Demon Hunter S3: by Nick Venom (fox in socks read aloud .TXT) 📕

go into his house because of some kind of barrier, but I’m sure that he isn't being protected at all. He has no bodyguards or knights with him. He’s either well-trained or… a fool.” Eric remarked. “We should proceed with caution, master.”

Rik nodded, standing in the living room. “I want to kill him, spray the ground with his blood and line the fences of his community with his guts, but… I can’t risk our futures. Monitor him and make sure to report every movement. Every store he enters and every single person he interacts with.” He ordered.

Eric nodded. “As you see fit, master.” He said, disappearing in front of Rik. Eric used his Shadow Movement to leave the house and return to Brightwater. 

Meanwhile, Rik went upstairs and towards Ashley’s room. He entered her room, finding her awake. She looked up at him as he entered. “Morning, master.” She shyly said. She was embarrassed by what happened to her yesterday.

Zoe stood up, letting Rik sit down by her bed. “Morning, Ashley. How are you?” He asked.

“Good,”

Rik nodded his head. “Does anything feel wrong? Is your head heavy or is there some kind of pain in your body?” He asked.

She shook her head. “Nothing. My body’s okay.” She cracked a small smile. It was enough to show her in a better condition, but Rik was still worried. 

“Do you need anything? Food, water, or something else?”

She started shaking her head but stopped. After some thinking, she nodded her head. “Can I get fruit from the market?” She asked.

Rik nodded. “Of course,”

Zoe turned towards the door. “I’ll get it, master.”

“I got it,” Rik said, motioning for Zoe to sit. “I need you to watch over Ashley while I’m gone.” Zoe opened her mouth to argue, but a stern look stopped her. She nodded her head, sitting down at the chair. “I’ll be right back, Ashley. If you need anything while I’m gone, Zoe will help you. Be a good girl.”

Ashley broke a larger more genuine smile. “I’m a good girl… right?”

Rik smiled, patting her head. “Always,”

***

Rik approached the marketplace, finding it in better condition than yesterday. Since the city itself didn’t face much damage, everything could return to normal in a matter of hours. The blood of wounded soldiers was wiped off the streets and the makeshift tents put away. Everything was normal now.

Rik entered the marketplace, searching for fresh produce. He quickly found it being sold by an elderly man dressed in shorts and nothing else. The man gave Rik a high price, exclaiming that “we’re in war times” before a simple threat lowered it. Rik bought a bag of apples, peaches, bananas, and grapes. Not bad for a few bronze coins, He thought to himself as he headed out of the marketplace, passing by several stands selling jewelry. He passed by most of them but stopped at one. The stand, which was called the Otherworlder Jewelry Depot, had many types of rings, bracelets, and necklaces. However, one of them called out to Rik. It was a bronze necklace with a reddish gem in the middle. On the gem was an etched picture of a tiger.

Rik approached the seller. “How much is the necklace?”

“3 Silvers.” The seller, a young girl, responded. 

He nodded. “What is the gem?”

“It’s from a Demon Diamond. The necklace’s chain is made out of bronze. There’s also a silver, gold, and diamond variant.” She informed him.

He nodded, muttering thanks. He then turned around and left with his bag. The seller watched him leave, remarking “These window shoppers are annoying.” 

Rik, meanwhile, headed to the exit of the marketplace. He hovered one hand over his chain and the other gripping the bag. He was in a crowded area - not trusting anybody around him. He continued through the sea of people before being spit out at the end. 

Now free from the sea, he turned towards the direction of a house but was stopped. A voice called out to him. Rik recognized it as Titan, the leader of the White Den party.

“Rik!” Titan exclaimed. Rik came to a stop, turning to face Titan - who looked to be in better shape. “I’ve been looking for you.” He bowed his head. “Thanks again for everything you and your party did for us.” 

Rik nodded. “You plan to keep biting more than you can chew?” He asked.

Titan shook his head. “Don’t worry, we realized that our lives are more important than a quick promotion. We’re no longer going to take quests above our ranks.”

Rik cracked a small smile. “Be careful with your lives. Even if you lose everything… you, at least, have your lives.” 

Titan nodded. “You’re absolutely right.”

Rik nodded his head, glancing at Titan’s party members standing behind him. Everybody except the frail boy was there. “Oh, where’s the boy?”

Titan glanced behind him, realizing what Rik meant. “Tom? He quit the party. Said that he couldn’t handle the adventuring life and left.”

Rik furrowed his brows. “Strange.”

Titan nodded. “Yeah, I was surprised as well. However, I respect his opinion. Plus, there’s nothing that benefits me in forcing somebody who wants to quit this life to stay. He’ll only be a burden if he has no motivation.”

Rik nodded. “Well… good luck to you all.”

Titan grinned proudly. He never heard these words coming from Rik before. “Thank you, Rik.” His party followed his lead, all bowing their heads and repeating his words. Rik, slightly stunned by them, shook it off with a nod. The White Den party raised their heads and left.

Rik watched them leave. They disappeared through the sea of people in the marketplace, being unfindable through the crowd. It was like Rik was playing Where’s Waldo?

He turned around to leave but stopped. He heard a familiar voice in front of him. It belonged to Wiles who was talking with a shabby man. The man was dressed in a black cloak and his features were considerably aged. He was also filthy and could be smelt from far away. 

Wiles continued to shake his head and reject whatever offer the man was giving him. The man pleaded for Wiles to accept his offer, continuing a desperate cycle.

“Please, just give me some more time! They’re almost done!” He exclaimed.

“I told you, Siv. I will no longer spend a dime on you. You spent all of this money on three golems, yet none of them can fight? It’s a waste of resources that should’ve gone towards protecting the city. You need to clean yourself, maybe take a shower or ten, and build me a fighting golem.”

“Please, Wiles! I just need a little bit more funding and I can build you a fighting golem!”

“I asked for three fighting ones and you built me two cooking and guarding golems. I simply can’t trust your words anymore, Siv.” Wiles told him. “Good luck to you, Siv, on finding a new funder,” Wiles told him, turning away and walking away. Siv didn’t follow, crumbling to his knees.

He punched the ground, pressing his forehead against the hot dirt. “I can build a… I can build a g-... I can build one…” He said, sobbing intensely.

Rik’s ear perked at the mention of a guarding golem. Wouldn’t Ashley be safe at all times if there was a golem guarding her? A being that doesn’t move on its emotions and always focuses on protecting its target? A being that doesn’t need sleep or food and can always be guarding at full strength? He thought to himself, a devilish smile emerging on his face. He approached the man, tapping him on his shoulder.

Siv looked up at Rik with dirt on his forehead. “W-W-Who are you?” He asked.

Rik crouched to meet the man’s eyes. “You said that you have a golem that guards people, right?” He asked.

Siv’s eyes had a sparkle in them. “Yeah, yeah, yeah!” He jumped up to his feet. “I do! But… ” The sparkle left his eye. “... it’s only a prototype.”

“Does it protect the person chosen forever?”

“Well… it does need energy and can be disabled by electricity and water, but… yeah,” Siv said.

Rik pulled out a few coins, flashing them to Siv “I want to buy the guarding golem from you. State your price.”

Siv’s eyes regained the sparkle. “Seven… no, uh… Twelve silvers!” He exclaimed. “I’ll sell it to you for twelve silver!”

Rik handed him the coins. “I want it today.”

Siv nodded. “Do remember it’s a prototype. It won’t be the best at its job.”

“Doesn’t matter, I’ll take it” Rik said. I still want to kill Mandy, but… in the meanwhile, having the golem would make sure Ashley is protected at all times. I won’t have to worry about Mandy kidnapping her. Well, it’s not like he’ll be able to get through Eric or me. He thought. 

Siv nodded. “Follow me to my house, I’ll introduce you to Beta.” He said. Rik nodded, following Siv to his house, a one-story house with fading paint, a crumbling foundation, and garbage everywhere. Siv headed to his basement, taking out Beta. He presented her to Rik.

Rik furrowed his brows as he checked the golem. “Who is this based on?”

“Uh… my late wife, Uzma. She passed away a year ago…”

Rik nodded. “Well… is it strong enough to guard people?”

“Beta may look weak, but she’s been built with Mythril. She’s as strong as a normal rank C adventurer.”

“Good… I’ll take her then.”

Siv nodded, turning on Beta. Beta’s eyes flashed a dim blue before brightening. Beta turned her head towards Siv, staring at him. Siv ignored Beta, inputting something into a panel on her back. Once he was finished, he closed it and turned to face Rik. “All done, she’s yours now.” He told her. 

“Good,” He muttered.

Siv nodded. “If you want to buy more, please come and see me. I’ll even do you a favor and design them like anybody you want. I could shape it like the Deity, though I would get punished for that, or any female or male you know. 

Rik shook his head. “This is enough.” He turned away from Siv, leaving.

Siv nodded, watching as Rik headed away from his house. Once he was out of earshot, he thought to himself out loud. “... Hopefully he comes back. I need more funding… desperately.” He turned around to face his house. “Beta should be good at her job, I did design her like that. However… No, the weaknesses shouldn’t be a problem. Hopefully.”

***

Mandy sat on a chair at his dining room table. In front of him was a piece of paper with numerous names on them. Most of them were scratched out, some with a single stroke of a pen and some with many. However, one name remained. The name was bolded and in large print - “Ashley”. 

“What fun we had,” He remarked, smiling at the paper. “Didn’t we, Ashley?” He glanced at the chair opposite of him. It was a normal wooden chair with some adjustments. The chair had several spikes attached to it, making it similar to a torture device. It had dried blood on the chair.

“I can’t wait to see you again… It’ll be like the past.” He licked his lips. “Well… I don’t like to wait long.” He stood from his chair, turning to face the door. “Let’s reunite and relive the past, Ashley. Relive it… to our final breaths.”

 

TBC…

Episode Three "Save"