The Demon in the Woods

It wasn't long before we got back to the magic guild. Neither of us had much of an inclination to stay there, as no one in their right mind would. The Knights Guild was known as the dangerous part of Townia, the place to not approach if you feared for your life. Many men, women, and children had disappeared around there, taken in by the knights for who knows why.

“So is Prince Charles really coming next week?” I asked.

“Yes. I just got the letter today. Though, it's rather peculiar.” He reached through a stack of papers on his desk, presenting it to me.

When I unrolled the scroll, a single sentence awaited me. “Prince Charles shall come to the town of Townia to choose a hero.”

“Is… is that it? What was Prince Charles on to think this was a clear message?” The royal family was quirky, to say the least, or so the rumors said. They could change their minds on a complete whim, send someone to execution then reverse the decision last minute.

I placed the scroll back on the desk and sat down on a nearby leather couch. Level’s office was pretty plain, with wooden walls covered by rows upon rows of books. The room looked like a messy library, a rainbow of books upon a dull background of wood.

“Oh yeah, Theo. While you’re here, there’s something I need to discuss with you real quick.” I turned my eyes toward Leven as he continued. “Recently, there’s been a demon spotted in the nearby forest. The few eyewitness reports we have spoke of a giant striped brown cat, holding a judge’s gavel. Normally, the knights guild would eventually send someone to take care of this, but well…”

“And you want me to take care of it before the Price arrives.”

“Exactly.”

I leaned back on the couch, spreading my arms out. The furniture in Townia was well kept, but not necessarily the most comfortable. Luxury products simply weren’t in the price range for the average civilian. “That shouldn’t be a problem. I’m the best option you got by a mile after all.”

“And the most humble one too,” Leven muttered under his breath.

“So anyway, do you have any more details about this cat demon?”

Leven reached over to a nearby bookshelf and picked out a particularly large volume as thick as my head. I could hear the leather groan as he opened the potential murder weapon and slammed it onto the desk. If I didn’t know better, I would have sworn the floor shook from its weight.

On the page he flipped to was a detailed diagram of a cute-looking kitten, holding a gavel in its right paw. At first glance, it looked to be no more than a foot tall, exactly the dimensions of a normal cat. “This is the judgment kitty, a lower-ranked demon that appears whenever a large amount of sin appears in a certain point, but only if the surrounding areas are relatively free from said sin. Normally, they’re harmless to the average person, but if the spike in sin is big enough, then their senses leave them, and they go on a rampage, attacking the first things they can see.”

“So this is the Knight’s fault as well. Figures. If only that Jehovah-like religion of theirs didn’t exist.”

“Jehovah-like?”

“Never mind. Any more details on this thing. As truly threatening as cats are, I don’t see why you need someone of my caliber to deal with this.”

“It increases in power depending on the sin of its opponent. Against a sinless person, it’s as harmful as a tiny kitty, even in its rampage mode. Against someone like a murderer, however, and it’s a different story. The largest one ever recorded was over four thousand meters. It was targeting the King of Death, Vlankov over a thousand years ago. The population of his kingdom decreased ninety percent from its attack.”

“That shouldn't be a problem then. I'll just kidnap a baby and wear it on my chest.” I stood up and stretched, the sooner I took care of this, the better. Not to mention that any hint of the demon would hurt Townia, not that I really cared.

As I exited Leven’s office, he looked up from his desk. “Also Theo, be careful. You never know what the knight’s are really planning.”

With a nod I was off. Miguel was a pitiful man, but those were the ones who would do the dumbest shit. Neither of us said it, but it was obvious; There was no way Miguel would be able to clean up the Knight’s act in a week. With the Prince’s visit coming up soon, Miguel was probably furious, and who better to take his anger out on than me and Leven.

An hour later I was entering the dense wilderness that was Townia’s forest. Trees grew to the heartbeat of the planet, sporting up like flowers in April. Leaves of every color covered the dark sky. Sikine trees grew like weeds in the forest, every trunk that lay in my vision was connected to one. They had great durable wood, and their sap could be used as an ingredient in a billion different recipes. The real reason everyone knew of them however was their leaves. They grew in every shade of the rainbow, from pink to yellow, from blue to black.

It was a cool summer’s night, with the trees in full bloom. The beams of moonlight shot through the tree cover, creating a kaleidoscope of color. A perfect day to hunt demons.

The trails through the forest had long been taken back by nature, with vines and dirt covering the broken stone paths. Nevertheless, I continued on. A simple tap of my heels, and my shoes levitated me into the air, less than a foot off the ground. These things had to be one of the most useless magical items of all time. I couldn't move any faster, and they couldn't levitate me any higher. The only use they had was for uneven terrain like this, and even then it was easy to trip over yourself when the elevation changed.

Despite that, I couldn't make myself part with my red leather shoes. They were one of the only things I had from the goddess. With thoughts of her in my mind, I trudged into the woods as the trees crowded around me.

It was silent, eerily silent. With my footsteps not making a sound, only the sound of the wind running through the colorful leaves accompanied me through my lonely hunt. I spotted a few rabird’s rustling through the branches far above. Their white fluff wings were easy to spot whenever they landed on a branch.

Hunting rabird’s was a nigh impossible task unless you used a trap. Their powerful legs could shoot them up twenty feet into the air in a blink of an eye, then their wings took them up to the great sea of clouds. There was another use for them however. Whenever they appeared. It was safe to relax.

I shot off deeper into the mess of trees, the forest enveloping me more. The trail had almost disappeared at this point. Only bits of stone were visible around every five feet or so on the forest floor. This was where it got interesting. Predators didn't go near the outskirts of the forest, too scared of anything involving humans. This deep in the forest however, well there were a few near that would see me as a very tasty treat.

My quil rested on a page as I slowed my speed. There was a good chance the judgement kitty, or at least some kind of predator, was near. The rabird’s had completely disappeared from sight after all.

Suddenly, I heard the breaking of branches as something charged through the forest, heading right for me. I turned and peared deep into the woods, spell ready to write. A giant four legged creature burst through a tree, and looked straight at me with its hundreds of eyes.

It was a eyblaerlo, one of the crualist animals known to man. Its body was rather similar to that of a horse, long and sleek, with four hoofed legs. It was covered in short grey hair, decorated with what I could only assume was blood.

The interesting part was the head. It had a giant mane, but instead of hair, it was made of eyes. Every one was focused with a murderous, bloodthirsty gaze, I couldn't get out of its sight. The only other facial features it had were a black nose, with fresh blood dripping from the nostrils, and a set of sharp, drooling teeth. Bits of what I assumed was meat still decorated the white canines as the eyblaerlo got closer and closer.

That was until a beam of metal shot from the ground, launching the fowl beast into the air. There was no pity. Eyblaerlo’s only deserve the most cruel deaths, it was fitting revenge for the cruelty they caused. They were the only carnivorous wild animal that approached human settlements, killing the weakest humans they could find, sometimes for sport.

The eyblaerlo landed with a thud between two nearby trees, and squealed in pain a second later as I wrote a few more words onto my book. Anvills fell from the sky one by one, disappearing right before the next one hit. As cruel as this was, it was one of the most consistent methods out there. Fire simply bounced off, while it enjoyed any water thrown its way. It could bounce back from any single it pretty much, and most blades couldn't even cut through its skin. Repeated forced trauma to the head was truly the most consistent option.

Its last cry could be heard throughout the forest, a pitiful roar fit for a being of such cruelty.

Great, this little pest had probably cost me another few hours. It was already midnight, and I just wanted to sleep. I was gonna get pissed at Leven if the Judgement Kitty didn't provide an interesting fight.

Armour started to clatter around me before I started moving again. Knights appeared behind trees and behind bushes. Their grey armor shone in the colorful moonlight, shifting colors with every step.

“Now what are you doing to that righty fine animal, Theo?” Miguel appeared from behind a tree, smiling menacingly.