Chapter 29 - Investigation (Patreon)

“Have you found anything yet?” hissed Baron Thorpe. He stood near the carriage, surrounded by guards. His arms were crossed over his chest, and his demeanor was tense—rightfully so.

One of the guards was closely examining the slash across Jerome’s neck. “Someone slit his throat.”

“Anything beyond the obvious?” hissed the Baron. “When did this happen? Does he have any other marks? Was there a fight?” He threw out. “Answers to any of that?”

“Well—”

“I can take a look,” I said, pushing forward until I was near the Baron.

Everyone tensed up. I could even feel Christopher reaching out for me, but I spoke and acted regardless. There was no time to be cautious, given the implications.

“Your guard was murdered. Violent, sudden deaths result in a demon within five hours or sooner of the person’s demise, depending on how much sin they had at the time of their death,” I said, reminding everyone of a priority they seemed to be ignoring. “Sooner or later, we’ll need to cut off his head. Before that, this scene needs to be thoroughly inspected by someone competent.” I placed my hand on my chest, put my right foot behind my left, and bowed. “Please, allow me to help you as a sign of our friendship and continued partnership. It’s the least I could do.”

Even as I said these words, agitation built beneath my skin. I hadn’t seen a demon since I was a baby. The memories of the one on the beach still haunted me. It took everything I had to resist decapitating Jerome’s corpse immediately.

My hands were clenched tight to keep them from shaking. None of my emotions showed on my face, though. It took everything I had to keep it together.

“We can’t trust her.” I heard one of the Baron’s aides whisper in his ear.

“Why? Because I’m a devil? With horns?” I walked closer, arms over my chest, and craned my neck.

Instantly, the guards reacted with fear. The aide stepped back, and a bunch began pulling weapons out of their codexes.

Their weapons should already be out. I thought. A demon could come out at any moment. They’re too lazy. Cowardly. I can see why the Baron is desperate to use Christopher and me if this is the best he’s got.

“There isn’t a single thing Yen isn’t good at,” boasted Christopher from behind me. “What’s the harm in a second pair of eyes? If you’re willing, of course, Baron Thorpe.”

The Baron didn’t respond immediately. His eyes scanned my face, unreadable. He glanced at his men. None of them moved or stepped forward. His jaw shifted, working through his options.

Finally, the Baron nodded once, curt and tight. “Your help would be most appreciated,” he said, though the words sounded like stones in his mouth. I couldn’t tell if his anger was directed at me, his people, the situation, or all of the above.

“Your help would be most appreciated,” he relented after a moment. The Baron nodded to his men. “Let her through.”

“Thank you, My Lord.” I dipped my head to the Baron one final time before setting myself in front of the carriage with the corpse.

It was a brutal yet elegant sight. A man was dead in front of me. It was something I’d never get used to, yet I’d seen it plenty of times. At first glance, though, it was a quick, efficient kill. I couldn’t see signs of a struggle or any other wounds—just the one at the neck.

I’d never investigated a body like this before, but something inside was pulling me to act.

As soon as I set my mind on the task, a flood of memories coursed through my head—blood splatter, tissue, discoloration, wound analysis, and more. A plethora of investigative methods, centered around a slain person, slammed into my skull.

That hasn’t happened in a while. I thought, shaking my head as I adjusted to the wealth of new information. Lucky me.

Acting with renewed purpose and enhanced logic from a past that still eluded me, I lifted and checked the body for other blood stains. The only source I saw was from the wound in the neck. It spilled over the rest of the body, but there was no increase in flow at other parts. It seemed the blood was only coming from one source.

There’s also no splatter anywhere in the carriage. I noticed, glancing about the carriage. He was killed elsewhere, that much is certain.

I lifted his shirt to check his torso and did the same for his legs and arms. Then I felt up his face and joints for signs of stiffness to indicate a general time of death.

No brushing or irritation in the skin. He didn’t fight back. This was done by surprise. I peeked closer at the wound on Jerome’s throat. Clean cut. No flux in the slice. One fluid motion. Jerome didn’t even get the chance to flinch. Clean work. I’m almost jealous.

Stepping back, I rested on the heel of my right foot while crossing my left leg over in front of it. I pursed my lips, organizing my thoughts.

“He was killed about two or three hours ago,” I said. “Rigor mortis is just starting. The muscles in his face and jaw are still tense while the rest of his body is soft.” I began. “There was no sign of a struggle or wounds on the body. Given the knife wound, Jerome was taken completely by surprise. He probably didn’t even know what was happening before he died.”

I turned to the small crowd behind me, focusing mainly on Christopher and Baron Thorpe.

Christopher was staring at me, clearly impressed and bewildered by everything I was saying.

The Baron shifted his weight slightly, arm crossed still. He didn’t speak right away. His gaze swept over the body, back to me, then briefly to Christopher.

“Whoever did this was a professional,” I concluded, affirming what the Baron likely already assumed.

Baron Thorpe ‘tsked’ and looked away. “Any sign of who?”

“Nothing,” I admitted. “The carriage was completely clean. There was no murder weapon inside.” My eyes swept across the dirt. “Any traces of someone around here would have been lost with all the foot traffic from your guard and attendants. Unless an eyewitness comes forward, we probably won’t find who did this anytime soon.”

Christopher stared at me with a tense expression. His eyes seemed to scream, “How do you know all that?” But he remained silent. Even though he claimed he believed in me, the whole situation still probably seemed strange to him. I didn’t even know I could do all that until I walked up.

So I must have worked around dead bodies in my past life, I thought. I was also acquainted with hunting, tracking, and killing. I had a lot of technical and scientific knowledge, too. I was either a very good person or an absolute monster.

“All that’s left is to remove his head.” I materialized my codex and pulled out my sword, letting my codex drop to the ground and burst into an array of white, red, blue, and yellow particles.

The Baron’s people started shouting.

“How can we trust her?!”

“Look at her! So eager!”

“We don’t even know if she’s right! It could be her!”

“Bloodthirsty freak…”

“My Lord! One of us should do it!”

I didn’t raise the blade, but they reacted like I had. If I were anyone else, it might have reassured them.

Baron Thorpe didn’t say a word. He didn’t stop me, didn’t stop his people. He let the chaos continue unabated. He just stood there, watching me with the same unreadable face he’d had the whole time—like he was looking into the future for something.

I frowned and dug the tip of my sword into the dirt. That’s the reaction I’m used to. Guess it makes more sense now, given the circumstances. My hands were shaking, and my eyes kept darting back to Jerome’s body, waiting. They should know what’s about to happen. We can’t wait. If they want to look again, fine, but—

The sound of tearing flesh silenced me. The shouting didn’t stop, but they faded to the back of my mind as I twisted around.

A finger poked out of Jerome’s belly. It wiggled like a worm trying to bait a fish.

Then—

The hand poked through.

A second.

Four.

Six.

Three demons ripped open Jerome like a macabre portal. With a wet snap, his stomach split. Skin peeled back like parchment. Then the torso collapsed, torn wide.

The demons crawled out from the carriage—backs arched like spiders, their limbs jerking in unnatural rhythm, emaciated and dripping with blood.

They dragged themselves to the cobblestone as everyone backed away. Their fingers—long and claw-like—slapped against the stones, each motion slicking the surface with gore.

One had a jaw too wide to close, tongue lolling out as it hissed.

The second moved with broken ankles, folding like a puppet.

The third…just stared.

But they were still the skinny, long, unnatural creatures I remembered from the beach. Their skin was stretched over misshapen, long, slim bodies. Even with their slight differences, they were the same.

They were demons.

Greed demons.

For a moment, I wasn’t by the carriage. I wasn’t standing in the streets, cobblestone underfoot, with an army at my back and three demons only a few paces in front of me.

I was back on the beach. My body was small. There was one demon, and it towered over me, hungry, crushing my mother’s head like violent seasoning as it readied itself to devour me.

Sand filled my mouth. The air filled with my cries and the wet tearing of flesh.  

My legs wouldn’t move. My sword trembled in my hand. Inside, I was screaming at myself to do something, but I couldn’t. My body just wouldn’t obey as I stared, wide-eyed, in fear.

Screams tore out behind me. Guards tumbled backward. One dropped his blade and ran.

What is wrong with me? I thought. I’ve been alive nearly twenty years. That happened when I was a baby. It shouldn’t be affecting me like this.

And yet it did.

Even as the demons got closer, their spider-like movements closing in on me, the closest person to them, I didn’t do anything.

Five spears bolted past my shoulders, tossing my hair and blowing wind into my ears. They rammed into the demons, pinning them, causing them to bleed and shriek.

“YEN!” Christopher shouted.

It was a simple word.

And it was enough.

The hand holding my blade twitched. Wind mana internalized throughout my body.

I took a step.

In the next, I was behind all three creatures.

“Rapture,” I whispered.

The single word wrapped around everyone like a curse.

As soon as it left my mouth, the heads of the demons slid to the ground. Their bodies thrashed like drowning bugs before convulsing with a final shudder into a silent death.

Not a single drop of blood touched me or my sword. I put my blade back into my codex, as clean as it was when I pulled it out.

I suddenly felt a hand on my wrist. It turned me around until I was facing its owner, Christopher. The look of worry on his face was intense as he scanned my body.

“Are you hurt?” he asked in a soft voice.

“I’m fine now,” I uttered. My hands were no longer shaking. “Thank you for freeing me from my moment of weakness,” I allowed. “You can stop now. We need to look strong.” I paused, quickly canvassing the aftermath. “This doesn’t feel right, does?”

Christopher released me, assuming a more authoritative demeanor. “It doesn’t feel over yet.”

“Right.”

Christopher whipped around and headed toward Baron Thorpe. I stayed behind him, just off his shoulder. We passed the demon’s corpses. Christopher’s shoes dipped through their blood, leaving prints in the cobblestone. My bare feet did the same.

“Is anyone else from your delegation missing?” asked Christopher of the Baron.

Baron Thorpe looked back at his people. His eyes were searching for an answer. If I had to guess, he wasn’t sure himself. Either the events of that morning over-shone anyone else who was missing, or the Baron didn’t monitor his staff closely enough.

“Two of our staff are missing,” said one of the attendants nervously.

“Can’t find Phiro, either,” mentioned one of the guards.

“Anyone else?” asked the Baron.

The crowd collectively shook its head.

So three. If they’re dead, that’s a minimum of three demons out there, though likely more. If they were killed around the same time as Jerome, they’ll emerge soon. I realized. We need to find them. Fast.

“Go,” ordered Christopher. He’d come to the same conclusion as me. “I’ll organize with the Baron’s people here.”

I nodded and darted off without another word.

In an instant, I was standing atop a building in the middle of Sandy Branch.

People walked below me, chatting and laughing. Nothing was out of the ordinary. I didn’t sense a shift from when I was there a few hours prior.

If there were three dead bodies out in the open, someone would have said something already. I noted. They must be inside somewhere or crammed in a place people don’t normally look.

Then I heard it.

Screaming.

My head darted in the direction of that sound, and my body followed. I sprinted and leapt across rooftops until the screaming got louder.

Snarls and breaking wood entered my ears as I arrived on the scene.

I leapt off the roof onto the street. Bystanders were pointing at a building in the middle of town that had been boarded up tightly.

Long, thin, dangerous arms had popped holes out of the side of the building. There were dozens of arms, equating to at least seven demons, if not more.

Someone sealed this place up beforehand. I noted while glancing about the abandoned building, which was supposed to be the site for a new store in the near future. That had to have been on purpose. But why?

I didn’t give it another thought. I couldn’t. Another hold broke through the building, and another arm stretched out.

Sooner or later, the demons would get free.

I had to stop them.

I pushed wind mana throughout my body and jumped to the roof, landing softly on the top. Without hesitation, I blasted a hole into the top, pulled out my sword from my codex, tucked myself in, and dipped into the hole.

Seven. I assessed before my feet touched the floor. All Greed Demons. That can’t be a coincidence.

If they were closer together, Rapture would have been the solution. But they were spread apart throughout the room. I’d have only had one chance to use it before going on defense, which was my plan regardless.

In a better world, I could have just internalized my fire mana and killed them all without stepping inside. But that would also kill everyone in town if I weren’t careful, including possibly myself if it didn’t cause me long-term, permanent damage.

As soon as I touched down in the room, my eyes focused on the closest demons to me. Two in particular were making wider holes than the others. They were the biggest threat to breaking out into the wider world.

I surged mana into my legs, bounded their way, and swung my sword. The steel glided through their neck like butter. Their heads flopped to the ground. Their bodies moved normally for a few seconds after, still clawing for the outside, before ceasing all movement and tumbling into pools of blood.

The other five noticed my presence an instant after.

I closed in on a third before they could all react.

Its hand stretched out to me, reactively. My blade chopped cleanly through it as I ducked and countered its grasp. With my next swing, I swiftly removed its head.

Four left.

All of them plunged at me like a pet chasing a toy. Their scrawny, skinny, quick bodies were hungry for my death.

I gently tossed my sword into the air.

With one hand pointed behind me, I connected my mana to the ground. The dirt beneath the floor yielded to my power and surged upward, creating a wall blocking two demons attacking me.

That took two seconds.

My other hand was raised right at the remaining two during that time.

I snapped out of my earth mana and changed the source to air.

Another second passed by.

Wind surged out of my palm. A concentrated wind pocket boomed outward toward the remaining two demons just before their claws reached my face.

My sword still lingered in the air.

The demons behind me slammed into the wall.

The demons in front of me were pushed back against the house. Their bodies mashed against the hardened wood.

I snatched my sword back out of the sky, switched away from wind, channeled water mana internally, and spun around. Using my entire body weight, and channeling my mana directly into the sword until it elongated and glowed white, I slashed through the wall I’d made.

I felt flesh through the grip of my sword.

The wall I’d made was sliced cleanly in half. On the other side, the two demons were bisected just below their chests. One had even lost an arm.

Yet they still moved and thrashed on the floor.

The two other demons had not yet recovered from my wind blast.

I switched my mana back to earth, connected to the wall I’d made, and had it turn to dirt. I crossed over the sediment to the flailing, chopped demons and looked down at them with pity.

Even so, it didn’t stop my blade from cleaving their necks off one at a time.

I spun around, ready to finish the final two.

One demon was charging at me, intent on killing me with its arms outstretched like it was trying to hug me. Its large teeth and elongated canines frothed with saliva.

One?

My eyes darted around the room for the other—

Claws glided across my cheek on my left side, just barely missing my eye. They glided down to my throat before I pulled back to safety, my blade recoiling and bringing the attacking arm with me in a single chop.

Too fast. Faster than I thought they’d be.

The demon that attacked me screamed. It looked at the stub from where I’d cut its arm. Anger splashed across its face. Its teeth gnawed against it, as if it forgot I was even in the room.

Blood flushed down my face. The wound hurt, but I still had my eye. It would heal with time and probably wouldn’t even scar.

I got lucky.

But now the hands of the other demons were dangerously close to puncturing and tearing off my head.

With a thought, I made it burst into flames as fire externalized from my core and flowed out of my mouth like a roar.

The creature became blinded in painful flames.

I dodged it as its body slammed past me, ablaze. It rolled and thrashed, trying to rid itself of the consuming embers.

I connected to the fire with my mana. With my hand, I motioned to the other demon that had started chewing its arm more thoroughly.

The flames leapt from one demon to the other.

Soon, both were screaming.

Freed of the fires that hurt it, though, the demon I’d dodged began to stand. Its skin smelled like burnt meat.

A swift swing of my blade removed its head of any further notions.

I turned to the last remaining demon. To my surprise, it was still standing. It’s free hand and bloody nub slapped at the flames eating it alive.

Wind mana surged through my body. Internalizing it, it circulated throughout my entire body, making me feel light and fast.

I took a step.

In the next, I was behind the creature. My sword had already passed through its neck.

I shoved my blade back into the codex before the last demon’s head and body hit the ground.

The only sound that could be heard after was the crackling of flesh.

Taking a breath, I glanced about the room. Besides the demons, there were three bodies on the floor. Each was burst open.

The missing people. I concluded. How awful.

I connected to the fire roasting the last demon’s corpse and snuffed it out with my mana. Soon, the entire room was silent.

My wound began to throb. I touched it with my finger. They came back dark red. I could feel jagged flesh at the edges of the cut.

“Deep,” I muttered. “But it’ll still heal.” I let out a breath.

The doors to the building were barricaded from the inside, something I made note of. I removed the boards nailed to them, opened the door, and stepped outside into the street.

People gasped at the sight of me.

I locked in on one person and pointed at them. “Hey, can you get a guard or something?”

“A-Are you okay?” The person asked. Her voice trembled. Her eyes were on my face.

I closed the door to the building behind me, slammed my back against it, and slide down to the ground. “I’m fine. Get a guard. Tell them that I am here and to bring the Prince here. Please?”

“I’m fine,” I told Christopher as he knelt down before me, ready to deal with my wound. “It’s already healing.”

“Someone should clean it,” muttered Christopher, wiping the cut with a wet cloth.

“Someone,” I agreed. “Not a prince. Not in front of other people.”

Christopher disregarded my very valid concern and continued to clean the long claw marks that etched from below my eye halfway down my throat.

People watched us from outside the general barrier that the Baron and local guards had set up around the property once they had received my message and arrived. There was too much muttering for even me to discern what people were saying, but given some of the glances in our direction, it was clear that people were making comments. I didn’t like that.

I grabbed Christopher’s wrist before he could do anything else. “Thank you for the assistance, Your Highness. I am well. Do not concern yourself with me.”

A look of hurt passed his eyes.

Someone has to keep up appearances. I thought while looking at him. A prince shouldn’t be doting on anybody, let alone the Archdevil he supposedly owns.

“Hopefully it won’t scar,” I joked, lightly tapping my fingers to my face. “Then I’d look even more like a monster.”

Christopher’s expression turned cold. “You’re not a monster, Yen.”

“I know…kind of. When you tell yourself something year after year, it’s hard to stop,” I admitted. Turning, I looked back at the building. “This was so odd.”

“I know what you mean.” Christopher stepped beside me to look where I was looking. “Why’d they barricade the place? It was almost like they were trying to minimize or prevent the damage.”

“Not only that, there weren’t any Runes. If they wanted to increase the destruction, whoever did this could have set runic traps to explode when people tried to investigate.” I touched my finger to my lip and shifted my weight to my hip. “It’s not like they didn’t have time. It took a while for them to secure the building. And they did most of it internally, so we don’t have any witnesses.”

“You think they’d make the message clearer,” said Christopher.

“Whoever is doing this is only targeting the Baron’s people.”

“Yeah, we don’t have anyone missing on our end,” confirmed Christopher. “And they were all Greed Demons, huh?

I nodded.

“Maybe that’s a clue,” he muttered, touching his chin and looking down. “Greed.”

“Pretty common sin for people to have.”

“Yet it’s another point in common with the victims,” rebutted Christopher. He started using his fingers to list each of his points. “They all worked for the Baron, they were all close to him, they were all murdered, and they all turned into Greed Demons.”

“I don’t know if they were close to him.”

“I meant close to where they could get valuable information.”

My eyes narrowed, and my brow tensed. “Are you insinuating what I think you are?”

Christopher put a finger to his lips. “Not sure yet.”

I nodded.

Baron Thorpe exited the building where I’d slain the demons. His face was grim, but his eyes were cold and calculating. He was made of sterner stuff than I’d initially assumed. Some of his aides vomited when they went inside. The Baron barely flinched at the initial sight.

What an interesting man. What goes on in that half-bald head of yours?

The Baron turned to me, almost like he was reading my mind. His face tensed. I saw anger flash across his face before diluting just as quickly. He softened and looked away, stepping more into the street for a breath of fresh air free from the gore and bile spattered in the building behind.

“Did we do something to draw your ire?” questioned Christopher of the Baron. He’d seen the look, too.

“An unrealistic conclusion passed my mind, so I dismissed it,” said the Baron. “Pay me no mind.”

So he suspected us.

Again, Christopher reached the same conclusion as me. He stepped forward to the Baron and offered him his hand. “Let us work together on this.”

The Baron looked at Christopher’s hand. I could see his mind calculating something.

“It doesn’t look good for me when a visitor dies in my town,” said Christopher. His undertones were clear. He wasn’t asking for anything. He just wanted this resolved.

Baron Thorpe grinned for half a second. He grabbed Christopher’s hand and shook it. “I look forward to your support, then.” His face solidified and became more authoritative. “First, we need to get everyone into one room and perform a head count.”

“Then investigate the belongings of the deceased,” added Christopher.

“We shall do that,” said the Baron curtly.

“Of course. Merely a suggestion,” replied Christopher.

“A suggestion. Rather, it seems we’re of one mind on the cause,” muttered the Baron.

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Some time later, we arrived at the back of Beginner’s Rest, which the Baron and his people occupied. We stayed long enough to clean before locals we trusted took over the rest of the job.

The Baron’s guards opened the doors, and a crowd of us walked inside.

The doors to the dining areas were wide open.

The two staffers I’d seen running about earlier were unconscious by those doors.

“Have my guests arrived?” questioned a voice I didn’t recognize inside the open dining hall.

Using wind mana, I stepped forward first and was in the dining room doorway before anyone else could think to blink.

A man I didn’t recognize sat calmly in a chair at the table. He wore black pants, a buttoned V-neck dark shirt undone to show more of his chest, and a long dark coat over it all. Thick boots laced his feet. A small knife danced between his fingers.

My gaze first went to his eyes.

Orange.

One above violet, and two levels below me. This person was powerful. He had the same mana levels Rook did, at the very least.

“Hi!” The man lifted his palm and waved at me.

My jaw clenched, and my heartbeat picked up.

He had five bands on his fingers.

This man, whoever he was, had an Epiphany.

My body tensed, ready to strike at a moment’s notice. I channeled and circulated more mana within me than I ever had before.

“Don’t kill her, Lex. She’s a good girl just doing her job,” chided the man. His gaze was fixed over my right shoulder. “And the reason why we’re here. Don’t go overboard.”

The tip of a blade pointed up to the tip of my throat, and an arm draped over my shoulder. “If you say so,” said a woman with a dry, sultry voice.

My entire body tensed.

“Relax,” This person, Lex, poked my cheek with her free hand. “Just listen and be calm. We’re fans. Kind of.”

I couldn’t see Lex’s face, but I could see her finger.

Two bands on four fingers.

Feet thundered behind me. It sounded like shouting would start, but the orange-eyed man acted first. He jumped onto the table, smiling, and gestured with his knife behind me. “Welcome, welcome, welcome! Thank you all for being here today! We have a wonderful offer for you all today, so please allow us to say our peace.”

“Let Yen go,” I heard Christopher hiss.

“No. I’m not suicidal today,” joked the orange-eyed man. “Besides, Lex wouldn’t do that even if I asked. She enjoys breathing above ground, like me.”

“Yup!” said Lex, popping the ‘p’ in the word.

“There you go!” The man smiled. He gestured around the room like a dramatic performer. “Please, get comfortable! Take a seat! Open up your ears! I come today offering the deal of a lifetime!” Surprisingly, his gaze landed directly on me. “Care to listen?”

My eyes narrowed.

The man winked. He bowed before me. The baron’s soldiers and town guards filled the room where they could, crowding the place and opening their codexes, prepared to fight. No one moved. Everyone was tense, save for this strange man and his companion, Lex.

“The name is Gai Regal! At your service!”