As the morning sun falls one the horizon and the serene light of the moon blesses the night with its radiance, Michael went on ahead to scout for the dark mages. In his mind, he thought the dark mages could just oust themselves if they attacked the driver of the cargo, granting him a clear shot of the bandits and more likely to injure or kill the driver. It was inconsiderate for him to disregard an innocent person's life, yet he has barely noticed any changes to his behavior and thought process. Instead of doing just that, he decided to seek the bandits before they could lay a finger on them. As he was 15 minutes early, he sought a vantage point for him to snipe them out, all while summoning surveillance drones for any stray mages.
It should be fairly easy to identify the criminals, for their insignia is literally sprayed on their back vests - a stupid move for a group of mages who takes pride in being non-existent. Looking at his HeXcry, he has detected presence of a few stray mages he could take out in an instant, all of which were found by his drones. Aiming his sniper rifle at his first prey, he uses an enchantment to silence his attack and... thwip. His rifle didn't generate any alarming noise through the enchantment he casted upon it, looking at the feed with satisfaction as the head of his first prey was pierced by a silent and deadly bullet, dying almost instantly.
He takes aim another and... thwip. Another shot was fired on another, dropping dead and blood flowing from her head to the ground. More shots were fired on several other mages until there were no more strays left. Whatever they were doing, they are doing a piss poor job at it. Then again, who wouldn't die from a military trained wizard? And so far, the drones Giselle gave him has proven useful for reconnaissance, though he used it as a tool to help him assassinate his targets.
Their numbers dwindled from the rounds he fired against them, and judging by the feed, the others are not aware of their current situation nor are they checking up on them. He spent the rest of his time observing them and eavesdropping on their conversation through his drone. It was not long until it was time for them to enact their plan. "They don't look very strong." He says to himself as he leaves the vantage point, ready to face them head-on. It shouldn't take long before the cargo arrives. Suddenly, a voice rings out to him followed by a feeling of nausea, prompting him to fall prone and lay by a nearby tree.
"So you have sought justice for others by killing? We must be kindred souls, you and I." Standing in front of him is an image of a bird demon, the same one from his dreams, though he seems to be tamer than usual, and he looks like someone from the eastern continent - one donning a samurai's garb. "If you want to rid this world of the true demons, bond with me, mayhap a contract forged with our convictions."
Michael shook his head, believing his words to be mere lies and deception to get him to surrender his soul to the demon. "I will not forge a contract with a demon like you! You're a bloodthirsty maniac who knows nothing but to kill."
"Out of justice. I will not hesitate to kill those who seeks to abuse their powers for their own benefit. But suit yourself." He sighs in disappointment, and vanishes into the darkness. His voice echoes once more in his mind as he fades away. "Know this - my offer still stands. After all, you can only do so much without the power of demons to help you." Perhaps it was a good decision for him not to join hands with a demon as he probably dodged a bullet.
He feels much better now that the voice is gone, and he has stopped getting nauseated. Before he could process what had just happened to him, he hears the sound of a vehicle coming to his way. He frantically ordered his drones to search for the dark mages. He has wasted valuable time conversing with the demon in front of him, but he couldn't help himself if he felt sick and lethargic at that time. Ere long, before he could find the mages, they enacted their plan as soon as the cargo vehicles was sighted.
Each mage was working harmoniously as they went to perform their respective tasks - one of them was able to make the vehicle stop through a weak gravity magic, while one of them was a Requip gunslinger who managed to kill the driver, its bullet crashing through the window and piercing through the driver's head. Screams of panic could be heard from the front and one of them pulled the door open to reveal two children, crying at the sight of the dead driver. If they were to hazard a guess, the driver was the father of these two children.
No matter how hard he tried to get there in time, it was too late for him to save the children on board, the bandits laughing manically at their cruel deed. He was too slow.
Powerless to stop them, he felt a wave of rage crash upon him, angry at himself for being to slow to save them. With the well of rage filled to the brim, as well as an overwhelming feeling of regret, he finds himself lost in his mind. A crimson circle appears below him, one that looks similar to the sigil on his back. He screams out loud as he undergoes some sort of metamorphosis - his skin grew dark hard feathers and a pair of dark steel wings protruded from his back. The transformation was painful, excruciatingly painful, and once he was full transformed, he was no longer Michael.
While the dark guild looted the vehicle for any valuables, all of them felt uneasy, which eventually turned to fear. By the road, they saw an avian looking man with wings as hard as steel, and its eyes glowed menacingly red. At that moment, all of them felt paralyzed out of fear. Immediately after the demon avian's arrival, all of them flung spells at him which proved to be futile as they merely bounced off the demon's armor or it had little to no effect. Even gravity magic couldn't stop his advance.
"Freedom... Justice..." It was at that moment they realized... they were dead the moment they saw him. Some attempted to run while a few handful of them froze, not knowing what to do as they are too afraid to do anything. "VENGEANCE!" The demon cries out as it moved swiftly towards one of them, eviscerating it, and quickly lunges towards another one. One by one, all of them fell dead by the fury of the demon. It was a horrifying sight, blood spilling all over the road with mutilated bodies scattered around.
As the last member of the group, its leader, stood alive, she used her remaining strength to pull off a powerful spell, which ultimately failed as he was quick to chop off her arms before she could cast anything. His eyes glowed menacingly once more as the leader froze in fear, and then she got decapitated.
The deed is done, and his insatiable thirst for vengeance was sated. Ere long, the demon morphed back into a human, transforming back into Michael. As he opened his eyes, he was greeted with a horrifying sight, one that looks exactly like incident back in the Arch Vorbrundt Order.
He felt numb after processing what had just happened, but with this, his job should be done.
He met with Francois back at the alley they met in in the Neutral Grounds, and there he spotted the Rune Knight, waiting for his report. A quick glance at Michael reveals much of his recent endeavor. "I'd wager something awful happened in your pursuit against the dark guild?" Francois' question was answered with the shaking of his head. "I finished the job just like you asked. Their guild is no more." And with that, Francois tossed him his payment. "I'd wager you transformed into a demon. Ozwald told me much since your bracelet was detecting signs of overwhelming emotion. I won't pry into the details, however. I care not how you do your job, I care only that the job went through. And thus, I bid you adieu." Francois parts ways once more as he blends into the crowd near the alleyway. Michael went home and thought of what had happened back then. Eventually, he felt tired and fell asleep on his bed.
[ Word Count - 3753 / 3500 ]
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