The Demon (A Genshin Impact Story)

Chapter 8

"So, where to today?" Long asked as he approached Sandrone in front of the Northland Bank where they usually met before heading out.

"Do you remember where we were attacked by those corrupted lawachurls?" Sandrone pulled out the energy scanner, "I want to see if we can find traces of demonic energy and try to find out where those lawachurls came from. I need a big source of demonic energy to make it renewable" She explained.

"Wouldn't those traces be long gone by now?" Long asked as he began to walk back to Jueyun Karst with Sandrone.

"Do you know anywhere else we should go?" Sandrone asked back, "The exorcists don't share their knowledge of demons and as far as I know there are no other demon sightings in Liyue. This is the only lead we have," She pointed out. When the pair got to Juyun Karst, Sandrone took out the scanner and took a look around, just like before.

"How nostalgic," Long joked, "Are you still getting those weird numbers?" He asked.

"No," Sandrone sighed, "C'mon, we're going to scout around for a bit. We might be able to find where those lawachurls came from," She said.

Long nodded and began to follow her when he suddenly froze. Long looked around for a couple of seconds before he grabbed Sandrone and pulled her into a nearby bush.

"Hey! What do you think you're-!" Sandrone's mouth was slapped shut by Long.

"Someone's here!" Long whispered. The two were quiet for a few seconds until they finally heard voices talking.

"So this is where the lawachurls were taken down?" Someone asked. Three tall figures appeared. They weren't human. One was blue and had blades at the end of its hand. Another was red and wielded an orb. The last one was purple and had a large book with it. Are the last two mages of some sort? Long wondered as he observed them, What kind of creatures are those? Long turned to Sandrone to see her face filled with shock.

"Abyss Heralds," She whispered.

"Who?"

"We should retreat for now," Sandrone started backing away from the strange monsters. Once the two were a good distance away from the unfamiliar creatures Sandrone turned back to Long. "Have you ever heard of the Abyss Order?" Sandrone asked. When Long shook his head she continued, "The Abyss Order is a legion of monsters that are apparently the enemy of all humanity," Sandrone gulped, "I've only heard of them from books or fatui soldiers but those monsters look like Abyss Heralds, there supposed to be extremely strong," She shivered a little, "I'm told my father was killed by one of them," Sandrone took a deep breath and quickly composed herself.

Long looked back from where they came from, then looked at Sandrone who had calmed down and was deep in thought "And you want to go back and beat them up right? They can obviously lead us to where those lawachurls came from." He smiled.

Sandrone, comforted by Long's confidence, smiled back, "Yes," She replied, "Sorry for being a wimp for a moment."

When the two got back to where Long defeated the corrupted lawachurls, the Abyss Heralds were still there.

"Can you hear them?" Sandrone asked, straining to hear what the monsters were saying.

"A little," Long answered quietly.

"The lawachurls were killed," He heard the purple herald say, "He's definitely here, we should send more to Liyue Harbour," He concluded.

"Fool! Do you want Morax and the Conquerer of Demons fighting us? We should be patient and track him down," The red one scolded.

"Cowards," The blue one mocked, "You fear the god and his lapdog? I've done enough sitting around on my ass, let's hurry up and retrieve Malos's reincarnation, and then we can finally leave this shitty place," He jeered. The three heralds turned to leave. They hadn't taken a few steps when they all stopped.

"Why did they stop?" Long wondered. Suddenly, the blue herald turned and dashed into Long and Sandrone. Acting quickly, Long shoved Sandrone to one side and lept to the other just as the Abyss Herald's blade came crashing down.

The blue herald clapped and let out a chuckle as Long got up. "Impressive! I thought I had you!" He laughed, "Who would've known that you were actually hunting us!"

"Sandrone! Get out of here!" Long yelled, ignoring the Abyss Herald.

"Don't worry," the red Abyss Herald said, walking next to the blue one, "We aren't here for her," Long thought he saw a cruel smile on the herald's face, "We're here for you."

"It took a long time to find you," The purple herald joined in, "Demon."

"Demon?!" Sandrone looked at Long in disbelief.

"You didn't tell her?" The blue herald looked at Long for a moment then laughed even harder, "Oh that's hilarious! I see now! You sealed your power away so no one would be able to tell if you were human or not!" He cackled.

Long yelled and charged at the monsters. The red herald was about to approach him when the blue herald stopped him. "I'm gonna have some fun," He giggled.

Long clashed blades with the blue Abyss Herald trying to go on the offense but his opponent met him blow for blow.

"Not bad, not bad!" The Abyss Herald mocked, "But still weak!" He parried Long's strike and grabbed him. Long tried to twist out of his grasp when he felt pain roar through his body as the Abyss Herald kneed him in the liver.

Long screamed as the Abyss Herald dropped him and left him writhing on the floor in pain. "Not used to pain are we? Let me guess, Are blades breaking on your skin? Punches never bruising you?" He asked.

Long slowly got up to face the Abyss Herald. He looked to Sandrone first to make sure she was okay. The other two guys aren't attacking her, they really meant it when they said they were coming after me. He realized, still gasping in pain.

Long watched as Sandrone tried to run over to Long with the numbing spray she used before but the red Abyss Herald moved in front of her stopping her from helping him.

"Run, damnit!" Long yelled. They're after me, she should be fine as long as she just stays away. Sandrone hesitated, not knowing what to do for a moment. "Just run! I'll be fine!" Long promised. 

Sandrone stood still for a moment before stepping back, "You better come back," She said as she turned and ran off. 

Long breathed a sigh of relief as he turned to face his enemy again. I need to find a way around his guard, Long scanned the Abyss Herald once more who stood unconcerned and relaxed like Long wasn't a threat to him at all. Long let out a battle cry as he ran up and slashed at the herald who simply weaved out of the way.

"You fight like that one yaksha did, brutal and ruthless," He commented, "You even wielded the same element,"

Long froze, "You..."

"It's too bad she was killed protecting you," The Abyss Herald laughed.

"It was you!" Long yelled, eyes burning with rage as his vision activated, "You sent those demons! You killed her!" He screamed. It was all them! They killed my mother!

Long charged at the herald again who only took advantage of his head-on approach. Long swung his scythe, flames engulfed the blade as its fiery rage closed in on the monster.

Suddenly, the Abyss Herald's blades disappeared and he caught Long's scythe in his hand. Long stared at his stopped weapon in disbelief.

"Weak." The abyss herald whispered. Long felt pain shoot across his body and blood splattered all over his vision. He heard Sandrone scream and then everything went blank.