Falin froze as he walked through the grassy plains of the outskirts of Flatfield Village. Out in the distance, was that…? This close to the village? It was. A high-rank demon, just a few miles out. It was too far to see, but near enough that it could have attacked any second if it wanted to. He hesitated. What to do about this? Go out and fight it now? Check in on the village? He needed to restock on food too. If this turned into a chase, what he had might not last. This demon seemed strong enough that it would be able to evade him for some time if it was persistent enough.
After about a minute spent agonizing, Falin started walking farther into the village again. The demon was not moving toward the village. It seemed to be moving away, if anything. The village didn’t appear to be any worse for wear either, from what he could see. So, the demon wasn’t an imminent threat. Best to prepare first, in that case. He might be late if this was too drawn out, but defeating a high-rank took precedence.
He looked around for a general store or the like as he entered the village proper. As he did that, he was forced to revise his assessment a bit. The buildings were no worse for wear. The people, not so much. The streets were all but empty, with the few people on them jumpier than usual. He was used to their ignorant glares and fearful glances by now, but these people were unique in the sheer terror of their wide eyes and in their reactions beyond that. They gave him a wide berth, even hugging walls to stay as far as possible. One man did seem to relax after taking a closer look and apparently noticing Falin’s uniform—which was foolish, the pure white outfit was designed to stand out—but, on the other hand, one woman squealed and ran to hide behind a house when she noticed Falin walking behind her.
Others, Falin could see peering out windows at him. Some dove away as soon as he met their eyes, but most seemed to see his uniform and relax. He did notice, however, that there was a higher-than-average population here of people with missing limbs, eyes, or similar injuries. Their behavior was typical of villages having demon problems, and their injuries clinched it. The demon might not have been attacking right now, but it had. It might again. If he had to guess, it was making a game of it, showing up and using what must have been unstoppable power to the villagers to torment them without killing them or wreaking major destruction.
That was how high-rank demons often operated. For all their power and fearsome reputation, instances of them actually wiping a town off the map were few and far between. Most were intelligent enough not to make themselves highest-priority targets.
History attested that was especially true during tranquil ages, but even during turbulent ages, such destruction was rare. While the Demon King’s ultimate goal may have been the world’s destruction, it did not always serve him to wreak such havoc in the short term. Conquest, rather than annihilation, allowed his army to benefit from the resources towns and cities could provide, which was helpful in attempting to hold off his enemies until he could use the Final Release. On top of that, the towns’ simple presence served as an insidious but effective fetter, as the Sacred Knights were rightly loath to cause destruction or the loss of innocent lives themselves.
Falin’s experience bore out the history. There was a distinct possibility he would still be alive to fight the Twenty-Second Demon King. If so, he hoped his experience would prove valuable. The Twenty-First had come far too close to success for comfort. Another point of proof that relti needed to take a leading role in confronting Malice.
None of that changed his decision, though, especially not when he was already here. He might as well stock up as planned before going after it.
The general store’s owner jumped and reached for a knife on his belt when Falin walked in, only to relax a moment later, letting out a heavy sigh.
“I’m sorry, Sir Knight,” he said. “It’s just…we’ve been having demon problems lately. Gotten everybody a little jumpy.”
“And you look like a demon,” went unsaid. Falin knew he was thinking it, though. The situation didn’t excuse it. If anything, it made it worse. It was times like this that proved humans needed to educate themselves so that they could tell the difference. Very few demons looked exactly like relti if you looked closely. Would the man have murdered some innocent reltus who hadn’t been wearing a Sacred Knight’s uniform? He might have tried. For that matter, he really hadn’t looked at Falin closely before reaching for the weapon. The man might well have stabbed anyone who walked through that door who wasn’t sufficiently obviously not a threat. Depending on who—including if it was the demon itself—he was as likely to get himself hurt as them.
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“I’d noticed,” Falin said. “I’m just here to stock up on food, then I’m heading out after it.”
“Really?” the man asked, as if killing demons was not a Sacred Knight’s job. “Oh, thank you, Sir Knight. Please, take what you need.”
“I’ll be paying,” Falin said. “It’s our policy not to accept gifts, especially not ones given out of desperation.”
“At least let me give you a discount,” the man said. “Anything I can do to help.”
Falin sighed. “Fine, make it a small one.”
The man nodded eagerly.
It was still improper, but Falin didn’t think it was worth arguing about. Besides, it was nowhere near as bad as taking things for free. At worst, accepting a discount would earn him a mild scolding from some administrator who hadn’t been in the field in years—if ever—if anyone ever found out. Which they would, seeing as he was obligated to report such things.
Falin gathered what he needed, paid, and left. The shopkeeper had knocked a small amount off the final price that amounted to about ten percent. Definitely small enough that no one would make a big fuss about it.
“I’ll be praying for your success, Sir Knight!” the shopkeeper called after Falin, which he didn’t think demanded a response.
Falin hadn’t taken three steps out the door when he noticed someone running at him.
“Please, Sir Knight!” the man cried out. “Please, listen to me!”
Falin stopped and allowed the man to run up to him. The man came to a halt, panting, just in front of Falin, and took a moment to catch his breath before speaking. The man had a short, stocky build, and a strong, square jaw. He looked relatively young, with a full head of black hair complimented by a well-trimmed beard and mustache.
“Yes?” Falin asked. He couldn’t keep a note of annoyance out of his voice. Couldn’t this man tell Falin was doing something important? Trying to help his village, in fact. “What is it?”
“I-it’s my son,” the man said. He took a step forward and gripped Falin’s shoulders, panic writ across his face. “He’s gone out after the demon outside of town!”
“What?” Falin said. “Why?”
The man shook his head. “I don’t know what’s gotten into his fool head. The demon’s been causing trouble for a while. Showing up, hurting a few people, leaving. Earlier today, my son decided enough was enough and said he was going to kill it himself. I thought he was joking or making an idle boast, but no. I tried to stop him when I realized he was serious, but it was too late, and he got away from me.” He sighed and looked down at his feet. “I’m ashamed to say I was too scared to leave town to look for him.”
“Don’t be,” Falin said. “It’s natural to be scared of something so dangerous. You made the right call. The demon is far too strong for you to risk it. I’ll need some information to know who to look for. How old is your son? What’s his name? What does he look like?”
“He turned ten earlier this year, Sir Knight,” the man said. He finally seemed to gather his wits enough to realize he was invading Falin’s space, and released Falin and took a step back. Falin let it slide. Family bonds were a delicate thing that got emotions running high. It could happen to the best of men. “His name’s Jonik. About yea high, black hair like mine, but he’s got his mother’s blue eyes. He’s been a bit hot-headed lately, but I never thought he’d do something so foolish…Please, save him.”
Falin nodded. “You have my word that I will do everything in my power to keep him from harm. Do you know which way he went?”
“We have a vague idea of where the demon likes to hide out while it’s not attacking,” the man said, pointing. “It’s over that way. I’d imagine he headed there.”
That was indeed the same general direction the demon was in. Falin could only hope the boy hadn’t already encountered it. If that were the case, then it was, in all likelihood, already far too late. Even if the demon maintained its pattern of “only” maiming him, there was a good chance he would bleed out before Falin could find him or that his wounds would become lethally infected.
“I was going after the demon anyway, but I’ll make securing your son’s safety a priority,” Falin said. “He’ll be back safe and sound before you know it. In the meantime, try to keep busy and stay calm.”
The man gave a tearful smile and nodded. “Thank you, Sir Knight. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”
“Don’t even bother thinking about it,” Falin said. “I’m a Sacred Knight. I don’t need any payment for doing my duty, and the only one I’ll accept is from the Executive Council.”
With that, he sped out of town toward the demon and, hopefully, the boy.