Devil's Business

First Choice

 Juno arrived to Mooma city at the glimpse of moonlight that appeared upon the apex of the hell-s blue sky. Torches were illuminating the city’s major streets and given the soothing mood across the town and its residents. Of all the amenities that Juno could perceive, the one amongst them all is the blue-brick structure of every single one of the city’s buildings and houses. As he looked upon some of the night-crawlers, the one whose body were wandering under the moon’s twilight has more threads and cloaks as clothes than the residents of Beneno. There are guardsman that patrolling in every corners of the city. They all worn the same attire to the blue and red armored knight from his past encounter, which asserting their presence to avoid crimes being existed within their vicinity. Herds of drunkards were livid and frivolous upon the grid, but much more docile than the crooks of Beneno’s alleyway and stable under the guardian of the police patrol of the city.

Mia had taught him to come towards the inn nearby northwest side of the city’s gate whenever he arrived. She told him that this is one of her other inn joints that she owned across the country. By the course of magic that she has, Mia could teleport herself to any of her businesses without having to blast one of Kudeluma’s brain.

(Ring!Ring!)

A bell was ringing two times, right after he entered the identical-designed inn of Mooma. One recognizable face is filling the bartender’s spot and working the errands of a server of the inn’s drinking station. With a smirk fashioned his face, he shouted to the bartender immediately,”Mia! How could you?!”

The woman on the counter replied his greetings with her sincere laugh,”Hahaha! Can’t believe what you see, are you?” Teased her while cleaning an empty glass for another gulp of red lava beer, the famous signature of her in-house pubs. As every man of the town would do upon the sight of the bar owner, he chose the counter’s stool for further intensity of their trades and conventional access to infinite replenishment.

In defiance of his shocked demeanor earlier, he tilted his head upwards in his trial to extinguish his baffled expression,”I’ve already forecast your appearance in this place, Mia. Do not even try to insult me with this predictable future.” Exclaimed Juno as he tried to conjure a magic through the glass of his lava beer,”However, I do am impressed of your magic. The towns are hundred kilometers away, Mia. How you do that?”

She chuckled by the honest impression of Juno,”This is a very common magic for business owners like myself, specifically one with a lot of branches to work on.”

In comparison to the inn of Beneno, Mia’s inn of Mooma has twice as much customers than the first one in recall. The rooms are also quite wide and has 10 wooden tables to accompany the vacant stools ahead of her drink stations. Over the menu section, Juno sees more variations of edibles and snacks to hit with the sweet but savory taste of the inn’s red beer.

“So, Is there anything troublesome in this region, Mia? I’ve collected so much safety beyond the border, so I think-“

“No way it’s safe for us all, Juno.” Mia interrupted him in advance,”Kudeluma are beyond the borders and will hunt us all if we’re not concerned with it.”

Her cue about the monster from his journey alerted Juno of the menace it caused. He wants to get more information regarding this beast, since they could be the only source for him to gain levels. The appalling feature of its face is the concerning part of the creature. Because of the staggering hazard mentioned by the driver of his wagon, Juno almost died by hypothermia of the blazing ice from their mouth.

“Yup, I’ve got it firsthand just a moment ago, Mia. The deathly ranged attacks are too overwhelming to me.” Uttered Juno in reflection of the tragedy,”Not to count on their gaze, is it really that dangerous?”

She nodded to him in confirmation,”Yes, you will be instantly turned into solid ice if you dare to look deep down their ghastly eyes, so don’t bother with them without your goggles.”

---

Restless adventure to Mooma city has robbed Juno’s entire stamina at large. He plunged into the slumber realm shortly after hitting the inn’s bed. The extra effect of his powers, his money-added attributes were diminished consequently to zero in numbers and putting him back to the normal state. As soon as the first ray of sunlight hit Juno’s eyes, His spirit got revived. The hell’s hero needs to train himself out as far as he could to heighten his prowess, therefore latched his bravery to the extending scale. After all, the main motive of his arrival is mostly regarded upon the random ability that he could gain at the next destination of hero’s adventure.

“So, where would that be? When’s the summoning time for my ability?” Mumbled Juno to himself. For the start of his activities, he needs to fuel the tank for the entire time of his outside. Juno sits down on the vacant seat of Mia’s pubs, whose function turned as the inn’s dining hall upon the day. As she prepared for his morning breakfast, Juno was digging deep inwards to find out of the randomized ability that the demon had explained.

In the most of his venture inside the brain, he stirred up any of the available option of the virtual settings of his ability to unveil its secret and mechanism to retrieve the magical ability. However, the far-fetched dive into the unreal system has given him more baffle than solution for his woe.

“You have to be summoned back and forth to achieve it, mortal. Have I told you that one? I guess I am not, hahaha!” Guffawed somebody inside Juno’s head. From the voice, he recognized it as Lafath, the king of demon that also being his master over the earth’s fiduciary duty. In response to the unsuspected upcoming, he asked in pure inquisitiveness of himself,”Can you deliver me back to earth for that reason, master demon?”

Lafath does not answer it right away.

“Hey, master-“

“Shut up, mortal. Give me a space for thinking.” Shouted the demon afterwards,”Ah, it’s better for you to prepare for Kudeluma, then. I’ll assist you for the last time before sitting idle on my throne once more, Hahaha!”

---

By the promise vented off the king of demon’s mouth, Juno rushed immediately to the outside border of Mooma city. He was reluctant to face the demon after learned the true personality of his master before, but the last feature would be nowhere without the summoner’s itself that come into play.

Nobody would think that the technician, orchestrator of his adventure, is none other than the final boss that he would face later on. In any of Juno’s memories, he never read references that mentioned of such deranged possibilities. Why would the main villain summoned its own opponents right on the dot, to the extent of teaching him of how to use the fork to eat? Only the beast itself would know the reason and flying over it seamlessly.

The herd of Kudelumas are nesting ahead of him across the barren wasteland. They seemed to gather close across the battered pathways of the neighboring cities. Not so distant with the group, Lafath has waited over his arrival upon the higher grounds, mound of sands that are quite common to the terrain’s background.

“You can see of how many these babies are summoned each day? It’s practically infinite.” Asked the demon to Juno when he stood beside him to oversee the Kudelumas from afar. Juno had no precise answer to the demon’s exclamation, hence bobbing his head to affirm its statement right away. The demon, as it could sense the dwindling thoughts of his apprentice, smirks over his innocence before laying another end to Juno’s mind,”Such dishonesty of your own feelings, Juno. You might have wondered this for so long, right? Do not forget of my ability to scan over you puny mind.”

Being the final boss of his adventure, Lafath’s ability to read his mind has concerned him for some time. However, nothing of this sort would suffice at the time before he mastered the stint as a hero of the realm, so he needs to swallow his guts and thoughts over the demon.

“How to look for the ability, then, master demon? Could you give me a hint?” Asked Juno to the demon as cloud of silence gradually beckoned against their odds.

“Just open your eyes and raise your hands. You’ll find out.”

Juno began to follow the instructions of the demon, willingly raising his hands up front,”Like this?”

“Yes, now muster your magical energy to the tip of your hands.”

For this one, Juno has no idea over how it should be done. His eyebrows are shriveled, enclosed to one another for the dent of focus towards his duty to collect the power upon his fingertips. Alas, no sort of magic became visible to his aid.

“Are you insane, master demon? I can’t materialize the power at all!” Pouted Juno towards Lafath, who were unknowingly had chuckled by the pure thoughts of the man way before Juno acknowledged its laughter.

“I have stated about the back and forth issue, Juno. Please, get into that portal and return to this place in an instant.” The demon ordered.

Not so long after that, the black portal is materialized upon them both. The demon had pointed over the swirling void, so Juno had to follow afterwards. He does have nothing in mind to what would be the trick for this portal magic, but he has to do it before the wrath embedded against him in return.