The Demon Wolf (Book 1 of The Devil and the Huntsman)

Chapter 75

"Lagertha, where did your father go?" Lucy asked.

"I have no idea. He was next to us a second ago," Lagertha answered.

"We have to go before the entire town is on top of us. We can't stay here, but we're not leaving without your father."

"Well, what are we waiting for? We have to look for him!"

And so, Lucy and Lagertha separated from each other and tried looking for Julius as it was about to be noontime. They all refused to speak to anyone as the people stared back at them and started chatting amongst themselves. Even though they acknowledged Julius and everything he has done for Midland, Lucy still saw herself as a stranger. This kind of peace is what all people strive for, and she understood the trauma the people went through. Unfortunately, Lucy always saw herself as somebody who would never really fit in amongst the crowd of Midland's people.

"Julius! Julius! Where are you?! Why are you hiding from me?!" Lucy shouted. Calling his name was not enough for her because Julius could be anywhere doing anything to stay away from the citizens.

"I am nothing. I knew it from the beginning. These people's hearts and souls have been consumed. They won't even let me leave," Julius said.

"Julius, the people of Midland will never let you roam around outside the region. The king may have betrayed you, but he made his most trusted advisers keep their eyes on you. According to them, this is where you were raised, and this is where you will die," Mephiles said.

"I will not die. Not until I have fulfilled my will. I will not die until I have finished what I've started. My journey shall never end in a place like this."

"And it won't be, Julius... until you do something about it. The more you're standing here. The more likely it will take for Harald to raise his barrier and defend the walls with all of his life. I know you... and I know you will not let that happen."

"Mephiles, you've been with me for a long time. I take it you seem to know almost everything about me. I see that you will not be having me take breaks as long as I am with you. Thanks to you, I must continue to trust my instincts."

Before Julius and Mephiles had something more to say to each other, Julius saw Lucy quickly walking towards him. She had no idea why she was even here in the first place because of how severe Julius was in bringing them with him. But she knew how much she loathed being all by herself, with no one to be beside her. She knew her husband would not be feeling himself by the way he left his wife and daughter to be away from the crowd. He could feel his hunger for the blood of his enemies despite it almost being the end of the morning.

"Julius! Julius, what are you doing back here?" Lucy asked. She walked to him until she stood right in front of him, and she made sure nobody was watching her speak with her husband.

"I... I must be away from them. This isn't the way, Lucy. Not how I would imagine such things," Julius answered.

"What do you mean? You have done so much good for these people. Truly, be honored by it and not make them lose hope," she said.

"That's not the point. I'm back here because I can tell by the looks on their faces they're being controlled. Harald is doing this to manipulate me and turn me away from you," he said.

"Well, you better not have the people catch you saying that. I'm sure a lot of them will think twice before they go against you. You and Harald are the ones who saved them. Of course, you'll be given some credit."

"No. I can feel it in my mind. I can sense it from here. The king... he... I don't know what else to say. But he has gone mad. He turned himself against me to win that throne."

Then, Lucy walks up to him and lays her right hand on his head, and she feels his head warm her hand. She could tell that he was not feeling all that well after all the positive things that were said to him by Balvu and the citizens. Julius did not want his wife to be involved with the problems he is facing as he stayed away from the other people who might wonder where he went. If everyone in Loftain found out about Julius's true nature, they might all be commanded by the king to kill the demon hunter where he stands. But Julius already proved to them they would need more than swords and spears to kill him; he would not die anyway because Mephiles protects his soul from his opponents.

"Julius, something terrible is happening to you. We need to find you a doctor. There is nothing we can do here," Lucy said.

"I know. But please, give me time to think about it. And don't shout. We don't want anyone out here to find out what we're going to do," Julius said.

"What do you want me to do if I can't help you with yourself? What do you think I can do around here if you're going to be alone?" She asked.

"Find Lagertha and tell her I have business to attend to. I'll be back with you in a short while. I just need to have a word with Balvu. He must tell me things I must know before it's too late."

Julius slowly walks away from Lucy and hides in the shadows to find Balvu and see where he went. Her wife walks back to the marketplace to find Lagertha and be with her until further notice. As he walked, he could feel his dark power take hold of him as he tried to find Balvu. Julius saw the new general walk inside a tent where some knights spoke to each other about last night. They were still covered in scars and used that time to drink wine and become energized for future battles and onslaughts.

"Stop this, Mephiles. Cease... before you doom us all," Julius said. He hid from the sunlight and watched as Balvu grabbed a chalice of wine and left the tent.

Julius grabbed onto his chest and felt his heartbeat as he slowly followed Balvu without making a sound. He could tell by the intensity of his heart beating faster than usual that the new commander makes him feel the way he is. He uses stealth to follow Balvu from behind and made nobody know he is following the commander. It would not end well for him if some unspecified person followed him and revealed the news to everyone in the city. Balvu was making his way to the second exit of the town to return to the castle and stand before the king.

Then Julius stops being in his stealth position and stands up straight as he is right behind the commander. It was at that moment when Balvu noticed that Julius was behind his back, and he turned around and saw the demon hunter. Julius notices that Balvu's new sword was crafted through metal and nordic steel, the material that could quickly kill both humans and demons. He then takes a step back as he sees Balvu ready to use the sword to kill him and make more assumptions about the people. By some luck, the people of Midland are easily persuaded by the words of either Balvu or King Harald.

"I knew you'd come for me. I am not so restrained because you wish to kill me. And now you seek my head and my beating heart," Balvu said.

"All traitors deserve a fate far worse than death. I see that Harald has given you the power to see everything inside a human. I'm impressed... yet at the same, I'm not," Julius said.

"I wasn't thinking much the same either. I know what you have inside of you, Julius. You have a dark creature inside your soul. And I will take it out of you. If not me, then Harald shall do the honor. If I die this day or the next, I will be avenged."

"What could you possibly know about me that nobody does?"

"You wish to be the ruler of the earth and claim your victory over the demons. Yet, you fear yourself for believing you can put an end to the demon race. You desire to destroy their evil forever, yet you have a great darkness inside of you. You wish to free humanity from tyranny, but you know you can't do that alone. Of course, I know much about you and your intentions."