Interlude: The Blue-Eyed Demon

The forest was rife with the noise of a battle raging between the trees. Spells flew through the branches, washing the ground in water, burning the leaves in fireballs, wind cutting through branches and gouging through the ground, earth spiking from below. The monsters fleeing from the hunting party scrambled to retaliate from their attackers as they countered. The adventurers had their plan, though, and were counting on the monsters they'd been tracking being kited together into a single location from the volleys of spells.

"Just a bit more! Once they're in the clearing, we'll clear this mission!"

The leader shouted above the commotion of battle as he deflected a warg's claws with his shield, forcing the monster back and allowing one of his party members to send a spear through the beast's neck. A ball of fire landed between the two when another warg attacked, leaving the lupine beast a charred husk. With a nod to the spellcaster, the part moved forward with their attack on the rest of the pack, bursting into a clearing as more wargs and other monsters that their companions elsewhere in the forest had been forcing to retreat gathered up.

"Now we're in the clear!" The leader shouted. "Spellcasters…"

As the man shouted the order, rather than an onslaught of elemental spells, they bore witnessed to the gathered monsters being caught in a pillar of black. They were lucky to still be at the edges of the trees, and even then, the leader saw a few of his companions be engulfed by the dark pillar before it faded, leaving behind a blasted crater where the clearing had been.

"What the hell?!" The leader screamed.

"That was… that was Black Magic!" The spellcaster nearest him yelled. "What could have… that was one of the highest spells in it! Who used it?!"

"Sorry, did I interrupt something?" a youthful voice made the men jump backward, looking upwards to see someone shrouded by the branches above. "Sorry about that~! I just saw a bunch of monsters when I dropped in and decided to deal with them. Guess I butted in on a quest, eh?"

"Damn right, you butted in!" The leader snapped. "Just who are you?! How can you use Black Magic?!"

"A wanderer, I suppose." The figure answered, his legs swinging down from the branch he was on. "I am sorry. Old habits die hard for me."

"S-Sir, there's a problem." The spellcaster stammered under his breath. "I tried to Appraise him, and… it didn't even work! My attempt was totally shut out!"

"Ahhh, you wanted to scope me out, eh?" The men flinched when the mysterious one spoke. "Sorry~, but Appraisal won't work on me. I can go. Feel free to take the credit for…"

"Mages, fire on him!" The panicking leader screamed. A sigh came from the young man in the tree. As balls of fire sailed for him, he jumped from his perch, each ball of fire being cut from the air as he sailed from the trees and to the crater. The adventurers rushed out to meet their newly designated foe, caution all around them now that they knew he had to be someone of power.

"Nevermind taking the easy route, I guess." A white long coat flared down as the young man scratched the back of his head. Night black hair hung about his head as a mess, and the clothing below the pure white coat was shades of dark grey and black, plated in scales at the upper arms and legs. The black of his hair and attire stood in stark contrast to his pure white skin, and what turned towards the leading men was a gaze that sent deathly chills up their backs.

Eyes of a pure shade of blue, yet so bright they couldn't be anything but unnatural, the pupil a long slit across the iris instead of a circle within it. Slanted, narrow, as if glaring even when the boy's mouth parted in a smirk that displayed fangs. A red gem hung off an earring on his left ear, and the men felt as if something within it was watching them, somehow. The feeling of dread in the air now didn't feel like it was just one person they had to worry about.

"Hm?" The young man perked up suddenly, and then a sigh left him. "It's not like it was on purpose… well, that's what happens when you teleport me off someplace random before telling me anything!... they attacked first, so I have free reign. You know my rule… heh, please, these guys won't last a second."

"Was he communicating with someone?" The lead spellcaster muttered, watching carefully as the young man stretched his arms and legs like he was preparing for a casual exercise. "Sir, he used Black Magic, and I was unable to Appraise him. This can't be someone we're able to fight."

"And who's to say if we flee, he won't simply follow us?" The leader said. "Look at him. He's not human. I've heard the rumors before—a blue-eyed demon wielding powerful dark magic and draped in a white coat. We cannot allow such a demon to reach the town near here. Even if it costs us our lives, we'll put a stop to him!"

"Y'know, I admire the bravery you're putting on, but if you want, I'll let you guys run!" The demon boy said, rolling his right arm. "Honestly, I'm only out here to do some scouting. It seriously was an accident. And hey, I can't blame you too much for attacking me when you see what you did. But, there doesn't have to be a fight. So, I'll count down from five. If you guys turn around and leave before I reach zero, then no big deal~! How about it?

The adventurers remained silent. The boy lifted his left hand, all five fingers raised.

"Five."

The warriors drew their weapons and started edging down the lip of the crater.

"Four."

Spellcasters raised their staves and began forming the strongest magic circles they could.

"Three."

The priests began chanting enhancements for the closing in frontline fighters.

"Two."

The leader took the front, his sword rising high as the distance between him and the demon closed.

"One."

The sword came down. The demon's smirk widened.

"Zero."

The ring of breaking metal went through the air. The leader was confused as he moved past the demon. He saw a flash of steel wheeling through the air as he seemingly stumbled and hit the ground. The front portion of his now broken sword fell to the dirt with a hard thud. And so did his body. His headless body. The leader only realized he'd been beheaded at that moment as his vision was going dark.

The demon was now holding a blade that looked to be hewn from something other than metal, the sword rough yet natural in its looks. The black blade gleamed like obsidian as a trickle of blood rolled down its edge, the only sign of forging being the silver, white-wrapped guard and hilt.

As the remaining men stalled in fear at the speed at which their leader had been killed, the demon moved his free hand through the air, counting out the remaining nine of them. Once he was done, he looked forward with a fang-baring smile, the gleam of his blue eyes telling of nothing but killing intent.

"Sorry~ but it looks like you missed your chance!"

The lead spellcaster fell backward as the demon lunged at the men nearest to him. He watched in horror as not a single man that charged was spared less than a moment before being cleaved in two by the black sword, their armor doing nothing to stop the blade from cutting into their flesh. The spellcasters, in a panic, fired their charging spells. A surge of darkness pulsed from the sword, a swing of the blade creating a dark plane around the wielder, each spell that was flying for him being cut through, and that wave of black shot across the trees, engulfing every individual caught in it, leaving messes of blood and limbs behind where they fell, trees falling from their severed trunks around the slaughter.

"W-Why…" the remaining man whimpered. "I said we should have run… why didn't they listen to me? The fools!"

"Well, sometimes bravery and foolishness go hand in hand." The spellcaster shrieked when the demon's voice came from behind him, scrambling away and looking back to where the demon had been before.

"Teleportation…?" the man gasped.

"Bingo!" The demon chuckled. "You're pretty knowledgeable, ain't you? You even knew I was using Black Magic earlier. It's nice when people aren't idiots."

"They didn't last a minute… what the hell kind of monster are you?" The spellcaster flinched when the question seemed to give the demon pause. The thoughtful look he showed gave way to a calm, unsettling smile in a moment.

"Pretty complex answer." He said, chuckling as the man tried to run, reaching out and grabbing him by the back of the head. "Monster is pretty convenient to use for people who aren't on your side unless you meant it literally. But, well… no use telling you the answer. So long!"

The last thing the spellcaster felt as the demon tightened his grip was the sensation of something draining from him. Every last bit of strength and energy in his body quickly vanished as if being pulled out, and all that was left was a hollow shell of a body once it was all taken. The demon casually dropped the corpse to the ground, flexing his fingers as he drew his arm back.

"Well, he wasn't worth much in the end, shame." The demon muttered, sighing as he looked around the destruction he'd left behind. "Might have gone a bit overboard with that."

The demon shrugged as he dropped his sword into a small rift—no reason for him to concern himself too much with this. Leaving the bodies to the monsters in the woods would be good enough for him. Sure the family's of the adventurers would get some bad news, but better, in his mind, not to have a body at all than for something barely resembling a body to be brought back. My… what a devilish thought I just had there. He thought so with a chuckle. Though… I haven't really associated myself with humans in a long time. Hard to feel bad for them anymore. Ah well, back to business. I don't wanna get nagged for goofing off when I'm supposed to be on the job.

The demon teleported away with a step. By the time anyone else did arrive to investigate the absence of the hunting party, all they'd found were the mangled remains of armor and weapons, the only body being the energy drained husk of the lead spellcaster. Only the damage to the forest stood as a sign of the presence of that blue-eyed demon.