Chapter Text
It’s been eight months since the last time Velder saw a demon roaming their streets. Velder was now the safest city to live in Elrios and it was thanks to the Knights who worked every day to do their duty to keep everyone safe.
There was once a rumor of a creature going rampant killing animals on the outskirts of the city but after a week of searching, the knights couldn’t find the creature and the corpses stopped appearing. The city reached the conclusion that it was a wild animal who strayed from the forest and after said week the creature went back home, after that, the city returned to their usual lives but they didn’t know that was just the start of a new series of events.
Three months later, the knights of Velder received an urgent letter from the Alchemist of Feita, Allegro. The alchemist explained in his letter that a couple of nights ago he went to the temple of the Moonstone and he was attacked by a huge white demon who also stole the Moonstone. He also sent a drawing of how the appearance of the creature and asked to warn the citizens of the dangers of this beast.
The drawing was displayed in the City Board to warn the citizens in case they came face to face with the same demon. Ever since then, Velder has been cautious of any kind of abnormal activity in their surroundings and doubled the troops patrolling the streets at night.
While this was an excellent plan to keep the city safe it was a nightmare to a certain scientist. Mastermind was the creature behind the hunting of wild animals due to his need to drink blood after what happened in Sander. Right after he figured out the best timings to steal blood from the infirmary and the best places to hunt for wild animals to drink their blood, the city turned upside down and a new panic emerged in the citizens that stopped him from getting fresh blood without getting caught in the process.
He had to be careful, he and Esper now had a reputation to keep and he couldn’t afford to make a mistake.
At first, he thought this panic would only last three days at the most but after seeing the stores of Velder close early, the citizens hurrying to go back home before the sunset, and the number of knights patrolling the streets he knew this would last more than he liked to.
The situation got worse last week when a new letter from Feita arrived; in its content, Allegro explained the Moonstone was returned by a traveler who got attacked by the same demon on the outskirts of the same village. He also wrote that the Moonstone was destroyed and he was worried the demon destroyed it on purpose to take some pieces to open a new Dark Portal.
Thanks to the new letter now the knights patrolled day and night nonstop, even Vanessa was out patrolling and asked him and his partner for help. She asked the scientist to help patrol the streets during the day, and Esper to escort the earth priestess of Velder along with some knights to Lanox to an important meeting with the other priestess. She also suggested Esper not use his abilities unless it’s extremely necessary for his own safety; Lanox was a city full of assassins and monster-hunters that could mistake him for a ghost or something worse, a demon that wouldn’t hesitate to hunt him down.
It would soon be a month after Mastermind drank his last blood bag and day by day he felt the symptoms of his bloodthirst coming back. He knew if he didn’t drink at least the blood of a squirrel in the following days he would have to stay at home till Esper came back to help him but he wasn’t sure when Esper was coming back and he could trust his own self-control once the thirst takes control of him.
He was helpless but he had to do something about it before it was too late, that’s why he was here, on the outskirts of Velder in the middle of the night looking for some prey to catch.
It was a windy night, a typical night of autumn with its low temperature and with the full moon high in the sky. The wind made the scientist cling to his coat and cross his arms as he walked through the silent forest.
Mastermind send his dynamos to scan his surroundings in hopes of finding something, a boar pig would be nice, and a deer would be better but he was fine with just catching a duck; As long as it helped him calm his thirst, he was fine with whatever he found.
He also programmed his weapons to alert him in case they detected a human nearby, the last thing he wanted was a citizen or a knight finding out about his secret.
The wind blew and the scientist hissed, he wasn’t a fan of cold weather and now he wished he had brought a scarf to keep himself warm.
A beeping noise interrupted his thoughts and a holographic screen expanded before him. The screen displayed the distance of his dynamos on a map; two dynamos were successful to find an animal for Mastermind and were on standby for his next command.
The scientist tapped his screen to activate the cameras of his dynamos, the dynamo closer to him found an owl and the second dynamo found a deer.
Mastermind knew that if he used his dynamos to take down the animals there was a chance the animals could escape and the sound of his weapons firing would alert the other animals nearby so it was better if he hunted the animals himself with his claws and speed. He also knew that catching a bird was a hard task and the amount of blood he could drink out of it was small, catching a deer was easier and he could feast on it.
He commanded his hologram to focus on the position of the deer and he walked in that direction, it would take him around four minutes to reach the position of the wild animal but he was going to strike when he was close enough. He wasn’t going to risk losing his prey.
As he made his way through the forest he commanded the two closest dynamos to return to his side and follow him. He removed his gloves, loosened his tie, and once the dynamos were back to him, he removed his coat and gave it to his dynamos; his coat would only get in the way and it would be a pain to wash if it got dirty.
He kept walking, once he was a few meters away from the deer he commanded his dynamos to stop in their tracks. He lowered his posture, his claws emerged, his eyes glowed, his scleras turned to a dark color and the pink marks in the corners of his eyes appeared.
He got close to his prey, it was so close to him he could already hear its heartbeat but he froze on his spot.
His dynamo only detected a deer close by, if there was a human his dynamos would have alerted him about it. His weapons were flawless, they couldn’t make a mistake.
So why was he hearing two different heartbeats?
He turned around and narrowed his eyes trying to find the source of the second heartbeat.
In the distance, he saw a pair of eyes watching him, there was no glow coming from them but he was sure those eyes were looking at him. He saw those eyes take a step closer and he backed up.
He then heard a growl and the creature charged at him, his instinct screamed at him to run and he didn’t think it twice.
He ran as fast as he could, not worrying if someone saw him. He also called for his dynamos for help but they would have a hard time trying to match his speed.
Who didn’t have any problem matching his speed was the creature on his back; he could hear his step close along with his breathing and heartbeat. The creature on his back was two times his side and he knew that if he made a mistake trying to run away he was done for.
He zigzagged his way through the trees in an attempt to escape but the creature wasn’t stopping.
He then got an idea and he headed towards the river that divided the forest from the outskirts of Velder. His idea was to cross the body of water with a jump to lose the beast behind him, he have tried it before and he was sure he could get away if he did so.
Soon the river was just before him, he took a deep breath and launched his body like a spring. He had enough speed and he jumped just as he had done before, he was sure that once he got to the other side this chase would be over but as soon as his right foot touched the shore of the river, he felt something big hit his body that made him hit the ground.
The impact took him by surprise and he almost blacked out. A ringing noise engulfed his senses but he knew he was in danger; he had to react quickly and move or he would end up as prey.
With all his strength he turned and tried to stand but the creature had him pinned down to the ground. He turned around to face the beast and his eyes widened at what he saw.
It was the white demon with purple markings that Allegro alerted Velder about. He couldn’t believe another demon like Berthe existed and was roaming in Elrios.
The beast was growling at him, barring his fangs and threatening to rip him to shreds with its claws.
In a swift motion, the beast snarled and tried to attack Mastermind’s neck but the scientist hurried and sank his claws into the creature’s neck to stop him. The demon growled and tried to attack again but Mastermind’s grip was strong.
The scientist thrashed trying to break free, he kicked, hissed, and shook his body but the demon didn’t flatter, not even when blood came from his neck and slide down the scientist’s hands.
Out of nowhere, the beast stopped in its tracks and its ears perked up in alert.
Soon a laser was aimed at the demon; it was Mastermind’s dynamos that have finally catch up to him and now they were attacking the demon with lasers, missiles, and everything they had.
The demon received a few blows but it tried to avoid the attacks, it also seemed scared of the dynamos, as if it has seen those dynamos before.
The creature growled and ran away from Mastermind and his dynamos. Once it was undetectable the dynamos stopped attacking and returned to the scientist’s side. The long-haired male sat and tried to regulate his breathing.
He was in shock; not only did the rumors of the demon true but he also could have died if it weren’t for his weapons.
He looked down at his hands, they were shaking uncontrollably and blood dripped down his claws.
Another idea came to his mind and his face twisted in disgust. He came here to drink blood and while he had blood on his hands, he was disgusted by the mere idea of drinking a demon’s blood.
With a sigh, he brought his claws closer to his face and lapped at his claws. The taste was better than expected, it tasted like human blood with something in between. With each lick, he felt his strength coming back at him and his body recovered.
After his snack, the scientist stood up without difficulty. He brushed his clothes and hair to clean himself. The wind howled and again the scientist was reminded of the cold temperature. He asked his dynamos for his jacket and he walked back home.
He knew he had to tell the knights of Velder about the demon to warn the citizens and to make a plan to hunt the demon down but he also knew he could get into problems if they knew he was outside at the outskirts at such hours. He would have to create a story to avoid being suspicious.
A groan escaped his lips; today wasn’t his day but at least with the few drops of blood he got he could last two more weeks. Maybe after a bath, he could relax his body and ease his mind.
The trip back home felt longer than usual with his mind speaking nonstop; a part of him couldn’t stop thinking he acted like a coward when he tried to escape the demon instead of fighting it but another part of him was glad he was alive after the beast pinned him down.
Maybe if he attacked it first with his dynamos and then rushed at it he could have won and continued his interrupted hunting. He also didn’t know the full strength of the beast and fighting would have ended in a worse scenario.
The front of his house was visible and with a sigh, he took a pair of keys from his jacket. He opened the door and stepped in turning on the lights of the room in the process.
He closed the door and slid down on his back till his legs hit the floor and another sigh escaped his lips. He ran his right hand on the back of his head and tugged at his hairband to free his long white locks.
“A long day, huh?”
Mastermind jolted when he heard another voice in the same room as him. He turned around to find the source and when he found nothing he looked up at the ceiling.
Just above him, he saw Esper smiling at him with his body upside down and only his upper part visible, the rest of his body was probably on the other side of the ceiling in Esper’s room. The time traveler has done this same gesture a thousand times and Mastermind was used to being welcome this way but it always startled him no matter how many times Esper has done it.
“I wasn’t expecting you to be here. Did you just arrive?” The scientist stood up and commanded his dynamos to go to their charging point.
“Yeap, as soon as I got to Velder I ran over here. It’s been a hell of a journey.” Esper groaned on the last part and he descended to stand next to the scientist. Once he was at the same eye level as his partner Esper noticed the dirty clothes of the scientist.
“Did something happen? You are a mess.” Esper got close to the scientist searching for any injuries.
“I’m fine, I will tell you about it later. Why don’t you tell me more about your journey?” Mastermind gestured Esper to follow him to the kitchen and he obliged. Once in the kitchen, the scientist took all the ingredients to prepare hot chocolate for him and his partner.
“Well, we were successful escorting the earth priestess to Lanox but guess what? The water priestess was kidnapped by demons in Hamel.” Esper took a seat at the table and watched the scientist preparing their drinks.
“I don’t thinks that’s your fault.”
“But now it’s my responsibility. When we arrived at Lanox the El Search party was there and they dragged me along this mess. You see, the priestesses were going to meet in Lanox because when the Behemoth woke up the seals of a great demon in Lanox weakened and they were going to make a new seal to prevent the said demon from waking up. With the kidnapping of the water priestess, they believe the demons are going to sacrifice the priestess to break the seal.” Esper groaned and flopped on the table.
“To make matters worse, Vanessa was right, there are assassins in Lanox but one of them made a deal with a demon and both of them joined the El search party. After hearing the priestesses’ explanation of the seals, I used my abilities to teleport us to Hamel and the two of them tried to kill me, Elsword and Elesis had to intervene to stop them. Even if we are working together, they have made it pretty clear they will kill me if I do anything suspicious.”
The scientist hummed and grabbed the two cups of chocolate before sitting in front of his partner and setting the two mugs on the table.
“We always get involved with demons… I’m starting to see a pattern here.” The scientist chuckled.
“And they always are trying to destroy Elrios and kill humanity. I wish they would take a break.” Esper joked and blew cold air on his mug before taking a sip. “I need to go back to Hamel tomorrow morning, I managed to escape when the El’s search party installed their camp. I’m sure there’s no problem if I disappear a bit for Elsword and the rest but the assassin and that little demon are going to make a fuss about it”
Mastermind sighed. “I wish I could go with you but Vanessa is not going to let me go when I tell him what happened tonight. Do you remember the letters from Allegro?”
The time traveler blinked a couple of times before speaking. “The letters about a white demon? Yeah, what about them?”
“I saw that demon, he was on the outskirts right at the forest and it tried to hunt me. I ran as fast I could and tried to escape by jumping the river but it pinned me down as soon as I crossed the river. I sank my claws on its neck and fought for my life before my dynamos came and opened fire at it, then the demon ran till it disappeared again in the forest.” The scientist took a sip from his mug. “That’s why my clothes are a mess.”
“Your clothes should be the less of your worries, that demon almost eats you alive!”
“I’m fine, don’t worry. I just need to take a bath and some rest.” The scientist finished his drink but he waited for his partner to finish with his chocolate.
“Demons here, demons there. Ahh, what a pain.” Esper groaned and he drank the remaining of his chocolate in a swift motion.
“I’m amazed by their persistence; we have spoiled their plans a couple of times but they are still trying, we need to give them credit.”
“Yes, but they are still a pain.” Esper stood up and grabbed the mugs to set them on the sink.
The scientist chuckled. “Why don’t you take a bath first? I will wash the dishes and put my clothes on the washing machine, you can go ahead and take a bath.”
“I will take a shower then, I need to sleep as much as I can so I can stand that demon and the assassin tomorrow.”
“Then you are invited to sleep with me, I promise I won’t talk in my sleep and I can make breakfast before you go.” The scientist suggested before standing up and walking to the sink to wash the dishes.
“Now that’s an offer I can refuse.” Esper got close to the scientist and placed a soft peck on his temple. “I’ll wait in your room after I’m done showering then.”
And in a second, the scientist was left alone in the kitchen with a smile on his face.
At least he could sleep next to his partner after the events of tonight.