Rey yawned as he awoke. He had a little corner away from the always-burning forge, where he slept. Grixi had a pyro class and could restart the forge in a jiffy, so why was he so adamant on not letting the forge burn out? Rey would never know. It was already hot enough in this place thanks to the lava ceiling, so he didn’t need to or want to get extra toasty.

  He went to wash his face and looked at his handiwork from last night. He had been working on this shield, and truth be told, it was better than the last one he had created, but it wasn’t that much of an improvement. He didn’t know what it was, but his rank was holding him back from going full out. He might be the best Amateur in Purgatory, but if he didn’t reach the D-Tier, he would be stuck making fine-looking, rusty weapons.

  This meant he needed to move on. Maybe in a couple of days, but he needed to leave. He had learned all he could from Grixi. The rest he would have to learn by himself or find a Master rank blacksmith once he reached Hell. It was a good thing; he knew just where to find one.

  After all, it had been two weeks since he had arrived here. His friends, if they had heeded his advice, should have been preparing to move away from the Narzroth. Knowing Kassandra, she would’ve run away once she had heard that Rey had told them to stay and level up around there. After all, she might be just mad enough at him to try something stupid like that. In any case, he needed to head out and clear the path for them.

  Could he ensure that? A safe passage for them, he couldn’t, but if they were following the same path as last time, then he could somewhat guess where they would end up, so he knew where to go.

  He washed his face, used his finger to brush his teeth, and didn’t wash any other parts of him, no matter how filthy he was. After all, he was still in a demon town, albeit a small one; he couldn’t risk letting another demon catch his scent. Though working in the forge had caked him with metal dust and practically turned his hands black with grease. But it was all good. They covered his scent.

  He went through his daily morning ritual and had his meager breakfast, which consisted of some demon jerky. It wasn’t like he could walk into the demon Walmart and go on a shopping spree. Once he left this place, then he could start to gorge himself until he got his dad bod back, which was never going to happen. And he knew that.

  Then he went to check on his scythe, and he shrugged. He had some time, so he polished his blade. After all, why not keep his trusty weapon in top shape? It didn’t take him long to clean off the stubborn blood splatters, grind both sides of the blade, and polish it. His scythe was basically like a double-edged sword, and he couldn’t thank Neriath enough for that.

  “Ah, Trusty, you’re brand, spanking new.”

  With that done, he decided to finish his work and then head out to do some hunting and prepare his inventory before he moved out. The meat wouldn’t spoil, no matter how long he stored it in his satchel. He just had to ensure that it was cleaned properly. If that weren’t done, then it would spoil—another one of the system’s quirky behaviours.

  He put on his furs to cover himself, picked up his weapon, and headed out the door.

  Time for some violent cardio.

  He saw demons out and about, but these were mostly drunken idiots who were stumbling their way home. They didn’t even stop to look at Rey; if they had, they would’ve gone straight into his lunch bag.

  He walked the streets, and he mostly found groups which was not good for him. He was looking for someone alone; how else was he supposed to prey upon them? That was another thing that had happened in the last two weeks. He had turned into a serial killer of sorts, who preyed upon demons that were caught alone in the night or day, or just basically alone.

  The mayor, or well, it’s equivalent, had announced to the entire town not to go anywhere alone, lest they wanted to play with death. It was funny that Rey hadn’t been caught yet, but it was the best way for him to get a steady source of food.

  If he left the town, it took him a long time to find anything, and that ended up wasting too much time. So, these intelligent demons would do, after all, they were only demons.

  He turned a street and finally found a demon alone. He was walking away from Rey, which was perfect, so he would never even see him as Rey took off his head. The demon stumbled on his own feet and kept a hand on the wall to steady himself and a bottle in the other. But the drunkard had quite a lot of meat on him.

  Oh, I will digest you for days to come. That was definitely Demon Rey.

  Now that his friends were gone, there was no reason for Rey to keep Demon Rey in check. Besides, as they say, when in Hell, eat everything and everyone.

  Rey fell in step behind the fat demon, his mouth watering, just picturing how he would eat the demon.

  Control yourself, Demon Rey.

  He turned his attention to his prey; he just needed to find an alleyway or a street cozy enough to do the deed. And his fur required a new coat of blood to keep his scent hidden.

  There, the perfect spot for a good ol’ demon filleting and taking a celebratory blood-bath like a psychotic rubber duck. Ahead to their left was a street, just small enough for this demon to go night-night.

  Rey sped up a little and came on the demon’s back, and leaned in to whisper in his ear. “Didn’t your mother tell you not to leave the home alone? There is a killer about.”

  “Fuck off, Rey. Let me enjoy my drink in peace.”

  Rey nearly stumbled. “Grixi?” He came up beside him, and yes, it was his drunken master, who was drinking Rey's coins away.

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  “How did you know?”

  “How did I know it was you who was killing the demons?” Grixi snorted. “The killings started after you came to town. It doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together.”

  “And what if I had sliced you open without even talking to you first? What then, Mr. Genius?” Rey folded his arms.

  Grixi shrugged. “Then I would’ve gone out enjoying my favorite bottle.” He laughed.

  Rey rolled his eyes, snatched the bottle from him, and took a hefty swig.

  “Hey, give it back, you fucking freeloading waste of a hu—”

  Rey cut in immediately. “You finish that sentence, and I really would have to kill you.”

  The drunk blacksmith scoffed and snatched the bottle back. “Now, you’ve ruined it with your human breath.”

  “Then give it back.”

  “Fat fucking chance of that. Now, fuck off, and when I get back, those shields better be shining like the dazzling lizards from Girgot.”

  Rey gave him a blank look. “Do that yourself. You’re just using me to fulfill all your orders while you drink yourself like a pig.”

  Grixi didn’t even have the shame to hide it. He laughed lightly. “What else are apprentices for? Doing your work and warming your bed.”

  Rey raised an eyebrow and had a second thought about killing this demon before he had any more thoughts like that.

  “Of course, I would never lower myself to sleep with one of your kind.”

  “I thought your kind loved to do unspeakable things to us,” Rey said. He was speaking from experience after all.

  Grixi snorted, which turned into a loud burp. “I have standards.”

  Rey looked his sauced-up self up and down. “Sure, you do. Now, fuck off out of here and let me hunt my dinner or breakfast or whatever fucking time of day it is.”

  It wasn’t like there was any difference between night and morning in this Kingdom. Everything appeared the same. Then the bell rang, and Grixi turned his head. Rey frowned at the sound.

  This entire town was a bunch of mud huts or wooden houses that were barely held together. During his fight with the Sniffers, he had seen a watchtower of sorts with a massive bell. Rey never asked Grixi what that bell was for.

  But the bell rang once more. Then once more.

  Grixi stood straight like an arrow. “Oh no…”

  Then something more peculiar happened. Doors slammed shut of the houses up the street, and he could hear locks clicking shut. He tilted his head; he had never seen that before.

  “Grixi, what is going—” But the blacksmith was already taking off down the street at a speed that Rey didn’t think was possible for this fat demon.

  He took off after him. “Wait, for me.”

  But it was like those bells had sobered him up. It was the most peculiar thing. Grixi, who had trouble navigating the forge, somehow didn’t miss a turn as they arrived back at his shop. He locked the place down as soon as they got inside.

  Rey huffed. “What the fuck was that about?”

  Grixi was sprawled out on the floor, gulping in air. He stayed down like that for a whole minute before he answered.

  “Those fucking…terrifying cats are back,” Grixi tumbled out.

  “Terrifying cats? Demons are scared of cats?” Rey frowned. That was a first. “You’re not Egyptian, are you?”

  “The fuck is a Gyptian?”

  “No, Egyptian, from the land of Egypt. Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of the place. The pyramids? Mummies? Oh man, you’re missing out?”

  Rey had seen pyramids in the Kingdom of the Sun. Maybe Grixi was from there and had just forgotten. After all, it was a long way from that hot mess to this one, even if they were both hot. But this was a mild summer breeze. compared to that inferno.

  “Shut the fuck up and don’t talk so loud or they’ll know we’re home,” the demon said.

  “What are you so scared of?” Rey hissed.

  “Tigermen, you dumb fuck.”

  “Oh…” He was right to be scared of them. They weren’t known to be particularly nice to anyone who wasn’t of their kind.

  Without another word, Grixi walked as silently as he could, which was not at all. He might as well have been a hippo in a laboratory, bumping into everything and dropping all the tools and weapons in the forge. Overall, just being a menace.

  “If they didn’t know we were here before, they surely do now,” Rey said.

  “Quit yer yapping and hide.”

  Rey found a corner in the back of the forge and hunkered down, hoping against hope that they didn’t smell him.

  Several tense minutes passed, and then someone or something banged on their door. It was like someone was trying to break the door down, but that was just the raw power of the Baaghrors.

  Grixi put a finger on his lips, so Rey kept his lips sealed, but it was for naught.

  “Open up, demon, we know you’re in there,” said a heavy voice.

  Rey hadn’t heard a Tigerman talk in a long time, but even then, the voice sent a chill up his spine.

  Rey looked to Grixi, who shook his head once again.

  “Open up,” the tigerman declared. “If you make us ask again. We will break this door down and kill all inside, starting with the human you’ve been hiding.”

  Grixi hung his head. “Coming,” he called softly, but Rey did not doubt that the kitties outside had heard him, no problem.

  Rey went along with him because they were all about respect, and hiding from them could be seen as disrespectful, even if someone was hiding for a very good reason, because of their fangs, sharp claws, and overall terrifying visage.

  Grixi reached for the lock with trembling hands. Rey stood a few paces behind him. His scythe was within arm’s reach, in case things got out of hand. With how unpredictable they were, it was best to be prepared.

  The door opened to three towering figures. Each must’ve been over seven feet tall. They were so tall they didn’t bother stepping into Grixi’s shop, which was about as tall as them. Two of them were bare-chested, so one could see their regal fur. They were terrifying yet majestic. It was as if tigers had stood upright, grown opposable thumbs, and learned how to walk and talk. That was basically the Baaghrors.

  “You are a blacksmith, correct?” drawled the one in the middle with his heavy voice. He was the only one wearing a leather shirt.

  It was a testament to their terrifying power that they could simply walk into a town filled with demons and shut it down with their presence. Of course, like real tigers, they were all known to be very vengeful. You touch one, and the rest would hunt down your last living relative.

  “Y-Yes.” Grixi shivered.

  The one on the right, who was the shortest of them all, pulled out a few weapons from his pack and dropped them in front of Grixi, who started as they clanged against the ground.

  “We confiscated these from those who dared to defy us,” the middle one said. “We have no need for weapons. We want a fair price for them?”

  “Y-Yes, of course, sir.” Grixi was finally coming to grips with his fear, well, a little bit at least.

  Rey was too; he figured he was inconsequential in this, but still, he didn’t turn his back on the tigerman, as that could be seen as disrespectful. And these tigers were not prideful, but they took respect way too seriously. So, he stayed put until his eyes fell on a dagger, and didn’t realize when he started walking towards it.

  “What are you doing?” Grixi hissed, clearly mortified.

  Rey ignored him and picked up the dagger. Then he pulled his own from his sheath, and he was stumped. They were an exact match. As far as he knew, there was only one person who had his dagger like this.

  “Where did you get this dagger?” Rey asked, lifting the dagger they had dropped.

  Without missing a beat, the one who had dropped the weapons spoke. “We took it from a human girl who dared to intrude into our territory with her pack.”

  “I see…” Rey looked down at the dagger. “Did you hurt this human girl?”

  “She dared to defile our home, so of course—”

  Rey blasted them all away with Repulsion. He looked up, face devoid of emotion, and spoke in a voice that would make A-Tiers run to their mommies.

  “You really should not have done that.”