Mistaken for a Returnee

Sulika and Faeyra took a long, hard look at the three men sitting in the room.

Max, Master of the Hunters Guild, sat with his arms folded across his chest, his head tilted back and resting against the top of his chair.

Though his eye was closed, his body was tense- too tense for her to believe he was just resting: the muscles in his jaw were moving as he chewed on the inside of his cheek.

Meanwhile, Joolbic: the man who held the highest position on the entire island, looked perfectly comfortable with his hands interlaced on the table in front of him.

Though he sat with perfect posture, his shoulders and neck remained relaxed, while his eyes focused on Aldritch's face.

Speaking of the crimson-haired giant: the sentinels hadn't liked the idea of some unknown man being alone with the governor and they'd tried to shackle him to the ground with wooden chains.

Unfortunately, it didn't look like they had any large enough to fit around his monstrous calves. So, they ended up linking three shackles together to encircle his right leg, wrapping two wooden chains around his left, and fastening both to the floor anchor between the legs of his chair.

Not that Aldritch seemed to care.

In fact, Aldritch was so comfortable in this situation, Sulika could hear him quietly talking to the little puppy in a voice no man- that she knew- would dare use around someone of authority.

"You're such a pretty girl ~ Yes you are~" he said, his voice pitched higher than Sulika believed possible.

"What did you do?" She repeated, her patience rapidly reaching its end. Somehow, the sight of him absently playing with a puppy in this situation was doing far more to her nerves than it was to his.

As if he'd only just noticed their presence, Aldritch looked at Sulika and smiled. "Good morning, ladies. Did you sleep well?" He asked, speaking as if there was nothing unusual going on.

"Aldritch…" Sulika growled. Her fraying nerves couldn't handle his laissez-faire attitude right now. "Please, answer the question: what did you do?"

"Of course, I apologize for disturbing your morning. Unfortunately, I felt the situation was urgent enough to warrant a meeting with the king of this land. I would not have done this otherwise." He replied, looking genuinely remorseful for ruining their morning.

"You brought a demon into our city, sir Aldritch. There are far better alternatives if your goal was to schedule a meeting with us." Joolbic said in a calm, but reproachful tone.

At the mention of the word 'demon', Sulika and Faeyra both glanced at the Demonwolf kneeling beside Aldritch.

He hadn't so much as twitched a muscle since they'd entered the room. Which led the two of them to wonder; just what had Aldritch done to make a Demonwolf compliant?

It was at that moment Sulika realized something about the Demonwolf- the demon wasn't contained in any way. There wasn't a shackle in sight, or a cuff in place. They hadn't even bothered to put a ward around the creature. Why?

Why shackle Aldritch: an admittedly large, but otherwise normal man- but not the Demon sitting a scant few inches away?

It didn't make any sense.

"Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I've just gotta ask. Shouldn't we contain the Demonwolf somehow? What if it decides to go on a rampage?" She asked, shooting Aldritch a pointed glance- But her attention was shifted away almost immediately.

The Demonwolf's body started quivering, almost like every cell in its body was desperately trying to escape before Sulika's question could sink into someone's mind.

"Don't worry about him." Aldritch replied, moving his hand towards the Demonwolf's face- Aldritch flicked his middle finger at a point directly between the demon's eyes Crack! causing light to flash around the demon, revealing the skintight shield of divine energy encasing its entire body.

The Demonwolf couldn't move, even if it wanted to. More to the point, it was widely known that divine mana was toxic to demons.

Though a divine shield could act as a suit of armor for hunters, it only worked because any demon dumb enough to touch it was burned as if they'd stuck their hand in acid.

"I mentioned it earlier, but I think it deserves repeating: that's a bit cruel, sir Aldritch. Even towards a demon." Joolbic said. Though his words weren't entirely convincing, as there was no trance of pity or true concern within his eyes. "Why not just kill it?"

Sulika had to agree; while she certainly held no qualms against killing demons, she didn't enjoy it either. She only fought because it was necessary, for the safety and continued existence of her city, some demons had to die…

Then again, she hadn't known Aldritch to be particularly cruel either. The thought of him keeping it alive just for the sake of inflicting pain seemed to go against everything she knew about him.

Faeyra had reached the same conclusion as Sulika, but she'd gotten there almost immediately after seeing the Demon.

Call it her merchant's instincts, women's intuition, or whatever you like. But she knew Aldritch wouldn't have brought the demon inside the walls for such a petty reason. No, he thought the demon had value to the city and she was very interested in finding out what it was.

"An excellent question… Which I will answer, but as I said earlier, only after mine and Sulika's debts with the Hunters Guild are settled." Aldritch replied, looking straight at Max.

"And like I've told you, I've already sent word to the guild to check on that." Max sighed and rubbed his face, exhaustion weighing on his mind.

"If your claim can be substantiated, I'll have the fines canceled by the end of the day and I'll pay you out of my own pocket. But until I have proof that what you claim is true, you aren't getting a single copper bit from me." Max replied and returned Aldritch's stare.

Everyone could tell the GM was irritated, and the more time passed, the angrier he would get.

Aldritch slowly blinked at the smaller man, but didn't otherwise change his expression. "I'm happy to keep waiting until such proof can be found. Considering the paperwork was just filed a few days ago, I'm certain it hasn't been lost yet."

Max narrowed his eye at Aldritch and stood from his chair. "Be very careful with what you say next, outsider. My guild may have issues, but I'll not sit idly while you defame my employees."

"I have no intention of besmirching the honor of your employees. From what I could see during my brief interactions with them, most are honorable, hard-working people. I would never insult their dignity in such a way. However, I won't lie for them either."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Max asked, his throat tightening as he fought to contain his anger.

"Surely you must know what your Vice-Master has been doing behind your back? Threatening Sulika and her team, blackmail, bribery, among others. These crimes did not escape your notice, did they?" Aldritch asked.

Max sighed and returned to his seat. "Is that what this meeting was about? To rub this knowledge in my face?"

"Certainly not." Aldritch replied. "I'm only using it as a point of reference. I signed the paperwork in question mere minutes before Sulika had her talk with the Vice-Master. Since you're aware of what happened during that conversation, surely you can understand my point?"

Max broke eye contact and stared at the table in front of him, he tightened his fists until his nails pierced the rough skin of his palm… then he exhaled, slowly pushing the stress and tension out of his body.

Max reached into the small satchel tied to his waist and pulled out a leather pouch. He opened it and quickly retrieved seven golden coins that were no larger than a fingertip, placing them in a stack on the table between him and Aldritch.

Without taking his hand off the stack, he removed three coins and placed them into a second stack beside the first.

"I can't just give you gold coins without evidence that you haven't already been paid…" Max muttered. "But I trust Lady Wysarie. If she agrees with your statement, then I'll give you three coins now in exchange for you starting your story. The others will come when I see the paperwork. Sound fair?"

Aldritch glanced down at the coins, then returned his gaze to Max's lone eye after a second of thought. "I can agree to that."

"Hang on- What am I corroborating?" Sulika asked, getting irritated. She didn't like how they'd agreed on something involving her, without even taking a second to ask her opinion.

"How the guild hasn't paid me for the Ogre corpse yet," Aldritch explained, before shooting her an apologetic smile.

"You told me about your friend during our conversation the other day. And while I have no concerns about the fact that he killed the Ogre, he's claiming we never paid him. But, as you know, the bounty should have been paid out on the day we claimed the body. I wasn't there, but you were," Max explained while looking at Sulika. "I know you to be an honorable person. So, if you say he wasn't paid, then he wasn't paid."

Sulika's mind went blank the moment she realized everyone's attention was on her. "Er…" She cleared her throat. "As far as I know, he wasn't paid. Edward made it pretty clear Aldritch wasn't allowed to stay in the building after their conversation ended." She said, hoping she looked more confident than she felt.

She was telling the truth, but if she'd hesitated for a second too long, or said something that sounded like a lie, there was no telling what Max might do.

But her worries proved fruitless. Max scrutinized Sulika for a few seconds before shaking his head.

What he must do was obvious: He picked up the stack of coins and, with a quick flick of his wrist, sent them sliding across the table to Aldritch's waiting hand.

"Next time- Don't leave before getting your money. The guild won't pay out this way again."

Aldritch closed his fist around the coins and smiled wryly. "Understood. I'll make sure to get every coin I'm owed before I leave." Then, without looking, he took a single coin off the top of the stack and placed it in front of Sulika.

"What's this for-" Sulika's question was cut off by a light jab from Faeyra, who took the coin without question and made it disappear into her pocket.

"Thanks, Aldritch. I'll give you your change when we get back to the store." Faeyra said, happily smiling at the giant. Sulika might not have understood, but she certainly did.

Aldritch had promised to pay them back for all the milk he'd drank, and for letting him stay at their home for the last few days. A gold coin was worth far more than anything they'd given him. But with that coin, the two of them could afford to buy new ingredients for potions, new clothes, a new weapon for Sulika… Or the down-payment on a new building for the guild they were creating.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

The store was great, but it wasn't big enough to be the base of a Guild.

They'd need something at least twice, maybe even three times as big if Oladi, Ralocan, Zarud, and Derrik decided to move in to save on rent.

Not to mention the cost of food, salaries, equipment maintenance, medical, and they'd need to keep a decent amount stored away for the death pool: A guild-wide contribution fund that would be sent to their person or organizations of choice should the worst happen, and they don't make it home from a hunt.

Running a guild was expensive, more so than Faeyra thought Sulika realized. Aldritch seemed to agree, since he smirked at Faeyra and nodded his thanks.

"Well, now that's all sorted out." Joolbic said, drawing everyone's attention back to him. "Would you like to begin your story? I'm sure we're all excited to hear how this-'' He waved between Aldritch and the Demonwolf. "Came about."

"Of course." Aldritch replied. "Faeyra, Sulika, would the two of you mind sitting here?" He said, standing up and offering his seat, and the one next to it, to the two women.

Sulika and Faeyra glanced at each other before moving to do as he asked- though both women paused as Aldritch grabbed the Demonwolf by the scruff of its neck and dragged it away from the table.

The demon's eyes widened, surprise and fear battling to be the most displayed expression.

Faeyra was surprised to see Aldritch so easily moving the ten-foot-tall demon like it was the same size as the sleeping puppy- but after seeing Sulika's blank expression, she decided not to say anything… Not right now, anyway. She'd question the both of them after they returned home.

Aldritch dragged the demon to the far side of the room then pushed it against the hard stone wall- his right hand closed around the Demon's throat and slowly slid the creature up the wall until its feet were no longer touching the floor.

Aldritch altered the shield spell to uncover the demon's head before leaning in close, ensuring only the demon could hear his voice.

"Vrashak torz var Thraal-mor, agh nazh vorghan tor nak shadeck drathkor vorzhan. Khurzan marz zharak torzhan nak. (I despise this atrocious language, but I don't want there to be any misunderstandings between us. You're going to tell them everything that you told me.) He whispered in perfect Thraal: the language of those who serve the Devils. "Agh vorak torkhal, vor drathnak khar… Zharan tor, vak? (But one sentence out of line, or one detail shy… you know what happens then, right?) He asked, pinning the demon in place with his draconic stare.

The Demonwolf gave Aldritch a shaky nod.

Thrall was a guttural language that was as violent as the people who spoke it. Demonkin could get away with speaking it because of their body's naturally high durability and regeneration speed- if anyone else tried to speak the language, they'd rip their vocal cords to pieces.

Aldritch released the Demonwolf's throat, but to the surprise of Max, Joolbic, and Faeyra, the barrier prevented the demon from falling. Instead, it hovered in place right where Aldritch left it.

"Then you can begin." Aldritch said, stepping around to stand behind Sulika and Faeyra.

The Demonwolf nervously glanced around the room for a few seconds. "My name is Garr. I am the captain of the Shadowed Hounds Demonwolf pack. And I…" Garr winced as if he were in pain. "Serve the Devil Irnal: Baron of the Crimson Fleet. My master sent myself and approximately One thousand two hundred demons to this world in order to conquer it after our dungeon experienced what you mortals call a 'break'-"

Garr went silent as Max bolted to his feet and yelled, "There's been a dungeon break on the island?" Max pivoted his eye to Aldritch; rage, confusion, and fear were clear as day in the GM's expression. "There's been a dungeon break and you've been wasting our time in here with these-these theatrics!?"

"Calm down, Guild Master." Joolbic muttered impatiently.

"Don't tell me to calm down, Joolbic." Max growled. "You know what a dungeon break is like. How many hundreds of people died while we've been sitting here, oblivious to what was going on? One? Two? What if it was a thousand, hmm? How about two thousand?"

For the first time since the meeting began; Sulika, Faeyra, and Aldritch saw the governor's anger firsthand as his eyes crackled with barely suppressed mana. "I will not ask again." He said in the same calm, but reproachful voice he'd used on Aldritch earlier.

Max's jaw clenched so hard Sulika thought his teeth would break… Then he looked up, took a deep breath to calm himself, and finally sat back down.

Once Max was seated, and more importantly quiet, he motioned for Garr to continue speaking.

"We did not appear here, on this island." Garr said quietly- He winced in pain again, surprising those watching him.

"What's wrong with him?" Faeyra whispered to Aldritch- it surprised her to see him smirking at the demon. Was he doing something?

And what had he said to it earlier? Faeyra hadn't recognized the language, but it was obvious the demon had… For the first time since their first meeting, Faeyra wondered just who exactly was their giant friend?

"Devils don't like being betrayed." Aldritch whispered back. "I might have to do something before it pulls the plug, or we won't get the full story."

"Pull the plug?" Sulika asked, letting the two of them know she'd been listening.

"A demon's life force comes from the Devil they're contracted to. But it's a… mostly one-way connection. The devil can sever the connection on a whim without suffering ill effects. However, the same cannot be said for the demon. They rely on that connection like you rely on your heart. The only difference being a demon can survive for a while without its heart, but it's a painful death." The three of them watched as Garr's body spasmed violently and he screamed in pain, accidentally proving Aldritch's point.

"You sure know a lot about demons." Sulika quietly laughed, but not out of amusement. She laughed because she had to do something, anything, or she felt like she'd have another panic attack.

Aldritch leaned down and whispered in her ear, "When your every waking thought is about the best ways to kill something, it's hard not to learn a few things."

Garr finished recounting the events leading up to Aldritch crashing through the ceiling of the old Hunters Guild and was forced to stop as something inside his body snapped.

He slammed against the shield spell holding him in place.

He didn't care how much damage he was doing to his own body, since the only thing he could focus on was the hollow feeling inside his chest.

Aldritch frowned at the sight; apparently this devil was faster to cut his losses than Mennidoth was. Mennidoth wouldn't abandon a demon until it was absolutely certain he couldn't retrieve the demon captive. Aldritch wouldn't claim the arch-devil cared for his servants, but he would've thought twice before cutting off an old demon like Garr.

But Irnal didn't see demons that way. No, it seemed he held true to the old devil's belief that all demons were created solely to serve at the pleasure of the Devil contracted to them.

Aldritch had seen many such devils during the early years of the war- back before they realized how dangerous Mag Ársa truly was and decided to cut their losses.

Garr continued speaking despite the pain he was experiencing. "Th- The giant arrived then. He… He destroyed the other captains. I would've been killed too, had his spell not missed. The explosion sent me flying, I crashed through the front door of the building and landed some distance outside." Garr looked down, ashamed of himself.

"I ran. He gave me the opportunity to run, and I took it… But it didn't matter. No matter how fast I ran, he was always there. Slaughtering my people. Butchering them. My people swarmed him like starved locusts, and he laughed." Garr muttered before looking into the eyes of Joolbic, Max, Faeyra, and finally Sulika.

"You might call me a monster, but he's the real monster-" Garr's eyes fully opened as a circular hole appeared where his stomach used to be. His eyes shifted towards Aldritch, and the giant stared back even as the shield spell worked to close the wound.

Thanks to his demonic heritage, Garr could survive a lot. But not this- he knew he was dead no matter what he did.

He was too tired to fight it. And that hollow feeling in his chest was only growing larger with every passing second. Why should he continue fighting? He'd fought enough. Now… Now it was time to sleep.

The last thing he saw before his eyes shut for the final time, were the amber eyes of a small puppy watching him…

Sulika, Faeyra, Max, and Joolbic stared at Garr's body for a long time.

Max was the first to realize why the big demon slumped forward and stopped speaking. Glancing over to Aldritch, he was concerned to see the giant's golden eyes watching him.

It wasn't often that Max felt like a prey animal.

Though he tended to keep his level to himself, he was level sixty-one. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, Max was the most powerful thing in a room. But he didn't flaunt his might, no matter how much he may have wanted to at times.

Max's goal was to inspire hunters, to give them something to aim for and eventually surpass.

That being said, he was proud of the fact there were only nine hunters 'officially' stronger than him. While there were no doubt more, none of them were affiliated with the Hunters Guild, so it was almost impossible to verify how strong they actually were.

Max knew every member of 'The Ten' personally. He knew their families, knew where they lived, and visited most of them anytime he was in the Main Line.

Despite all nine being higher level than him, only four members of 'The Ten' could make Max feel like a child in a fight- those being Zleog: The Tower Knight, Ulfang: The Ebon Wolf, Ylene: The Crimson Berserker, and Krizath: The Divine Warrior…

Judging from the way Aldritch handled the Demonwolf, he might have to add another name to that list.

Aldritch walked over to Garr's body without a word and replaced the shield over his head to keep blood from leaking onto the floor-

Thump

Garr's body slid to its knees, where it would remain until Aldritch canceled the spell.

Aldritch turned to face Joolbic and Max. He dipped his head slightly in greetings and placed his left hand over his heart. "You have the honor of meeting Aldritch of Clan Blackshield. In recognition of your customs and traditions, I formally request permission to found a guild within the borders of your wonderful island nation of Azuris." He said and lifted his head to look down on them.

Faeyra and Sulika stared at Aldritch like he'd grown a second head.

Max felt a touch of whiplash and wondered how the hell they'd gone from discussing a destroyed demon city to founding a guild.

As for Joolbic… Well, he looked thoroughly pleased with this turn of events.

It was a classic power-play, which Joolbic hadn't seen done properly since he left the noble courts of Ogethon Cay.

Aldritch established his authority over the physically strong Max during their negotiations. By making the GM agree to his demands, he determined the hierarchy between them by showing he had a stronger position than the GM.

Joolbic doubted the young hunter Sulika knew nothing before arriving. It was highly likely Aldritch had left instructions for the two women to follow. But if she was truly oblivious to what was happening during their conversation, then he performed an even more impressive feat: He inspired loyalty in two people he'd only known for a few days. Enough that they'd not only come to his aid, but Sulika was also willing to risk her own reputation for him.

Then, by making the demon speak of his fantastical accomplishments instead of telling them himself. Aldritch avoided the pitfall of looking braggadocious. The web of accomplishments spun by a demon, the natural enemy of a hunter, allowed Aldritch to show a few of his cards while coming across as someone who only wanted the truth- A classically 'noble' pursuit.

Could the demon have lied? Absolutely. And had the tale been any less fantastical, Joolbic would've assumed as much…

But who in their right mind would believe a single man was capable of besting a thousand demons in a single night?

No one.

So, either Aldritch was dumb enough to think Joolbic and Max were braindead- or it was all true.

Joolbic knew Max, knew how intelligent he was, and how much experience he had under his belt.

If Aldritch failed to get Max under his thumb before allowing the demon to speak, Joolbic likely wouldn't have believed a word of it.

Because an idiot would have never gotten Max to agree to such a one-sided deal, it only made the story spun by the demon even more believable.

Finally, he showed his steel will and savagery.

The demon had called him a monster just before dying. That placed the idea into their heads that he, an unknown, was the most effective demon slayer in the room.

If it was an act, it was award worthy… And if it happened to be the truth, then all the better.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend; The monster of my monster is safer fed than starved.

Nobility, Loyalty, Authority, and Efficiency; the hallmarks of a classically good leader. Of course, there were also many other variables to consider when actually looking at the abilities of a king.

But for the Master of a guild, those traits were all that was needed.

Joolbic had never heard of Aldritch before this conversation started. But in this short time, he'd learned exactly what Aldritch wanted him to. Was that enough to earn Joolbic's trust? Certainly not… But was it enough to earn him a favor or two?

"Absolutely fabulous." Joolbic said, standing from his chair.

He approached Aldritch from the side and copied Aldritch's greeting. "The honor is mine, Sir Aldritch. This humble servant of the people is called Joolbic Zalbess da Ogethon Cay." He lifted his head and looked over to Max. "Does Sir Max have any objection?"

Max stared at Joolbic with surprise in his eye- however, he recovered quickly and stood from his chair.

He approached Aldritch and, though awkward in its execution, also copied Aldritch's greeting. "Er… Nice to meet you, Sir Aldritch. And so long as it will prevent needless deaths, I have no objections to another guild forming. It's actually a big help."

Aldritch smiled at the two men and extended his hand to each one, shaking their hands and completing the agreement between them.

"What just happened?" Sulika whispered to Faeyra.

"Aldritch just signed the execution contracts for our free time." She sighed. "Better prepare yourself, Sulika. We're about to get busy."