After resting for a couple of hours, Caeldaemos and their group headed out to their missions.

Caeldaemos, Rana, and Liara walked through the town, looking for Silver Bloods. Their purpose was to test the group and see just how bad they were. It didn’t take them long to find them as loud shouting and arrogant laughter drew their attention to a large courtyard.

A once lovely stall was flipped and partially broken. The person running it was begging a group of six men who wore silver and blue sashes across their bodies.

“Please! Why would you do this?! I said I would pay you for them!” The stall owner cried.

“Hah! That was disgusting. We just did the town a favor by saving them from consuming poison.” The leader of the group replied with a cruel grin.

Caeldaemos registered the group before them as corrupt officials and bullies.

“Hey Manny, look!” One of the Silver Blood cronies pointed out Caeldaemos’ group.

“Well, well, well.” The leader said, causing Caeldaemos to internally cringe over the overly used small-time villain line.

The Silver Bloods turned their attention to Caeldaemos’ group.

“You have a couple of pets and no leashes?” The leader mockingly stated.

Rana bristled at the man’s words. Caeldaemos petted her head, calming her.

“My ladies are quite lovely, and I treat them well.” Caeldaemos pulled Liara toward him by her waist.

The Silver Bloods burst out in laughter. “I see, I see. So, you bed your beasts? How disgusting. We will need to take these animals away from you. Don’t worry. We’ll find them a proper home.”

“Shouldn’t you be apologizing first?” Caeldaemos asked.

“Hah! Animals are ani-.”

“We’ll get to that mistake in a moment. I’m talking about the stall owner.” Caeldaemos interrupted the man.

“What?” The leader became agitated, and his group took an aggressive stance.

“Lia, could you buy me one of the skewers?” Caeldaemos asked.

Liara strutted to the broken stall and bought one of the meat skewers. The Silver Bloods voracious eyes stared at Liara’s swaying derriere, her shiny tail making it more alluring.

Bringing back a skewer, Caeldaemos tried it. “Hmm. Not bad. Not at Rana’s level of cooking, but not bad.”

Rana tried a bite too. “Hmm. Sir, if you marinate your meat overnight, it will not dry out as much and be more tender.” She advised the stall owner.

“Stop ignoring us, dammit!” The leader yelled.

“What? I was just confirming if what you said was true. His food is not bad for stall food. You guys just have no taste.” Caeldaemos smiled.

“Fuck you!” The leader threw a punch, hitting Caeldaemos’ in the chest. “ARGH!” He pulled his hand away in pain.

“Hey, that’s not nice.” Caeldaemos flicked the man’s forehead, snapping it back. The leader fell to the ground in a daze.

“You fucker!” “No one messes with the Silver Bloods!”

The remaining five men charged at Caeldaemos. Rana and Liara stepped back to hide their abilities and stay out of their husband’s way.

Even with his large frame, not even one of them could touch him as he stepped by them to the guy on the ground.

Caeldaemos then did something he always wanted to try. Beat some mother fuckers with another mother fucker.

Picking up the dazed man, Caeldaemos wielded the screaming man like a two-handed club. It did not take long for all the men to be moaning in pain or unconscious on the ground.

Caeldaemos dropped the leader to the ground just as the guards showed up, one being Ańa.

“Halt! What is happening here?!” She demanded to know.

“I tried talking some sense into these men when they attacked me. I swear by Io.” Caeldaemos answered.

“M-Michael!?” Ańa was taken aback.

“Um, captain, he did a Divine Oath.” One of her people sighed.

“Ah, yes. Ahem. We will take them in for questioning. I’ll take you. Ahem. I will take your statement, Michael.” Ańa was clearly struggling to be around him.

“Captain. I’ll take his statement.” A male knight stepped up to Caeldaemos.

Ańa wanted to protest, but Liara and Rana hung on Caeldaemos, deflating her drive.

“Captain, these are Silver Bloods.” One of the guards whispered to her.

Caeldaemos and the girls all heard what was being said.

“Damn. Check to see if any are around. If they aren’t around, bag these bastards and take them to jail. Remove those damn sashes before they wake up.” She ordered.

The guards hurriedly disarmed, wrapped the unconscious men in whatever they could get, and carried them off.

The captain came up to Caeldaemos. “Listen to me. Do not mention anything about this happening. Does everyone here understand? We don’t want another one of those incidents.” She spoke to everyone.

“What are you talking-?” Caeldaemos started.

“You may want to gather the others of your group and leave as soon as possible.” That is all Ańa said before leaving.

“Let’s head back to the inn,” Liara said.

“Alright.” Caeldaemos agreed.

They headed back to the inn, the sun setting.

Listamati and Orelia returned to the inn shortly after Caeldaemos and his two wives arrived. Lily and Mari had set out just before nightfall to get to the manor, so they were absent.

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Caeldaemos finished going through what he had found out.

“So, what had you guys learned?” He asked.

“We heard a lot of what you experienced. Extortion, blackmail, assault, kidnapping, rape, and a whole slew of other crimes. They are basically a criminal organization sanctioned by the Hero of Sylfaerune.” Listamati stated.

“How the hell does that work?” Caeldaemos asked. It confused him how a hero could have more pull than the local lord.

“We couldn’t get anything on that. Communication from the lord’s manor has only supported the Silver Bloods.” Orelia answered.

Caeldaemos hoped that Lily and Mari would be able to find out what was happening.

Hours went by. Caeldaemos was practicing his Domain skill. He had checked on Geon, but she was still recharging. The girls went to take a bath in the inn bathhouse. Lily popped out of a shadow and latched onto her father.

“Lily?” Caeldaemos became worried about her. He could feel it. A creeping darkness latched onto her heart.

Mari appeared, a pained look on her face.

Caeldaemos placed a hand on Lily’s head and hugged her close. He activated Lord of Darkness and Bringer of Light to clear what was hurting his daughter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Are you ready, Lily?” Mari asked.

Lily nodded. She was nervous but glad that it was Mari who was with her. Mari had a lot of experience with this kind of thing, and One with Darkness would make it easier.

Slipping into a shadow, the two shifted into the manor compound.

“Odd…” Mari commented as they slipped up to the side of the manor.

“What is?” Lily asked.

“This is the house of a noble, a low ranking one, but a noble nonetheless. Where are the guards?” Mari led them to search the outside of the house, but they were unable to find a single guard outside.

Checking through the windows, they saw several people inside, all wearing silver and blue sashes.

“What the hell? I guess the lord is working with them.” Mari commented.

“Are you sure?” Lily asked.

“What do you mean?” Mari asked.

“I don’t know. It feels like….” Lily couldn’t put it into words.

Something felt off about how the people inside carried themselves. If it was the home of a noble they were working with, wouldn’t they be a bit more respectful?

Her stomach felt tight.

Mari found a single window open, and they slid up to it using One with Darkness and made their way inside. They stayed in the darkness and checked inside the dimly lit room.

A woman quietly cried in the corner of the room, wrapped up in a filthy sheet.

“Oh no… Lily, perhaps you should wait outside.” Mari said, realizing something Lily had guessed.

“We should keep going,” Lily said. Her daddy gave her this job, and she wanted to make him proud.

Mari looked like she wanted to argue but stopped when the door to the room opened.

A drunken Silver Blood entered the room. Mari quickly grabbed Lily and dragged her out of the room.

The door shut behind them, and Lily clutched onto herself as the woman cried out, begging to be left alone.

Mari dragged Lily further in. “We need to find the lord.”

The demi woman moved past room after room until she found one where the door was open, and she heard two men talking.

“Please, just let me get more medicine for her!” An elderly voice begged.

“I let you out two days ago. If you go out again, I can’t guarantee your lady’s safety from these creeps.” A voice mocked him.

Mari led them into the room and set up in a corner.

An older man in a butler outfit was arguing with a burly, heavy-weight man wearing a silver and blue sash with three stars. A single, large bed in the room lay a woman who looked like she had not eaten in weeks. Her cheeks were sunken, and her arms looked thin.

“She looks so weak,” Lily observed.

The Silver Blood man laughed loudly. “Just keep quiet here, and I will see about getting her your ‘precious’ medicine.”

“You can keep the seal! Just please let me get her medicine now!” The old man begged.

The Silver Blood shut and locked the door.

The old man lowered his head. “Please… Any god, please help my lady.” The old man approached the bed and held the woman’s hand. “I don’t care if it was the Demon-Lord, please, someone help my lady….” Tears trickled down his wrinkled face.

“Let’s go.” Mari grabbed Lily and slipped out the cracked open window, and they returned to the Nesty Inn.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The light died down, and Lily peacefully slept in her father’s arms.

“Master…” Mari couldn’t find the words.

“It’s okay, Mari. I know what needs to be done.” Caeldaemos laid Lily down in the bed and stood.

Fury was in his eyes. How dare they harm his daughter! That old man wanted the Demon-Lord? He is going to get it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The old butler Alpen gently fed his lady some water from a water pot. Lady Tamerilla had become paler. He was afraid that soon he would have to bury the woman he had helped raise since she was a child. Her parents passed away when she was thirteen, and he was the only one on her side.

Family members had tried to oust her, and he successfully fought against them. They wanted to marry her to an older distant relative who could control her, but he fought them off again. The bastards even tried to kidnap or kill her, and he beat them once more.

When she came of age and took her place as head of household, she had worked so hard to never be challenged. Lady Temerilla had even admitted to him that the reason she worked so hard was so that she could protect him for once.

Their domain was never prosperous, but everyone was happy. The loyalty she gained from her people could not be denied.

Then, the dungeon came to be. Business improved at first as Mercenaries began flowing through town. Things were good. Only a few brawls here and there, but everyone was still happy.

It was when the Hero of Sylfaerune and his wicked Silver Bloods showed up. Hero Gabriel carried with him an imperial edict stating that the dungeon was now the property of the Hero.

The business of the Mercenaries dried up as they were forced out by the Silver Bloods.

Once the Mercenaries were gone, Lady Temerilla’s uncle, Lord Vern, joined the Silver Bloods and turned them into an organized group of thugs and criminals.

Alpen tried talking to the Hero, but the man would not give him the time of day.

When the Hero left a month ago, Alpen found his mistress unconscious with signs of being raped the following morning. Before he could call the guards, Lord Vern burst into the household and took over.

Alpen tried to keep the man from getting a hold of Lady Temerilla’s sigil ring, but he forced it out of him when the bastard threatened to harm her ladyship.

Lord Vern then acted, in Lady Temerilla’s name, as the domain’s ruler. He changed policies, changed critical people out of important positions, and made his Silver Bloods untouchable.

There was a fool of a blacksmith, stubborn beyond belief, that had beat the hell out of a bunch of Silver Bloods who showed up to extort Tress from him. The blacksmith’s shop was burned to the ground, and both his hands were broken beyond any healing or potion short of an Elixir.

Alpen saw the troubled looks on the people’s faces. He wanted to tell them the truth. He wanted Lady Temerilla’s people’s suffering to end. But that would only happen if a True Hero showed up.

Alpen heard loud voices from the hall. One being Lord Vern’s.

“Dammit! What the hell is a demon doing here?! Kill it! Kill the fucking thing!” Lord Vern yelled.

Afraid for his mistress, Alpen grabbed the one metal chair in the room and wedged it into the door.

“Stop it! Stop!” Lord Vern yelled.

The sounds of fighting died down, and the hall went silent.

Alpen was nervous. What happened? A demon?

Then, a light knock came on the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Caeldaemos, now in his true form, knocked lightly on the door. He already scouted the entire manor using Lord of Darkness and dealt with every Silver Blood present.

No answer came from the door. He knocked once more.

“Who is it?” An elderly voice shakily asked.

“Someone here to help your mistress. All I want is some help from your mistress.” Caeldaemos replied.

He heard something move from the door, and it cracked open. An old, wrinkled face looked at Caeldaemos, screamed, and quickly secured the door again.

Caeldaemos sighed and shifted into the room.

“S-S-S-Stay back! Don’t come any closer!” The old man shouted, holding a broken piece of furniture as a club.

“I told you, I’m here to help you.” Caeldaemos tried.

“You say that! But how can I trust you?!” The old man yelled.

Caeldaemos lifted his hand and cast Panacea on the old man.

The old man shivered as the spell healed and restored his health. “What?” The old man was now confused.

“If I cast that on your mistress, she will be fully restored,” Caeldaemos informed the old man.

The old man still seemed on edge, but he moved aside. “If you do anything funny, I’m whacking you!”

Caeldaemos snorted, causing the old man to look at him indignantly. He sat on the bed and took the frail woman’s hand. “Panacea.”

The old man watched as color returned to his mistress’ face, and her body filled back out a little bit. She was still relatively thin.

“Oh! She looks better than she has! Thank you! Thank you!” The old man kneeled next to the bed.

Caeldaemos stood and let the old man take the woman’s hand.

The young woman inhaled sharply, and her eyes fluttered open.

“Oh! My lady!” The old man bawled into the bed.

“Alpen?” She sat up and immediately saw the giant demon standing in the room. “Um, I guess some things have happened.”