In the downtown area of the town, there was a well-known restaurant. this restaurant, which functioned as a hotel too, was so famous that even people who lived far away knew it. In front of it was a huge signboard with a black cat on it. Kaiten didn’t feel very comfortable in this place as it had a little infamous reputation. Kaiten was not good with social events but this one he couldn’t skip. He strode inside the place, crowded with people. He looked around, and soon he found Hector and others sitting at a table in the corner.

“Here he is, the man!” Said Hector as he signaled others to make space for Kaiten to sit. The mood was great inside, the waiters were glad the restaurant was crowded as they would receive more tips, not knowing that all of these people were what they called demons.

“Couldn't you have picked a better place for this party?” Even though he hated the gloomy appearance of this restaurant he was glad with the number of allies they had by their side now. Six months ago, it was just him and Hector. But gradually, they started bringing more people on board. And then the Dhakarian Alliance was formed. The word ‘demon’ was too negative, so they thought Dhakarian was a better choice, it was a word that had its origins in a dead language it means they who belong to the darkness.

In those six months, they learned that to fully transform into a demon requires an enormous concentration of dark mana. And those who don't have that high level of dark mana just end up getting severely ill and dying in agony, without ever reaching the point of demonization.

“Hey! There’s no better place than here. They have the best food in the city,” said Hector as poured wine into Kaiten’s cup.

“You have done it again, right?” Said Kaiten as he sighed and took a good gulp of his cup.

“Come on, they dealt drugs. We’re just doing what is right. We’ve done it perfectly they won’t be able to track us down. For god’s sake! You need to relax a little.”

“The church …you know, what will happen if they get us? What do you think Hector, to slowing being burn—“

“Don’t worry my friend they won’t,” said Hector as he grabbed a stack of cash and put it in front of Kaiten.

“You need to stop to work in that factory, we need you. There are way more important things for us to do here,” said Hector as he insisted for Kaiten to get the money “Take it! You don’t get paid enough in that shit place.”

“What kind of ‘important thing’ you need me to do?”

“200 kilometers east of here there is the gang of Losgaria, we have been collecting information about them for a month. Those bastards do a lot of shady business their base must be full of money—“

“So it’s all about money. Are thieves now?”

“Of course not! They are worse than trash, they traffick people, and worse than that they have thirty of our people enslaved there. Didn’t you say we should always help others of our kind?” said Hector as he scanned the faces of his allies, taking in their expressions. Kaiten as always had a stoic look on his face. “Even though some of our friends are a little weak, they can smash those bastards like insects.”

“How many we have on our side,” said Kaiten.

“A little more than two hundred, what do you think we storm their base in the middle of the night from the four directions to be sure no one can escape. Their base is a little big but with our numbers, we can get it all done in two hours.”

“What do guys think about this plan?” Said Kaiten a little reluctantly as he looked around at the reaction of others, he didn’t want to risk his life anymore, but he remembered of his duty.

“I’m all in!” said Alyssia cheerfully, the others at the table nodded too. Kaiten was reluctant as he had a bad feeling about it but he didn’t let it show through while Hector's face broke into a wide grin as he lifted his cup high and called everyone to raise a toast for their success.

****

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

In the middle of the slums there stood the Fortress, that’s what the bandits called her. It was used as a noble house, it had a huge backyard and a castle that seemed to be out of a fairy tale, of course, a long time before, when Yista wasn’t so desolated. But as soon as it was abandoned, hundreds of years ago, Shanti towns began to form around it and the bandits began to use it as a base. So this area is extremely dangerous those who live here are those who have no other place to go.

Kaiten and the others have made the plan. The fortress had four gates, they would storm them at the same time. On this backwater planet Technology was not something easy to have even if you had money. Computers and smartphones were luxuries that people didn’t even dare to dream about. So they had no choice other than to use a signal to synchronize the attack.

It had been raining since afternoon, the floor was all muddy. The shabby houses, the silence, the strait corridors seemed like a horror movie. Kaiten and others make their way through the Shanti towns. They used their power to occult themselves, but even if they didn’t, it’s high in the night and people here don’t get out once the sun sets. He stopped and looked behind. “It’s okay over there?” Said Kaiten.

“Yeah, It’s just one that got his boot stuck in the mud. Are we there yet?” Said Alyssia.

“The Fortress gate is already on the next block.” Kaited signaled to everyone to get ready. At this time Hector and the others were probably positioned on the other side waiting for his signal. Kaiten took a pendant out of his pocket in it there was the picture of his sister, he looked at it one last time, took a long breath, and pulled himself together it was the time. “Alyssia fire the signal, the rest come with me!”

They unsheathed their swords and infused them with dark mana. As they adjusted their cloaks while marching, a hissing sound was heard, and a red light could be seen for kilometers. The signal was given. Kaiten rushed to the gate, there were only two guarding the gate. Kaiten immediately slashed them with his sword. The gate couldn’t support the impact and crumbled down. “Follow the plan, half of you will guard the gate while the others follow me inside,” said Kaiten.

The fortress had thick walls, but they weren't built for war - they were just for show. The noble who built the castle wanted to get a taste of his ancestors' lives. The castle was designed to be historically accurate to those from the past.

As Kaiten and others got inside he got to see the layout of the castle. The thick walls surrounded it on all sides and in the middle a huge castle with four towers stood.

The bandits rushed to fight them. Kaiten glanced at his surroundings, his allies didn’t need help. Alyssia and the others were massacring the bandits, some of the bandits totally despaired and were trying to flee. So he got ahead and entered the castle and as he got up the floors he went killing the bandits he encountered. It was funny how people who so sadistically inflicted pain on others were so pathetic when were there time to face retribution. As Kaiten and others progressed the floors, the south tower were being painted with red. The tower was huge so they they hadn’t found their objective yet, the dungeon. They found some slaves which were freed, and proceeded to clean the tower and move to the southwest one.

Till this moment everything was going according to the plan. But suddenly, like an earthquake the floor trembled, and a huge blast was heard. Kaiten approached a room and went to look at the window. Divine power? He gave orders for them to continue as planned and jumped out of the window using his powers he rushed to the north gate with lightning speed.

When he got close he was choked. What are they doing here? Deacons working with bandits? Then he thought of something. Hector! He kept moving as he killed the ones who were in his way, the deacons couldn’t even feel his presence before having their throats slashed. They are working alone, right? Is the church aligned with bandits? When he got to the North gate he saw Hector chained, it was a divine circle they were using to seal him. More than 50 deacons were maintaining the circle.

As he was rushing to free Hector he felt a presence at his back.

“Where are you going?” Said the man who was glowing with a golden light. He extended his hand and a circle formed below Kaiten. The magic circle with golden sealed Kaiten’s movements.

“I got really lucky today to find demons like you here.”

“Who would’ve thought the Church would be involved with human trafficking.” Said Kaiten as he broke free from the magic circle. The man looked surprised. As Kaiten glanced he could see Hector was shouting something but he couldn’t hear. He saw that Hector could withstand the seal, so all he had to focus on was this mysterious man in his front.

In a flash. The man appeared in front of him, slashing his sword down with his right hand. As Kaiten avoided, he used his left hand to throw a bolt of light, Kaiten was sent flying. As he tried to put himself up the same circle as before formed below his feet. Without force to resist, he closed his eyes.

“So it is over now, this is your limit. You’ve failed, you and that friend of yours will make a great addition to my collection,” said the man as looked down on Kaiten with contempt. The golden light enveloped Kaiten’s body the man approached sure of his victory, but then his senses were alarmed he jumped meters away. The floor trembled as if a meteor had fallen. The Magic Circle broke down. Kaiten stood up now feeling renewed, his eyes became silver colored while the sclera turned black. A silvered rapier appeared in his hand. This fight was going to be much harder than the man anticipated.