It was early in the morning. Noth had planned to wake up before anyone else in town would and head out, so that no one would see him leave and make a big deal out of it. And yet, before he could make it out of the door, he was immediately ambushed by Elillith and the kids. The children all quickly surrounded him with tight hugs; Ren buryied her face against him, Helt looked off in a direction as he frowned, and Jean looked up at him with an intense stare and tears in her eyes, as if she was threatening for him ‘just try and see what happens if you don’t come back!’.
And then there was Elillith, standing a small distance away and watching them with a slightly serious look on her doll-like face.
Noth was actually rather confused about how he should react to all this. He’d wanted to leave without any witnesses so he could avoid exactly this type of situation; He was far too awkward and socially inept to know what to do about anything like this. In the end he settled on taking turns patting the children’s heads and murmuring little reassurances to them all. After a little while of clinging to him Jean let out one last big sniff and then pulled back, looking away from Noth as she held her arms behind her back like she was afraid they might reach out for him again at any moment. Helt noticed her departure and also let go, still never looking at Noth’s face, but when he realized that Ren was still refusing to let go, he gently pried her off of the teen and took her away.
Elillith slowly came forward once all the children were out of the way. She stared deep into Noth’s eyes like she was looking for something. Eventually Noth decided he had to smile and break the silence.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were worried about me.”
Her face grew a shade more serious, even as her eyes still refused to budge from his own.
“’M not too worried, no. ‘F I lose you I at least still h’v the kids t’ look after.”
Noth face dropped into a small pout at her words. He’d known she was an uncaring woman, but he’d thought she at least cared a little about him; After all she’d followed him all the way out here to nowhere. He was debating on what he could possibly say in response to her words, when she suddenly cracked a smile and came in to hug him.
“‘Twas a lie. C’m back safely. W’ll watch things while yer out.”
~~~
Everything outside of the town seemed strangely… foggy today. Perhaps it was just because Noth had never seen how his territory usually looked this early in the morning. Or maybe it was because the world was acclimating itself to the ominous feelings in the air. So long as it wasn’t some kind of trick or ability that the incoming demons were using, Noth wouldn’t care why it was; He only wished it wasn’t obscuring his vision so much. He came close to simply wishing it away, but he decided that he shouldn’t waste his wishes on such minor things. Instead he just blindly followed after his angel through the mist, doing his best to keep sight of her even as he watched for hazards in the terrain.
Noth didn’t say a word in response, he just nodded, knowing that even without her looking she’d be able to see him. He kept running forward until he suddenly entered a large circular clearing where the fog was completely gone. It seemed that the fog was in fact supernaturally made, and that Serris had led him to a small camp that the demons had set up. He hadn’t realized that he’d all of a sudden be out in the open while loudly running into the demon’s campsite, so of course there was no possibility that he’d somehow snuck up on them.
All too quickly, 7 pairs of eyes were locked on to the teen who was skidding to a halt at the edge of the clearing. Their gazes of course held the surprise one would have expected, and of course for the most part they hadn’t looked like they were thinking they’d have any company coming. But strangely enough, once they got a good look at Noth, their hostile glares slowly took on a different, more hazy light. They all seemed to move slowly towards him as if they were being pulled to him by some kind of alluring force. They reached for him as if they were a hoard of zombies, craving his flesh. Something about the looks in their eyes made Noth feel like he’d been stripped bare of anything that could protect him. In his fear and confusion the teen just stood still, as if he were rooted to the spot. He raised up his arms to protect himself and tightly closed his eyes to the grasping hands that approached mere inches away.
Oddly enough their touch was... gentle, and not at all the rough and painful experience that his mind had prepared him for. However, something about it seemed terribly… disgusting. Their roaming hands over his body felt wrong, as if they were somehow tainting him with the way they were touching him. He was scared to open his eyes, for fear of what he’d see them doing, and yet the lack of sight was making him feel their touch all the more. He hated it all, and yet he was too paralyzed by his emotions to do anything about it.
Serris posessively took hold of Noth, wrapping one arm around him while she bopped away all the various hands stroking him over. The surprise of the sudden protective and clean hug convinced Noth to peek at what was happening. He watched as her small, weak looking arm managed to smack away every hand that tried to get close, sometimes with a force so great that the demon was launched backwards by a few feet. At times he would hear disconcerting sounding cracks, and would catch sight of some of their fingers, wrists, and arms suddenly flying back at odd looking angles. Strangely enough however, no matter how much his angel battered them, the demons would only get up with even more drugged-looking eyes and would start towards him once again, occasionally muttering out the words ‘beautiful’, ‘lovely’, and ‘need’.
It took a good while of watching the demons get battered before his senses returned and Noth realized that he should be doing something about them. His eyes never left the now misshapen bodies in front of him as he slowly brought his hands together and began to pray.
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“Oh merciful God-dess of all, listen to my prayer and pass judgement on the poor souls before me. Remove this evil that plagues us, take away the sin before me, erase the dangers that threaten this sacred world that you protect. I offer you these words in hope and pray to receive your love. With gratitude and devotion I raise this prayer to you, mother and father, creator of us all. God-dess’s blessings abound.”
About halfway through the prayer the demons began to glow, and as he continued on they only grew brighter and brighter. Despite this, the demons never once stopped what they’d been doing, seeming too drunk off whatever force was affecting them to notice or care. Eventually they grew so bright that it almost hurt to look at them, but Noth only squinted and refused to turn his gaze away. And as the last word of the prayer left his mouth, a loud screech tore out of each of the demon’s mouths as one by one they exploded with light, not leaving a single speck of themselves behind. Noth could feel himself absorbing some small bit of the lights into himself, just like the last time that a demon had been killed in his vicinity. He lifted up his bracelet, trying to see if anything had changed about it from the sudden influx of power, but it only reaffirmed what he’d already felt: The power had gone into him, not into his connection with the bracelet. It was solely his, and his alone.
With the mysterious fog now gone he looked across the barren horizon, his mind racing with questions, his gaze settling on the one being that could possibly give him any of the answers. All he could do was sigh in his confusion and frustration, knowing that she was completely unlikely to tell him a single shred of truth on the subject unless he could find some clever way to tease the answers out of her.
Serris noticed his heavy gaze upon her, but all she did was giggle, kiss his forehead, take his hand, and lead him back home.
~~~
Noth had come back surprisingly early from his outing. Only 2 hours had passed since he’d left the town, and he was worried that people might give him odd and questioning looks from how little time he’d spent, believing that he hadn’t done his job right or had chickened out or something. In the end, the fear of their disbelief or misunderstandings became too strong, and instead of just strolling home through the town, Noth decided to cut out the middleman and just teleport home. As his angel’s wings and embrace unfurled from around him in the foyer of the mansion, he was greeted by the sight of his loved ones rushing to embrace him. He’d had no idea they’d been holding some sort of vigil for him here this whole time, waiting for him to safely return home.
The children all screamed his name in unison as if they’d agreed on it ahead of time, and then leaped onto him, shaking him like a tree in a storm as he tried to stay upright. Even Elillith said his name, although it was in a much more subdued tone, and instead of the hug she’d settled on gently placing a hand on his head, and giving him a relieved look. They all showed such love and happiness towards him that he didn’t know how to respond to it all. He was lucky that the ever observant Helt decided to break the silence and say that he was hungry.
It wasn’t until an hour later, after they’d all finished enjoying breakfast together, that Gilt came to their door. Jean excused herself, excitedly citing that she had official business to take care of before she jogged out of the room. Noth was glad to see her so happy over such responsibilities. He’d known how dejected she’d seemed ever since they’d come here and she’d had nothing to learn or help take care of. If only he could find something for the other two to do that would make them as happy as her. Even now, Ren’s face still looked paler than normal, and she’d been fidgeting nervously all breakfast. Helt seemed to have noticed her odd state as well, but whenever Noth would try to catch his eye and gleam some answer from him, Helt would just shake his head as if telling him he didn’t know. The longer the time went on, the greater Noth’s worry became. He’d tried to catch Ren’s attention multiple times and engage her in whatever trivial banter he could think up, but none of it had managed to work. Eventually he decided that the only answer would be to just ask.
“Hey, Ren… Is ev-”
“Noth!”
Jean suddenly ran back into the room, stopping beside Noth’s spot at the table and performing a perfect maid’s curtsy before eagerly shouting out her announcement.
“Two of the servants just came back!”
“What?”
Noth shot Serris a glance from where she was sitting on the table next to him. She only gave him a cheshire-like grin back in response.
“...What... amazing timing.”
“Yeah! From what I’m told they’d gotten lost in the fog we had this morning for a while, but then suddenly it cleared and they made a mad dash for the town. They offered to come to you and beg for forgiveness for their actions, but I figured you wouldn’t be up to seeing them right now and sent them back to their homes. W-...Was that okay?”
The news that they’d wanted to come and see him wasn’t all too pleasant to Noth, and neither was the idea that all the other servants might just want to do the same thing when they made it back, too. He certainly hadn’t managed to get over his grudge against them yet, nor did he think he ever truly would; He'd never been the type to just get over something easily. If anything, it was a blessing in disguise that he’d managed to not have to interact with the servants who’d returned today at all. The nervous way that Jean fidgetted and looked up at him through her eyelids, thinking that she might have overstepped her bounds, was just so silly to him. How could she worry about something like that when she already knew him so well?
Noth put his hand on Jean’s head and ruffled her luscious lavender hair, making a mess of it. When he finally removed his hand her hair was in a completely wild and untamed state, and yet somehow it still looked completely beautiful and for some reason intentional. Jean quickly pressed down the top of her head with a look of utter confusion mixed with embarrassment. Noth couldn’t help but chuckle at her reaction and give her a teasing smile.
“It’s unlike you to act so skittish. You did amazing, Jean. Keep up the good work.”
The young beauty broke out into a small blush. When she felt her face heating up she quickly grabbed her tangled hair and covered herself up with it, making a small shrieking sound as she did. Ren and Helt couldn’t help climbing out of their chairs and surrounding their friend, taking the opportunity to mercilessly prod and tease her as only children could. Noth, who’d been watching over the cute children with the smile of a happy older brother, suddenly felt his side grow cold as Serris looped her arm around his own and pressed herself against him. He instinctively reacted to the chilly feeling and glanced in her direction, and immediately felt fear wash over him. His angel’s face may have been smiling, but it had a horrifically evil force behind it, as if he was going to be killed at any moment.
“Wh- Huh? How was I-?”
“What?! What are you suggesting?! She’s like a little sibling to me, they all are! I would never-!”
The rest of the day proved to be very hard for Noth.