The Demon Hunter's Crisis

       Ifrit woke up to a call from Anubis banging against the door to his suite. He yawned as he lifted his body from the bed and walked towards the door.

       “(What is it?)" said Ifrit groggily.

       “(Clearly you have one hell of a night with Lilac)," said Anubis with a raised eyebrow.

       “(I wonder how you found out)," replied Ifrit while yawning. “(What time is it?)"

       “(12 noon)."

       “(12? Fuck. I overslept)."

       “(Of course you are. Luckily no one's been trying to call you except me. I need to ask some personal question, so get ready and meet me by the second tree)."

       “(Why can't you get in here now?)"

       “(It only concerns us. Oh, and put on some clothes, will you?)"

       “(Yeah, right. I'm hearing this from a blind jackal)."

       “(Your fur is untidy and your dick is one hell of a sight. I'll be waiting)."

       Anubis turned around and left Ifrit, who sighed and said, “(As you wish…)"

       After getting dressed and kiss Lilac, Ifrit walked out of his suite to a bustling tree city morning. He quickly found Anubis, who was waiting at the bridge connecting two trees over a large avenue at the base of the rainforest, full of hellhounds and other races alike. The Death Jackal was waiting patiently, yet he occasionally tapped his walking stick to some objects, as if making sure that the bridge was not moving.

       One of his ears propped up and he said, “(That took you long enough. I thought you are continuing what you did not finish)."

       “(Dude, seriously?)"

       “(It was a joke. But seriously, I need you to confirm something for me)."

       Ifrit tilted his head in confusion, but then Anubis gently put his hand in front of his chest. He kept that position until he exhaled and said, “(I guess it's still in its infancy. I need to develop it further)."

       “(What did you do? Look, Ani, whatever it is that you're trying to do…)"

       “(I tethered your soul)."

       There was a slight silence before Ifrit said, “(So, what are you trying to say? I didn't feel anything)."

       “(You don't, but I do. I 'marked' your soul and I can pull it whenever I wished)."

       Ifrit suddenly became pale. “(Hey, hey! Are you fucking serious?!)"

       Anubis smiled. “(I'm just playing with you, Ifrit. Well, I'm not joking. I can pull your soul, at least that's what I found out this morning when I accidentally pull a bird's soul and dispersed it)."

       “(You know, you slowly become the literal meaning of your race's name)."

       “(I accept that as a compliment)."

       “(But seriously, Ani…was that the only reason you wake me up? I thought you're the kind of guy who won't bother others unless it is extremely important)."

       “(Yeah, well…I'm not sure if what we are currently doing will yield anything useful for us. I mean, we are facing the worst enemy we have ever faced, but then instead of addressing other problems, we were too preoccupied with investigating new problems while we still have an immediate problem. Ifrit, is it wise to ignore the rebels?)"

       “(Now that you mentioned it…Karkos seemed to forget that fact and asked all of us to assess this new threat. I mean, to be honest, we all forgot about it already)."

       “(I think he thought that the rebels would try to ask us for assistance or at least a truce, but until now the only rebels who would do that were Tyrall and Kghron. I know both of them were influential figures, but those rebels were still occupying Tragoria)."

       Anubis made his friend think about it. Things had been causing them a problem in priority, mixing up things that were supposed to be the main objective and another, yet unknown problem. Despite of the growing support from the people of Tragoria who decided that some hellhounds were on their side, it was not enough to prevent towns and cities into becoming preoccupied or razed to the ground. While the threat was minimal in the other region, if Arbal was taken over by the full demonic forces of dragons, demon goats, and lust demons, the other regions would be overrun. They were lucky the whole invasion was not happening due to threats from the unknown, but it needed to be done.

       Ifrit kept pondering on the status and development when Albreich came to the two of them. The sight of the former paladin relaxed his heart a bit, but Albreich did not have the same thought.

       “I hope you two have the time to talk about something very important. I know I can trust both of you on this matter."

       “What is it, Al?" asked Ifrit.

       “About the paladin who encountered Anubis…he is currently at the front door of this city…with a squad of them."

       The two hellhounds were surprised by this, with Ifrit saying, “How the hell do they find out about this city? Isn't this supposed to be a safe haven for hellhounds?!"
       “Being a paladin once, what I can say to you is...they will hunt a demon down and erase them from the surface of the earth."

       He then turned to Anubis. “Yet, I can sense that their intention is not to hurt you."

       “Me?"

       “They wanted to talk about you, and specifically asked me to get you to them. Whatever you said to them will give them the decision to either exterminate every single hellhound in this city, or leave them be."

       “But surely we need an authoritative figure."

       “Karkos is a hellhound and I am a former paladin. Right now, the only hellhound in their history who could cut a paladin's sword is the highest authority they need."

       Anubis looked at the big gate visible from the apartment and gulped. He never thought he would be the start of another problem, and this time with one of their other potential enemies, the demon hunters. He thought being blind lifted him from many responsibilities. He did not think about this.

       After he agreed on it, Albreich helped directing him towards the gate, with Ifrit in tow. Many of the residents had seen the big group by the gate, and it was only a sliver of patience that prevented them from starting a big attack.

       On the demon hunter side, the paladin who wanted to talk to Anubis waited impatiently, while another man, an older, grey-haired man, came to him and said, “Calm down, Alex."

       “I wanted to, master, but I cannot let my pride and dignity be tarnished by a hell spawn! I need the rematch!"

       “We are here to talk to them, not to fight."

       “But you said it yourself when I was your squire! 'Demons are not to be trusted'. I followed that path myself."

       “Just calm down and wait for the hellhound. Everyone in this squad is interested in meeting the demon that could cut Gatz Ehring."

       Before Alex could say something, he spotted three figures approaching them. Two were clearly canine, while one of them, a white-haired human, was immediately recognizable.

       Alex immediately saw the hellhound he wanted a rematch, but his master quickly stopped him and said, “Look at him, Alex. Have you no decency? He's blind."

       “Blind?! Then how could he…"

       “You were too worked up when you saw that hellhound that you did not realize it. Let me talk to Albreich."

       Alex wanted to try another rematch, but knowing his master, he would not be able to do it. He grudgingly returned back to his squad and watched his mentor talked with Albreich Schafner, one of the prodigals he knew back in the academy.

       “You have grown into a fine man, Albreich," said the mentor quietly. Albreich bowed towards him.

       “Raise your head, Albreich. We are equal among men. Have you been well?"

       “Never better."

       The mentor smiled. “Then I guess leaving the order does give you more wisdom, just as you thought when you argued about it in your thesis."

       “But I don't think that would be possible to change the order from the ground up. Years of history would be lost."

       “Yes, unfortunately, that is the case. But, let's talk about it for another day. Let me look at the hellhound."

       Albreich helped Anubis to step forward. While he could use his ability to see Soul Particle, he did not want to tire himself just to talk, so he stayed blind for the sake of it. The mentor looked at him and said, “He's…different."

       “I've seen his ability first-hand, master Lidden. It's similar…no, it's far more powerful than our magic."

       “Then let's test it." Lidden moved towards Anubis and unsheathed his sword. He said, “If you are what Albreich claimed you are, then you have no problem holding this sword."

       “I am honored by this gesture, paladin, but I am a demon. I might burn my hand holding that sword."

       “Trust your ability, hellhound."

       Anubis tried to find the sword he saw in his sixth sense, but could not find the hilt. Lidden helped him with the sword. The moment Anubis grabbed it, he felt a surge of power coming from it, as if it was full of particles that he could use. He could then 'see' the sword as he heightened his sixth sense. All of the sudden, he felt the sword's 'soul' talking to him.

       Whoever wields this sword shall find wisdom and blind justice. The sword of the Scale will enforce judgement upon the guilty…

       Just as Anubis raised his sword, Lidden quickly pulled it away from Anubis and sheathed it. He then said, “Iscal Liberis can be overwhelming to those not trained to wield it. But that proved a point. Albreich, is he the only one who could do this?"

       “For now, he is the only one."

       “I see…. Young hound, what is your name?"

       “A-Anubis Caropus. May I ask why I suddenly have an urge to...attack that paladin behind you?"

       Lidden turned his head to look at Alex, who was also dumbfounded by the spectacle. The older paladin sighed and said, “My sword can cleanse the soul of the judged. It's not harmful to humans, but for demons, it can destroy them. Yet, this sword does not try to kill you. In fact, it was trying to make you its wielder. I must say, in all my life hunting demons, you are one surprising sight. Not only you are blind, just like what justice should be, but you are also on level with a paladin. If you are fighting for the cause of chaos, you would be a formidable opponent."

       He then turned towards Albreich. “He's going to be alright. We have nothing to discuss about this. That, on the other hand, does not answer another problem we have regarding an unknown enemy."

       Suddenly Anubis's ears propped up and he said, “I'm listening."

       “Is there a significance in you listening?"

       “I think you are our best bet on fighting them. Just saying."

       Anubis then proceeded to explain everything about the unknown entity to Lidden, who only acknowledging it without replying. The rest of the squad, on the other hand, grew restless as Anubis continued, in particular Alex, who despite of knowing that the demon he was fighting had paladin abilities, could not accept that he could be defeated and got a sword forged by white magic be cut. He wanted to think that it was just a blunder, yet there was never in the history of the brotherhood did they ever had a sword cut by a demonic weapon.

       After Lidden heard all about it, he nodded and said, “You do realize that what you said are all heard by me, a master paladin, who could be your worst enemy?"

       “The enemy of my enemy is my friends, they said," replied Anubis. “I think it's a safe bet."

       Lidden smiled, then laughed. “Oh, Albreich, what have you been feeding these young hellhounds?"

       In the end, though, despite of Lidden's assurance that they did not mean any harm, none of the younger hunters wanted to step foot inside the tree city. There were many instances that a messenger asked them to get inside, but they politely refused it. Some were not as polite as some.

       In the head camp, Lidden was reading some books when Alex, who was tasked to guard the door, came in and said, “Sir, requesting permission for personal opinion."

       Lidden stared at him for a moment before sealing the room with muting magic and said, “Granted. Now, is this about those hellhounds?"

       “I thought you know better than I do about what those demons have been doing to the region of Tragoria! Those wolf-hating…"

       “Language, Alexei. I only give you the permission for a personal opinion about the demons."

       Alex grunted. “Yes, sir," he said. “But Tragoria…fell because of those demons."

       “And if Schafner's claim is true, then an outpost is trying to halt that invasion as we are talking right now. But, Alex, can't you see what's inside the wall? Those demons did not even act like demons, but more like a human being."

       “And demons are master of fraud and deception. Sir, if we don't act now…"

       “If we conduct a baseless witch-hunt, not only we shattered our only relationship with them, but we also made an enemy of Tanah region, a region where hellhounds thrived and lived for so many years. I think you know that this region was supposed to be branded as a demonic land, but do you actually think that they were also refugees?"

       “Demons fighting each other is not one of our concern."

       “It wasn't our concern, but given those disappearances and some paladins claimed that they were given the blessing of a pagan god, I think we can assume that these demons are also victims. Can't you see, Alex? These hellhounds are also a race, just like humans and Lycans! You may think of those possessed humans, but hellhounds are different. They have children, they talk to each other, and they basically law-abiding citizen."

       “But they are also trying to destroy Tragoria and invaded many other small towns."

       “Alex…don't you think we can give them a chance?"

       “I wanted to, but I just can't. I just can't. You know prodigals personally, master. You know my past. I can't forgive them for what they did."

       Lidden did not reply that, so Alex assumed that the argument for the night was over. He then said, “Permission to leave, sir."

       Lidden nodded and lifted the seal to the door. Before he walked out of the tent, however, Lidden said, “Is this about Maya?"

       Alex did not reply, and walked out of the tent, leaving Lidden alone. The older paladin scratched his head in frustration, knowing that taking his squad to a hellhound town could end with disaster. Alex was not the only one who had a personal vendetta with demons. Most of his squads had a past that inspired them to lead a life of hunting demons, including his former student and a personal friend, Albreich Schafner. He may not be in the brotherhood anymore, but he always came to a fort talking to the fort's captain while posing as a trader. He's not an ordinary prodigal and many respected him, for his horizon was far more expanded than many of the narrow-minded older generations.

       Albreich once came to Lidden's fort posing as a trader. He talked about his encounter with a personal hellhound friend called Anarim Winsel, the leader of a small tribe of forest hellhounds with a color scheme of a fox. Albreich liked to talk about that particular hellhound, partly because him being a friend, and also because of Anarim's dream to see hellhounds and 'surface dwellers' living together in peace.

       Now, with a mutual fight coming to them, it could be a chance to see that dream be realized. Yet it was still far from that, and with the whole squad trying their best not to cause problems, it could be a problem if a conflict broke.