Depthless Hunger

Kai's instincts blazed and he nearly attacked in the moment he was isolated, but he restrained himself. He understood how the demons might think him weak, since half his strength was invisible to them. A straight brawl was hopeless, however, even with Zae Zin Nim and Omilaena at his side. Somehow he had to navigate these demonic politics.

The leader sighed and leaned his head onto one hand. "Gorutiel has made a claim. Does anyone want to challenge it?"

"Eh." One of the demons made a non-committal noise and several others just shrugged.

"Then let him make an attempt." The leader waved a hand as if deciding Kai's fate was unbelievably dull. "Find some sort of arena, if you must."

"Why waste all that time?" Gorutiel grinned and leapt down to the floor. "There's a nice big room right over there!"

Kai saw the demon move but wasn't quite fast enough to react: a foot struck him in the chest and sent him flying backward. He crashed through the doors leading to the council chamber and then skidded back into the hallway. The blow hadn't hurt as much as he expected, but it might have only been intended to move him.

As the demon stalked into the grand hall, Kai finally got enough time to read his soul.

Name: Gorutiel

Total Power: 994

Demonic Cultivation: Nascent Foundation (220)

Physique: C-3 (315)

Soul Level: 8 (64)

>

What did that tell him? Gorutiel seemed like a physical powerhouse and was the first C-rank Physique Kai had analyzed in any detail. On top of that, he relied less on Demonic Cultivation than the others, as if he used qi primarily for support, the way Kai did. His Soul Level was higher than average for demons, which suggested he had plenty of combat experience and wouldn't rely on strength alone.

That left him with the man's central ability as a Crimson Demon, which formed the plurality of his strength. It would definitely grant raw physical power, but what else? Kai wasn't familiar with all types of demons, but if they primarily absorbed the power of others, and this one drained it via blood... the demon could end up being more flexible than he looked.

For his part Kai had his usual monstrous abilities, Tyrant's Claw, and Void Gaze. They would have to do, because he was out of time.

"Come on, make this fun for me!" Gorutiel roared out the words and then leapt at him.

Kai wasn't sure about the man's abilities, but the pure physical attack was definitely not taking him seriously. He didn't use any abilities at first either, waiting for his moment. While he was still focused, Kai deflected the first punch and struck back, hitting the demon's shoulder.

The follow-up came fast and jarred Kai's skull more painfully than he'd felt since trying to fight the Myogenecon. But he'd fought through pain before, so even as his head snapped back, he was setting his feet. When his opponent tried to follow up, Kai hit him with an uppercut with all his strength.

It managed to rock the demon back, but Gorutiel was too tough to be taken out even by a direct hit. He recovered with a bloody grin, both arms swinging together...

In that moment, when the demon was confident he had victory, Kai thrust forward his other hand with the strongest Tyrant's Claw he could.

Spiritual claws exploded out, stabbing into his opponent's chest. They couldn't tear through someone so powerful, but they cut deep. Kai was tempted to push his advantage or use Void Gaze, but he held back. His opponent had such a large advantage, he needed to strike at the perfect moments. The three wounds were bleeding profusely, but they only slowed Gorutiel down temporarily.

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Could he count on help from the others? Looking past his demonic opponent, Kai could see Zae Zin Nim watching anxiously and Omilaena arguing with one of the others. They would probably jump in if his life was at stake, but then all the demons would join in, and...

"Let's see how you handle this!" Gorutiel jabbed at the air a few times and a vast scythe of blood arched above his fist. When he took a real swing, Kai barely leapt back in time, even with the forewarning.

There was a second scythe arcing toward him, which he met with his own Tyrant's Claw. Kai had expected another swing, then to his surprise he saw the blood leave the demon's fist and slash toward him on its own. It cut deep into his upper arm and Kai staggered back. His opponent was already lunging in, having formed more blood scythes, sweeping down on him.

It had to be now. Kai used Void Gaze, not on his opponent but on his blood scythes. As they froze in place, Gorutiel shot ahead of them, stunned just long enough for Kai to stab out with another Tyrant's Claw. This time his opponent twisted, dodging two of the claws, but the third went deep.

Kai leapt back and focused Void Gaze on the demon himself. Gorutiel was bleeding profusely now, so every second he bled out increased Kai's advantage. Yet as he watched, Gorutiel first rolled his shoulders, then cracked his neck, then took a step forward.

"You had the right idea the first time." Gorutiel grinned savagely and took another step. "That can't hold me."

Kai's eye sockets were aching already from the effort. If his opponent was an average person they would have been weakening, but C-rank Physique would give Gorutiel massive endurance and demons were probably inherently tough. This looked bad...

Gorutiel crossed the distance between them and struck again, without his scythes. It had to be just a distraction, so Kai deflected the heavy punch, waiting for the real attack. Yet the other hand struck out, hitting the injury on his upper arm. The demon pulled back, holding his hand over his mouth and letting Kai's blood dribble into his mouth.

"That's good... yet something's not quite right..."

Again the demon grabbed him, trying to stab fingers into his injury. This time Kai was ready and his teeth snapped closed. Isulfr's Bite wasn't strong enough to take off the demon's arm, but a chunk of it vanished and the demon roared in pain.

His response was too fast. Powerful hands grabbed Kai by the shoulders and... just lifted him into the air.

"That's fucking great!" Gorutiel was grinning now, shaking him violently. "You're so much tougher than you look, how the fuck are you doing that?"

"Uh... it's a technique similar to the Savage Heart." Kai certainly wasn't going to relax, not with a predatory demon right in front of him, but his focus on the battle had been thoroughly shaken.

"Those transforming savages! Ha, I get it. How old are you, kid?"

"Uh... about twenty-three?"

Gorutiel lifted him by the shoulders again and shook him in the direction of the watching demons. "Look at this fucking kid! Got some real balls on him! Never mind what I said, put him off-limits."

"Are you serious?" It was the short demoness again, glaring at them as she walked out of the room. "It's your business, I guess. Stop wasting our time."

Most of the others seemed to be leaving, except for some who just stayed in the large council chamber to talk or sleep. Troulon still lurked nearby, watching Omilaena, and could potentially be the larger threat. In fact, the polite man could be a bigger problem than the demon who had savagely attacked.

Without warning, Gorutiel pulled Kai into a headlock - and then began knuckling his head. "Twenty-three! I wasn't as strong as you until I was forty."

"Uh, thanks?" Kai twisted out of the headlock and took a step back. The demon didn't seem concerned by all his bleeding injuries, and thanks to Behemoth's Heart, Kai could ignore them too. "So just like that, I'm not prey anymore?"

"You bet! I won't eat you... the others might, though!" Gorutiel laughed heartily. "But I want to make a deal. You know those Savage Creed fighters?"

"Not well enough," Kai said. "I was traveling this way to talk to them and improve my own skills."

"Ballsy, I like it! Wish you were part of the Creed, but I can work with this. I've always wanted to eat one of them, but they won't let me get close enough. They might trust a human, though. Can you help me get closer? If you agree, I'll actually protect all three of you. Security, so long as you're here."

It seemed like a real offer, if a poisonous one. Kai glanced back to his allies, who looked like they wanted to move closer but were staying quiet. Zae Zin Nim watched in silent distress, while Omilaena was staring as if trying to get information from him. He had no idea what to say to either of them. Having a demon as an ally might help them avoid getting attacked again, but would it mean consigning an innocent Savage Heart user to death? Then again, would refusing just make him an enemy again?

"Thanks for the offer," Kai said. "Let me talk to my alli-"

"No, decide! If the answer isn't from your gut, it's not worth anything!" Gorutiel stared at him with those unnatural red eyes. He didn't look deceptive, just eager.

Normally Kai wanted his word to be his bond, but right now he was dealing with a powerful and predatory species. The question wasn't the final consequences of each decision, it was how much the immediate results would help them. Put that way, the right choice was obvious.

"Alright, agreed."

"Hah!" Gorutiel grabbed his hand and shook it violently.

Kai smiled back and hoped he hadn't just made a mistake.