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A large part of a Demon Hunter’s job was to hunt evildoers. Occultists, Necromancers, Vampires, Demonesses and what not… Those were all enemies of Demon Hunters, and I was definitely a target on Nicole’s list.

But even if that was true, I wasn’t one to take an insult lying down just because the both of us were enemies of Demon Hunters. “You were a Human yourself in the past. Don’t you feel disgusted drinking another Human’s blood all the time?”

“Hmph, don’t compare me to some lowly Human, I’m a noble Bloodkin.” Umbra sneered back at me while eyeing me from top to toe. “Humans are merely food, but you know… you’re not that bad, how about becoming my mate? I promise your embrace will be gentle. Just one kiss and we can enjoy an eternity of blood together!”

… He… he actually hit on me… Also, his eyes don’t seem to be functioning too well… but you know what… I just want to flatten him into a meat biscuit right now.

“Killing a beauty like you would be such a waste. You should reconsider squandering your life like this.”

He threw me a lewd look then waved his hands. The Undead herding the villagers towards us promptly backed away… Again… What is he up to?

I wasn’t the only one wondering that right now, everyone who wasn’t that Vampire was probably wondering as well. He clearly had the advantage with all those hostages in his hands and he simply let them go?! As long as he pressured us now, it would only be a matter of time before we caved in. It seemed like he was only surrounding the village in order to prevent us from escaping…

Blast it, I could have escaped already, hostages or no hostages. If only… Bah, now’s not the time for such matters.

By now, the Lycans had led away their respective Undead hordes out of the vicinity of the village, much to the confusion of the villagers, though that confusion did not last long.

“Ahem.” Umbra cleared his throat a couple of times. Upon confirming that he had all of our attention, he smirked sinisterly. “I’m sure every one of you is aware by now, but I had the power to kill everyone present, yet I didn’t do so. Wasting so much food is a headache for me as well, not to mention I’m just here for revenge. That’s why I’ll give you all a chance now. I will wait 24 hours. As long as those who attacked my lair three days ago leave this village, I’ll be magnanimous and forgive this village’s transgressions. But if they don’t… I’m afraid I’ll have to kill you all.”

That underhanded fiend…

Having successfully sown discord, the Vampire nonchalantly shrugged at me then left under the escort of his Lycans.

An awkward silence fell over the village. The Vampire had left as he said, but the Undead horde was still on the outskirts waiting for our move.

Still, danger had been averted for now. I quietly threw a glance at Nicole, my head furiously spinning its cogs to find a way to persuade her to just abandon the villagers. Yet judging by the look on her face, that probably wasn’t going to be feasible…

That Vampire’s motives were a head scratcher too. He clearly had the means to defeat us there and then yet he still gave the village 24 hours to consider… what was he up to?

With the Undead out of the picture for now, the villagers couldn’t let their guards down yet, because there was still that matter of the three hundred Devils I had summoned…

“Papa, what are those red-skinned creatures?”

“Those are Devils… Be careful, they are no different than the Undead… they eat people as well…”

“Mama, I’m scared…”

“Don’t worry, sweetie, Mama is here…”

A slew of whispering ensued amongst the villagers, revealing the disquiet within their ranks. The more cowardly amongst them had already fallen to their knees to beg for mercy. It was only then that I realised what had happened: the target of their fears had shifted from the Undead to the Devils.

I quickly rushed forward to explain. “Be at ease, everyone, these are the Devils I summoned to protect the village.”

“Big sister.” A small boy barely a meter tall pointed at one of the Large Imps and asked, “will these monsters eat us?”

“No, they won’t. I’m controlling them.”

“But they are so ugly.”

“Yes, they are. But they are also obedient.”

Big sister, huh… blast it. But now’s not the time for that. These villagers have already been spooked enough and those words that Vampire left behind are a concern as well. I need to placate the villagers fast before a riot breaks out.

In order to prove that point, I originally wanted to have the Devils perform a series of harmless actions. However, I had underestimated the severity of their reputation amongst Humans. In all likelihood, even that performance would not have been enough to placate the villagers…

“Do not believe her! Those Devils were all summoned by her. Anyone who can summon Devils has to be in cahoots with them as well… Do not believe her!” The one who spoke up was a middle-aged woman with eyes that bled hostility as she stared at me. “I knew there was something up with that she-witch! My husband has been thinking about her all day and night, if she’s not a witch, how else is she able to enthrall a person? Thank the heavens, the truth is now out and everyone can see for themselves who this shameless she-witch truly is!”

… Aunty, is it alright if I call you aunty? Or maybe just Karen? Why are you staring at me like that? Don’t give me that I’m looking at an adulteress look… I’m a man, a man with some bodily problems, but still a man! And that husband of yours… yuck… gross… What is he doing l̲u̲s̲t̲i̲n̲g after a man like me?! I don’t swing that way, thank you very much!

With that middle-aged woman taking the lead, a number of other middle-aged women began to speak up about their experiences as well. Something about how I was constantly flirting with their husbands and what not… essentially, if it’s a problem they could pin on me, they did… What the heck, I don’t even remember offending these aunties… is it a crime to be beautiful? I mean handsome. Is it a crime to be handsome?

No wonder they say a couple of aunties together is like a gaggle of quacking ducks. What if there’s a whole bunch of them though? There has to at least be two mahjong tables worth of them here… all yapping away like they own the place. Maybe they think I don’t have a blade long enough to slice them all up?

Naturally, that did not matter as the Dark Elven Assassins had already taken the initiative to hold a dagger to each of their throats, scaring all of them in an instant.

Or at least it should have…

“Now’s not time for your troublemaking antics, I…” I tried to divert the conversation back to the main topic.

Yet just when I thought that the threat of death was enough to shut them up for a while, that aunty who first criticised me actually yelled at me, “don’t think you’re all that just because you can summon some Devils and seduce some men. I dare you to kill all of us, you shameless harlot!”

“…” Lady. Even a normal person has his limits, let alone me who you’ve falsely accused time and time again. Since you have nothing constructive to add, then there’s no point keeping you alive either. I glared at the aunty. “So you wish to die then? Fine, then I’ll send you on your way…”

“Stop!” Before the Assassin could even give the finishing blow, Nicole suddenly stepped in, knocking away the dagger with her long sword. “Enough bickering. What we have to focus on now is the enemy before us, not start a civil war with each other!”

The Assassin knew how important Nicole was to me, so even when she stepped in, she dared not fight back, instead throwing me a glance. Upon seeing me shake my head, she stowed her dagger and stepped away. The rest of the assassins who had their daggers out also stepped back to their original positions.

Having had a dance with death itself, that big-mouthed aunty finally knew to rein herself in. She clearly wasn’t as fearless as she claimed. Her temper had just gotten the better of her, though that did not change the fact that she viewed me as an enemy…

“Lady Nicole… but she can summon Devils… are you sure we can trust them?” Unlike how she treated me, that aunty only had the kindest of words for Nicole who had just saved her.

“Even though I do not wish to team up with Devils as well, but we have no other choice right now.” Nicole pointed her sword in the direction of the Undead horde. “If we do not trust them, then there’s only the Undead left. Either way, it’s death, so why not trust them?”

“That…” That aunty finally fell silent. The rest of the villagers hung their heads low in contemplation as well. None of them could come to a decision right now, thanks to the horrid reputation Devils had. However, with the threat of death looming over their heads, I had no doubt that they would make the right decision.

“I do not think that trusting those Devils is a good idea.” While everyone was still wrecking their heads over this issue, an old lady suddenly stepped out from the crowd. She was hunchbacked and dressed in a set of black, long robes. Her hood and robes covered the majority of her features, only revealing a wrinkled face and an equally wrinkled set of hands. She had to at least be eighty years old, based on her time-weathered appearance.