Reborn: Demon's Heritage by D. W. Jackson

and when she released him from her grasp, only a small lingering smile was left behind on his face.
    “Thank you,” Ash said as he looked into her large eyes that seemed to stare straight through him.
    “I love you,” Allice whispered softly.
    “I love you too,” Ash said as he pulled her close.
    When the sounds of battle started to wane, Ash held his breath. A cry suddenly rose from the fort and Ash knew that they had pushed back the enemy once again. He wanted nothing more than to get to his feet and to see the situation of the fort, but currently doing so would only result in him reopening his injuries. Ash listened intently to every sound trying to pick up any news that the passing soldiers were talking about. From what he gathered, it was the fire mage that had forced the enemy to withdraw though at great cost.
    Each mage master level or above had one skill that trumped all others though it was one that could only be used once in a lifetime. By condensing all the MP in their body they could unleash a spell far greater than normal, but the cost would be their life. It was one of the reasons that mages were respected and feared. No one in their right mind would push a mage to the point of death unless they wanted to perish along with them. The best way to handle any mage was too kill them quickly before they had a chance to use their final attack.
    The news hit Ash hard. The loss of one of the mages was a big hit to the defenses of the fort. Any man could fire an arrow, but mages were in short supply and Ash knew that his own life was only spared the day before because the fire mage had intervened on his behalf.
    Ash didn’t know what time it was, but he hoped that it was at least midday. From the sounds of the battle, it had been fierce and it would take time for the enemy to clear the field before they could begin the next assault.
    After the stress of listening to the battle, Ash started to feel weary after it ended. Soon he found his eyes growing heavy and he quietly drifted off to sleep.
    Once again, Ash dreamed of something that he couldn’t put into words. It felt as if not just one, but thousands upon thousands of people were calling out to him, but he could not make out their voices. Looking in the distance, all Ash could see was darkness, but it was a hazy darkness as if something was just out of sight. He called out to the darkness but he received no reply. He felt a coldness slip into his bones and a feeling of loneliness overcame him.
    Ash’s eyes shot open and he quickly looked around the tent only to find that nothing had changed. Allice had left the bed, but she was sitting close by while sewing. As he watched her, he remembered Lillanis who in a way had become like a sister to her. Ash quickly dismissed that train of thought since it left an unpleasant feeling in his chest.
    The sounds of people moving outside were still present, but there were no sounds of battle which allowed Ash to relax. With little to do, Ash checked his status to see if anything was wrong. His MP had mostly recovered though it was only slightly above half. His Stamina was also recovering though at a slightly slower pace than usual. His HP seemed to be the main problem. Below his HP stat there was a small red word, “injured.” His HP had been reduced to only 512/1400 and it didn’t seem to be recovering very fast. Ash had learned long ago that some wounds needed advanced healing and even then it could take a long time for them to be recovered. Ash had not only received a great wound, he also had bones broken. The bones had been repaired, but healing wasn’t some mystical force that could heal everything. There was always a cost and that cost was taken from the body of the person being healed. Most the time the cost was in the form of stamina so as long as the healer had the MP, Ash could almost always be healed, but with the number of people injured, how could they spend so much just for one soldier. It was amazing that