PROLOGUE

With a dagger embedded below his right shoulder, David Han made his way through the Rowgami forest on the outskirts of the city, his movements hindered by the pain. Blood continued to flow from the spot where his right hand once was, and he improvised a makeshift bandage using a piece of cloth he tore from his pants shortly after the assault. The blood that came out of the wound and dripped onto the ground assisted the hunters in locating him. It was only a matter of time before they caught up with David, and he knew it.

Where on earth are the animals in this forest? David’s mind raced as he anxiously scanned his surroundings.

David spots a snake beside a tree, and immediately charges at it with the dagger he holds in his left hand. However, upon getting closer, he realizes the snake remains motionless and doesn’t flee. The snake was partially alive. Just a few seconds ago, another creature was eating it, but it ran away when it sensed him coming.

David sheathes his dagger and, fueled by adrenaline and a newfound survival instinct, consumes every edible portion of the snake through biting, chewing, and swallowing. With every bite, he experiences a physical relief from exhaustion, noticing the wound on his wrist healing and the bleeding stopping. Regrettably, the pain in the area where his hand once was remains unchanged.

A rabbit or a larger animal would have been better. David knew that the snake’s mana could not provide enough healing to survive the impending attack.

The snake died within seconds. David feels queasy as the snake’s guts and the flavor of uncooked meat fill his mouth, leading him to expel everything he had consumed, including his dinner from a few hours earlier.

The mutation power of cannibalism was revolting to David, but it was his sole source of sustenance and survival.

I wish I had a Coke or a coffee right now to get this taste out of my mouth. Leaning against the tree, David contemplated, while spitting out the remaining bits of meat from his mouth.

The brief moments of rest ended as he heard a gunshot in the distance and witnessed a burst of light in the sky that illuminated the forest, leaving David vulnerable without the protective cover of darkness.

Right beside David, a pair of arms, pale and covered in a thick, black liquid that smells like rotting flesh, emerge, with long, menacing nails. The arms, disconnected from a body, gently grasp David’s head and shift it to the side. Just half a second later, David senses a strong breeze narrowly missing his head by a few centimeters. The bullet strikes the tree where his head once was.

“Escape, my lord,” hissed a sinister voice reminiscent of a snake.

David glances toward the voice and catches sight of a woman with long, black hair for a moment. However, her smile stood out the most about her. Her mouth was inhuman, with lips that stretched from one ear to the other. Seeing Mirzir for the second time, David didn’t have the chance to experience the same level of terror as the first time. The church’s hunters had successfully tracked him down.

David sprinted once more, seeking refuge among the towering trees that enveloped him, all the while expecting the sniper’s next bullet. Recognizing his own exhaustion and the severity of his wound, he understood he lacked the energy required to seek Mirzir’s help again.

Holy crap, I nearly kicked the bucket. David thought while sweating.

His hands were shaking nonstop, realizing he was moments away from getting killed with a shot to the head. “Mirzir, thanks,” David whispered, but didn’t get a response.

What’s up with that light in the sky that never goes out? David’s checking out the light that’s lighting up the forest. It didn’t look like it was gonna weaken soon.

He was so confused by Mirzir and the sniper that he couldn’t even think about how to escape. Thoughts of almost dying consumed his mind. To avoid getting shot again, the only option was to keep running and hope for the best. Those massive trees were his only shield.

With his last bit of strength, David stood up and was getting ready to sprint to another tree ahead of him.

Can’t move my legs. What the heck is happening... Ugh, I’m so heavy right now. David’s body just drops to the ground, and he can’t even lift a finger.

At that moment, David heard footsteps, like four or six people getting closer. Hunters who knew they got their prey. After a few seconds, most footsteps stop, but one keeps going towards its target. David sees a woman coming towards him. She was wearing a military outfit. Her suit looked like the ones the military uses in different countries on Earth, but with a twist - it was designed like Roman armor and made of thin metal that covered the important parts of her body. The highlight was the sun-shaped circle on her chest with a golden hand in the middle... that’s their God’s symbol in this world.

She’s kneeling next to David, pointing at the sky. "They haven’t named that weapon yet. They just told me it’s all that’s needed to handle demons like you,” said the woman.

She got up from the floor. All she had was a sword and a dagger, no other weapons. It wasn’t her who shot him.

“Marla, come over here.” The woman shouted.

A petite female soldier sprinted towards the woman. She wore lighter armor to enhance her agility, especially since she carried a sniper rifle.

“I’m here, captain.” Marla says.

Disable the light. “I can tell the armor’s protection is wearing off and I don’t want to end up like that demon on the ground, giving him a chance to escape.” The captain orders Marla.

“Aye, captain,” Marla aims her rifle at the sky and fires, obliterating the device. Within moments, the light vanishes and darkness engulfs the forest once more.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

The pressure that David felt on his body instantly vanishes. He turns to inspect the hunting team, the dagger on his back digs deeper.

“Shit, I forgot the dagger.” David says moaning.

“Who said you could move trash? The captain yells and stabs David in the gut with her knife.

Helplessly paralyzed, David’s screams of pain fill the air, intensifying the feeling of frustration.

With a detached demeanor, the captain retrieves her dagger from David’s stomach, observing dispassionately as blood flows from his abdomen and mouth.

A soldier rushes to David’s location. A man in his mid-sixties, he has a distinct lack of hair on his head. The pistol he had holstered at his waist was his sole means of defense.

The captain gives him a look and says... "Auros, do your thing. Just take some blood from his stomach and make him better. There’s a dagger on the demon’s back. He shoved it in deeper when he turned around."

“Sure thing ma’am.” Auros answers solemnly.

Auros helps David up and suddenly yanks the dagger out of his back, tossing it on the ground. He grabs a blood sample tube from his backpack and fills it with David’s stomach blood. Then he puts his right hand on the wound on his back and his left on his stomach, closes his eyes, and these tiny tentacles come out of his hands, touching David’s skin and slowly closing the wounds.

"How can you call me a demon when you’ve got tentacles coming out of your hands, for fuck’s sake? You monsters, who’s the actual demon here?” David shouts.

Marla pulls out a gun and blasts David three times: two in his legs, one in his stomach.

“Marla, quit it,” the captain warns with a menacing tone.

“I got over the fact that you almost shot his head off, and this thing needs to go back to the capital alive.”

“Captain, you straight up knifed him.” Marla responded with pure hatred in her eyes, glaring at David.

“I believed that having Auros with us justified allowing a little torture.”

With a commanding tone, the captain shouts, “Auros, heal him again!” before turning to address the rest of the team.

“I know this is only our second time working together, and I want to make sure you understand the importance of what I’m about to say. Anyone who tries to attack or assassinate this demon will face punishment. Should I decide to take action against him, my motivations are private and require no explanation for you. Just follow my orders precisely, and we’ll make it back to the city with no more issues.”

Speaking directly into David’s ear, Auros reassured him, “Don’t worry, demon.”

“With those words from the captain, I highly doubt anyone else will dare to cross your path... but brace yourself for the city where the treatment you’ll receive is more intense than what you’re experiencing here.”

Auros firmly applies pressure to David’s stomach wound as he works to heal him.

"The torturer will pour acid on you," Says Auros with a smile" and I will quickly cauterize the wound to minimize the damage. When he chops off your hand, I’ll stop the bleeding. But the best part is when they chop off your genitals... these tentacles given by my lord will magically heal that ouchie. “I can’t wait,”

Fuck, all these people are driving me insane. With a quick motion, David turns his head away, no longer hearing the disgusting words coming from Auros’s mouth. However, the healing he was administering was crucial for him to have even a slight possibility of escaping.

It is pointless to use the cannibalism mutation on this man. He’s too old. David thought. I don’t want my first attempt at using that power on a human to involve consuming the internal organs of an old man.

The captain is not a viable option either. If she notices that, it’s highly probable that she would incapacitate me by amputating my arms and promptly sealing the wounds to minimize any bleeding. The remaining three hunters are patrolling the area, and they are out of sight from where I am.

Marla is the only one remaining. Despite her youthful appearance, she possesses enough strength to effortlessly carry a 50-pound sniper rifle as she navigates through the forest. She is the group member with the least amount of armor. That bitch is also the one who made the most relentless attempts to bring me to this state.

The pain that had once consumed David’s body, specifically where his wounds were, had vanished without a trace. Just as Auros was about to stand up, David called out to him, interrupting his departure.

“Hey,” David’s desperate voice pleaded, “can you answer just two questions before you take me on this journey to the capital, where unimaginable pain awaits me?”

“Why not?” he asked, his voice filled with curiosity. “I’m dying to know what the demon wants to find out. But we need to clarify something… you are not a man.” Auros answers with a smile on his face.

“I have two questions. Why can’t I move my arms and legs, and why does the woman with the rifle hate me? David directs his gaze towards Marla.

“All I know,” Auros answers, “is that the light that filled the sky moments ago was born from the Law of the Abyss that is what is not allowing you to move.”

“Explaining the mechanics to a man who is soon to be dead holds no interest for me. Regarding the second question, you killed the man who had stabbed you in the back during our ambush. Her older brother was the man. The reason we refer to you as a demon is because of the merciless way in which you killed him. That’s why when we torture you, I’m going to invite her to witness the gruesome spectacle.” He stands up and moves over to stand alongside the captain.

Ok, it’s true, the way he died was shockingly merciless. However, it was Mirzir who ended his life, not me. David observed that he had limited mobility, only in his neck and toes.

As a homicide detective on Earth, David became immune to the sight of dead bodies, having been exposed to them countless times during his investigations. Nothing could have prepared him for the terrifying scene that Mirzir had created. The gruesome scene of how she had savagely mutilated that man’s body replayed in his thoughts, but the most horrifying part was that she had deliberately kept him alive.

She pulled some supernatural stuff to make sure he stayed conscious. No doubt about it. I had already left when they got to the crime scene, but I wonder if that guy was still alive when they found him? If that’s the case, I get why she hates me. David thought.

David saw the hunters getting ready to go back to the city. If he wanted to stay alive, he had to do something ASAP.

“Hey! You with the rifle!” David shouts.

Ignoring David, Marla tightly clutches her rifle, her knuckles turning white.

“Did you find your brother alive?” David asked, with a voice filled with concern. “You label me as a demon, yet I graciously allowed you the chance to bid him farewell... tell me, is that not an act of benevolence?”

Now, I can’t help but feel like a poor imitation of Hannibal Lecter. Let’s take this a step further. It was clear that she was frightened by the captain’s menacing words a few moments ago. David thought, contorting his face with a sinister smile with great effort.

“Now, I don’t think you’ve congratulated me for the work of art I left you,” David said, his eyes searching for Marla’s reaction.

“Keeping him alive was more challenging than you think. The cut began at his balls and sliced through his body, splitting him in half down the middle. With enough dedication, it’s incredible how the body’s limbs can extend beyond their limits…”

“Enough!” the captain shouts, her voice filled with authority.

As the captain nears Marla, he reaches out and grabs the rifle from her, immediately replacing it with her dagger.

“I’ll give you two minutes,” she said, her voice firm and commanding. “When interacting with him, direct your strikes towards non-vital parts of his body. Once you’re done, Auros can attend to his wounds and start the healing process. When we finally reach the city, that demon’s fate will be a torment beyond anything death could offer. Don’t forget that.” The captain watches as Marla heads towards the demon.

Move goddammit. As he assessed the situation, David noticed the numbness in his toes and the lower part of his feet, emphasizing the importance of moving his legs to accomplish his plan.

It appears I may have gone too far with my words. Damn, this is really going to be painful. David thought.