Demon Tamer's Ascension-Chapter 27: The Kitchen

"Well, Alex, very nicely done, if I do say so myself."

"Well, well, if it isn’t my favorite Demon," Alex whispered, jumping down from the building and taking absolutely zero fall damage, almost as if he were a superhuman.

He made a slight crack in the stone beneath him, but then continued to move back towards the Inn.

"Well, it’s Victor Kane, of course, I’m your favorite Demon. I mean, is there another Demon you know of?"

Alex rolled his eyes around, "That’s exactly the point. You’re my favorite because you’re the only one I know."

"Wait..." Victor thought about it for a little while, "Does that mean I’m also the one you hate the most?" He asked.

"I mean," Alex paused, maneuvering through the terrain to get back inside the inn, "Where else do you see another Demon around?"

Victor wondered, "Yeah, guess you’re right. Tsk, tsk, it’s whatever..."

Alex laughed, then, clearing up his eyes, "Thank you, Victor."

"Why are you getting so emotional all of a sudden? Remember, this is a mutual contract—just like any other," Victor said, the breeze brushing past as if in quiet contrast to his words.

"I am?" Alex asked, not expecting a response. "You’re right, it might be a mutual contract. But for me, it’s another opening in life. One I can truly accept."

"Don’t get so emotional on me, brother; it’s how it goes. We both win this way, and there’s no loser in the end... not at all." Victor added, sighing in relief.

"But I can’t help but feel like I’m slowly losing my humanity."

Alex stopped, looking down at his palms, and [The Abyss Blade] that he held inside his arms.

"I killed a person, someone who probably had a family, and maybe even kids to go to." Alex whispered, "But I don’t care. I killed a person, but it just feels so right."

His purple eyes glowed brightly, almost like he had become a Demon, just like Victor.

"You’re losing yourself here," Victor stated, "You killed him because it’s what needed to be done. If you haven’t, the Church would still be instilling messed-up rules into Ashtar’s lands."

"I know, I know." Alex replied, "But I can’t help but realise what I have become. Can I count myself innocent anymore?"

A long pause filled the surroundings.

"Alex, once you accepted this contract, it wasn’t a matter of containing your morals or not. This isn’t who you are." Victor’s blood pressure rose. "You sacrificed your humanity the moment you decided to swear vengeance. Live up to that person, don’t stray away from it."

"You’re right," Alex exhaled.

"You’ve already decided what you want to do, and now you’re feeling sorrow? Do not pity those who share worse ideals. We’re fixing it, they’re ruining it." Victor added his final thoughts, "Whether you think it’s right or wrong isn’t the issue. Fixing things never comes with peace."

Alex continued walking through the large territorial pathway that led back to the Inn, "Are you a poet?"

Victor laughed, "Simply stating my opinion."

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[Demon Energy Reset]

[23:59:02]

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Over the past week, Alex also discovered that his Demonic Energy resets every 24 hours after being used. Either way, with a total of 1,000, he wasn’t running out anytime soon.

Although there was a clean exception. For quests, it resets automatically once the missions are completed. But using it normally, it would use the cycle reset. Thus, completely resetting the total Demonic Energy Alex can hold for approximately 24 hours.

The only real issue he was dealing with was the cooldowns of every skill move. But, the more Alex raises his rank, the cooldowns for every skill move decrease based on the rank he received them from in comparison to his current rank.

Anyhow, Alex continued to walk forward with contempt, in preparation for a good night’s sleep. He looked at his watch, and the time was already nearing 2:00 AM on the 14th of December.

"Can’t wait to sleep." Alex murmured, "My mind feels tired after the constant quests I took on."

"Yeah, you never give yourself a rest." Victor stated, "Every moment you’re out doing quests. You didn’t even bother trying to speak with Cassie casually. "You enter the inn, request some food, and then return to your room to commit to some quests."

"Yeah, yeah. It’s good that she doesn’t just bang into my room, considering how I’m always teleporting into different territories."

"Talking about that, how many new regions have you discovered within Ashtar again?"

"So, the first was the Ironridge territory," Alex started counting with his hands, "Then we found the one in the upper-north, where most 5th-Degree families stay who awakened beasts, which is Morveth."

"Oh, yeah, forgot about that place." Victor said, "Cool that you remember it."

"Of course, I remember Morveth and Flintvale, which was a beautiful sight to see. And those are the only two other than Beast-Fall capital I’ve seen so far." Alex added, now standing right in front of the Inn’s door.

"Ahh, alright. Okay, Alex, I’m going to hit the hay. Have a good night, lil bro."

"You as well-" But by the time Alex realised Victor’s final words, he had already made his exit, "You little shit." He smiled, "What an annoying little brat."

Alex made sure to barely make any sound while jiggling with the lock and opening the Inn’s entrance door wide from the front.

It worked; he made no sound, and the lights were all closed. Alex made sure to lock the door behind him when he entered after closing it.

Usually, all the lights are closed when he comes back from late-night walks. Each one of them...

But not now. Alex arrived later than usual, and for some reason, the kitchen light was on

"But, shouldn’t Cassie’s mother be asleep?" Alex whispered, looking around, "But something’s terribly off."

He actually never had the chance to introduce himself to Cassie’s mother. But today, this would all change.