Chapter 684 Five Crows

Chapter 684 Five Crows

"So... he lives right under that village?" Krog asked, surprised, "I would have thought he'd be in some big castle at the peak of a mountain or something."

"That would be a bit too obvious," Eiro pointed out, "The Devil is cocky, not stupid. And whether or not this is a permanent place, or if he moves from place to place regularly is still unclear. What we know right now is that he's stationary under that village, and he feeds on the people living there."

Ariella closed her eyes in contemplation. They were close to fighting against the man she hated the most in the world... She had been preparing for this for so long that it felt unreal to finally get to this point, "Then should we strike soon? To make sure he can't escape to another place?"

"We could, but it might actually be safer to wait specifically for him to leave," Eiro explained, "No matter where he goes, we can track him. And his current base would be rigged with a lot of spells that would give him the upper hand."

"So it's just a waiting game then?"

Eiro looked at James, quickly answering his question, "No, it's not. We just need to give him a reason to leave sooner than he would naturally."

James rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Could you stop being so cryptic and just tell us your plan?"

"Not letting me have any fun, huh?" the Demon sighed, "Fine. Alright, we'll do this..."

--- A pair of crows landed on a fence. A farmer, on his way home after finally finishing up his work deep into the night, came to a stop in front of the critters. He just stared at them, into their beady eyes. As he did, another crow landed to his side, and a fourth behind him. Starting to get anxious about the birds' weird behaviour, he started walking past them in a hurry. Turning around a corner into the empty road, the farmer felt his heart nearly skip a beat. In the middle of the road stood another crow, staring right at him.

It was just a couple of birds, there was no reason for him to feel like this... right? But there was something about them that felt unnatural. Like they weren't supposed to be like this. Soon, the four other crows landed around the man, surrounding him. The farmer felt his chest heat up, but not out of fear. A burning pain appeared on his chest, as though a red-hot piece of metal was being pressed onto him. He felt overcome with a wave of exhaustion, as the situation he found himself in started feeling too bothersome to deal with. He didn't even care if something was amiss, he just wanted to sleep.

"Yourself," the reply came quickly, "Would your lover hope for your demise, or your happiness?"

The group of five turned toward the source of the voice. It came from the darkness, hidden within the shadows of the night forest. Slowly, a figure stepped forward. At first, they thought the creature that took their loved ones had come back, but it felt... different. It was clad in black, but instead of a cloak, it wore a well-tailored suit, the kind that not even the rare merchant that came here could afford. Its head was a wisp of black smoke, blending into the dark forest behind it.

"What... are you?" Marius asked, and the figure replied with a slight bow, "The name my master bestowed upon me is Mislan. He sent me on the long journey here to assist you all."

"Your master?" "The one that created me. And the one that created these fellows," Mislan pointed out, and the black crows replied with a few caws, "You and your village... you are under the control of a deep, disgusting evil. One that my master wishes to hurt. To purge from the presence of this... world."

"You'll help us fight him?" Lorenz asked, but Mislan quickly denied that idea, "No. Neither you, nor I, will be fighting. This enemy is not one that you can hope to even lay eyes on. I am here to assist you in your escape. My master has already graciously removed the Marks you had been branded with so that you may take the lead."

"You expect us to just run away? When the thing that took our wives, our children... our brothers and sisters... when that thing is still out there?!" Marius yelled out, but Mislan stayed calm.

"I think I may need to make a few things clear. That 'thing' you all saw is not the one my master wishes to purge. It is merely that being's tool... designed to bring it food."

The expressions of the five people turned sour. Their faces where pure white, as though they as well were already dead.

"...so... they're just gone? For good?"

"...I'm afraid so. But I swear to you, that my Master will slay that monstrosity. In order to do that, though, we need you to leave. To get out of the way. My Master wishes to not see any more innocent lives be lost," Mislan explained. The group was quiet for a while. And then, Marius spoke up again.

"What do we need to do?"