Boreas POV
"Dude, what the hell happened to you?" Kai asked as soon as he saw me.
Kai and I hadn't shared the same shift until I was sent on this demon-tracking job. Isabella is going to need to travel a lot and I will be spending 2 days ahead in those spots, which should be already secured, to double-check on demonic spies. Mari can't be too far from me, so she's with me, Kai is a demon, and they said that you need a demon to sniff out demons, so he's here. Jett is with Isabella, which is a good thing, he can contact me faster than everyone else if anything happens.
This sounds good and all, but the security staff are actually forcing me to check up on a lot of things lately, so I can't really get sleep until Isabella arrives on the site. I couldn't really get sleep as I held the senior position, and was being questioned all the time. Hero or not, I have a limit, my eyes are completely red, and I'm pretty sure that I've lost a bit of weight.
"Isabella is coming tomorrow, do you think you can just stay up tonight and let me be presentable for tomorrow?"
"Of course." Kai replied, "What about Mari?"
"Well, she's talking with a few of the nearby nature spirits, and only she can do that, so I just have to leave it to her."
"Just so you know, I'm still a demon, people don't trust me, and it'll be 4 hours at best before you're needed."
"Can you at least make sure that I get 3 hours of sleep?"
"Sure, go get your rest, you look horrible, I'm surprised that Isabella still likes you."
"She's not that concerned about looks like you."
"Coming from a guy that only pursues beautiful women, that's rich."
"I am rich, I'm getting paid quite a lot."
Kai POV
It was a quiet night. Too quiet. Boreas had finally crashed after a long day, and now I was the one stuck with the lovely task of keeping watch. Not that I minded as I was used to these late nights. The stillness gave me time to think, though lately, so I usually train during this time since there's less disturbance, all I'd been thinking about was how much everything had changed. We were all on edge, especially with demon spies running around, and it didn't help that we'd been dragged into this whole mess without much of a choice.
I'm not that trusted by everyone, most don't want Boreas to participate in meetings due to his connections to me. I just wonder how much I need to sacrifice just to be accepted. I leaned back against the wall, keeping an eye on the flickering torches. Everything was calm. Too calm. But then again, that's usually when trouble shows up. A faint sound then caught my ear, it was a barely noticeable shuffle. I moved before I even thought about it, pulling a knife from my belt and throwing it toward the sound. It whizzed through the air, just missing its mark. A figure stepped out from the shadows, a woman who had barely dodged in time.
Her expression was calm like she was used to this sort of thing.
"Impressive," she commented, "But you missed."
"Who are you?" I asked as I then placed my hand on my sword.
"Sasha Lightfoot. I'm an informant."
"Ah...you're Theo's ex or something."
"Theo?"
"Theodore, the healer guy that I happen to be somewhat acquainted with."
"Ah him...I never dated him. I tried to sleep with him, but he rejected my advances each time."
"Why are you here?" I questioned as my hand gripped the blade even tighter, she noticed it as well, "Boreas isn't that desperate for women, especially not one like you."
"My brother wants to see Boreas."
"Brother?"
"George or...Velvet falcon."
"Is it safe to assume that you're deeply affiliated with the blood ravens?"
"Does it matter? Your master agreed to join us."
There was no way I could trust her, not with her connections. She could be setting us up, and for all I knew, this was a trap. Taking her out now would be a huge blow to the Blood Ravens, and part of me wanted to end this before it even started. If she's related to such a figure...she's more dangerous than the rumors. Even demons heard of this woman, we've dealt with her before, and since she's also affiliated with the blood ravens...she's more dangerous alive. To think that she managed to sneak to where I am should be enough of a signal, she could have already killed me.
But killing her could escalate things in ways we weren't ready for. Still, the thought of it lingered...One strike...one strike and she'd be gone. A massive problem would be solved in a matter of seconds.
"What does your brother want?"
"I'm just the messenger. But if I were you, I wouldn't make him wait too long." she shrugged.
But before she could disappear, a blade dropped down from above and went down on her shoulder, she side-stepped, but Mari managed to cut her at her forearm.
"AGHH!! What the fuck?!" she screamed in pain.
"Boreas will meet you the day after tomorrow at the nearby lake, leave as we'll be alerting the security after this." Mari warned as Sasha ran away, she then turned to me, "You good?"
"Yep...what do you think they want now?"
"If they really are opposing the demon lord like they said they are...it's probably related to the recent attack, if the goddess is spooked, so would they."
Boreas POV
"...Boreeeasss." a familiar voice called.
It's that demon lord again.
"What do you want?"
"Aw, I thought we were friends." he replied.
"Your personality has changed quite a lot throughout the novel, which isn't much since you barely made an appearance."
"Your academy is next."
"That's what you want to say? You want to attack the academy? One of the most secure places in the world?"
"The Prophet has spoken. She warned me to end this war quickly, to crush my enemies before more rise. I already have two great threats to deal with. One, I've known for some time. But another...has emerged."
"Does this got to do with the blood ravens?"
"I don't know, but currently, I need one of you to surrender, and...since you're more rational, I'd rather ask you to convince yourself and the other 2 to surrender, maybe I'll spare half of this world."
"Or else what? I know that there's a catch."
He didn't answer. Instead, fog clouded my dreams and the scene around us shifted. The fog then cleared, revealing a small village filled with scared people, they were shaking and holding weapons with tears, and based on the way that there were hundreds of demons surrounding the village, this was probably one of the last villages in the north that managed to survive so far, but...it doesn't look like it's going to be that way for long.
And then, without warning, it happened. Demons descended upon the village like a swarm, tearing through homes, and burning everything in sight. Screams echoed in my ears as people tried to flee, but there was no escape. The demons were merciless, slaughtering anyone in their path. I tried to move, to help, but I couldn't. My body was frozen in place, forced to watch as the village was destroyed, and wiped off the map in a matter of minutes.
"This is a warning." the demon lord said, "You either help me rid of this new threat and surrender...or you can choose to do only half of my request...surrender, and I'll take care of the rest...or...you can end up like them."
