On the 23rd dawn of the ninth month…
Fernbedie's demons flourished with enough energy for a new day of work. Farms ready to be watered, stones waiting for a pickaxe to break them, and a fountain of profitable trading. In their eyes, all of that and more awaited them.
Yet,
That could not be any further from the truth.
A crowd of fifteen demons, escorted by an additional five dressed in blue, arrived at a rocky zone located northwest of the town.
"Another day of collecting stone."
"Trueee, besty~"
It didn't take long for them to arrive at their workplace: The quarry.
A huge outdoors pit ran deep down. Sets of wooden stairs would lead workers and visitors alike either into the hole, or out of it. Gemstones peeked their bodies out into the surface, though many remained drowned amidst the gray rock.
"It'd be nice if this place had as many gems as the Rocky Hill does…"
"T-the one beyond the river? Hell no, let it stay like this. The more riches in a cave, the more monsters it'll have!"
Far behind those three, two demons wearing a similar blue uniform moved across the dirt road. One did so with excitement, heavily contrasting with his bland teammate.
The latter's steps occasionally crushed some sprouts of vegetation. His staff never touched down on the ground, much like the azure spear of his companion.
Two of the guards escorting the group walked some meters behind them. One held on to a wooden staff, while the other maintained his grip over his blue spear.
"I guess the higher-ups have finally acknowledged the issues here… actually took them a while to deploy us outside Fernbedie..." Voicing his inner thoughts, the lanky demon's eyebrows sank further.
"Relax mate. More folks only means people to pass time with." The other one played around with his spear, spinning it in the air. "We could have a weapon spin competition once we arrive, that'd be a good time killer."
Baffled, the mage kept quiet and sharp.
Rustle.
"Eh?'
His head turned towards a small bush. He stared at it.
"Hey, whatchu doing? Come on, every second we waste here is a second that we won't be able to use in the competition."
The stare continued to linger on it for a couple of seconds. Though, resignation eventually arrived.
… As far as they know, not a thing happened on the way to the quarry. The bush shaking? A figment of someone's imagination.
Everyone split to work on their respective areas. That one guard who caught the rustling forgot about it, and calmly went on with his patrolling.
He shouldn't have.
One of the civilians, now deep underground, grasped a pickaxe. His bulky frame looked down on the minerals before him, wrapped under the shadowy veil made by the wooden platforms. "Hah, whatever, let's just get wo– Mmph!?"
A hand, possibly as big as his face, sealed the thick mouth of the brown-wearing citizen.
Resistance, as futile as it was, soon ensured. Waving his arms around, trying to scream, pushing the hand away, the worker left no choice unpicked. Unfortunately, to fight back against someone above your paygrade is often asking for a battle lost from the beginning.
Predictably, he lost consciousness. Lumps of muscular bulges crashed down on the rocky floor, still moving due to the oxygen pumped towards them from inside the heart.
Two figures watched the whole thing from far away.
"Should we get involved?"
"No, Jan. Remember, Victor asked us to avoid detection at all costs."
The younger demon–wrapped in much better clothing than those carrying out the assault– accepted the older one's words. "Then what?"
"We wait. Remember, we were ordered to not interfere no matter what."
Jan almost opened his mouth again, but spotting a demon wearing armor stopped him from speaking.
It carried two bodies, each fully unarmored.
Cold steps led him closer and closer to two figures casually chatting in a small, closed hut. It flung a body inside, inciting panic onto the duo almost immediately.
"A-are we?"
"Neyra?!" As the only unstunned demon present in the close surroundings, he rushed to check on the person's condition. A decision taken in the heat of a moment, which he'd come to regret a few seconds later.
Particularly, the exact moment his face crashed against the wooden floor.
Before the still conscious one could unstun herself, steely plates of an iron fist crashed against her face. Pain drowned the guarding spectre's own ability to call for help.
Not too long after, a finisher move knocked cold every one of her senses.
… More mercenaries like the one from earlier appeared, each with hostages– both civilian and non-civilian.
A total of 7 pairs of standing legs gathered near the entrance of the quarry.
"See Jan? It wasn't needed~ They handled it all on their own." The notably wide smile hanging on the tanky demoness almost caught the attention of a flying bird.
Of course, this was not the only place where something had happened.
On the south-western end of the settlement, a demon and an elf– both wearing similar clothes to the other squadron– inspected a notably large shrubland.
Lushful crowns partially blocked lightrays from falling onto the vegetation flourishing underneath them. Cheerful voices echoed amidst the branches, which almost carried the calmness of their owners.
"How many targets did you say there were here, again?" whispered someone, his tone contrasting heavily with that of the echoing sounds.
He wore a brown armor similar to that used by the elf hiding by his side. Both of them resembled the protective gear used by the intruding demons in the quarry.
"Nine, dumbfuck. It's the fifth time you asked today."
"Gee, no need to be that aggressive…"
The elf took out a small, two-ended tube, along with some darts. "Look, we'll split up the targets in this area in two parts while leaving their Captain for last-"
"Alright, let's do this!"
Demonic wings extended and flapped once. Branches rustled in the wake of the wind current. The blue figure of the fiend vanished before the elf's eyes.
His flight left behind an unhesitant trace of greed.
"....Haaaah. Seriously." Dumbfounded-ness washed the elf's face for a moment, before a smile broke through and overcame him.
He adjusted his hood and dashed towards the mini-camp ahead. "First target to secure, their Captain… He's worth way more than any of the minions. That'll net me a good part of the commission."