54 Escape (1/2)

In the floating city of the ancient ones, Karl startled awake, feeling an evil and mysterious presence. He had been watching Zeno and Lionell train, when he dozed off, snoring.

Hoemis saw Karl startle awake. ”Are you okay, master? Is there something wrong?” he asked, continuing to train Zeno and Lionell.

”Can't you feel that? That dark energy in the air?” Karl stood up from where he was sitting and opened the door of the dojo, looking outside.

Hoemis didn't know what Karl was talking about, but he tried to feel what his master felt. He closed his eyes and felt the same ominous energy that his master felt. ”You're right. What is that?”

Karl tried to think of what it could be. He remembered about the demons and what Adum told him. Demons twisted spiritual mana to their own, corrupting it and turning it into something evil. Feeling the energy, he recognized that it was the same energy that came off of the demon slime.

Then that meant that the demons have broken out of the afterlife, escaping into the mortal world. Karl and Hoemis weren't only ones that felt the dark energy. Other people also felt it, but most of them just went back to what they were doing, not caring about the energy.

”It's the demons I was telling you about. They've escaped the afterlife,” Karl told Hoemis.

”What should we do?” Hoemis asked.

”Nothing. I'm sure Adum has already ordered a bunch of Kaiteras to hunt the demons. They'll probably catch a few, but it'll be almost impossible to get every one of them. Especially when I told Adum that he couldn't get involved, at least not directly.”

”I understand, but what if one of them attacks me? Or my students?”

”Oh, then that's fair game. They attack you. Then you can react.” Karl stroked his beard. He now understood why Mutyx loved stroking his beard so much. ”I'll give you an exception for your students, but only interfere if they are going to die.”

Hoemis nodded. ”Yes. Thank you very much.”

”Yeah yeah. Now go back to training your students. I'm going to check out these demons,” Karl said, shooing Hoemis away.

Hoemis went back to training his students. ”Be careful, master.”

Karl laughed. ”Aren't you forgetting something? I can't die, at least not right now.”

Karl left the dojo and started following the evil energy. The average person wouldn't be able to detect the evil energy, but the stronger someone became, the easier it is for them to detect the energy.

The energy led Karl through the streets of the city, before arriving at a dark alleyway.

”Isn't this a bit cliche?” Karl muttered to himself. ”A dark alleyway is where the evil thing appears.”

The alleyway was dark, but it was surprisingly clean, with only a bit of garbage lying around. This was because the alleyway was in the rich part of the city, so cleaners came weekly, and the city paid them for their work.

It seemed the demon chose its body to resemble an ancient one, as it had grey skin and a tall body. It had a black horn on its forehead, pointing up. The demon also had an extra eye right below its horn. In total, the demon had three eyes, all pitch black.