DEMON'S VIRTUE

Eiro pushed open the door in front of him and stepped into the bar. A few people turned around, and some of the locals quickly recognized him as well. The Demon looked around the room, and immediately felt quite angered by what he saw.

There were certain special plants and materials that only appeared during an equinox or solstice scattered around the place, preserved and turned into decoration.

"What's the meaning of this?" Eiro asked with an annoyed frown, looking at the hide of a Winterbeast that had been hung on the wall. The flowers that were standing behind the bar and along some of the pillars in the center of the room, just hanging off it as decoration.

"Meaning of what?" An employee asked. She seemed to be new around here as well. She was quite young, and her scent was similar to that of the man standing behind the bar talking to Tom, so she was probably that man's daughter. However, instead of talking to her, Eiro simply walked up to the hide of the Winterbeast and tore it from the wall, before using death magic to make it rot away.

"S-Sir, you can't do that! That is a very special object!" The girl exclaimed, trying to pull on Eiro's arm, but the Demon didn't even budge, "Yeah, I know it is. I spent seven years collecting these." He practically growled.

"Huh..? What do you..." She asked, when a man suddenly came rushing up to Eiro. It was the owner of this bar, who was staring at Eiro angrily, "Get the fuck out, you bastard!" He yelled, trying to push Eiro away. But once more, he didn't budge. Rather, it seemed like he hurt himself.

Rolling his eyes under his mask, Eiro grabbed the man by his throat and picked him up with ease, "You. You're the new guide, aren't you?"

Struggling to speak, for obvious reasons, the man replied, "A-And what if I am..?"

"Then you're a fucking idiot." Eiro said immediately, "How dare you simply take these things and use them to decorate your disgusting little bar? Do you even know what that sort of disrespect could have done?"

"Disrespect, what do you-"

"The next time that the Lady of Winter appeared here, and sensed the hide of a winterbeast nearby that was taken without her permission, do you know what she would do if you're not careful? She will make this whole town freeze over. That is the kind of being that you're supposed to serve." Eiro angrily told him, his voice filled with fury, for different reasons of course.

The man tried to grab Eiro's arm, attempting to push his nails into his skin, "A-And how w-would you know?!"

"I was the guide before you, you fool." Eiro replied, throwing the man onto the ground, "But you know what? Nevermind this topic. I have something else to-"

"Eiro, please, I was just trying to-" Tom stepped up to Eiro, limping like he always did, with a worried expression, but the Demon immediately interrupted him, "They already burnt down our home, Tom. It's too late. Whatever pleads you were voicing out came too late."

Tom, and many different people in the bar, became silent as Eiro spoke these words. They were staring at the man clutching his own throat in pain, laying on the ground, instead of the Demon anymore.

"They already..? But how, why..?" Tom asked, shocked at hearing this. Jura was his friend as well, after all. He was someone quite beloved in this town, for the very same reasons why others hated him. At the end of the day, this was a city of monster-person hybrids, and having someone like Jura be so accepting and helpful to them, knowing this fact, made him rather popular incredibly quickly.

"You're that devil's hellspawn, heh?" The current guide asked with a chuckle, "How hilarious! So, what are you here for? Trying to take your anger out on me? On this city, like a traitor's child would?"

Eiro slowly grinned underneath his mask, as he spoke in a sinister voice, "Oh, if I wanted to take revenge on this place, it would already be naught but a wasteland." Eiro explained, as he squatted down in front of the man. In a calmer voice, he said, "What I am here for is to ask you 'why'. Why could you not let him rest in peace?"

"Rest in peace?! That fucking piece of shit?! He saved the monster king! The most powerful, the most wicked monster king that ever existed! He doomed us all, do you even know how many people died because of him?!" The guide yelled out, and Eiro glared back angrily, "Less people than have died in the wars between people. Truly, you utterly disgust me sometimes. People can be loving, but you can be just so hateful at the same time. And of course, I'm not saying that monsters are different, but at least we own up to it." The Demon said, as his voice soon became a lot louder, and a lot more impactful, "Do you even know what it feels like to watch your father's skull crack in the heat of a scorched home?"

The guide ground his teeth together as he glared back, "That bastard deserved much more than th-" The guide exclaimed, but before he was able to finish speak, Eiro hit his fist to the back, using magic to amplify what was happening, increasing the pressure manifold. But to others, it looked like simply the pressure of his movement made this happen.

The whole front of the bar exploded into pieces, creating a large hole in the wall. Everyone jumped up, of course startled by what happened, as the guide stared at Eiro in fear.

"W-Wh-What, are- are you going to kill me now?!" The guide yelled out, but Eiro shook his head, "Even I'm not wicked enough to take away a child's father while she's watching. But you know, she's not always watching. But I am. I am watching your every step you take. I can feel every breath your breathe on the back of my neck. I can hear every beat of your heart. And I can make all of that stop in just an instant. Remember that." Eiro growled angrily, as he stood up, walking out of the gaping hole in the front of the bar.

"If anyone ever approaches that hill again, they won't be as lucky as you, got it? So you better call off anyone that you were going to send that way." Eiro walked out of the bar, and approached the center of the plaza, standing in front of the statues of the four ladies.

"I hope you can ignore that man's disrespect for my sake. If there are any further issues, I will take responsibility, and find a replacement for him." Eiro said in a clear voice, before quickly turning around again. He looked at the people that had gathered here, including members of the militia and soldiers that had been stationed here.

They were clearly nervous about the appearance of this man that had just destroyed the front of a building so easily, "Don't worry. I'm leaving again."

Eiro walked past them, toward the closest gate, and then turned around toward the crowd again, "Oh, before I forget. Be careful around that 'world tree' from now on. If you're not, you may lose your lives." The Demon continued walking, and was followed until he reached the gate, having finally left the town. And right before their eyes, Eiro fused his aura with the world around him, making himself practically disappear even though so many eyes were looking at him.

Eiro jumped up into the sky, boosting himself up with Air magic, before spreading out his wings and flying off into the distance again. He approached the hill where his home had stood until yesterday, and landed in front of the pile of burnt wood.

He snapped his finger once, finally summoning one of the spirits over here. They hadn't been able to follow along with Eiro, after all, and had been asking him to summon them the whole time.

Eiro turned his eyes toward Nelli, who quickly focused on the Demon, "Finally! What happened?!" She asked, and Eiro silently looked away from her. The Naiad turned around, and immediately realized what had happened.

"No... but... how..?" She asked, and Eiro slowly said, "I already killed the ones that did this. I have scattered some servants around this place, and they'll let me know if someone else comes here."

"...But what does it matter..? It's too late now, right..?"

"Maybe. But at least Jura's grave can't be desecrated a second time." Eiro said, "I wanted to create another servant here, but I wanted to make sure you were alright with it as well. You lived here for a long time before me, after all."

"A servant..? Out of what?" She asked, and Eiro looked at the ruined house, before Nelli realized what he wanted to do.

"...Yeah... just do it, just let someone protect this place." Nelli replied, so Eiro slowly nodded his head. He spread out his mana in front of him, selecting all the bits and pieces that he wanted to use. The wood that was used to create the hut, as well as the tree that stood at its center. The tree was already dead as well, after all.

"Your name will be Argorsim. The King of the Hill. This will be your domain, and you shall protect it and the grave upon it with your life." Eiro said, and the scorched wood started to shift, and was soon pressed together. It fused in some placed, cracked in others, until a huge figure stood in front of Eiro and Nelli, made out of their old home.

It looked a lot like Eiro, just a lot bulkier, a lot more... monstrous.

It slowly sat down on the ground cross-legged, its lower two arms crossed, while its upper hands were cupped in each other.. Argorsim was now here, left as a protector of this hill and Jura's grave.