Demon's Virtue

Once they made their way outside of the building again, Eiro turned to his side and looked at the two spirits floating there. The Gnome really did seem quite cheerful, and just incredibly energetic. But still... "Didn't you say it would be able to find its name when we get it its body back?" Eiro asked, slightly concerned about what was going on.

Although, luckily, Nelli immediately reassured him, "Don't worry, this is normal. It's not as straightforward as your evolutions are. Within a couple of days, it should be able to learn its name, so let's just take it with us for now." The Naiad told the Demon, who lightly smiled and nodded his head in response.

"Okay, let's do it like that." Eiro replied to the spirit, before he turned back around and looked at the two men that were looking at him with curious expressions, "Thank you for your help, I'd say. This somehow passed far, far easier than I thought it would." He pointed out, and with a deep sigh, Enka quickly agreed.

"You can say that again. Those guys' expressions were fun to look at, but other than that... A lot less entertaining than I'd have thought." The chief-warrior muttered, but Armodeus just slightly glared at him, "Do you even take your job seriously? Would you have preferred for it to escalate into a fight?" Armodeus asked Enka, and then turned toward Eiro again.

"Let us go, I'm going to bring you back to the gate to the first layer. I don't want the guards to question you because you're not supposed to be here." The elder dwarf pointed out, so Eiro just slowly nodded his head and turned around, starting to immediately walk toward the place where he knew the gate was supposed to be, while Enka just waved at the two of them with an excited grin.

"It was nice to meet you, man!" He yelled out with a broad grin. Enka's face, hair and outfit was still extremely messy because of the soot from the burnt-down curtains from the stage. He attracted a fair amount of attention through all of this from onlookers, but he didn't really care. Enka just kept staring at Eiro's back.

And then, Enka just stood there. He stood there and kept waving with a bright smile that would probably make a lot of other people uncomfortable, which it even did. The very moment that Eiro and Armodeus stepped out of his range of sight, Enka's smile suddenly disappeared.

With an annoyed groan, he turned around and started stepping through the roads as well. His previously slouched-over posture so that he could get closer to the height-level of those two was gone as well, and his back was now as straight as it could be, his neck stretched out and his shoulders pressed backward.

Enka kept walking for a little while, and once nobody was really around him, he covered his palm in flames instantly before running his hand over his his face and through his hair. With that swift motion, he burnt away the soot and fixed his hair so that it wasn't even nearly as messy anymore. It actually now looked it should have taken him hours to get this done.

"Disgusting." Enka muttered quietly the moment he pressed his palm onto his chest, causing flames to spread across his clothes. But instead of burning up, they simply changed. His shirt changed from a messy, dirty shirt with its sleeves burnt away into a black button-up. And as if pulling it out of thin air, Enka stuck his hand forward and had a suit-jacket appear in it by being formed out of flames.

The moment the flames disappeared, all that he had in his hand was that black suit jacket that he swiftly pulled around his upper body. When Enka then held both his hands in front of his neck, more flames appeared, ones that he soon 'adjusted'. Once these flames disappeared as well, it was simply a red tie, and the whole image of this man changed immensely.

It was so different that Eiro may have not even recognized him instantly. Especially because his odour changed too. Before, he had this weird, reeking, sulfuric scent to his body, but now he just suddenly smelled like regular men's perfume.

Enka's changed from round and bright into dark and angular as he looked around at his environment. And with that expression, the chief warrior stepped back through the doors of the shop of the craftsman Irensen, and the eyes of every single person in here suddenly turned toward him.

When he was here with Eiro and Armodeus, everyone was practically ignoring him as if he wasn't there. Sure, the employee spoke to him and about him, but if he was asked tomorrow, he would most likely have forgotten about the fact that Enka was there, even though they had a short one-on-one conversation.

Although, it wasn't like they actually spoke about anything important then. After all, Enka hadn't questioned him about their usage of a Gnome's body, but instead just whispered to him a little.

There were a few customers in here, some even accompanied by guards, and all their eyes were focused on Enka, who just pushed his hands into his suit-pant pockets and looked forward.

"Leave." He said in a clear tone, although his voice was carried through the space to everyone as if Enka was standing right in front of each and every person. As if their bodies were controlled by some external force, they stopped whatever they were doing and stepped past Enka into the streets. This even included the employees.

Every single person left, with the exception of the employee that led them around the shop before, who was still together with Irensen.

Once everyone else was outside, Enka closed the door and used any random pole-based weapon to completely block the door from being opened by anyone from the outside.

With light steps that carried through the whole shop as if he was stomping down with all his force, Enka made his way up the stairs and stepped up in front of the door that Eiro had broken down before.

"Those damn... Who the fuck was that?! How dare he threaten me like that?!" Irensen yelled out angrily, and the worker just stood in front of him with a blank expression, "He was nothing more than a low-life. If Sir Armodeus had not been here, we could have easily gotten rid of him. I can research where he is currently living, and we can recover the whole Gnome." The worker suggested, and with a broad grin, Irensen nodded his head.

"Yes! Yes, do that immediately!" He yelled out, "I will not let someone like that steal from me! I will show that I am the best craftsman this town- No, this world has to offer! I swear!"

Just then, Enka showed a laugh that he really couldn't hide anymore after hearing something that ridiculous. After today, he wouldn't be able to work at all anymore.

Both the worker and Irensen himself were surprised to see Enka's figure standing in the doorframe, although neither of them recognized him as one of the two people that accompanied that 'low-life' before.

"Sorry, sorry, I just heard something quite funny." Enka chuckled as he stepped onto the broken-down door and furhter into the room, before seeing that both of the others in front of him just stared at him silently, "Ah, continue. I would like to hear what you want to do to that low-life." Enka said reassuredly, and Irensen just slightly nodded and looked back at the worker.

"We should just kill him, right?" Irensen asked, as if Enka just wasn't there, and the worker nodded his head immediately, "I do think that is the best path we could take. Although we might have to be careful. As he is Sir Armodeus' acquaintance, it might be tough to hide his sudden disappearance."

"Ah, just get it done already!" Irensen exclaimed angrily, and once more, Enka tuned in to this conversation.

"Oh! I think I might have a pretty good idea for you two!" He pointed out, and once more, Irensen and the worker looked over toward him. But this time, they weren't just as confused or surprised. They just looked at him as if he had always been part of the conversation. "How do you think you may be able to help?" The worker inquired, and with slight chuckle, Enka stepped through the room and looked a bit around.

"Instead of killing him directly, you can just 'get rid of him' in another way. Just have him arrested. He's nothing more than some plebian commoner, after all. You should have more than enough fame and contacts to let this happen." Enka pointed out, slowly running his fingers over some of the things in the room, like the materials spread around, or even the finished items.

"But we can't do that if he's basically being protected by Armodeus!" Irensen exclaimed immediately, "They are surely going to trust that fiend's word over mine!"

With a slow nod, Enka picked up a small dagger that he found hanging on the wall and held it in his hand for a little while, "True enough. Armodeus is far more trusted than you. For good reasons, even. You are one of the lowest of the lowest of this town." Cupping his chin inbetween his index finger and thumb, Enka was just thinking for a while.

In response, it seemed neither Irensen nor the worker could really deny what Enka just said and were just standing there, waiting for this man's opinion on whatthey should do. And with a snap of his fingers and a light smile, Enka just started to laugh.

"Of course, of course! Why didn't I think of it before?" Enka asked rhetorically, "We're not going to let anyone speak ill of you, so that we can fully make use of only the benefits of your fame and contacts!"

As if this solution was just the most obvious one that anyone could have ever come up with, the man looked forward at the other two and waited for their answer. With bright, excited smiles, they both immediately nodded their heads.

"That is an incredible idea!" Irensen exclaimed, and the worker just looked at Enka with wide open eyes, "And how exactly are we going to accomplish that?" He asked, before Enka slowly took some steps forward with the dagger pointed into Irensen's direction.

Slowly, quite agonizingly so, Enka pushed the dagger into the chest of the man that created it. Irensen himself just took it, however, and stood there. He stared into Enka's eyes, and just when his life ended and his body dropped down, did the worker understand what exactly was going on and started freaking out.

"M-Master Irensen!" He cried out nervously and dropped onto his knees to try and help him stand or sit back up, while Enka carefully placed the bloody dagger onto the floor in front of him and looked at the worker.

"It's quite easy, isn't it? You don't speak ill of the dead." Enka explained, but the worker just stared up at him with a fearful, angry expression, "Why would you do this?! What is wrong with you? Why-"

"Tell me, who killed Irensen?" The man asked, but the worker just looked up at him confusedly before slowly speaking, "It was you!"

"What do I look like?" Enka inquired then, and the worker once more answered immediately, "You are tall, have dark red hair and eyes! You're wearing a pitch-black suit! You have a calm, deep, penetrating voice, and smell pleasantly like an open field!" He exclaimed, with a deeply pained voice, one that seemed the opposite of one would expect from such a put-together answer.

"I'm not. This is not me. What else might I look like?" Enka asked once more with a calm voice, and immediately the worker just calmed down.

"That's not what you look like? Sorry... I think you are of average height. Your face is obstructed by a blank mask, and your whole body is hidden by a black cloak, with the exception of one wooden hand and one hand covered in a black glove. Your voice is unnoteworthy and emotional, and you smell like nothing... Is that right?" The worker asked, and with a light chuckle, Enka turned around and once more stepped over the broken-down door.

"That's exactly right."