At the same time, far away from that place in a large hall one person’s shouts were continuously being heard “Number 37 has offered 3 million golden coins” his voice kept shouting as the people in the hall raised their hand. This was clearly the auction but what of the prize? A girl was standing on the stage, wearing a white dressed almost as if ready to get married, he black her making a nice contrast with it but with her pale skin as well, her eyes were shut and she was sitting there motionless as if in a trance or probably under some charm. Suddenly a hammer was heard knocking three times and the winner for the star was an old man wearing robes, he seemed to be from some temple, but what a generous one he was to pay 10 million golden coins. You could see him smiling like the scrawny man he has, his lips twisting at their ends.
In that hall there were many guests, most of which weren’t even humans and despite the fact the auction master claimed that star to be the one everyone saw the day before not many people risked they money on it as he placed multiple restrictions on her which blocked her mana from being checked as well as a charm to keep her docile, but what most people feared was not that fact that they could get cheated but the pursuers that would follow after. For is she truly was the same star many would come after her and would stop at nothing from getting their hands on such a powerful thing.
The night has passed rather smoothly and without incidents, but could you be able to say the same thing about this one as well? The black had reached the town of Hazefol, the place from where the mercenaries had left and the same one in which the auction hows where the star was just sold last night. And who knows, maybe she might still be around?
The smoke fiend stopped on a hill with a large forest behind its back just a little away from a bridge that led to the southern gate. It looked around as if scanning the area, a could easily see that the place was like a fortress, tall walls, steel gate and a mot surrounded the whole place. There was river that was coming from the north and was passing just by the town, some huts could be seen along side it. The cloud was soon startled by the sounds of horses neighing as they it got whipped, while observing the carriage he spotted two huge creatures, massive, tall with huge horns coming from their heads, they were both minotaurs used to carry luggage.
It observed the way everyone looked at them in a frightened manner, keeping their distance as well as avoiding eye content or other sort of interactions. The smoke soon started to take shape of a humanoid creature, one leg stepped out of it, a slender and long covered in black hair, a long hand with pale skin but just as thin showed up until all of it came out. A thing that many would associate with a demon, his lower half completely covered in black fur as if he was some animal, but his torso and hands had a pale skin which were completely visible since he wasn’t wearing anything else. But the thing that made him stand out the most were the two pairs of horns that were coming out of his head, one pair growing from his forehead up while the other from the sides and pointing down and that was not all, behind his back a long white tail with scales as if that of a lizard was waving.
Despite the devilish aspect, his looks were quite something although his body being mediocre, his muscles were standing out, his face was quite charming and the serene look on it just added up, his big black eyes had a clod gaze as if they could freeze anything and his silk, black hair was long enough to cover his back almost completely.
This fiendish creature made its way towards the city gates, sneaking between the carriages that were going and coming out of the city, easily avoiding being spotted by the guards. But was that really his concern? Now that he made his way inside he walked along side the wall, stall were everywhere, merchants from all places came to sell in this town reason why it was known as the trading center of the Kingdom of the Nine, having the largest market in the whole kingdom. Various smells filled those streets, sweet flower scents that relaxed anyone, tasty foods which easily made anyone droll over and grab a snack to the spices that would make your nose and eyes running. But the were more than just that, all types of weapons, every sort of armor and shield and even spell books, this town had everything.
Despite all that, the demon did not care about anything, not even showing the slighted temptation towards the delicious foods or some rare items that he might purchase. He walked through the street without bothering to look at anything or anyone, people avoiding him when they noticed his looks even if he knocked someone down or walked into them they wouldn’t do anything but turn around and run. A massive guy that he knocked down by walking into him quickly got up and in his rage picked up a rock, throwing it straight at his head but the demon’s tail was quick to react, wrapping around the rock and crushing it to dust as if it was made of dirt, he didn’t even bother to look around which made the man even more angrier.
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He grabbed a sword from a nearby stall and rushed at him trying to take him by surprise, when he approached him he felt a chill down his spin that made him come to a sudden stop. The demon had turned around and was looking straight at him, his tail already warped around the man’s neck like a snake. The sword dropped from the man’s hand as slowly started to lows consciousness. All of those that were around started screaming and running when they saw the scene, nobody even tried to help the poor guy.
“Stop right there fiend!” someone shouted from afar, the sound of clamping metal was starting to get closer and closer, multiple soldiers coming from both sides, completely blocking the demon’s way. From between the ranks of those soldiers one stepped forward. He was not wearing a helmet like the rest, you could clearly see his face and the fact that he was not some new recruit, but a battle hardened one, a scar on his left cheek, hair starting to go gray with a very serious face, he was clearly the commander of the soldiers in this town. “Let that man go!” he yelled at him again.
The demon threw the one he had his tail warped around into one of the nearby stalls which was filled with all sorts of carpets, making a more safe landing for the human. Now the demon turned his back at the commander, turning to the blockade in front of him, he extended his hand and pointed towards them “Move out of my way!” with a very deep and chilling voice he almost ordered them to step aside, since that was the way in which he was initial heading.
“Stand your ground men, we will hold this demon here until our reinforcements arrive and then we shall put an end to him once and for all.” the commander shouted at his men as he pulled both of his swords out of their sheaths walking towards him at a slow pace “We shall defeat him just like we defeated the demons before!” his words were filled with inspiration which raised the moral of those around him, but how much can they withstand? Since all of them are just some greenhorns that never seen some real action.
Those that blocked the demons way stood their ground while the rest of the soldiers charged at him along with the commander, although they surrounded him completely only the commander would fight with him close combat, taking the advantage since he had no weapons, the rest of them only used their spears when they saw an opening or to help the commander out. This strategy was quite good as he had to avoid the fast swings of the swords a well as the random thrusts of the spears from all sides, because of that the demon was only on the defensive, all he could do was avoid the attacks and look for a chance to counter. Despite the amount of attacks that were raining down on him, he was avoiding them almost effortlessly without wasting even a movement as if he was dancing between their blades and spares.
A chance soon came, but not for him, the commander took this opportunity when he was off-balance and hit him in the head with the hilt of his sword as hard as he could before quickly backing away while getting covered by the spears. The odds were looking in their favor, but something happened, the demon’s face looked almost black with anger, his eyes were dark as the night and both of his hands changed shape, one into a long scythe and the other into a long double headed axe.
They all underestimated him greatly, despite him being only in the defensive, not even once they managed to pierce him with their spears for he was too nimble, moving through their attacks without an effort. Even the commanders hit was nothing to be proud of as it did no damage at all, not even a scratch or bruise all it ever did was make him angry and it was his turn to push them back into a corner. He swinged his arms left and right, cutting the spear the soldiers carried to pieces, the commander tried to charge at him but he had no chance, the demon stepped into his attack quickly dodging it to the right and kicking the commander in the stomach with his knee after which he hit him in the back with his elbow, blood was coming out of his mouth and couldn’t even find the strength to get up anymore.
The demon continued his rampage, slaughtering soldiers left and right, the tip of his tail now turned into the head of a spiked mace as well, he was like an automaton that was set on killing. Bodies were severed, dismembered and crushed, nothing could stand in his path anymore. You could hardly tell from what kind of animal those parts were coming from as the level of brutality was above whatever was seen before. The previously clean paved roads painted in red, a new color was added to the walls of the buildings and the flowers from a nearby stall had turned crimson from the blood. Despite all that the demons face was emotionless, it was void of any expression, he had calmed down.
All that was left were the two rows of soldiers still blocking his way, although he killed everyone that attacked him before he stopped in front of the soldiers, a few meters away, his hands turned back to normal as well as his tail and pointed towards them “Clear my way!” his voice just as demanding as before but now carrying a lot more weight after the even that just happened “And you shall live.” he continued after leaving a pause. The soldiers couldn’t help it but look at one another, it was their duty to protect the city, but was their lives really worth giving for nothing? Despair started to show and many were tempted to stand down.
Suddenly from behind the demon, the commander showed up, his sword piercing the demon’s chest right where his heart should have be, with his other sword trying to cut his head off, but was caught by the demons tail and broke to pieces. He had no other choice but to get some distance and grab another from the bodies that filed the streets.“Stand your ground men, think about your friends, your family and fight for them, for their safety! Even if you die they will be safe, think about that and you won’t lose to him!” once again he was able to raise the moral of his name, truly a formidable commander.