Lucky Prodigy

19: Demon Hunting

^^ Demon General/Daemon Ogre ^^

— Zoken —

The captain of the guard, a middle-aged human who wasn't even level 75 yet, went even whiter with fear, if it was possible, and then cleared his throat. "To be clear... no, that is not our final answer; our Lord is a foreigner, he doesn't know our ways, and he is the reason Monsters were banned from the city. Instead, I ask that you please keep your violence contained to the Slave Guild? The citizens have no quarrel with you."

I nodded. "As I said, that is our intention... but bring your Lord to the guild, so we may speak to him after we've finished. I'm sure we can talk some sense into him."

He flinched, but bowed his head. "Understood, Sir."

Maze pouted a bit as they turned and jogged away, but let her bow stop flaming, and leapt cleanly into the air a good fifteen meters, landing on a rooftop and then leaping again, disappearing in midair. Mika punched my shoulder affectionately, and followed after her while invisible as well, and Hallox and the new orc stared at me; one expectantly, and the other simply mystified. Jerrod was admirably holding in his laughter.

"Off we go, then." I nodded and walked into the town calmly, whistling a tune.

Hallox laughed, striding casually behind me, waving saucily to a few of the people who were outside or in the market, as it was about an hour after noon. They froze like deer when they smell a fire, but our sheathed weapons and general pleasant atmosphere seemed to make people think twice about our intentions. Some of them were true locals, and weren't even fazed by our presence, which thankfully spread until people didn't stare at us for more than a few seconds.

The Silver Chain was a nice building, and I found myself appreciating its construction, as I walked up the steps. When I reached the top, an aura began emanating from the interior, not very powerful, but extremely dense, like living stone. "Hallox, keep Jae alive, I think Maze likes him a bit." I commented, and mentally showed him the feeling, because he couldn't pick it up normally.

He narrowed his eyes slowly, and nodded. "Mm... that one smells like a bit of fun, actually; you're sure you want him? I'd happily take him off your hands." He gripped his axe, almost kneading it. His burning desire for combat and bloodshed was sometimes off-putting, though understandable.

I shook my head. "No, I think I'll take them. If a Slave Taker wants trouble, they'll get it from me." I released my own aura in retaliation, pushing against the enemy's reach and ripping into the edges until I could walk through the aura, into the building.

A tall human woman stood in front of the main doors, her aura only reaching about ten meters at the most, and she was pale and sweaty from the effort of keeping me back. "You're trespassing." She growled.

"True. However, you're committing a Capital Crime by taking and holding Slaves here, by order of the Holy City. You can peacefully release into my custody all your slaves and then leave and never return, or you can continue to resist, and everyone who works here will die, including you." I shrugged calmly, hiding the exertion I was putting forth like it was natural; the Sage's Training was much harder, after all.

She bared her teeth with effort, but the aura couldn't regain the space I'd taken, so she took a step back, gathering her aura into a sigil in her hands I didn't recognize.

Instantly, I was behind her, a blazing path shredded through her aura, and my sword swung across her neck, nearly effortlessly parting her head from her body. The sigil exploded violently, as if her death had been a trigger, and I found myself engulfed in flames.