The Forest of Screams

The Demonic Dog's growl reverberated through the trees as Alan crouched in the underbrush. Smoke stung his nostrils—thick, oily, and wrong. The forest ahead flickered orange.

[Quest Updated: Defend the Village of Broken Horns.

Objective: Eliminate the Sunwarden invaders.

Bonus: Rescue captive demons.

Failure: Village annihilation. System penalty: -2 Levels.]

Alan's jaw tightened. "Penalty? Cute."

He crept closer. Through the trees, hell unfolded:

The demon village was a cluster of huts built into massive fungal growths. Soldiers in Sunwarden plate dragged demons from their homes—horned women, children with scales, elders with eyes like dying stars. A pyre burned in the square, male demons strung up like carcasses, their wounds dripping black blood.

But the worst was the laughter.

A barrel-chested commander—Varkus, kicked open a hut door. A young demon girl stumbled out, her pearlescent horns cracked, robes torn. Varkus backhanded her to the mud. "Pretty thing," he sneered, unbuckling his belt. "Let's see if your kind bleeds like the rest."

Alan's finger twitched on his pistol. Not my problem, he told himself. Survive. Level up. Move on.

But then he saw the cages.

Children—tiny, spined, whimpering—clung to the bars as soldiers prodded them with bayonets. A wizard in bloodstained robes chanted, his staff siphoning swirling violet energy from a dying elder demon.

The System screen flickered:

[New Title Available: Demon's Advocate (Unlocks diplomatic options with demon factions. +10% damage vs. holy enemies.)]

"Diplomatic?" Alan muttered. "Huh"

♦♦♦

Alan tapped his Demonic Dog's flank. "Scout. Silence the sentries."

The hound melted into the shadows. Moments later, a gurgle echoed from the tree line. A soldier clutching his slit throat collapsed.

[EXP +15. Stealth kill multiplier: x1.5.]

Alan moved.

He slit the wizard's throat first—a throwing knife to the jugular, stolen from a knight's corpse. The man gasped, collapsing mid-spell. The elder demon, freed from the energy drain, locked eyes with Alan. "Kill… them…" it rasped before dissolving into ash.

[Quest Progress: 1/24 enemies eliminated.]

The Demonic Dog tore through two musketeers reloading by the pyre. Alan's pistol barked—three shots, three headshots. Soldiers crumpled.

[EXP +90. Level 3 → 4. Stat points: Agility +2, Perception +1.]

Muscles coiled tighter, reflexes sharpened. Alan reloaded with practiced speed.

But then—*BOOM*.

A fireball erupted at his feet, hurling him into a hut. His health bar flashed: [Vitality: 58%].

"Rat in the ranks!" bellowed the fire wizard, his staff glowing crimson. "Flush him out!"

Alan grinned. "Summon: Imp Soldier."

200 EXP vanished. The air rippled as a hulting, horned imp materialized—rusted cleaver in hand, eyes blazing.

[Imp Soldier (Level 1) summoned. Loyalty: 60%.]

"Distract them," Alan ordered.

The Imp roared, charging. Muskets fired. The Imp took a bullet to the shoulder—and kept swinging.

Chaos erupted.

Alan flanked the mob, picking off soldiers. Headshots. Kidney stabs.

[EXP +210. Level 4 → 5. Vitality restored to 100%. New Skill Unlocked: *Demonic Infusion* (Next 3 attack deal +50% damage.)]

He turned to Varkus.

The commander had the demon girl pinned, her arm twisted behind her back. "Watch, filth!" he shouted to the caged children. "This is what happens to your kind!"

Alan's Demonic Infusion glowed, his pistol humming with violet energy.

Three bullets.

The first struck Varkus's pauldron, shredding armor. The second blew off his kneecap. The third—

The demon girl moved.

With a snarl, she drove her broken horn into Varkus's eye. He screamed, flailing. She wrestled his dagger free and stabbed—again, again, again—until his face was pulp.

[Target Eliminated: Commander Varkus (Level 8). EXP +300. Title Earned: Saviour (Fear effect vs. Sunwarden forces.)]

The surviving soldiers froze.

Alan's Imp tossed him a musket. "Wanna surrender?" he asked.

They ran.

Big mistake.

The forest became a slaughterhouse.

Alan's Demonic Dog chased down fleeing soldiers, tearing hamstrings.

When the last soldier fell, the village fell silent.

The demon girl approached, clutching Varkus's dagger. Her eyes—golden, slit-pupiled—burned with fury… and fear. "Why help us?"

Alan reloaded the musket. All the bullets in his gun had run out.

"They were on my way."

A lie. The System's influence? Or something else?

The elder's voice echoed in his mind: "Kill… them…"

The surviving demons gathered—hissing, wary. A child reached for Alan's boot. He flinched but didn't pull away.

[Quest Complete: Defend the Village of Broken Horns.

Reward: 500 EXP. Level 5 → 6. Stat points: Strength +1, Vitality +2.

New Summon Unlocked: Succubus Spy (300 EXP. Stealth specialist.)

Village Standing: Respected ]

The demon girl knelt, pressing her forehead to Alan's hand—a gesture of submission. "You are our hope," she said. "The Bloodied Star foretold your coming."

Alan frowned. "The what?"

Before she could answer, the System screeched:

[ALERT: Divine Retribution Inbound.

The Sun kingdom soldiers has marked your location. Sunwarden legion arrives in 98 hours.]