Demon Hunts (Leaf)

[Calmay]

The city was bustling with excitement with the arrival of all the carriages. Other parts of the city were filled with people rushing from one place to another. People were taking advantage he crowds to perform some crimes. It was truly a busy day for the city. It would seem that it would reach everywhere but there was one small part of the city. One where people were busy, but not for the events going on in the city. These people were trying to make the person that lived in that part. The owner was in a fowl mood and the people there did not want to make it worse then it already was. That was not to say that they did not want to join in the hustle and have some fun, but it was not in their best interests. Not if they wanted to see the light of tomorrow.

The person they were trying to please was Argth. A demon of old that had resided in that part of the city for quite some time. He live there and did horrible things to people, but until recently he had made sure to stay in the background. Recently one of the many seals placed on him by the humans of old had placed on him had broken by him and more of his power returned to him. He had taken the opportunity to show his enemies that he was more powerful. With that boost came a bonus he did not think would occur. They bodies he possessed lasted longer than they ever had before. However, he still knew there were more seals to be broken before he was back to his former glory.

Argth got up form his seat and put on his robe and covered himself completely. He was bored and the people round him were not helping him. He needed to find something interesting to do. And an interesting idea had come to his head. He was going to find some new toys to play with and maybe a new body. The ones that he was given was started to rot and he hated being in rotting bodies for too long. It was uncomfortable. He walked by his people and entered the streets. He smiled when he noticed on the streets. It was not going to be that hard to find someone to play with. After all there were so many people out here to look through. There had to be one person that he could relieve him of the boredom he was feeling. He blended into the crowd as he set out on his search.

[Leaf]

Even from an aerial view, the city of Obscur was still large, noisy, and covered in shadows. The people were bustling and going about their daily business. Crooks could be seen in their hiding places, sifting through the passerby's for suitable prey. However, one specific corner of the city was different. It was significantly darker in the attitudes of the people as they went around, seemingly frustrated and fearful with their heads down. They were so intent on their needs that no one noticed an obscure shadow sail by on the ground. Soaring in the sky, Deveric could spy that that was where his target lay hidden. That was Argth's lair.

The demon knight found a suitable alley to land and removed his invisibility. Calculating the time in his head, he still had roughly an hour and a half of his invisibility left. Nodding, Deveric withdrew his wings and returned back to his human form. Some of his crew had to already been mixed in with the crowd already and he knew that the rest, the backup, was on their way. Getting here was easy, the hard part was finding the target.

Deveric pushed himself out of the alley and into the mirthless throngs on the road. No one seemed to notice a stranger had joined them. Deciding that there wasn't a more efficient way, the demon grabbed a young man by the shoulder and shook him vehemently. "You! Do you know where the demon Argth resides?" 

[Calmay]

The young man looked at Deveric in fear. Just the demon's name scared him to the point where he was shaking. He managed to lift his hand and point to the building that Argth had left earlier. He just kept on pointing hoping the the man would him go. Just then a female rushed towards them. "Please let him go. He can not help you. He has mute ever since the demon Argth used him as a toy. He is in my care, if you have any questions please direct them to me." She grabbed his hand and held it tight. The young man seemed to slightly calm down as the girl held his hand. She kept on looking Deveric. She could feel a similar presence that Argth gave from Deveric, but she did not want to say anything in case the young man started to panic.

Meanwhile Argth had found himself at the edges of his territory. The people here were less aware of who he was and more willing to attack a stranger on the streets. He could always count on one person trying to steal from a stranger. All he had to do was look like a foreigner. It just so easy to trick people on the streets here, well as long he stayed in he part of town. The King had not bothered him yet and he was not willing to do anything to bother the king. He liked the current living situation that he was in and he was not going to do anything that resulted in a man hunt. That would be too troublesome. However, playing with other nations was another thing.

He pretended to stumble into am alleyway and then leaned against the wall. He waited to see if anyone was going to follow him into the alley. He smiled under his hood as he saw someone enter the alleyway.

[Leaf]

Deveric glanced at the building the young man pointed at. From his position he could already feel the chilling aura emanating from it. Not only that, there was also a peculiar scent. 'The scent of rotting flesh.' Deveric narrowed his eyes in disgust before turning back to the man. The man seemed to be mortified and was shuddering violently under the knight's grasp. Suddenly, a female human came barging in between them, spouting words that the demon did not particularly care for. Except for one thing: the man was mute due to Argth's toying. He had learned what he wanted to know and did not require the services of these humans anymore. Additionally, he did not want to converse too much with a passerby, lest his presence reach Argth too quickly. Giving them a cold stare, Deveric then turned and walked down the streets toward the dark and ominous building.

The demon pushed his way up to the dark wooden door. The place gave off a run down feeling—perhaps it was the smell—but it was also opulent in it's own archaic way. 'As expected of the old coot.' Deveric growled in his head as he scrutinized the area. It was no surprise to find the living area of Argth to be relatively stylish for the dream demon enjoyed flaunting his power. Deveric decided to disregard that, however, and rapped the door with his knuckle several times. The response: nothing. "Either he knows I'm here or he isn't home. Guess I'll have to check." The demon raised his fist, prepared to bust through the wood, but then halted in concern for his safety. After all, he was facing up against a fellow demon and the door could be barred with traps and charms. Perhaps he should wait for the backup to arrive. Deveric nodded and stalked back into the streets, strolling around the area while keeping an eye on the building.

A few of Deveric's men had arrived earlier at the destination than their captain. They soon split up to search for evidence of their target. One of them who was patrolling the edges of the area saw a suspicious hooded figure flee into an alley. The soldier narrowed his eyes and began to trek toward the area and before he knew it, he had ducked into the alley behind the hooded figure. "Halt!" he cried as he cornered the person. "What is your purpose in this place?" The soldier spoke with the barking confidence and force that an officer would and stood proudly like he had already apprehended the criminal. Little did this soldier know who or what he was facing up against...

[Calmay]

Argth smiled under his hood when he saw that it was a guard that had arrived. They were fun to play with. They had their pride something that was easy to use. It was clear that he was proud of something, but he would soon regret that. After all there were not many people that knew how dangerous he really was. Luckily this man was just about to learn just how dangerous it was to get caught by Argth. He examined the man from head to toe. His body looked perfect. He had not sent out to find a person to replace his body, but it seemed like this fitted his needs. As long as he remained into his territory no one could say anything about what he did. It was an unwritten rule here.

"I seem to be lost. Mind if you help me?" He knew that he had to take it slow. Unlike criminals who were quite easy to fool and their fears were visible to him, solders were another situation. They had a different training that often makes them act different. However, even solders had their weaknesses. He just had to find them. "I thought I knew where I was going, but I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere."

It was a good thing that Devic did not break down the door since there was some traps set in place. Most of them them were for normal intruders but some of the traps were strong enough to harm a demon.

[Leaf]

The soldier sneered at the man, unaware of his fate. "Lost?" he exclaimed condescendingly. "I know all about you people in this part of town. You trick people and rob them, isn't that right? Well this Daikan elite isn't going to fall for that." The guard drew his sword and held it, smirking widely. Waving the tip provocatively, he said, "C'mon, let's see what's under that hood of yours." All this time the soldier stood arrogantly, obviously submerged in his triumphant feeling. The captain had said that the environment here would be treacherous, but it was evidently not. At least, from the perspective of this guard.

Deveric stood across the street from the dark building. Leaning against a wooden cart, he studied the dream demon's dwelling with cold eyes, ignoring those around him. 'Where the hell are my troops?' he thought, growing more impatient as time went on. The passing citizens all rushed by Deveric with their heads down, but the demon could sense their fear and fleeting glances of curiosity. Surely they could feel the similar vibe coming off of the knight as they did their master. The demon scrutinized the door again and decided that if his troops weren't going to show up, he really was going to bust through the door.

The rest of the army had just reached the edge of the sector and began making their way in. Upon sight of the heavily armed legions emblazoned with the royal crest, the people of the place began scattering in fear. The army had never entered this area before, not since Argth had resided here. The knights made their way through the roads, not at all like the rogues which had blended in earlier. These tanks of people barged through the crowd, causing a massive commotion. People fled the streets to take cover in their houses. The knights looked around, brandishing their lances. They had to find their captain to receive further orders. The question was, where was he?

[Calmay]

Argth could not help but feel amused at the level of arrogance that this man had. For pride made children of men act stupid, but arrogance made man point thier blades at something they should not. If he had been a regular person the guard need not worry, by Argth was a demon and a bored one at that. Though he had to admit he was not that stupid. It was not going to be that easy to get the man fear from him, but it was not going to deter Argth. After all there was not much a blade could do to a dead body. He chuckled slightly however, he did not move yet to move to remove his hood. "You are right in one aspect. I am not lost, but I am not here to rob you. You're much to smart for that."

He then moved one of his hands from his cloak. He moved it to his head as if he was really going to follow the solder's instructions. When his hand was high enough he opened it and blew on his open palm. From his hand flew silver speckles of dust and they started fill the alley way. To Argth they were harmless, but to any other being they were a strong hallucinogenic. They show the person what they fear the most, however it was only temporary and only last as long as there was some of the dust in the air. Argth did not want to use it, since it did not reveal what they are seeing and they were only drug illusions. Unlike his illusions, these ones could only mentally hurt the target.

[Leaf]

Before the guard could realize what was going on, he saw a cloud of silver fly toward his smug face. Through the cloud, he could see the hooded man chuckle in the face of the guard's blade. The guard felt a moment of confusion before all went dark.

And then it came.

Images raced before the soldier's eyes, each darker than the next. Drifting eyes of red and fangs coated with blood. A yank of a noose—a stab to the heart—a swipe of a hatchet. Within seconds, the guard had already experienced death several times. Then he saw the King. The King stood up upon his pedestal, halberd in hand. His eyes were cold and without emotion and seemed to be focused on something far to the right. Then he turned. The King's head moved slowly and the guard, trembling, found that he could not move his gaze. Finally, when their eyes met, he saw the cold depths of the orbs before the halberd came down, splitting his head. It was strange, for he could see his own blood, skull, and brain splatter before him and morph grotesquely into another being: the captain. Except the captain wasn't human. The captain had the eyes stained with blood and talons for fingers and fangs for teeth. The rapier in his hand seemed to burn with an invisible flame and before the guard could scream, he felt the burning blade shoved through his mouth and down his throat. The metal seared his flesh and extended painfully through his entire body. He wanted to cry, but his eyes burned when he began to weep blood. It was all so terrifying. The guard had become a weeping, broken, ragged, and bloody mass of flesh.

When the images faded after some time, the guard found himself lying of the stone cold floor of the alley, weeping and shuddering as he screamed empty screams into the air. His blade lay dropped beside him, but the guard made no effort to touch it. All he could think of were the things that he had just experienced: the pain, the anxiety, the fear.

[Calmay]

Many of the servants inside Argth's residence were panicking as the news of the arrival the army. As much as they wanted to be free from the control of the demon, they also feared what would happen if they helped the army. No one was sure where the demon was and what he looked like. Those who had been able to survive tending to the demon were acting normal. The continued on their duties, they knew better than to be distracted by something as simple as this. They needed to finish their tasks before the master came back home.

Argth watched as the solder crumbled in fear. He smiled enjoying everything that was happening to the solder. He moved closer to him and kicked away the blade. There was no need for the man to have that right now. He knelled down beside he solder. Arrogant men were the best when they screamed. He wanted to hear more but he had something else he wanted with this solder. He wanted the man's body and nothing was going to stop him. He stroked the man's face gently taking some of the tears with him. The next part was hard, he had to be careful not to mess up. He could not attract to much attention t himself or let the solder realized what he was doing.

"It's okay," he said in a calming voice. It may sound calming to the the person that is hearing it but was also a hypnotizing voice. His plan was to use the altered state of the solder to make him follow his every instructions. "Just listen to my voice and it will all go away." He had no doubt that it would fail since he used it every time, but he was still being careful. There were those that could break our of the spell. The prince being one of them. "Just listen to my voice and do exactly as I say."

[Leaf]

The guard, in all his pain, felt a gentle touch to his skin. It was so comforting, so soft that the guard felt like he was seeing a glimpse of heaven through the cloud of hell he was in. Words then floated into his ears, tickling his senses, giving him a sense of security. Someone was there. Someone who didn't want to hurt him. Someone who would help. The pitiful soldier reached up, mewling like a baby, trying to grasp what could comfort him. He was broken and willing to bend to any order. He was willing to do anything to escape from those dreams.

The troupe of knights marched down the streets, ignoring the people. They kept going and soon they saw their captain standing up ahead, an ugly scowl painted on his face. "You're late," he hissed, glaring daggers at the men. "We were merely following your orders, sir," a knight said, unaware of his position. He didn't have much time to repent on his blunt words, because soon he felt his collar seized and before he could react, the ball of armor was sent hurtling through the door of the building. Deveric stared at the busted door and made no response of the screeches tearing out of the building. None of the other knights did either. They weren't about to risk their captain's fury by acting out of line. The demon turned back to his men, giving them one last warning glare before heading toward the building.

He stopped at the doorstep and continued to observe the splintered door. Behind him, the rest of the knights had followed him reluctantly, but stayed in order. "We're going to conduct a raid," Deveric growled, still facing the door. "I want this place turned upside-down before I see any of your faces again, you hear me?"

"Yes sir!" the group chanted before performing a rush into the place. Deveric, on the other hand, stayed outside, waiting to watch what would happen next.

[Calmay]

Argth let the human grab him. He did not like to be touched by humans but he was willing to let it happen if it reached the conclusion that he wanted. It still made him uncomfortable, but he was not going to show something like that to pitiful human. He stroked the solder again. He wondered what to do next. He was curious why there were solders in his territory, but he needed a new body more. This one would not last that much longer and such quality. His desire to have the body won. He did not want to take the risk of making the solder remember why he was here in the first place. He doubted the dust trick would work twice. Well it normally did not and he had no desire to see if it would fail.

"It's alright just tell me your name. Your full name." The most important thing he needed was a name. As much as he could control this man now it was useless once the person broke out of the trance. Knowing the person's name was the most important thing for Argth. He could control people all he wanted once he had their full name. Few people knew that about the demon and that was the way that he was going to keep it. If people knew that telling the demon their name they would lose any chance to escape he would never have a body that was in good condition. He was about to say something else when he a mark on his hand turn hot. Someone had broken through the door to his residence. Someone was actually trying to break into his residence. This was a serious issue. No one here was foolish enough to even try to do something like that. He wanted to go back but he decided to finish what he started and then go back.

The servants in the residence panicked as the solder was hurled through the door. Some tried to go help the solder but were held back by he older staff. They were not happy about this. The master of the house was going to be angry about this when he got back. Two of the servants stepped in front of the rest, a woman and a man. "Everyone back to your rooms and don't leave until one of us comes to get you. What ever happens do not fight back, with the master gone the two of us do not want to endanger any of you." The servants started to rush to their room right before the solders started to rush in. The two leaders said nothing as the solders moved past him. They were not foolish enough to stop them. After all there were plenty of traps set up for intruders and unwanted guests. That was the only reason that they sent the servants back to their rooms.

[Leaf]

The soldiers pushed past the servants in the house and barged through every door they could find. They needed evidence of the demon's deeds and they were going to find it. As the servants began withdrawing into their own rooms, the soldiers marched deeper and deeper into the house, attempting to leave no stone unturned. Figuratively, that is. They shoved furniture aside, pulled open closets and drawers, scrummaging around for a target. For a moment, it seemed like they were going tear the entire place down. That is, before…

Thump.

A soldier fell to the ground, arm outstretched. The look on his face froze as the rest of his body did. Another guard hurried to the man's side and took his arm. No pulse. "He's… dead." the soldier stammered with an unbelievable look on his face. On the handle of the dresser which the deceased soldier had grabbed was a needle. A very thin and lethal needle.

The rest of the soldiers looked at the fallen man silently with solemn looks on their faces. However, they then returned to their searching, not able to stop to help their comrade. After all, they had orders to abide to and being the stoic soldiers they were, they weren't going to bend so easily. However, one by one the soldiers met misfortunes. Poisonous insects crept out of nooks and crannies of the house; hellishly searing flames burst out of nowhere; knives flew at them from random directions. These weren't the only things, though. The party of guards—or what was left of them—found themselves in places they couldn't recognize. They would enter a room, turn around and not be able to see where they had come from. Little by little, horror consumed even the toughest of the soldiers. They screamed, yelled, and smashed their weapons against the walls, trying to escape, but to no avail.

Deveric continued to stand at the doorstep, peering in. At first he could hear the chaos his guards were causing, but now, they were silent. There was no sign of the entourage existing inside the building at all. The demon grimaced and drew his rapier. His chain slithered onto his other arm, wrapping it gracefully yet warily, as if it was going to lash out at any moment. Darting his cold, black eyes back and forth, the captain of the knights stepped into the house.

Back in the alley, the deserted soldier lay haplessly, muttering gibberish and bawling uncontrollably. He was lost and had just found a thread of hope. It was like a drop of water in the midst of a vast desert. The calming voice dissipated any guard he had up before and he succumbed to the warm figure. "My n-name… is Raltor Ignavius," he whispered, his mind not comprehending what he was doing. It didn't matter, though. Nothing was going to hurt him if he obeyed. It was all right… right?

[Calmay]

"It was definately a good idea to send them back. They do not need to know all the traps that are set up or their locations. We need to keep them in line somehow. But sister how are we to dispose of the bodies. They are solders of the army." The man said crossing his arms as he slowly heard the the solders be silenced one by one. He and the woman looked at each other and then sighed. "Take the bodies out and lead the ones that were fortunate to survive out as well. They can drag their comrades back to where they belong. It is their own fault for wandering into a den of a demon thinking that there would be no consequence to their actions" The male nodded and made his way deeper into the house to collect the bodies. It was going to be a dull task, but it was better than dealing with the leader of the dead solders. "Oh and don't forget to reset the traps."

She continued to stand there knowing that the leader of the trope of solders would come in when no sound would be heard. He adjusted her clothing and was no longer wearing a maid outfit. It was a short black, white and red dress. Te sleeves of the dress reached down to her hands covering all but her fingers. She stood there waiting and smiled when she saw the captain enter. She looked at him noticing right away he was a demon. She would know since she was a lesser demon herself, normally a weak demon, but as long as she stayed withing the residence she was much stranger than normal. "Welcome to my master's home, sir demon. He is currently out at the moment. I am pretty sure that your solders have noticed by now. Is there anything I could help you with while the master is out." She did not like calling Argth her master, but it was the conditions of the spell that increased her powers. "The master will be back soon, you are free to wait until then, but please be mindful of the traps. There are still some that have not been triggered."

Argth held the solder in his arms. So his name was Raltor Ignavius. What a fool he was just giving into Argth so quickly. The man had just sold himself to Argth. There was no escape. He held the man tight and began to speak again. "Now listen to me carefully Raltor Ignavius, close your eyes and relax. You can sleep now. Close you eyes and let go of the fear that you have. Let go of everything and give it all to me. The good and the bad." If everything was to go right the man would enter a sleep, but not just any sleep, but the eternal sleep. He would surrender his body to Argth and Argth would be able to take the mans soul and enter the body that the man resided in. The soul would then either go to hell or remain in Argth;s hand. There was no blissful rest for this soul. He was either going t be eaten by Argth or suffer for all eternity. It was definitely not a good day for the solder.

Argth slowly moved his hand onto Raltor Ignavius chest waiting for him to fall asleep. He was all ready to remove the soul of the poor man.

((outfit:image))

[Leaf]

As the man spoke, Raltor felt that he could no longer move. He did not wish to either, so he let his eyelids fall and could feel his soul unlatch itself from the body. Perhaps this was a bad thing, but the soldier's mind was too fatigued, too befuddled to make any appropriate response. He let himself relax and sink away from his consciousness. In a way, it was a sort of release from his mortal duties. However, the tortures and pain that would follow would make this a truly foolish move. As the last of Raltor's awareness slipped away, he moved his lips by his own will for the last time and unleashed a silent whisper to the world, "Farewell."

The rest of the soldiers inside the house of Argth were not in such a peaceful state. They cowered in a corner, huddling each other and trying to avert their gaze from the corpses of their comrades. When they spotted the head male servant of the house, they squeaked weakly with relief. Gathering whatever energy they had left, they scrambled up to the man, all stammering some kind of plea. A plea for forgiveness and for him to have mercy on them. They no longer cared about their mission nor their duty as soldiers. They just wanted to leave and stay alive. No one wanted to join their fallen partners in the depths of the underworld.

When Deveric crossed over the threshold, the first thing he noticed was the female demon standing and greeting him. She was a lesser demon and of a lower tier than he, but he could sense an odd power emanating from her. Perhaps Argth had some sort of bond with the female demon. Deveric narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on his weapon. "Master? Is that what he demands that you call him? The pompous bastard..." the demon trailed off as he scanned the place with his eyes. Feeling an unnatural surge demonic energy in the place, the demon let the red in his eyes bleed out over the black. He had to be prepared and it wasn't going to benefit him to use energy keeping up a humane appearance. Deveric then darted his eyes back to the lesser demon. "Why do you serve him? Is an extra morsel of power worthy of being trampled under his foot?" he snarled condescendingly. "It is as if you have no pride of your own."

[Calmay]

Argth smiled as he saw the solder's soul start to slip away from the body. It was so easy to do such things when they were broken. He moved his hand on top of the solder's chest and felt it go up and down. He let his hand go up and down with the body's breathing. He wasn't going to say that the body belonged to the solder since it no longer did. He dug his fingers into the chest and grasped the soul. He pulled it out of the body and the moment the solder's soul was ripped from the body Argth entered it. The body that had possessed fell to the ground, no more than a lifeless corpse now. He smiled and looked down at his new body. It was much better than the one he had left. This one was fit and had some muscles. It would be useful. He looked at the soul of the solder that was floating in his hand. He licked his lips, tempted to eat the soul right now, but he held himself back. He had better plans for this soul. He was going to torture it until it begged to be eaten. He closed his fist sending the soul into his dream dimension.

He got up and stretched his new limbs. He took the cloak off of his old body and put it on him. Since the body was new he did not need to hide his face. He picked up his blade and out it away. It was time that he started to make his way home and see who had entered his house.

The head male servant, who know will be known as Brother, looked at the solders as they pleaded to be helped. He knew that this was going to happen and he had been looking forward to seeing the faces of mean overcome by fear. It excited him to see the people in such a state of misery. He knew that he was suppose to let them leave, but he just could not resist. He wanted a new toy to play with since his old one was close to breaking. He looked at the solders held out his hand to them. "I will help you leave, but I require something in return." He smiled at them. "After all nothing comes for free and I doubt that you would take the risk to leave on our own. You might meet the same fate as your comrades." He pointed to the nearest corpse. "What I ask is a simple thing. I want one of you to stay with me and be my servant. Do that and the rest of you can leave in one piece. Go back to your peaceful lives away from this hell. So who is going to stay?"

The female demon, now known as Sister, looked at Deveric and smiled. She served Argth, but he was not his slave, unlike the humans that worked her. She and Brother had not been foolish enough to reveal their name. "It is part of our agreement. I am free to leave whenever I wish if I do not like it. It is not only the extra power that I stay. Unlike you who had so much power, demons like me and Brother must do what we must not to be devoured. As long as he is incomplete we are guaranteed safety. That is until I am strong enough." She hated demons like Deveric that knew nothing of what she had to go through to survive. Before she met Argth she was barely surviving and sometimes had to make contacts with humans to get souls. But here she had access to souls and was free to do what she wished to get stronger. She had no plans to stay here forever, but she needed to be stronger. "I do have pride and it is that pride that allows em to do what I must to survive. And it is nice to use another person's name when doing terrible actions. Let me make this clear I am not bound to him and I will never let him know my name."