The Strongest Demon Lord in the Modern World

Just as Aziel's figure disappeared into thin air from the ground he was laying on, after locating the teenagers and their surviving thug leader, the surrounding undergrowth was pushed apart and several figures adding up to slightly more than a dozen walked out in a disciplined manner.

Each was wearing a matching, uniformed attire, with large, spacious, or perhaps packed, clearly aimed to provide extra protection to weather the harshness of nature's elements.

Wearing a rather large bright yellow helmet so that they could be identified even though the thickest of smokes and with their equally as unique yellow one-piece clothing that vaguely resembled that of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Suits that the Bomb Disposal Squad wore. As they carefully approached the carnal, gory scene filled with mutilated flesh and pools and pools of blood the scene looked as if they were astronauts landing on a new and unexplored planet for the very first time.

However, unlike how it would have been in any major blockbuster movie, the group of trained experts had no weapons hanging on their backs, waists, or held in their hands.

Instead of holding onto the barrel of a rifle, they each gripped the handles of a variety of tools, such as a hand axe for chopping through branches blocking the path, shovels to dig if needed, and some pickaxes in case they would be needed to remove a harder obstacle.

They were the domestic branch for the Emergency Response Team Search and Rescue or as they were more commonly known locally the ERT for short. A specialized group of elites of a joint effort from the various government-owned emergency forces, having elite firemen, field doctors, and even transferred SWAT team members as well.

As their name suggests, the group was specialized in handling the aftermath of disasters of any kind, be it man-made, or in our case, nature's wrath. They were usually the ones to call in first whenever a tragedy struck somewhere in their Range of Activity, to go in and complete two main tasks of equal importance.

First, they would obviously need to do what their name already implies: Search and Rescue any potential survivors. Provide them the necessary emergency care so that they would have the highest chances for survival and be safe for being carried to the nearest hospital.

Also, with ex-marines and elite soldiers also in their ranks, they were qualified to handle the occasional violent survivor and criminal if needed. At least until the police would have arrived at the scene, they were more than ready to tackle the occasional violent encounters.

Their second, but just as an equally important task that needed to get to on-site as soon as they arrived would be to analyze and investigate the scene. Look for clues and trace the tragedy back to its root, so they could make sure such an event would not happen again, and that the safety of innocents would not be endangered in the future.

Barely an hour after the sudden eruption of the city's historical landmark, Greytop Mountain, the ERT has arrived on site. As the team stepped out from the cover of the trees and have finally gazed at the horrific, nightmarish sight even their trained and experienced minds were thrown into chaos.

The brutal gory battlefield, littered with mutilated bodies, flesh, seared organs… even the hardest experts among them had to focus not to wretch and puke into their suits.

Stepping through the bushes, Frank Dalton, the assigned team leader and by rank, Captain of this team of First Response Unit frowned as soon as the bloody scene was revealed. Even for his trained eyes, that have seen more than his fair share of battlefields, and even dozens of cases during his tenure both as an army lieutenant, and an officer of the ERT, he found it hard to process the aftermath of what seemed like the aftermath of a blood bath.

He frowned as he slowly inspected the scene, scanning through the entire field first before taking a step forward. He checked the piles of carcasses, that hardly resembled people at all. Torn limbs, skinned chests covered with thick layers of blood piled together at one spot, yet the missing parts, flesh, and what seemed like organs could be found littered wherever he looked.

Looking more closely he looked at the footprints left in the crimson soil, his mind was shifting into gear as he tried to make sense of what could have happened. He squinted his eyes as he looked up at the mountains, looking at the dark grey cloud of smoke that still engulfed the mountain top.

Still, the more he looked at it, the more puzzled he became. If it really was what they told to the public in the media, or what was reported, shouldn't this whole scene be entirely different?

If Greytop Mountains was truly a volcano that has just awoken from its potentially millions of years of slumber… then nothing made sense.

For once, the eruption itself should have spewed lots of hot and dangerous gases, ash, and lava into the air, covering its vicinity with it almost instantly. Not just the forest but the entire Sector 14, or as it was most commonly known the Forest District would be beyond saving by now.

Whilst they could see rubbles scattered all over the landscape even as they cautiously ventured towards the depths, nothing that would have supported the supposed event have been seen.

The lack of volcanic ashfall, that should have been present all over due to the explosive style of the eruption was nowhere to be seen. The rubble they have come across and inspected along the way was definitely not volcanic rocks, but simple, regular minerals.

Also, this scene was clearly not the result of a tragedy. These people, whoever they were, were definitely not hikers caught unaware on their way to climb to the top.

"Captain! We have found something!" A feminine voice, belonging to his second in command, the First Lieutenant brought him out of his thoughts. Grunting with a slight annoyance Frank Dalton turned to look at the figure approaching him.

Giving a salute, the woman stood at attention awaiting the signal from his captain before she would continue with her report.

Captain Frank sighed, nodding for her to go on.

"Captain!" The woman exclaimed with passion in her tone, giving a slight, extra pause before going any further.

"We have found clues towards the identities of the victims. Sir… They…" Reported the First Lieutenant, her voice trailing off in the end.

"They were of a criminal group, right Julie? If I were to guess… they should be from that group, right? The Outcasts?" The captain added, his expression turning into a sneer towards the end.

"Uhm... Sir, yes, you are absolutely right, Sir!" The woman, First Lieutenant Julie Estes nodded vehemently at her Captain's words. Turning around as she took a step forward and taking his right side, she pointed over to the large pile of bodies.

"Though the figures are mutilated, and we would need Forensics to confirm… however, from the few markings, tattoos found on some of them… at least some of them seems to be belonging to that underworld group. Sir… we have also found a few things that are hard to make sense of."

"What is it First Lieutenant?" Frank asked, raising his brows in question.

In response, the First Lieutenant pointed towards a strangely familiar shape protruding out from a slightly deeper pool of blood found not too far away from them.

Looking at the object, Frank didn't need too long to identify it. He immediately frowned at this discovery.

"A stock? Wait… it looks as if…"

"Yes, Captain. The rifle looks as if it was torn apart… just like the victims…" the First Lieutenant finished the Captain's words with a somber-looking expression on her face.

—

Somewhere far away from the gory scene at the base of Greytop Mountain, Aziel, now wide awake, was standing on a thicker tree branch high above the treeline. Leaning against the trunk, whilst being hidden inside the crown, he was looking down below.

Just under him, he looked with a growing, wide smile as the brawny rough figure, the leader of the now-deceased band of thugs were holding the three youngsters at knifepoint.

He looked clearly distraught, disheveled after what he had gone through. His facial muscles were twitching, showing signs that he was on the brink of a nervous breakdown.

With the gentle wind carrying the distant sounds of the ERT over, the man was clearly very alarmed and frightened of being discovered. He was violently pushing the kids, forcing them to march further towards the east, where the city itself should be situated at.

Aziel smiled as he listened to the man. Though he tried to sound cold and collected as he shoved the teens forward, his rapidly beating heart and small beads of sweat glistening on the back of his head as well as his forehead couldn't escape his keen senses.

Looking at the group as they got below his position, he...

=====

At the time of writing, we only need a couple more stones to reach a bonus chapter! In case we have reached it before the weekly reset, I'm going to work on it as soon as I get back home and release it asap!

In other news, here are the next week's goals! Do your best everyone, so that we can grow and give me more and more energy to write!

Powerstone Goals

100 Power Stones -> 1 Chapter,

200 Power Stones -> 2 Chapters,

300 Power Stones -> 3 Chapters,

Golden Ticket Goals:

50 Golden Tickets -> 1 Chapter,

100 Golden Tickets -> 2 Chapters,

150 Golden Tickets -> 3 Chapters.