"Is there anything wrong, Zephyrus?" Hollister asked as he noted that Hedon was looking around, as if searching for something. "As a matter of fact yes, you see I ran into a small hoarde of demons and thus I am quite famished. Are there any children present?"
Hollister's eyes narrowed into narrow slits as he heard this. 'Is he planning on eating children? This sick fuck of a demon!' "I'm sure that there are many other alternatives that can fill your stomach other than human flesh."
Hedon however despite messing around went on with his option. He wasn't actually hungry but testing whether Hollister would actually follow through with his idea.
"As a demon, you see. Once you get a taste of human flesh, you can't forget about it. Like a plague, it keeps you yearning for more till all of it runs dry. If you do not present me with all the children present in this town, I'll hunt them down myself."
His tone sharp and precise which resulted with a complicated look washing up on Hollister's face. 'There is no way that any of these parents would be willing to such a proposal.' His mind was torn on whether to enact this or not.
"Ahh!!"
The sounds of his groan could be heard as he was lifted up into the air by Hedon who further increased his grip around his throat. "Are you deaf or do you want me to do it myself?!" Rivulets of blood could be seen trail down his throat.
He frantically shook his head to which Hedon clumsily dropped his body to the ground. 'I didn't sense him make a move. There is no way that we came beat him.' Hollister thought as he cast a small healing spell on himself to which his injuries vanished without a trace.
He backed away from Hedon as he congregated with the small party behind him. "Don't keep me waiting, Hollister." Hedon chuckled as he saw his figure leave the grounds.
...
"Ahh! Please nooo!!" The sounds of screams and shouts could be heard echo through the air as children would be separated from their parents. Some tried to stop Hollister and his party but ultimately fell short.
*Thirty minutes later*
Hedon glanced at the two rows of children that were presenter to him. 'Fifteen and below.' He mused as he glanced at Hollister who was extremely disgusted with what he had done. The children were all silent as they glanced at Hedon, fear apparent in their eyes.
Not far from where he was, he could sense a crowd looking at his direction. The parents who were worried what would become of their children didn't care that much about their lives to the point of some even stepping up to him.
"Please spare the children and slaughter us instead!" One of them mused as they formed a line of defense between him and the children. He simply let out a faint chuckle.
"There's no need to complicate this. These little spawns can be replaced within a matter of months. After all that id what you humans are good at, right? So pretend that this entire scene never even happened and get it over with."
Most of them grew grim as some of them watched him make his advances towards them. "Very well, have it your way." He finalized his thoughts as he gave a light flick of his wrists...
*Splat*
The scene was covered with blood which sole landed on the children's bodies which resulted with some of them crying out for their parents who had perished, others grieving to be saved and others frozen in shock.
Hedon made his way to the first row which were perpendicular to the direction he was facing as they all glanced at the monster that was in front of them. He squatted down to their level.
"Hollister, this is your son, correct?" He posed as he glanced at the boy who was scared out of his wits looking at him. "Yes it is." Hollister responded despite the resentment in his teeth. He stood up before asking a question.
"There is no need to worry as I won't be bothered to kill any of you. All you have to do is answer a couple of questions of mine. Is that okay?" Some of them nodded sporadically while others whimpered.
Standing up and towering over them, he raised his first question. "Okay who wants to be a hunter when they grown up. Don't be shy." Of course most of them wished to gain the freedom that they saw their elders display. The thrilling life of hunting and fame was something that drew the interest of many.
"..." None of them responded which he saw coming. "Hah! A simple nod will suffice." Still no one answered to which he started to hummed softly, his head plagued with all kinds of thoughts however to his surprise, an answer was delivered to him.
"I would." Looking at the source, he saw a small frail girl who was rather shy as she quickly fell silent right after.
*Whoosh*
Instantly appearing where she was, he crouched down to her level. "You want to be a hunter, right?" She glanced at his figure before shying away as she gave a faint nod. 'Shyla, why did you say such a thing?!'
Cisco mused as he glanced at the scene. Of course he couldn't outright blame her given that she was still a child but still, her standing out was something that he didn't want.
"Do you know that hunters kill my kind for money and fame amongst their fellow human?" He started off to which hinted that his attitude towards the answer was hostile. Hollister couldn't tolerate this anymore as he made his step forward.
He knew that he had already torn down many families by doing the things he did but what was the point of a father who was going to watch all of the atrocities happen to his family if he isn't going to interfere.
"If you want to kill her I beg of you to spare her. You can kill me instea-"
*Bam*
His figure crashed hard into the ground, his body pressed down similar to an ant unable to move. Blood could be seen trail down his nose as his eyes were still locked with Hedon's figure whose attention was still fixated on Shyla.
"Please don't kill me..." She mused as trails of tears could be seen run down her cheeks. Hedon however seemed oblivious to it as he went on. "But at times bravery is what you hunters have so I won't kill you."
"Really?" Shyla perked up. "Yes but I want you to make a decision. Do you want to be a proper hunter and use mana right now? But that would mean that you would have to leave your family behind."
Shyla paused as she mused. 'Why would he ask her a question like this?' Cisco couldn't rack his brains as to why he would do such a thing. "I want to be a hunter but can't my brother at least come with me?" She posed which he shook his head.
For a child to be burdened with such a choice that was out of her league was too much for her given that she wouldn't rationalize the options and the results of it all.
"Will I come back here and visit my family?" Hedon gave a light chuckle. "Yeah, you can but that will be after your done with your training of becoming a hunter. "
"Oh, yay." He added. "But it will take a really long time." Her excitement dwindled as she heard that. "But-" As he placed his hand on her cheek, he seemed more calm and down to earth. "In this life, you'll be forced to make decisions that at times won't be fun or exciting but that is how the world works."
"So you can either stay here or come with me and become a world famous hunter. You'll be known all over the world with your skills and purge all the demons and other scary things. Then no one won't tell you what you can and cannot do."
Shyla paused once more however before she could make her final verdict, Cisco intervened. "Shyla, you can't trust him. He's a bad demon that's lying to you and use you." Hedon didn't seem bothered with his presence.
"If I was lying, then here." With a snap of his fingers, Shyla could feel something strange occur in her body as her small figure was wrapped in am ominous red glow before it dissipated right after.
Glancing at her fists, she opened her palms and a small ball of fire formed before it dissipated. "Brother look! I can now become a real hunter just like you." Her happiness however wasn't shared with Cisco who wondered why Hedon was doing all of this.
If he wanted to kill her then he would have done so along with the rest of the town but he hadn't. "See, now all you have to do come with me and I'll make you the best hunter of all time."
His tone assuring of fame and glory however many people had disapproved looks seeing how the little girl was being played. It was quite clear that she would be disposed off not too long after however the fact that he could enact such a feat was shocking to them.
"I accept, Zephyri- Zephy?" He brushed aside the fact that she was having a problem saying his name. "Just call me Zephie, okay." She made a light nod before making a request. "Can you release all the children, please?"
He glanced around before dismissing his hand. "Sure, you're all free to go back to your parents." Some of the adults present were glad however realizing the trade that had been made, they couldn't helps but feel pity for Cisco.
"Don't worry Cisco, I'll be back and I'll be a super strong hunter." She mused happily as she made her way towards the carriage. As she hopped on, she looked at Cisco who was still in disbelief of what had happened. "I'll train super fast. Say goodbye to mom and dad for me."
And with that, the carriage took it's leave out of Pinevale town and away into the forest. "I apologize for-" Before Hollister could say anything, Cisco stormed off back to his home and relayed the message of what happened.
"But why my daughter?" Aspyn wondered as she descended into desparation. "Don't worry, I'll trail them and make sure that she's okay!" He mused as he prepared his gear.
"If you plan on getting yourself killed then that is definitely one way of going about it. That is a tier six demonic expert, it can sense you coming a mile away. It would be better to wait first before going after her." Easton mused as he lay on his seat.
"And by the time I get to her, she'll be dead. I'm not going to waste my time by waiting. I'm going after her!" Cisco finalized his thoughts as he grabbed the mana disc core and his gear before taking his leave.
Easton who was about to stop him collapsed on the floor as he spat out a mouthful of blood due to the corruption however Cisco had already left by then to notice. "Easton, stop exerting yourself like this. We can now only hope that she'll make it out alive."
Aspyn mused as she helped him off the floor.
...
"I can't believe that this new outfit is mine. Thank you Zephie." She mused with delight as she admired the hunter gear gifted to her. With a bit of adjusting thanks to his skills, he was able to tailor clothes that could fit her perfectly.
"I'm glad you like it Shyla however we have to focus more on your training." Shyla who was engrossed with her new attire shot back. "Oh, yeah. So when will we start?" She asked as the pair made their way through the woods.
Tall trees of pine could be seen all over the place which made it slightly difficult to see as they would form a carpet above making it hard for any light to pierce through. "Since you're awakened, it would be better to test your skills on some wild beasts."
He mused as his senses spanned out in all directions to which a smile formed on his face. "And I know where to try it out."