Suddenly, Kellan clapped his hands... and two burly men appeared from the side dragging a struggling villager onto the platform, the man's eyes were wide with terror as he was forced to his knees in front of Kellan. Kellan raised a dagger... its blade glinting in the torchlight, and began to chant in a guttural ancient language.
"This is the price of defiance," Kellan declared his voice rising above the chant. "Witness the power of Guardian Syla!"
The gathered villagers watched in horror as Kellan plunged the dagger into the man's chest, the victim screamed a sound of pure pain that echoed off the stone walls. Blood flowed freely and the ground beneath the man seemed to come alive soaking up the crimson pool eagerly.
Then the man began to convulse after being freed, then around everyone the torches flickered violently and the air grew thick with a palpable evil, the blood on the floor began to move forming symbols and shapes that glowed with an eerie unnatural light. The man's body contorted in impossible ways his screams dying out as his eyes rolled back into his head.
The villagers gasped and recoiled, some crying out in terror while Kellan's chant reached a fever pitch and the symbols on the ground burst into flames, the victim's body was consumed by the fire leaving behind only ashes and a lingering sense of dread.
The cost of protection is really sacrificial of the villagers. So why choose a demon for power when there are gods?
Daemon looked around at the villager faces filled with fear. 'Why does everyone seem to fear him yet also act like they're under his control? Seeing this, shouldn't they rebel?' he thought.
If fear alone wasn't enough to keep them subdued... then what was?
Kellan turned to the crowd... his eyes blazing with a fervent, fanatical light. "This is the power of our guardian! Obey, and you shall be protected. Defy, and face the consequences!"
Daemon looked around and didn't see any children... he was confused. 'Why were the children taken? Does he have something else planned for them?' he wondered.
Daemon decided not to dwell on the children for now. Stepping into the open in front everyone, he shouted, "Kellan, do you remember me?"
Elder Kellan's face fell, his brows furrowing slightly, his eyes widened in recognition of Daemon. "What are you doing here? How did you find us?" he asked.
Daemon ignored his question. "You warned me about the Iron Chain Cartel... but my main focus should have been you, especially after finding out you...'re kidnapping children," he said.
The villagers turned, eyes widening in shock and hope, but like Daemon thought they seemed too scared to rebel, even with this revelation. Kellan sneered, raising his dagger once more. "You dare to challenge the power of Guardian Syla? You will be the next sacrifice!"
Daemon's resolve hardened, he would not let Kellan harm any more children. The adults could take care of themselves, so he didn't pay much attention to them and shifted his focus back to Kellan again.
Kellan's heart raced with a potent mix of fear and fury as he didn't expect the challenge from Daemon. His mind raced with frantic calculations, scrambling to regain control of the situation slipping from his grasp. How had this outsider uncovered our secrets, defying the authority of Guardian Syla?
Kellan pointed his dagger at Daemon with trembling hand. "Quickly, seize him!" he shouted.
This was an attempt by Kellan to appear fearless... when he really was afraid.
At the same moment, the two burly men who had dragged the villager to Kellan earlier jumped down off the platform and slowly walked toward Daemon, one holding a heavy club studded with metal spikes and the other brandishing a long wicked-looking knife.
"You've made a big mistake coming here, stranger," one of the men growled, tightening his grip on the club. "We'll make sure you regret ever stepping foot in this village."
The other man sneered, twirling his knife with a practiced ease. "You think you can just walk in here and challenge Elder Kellan? You'll be begging for mercy by the time we're done with you."
Daemon stood his ground, his eyes narrowing. "Beg is no longer in my vocabulary," he said coldly preparing himself for the fight. 'After begging constantly for my killers to spare my family, I realized that the word beg has no meaning to it,' he thought having.
Daemon was suddenly overwhelmed by a terrifying memory from his past. He vividly recalled the horrifying moment when he witnessed his family's throats being slit right in front of him. The pain and fear of that experience came rushing back as he endured torture. In the midst of his pain, he couldn't help but wonder why such a nightmare was happening to him?
The two men charged at him, their weapons gleaming menacingly in the torchlight. The first man swung his club with brutal force, aiming for Daemon's head. Daemon ducked the club whistling just inches above him.
As he straightened, the second man lunged with his knife, aiming for Daemon's chest. Daemon twisted his body, narrowly avoiding the blade and countered with a swift kick to the man's gut, sending him stumbling back.
The second man, regaining his breath charged once more, knife glinting as he aimed for Daemon's side. But Daemon was ready with a swift, almost elegant motion, he sidestepped, and as the man overextended, Daemon's palm connected with his elbow, bending the arm at an unnatural angle.
The man screamed dropping his knife.
The man with the club recovered quickly and came at Daemon again, swinging wildly. Daemon dodged the blows with cat-like agility, his movements precise and calculated, he managed to grab a fallen torch and used it to parry club the metal spikes sparking against the flame.
"You're faster than you look," the man with the club admitted, a hint of grudging respect in his voice. "But it won't save you."
"We'll see about that," Daemon replied his voice icy but by how men is moving easily after his attacks he wondered. 'Their speed and durability seem beyond human physical limits. Are they blessed by their so-called god, Syla?'.
The man with the knife recovered, using his other hand, and joined his companion. Together, they tried to overpower Daemon with their combined assault. But Daemon was relentless, his movements a deadly dance of precision and power.
With a well-placed strike, he disarmed the man with the knife, sending the weapon skittering across the stone floor. The man with the club swung again, but Daemon ducked and retaliated with a powerful punch to the man's jaw, dizzying him a little.
In a blur, Daemon spun, his heel connecting with the first man's jaw in a precise, brutal kick. The force of the blow lifted the man off his feet a little, his head snapping back before he crumpled to the ground unconscious.
The other man, now weaponless and nursing his broken arm, attempted a desperate punch. Daemon caught the man's fist mid-air, twisting it sharply and forcing him to his knees. Without a word, Daemon drove his elbow into the man's shoulder, dislocating it with a sickening pop.
Daemon sidestepped, delivering a swift incapacitating blow to the back of his head. The man crumpled to the ground unconscious, every move Daemon made was like art, targeting weak points on the men's bodies on instinct.
After knocking out the two burly men, Daemon turned to face Kellan who still stood on the platform despite what he saw but it did cause his face a mask of fury and fear. "Your guardianship ends here," Daemon declared, his voice echoing through the stone chamber. "No more sacrifices. No more terror."
Kellan felt the weight of Daemon's words like a physical blow. For years, he had believed in the power of Guardian Syla, had placed his trust in him to protect their village from the constant attack.
Kellan quickly realized that he was outmatched that he took a step back. "You don't understand," he said, his voice trembling. "Without Guardian Syla, we are doomed!"
"Then you have to find another way," Daemon replied firmly. "One that doesn't involve sacrificing innocent children."
The sight of how the children were treated filled Daemon with disgust towards Kellan. He just want to kill him.
With the villagers watching in stunned silence, Daemon began to advance on Kellan. The elder backed into a pathway behind the platform while shouting, "Quickly, stop him!"
Daemon felt a pang of frustration and confusion as he watched the villagers turn on him, their expressions twisted with fear and aggression. He had hoped that Kellan's revelation about the kidnapped children would stir something within them.
However instantly all the villagers in the room turned to Daemon, moving toward him. 'Even after seeing and hearing what's happening around them, they're choose to attack me. They really are under some control,' he thought.
Despite everything they still cling to Kellan's false promises, willing to defend him even after witnessing his atrocities...Is the attack on the village even real?
Daemon quickly sprinted forward to catch up to Elder Kellan, dodging through the villagers. When he almost got caught, he used their bodies to jump off them gaining a boost forward.
After a while of dashing through a narrow hallway, Elder Kellan was in front of him. Due to Daemon's speed, he was quickly catching up, which confused him. 'Where does this lead? But also, shouldn't he have some strength? Being the protector of the village for so long, the demon must have given him at least some power. It's been over a hundred years,' he thought.
When Daemon reached Elder Kellan close enough, he brought out his leech using the hallway wall to lunge himself forward. Arriving behind him his claws passed deeply through Elder Kellan's back causing him to fall forward and roll out the end of the hallway.
Daemon's anticipation surged as he contemplated the diminishing life force of Kellan. 'His life force should slowly decrease giving me time to get some information out of him before death,' he thought.
While Daemon was in thought, when he arrived out of the hallway, something terrifying suddenly dropped in front of his face, roaring straight into his face with such force that the whole place vibrated.