Chapter 13 - The Cults of Zeref

Gyutaro's figure was rather grotesque compared to normal humans. His bulging muscles twitched and trembled as he walked towards the men in leather clothes. The wide, shark toothed grin that stained the demon's face seemed to cement his oddness.

It would be a different matter if they were mages. In magic, there were any number of things that could happen to someone to change their physique. Locki had heard that some people's magic could actively change someone's height, bone structure, diet and even gender. So, Gyutaro's figure wouldn't be considered too abnormal to a mage with some knowledge.

Yet, the people in front of them were not mages. They were mooks. The henchmen of gangs that took in people with more muscle than sense, and their knowledge about mages was fairly small.

All they knew was probably Locki's previous actions. Something that no doubt gave them confidence to face two supposed mages in combat.

"Idiots." Locki shook his head as no one backed off. Instead, some pulled out wooden bats or knives. A few without weapons snapped off a leg of a chair to use as an improvised bat.

They grinned like the idiots Locki felt they were. Even if Gyutaro wasn't a mage in any sense, Locki had seen the demon's physical prowess first hand. It was a speed that wouldn't lose to any B-ranked mage, and that was all without the [Blood Demon Art – Blood Manipulation] to speak of.

"You shouldn't have stuck your nos-"

The second one of men at the front started to talk, Gyutaro had instantly cleared the small distance and wrapped a hand around the man's mouth to shut him up. The demon grinned as he squeezed hard enough that a loud crack filled the tense air.

"Noisy." Gyutaro said before he threw the man into the floor. The floorboards cracked as the gang member's back slammed into the floor, creating a small dent where his body lay. If it wasn't for his pained moans echoing in the air, Locki would have assumed that Gyutaro had killed him.

"G- get him!" In a panic, more gang members rushed Gyutaro, showing their insufficient reasoning again.

Locki watched from the back, content in taking note of his newest guild member's ability. Gyutaro certainly lived up to the fact that he was a demon, and his skills in close combat were head and shoulders above anything Locki had seen before.

Gyutaro dismantled the gang members easily. He ducked under wild swings, letting panicked members slam their weapons into any unfortunate comrade who stood too close to the demon. As he weaved through those attacks, Gyutaro punched out, aiming at their legs. It didn't matter if the demon hit someone's thigh, knee or shin, whatever his fist landed on seemed to bend before a strangled scream followed a sickening snap.

Locki pursed his lips as the grin on Gyutaro's face grew wider as more gang members fell to the floor and joined the yelling chorus. He knew that the guy was cruel, but he wasn't ready for the twisted desire that the demon had for standing over others. It certainly made it easier to enforce his rules over the gangs nearby. However, Locki felt he needed to be careful around the demon so as to not lose his standing.

Soon, there were only six people left out of the gang members. They were the biggest members of the lot, and didn't seem too fazed by their friends squirming at the feet of Gyutaro.

Instead, they just rushed the demon like the others. They were faster than the ones on the floor, clearly trained and experienced. In front of Gyutaro though– and even Locki for that matter, they were slow.

Gyutaro caught the arm of the first one, stopping the man's wild swing in its tracks. The demon ducked under another attack while he kept hold of the man's hand before he sent a blinding strike to the gang member's elbow. It snapped instantly, bending upwards.

The man opened his mouth to scream, but Gyutaro had already planted another strike into their stomach. They bent around the fist before the blow shot the man across the room, crashing into and shattering several bottles of alcohol behind the counter.

Two more men attacked this time, timing their attacks so that Gyutaro didn't have time to dodge. The demon quickly showed them that he didn't even need to. He caught the knife that one of them used, and let the other stab into the demon's stomach.

Locki saw blood drip out of Gyutaro's palm, forming into a single hand sickle. The green haired demon caught the sickle with his free hand, swinging it hard the instant it formed. Locki only saw the path the weapon took. A red trail that started from Gyutaro's right shoulder, went through the arms of the man who stabbed Gyutaro and stopped right at the throat of the other man.

Everything happened so fast that they didn't have time to react, and only when everything had ended did they jump back in a panic.

Gyutaro's left hand was still wrapped around one man's hand and knife, preventing him from moving. However, the other man fell backwards with a horrified shriek. Blood gushed out from his arms as his hands had been cut off from the elbow.

Locki clicked his tongue as he saw that. It would be annoying if one of them died as the Magic Council would have to get involved. Unless he could pin some crime on the man, the teen didn't think he'd fare well under their scrutiny.

The young guild master moved to go treat the man. He stepped over the groaning members of the gang, kicking a few that tried to trip him up. Several of the men had tried to stand up, thinking they could take the "weak young master of the Scarlet Hand."

Locki easily beat them back to the ground. They were normal humans, and while Locki was one of the weaker mages, he was still a mage. Normal humans weren't as strong as him.

After a little bit of work, Locki made his way to the man who was bleeding out. He ripped several pieces of the man's cloth and made two makeshift tourniquets with a wooden bat to stop the man from dying. When he found that the man wouldn't die immediately, Locki looked up at Gyutaro's progress.

The demon had already finished dealing with the rest, and he had entered a staredown with the last gang member, the supposed boss. The man who had been the one who threatened Locki and Kagura.

Locki's jaw set as he saw why Gyutaro didn't move. The man held a knife to Berrel's neck. And while the demon could have moved, he understood his position under Locki. His sister and his lives were seemingly held in Locki's hands, so the demon took notice of people who Locki held a modicum of attachment for.

"D- don't move you- you demon!" The man yelled, pressing the knife against the old bartender's neck.

Locki caught a silent look from Gyutaro, and shook his head slightly, hoping the demon wouldn't do anything drastic. The teen then turned to the man. "He won't move."

"Good… good." The man relaxed a bit, focusing on Locki. A slight tremble ran through the man's lips as he spoke, "You just had to play hero. What happened to the loser who silently looked away when he saw something he wasn't supposed to, huh?"

Locki sighed before he started walking towards the man. He was bald with a squarish face and flat features almost as if he spent his free time hitting a fall with his head. The bald man flinched as Locki walked forward, pushing the knife against Berrel's neck hard enough for a small drop of blood to drip down.

"You want to talk this out, right?" Locki said calmly, raising his hands. "Then [let's talk]. I will tell you right now that the second you kill that man, I will have all the evidence I need to kill you in return. Fiore's laws are rather stringent, so unless I want to become a Dark Guild– [and I don't]– I can't really do anything like killing. That man in your hands being alive is really… the only way you can all get out of this safely."

Locki caught several men on the floor flinching as his words filled the air. He had carefully presented everything in a callous manner, distancing himself from Berrel in his speech by not saying the man's name. However, that was not to say his words were false. In fact, everything was the truth.

Fiore really disliked killing, and any murder cases its Guild Mages participated in were always under direct purview. They were certainly strict when it came to mages killing other mages, but so long as a reason was enough, they were willing to pardon the mage in question. When it was a mage that killed normal people, then the criteria for a "reasonable kill" was less strict compared to the former.

"That- that makes sense…" the bald man stuttered, but he warily kept Gyutaro in his sights. "I- I want a guarantee that you will let us go!"

"Fine. I won't chase after you guys." Locki said. "However, I have several things you [must] tell me. I am willing to look the other way about everything else, but that is as long as you tell me everything."

The bald man nodded hurriedly. "Of course, of course. I'll say whatever you want, young master!"

"Good," Locki smiled, moving over to take a relatively intact chair to sit down. He crossed his legs, leaning over to prop up his cheek on his right fist. "Let's start with your gang. Tell me its name. As well as your own while you're at it. I can't keep calling you a bald man in my head."

The man eased the knife away from Berrel's neck, but still kept it close enough that Locki wasn't confident in acting. "I uh, my name is Wult, uh sir. We're from the Tigertooth gang."

"Tigertooth? Isn't that the largest gang affiliated with the guild in the west? Rose Tyrants, huh?"

"That's not… Why would we join hands with a Magic Guild?"

Locki smiled, leaning back in his seat as he ignored how uncomfortable Wult was. "Right, right, I forgot no one owned up to their shit. Politics or some shit. Anyways, onto more important matter's, you sell to the Tower of Heaven. [Tell me everything you know about them]."

From their first interaction, Locki knew that this gang knew more than they let on. Wult had accused Kagura of being a slave too heavily for it to be the normal derision he got from employing a kid. The man even knew when Kagura left on her mission outside, and while that wasn't confidential information, the fact that some random gang members seemed to keep tabs on Kagura didn't seem right.

Either they were interested in Locki's guild, or they had ties to the one place Kagura escaped from. And from how the man seemed to clam up, alarms started to ring in Locki's head.

"I- I don't know what you are talking about…" Wult said, refusing to meet Locki's intense stare.

Locki looked around the room, laying his gaze on one of the men who refused to meet his eyes. The man had been crippled by Gyutaro, but seemed well enough to listen to the conversation.

"What about you," Locki asked, ignoring how the man flinched. "Do you know what I am talking about?"

"N- no… I- I am only a small member."

Locki let out a sigh, shaking his head. He looked up to smile at the Wult. "Well, I guess I was wrong. By the way, I am going to have to file a report to the Magic Council later. I can clear your name since you experienced more damage on your side," Locki looked around the room, clicking his tongue as he counted the moaning bodies with his fingers. "Consider it more incentive to let that innocent man go, and to settle everything with some money, you know. Like reasonable adults do. Though, I need your last name, Wult."

Wult deflated visibly, and Locki could tell the man had been tense the entire time. "Kault. It's uh, Wult Kault."

"Thank you," Locki smiled, getting up from his seat. He walked over to the bald man with an outstretched hand. "No hard feelings, right?"

Wult didn't speak immediately, looking around the room behind Locki. Carefully, the man released one hand on Berrel, keeping his knife next to the bartender's neck as he reached forwards. "If you keep your promise, I'll thank you for my subordinates."

"Wult Kault." Locki stepped forwards as Wult's face slowly twisted in realization. However, he had already let Locki step too close, and [Earthland Curse – Cursed Knowledge] had already been invoked.

The young guild master easily snatched the knife from the man's hands, snapping Wult's pointer and middle fingers. Wult let out a soft, slowed wheeze as the pain ran through him in slow motion. Locki pulled the confused Berrel out of the man's hands and set the older man on a seat nearby.

Swiftly, Locki brought the slowed Wult to the seat he had just sat in, and forced the man to sit down in the chair. He eased his curse momentarily. Wult immediately doubled over in pain, clutching his broken fingers while gasping for air.

Sweat covered Wult's brow as he looked up at Locki. "Y- you said you would let us go! You lied!"

"When did I say that?" Locki asked innocently. Gyutaro had already known what to do, and as soon as Locki brought Wult under his curse, the demon quietly moved to stand by the door so that no one could escape. "I promised to not chase after you. I can't chase something that has been caught. Besides," Locki loomed over the man, feeling the strength of his Curse. "You didn't answer me honestly, either."

"B- but, you're a guild mage… they can't…"

"Right, I can't kill you, and you all can go to the Magic Council to complain about my actions, too." Locki nodded easily. "That is unless the Tigertooth gang has ties to the Tower of Heaven."

"W- we don't, I swear!" Wult cried in a flurry, but Locki caught several other members on the floor squirm under his gaze.

Locki squinted his eyes, focusing on the panicked man. "You see the Tower of Heaven just by its name, you can already tell it isn't a good thing. After all, something that slavers of all people named like that normally has ties to a cult. You know that the Tower is tied to a cult."

Wult tried to speak, but Locki already got the confirmation based on everyone's reaction. Most importantly, his Curse strengthened with the new knowledge, directly confirming his assumptions. An assumption he had hoped was just a false worry.

Cults were oddly something that the Magic Council didn't outright ban. Instead, it was a law that all branches of the Magic Council followed that indirectly banned all cults. The restriction on religion. Of all the rules that were bent and twisted throughout the different regions, the Magic Council strictly monitored and often stamped down on religions of any kind. More specifically, any religion that held a god or deity as their central figure.

The Magic Council was relentless when it thought that a religion had a deity of any kind. Of course, there were exceptions– like the Zentopia Church stationed in Fiore. However, that church had seemingly gotten rid of any deity or god they had once worshiped, and had turned into something that just resembled a charity organization with sovereignty.

It was an event that forced everyone to realize that the Magic Council was serious in its crusade against gods or deities. Something that piqued the curiosity of many. Locki included. Still, the teen knew he didn't have the strength or reason to puzzle out the actions of the Magic Council.

He focused back on the stuttering Wult, narrowing his eyes dangerously as he reapplied his Curse. Wult froze in his chair with only his eyes allowed to look around in a panic.

"Now this has become a bigger problem." Locki said, losing his smile. In the back of his mind, his worry about Kagura grew exponentially. Cults were known to be rather terrifying to deal with as they zealously and crazily did everything for their religion. If they needed slaves, then they would chase Kagura endlessly.

"H- how? We didn't-"

"I think this is a good time to tell you that I have a magic that can take the truth out of you." Locki said, turning around as he heard a loud fit of coughs echo behind him. Berrel had poured himself a glass of water at one point, but seemed to choke on something and was currently coughing up his drink. "You okay, Berrel?"

"Ye- yeah! I'm fine, just," he coughed some more, patting his chest. "Just a bit surprised. When did you get that magic?"

Locki blinked, looking back and forth between the man who had always let him drink and someone who was a current threat to his guild. "Can we have this talk later? I feel like I am in the middle of something important."

Berrel hesitated, frowning. "Are you sure, kid? Messing with a gang or two is different from messing with a cult."

Locki gestured around them, pointing to the groaning gang members. He gave the man a look that said everything. Berrel rolled his eyes with a wry smile. "You know what I mean, kid. I watched you grow up; you'd normally run away from something this dangerous. Even I wouldn't fault you for running away from a cult. No matter how strong you are, they are people you can't reason with."

"Believe me, Berrel." Locki chuckled mirthlessly. "I also didn't want to fight any cults. But," Locki's face grew serious, drawing into a stern visage. "I've realized that a guild is more than supporting myself. I can't always run away."

Berrel's lips slowly turned into a smile. "You certainly changed a bit. Ain't that right, young master?"

Locki scoffed, turning back to the silent and slowed Wult. "Just [call me guild master], Berrel."

"I- I swear I don't know much…" Wult whimpered. "Some blue haired kid just came into our base, and he forced the boss to work with them. That's all I know, I swear!"

"A kid?" Locki frowned. He supposed it made sense. The Tigertooth gang had only started to make odd moves in the recent month, and he doubted that people like Wult and his crew were cultists of any kind. It fit that they were just turned into some kind of watchdogs for the cult to gain information from.

The only thing that didn't fit was why a cult would send a kid. Was it because they were expendable? But then, Wult wouldn't say that the kid "forced the boss" when he spoke up.

Shaking his head, Locki focused back on Wult. "Which cult did he say he was from?"

Wult looked visibly torn. His lips trembled continuously and his face was pale white. Locki had hoped that the man would cave, but it seemed he was either more loyal than Locki had anticipated or that Wult wasn't as afraid of him.

Either way, Locki knew he needed to start to resort to more drastic actions. His hands shook silently, and he gagged on a bit of bile as it rose up his throat at the thought of what he knew he had to do.

At the door, Gyutaro spoke up. "I can help if you want."

Locki paused, not daring to look at the demon. After a moment, Locki shook his head. "No. No, I need to do this. This is something I need to experience."

This was something for Kagura. For his guild member to continue to smile, Locki was willing to change himself. To protect them from the sides of the world that he always ignored.

With renewed resolution, Locki raised the man's knife he had stolen before, and with cumbrous movements, the teen slowed the man again before he drove the knife's tip deep into Wult's hand. The man trembled slowly as a strangled squeal escaped his partially open lips.

Locki released the man, and he fell forwards in pain. "Zeref! He said Zeref's cult!"

Immediately, Locki froze. Zeref. That was one of the oldest and craziest cults out there. He knew it stemmed from some ancient dark mage, known as a father of all demons. Well, with Daki and Gyutaro, he felt it would be changed to "the father of most demons."

However, that was besides the point.

Of all the cults to get wrapped up in, Zeref's cult was one that was equally feared just about everywhere. All of them were crazy. Crazier than most people would think. They were the most stellar example of why the Magic Council actively targeted cults. To get involved with them was almost assuredly a death sentence.

Carefully, Locki stood up and looked at everyone. At his feet, his shadow expanded. Purple smog started to spill out from his feet, and the young guild master stared off at the rest of the room. Gastly appeared with an ear splitting cackle.

"Send them all to sleep, Gastly." Locki said, incaring as the room started to fill with purple smoke.

Gyutaro watched on from the door, stopping a few who jumped up to try and escape. The demon easily knocked them back to the floor while Locki's gas ball friend went around and hypnotized everyone individually. It took a little while, but after a couple minutes, they all fell unconscious.

The only people still conscious were Gyutaro, Locki and Berrel. Gastly included, but Locki didn't think that thing could be knocked unconscious.

Berrel tossed a look between the three, and shook his head. "Want a drink? Its the least I can do for helping me?"

"Sure." Gyutaro shrugged, stepping on several unconscious men as he made his way over to the bar.

Locki shook his head. "Sorry, I can't drink."

The teen cringed as a loud crash startled him. He found Berrel looking at him with a stunned expression and a broken bottle of alcohol at his feet. The old bartender looked more shocked from that statement than when Locki had said he was going to fight a cult and had new magic.

"Do you really have to react like that?" Locki said, annoyed.

"Its just shocking. To think the guild master would stop drinking." Berrel said. "What's next? Will you actually pay your tab?"

Locki drew back. "I- sorry about that… I'll pay it. Sometime. Maybe."

"You're serious?" Berrel paused as if he just heard some miracle happen. "This is… new. And very sudden. Did something happen?"

"Gas!" Gastly chimed in, nudging Locki's shoulder.

The teen pushed the ball out of the way, knowing how incorrigible it would be now that it completed its task. "Gastly, go check the uh, perimeter. Yeah, keep watch."

"Gas!" The Pokemon happily went around the windows, poking its face through the wall. A series of screams and high-pitched chuckles told Locki that it was doing its job.

"Should I go help?" Gyutaro asked, taking a sip from a drink he got.

Locki shook his head, trying to fight the sudden headache. "No, Gastly has it. By the way, you won't get drunk off that, right?"

"Even if I did, I'd heal." Gyutaro said derisively.

"Right, forgot about that insane regeneration." Locki admitted, eyeing the demon's hand and side. The two wounds had healed completely and he couldn't even see a single scar. He turned back to the old bartender, "Anyways, I guess something did happen."

Berrel smiled. "I can see it. You decided to actually start putting that brain elsewhere instead of moping around."

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up. I get enough shit from Lon anyways."

"So, what is your plan?" Berrel asked suddenly.

Locki shrugged. "What else? Try not to get stabbed, and make a place for myself here. Now, I've got to deal with an actual cult, too, so… I don't really have much time for much else."

"I'm just saying you should figure it out. After all, you are the one who makes the decision for the guild." Berrel said. "At one point, you need to decide what you want to do."

"I don't get it. Is becoming famous not enough?"

Berrel shook his head. "Its not too bad, but both your grandfather and father had something they wanted by creating their guild. For your grandfather, it was stability and profit. For your father, it was the adventure and thrill… No need to worry about it now; just something to think about, is all."

"I think I have more important things to think about," Locki said, ignoring most of Berrel's words. Why did he need to think of random stuff like that when he had to deal with the guilds around him as well as the Zeref Cult that targeted him? "Like the Zeref Cult for one."

"Those guys," Gyutaro cut in, staring at Locki. "When are we going after them?"

Locki swallowed silently. He remembered this demon was very much protective of his sister, and they had just learned that a crazy cult might target Daki as well as Kagura. It would be a miracle if Gyutaro didn't target them after everything they learned.

"When night falls." Locki said. It was an easy answer; the Tigertooth gang was the perfect target that fit all Locki's goals. A gang that was affiliated with one of the Magic Guilds, a way to show that his guild shouldn't be messed with and now, a way to prod some information about the Zeref Cult that was associated with the Tower of Heaven.

Really, Locki almost felt sorry for the gang that basically fit all his needs.

"And another thing," Locki added. "Since they might have ties to a Zeref Cult, there's no need to hold back. I'd rather deal with the annoying paperwork of the Magic Council than let one of them escape."

"Good." Gyutaro's smile was bloodthirsty.