Demon Tamer's Ascension-Chapter 16: Another One

Noise resumed from outside as Cassie slammed the doors behind her shut, and now, the sunlight still poured, because not much time had passed, not at all.

It was only about 1:30 PM, and they finished the only thing they were brought to do.

Rachel took Alex to the side, "Remember what I told you earlier?" She whispered.

He tried to think, but couldn’t remember anything, and then that’s when he realized. At the time, he was too focused on her voluptuous chest.

"I had a headache at the time. Can you please remind me?" He asked, with a numb poker face.

She sighed in disbelief, then continued, "I never called off our engagement."

Then Rachel stepped back, "Anyways, Cassie, I have to leave now, very nice meeting you. They’re definitely still looking for me."

She leaned into Alex’s ears again before making her final exit.

"I never have, and never will. So, don’t go looking for other women to get with, you understand?"

Alex looked at her in shock; he couldn’t really answer it properly. This was the first-ever true sign of affection he had ever seen from her.

"Rachel Ashefiled! Come back at once!"

She giggled, "Well, that’s my cue to leave, bye!"

Rachel then ran off into an unknown intersection, one Alex had never experienced.

Cassie looked at Alex, "Well, we should start heading as well."

"I wouldn’t mind it honestly, but I need to find a job, how else am I going to pay you for the food and inn every day?" He asked, gently.

"No need, this gold coin is plenty full, it’ll last you for two years at the very minimum, I believe so. That’s if my math is mathing, of course." She responded, placing both hands behind her back.

"Alright, that works out for me then, if you say so."

’I guess that offering wasn’t bad after all,’ Alex thought.

Then, suddenly, for some reason, one specific notion widened his vision. It was about how his family is faring without him back at the Thorn royal household.

He didn’t want to think that way, but it felt natural, like connected in some way. No matter how much you hate your family, or the ones closest to you, memories of them and beliefs related to them will always come back in the heart to stab you.

Cassie walked in a path that would directly lead back towards the inn, and Alex followed from behind.

He grew up with no siblings. Alex’s mother met her end right after his birth, and the father grew tired and lonely, so he decided to get a stepmother. But Alex’s father still never refilled that joyous feeling he had when seeing that wife of his, which is why he never gave his new wife much attention.

All she really was there for was to watch over kid Alex. She wanted to get intimate with the king of the Thorn household, but never was able to.

And, on top of all this, she hated Alex, visibly so.

He never got to see his mother, only in some former images that were later taken down when that woman arrived, his ’step-mother,’ I guess you can say.

Nobody really knew where he found a woman like her; it felt as if she forced her way in. But they refused to question the king and moved on.

His father didn’t hate him much, but it was mostly because of the women pursuing his hatred for Alex.

And he wanted her dead, more than he wanted to see the Crowe family’s torture chamber commenced by his own hands.

"More poor people are begging around lately," Alex stated, "It wasn’t like this earlier."

"Well, yeah," Cassie responded, both of them continued to walk forward, "They come out of hibernation as soon as early afternoon hits Beast-Fall capital, around the dirtied outskirts."

While Alex knew a lot about the world, he didn’t know much about the territory gifted almost exclusively to the commoners.

More beasts were now active around, a large variety, one from every individual deity, aside from dragons, of course. They were almost too rare to even catch a sighting of.

’I really wonder what Beast Rachel awakened, curious about it.’ Alex thought, ’What if it was a Demon, like Victor?’

He laughed it off, "Couldn’t be, that only belongs to me. Plus, where would she be able to find one?"

"You saying something?" Cassie looked back.

"No, must’ve been the wind." Alex replied, "Let’s continue to walk forward."

’Speaking about Victor, what happened to him?’

...

It was now 1:50 PM. A twenty-minute walk, not too bad. Alex was cooked a nice and warm meal by Cassie, or her mom, whoever it was that made it, it was damn near the tastiest meal he had ever eaten.

After, Alex headed back into his room, taking a shower, then dressing himself up in the same clothes he was wearing for two days straight now.

’This is bad, I need to buy some new ones. When I get the money.’ He thought at the time of realizing his poor state.

Now, Alex was simply lying down, thinking about some things, in a personal manner.

"Hey Victor," he called out, "where have you been?"

Alex was getting incredibly bored and now felt curious about why Victor had suddenly gone quiet, back when they stepped into the cathedral.

Victor stayed quiet, so Alex asked again.

"Hey, brother," he said, "Why aren’t you answering me?"

Then again, no reply.

"I see how it is."

"I’m here," Victor’s voice rang through Alex’s ears.

"Oh, there you are, you muscle-head maniac, where have you been?"

"Alex." In a deep and darkened manner, Victor’s voice felt sharp, "Don’t freak out when I say this."

"What’s up?"

"I was making sure, but now, I know I’m right."

"Say it already."

Victor exhaled calmly, then sharpened his voice. The tension in the room started to rise.

"Miro Crowe, the boy who disabled the [Absolute Obedience] ability you forced upon him, has..."

The pause felt frightening, not to Alex, but to Victor himself.

"He has made a contract with a Demon." Then, he added, "Not just him, but I felt Demonic Essence radiating from the so-called ’Priest,’ as well."