Daughter of the Radio Demon: The Lilting Huntress (Father Figure! Alastor × OC)

06: They're only human

Growling as she walked away, the lioness demon stormed to her room and slammed the door shut, muttering curses of a few languages that no one knew about. "Jalang bodoh, mengira dia tahu segalanya..."

Back in the lobby, Charlie had Vaggie come with her to talk privately about the situation. Husker continued to drink his booze and Angel had to answer a call from his boss. Niffty found a hell-bug and instantly went to try and stab it with her sewing needle. Yet, the thing was concerning, other than Aria's tantrum just then, was the sudden absence of the Radio Demon. It seemed like after the "show" had ended, Alastor morphed into a shadow and went off to God knows where. Where could he have gone to?

It was only a matter of time before the sulking big feline in her room heard a knock at her door. Sniffing and wiping away some of the tears that fell from her eyes, Aria grumbled beneath her breath. "Go away." She said.

"My dear, it's only me. Care to have a little chat?"

The static of Alastor's voice shifted like a radio switching stations, and his haunting yet charming presence seemed to ooze out from the cracks of the door.

Reluctantly, Aria opened the door to see the stag staring down at her with a soft grin. Unlike his usual perma-smile, this one seemed more gentle, and maybe kind? She couldn't tell.

"I'm sorry, Alastor, I don't feel like talking now. But thank you for your concern." She mumbled, trying to fake a smile and pretend everything was okay. Seeing this, Alastor's smile tightened, but continued to stay soft.

"Oh no, my dear. No, no, no, this won't do at all." He chimed, clicking his tongue while shaking his head. Placing a gloved hand on Aria's shoulder, Alastor tilted his head and bent down slightly to reach her eye-level. "Let me tell you something, sweetheart, a fake smile is uglier than any tear-filled face. Absolutely horrendous, not a bit of authenticity. However, it is a useful mechanism to keep your enemies guessing."

The lioness demon sighed, letting her smile fall and refused to look into those pools of red coming from his eyes. Aria crossed her arms after adjusting her spectacles.

Noticing her silence, Alastor's smile became a bit more mischievous, but stayed gentle. "You know, I certainly agreed with you there when you had that unique showdown with Vaggie. There is nothing more difficult than a life in which you're forced to go to the extremities just to survive. I can relate to that."

"You... you do?" Aria asked, her ears perking up in surprise. "Really?" Alastor snickered at the lioness demon's curiosity and nodded, continuing his speech.

"Why, of course! You don't possibly think that I gained my title from singing and having tea with other Overlords, do you? Oh no, sweetheart, I worked my way up here. Walk with me, darling." He chuckled, leading Aria out of her room to continue talking.

"This place was nothing short of merciless during my time, and it certainly never changed. I took soul after soul, wretch after wretch, and everyone who dared to disrespect me? Hah! Let's just say that my broadcasts never ceased to have new screams..." He said ominously.

Aria looked up at Alastor with wide eyes of admiration instead of fear. Sure, she was intimidated, but on the other hand she was amazed how much the Radio Demon had to do to earn his title. "Woah, that's well, that's cool! I've always wondered how you rose to power. It seems like you're quite the enigma as well, Alastor."

"Oho! You are quite the flatterer, Aria. But what I'm trying to imply is; you and I, we're not so different. We are killers, predators of predators." Alastor replied, hooting with laughter and patting Aria's hair gently. "So wipe those tears away, my dear! What's the use of crying?"