The party made a good haul of Gnoll ears as they made their way back to the guild. "So I swung down at him with a hyah, but he blocked with that bone club and pushed me back, so I-" Angela discussed every detail about her brutal duel with the gnoll leader. Swinging her arms like they were swords as she spoke.
While Angela was recounting her battle, Ezra made a sideways glare at Cyrus, "going to explain why you used dark magic?"
"It's not that hard to explain since dark magic is natural for me. I don't want people to see me as a threat since being a demon-kin is hard enough," Cyrus could lie as naturally as he breathed. He didn't have guilt or other feelings people possessed when deceiving others.
"Is using dark magic really that bad?" Angela asked. Overhearing their conversation and decided to listen in.
"Did you pay attention to a single word back in class?" Ezra questioned.
"I did. Commonly referred to as curse magic, dark magic brings suffering to the user and everyone around them. To use it is turning your back on the light, and the church will hunt you down for your wicked ways," Angela recounted from the lectures she endured. She sighed and shook her head. "They tell us that as a warning for us not to use it."
"I don't mind explaining it, but are you sure? Besides your friend, the church might not be happy if I talked about dark magic," Cyrus pointed out.
Angela shook her head. "It's fine; I know not everything the church says is true. I knew a demon-kin before the church took me in. He was a nice person, had white hair like you and a horn sticking out of the back of his head. So I know the church's belief that everything related to demons isn't right. That's why I tend to question things instead of believing everything they say."
"Alright, if your sure then, I'll explain what I know about dark magic. They're only two reasons the church hates dark magic: one is that demons have a natural proficiency with it, and two, dark magic alters all other forms of magic, including light," Cyrus explained.
"If dark magic can alter light, would that make dark magic stronger?" Angela asked, becoming interested in the subject.
"No, if two people of equal strength used magic, light magic would win due to its purifying properties. It's the reason why demons haven't taken over the world," Cyrus responded.
"I still don't approve of its usage, and I don't approve of how Angela pays more attention to this discussion of magic than she did back in school," Ezra cut in.
After being with Angela for a bit, Cyrus understood her disinterest in magic. Magic requires training before you can wield it, whereas a sword you could pick up and use. Of course, training with a sword will improve your skills, but it isn't mandatory to swing a hunk of metal.
The party would make their way through the forest and eventually reach the outskirts of town. "We're back. I can't wait to see how much we make for these gnolls," Angela eagerly thought aloud.
Making their way to the guild, the group noticed a crowd standing outside the entrance, all looking inside. As the party got closer, a man got thrown out the door, crashing into the ground. The markings on the man's armour showed he belonged to the church.
"Do you realize what you've done?" The man yelled as he slowly stood up.
"I don't think you realize what you've done," The guild master roared as he stepped outside. "The next words out of your mouth had better be an apology or a broken leg will be the best you can hope for." He warned, cracking his knuckles
"I'm a member of the church! You can't treat me in such a-ah-" The man got cut off as the guild master lunged forward. The man raises his shield to stop the incoming fist, but the guild master punches through the metal like it was paper and grabs the man's collar tossing him over the shoulder and onto the ground.
The guild master stepped on the man's leg before raising his foot. "As promised, I'll start with your legs. Better not move, or I might crush more than just a leg."
"Aieeee!" The man cowered, scrambling to avoid the attack.
"Stop!" Another man would appear, dressed in full plate armour, on the church symbol's blade was a star to symbolize a rank within the organization.
"Captain, This man is defending a demon!" The man yelled, scampering like a wounded animal to his captain's side.
"How's it going, Luke?" The guild master smirked as he watched the man scamper.
"Guild master Adam, I'm sorry, we lost sight of him," Luke let out a sigh and looked down at the man, "head back to the church now! We have a lot of things to discuss," Luke ordered.
"But sir," The man stammered, but Luke gave the man a cold glare causing him to rush back to the church.
"So, anything outside the ordinary happen?" Luke asked.
"No, just public threats, attempted violence, followed by me throwing them outside, nothing new." Guild master Adam stated.
"If there isn't anything new, then I'll send the usual over later," Luke spoke with a sigh of relief and turned to leave.
"Thanks, and make sure to keep a tighter reign on those guys," Adam called out.
"It happened again," Ezra sighed as she hung her head.
"What happened again?" Cyrus asked, looking over to Ezra.
Ezra reached into her bag and pulled out a small badge with the church symbol, a winged sword. "This item allows someone to track down demons. It was useful a long time ago, as demons disguised themselves as humans. However, with the growing number of demon-kin disguising themselves as humans to avoid persecution, using this badge has lost nearly all meaning." As she spoke, the blade would turn towards Cyrus and start glowing. "See, it can't tell the difference between demons and demon-kin, so now it's just customary to be given one when you're a part of the church."
"So if they went to the guild, that means the church is after Flora?" Cyrus realized.
"Oh, you already met her? Don't worry, everyone here knows her because of incidents like these," Angela explained.
"Every time a new acolyte comes here, they try to make a name for themselves by hunting a demon. However, they end up making a mockery of themselves and the church. Everyone here knows Flora is a demon-kin protected by the guild," Ezra concluded.
"Why is Flora protected? I thought the church hates all demons," Cyrus asked.
"Apparently, the guild master put a lot of pressure on the church to make it happen," Ezra replied.
As the crowd dispersed, Angela and the party would enter the guild. The guild master would look at them and smile, "Oh, I see you witnessed that little incident."
"I heard of it before, but I have never seen it. You punched through a metal shield without using any skills, so how strong are you?" Angela asked with awe.
"Huh, don't you know how strong guild masters are?" Adam answered her question with one of his own.
All three of them shook their heads as they looked upon the guild master.
"Hehe," Adam takes out his guild tag and slams it on the table, showing a solid gold emblem. Both Angela and Ezra looked at it with awe, but Cyrus wasn't sure how good gold was since he thought it came after silver.
The guild master noticed the lack of surprise on Cyrus' face and realized the demon-kin didn't know all the rankings. "So after bronze is silver, then it goes ruby, garnet, topaz, emerald, sapphire, amethyst, alexandrite, then gold," Adam explained. He took out a silver tag with the seven gems embedded into it. "When your silver tag has all the gems, you'll be a gold-ranked adventurer, and all guild masters were gold-ranked adventurers. We're experts at fighting, and it's why no one is dumb enough to steal from the guild."