Behind the garage door lay Liam's workshop, a secret space he had meticulously equipped over the past year. Here, he gathered and assembled everything he needed for his true mission—hunting demons. Due to the need for discretion, he had only acquired the essentials.
Most of these items had been obtained through illegal means—nearly everything, in fact. Despite being a modern and strictly regulated city, Tarus had a surprisingly active black market, provided you knew where to look.
Against one wall were anti-tank mines, carefully packed and ready for use. Next to them sat a fully automatic assault rifle, securely stored on a shelf, accompanied by several magazines filled with specialized ammunition. He had acquired these with great caution and effort to ensure he was prepared for any situation.
In one corner was a bundle of signal flares, useful for marking or creating diversions. Nearby, several packs of remote-detonated explosives were neatly stored, ready for critical situations.
One of the prized items in his collection was a plasma cannon, although without a way to recharge its battery, it could only be used a few times. It was the same plasma cannon he had used a year ago to take down the Hellhound.
The army mage—known as Kael, as Liam later found out—hadn't cared what Liam did with it and left him and Jax alone after their rescue. Liam had intended to return the weapon, but that obviously hadn't happened.
A stealth suit hung neatly on a hook, next to a set of night-vision goggles that would give him a crucial advantage in the darkness of night.
Another area of the workshop was dedicated to tools and other useful items. Here, he kept simple things like screwdrivers, wire cutters, and other basic tools needed for maintaining his equipment. A small shelf held spare parts and materials for emergencies.
Liam sighed as he looked around. It might sound like a lot, but in reality, it wasn't much. Even with the gear he had, he was barely a match for a standard infantryman, let alone one equipped with an exoskeleton.
He clenched his teeth. He knew that a single Class Five demon could wreak havoc to the point where it would take an entire battalion of tanks and gunships to neutralize it. The winged demon had been one such creature.
And out there, there were even worse monsters. Class Nine was the highest the human race had ever encountered. The city attacked by that demon was now nothing more than a crater.
The military's decision to use the wall for its intended purpose—as a defense—was not necessarily wrong. Combining the firepower on the walls with the range of the MAC-Guns created an extremely defensible fortress.
But since Liam had started his training and been stationed in District Seventeen, he had learned a lot. He couldn't prevent a breach, but demon casualties occurred every single day.
Every day, Liam stitched up some poor soul, and every day, he lost a few. And they all came from outside the wall—from the outer district.
By the time they reached the city and made it to the hospital, it was often too late for most of them.
The outer district of Tarus was just as large and populated as the districts within the city's walls, but that was where the similarities ended. Instead of modern skyscrapers and gleaming facades, this area was filled with simple, rundown buildings.
It was a place that housed the slums of the city, a stark contrast to the prosperity enjoyed by the inner districts.
This unfortunate area was the result of poor management by the previous king of Tarus fifty years ago. At that time, chaotic urban planning led to many people being pushed out of the city walls—often with a little help from the government. It was a move that only deepened the already strained social tensions, creating a divide between the wealthy and the poor that persisted to this day.
Although the residents of the outer district were not completely defenseless, military protection was sparse and inadequate. There were soldiers, but never enough to effectively ward off the constant threat of demons.
Nearly every day, one or two of these creatures slipped past the city's defenses, and their target was almost always the same—the outer district.
The consequences were catastrophic. It was easy to imagine the devastation caused when even a single demon attacked an unprepared population. The damage was immense, and the casualties were high.
These people, already struggling with the hardships of life outside the walls, were left defenseless against the demon attacks.
Every day, new victims arrived at his emergency room, most of them severely injured or already dead. The stories from the survivors were always the same—a sudden attack, panic, death, and destruction. And each time Liam saw the city's continued inaction, anger welled up inside him.
It was clear that the government and the military had little interest in seriously protecting the outer district. Perhaps they saw this part of the city as expendable, a buffer that protected the inner districts. The city had hundreds of other problems.
But to Liam, these people were no less valuable than those within the walls. They deserved protection and safety...
That's the reason Liam would like to give if someone ever asked him for his biography. But deep down, he knew it was just a lie his heart told.
The real reason he prepared for the hunt wasn't primarily to help people.
It was to kill demons.
Of course, every demon killed indirectly helped a person. But to reverse the causality would be a lie to himself. Liam didn't want to kill demons to help people.
He needed to kill demons to kill demons.
He never wanted to become a doctor. He wanted to join the military. Over the past year, his hatred for the oppressors of humanity had only grown.
Saving lives wasn't enough for him—he needed to end them too. The outer district, as much as he was ashamed of the thought, was the best bait for that.
The powerful demons would be immediately detected by their magical signatures by the army mages. The smaller ones, the ones that slipped through and caused the most damage, didn't have the power to breach the wall. So, they would all, without exception, head for the outer district.
And Liam would be there waiting. It had been a year since he killed his first demon.
He had no intention of leaving his record unchallenged.