Last Call

Parz, land of violence and anarchy. A place where you can do everything. And yet, you have to sleep. Bars were closing their doors, and the last call was for those who wanted to drink. Their bodyguards threw out those who refused to leave, even killing them if they were too much of a nuisance.

The Pissing Depth, a bar situated in Pirate Port City. Where pirates and sailors come to relieve their burdens of thievery and ending other pirates' lives. But today, the bar was quiet. Owner Terry, the ice troll, was worried about his bar going down if the streak continued. But his talkative human server, Bryn, was more than happy for silent days. Get some rest.

Most of the drunks have already left, even though Pissing Depth's service motto is to "Serve so long until the last customer leaves," a marketing tactic that Terry created to boost business. There was only one man left. Human, at least in his fifties by the look of his facial structure and beard. He had been in here the whole day, still drinking the one beer that was sold to him. He had just been sitting there, watching others.

"Ahoy! Are you still alive?" asked Bryn, who walked to him checking if he was okay. The stranger didn't react to it.

"Do I have to use my electricity magic to zap you to life?" he asked. This time, the man answered with a question.

"Do you know magic?" his intense voice looking at the servant.

"Well, I am not a mage, that would be funny, a fat guy being a mage, mate," he said, laughing at his own joke. The stranger did not even smirk and kept looking at his tankard. "Listen, mate, when are you finished with your drink? I and the boss would love to go to sleep," he said to him.

"I saw the plague. So long as I am here, I am getting served," the man answered quickly.

"Well, you are right, but is there anything I can do to make you leave so we can close the pub?" The old stranger thought for a moment before speaking.

"Talk with me and we shall see."

"Sure then, mate," Bryn answered back and sat opposite his table. "So what do you want to discuss? Women? Killing?"

"Tell me, who are you?"

"Oh, there is not a lot of talk about me. I am just a guy trying to get enough money. Family man, two children, and a mutt, an annoying one. I prefer cats that come from Kurkizaan. Or those pets that fangs bring from their own universe and stuff, aye. Wife, beautiful as anything, bought her from slavers on Norule. Tis true. But she became more than that to me; love makes you do stupid things. Ever been in love?"

The man looked like he was insulted and answered with one word.

"Why?"

"I mean, it is a fun thing, right? To have someone to love you and wait for you to come home."

"Where I come from, dear servant, love is weakness," he answered, taking a sip from the tankard.

"Where are you from then? I hear no Norule accent or the city folk accent."

"Faraway. You could never even guess where I am from."

"There are three nations where you could possibly be from, well four, but all know that only Makrians live in Mak'Hrongi. On the other hand, that would be funny. I could sense that you are from Luulax or…" The man interrupted the servant.

"Tell me, Bryn, do you know any monster hunters?"

"Neh, mate, only rumors of some people. The good thing about being a servant, you hear a lot of stuff." Bryn said while slamming his arms gently on the table to change his more comfortable posture. But the man hadn't changed his posture at all while they had been talking.

"Such as…?"

"Such as a troll hunter from Norule, who works for a lonely Money-Chief that I don't know. He is good with his weaponry. Then I heard of a druid with a double sword. Vanishing like air, 'vush,' goes when he hunts. Then I heard of a human, something Royce, I don't know, mate. I would not hire her; you know only men are good to hunt evil creatures of the night."

The patron looked bored, but then Bryn gave an interesting name.

"Then there is a guy called Antti…Anthewale…Anthony! Yeah, that is his name. Walking and talking to Guardians company. A mysterious Moneychief that nobody knows what he looks like. But Ivan will smoke him out. And get rid of the pestilent mate. That shit thinking to take down the best thing ever happened in Parz. I mean…"

Back to the topic, please," asked the old man to interrupt him. "Ye, so he is the guy that is said to be very powerful. Killed many monsters. From Leshen to Cave spider. Rumors say that he even killed vampires and demons."

That intrigued the patron. His eyes shone with intrigue.

"Demons?"

"Ye, mate, those big creatures called Abominations and those sexy versions of demons."

The old man slammed the tankard to the table before he could even sip from it. That troubled Bryn for a while, but when he spoke, it still had the same calm and deep voice as before.

"What?"

"Yeh, you know those horned devils, with big racks and enormous asses," Bryn said, thinking the old man was interested in those. "If I would have no wife, I would do anything to bed one of them," he said, laughing again alone to his jokes. The old man looked at him and waited to speak.

"Apologies for ruining your imagination. But you would be dead after that."

"Why is that?" the servant asked a little bit insulted.

"The Lust demons desire the pleasure of flesh but so much more. The soul itself. They drain the soul while giving the desire you ask for. The other six demon kinds will survive the encounter, but creatures out of their world. The soul will be consumed. They are the weakest ones in demon kind. Able to do some magic. In their true form, of course. These Lust demons that you hear about are just shadows of their once beautiful bodies. Changing the host body and mind to fit and attract the foolish people around here. That's why they have… 'racks and asses,'" the old man explained.

While he explained the demon, Bryn could not even blink. This man's knowledge of demons concerned him.

"Heh…are you some kind of demon expert?" he asked a little bit nervous.

"Would that be…funny?" There was silence. Bryn was scared to speak. But the old man chuckled before continuing to speak.

"I have just read some books about them," he said, taking a long sip of his beer.

"Them? there is more," asked Bryn interested than anything, even coming closer to hear.

"Oh yes, there are seven. The strongest ones are Pride and Wrath demons. Then comes Creed and Gluttony. And end Sloth and Lust ones. Them being similar to each other but dominated by the… well, the closest word for it would be personality." The old man took a break before continuing to speak. "Yet there was a group that wanted to create demons that had all of these personalities with a new type of magic. To rid flying rats you call angels. But their usage of foul magic was too much for the other demons. So they decided to get rid of the group that wanted only good for their kind."

"What happened to them?" asked Bryn interested than anything.

The old man chuckled a small laugh before rising from the table, purposely not telling the rest of the story.

"Thank you for your company, Bryn. But I must leave now. Here, have this coin, and don't give it to the others," the old man said.

Without flinching, a mysterious-looking old gold coin appeared in his gloved hands. Bryn hesitated to take the coin, but it was nothing he had seen before. Bryn slowly took the coin and examined it closely. The other side had a human face, but the other side had something monstrous looking.

The old man was walking slowly towards the exit, ready to leave the bar. Bryn hesitated to ask at first, but he was too curious. Bryn rose from his seat and walked after him.

"Wait, sir, you only listed six demons."

"Ah, Bryn, you have good ears," the old man said, looking at the door, so Bryn could not see his face. "Seventh demon kind is Envy."

"Envy?"

"Envy demons are jealous of their other kin's power and status. They can be loyal to some or charlatans to others. Ready to backstab. Envy demons are said to be just weak-minded fools that other demons can command, even ranking them lower than Lust demons. But, my dear Bryn, I think of them as the most powerful of them."

"Why is that?"

"The trust they gain is their biggest weapon to turn against. And they all will fear the envy demon after all these eons."

Before Bryn could ask anything else, the old man left with a smile on his face, with yellow eyes.