Bozlock was in front of the body of the runner killed by Knot, along with his dozen runners. It was huge, perhaps four or five meters high and another five meters long. His appearance was like that of a normal runner, but much larger, even looking like a mother and her cubs when compared to her runners. Bozlock did not have black hair, he was more like a dark brown with gray spots, he was not as hairy as a runner, he seemed to only have hair on his upper body. His body was more like a tiger or a forest lion than a wolf, and unlike most demons Knot had seen, he was not skeletal at all, his body looked like a mass of steel-hard muscles, with short (tiger or wolf-like) but thick legs and long claws. He had two long, hairy tails that moved from side to side. Its head was huge, oval and with a lot of hair, the tall devil had huge jaws and what looked like several complete pairs of sharp teeth, one after the other, as if its whole mouth were teeth, two long and narrow slots for the nostrils and a pair of eyes . Those eyes were not like the others, all the runners seemed to have black eyes but that one had red eyes, red as blood, without a trace of a pupil. From his eyes I could see how blood lines came out, as if the devil was crying. And the strangest thing was his mane, it was like that of lions, hairy with a darker color, almost black, unlike the rest of his body, but from it came out protrusions in the form of a rope, several of them hanging from his body, they looked like a pile of tails coming out of his neck or as if the demon had a cape that had been made into strips.
Knot was glued to the wooden wall, looking through the cracks at the scene. The old man was beside him and the woman was snuggling her crying baby. Those people had told him their names, but he had forgotten them, he wasn't very good with names.
Bozlock was circling the body, with his head down, as if analyzing the corridor. Suddenly, he raised his head and began to roar. It was an incredibly loud roar, even making wooden houses shake. Immediately afterwards, the corridors began to separate... And they headed for the houses. They were looking for the culprit of the demon's death, he was sure, just as a wolf recognizes the scent of the hunter when he kills one of his pack, he assumed that the runners must be the same. They went house by house, approached the doors and knocked on them, walked around them, sniffing and searching, one by one. Knot understood that those demons could not really enter the houses; those amulets (those of the protective Church) must really serve. They arrived at Knot's house (the old man's house). One of the runners knocked on the door, the baby began to cry more, the scars began to itch more and the smell of the demon was stronger. Then one of the runners howled and knew he had been found.
That howl was a call and Bozlock immediately turned his head and responded with a roar. Before he approached, Knot pulled his sword out of its sheath, he was not in the best condition, had several bruises and had lost his edge a little, he thought that might be a problem. Bozlock began to walk slowly towards the old man's house, until he was in front of the house, it was bigger than this... From one moment to the next, he was under his head and his eyes met Knot's... They were facing each other, very close, only separated by the wood, the devil could see him, he was sure.... His eyes looked directly at his own, they were too red, like a bottomless pool of blood, an infinite sea of blood. The blood came out of his eyes continuously. The scars began to hurt enormously, to the point that he nearly lost consciousness from the intense pain.
Then Bozlock roared again and knew he was ready to attack him, thinking that not even those amulets would prevent the high demon from destroying the house. Knot was as stiff as a rock, holding the sword forward with both hands. He sweated a lot, that demon could eat him in one bite without much effort and was afraid, not for him, but for the old man, the woman and the baby who would most likely die after he was eaten.
Then Bozlock tensed up his whole body and went into a runner-like form of attack. And when Knot was sure that that would be the end of him, the demon let out another roar... And instead of diving into the house and smashing it, he turned around and began to move away from the village, his runners followed him.
Knot waited several seconds in the same position, without moving a single muscle, bewildered by what had just happened. He knew that the demon was ready to attack, but instead he had walked away and left them alone, Knot did not understand what was happening. When he was sure that they would not return, he put away his sword and looked around, thinking that this was not something that would happen every day, because the old man had a surprised face and his body was shaking and sweating enormously, so the old man fell to the ground, sure he had to use all his strength to stay standing.
-For all the wailing!... That was... was str-strange... -The old man stuttered and trembled. It is impossible... Bo... Bozlock had never come so close to the village without devouring anyone, much less after someone else killed one of his demons. -Then the old man looked at Knot from the ground and as if nothing had happened, he started to laugh, a long laugh- For the glory of the dragons, what the hell did you do! -And He laugh even louder.
-I... I didn't do anything... -said Knot. He didn't understand what was going on, he had never been approached by a demon that didn't try to kill him, that behavior was totally new. He thought about what they said about high demons, "they are never the same," "you never know what they are really capable of," "they are erratic and unpredictable. That's what the old stories said, about people who had been attacked by demons and somehow managed to escape... And Knot thought those stories could be real.
Knot noticed the woman, she had fainted from fear and the baby was on top of her, she was no longer crying, the danger had passed.
Half an hour later, Knot had decided to take the whetstone out of his backpack and sharpen his sword, he would need it in its best condition, he would have to carry out a dangerous battle. Then someone or something knocked on the door and Knot jumped up and grabbed the sword.
-Open the door!, Open the door immediately -shouted someone as he knocked several times- Open it immediately, it is ordered his by your defender, the great Vakos!
-Vakos?... -Knot looked at the old man, who had recovered from his fear but now seemed upset. He approached the door.
-Defender my butt! -said the old man. "What the hell do you want, Vakos? Don't you see that my family needs to rest, my daughter is very tired, just like everyone else in the village who surely doesn't want to hear your stupid screams!
-Open the door! -The man continued to insist more and more- I know that the traveler is there! You don't want me to break down the door!
The old man quietly released a curse and opened the door. The man entered without being invited. He was a man in his early twenties, thin but not as thin as the others, had dishevelled black hair and had Varalos disease, which made his face emaciated and blotchy. The man looked angry and Knot could see something strange in the man... He had a steel sword in his waist. The man looked around the house.
-How is it possible!... -The man began to scream, but immediately his voice dropped as he saw the old man's angry face. How could they possibly let that thing into their house after the atrocity it has done? -With something Knot assumed he meant him. The man didn't even look at him. They didn't see what this creature does. He made Bozlock angry by killing one of his herd... Now we are doomed!
-If it wasn't for the boy, they would have killed the poor kid," said the old man angrily. Besides, we don't turn away guests.
-Guest? -The man laughed quietly. That thing is not a guest, it is an invader!
-Whatever it is, if I hadn't brought it into my house, the boy would be dead! You didn't see it Vakos... Bozlock looked into the boy's eyes and didn't attack him... It was like he saw him and got scared or something.... It was a miracle!
-I don't care about your ravings, you old fool... -The man approached the old man, with one hand on the hilt of his sword. Bozlock is angry, and we need a way to appease his anger. -Then I look at him and he smiled, a dark, malevolent smile. I can think of a very good way to... Calm Bozlock down. -The man drew his sword, much like his own, but in better condition. I point the sword at Knot with one hand. I say let's feed the thing to Bozlock...
The old man releases a curse. Knot looked at the man, grabbed the sword as if he had never fought anyone, that man did not know how to fight.
-By order of the great Vakos, knight defender anointed by the high priest Karalos of the protective Church, defender of men! You are ordered to follow the orders of Vakos and accept your destiny for your sins!
That was new, a monologue I had never heard before and the word "gentleman"... I had heard of them, soldiers who defended the honor of men and never hurt the innocent... There have been no knights for several hundred years.
Knot did not respond, he simply stood there watching the man, without showing any expression. The man held the sword as if it were a toy; he could harm himself. Then the man seemed to despair, because he released a clumsy and slow thrust with the sword toward him, and the latter avoided it without many problems, and when the man approached to throw another thrust, Knot punched him in the face, not with all his strength, and did not want to hurt the man much. The man fell to the ground confused and dropped his sword, that man had never faced anyone in a battle.
The man was angry, sure that no one had ever refused his orders. The man stood up and grabbed the sword from the floor, and instead of trying to attack Knot again, he put the sword away and went to the door.
-Don't take yourserlf so high -said the man who still had blood coming out of his nose-. Bozlock is angry and his fury will fall on you. And on us...
Then the man went out the door and walked away without saying another thing. The old man was dying of laughter, he almost fell to the floor and even the woman who had woken up at some point and had heard that was laughing quietly.
Knot thought the people outside the forest were strange.
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