The cloaked figure entered the town surrounded by a field of ullar trees, in the centre of the town stood the massive wooden structure with various platforms, there were stone walls located around the entirety of the town, carts with pots and sacks travelled to and from the town frequently,
The figure removed their hood revealing a head of white hair and red eyes.
The man walked into the city seeing two guards chatting to about being transferred to this town recently.
The white-haired man approached the two men, "Evening' boys." he said as a greeting.
"Ah, you must be another one of the traders, go on into the city." the pleasant guard said gesturing him inside,
"No, actually I'm here because I've heard about some monster appearing here, I came here to deal with it." the white-haired man explained.
"Ah, you're a bit late for that! Some guys showed up a few days back and killed the alleged monster." the guard explained.
"I see, thank you for the information." He said stepping into the city, he looked around for the corpse, but he only saw the shallow hole in the ground where the creature must have fallen.
Carrying several scrolls the blond-haired Kate hurried past the white-haired man not even noticing him - he entered the only large building except for the massive wooden construction in the middle of the town, it had the words "Drunken Demon's Inn" written above the door, it was clear this was a relatively new construction.
Stepping inside he saw two men sitting at the chairs by the fire, one red-haired man, the other was massive in comparison.
The white-haired man sat in the back when he was approached by another cloaked figure who sat down beside him, "Hey there." the figure was notability shorter than him and sounded like a woman in her early twenties,
The man didn't reply,
"Not a talkative person, are you?" she asked,
The man took a while to reply, "I see that wand of yours, I'm confident I can snap your neck at this distance before you could use it." he replied coldly.
"Is that really any way to speak to a lady?" she asked pulling her hood back revealing a long head of pink hair, "Are you interested in finding out what went on here too?" she asked with a soft grin on her face.
"Are you suggesting something?" he asked turning to face her, it was clear she had malicious intentions in her head.
"Of course not, I wouldn't cooperate with someone who is against our cause," the girl said with a shrug.
"But seeing as we both need to find the same thing, perhaps it'd be in our best interest to… coexist whilst trying to achieve our common goal," she suggested.
"I have no intention of working with you - that said, I'm not interested in killing you right now," he replied.
"How cold of you, it's not like we're doing anything wrong…" she argued,
"I honestly could not care less what you think of your actions - that said, it seems like the culprits disappeared," he replied.
"True, but what if I was to tell you that I have a lead?" the girl asked leaning over towards the white-haired man.
He let out a defeated sigh, "Fine, but if you try anything - I'll make sure to snap that pretty little neck of yours…" he warned as a grin spread across his face, before quickly being suppressed and returning to a calm smile.
The white-haired man gestured one of the waitresses to come over, "What can I get you?" she asked,
"Beer," he replied plainly.
"Ahem," the pink-haired woman beside him sounded irritated, he let out another sigh, "Alright, I'll take one beer and bottle of rat poison." he clarified.
"I-I'm sorry sir we don't sell poison here…" the waitress replied uncomfortably.
"Fine, two beers, but if you hypothetically had some form of poison, put it in her one," he instructed,
"We won't - I'll get you the beers in a second," she exclaimed before hurrying over to the front of the inn and filling two large pints of beer.
"So, what's this lead of yours?" the white-haired man asked, his red eyes lazily observing the candle which lit their table.
"You know that big wooden building in the middle, it was shot with fire magic, judging from the charred plants outside the mage who used the magic is quite powerful…" she explained,
"Yeah, and if they were able to kill a demon, it means that they're skilled too…" he added.
"Yeah, that's why I need to track them down!" she exclaimed slamming her fists on the table.
"Right…and place a demon soul inside of them?" the white man taunted,
"As if we'd waste a specimen like that for some infantry…" the girl laughed.
"So that's what they are to you? Infantry?" the white-haired man asked seeing the waitress bring the two pints over, they each took their pint and began gulping it down.
"Don't be like that, you know you were more than a disposable pawn!" she said in a sarcastic yet reassuring tone,
"Gee, what kind words…" he replied slamming the pint down on the table and gesturing for the waitress to bring him another.
Meanwhile, the girl took her time drinking, "More importantly, I'm sure we could hook you up with a job if you changed -" she was cut off by the white-haired man "No, and the next time we meet it will most likely be as enemies." he explained.
"Are you sure - I mean you're sure to die, why not just live your life somewhere in the mountains?" she asked taking another sip of her beer.
"I could as you the same thing," the white-haired man laughed scratching the back of his head anxiously awaiting the waitress to bring him the beer.
"I can't, I believe in the boss' goals," she replied.
"And his methods?" he asked,
A silence came over the two for a while,
"It's for the greater good…" she sighed sombrely.
"So what, your boss still wants to piss God off so badly he's pop down and fix all suffering?" the white-haired man asked with a raised eyebrow.
"It is God's responsibility isn't it?" she replied with a question,
"I don't know - but I know God doesn't give two shits about any of us nowadays, "
The waitress approached the table with the third pint placing it on the table, the white-haired man extended a hand with a few copper coins,
"You wouldn't happen to know who's in charge of the village?" he asked,
The waitress sifted through the coins picking out exactly the price of the three beers, "I guess you could saw Owar runs things around her." she said pointing over to the red-haired man sitting next to the larger man.
Adam stood up and chugged the entire pint down placing it back onto the table before heading over to the two men,
"I take it you're Owar?" he asked looking at the red-haired man,
"Yeah, what can I do you?" the red-haired man asked brashly,
"I was wondering if you know any details about the one who killed the monster." the white-haired man explained.
"That depends…why do you need to know?" Owar asked,
The white-haired man reached into this long coat and pulled out a sack of coins, "Is this what you need?" he asked.
"That's not what I mean, I'm askin' what you want with them," Owar replied pushing the sack away - quickly recoiling his hand after touching the sack and realising it wasn't filled with money, but some wet bloody substance.
The white-haired man stood silently for a while, unbuttoned the coat slightly, revealing a black scaly body, a red light coming from under them.
"I can be very persuasive - but I'm just here gathering info…so if you cooperate I'll just leave you be." he offered with a wide smile.
"You can't scare me, either answer my question or leave." Owar sighed,
An explosion of purple flame erupted from the fire, the flames spread across the entire inn blocking off the doors and windows - the panicked patrons and waiters began screaming in horror as the flames began closing in on them.
The white-haired man turned to look at the hooded girl who was now walking up to him, "Whoops, my finger slipped!" she announced apologetically waving the wand in front of the man, it was a simple wooden stick with a purple gem attached to it.
"F-fine we'll tell you everything we know, just stop this!" Owar cried and in an instant, the flames disappeared.
"Now then, I'll leave the negotiations with you." the pink-haired girl announced as she headed back to her table.
"You two are monsters!" Derl, the large man sitting beside Owar taunted,
"Can't argue with that - but I'll have you know I came here to kill the monster - I'd watch out for the pink-haired one if I were you though…" the white-haired man replied, "Anyway - go ahead and tell me everything you know," he added.
"Most of the damage was done by this one kid who talked in some other language, there was also a blue-haired guy with stupid glasses," he explained.
"Why were they here?" the white-haired man asked,
"They said the heard there was a monster here so they decided to go and kill it…" Owar replied.
"And the demon? What did you do with the body?" he asked,
"Some people showed up offering to clean up the corpse, they carted it off in its - they said they're going to burn it somewhere up north," Owar explained avoiding eye contact with the white-haired man.
"What kind of people?" he asked.
"We don't know, they offered to clean up the body so we didn't ask any questions," Owar replied.
"Describe what they looked like," he instructed,
Owar took a second to scratch his red hair and let out a sigh "They wore long black coats with little owl crests on their chest - they had hoods and scarves…they showed up and cut the body up before loading it onto these carts and dragging it away."
The white-haired man took a second to go over the info before patting Owar on the shoulder, "Thanks, man." he said before walking away - back to the pink-haired woman.
"Well, how'd it go?" she asked,
"A crest with an owl and long black coats." the white-haired man explained.
"The wizard's court…" she replied not even halfway done with her drink.
"They carted off the corpse, allegedly they agreed to clean it up for the villagers - I'm sure they just want to take it apart to get some more info about us…" he replied with a restless sigh.
"So, do you know where they went?" she asked,
"Allegedly they went north, but I doubt they'd be honest…" she shrugged.
"So, where are we heading?" she asked.
"Simple, I'll make a little light show and wait for them to come…" the white-haired man replied with a wide grin.
"Just the kind of brute solution I'd expect," she replied with a sarcastic sigh.
"My favourite kind," he replied.
They walked out of the house and climbed up the wooden platforms along the side of the wooden buildings - at the top the white-haired man sat down on the ground, seeing the bright moon he lifted his hand into the air causing it to swell and burst revealing black scales, writhing and twitching.
They emitted a red light and a flame appeared in his palm, the flame turned white in his hand creating a light so bright the wood around them started emitting smoke, he threw the ball of light into the air causing it to explode filling the entire night sky with a white light so bright the moon seemed like a black hole in comparison.
"They're hardly going to come here if they're blind!" the pink-haired woman complained rubbing her eyes.
"They're wizards, right? I'm sure they have healing magic…" the white-haired man replied.
After a few minutes of relative silence, the white-haired laid down on the wooden platform on top of the building and awaited the arrival of the wizards.
The pink-haired girl sat down opposite him and leaned back on the wooden pole behind her.
"How long do you think it'll take them?" she asked,
"No idea - guess they have teleportation magic or something…" he replied,
"I doubt they'd figure that stuff out…" she laughed, "I'm the only person in the world allegedly able to teleport," she replied proudly,
"Good for you,".
"I expected more of a reaction…" she replied with a disappointed sigh, "Well, it's not really teleportation anyway." she shrugged,
"You're revealing your enemy your abilities?" he asked,
"Call it…a handicap for you," she replied with a shrug,
In an instant the girl faded away into a cloud of smoke leaving black marks on the ground, she appeared not far from the white-haired man with a wide grin on her face, "Ta-dah!" she exclaimed proudly.
"So you just turned invisible and walked over to me?" he asked,
"Aw, you're no fun…" she pouted before walking back to where she sat.
"...So, how are you holding up lately?" she asked bored with the silence,
"Travelling and killing monsters," he said looking at her,
"That's like telling a gardener you burn flowers for a living, you know…" she replied irritated,
A long silence occurred…
"So, what are you doing?" the white-haired man asked,
"Oh, you know - I've picked up painting recently -" the white-haired man cut her off, "You know what I mean…" he hissed.
"Like I said, you're no fun…" she sighed, "Well, like I said - I'm confident the boss could squash you like an ant - but if you're curious you could come back to us and-" again she was cut off, "I'll pass…"
"I find it hard to believe you stooped so low…" he sighed disappointed,
"Says the homeless murderer…" she replied,
"I'm serious, leave your boss - I don't want to kill you." he pleaded,
"Aw, could it be I have won your heart with -" she was cut off by him again, "Sorry, I'm already taken." he clarified.
"Damn, didn't even hesitate do reject me, huh?" she asked somewhat shocked but not seriously upset.
"This body I'm possessing - I'm only borrowing it, and when I'm done wiping you guys out I'll get my own body and me and her can be together," he replied,
"Anyway, I'm not going to betray my ideals for the sake of a life where I betray myself," she replied simply.
"Too bad…" he sighed before turning his attention back to the town centre, he saw purple magic circles appearing on the ground - two men appeared on wielding a staff, the other a long butcher's knife.
"Looks like it's finally time for some fun…" the white-haired man said cracking his knuckles before jumping off the building landing in the centre of the town, this grabbed the attention of the other two mages,
"Are you the magic-user who cast the spell?" the staff-wielding mage asked,
"That's me, now it's my turn for the question." he replied, "Where is the demon's corpse?" he asked,
"That's the wizard's court business, civilians do not need to know that." the mage with the staff replied,
The white-haired man clicked his tongue in irritation, his hand exploded into a writhing mess of black scales and lava-like flesh, glowing a bright red light.
He ragged the staff-wielding man squeezing him slightly as he causing him to pass out instantly, he tossed his limp body up to where the pink-haired woman stood.
"Don't kill him - I'll have some fun with this one for now…" he yelled out raising his amorphous arm - before slamming it down on the man, surprisingly he blocked it with the blade, cutting into his arm.
The blade emitted a red light causing the man wielding it to grin, "Now I got you monster…" he said in a sickeningly high pitched voice
"What?" the white-haired man asked as the wielder of the blade swing the blade to the side causing his arm to fly off leaving a gaping wound which leaked blood onto the ground.
"THAT'S IT! BLEED! BLEED OUT AND DIE YOU MONSTER!" the mage laughed as the white-haired man fell to the floor into a puddle of his blood,
"Shit…looks like…I should have paid more…attention…" he said as he slowly closed his eyes - dramatically falling to the ground, the back of his palm pressed against his forehead.
"STOP FUCKING AROUND AND KILL HIM!" the pink-haired girl demanded upon seeing the man laying on the ground bleeding,
"Quiet you! I'm coming for you next!" The mage laughed stepping over the man laying on the ground,
The mage stopped when he felt a sharp pain to his shoulders, he looked to the side seeing that he was missing both arms, the turned around in shock as the blood shot out everywhere, "What the hell?!" he cried looking at the white-haired man holding the two hands, his missing hand was now back, "I'm borrowing this body, so please be gentler with me." he said sticking his tongue out,
The mage fell to the floor leaving his blade on the ground, the white-haired man picked the long butcher's knife off the ground and strapped it to his back.
"Nice!" he exclaimed looking at the craftsmanship of the weapon.
The man looked over to the staircase leading up to the wooden building seeing the girl walking down, passed out mage in hand.
"Alright, Let's get going!" he exclaimed grabbing the man, he made his fingers red hot as he pressed his index finger to the man's forehead creating a loud hissing sound as the man woke up screaming.
"Welcome back!" he exclaimed planting the man back on the ground, "Now you will lead us to where you took the body!" he explained patting the man on his head.
"A-alright! Anything you say!" he cried as he began walking,
They headed north-east for several hours until they reached what looked like a camp, there were several mages cutting, taking apart and experimenting on the corpse of some monster, most likely the one from the town.
"Thanks for the help!" the white-haired man exclaimed before smacking him on the back of his head, causing him to pass out before tossing him away.
"You should've killed him." the girl pointed out.
"Unlike you, I'm not a complete psychopath - nothing to gain from that."
The camp was located in a flat depression in the ground in the middle of a hilly area, most likely modified with magic, the tents were light green with what looked lie grass growing out of them, upon closer inspection it was fake - like camouflage, at the centre of the camp was a deep hole in which lay the body, it's parts put together with clearly visible marks where it was cut, scaffolding and platforms littered its frame as several men and women in black coats and hoods performed experiments on it and some were recording information into notebooks with what seemed like magic.
Runes were placed on the ground, carved into pieces of stone maintaining a large spherical portal most likely leading to their base, but it was guarded by four figures wearing the same coats but plated with metal and crystals.
The man sat down and observed the corpse, "Looks like it was killed from mana loss…" he replied,
"What do you mean? It was clearly burned!" she exclaimed in a hushed tone so as not to be noticed.
"Look at it, the burn wounds are healed over slightly, but the entire surface is dry and cracking - at the same time it doesn't look like it was crushed or anything - leading me to believe it was either drained of mana or its soul was removed, and the second one is highly unlikely," he replied.
"Guess you have a point... but what about the hole in its gut?" she asked,
"Maybe they tried to cut its stomach open to retrieve some bodies?" he suggested,
Moments later the man stood up, "Anyway, I guess I'm done here." he replied looking at the moon beginning to set,
"What do you mean? You came to just look?!" the pink-haired girl asked,
"The soul is gone, it's just a hunk of mean now - I guess it's in your interest to stop them from researching it, but that's not my problem," he replied patting his clothes clean from the dust before heading back.
"Whatever, guess I'll char them all." she shrugged as she reached for the wand under he cloak, before setting the camp and corpse ablaze with bright purple flames, leaving nothing but black marks and ash where the camp stood moments later…
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Check out a tts reading of chapter 1 and potentially more in the future! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xorRJDGAQk&feature=youtu.be