Born to Hunt

The lands of Nirrula have always been about survival of the fittest. Either in a pack, group or alone you will have to kill to stay alive. Hellhounds of Nirrula know this as much as the average demon clan. They hunt in packs and share their bounty. However there is one who has risen above every other hellhound there is. Zaron the Howl of Nirrula is a hellhound who has ascended beyond his brethren. He started out as a regular hellhound as everyone else, but unlike them he possessed a rare ability to gain power and knowledge of the one he consumed. That is also why Zaron is able to speak with normal demons as he had learned their language through hunting and devouring demons attempting to kill him. After that he killed his own pack to become stronger by himself, knowing that they would only slow him down. First of his targets was a lava wyrm that has been a thorn in his side always entering his pack's territory. The wyrm proved to be a capable foe but was still killed by Zaron. Upon killing the lava wyrm he started growing golden scales from his skin, he also was now capable of swimming fast in lava lakes. Next target on his list was a magma cube which had already killed multiple hellhound packs just because they thought he would be easy pickings. This was a tough fight for Zaron as every chunk he sliced off just became a new magma cube but after a prolonged battle he stood victorious and now his core was filled with the power of magma, He could also now split himself into multiple copies. Final prey on his list was a  fire sorcerer who has used his kind for his experiments. Zaron broke into his laboratory with rage and with his sharp fangs split the demon in half. With this he could now breathe fire that could engulf a whole village in one shot. However all these big bounties never satisfied Zaron fully. He was missing the thrill of the hunt. Every new prey he finds, he lets them start running before hunting them down and devouring them. But even after that this didn’t give him the thrill he wanted. Zaron left to his cave thinking that he could never feel the excitement of hunting like he used to before, maybe this was the price for acquiring this much power. He laid dormant for decades before a demon entered his cave with the sole intent to slay the beast. Zaron knew he was there but he let the demon have his one shot at him. The demon tried his best to slice his neck but his scales were too tough to pierce. Zaron knocked him away and let out a loud howl, signaling that a new hunt had begun. The demon retreated out of the cave, Zaron as before let him have a few seconds to run. After that he quickly caught up and saw that he wasn't alone. The demon was there with at least 200 more demons. He made the ground beneath them shake and split them up. Thinking they had no chance against the beast most had run away in the woods, those who stayed died quickly. However this is what Zaron had been waiting for, 140 demons all his to hunt. Filled with joy, his body was engulfed in flame and his movements as quick as ever, he tore through their numbers so easily he had forgotten how many were left. These were easy picking but he had left a certain one for last, the demon that was brave enough to enter his cave. He followed his scent and found him in an open field.

Zaron: “Have you been waiting for this moment as much as me?!”

Demon: “You can speak? And no i am not.”

Zaron: “Why not? This is the most entertaining part, the last soldier of that army left to wield their honor. A fight to the death.”

Demon realized then that he was the last from his army to still be alive: “So you killed them all already. And to think we had any chance. The gold for your head wasn’t worth it, I knew it.”

Zaron: “Who gave you the bounty? I will hunt them down as well.”

Demon: “A blood sorceress who wanted your flesh to experiment with, she resides not far from here. If you really stick to your word, here, the paper she handed out to us. Please kill that bitch at last.”

Zaron: “As you wish.”

Zaron ripped the demon in half and sniffed out the location of the sorceress. He charged with full speed and appeared in front of her. She was engulfed in despair knowing that these were her last moments. He made sure to not leave one bit of her remaining. Now able to harvest the power of blood, he returned to all the corpses left behind. Zaron infused himself with all of the soldiers blood making him even stronger and fed for at least a century. He was satisfied but also a bit sad, knowing that a hunt like this won’t happen for a long time.