Chapter 45: Phthisis

"I can smell his blood coursing through your veins." He continued. "It's been such a long time since anyone has offered up so many souls, I was beginning to think that this plane had been destroyed."

Silus got down on one knee, bowing his head and remained silent. He was much different now than he was when he had summoned Iscariot, his body wasn't racked with fear like it was back then. Now, he felt boundless respect for the being standing in front of him and knew to only speak when given permission.

The demon walked towards Silus who was still knelt down and bowing his head. He could hear the tapping of his heels coming closer and closer. Stopping in front of him, the demon looked down at him. The strong smell of sulfur was wafting off the demon's body, mixed in with the unmistakable scent of blood.

"This world, it feels… different. Much different from the last time I walked upon these lands. It stinks." The demon said, scrunching his face as if he had walked into a cesspool.

Silus remained silent, patiently waiting for the right moment to speak. He knew better than to speak out of turn. His body may have been much stronger now, since he had taken in the demon's blood, but was still nowhere near strong enough to fight against a pureblooded demon.

Waving his pale hand in front of his face, trying to dissipate the reek only he could smell, the demon spoke. "Now, tell me what is it that you summoned me here for. Quickly now, I do detest being on this lower plane."

Having been given permission, Silus took this opportunity to speak, making sure to keep his eyes trained on the floor beneath him. "My Lord. My only wish is to cleanse this world of the plague that is mankind, and any of those that align with them."

Short and sweet, that was his answer to the demon's question. He had spent a considerable amount of time thinking of what the correct wording to his desire would be. He could have gone on a contrived explanation of what it was that he wished for, giving the demon the sad story that was his life, but he highly doubted that he would care in the slightest.

He then thought back on his old students, how they would always drone on and on about trivial drivel whenever he asked for an answer. It would almost drive him mad, all he wanted, all he truly cared about was the answer. So that was how he would address the demon, getting straight to the point.

A devilish smirk appeared on the demon's abnormally handsome face. "Ahh, genocide. How exciting." A throaty chuckle came from the demon as he slowly circled behind Silus, dragging his index finger across his shoulders and back.

Hot chills ran up and down Silus' spine, the touch was almost electric. His body spasmed involuntarily as it reacted to the raw power that was coming into contact with it. He clenched his jaw, muscles bulging, trying in vain to bring his body back under his control.

The tapping of the demon's shoes stopped directly behind him; he could feel the demon's finger being removed from his back. He let out a silent sigh of relief.

"I have been rather bored these last few millennia. A little bloodshed would help to spice things up. My children have grown quite famished as well." The demon stated matter of factly, as if he was talking about a subject as mundane as what color to paint the walls, not about potentially setting into motion the death of millions of souls.

Continuing his slow trek around him, the demon started to speak once more. "Of course, this paltry offering is nowhere near enough for me to release any meaningful amount of my offspring."

Swallowing his anxieties, Silus lifted his head slightly. "How many?"

Now standing in front of him, the demon crossed his arms and placed a long slender finger on his chin. Looking deep in thought, the demon started to hum to himself. "Ohhhhhh, a few thousand should suffice." He said after a few moments.

Taken slightly aback, Silus asked another question. "Any preferences?"

He had read that some demons were fickle about the quality of their offerings. Only taking those that lived up to their standards. Some wished only for the young, some had an appetite for only women or only men. The most common were young virgin girls, at least in fairy tails they were the subset of the population that was most in danger.

Scoffing, the demon looked down on Silus. "What does that even mean? A soul is a soul; young, old, boy, girl, the soul of a living being is the same no matter the container or condition."

"My apologies, my Lord." Silus hurriedly bowed his head even lower.

"No matter." The demon waved his hand in dismissal. "I shouldn't expect much from humans in terms of knowledge of the platitudes of demon kind. I'll leave you with a few of my children, you may use them however you please." Clapping his hands, dark figures started to appear from the roiling portal still open in the center of the great hall.

A wave of intense heat prickled his skin and a plopping noise, much like the sound a large stone makes when being dropped into a still lake could be heard. Clacking of claws and talons followed the noise and the heat. He didn't dare look up to confirm just how many demons had traversed the void, but from the sounds that they made, it must have been dozens.

"I'll be waiting for your offerings." Silus could hear the demon speaking, his voice directed away from him as he made his way back to the dark portal. "DO NOT disappoint me."

"My Lord." Silus started, bravely raising his head, his eyes meeting the demon's as he turned around to face him. "What shall I address you as, so as that my offerings may reach you?"

A wicked smile spread across the demon's face, his almost porcelain white skin cracking due to the unnatural width of his grin. Flakes of skin peeled off and began to drift slowly to the ground, wisps of smoke as black as the darkest night, rose from the cracks. His hair, once the color of fresh blood, had slowly turned brown and brittle, falling out of the root and onto his now slumped shoulders.

In a voice that shook the room, grating and baritone, he spoke. "I am known as Phthisis, the demon of rot."

…..

With the campsite set up the children were huddled around the fire, absorbing its warmth. Ryan and Laura were nearly sitting on top of each other, their bond had grown much stronger ever since the incident back in the city. Ben was sitting across from them, the light from the fire illuminating his face in an eerie red and orange glow. Professor Treffle was off to his right, poking at the fire with a sour expression on her face that had been there most of the day.

Professor Kal was present as well, fiddling with an instrument of his, the likes of the students had never seen before. Only the occasional crackle from the burning soft pine could be heard as they all stared at the flames in silence. There was always something soothing about a campfire, something that caused the viewer to sink deep into thought. The comforting warmth from the flickering flames mixed with the chill of the night, mingling together to present a person the uniqueness of the conflicting sensations.

"So, Professor, what's the plan?" Professor Treffle asked, the flames reflecting ominously in her dark eyes.

Ryan, Laura, and Ben all looked back and forth between the two, immensely curious to hear the answer. All three had wanted to learn more of the situation during the trip, but Professor Treffle's foul mood had kept them from mustering up the courage to broach the subject.

Not taking his eyes off the contraption in his hands, Professor Kal answered. "First, we'll purchase some place to call our own. We won't have the necessary privacy if we lived out of an inn for an entire month."

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They all released a collective sigh of relief; they didn't want to imagine having to share a room with a professor, or student. Laura wouldn't be too bad off, it would just be her and Professor Treffle. Ben and Ryan on the other hand were mortified about the idea of sleeping next to the eccentric Professor Kal. Their imaginations ran wild with different scenarios of the good Professor doing nighttime experiments on them as they slept.

Professor Treffle nodded her head, it was the best news she'd heard all day. "We have the funds for that right, I just want to be sure."

A sly grin spread itself across Professor Kal's face, he looked at Professor Treffle from across the flames. "Of course. The King himself is funding our little foray, so we have more than enough."

"The King himself, huh?" She asked suspiciously but decided not to press further. "Whatever. I just want you to know that I expect you to take my input when it comes to whatever house we buy. I don't want to be plodding around in the slums, knee deep in filth and abject poverty."

"You don't have anything to worry about there. Believe it or not, I have standards as well." Professor Kal explained, turning his attention back to the gadget he was still tinkering with.

"Will we be able to help pick? I want one with a garden and mayb…."

"NO!" Professor Kal and Professor Treffle sounded off almost simultaneously, halting Laura in her tracks.

Laura was under the false belief that the students were at the same level as the Professors and thus their input was valued, but she was greatly mistaken. They were still much in a student/teacher relationship, where they were obliged to follow whatever rules and directions the two gave them.

Laura snapped her mouth shut and lowered her head. Clearly dejected after being shut out of the conversation between the two. Ryan gently rubbed her back, trying to comfort his despondent friend.

…..

"So, how far is it to Austrina anyway? Do you know?" Ryan asked Ben as they were tearing down their tent they had set up the previous night.

Ben paused for a moment, thinking back on things he had heard from his father and brothers as they had traveled the land due to their trade. "I think about three to four weeks, depending on the weather and how far we travel each day." He stopped, turning to look at the emaciated horses attached to the wagon. "So, we'd probably get there in about a year."

Ryan looked at Ben's face, it didn't look as if he was joking, not one bit. He let out a defeated sigh, setting back to work on the canvas tent. After a few more minutes, him and Ben were very nearly finished when a shout came over from the wagon.

"Hurry the Hells up! How long does it take to put a tent in your storage ring? C'mon!" Professor Kal was shouting at them at the top of his lungs. Ryan thought it was a little excessive, but the contents of what he said made him freeze. He stood there motionless, Benjamin looked up at him with narrowed eyes before dropping his corner of the tent and stomping off towards the wagon.

With ears the same color as the brightening sky, Ryan focused on the tent and it vanished into thin air, safely stored away in his magical ring. He didn't know why he didn't think about using his storage ring, he just didn't. It made sense though, they could have saved at least half an hour by doing that in the first place.

"Sorry, sorry." Ryan said meekly as he hopped into the back of the wagon. "I'm ready now."

Everyone else had already boarded with Professor Kal driving the wagon. He whipped the reins, urging the horses forward. Ben still wouldn't look at him, and Laura had a large grin on her face, clearly laughing at Ryan's expense. Ryan scrunched down in embarrassment, only wishing for a hole that he could crawl into and hide.

…..

In a lavishly furnished room, much too gaudy for any commoner's taste, a man dressed in fine burgundy silk sat in contemplation. His fingers were laced together, his still young-looking face resting on top of them. A low rapping came from the ornate door, "Come in." the man said plainly.

Court Mage Reginald stepped through the entryway, bowing his head towards the young king. His lavish robes were freshly laundered, leaving a faint lavender scent behind wherever he walked. His complexion had improved over what it was these few days past, but one could tell that he was still somewhat unbalanced by the way his eyes would dart here and there, and the fact that he would jump in reaction to any sudden noises.

Mage Reginald closed the door behind him, before making his way over to the center of the room. King Alexander couldn't help but see the years in his court mage. Reginald was slightly hunched over, his fingers starting to club due to arthritis. His once full head of hair, although it had always been gray since he was young, had now started to thin at a notable rate. It really was a sad sight to see.

"He's gone. He's finally gone!" Reginald blurted out before King Alexander could ask him any questions.

There was almost a giddiness in the way he said those words. He could clearly see just how happy? No, that wasn't it, it was something different, it was relief. The King could clearly hear his relief overflowing out of those five words.

Picking his head up off of his fingers and leaning back in his chair, King Alexander took a moment to finish his thought before speaking. "I'm assuming you're certain he's left. That he's actually heading towards Austrina."

Reginald's lips curled up into a small smile. King Alexander noted that it almost looked manic. "Yes, quite certain. Although I do fear what he will do to those children, what must be done must be done."

"Good, on that note, I've been thinking, Reginald." He paused, picking up a teacup and taking a slow, measured sip. "We should get the church involved."

Mage Reginald cocked an eyebrow, an inquisitive look on his face. "The Church my liege?"

"Given, they have very little sway in our kingdom; Morgania on the other hand…" King Alexander paused, giving Mage Reginald a moment to catch on.

Reginald's eyes went side, his face suddenly paling. "What if he retaliates, what if he comes…"

"ENOUGH!" King Alexander shouted, spittle escaping from his mouth, his face twisted in a mixture of rage and disgust.

Reginald shrunk back, not a trace of his former pride as a sorcerer remained to be seen.

"I do not have a place in my court for a coward! I realize Mage Kalcifer is unnaturally powerful, but he is still a man, is he not? Although I owe him a debt for saving my life, I cannot in good conscience leave him to wander this world.. He is a necromancer; he must be dealt with, and I'm sure the cloth would agree with me."

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