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8. The 10 demons

"What happened?" Max asks, waking up on a bed in the bunker's infirmary.

"We were defeated decisively, it seems." Rex responds from the adjacent bed, both of them having their chests fully bandaged.

"Where are Sofia and Rozalia, are they okay?" Max inquires.

"Rozalia is safe, but she's not talking to anyone, from what I gathered from the doctor." Rex says.

"And Sofia?" Max asks.

"Sofia wasn't with us when they came to rescue us."

"How?!" Max, with a worried expression.

"You've finally woken up. I was getting tired of waiting." Dr. Romanov says, entering the room.

"But how long have we been unconscious?" Max asks.

"I woke up two days ago." Rex replies.

"Approximately 10 days." Dr. Romanov adds.

"Sofia has been missing for 10 days?!" Max panics.

"Now is not the time to think about that. First, recover, and then we'll go after her."

"We have to go now!" Max tries to get up, but the pain in his body prevents him from moving too much.

"Easy, kid. I've tried that already; the injuries are quite severe. Let's listen to the doctor." Rex advises.

In the training room, Guardiol and Hope are practicing their new techniques.

"Once more!" Guardiol shouts, panting.

"Are you sure? It looks like you can't take much more." Hope says.

"I have to endure. If I had been with them and been stronger, this wouldn't have happened! Keep going, Hope, give me your best shot." Guardiol says as he reinforces his demonic energy on the shield.

"If that's what you want..." Hope responds, "Fulmen, Adori!" extending her right hand with fingers pointed towards Guardiol, summoning a lightning bolt that hits his shield with force, throwing Guardiol back and slamming him into the wall behind.

"Once more!" Guardiol...

In the corner of the room, Rozalia sits curled up with her head down, trembling.

After another month of training together for Hope and Guardiol, with the assistance of the doctor, and Max and Rex healing their wounds as much as possible, Rozalia still hadn't connected with the others, and they had given up trying to contact her. Dr. Romanov made it clear to the others that she would come forward when the time was right.

"Dr. Romanov! You need to see this urgently!" exclaims one of the new helpers who came to the bunker in Red Sector.

The helper leads Dr. Romanov to the surveillance rooms to show him something.

"Hmm... interesting..." says Dr. Romanov.

"Red Capes are requested to report to the surveillance area on the Outer Wall!" The doctor's voice is heard everywhere in the bunker, transmitted through the radio.

A few minutes after the Red Capes were summoned, Max, Rex, Hope, and Guardiol meet with the doctor on the Outer Wall.

"Why have you called us here, old man?" Guardiol asks.

"Look outside the Wall." Dr. Romanov says.

Casting their eyes outside the wall, the four observe Lycia and Miron, numbers 6 and 8 of the demonic legion.

"What are they doing here?" Guardiol questions.

At that moment, Max jumps off the wall and quickly moves to attack the two. Midway to the demons, Rex stops Max.

"Max! Back off! It's not the time to start another fight!" Rex urges.

The four Red Capes, along with Dr. Romanov, go outside the wall to talk to the two demons.

"What do you want?" Rex asks.

"Firstly, we're not here to fight." Lycia says.

"Unfortunately..." Miron adds.

"Then?" Hope inquires.

"We want you to come with us." Lycia states.

"This is getting interesting..." Dr. Romanov remarks.

"And why on earth would we do that?" Rex asks.

"The boss wants to see you." Lycia responds.

"Why would we care what your boss wants?" Guardiol questions.

"And why haven't you killed us right now?" Max demands.

"You won't do that if you want to see the girl again." Lycia remarks.

"But you can try." Miron adds.

"Stop, Miron!" Lycia intervenes.

"O-Okay..." Miron hesitates.

"The girl? You mean Sofia?" Hope asks.

"Sofia?!" Max with a slow voice and a surprised expression.

"If you hurt her, you will pay!" Guardiol asserts.

"Sofia is with you, demons?" Rex inquires.

"Yes, the girl is in the center of our camp, so if you want to see her, you'll come with us." Lycia says.

"Is she alive? Is she safe?" Hope questions.

"You'll find out when you get there." Lycia grins.

At that moment, Max charges at them, holding his trident at Miron's throat.

"Or maybe we should kill the giant now, and we'll torture you for more information. After all, you've already told us where to find her." Max suggests.

"Max, stop!" Hope cries.

"Do that, and you'll never see your precious Sofia again, kid." Lycia warns.

"Max, drop the trident! We'll go with them." Rex orders.

"Hm?" Max hesitates.

"Seriously?" Guardiol questions.

"I don't see what else we can do in this situation. First of all, a fight with them right now will bring us significant losses." Rex says.

"Rex is right; we don't have much of a choice." Dr. Romanov adds, meanwhile questioning himself: "This could complicate everything significantly... Should I change something?"

"I'll go alone." Rex suggests.

"I'm coming too!" Max insists.

"I'm not staying behind this time, be sure of that." Guardiol asserts.

"I'll come too. I'm stronger than last time; you will need me." Hope adds.

"I've decided; I'll go alone." Rex repeats.

"No, we're comrades; we all go!" Max declares.

"It's not a decision you can make on your own, Rex." Hope says.

"They're right; we all go." Guardiol agrees.

"Alright, let's go!" Lycia says.

"Wait! Guardiol, go get a car!" Rex orders.

"Okay!" Guardiol leaves.

From the exit of the Outer Wall, a voice is heard: "I'm coming too." Rozalia says, surprising everyone.

"Rozi..." Hope says with a slow voice.

"Doctor, do you have what I asked for?" Rozalia asks.

"Of course! Guardiol, can you take car number 5, please?" Dr. Romanov instructs.

"Sure, doctor." Guardiol acknowledges.

"You'll find what you need behind the backseat on the left side." Dr. Romanov says, looking and smiling at Rozalia.

"Alright, thank you!" Rozalia responds.

"Rozalia, I'm glad you're coming with us. I hope you're ready for the worst." Rex says.

"I am!" Rozalia affirms.

"Hope, I want you to sit in the front seat and leave Max and me in the back with the demons. I would have asked Rozalia, but I assume the spirits are heated between her and Guardiol." Rex whispers.

"Got it." Hope acknowledges.

Guardiol arrives with car number 5, Hope sits next to him in the front, and Max gets on the backseat first on the left, followed by the two demons who take the right seat. Rex sits next to Max, making room for Rozalia, who, when getting into the car, carefully looks under the seat and notices the large briefcase left there by the doctor. Once on the road, Rex aims his weapon at the two demons, while Max, with his hand on the trident, stares intently at Lycia and Miron.

"Make a right turn here." Lycia instructs Guardiol.

"Hm? Okay." Guardiol responds.

"I thought we needed to go further ahead." Rex remarks.

"If we went ahead, we'd enter our Northern zone, the one where you met Richard and Atalanta. The one where you fought us was the Western zone. As I said, the girl is in the Central zone." Lycia replies.

"We'll only reach the demon camp." Miron comments.

"And what will happen there?" Max asks.

"That depends on you." Lycia responds, with a thoughtful expression and a clenched fist.

"You'll give us Sofia back." Rozalia, keeping her hand on the suitcase under the seat, declares.

"Do you think we're holding her there?" Lycia asks, laughing.

"What do you mean by that?" Max inquires.

"What else could be keeping her?" Hope asks.

"You'll see; we're almost there." Lycia says.

They arrive at the demon camp. After getting out of the car and taking a few steps, the Red Capes notice Atalanta aiming at Sofia with her bow. At that moment, Rozalia opens her suitcase, revealing a superior weapon to the one she used before—larger and more powerful. She fires at the demon. Atalanta senses the demonic energy and turns her gaze towards the beam, but she doesn't have enough time to dodge. However, a sword blocks the beam. Excalibur.

"How impolite of you... Who attacks hosts as they walk in?" Richard asks.

"Is this why you called us? To witness an execution?" Rozalia questions.

"What's happening here?" Rex asks.

"Stop! All of you! It's a misunderstanding!" Sofia shouts, approaching them.

"Sofia?!" Max with a brightened face.

"The girl is fine after all." Guardiol.

"What do you mean by that, Sofi?" Hope asks.

"Atalanta was training me. She didn't want to kill me; she was showing me the optimal position." Sofia explains.

"What do you mean by that? What do you mean by training?" Hope asks.

"I think there are many things we don't know." Rex says.

"You'll be able to find out everything after you talk to the boss. He asked me to have you rest until the others come, let the girl continue her training with Atalanta, and let me show you to your rooms. It's a deserted city since only we stay here, so we have plenty of decent rooms." Lycia explains.

"Do you think we'll leave Sofia alone with you here?" Max asks.

"These are direct orders from the boss. I won't ask a second time." Lycia warns.

"Let's go, Max, the others. We're guests here first, and second, we don't have very good chances of winning this fight." Rex says.

The others are irritated by Rex's words but have no choice but to follow Lycia and Miron to their rooms.

"We'll see you after the others arrive; the rooms are very nice!" Sofia shouts at them, waving.

"Let's get back to training." Atalanta says.

"Alright." Sofia agrees.

"He's got a head on his shoulders, their captain, Rex." Richard remarks.

"You think so?" Atalanta asks.

"Yes." Richard responds.

A few hours after the Red Capes were sent to their prepared rooms, Lycia returned for them.

"Let's go, cambions!" Lycia says, at which point the Red Capes leave their rooms.

"Where are we going?" Rex asks.

"We're going to the meeting room, not the boss's usual room," Lycia answers.

"So there's a difference between them." Rex notes.

"Yes, in the boss's big room, we go to report; that's where we usually find him. The meeting room is for times when more of us gather." Lycia explains.

Arriving in the large room, they notice 10 chairs arranged in a semicircle with numbers on them. In the center are chairs with numbers 1 and 4, to their left are chairs with numbers 2, 10, 5, and 7 in order, and to the right, in order, are chairs with numbers 3, 9, 6, and 8.

On chair 3 is Richard, next to him on chair 9 is Atalanta, and next to her, Lycia sits on chair 6, with Miron on chair 8. On chairs 1 and 4, silhouettes can be seen, to whom Lycia reported after the battle against the Red Capes. On chairs 5 and 7 the two met by Lycia until entering the boss's room, while chairs 2 and 10 were empty.

Next to Miron, there's an extra chair with Sofia, and another empty chair next to chair number 7. In front of these chairs, closing the circle, are 5 chairs prepared for the Red Capes.

"Please, take a seat." the silhouette on chair number 4 says.

The Red Capes sit down, Max next to Sofia, Rozalia next to him, Rex in the center, Hope next to Rex, and Guardiol on the left edge.

"I would like to begin by thanking you for coming here and introducing myself to you." says the silhouette on chair number 1.

"My name is Cain, and I am the leader of the Legion of the Ten Demons. We are not only ten, but the ten of us started this movement." The silhouette rises from chair number 1.

(Cain, an unmatched demonic presence, the number 1 tattooed on his left forearm, carrying a curved sword in his sheath.)

"Next to me is my advisor and partner, Crowley." Cain introduces.

(Crowley, the one with the magic scepter and the number 4 tattooed on his forehead.)

"And these two are Achilles and Miyamoto." Cain continues.

(Achilles, a sword and shield user, smaller than Guardiol, with the number 5 tattooed on his right leg near the ankle.)

(Miyamoto, a dual katana wielder, with the number 7 tattooed on his right hand.)

"Spartacus and Vlad couldn't attend because their area is the most prone to battles. We apologize for their absence." Cain explains.

"You're giving them too many explanations, Cain." Crowley comments.

"This time I agree with Crowley." Achilles adds.

"Hmm..." Miyamoto.

"It's not like they can do anything with this information anyway." Lycia says.

"Why did you bring us here?" Rex asks.

"At my request." Nick, enters the room casually and sits in the chair between Miyamoto and Guardiol, leaving the members of the Red Capes stunned.

"Y-you're alive?" Rozalia surprised.

"N-Nick...?" Hope, speechless.

"Boss..." Guardiol with tears in his eyes.

"What's this, Nick?" Rex asks.

"I talked to the guys nicely about you, and in the end, they agreed to bring you here." Nick explains.

"What are you doing here? Why didn't we know until now that you're alive?" Rex questions.

"I've been training. Why? Lost faith in me?" Nick asks.

"Do you think you can joke about this? Are you stupid or something? Are you making fun of us?" Rex yells, rising towards Nick.

At that moment, Miyamoto's katana is at Rex's throat.

"If you take one more step, you lose your head, redhead." Miyamoto threatens.

"It's okay, brother. Rex won't do anything dangerous." Nick reassures.

"I understand. If that's what you think, I'll stand aside." Miyamoto, retracting his katana.

"Sure, sure." Nick agrees.

"You tell a demon's brother, you live with them... Have you completely lost your mind?!" Rex, gripping Nick's collar.

"Mad? You guys, who think you can behave normally in this crazy world, are the truly mad ones." Nick says with a slow and serious voice.

"What do you mean by that?" Rex asks.

"Nothing." Nick responds.

"Rex, leave Nick alone!" Sofia shouts.

"What?" Rex asks.

"Sofi is right, Rex, calm down. I know Nick probably exaggerates as usual with what he does and says, but at least we're all together again." Hope says.

"I'm not exaggerating anything, sis. The Legion of the Ten Demons is probably humanity's only chance." Nick declares.

"What do you mean? They're demons." Hope says.

"Partially, we're demons too. And like us, they hunt demons, not humans." Nick explains.

"How do they hunt demons?" Rex asks.

"Hello, if you remember, when you attacked us, we killed demons, idiot." Lycia says.

"Now that I think about it, she's right; they spared us twice when they could have just killed us." Rozalia says.

"Demons remain demons, regardless of their excuses." Rex states.

"You're right, demons remain demons, but humans don't remain humans. Demons are nothing more than humans with very large sins. All those present at this table have unforgivable crimes on their records and are unforgivably lacking in salvation, but that doesn't mean we have to fight against our beliefs. The crimes during our lives had various motives and beliefs: jealousy, patriotism, love, freedom, the desire for glory, family, and responsibility. The battles fought by the forces of hell are not our battles; the survival of humanity is closer to the desires of each of us."

"Do you expect us to believe you?" Rex asks.

"I believe him." Nick says.

"Me too." Sofia.

"Nick, I'm with you, I will believe him too." Guardiol.

"Maybe he's telling the truth, Rex. There's a chance; they were even killing demons." Hope says.

"He makes sense from their actions, Rexi." Rozalia says.

"I will not take part in this charade." Rex says, moving away from the others and heading towards the exit, at which point Richard jumps in front of him and stops him.

"Let him finish what he has to say; it's very impolite of you to leave a conversation in these manners." Richard advises.

"And what do you want from us?!" Rex shouts at Cain.

"Training, Captain." Nick says.

"We can help you become stronger, not to help us, but to help other humans." Cain explains.

"We don't need your help." Rex, passing by Richard.

"Oh yes, Rex, you need it. If you don't accept that, you'll die." Nick warns.

Rex leaves the room without saying anything.

"Let me handle this," said Richard.

"I want you to trust me and go on this journey together. We need to become stronger and stand united," Nick said with a determined look.

"I trust you, Nick," Sofia said.

"Me too," Guardiol.

"All right, we're on your side, brother," Hope.

"I train most with Miyamoto, but I also spar with Cain or Achilles. Guardiol, Achilles would be a perfect sparring partner for you," Nick said.

"Then I'll trust your words, boss. Achilles, if you allow, I'll try to learn everything from you," Guardiol.

"That's if you can keep up. Miron, you can help him too. We'll train as a trio," Achilles.

"Great, I thought I'd be left out," Miron.

"I'll take care of the trident guy's training myself, but for now, you three take him," Cain.

"Sure thing, Max. Ready to go?" Guardiol.

"All right, if this will make me stronger," Max.

"Sis, I heard from Sofi that you can use magic; Crowley would be the most suitable for you," Nick.

"I don't want to get involved in your games," Crowley.

"Crowley, you don't have to leave the city; you'll train her here. Please," Cain.

"If you ask, I'll make an effort," Crowley.

"Sofia is already training with Atalanta, Rozi. Maybe you can join their training session," Nick.

"Nick, you idiot, can't you use your brain for a moment... This little one has more demonic power than Atalanta; their styles are too different. They would get in each other's way. Leave her to me," Lycia.

"O-Okay..." Nick, while Sofia glares at their conversation.

"Don't ever call me 'this little one' again," Rozalia.

"Got it," Lycia laughed.

"We'll share more stories tonight, but for now, get to know your training partners better," Cain.

"I hope Rex won't give me too much trouble; I don't want to be forced to kill him," Nick thought to himself.