Several days before, in Alina, the incident with Merida's father happened. Noble messengers came looking for her, got a bit rough, and resulted in his death.
Merida was taken by Roberta, Sara, and Lyla back to Arad's house while Nina and Meryem decided to seek the noble who sent the killers and bring him to justice, but it was then that they heard the news.
Cain Lisworth, the herbalist of the city, has headed there before them alone.
****
Nina and Meryem ran through the city, seeing Alcott and Ginger for assistance. CRACK! They kicked the bathhouse door open, "Alcott! We need help,"
Alcott walked downstairs, yawning, "Did something happen?"
"It's quite bad," Nina explained what happened to him as briefly as she could.
"Got it!" Alcott shouted as he looked deeper into the house, "Ginger! Get ready we have a mission, an urgent one." He pulled his armor from the wardrobe close to the entrance and started wearing it with Nina's help.
"First objective, save the old man Cain. The second one is bringing that stupid noble with us." He shouted, and Ginger replied from inside the house as she changed, "Got it."
Swosh! From the sky, Merlin flew in on her broom, "I heard what happened. I'm coming as well."
Alcott smiled, "Being a while since we formed a party,"
Nina, Merlin, Alcott, and Ginger. Two frontline fighters and two mages, such formation was quite popular for its versatility, and the mere fact Alcott and Nina are in the same team again was horrifying to most. Meryem being with them almost didn't make a difference, but none knew her powers yet.
Old adventurers who saw them running across the street immediately knew, something must have gone extremely wrong.
****
The five of them rode a carriage to Riverside, hoping to catch Cain before reaching lord Foran's territory and getting himself killed. On their way, they saw the old man walking back to Alina, one step at a time, leaning on his cane as if he were coming back from a stroll.
The carriage stopped, and Alcott jumped off, "You old man!" He smiled, "Thank the gods you had some sense in your head. Don't charge off like that again."
Cain looked at him, "Isn't it Alcott, how is your health?"
"I'm fine thank you, but please don't scare us again. We will deal with Lord Foran and bring him to justice." Alcott tapped Cain's shoulder.
"Foran, ahh! You mean that old fool, he's already dead."
Everyone froze for a second, "You killed him," Nina gasped in the back.
"Come on, you're joking, right?" Cain giggled, tapping his back, "What could those old bones do? I went there to give him an earful, but the fool summoned a devil and his wife a demon. They died by their own magic."
****
A few hours earlier.
Cain reached Riverside's main gate, staring up at the guard. "Mind opening for an old man?"
The guards stared at each other, "Open the gate,"
CRACKLE! The gate slowly opened, and the guards approached Cain, "Do you need any help? Food, water, a place to rest?"
Cain nodded, "Yeah, a place to rest would be nice. My back hurts." He tapped his back, "Mind showing me the closest inn?"
The guards pointed into the city, "Follow the main road and ask for directions at its end. The inn is called the floating boat."
"Thanks, my sons," Cain walked into the city, unhindered by the guards.
One step at a time, Cain walked past the inn and headed into the lord's mansion. [Mist Step]
Engulfed in silver smoke, he teleported into the mansion, landing in front of the main door.
Knock! Knock!
CLICK! The wooden door opened, and a butler stared at him, "Who are you?"
"I'm looking for that old fart Foran. He's inside, right?" Cain asked the butler gave him a strange stare.
^Isulting a city lord is punished by death...Unless he's an old friend? Judging by his age and the fact the guards let him in, that might be the case.^
"Please excuse me. Come inside, and I will call Lord Foran." The butler bowed.
"No need," Lord Foran looked down from the window, his wife at his side. We talk in the garden.
Cain walked toward the garden's tea table, taking a seat as Lord Foran and his wife came, surrounded by ten armed guards. They sat facing Cain, "So, who are you, and what brought you here? Leon said you might be an old friend, but I don't remember your face." Lord Foran smiled, waving with his hand, and the guards pointed their spears at Cain.
"Me? You men must have brought you the news, right?" Cain smiled, "You done it and killed a man I held as a friend."
Lord Foran grunted, "Hmmm," His eyes flared, "That's none of your business, old man. You barely have any years left. And you want to waste them by coming here?"
"Honestly," Cain lifted a cup of tea, and everyone gasped. They didn't bring tea. Where did it come from?
"Everyone dies when their time comes. He was no different. That day, he should have died in another way than being stabbed to death." Cain poured his tea into the table, "I'm here for blood, and those soldiers smell of his blood." He sighed, "Burn everything to ash, Spirit of Phlegethos, Inanna."
CLAP! In the blink of an eye, the soldiers surrounding Cain got diced into minced meat, burning into ash by hellish black flames.
Thud! Lord Foran and his wife lunged back, sweating, "You aren't half bad, wizard." He waved his hand, "By blood contract, I call from a soldier from hell, a true incarnation of evil, hellspawn." Lord Foran's right arm glows with a crimson light.
His wife giggled, "Let's do it. By blood contract, I call forth a soldier from the abyss, a true incarnation of violence, A demon." Her left arm dripped with black goo.
"Pitmaster of hell, Spindle," Foran growled.
"Demon lord of the abyss, Demogorgan," His wife laughed as two massive gates opened behind their backs.
Behind lord the bone gate of hell emerged from the ground, its doors two skeletons cut in half, each bone crackled as the door forced open, chains crackling from inside as a foul horrid smell rushed out, rotten flesh, acid, charred bones, and eons of agony and decomposition.
From the gate of hell, a massive imp-like devil standing twenty meters tall walked out, wearing a robe of chain and skulls, seven horns on his head as the fire burned on his back. At his left hand, he dragged a massive cleaver made from the bones of sinners.
The gate behind the wife shattered, crumbling into a black hole of the abyss, sucking air as it flew into the sky, shattering it like glass. From the cracks, two massive tentacles emerged, and a two-headed gigantic ape-like demon looked down.
CRACK! Expanding the crack in the sky, the demon lord jumped down, landing at fifty meters tall. He had two tentacles arms, a scorpion-like tail, and fish-like scales across his torso and spiny back. He growled, staring down at the woman who just summoned him.
Lord Foran and his wife laughed, "With such power, we could take over the whole kingdom. No, the world itself won't stand a chance against us."
Cain stood, looking at the devil spindle.
"AH! Master, spindle missed you a lot!" The massive devil wiggled like a sick lamb and jumped to Cain's side with a smile on his ugly face, and he bowed down.
Cain patted Spindle's head with a smile, "You've grown a lot since the last time I saw you. How are you doing?"
"Spindle had a lot of fun and children." The devil replied with a thankful smile, "I'm now a pit fiend in the lower hells. Devils can't bully Spindle anymore."
Lord Foran started shaking in place. "Kill him!" He shouted, but Spindle glared back at him.
Cain looked at Spindle, "Handle it however you see fit,"
Thud! Spindle lifted his hand, "To hell with you!"
Hundreds of burning hot chains rushed from the gate of hell, snatching Lord Foran and dragging him to hell as he screamed.
"Are you sure?" Cain looked at Spindle, "You had a contract with him."
"His souls matter not to Spindle. I do not bite the hand that fed me even if I were to starve to death." Spindle stood, "Want me to deal with that thing?" He glared at the demon lord Demogorgan.
"No need, you go rest and deal with stupid lord. I will handle everything here," Cain replied, and Spindle bowed one last time before walking back into hell.
Cain looked at the lord's wife, "So, it's your turn." He mumbled.
"Kill him! Kill him! Kill him now!" Foran's wife screamed her lungs out, pointing at Cain.
Demogorgan stared at Cain with a smile. Each of his head giggled. "I can smell death on you. Your bones have grown fragile, and you've gotten old and weak." He glared at Cain.
"Humph," Cain sighed, lifting his cane up. "Me getting weaker doesn't mean you got stronger. Even the dying corpse of a man can still crush ants."
CLACK! Black tentacles rushed out of the abyss gate, wrapping around Foran's wife and Demogorgan. She pissed herself in terror and the demon roared, "You bastard!"
Foran's wife stared back at the gate, seeing a massive maw with thousands of sharp opal teeth waiting.
"Please...let me go..." She cried.
Cain pointed his staff forward, "The kids won't be able to defeat you now, so I have to take care of you."
CLACK! The tentacles pulled Foran's wife and Demogorgan toward the maw, where they were chewed alive before the abyss gate closed.
Cain sighed, flicking his fingers and the sky flickered, the barrier he already set faded.
Thud! Jemima appeared behind him, "Master, did you have to do that?"
"She left him in this city because she knew I would protect him." He replied, "What do you think would happen if Arad came back and found Alcott dead?"
"He would have charged alone and died to the Demogorgan as well." She replied, "How many souls did they sacrifice to summon him?"
Cain pointed toward the mountain, "They didn't pay in souls. They planted that thing in the world on his behalf,"
Jemima looked and her face twisted, "Crimson rot of the abyss, this is bad," She was about to go deal with it, but Cain stopped her.
"We interfered enough, Arad can deal with that. Leave it to him when he comes back," He smiled.
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