Timeless Hero Without a Goal

43rd Tick: Immortal Episode 3

A cannibal, a demon who acted more beast than demon, the wanted criminal called Episode. That day, he was seen crouched on the ground, glaring at any demon that dared look at him, a strange darkness surrounding him.

A witness had recounted to the military. The witness sat in an office where they were isolated. He said, “I saw him there, yeah, the demon called Episode. He was crouched on the ground, just... glaring at me. I immediately walked away, I just don’t want to get involved with him.”

“Why?” The military officer asked.

“Why?” The witness scratched the back of his head, smiling awkwardly. “I mean, his mouth was stained red, his clothes were red. There was something on the ground, he was eating some sort of animal raw. At least, that was what I thought.”

The witness leaned closer, dropping his voice to a whisper. “I thought it was an animal. But I saw it, the rough shape of the carcass, the horns that laid not too far away, and most not only the eyes. He did not eat an animal, that demon, no, that beast ate another demon.”

“We’re you able to identify the victim?”

“No, his face and body was damaged beyond repair, there is no way of recognising him, much less trying to save him.”

The military officer nodded and said, “You can take your leave now.”

The news was reported to the original demons, who once again, had to hold a meeting. However, that time, the Devil was not present. There was an awkward silence at the beginning, they were unsure of how to deal with such a situation. Not only was Episode the first demon to be branded a criminal, but the first demon to have eaten another demon. The laws they had somewhat created did not cover him, they did not know how to respond. So they did as demons did best.

“Kill him.” Was the only suggestion.

“All in favour?”

For the first time since the creation of the twenty original demons, they had unanimously agreed on the same thing. They wanted Episode dead, his existence was not to be tolerated. Just three days after the reported cannibalism, the army of the demon realm was activated. They had mobilised an entire army of hundreds of thousands of demons, the greatest force in Hell. All that effort for one demon, just because his existence was intolerable. Just for being created, Episode had changed the demon realm.

It was one fine night, Episode crouched by a river not too far away from his shack. He stared into the water, looking at his dirty reflection. He blinked a few times and opened his mouth. He tried moving his mouth to pretend to speak, using his voice. He croaked out, “Ish.. meh... clods...”

He shook his head, he did not quite sound like other demons. He continued to try and speak over and over again. He was looking into the river when he heard footsteps behind him. Episode turned, wondering who had wanted to approach him. There was a demon girl, slightly younger than him he assumed. She had big eyes and fluffy black hair. Episode was wary of her, but she had given him a smile. She approached him without fear, she had said, “Hey, what are you doing here?”

Episode looked around, not sure how to reply. He pointed at his shack and tried to say, “Ishe... Hoks.”

She giggled, waving his sentence away. “You have problems speaking?”

Episode tilted his head, he only understood parts of her sentence, he did not know the last two words. The girl tapped her chin, not sure how to deal with him. She simply went up to him and nudged him with her shoulder, pointing at the river. Episode jumped back, wary and afraid. The female demon was about as slim as he was, around his height, but looked much healthier. Episode knew from experience that female demon tend to be strong despite their appearances, so he did not want to drop his guard.

She looked at him and pointed at the river, she then squatted down and put her hand into the water. She stared into the clear water with her red eyes, waiting for a few moments before pulling her hand out. She had caught a fish, the animal struggling in her grasp before she let it go. She faced Episode and laughed slightly, signalling him to join her.

Episode felt no ill will towards him, so he slowly went closer to the girl. He imitated her actions, putting his hands in and waiting for a fish to pass by. He pulled his hand out, the fish slipping out of his fingers and back into the water. The girl laughed at his attempt and showed him again how it was done. Instead of using words, she used actions, showing that her fingers were gripping the fish a certain way to prevent it from slipping out.

When Episode just about gave up, she tried teaching him to speak. They were face to face, looking at each other’s faces. Episode looked as she exaggerated her mouth movements to say, “Eva.”

“Aaaadaaa.” Episode tried to say.

“Close enough.” Eva laughed.

To Episode, she was an interesting demon, a demon that did not look at him with spite, with disgust. She saw him like any other demon, like any other living thing. Episode soon found out more about Eva. She was kind for a demon, too kind. She did not say no to when people asked for help, she disliked killing animals. Even when she was about to eat, she would give a prayer. Episode had found that her house was not too far away, it was within reach of his own. So he would secretly spy on her, he was curious about just who Eva was. And if possible, he wanted to learn to speak to her.

The demon army was still looking for him, but that part was so detached from the main cities that they had yet to check that part. Eva would sometimes visit him at the lake where Episode would be waiting, practicing to speak. He was changing, he knew it, Eva could see it.