A Soul to Keep

The trio reaches the demon town. Orpheus tells Reia to act like a Mavka and not to laugh, as demons would recognize the laugh as human. Orpheus also tells Reia and the other Duskwalker about the Demon King, the leader of the demons who initially brought the demons through a portal into the human world and is stronger than anyone else, except for perhaps the Witch Owl. As the group heads into the village, Reia is shocked by how human everything seems. The other Duskwalker is surprised it smells sweet, but Orpheus tells him that the smell is a magic illusion to cover the scent of blood and meat that could make lesser demons attack. Orpheus tells the other two to stay close and offers to buy Reia anything she wants. They stop at a clothing merchant stand run by a friendly demon named Snush, who has clothing for the other Duskwalker and a new dress for Reia. Reia also buys a large amount of cooking ingredients.

As they walk through the market, Reia hears someone whispering about a black cat in her ear, then sees a woman with feathers beckoning her down an alley. She runs from Orpheus, which angers him, but he calms down when he realizes it is the Witch Owl calling for Reia. They find a bookshop called the Black Cat. Orpheus reluctantly leaves Reia alone in the bookstore to go back and find the other Duskwalker. The demon bookstore clerk helps Reia find the books that Witch Owl wanted her to find (a copy of Beauty and the Beast, a book about sword fighting techniques, and a book about different monsters), marked by white feathers. The bookstore clerk recognizes that Reia is human but does not attack her; he is fascinated by humans and the stories they write and asks Reia to make different expressions. Orpheus returns with the other Duskwalker and gives the clerk some crystals for the books, and Reia winks at the clerk as they leave, another expression that brings him joy.

Everyone stares at the trio as they walk through the town—the other Duskwalker caused a scene and panicked when Orpheus and Reia went down the alley to the bookstore without him, thinking he failed to protect Reia. Before they head home, Orpheus buys Reia more fabric and dyes to make her clothes. The group begins their journey home, and Orpheus advises the other Duskwalker to begin building his house in the Arachnid Demon of Sorrows’s former territory as his current cave does not have suitable room for a house. The two Mavka discuss the tools needed to build the house while Reia mostly relaxes. She eventually asks them where they came from, but neither knows. When they arrive home, Orpheus confirms the protections and roars to frighten off the demons while the other Duskwalker fixes the salt circle. Reia realizes she’s begun to view Orpheus’s house as her home.

Reia sits in a chair and reads the books the Witch Owl guided her to. She gives Orpheus the gift she made him, a beaded decoration with little bells for his horns. Orpheus sits with her and rests his head in her lap, asking her to read to him. As she reads, he falls asleep. Looking at the story of Beauty and the Beast, Reia considers having sex with Orpheus. He senses her arousal in his sleep, waking before he touches her intimately. She wants him to touch her, so he takes her to his bedroom. They have sexual intercourse and fully consummate their relationship, with Orpheus using his magic and claws to lightly pierce Reia’s abdomen to allow her to have a comfortable experience.

Orpheus wakes aroused and tries to calm himself. Reia wakes up, and they have sexual intercourse again. Reia offers herself to Orpheus any time he wants her, and Orpheus thinks that the eons of loneliness were worth it to have Reia in his life. They fall back asleep.

Orpheus and Reia bathe together after they wake again. In the bath, Reia shares the cruelty she faced from the men in her village who threw stones at her, nailed her door shut, and shouted abuse at her. Orpheus offers to return to her village and kill the men who hurt her. Reia then asks Orpheus about his first companion. He reveals their backstory: He discovered her while hunting people to become more human. She was not afraid of him, so the scent of her fear did not motivate him to hunt her. He took her home, where he built the house and planted the garden for her. They lived together for five years until the Demon King helped her escape him since the Demon King hates and cannot control the Mavka/Duskwalkers. As she left, she told Orpheus she hated every moment of the five years they lived together and was constantly plotting her escape. Reia feels terrible for Orpheus and holds him in her arms. He asks if she plans to leave and admits he would not want another human who wasn’t her, which confuses Reia and makes her cry.

Orpheus thinks Reia is upset with him as she goes to sleep in her own room after spending the five consecutive nights since their sexual encounter in Orpheus’s bed. He asks her why she is angry, but Reia says she is not angry; she’s tired. Orpheus continues to wake her up in the night for sexual intercourse, which Reia is happy with, but now she wants to sleep through the night. Orpheus asks if he can sleep with her and just hold her, and Reia agrees. 

Reia practices sword fighting techniques she learns from her book and makes her clothes with the materials from the demon village. When Orpheus leaves to retrieve stream water, Reia continues to practice with her sword outside until she notices a handsome man standing outside the salt circle. He crosses the salt boundary, indicating he does not mean her harm, but she does not trust him. He introduces himself as Jabez and offers her a chance to escape Orpheus and return to the human world. She refuses, unwilling to leave Orpheus, and swings her sword at Jabez. He grabs her and tears off her amulet, which burns him, revealing to Reia that he is the Demon King. He uses his magic to kidnap her and transport her to his castle as Reia screams out for Orpheus.

Orpheus smells the Demon King’s scent near his home. He leaves the water bucket and hurries home. He finds Reia gone and panics that she left willingly with the Demon King, like Katerina, the first human, did. When he finds the amulet on the ground, he sees a chunk of Reia’s hair with it, appearing as if it was ripped off her head by force. He starts to run in his beast form toward the castle. 

Reia is greeted in the castle by a beautiful human woman who is in a romantic relationship with Jabez. She tells her that she and Jabez have been watching Reia and Orpheus, waiting for the right time to free her. The woman says she pities Reia for being trapped with Orpheus and is using her as bait to get Orpheus to come to the castle. Reia complies with the woman but misses Orpheus and their home. The woman offers Reia a bath to wash Orpheus’s magic oil off her, which demonstrates her intimate knowledge of Orpheus and his magic. Reia takes the bath but resists when the woman tries to take her homemade dress and bring her a new one.