A mysterious man

The mysterious man had long horns, off-white hair that grew to his waist and wore floppy robes that was common for desert folk. He looked to be middle-aged, with white peaks that grew from the top of his head and shot directly upwards, curving into each other's direction.

The instant Rumius laid eyes on him, he too seemed to sense Rumius's presence as he turned his head, to look at him with the same blank eyes. The aura of a learned and powerful man wafted over Rumius, making his heart thump.

' Who is this guy?'

' Another one of Master's acquaintances? Is he here to find her? Why didn't she tell me that someone was coming? Or could this be a surprise visit between friends?' 

Not wanting to show his unease or act unnaturally, Rumius walked forward as he usually would, although puffing out his chest slightly as he did so. 

Striding with purpose, Rumius was prepared to extend a hand in a gesture of greeting.

The demon turned as well when there was a sudden loud bang!

Rumius's eyes went wide and he nearly stopped dead in his tracks. 

It was like time had slowed down. Against Rumius's thumping heart, it had aggravated the shock of it all. The demon had broad shoulders, and for reasons unknown, had been standing extremely close to the door, enough to kiss the wood or examine the fine cracks between the fibres. 

And when he turned, his body was as coordinated as a fish out of water.

The demon's shoulder made heavy contact with the rigid plank and a striking, painful sound came out from the impact. 

Rumius watched on, slack jawed as rigidly, the demon righted himself. His face adorned the same, peculiar blank stare.

Thump thump thump.

Rumius could still hear his heart beating.

Blink blink.

The demon's eyes fluttered.

One beat passed. Then two, each moment terribly unpleasant.

Confusion and wariness lingering and mixing into a pool of largely confused stares.

Then, a high pitched groaning began leaking out into the corridor. Almost simultaneously, the demon with a scholar's temperament crouched. His left hand came up came up to cradle his right arm as he flopped onto the ground, slumping against the door which had struck him. Another soft, high-pitched whimper escaped his closed mouth.

The scene threw Rumius for a loop as he skid to a stop. In an instant, it all took over. And Rumius froze with one foot behind the other. 

' W…what?' He thought. The imposing figure from before had melted instantly before his eyes. Now, Rumius saw only a big, clumsy man. He wasn't sure if to laugh or rush to help. But tentatively, and only after quite a long silence, he got closer and reached out a hand.

 " Are you alright?" He asked cautiously.

The demon fixed him with emotionless pools of deep grey. A hissing sound came from his mouth as the demon sucked air through the spaces in his teeth, as if gearing up for something. Startled and instantly on alert, Rumius recoiled but it was too late! 

" Eh?"

Came the demon's voice, confusion etched in it as his outstretched hand met thin air. 

" Eh?"

" Eh?" 

The two looked at each other, confusion lingering, mixing into another soundless exchange of stares. After a while, the mysterious demon finally straightened his robe and stood up, dusting himself off. He allowed his right arm to fall to his side after he moved it in some small circles. 

The mysterious demon cleared his throat. " I apologize for having alarmed you. I was told that this inn housed exceptional two travellers from afar."

He gestured to the door. " I was here since morning waiting for them. Perchance you might have seen them? They don't seem to be in." 

The demons's voice was calm but regal and radiated strength. Surprised for a momment, Rumius froze for a split instant. ' In this short span of time, I've changed my opinion of this guy thrice!' Rumius was incredulous. 

Then he snapped back to his senses.

With the demon was still waiting for his response, Rumius felt compelled to answer. But it only took an instant of analysis to make Rumius unsure.

He didn't know who this man was. What he wanted or who he was affiliated with, not that the last question would've helped much. Rumius knew nothing about this man.

Jumping through several questions, Rumius adapted and picked out the one which would serve him the best in the situation. 

" Does the name ' Isadora' mean anything to you?" He asked causally, albeit randomly. 

The demon showed no reaction. Not even a hint of confusion at the seemingly strange question. 

" Not that I remember, no. "He replied plainly.

' So he isn't one of Master's friends.' The answer made Rumius even more wary, realising that this man was just as unknown as he had thought.

. ' He obviously knows about us, but I can't think of why.' 

Rumius inspected the demon subtly, from his mighty three part horns, shimmering white hair, to his robes and boots and carriage. He appeared like a regular True demon. He also wore no badges or insignias that Rumius could see. 

That was when Rumius realised that the demon had one of his hands raised, with an outstretched finger pointed at him. 

" I see you're wearing the Bureau's insignia. By any chance..? I hope you understand that I mean no offense, the people who I am looking for happen to be your comrades is all." 

The demon had left the question open, but Rumius could already feel his jaw muscles clenching as he tried to maintain a neutral expression. 

' He caught on so fast! So he does know a lot about who we are!" 

' Should I deny knowing anything? No, lying would only lead to a drawn out war of words.To begin with, I still don't know what he wants!' 

With this in mind, Rumius gritted his teeth and picked up the gauntlet which the unknown demon had thrown.

" Yes, I am."

" But my partner is currently away. If you wish to speak to the both of us, then perhaps another time might be more suited?" He offered hopefully.

The demon shook his head. " There is no need to do to such lengths. Although I am honoured. I am a mere messenger. If possible, I will require some of your time. My lord wishes to speak to you." 

Recognizing the appearance of a new figure, Rumius couldn't help but feel slightly overwhelmed. With hesitation, but also curiosity, Rumius probed: 

" Who is your lord? And why does he wish to speak to me?"

The demon shook his head. " I am afraid I do not know. "

Rumius paused. By now he had a rough grasp of the situation. Next were the truly hard questions. Rumius could only hope that the demon would be as calm as he was right now as he answered them. 

" Is rejection off the table? " He narrowed his eyes as he asked, even shifting his weight to the balls of his feet. But he quickly became surprised when the mysterious demon shook his head.

" My lord is not one so uncouth as to coerce others. However, I would advise against rejecting his invitation."

A mischievous and hinting glint entered the demons's eyes, although his facial muscles still didn't so much as twitch. " A conversation with him might reveal beneficial information about the case which you are pursuing."

Upon hearing his words, Rumius had to actively restrain his surprise. Just how much did this demon know? And how? 

Falling silent, Rumius entered into deep thought.' Should I accept? It would be my first time acting alone if I did. I should ask for time to decide.' 

' No wait! I can't! Calm down. Calm down. To me, this might be dangerous and severe. But that's because I am human, and I've never gone anywhere too dangerous without master's approval before, but there's also no way which I can get her approval right now.'

' What do I want to do? No, what should I do? Asking for time would appear unnatural. They think that I'm a member of the Bureau, and a demon too. It would be strange if I needed to think so heavily about just going to a meeting. So I can't ask for time.'

' If so, then what are the risks and benefits?'

' I might get found out if things go south, but there's no guarantee….

What should I do if they're hostile? This goes back to the base question. Who are they? Who is this guy with?'

'It's a big risk…' Rumius thought critically.

A sudden thought entered Rumius's mind , and a cold shudder traced his spine.' Could he be with the bandits? Is he here to take revenge?'

' No wait. He said that his lord was someone important. But important how? I can't go and walk into hands of a 'important' bandit lord? That's suicide! But if I think about it that way, then how much of what this guy is saying can I trust? Is he just trying to mani..' 

Rumius looked up when the mysterious demon cleared his throat.

" Err-hem. I assure you, we do not have malicious intentions." He professed with some degree of sincerity. 

" My lord simply desires a talk. He finds it interesting that the Inglisa Bureau has decided to contract outsiders. They are, notoriously efficient afterall." 

Rumius was slightly shocked to discover this new information about the people who master had partnered with. Master hadn't let on much about this organisation in the past, and Rumius hadn't had the chance to ask either. 

With slightly quivering lips that he was trying to keep under control, the question slipped out : " Can you promise my safety? " Hearing this, the demon shrugged as if it was a given. 

" If you wish, I can sign a contract on my master's behalf. I can guarantee your safety easily."

" Do it." Rumius replied.

In acknowledgment, the demon reached into his robes.

However, at the same moment, Rumius froze. A buzzing had entered his eyes.

' No, it's not that. Then what is it? 

A novel feeling overwhelmed his senses from all directions but in ways he never thought possible. His bones shook and grinded, like a razor was being ground against it, but there was no sensation on his skin. A torrential raging filled his ears, but even the sound of flickering candles downstairs had been louder. He could almost see something shifting, but only the mysterious man appeared before his eyes when he tried.

Rumius's eyes widened. It was an enormous, indescribable pressure. 

' What is this? What's happening?' 

Rumius swivelled around once, then twice.He didn't care that the mysterious demon was in front of him. It didn't matter. Whatever this was, it was much more dangerous than this man could ever be! 

However, there was nothing. And the feeling vanished as soon as it appeared.

There were flaking old walls to his right, a series of wooden doors to his left, leading into all the different rooms. And there was no one around him other than the mysterious demon. He had his hand in his pocket still. His eyebrows, however, were slightly raised.

His face was an emotionless mask, but a small crack had formed. Rumius could see a hint of surprise, but it disappeared almost as quickly as it formed. The demon pulled his hand out of his pocket after some rummaging and unfurled a scroll. 

Walking over, he handed Rumius the paper. There was a single clause on the piece of paper and it gave off a certain aura of power. 

A blood red oval was stamped at the bottom. It had a spiral to it and smelled like rusty iron. 

' A fingerprint?' Rumius nearly wondered aloud. That alone wasn't too surprising. But Rumius had no way to reciprocate. ' Didn't master's contract use named signatures as well? Perhaps this guy liked being old school?' 

" You seem perturbed. Could it be that you don't have a Bloodletter?" The demon asked. He raised his hand, showing Rumius a simple ring on his middle finger. A small, fine pin jutted inwards towards his palm, glinting with a menacing light but without a trace of blood. 

" We demons find it difficult to operate for extended periods without one of these. I suggest you acquire one." The way which he phrased the question made Rumius's heart almost jump into his mouth. ' We demons', he had said.

" I am a traveller. Outside demon territory, fingerprints are not often used. Much fewer ones that require blood." Rumius answered evenly. He raised his right hand as an idea popped into his mind.

The mysterious demon nodded, seemingly in agreement with his words. " Understandable. However, the contract won't work unless you also reciprocate with a blood seal."

" That is fine." 

Rumius concentrated as he let a small amount of mana gathered at his fingertips. Sharpening the worldly energy into a point, Rumius pressed the tip of the spike into his finger until it drew blood.

Spreading the blood around, Rumius pressed his finger into the paper, leaving a clumsy mark. In the same instant, a tingling feeling appeared all over Rumius's body. It lasted for three seconds or so before dying away.

' Today is just full of strange occurrences.' Rumius thought unconsciously as he handed the contract back into the hands of the mysterious demon. 

He nodding in satisfaction. " Very well, the contract is now in progress. I believe that I have put your fears to rest?" 

Rumius nodded. " When will we depart?" 

Now that his safety was guaranteed, Rumius saw no danger in going. It was free information. Vital clues that could help master in her investigation. 

" You're certain that no harm of any kind i'll befall me?" He checked again to make sure.

" Right away." The demon answered. " And yes. I vow upon my life." 

" You are a young, but very cautious demon. It is not an undesirable trait to have."

When Rumius fell silent, the demon said: " I trust that there are no longer any issues? If there are, I am willing to listen and solve them." 

Rumius couldn't find many more points of contention, so he simply nodded. " Lead the way."

The mysterious demon gave him the slightest of nods. " This way." He instructed as he walked past. Rumius stood and watched him go for a moment. As he walked away, the scholarly figure stepped on his own robe and stumbled, nearly face planting. 

A complicated expression appeared on Rumius's face as he shook his head and followed. 

They appeared on the street and began walking down the road, opposite in the direction to the path which Rumius had taken with his master that morning. " My lord tends to like sending time away from his office. As such, we will be going to a particular tavern first. If he isn't there, then we will head slightly outside the city to the hills." 

" There is spot there that my lord favors. We should find him there." 

The thought of outside the city with unknown demons made Rumius frown, but he didn't make his doubts known. Instead, he asked a different question which has been weighing on his mind. 

" You said that your lord may have knowledge on the case that we're pursuing. That alone speaks of his authority in Agravoss." Rumius paused to organise his thoughts. " Who is your lord exactly? This isn't information that anyone would know. Only a handful of people have that level of authority." 

The demon glanced back at Rumius upon hearing his question. He pondered the question for several moments before answering. 

" My lord has many names. And you're right that he is highly influential. I would advise speaking actively to him if you wish to pursue this matter, if not, he has a tendency to ramble on about his interests." 

" As for his position.." the demon paused, seemingly to think. " Apologies, I've not heard anyone call him by his title for a long time. He is not one to stick by convention you see. As for his title, I believe that publicly, many people know him as ' The Overseer' ." 

________________

In a hidden away corner of an inn, a dark clad shadow prowled the dim alleyway between the building and the next. The place was unlit and smelled of trash. Large containers bulging with food waste and dirtied fabric lined the back of the inn, ready for disposal.

As the shadow walked, it came upon a rare piece of discarded trash. A demon male, eyes wide and lifeless wearing a servant's uniform lay among the foul waste. One of his horns looked to be recently broken off. The tip was now embedded in his chest. Blood pooled around the wound, dripping down his stomach and covering his legs. His face was frozen in shock, his lips blue. 

The shadow took in the sight and moved on, trailing the murderer and the child.