Alexis and Luke headed towards the black beam that the pendant showed in the sky, which took a few hours. The place was far away from Vasconcelos, specifically on the road between Vasconcelos and Sheltered Halv?y.
Above an inn, the beam was appearing even far away from the clouds when looked at through the red stone. The inn did not appear to be very large and it looked closed. There was an open-door carriage in the front, which stood next to a sign with the establishment's name: 'Inn of the Crusade.
"First of all, you must know this demon's name. He may be called Berith or Beherit. There is confusion in the translation since the book describing him must be old."
"So, what do I do with the name?" Luke inquired having no idea of what killed the first demon exactly.
Knowing that using a magic circle would be impossible to kill an unsealed demon, Alexis explained: "The chance is pretty high that he possessed someone out of desperation, so you have to kill the receptacle and before the demon has a chance to escape, you must call him by name."
"Me? But what about you?" Luke inquired, confused.
"I will be covering the exits. The inn doesn't look big, but it's in a region with a lot of ways to escape, as you can see. So, if he manages to get away from us, he could end up hiding easily."
"I see, so you want to stay out here."
The half-dragon just nodded. Luke, at the time, knew that it wasn't just for that reason that she didn't want to go. He knew that if Alexis found the demon that killed so many people in the castle, she wouldn't hold back, and they wouldn't get any answers.
"Why didn't your emissary friend stay to help us with the second demon as well?" The half-wolf inquired because he didn't seem to have been very helpful on the first demon.
"Emissaries are particularly quick to run and hide, yet they are not strong or resilient at all. The Tenth is no exception, so his mission is only of collection and delivery. In case the first elimination didn't work out, I would have to seal the demon again and send it to the Cardinal Church through Tenth."
"That's why he seemed so nervous..."
So, Luke headed toward the entrance of the inn. There weren't many trees around, and the little vegetation there was low, except that the uneven terrain was a serious problem should the fight run to the outside of the inn.
Nheeec! The door of the establishment creaked when being open. The wooden windows were closed, and the entire premises were dark so that only the strong light of the mid-afternoon sun illuminated the place.
As soon as he entered, Luke saw the floor covered in dark, dried blood, indicating that it had been some time since it had been fresh. There was also a rotten smell stinking up the place. This was the same smell that Luke found impregnated in the morgue.
With one hand protecting his nostrils and the other ready to defend himself from any attack, the half-wolf began to walk around the place. His footsteps creaked on the old wood floor, and these creaks echoed throughout the room.
Slowly, Luke's vision began to get used to the darkness, and he could begin to better take in what he was seeing. The atmosphere was typical of an inn. To the right of the entrance, there were a few tables and a small bar with shelves full of glass jugs. There was a corridor so dark that the half-wolf could not see anything to the left.
When the rotten smell intensified, Luke knew he had found something. Beside his feet and near the bar, he found a headless human body. It was impossible to tell how old the man was, but based on the pudgy body and the wrinkles on his hand, Luke judged that he must be over forty and that he was probably the innkeeper.
While analyzing the man's body, Luke was surprised by a voice. "How did you find me?" The voice seemed to come from all directions at once.
The half-wolf slowly stood up and replied: "That doesn't matter. Reveal yourself, or are you afraid?" Tactically, he tried to tease the demon.
"Huh! Why should I reveal myself so easily? First of all, I have an offer for you."
Luke clicked his tongue and made his hands as sharp as ever. "Do you think I will listen to any litany that comes from your mouth?"
"Do you have another option? Just know that I have some hostages with me."
After hearing the demon say that, Luke heard some wailing and pained moans as if begging for help. "Ughh! Ahn! Nnhh!"
"Say what you want. I'm listening." Luke said and lowered his hands.
The demon was quiet for a few seconds and then appeared among the shadows in the far-right corner of the establishment, behind some tables and chairs. Just as Alexis theorized, he already possessed someone.
Unlike the strong and influential boy that was Jean Pollo, this time, he had to bond with a normal girl with brown hair and a familiar face.
At that moment, Luke felt like attacking him and putting the girl out of her misery; however, he held back.
With a dissolute smile on his face, the demon pulled out a chair, sat down, and then indicated with his hand for Luke to join him. The half-wolf sat down and looked into the eyes of the cur without fear.
"I believe you are intelligent enough to have figured it out by now. We are mere puppets in a show. Someone is using us."
Luke didn't want to expose that he already suspected this, both from the number of coincidences that had occurred since he arrived in Vasconcelos and from all the mess he had witnessed in the past few weeks.
"Do you know anything?" Luke questioned him as he placed both hands with fingers crossed on the table.
"I know a few things, which I may or may not be willing to talk about."
"If you tell me everything you know, I'll let you go, otherwise, I'll kill you, after all, my half-beast friend is out there."
Looking into the half-wolf's eyes, the demon couldn't tell if what he said was a bluff or a statement.
"But first, I need a confirmation that you know something useful. In case you don't, It's not a problem for me if a few more people die." Luke continued to speak to make his side even more favorable in the negotiation.
Of course, he wasn't thinking of letting the demon get away with it; however, he had too much interest in the subject the damned thing mentioned to not allow him to continue talking.
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