Devil hunting chronicles of the impossible city.

Interlude II Devil Phoenix file 1

There was no room more impressive within the depths of the labyrinth than the library itself. Abram rarely came to this place, but he had been summoned by the librarian himself, Cao Jing Sheng. Abram stood in a massive blue tent so large that it could be mistaken for a real library hall. There in that tent stood rows and rows of bookcases, all coming from the center where Mr.Cao was deep into paperwork as it was his nature.

"Mr. Abram, Greetings I'm glad you filed everything I requested from you.

"Why did you need me to write all this stuff? I don't believe you guys need a profile or whatever to employ me. I'm already working here against my will. "

"Yes, yes. The only reason is that, as a demon contractor, any information you can provide can help us to better understand your situation and the nature of the demon at your side, besides all of us captains do the same. " Abram put all the papers on his desk. As always, he found this man's tone tedious. He always spoke gently but never looked him in the eyes, and that always gave him the sensation that he was not being paid any real attention.

"I wrote all I know about it, but it is not that much more than what I already mentioned. I have no real clue of what that demon is and I don't want to know either. "

"A risky way of living, but understandable. Please sit. I have the intention of chatting with you for a while."

"Great. " Cao continued to file and look over multiple papers with his monocle. He clearly had no intention of stopping even for their chat, so Abram sat down, wishing he could already leave and continue with his day.

"The Commander will send you on the next operation as the acting captain. You have only been with us for six months, but as a demon contractor, we can ill afford to not send you to the frontlines, and truth be told, this will be perfect for you, Mr.Abram.

"I'm not looking forward to it. I am not much of a team player. My powers work their best when I'm on my own. "

"None, the less, you can still use the support, if only as a distraction. The commander believes that if you can't handle this now, sending you on a mission later will be even riskier, but let us forget about that for now. How is everything going with your sister? Any memory issues at the moment?

"She is not getting her memory back, but she is not forgetting me either... I guess as long as I keep my distance, it should be safer now. I'm really regretting having been so close to her all these years, I still don't know how much that demon affected her. " Abram lowered his eyes to his lap where he closed his hands together.

"And there it is. Now that we know better about the forgotten bride manifest, we can handle it properly. Regardless, we will soon be both captains with equal rank, but I'm the main devil researcher of our organization, so I expect full cooperation and honesty on anything involving your devil from here onwards. "

"It sounds unfair that I have to keep telling you everything when I don't even know what your demon is. " Cao looked at him, ceasing to read his document for a moment, pondering if he was going to bother to answer.

''Well, you never asked. As you wish, I'll tell you, as brothers in arms, it is best that we have a read on each other's capabilities if we are to be companions.''Cao raised his hand and a flame began to cover it, till it took on the shape of a bit with three eyes on its head. The flames were so contained that not a single spark was caught on a single sheet of paper. He looked at Abram with an arrogant expression. This was a man who either remained cold as ice or couldn't contain himself at all. Abram had already gotten used to his annoying quirk.

"The Phenex as it is officially called, although, in all honesty, I prefer the use of Phoenix in this case. This is a summoned type of demon, one that manifests when required, but it is always attached to me. It can heal the human body, whether my own or someone else's, so consider it one of those very rare demons that are not destructive by nature, more or less. " He went on excitedly as if giving a lecture.

''A bird... is better than the creepy thing that follows me around, I suppose. Does that thing talk? Abram was uneasy with the dancing flames in front of him and couldn't help but try to move back into his chair as far as he could.

"Unfortunately, it does not, as most animal-like demons do not speak, regardless of intelligence level. Its abilities are very convenient and have very few drawbacks, but its healing flames are rather limited, and they gain power by burning corpses."

"So you need to kill people to be able to use it. That sounds like a very bad drawback. "

"Not I and one single corpse can keep its flames for a very long time. There is more to it, of course. The demon can manifest more strongly in this world due to a higher price. " Cao sighed. He seemed unsure of continuing with his speech, even though he spoke very enthusiastically till that point.

''...'' Abram remained in silence. He didn't care much if he continued his speech or not.

''I need to sacrifice the corpse of someone that I would mourn. Not just anyone will do.''

''So it has to be the corpse of a loved one then?''

"The word 'loved one' is too strong.It just has to be someone I will miss. That is this demon's temptation. I can obtain the power and immortality I wish for, but only by losing the people I care for. But loss is normal in this profession. So I would rather look at it as the power to turn the table, to make a loss into a victory. " The burning bird was banished as he closed his hand and returned to his paperwork. He did seem rather down for once.

"Whatever happens, I will ensure an absolute victory. Is there anything else you wish to know about Mr.Abram? "

''Heh, I guess not all demons require a price from their summoner. You got lucky. "

"I never said that; there is always a price to be paid; it's just that mine will be paid after I die."

''What does that mean? "

''I truly don't know Mr.Abram and, unfortunately, when the price is paid, I won't be alive to understand it either. It is frustrating, so if you ever see me die, be prepared for anything. " Cao remained fixated on his work with his usual calmness, his expression never changing with his words.

"Now that is ominous, well then I guess you need some quiet time to keep working, I'll make my way out. "

''Keep yourself alive, Mr.Abram. " Cao remained in the library in complete silence, doing his duty as a researcher with the burden of knowing all that he could about the impossible creatures known as demons.