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  Standing at the edge of a forest, a figure in a wide cloak stepped from the shade of the leaves into the light of the day. Beyond the forest was a wide field that had a river cutting through it, and over the river was a large city with an enormous white building in the center. The figure stopped his march, staring out across the scenery with awe. The distant hills appeared as mountains, and the greenery all around had a serene quality. The gentle brush of a breeze pushed the hood ever so slightly, but the figure pulled down on it to hide his face.

  His hands were large, but they were a deep grey color, like the ash in a long dead fire. The cloaked figure continued his walk, his feet barely making a sound as if he floated lightly over the dirt path. His pace was slow, but he was able to get where he was going.

  Arriving at the outskirts of the city, the figure was greeted by a tall man wearing leather armor. The man stopped the cloaked figure with a hand, but didn't show any animosity.

  "Excuse me, sir," the guard said respectfully, "but would you kindly remove your hood."

  Without a word, the figure took his hood off, revealing a face that only a mother could love.

  His face had the same ashen grey skin that his hands had revealed, but on his forehead were two little horns poking out of his skin. His eyes were not blue, but a vast black color that had no discernable pupils. His ears had sharp turns in them, coming up to simple points. His chin was cracked into hexagonal pieces, and underneath the cracks glowed with a blood red color. The skin around his left face was slightly different from the rest, but not in an incredibly noticable way.

  Despite his hellish appearance, the cloaked man looked incredibly depressed. The entire structure of his face seemed sad, as though he had suffered some terrible tragedy. His eyes, while black, appeared to be struggling with deep inner conflict.

  The guard drew back at the sight of the demonic man, fumbling for his sword. The guard tripped over something he hadn't seen, falling backwards until something caught him during the fall. Turning back to his savior, he noticed that it was the demon whom had stopped his fall.

The guard quickly scrambled away, drawing his sword and pointing it at the demon with a trembling hand.

  "What business have you here?" the guard demanded, his voice threatening to crack.

  Instead of responding, the demon bent down and started to write in the dirt. The letters were upside down so that the guard could read them.

  'I've come to see Lucia for a cure,' were the words in the mud. The guard looked at how the demon wouldn't catch his eye, almost as if it was ashamed of itself.

  "Come with me," the guard told him, "and keep your face hidden."

  The demon pulled up his hood and followed the guard through the busy streets. The sound of people hustling about, shouts of vendors, and the giggling of children filled the demon's ears as he kept pace with the guard. So many of the denizens were of mixed races, there were actually demi-human children playing with regular humans. Times had clearly changed.

  The closer they got, the greater the large white building became. It stood taller than any other building, with more than twenty stories in the tallest tower. The marble stone that it had been cut from created a shining clean aesthetic which matched the mood in the town. When the two passed through the gates of the wall sorrounding the white castle, the hooded figure suddenly stopped. The guard turned around to see the demon staring at the statue.

  It gleamed with a brilliant gold luster, the very heroic stance of an enormous man rising out of the ground. Around him stood a small dragon, a sleeping rabbit, an armored warrior, and a pouncing tiger. There were chains wrapped around all of them as depicted by the statue, making it seem like they were pulling against the chains. On the plaque below was a symbol of chains, and an inscription.

  "Here stands the eternal memory of Eric Bane, Hero of the Chains and savior of the world. On ?? day

in the ?? month of the ??? year, he gave the ultimate sacrifice to close the very gates of hell and end a

reign of terror that had plagued the world for generations. Because of his heroic sacrifice, the Waves have

ended and the demon threat is no more.

  May you never be forgotten, and may your words live eternal."

  Underneath the inscription were four quotes:

  'You can hit me, you can spit on me, you can do whatever you want; but you will never call my friends monsters.'

  'Nobody can tell you what you are. Hero... Monster... all that matters is what you decide.'

  'I don't fight for myself, I fight for the people I care about.'

  'I do.'

  "That's the greatest hero," the guard narrated, grabbing the demon's attention. "I used to live in a small village that had been attacked by the demons. Even when they were defeated, their blood contaminated the water, forcing my family to move away. We went to some family on the border with Bagonia, then the hero started to free all of the slaves. I didn't care until the slaves all came through our town, and I suddenly knew why he had done it. When the army was gathering for the attack here, I came to help them out. I was a little too late, but I stayed here to help manage afterwards."

  The demon looked at the young guard, then smiled lightly. It's teeth were jagged and broken in a few places, showing tusks that didn't overlap the lips. The smile disappeared swiftly when the chatting in the courtyard suddenly came to an end. The guard followed the demon's line of sight, then saw why everything had gotten quiet.

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  Walking with all of the grace in the world, a woman dressed in light armor was floating on her feet towards the entrance. She was talking with a large black man that had a handlebar moustache and an afro, making him look like Black Dynamite. The woman had the beauty of a million beauties, her ample figure and elegant face giving her a regal persona. The woman had lovely hair that was colored orange and black, with feline ears and eyes.

  "Miss Lucia," the guard called out, grabbing the woman's attention.

  "What is it?" Lucia asked, her voice very gentle yet with authority.

  "This man seeks your help," the guard told her, and the cloaked demon fell to his knees.

  "I'm sorry, but I'm very busy," Lucia apologized sincerely, "maybe I could get someone to help you. What is your affliction?"

  "Sir," the guard said softly, putting his hands onto the demon's shoulders, "tell her your affliction."

  The sound of sniveling could be heard as the cloacked demon tried to remain hidden, holding his hands beneath his cloak. In his eyes were tears of blood red, falling down his cheeks and pooling at his cracked chin. He was afraid, more afraid than he had ever been in his life.

  "Lucia, I need to talk to you about the crops we got from Midrard," said a familiar voice, and a red dragon demi-human appeared with a regal red suit that had black coattails. He stood as tall as Lucia with a large number of tiny horns growing where his hair should be. His eyes were reptilian and some parts of his neck and hands had red scales on them. "We're already running out, they're a huge hit at the restraunt and we've got orders coming in constantly."

  "I've got a lot to deal with already, Draco," Lucia said apologetically. "I'll try to remember it, but remind me later to ask Elas about it."

  "Who's this?" Draco asked, gesturing to the cloaked figure.

  "He's a man who needs help," the guard answered softly.

  "What's going on?" came another voice. The demon looked over to see two pairs of legs walking towards the group.

  "Elas, Lilly, I thought you guys were going to Midrard," Draco said in some surprise.

  "We were, but I felt something very powerful coming towards the Guild," Elas answered, looking around. "It's really close, and stronger than anything I've ever felt."

  The demon lent forward until his forehead smacked the ground, bloody tears streaming from his eyes. He couldn't do this, it was all too much. He couldn't face these people, not now that he'd changed.

  "Sir," said Lilly, getting on one knee and putting a hand on the demon's back, "I can feel your fear. You're practically shaking the ground." Something spread across the demon's back, then two arms squeezed him with a gentle hug. "It's okay, nobody's going to hurt you."

  That was the kind of anonymous boost that the demon needed, so he rocked back onto his knees with his head down. Taking in a deep breath, the demon reached up and grasped the edges of his hood. His hands shook violently, but the hood came off without being snagged on his horns.

  When his face was revealed, there were gasps from Lilly and Elas. Lucia looked at this man with pity, and Draco had a hard time looking directly at the horrific appearance. He knew that his face was a nightmare made reality, but he needed these people to accept him.

  "Eric?" said a confused voice. The black blacksmith stepped forward with no fear, no disgust, and he bent down to look more carefully at the demon's face. "Eric, don't you recognize me? It's George, the blacksmith!"

  The demon looked at this mustachioed black stereotype, then smiled just a little bit.

  "You sunovabitch," George cried, suddenly embracing Eric in a manly hug. They squeezed until George tapped out, then Eric glanced up at Lucia for her reaction.

  The tigress was crying heavily, covering her mouth with one hand as she reached out with her other hand towards the demon. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Her chin wrinkled, her nose crinkled, then her knees went weak. She fell onto the mountain of a man, who caught her with open arms. The embrace seemed to last forever, an eternity spent in each other's arms for the perfect moment. More arms suddenly started to envelope Eric, comforting him as they all cried like children.

  "I'm back," Eric whispered, more to himself than any of his companions. "I'm finally back." The dogpile didn't lessen, but Eric stood up with everyone's weight on him. Nobody asked him what had happened on the other side, nobody asked him how he had managed to escape, and nobody asked why his appearance had changed.

  Instead:

  "We have some unfinished business," Lucia told her new demon husband with a grin and a suggestive gaze.

  Lying in a ruined bed, an ashen Eric Bane was looking up at the cieling next to an out of breath Lucia. Both of them were buck naked and reeling from the intense exprerience they had just shared. The bed was almost completely destroyed, with splinters all across the room. The sheets were soaked in some places and ripped in other places, but the bed wasn't the only disaster zone.

  There was a large mirror along one wall that had been smashed repeatedly, some glass falling to the ground. A dresser that had once carried the clothes of important people was toppled over with intermittent holes in it. All along the walls were claw marks and scrapes of varying sizes, and the marble floor had been cracked in more than a few places. A chandelier that once hung above the bed was now laying on the floor with some of the glass ornaments missing. Every window had been shattered, even the tiny one in the bathroom.

  "Woah," Eric stated, still looking up at the cieling.

  "Wow," Lucia agreed, letting her head flop lazily to the side so she could look at Eric. She saw his horns, his black eyes, his cracked and glowing chin, then she smiled. Crawling onto her husband and lightly nibbling his ear, Lucia asked, "Ready for round two?"

  Eric smiled, a true and honest smile.

  From down in the courtyard, the ground shook repeatedly in rapid succession as the sound of rolling thunder could be heard from the cathedral. Elas, Draco, and Lilly were all sitting on a bench looking awkwardly at the ground as a sudden wailing scream pierced the air for miles around. The earthquake rose in tempo before dropping out altogether, then Elas looked wearily at Draco.

  "Which number was that?" Elas asked with a dry mouth.

  "Four," Draco answered, then the ground started to shake again. "On to number five."

  "Guys," Lilly spoke up with some concern, "do you think we should tell them the entire city knows what they're doing?"

  "Naw," Draco replied, looking at a section of the cathedral where the windows were shattered, "we'll let them have their fun first." 

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