Hidden Magus (1)

Using his olfactory prowess, Lord Kieran managed to find where the scent of blood was coming from. There was something about a human's blood, regardless if they were magus or not, that enticed demons and apex predators toward it and repelled other prey within the vicinity.

He slowly made his way to the scene, wondering if the blood he sniffed came from the frail, odd woman who saved him the other day. Would he find her alive or already dead?

If she was dead, then there was no reason for him to feel indebted to her, but if she was in danger, Lord Kieran knew that he needed to give a fair compensation for what she had done for him the other day.

Not that he wanted to save her, but the thought that he was still indebted to her somehow bothered the great demon lord. Lord Kieran hated being indebted to anyone, what's more, to a mere human. His pride wouldn't allow him.

So, he decided to see what that human was up to and if she was involved with the poor human being hunted by the direwolves Yuri had just mentioned. Behind him, his three vassals followed him with questions, but no doubt could sense the direwolves as well as the scent of the human blood permeating through the woods.

"Oh, great. The direwolves are here. Just when I thought we could catch a break." Yuri muttered in irritation.

"You're one to talk, Yuri. It's me and Aiden who did most of the work against the vampires earlier." Callum placed a spectacle on his face, his eyes glowing red as he looked ahead of them.

"Three humans and a pack of gray direwolves. I guess they are too unlucky to be here just as the direwolves decided to come and settle their scores." He added, indirectly giving Lord Kieran the information he needed.

The demon lord marched toward the direction of the scent, his expression hard, making his companions wonder what had upset him this time.

Yuri and Callum gave Aiden a questioning look, but the man only furrowed his brows and glared at them.

"What? In case you forgot, I've been with you for the past two days. What do I know?" He said in defense.

Yuri shrugged and continued following their lord.

"Maybe it's because of Randal." He pointed out. "That bloodsucking insect sure knows how to annoy our liege."

"And you better not try to do the same, unless you want us to see your head roll off your shoulders." Callum commented, trying to keep up with their lord's pace, as Lord Kieran had suddenly sprinted toward the humans.

"They'll be dead soon." He said, which the demon lord didn't miss.

Lord Kieran couldn't understand the need to see that scrawny woman. He tried to convince himself that he was merely curious, but he couldn't stop himself from racing to where she was. Her scent led him in the right direction.

When he reached the place, he stood on a branch of the highest tree nearby to see what was happening. His three companions stopped a little distance from him and followed his lead.

Beneath them, a pack of gray direwolves were surrounding three humans. An unconscious young man was leaning against the trunk of a tree while his companions, who were both women, were trying to fend off the wolves. Four direwolves laid dead several meters from them, with arrows stuck where their eyeballs should be.

"Wow." Aiden chuckled. "For a human, it's surprising to see that they could hold up this long against the direwolves. Just look at those kills."

"Targeting their eyes. An easy pass to where the brain is. They must have known that it's pointless to attack their bodies and went to the direwolves' weak spot. Well, it's everyone's weak spot." Callum agreed with Aiden.

Meanwhile, Yuri remained silent. His eyes set on the brunette haired girl who was holding a sword in each of her hands. There was blood splattered on half of her face and her torso, but the young woman didn't seem to mind it. Her eyes too focused on the direwolves in front of them, trying to keep them away from their injured companion.

She slashed her swords as soon as one of the direwolves tried to pounce on her by catching her off guard. The direwolf howled in pain and the others bared their sharp fangs toward the young woman.

"My liege, do you know these humans?" Callum asked, noticing the odd interest that their lord had toward these mortals.

Instead of answering his question, Lord Kieran called Yuri's attention. He's been racking his brain, trying to figure out why the human wasn't affected by his shadows in both their previous encounters. Even if she was a magus, there was no way she could deflect the effects of his shadows.

"Yuri."

"Yes, milord?"

"You said that there's no exception to my curse." Lord Kieran said.

"Yes?" Yuri looked at his lord, bewildered.

Lord Kieran's curse was the consequence of him trying to break the law of magic and life when he tried to resurrect his dead mother. It was the price for him to pay, to watch people around him die, one after another, which only meant that it would drive him mad at some point in his never-ending life.

"I think there's an exception to the curse." Lord Kieran said, his gaze not leaving the pale blonde haired woman, who was trying to fight the direwolves. "Or am I not the only one in history that is recorded to have one?"

Yuri looked at Lord Kieran with astonishment. Why was his lord asking him this question when Lord Kieran already knew the answer? There were no accounts of the curse being placed on anyone other than this demon lord.