The anniversary of my mother's death fell on Mother's day. At first I tried to spend it as a normal day watching TV in my empty apartment, but that didn't feel right.
Empty...empty....
A vast space with nothing in it encircled me with its gray prison walls. I had to sell a lot of furniture and other items to secure my living expenses. There were only a few mementos of my mother left in a box I sealed away and hid from sight. Looking at them made me want to cry every time.
I wondered what was more empty, myself or the apartment? In order to disperse negative thoughts I continued to watch TV.
"Make your mom happy. Buy these exclusive flowers for just one hund,"I switched off the TV commercials.
This year's commercials for gifts were out of control, but I still caught myself looking at them. I should also make a purchase. Buy flowers and leave them at her grave. Although mom wasn't here anymore, and I couldn't pray anymore, at I could send her my regards with them.
My cellphone suddenly rang in an anime melody. It was a popular anime, but its overly happy tune didn't fit my situation. I did like it, but I couldn't listen to it anymore, so I quickly answered.
"Hello," I said.
"Hi, Leon! I'm calling about yesterday's assignment. Did you start?"
"Yes, I did. In fact, I already finished."
"You're a miracle worker, Leon. How did you find the time since we played Warfare battles almost all night?"
"I worked on it when all of you guys went offline," I calmly said.
"Seriously, man? When did you find the time? Don't tell me you worked at four o'clock? How do you have all the energy?" my friend had a lot of questions.
"I tend to wake up early," I said shortly as I remembered my younger day. My mother used to wake me up very early every morning to pray. The rest of the world was still sleeping, but I had to read the sacred texts and recite the most important parts. I don't do that anymore, but the habit of waking up early was still around.
"Really? I barely woke up this morning. My mom was yelling at me so I had to," he said. "By the way, today is Mother's Day. Did you already buy flowers for your mom or something like that? I totally forgot and my mom can get vengeful. I should go to a store," he could talk for hours without stopping.
We were in the same classes but he didn't know my family circumstances and that was completely okay. A lot of people attending the university lived alone.
"I'll send you the assignment to copy. I've gotta go now,"I cut off the conversation.
"Okay. I guess you're busy Leon. Thank you for the copy. I'll do my best so that the professor doesn't find out. You know how annoying he can get,"my friend really liked talking.
"I need to end the conversation. See you tomorrow,"I turned off my cellphone.
As I was laying down the phone on the table I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Somehow, looking at myself in the mirror always made me happy. I had a normal reflection like everybody else. It was proof that I wasn't a monster. My complexion was very pale, but it was no wonder since I stayed up all night long. It should get back to a normal, healthier look during the day. My short black hair was completely messy so I used my hands to fix it. There were big black bags under my red eyes, but after I put my glasses on they were less visible.
My eyesight was fine, but I didn't feel calm when going out without glasses. They made my red eyes less visible and people wouldn't stare at me too much. Having red eyes wasn't a big deal, but it was very rare so it's no wonder people were shocked when they saw it.
I quickly put on a clean black-blue shirt, a pair of clean trousers and went outside.
Today was one of my rare, lucky, free days. I didn't have classes in my university and I didn't have a shift for my part-time job. On days such as these I would usually stay at home, study, watch anime or play games, but now I was on my way to the flower store.
The big store wasn't busy and I quickly bought what I wanted. A big bouquet of uniquely triangle shaped white flowers. My mom's favorite. They were pure and fragile just like my mom was.
Every year I bought the same flowers and left them at the grave without saying a word because I couldn't pray. Dead people couldn't talk back so even if I said something I'd be pointless, but I had to show my appreciation in some way.
"Hello there, sir. Would you be interested in buying this special toothpaste?"a street vendor called out to me.
"I'm not interested,"I said as I averted my gaze.
"That's truly a shame sir, because this one is,"the vendor tried to negotiate.
I quickly passed by without saying a word. Nobody else stopped me and I fastened my peace. I wanted to get over my ritual of passing the flowers quietly.
Thu sun became very bright and I felt like it was slowly burning the skin on my face. The hot sunshine spread all around and lightened even the darkest corners. I wished for gray clouds that would color the sky in black but there wasn't a single single cloud. Rain wouldn't be bad also.
I could hear innocent laughter of children from a nearby playground. They were playing without a care in the world as they should. Children are supposed to be carefree, but I was different due to my messed up family circumstances. I used to beg my mom to let me play but she rarely responded to my pleas. She wasn't perfect and neither am I. My mom did what she thought was right. If only she wasn't so gullible maybe we could have been a bit happier.
Before I even realized that I arrived at my destination I absentmindedly stood in front of the graveyard. Moss-laden marble pillars in the shape of lions stood as guards on both sides of the cemetery threshold. Behind old, iron gates were rows of crumbling gravestones. I felt a cold wind and shivered a bit. It wasn't an actual wind because the grass and the tree branches didn't move. It was my psychological cold I felt whenever I visited this place.
The place was completely silent and still but to me it echoed in a painful grief.
"Mom," I let out a whisper.
I walked to her grave almost in a haze. Maybe my guilt was acting up. I didn't give her the burial she wanted. There was no grand religious ceremony she desired. In fact there was no religious ceremony at all. It was a small burial that only I and the graveyard workers attended.
Maybe religion wasn't bad and it was a good thing, but everything was messed up in my case. My mother was a medium and through her prayers she attracted all kind of things. If she didn't have any powers she would have probably lived a normal life and religion wouldn't make any problems.
As I left her favorite flowers on the ground I almost whispered sorry. She was praying until the bitter end and I was arguing with her because her prayers often called forth a nasty demon.
That demon had the audacity to call itself god and she believed him. He managed to get her pregnant and something unnatural was born. Me, her son, who wasn't completely human. Despite my strange abilities she loved me and brought many exorcists to cure me, but since I wasn't a normal human from the very beginning there was nothing they could do.
At least her death was natural. She had a rare heart disease that couldn't be cured. No unnatural forces caused her death but they tormented her all the time when she was alive.
"Leon," I heard a voice in my head.
"Leon!" it called out to me again. I froze at the spot. The voice was familiar but I didn't hear it for the last ten years. It was the demon. The last time I exchanged words with him was the day my mother died.
"It's a shame what happened to Pandora," the demon said."Leon, my son, you..."
"Shut up!"I yelled loudly as I could."I never considered the likes of you to be my father."
"Don't you dare to talk back to me. Know your place!"the demon warned me.
"Don't hide like a coward and show yourself," I feigned bravery.
The demon didn't answer me but my surroundings became different and the atmosphere completely changed. In a way everything was the same and yet different. The world colors became that of a negative photography. The light areas became dark and respectively the darkest areas appear lightest. Everything was messed up.
I was completely alone in the negative layer, as I used to call the strange dimension. The demon and me were the only living entities. Everything else around was dead. In this negative layer the demon would show me ts true, gruesome form, but this time he wasn't visible. I felt its presence in front of me but his material form wasn't there.
"Leon. I know that you're angry at me because of your mother's death but there was nothing I could do. Her souls is in a better place," the demon said.
"I know that and I congratulate you for not devouring her soul, but I won't forget how you tortured her while she was alive," I openly said.
"Leon, I loved her and I know that you're lonely," the demon softly said. Those words were obviously a lie. Demons couldn't feel human emotions but were great at pretending and convincing others. Even if there existed a different demon who could feel emotions, the one in front of me was only cruel and calculating. It was as an existence I knew for twenty years. There was nothing good about it.
"Get to the point," I urged it.
"Before I met your mother I was all alone for a millennia. I know how loneliness feels." the demon wanted to earn pity points.
"The best thing you could have done for her was leaving her alone," I said.
"But I loved her," the demon lied.
If I had a gun and the demon could have been hurt by it I would have shot him dead. In my younger days I tried to fight it but I couldn't even scratch it with human tools. He always paid me back and left me half death but mom would call an ambulance and they would fix my body.
My demon form was out in the open. I felt that my little horns grew out and a colorful miasma surrounded me. The atmosphere it created hurt my mom, but it did nothing to the demon. At a very young age I learnt not to show my demon nature in front of mom, not only did my touch in this form hurt her physically, the psychological damage was immense. She would look at me like I destroyed her whole world, her whole meaning of existence.
"Weak! Completely weak! You're so weak Leon," the demon said."I'm almost embarrassed that you're my offspring, but I can make you stronger."
I let out an ironic laugh."Why would you make me stronger?" The demon never brought me anything except for pain.
"If you let me control your body for a while..."
"So that's your aim!"I interrupted the demon."I found it rather odd that I didn't see your material form. You've lost it and now you need a body."
"Don't look down at me, puny little weakling. As if I'd need anything from the likes of you. This was just a favor to you."
Despite its words of negation the demon's presence came closer to me but my murderous aura stopped it. I'd rather burn myself alive that let the demon win and take control over me.
"I expected you'd put up a resistance," the demon said as it focused all of its attention towards me.
He was going to attack me with his full strength and there was nowhere to run. I prepared myself for the worst. If I survive this frontal attack I'll use the...
Crimson. The sky and the ground were dyed in the same red colour. Everything was bloody. The atmosphere made me want to throw up. The demon teleported me here for some reason. If he wanted to kill me he would have already done it.
I was lying down in the creepy dirty liquid. It stained my fingers and my clothes. My hair must have been dyed in the colours of this world too. It always turned white after my demon transformation. I couldn't bare to look at it and stood up as quickly as I could.
"Welcome brother!" A strange guy my age showed up in front of me.
He was smiling creepily but appeared to be human. At least more human than I was. He had a human form and only faintly gave off a demonic scent. His eyes were red like mine, but his long hair seemed to be naturally black. He was dressed in medieval royal clothes of crimson and black.
"What is this place?" I didn't want to waste any time in this world.
"A new demonic stronghold in making," the guy happily said."I am prince Lucius. What is your name, brother?"
"Leon! And I'm not your bother," Prince Lucius's face immediately twisted in displeasure.
"This is the kind of treatment I get for being kind to commoners," he furrowed his brows."I was only being polite because we share the same ancestor."
"But that demon can't be your father. I can feel that you're more human then me. A few generations passed before the mix with demon blood," I said my observation.
The guy stretched out his hand towards me and some malicious demonic creatures made from dark fog ripped my clothes and my skin. It hurt but I've been through worse pain. He was serious about killing me. I had to repel Lucius's attacks and try not to kill him.
First I'll need to deal with the lesser demon he called forth and then deal with the source. I stood tall and proud while focusing on making my demonic aura stronger. The creatures backed off and stopped attacking. It was no surprise because to those low level demons even a half blood like me was a high level demon.
"Go on, my pets, deal with him already," Lucius commanded.
He called those faceless, foggy creatures pets. A pet is a cute animal, like a dog or a cat. Not a dangerous entity of pure evil. I had the urge to punch his face. Those creatures didn't have a consciousness of their own. They were malice in a physical form.
"What are you waiting for pets?" Lucius urged them but they were too weak for me.
"Don't underestimate real demon blood," I yelled.
They knew it would be better to get away from me but since there were bound by contract with Lucius they couldn't escape. I simply clasped my hands through them while focusing my demonic miasma to make their fog dissolve.
"What?" Lucius looked at me with his eyes pooped out.
"They know with whom they shouldn't mess with,"
"How? You didn't do anything," Lucius blinked with disbelief.
I stretched my arms and legs after getting rid of the smalls creatures. It felt good to move my body after draining some of my demonic mental energy. Its been a while since I used my demon powers but I didn't get rusty.
Some of the exorcist hired to purity me used to do so much more damage to my body, but I survived their torture. These creatures were no challenge.
Lucius didn't budge from is position as I approached him.
"Do you have anything else to send at me?" I asked.
Lucius stood still on the same spot as though he was made of stone. He was sure of his victory, too sure, so that he couldn't comprehend his current loss.
"No answer...it seems it's just you and me now," I said when I stopped in front of him.
I focused my demonic aura that damaged the living in its area. It worked on Lucius without any problem. He clutched his hand and made grimaces of pain even though I used only half of my strengthen.
"What...what is this?" he painfully said.
"A real demon can hurt anything alive in its close area. Do you really want to be a creature like that?" I asked him as I increased my power to teach him a lesson.
"I...of..."the pain was too much for him to speak.
This was enough. I walked away from the poor prince. He said something incomprehensible but I didn't care. I hope we don't meet again.
"Wait!" he painfully yelled but I didn't want to turn back.
As I walked away I sensed the presence of my demon ancestor. I quickly turned around to see that Lucius was on the ground after being struck by lightning. He was still alive but suffered big injuries.
"You!" I angrily turned around.
"The plan was to make you two fight to see who is better," the demons voice resounded."Lucius was clearly outmatched, even with demonic help couldn't land a single scratch. Pathetic."
"You are pathetic!" I said.
Lucius wasn't dear to me. It was quite the opposite but this demon infuriated me. Lucius might be a terrible person, but he was still a person. A human. Demons should leave humans alone. If this demon hadn't tempted this human he might have lived a normal life, but Lucius now, went into a crazy direction. The small part of demonic blood in him could already be washed in his next generation of descendants.
"Why are you so messed up in the head, Leon!" the demon angered me."Why can't you accept the nature gifts granted to you by your special birth?"
"And be like you? No, thanks," I answered."A demon of death and destruction bringing forth calamity will never be an option."
"You could have everyone dancing on the palm of your hand," the demon said."You could get everything you ever wanted or will want through power. Power, wealth, control, love, friendship...whatever you wish for could be yours."
"Not interested."
Lucius tried to get up and mumbled something. Couldn't he read the atmosphere? It was a bad timing for him to do anything.
„Shut up, Lucius! You're too weak. Losers should stay on the ground," The demon struck Lucius with lightning again.
This time Lucius fell flat at the ground and stopped moving at all. At first I was afraid that the demon killed him, but I noticed that he was still breathing.
„Both of you are worthless," the demon declared."But at least Lucius can be controlled."
I felt that the demon's presence became stronger and its focus point was on Lucius's body. His body unnaturally rose up. He looked at me with a hollow look with completely black eyes. The demon possessed him.
"Leon!" his voice was a mix of his own and the demons.
"Get out of Lucius! He might be a terrible guy but he is human," I said.
"Humans! Human this. Human that. It's always the same with you." the demon burped."Why are you so obsessed with humans and being human? If humans knew your true nature you'd get kicked out of any society you'd try to live in."
"That's..." not true I wanted to say, but he got a few points right.
"You know I am right," the obsessed Lucius laughed creepily.
"No! I am human!" I said in an angrier tone that I thought I would.
"What a lie," he laughed at my words.
"Sometimes a lie can become the truth," I said.
"What kind of nonsense are you talking about?" the demon asked.
"A human wanting to be a human and behaving like a human can only be a human," I explained.
The demon had enough of me and called forth lightning upon me but my demonic aura protected me from his attack. At the exact second his first plan failed he strongly hit me with his legs on the knees to make me fall but I only stumbled and regained my firm posture. I grabbed the possessed Lucius by the neck.
"What with these weak attacks? What do you want?" I snapped at the demon.
"Do it! Break Lucius's neck," he wanted to lure me into crime."Every human can become a demon. You are no exception."
"No," I moved my hands from his neck.
What was I even trying to do? I don't want to hurt anyone. As a law student I should behave better. I should be in the service of justice.
"You're even more pathetic than Lucius. Leon, you could have beaten me easily yet your strange beliefs and pride work hand in hand with your doom," Lucius's face twisted in the demon's wrath.
He quickly kicked my stomach with his left leg. It was such a strong attack that I almost threw up. Before I fell he grabbed my hair with such force that I thought he was gonna pull it out all and he punched me in the face. I fell to the ground. His movements were too quick for me to do a counter attack.
"See, even this puny, fragile body possessed by me can beat you easily," the demon gloated.
I knew I was no match for an ancient powerful demon. Even though he lost some of his former strength for a mere human like me he was no match. I felt so much malice from my so called father. Its anger levels were at its highest.
Luciu's leg was in front of my face. He must have planed crushing my skull. I'll leave the world of living and join my late mother. Such a thing wasn't a bad ending. If those religions scripts were right death was a salvation. I could become free from all of this pain and sadness.
Lucius's leg was slowly moving to kick my face. Its motions were oddly slow. Old memories flashed trough my eyes. Mother being overjoyed by my crappy children scratching. The delicious cake we ate for my tenth birthday. Introducing me to a girl whom my mother wanted to become a girlfriend and the worst date ever. The time I ran away from home because I wanted to spend more time with normal kids. The times I argued with my mom to abandon her toxic beliefs. Mom's terrified face when she saw my demon form. The malicious demon who suddenly appeared before me and called himself my father. The death of my mother. The faces of strangers claiming to be my relatives. Their emotionless reactions to my grief. Locking myself in a room. A silly anime that made me laugh from my heart. Making friends on an online game. Talking with them about all the funny and interesting ideas I ever had. Putting the expensive stuff I owned for auction. Getting a job at a restaurant to secure my living expenses. Getting accepted in the university and making a lot of contacts. Enjoying spending times with friends.
My life wasn't all sad. There were fun moments and there were some dear friends I made along the way. This demon in front of me wanted to take away everything from me. I was probably cursed since birth because he was the one who made me but he won't stop at destroying me. He wanted to destroy everything in his sight. I won't allow it.
He mustn't win. If I am to die I might as well try to use all of my strength. There is an ancient demonic custom where one demon would eat another one to become powerful. Ironically I read it in mom's scriptures. I'll try to suck some of his power into me before my existence ceases. That way someone else will have an easier time killing it.
I closed my eyes before my impending doom and strengthened my demonic aura. For a moment I'll need to forget myself and become like him. It was a fight of our spirits, mental energies.
Eat.
Steal.
Take away.
Take and never give back because it must become a part of me. The demon was shocked by my actions. It didn't show resistance at first.
Power.
Mine.
I grabbed a part of his power, spiritual energy and didn't let it go. Once I had it in me I grabbed for even more. The demon showed resistance and hurt me in my weak points but as a rabid dog I didn't let go of his spirit energy.
The power was overflowing. I was becoming stronger each second. It was such an estatic feeling. More. Give me more power! This is great! I want it all.
I never held this much power but I wanted more. Laughing echoed. It sounded like my voice but I kept my mouth shut. Laughter was getting stronger and my hands were streched out to the sky. I wasn't controlling my body anymore. Taking in the demon's power made it take control of me.
Lucius came into my point of view.
"Father!"he cried out to me.
Did the demon take me over? Yes and no. Since I still have thought of my own it didn't consume me fully and I was so hugry. I could feel the demon's lust for power but there was mine lust there too.
What I need to do is eat him first. Eat or get eaten. I won't be the prey.
"Leon? Father?"I could only see a blurry figure in front of me speaking a few familiar words among gibberish.
Ah, it hurt so much, but getting power was great. Darkness swallowed me but I didn't mind. With this much power nothing could ever bother me. I felt some pain but it was minor. Give me pore power.
A sharp pain struck me but it didn't bother me.
The pain wasn't strong enough but it gradually started consuming me.
"Stop!!!"a female voice resounded.
Mom? Darkness dissipated but I still couldn't see anything in front of me. She would always stop my fights. Mother was a like a small ray of lighting in the cruel darkness of the world.
"Stop already!!!"the voice couldn't get any louder. It wasn't her. Of course it couldn't have been her.
As I slowly came back to my sense I felt a light kick on my stomach.
"This is for hurting my brother," I looked at her. She was younger than me and Lucius but had our red eyes. It was her proof as another one of the demon's offsprings.
I came back to my senses and felt that the demon left me. It ran away but left me a lot of its power. The one devouring was actually me. If it went on I would have taken all of its power and became a fully fledged demon.
"Thank you," I smiled at the red haired girl. She turned away from me and I looked at her beautiful green dress
"What? Are all half demons creepy?" she looked back at me with disgust.
"If you hadn't stop me I would have..."
"Shut up! You're in the presence of a royal princess, Hestia!" she screamed."Lucius is the future king! Know your place!"
"Both the brother and the sister have a terrible personality I see," I laughed as I said that. There wasn't anything funny but I was relieved I came back to my senses. Hestia wasn't my ally but she accidentally saved me. I'll be in her debt.
She ran to her brother and tended his wounds. I wanted to leave but I should help her.
"Hestia, nothing good can come out of seeking demons. You should stop your brother."
"I know that, but..." she cried and wouldn't look at me.
If Lucius wouldn't listen to reason I could just get rid off all of his demons. I stepped closer to Lucius while manifesting my full demonic aura.
"Don't come closer!" Hestia stood proudly in front of me with her weak demonic aura.
There was no point in fighting. I shook my head, turned my back to them and walked away. My true enemy was gone, the demon's powers were almost all mine. I'll keep them safe and the demon should cease to exist on its own. If it doesn't find a suitable host it won't be able to regenerate itself forever. Since I was out of the picture and Hestia will try to keep Lucius away, the one who grabbed victory was me but I didn't feel good. I guess I'll head back and watch anime.
Hestia yelled something to me but I didn't listen. I don't want to be involved with demons or half-demons anymore.
"I'll never became a real demon," I murmured the old promise to my mother and I returned to the human world.