Sulika and Faeyra took a long, hard look at the three men sitting in the room.

Max, the GM of the Hunters Guild, sat with his arms folded across his chest. His head was tilted back and rested against the wooden frame of his chair. And though his eye was closed, his body was tense too tense for her to believe he was resting. The muscles in his jaw were moving slightly as he chewed on the inside of his right cheek.

Meanwhile, Joolbic: the man who held the highest position on the entire island, looked perfectly comfortable with his hands interlaced in front of him. And while he sat with perfect posture, his shoulders remained relaxed, and his eyes remained focused on Aldritch’s face.

Speaking of the crimson-haired giant: The sentinels hadn’t liked the idea of some unknown man being alone with the governor, Max’s presence notwithstanding, and it looked like they’d tried to shackle him to the ground with wooden chains to keep him contained… Unfortunately, they didn’t have any that were of a size that would fit around Aldritch’s monstrous calves.

So, they ended up linking five shackles together to extend the length of the chain, before wrapping two around each leg and connecting them to the floor anchor with the fifth. Altogether, it looked barely functional and ultimately a waste of time considering Aldritch didn’t seem to care they were there.

In fact, Aldritch was so comfortable in this situation, Sulika could hear him quietly talking to the little puppy. “You’re such a pretty girl ~ Yes you are ~” said the coco addict in a voice that did not match the image Sulika held of Aldritch in her head.

“What did you do?” Sulika asked again. Somehow, the sight of him absently playing with a puppy, while arguably the two most important people on the island sat watching, was doing far more to her nerves than it was to his.

As if he’d only just noticed their presence, Aldritch looked at Sulika and smiled. “Good morning, ladies. Did you sleep well?” He asked, speaking as if there was nothing unusual about the situation, they’d found themselves in.

“Aldritch…” Sulika growled, her fraying nerves couldn’t handle his laissez-faire attitude right now. “Please, answer the question: what did you do?”

“Of course. I apologize for disturbing your morning. I would’ve preferred it if today went slightly differently, so I could discuss everything with you this afternoon. Unfortunately, I underestimated the reaction people would have.” Aldritch replied and looked genuinely remorseful for ruining their morning.

“You brought a demon into our city, sir Aldritch.” Joolbic said in a calm, but reproachful tone. “With that being the case, I think our sentinels reacted with an appropriate amount of concern.”

At the mention of the word ‘demon’, Sulika and Faeyra both glanced at the Demonwolf kneeling beside Aldritch. He hadn’t moved so much as a muscle since they’d entered the room. Leading the two of them to wonder; just what had Aldritch done to make a Demonwolf so scared it couldn’t move?

It was at that moment Sulika realized something about the Demonwolf- the demon wasn’t contained in any way. There wasn’t a shackle in sight, or a cuff in place. They hadn’t even bothered to put a ward around the creature. Why?

Why shackle Aldritch: an admittedly large, but otherwise normal man. But not the Demon sitting a scant few inches away?

It didn’t make any sense.

“Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I’ve just gotta ask. Shouldn’t we contain the Demonwolf somehow? What if it decides to go on a rampage? Demonwolves are around level 45, right? Could we really stop it before it hurts someone?” She asked while looking pointedly at Aldritch- But her attention shifted suddenly, when the Demonwolf’s body started quivering. Almost like every cell in its body was desperately trying to escape before Sulika’s question could sink into someone’s mind.

“Don’t worry about him.” Aldritch replied, moving his hand towards the Demonwolf’s face- Aldritch flicked his middle finger at a point directly between the demon’s eyes *Crack!* causing light to flash around the demon, revealing the skintight shield of divine energy encasing its entire body. The Demonwolf couldn’t move even if it wanted to. More to the point, it was widely known that divine mana was toxic to demons. Though a divine shield could act as a suit of armor for hunters, it only worked because any demon dumb enough to touch it was burned. Almost as if they’d stuck their hand in acid…

“I mentioned it earlier, but I think it deserves repeating: that’s a bit cruel, sir Aldritch. Even towards a demon.” Joolbic said. Though, his words weren’t entirely convincing since there was no pity contained within his eyes when he looked at the Demonwolf. “Why not just kill it? You clearly have the power, surprising though it might be.”

Sulika had to agree. She held no qualms about killing demons, but she didn’t enjoy it. It wasn’t ‘fun’ to kill demons. She only did so, because it was necessary- Then again, she hadn’t known Aldritch to be particularly cruel. And the thought of him keeping it alive just for the sake of inflicting pain upon it, seemed… Wrong, somehow.

Faeyra had actually reached the same conclusion as Sulika, but she’d gotten there almost immediately after seeing the Demon. Call it her merchant’s instincts, women’s intuition, or whatever you like. But she knew Aldritch wouldn’t have brought the demon inside the walls for such a petty reason. No, he had a way to make money off the demon, and she was very interested in finding out how.

“An excellent question… Which I will answer, but as I said earlier, only after my debt with the Hunters Guild is settled.” Aldritch replied while looking at Max.

“And like I’ve told you; I’ve already sent word to the guild. If your claim can be substantiated, I’ll pay you out of my own pocket just so we can get this over with. But until then, you aren’t getting a single copper bit from us.” Max replied while staring back at Aldritch. It was clear to everyone that the GM was irritated, and the more time that passed, the angrier he would get.

But Aldritch shrugged a single shoulder in response and slowly blinked at the much smaller man. “I’m happy to continue waiting until such proof can be found. Considering the body was just delivered a few days ago, I doubt the paperwork has been lost yet.”

Max narrowed his eye at Aldritch and slowly stood from his chair. “Be very careful with what you say next, outsider. My guild may have its issues, but I’ll not sit idly by and listen to you defame my employees.”

“That’s not what he’s doing.” Sulika quickly replied, hoping to curtail Max’s anger before things got out of hand. “Right, Aldritch? You just misspoke- he does that sometimes.”

“Sulika is correct. I have no intention of slandering your employees. From what I could see during my brief interactions with them. Most are honorable, hardworking people. I would never insult their dignity in such a way.”

“There, see,” Sulika said, sighing in relief that Aldritch took the hint and stopped while he was ahead. “Aldritch didn’t mean anything by it-”

“However-” Aldritch began, causing Sulika to curse internally. “I won’t lie for them either. By now, you must be aware of the issues your Vice-Manager tried to weigh against Sulika and her team, correct?” Aldritch asked. He met Max’s irritated gaze without flinching; both men staring their opponent down without a word or so much as a flicker of hesitation… But eventually, someone had to give.

“Yes, and I’ve apologized for that.” Max replied through gritted teeth. “Is that what this was about?”

“Certainly not.” Aldritch replied. “I’m only using it as a point of reference, because I signed the paperwork in question mere minutes before Sulika had her talk with the Vice-Master. Since you know what happened during that incident, surely you can understand my point?”

Max broke eye contact and stared at the table in front of him. Why did everything keep coming back to Edward? Max balled his hands into fists- then exhaled slowly, pushing the stress and tension out of his body.

Max reached into the small satchel sitting on the floor next to him and pulled out a leather pouch that had been dyed black. Opening it, he quickly retrieved six golden coins that were no larger than a fingertip and placed them in a stack on the table between him and Aldritch.

Without taking his hand off the stack, he removed three coins and placed them into a second stack beside the first. “I can’t just give you six gold coins without concrete evidence…” Max quietly said, once again meeting Aldritch’s eye. “But, if Sulika can corroborate your story, I’ll give you three coins now in exchange for you starting your story so we can all move on with our day. The other three will come when I see the paperwork. Sound fair?”

Aldritch glanced down at the coins, then returned his gaze to Max’s lone eye after a second of thought. “I can agree to that.”

“Hang on- What am I corroborating? None of this has been explained to me yet.” Sulika said, getting irritated herself. She didn’t like how they’d just agreed on something involving her, without even taking a second to ask her opinion.

“How the guild hasn’t paid me for the Ogre corpse yet.” Aldritch explained, before shooting her an apologetic smile.

“You told me about your friend during our conversation the other day. And while I have no concerns about the fact that he killed the Ogre, that part is clear enough. He’s claiming we never paid him. But, as you know, the bounty should have been paid out on the day we claimed the body. I wasn’t there, but you were.” Max explained while looking at Sulika. “I know you to be an honorable person. So, if you say he wasn’t paid, then he wasn’t paid.”

Sulika’s mind went blank the moment she realized everyone’s attention was on her. “Er…” She cleared her throat. “As far as I know, he wasn’t paid. Edward made it pretty clear that Aldritch wasn’t allowed to stay in the building after their conversation ended. I’m pretty sure he even asked a few hunters to make sure he left the building as soon as he got his stuff out of the Dorm.” She said, hoping she looked more confident than she felt. She was telling the truth, but if she’d hesitated for a second too long, or said something that sounded like a lie, there was no telling what Max might do.

But her worries proved fruitless. Max scrutinized Sulika for a few seconds before shaking his head. What he must do was obvious: He picked up a stack of coins and, with a quick flick of his wrist, sent the stack of coins sliding across the table to Aldritch’s waiting hand. “Next time- Don’t leave before getting your money. I won’t pay out this way again.”

Aldritch closed his fist around the coins and smiled wryly. “Understood. I’ll make sure to take every coin I'm owed before I leave.” Then, without looking, he took a single coin off the top of the stack and placed it in front of Sulika.

“What’s this for-” Sulika’s question was cut off by a light jab from Faeyra, who took the coin without question and made it disappear into her pocket.

“Thanks, Aldritch. I’ll give you your change when we get back to the store.” Faeyra said, happily smiling at the giant. Sulika might not have understood, but she certainly did. Aldritch had promised to pay them back for all the milk he’d drank, and for letting him stay at their home for the last few days.

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A gold coin was worth far more than anything they’d given him. But with that coin, the two of them could afford to buy new ingredients for potions, new clothes, a new weapon for Sulika… Or the downpayment on a new building for the guild they were creating.

The store was great, but it wasn’t big enough to be the base of a Guild. They’d need something at least twice, maybe even three times as big if Oladi, Ralocan, Zarud, and Derrik decided to move in to save on rent.

Not to mention cost of food, salaries, equipment maintenance, medical, and they’d need to keep a decent amount stored away for the death pool: A guild-wide contribution fund that would be sent to each of their person or organizations of choice, should the worst happen, and they don’t make it home from a hunt. Running a guild was expensive, more so than Faeyra believed Sulika realized. Aldritch seemed to agree, since he smirked at Faeyra and nodded his thanks.

“Well, now that that’s all sorted out.” Joolbic said, drawing everyone’s attention back to him. “Would you like to begin your story? I’m sure we’re all excited to hear how this-'' He waved between Aldritch and the Demonwolf. “Came about.”

“Of course.” Aldritch replied. “Faeyra, Sulika, would the two of you mind sitting here?” He said, standing up and offering his seat, and the one next to it, to the two women.

Sulika and Faeyra glanced at each other before moving to do as he asked- Though both women paused as Aldritch grabbed the Demonwolf by the scruff of its neck and dragged it away from the table. The demon’s eyes widened, surprise and fear battling to be the dominant expression. Everyone was stupefied to see Aldritch so easily moving the ten-foot tall, and weighing who knew how many hundreds of pounds Demon like it was the same size as the puppy sleeping in Aldritch's other hand.

Aldritch dragged it to the wall and forced it to stand at attention, before his empty hand closed around the Demon’s throat and lifted the creature off the ground.

Aldritch altered the shield spell to uncover the demon’s head before leaning in to whisper into the demon's ear. [I despise this atrocious language of yours, but I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings between us. You’re going to tell them everything that you told me.] He said in Abynaar: The language of demons. [But one sentence out of line, or one detail shy, and I’m going to take a pound of flesh for the inconvenience. Do you understand?] He asked while pinning the demon in place with his golden-eyed stare.

The Demonwolf gave Aldritch a shaky nod, still unsettled by the fact that a non-demon could speak Abynaar without killing themselves in the process. Abynaar was a guttural language that was as violent as the people who spoke it. Demons could get away with speaking it because of their body’s naturally high durability, and regeneration speed. If anyone else tried to speak the language, they’d rip their vocal cords to pieces.

Aldritch released the Demonwolf’s throat, causing it to land hard on its feet, and stepped around to Sulika and Faeyra’s back. “Then you can begin whenever you're ready.” Aldritch said and motioned for the demon to start talking.

The Demonwolf nervously glanced around the room for a few seconds… “My name is Garr. I am the captain of the Shadowed Hounds Demonwolf pack. And I…” Garr winced as if he were in pain. “Serve the Devil Irnal: Baron of the Crimson Fleet. My master sent myself and approximately 1,200 demons to this world in order to conquer it after our dungeon experienced what you mortals call a ‘break’-”

Garr went silent as Max bolted to his feet and yelled, “There’s been a dungeon break on the island?” Max pivoted his eye to Aldritch; rage, confusion, and fear were clear as day in the GM’s expression. “There’s been a dungeon break and you’ve been wasting our time in here with these-these theatrics!?”

“Calm down, Guild Master.” Joolbic muttered impatiently.

“Don’t tell me to calm down, Joolbic.” Max growled. “You know what a dungeon break is like. How many hundreds of people died while we’ve been sitting here, oblivious to what was going on? One? Two? What if it was a thousand, hmm? How about two thousand?”

For the first time since the meeting began; Sulika, Faeyra, and Aldritch saw the governor’s anger firsthand as his eyes crackled with barely suppressed mana. “I will not ask again.” He said in the same calm, but reproachful voice he’d used on Aldritch earlier.

Max’s jaw clenched so hard Sulika thought his teeth would break… Then he looked up, took a deep breath to calm himself, before finally sitting back down and motioning for Garr to continue speaking.

“We did not appear here, on this island.” Garr said quietly- He winced in pain again, surprising those watching him.

“What’s wrong with him?” Faeyra whispered to Aldritch- She was surprised to see him smirking at the demon. Was he doing something? And what had he said to it earlier? Faeyra hadn’t recognized the language, but it was obvious the demon had… For the first time since their first meeting, Faeyra wondered just who exactly was Aldritch? She knew he was a returnee, but that was what he was, not who he was. What kind of life had he lived before Sulika found him?

“Devils don’t like being betrayed.” Aldritch whispered back. “I might have to do something before it decides to pull the connection, or we won’t get the full story... Which would hinder my plans.”

“Pull the connection?” Sulika asked, letting the two of them know she’d been listening.

“A demon’s life force comes from the Devil they’re contracted to. But it’s a… mostly one way connection. The devil can sever the connection on a whim, without suffering ill effects. The same cannot be said for the demon. They rely on that connection like you rely on your heart. The only difference being a demon can survive for a while without its heart, but it's a painful death-” The three of them watched as Garr’s body spasmed violently and he screamed in pain, accidentally proving Aldritch’s point. Aldritch whispered a spell under his breath, fortifying the shield surrounding Garr and enhancing its regenerative properties. Now, even if the Devil withdrew its power, Garr shouldn't die until Aldritch was done with him.

“You sure know a lot about demons.” Sulika quietly laughed, but not out of amusement. She laughed because she had to do something, anything or she felt like she’d have another panic attack.

Aldritch shrugged. “When your every waking thought is about the best ways to kill something, it’s hard not to pick up a few facts here and there.”

Garr finished recounting the events leading up to Aldritch crashing through the ceiling of the old Hunters Guild and was forced to stop as something inside his body snapped. He railed against the shield spell holding him in place. He didn’t care how much damage he was doing to his own body, since the only thing he could focus on was the hollow feeling inside his chest. Not even the shield's regenerative properties could offset the feeling of wrongness in Garr's chest.

Aldritch frowned at the sight. Apparently, this devil was faster to cut his losses than Mennidoth was. Mennidoth wouldn’t abandon a demon until several days had passed because he was confident he could get them back without losing a valuable resource. But Irnal didn’t see demons that way. No, it seemed he held true to the old devil belief that all demons were created solely to serve at the pleasure of the Devil they were contracted to serve. Aldritch had seen many such devils during the early years of the war- back before they realized how dangerous Mag Ársa truly was and decided to cut their losses.

Garr continued speaking despite the pain he was experiencing. “Th- The giant arrived then. He… He destroyed the other captains. I would’ve been killed too, had his spell not missed. The explosion sent me flying, I crashed through the front door of the building and landed some distance outside.” Garr looked down, ashamed of himself. “I ran. He gave me the opportunity to run, and I took it… But it didn’t matter. No matter how fast I ran, he was always there. Slaughtering my demons... Butchering them. My people swarmed him like starved locusts, and he laughed.” Garr muttered before looking into the eyes of Joolbic, Max, Faeyra, and finally Sulika. “You might call me a monster, and you'd be right... But the most dangerous monster in the room isn't me, it's him-” Garr’s eyes fully opened as a circular hole appeared where his stomach used to be.

His eyes shifted towards Aldritch, and the giant stared back even as the shield spell worked to close the wound. Thanks to his demonic heritage, Garr could survive a lot. But not this- he knew he was dead no matter what he did.

He was too tired to fight it. And that hollow feeling in his chest was only growing larger with every passing second. Why should he continue fighting? He’d fought enough. Now… Now it was time to sleep.

The last thing he saw before his eyes shut for the final time, were the amber eyes of a small puppy watching him...

Sulika, Faeyra, Max, and Joolbic stared at Garr’s body for a long time.

Max was the first to realize why the big demon slumped forward and stopped speaking. Glancing over to Aldritch, he was concerned to see the giant’s golden eyes watching him.

It wasn’t often that Max felt like the prey in any given situation. He was level 61, though he tended to keep that to himself. He wanted to inspire hunters and give them something to aim for. If his hunters found out, he was almost ten levels stronger than they he’d led them to believe, it might discourage them from improving.

That being said, he was proud of the fact there were only nine hunters ‘officially’ stronger than him. While there was no doubt more, none of them were affiliated with the Hunters Guild, so it was almost impossible to verify how strong they actually were.

Max knew every member of ‘The Ten’ personally. He knew their families, knew where they lived, and visited most of them anytime he was in the Main Line. But only four members of ‘The Ten’ could make Max feel like a child in a fight- those being Zleog: The Tower Knight, Ulfang: The Ebon Wolf, Ylene: The Crimson Berserker, and Krizath: The Divine Warrior… Judging from the way Aldritch handled the Demonwolf, he might have to add another name to that list.

“Well, I was going to approach this differently. But I suppose talking about it this way isn’t too bad.” Aldritch said before standing up and walking over to Garr’s body. He replaced the shield over Garr’s head to keep blood from leaking onto the floor and loosed his hold on the demon's body- *Thump* Garr slid to his knees, where he would remain until the spell was cancelled. Aldritch turned to face Joolbic and Max. He dipped his head slightly in greetings and placed his left hand over his heart. “You have the honor of meeting Aldritch of Clan Blackshield. In recognition of your customs and traditions, I formally request permission to create a guild within the borders of your wonderful island nation of Azuris.” He said and lifted his head to look down on them.

Faeyra and Sulika stared at Aldritch like he’d grown a second head. Max felt a touch of whiplash and wondered how the hell they’d gone from discussing a destroyed demon city to founding a guild. While Joolbic… Well, he looked thoroughly pleased with this turn of events.

It was a classic power-play, which Joolbic hadn’t seen done properly since he left the noble courts of Ogethon Cay.

Aldritch established his authority over the physically strong Max during their negotiations. By making the GM agree to Aldritch’s demands, he determined the perceived hierarchy between them by showing he had a stronger position than the GM.

Joolbic doubted the young hunter Sulika knew nothing before arriving. It was highly likely Aldritch had left instructions for the two women to follow. But if she was truly oblivious to what was happening during their conversation, then he'd performed an even more impressive feat: He'd inspired loyalty in two people he’d only known for a few days. Enough that they’d not only come to his aid, but Sulika was also willing to risk her reputation for him.

Then, by making the demon speak of his fantastical accomplishments instead of telling them himself. Aldritch avoided the pitfall of looking braggadocious. The story spun by a demon, the natural enemy of a hunter, allowed Aldritch to show a few of his cards while coming across as someone who only wanted the truth- A classically ‘noble’ pursuit.

Could the demon have lied? Absolutely. And had the tale been any less fantastical, Joolbic would’ve assumed as much… But who in their right mind would believe a single man was capable of besting a thousand demons in a single night? No one. So, either Aldritch was dumb enough to think Joolbic and Max were braindead- or it was all true.

Joolbic knew Max, knew how intelligent he was, and how much experience he had under his belt. If Aldritch failed to get Max under his thumb before allowing the demon to speak, Joolbic likely wouldn’t have believed a word of it. Because an idiot would have never gotten Max to agree to such a one-sided deal, it only made the story spun by the demon even more believable.

Finally, he showed his steel will and savagery. The demon had called him a monster just before dying. That placed the idea into their heads that he, an unknown, was the most effective demon slayer in the room. If it was an act, it was award worthy… And if it happened to be the truth, then all the better. The enemy of my enemy is my friend; The monster of my monster is safer fed than starved.

Nobility, Loyalty, Authority, and Efficiency; the hallmarks of a classically good leader. Of course, there were also many other variables to consider when actually looking at the abilities of a king. But they weren't talking about a king, they were talking about him becoming a Guild Master. And in that respect, those traits were all that was needed.

Perhaps most fascinatingly of all, Joolbic had never heard of Aldritch before this conversation started. And in this short time, they'd all learned exactly what Aldritch wanted them to. Was that enough to earn Joolbic’s trust? Certainly not… But was it enough to earn him a favor or two?

“Absolutely fabulous.” Joolbic said and stood from his chair. He approached Aldritch from the side and copied Aldritch’s greeting. “The honor is mine, Sir Aldritch. This humble servant of the people is called Joolbic Zalbess da Ogethon Cay.” He lifted his head and looked over to Max. “Does Sir Max have any objection?”

Max stared at Joolbic with surprise in his eye. But he recovered quickly and stood from his chair. He approached Aldritch and, though awkward in its execution, also copied Aldritch’s greeting. “Er… Nice to meet you, Sir Aldritch. And, so long as it will prevent needless deaths, I have no objections to another guild forming. It’s actually a big help.”

Aldritch smiled at the two men and extended his hand to each one, shaking their hands and completing the agreement between them.

“What just happened?” Sulika whispered to Faeyra.

“Any chance of us having free time for the foreseeable future just died.” She sighed. “Better prepare yourself, Sulika. We’re about to get busy.”