Renar descended the cathedral steps with the ease of a man used to owning every room he entered. His white cloak flowed behind him like mist, and the polished sun-shaped pendant at his throat caught the light, blinding in its brilliance.
As he approached, the crowd parted like a tide before him. Every human face watched with awe. But Tsukasa noticed it — the way the beastfolk and elves averted their eyes, how none of them dared meet Renar's gaze. It was unspoken. A quiet fear baked into the bones of this city.
"I've heard of your deeds," Renar said smoothly as he stopped a few paces from Tsukasa's group. "A stranger clad in magenta, tearing through demons like wheat at harvest. The Isles owe you their gratitude."
The words sounded warm. But there was a weight behind them. A challenge.
Tsukasa kept his hands in his coat pockets, meeting the elf's gaze with a flat, unimpressed stare. "Didn't do it for gratitude."
Renar chuckled, the sound like distant bells. "Of course not. Men like us act because the weak cannot."
That made Elara bristle. She felt Lumi's hand brush against hers — a silent warning not to escalate. Not yet.
The High Priest gave a stiff nod. "We've come seeking counsel, Lord Vaelion. The Upper Demons move again. And something darker walks with them."
At that, Renar's smile flickered. Just for a second. He masked it quickly.
"Then you've done well to come to Havenmere." He turned slightly, gesturing to the cathedral. "In these sacred halls, all are protected. Even… those far from their homeland."
His words hung heavy. Tsukasa caught the glance Renar gave Lira — a lingering, thinly veiled look of contempt. Lumi saw it too, the way Renar's jaw twitched when his gaze slid over Elara's pointed ears.
So that's it, Tsukasa thought, his smirk growing. A hero of the people — as long as those people are human.
But the mask never broke.
"Rest. Eat. My priests will tend your wounds." Renar said, placing a hand over his heart with a graceful bow. "And when the sun sets, we'll speak of war and salvation."
As he turned to go, his voice lowered, meant only for Tsukasa to hear.
"This world doesn't need your kind, stranger. But I'll play along… for now."
Tsukasa's grin sharpened. "You'd be surprised what my kind can do when no one's watching."
Renar's eyes flashed, but he gave no other sign of the brewing storm.
Then he was gone, his entourage of priests and guards swallowing him up as the bells of Havenmere tolled noon.
Elara exhaled slowly. "He's worse than the stories."
The High Priest nodded grimly. "And far more dangerous."
Tsukasa cracked his neck. "Good. I was starting to get bored."
They made their way toward the sanctuary, knowing night would bring more than just conversation — and the greatest threat in Havenmere might not be the demons at the gate, but the saint standing on its walls.
The sanctuary was quieter than the square outside, though the distant toll of the bells still hung in the air like a lingering omen. Stained glass cast fractured light across the marble floor — a thousand colors bleeding into one another, yet none could wash away the unease that clung to the group.
Elara's jaw was tight as they passed under the arched entrance. Lumi kept close, her fingers brushing the hilt of her dagger now and then, eyes never still. Even the High Priest moved with a stiffness in his shoulders that hadn't been there before.
"He reeks of rot," Lumi muttered under her breath. "All gilded words and poison underneath."
Tsukasa chuckled, hands still buried in his pockets. "Yeah. The polished ones usually do."
They crossed through a grand corridor lined with statues of long-dead heroes — all human, Tsukasa noticed. Not a single beastfolk or elf among them. The message wasn't subtle.
A young acolyte approached with a forced smile, bowing low. "Rooms have been prepared, honored guests. Lord Vaelion requests your presence at sundown for council."
Elara inclined her head but didn't smile. "We'll be there."
As the boy scurried away, Lumi leaned in close. "We shouldn't stay here. This whole city stinks of something wrong."
Tsukasa let his gaze drift up to the vaulted ceiling. "And yet… it's exactly where we need to be."
They spent the remaining hours tending wounds, gathering what scraps of information they could from wary priests and frightened townsfolk. Word of the Upper Demons had spread, though none would speak of them openly. But it was the way the non-humans flinched in the streets, the hollowed eyes of beastkin children peering from alleyways, that told Tsukasa all he needed to know.
This city was built on the bones of those not lucky enough to be born human.
Night fell like a closing hand.
The summons came in the form of a hooded priest, who led them through winding halls into a chamber lit by a thousand flickering candles. The air was thick with incense, and Renar stood at its center, dressed now in ceremonial white and gold. A sword hung at his side, a weapon older than the kingdom itself, if the tales were true.
He greeted them with that same saintly smile.
"Welcome, champions," Renar began. "The hour is late, and the enemy at our gates. But before we speak of war… we must speak of loyalty."
His gaze swept over them, lingering a beat too long on Elara's pointed ears, then Lumi's silver hair.
"A kingdom divided cannot stand," Renar said smoothly. "And Havenmere will not fall because of weakness… or treachery."
Tsukasa grinned, sensing the game. "You always start your councils with thinly veiled threats, or is this a special occasion?"
A flicker of irritation crossed Renar's face, but it vanished as quickly as it came. "I have no quarrel with the faithful," he replied. "But the Isles have long suffered from… outsiders meddling in our affairs."
His words weren't meant for Tsukasa.
They were meant for the elves.
Elara stiffened. Lumi's knuckles whitened around the dagger at her hip.
Renar stepped forward, lowering his voice. "You'll find no sanctuary here if you seek to sow discord. I've tolerated your kind long enough for the sake of unity. But this war demands purity… and sacrifices will be made."
That was it. The mask slipping, just for a moment.
The hero of the Isles, no longer speaking as a saint — but as a zealot.
Tsukasa's smirk sharpened. "Funny thing about zealots," he murmured. "They never see the knife coming until it's in their back."
Renar's eyes glinted like a predator's. "And you'll find I'm hard to surprise, stranger."
Elara stepped forward then, voice steady but cold. "We didn't come here to beg your tolerance, Renar. We came for the truth about what's moving in the dark."
Renar chuckled. "Then let's begin."
As the heavy doors closed behind them, Tsukasa felt the shift in the air. This wasn't a council.
It was a hunt.
And the most dangerous beast in Havenmere wasn't a demon.
It was the man smiling at them across the table.