Humans. They were always impossible to deal with. Whether living or dead, somehow they'd always find a way to ruin his day. As the woman shattered to pieces behind him and the junkyard intruders all screamed in unison, there was only a single thought that crossed the hellspawn's mind. One angry, annoyance-tinged thought.

Damn you, Gingee.

The demonling's tail was beating against the ground, his minion happily barking at his return. It made Luizitine even more annoyed.

Why is it I always get the damaged ones? To the void with all this.

He came out of his thoughts, snatching a flash of silver from the air. It shined with polish. And was dripping with a substance the hellspawn had become all too familiar with. Holy Droplets. A peasant's tool. He crushed the dagger, flinging the dust away.

"D-did that thing just..."

"Boss? What do we do?"

His gaze fell on the woman whose face he immediately recognized. One even more anger-inducing than Gingee's idiocy. Her blade was inches from Karla's throat. He'd have to fix that.

"Gingee," he said.

"Bark. Yes, Master?"

"Kill the small fry. That witch is mine."

The demonling threw back its head. "Howl! Right away, Master!"

And then he was moving, racing across the field of humans and landing behind the woman in seconds. She spun around, blade saving her from a quick beheading, though she had to root herself to block his hand. The hellspawn rose.

Hmm. She's faster than she looks.

The human glared back at him, eyes shining green just as they had been when he'd first met her in the Mayor's office. When she'd first dared attack his minion.

"Karla."

The ghost snapped to attention. As he'd feared, she was too new to the field of battle. Their movements to her must have been chaotic and strange. But he'd have to save the teachings for later. He could hear Gingee gleefully stomping about the junkyard, the counterwoman's poison stripped of all its potency. If the demonling wasn't careful, it would wreck the whole junkyard long before they could start rebuilding.

"Go assist Gingee," he said. "Make sure they don't go overboard."

The ghost slowly nodded. "O-okay." But they lingered a bit longer, only leaving after offering a "Thanks, Lui."

The human's blade came flying, Luizitine ducking and cutting through what he thought was flesh only to see a layer of fabric ripping off her torso. Hidden armor. The black vest gave his hand a slight twinge on contact. The counterwoman came at him again. Luizitine ducked, cutting her leg to the same result. Layers of silk flew away, the tingling spreading until the hellspawn was forced to back away, scanning the woman over. Her purple uniform had become a suit of jet black, the fabric rising up her frame and stopping at the neck. He looked at his hand, the sensations fading as he shook it off.

Blessed armor? How annoying.

The counterwoman ripped off the fabric remains, kneeling low with her weapon drawn. After having exchanged blows up close, there were little doubts in Luizitine's mind the woman was a threat to his empire. Perhaps not on the wizard's level, but one who he couldn't afford to ignore.

"Human," he asked. "What is your name?"

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

The counterwoman scoffed. "Nice try, demon." Her blade came rushing, holy flashing through with each attack. "Like I'd ever fall for that."

He caught her wrist, the blade halting completely. "Soul of-"

"Spirit of Binding!"

Holy magic poured through, the hellspawn tensing. He fought it back, tongue launching out with enough power to pierce clean through the woman's skull, though he missed the target as she moved. He redirected, curving to catch her in the neck instead. She didn't relent. The magic spread up his arm, paralyzsis holding it in place. But two could play at that game.

"Cold," he finished, ice running down his tongue to the woman. She tensed, the holy magic spreading faster.

He could feel her fighting back. His own arm had lost all feeling, and it was spreading up his torso, but he'd managed to freeze her shoulders in kind. Her green eyes flashed brown. The ice spread faster. Hmm? He could feel the holy magic slowing down. Rage turned to panic, the human raising her free hand.

"Spirit of Gale!"

The wind rushed forward, Luizitine's grip loosening as he was pushed backward, the human yanking away as they were forced apart.

Most of her upper body had been frozen, from waist to shoulder. And only one of her eyes remained green. The other had turned the same light brown as he'd seen at the office. Luizitine's tongue retracted, having been pushed out with the spell. For such an annoying woman, her blood at least had a sweet aftertaste. Perhaps he'd preserve her for Gingee later.

He looked down at his hand, the numbness gradually fading. The same could not be said for the woman. She had to use her magic to recover, of which made her remaining eye flicker. He smiled, licking his lips.

Oh, the joys of being human.

For as strong as the woman was, there was only so much she could do before her reserves inevitably dwindled. In the end, every creature had its limits. Both her and her army of intruders.

Across the junkyard, he could see his minions growing excited. Gingee was racing across the broken cars pawing and smashing everything in sight while Karla took full advantage of the chaos. She'd changed into a complete copy of the demonling, the humans scurrying about as they tried to discern which was which. And his minions enjoyed every second of it. As did he.

The humans were an annoyance. A constant threat that would always spell his doom in one way or another. But these small victories. These moments of joy. Perhaps he could forgive Gingee's idiocy. Just this once.

"All units! Retreat!"

His attention waned as he heard someone shouting across the junkyard.

He'd noticed the people when he'd first arrived. They hadn't been dressed like the others, so he'd opted to ignore them upon his arrival. Stopping the execution of his minions had been his top priority the minute he returned. Evidently, that was a wise decision.

"Return to base!" shouted the large man in the vehicle. "That's an order, Felissa!"

The woman's remaining green eye flickered one final time before it too returned to brown. She cursed under her breath. Despite the man's words, she lingered to glare.

"Count your days while you can, demon," she growled. "This isn't over."

With that threat given, she flung something along the ground. A light projector of some sort. It didn't have much effect, but Luizitine decided to pretend as much anyhow. If the humans were retreating, that made the operation salvageable. He wouldn't quite need to induce a blood frenzy and tear through the city. Not yet, at least. Karla and Gingee both stopped their assaults, wincing as all the humans threw down light projectiles and ran for the junkyard entrance.

They piled into their vehicles in droves, beasts roaring to life one after another and racing away from the three. The light finally went away, Luizitine pretending to be surprised at all escapees.

"Hey! Get back here, cowards!"

Fortunately, none rose to the challenge.

The final vehicle departed in a trail of smoke. It was only then that Luizitine relaxed, his demon mask vanishing to be replaced with the human form of Justin. Hopefully, that will buy us enough time. He looked around at the many who'd fallen to Gingee's hands. I'm sure they'll think twice about trying the junkyard ag- He barely got the thought out when an enormous weight fell upon him, a large wet tongue dragging across his face.

"Bark! We did it, Master! We did!"

He fought against the demonling. "Minion Gingee! Calm yourself!"

But as he said this, Karla was also losing focus, screaming and flying about.

"Alright! Go Team Demon! Better than rest! Best squad around! Rah-rah!"

As the two were shouting and cheering, whatever enjoyment he'd had immediately flew out the window. Instead, he had to try to fight to get his two foolish minions back under control.

Dammit Gingee and Karla!