'why do mortal pursuit money so much? Do they really think money are worth being enslaved?'
-the peaceful demon king
Vexo pointed his blade at Exar's throat. His grip was not as sure as it could. Exar was watching him right in the eyes.
As much as Vexo tried he could not bring himself to kill her. Then a man came trough the river apparently trying to fight the currents, giving Vexo an idea.
Vexo took Exar holding her with care, unconsciously making sure she didn't get hurt. Then he dropped her in the river.
That was the river who gone trough the forest, passing on the borders between Gillio and Mivia, to reach Terra x.
Terra X is a dreadful land where evil prosper. Demons and demonic creatures swarm in it. There was someone who could consider that place his very own, someone who was safer there than any other place: the king of demons.
The actual king of demons, Denvit of lust, was a queen. She was a succubus who brought drastic changes in the demon world.
The man going down the river was Miko. He was not even fighting the current but instead letting himself be brought away from that forest.
Miko was, as obvious, not willing to die there so he adopted a peculiar tactic. Counting the seconds he checked where he was while breathing. Every 30 seconds or so. It seemed stupid at first but he wanted to know the speed at wich he was going.
It was at the 213rd second he counted when he reached for the shore. He, with an injured leg, could barely swim but still managed to get out of the water.
Exar followed after him, being pulled on land by a fisherman some tens of meters further. She was uncoscious.
The old fisherman watched the pretty lady he had reeled in and after a long moment of thinking he said "i think this is no fish.".
Not too far Miko was crawling on the road having lost much blood. He had managed to reach the nearby road and was now 'repainting' it.
It was surely a terrible sight. Some lucky children didn't notice him even if they were playing not too far from there. As Miko slowly moved on the ground he heard someone walking near him. His eyes were slowly closing.
As Miko opened his eyes he found himself in a hut. There was a young and beatiful girl not too far from him, she was sound asleep.
"You awoke first in the end. So, why did you think the road would be better with a new color?" Someone said.
It was a big man with short dark hair and a tough body. His muscles were well trained and a scar ran down from his chin to the lower end of his neck. It was, however, his dark-brown eyes who had no emotion in them who left the impression he did.
"Who are you? A soldier?" Miko asked.
"Ugh... Look, can you answer me first?"
"Oh, right. Sorry about that. I jumped in the river to escape a beast. A bad situation."
"Is that so? Well, you sure are lucky to get out near a cilized place" it was not enterely luck tough. He waited for it.
"Yeah, i guess." Said Miko. Anyone could tell by watching them what was going on. Both were studying the other one, waiting to know if it was an ally or not.
"So? You nearly died in the forest you said, why where you there?"
"I don't know. I only remember being in the forest since i got in this world."
"What is your name then? If you have one."
"Miko, call me that. What about you?"
"Rinan, a humble villager of-"
"Humble villager? Anyone could tell otherwise." Rinan frooze at thoose words.
"Shut it. It is not something the people here know."
"Oh, is that so? Then can i know?"
"No, you can't."
"Well, i guess you are a bit too much of a scaredyc-"
"I warn you Miko don't you dare utter another word about me or Gi-. You! Ugh..."
"I suppose you are from Ginnar. A soldier of the empire in the midst of a rebellion. A deserter maybe? No, you are more like someone who saw the fight go on before him while unable to do anything. Much likely due to your orders." Miko reasoned.
"So? What about that? Do you plan to run your mouth?"
"No, i don't think so. Just answer one question, how did you got me here?"
"Well... You know about telekinesis, right? You were making it hard for us to move you while you were uncoscious. How is it that you hit anything who gets near you when you should be uncoscious? Anyway there's a kid with a telekinesis skill who was just strong enought to bring you there. Satisfied?"
"Well, quite the solution. I barely control my skills and that kid used one to bring me here. What a joke."
"You don't know how to use your skills properly?"
"Yeah, more like i am still learning how."
"Strange, were you refusing to use them before?"
"I never got to do it. I know, i should have."
"Why didn't you use them?"
"I guess there was never a moment i needed them." Miko was putting up quite the story, that however would soon reveal an unpredicted effect.
"So you never practiced them?"
"No. Is it so strange?"
"I think i could help you with that if you keep your mouth shut."
"Deal."
Meanwhile Exar, who was lying near uncoscious, moved slightly. Her beatiful body was revealed way too much by her outfit and very little was left to imagine at the point wich very few could resist the temptation.
Miko and Rinar where exactly that very few.
Ignoring her completely they continued talking devolving in small talk. Exar opened her eyes feeling rather tired and a bit stressed. She also felt, women's instinct, that she had just failed in seducing two important humans in the world.
She gently moved her head and watched the two. Wondering what the situation was like she considered her approach. She gently stretched in a seducing manner and, watching Rinnar, analized the situation.
Realizing who Rinar was she then turned to Miko. No idea who he was crossed her mind. She, then, opened her mouth to talk and spoke to Miko "Hi there. I feel a bit cold could you please help me warm me up?"
"Rinnar. Take her some sheets." Miko said, Rinnar really obeyed to him.
Exar was shoked. Not only she was just ignored, someone ordered Rinnar around.
"S-Sorry b-but aren't you Rinnar, the captain of the imperial guard?" Exar asked. The room fell into silence.
"He is not. Just what are you even thinking kid?" Miko said. At the same time Rinnar realized that the girl was, indeed, Exar and thinking about how she was in the river too wondered who Miko was to order a royal around.
And so both Exar and Rinnar decided to treat Miko with the utmost caution. As for Exar, who tough he was able to treat Rinnar like that thanks to his powerful skills and formidable strenght, she was not that much wrong.
Talking abot Exar, i should explain her background to you a little.
Exar was the second son of the former emperor. His older brother Augusteo XII succeeded to the throne after their father's death. She was a beatiful woman who wished for her people to be happy and good but she hardly had a say to the empire's politics due to his brother who feared internal struggles after her father sudden death.
Since childood Exar lived in the palace barely having contacts with the outside. Her only regular butler was Vexo, who could not leave the palace. Exar practiced really hard to enanche her skills, as royals usually do, with the hope to use it for the public good one day.
Exar never really saw her father, tough she would have liked to, and after his sudden death she was ordered to leave the capital at once. Her world changed overnight. She was now transferred to the borders of Ginnar in a small town called Lop'hu where she managed to befriend the villagers. Vexo often helped her in doing so being the one who knew her better than anyone.
It was on her 16th birthday, that dreadful day, that something began to change. For the first time Exar heard about the villager in the east planning to revolt and about her brother's response.
In two weeks Augusteo XII went to the eastern regions of the empire with an army in his wake. The fighting lasted barely two days during wich, however, Augusteo XII disappeared.
With Augusteo XII missing Exar I succeeded to the trone. It was hard to mantain stability as her brother had made his best to exclude her from being the ruler. Many times she had to face insubordination and distrspect but she always reacted according to the law. Not long after she turned 17 another revolt occurred in the east followed by many more.
Exar could not bring herself to shed the blood of the people and was then forced to step down by her younger brother Istor VI.
The reason Exar was in that forest was becouse she was trying to stop the revolt peacefully.
Returning to Miko he had finally catched a glimpse of Exar. He was not really interested but she was starting to get annoying. Rinnar was gone to buy something.
"So, who are you?" Miko asked.
"I am pr- call me Exar." She responsed with a tone who was a bit offended.
"Why were you in the river? "
"Someone i trusted betrayed me. He tried to kill me." She said with sadness.
"A pity." Miko said.
"Is that all you have to say?"
"Yes, that is all."
"Who are you really?"
"I am just myself."
"You didn't give me a glance until now. You are different from the others."
"Am i?"
"How come you are that cold with a girl of your age?" Exar really did have the same age as Miko, in that world at least.
"For me male or female is no different."
"Are you serious right now!?"
"I am." Miko said firmly.
"You!"
"Yes, what comes?"
Exar decided not to talk to him. He was just too rude for her to stand him.
Miko was checking his own leg. Exar looked at him. She saw his young face with dark hair who made it look darker, his shoulders were quite strong and trained and even his abdominal muscles were fit, they were quite well trained then Exar looked at-. Exar watched away. What was she thinking? She, a well educated damsel, watching there? How could she do it?
As Exar got quite a red face Miko watched her confused, not realizing he was wearing just his underwear.
Exar was shocked by herself, it was unlike her to do something like that. Embarassed she looked at Miko again, their eyes met and Exar looked away.
Miko was not one to be bothered. All he did, thanks to lacking experience in the field, was to return checking his leg.
Exar was lost in his own thoughts. She, a noble, had never felt like that. She never once watched someone with that much skin esposed.
Miko's leg was almost healed. It was, really. But there was a problem: the time needed to fully heal. Miko watched the leg with unease. Exar, meanwhile, tried to get a small glimse of Miko. She watched him again, noticing his wound.
"I... I could heal you. I have a healing ability..." Exar muttered.
"You do? It's awesome. Can you really do it?" Miko said, with a bit too much happyness.
"I will. I just need to... Touch it..." Exar tried. To be honest she could do it without touching him, that was Exar's bet to get something.
"Okay, you can." Miko said, he was not at ease with someone touching him but he just could not refuse.
Exar got near him blushing. A faint smile on her face. She reached to Miko's leg touching it whit her delicated hands. Her hands spreaded over his leg feeling the consistence.
"What are you doing?" Miko asked.
"I... I am just checking this." Exar said blushing, justifying herself.
Something in Exar was strange. She liked to touch a man's body. It gave her a strange sensation. Then she activated her ability. The wound closed and healed fast but Exar continued touching Miko.
"Ehy Exar... Have you done?" Miko asked watching Exar's facial expression.
"Oh! Yes, sorry! I was just... Checking my work... Yeah, just checking." Exar said breaking free from her trance. She felt strange, something was wrong with her. Was she always like this?
Even after that Miko, being however a bit annoyed, just ignored Exar. Getting up fast he said "Thanks, Exar. I will stay near here just in case."
Miko really did not go far, placing himself in the back of the hut tried to materialize his skills. He managed to use only one: his bow skill.
Watching the bow in his own hands he tried to assert control over it. The already unstable bow however just vanished. Then he tried again, this time not trying to control it but instead just guiding it to have the shape he wanted by making small changes overtime. A perfectly fine bow was now in his own hands.
While Miko continued practicing with his skill Rinnar was at the near city's market. Vanatar's fort was a big city at the border of human civilization. When Ginnar ruled over it no fiend, demon, succubus or demonic being could enter the city however now it was swarmed by demons and far more dangerous.
Rinnar was walking in the market peacefully when two devils stopped him. They were red devils with eyes filled by bloodlust. Rinnar stepped back, clearly the two were not there out of goodwill.
"Kekekeke... Look, a human walking in our market without a certification!" Said one unsheating his short sword.
"Kyahaha! Here goes another hea-" The other tried to say but he found himself flying while talking.
From there he could see the whole market, it was not big, and a strange red dot in it, his body, near his scared friend who was now begging for forgiveness. That was the last time he managed to fly.
Many could find Rinnar's actions rushed but that is only a matter of ignorance. Those people must know something about demons first.
Demons have their powers by one of the seven deadly sins. That is not only their power but also their curse becouse the more a demon get stronger the more he became slave of his sin. Wrath demons like the ones Rinar was facing often cause a rucus due to their addiction to violence and they are hard to reason with.
There is, however, an exception: those who have their power from the envy sin, the pact demons. Pact demons are unable to use their power directly and often borrow it to humans instead of using it themselves.
Rinnar soon took care of the other fiend. Even if he was not fully in the wrong the guards would still have been eager to kill him for what he had done. Sheating his sword he jumped over a fence and then climbed a roof.
He sure was no cat as he was rather clusmy. Rinnar stepped on the roof with caution, barely going unniticed. He could see about twenty guards entering the market to search it, that made clear to Rinnar what the situation in Vanatar was.
Sneaking trough the roofs Rinar escaped to the east gate. A faint scent made him falter, he could not pass the gate now.
A fiend resembling a human stood in front of the gate. Her long dark hair ran trough her body with delicacy. She was rather thin but her breats were still of attractive dimension, her back was also tempting and her face splendid. Rinan stepped back, that was a succubus (who take power from lust, they become prettier the stronger they are.) sent there to block the gate from any intruders.
At least Rinnar noticed it just in time. If he had gotten any further he would have been seduced by the humanoid demon.
Vanatar's fort was already fortified and now leaving the place had become the new prototype of mission unthinkable. Rinnar had only one person he could talk to given the odds. A man who once faced a demon king, a master of the sword, the leader of the laborer faction in Vanatar and the actual leader of the liberation front against demons. The name was Vanat. Descendant of the founders of Vanatar's fort he was now living in the undertown.
Well, the curriculum was ok.
Rinnar sneaked again trough the city. At the very least he was in a human city. Rinnar went from roof to roof swiftly now, it was not long before he arrived in the undertown. The undertown had changed, the poor and abadoned place was now filled with gambling houses and 'pleasure places'. The people were even poorer now, used to make money on their unlucky fate.
Rinnar was paralized. That was too cruel for him. To let someone use the unlucky to make profit like that was crossing the line.
Rinar had just changed his mind. He was still searching Vanat but for another reason.
His veins could burst from the rage as he made his way trough the district. His eyes scaring off the clients of such places.
After a minute no soul was to be seen. The streets were now emptier as Rinar slowly began to destroy the exterior of a gambling house. The fury was gone now, he just wanted this to stop for the public good.
But doing so he had caused too much of a rucus. Demons surrounded him, all of them with the same tattoo, closing on him with their weaphons.
Rinar instead had lost his sword, that had happened while he passed trough the roofs.