“Ajay?”

  He stood in the skin of what looked like a Goran, the monkey demon, and just like Rey, he had his face covered in a hood, but it was him. Rey was sure of it.

  “What are you doing here?” His spicy friend asked.

  “What are you doing here?” Rey asked. “You’re not supposed to be here for weeks.”

  Ajay frowned. “You saw us coming here to this city?”

  “I saw more than that.”

  On a whim, Rey used Identify on him.

  [Human (Exiled) – E+4]

  “My man, am I excited to see you here?” Rey went to him with his arms extended.

  Not wanting to sully himself with a fresh paint job of demon blood, Ajay backed away, which in his case was bad. The guy smelled too clean or well, as clean as someone could be, considering they probably hadn’t had a change of clothes in over a month.

  Speaking of a change of clothes, he would need to buy some clothes while he was in town; these were getting too filthy, and his shirt might as well be in long stripes of tassels. Of course, it sold the rundown look a lot, but still, he couldn’t conquer Hell while looking like Hell already conquered him.

  Ajay backed up a step. “I think I’m okay.”

  “Come on.” Rey motioned him forward. Then he feigned a horrified expression. “Don’t tell me you didn’t miss me that much. That breaks my little heart.”

  Still, he looked like he would rather run away from him than come closer.

  Rey cupped a hand over his ear. “Do you hear that?”

  His friend frowned, looking around at the ravenous demons, somewhat nervous, as if they had figured out he was human. They hadn’t, but they would if he didn’t mask his perfume-scented human odor.

  Finally, Rey sighed and used Attraction on his friend, and he flew to him at full speed. Ajay gave a cry that wasn’t much different than a high-pitched shriek that some people might think was coming from a preschooler. He collided with Rey so hard that they tumbled to the ground. Rey groaned a little and then shrugged and took the opportunity to make his friend filthy, top to bottom. They rolled around in the bloody mud until Rey was sure that even Ajay’s own mother wouldn’t be able to recognize the little arsonist.

  “Get off me.” Ajay pushed Rey off and stood, doing his best to undo Rey’s handiwork.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Gloria said. “You need to cover up your human scent.”

  Ajay’s eyes widened as he finally noticed her. “G-Gloria?”

  “The one and only.” Rey grinned as he extended a hand to him for help.

  Ajay grasped his hand and helped pull him up. “But what is she doing here? When did you two end up meeting?”

  “A couple of days ago,” Rey replied. “She tried to rob me. Of course, it didn’t turn out so well for her partner.” Then he looked around. “Or her thieving organization as a whole.”

  Ajay’s eyes widened once more as he looked at the scene of carnage, or well, what used to be carnage, and was now an active feast, that was making Rey’s stomach rumble.

  “I think we should get out of here,” Gloria said. “I don’t like some of the looks we’re getting. Pretty soon, someone might sniff out your true nature.”

  She was right. Every so often, someone would look their way, in the menacing demon way, as if they wouldn’t mind putting Rey on the dinner table as well. The only reason they hadn’t yet was because he had just downed the boss, but if the mob charged them, then even he wouldn’t be able to stop them. But as it were, stupidity was still trending in the underworld.

  “Lead the way,” Rey said to Gloria.

  They quietly stalked away, and thankfully, no one pursued them. Rey almost made a proclamation that he was giving them the Black Hand’s body to defile, but decided not to push his luck.

  Gloria took them through the back streets towards her little shack. Once they were inside, they finally relaxed. Rey was running on adrenaline all this time. Even when he was relaxing after killing the Black Hand, he hadn't really let his guard down. Ajay immediately started to clean himself up again.

  “Didn’t she say that you need to cover up your human scent some more?” Rey reminded him. “Why do you think I’m walking around like a walking, talking advertisement for a garden hose and shampoo?”

  His friend stopped cleaning himself up. “So, why are you here, starting a fight with a bunch of demons?”

  “I didn’t start that fight. They did. I just finished it.”

  “No, he started it,” Gloria added.

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “Did to, when you killed Bikrur. You didn’t have to kill him.”

  “That fucking groper needed a far slower death than he deserved. If I hadn’t killed him, then he would’ve burned him alive.” He pointed at Ajay.

  Ajay blinked. “I’m sorry, what? But why would I have killed this Bikrur?”

  “That’s not important anymore. You should be happy I cleaned up this city before you arrived. Now, you just need to be careful of everyone else.”

  Ajay gave him a blank look. “Thanks, I guess.”

  “It’s a demon city. What did you expect? Everyone’s going to be out for your blood.” He paused for a second. “Actually, everyone, everywhere is going to be out for our blood. So, dress appropriately.”

  “And what about you?” Ajay asked Gloria.

  “Well, let’s just say I drifted around for a while until I ended up here, and with the Black Hand gone, I finally have some time and space to breathe.” Then she patted one of the satchels. “And this should definitely help.”

  “Please tell me that is what I think it is,” Rey said.

  She gave him a sly smile. “See for yourself.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  She tossed one of the satchels at him, and he immediately used Identify on it as soon as he got his hands on it.

  [Storage satchel (9/50) - A worn leather satchel enchanted with minor spatial magic. Despite its modest size, it can hold up to 50 inventory slots' worth of items without increasing its weight. Items placed inside are suspended in stasis, preventing decay or spoilage.]

  “Oh, sweet mother of succubuses,” Rey exclaimed. “This is the best thing I’ve gotten since I landed in Hell.”

  Ajay frowned. “What is it?”

  “Identify it.”

  A moment later, his eyes widened. He glanced at Rey. “This is just like in—”

  “Video games. I know. They are expensive and rare as fuck. The fact that your thieving pals were carrying two of them is even rarer.”

  Gloria shrugged. “Did you even see its contents?”

  He opened the satchel and did a sharp intake of breath. For inside, three slots were filled with iron, silver, and gold coins. Two more contained gold ingots and silver orbs, and the last four were filled with Healing potions. Healing potions were annoying because each one required its own slot in these shitty storage satchels. Rey used to have one that let him carry ten in one slot, and he had five slots filled. Not to mention the plethora of weapons that he carried, he had many replacement swords in case his main one broke.

  One more reason just got added to the list of why he wanted to kill that cum gargling, whore spawn of a demon.

  “How’s the gang?” Rey asked.

  Ajay’s face fell slightly. “You were right. You told us what would happen and still…”

  Rey understood immediately. “The doctor is gone.”

  His friend nodded. “It happened just like the way you said it would. A group of tigermen ambushed us one night. None of us stood a chance. They let us go, but they took her life in exchange for coming onto their territory.”

  So, it happened without even my involvement.

  Deep down, there was a part of him that knew that fate would find a way to fuck them in the ass, and it had. If that was the case, then what was the point of his leaving them? He could’ve just stayed with them and done his best like last time. But there was a part of him that couldn’t bear to watch all their deaths again. If it was going to happen, then it was best he stayed away and let it happen on its own.

  His eyes fell on the satchel in his hand, and maybe his coming to this city before the others wasn’t so bad. After all, he had taken care of the primary threat that had targeted them in the past. As long as Ajay didn’t stir up any trouble, then he should be okay. That stumped Rey.

  “Please tell me you’re not in this city alone?” asked Rey. “Where are the others?”

  “They’re waiting for me, past the bone wall,” replied Ajay.

  “You came in here alone?” Rey practically shrieked.

  “We didn’t think it was wise to risk everyone. Besides, this is not the first time I’ve sneaked into the city. Filomena found a hole in the wall that led to one of the side streets. We were going to avoid it, but we had no choice. After the doctor's and Sergei’s passing, we had no way to heal ourselves. This demon that we caught was carrying a Healing potion, and he told us of this place, before we dispatched him.”

  “I see…” Then he did a double-take. “Wait, Sergei? He stayed with you guys?”

  “He did. The night he decided to make off on his own as his demon urges were becoming too much for him, the Tigermen attacked. Poor man went down fighting, but not without taking one of those fuckers with him.”

  Rey squeezed his eyes shut. Fate caught up with him at last.

  This made his eyes wander to Gloria, who had cheated death all this time. She was supposed to have died a long time ago, but death, it seemed, had yet to snatch her up. She gave him a slight frown at his lingering gaze.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” She finally asked.

  “Trust me, you don’t want to know. It’ll just cast a gloomy shadow on this already gloomy conversation.” He extended a hand. “Your satchel.”

  She moved it away protectively. “Why? It’s mine.”

  “You didn’t do anything to earn it. I went through all the nose-shattering, jaw-cracking, and killing a demon who called himself the Black Hand. You know, now I’ll never learn what his real name was, and that’s going to keep me awake at night for a long, long time.”

  “I already gave you your half.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “So, there’s the demon. I won’t ask again.”

  She looked like she was going to refuse, but in this cramped hut, she wouldn’t have made it three steps before Rey was on her. Right when he was about to use Attraction, she tossed him the satchel.

  He opened the satchel, and as it turned out, Gloria had taken the lion’s share of the gold.

  “Tch, tch, tch…” Rey shook his head. “And here I thought we were friends, and I was just beginning to trust you. You wound me, Gloria.”

  She crossed her arms and looked away.

  Rey took out half of the coins, including the ingots, and put them in his old purse, the one he had taken from the Satyr. Then he removed three Healing potions from the satchel and placed them in the purse as well. He tossed the satchel to Ajay and the purse to Gloria, who was clearly unhappy with the exchange.

  “Hey, my kill, and by demon law, my spoils,” Rey said. “I can do what I want with my spoils.”

  She rifled through the purse, growing increasingly angry. “You wouldn’t even know about the spoils if it weren’t for me.”

  “That’s why you get twenty-five percent as a finder's fee, and oh, I’m sure I mentioned this before, your freedom from the Black Hand,” Rey replied, and looked to Ajay. “Consider it my parting gift. With that, I’m off. Oh, and do stay a while; this city should be safe for now. So, do some sightseeing and get your weapons upgraded at Neriath’s. Trust me, he’s the best in town. Gloria can show you the way, once she stops pouting.”

  Rey realized in their haste that he had forgotten his hood back at the town square. He shrugged. There’s more than enough demon doggies to skin in the wild.

  “Where are you headed?” Ajay asked.

  He almost told him, but had a feeling that he and the girls might follow. He had a feeling Kassandra, in particular, was not happy with him.

  “Ah, you clever fox, you. You don’t worry about my whereabouts. Just avoid the Hypresal River as much as possible. There are lots of demons lurking in its water. Fill your skins and move on. Also, avoid the town of Terga like it has the plague.”

  “Does one of us die there?”

  Rey paused. “Yes.”

  His eyes widened. “Who? Is it me and Filomena? Because that is who is supposed to die next.”

  No, it’s where I’m headed and don’t want to accidentally run into you while I’m completing the side-quest of picking up a profession.

  “I would suggest you stay around this area for a few weeks, hunt some demons, rank up, and only when it's absolutely necessary, you head out. And you should also avoid any Luthrols. Simply run away even if you spot one in the distance. Keep your face away from the venom kitties, unless you like dying theatrically. Understand?”

  Ajay nodded. “Okay.”

  “And tell Kassandra to never, ever, ever, never, ever go to the summer castle of Razgorel, no matter how empty it looks. Actually, tell her to avoid castles altogether.”

  “At least, come say hi to everyone,” Ajay said. “And you can tell them all this yourself.”

  “Nah, I’m good.” He clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m sure you got this covered.”

  Ajay sighed and stood, shaking his head. “You never listen.” Then he embraced him. “Well, best of luck out there, brother.”

  “And you, my cousin from a different oven.”

  Gloria snorted at that comment. “Only you can come up with all this stupid stuff.”

  “Any message for her?” Ajay asked.

  Rey was about to tell him no, but Ajay apparently wasn’t done.

  “She misses you, you know. She thought that if you were there with us that night, then maybe Bahar and Sergei could’ve been saved.”

  Stab me in the heart, and keep twisting—I was starting to get comfortable with emotional stability.

  Ajay spared a glance for Gloria and went on, as apparently he still had more to say. “I know you feel something for her. No matter how much you try to push her away.”

  “Even I can confirm that,” Gloria added. “And I didn’t even stay with you all that long. Besides, you could hardly stop talking about her last night. You clearly feel something for her.”

  Rey was thankful for all the blood he was covered in, or he was sure they would’ve said he was blushing, which he was not. Cool guys like Rey never blush.

  “And though she will never admit it, she definitely feels something for you as well,” Ajay said.

  “Okay, I’m stopping this conversation right here. She doesn’t feel anything for me, and I don’t for her. We were just good friends.” Please be convincing. Please be convincing. “As for your original question, no, I’ve said all that is needed. No special message for anyone. Though I do have a question for you, Ajay?”

  “What is it?”

  “Have you conquered Rome yet?”

  Ajay instantly reddened.

  Rey laughed, along with Gloria. Then clapped him on the shoulder. “Make sure you go easy on her so that she can at least walk after.”

  He nodded to his friends and walked out of the hut, knowing what he needed to do. He finally had a mission again. He was going to ensure that the road ahead for them was clear.

  I’m going to kill everything that kills them.