Demonic Devourer's Development

The shop to where Bishop brought us didn't seem like anything out of ordinary to me, and neither did it seem like a place that could fit all of us. But at least we were met with people there, who knew us—and were hilariously astonished by our disguises—and ready to help. How ready exactly, though, was another question.

From what little I saw of Rosha and Risha—the names, now that they were spoken, were familiar from Devourer's words, which only made the situation only stranger to me—didn't seem like devoted worshippers Bishop and his flock were. I didn't dare to trust them, despite Bishop's assurances.

Rosha, the eldest sister, wasn't happy to see us in the first place. No, not like that. She was happy at first—then, when she found out what we needed, and saw my face, she was anything but happy. She didn't like me, had little to no respect for Bishop, and looked at Yvenna so strangely, I had not the slightest idea what was going in her head at these moments.

Though Yvenna wasn't all her usual angriness with Rosha, either. If I were to talk about anyone else, I'd say that Yvenna liked Rosha. Liked in a way that reminded me about the pleasures of the flesh that were so close and yet so far away from me before my mission in the mortal realm was complete.

With Yvenna, though, I wasn't so sure. She was always so furiously rejecting of anything even remotely related to sex that it was hard to say if she truly hated the very idea of it, or was taught to and hated herself for not hating it. Either way, Yvenna didn't act as explosively towards Rosha as usual, and with her, that could mean anything.

Risha, the youngest sister, was much easier to understand. She fit in the ranks of the devout much better than her sister, though her usefulness, sadly, ended at cooking and small crafts. But she was also scared of many things. No matter how much she hid that fear behind a smile, I could still smell it… or maybe she was simply afraid of me.

Not that it mattered—in the operation I planned, there was no place for her, even before Rosha declared she won't let put her sister in danger.

Siblings, huh. What a strange phenomenon.

"And I won't put my business in danger, either. Which it will be in, if I will get involved in your demonic schemes," Rosha said then and pointed at my chest. Unlike her sister, she was fearless of me. "Got it, mister? I give you shelter, some money and that's it! No more and no less than I owe you."

"This is already a lot, Rosha." Bishop nodded in understanding. "It was, and is, a pleasure doing business with you. I hope it is going well even with the latest events in the world."

"Everyone is thinking war can happen at any time. How else can it go but well? But yeah, I heard about your troubles… I got your messages, too. Still. Funds and a place, and even that… my house won't fit many people."

We didn't have to stay for long as it was. I was in a hurry. Bishop wrote messages to his faraway followers, Rosha bought horses and a carriage for our strike team, the rest were settled safely enough for now—and we left the city in a way very similar to the one we came. Except, our disguises were better this time, though we would have to keep them for the rest of the road.

It would've been faster to travel on horses, but only Yvenna had experience with the four-legged beasts. They didn't like my smell, and at my approach snorted nervously and widened their eyes in fear. When I put my hand on one's back, it almost bolted from its place. I didn't try to mount one, because I was a wise man.

Gi and Hector didn't know how to ride horses at all. At best, they'd fall. That didn't stop Hector from trying, because he wasn't neither wise, nor a man yet, no matter what he said.

Yeah, he fell almost as soon as the horse began to walk. At least he knew how to fall right and didn't break anything. As for the bruises, they were a reminder of a lesson learnt.

So a carriage it was. A closed one, so we could sleep in it in rain and hide from the chill winds of early spring. It looked so strange to me—a tiny house on wheels with two horses pulling it. I couldn't imagine that such a construction could be even remotely practical.

The next days showed that it was indeed faster to travel in than on foot—at least for the humans—but it was also torturous. There were few more things more boring that sitting for hours on end in a closed cabin, looking at the endless trees, still mostly naked yet, at the sides of the road. Children played their childish games, and I was bored to death.

The carriage also shook so hard on the uneven road, I was ready to swear it will break in the next moment. That this moment lasted for days on end didn't diminish my surety in the slightest.

Because of these two things, I spent most of the time on the road walking or running next to the carriage, where I had an opportunity to talk with Yvenna. She was eager to, being as bored as I was, but since most of what she had to say to me were insults…

I was so glad when we were attacked by a band of brigands that I didn't even wait for them to finish their offer of exchanging our lives to our valuables before tearing them apart.

After that, I felt much better for the rest of the way, which only took a day. Then, finally—the capital.

And my mission that I now had only two days to finish before Devourer's army invades the mortal realm. Two days to succeed.