The Midnight Leave: What It Means to Be Human

CHAPTER 13

There were many different types of Monsters discovered in the World of Eva, and certain ones were far more powerful and fearsome than others. Throughout their multiple conflicts with the Supernatural, Demkil eventually organized the information they had gathered in the form of a Tier List. With such a list, one could discern the type of Monster they may encounter, and whether or not it would be wise to confront them, hide and wait for support or retreat altogether.

In the First Tier, ascending in order from weakest to strongest, were the Mutants. They were once Human or any other natural living creature, but the influence of the Supernatural transfigured both their bodies and spirits. Though they technically didn’t count as Mutants under the specified definition, Elves were considered to be in the First Tier as well, only because their strengths could be evenly matched with the Mutants’. For First Tier threats, a lone Slayer was expected to be able to deescalate any incidents, with only a small squad of lower-class knights at most for support.

However, in the Second Tier were the Demons, which were drastically different; these were Monsters that should never be confronted with one Slayer alone, and if at all possible, killing them was a higher priority over capture. Of course, there were those that daringly, or foolishly attempted to control them.

#

“Damn them…!” Dalton Swinger cursed under his breath while stomping towards his destination. “How dare they do this to me?! First, they decimate my employees, and then they decide to rob me?! I won’t let them get away with this!”

After Nexus left him to browse through his possessions, Swinger made his way to the dungeon, carrying a strange book in his hand. Though he had originally planned to head to the bell tower to summon Demkil’s forces, he felt offended by the recent events, and decided to handle matters in his own way.

“I know that the King wanted to test my findings on extracting spirits from their vessels using Axis Demkil, but it’s a lost cause! His son is long gone, and only a Monster remains! A powerful one at that, so much so that only a more powerful spirit can deal with it…”

After entering the dungeon, he made his way down the near left path, towards a chamber he had set up in advance for when desperate measures were required. In the middle of the chamber lied the dead body of a bear atop a chalk-drawn circle full of irregular symbols and patterns; both were prepared by Swinger’s servants upon his angered return. Of course, Swinger didn’t bother showing any appreciation, even as one of them attempted to warn him for his own sake.

“Sir, please reconsider. If the King were to find out that you performed a summoning without his consent…”

“Excuse me,” Swinger sharply interrupted, “Remind me who has absolute authority within this territory.”

“You do, sir.” The servant answered begrudgingly.

“So, whose consent do I need in order to do anything in my territory?”

“No one’s, sir.”

“Exactly, so shut the f**k up! Interrupt me again, and you’ll be the first I order it to kill!”

With that, the servant silently stepped back, internally washing their hands of the matter. Dalton Swinger approached the circle, opening the book he had been carrying. It had an unattractive cover with etched words that didn’t seem to be in Human Language. In fact, as Swinger flipped through the pages, any onlooker would tell that they weren’t made of paper, but something closer to flesh.

“Ah, here it is!” Swinger declared as he apparently found the specific page he was looking for. “This one should be powerful enough to take care of them, but as long as I have this grimoire, it will be under my complete control.”

With his free hand aimed towards the bear carcass, Dalton began to read aloud an accursed incantation. Just like the words written, the words spoken weren’t that of Human Language. Unable to be interpreted, yet they had an influence of their own; the more of them Dalton recited, the more the surroundings began to change, becoming darker and more eerie with every word. The only sign offered that the spell was complete at first was Swinger shutting the book closed.

After that, however, there was only silence. The servants present had certainly witnessed the process before, but they sensed a drastic difference with this summoning; though the vessel would usually begin to move near the end of the incantation, the carcass remained lifeless and still. Yet, Dalton Swinger’s eyes were fixed on it, filled with expectation.

Then, as if the area was not dark enough, all of the light within the chamber was snuffed out. The darkness robbed the vision of all, even the servants that had night vision. Unseen to all, there was a Supernatural spirit that appeared next to the bear carcass: the one causing the darkness to fill the room. It looked down at the vessel prepared for it, and without physical form, it had no way to express its disgust. It scanned the room to see more unworthy vessels, and out of sheer disappointment, it settled for the carcass. It lifted up the dead body and inserted itself into it, akin to someone dressing into a costume.

When the light returned, the dead bear that once lied upon the ground was standing upright, still obscured by the very darkness that just filled the room moments ago. The servants stared upon the summoned Monster warily, as it was clearly different from the rest of them. However, Swinger didn’t seem to mind, or else he had yet to realize it.

“Excellent. That delay was a bit concerning, but I knew that trusting the book would be best. Now then, I know that you’re not yet acclimated to your new body, but you’ll have to adapt along the way. There is an urgent matter I need you to take care of.”

As Dalton went on to describe Nexus and the Dark Elf, the possessed bear examined itself, or more accurately, the vessel was reexamined from the inside.

It was still disgusted, snarling as it couldn’t forgive being summoned to take such a form.

“Hey, are you even listening?! Don’t tell me I have to communicate using this grimoire’s language! I’ve never had to do that before! You’d better not be ignoring me!”

It kept hearing an incessant noise, which only added to its frustration. It looked down to see the creature causing them.

“It looks like I finally have your attention. Listen closely: I am your summoner, which also means that I am your master, do you understand? I brought you into this world to follow my commands. Otherwise, you’ll be sent back into the dark pit you came from.”

The servants discreetly brandished their weapons, sensing that the Monster’s unresponsiveness towards Dalton was a sign of the worst possible outcome. Swinger, however, continued to shout at it, convinced that he still had control.

The noise continued, and the volume seemed to only get louder the longer it stared at the creature. Eventually, it began to understand some of the words being spoken and figured out that the creature was trying to make it do something. Finally, it decided it had heard enough; before anyone could react in time, it swung at the creature to silence it, somewhat satisfied by the feeling of the creature’s flesh being rent by its claws.

After that, the noise finally ceased, and all that was left of the creature causing it was the lower half of its body, which fell to the ground lifelessly. Of course, the ground and the walls were also splattered with the gore and the fragments of viscera from the creature’s top half. Regardless, there was a moment of relief for the dark spirit, but it only lasted a moment, as there were suddenly more noises. It looked up to see some of the other creatures charging towards it, out of some mistaken sense of loyalty for the creature that was killed.

Since it was still frustrated, and none of their vessels were considered worthy to begin with, it killed them all one by one. Not only the ones that dared to attack it, but even those that tried to flee, it slaughtered them all without mercy. The noises finally stopped for good, but the dark spirit’s frustration remained. It needed a proper vessel rather than a cadaver, and it needed a pure spirit to feed upon in order to unleash more of its power.

As it expanded its dark aura from its vessel in order to examine the area, it sensed more unworthy vessels nearby. However, from somewhere deeper within the dungeon, it could sense the presence of a worthy target for both of its needs. Thus, it began its hunt, and the grimoire that caused the incident sank into the darkness it left behind, disappearing from the World of Eva.

Such was the nature of a Demon; unlike the Mutants, Elves and any other First Tiers, which still had at least some semblance of sagacity, Demons were mostly beasts with the primary instincts of “devour” and “destroy.” It was foolish for anyone to attempt to control such dreadful beings, and those who tried would suffer a fate much like Dalton Swinger’s. His was the consequence of reaching too far outside of his own realm for power that he could not control, all to take control of a situation that he could not with his own power. Yet another example of an Endless Cycle…

#

“Whatever you do Vilda, don’t stop running!”

“I don’t need you to tell me that!”

Axis and Vilda ran frantically towards the exit as the Demon chased after them. Encountering a Demon was bad enough, but to dare challenge it underground was a fool’s errand. Of course, they never planned to fight a Demon in the first place, but their rescue attempt brought on that happenstance as a result.

“There it is!” Vilda called out from ahead of Axis. “The door is still open!”

Just as she declared, the large doors they entered the dungeon through were still open wide enough for them to pass through without slowing down. However, they knew that the doors wouldn’t slow down the Demon, whether they were in the way or not.

“Watch out!” Axis called out, as the Demon broke through the doors causing them to break apart, sending fragments of wood and metal flying about.

Axis was able to easily avoid the debris, but Vilda had to spend more of her mana in order to protect herself along with the Elf she carried. Casting a barrier of wind around the both of them, she managed to repel the wreckage that flew in her direction. Despite that, once the barrier dispersed, she nearly doubled over and stumbled to keep herself standing.

Shit…! Axis exclaimed internally. This isn’t going to work! Even if we made it to the forest, this f*****g thing won’t stop unless it’s put down for good! Vilda already looks exhausted, too… I guess that only leaves me with one option.

Making up his mind, Axis started running in a separate direction from Vilda.

“Hey, asshole! Over here!”

Both the Demon and the Dark Elf sharply turned towards him, but before Vilda could ask what he was thinking, the Demon charged towards him. Just as it leapt towards him, Axis dodged by rolling to the side, causing the Demon to crash through the wall of the main building, creating another opening to the outside. Axis followed the Demon through that opening, then stopped upon hearing Vilda shouting after him.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Axis responded without turning to his companion, keeping his eyes on the Demon that was still slightly disoriented after breaking a wall with its face. “I’m going to buy some time. You get that other Elf out of here.”

“How many times do I have to tell you?! I’m not leaving you behind, Axis Demkil!”

“I’m not telling you to leave me behind! I said, ‘get that other Elf out of here!’ Once she’s good, come back and help me!”

“Do you really think you can hold that Demon all on your own?!”

“For a minute or two at least, yeah, but hurry! That time decreases the more you waste it arguing!”

In vexation, Vilda went along with Axis’s plan, making her way towards the proper exit of the main building.

“Damn it, Axis! You’d better be here when I get back, or so help me…!”

“Remember, Vilda: deep breaths!”

The very moment that Vilda departed, the Demon recovered from its confusion. It turned towards Axis as it roared furiously.

“Yeah, I know you’re mad, and I’m the cause. So, what’re you going to do about it?”

With that last provocation, Axis was sure that he had the Demon’s full attention. All he had to do was survive until Vilda returned.

Yeah, Axis thought, That shouldn’t be too difficult… Right?