Chapter 4

Malvin tapped his forehead in frustration as he read the report file on his desk. "What the fuck is up with this past week?" he muttered, seething with a mix of confusion and anger. Taking his eyes off the file, he looked up at Aeron, the one who had brought it in.

"Is that all? No other demons came after those ones?" Malvin asked, his tone edged with irritation.

Aeron shook his head, his hands clasped behind his back in a disciplined stance. "No, sir. No more demons appeared after the ones I eliminated. The rest of the day proceeded as usual," he replied in a neutral tone.

Malvin pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, swiveling in his chair. "And there were no casualties, civilian or otherwise, correct?" he asked, hoping for at least one piece of good news.

Aeron placed a hand to his pale skin, his expression remaining stoic. "There was one," he said.

Malvin's eyes widened, and he stood up from his seat, slamming his hands on his desk. "Who?" he demanded.

"A civilian's uniform," Aeron replied calmly.

Malvin froze, thinking he had misheard. "Could you repeat that?" he asked, a hint of disbelief in his voice.

Aeron nodded. "A civilian wearing an expensive-looking butler uniform got soaked in demon blood. I'm sure he had to burn the uniform, which, as I mentioned, looked quite costly. That was the only casualty yesterday," he explained with a deadpan delivery.

Malvin sighed deeply, placing both hands on his face in exasperation. He started walking towards Aeron menacingly. The One Feared By Death, sensing the danger, raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Please, Captain, that was a joke. Don't be mad," he said, still in a neutral tone that did little to calm Malvin.

Tores hummed to himself as he walked down the hallway to the captain's office. Along the way, he overheard his fellow guards whispering. "Doesn't Specialist Tores look quite energetic today?" a male officer remarked to a female colleague.

"Yeah, and the bags under his eyes don't look as severe," she replied.

Tores grinned to himself. *That's right, that's right,* he thought. *I usually only get about an hour and a half of sleep every day, but!* He struck a triumphant pose, pointing a thumb at himself. *Today, I managed to sleep for a whole two hours! My energy levels are off the charts!* He chuckled to himself, but the whispers around him continued.

"Why is he chuckling to himself? Isn't that creepy?" asked the female officer.

"Yeah, it's very creepy," the male officer agreed.

Tores froze in his laughter, his face flushing with embarrassment. He quickly quieted down and made his way to the captain's office with his head held low. When he reached the door, he slapped himself in the face with both hands. *Come on! I have to show the captain my energetic self!* He psyched himself up, grabbed the door handle, and burst into the room.

"Captain, I'm here! Reporting for... eh?" he stopped abruptly, taking in the scene before him.

Aeron was pressed headfirst against the wall, his left arm twisted behind his back by Malvin, who looked furious. "Ow, ow, Captain, you'll break my only arm," Aeron protested.

"This is what you get for making a joke when I'm stressed out!" Malvin shouted.

"But shouldn't a joke bring down stress?" Aeron replied, wincing as Malvin twisted his arm further.

"Just what is happening in here?" Tores asked, utterly confused.

Aeron noticed Tores and called out, "Tori, please help me. The captain is abusing his power to abuse me."

Malvin, still holding Aeron's arm, also turned his attention to Tores. "Why are you here? Actually, now that you're here, be a good officer and use your gloves to twist this little shit's other arm as well!" He ordered.

Tores stood still, looking between the two of them, his earlier enthusiasm rapidly draining away. He sighed to himself. *Well, there goes all the extra energy I had for today.*

**A few minutes later**

"So why were the two of you fighting?" Deputy Chief Edward asked, arms crossed, looking sternly between Malvin and Aeron, both of whom had their heads bowed in shame. Tores, unable to handle the situation on his own, had run away and found Edward, who just so happened to be heading to Malvin's office himself. Together, they returned to the scene of the commotion.

"It wasn't a fight, though. Captain Malvin was bullying me," Aeron said, pointing at Malvin, who flinched at the accusation.

"Is that true, Captain Malvin?" Edward asked, tapping his fingers impatiently.

Malvin looked up, trying to defend himself. "You don't understand, sir. He made a joke while we were discussing a serious situation, and I was stressed!"

Edward facepalmed. "Good goddess, that's unhinged," he muttered.

Malvin nodded eagerly. "Yeah, so you understand why I—" he began, but Edward cut him off.

"Not him, you!" Edward said, pointing at Malvin.

"Me!?" Malvin exclaimed, pointing at himself in disbelief.

"Yes, you! You started getting violent with him because he made a joke! You are the unhinged one!" Edward said, disciplining him.

Tores, meanwhile, rubbed the back of his head before noticing something from the corner of his eye. A young woman with pale blond hair was peeking in, ushering him to come closer. "What is it, Loreen?" he asked as he approached her. Loreen Gray was a shy young woman and another one of the seven Specialists of the Iron Guard.

"What is going on in there?" she asked in a quiet voice.

Tores glanced back momentarily before turning to her and shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know. The captain was bullying Aeron for making a joke or something."

Loreen looked confused. "Eh? The captain was bullying Aeron, not the other way around?" she asked.

Tores shrugged again, unsure of what else to say. "Do you want to get involved?"

"What? No, I'm leaving. You can come too if you want," she offered.

Tores looked back at the others one last time before saying, "Yes, please." They both made their getaway, leaving Edward to continue scolding Malvin while Aeron stood there, thinking to himself, *Why didn't they take me as well?*