The pilfer towered over the rest of the gathered combatants. The demon had no head to speak of. Instead, It had a large blood-colored torso that looked like a lumpy sack of potatoes with a gargantuan mouth stretched across it. Bizarrely, it had three arms that jutted from the body like an equilateral triangle. Each arm ended in an oversized hand with three claws. Several golden bracelets crowned each hand, and gaudy gemmed rings squatted on each finger.

Malevolent eyes twisted in the center of each palm. They turned to track every tiny movement like a cat hunting its prey. Every time the monster's gaze alighted on an individual, the pupils lit with emerald fire as its Eyes of Avarice granted the creature the knowledge it requested.

The demon scuttled across the length of the impromptu battlefield on three crab-like appendages. Each limb had a golden bracer on the leg's upper length, and each tip was capped in gold. The roof sagged dangerously with each step, and Hunter was concerned they would all fall through the building to be consumed by the demon's cavernous mouth.

As horrifying as the demon was, the situation was made worse when it spoke. Its voice sounded like three separate octaves layered upon one another. The sound delved into Hunter's consciousness and dredged up every feeling of fear and awe that the teenager had ever experienced. The demon's mouth moved, but the movement of its mouth didn't match the words being spoken. Its slimy gray tongue rolled unceasingly across dozens of razor-sharp teeth. It had a maw that a shark would be envious of.

"Why did you summon me, slave?"

Hunter watched James shiver underneath the monster's direct attention, and the warrior couldn't blame the tiefling. His own heart was pounding, and Hunter was having trouble simply standing up. He had just gotten to his feet while leaning heavily upon his spire when James responded by pointing at the teenager.

"The Great One has requested that this boy be brought to him, immediately."

"Oh?" The creature swiveled a hand to fix an unblinking eye upon Hunter. The eye was flickering with emerald fire, but the demon's mouth was drawn into a grim line.

"Why can't my eyes see through this boy?"

James winced before answering. "We aren't sure milord, he has been able to hide his level and class from us as well. We thought it wasn't important in the bigger scheme of things. He accomplished the tasks set forth by the Great One, and that's all we needed to know."

The demon nodded. Lacking a head, the motion looked more like a burlap sack that had learned how to do a crunch in gym class.

"Indeed. However, since you have requested my presence to help you with the brat, I will be taking your reward from the Great One."

Hunter didn't like that the tiefling and the demon were discussing like he wasn't even there. He was about to say as much, but his grandfather and grandmother leaped onto the building. The wood creaked underneath them as the weight of the combined occupants strained the building's structural integrity. Hunter nervously studied the roof.

"Wait, milord." Hunter's grandfather interrupted. "We're the boy's family and are directly responsible for him completing the Great One's quests. We deserve a portion of the rewards."

Hank had a satisfied smile on his face and a greedy gleam to his eye. The monster's hacking laugh quickly dispersed both.

"If that were true, slave, then I wouldn't be here in the first place."

The pilfer voice turned thoughtful. "Still, there's something strange about this boy. He has a whiff of my master about him."

"T-the Great One?" James stuttered. He gave Hunter a considering glance at the new information.

"No, you stupid slave. The Great One and I serve the same master. You aren't important enough to know his name, much less let it touch your inferior tongue."

Hunter could feel the mood changing in the air. He wasn't sure why the pilfer had been willing to speak to James for so long, but it had allowed his natural regeneration combined with the Black Wind's residual gains to return some of his mobility. He had no confidence that he could defeat the pilfer, so he did what any other sane person would do; he ran.

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Hunter leaped off the roof and used the heads and shoulders of the gathered tieflings to propel himself through the crowd. The tieflings were still in shock as he bounded past them, but the pilfer had no such surprise. The demon merely sighed.

"What an annoying creature. I should reduce his family to ash just for the inconvenience of having to chase him."

Hunter didn't even look back to acknowledge the demon's words as he touched the ground and broke into a sprint. His heart was pounding as he used every ounce of his fear to propel him. The Outpost gates were in sight when an explosion of green fire detonated in the air before him. Hunter skidded to a stop and twirled his staff to deflect the heat and energy of the blast. He felt itching on his back as the influx of energy healed the burns.

When the fire was dispersed, Hunter was struck dumb. The pilfer was standing in front of him and casually watching Hunter's display of his abilities.

"Interesting," the demon remarked. "Your power tastes similar to my own, but it has been fundamentally changed."

The pilfer turned a palm to stare at Hunter. "You don't have any demonic influence, and yet your abilities carry the same traits as one of my kind."

The demon's laugh sounded like a rock slide. "You were so greedy for power, you consumed greed itself. Very good! You'll make a perfect Vessel of Iniquity for our master's avatar on your world. Be thankful, boy. You're going to be the home for a Lord of Hell!"

Faster than Hunter's eyes could detect, the pilfer moved forward and clapped a meaty hand on Hunter's shoulder.

"You just need to be a little bit more compliant."

The demon chuckled as Hunter's entire existence was wreathed in emerald fire. Every square inch of his flesh was scoured by heat. Even after the nerves in his skin were burned away, the pain settled even deeper into his soul. Hunter's screamed were choked off by the cloying scent of his own destroyed tissue. Hunter checked his health pool in the hopes that he would be reduced to oblivion, but even that wish was denied. He felt a trickle of energy coming from the fire that kept him just on the brink of death.

"You'll need to be more robust if you're to serve as a vessel. Be patient. You'll feel the changes soon."

Hunter couldn't scream or rebel. He would've fallen to his knees if not for the demon's palm holding him aloft. Notifications started appearing in his vision.

Congratulations! You have earned Fire Resistance Lvl 7!

…

Congratulations! You have earned Fire Resistance Lvl 20!

Congratulations! For reaching lvl 10 in Fire Resistance, you've unlocked the Path: Fire Resistance I

Congratulations! You have earned Pain Resistance Lvl 11!

…

Congratulations! You have earned Pain Resistance Lvl 20!

The pilfer grunted. "You're taking far more of my energy than I expected. You're an endless well of power, but you haven't transformed yet. How strange. Think you can take more?"

The demon didn't wait for Hunter to reply. The young warrior couldn't say anything even if he wanted to. His vocal cords were destroyed, his body was ravaged, and even with his new levels in Pain and Fire Resistance, the white-hot pain was overwhelming.

Hunter hated the demon's voice. He hated how casual and carefree the monster sounded as it inflicted agony upon the teenager. He could feel the trickle of energy from the demon turned into a torrent, and Hunter wanted to hurt the pilfer. He marshaled every point of Willpower he possessed and stepped outside the pain. He entered the familiar meditative state that allowed him to study the flows of natural energy.

Hunter observed the power the monster poured into him and found an intricate weave of health, stamina, mana, and soul energy. In its current state, the power was pouring into the black hole that was Hunter's Damaged Visage. Only a small portion was being siphoned from the mask to keep the host body alive. Hunter realized why the demon was having a hard time corrupting him. The mask was consuming the energy faster than the pilfer could provide it. Even then, it didn't feel like the visage was anywhere close to being repaired.

Hunter knew the pilfer was trying to corrupt him because the energy from the demon seemed tainted. It felt like an oil-slick covered the surface of the power. So far, Hunter had been sheltered from its influence by his mask. If that continued, the demon was likely to kill him instead of pouring out more and more of its energy.

Sensing what to do, Hunter reached out with a mental fist and wrenched the flood of power from the mask to himself. He felt an echo of annoyance emanating from the visage, but he ignored it. When the foul energy hit Hunter fully, he felt like he was swimming through an ocean of filth. His soul darkened, and his mind clouded from the Infernal influence. Notifications chronicled the changes to his body.

WARNING: You are being influenced by the Infernal Horde. Faith has risen by 1 point.

…

Faith has risen by 10 points.

A great hunger awakened in Hunter. He wanted more strength. He was greedy for pilfer's remaining energy. Hunter felt his mask latch onto the flow of energy and start to siphon it away from the demon actively.

"That's enough, boy," there was a hint of warning in the pilfer's tone.

The flood of power was abruptly cut off, and then the demon's last words drifted through Hunter's consciousness before he passed into oblivion.

"Perfect, we've completed the first preparation. Now, sleep."