The Damned Demon

"Where is your Combat Advisor?" Derek asked, his tone pointed, his gaze searching Arthur's face for an explanation.

Arthur looked slightly taken aback, his eyebrows raising in mild surprise, "Oh... He left after telling me how to tackle the quest I took earlier today. Since I was in a hurry, he couldn't have known until it was too late. Everything happened so fast."

"A Combat Advisor is supposed to be quick to react to their team's updates. You didn't contact him?" Derek pressed, his eyes narrowing slightly, scrutinizing Arthur's response.

"I am sorry. I didn't since all I could think of was getting here quickly and saving the guild. I know it was a very stupid mistake, and I promise I won't repeat it," Arthur admitted, his expression filled with regret and a touch of guilt at his own oversight.

"It's fine. At least it seems like he did his job for the quest you took earlier. He is not that bad, is he?" Derek asked, his voice softening a bit as he considered the broader implications of Arthur's words.

Arthur winced slightly, reflecting on his experiences, "He's a bit strict, but he is very knowledgeable and very good at his job. I feel lucky that I will learn a lot of things from him, which will make me better as a Hunter. Even today, he taught me a valuable lesson, and if I had followed it, then maybe we could have saved the guild master."

"That's enough. Don't keep wallowing in what's happened. Focus on the future since that's the only thing that matters. You can go home now. I have a lot to deal with here, especially since Hellbringer pulled off something that made everyone feel unsafe," Derek instructed, his tone firm yet supportive.

"It's strange that the angels didn't warn us through a quest. Hellbringer could have done a lot of damage if he wanted to. But for some reason, he was focused on the guild master. Has something like this never really happened before?" Arthur asked, his curiosity piqued by the oddity of the situation.

"Focused on Ray?" Derek mumbled and paused, his expression turning contemplative.

But then his eyes shifted as if recalling something, "You might not know since you weren't in the academy, but if you visit the library, you can get access to certain history books that mention that one particular demon had done the same thing Hellbringer did today...ambushing us out of nowhere."

"Who?" Arthur inquired, his interest deepening.

"The Devourer...the demon who almost took over our world at that time before the WHA was even a thing," Derek revealed, his expression grim as he added, "So even after thousands of years, we have yet to figure out what method or loophole these two demons exploited to cause chaos in our world. What's even more strange is that this trick they are using must be closely guarded as a secret to prevent us from learning about it. Otherwise, more demons would have used them, and we would eventually catch one of them and learn how to deal with it."

"That's true. Whatever it is, I will try my best to find out by apprehending Hellbringer alive if I have to," Arthur said with firm determination.

"Don't," Derek firmly said with a shake of his head as he added with a serious expression, "Against demons like him, you fight to kill. The moment you fight with a mentality to not kill, you will lose since demons never hold back, and they are filled with killing intent."

Arthur slowly nodded as he felt Derek was right.

"But if you are that confident and you have your team to back you up, then you may apprehend him, only after you are sure he isn't a threat anymore and you let me know first," Derek advised, to which Arthur readily nodded, "I will keep that in mind."

Derek smiled and patted Arthur's shoulder before walking away.

Arthur took a deep breath as he got lost in his thoughts.

"Uhh, sir…"

Arthur raised his brows upon hearing a low voice of a woman calling out to him from behind and immediately turned around to see a young woman with blonde hair.

But she looked quite shaken and was hugging herself, as if trying to warm herself up.

"Can I help you, ma'am? You…You were here when it happened, right? Are you alright?" Arthur asked as he recognized her and remembered her getting questioned by the officers earlier.

"You don't have to feel bad," Stacy said as her chin quivered and added with a cold glint in her eyes, "He deserved it…" Stacy felt she had to let him know since he looked quite dejected and guilty about what happened.

Arthur had a confused look as he asked, "Who?"

"That bastard…Ray…the guild master. You should check the news and focus on saving the ones who truly need you," Stacy said as she pressed her lips together before slowly walking away.

Arthur became even more confused and wanted to ask her something, but he then decided to take out his phone and check the latest trending news, as she had said.

But what made his eyes slowly widen was not the news of people terrified about what happened but the controversial news regarding the Black Knight guild, especially the documents and clips that got 'leaked'.

His brows furrowed as he looked at evidence of the Black Knight guild indulging in selling illegal demonic artifacts to cults, fabricating demon threats to maintain their reverence and secure funding, extorting resources from cults in exchange for turning a blind eye to their activities and more.

But what made Arthur feel his nerves crawl in disgust was upon seeing the evidence against the guild master, Ray Foxx. Apparently, he was the one who took charge of all the illegal activities, and what was worse was that he sexually harassed his female employees, including Hunters, who wanted to join his guild and were forced to please him in exchange.

He didn't even spare those who tried to leave his clutches and ended up destroying their lives in one way or the other.

Arthur then remembered Hellbringer's words, especially when he asked if he was willing to save someone like Ray Foxx.

How could a respected guild master do all these bad things? Wasn't he supposed to protect the world and uphold his vow as a Hunter?

Did Hellbringer really know about all this? How? And why did he care? Weren't demons the ones who indulge in the same or even more evil activities?

If Ray had personally offended Hellbringer, he would have just mentioned that.

Arthur then saw the related news regarding Hellbringer and the Coven of the Damned, including various theories surrounding their recent acts.

Every guild and cult they destroyed was involved in evil activities, especially the guilds who carried out such activities in secret.

What kind of mission did this cult have? Were they really trying to cleanse this world of such filth? Why would any demon want that when it would only hurt them?

Arthur glanced at Derek standing afar and wanted to ask a lot of questions that were troubling him. Was he supposed to protect people like Ray Foxx just because he was a Hunter?

But seeing that Derek was surrounded by a river of officers and assistants, Arthur decided to leave it for later and left the building with a lot of thoughts in his mind.

—

"How pathetic!" Asher's voice cut through the silence sharply as he stared down Arthur with a look of palpable disappointment, "You had Hellbringer just a few feet away from you, and you let him go? Why didn't you even try to contact me instead of barging in alone and almost letting your team die? That demoness could have killed Amelia if not for your damn luck."

Arthur's gaze remained lowered, his voice firm despite the tremor of regret that ran through his words, "I am so sorry. I won't make the same mistake again. I will accept any disciplinary action if you want," he responded, fully prepared to face the consequences of his actions.

Asher clicked his tongue, a sign of his frustration, yet his next words carried a reluctant dismissal of any harsher reprimand, "Leave it. You will be less useful to the world if you simply sit at home."

Relief briefly flickered across Arthur's face, grateful for the chance to continue his duties despite the harsh critique.

"But you must have heard about the Black Knights guild getting exposed not long after their guild master was killed. I am so shocked. They seemed like they were doing a very good job at keeping this world safe. What do you think?" Asher's tone shifted to one of disbelief and curiosity, probing Arthur's perspective.

Arthur slowly lifted his gaze, meeting Ash's eyes, "I...I honestly don't know. I am also shocked, and I never expected them and their guild master to be so rotten. How can they be so cruel to their own world and people they vowed to protect?"

Asher furrowed his brows, his sigh deep and laden with a grim reality, "Did you grow up in a cave, Arthur? Do you think all Hunters are pure and good? Why do you think corrupted Hunters exist? It's because any Hunter has a chance of becoming corrupted. The difference is what it takes to corrupt them. For some, it's just power or resources, like in the case of Ray Foxx. They don't need to have a contract with a demon to become a corrupted Hunter when they are already corrupt by nature."

"But…if they are that bad, how did nobody notice anything? How could they go on for so long?" Arthur's voice was laden with doubt and confusion, seeking clarity in a world that seemed increasingly grey.

"You do what the WHA wants you to do. No questions asked. That's how we are supposed to do our jobs, right? We don't get paid to think but to act. They have other people to do the thinking. If you don't like that, then you can go ahead and ask them. Not me," Asher replied casually, shrugging off the moral complexities with an unsettling nonchalance.

Arthur's expression turned unconvinced, but he slowly nodded in acquiescence, "Okay…" He hesitated before adding, "Can I go home if there isn't anything else to—"

"You are dismissed," Asher stated briskly, as Arthur nodded and turned around to slowly walk away, absorbing and trying to comprehend what was right and wrong.