point on, before finally nodding slightly.
"Then let's go."
Shura said nothing.
But his body relaxed a little more, accepting the decision without resistance.
Strax then took a step forward.
The small creature imdiately followed him.
Without hesitation.
Without needing a command. As if he already knew.
As if… he was already where he should be.
And, as the group began to leave behind that open scar in the forest, the silence that accompanied them was no longer the sa as before.
It wasn't empty.
It was… laden with sothing new.
Sothing that didn't yet have a defined form.
But which, clearly—
was only beginning.
The return wasn't accompanied by grandiose portals or explosions of energy that tore through the sky, but by sothing much more subtle and yet profoundly perceptible to anyone attentive to Strax's presence, for space itself seed to yield for an instant before stabilizing again in the courtyard of Asgard.
The air changed.
Not violently, but enough to interrupt the natural flow of the environnt, as if sothing external had been inserted there without permission, bringing with it remnants of heat, invisible ashes, and a pressure that didn't belong to that place.
Strax simply… appeared.
Effortlessly.
No announcent.
Standing in the center of the training yard, as if he had never left.
The creature was in his arms.
Unlike before.
Now not walking beside him, but nestled against his torso, too small to offer any resistance, yet strangely comfortable in that position, as if it were… natural.
Her eyes remained open.
Always alert.
Always observing.
And yet, there was a stillness about her that hadn't existed before, as if the proximity to Strax had stabilized sothing internal that had previously been in constant adaptation.
On the other side of the courtyard, the sound of impact ceased.
Agnes stopped mid-movent.
Her body was still slightly leaning forward, one fist extended after a strike against a partially destroyed training target, while her breathing was controlled but heavy with the rhythm of soone who had been exerting themselves for so ti.
She felt it before she saw it.
The change in the air.
The presence.
And then she turned her face.
Her eyes t Strax's imdiately.
And then…
The creature.
The silence lasted exactly the ti needed for her brain to process what she was seeing, and then her expression changed from concentration to sothing much more direct, more raw, without any filter or attempt to soften the reaction.
"What the hell is that?"
The question ca out without hesitation, laden with genuine bewildernt, as she straightened her body completely, wiping the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand, but without taking her eyes off what Strax was carrying.
The creature looked at her.
Imdiately.
Its head tilted slightly.
Observing.
Analyzing.
As it did with everything.
Strax followed her gaze for a mont, as if rely confirming the obvious, before shrugging slightly, without any trace of urgency or concern for the situation.
"I haven't nad it yet."
The answer ca simply.
Directly.
As if that explained everything.
Agnes was silent for a second.
Then she blinked.
Once.
Twice.
And then she frowned, taking a few steps toward them, her eyes alternating between Strax's face and the small creature, clearly trying to understand if this was so kind of joke, a provocation… or just another of the usual absurdities that ca with him.
"I didn't ask the na," she retorted, crossing her arms as she stopped a few feet away, tilting her head slightly to get a better look. "I asked what the hell it is."
The creature blinked again.
And, as always—
It tilted its head back.
Mimicking.
Agnes narrowed her eyes imdiately upon realizing this.
"…she just copied ?"
Strax glanced briefly at the creature.
Then at Agnes.
"Yes."
No further explanation.
No context.
Just confirmation.
Agnes let out a small, dry laugh, more out of disbelief than genuine humor, running a hand through her hair as she took another step forward, now clearly interested, though still suspicious.
"Of course," she murmured, shaking her head slightly. "Because bringing a strange thing ho wasn't enough, it even copies people."
The creature continued watching.
Attentive.
Its eyes were now focused on Agnes with the sa kind of curiosity it showed with everything, but there was sothing else there too—a greater speed in how it reacted, as if it were already adjusting its behavior in real ti.
Agnes noticed this.
And that only made her expression sharper.
"…I don't like it."
Strax let out a small sigh through his nose, as if that kind of reaction was not only expected, but also irrelevant at the mont.
"You don't have to like it."
He slightly adjusted the creature's position in his arms, holding it more firmly, but without any rigidity, like soone who had already accepted its presence there without questioning much more than necessary.
"You just need to get used to it."
Agnes raised an eyebrow.
"Get used to it?" she repeated, a slight tone of challenge erging in her voice. "To this?"
She pointed directly at the creature.
The creature looked at her finger.
Then at her face.
And then… slowly raised one of its small paws.
Pointing back.
The gesture was almost perfect.
Mirrored.
Agnes froze for a second.
"…no."
Strax turned his face slightly, observing the scene with a minimum of additional interest, as if registering that interaction for future analysis.
"Yes."
Agnes exhaled sharply, uncrossing her arms and running her hands over her face for a mont, clearly trying to reorganize her thoughts before looking at him again.
"You were gone for a few hours," she said, her voice more controlled now, though still heavy with disbelief. "And you ca back with… this."
Strax didn't correct her.
Nor did he try.
"Basically."
She looked at the creature again.
This ti more attentively.
More focused.
Less imdiate reaction.
"…is this a problem?"
The question ca out more serious this ti.
Direct.
Strax held her gaze for a mont.
Then he answered:
"Yes."
Without hesitation.
Without softening.
Agnes narrowed her eyes.
"Big?"
Strax paused briefly.
Almost imperceptibly.
"Probably."
Silence.
Agnes took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as she looked once more at the creature, which now remained quiet, rely observing the two as if absorbing every detail of the conversation.
"…great," she murmured finally, with a slight touch of resignation mixed with restrained irritation. "Exactly what we needed."
Strax shrugged again.
"She too."
Agnes frowned.
"She what?"
Strax looked away for a mont.
At the creature.
And, for a brief mont, sothing changed.
Subtle.
But present.
"I needed that too."
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