Chapter Music: "Masquerade Ball" by Derek Fiechter
Never in his wildest dreams would he imagine stepping foot in a place so horrid. Not only was he afraid for his life, but deciding to move into the root of his nightmares made him feel sick to his stomach. He kept blaming his pitiful self over and over as he was walking closer to the large banquet hall where all the noise was coming from. Of course, the entryway was eerily empty –so much that he almost expected someone to jump at him from behind. Thankfully, he wasn't inexperienced anymore and took some pride in his skills; but who knew what kind of demon would try to attack him?
He had been so hesitant throughout his entire journey that he had barely made it in time for the ceremony. And the option of using up his mana to teleport to such a secluded area was inconceivable. He would need his maximum power for defense should something unfortunate happen.
By the time he stepped into the vast chamber, a wave of displeasure overtook him as hidden memories of his past started to emerge from the depths of his mind. Everything and everyone around him was tinged with sin. Black, silver, and red were the predominant colors. Certainly, he wasn't trying to deceive himself; he was one of them.
But, at the very least, he had put some clothes on! On the contrary, most demons had come wearing only their underwear and –even worse– the numerous humans he could spot were naked, made to stand in a corner like merchandise to be consumed.
Ah, humans, Merihem thought, unable to contain his empathetic nature. They must be truly terrified. Those predators look like they can hardly control themselves.
At some point, the voices quieted down and everyone –both demons and humans– turned to look in one direction. His heart leaped at the sight before his eyes once he followed the crowd's gaze. It was his Master, Astaroth, along with his best friend, Sophia! His excitement was so immense, he felt his eyes watering up. Suddenly, neither the long, frightening journey nor the grief about his recent past mattered. Oh, would they accept him there? Would it be okay now that he had grown capable of defending himself?! He trusted that the new King would guarantee his stay in the realm.
Merihem let out a soft chuckle, spotting the familiar smug expression on his Master's face. As for Sophia, she looked reserved yet confident. No wonder about that. She had the soon-to-be Demon King by her side. They both looked perfect together; they had the same malevolent darkness in their gaze. That common trait of theirs was imperceptible, yet so disturbingly charming. Merihem almost felt ashamed his face didn't look like that.
However, no sooner had this thought crossed his mind than Merihem second-guessed himself. 'What's wrong with me?' he wondered.
As if desperate to steer his thoughts in a different direction, he shifted his gaze to his friends again. He couldn't help but notice that Astaroth was in his true form. No in-between anymore. And he appeared so calm.
How was that possible? He couldn't have managed to fight his deranged nature so easily. For some reason, the young demon sensed that his Master must be fighting really hard against his passions to prevent them from taking over his mind. Did Sophia know of the danger she was in?
"Dear friend!" Lord Orias broke the silence and approached the couple. "I see you made it to your coronation this time!"
"Ecstatic, aren't you?" a not amused Astaroth answered back.
"Why wouldn't I be? It seems that you're finally taking your duties seriously!" The wide smile couldn't look more fake.
"Why, I wonder."
"Enough with the chit chat!" Orias headed to the center of the hall and adoringly gazed at the giant cauldron filled with a transparent liquid. "Let us ask the holy Priestesses to decide once more who is the one true King of our kind!"
That phrase alone threw the crowd into disarray. Everyone was more than convinced that the whole procedure was redundant. There was no doubt that this role had always belonged to Astaroth. Some demons were now demanding to speed up the process.
"Silence!" Orias commanded, his previous amusement already vanished. "Do you wish to get to the feast or not?!"
Dead silence followed, causing more chills to run down Merihem's spine. No matter how happy he was to see his friends again, that wasn't enough to stop him from grieving those poor humans' fate.
It was then that a dignified voice belonging to a female demon named Kali reverberated across the large chamber:
"Wicked bearers of life and death,
oh, hallowed saints who bring the end,
reveal to us the silver crown
and help us bring the whole world down."
Merihem inhaled sharply and stood in awe as he watched Astaroth's large horns turning from black to silver, completely matching the color of his hair. The next moment the demons broke out in cheers – no one willing to subdue them this time.
Instead, Orias's delighted voice resonated across the large hall: "Your Majesty, please launch the feast!"
In a state of eerie silence, the Demon King started walking toward the center as well, motioning to Sophia to follow him. After taking a dagger out of his coat, he raised a sleeve up to his elbow and outstretched his arm right above the gigantic cauldron. He plunged the blade on his bare skin, tearing it from the elbow all the way down the forearm. Several gasps –one of which belonged to Sophia– were heard as black demon blood flowed and dripped down to blend with the colorless substance.
Merihem already knew what this ritual was about: he had just witnessed the production of the deadliest poison ever known. It was still fascinating, though, to see such a large mass of transparent fluid turn as dark as his Master's blood. Only the King could have a soul so powerful that a few drops of his blood could have such a strong impact.
Sophia took a couple of timid steps towards her demon – her eyes glued to the large wound on his arm which had already begun closing. Astaroth caressed her hair with his other hand and appeared to whisper something comforting to her with an assured yet tender look in his eyes. Merihem couldn't believe that this was the ruthless man who had often been the reason behind many of his nightmares. Perhaps Sophia would be a good influence after all.
But before he could finish that thought, Merihem saw the same man accepting a long whip which he immediately dipped into the now thick and black liquid. Soon after, he headed straight for the human prisoners.
So he would ultimately act like the rest of his kind...
Sophia trailed behind him with a troubled, yet accepting look on her face. He couldn't understand why his best friend would ever tolerate a man tormenting another human being. Merihem certainly couldn't stand it. And that was why he found himself yelling in desperation before he could even contain himself.
~~~
"No!" a voice I knew all too well caused everyone around us to stir.
I turned around and my eyes confirmed what my ears had just heard: It was Merihem!
I was so happy to see him again! But what on earth was he thinking, shouting out of the blue? I too had my concerns about what Astaroth was about to do but I would never want to make him uncomfortable, especially in his coronation ceremony.
Astaroth, though, didn't even turn to look at the owner of the voice. He knew that was him, didn't he? Why wouldn't he spare a second to face his old friend?
The answer came swiftly: Interestingly enough, the other demons didn't seem to pay Merihem much attention since their new ruler hadn't either. Besides, I was sure that they had other things in mind, at that moment.
"Don't stay behind," Astaroth ordered then, making me pick up my pace.
We had almost reached that group of humans; the group of creatures who were unlucky enough to be born weak. I didn't know how to feel about them. My instinct was telling me that most of them deserved some kind of punishment but, perhaps, there could also be a few who were worthy of freedom.
"Hand me the report I asked for," Astaroth instructed Orias, his imposing aura demanding nothing less than compliance.
Once given a couple of paper sheets, he skimmed through them before focusing his attention on the humans.
I could identify several emotions in them – most of which were easily guessed. That is, of course, fear and rage. But I was also amazed to see a few of them bearing a rather longing expression at the sight of the man who was presently a threat to their lives. For the most part, those were women. In fact, I could go as far and say that some of them seemed to be competing in their minds concerning who the Demon King would turn to. A feeling of masochism I was quite familiar with.
"You and you." Astaroth beckoned to a young man of about my age and a pitiful older one to come before him. The former had an insolent look in his eyes which made him appear confident despite his tragic state. The latter seemed frail and defeated, as though he had already accepted his fate.
The young one shot me a fierce look as if he was accusing me. 'This could have been your fate, human,' I could almost hear him say. On the contrary, the elderly person didn't bother shooting me a glance and barely dragged his malnourished body in front of the King.
"Orias," Astaroth spoke again and handed the documents back to his 'friend'. "Take my woman and this old man away from me. Attend to his needs and grant him a permanent residence."
What?
Before I had any chance to react, Orias's strong grip on my arm took me aback as he nearly dragged us both several steps behind Astaroth. Most demons appeared to be calm and fully aware of what was happening. Orias was certainly one of them, looking at his 'friend' with a bittersweet smile.
Huh. This must be one of the sincerest expressions I've seen on him.
I glanced at the human beside me who was now looking at me as well. He was apparently shocked at that sudden turn of events. Not only had he been saved but he had also found a place to live? That must be a great opportunity for a human in this world. Although the Demon Realm was not the safest place for weak creatures like us, somehow I was convinced that the other demons would be more than encouraged to stay away from us both.
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