Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Richard stepped harder on the throttle.
'Run ins with those bastards never go well. Looks like I can't avoid trouble any more.'
Usually, finding a Devil in one place meant there are many others following behind. With a Devil this powerful, he most likely had a host of lesser Devils working behind him.
This meant bad news... really bad news.
And this was even when considering someone like Baxter Rigborne was in the city. The fact that they could be this bold, attacking him in front of the Circle of Magi's branch office, meant that they had reason to be confident.
Which meant...
Richard's face turned dark, 'This city is a freaking cesspool.'
And now, all this responsibility has been unilaterally dumped on his head.
Richard laughed hard. Although this was a lot of work, it also signified abundant opportunities.
Disaster and misfortune go hand in hand with opportunity after all...
Richard pressed down even harder on the acceleration. By now, his car was speeding down the streets. Thankfully, there weren't a lot of cars on the road. If not, he very likely would be involved in an accident in the blink of an eye.
Killing Devils, Demons, and other denizens of hell meant promotion. With how infested this city was, Richard had no doubt that he would soon reach the Third Rank.
This meant even more access to the Circle's resources. To accomplish his goals, having access to these things were of prime importance.
'First things first. I have to make it back-'
Suddenly, he caught something from the corner of his vision...
"Fuck me." Richard mumbled under his breath.
The shrill cry of sirens blasted through the air from behind, cutting through the thick humidity of the city.
'The police?'
The speed limit within the city is usually around fifty kilometers per hour. His car was currently going at sixty-five. Fifteen about the speed limit.
Was it reckless? Yes...
But speeding was one of the ways he enjoyed life. Mortality made humans feel delicate. He liked to abandon that feeling some times. Though it couldn't be compared to having your life hang in the balance when hunting literally Demons and Devils.
Richard shook his head with a sigh as he gradually slowed down, eventually coming to a stop at the side of the road.
Running into law enforcement wasn't going to be a big deal. He had weapons on his person, but ever single one of them was properly documented. He could receive a ticket for speeding, but money wasn't an issue either.
What it did do though, was ruin his mood a bit...
Putting his car in park, he waited for the officer in the cqr to come down.
'A woman?'
While female officers weren't some unicorn, they weren't a lot of them. Richard suddenly had a bad feeling. Situations that had him interacting with women usually ended with him in complicated positions.
'Hopefully, today would be difficult.'
Rolling down his window, Richard greeted in a cherry tone,
"Officer I-"
"Save the talk. License and registration."
The officer was a gorgeous woman with a ponytail. Luscious raven black hair and thin, red lips. Eyes that shine like gems, and unblemished skin.
However, her expression was as frigid as ice, and her demeanor told all the stories one without her having to say a word.
'Fuck me.'
Richard silently pulled his documents out, cursing his terrible fate.
"You know why I pulled you over, right?"
Richard smiled wryly, "Of course I do."
She nodded, "Then I'll need you to step out of the vehicle for me."
Richard was baffled, "This... Can you even do that?"
The female officer sneered, her beautiful face turning colder,
"Step out of the vehicle. I won't say it again."
Richard sighed to himself, 'Coild I be the problem? Is there something wrong with my face?'
With a sigh, he opened the door and stepped out. Standing up, he realized that this officer was quite shorter than he was. She would have to tilt her head all the way back to gaze into his eyes.
Without warning, she began searching through his clothes.
Already sensing that something like this coulf happen, Richard had already made the necessary arrangements to ensure that his weapons wouldn't get him into more trouble.
After a few seconds of searching, she finally stopped. She looked completely dejected.
"Damn it!"
'It's almost as if she wants to arrest me.' Richard rolled his eyes.
"I told you, officer. I admit I was wrong to speed. But I'm not a criminal, am I?"
"Who knows... Lately, there's been all sorts of suspicious and wicked things going on in this city. I'd rather be safe than sorry."
Richard was intrigued, "Suspicious and wicked?"
The officer raised a brow, "Are you new here or something?"
Richard smiled, "I've been away for a few years, Officer... Alice." He quickly acquired her name from the name tag on her breast pocket.
"Enough with the small talk. I'll go check your documents, then write you a ticket. If you try to ride off, I'll turn your car over!"
With that, she walked off, her shapely behind bouncing lightly with every step.
Richard snorted, "What the hell?"
This city was getting stranger and stranger...
Waiting for a few minutes wasn't any problem. Sitting back on his car seat, Richard decided to have a conversation with one of the Demons in his soul.
"Plato, who do you think?"
The Demon was all to eager to respond,
'I think that human female is nice. Especially around the backside. Nice curves and most likely tasty flesh that-'
Richard sighed, "Not that, you senile Demon."
The shadows that covered the city seemed to turn darker...
"I'm talking about that Devil..."
'Hm? You mean Absalom... As you are right now, making contact with his main body will lead to your untimely demise.'
Richard snorted, "That much is obvious. I'm talking about his presence in a city like this."
There was silence for a moment before Plato replied,
'Devils tend to make their camps in places with a large human population. When it comes to trading blows, they'd rather engage from a distance. But that doesn't mean you can win a straight confrontation. Until you become a Third or Fourth Rank Sorcerer, perish those thoughts.'
Richard frowned, 'That's nice and all, but this city falls under my protection. Meaning I'm responsible for everything that goes on here. Is that right?'
Plato chuckled, 'Only if you have a death wish. Besides, even if you wait a few years until you've ascended to the Fourth Rank, at most there will be a few hundred of thousand civilian casualties. Why bother so much?'
Richard could not help but laugh out loud. Shaking his head, he couldn't help but ask,
"Just how cheap are human lives to you bastards?"
Plato responded almost immediately,
"You humans are nothing more than interesting game to us. Livestock, and maybe a bit of entertainment."
"Oh? Is that so..." Richard's eyes turned a bit dark.
Plato, the old Demon panicked,
"That... Except you of course, master. You are the most supreme human of all. Your superiority and potential is above all!"
Richard wanted to laugh, but couldn't. How could a centuries-old Demon suck up so pathetically?
Thinking about the things he had out these Demon's through, Richard felt this fear was well deserved though.
After all, amongst all members of the Bane family, past and present, he was the only one that had truly learned how to enslave a Demon.
After years of practicing the occult and magic, he had stumbled upon many truths on accident. In his last excursion into an Abyssal Plane, he had learned that his potential wasn't limited to just magic or contracting Demons.
A smile appeared on his face...
Stretching his hand out, a strange, evil power seemed to gather above it. He had no idea what it was, but he had an inkling; once he found out, he would become very scary to his enemies.
'Let's keep that for another day. In the mean time, I should focus on getting out... off...'
Staring down the barrel of a gun was a strange thing. Richard had done so many times, more than the average person at the very least.
Richard smiled, "Officer Alice, what the hell are you doing?"
Watching him with cold eyes, Alice barely held back from squeezing the trigger. She managed to utter the words slowly,
"You... you're from that family."
Richard's black, onyx eyes seemed to curve slightly as his smile extended, giving him a sinister air,
"This... what does my heritage have to do with a traffic stop?"
Alice glared at him, "Shut up. I'm taking you in!"
Richard wanted to cry. All this drama over speeding? He might as well have done something bad.
Done with the farce, Richard rose to his feet. Taken aback, Alice took a step back,
"What are you doing?! I'll really shoot!"
Richard snorted, "How can you be so unreasonable? Either way, none of this matters."
Alice gritted her teeth. Just as she was about to squeeze the trigger, a wave of dizziness came over her.
Richard sighed, "I really didn't want to do this."
"W-what did you do to me?" Alice stuttered as she tried to keep her balance.
Richard moved closer. She took a shaky step back,
"Don't come closer!" She said, her shaky finger about to squeeze the trigger.
Moving quickly, Richard sidestepped. Grabbing the gun from her hand, he held her tightly.
Feeling the softness against his body, Richard sucked in a deep breath.
"Relax, would you? I'm not going to do anything. Just sleep for a while."
Magic was a marvelous thing. Against normal humans, Sorcerers might as well be gods.
"Bastard..." Alice said softly as she lost consciousness.
Lifting the beautiful officer off her feet, he quickly rushed to her car. Placing her on the car seat, ge retrieved his stuff. Getting into his car, he wasted no time stepping on the acceleration.
Like an escaped convict running from the prison guards, the car drove off.
Leaving the scene, Richard let out a sigh...
... completely unaware of the implications this little encounter would bring about.