The Damned Demon

Asher stood before the Hall of Reaper Archives, its towering doors made of blackened wood adorned with ancient runes.

He was quite eager to enter this hall since not all information he needed would be simply available on the internet. Some information was better learned from the demons.

He said aloud his own name, and as if the doors recognized him, they swung open with a deep, ominous creak.

As he stepped inside, the air grew thick with magic, and what filled his sight was dozens and dozens of tables and chairs. And in front of each chair, there was a glowing crystal ball on which many demons were placing their hands with their eyes closed.

And on the far end of the hall, the walls were of a different color and quite thick and sturdy compared to the adjacent ones, making anyone wonder why it was like that.

Asher was surprised by this sight as he didn't expect things to be like this within this hall.

But suddenly, through his peripheral vision, he saw a young man waving his hand at him with a friendly smile.

"Darren?" Asher was surprised to see him here. Did he already become a Reaper too? Or maybe it wasn't that surprising for a noble like him.

Asher saw Darren gesturing at him to sit near the empty chair beside him, and Asher did just that.

"Greetings, Asher. I suppose the Head Warden told you to come here?" Darren asked as he pulled up the chair for Asher.

Asher nodded as he sat down, "Yeah, and I suppose you are here to get some information for a quest just like me. So," Asher's eyes were drawn to the blue crystal ball before him that shimmered on the table, "You have any idea how to use this to know what I want?" He asked, pointing to the ball.

Darren chuckled as he eagerly explained, "It's quite easy. Just place your hand on the ball and ask it what you want to know. If the information is available, you will hear the voice of the demon who contributed it. You should also close your eyes to help you focus."

"I will try just that. Let's talk after we are both done with this," Saying so, Asher placed his hand on the ball and mentally asked, "Tell me about the Blade of Brotherhood Guild."

The crystal ball lit up, and some demon's voice echoed in his mind, "The Blade of Brotherhood Guild is a group of hunters who mainly deal with capturing members of any demon cults. They have a lot of exorcists, and it isn't wise to get near any one of their members in spirit form because of their methods of detecting us if we are not careful. In the eyes of the humans, this Guild is ranked as a 'Prominent' Guild."

'A Prominent Guild?' Asher knew a Prominent Guild meant it was a well-known guild and respected by other guilds too. To earn such prestige, it would only mean Tristan's father, Gary, was not a nobody to be the owner of such a guild. 

Asher also felt relieved that he didn't try anything rash as trying to get close to the members of this guild for information, especially when their Exorcists could have detected him. 

Fortunately he already knew that powerful and wealthy Hunters or Exorcists safeguard their houses with all kinds of objects and mystic runes to keep away demon spirits from getting close to them or any of their personal objects.

Asher had asked Duncan how to get past these obstacles just in case, but Duncan told him that he should only try to learn what was best for his level of power. 

Fortunately, Remy only had his grandmother, and they were too poor to safeguard their tiny apartment. It was quite expensive to maintain powerful safeguards, and so the underprivileged had to make do with whatever they had.

However, it seems like the demon's voice in his head had more to tell about this guild,

"This is just the image that guild has built up. But during my quest, I learned that they have secret dealings with a demonic cult called the Covenant of the Dead. I only came to know this because one of my brothers happened to have a connection with this cult. However, do not do anything to disrupt this cult since it is supposedly controlled by someone powerful from House Thorne."

Asher could hear the faint tremble in the voice of this demon which cemented the seriousness of his warning.

However, he curved his lips upon learning what he needed to know. He knew not all Hunter Guilds were clean. 

Some of them secretly deal with demonic cults to get things done while giving something back as a price as well.

Demonic cults were not really filled with demons but humans who had succumbed to demons and carried out their wishes. However, none of them would have a good end for obvious reasons.

He knew all this because, during his time as a Hunter, he had helped bring down a number of corrupted Hunter Guilds.

Asher had asked Duncan how demons build a cult, but once again, Duncan had told him he would learn all this at the right time.

The voice in his head stopped speaking, and that meant there was nothing else to learn about the guild.

Asher knew to succeed in his current Reaping quest, he might cause some damage to the Covenant of the Dead. But he didn't care since it was not like anybody was going to know, and if they did, he still couldn't care less.

However, he wasn't done gathering information since he hadn't forgotten about Remy's grandmother. Even if she seemed weak, she was also a retired Hunter and the only support Remy had.

If he wanted to push Remy to the edge, he had to find some way to get rid of her.

And so he asked the crystal ball, "Is there any information on Grace Eleanor, born in Switzerland? She is 90 years old now."

A new voice spoke in his mind, "Grace is a powerful Hunter who has killed a lot of Soul Purgers. She has a particular talent for tracking and capturing rogue demons. But I am disappointed to say that I only managed to severely injure her before she managed to escape. The only good thing is she won't be a huge threat to our people for at least a couple of years. But if she appears before me again, she won't return alive."

Asher's brows raised as he was surprised by more than one thing. He didn't expect that old woman to have been so strong in her prime. Since it was said that she killed a lot of Soul Purgers, that would mean she was definitely a peak level A Rank Hunter!

But even if she had to retire early, how come she was living in such poor conditions despite having been a powerful Hunter once? She should have made enough fortune in her prime to live a good life.

And as if that was not enough surprise, Asher recognized the cold, stern voice in his head, even if it seemed a bit milder than the one he knew. It was none other than the voice of Esther Thorne.

"How old is this information?" He asked the crystal ball.

"This information was recorded 60 years ago," A neutral voice echoed in his head.

'Doesn't that mean Grace retired during the 1960s?' Asher realized Grace must have been really powerful to even escape from someone like Esther, even if Esther was also younger at that time.

He didn't hear any more information and realized that he was still missing out on more about Grace and how she ended up in such a dire situation.

He felt that he should find out later by sneaking into Remy's house and searching for any useful information.

But he wasn't done as the fingers of his hand hardened on the crystal and mentally asked, "Any information on Derek Sterling, who is an S Rank Hunter? I only want information from the past year."

A voice echoed in his head immediately, "Derek Sterling, the strongest Hunter on Earth and President of the World Hunter Association. Highly respected and worshipped by humans. It would be extremely unwise to face him, but he poses the biggest threat to our realm. If only we could get rid of him it would be help our kingdom recover faster."

'Strongest Hunter and President of the WHA? Wow…You have jumped so many stairs by destroying me, didn't you, Derek?' Asher coldly scoffed as he didn't expect him to rise in ranks within just one year.

The position of President at WHA was considered the most powerful on Earth. No president of any government can hold a candle to such a position.

The one who had a say on the decisions of the strongest Hunters on the planet was surely the strongest of all. 

However, this didn't deter Asher as he inwardly mumbled, 'It's all good…Keep on climbing, Derek, because the more you rise, the more you fall.'

There were lots of other information, but Asher felt they were of no use to him.

He then asked, "I need information on Lenny Stan, who is an S Rank Hunter. From past year only."

"Lenny Stan is the Supreme Commander of WHA and a close aide of its president. All or most Hunter Guilds report to him, and his influence and network are boundless. Lenny is considered to be one of the biggest threats to our realm. Unfortunately, he is too strong and protected to be eliminated in the foreseeable future."

"You slippery bastard. Even you got such a fancy title, huh? Enjoy it while it lasts," Asher coldly scoffed.

His eyes then hardened like a cold rock as he asked, 'Any information on…Aira Evangeline who is a S Rank Hunter? From past year only."'

"..."

Asher's eyes widened upon feeling the silence in his mind, even after a couple of moments. This could only mean nobody reported anything about her.

How could that be possible?

S Rank Hunters like her would surely be considered a huge threat by demons and have some report on them in here.

Asher had his brows pulled together, unable to understand what this really meant. He felt he could only learn more back on Earth. He must definitely find out!