Waiting for the stalkers to follow after me has been a profoundly boring experience till now. After all, these people are annoyingly paranoid.

  The first thing is that they took so long to even enter the street. Even when they did, they only did so because they were being absurdly careful. There is a certain degree of daring that you need to have when you are stalking somebody.

  They are presently climbing the ruins of what I think is a hostel. (The place is too ruined for me to tell confidently.) That building is about four buildings away from my present location.

  My stalkers are going to be moving from building to building, much like how I sneaked into the vampire's base. It is annoying that they are doing this from four buildings away, though.

  It takes time to go from building to building like that. If I were having a meeting right now, I would have completed the meeting by now.

  Right now, the only thing that I can do is wait. I guess I could attack them right now. The only problem with that is the fact that the best time to attack them is when they reach this place.

  A single spell thrown at the correct time will be enough to capture these stalkers. That is, if they will just hurry to this place already. I am half of a mind to just go out there now to attack them.

  Well, I can't use my sword to capture them. The sword is the perfect tool when it comes to killing people. The sword is very bad at capturing people, though. It would be better to rely on spells for this task.

  The problem is that it has been a very long time since I have used spells like that. Even before, I could rely on my formations to use in place of spells. Well, that was when I had my kit. Now I have nothing like that.

  Well, I will have to decide which spell to use quickly. My stalkers have finally begun to move towards me.

  I need to decide the spell quickly. The problem is that I know a very large list of spells. Of them, two are ideal for capturing people.

  The first is called as gravity field. It creates a field of enhanced gravity in the surroundings of where the spell hits. It is pretty unlikely that I will be able to cast this spell. Gravity spells tend to be volatile when you have cast them a million times. I have not cast the spell for the last few years.

  The second is a conjuration spell known as "binding rope". It releases a rope that will bind anything that gets in its way. I don't have much practice with this spell as well, but I should have an easier time with it. After all, all the practice that I have with the control string should count for something here.

  By the way, while I have been recording all of this, my stalkers have been getting closer and closer to my location. Well, they are almost at my location so I don't have any more time to think. I need to pick a spell already.

  I begin to recollect the runes for the spell as I manifest the necessary runes in my mana core. Even as I do this, I can sense the two men entering the roof of this place. Well, the roof of this place has fallen on top of itself.

  Well, I have the runes ready in my mana core. The moment that my stalkers show their faces, I am going to throw the spells at them. After all, the moment that they see me alone here, they will realise that this is a trap. It will be harder to catch them if they are running.

  I focus on my mana sense as I begin to track the movement of these people. Right now, they are hidden in a room on the top floor. I can see the window (or at least the window's hole.) from the corner of my vision.

  The moment that they show their faces, I will throw the spell at them. I can feel the spell form on the tip of my fingertips. It will just require a small mental push to cast the spell. I feel like tempted to just let it go. It is like trying not to scratch and itch your nose when somebody is tickling it with a feather.

  When are the idiots going to show themselves? There they are, I record, as I release my spell.

  One of my stalkers had just popped up in the window, most likely to get an idea of the scene here. Just as I expect, the spell flies true to its aim. The spell wraps around the man's chest, tying up his arms.

  Before I can even move towards the direction of my quarry, I hear the sound of tiles breaking. Before I can think about it, I find myself running out of the shop. The second stalker cannot be allowed to escape now. If he escapes, then the entire week of planning would be wasted.

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  As I run out, I have another bind rope ready. Once on the street, I can see the man. Even as I lay eyes on him, I know that there is something off about the man.

  The stalker takes this opportunity to run away from me. This breaks me from my thoughts, as I release the spell. The ropes formed now wrap around the man's legs as he falls to the ground.

  As I get closer to him, I realise why I had thought that the man looked weird. The man in front of me looks wrong. It feels like somebody tried to sculpt a man from clay. Then he squished this sculpture a bit.

  The man's face has all the features that a man should have. There is something wrong with the way the man's face is arranged. You won't notice this unless you were to study his face.

  "How long are you going to stare at me, human?" The stalker speaks.

  His voice is shrill and has a high pitch, like he is a kid.

  "Well, drop your glamour first, demon." I reply, as I finally figure out what is standing in front of me. I am getting rusty. I should have discovered them just from their mana.

  "Well, are you sure that you want to see my true form. A single view and you might be corrupted into becoming a demon." The demon speaks.

  "Well, I request you drop your disguise, archdemon." I reply sarcastically.

  "No need to be rude, I was just trying to lighten the mood a bit." The demon replies, an irritated tone in its voice.

  As it speaks, the creature finally drops its glamour. Standing in front of me is a creature about half of my size. It has grey skin that makes it look as if the creature is made of granite. The skin of the creature is wrinkled enough to embarrass a raisin.

  Its ears are pointed like the elves of legend. The most glaring thing about the creature is that it is not wearing any clothes, other than a tiny lion cloth. I assure you that it doesn't leave much to the imagination.

  I don't even need to do much to figure out that the creature in front of me is an imp. I don't know if I need to explain them. They are the most common type of demon that you can find in this part of the continent.

  "You do know that your coming here is in direct opposition to the hexmountain treaty." I speak to the creature. "Anyway, let's go and meet your fellow now, then shall we?"

  As I say this, I catch the creature by the scruff of its neck. It tries to resist, but physical strength is not the specialty of this demon. It feels like a little kid is trying to punch me.

  (After about twenty minutes.)

  I have placed the two imps into the butcher's shop. The two of them have been getting on my nerves for all of this time.

  The two creatures have not stopped talking for all of this time. They started by insulting me. They soon realised that I wouldn't be reacting to any of their taunts.

  Then they shifted to talking with each other in their language. It sounds like somebody is scraping his claws against a rock as the two creatures speak. I have not been able to stop their infernal noises for even a few seconds.

  "Will, you shut up, you damn creatures." I scream at the two of them.

  "You know, it's very rude of you to keep shutting us up like this." The imp to the left speaks. "We have been having such a fascinating conversation."

  "Just shut up." That's all I can say, as I bring my irritation under control by sheer force of will.

  "You do know that you are not allowed to enter the material plane.", I speak, threatening the two of them. "By the hexmountain treaty, your presence here is punishable by destruction."

  "Well, if you mean to scare us, you should not mention the hexmountain treaty to us." The imp to the left replies.

  "Under the hexmountain treaty, we have the right to give ourselves up.", the imp to the right replies. "That means that we agree to be banished to the infernal realms now."

  Even as the creatures, I feel like pulling out my hair. The presence of the hexmountain treaty just makes these creatures so hard to deal with.

  The only way to get the demons to agree to the hexmountain treaty was to give them blanket immunity. Every demon caught has the right to demand to be banished to their homes.

  If I were to try and torture these creatures to learn about the vampires, I would break the treaty. That would lead to very unpleasant conflicts.

  "Well, you know the deal." I say to the creatures. "I need your summoning runes. I will banish you then."

  "Is it necessary. Don't you know who could have summoned us?" the demon to the left replies. "It is always so unpleasant to be summoned by your kind. You never bother to give us the proper treats."

  As the creature looks like it will speak on for a while, I grab my sword. One look at my sword is enough to shut up both of them.

  "Fine, here you go." Both the demon begin to form runes. "Why are you folks from the mountain always so serious?"

  As they speak, the set of runes from either demon flows into my mana core. I can trigger these runes once before they will disappear from my mana core.

  As I confirm that the runes in my core are valid. As I do so, I begin to cast the separation spell. The runes of the spell begin to surround the two demons.

  The spell I have cast targets the connection that these demons have to the material plane. Once severed, the creatures will be forced to return to their plane.

  Even as the creatures disappear, I sit on the ground looking at them fade out of existence. Well, that turned out to be a dud. To think that the vampires would be willing to use demons. The creatures are getting desperate.

  I guess I have to explain this to the folks who don't deal with demons. Well, the arch demons are also a part of the hexmountain treaty.

  By their agreement, no demon is allowed into the territory of the hexmountain and its allies. In exchange for this, no demon can be killed (or tortured) in the territory of the hexmountain and its allies.

  If a demon is found in such a territory, then they have to be banished. Before they are banished, the demon has to provide a summoning rune. We can use it to call on the said demon.

  The reason for this is that these demons can be used as proof. Proof that they were summoned to a place that they were not supposed to be.

  The runes that are present in my mana core can be used to prove that the vampires summoned demons. That is enough of a crime that the hexmountain will send the legion to hunt you.

  I let that sink in as I collapse to the ground.