The Demon roared as its claws struck the trees around it. The Goblin dodged, his eyes flashed crimson as he dashed backwards with a frantic look on his face. Leaves snapped and the Demon charged. He barely had any time to gain his footing when he found himself pressed against a tree as the Demon lunged towards him.

"Surrender the sacrifice."

The Demon roared. Trees splintered and bark rained down on the Goblin as he rolled away from the Demon.

Eyes. Not one, but many, glared at him as black veins throbbed within the Demon's arms. They looked like twisted roots of dead trees. He pulled out his dagger and found only a blade no better than a kitchen knife used to cut vegetables. Its pale hue and faint shine were gone, it was as if the weapon itself trembled before the Demon's presence. No, it did not fear the Demon. There was something else at work here, something unholy.

"[Flame]!"

The Demon looked at the Goblin. After a moment, the Demon smiled at him.

He looked at his open palm. No flame. In fact, he couldn't even feel his mana move towards his hand. The Goblin cursed and looked at the Demon's body as it approached him. It looked sick with throbbing growths on its bark, leaves the color of ashes, and yellow ooze that dripped out from it. The Demon smiled as its hand curled into a fist.

"You... You reek of the sacrifice. Show me the sacrifice."

The Demon said with a malignant voice that sounded like someone with phlegm and pus stuck in their throat.

He did not reply with words, but with a rock that he picked up from the ground. It did little against the leathery skin of the Demon, but it worked. The Demon's eyes glanced at it, and he took his chance. He bolted, not towards the dungeon but deeper into the forest. He heard something crack behind him. He glanced back and saw the Demon as its shoulder popped out of its socket while bones and muscles formed something on its back.

Wings. It grew wings! The Goblin picked up his pace as he heard the leathery beats of the Demon's wings. It was reddish-brown in color and at least five Goblins in length. Eyes dotted the Demon's chest and abdomen yet its body looked like it had shrunk. It was more gaunt in appearance now, its thick arms now smaller and no bigger than a man's. The Demon shot up and chased after him from atop the trees.

The Goblin did not get far. Moments later, the Demon landed in front of him. The force of the impact sent the Goblin back, but the Demon's hand was quick to grab him by the neck. It lifted him up into the air, a sinister smile on its face as its many eyes turned towards him. Many things ran through his mind, but the Goblin knew that he needed to escape the Demon's grasp. But how?

"Child of Gol'oth. Where is the sacrifice?"

"S-Sacrifice?"

"A child. A Beastman child of the Felinis Tribe. One escaped into these woods, and those we sent to apprehend the sacrifice are yet to return. It had a mark on its hands... one like this..."

The Demon growled, then it unhinged its jaws. Its tongue slithered out of its cavernous maw and on it, a strange mark could be seen burnt into the Demon's tongue.

"Have you seen a gir-"

"Graaah!"

His hands moved, and he felt his dagger as it sliced through the Demon's tongue.

It fell to the ground and the Demon nearly crushed his neck. But a stab and a slice at the creature's thumb was all that it took for it to let him go. He coughed, then he clutched the hilt of his dagger tightly and he slashed at the Demon's leg. The Demon screamed, but its claws slashed at nothing. The Goblin ran quickly, cold sweat ran down his back as his legs carried him through the forest.

The Demon's howls echoed throughout the forest. Yet despite the maddening sounds of Hell's wrath unleashed, he was confident the Demon would not find him. He could see the faint silhouette in the distance. Its red eyes scanned the horizon for any signs of him as its wings beat loudly. The Goblin saw the yellow blood that dripped from its mouth and hand, he shuddered and laid back down again in the hole beneath an old, oak tree. The Demon snorted and flew away as it chased the scent of something further down the mountainside.

Still, he wondered why the Demon appeared so weak. He remembered the stories, he knew of the old tales. They were Daemons. They were the things that tore armies asunder during the Age of Calamities. Grokos and Tork did battle with them and they, one of them the greatest of the Goblin heroes of old, fell to the blade of a single Demon Prince. If Goblin Heroes couldn't defeat such a threat, why was he able to cut through its flesh easily? Was it a trick? Did it really intend for him to escape its grasp?

Questions flooded his large mind yet small head. What did Semirra have to do with all of this? Why does the Demon want a little girl like her? He scratched his chin quietly while he shooed away a family of squirrels living in the hole. He needed answers. Answers that may help him see the light of day. With a heavy heave, he gently pushed off the baby squirrel that sniffed at him as he crawled out of his hiding hole. The Demon went towards the slope of the mountain, so he took the obvious choice of where to go.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Each snap and strange noise made him hide behind the cover of nearby trees. The dungeon lay not too far from where he is, but it would be best if he didn't lead a Demon to his temporary home. So he travelled slowly. His steps are careful, each movement calculated to make as little noise possible. If he was an Assassin, he would've been an average one since he barely made any attempts to completely hide himself in the shadows. Still, he did a good job as he snuck through the forests.

After what felt like a few hours of slow walking in the darkness, he found the stone frame of a giant doorway carved into the mountainside. He said nothing and he did nothing as he looked at the night sky. Silence. He heard nothing. No crickets, no animals, just the sound of the wind as it crashed against the mountain. He stood up, bemused and slightly scared. He walked in a low stance towards the doors of the dungeon while his ears tuned in to what was around him.

Did it find this place? What happened? Are Semirra and Miu alright?

Those troubling thoughts weighed on him heavily. After a moment of contemplation, he placed his hands on the cold stone and took a deep breath. He pushed the door slightly open and peeked. Miu, perhaps due to being close to the door, rolled slightly to the side as she continued to sleep. Just under one of her tendrils lay Semirra, who slept soundly despite being near the Slime. He let out a sigh of relief. They were still here, safe and sound.

"I see you."

The wind blew all around him and the chilling voice behind him let out a hiss.

Semirra and Miu jolted up from their slumber and saw the wings of the Demon as it shrivelled up inside him. The Goblin whirled. The Demon grinned at him as his claws shot towards the Demon's foul visage. It was instant. He felt only the searing pain of something that struck him as he flew to the side of the room. He coughed up blood as he winced from the pain of the Demon's strike. His vision blurred and he watched as the Demon's many eyes shifted towards the terrified little girl.

"Karun it'l lakirith."

It smiled as Semirra screamed in pain.

Something glowed from under her clothes. Moments later, what little fabric that covered her body was eaten away by magical flames and revealed a crimson mark that throbbed violently on her bare chest. The Demon steadily approached her. Bones snapped and flesh morphed and the ribs and sinews of the Demon's chest formed a maw filled with sharp, pointed teeth made of its ribs. Its guts and organs spilled out of its newly formed jaws and writhed around like red worms that reached out towards the barely conscious girl.

The yellow blood of the Demon scorched the girl's skin, and she howled in pain because of it. But before the Demon could fully engulf her with its bloody tendrils, Miu struck. She wrapped herself around the Demon's body and pulled the fiend away from Semirra. The Demon roared, and Miu tightened her grip. She thought she could bring it down, but she was wrong. The Demon grabbed at her. She did her best to dodge, but with a furious roar, the Demon tore apart the Slime and splattered her everywhere. Still, she managed to take out chunks of the Demon's soft flesh.

It snorted and walked past Miu as she tried to put herself back together. Finally, nothing stood between him and the little girl, who wheezed loudly as the mark constricted around her. The Goblin groaned as he lifted his head to look at the Demon. It smiled widely as it approached Semirra, and there was something strange happening to its body. Bones snapped and flesh parted as the Demon's gaunt physique changed. Its tongue stuck out of its mouth as its abdomen opened to reveal a gaping hole devoid of any organs. Sharp points made of broken ribs protruded out like teeth. No, they were teeth. The Demon's upper body became contorted as it made room for its giant jaws.

The Goblin crawled forward on his arms. He spat out the blood in his mouth as he watched the Demon regurgitate what looked like its throbbing insides. It moved like worms as it slowly wrapped around Semirra. The Demon had a grin on its face as it slowly pulled the girl into its maw while she tried her best to resist the Demon. The Goblin screamed, but he could do little to save Semirra. No, he could do one thing! He let out a groan as he clutched his dagger and aimed it at the Demon's head. With the last of his fading strength, he let out a desperate cry as he threw it at the Demon.

But it was no use. The blade simply bounced off of the Demon as bone formed around its right temple. It turned its head towards him and smiled. The Goblin was about to faint, but he saw it. The glimmer of steel gave him hope as he lay on the floor of the dungeon. The clang of steel as it met the floor never came, instead, he saw his dagger in the soft hands of the little girl. The Demon's many eyes turned towards Semirra, who clutched the blade with both hands and pressed it against the Demon's neck. There was little time to react. Against a Beastman's senses and fighting instinct, there was nothing it could do.

Semirra hissed as she slit the Demon's throat. In an instant, the pain on her chest disappeared and the tendrils that held her loosened. The Demon writhed in agony as Semirra dropped the dagger and staggered away from the Demon's body. It moaned as it reached out for her, its hands now ashy in color. Moments later, its arm and body crumbled into dust and embers while the mark on its tongue was burned away by purple flames that quickly spread throughout its remains. Still, even in defeat, the Demon laughed at Semirra.

"There are more sacrifices. Each, an opportunity to return."

The Demon laughed. Semirra stared at it, terrified beyond belief, as the Demon slowly crumbled into ashes. With a hiss that sounded like water touching hot steel, the Demon's body erupted into a cloud of grey ash and dust. Semirra fell to the ground on her knees. and she glanced at the Goblin to her side.

He lay on the ground, unconscious but alive. His chest rose and fell softly, but she could tell that his breaths were labored and painful. Near her feet was Miu, who had now formed into a small ball of blue. She let out a sigh and looked at her chest. The mark there was gone, replaced only by a faint scar that itched slightly. Her eyes shifted towards the ashes as they were swept by the wind, towards the city she ran from. She felt a shiver down her spine and tail as she saw the purple flames that rose near the castle at the heart of Arenhein. She shuddered at how menacing it looked.

Then, she fell onto one of the large blobs that rolled near her. She would tell the Goblin about it tomorrow. For now, she thought it would be best if she slept soundly through the night. With a soft yawn, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Below her, Miu angrily pulled what little liquid remained of her body together and stared at the strange fire in the distance.

And she wondered if there's any nearby animal she could hunt.