Strange Monster

In a mansion located in the middle of a broad expanse of prairie, a white-haired woman was sitting on a red couch inside a luxurious room. The sun was shining outside, but the interior of the room was darker than black. A dark blue curtain was placed at the windows to prevent the sunlight from entering the room.

The woman was staring into one corner of it, and her unblemished hand was holding a small wine glass filled with a bright cherry-red liquid. She lifted it up, put its rim between her lips, and took a little sip of the sticky red blood. She was savoring the taste when a sudden knock on the door interrupted her pleasure. 

"Come in; it's open," she said.

Then, a handsome man dressed in a butler's uniform entered. He was smiling when he came in the room and bowed to the woman's presence.

"Mistress, we found the location of the next key," the man said.

"Hmnn, where is it?" The woman nodded and asked.

"Inside the Herish Kingdom's treasury, I'll move as soon as you order me, mistress." He answered with the utmost respect he could provide.

"I'll go with you," she declared before taking another sip of the red liquid.

The man was surprised by her words, but he smiled as soon as he recovered from his shock.

"As you wish, I'll prepare the things you will need for our journey," he said, then made a bow before leaving the room.

. . . . .

A few hours ago, in the village where disappearances occurred, Kizeler was pointing out his sword to an enemy he couldn't see or feel. He knew Priscilla's fighting prowess the most and knew that it was impossible for her to disappear in a span of seconds. So that, he prepared himself for any surprise attack to be aimed at him, but it never came.

Instead, Zeno, the man they saw lying under the tree earlier, set foot in the village with a carefree posture.

'Is it him?' Kizeler thought upon seeing the man walking towards him.

"What is a demon like you doing here?" He asked after entering into a sword stance by stepping forward and placing his arm with the sword beside his head.

"You have good senses, especially for smelling." Zeno answered. "However, you won't be able to detect that thing even with that nose of yours." He continued and glanced at the house made of straw on his right side.

"Let me give you a hand," he added.

"And how will you do that? Though I don't need any help from a demon," Kizeler stated.

"I'll tell you its location, and you'll attack where I would have instructed." Zeno replied, ignoring his statement.

Then Kizeler didn't find time to answer when the man, several meters away, spoke with a commanding tone.

"Behind you, duck." He said.

Kizeler bit his lips; he didn't want to follow instructions coming from a demon, but his body reflexes chose to do what the man said. Then he felt a gust of wind swipe from above his head. 

"Roll sideways; it's going to kick you." Zeno said, and Kizeler did as he was told. Then the ground was scraped by an invisible force. 

Kizeler swallowed a mouthful of saliva upon seeing the marks left on the place he was with a moment ago, and he looked at the demon.

"How can you see that?" He shouted while pointing his sword from where he came.

"Just listen to me, and you'll kill it in no time. Raise your sword. It's charging on you," the demon said while still standing in the same place.

And he obeyed the demon for the third time by raising his sword. This time, he closed his eyes and bequeathed his life to the man. He obeyed all of his commands, he stabbed in the front when he was told and stepped backward once instructed.

After a few bouts with the invisible creature, Kizeler managed to injure it with a slash from the right. Green-colored liquid splashed in the air as soon as its arm was cut. 

Then after, the invisible arm gained its greenish appearance as soon as it landed on the ground. It had four fingers with long, black claws, and pigments of different colors could be seen on some parts of its skin.

Kizeler opened his eyes upon hearing the loud shrieking made by the creature and saw its arm puddled with blood.

'This skin, it resembles the skin of a chameleon.' he thought.

"Concentrate! This is not over yet. It's fleeing now, into your right; aim your sword at forty five degree angle, then throw it with all your strength." Zeno commanded.

"What?" Kizeler couldn't help himself from asking.

"Do it! A hundred and thirty degrees now," the demon said with a calm tone in his voice.

Kizeler threw his sword like Zeno told him to, and it flew a distance before striking something, followed by an eerie cry. Then, after a few seconds, they finally saw the appearance of the creature when it fell to the shrubs. It had a humanoid figure with an enormous tail that was rolled downward. Its head had two large eyes and a long tongue, like a chameleon.

The sword was stuck at its nape, so Kizeler didn't wait for Zeno's instruction and dashed forward to its direction, pulled out his sword, and cut off its head.

It died as soon as its head was separated from its body. Then, not from a distance, a blanket that resembled chameleon skin appeared; it looked like it was covering something that caught the attention of Kizeler.

He approached it and pulled it off, revealing several figures of people lying next to each other. Kizeler's eyes moved as if looking for something, and he started to smile upon seeing Priscilla was one of them.

'The creature and this blanket made from its skin were not invisible. It just blended with its surroundings; this camouflage was to be considered one of the best when it comes to stealth.' he concluded in his thoughts.

Then he moved beside Priscilla, checked her pulse, and looked to see if there were any wounds on her.

'There's not a single injury,' he thought, then tapped her face to wake her up but her eyes wouldn't open.

He grabbed her shoulders and shook her, but there was still no response. 

"Priscilla, do you hear me?" He panicked and started to shout.

"She's just asleep. The effects of that creature's Legacy are still in effect, which is why they're not waking up," Zeno explained after he came closer from behind.

'Legacy?' And how do you know its Legacy?' Kizeler doubted in his mind; however, he chose to ignore his thoughts.

Then, he stood up and confronted Zeno. He knew that the man was a huge help to him in subjugating the monster. But his hatred for demons was something he couldn't overlook.

"Why did you help me?" He asked.

Zeno stared at him before he answered.

"Nothing in particular," he said, then he turned his eyes toward the sun.

'I guess, I miss the times when I was giving out commands to the whole demon army.' he thought.

"I wanted to thank you, but my sense of justice won't let me sleep at night," Kizeler said, then he put his hand in the handle of his sword.

"Are you sure you can handle the consequences once you pull that out?" Zeno asked, then looked at the woman beside Kizeler.

The mercenary stared at him, and his grip on the sword loosened bit by bit. He knew that the demon before him was not a normal one; it was just a hunch before, but he was able to confirm it after he experienced how the man commanded him in battle. 

All of his instructions were precise and on point, and he questioned himself: if he could see the enemy, would he be able to think like him? The answer would be no. His battle style and line of thinking were to evade and counterattack if possible, but that demon made him clash head-on, ignoring his safety and even instructing him to throw his sword like a spear. 

Nevertheless, this solidified his thoughts regarding the man. There was no way for him to win if he fought him, so he chose not to. Especially because of Priscilla, he valued her more than his life, and he would never put her in danger.

"Wise decision," Zeno said, then he walked forward.

"Where are you going now?" Kizeler asked.

"To the heart of the empire," the man replied.

"Are you going to avenge the demon king?" Kizeler asked again when the demon passed by him.

Then, Zeno halted on his steps before he answered.

"Nope, I would even kill him myself if he was still alive." he said, then he continued walking. 

His words shocked Kizeler, and he couldn't find the words to reply.

"Wha—" He turned on his back to look at the demon, but he was now several meters away from him.

"K-Kize-Kizeler," Priscilla slowly gained consciousness, and he helped her stand up.

"W-What happened?" She asked while rubbing her eyes.

"It's okay now, I managed to kill the monster. Come, let's look at it." Kizeler spoke with extreme satisfaction.

The two of them walked over to the strange creature, and Priscilla gulped upon seeing its dead body.

"See, how great I am." He said this, beaming with a smile.

"Kizeler, you really knew nothing about beasts and monsters." Priscilla said and shook her head.

"There's no record indicating a chameleon has a humanoid form. This thing here is not a simple monster like you thought it was." Priscilla's explanation made him delve deeper into his thoughts.

"Then, where did it come from?" Kizeler asked, but Priscilla just shrugged at him.

"We need to report these findings." She said it in a hurry.

Then, after several minutes of waiting, the other villagers opened their eyes one after the other, and the two mercenaries bid farewell for the time being. They promised the villagers to come back once they filed an accomplishment report to mark the completion of their mission.

And the two of them traveled by foot back to the place from which they had come. After almost half a day's worth of walking, they arrived in the town but were surprised to see knights blocking the entry to the location they were headed.

They were clad in blue armor bearing a crest with a shield that had six sword handles pointing in six directions. 

"What are the kingdom guards doing here?" Kizeler uttered these words upon seeing the insignia of the Herish Kingdom.

. . . . .