Chapter 3
Riverton's Granary, Belial Territory
Memphis POV
Memphis was very confused.
It was like a part of him could not even understand why someone would try to put strange things into everyone's foodsupply, and it made him increasingly annoyed.
The cloaked figure jolted and their cloak moved as they paid attention to Memphis' group.
Without saying a word, the cloaked man raised his hand and projected a magic circle, and soon after three Demonic Bullets were shot towards the teens.
The attack took Memphis and Sidmen fully off guard. Why would someone attack them like that? It forced Ethel to fire off her own demonic bullets, cancelling them out as they burst into magical motes.
"Woah…" Ethel ignored Memphis' awed gaze.
Putting a hand on her waist, Ethel prepared another demonic bullet in front of her other hand. "Hmph. What is a scoundrel like you lurking about here?"
"Tch." Said the cloaked man before he promptly dropped the bag, breaking into a dash.
"Stop and explain yourself!" Yelled Ethel but the mysterious figure completely ignored her huffing.
Ethel fired the held demonic bullet but the cloaked figure easily blocked the attack with a quick spellshield. As he did, a mysterious and unknown emblem blazed in the middle of the man's magic circle.
Ethel squinted her eyes in thought. "...Where is that Clan symbol from?"
Memphis was briefly confused at the mention of a Clan symbol. He remembered his father and the other folks at the garrison once spoke about how each of the Pillar Clans had their own fancy emblem centered in the middle of their magic circles.
Although he wanted to ask Ethel about it, Memphis shook his head. Now wasn't the time for Memphis to lose focus, someone needed to be brought to justice!
"He's escaping!" Shouted Memphis, as he let out his devil wings and flew after the man.
Memphis had no idea what was going on, but he was very annoyed. He would not let the unknown man escape without taking one of his fists! When he catches the man, Memphis would let everyone know about the grain and hand him over to the town's guardsmen for a detailed interrogation.
"Wait for me!" Called out Sidmen as he scooped up a slightly damaged Mr. Sparky under his arm, following Memphis with Ethel close behind.
The cloaked man continued to dash along the raised walkway while being chased by the three young devils. Ethel continued to shoot demonic bullets at the fleeing suspect but they were either blocked by his spellshields or barely zipped past as he dodged.
Rapidly reaching the end of the walkway, the man shot a demonic bullet at the large window, before releasing his devil wings and flew outside.
"Don't let him teleport away!" Ordered Ethel, which Memphis and Sidmen obliged.
Flying out into the open sky of Riverton, the group of kids chased after the man in hot pursuit through the town's streets. Villagers were startled as the escapee dived and bobbed to dodge more of Ethel's demonic bullets, until finally one connected.
"Shit!" The cloaked figure cursed as he lost control and smashed into a vendor's stall.
From below, nearby villagers yelped in surprise at the loud noise, while a large group began to form around the crash site.
To Memphis' side, Sidmen had tossed something from his toolbelt and it latched onto the prone man's cloak.
"Not my stall!" Cried out an angry vendor as he fell to his knees.
From the wreckage, and the hood finally removed, stood a handsome young man that appeared in his twenties. He had spiky black hair with magenta highlights, pink eyes, and a nasty scowl. He held a hand on his stomach tending to a noticeable wound, blood slowly soaking through his cloak.
Memphis rushed in without hesitation, ignoring the group of surprised devils. He then pumped some of his Demonic Power into his fist and punched the young man square in the jaw, knocking him across the cobble street.
The cries of confused villagers sounded out as they made more room away from the ensuing fight.
"You brats!" Cursed the black haired young man, as he now also rubbed at a swollen cheek.
Another injury to the list.
From the outskirts of the growing crowd, the rustling of metal armour and several shouts could be heard. "Make way, make way, guardsmen coming through!"
Memphis cheekily smirked as the older devil glared at him. While Ethel quickly prepared a demonic bullet that hummed with magical energy, and Sidmen fumbled for a large wrench from his tool belt.
"You can't run away now, huh? Now, explain why you put that strange powder in everyone's grain! Or we'll knock some more sense into you!" Memphis confidently exclaimed as he pointed the suspect in front of him.
"You were messing with our grain!?"
Many alarmed and angry eyes turned towards the black haired young man in the center of the crowd.
The handsome young man's eyes scanned the crowd and noted the emerging guardsmen.
The town's guardsmen who were assigned to the market area had arrived. Most of the guardsmen wore a gambeson, metal bracers on top of leather gloves, rimmed helmets, and tabards with the Belial Clan symbol. Several guards pointed their standard made spears with wide pointed ends, some withdrew swords and rounded shields, and few aimed flintlock rifles ready with magic crystal ammunition.
A leading guardsmen stepped forward, they wore slightly better armour and a breastplate. "Halt! What is going on here?"
"I will explain." Ethel stepped forward with elegance in her stride.
To Memphis, it was like Miss. Ethel had entirely switched her personality. From a straightforward and sometimes brash girl, to a princess that carried an aura of grace and discipline. It honestly baffled him.
"My name is Ethel Paimon of the Clan Paimon, daughter of Lord Paimon, of the rank Archduke."
As soon as the words left her mouth, the entire crowd's and guardsmen's eyes widened before swiftly bowing their heads while in the presence of the Pillar Clan noble.
Meanwhile, Memphis had no idea what was going on and scratched his head. "Archduke…that's a high noble rank, right Sidmen?"
"Y-yes, you idiot! Archduke Clans are just below the Bael Clan who hold the title of Great King. Bow your head quickly before we get in more trouble!" Chided Sidmen as he bowed almost 90 degrees.
"Miss. Ethel?"
Ethel did not answer back, but she did let out a quiet endearing sigh at Memphis' care-free attitude.
"Please rise." Ethel softly spoke, and everyone relaxed a bit.
Ethel then gestured to the dark haired man who was still surrounded by armed guards, who glared fiercely at her from the mention of her family name. "Lord Paimon and I have come to the Belial Territory for the investigation of the recent illness that has been spreading, and to provide relief at the request of Lord Belial. While I was carrying out the investigation, this scoundrel was seen pouring an unknown substance into the silos of this village's granary. His actions are suspicious and require questioning. Guards, apprehend him."
The portion of guards who were near Memphis, Sidmen, and Ethel all turned towards the guilty young man and moved their weapons closer.
Thoughts visibly passed over the young man's face as he did a scan of his surroundings. Making a calculative decision, he grit his teeth. "Brats. You've left me no choice."
Demonic Power began to surround the cloaked figure as he slowly raised one arm above his head, clear disdain on his face. As he did, Memphis noticed a device strapped to the older devil's wrist, the device was laid with several mechanical buttons.
"Stand down! This is your last chance for surrender!" Yelled the leading guardsman, their weapons raised even closer to the young man.
"Good riddance."
The snap of fingers, and Hell was let loose.
It started with a small red spark, then spread out like a wave.
"Guh!" Memphis clutched at his chest as hot searing pain flooded his body. He fell to his knees.
Everyone within the vicinity of the town square besides Ethel and the cloaked young man were screaming out in pain.
"Memphis!" Ethel looked at him worriedly, as he writhed on the ground in pain. She noticed everyone around her except for herself and the cloaked man were in agonizing pain. Ethel's anxiety rose fast, and her heart thumped against her chest. "Stop it! Please!"
The cloaked man only gave a sadistic smile. "Farewell, Pillar Devil."
A magic circle glowed underneath him, a teleportation circle.
Anger flashed through Ethel as she tried to stop him with a barrage of demonic bullets, but it was too late and he disappeared in a flash of light.
"Satans, damn it!"
Forsaking appearances, Ethel ran over to Memphis who was still on the ground writhing pain. Next to Memphis, Sidmen was twitching while curled up into a fetal position.
Memphis rapidly clawed at his bare chest like he was trying to remove something that was inside him. He could feel it spread, and it spread everywhere.
It burned so much.
Glowing red web-like veins began to grow across his body, reaching closer and closer to this face. Hot tears fell from his eyes and wetted the stone cobble underneath him.
"Just hold on! I-I will call my Father, he will bring some medicine!" Teary eyes filled with panic looked into his own.
Was he going to die?
Memphis didn't want to die, not yet. He still had not achieved his dream yet!
Memphis' heartbeat pounded against his eardrums.
His dream.
Stands filled excited cheering fans calling out his name. The rush of battle against a worthy foe, leading his own Peerage. Untold riches and fame, his parents smiling at him, and his friends, Ethel and Sidmen standing by his side.
It felt like his dream was slipping from his grasp…
He refused to let it end like this, he needed to reach his dream first!
Memphis grit his teeth, as he tried to force his heart rate down. His Demonic Power was rampaging inside his body, so he just needed to quell it.
His dream.
Calm-! Calm down!
Memphis took deep and slow breaths, hot air escaping his chest.
Ethel watched helplessly as she held Memphis's hand. He saw the pain and worry in her eyes, but she continued to hold on.
Then as the flash of pain came, it abated. The pain dulled into a warm hum as if someone had lit a warm fire within Memphis' chest.
"I feel…great…" A manic smile grew across his face, his pupils dilated as his Devil body welcomed the new found power greedily.
"Memphis…?"
The fire within his chest roared, and Memphis noticed that his Demonic Power had soared into new heights.
Then as the euphoric rush entered him, the high fell from its peak. The red web-like veins slowly retreated from his face, and the soft buzz of the high lingered throughout his body.
A gasp of breath, Memphis's heart rate slowed down to a steady beat.
Slowly, Memphis stood up and Ethel let go of his hand. "I'm fine Miss. Ethel. The feeling is gone now."
"You definitely didn't seem fine earlier!"
Memphis' bright smile seemed to calm her down a bit, but for some reason she continued to pout at him
Not just him, but several others within the town market stood back up. Notably, Sidmen, the guardsmen and about half of the other devils within the market. While the rest remained still…
"You okay, Sidmen?" Memphis asked his childhood friend.
"Yeah…I'm fine but my head hurts a lot." Responded Sidmen as he nursed his sore head.
"What was that though…"
"I'm not sure, but for a moment I thought I was going to die!" Complained Sidmen.
Memphis could understand that, he felt the same way just earlier. Although something else had crossed Memphis's mind, anger bubbling within him. "Miss. Ethel, what happened to the jerk? Did he escape?"
Ethel pursed her lips. "I'm sorry, but I failed to stop him. He managed to teleport away during the chaos."
"Tch, damn. He got away!" Shouted Memphis as he raised his arms into the purple sky.
"Not quite."
Memphis and Ethel turned their heads to Sidmen almost enough to give themselves whiplash.
Sidmen ignored their stares, as he focused on a round beeping object in his hand. It also had a number displayed on it and an 'arrow' projected from a light source. "So, during the chase I managed to attach a simple tracker onto him. This number displays how far he went, while this arrow shows in which direction. If Lady Ethel remembers enough of the teleportation circle's coordinates, we should be able to follow him with this."
A moment of silence went by.
"Woooah! You're a genius, Sidmen! How did you even make that?!" Memphis looked at Sidmen with sparkles in his eyes.
"I just fiddle with things in my spare time…You know how I can't help myself hehe." Sidmen bashfully rubbed the back of his neck.
"But this is perfect! I was able to partly memorize his spell's coordinates, he should still be nearby in this mountain valley! Now we just need to check on everyone else before we go find him." Proclaimed Ethel.
However, before they could, the still bodies around them began to twitch and move.
Throughout the market square Memphis heard many voices crying out.
"Honey, what's wrong?"
"Mom?!"
"Sir, control yourself!"
Then to the side, Memphis saw a young woman who had gotten up and rubbed her temples in a daze, but she failed to notice the shadow looming behind her.
"Watch out!"
Memphis tried to warn her, but it was too late.
Jaws bit down into the young woman's neck, rupturing her artery and causing blood to be sprayed profusely everywhere.
Latched onto the woman with unnatural strength was another villager. Their pale body was covered in glowing red web-like veins, and a dark red light beamed from their eyes.
"Eh?"
The colour drained from the young woman's face as she helplessly collapsed to the ground from blood loss, and the overbearing weight on her back.
Thud.
Limp flesh smacked against the stone below.
Everyone who had mostly recovered by now, were Devils who had never seen combat in their lives beside the occasional Demonic Beast coming down from the mountains. Their pupils dilated and they stiffened like frightened animals.
More and more pale bodies with red web-like veins funneled into the market square from other streets. The bodies moved as if possessed, and limbs swayed unnaturally and erratically.
There were at least hundreds of them from Memphis' quick judgement.
"Why does it feel like their Demonic Power is going haywire?" Ethel quietly muttered under her breath, while she started to unconsciously step back.
A slow walk turned into a jog, and then a sprint.
Soon, they all started to sprint.
The glow from their eyes intensified and they gave a bestial roar.
"RUAAAAAAARGH!"
Chaos erupted.
"KYAAAAAA!"
"Run away!"
"Nooooo!"
Glowing bodies sprinted at the nearest living thing next to them. People were tackled by several berserking villagers at a time, their hands reached out from the pile of squirming bodies tearing at their flesh.
"Help me-!" One victim tried to call out but their plea was squashed.
Another victim was dragged away as their nails clawed at the ground before disappearing into a side street.
While others had their limbs torn off by unnatural strength.
Pools of blood began to flow through the cracks of the market square's stone cobble.
"Shit-! Men get into a square position and form a defensive perimeter! Protect the citizens!"
The frozen guardsmen were awakened from their stupor and followed the commands of their leader. Enchanted spears held outwards, swords and shields by their side, and rifles in the center. While surviving villagers rushed to seek refuge behind the guardsmen's defense.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Magic ammunition fired in volleys, exploding the heads and downing entire lines of rampaging bodies.
The berserking villagers were unfazed by the attacks or any bodily harm and continued their charge. One jumped at a spearman, but despite being impaled by their spear glowing eyes roared as their arms wildly clawed at the frightened guardsman.
"What-?!"
Memphis soon felt the rampaging villager's Demonic Power skyrocket sharply until reaching a critical threshold. Their body inflated unnaturally before exploding into a burst of violent magical energy taking out the unprepared nearby spearmen.
For a brief moment, a hole in the defense was broken and several berserking villagers tried to reach Memphis.
Memphis snapped back to reality.
Filled with adrenaline and instinctual fear, his body moved faster than his mind could process, and he coated his fist in a blue aura as he pumped his Demonic Power.
Memphis grit his teeth as his fist tore through warm flesh, until expanding his Demonic Power.
BOOM!
His Demonic Power exploded outwards, rupturing his target along with two more next to it, the berserking villagers erupted into a mess of blood and flying limbs.
For a moment, Memphis paused to look at his blood covered fist and the realization dawned on him.
His first kill.
A part of him felt guilty, knowing that he just took someone's life. While another part of him was surprisingly apathetic. Was this because of his Devil nature?
He knew it was beyond his control to try restraining or curing the affected villagers, and they were also killing other people too. But he found it odd that he was able to let go of his guilt rather quickly.
It was a strange feeling.
New shouts rang into his ear bringing back his focus.
"Fuck! Men, keep up the pressure and don't let them get close!" Ordered the leading guardsman as he casted fire magic that engulfed a chunk of the horde. In the middle, Ethel also casted her own magic, either firing off demonic bullets that ripped through several bodies at once or barriers to hold them back.
Another line of sprinting bodies were ripped apart by magic ammunition, while ones that managed to get close were impaled and quickly had their heads cut off by ready swordsmen.
"Memphis, this isn't the time to lose focus! Could use some help over here!" Sidmen called from the other side of the defensive perimeter. In his hand he held a flintlock pistol with a novel revolving metal chamber, and pulled out a bullet belt lined with demonic crystal ammo from somewhere underneath his shirt.
"Sidmen, where did you get a gun?!" Memphis gasped in shock.
"I-I always carry a pistol on me, it's what I spend all my money on. Also, not the time to be gawking!" Sidmen shouted back and nervously eyed the guardsmen next to him, but they seemed too busy at the moment to care.
More glowing villagers salivating from their open maws came rushing in, Sidmen then aimed his pistol and fired.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
A puff of smoke left the barrel of the gun as several projectiles shot out, blowing off the heads or digging into the chest of the incoming hostiles who slumped to the ground.
Memphis took a quick look of his surroundings and realized that he needed to help.
The squad of guardsmen, Sidmen and his gun, Ethel who could cast magic, and himself were the only ones who could really fight back. Some of the villagers who stood behind the guards had found sticks or tools to help keep off the berserking horde, but like most Low Class Devils they had no real chance to defend themselves.
Memphis also noted that they were gravely outnumbered 2 to 1 by this point despite their constant fighting. Surrounding their entire position, was a horde of berserking villagers that craved to tear them apart.
However, Memphis felt hopeful. He was pleasantly surprised to find the amount of Demonic Power he had access to had increased greatly and brimmed underneath his skin. He had no explanation for why it happened, but people needed his help!
Memphis clutched his fist, he had decided. "I will help too!"
Some guardsmen tried to tell him to stand back but Memphis did not listen.
Memphis used his Demonic Power to coat his body in a blue aura, feeling the magical energy reinforce his body and muscles. Sinking into a runner's position, Memphis kicked off the ground, breaking the stone underneath his step and dove straight into the horde of glowing eyed enemies.
"Hurraaaaaah!" Memphis cried as he sent a flurry of punches, each one releasing an explosive blast that tore about the moving mound in front of him.
Punch!Punch!Punch!Punch!Punch!
Memphis fists made a chorus of explosions that echoed out across the market square, which had caught the eyes of all the eyes of hiding villagers.
"When could young Memphis do that?!"
"Was he always this strong…?"
"Get'em, Memphis!"
Even the town's guardsmen were taken aback.
Memphis eagerly welcomed the praise.
A small grin grew on his face, while dodging a jumping body. The monster below him tried to grab at his legs, and he could feel its Demonic Power climb to a critical point, but Memphis was quicker. He grabbed it by the ankles and lifted it up with reinforced strength, and with a wide swing, tossed the radiating zombie back into the swarm where it exploded on impact.
At first, Memphis thought the villagers had become zombies that he heard about, but that did not seem to be the case here. Some of the affected villagers had managed to bite or scratch his arms, but so far he had not turned into one. He remembered that Ethel had noted their Demonic Power was going crazy or something. So was that why?
While contemplating, Memphis used his well of Demonic Power to heal his wounds as a warm comforting feeling enveloped him. Bit by bit his wounds stitched back together. He was not that good yet at using this ability, and he was able to do it only by rapidly flushing his Demonic Power. It was a bit wasteful of Demonic Power but he was able to close minor wounds caused by bite marks or small cuts to stem off any blood loss.
Except if he got any big wounds that he could not fully heal, then he was in trouble.
Like a blue blur, Memphis continued to blast apart wave after wave from the berserking horde. Using Demonic Power to constantly reinforce his body, he darted across the stone cobbled street.
Punch!Punch!Punch!
With each punch, chunks of the horde were blown away. Limbs torn apart, or bodies smashing through storeshop windows.
While back in the safe area, a guardsmen covered in blood and grime had rotated out briefly and saluted in front of the leading guardsmen. He was huffing his chest and trying his best to not fall over.
"Captain! Should we start evacuating the citizens?"
The Captain contemplated as he grit his teeth, constantly he kept his eyes on the enemies or the frightened citizens.
"No, we have yet to establish an evacuation point." A grim look shadowed over the Captain's eyes. "I called the Lieutenant. He said other squads have reported similar attacks and created their own defensive perimeters. All of Riverton is now infested with…whatever these things are. And not just Riverton…but in all the neighbouring villages and towns within the territory too. There is no backup coming in the meantime."
"Actually, there is." The Captain and his Private turned to face Ethel who was focused on holding up barriers around the safe area while infected villagers pounded against them. "I managed to send a message to my Father. He had brought several units from the army with him, and they should be arriving shortly throughout Belial Territory."
"The military's men under Lord Paimon? Those are quality troops too." The Captain hummed satisfyingly, his hope returning to his eyes. "That's incredible news to hear. Thank you for the aid, Lady Ethel!" Both the Captain and Private saluted towards the Pillar Devil.
With renewed vigour the Captain called out to everyone. "Reinforcements will be arriving soon, just hold on tightly! For now, citizens retreat into the sky, we will hold them off!"
On command, the villagers nodded hesitantly and started to fly up into the sky. However, the infected villagers' heads snapped upwards and growled. One by one, they let out their own devil wings, and clumsily followed after the citizens. While a large group of infected villagers were starting to climb over Ethel's barrier, as they did, they flailed wildly against it.
"Everyone get down now!" The Captain ordered out but he was not quick enough, the infected villagers were too close to the flying citizens. While on the ground, guardsmen tried to push back the ones climbing over the barrier with their shields and spears, while the riflemen and Sidmen continued to shoot at any that got too close.
From outside the safe area, Memphis noticed the wall of infected villagers forming against the barrier. The pile continued to grow as they swung their limbs wildly as they tried to climb over each other.
That was not good. They were about to get inside the safe area!
He tried to rush back to save everyone else, slicing through the horde of infected villagers with his sharpened aura, but he was starting to get tired and slow down too. Dread filled Memphis' heart. He would not reach them in time!
However, a new source of Demonic Power flared from the safe area, and Memphis noted it was getting noticeably high too. Looking at the source, it was coming from Ethel!
There, Ethel scowled with a determined glint in her red eyes as enough Demonic Power flared around her to make Memphis shiver.
"Hmph. Don't underestimate me! [Armament Conjuration!]"
Lining the entire safe area's perimeter, pale blue light condensed into the form of cannons. While three squads of rifles floated in the air aiming at the flying infected villagers. Ethereal wisps fluttered off their ghostly forms.
While holding up the barrier, Ethel willed the ethereal weapons like they were possessed to follow her will without question. They clinked as they danced through the air to their positions, then the ghostly cannons and rifles began to charge up energy, and the fuses were lit
The back of Memphis' neck tingled.
Oh Lucifer, that was a lot of power building up. So this was what it must feel like being up close to a High Class Devil's power.
A part of Memphis' young Devil mind could not help but revere the show of power.
Reaching a critical point, the cannons and rifles simultaneously tilted their barrels, and waited for the command.
Like a pin was dropped, Ethel yelled out the order. "Now, begone!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Immediately, Memphis stopped his charge and dived to the ground. His instincts screamed at him to find cover. And it was a good thing he did!
The entire market square was engulfed with pale blue explosions from cannon fire, while the squads of rifles obliterated the infected villagers in the air with beams of energy, allowing the citizens to retreat to the safe area unharmed.
Looking up from his cover, the market square was with large pits that dented into the cobble stone from the impact. Several nearby buildings were either in ruins or had collapsed into rubble. Charred corpses littered the landscape and magical fire flickered in the wind.
Taking this chance, Memphis ran the final stretch. He forced himself as he pushed a ton of Demonic Power into his legs, and barely dived into the safe area in time before the cannons and rifles 'reloaded'.
More infected villagers were drawn by the noise, they continued to funnel into the market square and flooded the streets like a giant squirming mass.
"Again!" Ethel ordered again.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Magical explosions engulfed the landscape once more.
By this point, the pressure from the infected villagers was gone and everyone took the chance to rest and watch. They spoke not a single word.
Thousands of charred corpses littered the surrounding landscape, their remains piled high, and by this point most of the buildings too had collapsed.
People started to cheer as tears fell from their eyes. Everyone had noticed the monsters had stopped pouring out of the side streets, it seemed victory was close.
Ethel was visibly getting tired, and coldsweat fell from her brow, but she did not stop. She stood firm and proud, it was proof of her upbringing.
Her one hand slowly rose, and the guns and cannons 'reloaded' for a final volley.
Like a guillotine, her raised hand dropped and Ethel roared with strength laced into her voice. "Again!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Magical fire flooded the streets once more.
To Memphis, it appeared as if time had slowed down. His heart rapidly beat against his chest. His blue eyes dilated, as they absorbed the sight in front of him.
Her glossy light blue hair blew in the winds, her perfect face unblemished by the chaos around her, and lastly; her fierce red eyes blazed with such intensity that it felt like she had struck the deepest part of Memphis' soul.
And what a beautiful sight it was.