Gingee was many things. A pain to deal with. A loyal steed. A simple-minded soul. But as he held the human in place, Luizitine couldn't help but see his minion in another light. It had been the second time he could remember the devildog surprising him. But he wouldn't have time to dwell on that as his attention was drawn by the sound of a hissing grunt. His attention jerked to his other minion, looking just in time to see Jeffrey falling to the ground.

Oh no.

He already knew what would come next before the human spoke.

"Let her go, demon," the man said.

His projectile launcher was trained on the unconscious reptile, Jeffrey lying on his back. Luizitine frowned. A hostage situation. He always hated those. The human put one foot on Jeffrey's chest, which earned a growl from Gingee, the devildog still pressing the woman down.

“I said let her go,” the human repeated.

The woman had stopped struggling, though her gaze hadn't lost its intensity. Killing her would have been easy enough given Gingee only needed a quick bite to end things. But the minute he did that, he had little doubt Jeffrey would be shot. And he wasn't quite ready to lose his minion.

“If we do that," Luizitine said, "there's no guarantee you won’t shoot him anyway, is there?”

The human narrowed at them. For as terrible as his aim had been, it was doubtful he'd miss that close. And taking the chance was too risky anyhow. From the corner of his eye, Luizitine saw a figure appearing in the sky. One he gave no indication of spotting, though she seemed to stop anyhow when she found the three of them.

“Just do it, Eric!” the human woman said. “Not like I can die anyway.”

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Karla flew in closer, much to Luizitine's dismay. In a hostage situation. Any. It was imperative not to startle the assaulter so as to prevent unwanted death. And given Felissa could see ghosts well enough, he didn't put it past these humans to have the power.

"If I can guarantee I won't shoot, then will you comply?" the man asked.

"I will be less inclined to retaliate, yes," Luizitine answered. "You have my word on that."

He searched for any means to tell Karla to stop. To warn her without tipping off the humans. It was bad enough he could hear Gingee's tail wagging. Dammit. Stay back. Don't reveal yourself, Karla. He glanced back to confirm what he was already afraid of. Gingee locking eyes with the ghost. Dammit, Gingee. He had to act quickly or-

A clack drew his attention.

“Eric!”

All four of them looked to the human man, Luiztine's thoughts falling away. Lying on its side, the projectile launcher rested on the ground. Its former wielder looked straight at Luizitine.

"Is that enough of a guarantee, monster?" he asked. "Set Morino free."

Luizitine stared back at the man. It wasn't something Luizitine expected from a human of all things. Even Karla was a bit taken aback, her approach halting completely. To give himself up like that. To a demon. It was a foolish move, but not one that Luizitine could quite overlook. He was the king and a king's word was law. He nodded to Gingee, the devildog reluctantly lifting up its paw. Much to the Morino woman's surprise.

“If I am a monster," Luizitine said, "I am at least a monster of my word.”

He nodded to Jeffrey, Gingee thankfully taking the hint and moving to retrieve their fallen ally. Given the humans' surprise, he didn't expect them to retaliate. Even so, Luizitine made sure to watch both. Their confused expressions were slightly amusing. Was it that surprising a demon would keep their word? The stories on this planet must have been as far-fetched as all the others. Gingee took up Jeffrey in their jaws.

"Who are you?"

It was the human woman who asked that, finally regaining enough sense to speak. But Luizitine knew better than to answer honestly. They were still on a stealth mission, after all. He hopped on Gingee's back.

"A monster," he said. "Isn't that the correct answer?"

He didn't give them time to respond, already signaling Gingee to take off. Karla took the hint then, disappearing as well. Though the humans did not pursue, Luizitine made sure to watch his surroundings before leading his kingdom back to the tunnel systems.