"Hm, another failure huh?"
I saw Justicia fall down the pandemonium, the rest of the order feels dejected at their another loss at the hands of Argent.
However, instead of crying and begging for forgiveness, Justicia quickly rose to her feet and excitedly began to report.
"Master! Master! I've finally encountered our cold case! He's here! He's here!"
"Cold case?" Nemesis looked up and Justicia began to chipperly twirl.
"It's him! It's him! It's the one who broke the taboo about the pact agreement! Oh I'm so happy to deliver you such delightful news, my big fluffy master!"
"Where is he?"
"Oh he's inside! He's inside a child! You know, I almost got him! Almost got him! But that wretched Argent interrupted me!"
"Argent..."
"Worst part, they were trying to steal my kill, but that coward soon fled the scene the moment someone attacked them from a distance! Uu-uu! That's so unforgivable!"
As Justicia began to complain about Argent once more; I began to zone out.
Giannetti... Aurum...
It seems you've finally made your moves.
Normally, even the possession with intent of using the host as a new vessel would've been a violation of the taboo, but...
And given that even Argent is aware of their existence, I wonder how THEY'LL act.
They're still detached from everything that makes them - them: but I wonder if that hunt will inevitably bring out something in them.
I wonder if their time on the surface has made them more... Closer to what they were before.
"Shall we continue this cold case?" Justicia asks, snapping me back to reality
"... Yes. However it is your job to seek and destroy. I will give you one and only hint - Giannetti, or more accurately Fortune, is in a group of travelling magicians, they do not stay in one place for long. And since it is a human that we're dealing with - you have to be more discreet about your approach. We don't want to risk anyone else finding out about us."
"Yes, my liege." Nemesis kneels
"You may disguise yourselves as humans to gather intel; perhaps you'll finally learn a thing or two about these beings. No killing innocents though. Giannetti is our sole target and one target only.
I WILL BE NOTIFIED OF YOU IMPIETY AND I WILL PUNISH YOU ACCORDINGLY."
"Of course, my liege." Nemesis smiles "I shall look over Justicia to prevent her from going rogue. You've... Smelt the stench of blood, my liege?"
"I sure did... But the punishment shall wait, I have some unattended business to take care of."
"I understand, my liege; we shall prepare for the hunt then." The order disbands and turning my back I see him, waiting.
"How's the progress on your grimoire?"
---
"H-Hey... Can I talk to Virgilia for a moment?... There's something important I have to talk about with her."
"Sure bud, let me carry you to her then."
Aden quickens his pace and eventually reaches Virgilia "Yo, Fortune wants to talk to you; is it alright if you carry him - don't want to pry unnecessarily."
"Of course." She nodded and picked me up, giving Aden so much needed break as he stretches.
"... How are you feeling?..." She asks, her voice much more quieter than usual, and she doesn't even look me in the eye.
"... Fine, thanks." I mumble and then try to reach her ears "Virgilia... I think I have something urgent to say..."
"... What is it?..."
"... That voice inside my head... It told me that my assailants are from something called Red Order... And they're hunting me down."
"...! Let's increase the pace; we don't want to set these two in panic."
We began to walk more hastily, to avoid Émile and Aden hearing our conversation. And this we speak.
"The voice in your head... It's that Daemon, right?"
"Yes."
"And the Red Order is?..."
"They seem to hunt criminals or something; and they seem to come from the underside I think..."
They do, shithead
"Hmm... If they come from the underside an... Damn it. Guess we have another slew of pursuers on our tail."
"Pursuers?..."
"Our main pursuer are the Hunters of Magi; these magicians and warriors are hired by the governing bodies to pursue high-ranking criminals. I'm... One of their top-ranking priority targets. There are also a slew of general bounty-hunters who are after me or my troupe. And now this."
"..."
"... Regardless, I'm not leaving you."
"Wha?..."
"No matter who's chasing you and for what reason - we'll stick together. Not because you owe me, not because I've made a promise to Carolyn... But because I simply can't leave someone alone. Not in this state."
"..."
"You're... Too helpless in that situation; even if I ever entertained the idea - it would be equivalent to leaving someone behind to the curb. That's why we need to at least teach you how to defend yourself in case... You do end up alone."
"..."
"FOUND YOU!!!" Émile exclaims and dashes across the forest. Aden goes into position and Virgilia carries me along. At this point I can feel my body getting a bit better, so I try to catch up.
As we come closer, we see a dark large shape skittering around the forest like a rabid animal, their leg already developed a crystal mass not too dissimilar from what Émile has. It has almost wolf-like form, that same unsettling energy I felt when encountering Giannetti, and in its innards we can see sheep bones along with...
"Émile! Look out! Here's a woman inside this monster! Be careful not to hurt her!" Aden screams out and Émile nods.
"Yup!"
Then, unsheathing their pickaxes once, they begin to strike the daemon. On each strike, the crystals rapidly grow outward from the monster and it screams in agony.
"AaAAAaaAaAAAaAaAaAaaHHHH!!!!! LeAvE Me AloNe!!!!!!!!! I diDn'T aSk FoR tHiS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Get vanquished, beast of the dark!" Émile glees and I attempt to slow down the beast
"H-Huh? Why is it stuck? H-Hey!" Crap.
"S-Sorry! Let me try to fix this!" I try to speed up the time back to where it was, but it somehow made the situation worse, as Émile is now sent flying over a sudden acceleration.
"Whoa!!"
"Sorry!!!"
I tried to slow down the beast, but it only becomes more sporadic; I can't seem to control it anymore as Émile constantly gets stuck in time zones. And eventually this whole area becomes a time mismanaged mess where everything is either accelerated or slowed down.
"Is this the power of the Daemon, what is this crap?!"
"S-Sorry, it's me! I'm trying to slow it down, but..."
"Bud." Aden grasps my shoulders "Try to relax. If it's your doing, then you should probably know how to disable those fields, even if we can't see them."
"B-B-But!!..."
"Relax. Deep breaths."
"..."
"Listen to Aden. One effective way to nullify your magic is to relax and then crumble your magic to dust."
"Ah... It hurts... Ow..." Émile becomes breathless and it becomes a final push. If I don't cancel my magic, who knows what'll happen to them.
Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes once more and before me I see my own traces of magic, along with the monster scattering around the field.
Crumble my magic to dust...
Outstretching my arm, I can feel the magic coursing through it, and once I grip my hand into a fist...
It disappears.
Émile is sent flying over more regardless, but the irregular time distortion has subsided, which allowed the monster to run away.
"Hmph, it seems rather weak Daemon if it doesn't want to use ACTs. Let's go."
H-Huh? A Daemon?
Wanna know why I only appeared in your household and your household only? Dreams notwithstanding.
...
Tch. Hard audience. Basically it's because of the folks like you who can sniff out the daemon, even if you don't realise it. They have a finer magic sense in a way.
...
And that fine sense... Cannot be traced by machines.
...
... Okay.
... Tch, can't even put two and two together, but what can you do when you're dealing with mentally challenged individual like you.
"YOU WON'T ESCAPE ME!!!" Émile yells out, their speed and dexterity suddenly gained a substantial boost compared to their lax self "PICK-PICK-CRUSH!!!!! HYAAAAAAHHHH!!!"
Émile catches up to the beast and lunges their pickaxe towards it. It screams in agony and attempts to escape one more time with a pickaxe lodged into its back to which I place the time field in front of it and it gets stuck.
"Alright, here I go!" Aden quickly approaches the monster before he reaches out for the woman trapped inside it, inserting his hand inside "Tch! I could use some help here!" He yells, struggling to see her free. Me, Émile and Virgilia aid Aden in releasing the woman out of the beast and eventually we managed to get her out.
"KRKKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRRKRKRKHHHHHHHHHH---!!!!!!!!!" It shrieks and loses its mass, thus managing to escape the time field; it then begins to slither away as Émile gives chase.
"Yo! Fortune!" Aden calls out "I'll fire my nails, and you gotta stop them mid air; release it when I tell you to. I think I got an idea!"
"O-Okay!"
Aden begins to fire nails with high frequency, and setting up a field in front of them, they almost freeze in place; it's a matter of mere minutes until he gets them stacked together.
"On my command, you disable your field, okay?"
"Okay!"
"Émile! Go all out! Destroy that bastard!"
"Sure sir!"
It's... Quite fascinating to see both Émile and Aden in combat. A rather cooky Émile turns into what can only be described as a ferocity in human skin, their crystals glistening with excitement. And a rather relaxed and caring Aden turns into an ardent commander and cold-blooded sniper. Sure... Risking our lives on a daily basis isn't ideal; I really don't want to live in fear of my untimely demise: but there is something so awe-inspiring about these people completely changing their attitudes and being blessed to attack with both cold grace and wild ferocity.
Come to think of it. Back in that duel... Sol was much more serious than she usually was. She was still playful, but it was clear she was passionate about magic. And for those - this is their entire identity.
"FIRE!!"
"Oh! Uh-- Okay!!" Disabling my magic, the stacked nails come piercing the beast and it finally tumbles down on the ground.
"HYAH!!!" Émile strikes their pickaxe onto the Daemon's head and it bursts into crystals - after that, the beast sinks into the ground, just like that woman who tried to kill me.
"Wasn't I cool, Virgilia?!" Émile exclaims and she nods "Yes, you were "cool"". Everyone was celebrating our victory, yet in the distance...
I still could feel their presence.
That tall assailant in silver.
Is watching me.
"Okay, we gotta carry her back to the pasture - maybe it's the daughter that the farmer spoke of."
---
"Oh, Elise! But... She's rather..."
"I'll take care of her. It seems her life energy was sucked dry, but there's still just enough of it to not be fatal. She is half digested by the beast, so she needs a lot of recovery. I recommend consulting with the clerics, they should pinpoint exactly her condition and maybe they would be willing to help."
"What about those hunters?"
"... I'm afraid that all of them are dead. We stumbled across their hut and inside their corpses were strewn all over the place. So the pasture's safety is heavily under debate."
"..."
"... How viable is it for you to move? I'm sure your pasture means a lot to you, but being on the outskirts provides a slew of problems regarding daemons. Your sheep should be the least of your concern."
"... I guess we'll try to get back to the village. It's just this was an inherited business and it means a lot to me... But if what you're saying is true then I suppose we have to leave everything behind."
"Can you at least sell your remaining sheep so they won't be in vain?"
"... I suppose so."
"Good. I'll monitor your daughter's health for the day. I'm not exactly a specialist in healing, but I'll try to provide an environment for speedy recovery."
"Thank you... You're so kind. Are you perhaps familiar with the parental plight?... You seem to be acutely aware how important Elise is to me."
"......................
My troupe are my children after all. They're placed under my wing with an oath of protection."
"Of course. Here is your payment; I'm sorry that it brought so much trouble for you."
"No problem. As long as you're safe, I'm happy."
Virgilia then turns to us
"You can go back to the village. You may take on another commission or just hang out. Émile and Aden are a tad older than you, but they're kids at heart, so don't feel too awkward talking with them. I will know if you hurt each other though. You can have the money, please pay for the inn please; I'll be staying here for the night."
""Of course!"" Aden and Émile say in unison and we go back to the village; with both of them carrying me for support, even if by now I hardly need it.