Chapter Music: "Stormfrost Manor" by Brandon Fiechter
Despite having reverted to his semi-demon form, Astaroth was on the edge of insanity. If only he hadn't succumbed to her challenges. If only he hadn't acted like a mindless beast. His desire to intimidate her had skewed his judgment, rendering him blind to his surroundings. Sophia had been taken away and he was currently too powerless to use almost any kind of black magic since transforming into his true form had called for a massive amount of energy. The two most unfortunate scenarios had occurred at the same time. The only solution was to trust his daggers and wish he could find her in time.
Of course, she won't use her necklace this time, he assumed. This is the perfect chance for her to leave me. But there's no way I'm making this easy.
He used up the remnants of his mana to locate the nearest living soul so that he could devour it. Running around in that vast territory should be avoided at any cost. He only had his physical skills to rely on. After a while, he spotted a human with low levels of dark power on his far left and a demon in the opposite direction. Drastic situations called for drastic measures. He would go for the demon, even though they would be much harder to defeat. To him, nothing could be too difficult.
Only a demon can provide me with the power I need to save her, he thought knitting his brows. He would never think twice about sacrificing anyone for the purpose of securing her well-being. Whoever it is that has to die, she's worth so much more.
Since there was no way he couldn't make a sound when he was in a hurry and out in the forest, he decided to run straight to his victim. And so he did.
The other demon, certainly, wasn't late to discover that she'd been targeted and chose to counterattack instead of trying to make a run for it. She was rather confident in her skills and could use a new source of power that would strengthen her. But before she charged at her attacker, she recognized his familiar figure.
Why is the Demon King hunting in such an inefficient way? She wondered in agitation and did her best to ignore the sharp chill down her spine. She had to renew her shaken resolve and fight him with all her might; it was too late for her to go back. If she was lucky enough, whatever it was that prevented him from making the most of his full potential could be used to her advantage.
Astaroth was not surprised when the female demon vanished into thin air. He could tell that was meant for a surprise attack and not for her to find a way to escape. Pretty reckless, he thought and the only thing which kept him from smirking was the memory of his lover being abducted by that demon. Teleportation would be her wisest choice if she was capable of performing it.
For a few moments, nothing disturbed the dead silence of the forest yet the mutual malicious intent rendered this silence especially thunderous. The man was sure that she was somewhere near him but couldn't yet tell where she would appear and launch an attack from. Thus he stood seemingly stoic but always alert for the moment she would choose to be 'the right time'. Hurry up, idiot. I don't have all day.
Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long. A few seconds later, the female demon who had climbed on the trunk of a tree right above him made an appearance and aimed for his head. She wouldn't use any physical violence, of course. It was just that spells were most effective when cast directly onto one's head.
She should have expected, though, that no matter how swiftly she attempted to strike, her opponent's skill was simply unmatched. He was able to spot her exact location –even before she took a solid form– and thrust one of his daggers straight into her forehead, pinning her to the tree. Not giving her a slight chance to react, he swiftly used his longer knife to tear through her torso and chop off her arms to prevent her from attacking again. The King stared icily at the creature he had just butchered and grabbed her face with his free hand.
To his surprise, the woman was even more foolish than he had initially expected. The moment she bit his hand was the moment that finally killed her. The few drops of his black venom didn't even have to reach her throat.
Astaroth rolled his eyes as he started devouring her energy unimpeded. Didn't she know that my blood has poison? This crude idiot must have been raised in a village.
A few moments later, the familiar delight was overflowing within him. Yes, he thought, closing his eyes. This is definitely worth it. Now I'm ready to find her.
Since it was a demon he had killed, he didn't doubt he was able to find Sophia rather quickly. It was what he would witness there that he didn't like thinking. Not giving another glance at the corpse he had just left bare, he removed his weapon from its skull, tossing the mutilated skeleton on the ground.
Once more, he concentrated on his partner's necklace in order to locate her, just like he had done the previous time. If he was lucky, her kidnapper wouldn't have moved to another dimension in order to hide. That would take more time.
But before he had time to carry out his plan, he heard an impish voice in his head, one that he knew all too well.
"I hope I'm not interrupting your meal, Your Majesty."
"Unless you know the reason behind my meal, don't bother to speak to me again," Astaroth thought in disdain.
"Oh but I do in fact know, my dear friend." The smile on his face was not hard to imagine.
Astaroth didn't waste any more time in pointless conversation. The former Demon King immediately returned to his previous residence: his forsaken kingdom.
~~~
My long sleep ended abruptly, even before I opened my eyes. The scent surrounding me was far too intimate to remain calm and behave like nothing had happened. Although that was not what I wanted, I was immediately filled with joy. I was by his side again which meant that he was in danger.
Maybe I should just accept the fact that there's nothing for me to do. Maybe I should treasure each moment with him as if it will be the last. And hope for a miracle. I trust he will do his best to stay with me. Because how is he supposed to protect me if he's not even here?
"Get back to sleep, smartass," Astaroth lovingly whispered in my ear, shocking me even further. He sounded... gentle.
I was well aware of the change in my surroundings – the classy, velvet colored bedroom we were in was certainly eye-catching and there was a muffled noise in the background I couldn't yet distinguish. But he was the only thing I could focus on at that moment. He was in his human form and was embracing me, wearing that usual smirk on his face. We were together, safe and sound.
"Guess you won't be drooling all over me anymore," he added after sensing that I didn't intend to sleep. "Are you afraid of me?"
My embarrassment beat any attempt at serious conversation as I broke free from his arms, moving even farther. "W-was I dr–"
"Don't evade the question," he dragged me a little forcefully close to him again.
"I..."
I didn't know where to start. Sure, he hadn't hurt me this time either, but maybe some stubborn part of me still wasn't convinced that he was completely harmless. Maybe he had known that I never truly intended to make him angry and that was why he held back. But that wasn't only it. I had forced my desire to find out the truth about him at that exact place and moment that I put us both in danger and I hurt his feelings. The whole situation just wasn't worth it.
"Astaroth," a broken voice was all that came out of my mouth as I hugged him with all my might.
Beyond anything else, I couldn't be more grateful that we were together. That was what my narrow-minded and greedy self was feeling. And, surprisingly, he accepted my reaction without any questions or remarks – for now. Because I knew I would have to explain myself eventually. I also wanted to hear him out.
"If you're hungry, I can arrange a private dinner," I heard him talking softly in my head.
That's right. Speaking like this wasn't that overwhelming. But his suggestion had made me consider where in the world we were and why I was wearing that revealing nightgown. Thankfully, I was under the bed sheets and no one could see me. Well, except for Astaroth.
"No, I'd like to stay here with you, if possible. Unless you want to eat," I thought, answering him.
"I'll stay with you. As I said, feel free to go back to sleep. There's nothing for you to be afraid of now."
"Will you sleep too?"
"Do you mind if I take my clothes off?"
Thank God he couldn't see my face – because his words startled me.
"No, go ahead," I replied anyway.
He then stood up and started undressing. When I instinctively glanced at him, I immediately regretted it. What a shallow act. Sophia, you're gross!
"What about me makes you angry?" Astaroth said out loud in an interested tone as he went on removing his trousers as well.
"I'm just mad at myself," I mumbled, still angry.
"Because you like how I look?"
"How did you know?" I turned to look at him but something else shook me up.
Astaroth was only wearing his briefs, something that let me see the continuation of that black, claw-like tattoo I had spotted on his neck and arms. It appeared that the same black tattoo was covering his whole body. Claws in his arms, claws in his legs, claws in his torso. In a dreadful irony, it could be said that darkness was swallowing his whole body.
Guessing my thoughts, Astaroth approached me again, having a knowing look on his face.
"This is why you're not shallow," he spoke almost seductively, taking his place next to me again. "Of course, this isn't just ink," he explained as I was trying to figure out the meaning of that tattoo.
Saying nothing I crawled behind him to check if my assumptions were correct. And they were indeed. His entire back, as well as the behind of his arms and –presumably– his legs were black, that same color his demon form had.
"You're a rather nosy girl, aren't you?" he said in a threatening tone and pushed me down on the bed so that I was facing him when he climbed on top of me. He looked menacing yet, this time, I couldn't sense a trace of danger in him.
There was too much in my head I couldn't utter a word. But damn yes, I wanted to be playful.
"What's that? Not so shy, after all?" he smirked.
"I kind of am," I admitted truthfully. What was there not to feel shy about? My body? His intimidating aura? Or the fact that we were close like this for the first time?
"Shy or not," he bent down and kissed my neck, "I'm going to have my way with you whenever I want. But not right now."
He lay back beside me and took me in his arms again. "Sleep," he gently commanded, probably sensing my disappointment. "You'll be feeling even better once you wake up again."
"You're not going anywhere, right?" Look at me whiny and clingy all over again.
"No, I'll be sleeping with you," he affectionately caressed my hair.
I gave him a grin and moved closer. Needless to mention that the contact with his bare skin was so startling I didn't know whether I should be allowed to touch him or not.
"I'm sorry about earlier," I said, blocking the irrelevant thoughts out of my mind.
"Later." He kept stroking my hair, obviously avoiding the issue.
But I couldn't stand that ambiguous reply and raised my head to look at him, insisting on a straight answer.
"I am the one who should offer an apology," he finally said. "You have nothing to feel guilty about."
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