Thanks for staying with me. I honestly started writing without thinking about plot and just went with what came to mind. It came out better than I thought, though I’m still new to writing creatively. So I decided to seriously think about plot and where I wanted the story to go.
Hopefully the story will only improve as I go.
It’s kind of a short chapter but it felt like a good point to end. The next one will be longer I promise.
Something was going on with my computer or Royal Road so now the color of the text is weird. Sigh.
Please enjoy.
Chapter 3: The Demon Unleashed
2 weeks ago
Azan ran through the alleys as fast as his short legs would take him. I have to report this immediately. He was one of the men who had been freed from the prison when Dusty made his escape. He had seen what the young man could do and he knew some people who would be interested in the information.
He reached a building in the slums that looked like any other, with the exception of the two homeless men sitting on a bench outside of the house. Closer inspection would reveal that these two were far too muscular and healthy to actually be homeless. Azan formed a symbol with his hands and gestured in their direction before quickly entering the house.
He entered a door in the back of the house and quickly descended. He entered an area that was an underground bar for criminals to relax and moved to where the bartender was. He whispered in the man’s ear and the bartender then motioned for him to go into the back. He walked past a tall, muscular man and entered another door behind the bar.
Inside, the room was smoky and a fat man sat in a luxurious chair, surrounded by drugged girls.
“Interrupting my fun, this had better be good Azan.”
“Oh I think you’re going to want to hear this”
Present:
Dusty sat on a roof, watching the crowds below him as they went about their lives. Steve just stood behind him, solemnly watching the clouds. They both wore better clothes now that they had escaped the guardhouse. In the two weeks since they had escaped, Dusty trained himself to use his portal ability to pickpocket people from a distance. They bought or stole anything they needed as they prepared to enact vengeance on the guards. Well, he prepared while Steve followed him around grinning.
Unfortunately, he didn’t know where to start. He could go around massacring everyone that might have something to do with the way they treated people here, but he could just as well end up executing half the town. He sighed as he thought about his next move. He needed to improve his skills and get a better weapon if possible. The one he had was fairly well used and the blade could probably use sharpening.
“Show stats?” he said, laughing when nothing happened. Yeah, just as I thought, this isn’t a game. The two of them left the roof, strolling through town with their hoods up, not that the guards would recognize them anyway. He liked to walk when thinking because it helped him clear his mind and focus.
It wasn’t long before he was being followed, and they weren’t trying to hide it. He slowed his pace and slips his dagger into his hand in a reverse grip, hiding it against his forearm. He watched as those uninvolved quickly left the area or closed their doors. Dusty readies himself for a fight as he stops walking, surrounded by men on rooftops and in alleys. If he had to fight this many people, he’d probably die, even if Steve weren’t a drooling imbecile.
A man stepped out of an alley and smiled a fake smile. “We have you surrounded.”
‘Snake’ he thought. “And I should give a shit?”
The man frowned as much from the strange way of speaking as from the attitude. “We simply wish to speak with you.” He said as the smile returned.
“You could have sent a message.” Dusty glared at the man.
“We wanted to make sure you would hear us out and respond accordingly.”
“That’s nice. So what then?”
“If you would come with us, our… leader would like a word with you.”
Dusty thought about it. It could be a place to start. His new life in this world could be as a master thief or assassin. With his cheat ability, he could become one of the best. His worries would be over and he could have whatever he wanted whenever he wanted.
He smiled. “Yes, I think I’d like that.
He was lead to the upper class section of town, where the buildings were luxurious and access was denied to the general public. The thugs scattered as they approached the wall to the inner city.
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Apparently the guards were paid to let the snake and everyone that was with him pass because they took one look at him and then pretended to not notice anything.
‘So much corruption for such a small city.’
They entered what was probably the most expensive of the small mansions in the area. The small spires and intricate designs didn’t mix well and made it look like whoever made it was trying too hard to put in as many fancy details as possible.
Dusty was wary of a trap since the thugs didn’t know him and they were supposedly leading him right to their boss. He was ready to escape at a moment’s notice and tensed up as moved closer to their destination. A butler welcomed them, opening the door before they were even able to knock.
The whole way to there, the snake had been telling him everything about the benefits of joining their organization. Dusty liked what he heard. The more the man spoke, the more certain he was about his decision and he began to relax a bit. ‘This will be great.’
The snake led him through the small mansion and eventually stopped at one of the many doors. He knocked on the door and waited a few moments before a young, beautiful maid opened the door from the inside.
The snake grinned, “You could have girls like that whenever you want.”
Dusty just smirked and followed the man inside. A fat man sat on a soft looking couch surrounded by pretty girls.
‘How cliché’
“You must be that demon that I heard so much about.” The fat man smiled and shifted, causing his fat to jiggle.
Dusty was slightly disgusted but plastered a smile on his face and responded, “Actually, someone is gonna have to explain the whole ‘demon’ thing to me. What makes me a demon anyway?”
“The government has decided that all beings from other worlds are to be identified as demons and either incarcerated or executed. It has something to do with prophecies about demons or beings from another world causing chaos and disrupting society.”
“Government? You mean the king?”
The fat man chuckled, “No, the king is a puppet. His council of ‘advisors’ holds the real power. More importantly, I want you to work for me. I heard about your abilities and if the information is true, I’m sure I can put you to good use.”
“Oh it’s true, but what exactly are you offering me. At the very least, I hope you can offer me better weapons than this worn out dagger” he said, slowly pulling it out to show how it wasn’t in good shape. “But you know, this is just what I wanted. I was hoping to bring chaos and death to those who dared to imprison me. I can do whatever I want and cause havoc. You know I hadn’t considered that option when I came here. But I’m glad. I always liked those characters the most.
“I’m not sure what you mean but of course, just who…” he began before being interrupted.
“Cough…” the snake coughed up blood and collapsed.
“What are you…”
Dusty was no listening. “The dark heroes,” he grinned wickedly, “They’re the real badasses.”
Dusty swung the dagger downward as hard as he could, opened a portal and slammed the blade into the fat man’s heart. The man’s eyes widened as he realized he had brought this death upon himself by trusting a stranger. He felt the cold embrace of death as the young man grinned evilly at him. ‘That man is truly a demon.’
“Not to mention, it’s bastards like you that I hate the most.” He wiped the blood on the snake’s shirt and left the room as he returned the dagger to its sheath. He left the door open. The girls in the room just sat or stood in stunned silence as they watched the demon walk out, looking refreshed rather than upset after killing two men.
He didn’t really remember the way back to the entrance so he simply walked through a portal, once again loving the usefulness of his one and only power.
“Let’s go Steve.”
As usual, Steve wordlessly followed him out into the afternoon light as he began to plan his next steps
“Well, I think I’ll start with a bit of hunting, because I remember some faces. I’m good at that.”
He walked past the gate and out into the city as he thought. Yes, they had a demon running rampant in their city now. He would prey on the weak and the poor, he would bring destruction and chaos, changing everything they knew, but only if they were rotten to the core. From here on out, there would only be one rule. No mercy for the wicked.