Chapter 3: The Demon Realm
“Arzoch!”
“What?”
“You’re back! What did those vile humans demand this time?”
“A simple wish.” Arzoch walked past the small demoness and placed the book on a shelf inside a bookcase made entirely of a shiny black mineral.
They were in a room with wall-to-wall red carpet, black furniture, and a fireplace lit by eternal green flame. The large mirror from the human realm leaned against a brick wall that matched the carpet.
“Grab the other end.”
“What?” The confounded demoness wore a red dress and, at best, came up to Arzoch’s chest if she stood on her toes. Her height matched her youthful appearance, like that of a teenage girl. Her long hair was two-toned: peach at the roots and lime at the tips with a steady transition. Although her hair clashed with the décor, her modest blouse, pants, and shoes were all dyed red, identical to the carpet. Compared to her outfit, Arzoch’s pale blue shirt and black pants seemed like a wardrobe copout.
“Miona.”
Overcoming confusion, she puffed up her cheeks in annoyance at being ignored, but relented and stepped over to the other end of the oversized mirror. Together, they lifted it and moved it into position.
“I’ll mount it later.”
“Why didn’t you move it with magic?” asked Miona, referring to demon magic specifically.
“These mirrors are delicate. If I apply magic directly I might overload it.”
“How strange… Wait! Why were you gone so long!? What did they have you do!?”
“Long?”
“I don’t know what wish you were granting, but you were gone for like 10,000 hours!”
“Oh, sorry about that.”
“Are you really!?”
“No.”
“Arg!” She held out her open palms and steadied her breathing. “So what happened?”
“I acquired this.” He gestured to the wall-sized mirror.
“It makes the room feel twice as big.”
“That’s not why.”
Out of patience, Miona leaped at Arzoch, grabbing him by the shoulders, holding herself up and shaking him as her legs dangled. “Just tell me what happened already!”
Arzoch grabbed her by her ankle, peeled her off of him, and tossed her onto the nearest couch. “Just getting a little revenge on humans.”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
She righted herself. “Oh! Which ones did you get revenge on?”
“None yet.”
“What!?” Entirely exasperated, Miona buried her face into the cushion.
“Oh, I turned a human into a demon.”
“I don’t care about that!” Miona turned back toward Arzoch. “How will you get revenge on… them?” Her face clouded over as she remembered previous dealings with humans.
Arzoch narrowed his eyes as he looked down at Miona on the couch. “That one is long dead.”
“…I know,” Miona whispered.
“If he had lived just a bit longer, I would have gotten to him before he…” Arzoch’s hands slowly balled into fists.
“…I know.”
“Not every human is like him. Don’t think of all humans as your enemy.”
Miona didn’t respond, unwilling to agree or disagree.
“This mirror is the key to restoring balance.”
“…How?”
“I’ll show you soon enough.”
Intrigued, Miona stood back up and walked over to the mirror again. “How can a large reflection hurt humans?”
“It can’t. A mirror can’t hurt humans unless you break it over their heads. Mirrors can’t eat people.”
“Then why bring it back?”
Arzoch didn’t answer but Miona saw the corner of his lips curve up ever-so-slightly.
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Eleven demons sat around a circular table. They were arguing about trivial matters when a twelfth demon walked in.
“Arzoch?” said Jokin, shock evident on his face. Like Arzoch, he had a humanlike appearance, with brown hair and plain features.
“Correct. I see you’ve been studying.”
“You bastard…”
Wanting to prevent conflict, another demon weighed in. “Any reason why you decided to grace us with your presence?”
“Yes.” Arzoch sat down at the table but didn’t say anything.
As the silence became unbearable, Jokin cleared his throat and asked, “It’s been many Walpurgis Nights since you joined us. Why are you here?”
“I need your help. All of you.”
Several demons gasped at this realization. Jokin continued to speak for the group.
“You? Request our help? How unexpected. However, unless your plan involves making all the humans suffer, you may as well leave right now.”
“Not all the humans,” Arzoch clarified. “Just the ones who summon us.”
“Oh? I’m listening.”
“Tell us!” another demon weighed in.
A couple of demons shook their head as though they thought it was a waste of time, but they didn’t say anything to intervene.
“Whenever one of your demons is summoned,” Arzoch elaborated, “identify the human summoner, and send me the details, including exactly how the summoning was performed, how they behaved, and what they wished for.”
“Every time?” asked Jokin. “What will you do with that information?”
“I will experiment on them.”
“How!?” Jokin slammed his fist down on the table.
“Once I’m satisfied, I’ll return and answer that question.”
“I’m curious enough.” A demon who had been quiet until now nodded towards Arzoch who nodded back.
“I’m glad I’m not the only one interested in revenge against the humans,” said Arzoch.
Jokin looked back and forth between the two demons who had just reached an understanding. “Arg. Fine! You have my support, but you better not let us down.”
One by one, the remaining demons agreed to share the requested information with Arzoch. Doing so wouldn’t really cost them anything, but cooperation among demons was a fickle thing.
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Soon after, Arzoch received his first report, ironically from Jokin. A young demon had been summoned by a mage who made his living guarding a city. The mage intended to take on his summoned demon as a familiar. Although the summoning was successful, the summoner failed to establish a long-term contract. As a result, the demon fled back to the demon realm.
According to the report, the summoner was betrayed by his fellow guardsman. Specifically, some swordsman who seemed to have a feud with the mage interrupted the ritual. The demon had not stuck around long enough to find out what happened between the mage and the swordsman.
“This should work,” said Arzoch.
“Oh! Are you going to try it now?” Miona stood next to Arzoch as they gazed into the mirror.
“Yes. Remember, not a word of what happens here to anyone. I will reveal all in good time.”
“Okay…”
Arzoch prepared a summoning ritual, not unlike what the old man had used recently to summon Arzoch into the mirror. In this case, the target was different in nature and so the formula and keywords were quite different as well.
“Here we go.”