Zerci Krell.
She was a young, ambitious Mid-Demon. Despite her lowly birth, she had immense talent, enough to be recognized by the upper echelons of society.
After being given a formal education—a rarity for someone of her background—she was drafted into the military, where she proved her mettle once again.
After reaching the very peak any Mid-Demon could attain in her squad, and then even in her entire nation, her superiors found her potential to be wasted among the dregs she was surrounded with. After some consideration, they made a decision.
The higher-ranked demons opted for the creation of a special squad—appointing Zerci Krell as the leader. Her elite team—composed of members she hand-picked, and were approved by the higher powers—would be assigned specialized tasks outside the usual purview of the regular Mid-Demon military.
There were certain jobs outside the scope of soldiers who were considered Mid; but also thought to be too demeaning to the Upper-Class Demons. This special task force was given the role to explore and handle such gray areas.
As such, Zerci Krell became the leader of an elite five-man team known as The Supervisors.
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"Oi, fatso... we need to talk."
Zerci's heels slammed into the floor, creating a loud threatening sound. Her imposing voice matched her face quite well, and the crimson glow in her eyes made it evident how serious she was.
She had pale-colored skin, and her horns—though moderately sized—twisted in so many spirals that they made her look evil and deadly. If Zerci Krell were to be described in one word, it would be Malevolent!
Samiel Lucielle—the Elf Chief—noticed all of these factors, whimpering in submission.
He swiftly moved away from his desk, sweating like a pig as he bowed before the female demon.
"I-I offer my greetings. You arrived earlier than expected. Apologies for not—"
"Yeah, yeah." Zerci waved off his rambling and went straight for his distinguished seat.
As she walked past him, Samiel felt dread course through his body. She had no tail, but her long, dark robe swished across the floor as she finally arrived at his esteemed position.
"Haa, this place reeks of you. Disgusting pig." She gagged, glaring at the bumbling Elf Chief.
There was no iota of resistance or defiance within the terrified man. He was nothing more than a worthless lump of meat—and fat—at that point.
"Keke... I bet you get off on all these harsh words. Irredeemable pervert. Pfft." The gaunt demon whispered.
"A-ahem... leader, you were saying something serious just now." The demon with the gaunt physique remarked, feigning a cough.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtZerci shot him a passing glance, causing him to cough nervously.
"Yeah, you're right. So, Mr. Elf Chief, I couldn't help but notice your supplies have been a little lacking as of late."
Zerci Krell wasn't known for her patience. After all, she was the strongest Mid-Demon in her Lord's territory, and arguably the most brutal one in the entire Demon Realm. Her infamy spread that wide.
That meant whenever she asked a question, an answer was expected.
"I-I, the Elworkers... sick... fever... erm... they are... uh..."
>BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!<
With a single tap of her finger, the Elf Chief's desk broke into pieces. A lovely piece of strong, enchanted wood shattered into unusable debris.
The loud noise echoed throughout the room, causing the Elf Chief to jump in fright.
"Eeeek!" He swiftly got down on his knees, groveling to the obviously superior entity in front of him.
"The workers are sick! Manpower was reduced because of that! I... I'm trying my best to—!"
"Your best?" Zerci's voice suddenly took a much darker tone.
Authority oozed from every syllable, and Samiel felt his spine—no, his entire body—stiffen in terror.
"You are nothing. You were always nothing—a worthless piece of meat. Had it not been for the slightest bit of use we bestowed upon you, ensuring consistent delivery of resources from this stupid excuse of a civilization to our grand empire, then you'd still be rotting in your self-pity and uselessness."
Zerci rose to her feet and narrowed her eyes, staring at the trembling pudgy Elf.
"We gave you power. We gave you what you've always wanted. Now that it's time to pay us back, you're here giving excuses? Pathetic!"
"I... I'm sorr—"
"Silence! Who told you to speak, imbecile?!"
"Eeeeeepppp...""
"Stupid pig. What do you think I'll have to tell my superiors because of your incompetence? Disgusting."
Zerci raised her leg and planted her heel on the Elf Chief's trembling head, causing him to yelp—though one could mistake it for a moan.
"Imbecile. Disgusting retard. Ugly bastard. Moron. Useless piece of meat. Why were you even born, huh? What's your use?" As she hurled insults at him, she kept digging her heels even deeper into his head, sending him into acute agony.
Slowly, blood began dripping from his head, but Zerci didn't stop. She was lost in her maelstrom of insults.
"Leader, we have an important issue to address... ahem... ahem..." The same lanky demon from earlier cleared his throat and coughed once more.
Of course, this warranted a glare from Zerci.
"Well, you're right." She uprooted her feet from Samiel's bleeding head, but not before slamming it in one final time.
"A-ahhhhh..." The Elf Chief gasped in agony, as blood trickled down his face from the gash in his head.
It was difficult to tell if he was really in pain, or if this was... something else.
"So, spill it in detail, fatso. You said your people are sick. What sickness? How do we get them back to optimal performance?"
"I-I don't know the details of... I... my..." The Elf Chief stuttered.
He was most likely searching for the right words to express his ignorance of the issue without depicting his incompetence.
"Tch. This guy is useless! Wait, where's that other guy—the softie that is usually by your side. He's weak and totally useless, but at least he always knows what to say."
Instantly, the Elf Chief's face paled. He was in a very difficult position, after all.
Why?
"I... I don't know." He muttered, his voice barely audible.
"WHAT WAS THAT?!"
Zerci roared in a thunderous voice, demanding an answer. He had no choice but to croak out one.
"So you don't know where he is, eh? Think he ran off when he knew we were coming, or what?"
"I... I don't know. Dustinel wouldn't do that to—"
"Zip it! What would a hopeless idiot like you know? What do you think, fellas?" At this point, Zerci was looking at her subordinates.
Each of them was strong—the best of the best. Having an elite team like this by her side meant she was open to the opinions and help of those she deemed to possess some worth.
"I could use my Skill to track him down. They're both marked, so it's not like they can escape our reach."
"Yeah, I know that, genius! Jeez, way to take the fun out of things." Zerci snapped.
It was the red and stubby demon in the group. He sighed after hearing his boss' mean words, hanging his head in shame.
"Maybe they're—"
"There's no point. Red has taken the fun out of everything. Boo, red." Zerci raised her voice, once again shooting the shortie a glare.
"BOO RED!" The four-armed demon chuckled as he repeated her words.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Hehe, damn straight."
The atmosphere was surprisingly jovial for such a serious issue, and that simply stemmed from Zerci Krell's weird personality.
Though, once she had had her fun, she finally grew bored of picking on the smallest in the group. It was time to get the job done.
"Alright, Red, do your thing."
The short and fat demon gave another heavy sigh. It must have sucked for him; considering the fact that everyone had just made fun of him, yet they still decided to go with his plan.
Still, what could he do?
"Here goes..." He closed his eyes, and his horns stretched out and grew longer.
Red's horns began taking the shape of branches, splitting at their ends until they became extremely huge and intricate.
"Hehe. Never gets old." Zerci grinned.
She spotted the Elf Chief's widened eyes, causing her to laugh in exhilaration.
"Never seen this sort of thing before, have you? Well, it's a rare Skill. Hehehe. You two have been marked, you see. It means there's no place in the world you can run to that Red won't find you."
Her words brought Samiel both relief and fear.
If she was right, that meant even he could never dream of escaping the clutches of these wicked demons. He was fated to be their subordinate forever—damned to such a cruel fate.
"He can find that other guy in no time. Wherever he is, he'll catch him. Hehehe."
The extended horns slowly began retracting, returning to their original size in no time.
"I've found him." Red opened his eyes and whispered.
His pupils gleamed bright red, and it seemed like he was staring emptily into space—at least to those who didn't know how his abilities worked.
For his comrades, though, they knew he was staring at his prey.
"He's close by—on one of the mountains close to the forest. There's one issue, though." Red looked at his leader, turning off the Skill.
"What is it?" She asked impatiently.
"I can sense other sentient entities around him. Among them is an Elf and three demons."
"WHAT?!"
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[A/N]
DO NOT READ THE NEXT FIVE CHAPTERS. THEY'RE ERROR CHAPTERS, AND I CAN'T DELETE THEM