Something's Not Right

Somewhere on the same planet...

A figure sat lazily deep within his cave as mana slowly accumulated around him. Although some demons hated the long periods of idleness and isolation, he loved it. From the other fellow demons he'd met and heard about, he knew he wasn't the average among his kind.

He needed to come up with a plan on how to terrorize to come up with his offering and gain a title from the church like every demon should. But every time he found the time to do so, he would fall asleep or put it off for later.

Maybe he could just stay off of everyone's radar and keep collecting mana like this until he evolved. He just really wanted to lie about and do nothing.

As he started to drift off to sleep, an ominous feeling jolted him fully awake and attentive. Since he came into being, he was always supersensitive to mana. He could sense high levels of mana across long distances. So there was no missing this huge mana pool suddenly entering the planet through the weyline gate.

He knew it was the church, why wouldn't it be? Jumping up, he focused more on the power. Surprisingly, this guy wasn't alone, he had four others accompanying him, they were just significantly lower than his that he drowned them out.

There's no way the church would send such a response for him, he hadn't even done anything. His whiskers frantically worked about as it searched for the town that it had encountered the last church member. Then his heart skipped a beat. How could he have missed this?

Something was there, and it was messing everything up. He could feel the mana signatures of the townsfolks get snuffed out one by one until there was barely anybody left.

'Oh, they're not here for me.' He decided as he sat back down. But he jumped right back up as he found the church was headed directly for him and not the town. They must think it's him being so reckless and somehow are able to track me.

An idea formed in his head as he smiled devilishly. Exiting his cave, he waited for the church to get closer before dashing in the direction of the town.

'Whatever you are making this ruckus, time to suffer the consequences of your actions. Once they deal with you, they'll leave, and I can go back to my rest.'

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As we tracked the demon who was on the move, I looked into my reflection.

My age was reflected at me as I stared at a 45-year-old man with a bald, round head and a goatee. My impeccable church outfit was spotless as I wore the cross visibly around my neck.

A soft knock at my door interrupts me as I put the mirror away.

"Come in."

One of the new recruits walks in, the best one so far. He was a young boy around 18 with short brown hair and a determined gaze. The moment I first laid eyes on him, I knew we both shared many similarities, one being a hatred for demonkind.

I didn't need to know his story, someone he loved probably died to a demon, therefore he joined the church for revenge. My story was the same.

"We're approaching a town, the same one that held former deacon Michael. We'll arrive by morning." He says after a slight bow.

What was it planning? I didn't like how this demon knew we were coming and was taking us to a town.

"Let everyone know to be prepared for anything. This demon is cunning and remember it has the title of 'Coward' for a reason."

He nods then goes off. I was proud of the recruits this year. They were all unique in their own ways, and all had potential to be something in the church. Maybe he should reconsider that offer to become a Clercici Vagantas. Get a team of his own and wander around banishing demons.

'No more of that, focus on the task at hand.'

We arrived a couple of hours later, just as the first rays of the sun reached over the horizon. Our carriage powered by electric runes slowly shuts down as the group exits, eyeing the town before us.

There are two females and two males. Each are able to become Deacons or Deaconesses. Or the females could opt out to become Sisters, being the direct hand of the Priests or Priestess. Either way, they required years of service in the field, so they can fully understand any situations before they move on to leadership positions, if they survive.

Standing before the town, there's something I instantly notice.

"Do you guys hear that?" I ask the group.

One of the girls steps up and responds, "No, there's nothing but silence."

"Exactly. No birds either. There's a predator lurking here." I tell the group and can feel their seriousness.

'What a good group of recruits I got.'

"Stay close to me, whatever happens, don't panic. Take nothing for granted, if you notice anything suspicious, report it."

As they huddle closer together, I notice no one coming to the gate, demanding for us to announce ourselves. Pushing on the door, it creaks open slowly. It stops as it suddenly collides with a heavy object.

There is enough room for us to squeeze past, and I go through first. Slipping through, I shake my head as I see the obstruction blocking the door. A knight, lay dead against the door as his throat was slit and his hand clutching the door.

The others enter in as well and see the dead knight but remain calm. Commending their fortitude as a group, we move to the first house. Knocking on the door, we announce ourselves.

"I am Deacon Briar, here with the church to assist. May we have a moment of your time?"

We try getting their attention for the standard two minutes before I nod to another guy in the group, and he kicks the door in.

Examining the house, I grow more solemn at the sight of a family, murdered in cold blood, even the two children.

The sight is the same for every house we enter. Their throats are slit, obviously killed in their sleep. Even in the streets, the knights stood no chance.

As we walked towards the mansion that housed this towns' leader, one of the girls walks next to me.

"Um Deacon Briar?"

She says lightly.

"What is it?"

"This doesn't seem to be the work of the demon that we're after. Someone with the name Cowardly would be avoiding this town altogether. This is more like an assassin, someone who knows what they're doing."

On those words, I freeze, making the others pause as well.

"You're correct. Silverfoot didn't do this. The Coward knew we were after him, so he led us to the actual culprit to throw us off his trail."

One of the boys in the group asks, "How do you know this?"

"The culprit is right here in front of us." I say, pointing at another demon that looks nothing like it could be Silverfoot.