Akira kept watching the cool down timer. It was approaching 1 minute.
The spider man struggled for some time but looked tired at the moment.
"What should we do after this cast" asked Akira.
"Well its up to you. Exorcise the demon or wait for another 3 hours for maximum gains"
"I think, I think I will wait. I hate to be this weak. If this will help me to grow stronger so be it"
"your call, but safety should come first, second comes the incognito. Something you failed to maintain when you met the larvae demon"
"yes I fucked up, I know. Usually I don't lose myself that easy"
"CONSUME" Timer hit 00:00 and Akira acted.
[vitality +1]
"Cool another +1, you know the consume name spells makes me feel like a predator who feeds on demons" Akira pondered
"You know it is Karma. Demons feed on mortals, but now a bigger predator has came" Kornelius chuckled.
Akira giggled. He looked down at the spider man.
"Identify"
Demon larvae Lvl 3
(very weak)
Very weak status corresponded with the condition of the spider man. He was unconscious and weakly breathing.
I have 3 hours cool down... Akira's thirst was getting worse. So grabbing his belongings + the new loot he exited. Nothing. All clear. He touched his face and there was a dry blood. He probably looked like a war hero. He put his hand on his chin and started thinking deep. Then suddenly throttled forward towards the direction he arrived. He walked about 100-200 meters and said:
"I knew I heard water". He shortly appeared near a narrow and shallow creek. He saddled the urge to dig his head in and start drinking. Looking around, he noticed a lot of littering at the creek's shores. The water appeared clean, but considering it was running in the middle of a huge metropolis was certainly unsafe for drinking. He sighed:
[HP 50/50]
He touched his supposed wound and found no pain. Same as his leg before. Wound was magicked away. "
"If only I had this when we car crashed, I would have been alive". But If I did survive, then in 3 years all three of us would become a demon's food. So its better that I died, at least I have got a chance to fight back"
Akira was shocked to find out that he actually isn't sorry for his demise anymore. So he quickly washed his hands, face, legs erasing the blood traces.
"What should I do next, I have a lot of time. I should explore around". He carefully memorised landmarks, so he can find his back. And moved along the downstream.
"They say if you follow a river you can find settlement sooner or later."
And voila, in two minutes Akira emerged under the bridge of relatively crowded plaza. It was a city park, not the Brazilian Jungle after all.
He put his new jacket, made himself presentable and climbed to the Plaza. There was something like mini fair. Children walking with balloons. some traditional dancing was being performed on a stage. A tempting smell of barbecue grabbed Akira by his nose and led him to a stall "Western cuisine".
"So I travelled to another world, landed on their version of Japan and first local food that I try will be hot dogs, German wurst and French fries.
His mouth salivated.
"Beggars cant be choosers" faintly smiled Akira while waiting for his turn to order.
"What would you like young miss?"
Akira wrinkled his nose on the "young miss" part but smiled and replied.
"How much will cost me 2 bottles of water, 2 hot dogs, 3 wursts, 3 packets of fries and pack of chocolates?"
"That will be 12 yen, miss"
Akira opened his bag and look discreetly at the money pack he got from the drug-dealing-spider-man-demon rapist. Brief scan showed over 300Y.
"Not a bad hoard for a first day work. May be I should start hitting their Yakuza demon bases for more easy cash" Akira chuckled at his joke.
"miss?"
"Ah yeas, Apologies. I will take them"
10 minutes later Akira was drinking madly from the water bottle, some water was leaking out his tiny mouth and dropping on his leather jacket.
"Ahh there is no better thing than a fresh water" said Akira. And hit the food with the same vigour. 5 minutes later he felt his tummy would blast. But the half of the food remained untouched. He looked surprised then said.
"oh yes the girls usually eat less. How can I forget about that. After getting a take away box from the same food booth. He sat in a relatively calm area of the piazza and observed the crowd.
There was a lot of traffic, but for 30 minutes he spotted only several spiderman. So they were around, but not as many as he thought. Probably 5-10% maximum.
He kept observing as the time passed. At one moment 3 people appeared. They had hooded robes with red pentagram painted on their backs. They stood at the middle of the plaza and the one holding a big black leather book started speaking loudly like preaching. People started gathering and at this moment from the pentagrams started to form red bubbles. The bubbles bloated and exploded in red mist quickly covering the perimeter. The people nearby didn't register it.
"Hey Kornelius are you there?" Akira whispered
"Huh yes, I was having a meal"
"Enjoy your meal"
"Thank you"
"Listen ..." Akira explained what he is seeing
"Looks like a miasma to me"
"Miasma?"
"Ah it is very diluted demonic essence in mana"
"Why are they doing it?"
"Not sure. I think I have an "encyclopaedia demonology" somewhere in the lab. Just got to find it"
In about 20 minutes the demon priests went away.
Some time later Kornelius connected again:
"phew found it at last."
"You should tidy your workspace Kornelius. It is important for a productive work".
"Hah who has a time for that, being daily at work and later busy with the prototype"
"well... You should have time now as the prototype is ready and being tested by myself"
"....hu.. ha you might be right"
"Sure I am right, Now about the red mist. The miasma.?"
"Let see M ..M.. M.. , here: Miasma is used in numerous demon rituals....blagh blagh HA. Listen: Miasma is used on casting "OBEY". It makes the affected target to lose their free will, end become easy to suggestion, manipulation etc. It is considered dangerous mind control demonic spell. Caution is advised"
"Are you saying the demons have brainwashed the people here?"
"No I believe they have cast OBEY and maintain it over the entire Terra."
"That is monstrous"
"I believe we found the reason for the higher than normal mana saturation in Terra" Kornelius
..."And why the people are acting strange. They have been magically hypnotized" Akira was frowning, getting angrier.
Akira checked the time
[Consume 00:38]
He got up from the bench, collected his stuff and headed back to the spiderman's location. 10 minutes later, Akira was crouching bellow a broken window. He slowly peeked inside. The room looked the same as he left and the spiderman was still laying on the ground hands and feet tight. He entered the room and sit down to wait for the timer. This time he was well fed and not thirsty. So the time quickly passed away:
"Consume"
[strength +1]
"That should be the last cast" Akira
"Correct, and regarding "exorcise", its mana cost is not set like consume but varies depending on the demon's level. It should be between 10 to 20 times its level"
"So I will need theoretically between 30 -60 mana for this one?"
[mana 51/100]
Sigh, more waiting. Akira snacked again. The wurst was nice along the fries. But the dog was let say poor imitation.
.....
" Ok so will the guy disappear or just the spider?" Akira was preparing to cast ["exorcise]
"Well it hasn't been tested you know? About being a prototype? HUH?
"Are you getting snarky at me KORNELIUS? Akira raised her voice to a high pitched girlish shout.
"Sorry"
"What?"
"I am sorry!! I become like this when I am tired or hungry"
"Ah, must be the blood sugar levels" concluded Akira
"I will go to the Akira's home after that. Go eat something and sleep. It will take some time to arrive"
"Thanks Akira, you are actually quite a nice man.. woman...a person?"
"Well thanks and currently I don't know what I am as well so don't bother"
"EXORCISE" words of power spoken, Timer set on 30 seconds. This time Akira didn't feel any heat or burning. Only a warm flow from his stomach to his head and then out.
He watched in fascination the light show with the rotating magic disks, and the consequential vanish of the spider from the man's neck.
"Akira we've got 300 SU reward, sending trough"
[Kornelius have sponsored you 300 SU]
"This sending up/down and those messages are getting distracting. We should think a better way if possible"
"Tomorrow may be?" Kornelius yawned
"Just managed to confirm the exorcise mana cost is 10 times the enemy level so you should be careful with the mana management"
"understood"
"Identify"
Human, Lvl 1
(very weak)(miasma affected)
"So the demon is gone and the host is recognised as a human again".
Akira looked and the man for some time. He was deeply thinking.
The man had obviously many sins. But how many were his and how many were under the demon's command? How can he be the judge deciding his fate. People were studding for many years to become judges back home. Now that the demon is gone and its repulsing aura, Akira wasn't so sure that the man deserved his fate. Yes he was a gangster and a drug dealer but a death?
He finally decided to drop it. He didn't want to be the judge and executor. It was too burdensome. He kneed down and retrieved the belt, beg stripe and his shoe laces. Then he ran outside only stopping the set the laces on his shoes and fix the school bag. The leather belt went to the beg as well, it was loot after all
He retraced his way all the back to the fountain.
The naked lady was still laying on the bench! Akira approached her:
"Hey lady are you ok? Do you need to call the doctor?
..... no response..
"Lady please respond"
Akira shook gently her shoulder. The woman was staring him, smiling with bloodied vacant eyes. SILENTLY.
"Ooo, Lady what that man did to you"
Akira shed a tear down his cheek. His hand shakily touch the neck for pulse...
DEAD.
The bastard killed her. He asked the man to stop, that the woman was sick, but the bastard just continued to eat her. And he KILLED HER
"KILLER MURDERER RAPIST EVIL DEMON " Akira was mumbling.....
Akira's pulse went high-drive. Rage was burning him inside. Eyes bloodshot, The voice in his head screaming JUSTICE. The whispering voice of reason telling him to calm down was overpowered of the drums of fast beating heart. This beating like a war drums was making the anger boiling further and further up
Akira slid his hand inside his pocket and touched the knife. Justice.
He dropped the bag and ran towards the deserted building. He entered the room heaving for breath, but eyes locked on the unconscious man.
He did not hesitate, approached the man, kneed down to his head. Then pulled the knife and hit. A clean strike at the neck where was the demon spider. The knife sunk to its hilt. The man shook few times, gurgled for few seconds and was gone.
Akira stood about a minute like that still holding the knife. Slowly Akira refocused and said
"I lost it. I lost it again. What's happening to me. I .. I just killed a man. Oh god"
He took few breaths to collect himself. I've gotta get out of here.
The knife, he pulled it and used the man's t shirt to clear the blood from the knife and his hands. He put the knife in his pocket. He should dispose it but not here. somewhere distant. He walked all the way to the woman tying to look not suspicious.
When he reached the woman, he took his bag, and stood up. A silent prayer for the soul of woman a moment of silence. Then he put his hand on her eyes and closed them.
"Rest in peace. There are no demons where you going now"
Then Akira moved toward the city centre
In about 15 minutes he appeared in front of the subway station.
After some pondering and an assistance from an elder gentleman he was already on the correct train. Heading to a dead girls home. . .