Chapter 4. The Lurker

The servants’ dining hall burst into sudden chatter after the chilling words of Housemaster Gandrid. Yes, he had said there was a low chance of the demon hunting servants, but still, a demon was a demon.

“Hmm, what have the nobles done to earn the attention of demons?” Adion said, scratching his hairless chin.

Valorth let out a chuckle. “What, besides being corrupt? Who knows.” Only after speaking did he realise the irony.

Shortly afterward, the bell rang again, bringing the hall to silence. Gandrid proceeded to urge the servants to finish their meals swiftly and get along with their days. Regardless of demonic presence, there were still many matters that needed attending to.

After the housemaster left, many servants finished their meals and prepared to leave. Valorth and Adion did the same and pulled each other into a brotherly embrace.

“Well then, I’ll catch you at supper time,” Adion said before they parted ways due to their different roles as servants. “Try not to get possessed by the Lurker while running your little errands.”

Valorth punched him playfully on the shoulder to silence his teasing. “Yeah, yeah. And you’d better pray to the Angel of Swords that the Lurker doesn’t possess a horse and kick Adion the Stable boy down.”

After hearing the jest, Adion’s eyebrows suddenly furrowed, and he looked his friend in the eyes, puzzled. Valorth was taken aback.

Did I say something wrong?

“The Angel of Swords?” Adion repeated. “Who is the Angel of Swords?”

Valorth felt his heart rate increase instantly. He cursed in his head over and over again at the foolish blunder he had made.

“Ah, it’s just a name I’ve been using in prayers. Forgive me, Angel of Arms,” he said, attempting a joke.

Adion’s face remained unchanged for a moment, keeping Valorth on edge. Then, he let out a bellowing laugh, releasing all tension from the situation.

“Angel of Swords, huh? I might just have to try that myself.”

Afterward, the two friends split up to tackle their respective tasks for the day. The whole time, Valorth struggled to control his breathing.

I have to be more careful; otherwise, the secret of my corruption will lead to my death.

————

“Hall boy, there is a speck on my shoe. Would you shine it for me?”

On the second floor of the extravagant Uradesh Palace, Valorth was called into the chambers of a short, fat man named Cleon, the Finance Minister of the empire. Due to the command of Emperor Haide II, all important figures of the empire were required to live in the palace with him, so that he and the royal family could keep a close eye on them.

Being a hall boy, Valorth was never allowed to interact with the royal family and was instead subjected to catering to the needs of the nobles who lived on the second floor. He had helped many such people; however, Minister Cleon was by far his least favourite.

As the fat man sat by his crowded desk, Valorth bent down to clean the man’s already spotless shoes. Once done, he turned to leave the room and return to cleaning the hallways. However, he was stopped by the distinguished voice of the Minister.

“Oh, and would you brew me a cup of tea? There’s a good boy,” the man said, without even glancing at him.

Valorth clenched his fists. It was for reasons like this that he and Adion longed to escape the lives of servants. For reasons like this, they devoured the hearts.”

Soon… Valorth. Soon.

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“Yes sir,” he responded, making his way over to his cart stationed outside the room, which carried a teapot and mugs.

However, it was after exiting the room that Valorth heard something strange. It was a faint, indistinguishable voice, which at first he mistook for a member of the palace. He looked around and saw only maids gliding across the beautiful red carpet as they went about their work.

Just as he was about to turn back to the cart, the voice came again, but this time it was much clearer. The voice seemed to be calling his name.

Valorth’s eyes darted around the palace until they finally landed on a painting depicting a portrait of the now-dead Emperor Haide the First. He squinted his eyes at the picture for a few moments with scepticism. The dead Emperor was a handsome man with chiselled features and long black hair.

Then it happened. The mouth of the painting moved, and a smile spread across its face.

“I’m coming, corrupted one!” it hissed, sending tremors down Valorth’s spine. That was all he needed to send him darting down the hallway, abandoning the Finance Minister’s request.

A demon! I’m being haunted by a demon!

Valorth sprinted for his life, running from a being he knew nothing about. Maids stared at him as he sprinted past before returning to their duties, but they could not hear the words of the demon. It was normal for a servant to run in fear, hurrying to fulfil the needs of the nobles. What they didn’t know was that Valorth’s fears were far worse than those of any noble.

As he turned down a large corridor, he heard the frantic whispers of a demon reaching out to him. It seemed to be using the paintings around him as a medium for speech, constantly taunting him, but he forced his ears to block out their words, lest they affected him in any way.

Eventually, he came to a door he was familiar with. One that had long since been abandoned by a noble who was away travelling. He pushed open the door and closed it behind him, trapping himself in the grand chambers of a noteworthy man.

After resting his hands on his knees and gathering as much breath as he could, he looked around, searching for signs of the demon. At first, he let out a sigh of relief, believing that he had somehow lost it.

But then he turned around. There, above the door frame, was a picture of the man who owned the room. He wore a red waistcoat over a long-sleeved white shirt, and his face was old and scarred from his time at war.

The eyes of the painting glanced down at Valorth, followed by the mouth stretching into a maniacal smile. Valorth stumbled backwards, but there was no more escaping. The demon said so itself.

“You won’t leave here alive!” The painting suddenly spoke, as the paint in the canvas began to drip like candle wax. The mixture of colours landed on the ground below, creating a puddle, until the man in the painting was no longer there.

Then, the puddle began to stir and bubble, as if becoming alive. The colours continued to mix, and the paint began to rise, becoming something with form. A figure roughly the size of a man, with legs to carry it, arms to fight with, and a face with no features.

Once fully formed, the figure stood there, radiating a violent energy toward Valorth. For the first time, he had come face to face with a demonic figure.

“Why… why me?” His voice quivered as he stepped away from the demon. “They said that the demon would hunt nobles. I’m nothing but a servant!”

The demon stopped in its tracks, and its head tilted sideways, as if regarding the human before it.

“Corrupted… you are corrupted!”

And then, with no further explanation, the demon dashed forward, closing the gap between them. Valorth’s instincts forced him to dive to the side, which allowed him to just barely dodge the fist of the demon. He watched as paint splattered from its punch, staining the location where he had just stood.

Valorth quickly rolled to his feet, just in time for the demon’s next attack. It leapt toward him with two outstretched hands ready to grab. Valorth managed to step backward out of its reach, but paint splattered his clothes, turning his white under shirt red and blue.

In that split second, Valorth came to a realisation. Despite his fear, there was something obvious about the demon. Its speed was no greater than a human’s, and the paint seemed to have no effect on his body. In other words…

Is this demon worth being afraid of?

The paint demon stepped forward and threw another clumsy, closed-fist blow. However, this time, Valorth was unable to get out of the way in time. The blow clipped him on his jaw, rattling his brain and throwing off his balance. He felt his vision blur, and before he could recover, the demon pounced on him, grabbing hold of his shoulders in a tight grip.

Valorth fell onto his back with the beast on top of him. It opened its mouth and produced sounds that slightly resembled human vocabulary.

“Stop… must stop the corrupted!”

Valorth struggled against the demon’s grasp but found no success. The demon used its hands to pry his mouth open, attempting to shove its hand down his throat.

Valorth choked on paint. The demon was clearly as strong as the average man, but being a poor servant, Valorth was even weaker. Not to mention, he had no experience in combat.

As he felt himself losing his breath and the demon making its way further down his throat, Valorth found his consciousness fading away from him. Tears fell from his eyes unwillingly, and he feared that this would be his end.

So soon… will I really die so soon? At the start of my journey?

His will to live started to fade. His thoughts turned to his only friend, Adion, whom he feared he might have to leave behind like a coward.

It was only once the demon seemed to have made its way halfway into Valorth’s body that he found a last sliver of hope. A sliver that he recklessly dared to reach out for and cling onto.

With what little breath remained, Valorth managed to whisper:

“Angel Kacel… please save me!”

Then, in an instant, the entire world seemed to change.