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The day was coming to an end.
Everything was going like always, yet something seemed weird. The first time you had gotten this feeling, you decided to ignore it, Finding out the next day that a new evil has intruded your village and that a villager had went missing. Both of those things were likely connected.
Nobody knew what exactly happened to them, but you should still try preventing anything similar. A new rule was put in place, stating that everybody should go to their houses after they finish their job, or end it early if continuing would cause any risks. Most accepted it as a solution, but some people still had doubts.
While walking back home, you passed by Scout. A few days ago this would be normal, since he was usually send on expeditions to figure which demons are roaming around. Now nobody should be outside at that time, and you doubted he would be send out on a mission before you under these circumstances.
"What are you doing out here?" You had to make sure if he was planning to break the order, or had other reasons to go back .
"Going into the forest." You wondered if he forgot about about the discussions surrounding your job.
"We aren't sure if what we are doing is bringing any affects. I'm just making sure we aren't doing this for nothing." Scout anwered before giving a chance to ask about it.
"And how are you planning to do that?"
Scout stood silently for a while.
"Like always, go there, search for anything unusual, deduce if it's related to demons, and which ones..."
"And what will you do if you get caught?"
"Well... I'll try to lose them. They never acknowledge me anyways, so it shouldn't be a problem now." You weren't sure how much truth was in this statement. Even if all of it, going somewhere dangerous without a proper plan could only go badly.
"Is someone forcing you to do this?" This was the only reasonable explanation that came to your mind. "I could go there in your place. If they find the lack of detail weird, you could just say that your search was interrupted. Having some clues is better than none with another villager missing."
"No, no, I'm doing this out of my own will. You don't have to worry about me."
"Atleast let me go with you." You still weren't convinced that it was the case.
Scout nodded and went into the forest. You followed closely behind.
Unlike the other guild members, you rarely spend time here. Protecting the village once the evils came. Going into their terretory just to kill them didn't sit right with you (even if it made the job easier). Due to that, you didn't know what exactly could be condidered odd. Him acting so weirdly didn't help. Walking way faster than usual, seemingly trying to be alone. You decided to stay farther away, but not fully leaving in case something happened.
This place looked calm, despite being the opposite. Someone not knowing this place would probably stay here instead of the village (with one still attemting despite being aware of the things that accured here), likely falling victim to the residents. Staying away prevented any serious and long lasting consequences, but that could still change, or maybe it already has.
"Found anything interesting?" Scout didn't reply.
You started to wonder if coming here was a good idea. As if universe wanted to give an answer, you soon found yourself pinned to the ground by a demon with blue skin, darker hair and wings, the same one that firstly appeared after a villager's dissappearence. You attempted to escape their grasp, but it was in vain.
"You are a stubborn one. Makes sense considering what you said earlier."
"... What?" Its words caught your attention.
"Just wanted to come back here, but we had to see eachother, and killing you there would bring more attention later, so I just wanted to either lose or get you to a better place."
They dug their claws into your shoulders. They would probably be bleeding by now if not for your armour.
"Stop struggling and I will make this less painful."
Eventually, it lifted one of its hands, attempting to break through the metal plates on your chest. Images of what would have happened without them appeared in your head.
The noise had stopped for a second. Then, it started scratching your arm. The pain from that was unbearable. You tried not to scream from it to not alert any other threats. The demon dug even further after seeing your reaction.
Some time later, it seemed to give up, lifting its claws from your body.
"Why can't you just go out like the other one." It mumbled under it's breath.
The demon got up, walking away as if the last few minutes didn't happen. You ended up doing the same, since the idea of suffering through something similar wasn't appealing.
You didn't seem to suffer any serious injuries, despite the fact anyone else in that position wouldn't have come back.
Atleast now you knew what happened to them. Most villagers weren't awake at this time, including the guild members, so you will have to share your findings with everyone tomorrow.