Before the demon could bite into his face, Adion leapt backwards with above-average speed, forcing the demonâs teeth to snap down on empty air.
Still wearing his smile, Adion stepped back in range and clasped his hands together like a hammer, raising them above his head and bringing them down atop the demonâs skull.
A dull thud spread throughout the room as the force met the demonâs head, which sent blood shooting from its two knife wounds. The strike carried tremendous force, leaving the demon in a daze as it fell backwards onto the bed.
However, at the same time, Adion's energy seemed to be spent too. He staggered backwards, struggling to keep his balance as the black haze faded away and his body returned to its normal size.
Valorth cursed again. His friend was no longer in a state to fight; however, he believed he had done enough to almost bring the battle to an end. Now they just had to finish it.
Valorth dashed back towards the dazed demon that squirmed on the bed and pulled his knife free from its body. Then, with force, he brought it back down on the demonâs heart. The blade tore through with a squelch, hardly meeting any resistance. The demon didn't let out a single moan upon impact, yet its body swiftly went limp and its eyes closed.
The heavily breathing Valorth looked up into the face of his prey, still holding onto the knife just in case.
One glance was all it took to know that the demon had died.
Panting, he tried to gather his thoughts.
Dead...
Valorth fell to the side in exhaustion, now sharing a bed with the corpse. His entire body felt as though it had been pushed to its limits, but he had been lucky enough not to face any injuries.
Eventually, Adion waddled over and stared down at the demonic corpse on the bed. His eyes seemed to linger on its heart, where the knife had been brutally plunged. The blood splattered around the room and their clothing had slowly started to evaporate.
"One vein," he spat with aggression. "Just one vein and it was this hard for us to beat? And what did we even get from it?"
Valorth didn't share the same thoughts. He was just happy to be alive.
"He was corrupted, Adion. A Hearteater that fell victim to his powers. That we managed to escape with our lives was something to be proud of."
Perhaps it was due to your promise.
"Besides, didn't you discover another of your powers?" Valorth added as he panted, struggling to recollect himself.
Adion's eyes still looked at the demon. "I-it seems like it. When close to danger, the promise that I made earlier seemed to become stronger, granting me a boost in strength for a singular attack."
"So you're saying that you were actually scared back then?" Valorth responded, certain that it seemed unlikely for his friend. The entire time, he guessed he was merely playing an act.
"What do you mean?" Adion said with a smile. "I was terrified."
---
After their encounter with the demon, the pair hurriedly left the apartment complex and made their way back towards the way they had come. However, on the door of the building, Valorth decided to leave a note.
It read:
The corrupted madman has been slayed by private hunters. The White Hand will continue to neglect your district as long as they have better places to turn their attention towards.
If you wish to seek help, you can find us at Mother's Arms tavern, room 2.
...
He was uncertain whether it was a smart idea, considering it would reveal that there were two illegal Hearteaters living in the tavern. However, after seeing the state of the district, he couldn't help but step in where he could.
The tavern room they were staying in was actually room 8; however, if the Defenders or White Hand arrived using the note as evidence to have them punished, the pair would have time to escape through their window.
They also left no other details about themselves, so they believed they didn't have too much to worry about, and doubted they would be contacted anyway.
After exiting the Redchapel district, the pair hired another carriage and headed back to the tavern. Not only were they both starved and exhausted, but they also felt as though they needed to shake the nerves from their bodies.
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---
Back at the apartment, Valorth and Adion ate a meal before heading to their rooms and resting despite the sun still being high. Having used their powers, they were both too tired to talk about the events of the day.
Then, hours later, when the sun had started to set, they woke back up and sat in their rooms with their heads leaning against their bedrests.
"I swear, that's the last time I'm hunting a demon for free," Adion said half-jokingly.
Valorth knew they had done Redchapel a favour; however, he found himself agreeing. If the circumstances were worse and they came into contact with a second-vein Hearteater, he wondered just how they would fare.
They say that the difference between the number of veins one has on their heart is akin to being two different species.
The thought made him excited to progress, though he was still uncertain how. Despite slaying a demon, he had failed to discover any new powers.
"Why do you think the man became fully corrupted?" Adion suddenly asked from the side. The question caught Valorth off guard, and he found his own corrupted heart racing.
"Oswald himself said that full corruption is inevitable for those who eat a corrupted heart," Adion continued. "But what does he truly know? It's been centuries since he studied the hearts."
Oswald the Wise was a man known throughout the entire four corners of the world for his research on the hearts of the demons after the Night of the Red Star, when a star fell from the land and shattered the ground, opening rifts to hell. The hearts of not-fully-formed demons had long since been eaten; however, they were much different from the ones the world knew after this event. The ones that came from the demons of the rifts that granted strengths pertaining to the veins' paths.
Oswald explored the world and studied every heart type that he could find. Even to date, the current rulers used his research as baselines for information.
If Oswald said that becoming fully corrupted was the truth, then most would take his word for it. This was why Valorth was filled with immense hope when his friend had started to question otherwise.
"We can't truly say unless we became corrupted ourselves," Valorth responded quietly, contemplating whether he should tell his friend about his secret. However, after the day's events, he struggled even harder than before.
Adion scratched at his chin and hummed loudly. "Perhaps I will."
Afterwards, the two remained like that, discussing trivial matters about the city as well as the poor state of Redchapel district. Valorth found that he was able to perfectly remember every detail he had witnessed of the district, though the memories brought him into a state of pity.
They also spoke of the priestâs body, left in the adjoining room days earlier. Since no foul odor had seeped through the walls, they assumed the tavern workers had disposed of it, but were too fearful to investigate themselves, lest they further incriminate themselves.
Just as the sun started to fall, Valorth picked up on a sound coming from outside his room. A loud, distant knock. At first, he took it not to mean much; after all, it wasn't their door that was being knocked on.
Then, he glanced over at Adion, who also stared at him. The realisation hit them quickly.
They both hurried to the door and quietly opened it, peeking their heads through the cracks. Down the corridor, they saw the figure of a mother and what seemed to be her child standing by room 2, the room that they had claimed was theirs in the notice!
The pair waited in their room, peeking through the door as the true owner of room 2 opened the door and spoke through the crack.
"Can I help you, ma'am?" an old man asked.
"Are you the one that left the notice in Redchapel?" she wasted no time in asking, and her tone was filled with frustration. The old man furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
"I have no idea what you're talkingâ"
Before he could finish, Valorth pushed open the door with a creak, making the woman and her son turn their heads to look at him. Tipping his head respectfully towards the woman, Valorth spoke in the most distinguished manner he could.
"Apologies for the confusion, but that would be us. Please, come inside, let's talk."
The old man in room 2 slammed his door shut angrily at the waste of time, leaving the mother and her son in the corridor. Slowly, they made their way over to room 6.
The mother, whose skin was pale like Adion's, wore a black dress that went wide at the hips. She wore powder on her cheeks to give them a pink blush and wore her hair in curls, yet it didn't do much to hide the fact that she seemed worn down and tired.
Her eyes had bags beneath them and her skin had become wrinkled above the forehead and around the mouth, yet she seemed to be no older than thirty.
Hovering nervously behind her was a boy with darker skin, though not quite as dark as Valorth's. His black hair was buzzed short and he wore a brown suit jacket and shorts that were in a much worse state than the mother's clothes.
Roughly around the age of twelve, the boy carried none of the gleam that often came with youth. His expression seemed to be full of sadness, and his right eye was bruised black. Valorth scanned them closely as they stepped up to the door. The woman looked him up and down with a frown on her face.
"You're dark for a Vaheshian. Are you sure you aren't from the Sunblessed Empire?" Her voice came with scorn.
Without waiting for an answer, the woman pushed into room 8, pulling her nervous son behind her.
I hate her already...
Valorth looked over at Adion, who had watched the whole exchange from the sidelines. He leaned closer and spoke in a hushed tone. "It's not too late to kill her and claim she was a demon in disguise." The two laughed beneath their breaths before turning back into their room and closing the door behind them.
---
"You can take a seat on the bed," Valorth said, gesturing towards the only two places to sit comfortably in the room.
The woman looked around and shook her head firmly. "No thank you. This won't take long anyway. I'd like to be gone from this place as soon as possible."
"..."
You act as though Redchapel is any better.
Adion leaned his back against the door and glared at the woman with his keen eyes. Meanwhile, Valorth was more focused on the young boy, who carried the sadness with him.
"So, what can we help you with?" he then asked.
"Exactly what you said you could help me with on your note," the woman responded sharply, still not bothering with respect. "I'd like help with killing a demon, though I can't go to the White Hand even if I thought they would help me."
Valorth nodded his head in understanding. This likely meant that the woman had somehow brought a demon into her life through illegal methods such as rituals or blasphemy. It was true that Angel Armaneus' descent had caused a rise in evil.
"Where's this demon located?" Adion chimed in. "Is it in Redchapel, where we left our note?"
The woman scoffed as if some sort of joke had been made, then pulled a cigarette from her purse and started to smoke it. Only after puffing out the smoke did she reply in her cold tone.
"The demon is right here," she said, nodding her head towards the small boy standing beside her. "My corrupted son, Dante."