My body reacted instantly. My hands searched for the ground but found only air.

“Oh shit!” It was all I had time to say. I was already unconsciously expecting a free fall and regretting my decision to try to reach the ground with my hands. However, before desperation could catch me, my palms touched something solid.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t hold on.

Turns out that even in a sick intergalactic game, inertia remains one of the laws of physics. As soon as my hand slipped from the ground, I turned my body, trying to protect myself, only to discover I was actually falling down a set of stairs.

I heard the devilman grunting with each crash of his body against the steps, and I was quick to follow, trying desperately to stop my fall as the edges of the rocky stairs slammed into my arms, ribs, and legs.

I gritted my teeth, bracing myself for a whole new world of pain. Thankfully, my back hit what seemed to be solid ground. I opened my eyes but couldn’t see an inch in front of my nose.

Where am I? It was the first question my mind whispered, and, not surprisingly, the second was: Is this place tight? How can I get out of it? Damn, stupid brain always asking the wrong questions.

I started feeling my breath shorten when lights lit up on the ceiling. These weren’t like the medieval lamps in the tunnels we were in; they were modern, just like the ones back home.

My hopes that this was just a stupid dream and I had woken up in my bedroom went to shit a second after my eyes adjusted to the light.

The demon’s skinny face slowly but surely appeared before my eyes.

His eyes were filled with curiosity.

“Are you alive? Sorry, it was the only way,” his voice was apologetic, and his eyes scanned my face, trying to find something only he knew.

He was getting uncomfortably close to my face.

“I think I’m fine. Can you give me a little space?” I asked, moving my body away from him as fast as my sore limbs would allow.

“Your blood is red, right? I don’t see any, so you’re probably fine.” The demonkin sighed deeply as he slowly got up.

“What is this place?” I grunted, my voice raspy with thirst and annoyance at the subtle change in scenery.

“The Safe Room, of course!” The devilman’s voice was now cheerful, almost playful, and when I turned my head to him, I found the devil sitting in a lavish, round red sofa. His body sunk into the cushion, and he let out another sigh, one of long-awaited peace.

We were indeed in a place that seemed safe enough. On my left were the stairs that led to a wall with no door, and to my right was the sofa, a big black screen that I assumed was a TV, a table with various types of food and drinks carefully arranged, and a few chairs surrounding it.

The room was cold but cozy and didn’t seem to have any apparent entrance.

Welcome to the Safe Room.

Everyone deserves a break from time to time. Just don’t overstay your welcome. Monsters are alerted to your presence, and their numbers increase with each minute. You can only remain here for thirty minutes.

Health and Mana regeneration are active during your stay in the Safe Room.

I let the words sink in as I scanned the room once more. My eyes locked onto the banquet, and my mouth watered. I heard the growls of my stomach, both internally and externally, and my desire for answers was quickly overcome by the realization that I was freaking starving.

Two-thirds of the table were completely alien to me, and I could only assume they came from the planets of both the devilman and the elves. I focused on the Earth food, grabbing a roasted chicken thigh and eating it voraciously. There was grape juice on the side, and I gulped it down eagerly, readying myself to chew on a piece of buttered bread lying in one corner.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Damn, there’s no food on your planet?”

I eyed the devil, who was watching me eat with a grin on his face.

“What happened?” I pointed the chicken thigh toward the staircase, just in case he hadn’t understood my mouthful words.

“That yellow friend of yours was ready to strike you right on the neck. I cast an illusion and brought you inside. He probably thinks we disappeared.”

“That bastard,” I muttered between chews. I had never trusted Max, and it wasn’t my first rodeo, but it still hurt to be betrayed. If anything, I had been open and honest with that piece of shit.

“And Mila?”

“The female? She seemed as surprised as me.”

I had indeed heard her calling for him to stop. Damn, is she in danger? I pondered but decided not to overthink it. She was the reason I had my doubts about Max in the first place—the look she gave him sometimes, as if she was afraid of him, as if she knew something I didn’t. However, she hadn’t spoken to me a single time; instead, we joked and slayed monsters together.

She knew what she had gotten herself into and chose to stay quiet. She probably felt safe around Max, and I couldn’t blame her—only wish her luck.

“I think I’d better move before more monsters appear. The message said they’re attracted to the entrance.” I got up, wiping my hands on the table’s towel and thinking the aliens would probably not mind.

“They are, human. I was exhausted when I found this room and slept more than I intended. The goblins you saw were the ones I couldn’t handle, but there were more. Way more.” He was more serious now and had moved to the edge of the sofa. “Which god do you think is watching us?”

“None that I know. Why?” I raised my eyebrows, surprised at the sudden change of subject.

“Oh, you didn’t notice it? Check your story.”

“My story?” I was even more puzzled now.

“The words in your eyes. You can see them, right?”

“Yes, I can see the notifications.”

“Look at them, human.”

“My name is Zach, by the way. You don’t need to keep calling me human.” I couldn’t hide the edge of annoyance in my voice, but the alien seemed oblivious to it. I sat back on the chair and checked my notifications.

“Zach.” The alien repeated the word. “That’s a strange name for a human.”

My eyes moved toward him at the oddity of his phrase, but then I noticed the message he was referring to.

You are being watched by a deity.

“Damn,” I mouthed, looking at the words intently, as if I could extract extra meaning from them.

“Indeed.” The devil cleared his throat and snapped me back to reality. “So, who do you think is watching us? Maybe it’s Zalaphir, the god of Illusions. What is the god related to your abilities on your planet?” The alien clicked his forked tongue and snapped his knee nonchalantly, as if he had cracked a simple code. “It’s probably the same as us.”

“I never heard of any Zalaphir. And why would your gods be the same as the ones from Earth? Does that have something to do with the fact that your people want to skin us alive?” I leaned toward the alien, curiosity taking over me.

“Because humanity enslaved my people for millennia, until they fled from our planet and left us to deal with the rest.”

“Humans never left Earth.”

“I don’t know what the ground has to do with the slavery of my people, Zach. But you can rest assured that humans were on my home planet, and you are the devil to my people.”

I couldn’t ignore the sheer irony of a devil telling me I was the face of evil to his culture, but I suppressed my desire to chuckle.

“It was probably another type of human, from another planet. Damn, I didn’t know aliens existed until today. If there are people from your race and elves, there are probably more humans in the universe.”

“My people will not care about it.”

“You seem reasonable enough.” I tried to ease the conversation, and I wasn’t lying.

“My reasonability only brought me ostracism and violence. Besides humans, I’m probably the second most hated being to the Arahaktar.”

“What did you do?” The question slipped from my mouth, only for me to regret it the following second.

The demon’s expression darkened, and he stated plainly, “I don’t talk about it.”

“No problem, man.” I raised my hands apologetically. “I mean no offense, but I know you guys can be quite dangerous. One tried to kill me and said something I can only imagine the meaning of.”

“Oh yeah?” The devil asked, his expression softening again. “What did they say?”

“Something like trash car?”

“Thrak'shar?” The devil raised his eyebrows, and I noticed his eyes staring at me with a different light.

“I think so.” I shrugged.

“‘Thrak'shar tilen, dor'vaxis.’ Is that what they said?”

“Yes, exactly that! What does it mean?” I asked, curiosity gnawing at me. I had to drink another gulp of juice to placate it, but when he spoke again, I spilled it all over in surprise.

“It means you’re fucked. He challenged you to a duel to the death.”