Demon Tales
chap 1.
Under the scorching heat of the sun, the surrounding air vibrates and distorts. Within the desert, and this one in particular, the land is withered and twisted with corruption. Purple marshes and vegetation dot the landscape, often times releasing equally purple fumes into the air, which could cause any normal person to fell ill by inhaling it. In such a harsh environment, one would not expect any lifeform to visit, much less inhabit it. And yet there are two figures currently moving across the land.
The boy tore through the deserted landscape, running like his life depended on it, and it did, with a demon imp in hot pursuit. The beast, possessing larger physique and near-infinite stamina, slowly closed the distance with its prey.
The boy’s laborious breathing gets louder, with steam seemingly oozing off his pores, dampening the white fabric of his ragged T-shirt. His muscles burned from all the effort, constantly tearing his numerous wounds, and his throat begging for a drop of water. However, he can’t afford to stop, not even for a second. Trusting his sense of direction, he kept running straight across the wasteland. He didn’t even need to look back to tell that the monster is right behind, with all its growling and howling.
The demon oftenly tried an attack, forcing the boy to constantly swerve away, often times resulting in scratches due to the rough landscape. One wrong move and his life is forfeited. With that danger to keep in mind, he kept forcing his body past his limits.
Occasionally, he passed through ruins, remnants of fortresses back from the era of the First Great War. Now, the only reminders of those magnificent buildings are heaps of rubble and, sometimes, several broken walls.
His black leather pants, along with his shin, got torn in one of those ruins, where a sharp metal rod secretly stuck out from the wall.
‘Why!? Why is my luck so bad!?’ he wanted to scream out in frustration. His mind wander, reminiscing the events earlier that led to this situation now.
. . . . .
[Earlier that day…]
“Hurry up kid, or we’re leaving you behind.” A tall, beefy man called as he stepped out the house.
“Coming, Marcus, sir.” The boy replied as he heaved a backpack over his shoulder, momentarily hunching his back. His skinny frame contrasted the heavy bulk of the overly inflated bag pack, seemingly on the verge of bursting. If any ordinary person tried to do it, he or she would have collapsed under the weight, but the boy’s face seemed fine, as if it is the most normal thing to do.
The man, Marcus, took a glance at him before walking away, on his shoulder an equally large backpack.
“Alex, are you okay? Do you need any help?” a feminine voice asked.
The boy turned to the source of the voice, tilting his head slightly upwards. A girl, her golden hair fluttering in the breeze, met his gaze. Her emerald colored eyes filled with concern.
Alex, the boy, curved his lips into a slight smile. “No, I’m fine. I’m also a Blessed. I can carry these easily, sis.”
“Are you sure? You’re sweating you know.” Silvia leaned forward as she scrutinized him.
‘A Sentinel’s senses sure is something.’ He thought as he stepped back. “It’s okay. There’s no need.”
“Here, let me help.” She walked towards the backpack.
“N-no really, i’m fine.” Even though the sun is blazing, he shivered inwardly, his mind recalling beatings Marcus has done, and might do, if he made his sister burdened. He involuntarily touched his elbow, where a scar remained.
“C’mon Silvia, let’s go.” Marcus called from afar. In contrast to his rough and indifferent voice to Alex, his voice right now is kind and full of affection.
“Okay dad!” she swiftly ran, her nimble feets barely making any sound as her tips lightly touched the ground.
‘I wish I could have ‘Wind Flower’ too…’ Alex thought.
Wind flower is a passive skill specific to the elven kin. It allows them to move faster, silent, and with less stamina usage. The reason Silvia can use the skill is because their mother is a half elf.
Walking up the sloped cobbled road and exiting the alley, Marcus turned and ordered. “Okay, split up. We’ll go to Durk’s and you go to Atran’s.” There’s no need to say which one is the ‘you’, Alex already know it’s him. It wasn’t because Marcus trusted him, but because he didn’t want to be near him.
They split up, and Alex went to Atran’s workshop. The place is vacant, as most customers came in the evening, after a successful hunt. Alex inhaled the familliar, yet unpleasant scent of demon carcasses. If this is a normal store, the smell would have repel people like magnet poles. But for a shop specializing in dealing with corpses, this is normal.
Being careful not to touch the blood stains on the sandstone floor, Alex reached Atran’s so-called ‘Collecting desk’. Atran, belatedly noticing him, rose up from his seat and came over, his double chin flapping in a constant rythm as he waddled, before settling down in a chair in the opposite side of Alex, his slab of fat jiggling like a pudding. “So boy, what did you bring today?”
Alex swung the bag pack off his sore shoulders, lifting it upside down above the desk, and unloaded the contents there.
The demon corpses started to fall and pile up on the table. One, two, three, four, Atran’s normally droopy eyes widened as more and more corpses kept falling. Only when a dozen had landed did Alex finally put down the bag. Yesterday had been a very fruitful hunt, when they encounter a pack of demon imps, trapped in the quicksands. The table creaked under the pile of corpses,
“The corpses are quite intact, and the quality…” Atran murmured. Although he tried to keep his face passive, the greedy glint of his eyes told all. After a quick mental calculation, he spoke.
“All that would be 1 Dragolith and 3 black iron, boy.” He said in a nasally voice, his wrinkled hand shoving a small pouch to him. Black iron is the currency used nowadays, and they can be harvested from the demons. A Dragolith can be crafted from a hundred black iron, and also traded at that rate. Although the endless amount of it might seem to easily crash the economy, black iron is also used to craft weapons, making them having a constant value.
Alex felt cheated. being a regular customer, he had many chances to observe the transactions Atran made with others, and naturally, he got a general gist of the market price. He knew that the corpses could be manufactured to fetch a far higher price, perhaps above double. Alex knew, but he couldn’t bring himself to point this out. his feet unconsciously started trembling, the muscle memory ingrained in him triggering the reaction.
‘No, i must not be scared of talking back right now. I know I’m right.’ He repressed his fear, and putting on a determined face, said, “Sir, can you add some more?”
Atran, already focusing on the corpses, turned and look at Alex with a glare, making Alex shiver unconsciously, the newfound determination nowhere to be found. He changed into a meek tone.
“Can you please add more sir? If not, Marcus might…” Alex’s voice trailed off.
Atran’s face twisted, Alex’s begging twisted his conscience. He also knew about their family’s situation. in fact, pretty much everyone in town knew. His face seems irritated, before pulling out something.
“Here, but no more of this.” He said in a sour voice. Grabbing a fistful of pebble-like items and adding it to the pouch.
Alex’s face beamed. Atran had given at least a dozen more black iron. It would at least last for 3 days or more, and his father would lay off scolding him for a while.
“Thank you very much sir!” Alex bowed, before quickly running out of the shop, and right towards their usual rendezvous point, the town gate, in case his father is already waiting.
The main square is quite crowded today, although it is a Monday. As much as he hated being near lots of people, he also needed to go as fast as he can, and the main square is the fastest route.
Alex tried to pass as silently as possible. ‘Don’t attract attention, don’t attract attention.’ He chanted like a mantra. He went through the sides, sticking close to the sandstone walls. His elf-ish ears, so sensitive it’s like a curse, picked up chattering and gossips from all over the square.
“I heard that Baran town has fallen, is it for real?”
“I don’t know, Albert said they were just fine when he left there 2 days ago.”
And also,
“The city of Hope cut off the connection with our communcator yesterday.”
“Screw them! Just because they have more blessed they think they’re so high and mighty!?”
And the usual ones,
“Tsk, those damned warmages!”
“What did they do this time?”
And another,
“Hey, do you know that Nyssa and the Poison Rose guild killed a demonic champion?”
“For real? How?”
That and many other passed his ears. The news about the warmages are mostly malarkey, as whenever something bad happened, they blamed in on the warmages, so he didn’t pay attention to it. ‘I’m not even sure whether they actually exist.’ He thought.
Some others news caught his attention. ‘Did Nyssa really killed one? Wow!’ he wanted to stick around to listen further, but he had to hurry.
When meeting with Marcus, It isn’t a ‘Better earlier than late’, but a ‘You MUST be earlier or else…’. As he hurried, the words he never wished to hear, came up. The sound came from the center of the square, talking about him. The source are two teenage boys, hardly older than him, sitting under the Velsignelse, the Tree of Blessing that Liora created to provide sanctuary, as the town’s name implied.
“Hey, isn’t that the runt?” the first one whispered to his friend.
“Where?” his friend turned towards the direction that boy was pointing, but Alex is already gone.
‘Haaah… I hate my life.’ As he ran, he felt his heart burn and ache, but not with anger like he thought. Instead, with envy. He longed to be just like the others, normal and carefree.
‘Ah, I should stop thinking about this.’ He picked up the pace, and went through several alleys and small roads to avoid the people. Having constantly done this, he knew the roads like the back of his hand. He quickly arrived without a hitch.
. . . . .
The good news is, Marcus isn’t there yet, but the bad news is, a bunch of demon hunters are. He could tell at a glance that they are Blessed, not just because of their premium-looking equipments, but because of their auras. He didn’t know how to explain it, but he could sense their power radiating, albeit faintly. ‘It’s probably normal, the blessed should be able to sense each other, with the enhanced senses we have.’
As he was trying to stay as inconspicuous as possible, one of the Blessed, a sentinel, noticed him.
“Hey, isn’t this the runt of the elk family?” he called out to his friends.
‘Shoot.’ Alex wanted to swear, but his manners is strictly trained by his father. He felt anger and humiliation at the sentinel, Styx, who twisted Alex’s family name, Elven, into a mockery, knowing full well Marcus would take out his anger on Alex.
“Hey runt, why are you here? The Corrupted Desert is for brave warriors only. You’re not hoping to get our leftovers are you?” Styx walked closer.
Alex clenched his fist in frustration. This isn’t the first time he experienced this. many other people, both blessed and normal, have constantly mocked him. The worst thing is, he couldn’t refute it. He IS a runt.
Back when he was younger, during the town’s annual event, Liora’s Blessing Festival, all Blessed children are tested to identify their ‘profession’, whether it is Battleworn, Blademaster, or Sentinel. Alex is labelled a Blademaster not because he is proficient in the blade, but because he sucks at the rest. His strength fell far from the Battleworn standard, and his archery sucks. He could be said as the weakest Blessed ever. His overall physique didn’t differ too far from an ordinary person, only slightly better. and the only reason they acknowledge him as a blessed is because his parents are. After all, blessed are mostly hereditary.
“Hey, why aren’t you answering? Are you deaf? Huh?” Styx elbowed his ribs. The gesture seems friendly and light, but the strength behind it isn’t.
‘Ugh! That hurts! That must a skill!’ Alex tried to act fine, but his insides are throbbing wildly in pain. Unable to endure, he staggered and fell. The hard, sandy ground being a pain in the ass, literally. ‘At least it’s better than cobble.’ Alex massaged his side.
Styx chuckled, and left, satisfied with bullying Alex. “Hey wait up!” He called as he chased after his teammates, whom already left the gate.
‘Dang it.’ Alex felt a bit embarrassed. A small crowd have gathered and saw the spectacle before. And yet, they didn’t interfere at all. But that can already be expected. This isn’t the first time he’ve been bullied, and not the first time either that they didn’t help.
But still, in the deepest part of his heart, he wished for someone to help, to reach out to him. ‘If only… why am I even hoping anymore? It’s useless. Wishes are wishes because they don’t come true.’ He remembered a quote from a book he read at the library. He felt resigned and didn’t bother to get up. ‘Marcus will scold me either way.’
‘Speak of the devil…’
Marcus had arrived too. It seems like their business with Durk is done, as their armor seemed brand new. From a corner of his eyes, he could see Marcus silently swearing before pushing through the crowd. The crowd naturally parted as the giant hulk of a man passed through. Silvia followed at the rear, and ran to Alex.
“Are you okay, Alex? What did they do to you this time? You’re not hurt anywhere right? Come on, get up. Here, hold my hand.” She said as she stretched her hand.
Alex’s heart felt warm. ‘How could I have forgot? Thank you, sis.’ He reached out his hand to grab hers’.
“Silvia.” Marcus called, his tone different from normal. This time, it sounded angry, yet cold, like a warning. Silvia flinched and withdrew her hand.
“Let him get up himself. If he couldn’t even stand by himself, then he is hopeless.” Marcus said as he approached, his voice sounding frosty and cold, freezing off the tiny warmth in Alex’s heart, replacing it back with gloominess.
Alex gruffly stood up, and before Marcus could open his mouth, he handed the pouch over, roughly.
Marcus’s face is still cold and impassive as he counted the contents. To anyone who don’t know, He would have looked like a street thug who snatched lunch money from a kid! There was silence for a while before he realized something.
“Hey, get lost! What ’re you looking at, huh?” and with that, the crowd dispersed. Marcus was quite famous in the town,
“Hmph! At least you didn’t stole this time. Atran is quite nice to give 2 Dragoliths though.” Marcus said curtly, pocketing the ores before walking to the gate, gesturing for Silvia to follow. Alex followed as well, in a dismal mood. ‘Would it hurt him not to say bad things about me? And I never even stole!’
. . . . .
[Meanwhile…]
“Aaargh! Who stole my Dragolith?! Nooo!!” Atran cried out. to a merchant, even a single black iron is very precious. Well, that can be said for everyone, though a merchant is more obsessive. So losing a Dragolith, the equivalent of a hundred black iron, is a hundred times more heart-wrenching.
Little did he know, he had accidentally given the Dragolith to Alex earlier when he gave the ‘sympathy bonus’.
. . . . .
They didn’t meet any demons in the vicinity. ‘Those guys must have swept the place.’ Alex thought. He noticed some traces of battle. Although the corrupted sands have sucked away the blood, some broken arrow shafts remain.
‘I bet it is Styx’s, that b*stard.’ After the incident earlier, he didn’t care about the no cursing rule anymore. He glanced towards Marcus, who seems to be deep in thought.
‘Must we go further?’ is the question Marcus is currently pondering. Demons are more abundant the further you go from the town, which meant that you can get a better hunting ground. But it also meant that it is more dangerous, and had a higher risk of dying.
In the end, Marcus decided. “I think it is better to continue further. Let’s hunt some and make it back before dark.” He said with a smile to Silvia, pretending Alex to be nonexistent.
‘Whatever, I like it better this way though.’ Alex shrugged.
. . . . .
It seems like fate isn’t kind to them today.
Silvia suddenly stopped on her tracks. “Alex, dad, hide!” She hissed.
“Why?” Alex looked around. Marcus did the same.
Silvia pointed to the sky. Alex focused his eyes, and spotted some black specks in the sky. “Oh no.” He said. Marcus took longer to notice it, as eyesight was never a Battleworn’s forte. Upon spotting it, he arrived at the same conclusion.
“Hellion leapers.” He said in a voice full of malice. Indeed, hellion leapers, with their wings, are a natural enemy for the Battleworn, and also the Blademaster.
“But… how are going to hide?” Alex inquired. In all directions, the sand stretched out endlessly as far as the eye could see. They are not even near any ruins, which could be used as a nice hiding spot.
“Let’s go back.” Silvia said, her voice shuddering, an evidence of fear. Even a sentinel like her couldn’t face a swarm by herself, except for famous Sentinels such as Aerin, Seville, and a few others.
“We can’t. It’s too far.” Marcus shook his head.
“Let’s go as far as we can then.” Alex suggested.
“Too late.” Marcus unsheathed his greatsword. The swarm of hellion leapers are already nearby, their wings flapping in unison. Alex spotted one that seemed to stood out as the leader, having a horn and several black scales protruding over its body. But the most unique thing is the scarlet crystal embedded in its chest. The blood colored gem seems to emit a ghastly wail, as if alive. The sight is enough to scare Alex.
‘An elite demon?! This is bad, really bad.’ He instinctively shuddered at the memory of what an elite demon could do.
The said demon noticed them, immediately turning hostile afterwards. “Kyaaargh!!” it screeched.
Alex’s ears throbbed in pain at the high pitch, his eardrums threatening to burst. “Ouch…” his head is ringing. As his vision cleared, he jolted in shock at the glaive flying right into his face. ‘Oh sh*t!’ he narrowly dodged, the tips of the blade brushed past, causing blood to drip down his cheek.
The demons cleverly attacked with their glaives from the sky, throwing the razor sharp projectiles at them, making Marcus and Alex unable to do anything except dodging. Only Silvia, being a sentinel, can fight back. After rolling away from an attack, she unstrapped Swiftwind off her back in one fluid motion, and in the blink of an eye, one-shot a demon’s head.
Rapid fire! A must-learned skill for the sentinels. It enables them to do near-instantaneous shots, but excessive use may strain the muscles.
“Nice!” Alex exclaimed. But the joy is short lived.
The other demons, perceiving Silvia as the most dangerous, focused their attacks on her, the concentrated fire making her unable to retaliate. She has to constantly dodge the projectiles coming to her from front, left, right, back, and all over again, because the glaives would fly back after a distance, just like a boomerang.
Alex often wondered, ‘How did the hellion leapers each have a glaive? Is there a blacksmith demon or something?’ But now, after observing them, he found the answer. ‘The glaives are their body parts!’
Marcus had managed to intercept and break one of the glaives, which would return like a boomerang back to the demon if not. But the demon merely smiled, the faceless head showing its set of grotesque serrated teeth, giving a repulsing look that could make the light hearted faint in fear.
The demon’s right hand suddenly shaked, and boils appeared under the skin and growed uncontrollably, before the palm of the demon burst open, and black blood spurt out. Alex reflexively close his eyes, but when he opened it, the sight that unfolded is even more shocking.
The black blood, and some vine-like things, which might be the demon’s veins, twisted and coursed its way in a pattern midair. The mixture turned into the shape of the demon’s glaive, and it harden and crystallized into one.
“What the F*ck!?” Marcus sweared. This is something that he never knew. If the demons could just ‘regrow’ their weapons all the time, there would be no end to this attack. After considering offense unavailable, he decided to retreat.
“Silvia, Run! Get back to Sanctuary!” Marcus yelled. But the demons wouldn’t allow it. The Elite demon let out another ear piercing screech, causing them to fall to the ground, their senses nearly paralyzed. And as they are getting back on their feet, demons started to gather around them. The sound of the Elite Hellion Leaper had attracted the other demons in the vicinity. Several imps, hellion warriors, and even the very dangerous hellion spitter are nearby. If fate is merely unkind to them before, it is cruel to them now.
The demons slowly closed in, like a predator upon a cornered prey. Their screams are alien, but somehow, Alex caught on the meaning. “T-their, scream… joy, and thinked of us… a-as prey…” he mumbled inaudibly, but Silvia and Marcus heard it, the realization sending a shiver down their spine.
“how dare they…” Marcus’s voice shivered in cold rage, his veins bulged out, as anger burned his heart. His grip on the metal handle of his sword hardened.
Alex’s gaze scanned the surrounding demons, looking but not seeing, his mind a blur. A knot settled onto his stomach, feeling heavy, like a load of bricks… and it seemed to be growing. His clammy hands reached for the daggers in his waist as his pulse raced faster and faster, his heart threatening to explode. He was terrified.
The Elite Hellion Leaper screeched a final time, once again causing tremendous pain to their ears. Alex squeezed out every drop of his willpower to surpress the urge to fall to the ground. And then, like a dam burst open, the demons all rushed as one towards them, the predator going in for the kill.
“Sh*t! Run for it!” Marcus yelled. They all three ran desperately, trying to pierce the wall of demons. Alex’s eyes traveled rapidly, searching for weak spots, the gears in his brain spinning rapidly like the wheels of a train.
‘There!’ He spotted an opening, between a Demon Imp and a Hellion Warrior. ‘Scary, but… here I go!’ he tightened the grip on his trusty weapons, and make a sudden mad dash towards the gap. The demons are caught off-guard, and he narrowly escaped.
Marcus also managed to break through, in a more direct manner. Like a barbarian, he charged head-first through the demons “Charge!” He roared. Charge! A Battleworn’s sole movement skill. The skill user charges forward with speed equivalent to a raging bull, trampling any unfortunate enough to be in its path.
But Silvia isn’t so lucky.
The Hellion Leapers constantly assaulted her, often times forcing her to swerve off her escape route. In the end, she can’t escape.
“Silvia, no!” Alex was about to run back in, but Marcus caught his arm in a vice grip.
“Back off, boy. What use would you do by running there but get yourself killed?” Marcus step forth as he threw Alex back.
Alex stopped at Marcus’s words. He clenched his fist tightly, so much that it hurts. his untreated nails dug deep into his skin, leaving a deep mark on the surface of his palm, an anger habit. But the anger wasn’t directed to Marcus, but at himself. Self-loathing is an emotion he’s very familiar with, but he never felt it as much as now. ‘you useless trash! You could only stand still while your sister is in danger?’ he scolded himself as he watched Marcus step forth.
“Come at me, scums of the earth! You maggot infested pile of rotten garbage!” Marcus yelled at the demons.
The demons on the ground all turned their heads towards them. The hellions’ eyeless faces making it a scene right out of a horror movie. And then, as if on cue, all the demons charged at the same time towards them, their claws digging the sand, causing a cloud of dust and sand to rise.
Alex trembled in fear at the sight. His legs visibly shaked, and his mind went blank. The demons quickly close in the distance.
30 meters,
20 meters,
10 meters,
5 meters,
“Get away!”
Alex snapped back to reality as he was pushed off his feet by Marcus.
“Ow!” his shoulder grazed the sand, and a sharp wind whipped past, narrowly brushing his hair. As his eyes snapped back open, he realized that the wind was actually a demon imp, its obsidian colored claws tearing the space where he was a moment ago.
He hurriedly went back on his feets, the loose sandy dune behind him crumbling, causing a momentary delay. The beast charged back at him, its mandibles clicking loudly, threathening to take a bite out of him. Alex managed to dodge at the last moment, and his hand miraculously managed to slash the demon, causing it to roar in pain.
“Split up! Regroup at Sanctuary!” Marcus shouted. Alex took a quick glance and saw many of the demons are fighting against Marcus. The ones targeting him are only several demon imps.
“OK!” Alex yelled back, sidestepping the imp who’s back for revenge, then cutting it again. With a momentary break, he took a deep breath. Fwoosh! His senses expands, and he felt his limbs loosen up. Adrenaline started coursing through his body, jumpstarting his engines. He twirled his dagger into a reverse grip, and got into a battle stance. He would have done this earlier, but the Elite Hellion Leaper’s presence seems to have an impact on him.
The demons, sensing something different with their prey, hestitated. Their spines stood on end, taking a defensive stance. Alex didn’t waste the opportunity. He took into a light stance and Swoosh! He ran…
…Into the opposite direction.
‘What? You think I’m gonna fight them? If there’s no other options then i’ll do so, sure.’
The imps, realizing that they’ve been bluffed, immediately rush towards him, howling in rage and perhaps, humiliation?
He ran even faster, forcing all his power into his feets. His muscles started groaning, evidence of his lack of training. He ignored it.
Alex had an overall ordinary physique. He had hated this, and trained so hard to improve himself, but it yielded poor results. Depressed, he had tried even harder, training himself to the point of his muscles nearly torn apart, but to no use.
Eventually, he learned to accept the fact that his body just isn’t good enough. From then on, he had trained his mind instead, memorizing monster informations, battle tactics, and anything else he could find in the town library. Suprisingly, his mental capacity is very high, with the trade-off being his poor physique. In regards to his physical body, the only thing he can boast of is his sharp senses, and that is a common trait of the Blademasters and Sentinels.
The demons started to close the distance. Although he had a headstart, a human’s stamina had its limits. On the other hand, the imps seemed to have a limitless endurance. Perhaps they are born as so, or it is some demonic sorcery at play, nobody knows.
“Oh shoot, oh shoot, oh shoot!” at this rate, he would be caught before he even reached halfway back.
He racked his brains, trying to think of a solution. A head-on confrontation isn’t possible, he knew his own limits. Escaping also won’t work for long. At that moment, a thought entered his mind: ‘What would Nyssa do?’
To Alex, She was a role model. He wished to be like her, a famous Blademaster. Leading a squadron of warriors into battle, her red cape billowing in the wind. fearlessly charging into enemy lines, her barrage of daggers scoring headshots after headshots…
Alex snapped back from his daydreaming. ‘Wake up, now’s not the time to be jealous.’ He reprimanded himself. But the thoughts given him an idea. Focusing his memory, he visualised her image, as she threw the daggers, her breathing, muscle movements, and facial expressions.
The reason Alex could imagine her movements were due to an event some time ago, in the western plaza of the town, where the large screen of the communicator are. But that is a story for another time.
He opened his eyes, and sharpened his focus on the demons. Reaching into his waist, he threw the dagger into the demon imp. ‘huh?’ he was dumbfounded. The dagger managed to land a headshot. And not only that, it pierced deep into its skull, killing it instantly. Although Alex had hoped for it, he was suprised that his attack actually worked. Delighted with his sucess, he shot his other dagger, once again scoring a headhot. The bodies of the dead imps and the last remaining imp got tangled. ‘Alright! I won’t have to worry about it anymore. Imps are cannibals right? I heard they eat the fallen bodies of their kin. He probably won’t chase me anymore.’
Oh how wrong he was.
. . . . .
[present time]
As he passed through several ruins, he felt something amiss. The sounds constantly alerting him to the demon imp’s presence had vanished. Confused, he turned and look. The imp is no longer there.
“What?! Is it gone?” he checked his surroundings. Apart from several broken-down statues, the landscape is desolate and void of any lifeforms, safe for the purple vegetations visible in the distance.
“That’s weird…” he focused his senses to the limit, searching the vicinity for any hint, any trace, that indicates the creature’s presence. As a Blademaster, his senses are supposed to be second only to a sentinel. Feeling none, he let out a relaxed sigh and slumped down on a nearby rock. The heat, which would scald the skin of any normal person, feels comfortingly warm. “Did the demon finally give up?” He massaged his sore muscles. Alex’s mood improved, the silhoutte of Sanctuary is visible in the distance, the sight reinvigorate his hope.
Suddenly he heard a screech, coming from above. He instinctively jumped out of the way. But unfortunately, his muscles are overworked, making his movement clumsy, and face planting himself to the sand.
“A sneak attack!?” he panicked. as he rose from the ground, the monster had taken another leap. Its claw tear his shoulder, eliciting a pained yelp. Blood started streaming down, dyeing his whole back red. He fought through the pain, forcing his tired feets to run. The beast resumed its chase, rapidly closing on its wounded prey, and managed to nick his calf. The boy groaned, but didn’t stop. His adrenaline suppressed the pain, making it bearable, if barely.
But the creature didn’t plan on letting the boy go. With its prey severely wounded, it leisurely caught up, and smack the boy down to the ground. The boy struggled to lift his face up. His vision started blurring, maybe it is from the loss of blood due to his open wounds, or maybe his eyes have been broken from the smack, or maybe it is because of the hazy air. Or who knows, it might be all three of it. The darkstone walls of sanctuary was seemingly just within his grasp, yet he couldn’t reach it.
As the imp is preparing to take a bite, he desperately chanted, “I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die!” He cried in his heart. He urged his body to move, but it felt heavy, like a pile of bricks are piled on top of him.
He struggled hard, but to no avail. As his final strength seemed to diminish, he felt despair. The boy resigned his fate, and close his tired eyes. Waiting for the embracing hands of death to welcome him to the afterlife.
At that moment, his body suddenly felt refreshed, and light. “How relaxing, is this heaven?” He felt free. But then he heard a very familiar voice, the snarling of the demon imp. Confused, he opened his eyes, and discovered that he is still back at the desert. As he rose back up, the next thing he noticed was the luminescent light that wrapped around his body, like a veil. The demon imp seemed hesitant to approach, only daring to snarl at him.
While he was still in shock, the light starts to rapidly fade, and not long after, it disappeared completely. the demon imp, noticing that the bizarre phenomena has stopped, resumed its hunt for prey. The boy is snapped back to reality by the screech of the demon imp.
“Shoot, I forgot.” He quickly started running. Surprisingly, his whole body felt invigorated, and as he looked, he found that all the wounds are gone, with only the dried blood on his tattered clothes to prove his injury.
“Wow, how did this happen?” a cliché sentence, but that is truly how he felt. He is very intrigued but he put it aside for now.
In his top condition, he easily dodged the demon’s attacks. Although he couldn’t thoroughly outrun it, he could still maintain the distance. As he neared the walls, he waved his arms frantically, calling out to the sentries at the wall. “Help!”
“Kikikiki, boy, you in trouble again?” a goblin sentry replied as it raised a hand cannon and aimed.
“Duck, boy.” It said, and fired.
Alex ducked, as a cannonball the size of his fist sliced the air, missing his head by a hair’s breadth. The shell struck the demon square in the back, killing it in one blow.
The demon’s insides burst apart, demon bile leaked out from the wound, creating a stench and polluting the ground, but not for long. The sands here, in the Desert of Tranquility, quickly absorbed any fluids, draining it into goddess knows where.
“Phew, thanks Kuzz!” The boy shouted to the goblin sentry. To others, goblins might all look the same, but because of his time spent with them, he learned how to distinguish the goblins apart. Be it their way of talking, scars, or slight difference in their skin colors, every goblin is unique.
After taking a moment to collect the black iron, he jogged towards the gates.
“Hey kiddo, are you okay?” the guards are a bit alarmed at the sight of his bloody and torn clothes. But surprisingly, not a wound was seen on him.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Has Silvia and Marcus came?” the boy asked.
“Haven’t seen them. What happened?” the guards asked when they see his face filled with worry.
“We got separated by a pack of demons. They should arrive soon…”
“Hmm…. just go back home first. If they come, I will inform you.” One of the guards offered. He had a pretty good relationship with the guards, and most of the time went to play with them.
“No thanks, I will wait here.” He felt scared if he goes home alone. Marcus would most likely scold him.
He went up the walls, and chatted with the goblin sentries to pass the time. The goblins, contrary to public opinion, are actually quite nice and sociable once you get to know them. It is only due to the old times, during the Age of Heroes, when the goblins and humans are still at war. The goblins and humans both took countless lives from the other side. But now, with the demons’ re-emergence, they finally let go of old grudges and joined hands.
Time passed quickly, and the sun started to set. And yet, they still hadn’t returned. As the sky turned increasingly dark, so did his mood.
“Hey, Alex boy. It’s okay. They are strong. They will be fine.” One of the goblins, Hylx, tried to comfort him.
“Thanks.” Alex replied. As he was about to turn around and go down, he saw a dark silhouette at the distance.
“Is it them?” he asked carefully. He had gotten his hopes up several times when he saw people from a distance, but his heart sank even more when it’s not.
“Let’s see…” kuirx, another goblin, and the most creative of the lot, pulled out a handmade telescope and adjusted the lens.
“It is!” he cried out. Alex felt happy, but at the same time worry. “Your da- um, i mean… Marky is walking here, but your sister seems to be sleeping or something.”
Alex expression twisted a little at the word ‘dad’, but it immediately vanished upon hearing the situation of Silvia. It is impossible to fall asleep while on the desert. It means that something REALLY bad must have happened to her.
“Is she okay?” He muttered as he hurriedly went out the walls to meet them. It is quite dangerous considering demons are more active at night, but they usually didn’t stray close to human settlements.
“Marcus!” he cried out as he ran. When he got a closer look, he felt horrified. Marcus’s huge build is riddled with wounds, most of which are still bleeding and his legs are slightly limping. His iron armor cracked and dented, and the clothes were in a worse condition than Alex’s. His greatsword is nowhere to be found.
Although a Battleworn have impressive vitality, these kind of wounds are dangerous if left untreated. Silvia, carried on Marcus’s back, is limp like a doll. Her face, which is usually bright and full of life, is now deathly pale.
“S-Silvia… is she…?” Alex asked, but stopped upon seeing Marcus’s grim face. Marcus just roughly brush past him, not bothering to say a word, and went into the town.
Alex quickly followed.