Turning demons back into humans should be impossible. It’s equivalent to breaking a vase and then trying to stick the pieces back together. Even if you found a way to bind the broken shards, it would be a miracle if the vase could still hold water.

At a glance, this insane project didn’t seem worthy of my attention, let alone my time and resources. However, I have lived a long time and my experience has told me to avoid fixating on the finished product. The idea itself may be a fantasy but the girl’s research might still have merit.

Even though I’ve spent my entire life creating demons, I can’t say that I’ve learned everything about my creations. Sorcery has always been based around forcing results rather than understanding. That’s why I have to try everything. If there’s any chance that her research can help me create the perfect vessel, then I must not discard it. This body won’t last forever. It might not even last another year. I need to finish my own research and make a perfect vessel as soon as possible. The advent of this grim festival and my chance meeting with Eris are the two strings that will pull me out of this slump. I’m sure of it. I’d bet my life on it.

“Hey, his soul is starting to waver…” Eris reported as she leaned in to examine a captive demon. The test subject glared furiously while she squinted at his chest. “…It’s almost like a dying flame.” 

I glanced up from my notes and then immediately went back to writing.

“That’s because it’s weak and hungry. Demons that haven’t eaten in a few years can become as weak as a child. Once they lose their ability to hunt, they’ll begin to fade away slowly.”

“Really? I’ve seen demons that’ve survived for quite a long time.”

Eris put her hand on the demon and began a short chant. Within seconds he was writhing in pain.

“Well, I did say that they fade slowly. Even I don’t know how long it takes for a demon to fully fade away. Although, after a certain point they basically become ghosts, unable to speak or affect anything.”

The demon screamed abhorrently as he thrashed around. His yellow scales made an equally unpleasant sound as they scraped against his metal restraints. It was so distracting that I nearly spilled my ink.

“Ok. That’s enough, Eris.” I waved at her. “Tell me what changed.”

Eris removed her hand from the demon’s chest and he instantly slumped in his chains. Our guinea pig’s beak-like mouth hung open and his tongue rolled out as he panted desperately.

“No change…I think?” She clicked her tongue. “Nothing would happen from something this light. I need to put more force into it.”

The demon suddenly stiffened and looked at her with wide eyes. Forgoing his precious resting time, he began to fight against his restraints with renewed vigor.

“If you do that, then he’ll explode. Haven’t you learned anything?”

“I get a better feeling every time I try it. Somehow I feel like I’m really close to an epiphany.”

“It just feels like that because you don’t know what you’re doing.” I stood up and examined the demon myself. “See, the color’s slightly lighter and it’s moving less. Human souls are pure white, so I’d say a lighter color is a good sign.”  

“Ugh, I don’t get this at all…” Eris scratched her head.

“You’ve only used sorcery that you learned from books. Creating your own requires a lot of time and effort. Especially for unmarked sorcerers.”

“I’ll bet…” Eris let out a heavy sigh. “Maybe I should just go back to searching for a book or magical artifact. There’s got to be something out there than can restore someone to their original form.”

I looked up at Eris, she had placed a hand on her chin and was clearly deep in thought. There were many reasons why I hadn’t asked her yet, the main one being that I just didn’t care. However, I don’t believe in useless information and now seemed like a good time to bring it up.

“Why are you researching this kind of sorcery, Eris? I’m assuming it’s not just a passing interest.”

Eris set her thoughts aside and looked at me. I saw her hesitate and so I prepared to withdraw my question. Fortunately, my worries were unnecessary. Just as I opened my mouth, Eris began to speak.

“I…I started because I wanted power. Power that could break me out of the cage that I’d been living in my entire life. But then I did something…something that I really regret. Now I just want to help my friend return to his old life.”

“So, you turned someone you knew into a demon?”

“Yea…” Eris nodded reluctantly, as though it hurt her just to think about it.

I narrowed my eyes. This was definitely interesting. I had already figured that she wanted to save someone with her sorcery. Although, I never would have guessed that she was cleaning up her own mess.

“And where is this demon now? You couldn’t have just left him to his own devices, right?”

Hopefully I hadn’t already killed him. That would be a waste of a bargaining chip.

“We’ve been travelling together for over a year but then he disappeared once we entered this city.”

That wasn’t good news. I suddenly broke into another coughing fit.

“He left a note for us, though.” Eris continued. “Apparently, he’s investigating that rumor about demons gathering at an abandoned town. I wanted to go after him but Hal told me to let him be. Hal said that there must have been an important reason why he didn’t want to bring us.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. If he was at the abandoned town, then I hadn’t killed him. Rowan must have missed him as well, since he told me that there weren’t any demons there.

Wait… A thought occurred.

“By the way, what is this demon’s, er…your friend’s name?”

Eris eyed me curiously but she had no reason to refuse. “Ten.”

“There were three demon hunters: Howes Lacer, Dain Surt and someone who called himself ‘Ten’”.

The words of my pupil suddenly burst into my head. I had to force myself to not grin at this news. I had just learned something truly interesting.

~          ~          ~

Time passes quickly when you’re busy. I spent my time sending reports to the King. I spent it reassuring my pupil that he was need at the castle. I spent it researching at my house with Eris. When I found spare time, I spent it with Hades. Together, we tracked down demons that were too weak or too difficult to control. Needless to say, my days went by in a flash.

Of course, nothing in this world lasts forever. After many busy days, my routine suddenly ground to a halt. I received a summons from the King. When I entered the castle, I found myself in a polished room with King Rowell, Lord Malcolm, Rowan and a man that I did not recognize.

An unpleasant stench hung in the air. I quickly identified the culprit, it was a bound, wet blanket held by the stranger.

“My King, my Lord.” He nodded to each of them in turn. “I present you with the culprit.” The stranger knelt, making a conscious effort to go as low as he could, then he unwrapped the blanket.

Malcolm and Rowan gasped but the King and I managed to remain stoic. I had already guessed that it was a body part from the smell alone. Although, even I was shocked to see him serve us Dain’s severed head.

“Lord Malcolm, this is the man that has killed your trusted advisor. He murdered Vole in cold blood.”

From there, the man introduced himself as Sir Teach. Then he launched into a lengthy explanation about the events that had transpired during his trip. In essence, it was the story of a rather simple murder. Teach ignored motive and reasoning, choosing instead to embellish the tragedy of Vole’s death as well as his own heroics.

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When Teach finished, he was met with an unpleasant silence. It’s no surprise, really. Three of us didn’t even care. Meanwhile, Malcolm was biting his lip nervously. The Lord clearly wasn’t blind to the rumors that were circulating through his city. Malcolm was probably hoping that Vole would return with good news, maybe even with an achievement that could help him regain the King’s favor. Instead, the expedition was failure and this Knight had chosen to report it before the King himself.

“Ahem.” The King made a point of clearing his throat. “This sounds like an unfortunate loss but I’ll leave Malcolm to handle the details.”

The King left after that, but not before making eye contact with me. I made my excuse and quickly followed Rowell back to his chamber. I found the King waiting for me with a sour expression.

“So, the rumors were a hoax…” He said flatly.

I flinched. There was never a reason to tell Rowell about Rowan’s discovery, so I hadn’t. The King would only worry needlessly if he knew that the rumors were false. I planned on starting the festival myself, so it wouldn’t really matter in the end.

“Yes, but there’s more to it than that.” I tried to explain but it was no use. Rowell wasn’t one to listen to excuses.

I took my beating in silence. Once he was finished, the King sat back and barked an order. If my answer wasn’t satisfactory, then he’d stand back up.

“Explain. What does this mean for the festival? Do we have to give up?”

“No, no.” I waved my hands and then immediately brought them to my mouth while I endured another coughing fit. “…This just means that we must start the festival ourselves. I have a plan but it’s not finished yet. That’s why I waited to tell you.”

“Then what’s your plan?” The King glared at me fiercely. 

“Thanks to Rowan, I already knew everyone that investigated the abandoned town. One of them is the renowned demon hunter, Howes Lacer. When I arrived in this city, I was able to meet Vole before he left. He asked me for advice on a number of topics but Howes was his main concern…”

“Why would he be concerned with a demon hunter? Did he know that Howes would be at the abandoned town?”

“I doubt it. That could have just been a coincidence. Vole came to me because he was worried about the blood that he extracted from Howes. Apparently, it has the power to entice demons, even over long distances.”

“Hmm, that’s some convenient blood. Almost unbelievably so…” The King put his hands on his knees, readying himself to stand.

“Exactly!” I interjected. “It turns out that this powerful demon hunter was actually a half-demon all along. These hybrids are quite rare, but attracting demons is a well-known property of their blood. At least, it is amongst occultists.”

The King remained seated. Inwardly, I sighed in relief.

“Since the ghost town was empty, I figured that they would return fairly quickly. However, their delay makes sense after hearing Teach’s report. That’s finished though, so Howes should return to Wren any day now. Then, we can take his blood and use it to signal the start of the festival.”

“…” Rowell silently considered my proposal. “Fine. We’ll continue with our plan.” He leapt up and moved for the door. As he grabbed the handle, Rowell turned back with one final glare. “But you’d better not try and hide anything else from me.”

“I would never, sire.” I replied, bowing as low as I could.

~          ~          ~

Howes took a bit longer than I expected to make it back into Wren. Of course, once I learned the reason, it was perfectly understandable.

“I humbly present myself as Vole’s murderer…” Howes reported, bowing low as he did so. His hands had been tied before he even reached the city. It seemed that there was another side of this story that Teach had missed.

Howes had caused quite a stir as he walked through the city with his two companions. Once they reached the garden gate, Howes was arrested immediately. I was summoned once more and the four of us gathered to hear him out.

Our new culprit retold the murder from his perspective. His companions remained silent as he did so. Although, the female quietly asked for a lighter sentence after he finished. Apparently she felt that Howes’ decision to turn himself in somehow lessened his crime. Of course, the King and I had other plans and so he was immediately marked for the gallows.

Things progressed quickly from there. I had been making intermittent trips to the bell tower to ensure the demons cooperation. During our final meeting, I instructed them to spread the word that the festival will begin soon. Of course, they didn’t know that it was the last time they’d see me. I promised to reward them after their next job.

Eris came to me and begged me to stop the execution. Apparently, she had learned about it from Ten. I waved her off, saying that it was the King’s decision and there was nothing I could do.

On the day of the execution, I stood with Malcolm and the King. A hanging simply wouldn’t do, so the King made sure that a guillotine would seal his fate. It was a public execution which attracted a large crowd of onlookers. With disappearances growing by the day, many people turned out to see a display of their leader’s power to retain order.

To his credit, Howes was completely obedient. Although, I had prepared a chant to make him compliant in case anything went awry.

“I am filled with regret…” Standing before the great razor, Howes spoke his last words. “It was my own weakness that caused this situation. I didn’t want to accept myself…I couldn’t...accept myself.”

Before he said those last couple words, Howes had remained stoic. Now, his massive frame shook. Howes’ face contorted into a wet and ugly mess. At the very end, he bared his fear for all to see.

“But I didn’t know…I didn’t know it would become something like this! Only after I came to this city did I learn what I’d created. I can only apologize…”

Howes was forced to kneel. A quick ‘fwish’ and a much louder ‘thud’ marked his passing from this world. The crowd stood in silence, immobilized by his ominous final words. For a while, everyone simply waited while Howes’ blood dyed the wooden boards around the guillotine in a deep red. Then, the screaming began.

Emboldened by their hunger, demons began to appear in droves. They smelled the blood and recognized it as a signal. War cries and fearful shrieks mixed together as the execution stage descended into pandemonium. Meanwhile, I relished in the chaos and terror. After so much anticipation, the festival had finally begun.

I didn’t have much time to enjoy it, though. A swift blow to the back of my head sent me reeling. I turned to see my attacker, it was just a guard. Another hit knocked me off my feet. A different guard had assaulted me. Suddenly, I realized I was surrounded by knights.

“Get off me!” I cried. If I had retained my wits, maybe I could have cast a spell. Instead, I looked to the King for assistance. He returned my silent plea with a cold stare. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Malcolm grinning.

“You ignorant bastard!” I wanted to shout, but the next blow extinguished my consciousness.