Under the harsh glare of the sun, Ashton could be seen walking in the middle of a desolated land.
He's wearing a white cloak with its hood on, underneath is a special suit that clung to his body that regulated his body's temperature, keeping him cool and calm even under the direct heat of sunlight. On his belt, the sub-artifact; Mortal Reminder was holstered, it's on its twin hand cannon form which is lighter and more accessible for use.
As he traveled, Ashton couldn't help but feel a little disheartened by what he's seeing around him.
He's still in the area where he left one month ago. The place near the collapsed demon nest.
The good thing is that the immediate area around the demon nest's vicinity was cleansed by the aftermath of his purifying flames. The sad part is that since the land in this area were corrupted for a very long time already, its vitality was completely sapped away by the corruption, leaving an infertile, dry land.
Any kind of purification won't work anymore. Life here is completely sparse. It'll take a huge amount of effort, and a long time of constant nourishment to revitalize this place.
The worst part is that he couldn't do this now since it'd just be a useless effort. Unless the demon and angel races were purged, any attempts of recovery would be extremely risky.
It's disheartening since this place could've been much more...
It could've been a sprawling metropolis, a peaceful province, a nature's treasure bowl, or even a wonder of the world! But due to the Demonic Corruption that had plagued this land for decades, maybe even centuries, it became none of that except a strategic base for demons.
Ashton sighed. He really shouldn't be focusing on this. There's nothing he could do right now anyway. An effort of a single person wouldn't amount to much, that he can understand, so he could only lament in silence.
Currently, he's heading in the direction of the river, which the expedition aptly named the 'River of Tar'. He's heading there to cross the river to the other side so that he can continue following the road back home.
As he traveled, Ashton noticed the presence of a few demons around, though none dared to attack him.
The ones he saw were infants, little things that he could slay with just a single thought. They probably felt the oppressive aura around him which made them flee decisively. He didn't chase after them since it's just not worth it.
He's already expecting that the number of demons here would shrink due to the aftermath of his actions one month ago. The demons probably migrated to avoid the spreading white flames that came from the collapsed demon nest.
Ashton had no idea just how many demons he got with that. He was inside the Grand Library at the point, resting. And he doesn't care right now. Whether he killed many or none, wouldn't make a difference in the grand scheme of things.
They'd just return anyway...
Ashton was in rush to arrive at the River of Tar. Even though the scenery around him is somewhat depressing, he still kept his eyes peeled to see if he could discover something worth his attention.
'This is sad...' he mused to himself as he walked around, 'the land's completely dry and coarse. Not even a blade of grass will grow here. If it stays like this, it'd just turn into a dessert within the next decade or two.'
'Then again, if the demons somehow reclaimed this place, this land would just be filled with corruption again.'
'It's funny cause it's possible for some kind of demonic vegetation to grow in this land should it be filled with corruption again. Yet without corruption, nothing can grow in it.'
'Makes one wonder if it should even be purified...'
Sometimes, his train of thought is just unlikeable. This one in particular is going in on the uncharted territory. A pretty dangerous one at that.
Ashton shook his head and removed these thoughts from his brain. He slapped his cheeks for a bit and took out some water to drink. He really shouldn't be thinking about something like this.
'Let's focus on other things yeah? Screw these gloomy surroundings! Focus on something else...like that demon over there...which is something I have never seen before. What is that?'
Ashton narrowed his eyes at the demon that crossed his sight, trying to see it clearly.
The little thing is agile, he'll give it that. It's oddly shaped though, making it hard for him to decipher just what kind of demon it is.
Pursing his lips, his right-hand moves to his belt. With a single stroke of movement, he drew his gun and shot at the bolting thing. The bullet he shot was a regular one, attribute-less too.
He didn't want to kill it, he just wants it to stop so that he properly see what it looks like.
The shot hit, of course, it would, and the creature let out a weak squeak as it fell to the ground.
Ashton blinked towards its location, enabling him to see the demon properly.
"...a wheel? Really?"
Yes. It's a wheel. Though not any normal wheel since it has a face in it, which is growling and baring its teeth at him.
It looks like a bicycle wheel; which is rather odd if you ask him, it's just that it's made out of pulsating black flesh.
Fwoosh!
"Damn!" Ashton leaned back to avoid the plume of ghastly flame it spewed. He didn't know this thing could do something like that.
He didn't mind the demon attacking him since that's to be expected. Instead, he searched for the horns of the little thing and found out that it only has a fully grown pair of them, he saw that the second pair was just starting to bud which means that this is indeed an infant one.
Ashton took out a notebook from his inventory and started drawing what he was seeing. A series of murmuring could be heard coming from him too.
"...a demon wheel, pretty fast even for an infant, can travel by air, leaves a trail of black fire on its wake, the intensity of the flames probably depends on how strong the demon wheel is. Pretty aggressive has a short temper, sounds like a squirrel." Ashton's mutter stopped in conjuction with his hands writing. He raised a brow and straightened his back.
Screech!!
"Woah, there!!"
A blur suddenly whizzed past him. It may seem like Ashton barely avoided that blur but in truth, he had sensed that thing coming for him and was already prepared to evade it.
The skidded on the ground, leaving scorched earth in its wake. It then switched directions and moved once more. A sonic boom causes the ground to quake and for Ashton to blink in surprise.
The blur started zigzagging around him, not hitting him deliberately but trying to confuse him. The corners of Ashton's lips curled up, this demon was pretty cunning it seems.
He aimed his gun at the little wheel that was still snarling at him, and that's when he heard another screech from the blur. A knowing smile appeared on his face as he pulled the trigger.
Peng!
The shot flew, yet it didn't hurt the infant demon wheel. When the smoke cleared up, a figure standing in front of it, snarling at Ashton as well.
"Oh, so that's what you guys look like when you grow up. Neat!" Ashton mused to himself.
In front of him, is a 5-foot-tall demon with four pairs of horns. It looms weird and wrong. It's as if someone just lodged a wheel made out of porcelain bones into the body of a demon and called it a day.
"Your breed isn't on the records so I'll call you guys Demonic Bonewheels. Yep, that sounds apt." He stated as he drew his other gun.
The demon didn't stay put. It picked up the infant demon wheel and put it inside its body, how that's possible is something Ashton didn't want to know.
The demon then folded its arms and legs to the wheel and started spinning ferociously. Ghastly flames erupted from it and then it tried to slam itself into him.
Unfortunately...
Boom!
Before it could even move, an explosion occurred underneath where it was standing. The impact launched the wheel high-up in the air where Ashton was already aiming.
A pair of streaking white bullets flew and pierced the demon's body as soon as it arrived at a certain height after its launch.
The ghastly flames it has turned white, and that white flames are now cooking the demon.
The demon snarled in pain yet it couldn't do anything to stop it. Ashton had this planned from the very moment he felt its presence. Had the demon chosen to just claim its kid and run away instead of attacking, he might've spared them.
Unfortunately, it made the wrong choice. Now it has to suffer from the disaster it courted for itself.
"You did this to yourself and your kid. Farewell." Ashton snorted as he holstered his guns, leaving behind the burning remains of the Demonic Bonewheel behind him.
