What Is Love? | My Inner Demons x Reader

Chapter 25: Ava and (Y/n)'s Demon Boyfriends

~Third Person PoV~

Lady Bish follows her small spirit companion down a trail of dirt and stone. The woods were silent and dark as the two traveled to the home of the last soul-bearing human and the only source of magic on Daemos. Zex stops in his tracks, turns around to face Bish, and meows at Bish. Bish, able to understand spirit-speak, replies, "For this outing, I refuse to allow anyone to escort me. This secret is entrusted only to the royal family. It would be foolish of me to lose trust over this, especially with the old hag who already has her judgements about me..." She huffs, the mere thought of Lady Grandma becoming an annoyance.

Zex turns away from her and continues to lead her down the path. Their walk continued until they reached a small cottage with stone walls and a dark, wooden roof. There were purple stone pillars placed strategically in a ring around the building, all of which connected by a band of purple magic. It was a shield to keep Daemos away from the human.

Bish stops in front of the barrier and smells the air. "Something is wrong here..." She notes, before picking up a stick and prodding at the magic with a quizzical expression. "A... fake seal?" Her teal eyes widen and she turns back towards her companion. "That can't be... the magic seal is broken... Wh-Which means..."

The Daemos woman doesn't wait another moment before she runs through the faux shield, Zex trailing behind her.

Inside of the home, there were signs of a struggle, furniture and appliances strewn about the main room. There were burn marks all over the walls, floor, and even some furniture. "No..." Bish mutters in terror. "No no no no no! Someone came here which means the last soul is gone!"

Zex meows at her again, standing beside a ring of ashes and burn marks on the floor and wall. Bish looks over, rage in her eyes. "What?!" She steps closer and takes a knee to better examine the charred marks and carnage. "An excessive amount of fire magic was used here..." Her brow furrows and a low growl escapes her lips. "Asch..." She stands up again. "No wonder that old hag has been dismissive; She's covering for whatever happened here." She turns away from the ruined home and exits the barrier. Zex follows, as per usual. "This is asinine, it's obvious Asch is trying to outrun his duty to his kingdom... but this makes no sense." She holds her hand over her mouth as she thinks. "Why would Asch take the last soul and go into hiding? Why would Lady Grandma cover this up? She's the former queen. She'd have to have gone mad to allow the magic of Daemos to run dry."

Zex meows once again and she looks down to him. "No. Telling the council will only place suspicion on me. I need undeniable evidence before I bring this to anyone... and in order to do that, I need to find out where Asch is." Her tone becomes more authoritative and she begins to walk back down the trail, her elegant gown fluttering behind her. "Come. We're getting to the bottom of this."

~~~

Meanwhile, in the apartment, the small spirit cat was sleeping peacefully on the kitchen counter after Ava, (Y/n), Pierce, and Noi had left, when she was awoken by magic, loud footsteps, and Rhys' voice in the palace. "Hold on a moment, Asch!"

The remaining three Daemos boys ran out of the palace, still dressed in their human clothes, and with their horns visible. "What?!" Asch argues, irritable as ever.

"We should trust Noi to court Ava!" Rhys states.

Asch huffs at his suggestion. "Why are we trusting Noi with such a task? This isn't something we can play around with here!"

Rhys frowns. "Wh-While I do admit, it would be better if it were someone would could trust more with Ava-"

"And the best person to trust would be myself." Asch claims, confidently.