I Feel Good

Ellen opened her eyes and peeked at what she thought was about to be impending death, but what she saw was Marcus falling from above the demon with his fists held behind his head about to chop down upon the demon.

At the last moment, the demon turned his head up and made a somewhat pitiful expression and muttered "Aww Fu-", before being obliterated by Marcus's smash that left a small hole in the ground. The remains of the demon turned in to smoke and ash.

Ellen was still clutching Gillian and Gillian had to push her off and said "It was part of the plan! You didn't need to be scared! Plus, that was my first…" Gillian's voice trailed off as Allen approached them.

"Your first what Gillian?", Allen asked innocently enough.

Gillian shot Ellen a glare then said plainly, "My first time being the bait with someone else, of course!"

Ellen's face blushed and she didn't know what to say, fortunately Gillian stepped in and said, "Sorry Ellen, we probably should've informed you that I normally act as the bait for single imps like that since they're very fast and drawn towards beautiful women usually. It is significantly easier to kill them when you know exactly which way they're running."

Marcus walked over and dusted off his gloves, pulled them off and put them back in his pack, then said "Ellen's obliviousness made it more believable. Gillian, you were too tense but fortunately Ellen drove the little demon mindless almost."

Allen chimed in, "Yes, and Ellen is much prettier than Gillian, so it made it all the more effective."

Just as Allen finished his sentence, he found his feet leaving the ground and a set of knuckles implanted in to his jaw. His body landed with a thud and the world momentarily spinning in front of him.

Ellen looked only mildly horrified as she watched Gillian uppercut Allen while Marcus really didn't care.

"I'm sorry for my brother, you are very pretty Gillian! Your whole body exudes confidence, is very fit, and I just love your bright red hair! It stands out like a beacon in this forest." Ellen said honestly.

Gillian was taken aback as she had never really been complimented that much on her physical appearance, merely her martial prowess. "Th-Thank you. What kind of demon was that Marcus?"

Marcus paused momentarily in thought then replied, "It was a standard summoned Imp, just a bit better than most. It is physically strong enough to commit the murders back at the barn, but it would've made more of a visible trail had we been chasing it. I suspect this one was waiting for us. Your thoughts Allen?"

"I agree, but it doesn't feel like any of the big tribes did this. Reds wouldn't do it so fast, Greens might if they got what they were after, and the way they died is not how a Purple would do it."

Ellen looked a little confused and asked "Reds, Greens, and Purples?"

"Demonic tribes. We call them based upon their traits. Reds are the most common, they were classified as anger, hate, and pain feeding demons. Greens feed off jealousy, greed, and envy. Lastly, Purples feed on lust and desire." Allen stated plainly.

"Oh… yeah, that's a lot easier to remember than the proper names. Are they really that easy to identify though?"

"We've never been able to venture in to the demonic realm but based on the studies you've done at the Church, you should know that we have very limited knowledge of their tribes."

Marcus rolled his eyes slightly and said impatiently, "We do not need to know anything about them except how to exterminate them."

Ellen didn't pick up on Marcus's intent and continued her inquiry and asked, "Aren't you curious? I mean, it's a whole different civilization of beings and we could learn –"

"Nonsense!" Marcus shouted out, interrupting Ellen, "We have nothing to learn from the likes of them nor their kin! Now let us return to the village, retrieve the carriages, and report back to the Church!"

Marcus stormed off angrily while Gillian quietly followed behind him, careful not to say a word.

Ellen looked confused and wanted to say something, but Allen grabbed her arm gently and shook his head at her. "Let it go Ellen…"

__________

Count Agist stared befuddled at Lillica. "So, your plan was basically to frame one of your own kind for the death of those three farmhands?" He felt relieved oddly enough that she had killed them without sleeping with them.

"Yes, he's my favorite Imp that I named 'Spot'."

Count Agist tilted his head and looked at Lillica slightly confused and said, "You gave a summoned Imp the same name one would give to a dog?"

"Of course, they are our pets basically! Also, usually only a spot remains of him when he finishes my tasks." Lillica said while smiling mischievously.

Count Agist shrugged since he really couldn't argue against that. "So why does he still listen to you if he always dies?"

"I offer him chances to get what he wants, similar to how I get you to do things for me."

"Oh really? You think you know what I want?" Count Agist somewhat amused.

"Of course, Agi…" Lillica said seductively then walked up to Count Agist.

"How coul-", Count Agist ended up forgetting what he was about to say when he felt Lillica's hand gently caress his cheek then playfully run up and down his chest while smiling coquettishly at him.

"Come Agi, I'll show you everything you want…" Lillica walked away from Count Agist, her hips seductively swaying from side to side with each step. "Don't make me change my mind, I'm feeling good…"

Count Agist was speechless and hurriedly followed Lillica, making sure not to say a word and ruin her good mood.

Lillica turned back towards Count Agist, took his hand, then draped it over her shoulder, leading him along.

__________

Lorraina knew that this time would come sooner or later, but she honestly enjoyed her time here. It wasn't just the easy meals, but she enjoyed it that the people treated her like a friend here. She was by no means good, but she never saw herself as evil either.

Lorraina found herself standing in front of Isadora's room and prepared herself mentally by thinking, "Isa is a good girl though so I'm sure she'll understand me!"

Lorraina knocked gently on Isadora's door and waited for a response.

"…"

No reply, she knocked again, a little louder this time and heard some shuffling on the other side of the door.

"Leave me be!" Isadora said loudly from within.

"Isa… it's me, Lorraina. Can we talk?"

"No! I can't… I don't…"

Lorraina heard Isadora sniffling as if she had been crying, she started racking her brain to try and think of what to say but she realized she wasn't as sharp-witted as her sister.

"Isadora is my friend, what am I doing?" Lorraina thought to herself, "I just need to be honest with her!"

"I'm coming in Isa!" Lorraina proclaimed then pushed on the door and peeked inside. She was taken aback when she saw Isadora huddled on her bed with a bible and several religious symbols.

"Don't be silly Isa, those don't work on me!" Lorraina said while giggling.

"So, YOU ARE a demon!" Isadora yelled as she clutched the bible to her chest while watching Lorraina fearfully.

Lorraina wanted to slap herself but she figured might as well go with it at this point. "Yes… I didn't want you to find out this way, but you are important to me, so I want-"

"You want to corrupt me then consume my soul?!?" Isadora said hysterically.

"N-no, I want to be honest with you!"

"Then you should've told me sooner!" Isadora said while flinging one of her religious trinkets at Lorraina.

"And would you have reacted any differently?" Lorraina said calmly while picking up the trinket that had missed her completely.

"Of course! I mean… maybe… no… probably not…" Isadora finally admitted then buried her face in the pillow she was squeezing.

Lorraina placed the trinket on the nightstand next to Isadora and calmly sat down on the far side of the bed from her. "I am still your friend no matter what Isa! You've been nicer to me than even those of my own kind. I mean, we've slept in the same bed, I'm not going to hurt you!"

"Maybe you're just trying to get me to trust you so you can infiltrate us and devour us from within?" Isadora said sheepishly, starting to sound like she is reaching for any excuse.

Lorraina sighed and asked, "Have you ever seen a demon before?"

"No…"

Lorraina shrugged and then released her spell that hid her true appearance from most.

Isadora looked in awe at Lorraina's true appearance, then slightly confused. "Is that it? Where are your fangs, claws, horns, and wings?"

Lorraina folded her arms annoyed and said, "Those are just lies told by the church, well… mostly… When we release our magic with high emotions, we can suddenly grow wings and horns, but our teeth are the same as yours. It is extremely painful, so I've only ever been able to do it once. Oh! A lot of us do have tails!"

Isadora couldn't help but smile the way Lorraina seemed almost proud of hers and she had to admit it did look kind of cute on her.

"I'm sorry Lorraina… it was just a shock…"

"Don't be, just like humans, there are both good and bad demons. I don't really consider myself good, I consider myself somewhere in the middle."

"What about Lillica?"

Without hesitating Lorraina said proudly, "Evil, pure evil!" causing both girls to giggle.