Common District

"~Hmm~" Humming a cheery tune was Mordecai, currently shuffling about the streets of the Common District with no goal in sight. "Sorry!" Every now and again he'd bump into someone in the crowd.

"Watch it! You idiot!" Was one of the many things yelled at him but no matter how rude the remark or how rough some of the city folk got the Honest Thief went about his day without a care.

"I'll try!" Mordecai waved at the latest of his 'mistakes' then found a spot to rest at a fruit stand. "Yeah...I'll try not being an idiot like you lot..." He held up a coin pouch then opened his cloak where other coin pouches were hidden away. "...after that bust of a dungeon run, this should hold me for a while." He muttered, adding the new pouch to his collection. Sure helping his 'leader' and 'guild' out with a new member was all well and good but that didn't full his pocket.

"Guess it's back to questing now..." Mordecai sighed, stretching out a bit while sneaking an apple into his hand while stand owner was looking away. "...heh! Thanks for the foo-!" He was about ready to take off when a wooden club was held in front of him. "I was gonna pay for this, you know?" Mordecai turned to the stand owner, who was an old man.

"Pay for it, eh? I don't think so after all that looting you just did." The fruit merchant eyed Mordecai for a moment then used his club to push the thief's cloak open. "I've been at this for long enough to know when I see a thief! You could get tossed in jail for this, boy!"

"Well, I wouldn't be doing it if people didn't make it so easy old man," Mordecai smirked as someone else bumped into him and in his free hand was another pouch. "This one feels about as heavy as this apple so here you go!" He tossed the stolen money to the merchant. "OW!" But it got smacked back into his face by a swift swing.

"I ain't taking anything from you, boy! Now hand that fruit back! Or I can use this?" The merchant warned, waving his club at Mordecai's face.

"Geez! Fine, here..." Mordecai rolled his eyes at the man's warning and tossed the apple back at him. "...No reason to make a scene with an old man in the middle of the day, right?"

"Hmph! You know what's good for you, I see?" The old man grumbled, rubbing the apple against his shirt. "Why don't you go out and join a guild instead of thieving, boy?"

"Are we doing this right now, old man?" Mordecai asked in return, giving the merchant a dull look but with a raise of that club, he sighed. "Look, I am in a guild already, so I'm not that bad off."

"Then why are you looting good people? And not out on quests doing some honest work?" The old merchant continued to question Mordecai like he was his own grandchild.

"Cause honest and fulfilling work just doesn't go with me, grandpa! Besides, I'm taking time out of my day to teach people to be a bit more careful!" Mordecai held up his Dantwen with an apple slice stuck on a green blade. "

"Wha- When did yo- Graaah! Damn thief...!" The merchant glared at Mordecai for a moment then cracked a big smile. "But it's been a while since I got fooled that well, hah! You best not cause trouble for that guild of yours! If you know what they say about bad apples?"

"It's the first ripe one of the bunch?" Mordecai asked with shrugged shoulders and got a smirk from the merchant. "Heh! You're not bad for an oldie, mine giving me that bad apple? Can't really sell it now, right?"

"Hah! Like I'd give to a thief! You're good for talking to but nothing else, boy! This here is going down ma gullet!" The merchant laughed in Mordecai's face, waving the apple like it was the last bit of food in the city.

"Don't choke on it," Mordecai whispered as he put Dantwen away with its blade returning to its silver color. "Now to sit back and watch the show." He backed off a little but was ready to make a quick getaway once things kicked off. "Huh?" But it all went downhill when a pair made up by mother and son came to the stand. "Shit!"

"Hey, mister, can I have that apple in your hands?" The boy pointed up at the apple inches away from getting a bite taken out of it.

"How rude of you! I thought I taught you better!" The boy's mother yelled although she looked dishearted, even pained to shout after her child.

"But I want it now!" The boy whined, crossing his arms tightly and leaned against the stand. "I'm not going anywhere until I get my apple!"

"Oi! Brat! That's no way to speak to your parent!" The merchant lectured the bratty child. "Ugh!" But all he got in return was a cold stare that made him freeze up. "Be-be-besides this here's no good! Thanks to that one!" He shifted his gaze away from the boy and onto Mordecai.

"Hey! Don't look at me! This is your business, not mine!" Mordecai wanted nothing to with any that exchange feeling the boy's eyes on him now. "Come on, old man! Just tell the kid off!"

"No." A piercing command escaped the lips of the small boy as if a general had ordered his men. "I want the apple, and I want it now."

"Oh dear...please sir, could you just let me buy it? He can get even worse when he doesn't get his way." The mother whimpered, looking ready to be put to tears by her son's words. "...please."

"Uh...fine! Here take it!" The merchant compiled, handing the apple to the boy's mother in exchange for some copper coins. "..." All while getting stared at by the boy with a sweet yet creepy grin curling up his face. "But try to teach that child of yours, some manners."

"And I think you should do the same for yourself, sir." The woman turned to the merchant with a chilling smile. "Now come along dear, we'll be late for our meeting soon."

"Okay!" The boy cheered, taking a bite out of the apple. "..." And stared Mordecai dead in the eyes as he held up the apple to him. "Wanta a bite, mister?"

"?" Mordecai eyed the kid back but mostly the apple, dripping with murky green sludge from the bite in it. "Nah, I'm good, you can have it, kid." He played it cool then made his move to leave and quickly found himself back in the crowd. "Okay, whatever that thing was it is not g-huh?" He paused to turn around where he left the parent-child pair and found them only an arm's reach away from him.

"Sir, my son, would like to have a word with you." The mother ordered, taking hold of Mordecai's shoulder before he could even move an inch.

"The fuck is up with this woman!" Mordecai tried to shake her off, but it felt like he'd have an easier time tearing his clothes off. "Her hands...they're hot!?" And now there was smoke rising from his holder's hand.

"Come..." The boy ordered, walking off to an alleyway that was out of sight. "...hmph...." Once all three of them were inside the boy waved his hand, and a dark veil fell over them, to anyone looking into the alleyway, it was an empty spot. "...Hilda, let go of him and introduce me."

"As you wish, master Valac." Hilda obeyed, immediately letting go of Mordecai then walked over to her master as she and Valac returned to their usual forms of an Imp maid and Demonic upper-class boy. "Greetings, you should be honored mortal, you are now in an audience with one of the Underworld's elite; Lord Valac, Master of Dark Servants, Lord of serpents, Seeker of Riches, etc...etc...etc" Once she was done she went down on all fours for Valac to sit on her back.

"Thank you for keeping it short my dear, at least you understand the importance of time, unlike your fellows..." Valac reached out to grab at Hilda spaded tail, playing with it while Hilda whimpered and fidgeted. "...and this one as well." He pointed Hilda's tail at Mordecai.

"Nope!" Who wasted no time in trying to get away from the pair of Demons. "What the fuck!?" But the moment Mordecai stepped into the veil covering them; he appeared behind Valac and Hilda with the Demon boy having more interest in Hilda's tail than him.

"Hilda? I have not had the time to check closely, but even out of the mansion, I am glad to see that you can keep your cheery red color so luscious! It almost painful not to play with!" Valac admired his Imp's cleanliness in these trying times for them even blowing on the spade.

"Ngh! Master! AHHH!" Hilda moaned with fast and hot breathes escaping her lips as she tried her best to stay still for Valac's comfort even as her arms and legs bucked not in pain but the growing heat down inside of her. "Mmmaast-aahhh!"

"Hmm? Speak up, would you? To having any of my servants act in such a manner while out in public is rather bothersome..." Valac scoffed at his maid's behavior, wringing her tail but all that earned him was a nearly inaudible moan of pleasure which made the Demon master sigh. "...you still need training I see. It's hardest to break in the rookies, isn't it?" He asked, looking at Mordecai.

"Wha?" Who was currently padding at the veil for a way out. "Why are you asking me?" Mordecai answered, keeping his eyes to the veil not want to see what was making a Demon moan like that. "So? When does the soul taking and being dragged to the pits of the Underworld start?"

"Hehe! If I wanted that, would we be chatting right now?" Valac asked, letting go of Hilda's tail finally and earned a small whimper of displeasure from her. "No, that is not it at all. I believe we are here to make a deal of mutual benefits, as fellow elites?"

"..." Mordecai turned completely around to face Valac with a face set in stone. "What do you know?"

Valac's lips went into a simple childish grin. "I have been in words with one of your true comrades as of late. They became quite the wordsmith once I offered my assistance! However, they said I needed to confirm it with the leader, and I must say for a prince you ar-"

"I am not a prince!" Mordecai cut Valac off, baling his hands into fist looking about ready to jump the small Demon boy. "At least not right now, I am just a thief...an honest one...and since I'm still alive I guess you really do need 'us,' huh?"

"Oh no! Not at all, however? I cannot be too noticeable with my actions, least the dogs of the Goddess come down..." Valac answered as his eyes went upwards. "...I was planning on using your little quest as a smokescreen, you see?"

"Hmm?!" Mordecai's eyes went wide at Valac's suggestion. "Taking over an entire kingdom as a smokescreen? Sorry if I'm being rude, but what's your plan? Has to be something big, right?"

"It is quite a large undertaking if it were not a secret to my people I would be regarded as a hero for the rest of time! Ah...I could see it now! Lord Valac, bringing Lady Risabeel back to the Underworld! After she was ripped away from her people's...ahh!" Valac held a hand to his chest as he imaged the glory that he would receive for his actions. "No, no, it was all by my own power you see..."

"Wait? What is Risabeel to Demons anyhow? Who is she really? I'm missing something here?" At first, Mordecai thought Risabeel was some Demon lord's wife from what Blake told him but hearing Valac go on about being called a hero of all things got him thinking. "I mean she's nice on the eyes but a bit of airhead."

"Heh! If you knew who she really was, you would likely wish to find a hole to die in after saying those words, mortal..." Valac softly clucked at Mordecai's question, yet the veins appeared around his face showed a hidden hatred. "Come closer, even under my veil; some may still hear it out loud."

"..." Mordecai did as he was told, right now he didn't have much choice, the fact that he and this thing were talking was already taxing his mind. "Ngh!" The moment he brought his head to Valac's, a chill went down his spine. "This kid? Could kill m-!" His mind went blank once Valac told him who Risabeel was. "Ah!" He shot back and fell to the ground, crawling away from Valac. "Y-y-you're bull-shiting me!"

"Oh no, I would never do such a thing in regards to lady Risabeel's status. I would sooner personally rip out my own entrails and have them serviced to her ladyship..." Valac declared with so much pride and loyalty that he seemed as just as an angel. "...I hope that is enough to tell you just how much I am willing to tolerate if it means completing my task?"

"Tolerate, huh?" Mordecai was starting to understand how Valac saw anyone working for him. "Just to be clear, once my plan gets put into action and it all goes smoothly, what happens to me?"

"Hmm? Do you mean after you murder the king? Slaughter the royal family members that do not side with you? Dealt with the two other forces of power in this city? And amassed the people under your 'rightful' rule?" A smile on Valac's face grew wider and wider with each detail he gave. "Oh no, no, I have no intention doing anything to you, although? If you fail, I would gladly take your soul, hehe! You see souls are the things we Demons lust for the most, be they young, old, poor, rich, commoner or 'noble'..." He paused, looking at Mordecai with hungry eyes.

"...in particular, the souls of the wicked, the vile, the evil are most enjoyable! Tainted by their own wants and desires, I must say it is something I do love to see in the hearts of mortals. This raw! This primal need to take and take and take! Until there is nothing else to rip from others, it is truly beautiful!" The Demon threw out his arms up while his dark mana was reaching for Mordecai. "But, that is only if you fail in your endeavor. If you wish I could supply you with some of my servants?"

"You mean with this thing?" Mordecai held up Valac's grimoire, surprising both its owner and Hilda.

"Unhand that at once, you filth!" Hilda snapped at the thief about to get up and punish him with fire. "Master?" But a small hand rubbing one of her horns stopped her.

"Most impressive thief, may I ask when exactly you took it?" Valac didn't seem all that angry; in fact, he looked rather entertained.

"Back when she was dragging me around," Mordecai answered, flipping the book around a few time then opened it. "Are these even words?" Sure enough, the words of the Underworld were not for his eyes. "Blake told me that this thing is how you get all your friends to this side. What would happen if it got...destroyed?" He asked, holding a page from the book.

"Hmm? One of two things most likely?" Valac hummed, keeping Hilda from glaring at Mordecai for his treatment of her master's book. "Either it would simply become nothing but a few bits of paper and leather, or it would create portal to the Underworld from which all manner of Demons would spill out into this world. And I say this with a bit of embarrassment, but not all of my kind are as well mannered as myself."

"Okay, giving this back now." Mordecai held out the grimoire to Valac. "Ugh!" Which grew a pair of giant dragonfly wings to fly over to its master. "You know this plan isn't something that's going to happen in a day are you willing to wait a bit?"

"I have said it already; if I am able to acquire Lady Risabeel once all is done, then I can tolerate anything, my dear partner," Valac assured with a hand to his chest. "However, I should say that I will be keeping an eye on you from this moment onwards. If you wish to betray me, know that all your efforts will be for not."

"My co-workers and I will most definitely see to that," Hilda added, looking at Mordecai with eyes aflame. "Betrayal is something we have prevented our master from feeling, and we would like to keep it that way."

"And you have done a great job so far my dear." Valac playfully rubbed some of Hilda's hair then got up. "Now then I have wasted enough time with this, shall we be on our ways?" He held out a hand to Mordecai. "I would like it in writing, but this shall suffice."

"Working with a Demon, huh? If it got someone like Blake this far, I guess..." Mordecai reached out to Valac's hand and took it in his as dark mana started surrounding their hands. "Argh!" Mordecai pulled away the moment it felt like something was burning his palm. "What's this!?" Looking at his palm found a sigil with Valac's name spelled out around it. (You'll have to look up Valac's Sigil cause I can draw)

"That's my personal sigil, think of it as a gift...in times where your power is not enough...use some of my own." Valac offered, waving dark mana between his fingers.

"This is an honor for you mortal cherish it well!" Hilda beamed back on her feet and was smiling at Mordecai, seemingly losing all animosity towards him for some reason. "You are now just another of master's pawn! Welcome to the club!" She some of the hair behind her neck away and showed Valac's sigil there.

"Thanks, little guy, you're amazing!" Mordecai patted Valac on the head and smirked when Hilda bit her lip as Valac held her back. "Hmm..." Then looked back at his hand with the sigil now gone. "...anything I can give you for this? Besides, you know, my soul? I am a bit attached to that at the moment."

"You!" Hilda was at her boiling point with smoke and steam coming off of her entire body.

"There is some information that I have been hungry for...if you have it? I would like to know what kind of relationship that smith has with Lady Risabeel," Was Valac's desire at the moment and it brought a confused look to Mordecai's face. "You see a few days ago, Lady Risabeel's power increased by a fair amount, and I sensed that the smith had forged a bond with her, similar to what we have at the moment. If her ladyship has been turned into a bound Demon, then I would have another reason for ending that boy's life besides for my own personal pleasure...Oh? I hope that does not bring any ill will towards us? I have noticed that you are a bit fond of that one."

"What, Blake? I see him, and his group like you see me and mine; '[a means to an end...'" Mordecai winked at Valac and shrugged his shoulders when he didn't get a reaction. "Hmm?" And as he did, the dark veil around them finally broke apart, returning them to the alleyway. "Are we done here?" Mordecai asked, turning back to Valac and Hilda now back in their mother and son disguises.

"For now. Good day to you thief." Valac bid farewell to Mordecai, leaving him to himself as they disappeared within the swarm of people.

"Oh?" Looking down at where the two once were Mordecai found himself an apple. "Hmph, this isn't going to kill me?" He muttered, picking it up and took a bite out it. "Hah! It looks like things are going my way!" He cheered as his gifted apple didn't kill on the spot

Chapter End