A few centuries back, a plague broke out. It was called the Emerald plague and still afflicts some of the population today. Symptoms included green, painful rashes on the chest, which over the matter of a couple of weeks covered the entire body. It is called the Emerald Plague because the rashes crystalise and turn the afflicted person into a horrifying statue of green gems.
It spread across countries in months, leading to extreme measures to stop it. People either isolated the infected individuals or put them down. In the end, fear killed more people than the Emerald plague itself.
Likewise, the knights immediately backed away in horror when they saw the same green rash on Yadalee's chest. She crouched down and covered herself with her arms, shaking in despair. "Please..." She mumbled as the knights took their swords out.
'Crap,' Paley gritted his teeth and created a small spray of water, which he shoved into the apprentice knight's throat. He coughed uncontrollably in response. The other knights turned their heads slowly, terrified, watching as Paley forced blood out of his throat.
The other knights all ran off in a panic, trying desperately to put distance between them and the Emerald Plague. But Yadalee wasn't infected. It was Paley's illusion magic that made her appear infected.
"I'm sorry," The apprentice knight said to Yadalee who was trying to pick up her torn dress to cover herself up, "I can't go against my superiors."
Yadalee didn't answer his apology and ran off.
"I don't know who you are, but I thank you for stopping them." The apprentice knight was talking to Paley, but he was already long gone in pursuit of the knights. He was a skilled mage, so he was aware of the magic that Paley used on him.
'How much longer do I have to follow them?" Paley asked himself. The knights blew into a magic whistle, which only their horses could hear, and their cavalry arrived quickly.
"We should just deem them dead and collect their pay for ourselves." The leading knight got on his horse and began riding down the street.
"What's wrong with this town anyway? I feel like someone's constantly watching me." One of the knights said.
"You feel it too?" The leading knight asked as they approached the end of the town and the path that led to the city. They rode in silence, taking surreptitious glances behind them.
'Looks like I need to find a spell to conceal my presence,' Paley concluded and silently hopped to the last rooftop.
He had already anticipated that in such an open area, the knights would spot him if he followed them on the ground, so he soared high up in the sky, right above them. He didn't have to worry about his shadow since the sun cast it far to the left of the knights.
He flew over the city wall as the knights made their way through. The guards didn't check their identity, which ended up giving Paley a great idea. 'I should salvage the armor from the dead knights in the forest and use it to get through places like this.' He thought.
The knights made their way deep into the town, and on the farthest side, Paley saw the enormous estate of the Lord. There was a polished lime wall surrounding a field of grass. In the middle of the field, on top of a small hill, was a manor. It was huge but so far away in the distance that it seemed minuscule.
There were two guards in white armor standing outside of the main gate. They allowed the knights to pass through after they showed a contract scroll ( a sheet of paper, which acts as a contract. It's imbued with the owner's and contractor's mana to make both parties fulfill their side of the deal no matter what - depending on how much mana they put in )
Paley tried to follow in the air, but he crashed into an invisible barrier that surrounded the whole estate. He tried to think of any other way to go in for a while, but the task was beyond him. 'I guess I better get back to the orphanage,' he flew off, retracing his steps. 'I'll come back later to check if they cause any more trouble.'
They never came back.
The leading knight was the only one allowed in the Lord's chamber. A large room with reflective marble flooring and white walls. There were five pillars tucked to the sides of the room, holding up a mezzanine. A giant window replaced the wall opposite the door.
"We meet again. I see the young mage isn't with you. Any luck finding out what happened to the Fulguron?" The Lord asked from behind his desk. He was a well-groomed, handsome man in his late thirties, though his dialect resembled an aristocrat's from a century ago.
"The Fulguron has been slain, but the knights we sent after it died in the battle." The knight sat down opposite the Lord and got straight to the point, "Since they're dead, you cannot uphold your side of the contract with them anymore, can you?"
"Mhm," The Lord nodded smugly. He had been through this situation hundreds if not thousands of times. He had smelt the stench of human greed so many times.
"Transfer their pay to us."
"Of course," The reply was too quick. The deal went way too smoothly, "Though I would like you to do something else for me."
"What is it?"
The Lord stood up slowly, his eyes glowing maliciously. "Don't you think there is too much evil in this world?" he asked.
"What?"
"How can I explain this to you?" The Lord pressed his index against his chin, deep in thought, "Aha! Like how there are too many ugly women, leaving fewer of the good, delicious ones for us." When he spoke, he exaggerated his lip movement, showing his sharpening teeth more and more.
"What's your point?"
"My point is that when your urge becomes far too uncontrollable, you must compromise in some way, right? So, the favor that I ask of you is..." The Lord bent over the table and stroked the knight's clean-shaven chin, "To give me your flesh."
Three wide-eyed butlers approached the knights waiting outside of the Lord's chamber. They stopped right in front of the knights' faces in complete silence.
"What're you looking at?" The knight in the middle was already irritated by his leader's tardiness.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," The Lord opened the door with a wide grin, "I just had to tell your boss about my secret ingredient."
"Secret ingredient for what?"
"Terror," The Lord's pupils sharpened, and he clawed through one of the knight's stomachs in a flash.
"What the-" The other knights had no time to react before the butlers took out knives and slashed them under the armpits and behind the knee, where there was only chainmail protecting them. They fell on their face, one of them looking into the Lord's chamber.
Blood covered everything near the desk. A few broken bones rolled about in the pool of blood as well as sludge-like material that must've been their leader's intestines and brain.
"The stomach is too acidic for my taste, and the brain's too sludgy. Forgive me for my pickiness." The Lord grabbed one of the knight's arms and slowly removed the armor, making sure to inoculate him with as much fear as possible.
"Are you afraid? Do you feel your skin contorting as it braces for what's next?" The Lord said in a deepening voice, "I'm certainly afraid. For you, of course." He ripped the knight's arm off with ease and let it bleed out for a bit.
They screamed in horror as he relished in the bitter-sweet taste of the arm.
"What the hell are you!?" A knight shouted.
"Do you really need to ask? Have you only seen my kind in fairy tales?" The Lord laughed and ripped off the other arm, this time slower than the one before. The knight he was eating had already passed out from shock, but the taste of terror was still fresh in his flesh.
"My secret ingredient isn't a secret, to be fair," The Lord, "It's common knowledge that if you can't find the taste of love and joy, fear and pride are the next best options." He moved down to the legs, taking even longer to chew the meat and discard the bone.
"You see, I'm a rare one. I don't like to eat the bones. They're too hard, and frankly, lack a base flavor." The Lord's fingers became claws, and he ripped through the rest of the knight's body. He only liked to eat the arms and legs of a person.
"Please..." One of the other knights lost his voice, "Please don't eat me!" He whimpered desperately.
"So much to live for. So many dreams to accomplish. I love crushing them." The Lord kept a strangely classy demeanor like a noble would at a dinner party.
"Inferno!" The word echoed in the hallway, and a wave of fire approached the Lord.
"Did you really think-" The Lord began after the fire dissipated, revealing the apprentice knight standing on the other hand of the corridor, "that low-level magic would work on a demon?" He grinned and sprinted horribly toward his prey.
"Of course not," The apprentice knight replied, and the ceiling caved in on the Lord. There was a dense silence as everyone tried to calm down. After waiting a few more seconds wearily, the apprentice knight dropped to his knees in relief.
"You came!" The knight, who was about to be eaten next, exclaimed as the butlers let go of them.
"You demon-worshipping scum!" The other knight readied his sword and swung it through the butler's torso, slicing most of his left side off.
The apprentice knight suddenly screamed and they turned to see a long, snaky, red arm strangling him. It came from beneath the rubble, where the demon was supposed to be.
"You'll make for a delectable snack. So much righteousness. So much care for others. I knew you would taste amazing!" The demon lifted itself out of the rubble, revealing the left half of its body that had begun to transform into its real form.
It was a disgusting mess of rough flesh and scales. Dark grey horns grew on either side of his neck, surrounded by sharp patches of hair that covered his entire top torso.
"We have to get out of here!" The other knights began to run, but the demon transformed its other half and stretched its arm to grab them. Its chest and legs had grown disproportionally to the rest of its body.
Sharp claws wrapped around the knight's necks and pulled their heads clean off, taking them back to the demon, who threw them into the ground. However, the time window it presented was enough for the young mage to cast another spell.
"Plasma blade!" He generated a sword of pure white heat and cut the demon's arm off. The demon shrieked but didn't give the apprentice knight room to escape and swung its other arm toward him.
The apprentice knight dodged and ran as fast as he could to get away from there. 'I have to find whoever it was that saved that girl!' All he could think of was Paley. 'His magic must be strong. Much stronger than mine.' He was a good guy. If only his life didn't end that day.
The demon caught up to him as he entered an enormous spiral staircase. It crawled on the walls, twisting and contorting horridly as it chased him hysterically.
"What a hero!" The demon shouted, "I can't wait! I can't wait! I can't wait!" Saliva began to ooze from its mouth as it anticipated the taste of the young apprentice. Four sharp arms blasted out from its sides as it continued to transform into its true form. The apprentice knight launched a Firebolt back at it to blind it as they reached the ground floor.
"You're not getting away!" The demon launched forwards in a blind attack. It used its sense of smell to detect where the apprentice knight was, missing him by only an inch. The young knight ran through the giant hall towards the big wooden doors that led outside.
Ear-shattering laughter exploded from the demon as the apprentice knight got on his horse and tried to escape at full speed.
A burning sensation filled his upper back, followed by the sharp sting of teeth biting into his neck. The demon had leaped onto the horse. It was too late.
The horse kicked them both off and galloped away in a panic.
"No... Please..." The apprentice mumbled and tried to crawl from underneath the demon, but its grip was too tight, "I beg of you! Let me go! I don't want to die!" He bawled, making the demon smile with orgasmic pleasure.
"Mixing goodwill with fear... How long has it been since I've tasted such delight!?" The demon breathed heavily onto the apprentice.
"Someone! Help me!" He screamed.
"I can't wait anymore!" The demon tore his arm off and swallowed it whole, roaring from the umami.
"More! More! More!" It screeched and took his other arm. The icy grass around him had become crimson like a bed of roses. Within seconds the apprentice knight was dead. Not from blood loss but from shock.