Doctor Demon

*Flashback*

A twig crunched under her foot, startling her. She gulped, her heart racing crazily as she slowly made her way towards the dark mountains in front of her. It was past midnight and the whole village was immersed in a deep sleep. Not a single soul was in sight. The girl was trying not to be scared but it was hard to keep up a brave front.

It was rumored that the mountains were haunted by a demon which killed people on sight. The demon was a hideous one with several heads and a menacing aura which would freeze anyone on sight. Whoever tried to kill it, ended up dead themselves. When the night was silent and dark, the demon would prowl the mountains to look for prey.

"It feeds on human blood," one of the villagers had told her that morning. "The monster in the mountains will kill us all if he does not get to drink blood for one night!"

Ailee was scared. She had been given a task to find this demon and exorcise it but could she do it? After all, she was simply a human being who was up against a 4,000 year old demon!

She slowly climbed the steps on the mountain which led to the caves above. The area had been closed off to visitors and only a few people would dare to go there. Some brave heroes had attempted to kill the demon but it was impossible to kill demons. Only Ailee had the powers to do so. After all, she was born with it for a reason.

Clutching the dagger hidden in her cloth, she slowly made her way up the steps. Her long robe fluttered in the wind, brushing the ground as she went. The air became chillier with each step, indicating that the demon was in the mountains. He was hiding somewhere nearby, probably even watching her. What if it really had three heads?

Her heart was troubled. How am I going to kill it? She wondered. Will this dagger work?

She kept on climbing several flights of stairs until she reached the top of the small mountain. It used to be an old temple but had been abandoned many years ago. The priests in the temple died after a fire broke out and everyone had to evacuate it. Ever since then, the place had been haunted by their ghosts and now, by a demon.

Something brushed against her foot and she yelped. To her surprise, it was a small child. 

The child was white and pale, almost translucent. He was hardly eight or nine years old when he had died and was looking at her with its large eyes as if pleading.

"Sister, do you have any food?" he asked. "I am very hungry…"

"Uh...I do!" Ailee exclaimed. She always carried some food with her for wandering spirits who might be hungry.

"But I need a place to purify it," she said in a gentle tone.

"Sister, can you purify it for us all?" he requested.

"All?"

The boy pointed behind him. A few more children appeared. They were all under ten years old, sullen and sad but harmless. The children were souls who wandered the temple for food. 

These children must have died in that fire, she realized. Seeing their state broke her heart. But there was something wrong. Ghosts usually simulated the state they died in. If someone was stabbed, they would appear with a large gash on his or her torso.

However, these children did not carry burn marks. In fact, all of them had a thin cut on their necks as if someone had cut their throats. How was that possible?

"Sister?" the boy's ghost called her. 

"Ah yes! Food! Let's see…"

She glanced around and found a flat area where she could perform the food purification ritual. Sitting on it, she drew a circle using a chalk stick which she found in her bag and placed a box of dumplings in the middle. Clasping her hands together, she did a small prayer.

The children watched in awe as the food momentarily lit up. The food was now purified for their souls.

"Please have some," Ailee offered. Instantly, the sullen ghosts squealed in delight and began to eat the dumplings. They broke the dumplings, sharing it among themselves. For once, they did not look like ghosts but rather innocent children who ended up leaving the world too soon.

Who would do this to these innocent souls? She wondered.

"What is your name?" She asked them. The boy ghost who approached her spoke first.

"My name is Hwayoung!" he squeaked. "And this is Ola…"

A timid looking girl in pigtails smiled at her.

"...Injing…"

A chubby boy grinned at Ailee.

"...Hoon…"

A short, dark haired boy waved at her.

"...And she is Moona. She's also the youngest one among us."

A shy girl glanced at Ailee but immediately looked down. She was hardly five years old and seemed to have been killed very recently which made Ailee frown a little. This place had been abandoned for years. Then how come these children were killed and that too so recently. Was it the demon's doing?

She watched the children eat their fill. Finally, they were satisfied and full. Thankfully, Ailee had brought a large box full of dumplings for them so there was enough for the spirits.

"Sister, what are you doing here?" Hwayoung asked. "It is dangerous for someone like you to be here!"

Ailee was shining so brightly in their eyes that they could tell she was not an ordinary person. Her aura was different from the other humans who wandered there. Not only was she shining but she was also harmless which meant that she would not try to attack them.

"I am looking for something," Ailee told them. "But tell me something, children. How did you all end up here in this state?"

The tiny ghosts glanced at each other as if they were confused as well.

"Sister, we do not know," Hoon said in a sad tone. 

"Yes...we happened to have wandered here and lost consciousness," Injing added. "Then we woke up as ghosts."

Ailee was shocked. Woke up as ghosts?

"If it was not for Magrod, we would have been taken away by the mean priests!" Ola added.

"Mean priests?" Ailee questioned them.

"The p-priests f-f-from o-other temples!" Moona squeaked. 

"Sometimes, the priests from other temples come here and try to capture ghosts," Hwayoung revealed. "To take our souls."

"Are you saying that they try to purify your souls?" Ailee supplied.

"No sister," Hwayoung said, shaking his head. "They take our souls captive. One of them nearly succeeded in taking Moona away. If it was not for Magrod, she would have been captured by the evil priests!"

Ailee was now in a deep thought. She had heard that there was a group of priests who went missing in this mountainous area because of the demon. But to think that they were looking for souls...why?

Unbeknownst to her, she was being watched from afar by a pair of red eyes. The large creature was observing the unsuspecting woman. He was hiding his presence from her, wary of the human who was shining brighter than the others he had killed. His glares pierced through her, waiting to attack the human who dared to stray into his realm.

"Who is Magrod?" Ailee asked. "Your friend?"

"Magrod is our best friend!" Moona squealed. She was shy but whenever someone spoke about Magrod, she would become unusually lively.

"He is a good soul," Hwayoung nodded. "Grumpy but he protects us. Even tries to bring us food but he cannot purify it. But he is sweet."

Ailee was now even more confused. She had only heard rumors of a demon haunting this area. But who was this Magrod?

"Children," she began. "Is there any demon which is haunting this place?"

Hwayoung was about to tell her something when he stopped. A large shadow appeared behind Ailee. She suddenly felt a chill down her spine and swiftly turned around only to gasp in horror.

A gigantic three headed dog was glaring at her. Its heads were emitting smoke and a foul stench of rotten eggs. A long, curly tail was swaying behind it ready to strangle her with it. 

But it was the wings which scared her the most. The wings were spread up to fifty feet in width and the demon could probably stretch them even wider if he wanted to. She eyed the raven shaped wings which could slice her down in a second if she did not dodge.

Ailee sprang to her feet, shielding the children with her hands.

"Children, hide behind me!" she ordered, not flinching from the glaring red eyes of the monster. The demon let out a foul exhale, glowering at her in anger. He let out an ear piercing roar which almost made Ailee's ears bleed. She was more worried about the children rather than herself, trying to push them away from harm.

But Moona slipped through and ran towards the demon.

"Magrod!" she squeaked and hugged one of the demon's hind legs. Ailee was frozen to her spot and she stared at the demon who was grumpily allowing the child to hug him.

Magrod? He is Magrod? She realized. Magrod is a demon!