Walking out of the building, Richard's mind was filled to the brim with thoughts and Demons.
His car was parked close to the entrance, so he just had to walk a little before he would get to it. That gave him enough time to think about his encounter.
'Baxter Rigborne... The Evil Hand of the Eye. Tenth generation mage, and a key figure in the creation of Telekinesis based magic spells.'
Richard's frowned deeper, 'He is also a Seventh Rank Sorcerer.'
The quality, and likewise, power, of a sorcerer is heavily dependent on their grade.
First Rank Sorcerers are the beginners on the path of magic. During this period,they learn mostly about magic theory, magic circle structures, and spell creation.
For one to advance to the Second Rank, as a First Rank Sorcerer, one must first kill three Scourge Rank Demons, Devils, Evil Spirits, or other denizens of hell. Whatever it was, they just had to present evidence of the evil being's demise, most likely than not, a corpse.
Two missions ago, Richard had been lucky enough to encounter an entire horde of Scourges. That had been what he needed to advance to the Second Rank.
All denizens of the Abyssal Planes can be vaguely ranked and categorized into nine very loose categories;
Scourges.
Apostates.
Horrors.
Fiends.
Princes of Darkness.
Dukes of Hell.
Lords of the Abyss.
Corrupted Angels.
And finally, the very scary, very dead, Dark Gods...
While these categories could change depending on the situation and the exact place in hell you find yourself, for the most part, it was accurate.
Although there are many wicked beings crawling in hell, for the most part, its major inhabitants are Demons and Devils.
While Demons are absolutely atrocious and disgusting creatures, Devils are on a whole other level. Some of them even appear human for the most part. But, if one were to judge the threat level, then Devils are far more scary, and dangerous than Demons.
Walking to his car, Richard felt a gaze on his person. Raising his head, he locked eyes with the woman he thought had stormed off.
The wind picked up, carrying strands of their hair with its passing.
Richard sighed. Judging from how intense her stare was, it was obvious she wasn't here to talk peacefully.
Richard smiled, "Young miss Rigborne. To what do I owe this pleasure?"
Celine sneered, "Cut the bullshit. Did my grandpa tell you to monitor me?"
Richard shook his head, "Not exactly. We are to work together. Demon Hunting is dangerous work after all."
Celine's face was cold,
"If you know what is good for you, you'll stay off my case. You Bane family ghouls, making deals with literal Demons. I can't be seen hanging around such filth."
Richard chuckled, "Tell me about it."
A voice whispered in his head, 'You know she's talking about you, right?'
Seeing Richard laughing, Celine almost couldn't bear it anymore.
"Listen. I won't let this opportunity slip by just because of you. Forget everything that old man said. Do not interfere with my work. Got that?!"
Seeing the pretty girl gnash her teeth, staring at him with her piercing grey eyes as her peculiar platinum colored hair whipped across her face, Richard felt something awaken in him.
Taking a few quick steps forward, he was now directly standing before this woman. A playful smile made its way into his face,
"And if I don't?"
Celine stared back into his onyx eyes, not a shred of hesitation in hers,
"Then I'll kill you."
Richard chuckled, "Saying such things, aren't you scared you'll get into trouble? Killing other members of the Circle is forbidden, you know..."
Staring at this strange man, Celine's mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts. Dark ones, filled with hesitation.
'Can I really pull it off?'
She had heard many stories about this man. And most of them weren't very flattering. Saying he was an enigma was putting it lightly.
However, now standing before him, she didn't know which of the rumors were true, and which weren't.
She sighed lightly, then turned around. Her platinum blonde hair whipped around as well, giving Richard full view of the cascading silver.
"Don't get in my way." With that, she walked off.
Standing there in silence, Richard was more than a little amused. So much so that he had to stop himself from laughing.
'What's so funny, Richie boy... She seemed very serious.' One of the voices in his head offered its thoughts, as ironic as that sounded.
Richard stared at the disappearing figure,
"She's nothing but a child, unaccustomed to the evil in this world and those beyond. Everything she says is funny."
The voice laughed, 'If she is a child, then what are you? You aren't any older than she is...'
Richard shrugged as he continued his leisure walk,
"Even if that is the case, I've still bathed in more blood than she has ever seen in her entire life."
'How are you so certain?'
Richard smiled, "I can smell it. She's clean. Too clean in fact, to be out here in the fields."
The Sword Demon, Razor, hesitated,
'Then what are you going to do?'
Richard shrugged again, "What do you mean? I might lack a lot of things, but manners isn't one of them. I'm a gentleman who respects everyone's wishes. If she doesn't want to be involved with me, then so be it. The only inconvenience that can arise from that is me cleaning up her corpse from the streets a few weeks from now."
'Hahaha! As evil as ever, Richie boy! I'm telling you, Hell will be a good place for-'
Shutting out the voice of the Demon, Richard continued his leisure walk, completely putting that conversation behind him.
While he did have a lot of respect for the Seventh Rank Sorcerer, Baxter Rigborne, who was also a friend of his grandfather, that was about as far as it went.
This respect didn't extend beyond him destroying his peace, or whatever illusions of peace he held.
Having him babysit a brat who didn't know anything of the harrowing horrors of Hell wasn't something he wanted to put himself through. Regardless of how pretty she was, he would rather avoid her religiously.
People like her invited trouble, and unlike most people, he valued his peace of mind too much to put it at risk.
'What a hassle. Not only that, but having me leave the house on a Saturday? Absolutely criminal!'
Stepping into his car, Richard switched the ignition on. Just as he was about to step on the gas, he noticed something.
Something strange and oddly out of place...
Standing just before his car was a girl who looked to be no older than eighteen years of age. She was dressed in a nightgown, and wore no shoes.
Richard's eyes narrowed. It didn't take a detective to realize that something abnormal was going on.
The girl stood before the car, a blank expression on her face. Her eyes were glazed over, but she stared straight into the driver's seat through the tinted windshield at him.
Not only that, but there seemed to be something strange, a runic symbol, drawn on her head.
'That's blood. A possession.'
Richard had seen a few of these happen. Especially in a large city like South Lepton, it wasn't unusual to run into something like this. The evil spirits that possessed humans like this weren't strong at all, mostly at it to cause mischief or feed on the unfortunate souls of their victims. It wasn't something too concerning most of the time.
However, something about this case was different...
Switching his ignition off, Richard stepped out of the car and onto the sidewalk. The girl's blank gaze followed him, never leaving him for a second.
Richard had a smile on his face,
"Little girl, what are you doing standing outside on the road? And without shoes too. You are going to get yourself hurt."
The girl remained silent, only staring at him.
Richard took the time to chant under his breath, reaching into his jacket at the same time.
Within the same breath, the possessed girl was already moving. With unnatural agility, she pounced at him, her fingers curved forward like an eagle's talons.
"Milleta et lu Bónd." His words flowed out graciously like a stream of curses.
Reality rippled...
A vague power in the world surrounding them was influenced by his words and will.
Out of nothing, illusory chains sprouted out of the ground and air, binding themselves tightly around the girl.
The girl soundlessly struggled, but that only made the chains tighten.
Without wasting a breath, Richard drew a dagger from his waist and drew a swift cut across his palm.
He continued to chant streams of words in a strange tongue, stomping on the pavement so hard it nearly cracked, moving so fast an afterimage was left behind.
As his incantation was coming to an end, his palm struck the possessed girl's forehead.
His eyes lit up,
"Get the fuck out."
The haze in the girl's eyes seemed to fade away the moment he did that. Her head dropped.
Dismissing the chains, Richard helped her to the ground gently. Looking around to make sure no body had witnessed the interaction, he let out a sigh.
"Now then... What the fuck do you want, you vile thing?" Richard said slowly, gazing into the emptiness above.
The air seemed to sizzle and pop the moment he said those words.
Something difficult to describe with words. An idea, an entity, a living being, it was hard to say.
'Even though it is just a trace of itself, such an oppressive presence.' Richard's eyes darkened, but he still wore a smile.
"To think one with blood as wretched as yours would show up within my dominion. What travesty..."
The being floating above the girl spoke eloquently. There was a deep, ancient evil to every word it uttered. It was as though every syllable contained a curse capable of damning a human soul.
Indeed, it was a Devil. And no mere one at that...
Richard's eyes narrowed, "Dominion over this city? You sure have a lot of guts, don't you..."
The evil thing spoke again,
"Your human mind shall not comprehend. Stepping into my dominion means you forfeit your soul."
After saying those words, the Devil's body slowly began to turn less vague. At the same time, a hoarse cry could be heard, coming from the body of the girl.
Richard frowned, "You dare?"
The now visible Devil grinned. Its face was gruesome and abhorrent, not something meant for human eyes.
'No matter who it is, these filthy beings always manage to find a way to screw them over.'
It was no new story that making a deal with a Devil was a terrible idea. However, humans, in their eternal pursuit of great things, would always fall victim to greed.
This was where people like him came in.
Sorcerers...
Their duty was to fix these mistakes. To prevent unfortunate souls from suffering even more.
Twirling him dagger into a reverse grip, Richard chanted as he dashed forward.
The Devil also began chanting in a guttural voice, the profane words drenching the world in putrid black.
Mana poured off Richard in waves as he rocketed forward. The blade in his hand swung, and the sound of something intangible being ripped was heard.
Stabbing the illusory figure of the Devil, Richard's expression was filled with grim hatred,
The illusory shell seemed to fade away as Richard plunged his dagger deeper into the astral body.
There was a hoarse screech and a moment later, the profane spell began falling apart.
With eyes burning like hot coals, Richard's voice was as magnetic as it was harrowing,
"I will send you damned things back to where you come from."
Having said his piece, Richard pulled his blade out. With a horrifying scream, the projection of the Devil faded away, leaving only a few drops of blood behind.
"Son of a bitch." Richard spat out.
The chains he summoned broke away, dropping the girl's unconscious body onto the sidewalk. Giving it a glance, he hesitated for only a moment then stepped into his car and drove off.