Ib sat by the firelight, listening to the sounds of the night. She had met a new companion, a tall pale man with a bat. Though he seemed strong, he must have been pushing himself quite hard, because he collapsed almost as soon as she saw him. Luckily, Ib had been collecting quite a bit of materials while she was looking around, and she had a feeling giving him some food would help him recover fairly quickly. She wasn’t sure where these ideas were coming from, but they had not failed her yet.

After Mary had recovered from her panic, Madotsuki found her to be a very diligent watchwoman. She kept a steady eye on the darkness and their little circle of firelight, knife in hand, to make sure nothing got close. Of course, after a scare like she had, that would be expected. Madotsuki herself, however, was starting to lose focus. She desperately needed sleep, but how could she at a time like this?

There were still eyes watching from just outside the light. They were most certainly real, she could see that now. Their whispers and eldritch sounds filled her ears like the buzzing of bees. They stared at her with inhuman patience, it seemed, just waiting for her to lose her resolve and fall into sleep, so they could make sure the dreamer never awakes. 

She knew this, and yet that blanket is so tempting, so tempting to just let go, for a mere moment. She could feel her eyelids dropping already, the sounds doing nothing to keep her awake now. She had been on alert for so long, and now...

Madotsuki woke to the sound of Mary screaming. She forced her eyes awake, and saw Mary standing between her and a large spiky monster with the same glowing eyes, and razor-sharp teeth. It seemed to be made of shadows, and it was nearly impossible to make out at first, but as it drew closer and larger, it seemed to become more solid. Madotsuki scrambled to her feet, summoning her knife to her hand.

Mary tried to swipe at the creature, but it reared up on its hind legs, opening its jagged mouth wider, smiling down at her hungrily before lunging at her for a bite. Madotsuki ran in and stabbed at it as it closed in, making it recoil in pain before vanishing from sight. The two looked around, but it seemed to be gone… at least, until a shadow loomed over them from behind, and it snapped at them again.

Madotsuki screamed in pain as the creature bit into her shoulder, and the whispers suddenly grew closer, rising to a maddening intensity as the pain grew. Mary forced the beast to let go by slashing at it, seeming to cut across its eye. The monster vanished yet again. Madotsuki struggled back to her feet, gripping her shoulder. Despite the pain, there didn’t seem to be any actual wound- but she had a feeling it would have killed her regardless.

“Are you okay?” Mary looked her over.

“Yes, I’ll be fine, just...” She shook her head, then jumped. “Mary, behind you!”

Mary spun around to see two of the creatures coming out of the darkness, the first one coming from their left, crawling through the fire as though it didn’t exist. “W-What do we do?”

Madotsuki looked at the one closest. “We can’t let them surround us. We should both attack that one first.” Mary nods and runs at the creature with surprising speed, Madotsuki right behind her. The monster seemed caught off guard by this, rearing up again, but it was too slow and Mary stabbed it cleanly in what looked to be its neck, between its maw and legs.

This time it did not vanish, but staggered backwards, collapsing on its side. As it struggled to regain its footing, Madotsuki put her knife through its head, making it finally stop moving. The body almost instantly shrank into a small dark puddle, writhing but apparently harmless.

Knowing they didn’t have time to celebrate this victory, Madotsuki spun around to face their other attackers- only to see them fading back into the darkness. Even as they did, they seemed somehow less substantial now, as though the death of their kin had weakened them somehow. The whispers and sounds had faded back into the quiet of night.

“I… think its over. We won.”

Mary sighed in relief, before jolting as she realized how close to the fire she was, backing away. “What were those things though?”

Madotsuki shook her head. “I don’t know.” She bend down and examined the black puddle, before picking it up and putting it in her inventory. It reminded her of something she had seen before, but she couldn’t recall exactly what. “Those things will probably be back eventually, but… I think we are safe for now.”

She pulled out her blanket so she could get back to sleep, then paused. “Mary, you’re tired too, right?” She normally would never consider this, but… well, this girl had just fought a monster with her. These are hardly normal circumstances. “You can share the blanket with me if you want.”

Mary seemed shocked by this. “R-Really? It’s okay?” She walks closer cautiously, as though she expected Madotsuki to pull it away from her, before settling in under the purple sheet with her new friend.

The Batter woke up to an unfamiliar, but irresistible smell. Sitting up and turning to the smell, he saw a small girl doing something with items and a fire. At her side is the source of the smell, several roasted looking items on a large rock that made his stomach growl. Hunger wasn’t something the Batter was used to, but instincts told him exactly what to do.

The girl smiles when she notices him get up, and pushes the rock closer to him. He starts eating, and, on experiencing taste for the first time, quickly consumes the rest. Ib smiles, glad that he seemed to be alright. “How are you feeling?”

Batter paused in his eating for a moment to look himself over. His injuries seemed to have stopped hurting, and he felt revitalized, perhaps an effect of the food, or sleeping. He felt calmer as well, and the whispers that he had been hearing since night fell were gone, though it still seemed to be night. “I am fine.”

He weighed his options- going back outside without a torch would attract that woman again. Thus, it would be better to wait in this fire’s light until the sun came up again. This girl gave him shelter already, so that shouldn’t be an issue. “Thank you.”

Ib looked up to try and meet his eyes, but his hat made that difficult. “Who are you?”

He looks over to her, expression unchanging. “I am The Batter. I have a-” He paused, suddenly uncertain. He had completed his holy mission, hadn’t he? No. That couldn’t be. There were still monsters and impurity. This place, much like the world he came from, must be purified. “I have a holy mission that must be fulfilled.”

Ib blinked in confusion. “I don’t think I understand, Mr. Batter.”

The Batter didn’t respond, apparently not finding her comprehension very important. He did, however, note that he had collected a lot of items from the creatures he had defeated- items that he wasn’t sure what to do with. The girl may have answers. “What can these be used for?” He produced some fish and frog legs he had obtained from the fish creatures, and some boards from the homes they spawned from.

Ib was even more surprised this adult would be asking her for help, but it luckily wasn’t a hard question. “Well, that’s food… we can roast it on my fire and make it better to eat. I’m not sure about that wood, but it will probably be useful later?”

The Batter nods and lets her cook some of the fish, while he ponders his situation. There seemed to be no impurity in this girl, unlike the Elsens- the people from his own world, who turned into monsters at the slightest provocation. This world perhaps, was not so fatally flawed as he own. But his judgment would have to wait, until he knew for sure.