The Wolf And The Demon (II)

Her olive green eyes scanned the room trying to find something out of place. For a brief second, her eyes met Aiden’s but she just pivoted so that she wasn’t facing him anymore. She ignored him, as if he did not exist, and taking long strides towards where the library was – she started to walk away from him.

Aiden frowned, confusion evident on his face. “What are you even talking about? Of course I can see you. Why would I not?”

Suddenly, the duo heard the authoritative voice of Aiden’s teacher, Miss Kudelia call out into the empty hallways – “Aiden Kualasis, stop yelling and complete your damn job!”

                                    *

It was already mid-afternoon when Kudelia had decided to check on Aiden to see how he was doing. That was when she heard him shouting in one of the hallways.  Thinking that something was wrong, she rushed towards where she could hear his voice come from and found nothing wrong except for the boy talking to himself.

‘Seriously, what is wrong with this boy?’ thought Kudelia. ‘First, he was late and now I find him talking to himself!’

                                        *

"You came at the right time, Miss Kudelia!” Aiden said as soon as he heard his teacher’s voice. He took a few steps forward and gestured to the girl that was now standing behind him.

“This girl behind me,” he said. “Just appeared out of a crack in the air! I was cleaning when I felt all the Astarte particles within the campus accumulate at this point. So, I came hurrying here just to find her-”

“What are you saying, Aiden?” his teacher interrupted, blinking at him in confusion. “There’s no one behind you! Are you feeling alright?”

“What?” was Aiden’s smart reply before he turned his head to see if the girl was still standing there and sure enough she was still there. His confusion only grew.

“I’m talking about this girl wearing the black cloak and red tunic,” he said, once again gesturing behind him.

“It’s useless,” said the mystery girl, her eyes filled with seriousness. “It’s not possible for mere Guardians to see me.”

Aiden turned to look at her completely, his face morphed into an expression of curiosity.

“Because I am an Enigma Jaeger.”

                               *****

In the continent of Aviona there exists no such thing as magic. However, there is an alternate to it. It is another supernatural power similar to what we ordinary people of Earth refer to as magic. They call it Astarte manipulation.

It is the power that allows every person to use it to their respective liking. For example, a blacksmith would use fire manipulation for melting metals and for smelting work; sailors would use water manipulation to help them survive in the harsh seas.

However, the usage of Astarte is not just limited to your day to day routine job. It’s used by the right people to fight against evil spirits, gnomes, orcs, goblins and many other supernatural beings that inhibit this continent.

Those who use Astarte Manipulation for fighting are referred to as Guardians. They are the military strength of every Kingdom and educating them properly is the topmost priority for each and every Kingdom.

But even among the Guardians there exists another line of fighters. They are usually not talked about a lot but their job is considered to be the most important and dangerous of all. They are the ones who maintain the balance and stability of this world. They are known as the ‘Enigma Jaeger’.

                                 *****

The usually rough sea was calm today. The sound of the waves washing up against the harbor wall crept into the Coast Guard’s ear. Even he had fallen in love with the strange music of the waves today.

Hebrew Jankins had been a Coast Guard for the Rasparte Harbor for over a decade now and he had never in his tenure seen the sea so calm. The waves were so gentle that even he, a non-swimmer, could have gone for a swim today.

He was a Coast Guard who did not know how to swim and he still got the job. It was all thanks to his father who was a noble. That was how things worked here. If your social status was higher than those around you, then you would be more favored for the job. However, being a Coast Guard was nothing more than a front for the brunette.

His blue eyes gazed out at the ships that rode the waves far away from the port sailing into the unknown. He was in a good mood or he was supposed to be until one of his minions gave him the bad news.

“Boss,” said a bald thug, Leo that approached the middle-aged man apprehensively. “We couldn’t get the girl.”

The Coast Guard turned away from the calm scenery in front of him to fix his minion with a cold menacing look.

“We almost had her,” Leo continued as his eyes avoided looking at the man’s face. “But this kid intervened and-”

Hebrew Jankins was known to be a calm and rational minded person but at the same time he was someone else. In the eyes of the society, he is the role model son of Captain Jankins but to the thieving network of Rasparte, he is a known kingpin.

Ruthless and merciless he was always doing a dirty job. He had a reputation of always completing his job no matter what it was. But today, he was unable to keep up with his reputation and that angered him to no end. Leo was going to die today.

“Leo,” Hebrew calmly intercepted the thug, trying to keep his anger in check till the right moment. “Do you remember what I told you last night?”

Said man felt his blood freeze at the tone of his boss’s voice. “Boss, I promise I will bring the girl-” he tried.

“I asked you,” the brunette man growled out. “Do you remember what I told you last night?”

“Y-y-y-yeah,” Leo stuttered, his limbs trembling from fear at the malicious aura emitting from his boss, Hebrew Jankins.

“Ah, you do remember,” Hebrew said, a chilling smile on his lips. “Then are you ready to face the consequences for your failure that I mentioned?”

“P-p-please forgive me! Give me another chance! I promise you, I will bring the girl if you let me go just this one time.” Leo begged as he got on his knees to bow to the man in front of him. “I have a family, Sir. Please understand. Th-th-they need me!”

Hebrew’s blue eyes gazed down at the pitiful figure of Leo in front of him with amusement. This was a rather interesting development. It had been ages since he had eaten someone who was driven to such despair.

“I am sorry, Leo,” he said in fake sympathy, an evil smile still on his face as he took in the other man’s desperate state. “Since you failed to bring me my dinner, you will have to make amends.”

As he slowly strode over to Leo, his body started to morph. First, ancient symbols started to manifest all over his body upon his pale skin then his skin began to expand until it tore up. Soon a cover of glistening black skin replaced his old one as if it was never there. Second, his brown hair turned white and a blood red hue overtook his once blue eyes.

A crackling sound filled the air as his spine came out of his body, breaking and reforming until it formed a protective armour over his chest and back. Where his arms should’ve been, were now claws with razor sharp blades. His teeth grew out into sharp fangs and his human face was gone. What was left was a face that belonged to a monster.

“M-m-m-m-monster!” screamed the thug as he tried to scramble away as quick as he could in a futile attempt to get away from the creature that took form in front of him. Alas for him, it was too late.

The last thing Leo saw before he died were the swiftly moving white clouds that hung in the blue sky above him.

“So beautiful,” whispered the dying man and regret filled his words as he spoke his parting words to the world. “I wish I could have spent more time with you Sybil.”

And then the curtain on his life draped.

“Well, my dear Leo,” said the monster that was once Hebrew Jankins as he gazed at the lifeless body on the ground. “You might not have been the best soul that I have consumed, but your despair was top notch.”

A rumbling sound filled the silence that now hung around the creature as he cleaned his claws. The sound came from his stomach. A sigh sounded from the creature. “However, I’m still hungry,” he spoke to no one in particular.

Suddenly, Hebrew sensed a large amount of Astarte particles being accumulated at one place. His red pupils widened as his demonic body reacted with excitement as soon as he sensed her presence.

“How long it has been since I last ate an Enigma Jaeger.”

**************************************

Hey everyone thanks for reading this chapter. I am really grateful to all of you readers who gave their precious time to my story. 

And I hope you all found it enjoyable. If you find any mistakes be free to point it out and constructive criticism is always welcome. 

Last but not the Least Happy Reading guys.!!!