Chapter 13

They were now in an underground cave lit by big torches perched on the walls. The cave stretched for a long distance, at least a mile, until it finally opened up into the moonlight. They swam to the edge of the pool of water and lifted themselves out. Scaldris used Heating magic to heat her clothes and dry them out. Korrozak followed suit and turned to Nura.

"Can you use Heating magic?" he asked. Nura nodded. "Dry out your clothes then go help dry out the others clothes if they need it." he ordered. Nura saluted and started heating his clothes. Once he finished with his clothes, Korrozak walked over to the others and asked them about their clothes. Some said they could do it themselves, some accepted the help and one...

"How can a single winged demon have strong enough magic to dry out my clothes?" he sneered. He had spiky red hair and orange eyes. He had this 'I'm-better-than-you' attitude that just made Korrozak want to sock him in the face.

"At least I can use magic." he countered. "If you want someone else to do it for you or go on wet as a rag, be my guest." Korrozak turned and began to walk away.

"Hey! How dare you walk away from the Great-!"

"I don't care who you are. We're all picking code names later anyway so your real name doesn't matter." Korrozak interrupted without stopping.

"You are so rude! Did your parents ever teach you any manners?" he shouted. Korrozak stiffened. The boy smiled and continued. "Uh oh, did I hit a nerve?"

"Please don't talk about my parents. It's a tough subject." Korrozak stated. That just made the boy mad.

"Really now?" he shouted. Korrozak clenched his fist. Everyone else stopped to listen. "Did they beat you or something? Are they the ones who actually took your wing and the DMA is just a cover story? Well some people would die to have a life like yours." Korrozak turned on the spot and tackled the boy, pushing him to the ground. He leaned down and held a knife to the boy's neck.

"Talk bad about my parents again and I'll kill you." he hissed. Scaldris noticed and started hurrying over.

"Hey! Stop fighting! We're all demons here."

"Tell that to this nincompoop. He asked for it." Korrozak shouted back.

"I haven't done anything to you!" the boy complained.

"You were talking bad about my parents!"

"Get off me so I can insult them to their faces."

"If you want to go see them so badly, my dagger is enough to do the job." Korrozak whispered with a dark look, pressing the knife closer to the boy's neck.

"I can't talk to them if I'm dead!"

"You can't be alive to talk to someone in the afterlife, morron!" Korrozak shouted. The shocked look on the boy's face was all he needed to see. Korrozak lifted his knife away and stood up. "Next time, think before you open your mouth. You shouldn't insult someone you know nothing about." Korrozak wandered back to Nura and sat on the floor, legs crossed. He was still obviously upset.

"Do you need a hug?" Nura asked gently. Korrozak looked up at Nura before letting out a sigh.

"Yes, I need a hug." Nura sat down next to him and they hugged until Korrozak calmed down.

"That guy is so hard to figure out." the boy muttered to himself, watching Korrozak from behind him.

"We met seconds ago!" Korrozak shouted at him, irritated. The boy flinched.

"He could hear me?"

"Ugh, you guys can do your horse play later. If we don't hurry, Silver's group will catch up to us." Scaldris groaned. After that, everyone dispersed into their own groups and continued drying each other off. The boy scooted closer to Korrozak and blushed.

"Sorry for insulting your parents." he apologized.

"You can actually be nice?" Korrozak gasped dramatically. "I thought you were just a humongous jerk!"

"Hey! I'm not that bad!" he shouted. Korrozak smiled and started laughing.

"So! Do you or do you not need help drying your clothes?" The boy hesitated.

"Sure..." he mumbled.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you, can you speak up?" Korrozak lied. The boy groaned. 

"I would... appreciate some help." he said slowly.

"There you go." Korrozak smiled smugly, before he started drying out the boy's clothes. Nura smiled as he watched. Just as everyone was about to finish drying themselves, Silver's group appeared in the pool. They trudged out of the water and began to dry themselves. Silver looked over to Scaldris' group, who were preparing to leave.

"You all look raring to go." he observed, walking over Korrozak.

"Yeah! Just a few more people who are being picky about their clothes." Korrozak agreed.

"Wow. You must be a special group. Scalrdis hasn't burned anyone yet." he observed, looking around. Korrozak turned in alarm.

"What?!"

"Usually, if her group isn't dry within her time limit, she sets fire to the people who aren't dry. She likes her group to be gone by the time my group gets here so she can look cool or something. That's why, when I lead my group to the central area, we see at least a few in her group burned to a crisp." Silver explained, laughing.

"Is that something you should laugh about?" Korrozak muttered to himself. "I'm gonna go talk with the others." he turned and jogged away. Scaldirs' group crowded in front of her as she told them the rules of Demon City.

"First, no picking on others, demon or human." she started in a booming voice. "Second, you are not the ones who decide if someone can or cannot stay in the city. Third, there are multiple sections created in the city with their own styles and specialties. Please respect their boundaries and try not to mix any of the sections. Fourth, you will all be given a chance to give yourself a code name. Giving code names is basically like informally changing your name. You will be called by that name and that name only within this city. If you don't want a code name right now that's fine, you can give yourself a code name after going with your real name, if you decide you want one, but if you're planning on getting a code name, better do it sooner than later. You can't change your code name after it's been decided so think carefully. If you all get the idea, follow me." Scaldris turned and started walking down the hall. The group followed her, chatting as they walked about the sections and potential code names.

"So what name are you going to take?" the boy asked. He was walking on Korrozak's left while Nura skipped on his right.

"I have an idea, but I'll let it be a surprise. What about you?" Korrozak answered.

"Why would I want to change my name? It's already too awesome to be uttered by anyone but me!" he gloated.

"So that it's not so boring, you should give yourself a commanding name, one that demands attention. It would fit your personality while sounding cool." Korrozak suggested, ignoring the boy's statement.

"You don't even know what my name is!"

"People with your personality usually have boring names."

"Ugh, if you want me to change my name that badly, I guess I can make an exception for my number one fan."

"I'd rather die ten times over than be your number one fan. If you were anyone else, it would be tolerable, but you? Can't have that." Korrozak shook his head.

"As I was saying," he continued through gritted teeth. "I was thinking of using the name Bayle of the Fire! It's something I thought of myself and it fits your requirements." Korrozak gave him a pitifully disgusted look.

"Are you serious? That's so basic it hurts."

"It's not like you have anything better!"

"Of course I do. How about the name 'Emperion'? It sounds cool and demanding." The boy stared at Korrozak with awe.

"You are so good at thinking of names."

"I name based on someone's personality."

"You think I'm cool?" he asked with eagerness.

"Of course I don't. I said 'I name based on personality', not personal opinion. You think the world revolves around you and you demand to be the center of attention. Based on those central characteristics, I gave you a name I thought you would think is cool and that I thought stood out enough to demand the attention of others." Korrozak explained.

"What name would you give me then?" Nura asked, looking up at Korrozak.

"Hmm. I don't know. You should try to think of one yourself. Be creative." Korrozak admitted.

"Ha! He must like me more than you if he went to the trouble to give me a name instead of you!" the boy laughed.

"I only said that because I didn't think he needed help with it. Jerks like you are too stupid to think for themselves." Korrozak snickered.

"What!"

"How about Jay?" Nura wondered.

"Sounds good to me." Korrozak turned to Nura and smiled. Just then, they finally reached the end of the tunnel. The sun began to rise as they walked out into a square. In the middle was a beautiful fountain and surrounding it were five different entrances, each leading somewhere different. Scaldris jumped up onto the edge of the fountain and put her hands on her hips.

"Let me explain how things are going to work. I will start with a basic description of all the six sections. After the description, I will then explain the pros and cons of each section to you and what kind of jobs are available in that area. After I finish the section review, I will tell you about the special job that isn't available in the sections and is only offered to demons. After that, you will go over to that building over there." Scaldris pointed at a huge building built into the side of the tunnel. "Once inside, you will be handed a form to fill out. It will require you to write down your name, if you want a code name and, if so, what that code name will be, which section you want to stay in, and what job you will apply for. Remember, you can change the job and area you live in but your code name will be unchangeable. Any questions before we start?" she explained. A young female demon raised her hand.

"You said there are six sections, right? I only see five entrances. Where is the sixth section?" she asked, lowering her hand.

"You're standing in it. I'll explain in more detail later." Scaldris answered. She went on to describe the basic layout of all the sections. The first five sections were plotted in a straight line, each branching off the sixth section in different directions. The sixth section was the semi-circle that connected all the sections together and was much larger than the group could see at the moment. The entrances they saw would lead them straight to the next section but they would have to pass by a lot of houses before they reached the section at the end of the path. The path would then continue on through the next section, serving as the main road. More paths would branch off of the main path and lead into different neighborhoods. If a certain section was running out of space to put more houses, it would be easy to increase the space they had by extending the open end of the section. In the sixth section, if it began to run out of space, some of the houses would be built on the side of the mountain. Scaldris then went on to explain the different section's weather and styles and what kind of jobs you can expect to find there. 

"Do you guys understand or do you still have more questions before I start introducing the demon only job?" Nura raised his hand this time.

"How do we know this place is safe from the DMA and other agencies like it?"

"There's a protective spell surrounding the whole of Demon City. If anyone were to try to enter without permission, they would be surrounded by fog and turned around. The only way to get into Demon City is either by the waterfall shortcut which we used, or the main entrance at the end of section three. The main entrance screens all the people or demons that attempt to enter through there which will help us keep from allowing people like the DMA inside. If we are attacked, one of the DAF squads will come to protect the barrier, which you will hear about later. One last thing, the construction on your house will begin as soon as you finish filling out the form." she explained. "Now, onto the demon only job. The SDS isn't just a group of people who support demons from the shadows, that's our second objective or our cover objective. The true purpose of the SDS is to shelter demons put in jail and take down the companies who put those demons in jail. The special job is a job where you are put into different squads with different specialties and go on missions to attack the demon hunting companies. It's called the 'Demon Attack Force' or the DAF for short." Scaldris gave them a wicked smile. "If you want to join, you can't be afraid to get your hands dirty."