The Demon

With everything discussed, Wulfred began to guide us toward the burrow where the demon supposedly had the pups trapped. It took us about fifteen minutes to approach the mountain where the cave was located, and when we were less than fifty meters away, I could feel the hairs on my skin stand on end.

“The magical intensity coming from that cave is quite large,” Karen commented, her voice sounding somewhat nervous even though she tried to appear calm.

“The demon seems to be performing some kind of ritual,” Wulfred said. “Many times, he forces the wolves to bring him some kind of material or live animal. If we refuse, he kills one of the pups.”

I could see a grimace of disgust forming on Kharel's face, and I probably had the same expression. Blackmailing someone with the threat of killing their children for some kind of ritual is not something anyone would accept.

“Well, let’s start the plan,” I said. “Be very careful, Wulfred.”

Wulfred nodded, and Aewyn hugged him. Then, Wulfred became darker and was swallowed by the ground; it seems this is his ability. I looked at my companions, and we nodded. It was time to act. We emerged from the bushes and began to walk through the clearing surrounding the cave. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew from inside the cave, accompanied by a nauseating smell. Then, a shrill laugh echoed.

“Kiek kiek kiek.” What kind of being laughs like that? It was a very high-pitched laugh and sounded very unnatural. “I didn’t expect to see living humans come so close to this place. Are you eager to die?” The voice twisted the tongue on the last part, sending a chill down my spine, but I couldn’t let myself be intimidated.

“We come to talk,” my voice trembled slightly. Nozomi, who was on my head, was staring intently at the cave entrance.

After a horrifying silence, the faint flapping of wings began to be heard.

“Talk?” The demon’s high-pitched voice had a tone of surprise. “It’s the first time a human wants to talk to me!” The demon’s tone seemed genuinely joyful.

From the darkness of the cave, a shadow began to emerge, taking the form of a humanoid with wings, which he used to move instead of his legs. As he exited the cave, the demon revealed his appearance: a young man, probably not over 20 years old, with red skin, small maroon horns protruding from his forehead, and black eyes. His hair was short and dark as ebony, and he stood about 1.70 meters tall, although he was flying, so my estimate might be incorrect. His two red wings were somewhat small, and he was dressed in casual clothing: a black jacket with a black t-shirt, black pants, and black shoes. Additionally, his nails were painted black; I think I know what his favorite color is. He watched us with curiosity while flicking his forked tongue, revealing that all his teeth were sharp and resembled fangs. Despite having the appearance of a handsome man, he gave off a very unsettling vibe. I saw Karen take a step back as the demon approached us, licking his lips. I swallowed hard before I began to speak.

“My name is Ray,” I tried to calm my voice as much as possible. “We were traveling through the forest when this girl told us there was a demon in this place.” I didn’t want to tell any lies or say anything that would make the demon doubt me; I just needed to keep the conversation going.

The demon twisted his head in a very macabre way, alternating his gaze between Aewyn and me. After a moment, he opened his mouth.

“I didn’t expect a human to speak the infernal language so fluently,” the demon showed his teeth in a sinister smile and turned his head to the other side. “My name is Neumas Hellspire. Why were you looking for me?”

Well, it seems I have his attention; now I just need to avoid making him think it’s a trap.

“I was simply very curious to meet a demon in person,” I put on the most sincere smile I could muster.

Neumas turned his head to the other side again and licked his lips once more. The moments of silence created by his pauses made me nervous, but we were buying time.

“I understand,” the demon turned his head again, this time focusing his gaze on the twins. “And you?”

I could see Karen trembling under the demon’s watchful gaze, while Kharel lowered his hand to grip the hilt of his sword.

“They don’t speak infernal,” I placed my hand on Karen’s shoulder, trying to calm her. “This is Karen, and he is Kharel.”

The demon leaned his face closer to mine without losing his smile and licked his lips again.

“Curious, Kiek kiek,” his shrill laugh gave me a headache. “And why did this little pup tell you my whereabouts?” The demon abruptly turned his head to stare intently at Aewyn, whose tail bristled completely as she bared her fangs.

I cleared my throat before speaking.

“We asked her why the wolves were attacking the human village,” I hoped I wouldn’t regret this, “and she told us that you were the cause.” The demon turned his head sharply again, this time looking me directly in the eyes. Up to this point, I hadn’t seen him blink even once since we came face to face. “We just wanted to know your version of the events.”

“Kiek kiek,” the demon let out his shrill laugh again. “So that’s why she brought you here.” Neumas stuck out his tongue and licked my cheek. I prayed he wouldn’t call me a liar. Then he stepped away from me and turned his back. “Yep! I’m the cause. I have secret plans that required the wolves to leave me alone, and threatening them was the best way to achieve that.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aewyn about to say something, so I grabbed her arm and shook my head. It seemed she understood what I meant and stopped, but she continued to threaten the demon with her fangs. I sighed and spoke again.

“Secret plan?” Neumas turned back to me, his gaze threatening. “In a forest, in the middle of nowhere?”

“Kiek kiek,” the demon laughed again. “Yes! Yes! A plan! The best of plans!” His high-pitched voice changed intensity at a rapid pace, but then he quickly wiped the smile off his face and looked me directly in the eyes. “But you shouldn’t know anything. If you discover the plan, I will kill you. I will kill you dead. Kiek kiek kiek!” The demon laughed again, but his eyes remained threatening. A cold sweat ran down my back; he really seemed like he could kill us right now if he wanted to. He had a lot of confidence in himself, or should I just say he was insane?

It seemed my worries were reflected on my face, as Karen grabbed the sleeve of my shirt and pulled on it. When I looked at her, I could see a frightened expression. I forced a smile to calm her down; everything would be fine as long as we didn’t provoke him.

“Master,” Nozomi communicated with me, “I can feel the demon’s bloodlust increasing with every passing second.”

So the cold sweat wasn’t just from the death threat.

“Well, humans!” the demon stopped flapping his wings and used his legs for the first time, walking back and forth while examining us from head to toe. “I just remembered that my being here is also a secret—the greatest of secrets!” Neumas stopped abruptly and opened his mouth again, showing his horrifying smile and sharp fangs, licking his lips once more before continuing to speak. “So I can’t let you live.” At that declaration, I gestured to the others and drew the two daggers I had taken from the assassins. Kharel unsheathed his sword, and Karen pointed her staff at the demon. Aewyn assumed a combat stance with her fists raised, and Nozomi jumped to the ground. “You will be my meal today, Kiek Kiek Kiek!” Neumas spread his wings and lunged at us.

But from the ground, or rather, from the shadow of Neumas, Wulfred appeared, catching the demon by surprise. The wolf delivered a powerful slash to the demon’s chest with his claws, sending Neumas crashing into a tree.

“It seems I arrived just in time,” Wulfred’s voice sounded somewhat tired; it seems using that ability takes a lot of effort. “Here.” The wolf tossed me a bag with his mouth. I caught it mid-air and secured it to my belt.

“No, no, no, my furry friend,” Neumas regained his composure. The wound on his chest was bleeding quite a bit, but that didn’t seem to affect him; he still looked at us with that horrifying smile. “Do you want all the pups in your pack to end up as my food?” The demon licked his lips again. “Be a good pup and attack those humans, and maybe I’ll reconsider.”

“I will not obey your orders,” Wulfred showed his fangs threateningly. “I intend to finish you off right now.”

We could see Neumas’s smile gradually fading, replaced by an expression of rage. He then extended his hand toward Wulfred, fully stretching out his slender fingers.

“Viper’s Bite!” Neumas exclaimed, as a green energy shaped like a serpent shot from the palm of his hand toward the wolf at high speed.

Wulfred jumped to the side to dodge the attack, but its trajectory was heading towards us. Nozomi jumped and fired a blood impact; both attacks collided, causing an explosion that mixed red and green. Aewyn lunged at Neumas, trying to keep pace with the wolf. Kharel stepped forward and positioned himself in front of Karen and me, while Nozomi stood next to Kharel. The strength of his magic is on par with Nozomi's, which means he is quite strong magically, and if we don't know what type of magic he can use, diving in headfirst is not a good idea. We had discussed this, but Aewyn has decided to dive in headfirst anyway. I think we will need to have a more in-depth discussion about formations to get it through her thick skull.

The wolf tried to attack the demon, but he took to the air to dodge its claws with incredible agility. Aewyn jumped to a tree branch and then tried to punch the demon, who easily dodged her by maneuvering in the air. Karen and Nozomi took the opportunity to cast their spells, but a green barrier surrounded Neumas just as the fireball and blood impact were about to hit him.

“Kiek kiek kiek,” the demon laughed again, “you won't be able to touch me.” The demon launched the green energy again, aiming at Aewyn, but she spun in the air to easily dodge the attack. This is not good; he has the advantage in the air, we cannot fly, and he can cast spells. On top of that, our magical attacks are not working. I will have to think carefully about what we can do. For now, I will change my job to tamer.

“Offensive Boost,” “Defensive Boost,” I said as I pointed my hand at Nozomi, and then repeated the same, pointing at Wulfred. I don't think Aewyn can be considered a monster, but Wulfred is, and any help is welcome. Then I changed my job to Assassin and whispered, “One with the shadows.” I want to try something, and for that, I need Nozomi's help. The first step is to eliminate his advantage.

I approached Nozomi; she was launching blood impacts at Neumas, some completely missing while others were nullified by the green barrier. I picked Nozomi up in my arms; she was surprised at first, but quickly realized it was me.

“Master?” It seems she understood that I didn't want to draw attention.

“I have a plan, so stay quiet,” I said while running towards the forest with Nozomi in my arms. She nodded.

We moved around the area where Neumas was flying, positioning ourselves behind him while I explained my plan to Nozomi: to launch her at the demon from his blind spot and have her use blood spikes as close to him as possible. In the worst-case scenario, it won't work, and the demon will attack Nozomi, but if it does work, even if he dodges, we might be able to disable his wings, making it much easier to fight him. Nozomi nodded and agreed with the plan. I climbed a tree and held Nozomi with both arms, bending them behind my head, and with all the strength I could muster, I launched her at the demon just as he stood still to launch an attack. The trajectory was good, and thanks to the strength I had gained from Aewyn, Nozomi quickly reached the demon's height. She then released a myriad of spikes from her body; initially, they were blocked by the barrier. Neumas turned around, surprised, showing his horrifying smile towards Nozomi and moved his hand towards her, but Aewyn appeared right behind him and grabbed both of his arms. This surprised the demon, and the sound of the barrier cracking could be heard throughout the area. Neumas looked horrified as the barrier shattered and the spikes pierced his body. Aewyn separated from the demon and fell to the ground, doing a somersault in the air to land on her feet.