The Demon Tamer Read online

  «The Son of the Dragon? I admit you are an interesting guy, but I never imagined seeing someone from my village. And how did the Romans achieve it? Only those with great powers can enter without our consent!» Diosmed said incredulously.

  «I don’t know, listening to their voices here in Rome, I remembered the language of those cursed who attacked us that night and destroyed everything. I don’t know if my connection to the Dragon really exists, but I feel something every time I hold my dagger. I can’t remember anything else, when I think back to the face of the Roman general at the head of the invasion, I feel sick. They were red-eyed Demons, I remembered this particular element during the fight» Damian explained.

  «How is this possible? What happened to them? I don’t know if you’re telling the truth, but the demon that the Emperor owns has something to do with it! He will have used the gate of the Outer World to reach the village!» Diosmed reflected.

  «Gate?»

  «To get to the Village of the Gods you must use a magical gate that links the various worlds to that place where life originated».

  «Yilawid!» Damian said.

  «Exactly. Life was born from there and flowed into the various portals. Now we find ourselves in the so-called Outer World, or the world of men. Great powers are needed to be able to cross these portals and return to the place where everything originated. I don’t know how you managed to survive to the demon attack. You must remember! You must tell me what happened to my brother! Perhaps he too is in this world!» Diosmed exulted in hope.

  «I would it too. I didn’t know he had a brother, he always said that I was the only family left to him» Damian said.

  Diosmed became gloomy and did not speak for a few moments, then resumed: «I was separated from my brother years ago, against my will, and led out of our village. I will not tell you anything about my past until I am sure that your words are really true».

  «I’m telling you the truth! You told yourself that the Language of the Gods binds us!» Damian shouted.

  «Yes, the Language of the Gods is handed down from the elderly to the young. It is said that was a divine creature who taught it to the first men. It is the primordial language from which all the languages of men and other creatures derive. Only we know it among humans, the Romans speak Latin, the Barbarians their Germanic languages, the Thracians, the Samnites and the Hispanics speak their idioms. Every people speaks its own language and between them there is no understanding. Those who speak the language of the gods instead include all other languages. We understand what others are saying and we respond in our language, but they do not realize it because they understand what we have said, but in their language. If you talk to a Roman you will understand everything and you will answer him using our language, but they will receive the message in Latin. This language binds us to one another, but you also know the Language of the Demons and that’s why I don’t trust you» Diosmed explained.

  «I will give you proof that you can trust me! I don’t belong to those unclean creatures like Ravakhan. If you really are Dasmond’s brother, you will accept me for who I am!» Damian replied.

  «Mm...» Diosmed hesitated for a moment and blinked.

  «I know the legend about the language, but I don’t fully understand its use. And aren’t we humans too?» Damian asked.

  «We, unlike the men of this world, descend from the Tree of Life. Every time some of us leave the Village of Gods, a child is born from a fruit of the Tree of Life. I was born from a green apple and my parents took me with them. We are tied to the tree as he is bound to us. All people who are born from the same type of fruit are even more connected to each other. Those who, however, left the village, populated the Outer World. We are always men, equal in body and spirit, but what differentiates us is the deep connection with the Tree of Life. When someone leaves the village, he also forgets everything about his origins, he loses this bond that he has with life and holds it with death. No one in the village died of a natural cause, death has always been caused by what comes out of Yilawid, such as when we were struck by a severe pestilence or when the Dragon went mad and fell prey to anger. Now we too have lost this vital link, but fortunately the memories and the language of the Gods still belong to us».

  «And then how can you remember?» Damian asked curiously.

  «I can’t tell you with confidence, but I think it was the love I feel for my brother that makes me remember. I taught him the language. Look, now I’ll show you something» Diosmed said, then he took a stone from the floor of the cell and wrote on a block of stone, which was near the bars, the word “Life” first in Latin VĪTA and then rewrote the same word in the Language of the Gods, which is YILAWID.

  «Hey Guard, read here!» Diosmed shouted in the Language of the Gods.

  The guard, angry, looked at the ground and struck the bars with his sword.

  «VĪTA written twice, don’t waste my time idiot!» the man grunted and left away.

  Damian was surprised because the man had failed to notice the difference.

  «Have you seen? Our language, even if written, for others will seem the same as its own language».

  «How strange! And then the guard understands our words?» Damian asked.

  «The guard cannot understand us, only when we address him can he understand us. He will seem to hear an unknown language. Everything resides in the melody of words. They understand our words and we understand theirs, because all other languages were born from our language. Written and spoken, the Language of the Gods allows us to talk to others and only those who know it could understand us right now» Diosmed said, after which he lay down on the bed. The pain was strong and his strength was failing.

  «Diosmed tell me about the Demons and their origin» Damian asked him.

  «The Demons are the creatures that obey to the Demon King who reigns in the Hell. There are the Black Demons that arise from the hatred and darkness of the Devil or his offspring. They are the worst species of all. They are evil and lowly, like the one the rhinoceros possessed. Then there are the White Demons that are born from the various creatures that are transformed into demons, but for some strange reason they managed to escape from evil. They are submissive to the Black Demon and must also obey them against their will, as happened with white tigers. There are orders and hierarchies of Demons that I don’t know well and I know for sure that each of them has a different power. They are created directly by the Demon King himself or are born from the creatures in which he himself infuses his “essence”. Even the men who sold his soul, who will be damned forever, become Demons» his friend said zealously.

  «The soul? What is this? And how do they possess men’s bodies?»

  «The soul is the vital energy that makes us alive. When this is corrupted, the Demons easily manage to possess humans. The victims are above all the people who suffer and the weakest ones, they manage to enter their body and bury their soul in the depths of their ego. Other men or evil creatures, on the other hand, either spontaneously grant themselves to the Evil or are subjugated as poor fools. The Demons transform the possessed into something different from the original and use that body to act among us undisturbed. They manage to reach the various Worlds through the Hell Gates which create a connection with Hell. There are many and they are scattered everywhere. We should seal them all, only this way the Demons will no longer be able to reach this place. A powerful demon like Ravakhan has arrived in the arena thanks to a Hell Gate, which will have been opened by someone equally powerful. I am sure it is the work of the demon who owns the Emperor» Diosmed said with a grim look at the end of the speech.

  «We must defeat the Emperor! Only then will we find the answers we are looking for! We will defeat the Demons!» Damian shouted full of courage.

  «And how can we do it with these wounds? We are exhausted, we won’t be able to do much» Diosmed replied with difficulty.

  Right after those words there were footsteps in the void and a small ampoule wit
h blue liquid crossed the bars rolling slowly.

  «Drink, it will give you energy!» a woman’s voice said in Latin.

  Damian heard the voice and didn’t know who it was, while Diosmed stared at the contents of the ampoule.

  «Where did it come from?» Diosmed asked, hesitating.

  «If we drink it, it will give us energy. Someone said it earlier» Damian answered.

  «It’s a trap! It will be a poison made to kill us! We can’t trust!»

  «I doubt it. As you said before, we are in bad health. We have nothing to lose!» and so Damian uncorked the ampoule and started drinking. Immediately his wounds began to regenerate and the blood stains vanished. He felt a new energy flow through him and invigorated thanks to that mysterious potion.

  «Drink» he said, then handed it to his friend.

  Diosmed drank it and recovered his strength, staying bewildered with each sip.

  «What sorcery is this? Who gave us this potion?» Diosmed asked.

  «Maybe somebody cheers for us, we should thank him. We have regained our strength and now we can finally fight against the Emperor!» Damian exulted.

  04

  The Colosseum - The Naumachia

  «Pah-pa-rah»

  After a few hours, the trumpets sounded. The second phase of tournament was about to begin. The cell opened and the guard told them to walk. The two boys arrived right in the center of the hypogeum and still thought about that miraculous healing that had taken place just before.

  «Water?» a gladiator said.

  The hypogeum was filled with water up to the knees.

  «Where did the water come from, Diosmed?» Damian asked.

  «From the arena. Who knows what they have in mind» replied the Demon Slayer.

  After a short time, the roman guards arrived with small boats four meters by two, with oars and a square sail, red or white, placed on a small mast positioned in the center of the boat.

  Boats had rostrums, metal structures positioned at bow level, used to strike and sink enemy boats.

  «Get in! Five men per boat!» a very strong guard threatened them.

  Damian and Diosmed went up together. The gladiators on board of the boats through a water-filled channel reached a grating that allowed the access to the large arena, eighty meters long for forty, that was completely full of water.

  «Diosmed is incredible! How did they do it?» Damian asked in amazement.

  «With some strange stratagem. This tournament never ceases to amaze me!» Diosmed replied.

  That immense arena was flooded with water and the boats could navigate it. They entered one at a time, quickly sailing on that ten-meter deep expanse.

  «Ladies and gentlemen, today the forty participants will face off in a naval battle! The Naumachia!» the fat presenter shouted from his post above the arena.

  The audience was delirious and issued a deafening roar. An incredible challenge was about to begin.

  «The gladiators will form groups of five men, for a total of eight ships. They will be able to use swords, spears, bows and bolts. Each weapon will be granted, that’s the Colosseum!»

  Damian and Diosmed found themselves on board with three new individuals. Two young Egyptians and a mysterious old man.

  «I saw what you did! You can save us!» one of the Egyptians said, in Latin, turning to Damian.

  «But I didn’t do anything» the young man replied, using the Language of the Gods.

  «We saw how you defeated the Demon with the Ten Heads! This place is full of those damn creatures! The two of us we come from the Egypt, our family members, our friends, everyone, were killed by a powerful demon summoned by Pharaoh. Please save us! So we will be able to return to Egypt and avenge our families!» the second exclaimed, still in Latin.

  Damian was struck by their words. «I accept! He replied without delay».

  «You two take these bows so you will cover your back. Damian, you take those spears! Fortunately, this boat is full of weapons. I will take care of navigation, I will be your helmsman! I promise you all will come out alive!» Diosmed promised.

  Damian and the others entered in the arena last. The presenter would give off only when all participants were entered in that huge artificial lake, but just before the beginning from the water spewed a gray crocodile, four meters long, and with the mouth destroyed a boat, making the gladiators on board fall into the water. Those Thracians and Mirmillones were victims of that disturbing red-eyed aquatic creatures. They couldn’t do anything, they shouted in vain. The reptile swallowed a whole man and his companions were devoured by other crocodiles and alligators, mystically reaching in the arena.

  «Oh, my heaven! The first boat has been destroyed! The naval battle has officially begun!» the presenter said fervently.

  The crowd was enthusiastic, a Naumachia had not been held in the Colosseum for two centuries. The Romans with a water system equipped with four drainage canals, which ran under the arena, in a few hours were able to fill the entire artificial lake which appeared before their eyes. Seven ships had to fight to save life once again.

  «It will be a battle between men and men, but don’t forget the aquatic creatures that dwell in these waters! Who will win? Who will be able to take the blue sphere at the bottom of the arena? Anyone who will take this precious sphere will end the second phase!» the presenter continued, then took a bite of a red apple.

  The trumpets sounded and the people of every social rank enjoyed of the event. Patrician women, who wore necklaces with precious stones and gold earrings, waved white linen handkerchiefs. The men instead applauded, while the plebeians created a huge chaos.

  Some boats immediately tried to isolate themselves, others went to counterattack. A boat, with a gray beak and two black eyes drawn on either side of the bow, lashed out against another boat and destroyed its stern. One of the men of the struck boat fell into the sea, the other three jumped on the enemy boat that had hit them. A trail of enemy arrows reached the last man remained on the chest and neck, then fell into the water. The blood attracted crocodiles and sharks, also present in those waters. More and more creatures approached those two boats. They were monstrous rather than animalistic, many exceeding the size of common specimens. These were demons, who attacked the two boats, smashed them to pieces and fed them gladiators who had fallen into the water.

  «Three boats have been defeated! Look the sea creatures of the Emperor! Rejoice for this extraordinary event» the presenter said with his golden megaphone from the funnel-shaped with a small hole for talking and a larger one at the other end which expanded the tone of voice.

  The man with the power of a demon with his boat, who had a green beak with three metal spikes, collided with an enemy boat with a white sail and destroyed part of the hull. Then with a spear he pierced the boatman, a Secutor that was in the bow, in the stomach. That’s treacherous man was on a boat with his two friends and two others survived of the first phase. For their misfortune, he took one of these and with his sword cut off his head and threw it on the enemy ship, while the body of the man was thrown in the nearby waters. His henchmen with their bows threw arrows on that boat without helmsman. The blood attracted two sea serpents, very dangerous beasts, five meters long and with a head and a body one meter wide. These beings had black scales mixed with green and dark eyes, completely black. They had enormous teeth, pointed and green, filled with a poison they used to kill their prey. They wrapped around the boat without a helmsman and the boat sank. When the men fell into the water, immediately the snakes clung to them and nothing remained of their bodies, only a red stain on the surface of the water.

  «Diosmed is terrible! How can we defeat these creatures? Damn!» Damian shouted.

  «I told you, that man named Igor has great power and uses evil tricks» Diosmed said.

  He was at the bow, in the middle of the three men and Damian at the stern. The four rowed, while Diosmed lowered the red square-shaped sail and often went to the b
ow to get a better view. After the last fight, they were left without armor and protection. They wore only the subligaculum, Damian’s was blue and that of Diosmed was green. The two Egyptians wore two yellow subligaculum, a manica on the right arm and greaves on the ankles.

  «They are Demons, Damian! They have black eyes and give off dark energy! Igor will have summoned those two snakes, I’m sure! Only a despicable man like him can kill a man of his own boat and make another man throw it in water out of desperation!» Diosmed said.

  «Four ships left! Eighteen men fight for freedom! And do not forget that there are still many beasts hidden in these waters. Who will be able to put an end to all this?» the presenter shouted.

  «I’m here with some interesting young men!», the old man laughed mockingly, «Come on, don’t be frightened by these four sardines! The monsters of the seas are twenty times bigger!»

  «And who are you?» Diosmed asked.

  “I’m just an old man who is on this boat with you cowards and these two Egyptians whining. Do you want to live or do you want to die?» he replied in Latin.

  He was a man over sixty, but still strong in spirit. He had an average height, ten teeth in the mouth, four for the upper side and four for the lower side and two upper molars on the left. They were canines and incisors terrifying and at the same time funny. He had gray hair, dirty and matted, a hint of musculature, a small nose and two eyes as black as night. He had white-gray beard thirty centimeters long and wore a white tunic-like rag. The two Egyptians, on the other hand, had a much darker complexion than the old, with black bob hair and brown eyes. They had a very muscular shirtless, were tall and beautiful and they were about twenty-five years old.