Fool

Red Demon walked through the abandoned village. It had been destroyed for a while and no soul was left in it. He found a house intact and started a fire. He sat on the floor and began forging more kunai. Along with making a second Demons Wrath made of pure shadow element. He brought out the Black Demon Blade along with the Thorn Mask. He enhanced his chi sense seeing the spell weaved into the blade.

He was trying to copy the corrosion effect. He saw the chi weaved spell and started copying it by making threads from chi using the Thorn Mask. He started weaving it and then placed it on the blade. The spell stabilized and then disintegrated into particles. He sighed and poured more chi into making the threads that started to shine brighter. They were black threads coated in a white aura. More chi he poured into it the more the threads started to strengthen.

He then weaved them into the design of the corrosion enchantment and then laid it upon the blade. Weaves didn't last long before disintegrating again. It took four more tries before he finally had a chi weave that stabilized completely fusing to the blade. The blade was now enchanted and he absorbed the new Demon's Wrath into his core letting the blade marinate in chi. He then went back to making kunai's but this time giving them the corrosion enchantment along with explosion. Turning the kunai into poisonous gas. With the spell index he could copy any enchantment or spell he cataloged. Also access all spells from before him. He looked through the index seeing ten shadow spells and twenty flame spells. He found one flame spell that was interesting to replicate over time. 'Dragon Breath; able to shoot flames from the mouth' he thought of enchanting his mask with this ability. Could make the mask a trump card in a dire situation. He then took the mask out and began to weave the spell into the mask. He was getting faster as he practiced. Soaking the threads in chi making them solid he then weaved the spell into the mask. It took right away and seemed to stabilize rather quickly. The Thorn Mask disappeared.

He then put the oni mask back on and stood opposite a post of wood. He focused his chi around the mouth creating a ball of fire he then released it with a gasp of air through the mask. It then shot forward hitting the post. He flew back from the impact smacking into a wall cracking the outside. 'Shit…what a kick back!' He thought, shaking the daze from his head. He picked himself up and walked back over to check the post. The post no longer existed and was nothing but ash. 'I'll need to work on control' he turned to look at the forest, feeling a presence of chi coming into the town.

He then felt chi presences around the outside of the village. As the figure came closer he saw a Bird Folk cultivator with a rank 4 body. Approaching was a Bird Folk male that looked like a woodpecker. He was clad in green armor and had a headband.

Red Demon concealed his presence and waited to strike, producing two kunai. "I know you're here I could feel the chi coming from here? You're not native to this forest? Are you one who destroyed the towers? Does the king know this? You must want something that we can offer pulling off this feet?" The woodpecker stated. 'Damn my eagerness. Didn't think Emerald King would be so quick to act? But he sounds like a control freak so why am I surprised?' Woodpecker sighed. "Don't try to run. My men have surrounded the village. Just come quietly." 'Well looks like I've been discovered by those familiars. Just as I hoped,' Red Demon thought of clenching the Moon Ray handle. Woodpecker went for his sword when a crimson kunai punctured his chest. He stared down at the kunai when it exploded into flames. The woodpecker screamed as he burned alive. Bird warriors came from the trees flying in with their winged arms. Some flew over the village scanning the ground. A Bluejay warrior perched on the roof of a house. "Find anyone?" He asked, confused. Warriors ran through the remaining houses checking for the culprit. Two looked through a room with a fire in the middle of it. From the shadows a red blade slashed across their heads decapitating them. The Red Demon kicked their bodies into the fire, throwing a flame kunai into its back. He then stepped into the shadows leaving the house. The house then burst into flames.

Three soldiers walked between two houses only for the shadows to then skewer them. Their bodies fell to the ground with a quiet thud. Blue Jay kept looking at the burning house still perched on the roof. He removed a shield and short blade from his back. He pulled out a communication stone and it lit up. Before he could speak into it an arrow made of ice struck him causing his body to freeze.

The stone dropped from his grasp. More warriors wandered the village and each shadow they stepped in was a death sentence. After dwindling them down only a few remained. Red Demon stepped out of the shadows and made himself known creating a suffocating aura of chi. The three warriors could barely stand as they felt the force choking them. Red Demon dispatched two and grabbed the last by the throat. The captured Bird- Folk resembled a Woodpecker. He was lifted off the ground by his throat. He seemed mesmerized by the glowing red eyes. "So who might you people be?" He asked with a cold voice. "Mere grunt knights of the Green Brigade…we are just doing our service before being let into the brigade" he said scared. He was shaking and his throat burned. Red Demon raised an eyebrow, "So the Emerald King sent grunts to solve this problem? Isn't killing his farm something he would be very angry about?" Red Demon asked with confusion. "Not to my knowledge we have farms everywhere. We were sent to find evidence and return. But our leader insisted on finding the culprit…you killed him already" Red Demon looked back at the charred body. 'Seems we had an enthusiastic one over there. Damn! I am a fool for thinking he'd raise an army to find us. Even for one farm. Guess more farms will need to go then to provoke him properly?' He thought. "Well I'm disappointed, not you. At me for thinking me taking this out would do anything?" Woodpecker's eyes widened.

"Just…let me go and I'll report nothing. I never wanted to be a soldier!" He told him. The Red Demon was silent, staring at him with a cold stare. He then snapped the Woodpecker's neck. "Sorry. No witnesses" Red Demon said, letting him fall to the ground. Entrance of the village came a Smiling Demon. He looked around at the carnage. "Ah so your plan worked, we pissed him off?" He asked. The Smiling Demon chuckled with delight. Red Demon rolled his eyes and sighed. "No. These were mere grunts. Seemingly one corral of victims isn't enough to get the show started. So best we can do is fatten up the villagers and lead an army to liberate another farm and collect as we go?" Red Demon stated. The Smiling Demon cocked his head to the side. "We don't have much time to do all that. The feast is coming up this month? I found evidence" he said, pulling out the letter and journal.

Red Demon took the parchment. He read it and then opened the book. He read through some of the pages and landed on the castle description. 'This sounds like it would be difficult to enter. Green Brigade? Like the grunt told me. Rank five soldiers as well? Damn these are well trained the way he describes them' he closed the books. "Well that's eye opening. If I calculate correctly we have three weeks to stop this feast. It's possible we have another Celestial Step happening. What we can do is rally the people, get them strong enough and give them the map of farms. The south tower is still intact; they can raid the supplies there. I do have one thing for them that can get them ahead of the game?" Smiling Demon pulled out a fist sized rock. "Must of found what I found then" he held out the chi stone. Red Demon nodded. "Yes, great minds think alike. You understand that this rebellion will be a distraction we are going to use, correct?" He gave a sympathetic tone towards the people of the farms.

"Yes I understand. Better they die fighting then helpless. It gives them at least purpose and a chance. We try to take the castle while they create the rebellion to separate the Green Brigade" he had to agree that if they gave them this chance they could find some freedom somehow. "We won't be alone. I tried a tactic on one of the towers. Maybe it will work a second time around. They couldn't correct and adapt. But those were Big Cat warriors. Bird Folk seems to be more advanced" Smiling Demon chuckled. "Sounds fun. Should we head back to the village and see Cornelius?" He asked. "Yes, we are leaving now. Try and keep up" he said to the Smiling Demon. He placed the book and parchment in his belt. He then dashed forward through the trees. Smiling Demon shook his head and then followed suit.