The hooded figure sheathed his blade and stared down at his prey, a demonic beast feared by many. The lifeless eyes stared back at the victor but the demon's frown remained. With a practiced motion, he cut out the massive soul stone from the creature's chest. While he stored the soul stone in his magic pouch, another hooded figure approached him without making a sound.
"Doing some last minute hunting," said a feminine voice. "You do know we have no time for such luxuries anymore."
"Merely a gift for my daughter."
The demon took a quick glance at the moon at the thought of his daughter. His little girl’s birthday was coming up but he doubted he would be there. To make up for his absence, he chose a massive soul stone, a valuable item used for crafting powerful items. His daughter already showed great promise of magic at a young age. He was certain she could make good use of his gift and eagerly awaited to see her creation.
“How thoughtful!” exclaimed the female demon. “You have doubts of a quick victory?”
“Humans are not to be underestimated.” The demon pointed to the beast carcass. “Just like this creature, there are monsters among the humans. We will suffer defeat if we believe victory will be easy and swift.”
At the mention of monsters, the demon looked towards the group of demons waiting by the mounts. Those demons, clad in heavy armor with an insignia resembling a blade and shield, were part of his personal guards. With his objective achieved, the demon led the group back to the capital. The two hooded demons continued to the palace while the others went to the barracks upon entering the city,
They walked down the empty streets that only had the occasional breeze passing by. None of the nearby buildings had any illumination. If it weren’t for the moon in the sky, the two would be walking in absolute darkness. Eventually, they stood before the giant gates of the palace. Before either of them could utter a word, the gates opened granting them entry. Without hesitation, they made their way to the forum and, as the two got closer, they could hear voices echoing in the hallway.
“We cannot be so foolish as to trust others. They will backstab us as soon as the humans are defeated.”
“If the humans succeed in their diabolical plan, there won’t be enough of us to backstab.”
“That’s assuming they succeed! We cannot always assume the worst! Countless other races have failed. What makes humans so different?”
“We cannot wait around to find out! The coalition was born out of necessity. If we turn our backs and we are wrong, then we won’t get a second chance.”
The two hooded figures took a seat on an empty bench. The debate in the forum lasted for several more minutes before it abruptly ended. All the demons turned to the new arrival who was emanating a terrifying amount of aura.
“Enough of wagging your tongues. Diplomacy was long over. War is upon us!”
