Arshtal Kingdom, Kilamor Forest, Old Gate. A week prior.
An uninvited guest shattered the palace’s tranquility. A shadowy figure emerged, dragging the lifeless corpse of an orc, and with a brazen gesture, flung it before Gremonita, who was sitting on her throne.
With a calm and composed gesture, Gremonita asked the shadowy figure. “How rude,” she said, with a low, relaxed voice. “You dare toss a corpse in my palace?”
From a murky shadow covering its appearance, the shadowy figure slowly revealed himself by walking out of silhouette.
“It’s been a while,” the masked man said in a loud, not-so-polite voice. “Gremonita.”
She scoffed at him, disoriented by his statement. “Lower your tone when you speak to me. Do I know you?” she asked.
He walked slowly towards the throne and suddenly flickered right before her. “You’ll soon know who I am.”
She just stared at him, keeping her confidence and staying level-headed, knowing that she could kill the masked man anytime.
“Oh, really?” She replied with a mild voice. Gremonita unleashed a surge of enormous mana to intimidate him while keeping her cool. “And how exactly are you going to make me know?” She taunted.
The masked man laughed hysterically. He wasn’t intimidated even one bit, and soon, he also unleashed a fair amount of mana to match hers. Both of their mana clashed, causing a tremor in the palace.
“As cocky as always,” the masked man insulted her.
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THE LATE AFTERNOON SKY was enveloped in ominous dark grey clouds that loomed over the land. Thunder rumbled menacingly as jagged bolts of lightning pierced through the gloom, striking the earth with a deafening crack. A sudden gust of wind swept through the trees, heralding the arrival of a torrential downpour. Rain pelted the forest of Kilamor, drenching everything in its path.
In the kingdom of Barta, as the townspeople went about their daily activities, one citizen paused and gazed up at the brooding sky. The dark clouds seemed to be continuously filled with lightning bolts, creating a continuous chain of thunderclaps that seemed almost unnatural. It was a terrifying yet astonishing view. Squinting, he spotted a dark form hurtling rapidly toward the city. At first, he thought it appeared to be a large bird, but as it neared, he realized with alarm that it was a human-like figure plunging from the sky.
It crashed into the ground, causing a slight shake and shifting the surface downhill. People were in a panic as it was an impactful crash, and they immediately evacuated as much as possible. As the people got to the safe spot, they stared in confusion at the bottom of the crash site. A silhouette of the figure that crashed into their town slowly revealed from the slight dust screen that instantly vanished from the heavy rain.
A petite girl with horns on her head, brunette bob hair, and a heart-shaped tail tip rose from her fall. They soon realize who they are witnessing and start running from the scene as they scream her name to those unfamiliar.
It’s! —it’s Gremonita! Everyone, run as far as you can!
The demoness Gremonita?! Why?! Didn’t she promise she won’t attack us?!
She’s a demon—what do you expect?! She can do whatever she wants with that kind of power!
At the bottom of the crater, Gremonita wondered. Who is this person? She thought as she walked up from where she fell. No one has ever put me down like this… other than the hero –she recalled her defeat against Artorius– and my gracious lord. If it weren’t for Lucius, who let me escape, I would’ve been...
She regained her focus and scanned her surroundings. She saw people in panic running from the scene, and then she looked up at the sky, which was filled with dark clouds. She locked her gaze and stared silently at the masked man as he slowly descended from the sky with his flight spell.
The masked man landed, and he began to stroll and look around.
“This,” he started, “might be the perfect place for me to start, don’t you think?”
She raised her eyebrow, not buying the masked man’s statement. “What are you talking about?”
“This kingdom. I never knew a bunch of those lowlife could unite as one.”
“You plan to rule this kingdom?”
He stopped walking and fixed his gaze on her. “No,” he said. “What I plan… is to rule the world.”
She looked at him with contempt, accompanied by a disdainful scoff at him. “First, you thought you could best me, and now, you think about ruling the world. Even jokes sometimes have their limits, and yours is definitely one of them.”
“I admit, for now, it’s not possible to do such a thing. That is why… I’m starting from you to test my current strength.”
“Didn’t you hear what I said before? Yet, you’re still joking around.”
A gigantic magic circle silently appeared above, covering almost the entire town.
A chantless advanced spell?! The masked man is shocked when he sees the massive magic circle. He noticed the pattern of the magic circle and realized it was an advanced ice spell. In a swift response, he immediately cast a spell to counter it. “Inferno Magic: Flamma Infernalis!” He summons a red velvet magic circle just right above their heads, countering the glacial hail of ice storm raining down on them with a blazing infernal fire.
The spells collide, producing steam from the hot flames that melt the icicles and the heavy rain. Gremonita concealed her presence using the misty steam and disappeared from the masked man’s view.
Where is she? he wondered as he scanned his surroundings and kept his guard.
He looked through every possible way as to where she could appear, and a faint shadow on his left caught his attention, and he exclaimed, “There!” He guessed and cast a chantless fire spell at it, but unfortunately, he was tricked and discovered he was attacking a mere illusion.
His focus had been diverted, and unbeknownst to him, the only direction he overlooked was under his feet. A violet magic circle was silently under him right when he cast the fire spell. The spell activates, electrocuting the masked man.
It had him paralyzed, and Gremonita took the opportunity to show herself boldly right in front of him. She extended her palm directly in front of his masked face, uttering the spell with the word, “Ater!”
A black beam unleashed from her palm, ripping the masked man’s torso, leaving only the lower half of his body. With a look of skepticism, she looked closely after the lower half of the body. “A shadow?” she said as the lower torso slowly dissipated.
“You were looking for me?” the masked man’s voice appeared behind her.
She turned around with an inquisitive look and then started asking him. Again. “You. Answer me this time. Who are you?”
The masked man chuckled. “You ruined my mood now that you kept asking. Maybe I shouldn’t tell you anything.”
“Tell me,” she said with an ominous look. “Are you a demon? Who gave you the authority to use dark magic?”
“Why don’t you get rid of this mask of mine if you want to know?”
“I guess there’s no point in asking anymore.”
She stretched her hand and summoned an object out of thin air to her grip.
The masked man took a cautious step back, realizing the battle had escalated to what he’d initially anticipated.
There it is. The ancient stave, Kaladanda. She’s starting to get serious.
The air between them seemed to thicken with anticipation as Gremonita’s grip tightened on the legendary stave, Kaladanda. Rain continued to pour from the sky, but it failed to dampen the crackling energy that emanated from her weapon.
The elegant stave hummed with ancient power, runes along its shaft glowing with an eerie luminescence. With a flick of her wrist, Gremonita directed the staff at the masked man, and in response, the ground beneath him erupted, sending shards of rock and earth hurtling skywards.
But in time, the masked man countered with a graceful leap, dodging the earthen missiles. In mid-air, he retaliated by conjuring a series of spectral blades that encircled Gremonita in a deadly dance. She parried with swift, deft movements of her stave, shattering each ethereal weapon with bursts of dark energy that boomed through the rain-soaked air.
“Weak,” Gremonita taunted, her voice laced with venomous confidence.
“I thought so.”
The masked man landed on his feet, the water splashing under his weight.
As he lands, the masked man raised his hands immediately, his fingers crackling with blue lightning.
“Lightning Magic: Grande Fulmen!”
He unleashed a barrage of lightning bolts that streaked through the rain toward her like deadly serpents. She tapped her stave’s end to the ground and lifted the earth as a wall, forming a sphere to protect her from the rumbling lightning strikes.
With the earth wall obstructing her view, the masked man seized the opportunity to lunge forward, but as he did, the front of the earth wall unexpectedly shot outwards. He easily crushed the rubble with a powerful swing of his arm, but what he didn’t realize was that Gremonita had been waiting in the newly formed hole, ready to unleash a spell upon him. A whistling sound of wind gathers in the small hole.
“Wind Magic: Vis Ventus Sagitta!” She invoked a spell.
A powerful gust of wind blasted through, creating a visible wind arrow that launched at the speed of sound and a rippling effect in the air as it shattered the sound barrier.
The masked man barely had time to react as the wind arrow struck him with ferocious speed. He swiftly tried to defend himself with a half-baked barrier, but the force of the wind arrow was too strong and shattered through. It sent him flying through the air and crashing into a nearby building, causing rubble to cascade down upon him.
Gremonita gracefully landed near him. “This is insulting,” She taunted. “If you’re not going to fight with your full strength, don’t blame me when you meet your pointless end. Stop contemplating behind those rocks; I know you’re still alive.”
“I suppose this is the limit of my base strength,” he said, his voice muffled by the debris on top of him.
He used a powerful burst of energy to blast away the debris that had buried him, and a smirk played across his hidden face after he heard Gremonita’s mockery. “Fine then. I’ll show you something new.”
He jumped down from the collapsed building and moved his hands in intricate patterns, weaving a tapestry of incantations in the damp environment. And then, he mutters a language that is somewhat familiar to her ears.
気 (Ki). 天 (Ten). 辰 (Tatsu). (発) Hatsu. (裂) Retsu. (攻) Ko. (水) Mizu!
Gremonita watched carefully, her eyes narrowed. Her mind was racing to decipher his hand movements, and in that instant, she felt stunned as she recognized those particular hand motions.
Those are—!
The raindrops seemed to pause and then slowly merge together, coalescing into a massive droplet that gradually formed a shape. With his hands clasped together, completing the last hand seal required to perform the technique, he spoke the final incantation to activate it.
“水龍弾 (Suiryūdan!)”
A barrage of giant water shaped as dragons appears from all around the masked man, storming toward Gremonita. With a swift reaction, she cast an earth spell to propel herself backward, narrowly avoiding the attack of the enormous water dragons.
The dragons, each one a towering cascade of swirling aquatic might, charged relentlessly after her and destroyed every building in its path. Gremonita’s cloak billowed behind her as she continued to retreat, evading the relentless pursuit of the liquid beasts. She twirled and slammed the stave’s end into the sodden ground, and an enormous barrier surged forth, encircling her in a protective dome.
The first dragon crashed against the barrier with a tremendous roar that shook the very air, its watery form exploding into a thousand shimmering droplets upon impact. The second and third followed suit, their monstrous forms dissolving into harmless showers that pattered down on the magical shield. Yet, even as the assault subsided, Gremonita knew this was merely a respite.
The dragons continue to materialize from the raindrops, relentlessly attacking the magical shield, causing it to weaken and gradually develop cracks with each impact. Inside, she murmured incantations while gripping the stave tightly with both hands. She was aware that she couldn’t keep dodging every attack indefinitely, so she needed to take action and do something about the rain.
“—Ventorum susurri, Nubes pelle, solemque revela!” Her voice reverberated as she chanted a magic spell, and as the water dragon’s attack shattered her protective spell, she raised her staff to the sky and cried out, “Caelum Ruptis!”
Stolen story; please report.
An air cannon blasted at the stormy clouds, bursting them open and revealing the radiant sun, clearing the sky. The rain ceased to fall, and with the last water dragons emerging from either side, she tapped her stave’s end to the ground and chanted a grand spell.
“Ice Magic: Arcticum Frigidus.”
In an instant, a chilling blast of icy energy shot out from her stave, turning the water dragons that were about to crash into her into frozen solid ice, and so… was the entire town. Those who were still around the area—the unfortunates—were instantly transformed into statues of ice, and the once-bustling town now resembled a frozen tundra, trapped in an eternal winter by her powerful magic.
The silent, frostbitten scene was punctuated by the crackling sounds of frozen structures and figures settling into their new, frigid reality. Shielded with a magic barrier, The masked man, who had been so sure of his dominance, now found himself in a precarious position: his watery beasts had become brittle sculptures, and the surrounding rain that fueled his mysterious magic technique was no more.
“Tch,” He clicked his tongue, expressing his frustration. “What a drag.”
He stared daggers at Gremonita at a distance while she burst the crystallized water dragons into pieces. He saw her staring back at him with a blank expression, seemingly unfazed by all of his actions. Then they started walking, slowly approaching each other.
“Say,” she hollered. “Those hand signs—you’re from Akishima, aren’t you? What are you doing here in Santehna?”
“I thought we moved on from all the questions.”
“Cut the cackle and just answer me. Are you here as an act of revenge?”
“Act of revenge? Why would I do that? Most of your kind have already been on edge for the past few years after the death of the demon king. It’s just a matter of time until the rest of the demon army’s survivors fall into the hands of elves and humans.”
They stopped and stood their ground; their gazes hardened at each other. His retort sparked something within Gremonita. The mention of her fallen comrades and beloved demon king only fueled the rage burning inside her.
“If it wasn’t for that damned hero, I could’ve killed all your kind and conquered your land.”
“Frankly, I share the same sentiment, but we wouldn’t have met if that did happen.”
Gremonita scoffed at the masked man’s response, her eyes narrowing as she continued to glare at him. She raised her stave once more, preparing for another spell.
This immense mana… this might be her final attack. The masked man thought, feeling the intense sensation around Gremonita.
The atmosphere around her began to change. The ground beneath her feet cracked, and small stones began to levitate due to the intense mana emanating from her.
“I guess I have to thank you,” she said as she concentrated on her spell. “I admit it’s been a long time since I fought like this, but I’ve had enough.”
Her eyes burned with determination, and the sky above the frozen town – once dappled with reflected sunlight – was consumed by the sudden expanse of a dark magic circle. The wind gusts fiercely, causing their cloak to flutter wildly around them.
“Do you intend to destroy the whole town?” The masked man asked in a sullen tone.
But she just stared deliberately, focused on finishing her spell.
“Giving me the silent treatment, huh?”
He scoffed, realizing that his words would not sway her. Suddenly, The air crackled. A shimmering portal, barely a hand’s width across, appeared. The portal slowly emerged an odd sword handle, wrapped in ray skin panels. He pulled forth a blade—a katana, soon to be revealed—covered with an exquisite scabbard. With a single fluid motion, a sheer swing of the blade caught Gremonita’s attention, and as she was about to finish channeling her spell, the masked man pointed his katana toward her.
“You asked about the reason why I’m here, didn’t you?”
The katana’s blade darkens, radiating with an ominous aura. He raised the sword toward the sky while taking a stance, and suddenly, a surge of mana erupted from the blade.
"I’ve come to reclaim what rightfully belongs to me.” He stated with bona fide determination.
Gremonita could sense the authenticity of his words. Still, she dismissed the idea of an unknown man having such ambitions because she knew that those aspirations were reserved solely for her king – the demon king.
“This world belongs to my lord; no one else! sink into the darkness chasm!”
The magic circle grew larger and brighter as she finished concentrating her mana. With a pointed motion of her stave, she aimed at the masked man and recited the last words of the incantation for her spell.
“Ater: Revelatione!”
She summoned a swirling vortex of darkness from the magic circle at her feet. The mass grew and condensed into a massive black ball, crackling with dark zeal. The ball shot toward the masked man, leaving a trail of sparks in its wake.
The masked man stood firm still, his feet planted firmly on the ground as he focused all of his energy on his katana. The black ball hurtled towards him, but he didn’t flinch. With a battle cry, he leaps forward to the black ball.
"Ater: Dimensio Secare!" He shouted the spell as his sword slashed through the air.
A gleaming dark slash shot out from the blade, slicing through the darkness and dissipating the black ball with a loud explosion.
The explosion created a shockwave that rippled through the air, sending debris and dirt flying in all directions. The ground shook and cracked, and the surrounding trees swayed violently.
She struggles to keep her footing because of the gust created by the shockwave trying to send her flying, but she manages to steady herself with a firm grip on her stave. She shielded her eyes from the flying debris, and as the dust settled, she found herself face to face with a blade - the masked man was already standing there, his katana aimed directly at her. Already powerless from putting all of her mana into her spell, she fell short to her knee.
“I lost,” she said with a low voice, expressing her disappointment at the loss. “What are you waiting for? Finish me.”
He gently traced the edge of his katana along her neck – but then swiftly sheathed it back. “You still don’t understand, do you?”
But she just kneeled in silence. Her eyes indicate a sense of vulnerability and resignation.
“I never intended to kill you in the first place, Lilith.”
A shiver tingled down her spine at the mention of a name she hadn’t heard in many years, not since the fall of the demon king. The revelation of the name rang through her ears, stirring memories long buried beneath her fierce demoness facade. She raised her gaze to meet the intricated mask that hid the masked man’s face, feeling a rush of emotions - shock and recognition swirling inside her.
“Why do you know that name?!” she demanded, her voice a mix of anger and confusion.
“Who are you, really, beneath that mask?”
The masked man paused, his hand resting on the hilt of his sheathed katana. “The one who knows your curse is also the one who knows your true nature. We have a shared past, one that you seem to have missed.”
Her mind raced, sifting through centuries of memories, trying to place the man before her. “A shared past? Are you saying you’re—”
“Gremonita, the curse of Lilith,” The masked man placed his hand on her head. “I have returned.”
Her eyes glistened as she saw a glimpse of the demon king she loved inside the mask of the man.
“But how…?” Her voice trembled as she spoke. Her joy was tempered by disbelief, a whisper of doubt still lingering. But she couldn’t refute the simple truth: only the demon king and the other cursed kin would know that name.
“It’s a long story,” he said, lending his hand to help her up. But for now, I need you to undo all this.”
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The masked man sat on the tallest building in the town while waiting for Gremonita to reverse the frozen state that had befallen the town. A minute later, she hovered toward him after finishing undoing her spell.
“I’m done,” she said while still floating in the air.
“Well done. Why don’t you sit here with me?”
Gremonita hesitated before taking a seat next to him, her reasons unknown. It was just a gut reaction.
“Settle down,” the masked man realized her still stiffness toward him. “I won’t bite or do anything similar. I know you realize there’s something off about my presence. Didn’t you?”
“It’s indeed… strange. It is as if there is someone else within your presence.”
“Is that the reason why you held back during our fight?”
Gremonita remained silent, her eyes narrowing slightly with a guarded expression that hinted at the truth behind the masked man’s question.
“So, you did hold back?”
“Not necessarily,” She denied.
“I see. If you can sense it, I might run out of time today.”
“What do you mean?”
The masked man gestured for Gremonita to join him at the edge of the building, clapping his hand against the concrete. “Come. Sit and let us chat here while we enjoy the view.”
“F-fine…” Gremonita accepted reluctantly.
As she sat next to him, the presence of her demon lord started to feel familiar. She felt at ease… as if she was in a safe place. Perhaps it reminded her of always seeing him gaze at the stars at night whenever he had the chance to. He would invite her to sit next to him in the tower of his castle and talk about how the world wasn’t supposed to be like now and then.
“Let me ask you first,” the masked man started. “Among your kin, who is still alive other than you?”
“I… I’m not sure. I’ve never bothered to search for them since my lord’s—” she stuttered, unsure to finish her sentence. “—death.”
The masked man chuckled and seemed unbothered as to why she didn’t recognize him as the demon king.
“Here I am, hoping for something good to hear. I guess things don’t always work in your favor.”
“Will you please clarify something for me?” Gremonita swiftly interjected.
“Sure. What is it?”
“Are you really… the demon king?” she asked with seriousness.
“My dear, as for now, I’m in no position to call myself the demon king. I’ve no castle to settle in – not even a throne to sit on. Besides,” —he unmasked himself— “I’m far from being a demon myself.”
She struggled to make sense of what she had just seen - the face of a human being. She couldn’t even begin to process it all, but once again, she couldn’t deny that the essence of the demon king resides within this person she is staring at.
“How is this possible?” she asked. “How did you become such a… lowly creature – a hideous human?”
His face was hot, reacting to her words. “How dare you call me a low creature?!” he said, raising his voice. But he felt guilty for it and calmed himself after. “I… I apologize.”
“No—please! Forgive me for my impudence,” she said, kneeling directly and touching her head to the building’s concrete.
“No. You were right. Please raise your head.”
He floated into the air gently. “I’m unsure of what I’ve become. This human body makes me feel… well – human! But I’m still me. Honestly, I did not foresee this would be the effect of the resurrection spell. Am I slowly turning into him? Into this human?”
“Resurrection spell? Did you mean—the ancient spell, Rex Anima?!” Gremonita said, astounded. “I thought it was only a myth…! So – you did truly… resurrected, my… lord?”
He turned to face her; a small satisfaction filled him as one of his servants once more addressed him as their lord. “Not fully. I’m far from my full power, thanks to the hero.”
“Artorius,” she mentioned the hero’s name with contempt. “What did he do?”
“The cursed blade of his – Caliburn. He claimed it was forged and conjured from the spiritual realm. It sliced my soul into two and possessed the other soul with his consciousness.”
“That means your other soul is—”
“Probably residing inside someone else’s body,” he cut in. He began to float farther from the town, and then he called her. “Follow me.”
He invited Gremonita to fly above the clouds with him. As they soared, the town below appeared minuscule and unimportant from their perspective. The clouds swirled around them as they flew higher, and they finally came to a stop.
“Gremonita,” he called, “Will you serve me under me one more time?”
“What are you talking about, my lord,” she queried the masked man’s unfathomable question. “I will always be at your service.”
“I see… thank you for your undying loyalty.”
She approached him, gently grasped his hand, and kissed it as a gesture of her loyalty. He patted her head in appreciation.
“I have something to tell you,” he said. “Will you please hear me out?”
“Anything, my lord.”
“For now, the world will not learn about my return, and I need you to act as my substitute.”
“Substitute…? Did you mean by taking your place as the demon king?”
“Exactly.”
“Such brazen act! I would never dare to do such a thing!” she exclaimed, horrified at the idea. “With just us both, we could take over the whole of Santehna—and then the world! Now that the hero’s gone.”
“Do not underestimate the growth of humans,” he responded to Gremonita’s naivety. “Why do you think I brought you here to the sky?”
Gremonita couldn’t reply as she didn’t understand the question.
“What have you been doing after my death?” he sighed. “I’ll brief you. There is an organization called the Guardians, and they keep formidable individuals to counter possible threats. These individuals are capable of overthrowing a country in just a single night—and there are probably hundreds of them. There’s also a chance they could be here to observe.”
“Guardians,” she remembered. “Those masked people. I did not think they would be a great threat.”
“So, you’ve heard of them?”
“I overheard a conversation around the town about them, saying that they’re hunting and targeting surviving demons.”
“So as I heard. They planned to liberate Arshtal from your control, but I stirred up chaos all around Santehna to distract them and shift their focus away from you, leaving you safe for now.”
“Why would they want to free a lesser race kingdom?”
“Their goal is to maintain peace after my death, and right now, they’re looking to include the lesser races as a part of it – peace among races.”
“Impossible…”
The masked man turns his face downward to see the sight of the whole town. “Impossible, huh? Come to think of it, they have always done the impossible – and I began to understand them after I achieved the resurrection spell, and thanks to this human body, I feel something that I haven’t felt before. We’re at war with them for a hundred years, yet we’ve never come to conquer them.”
He turns toward Gremonita once again. “As demons, there is one thing we have always been missing.”
Gremonita gazed at him with stillness, poised to listen. “What might that be?”
“Is to believe in the impossible – to trust them.”
“I don’t understand.” She said, scratching her head in confusion.
The masked man let out a sigh. “Even with all your intelligence, you still have your limitations. It must be in your genes.”
She pouted. “Well—my bad… I wasn’t that interested in humans anyway.”
“Then you need to start getting used to it. At least, the one thing you should not do is underestimate them. If you fail to comprehend, try recalling your encounter with the hero.”
She began to remember her fight with him – which wasn’t a fond memory. Her defeat was humiliating and unforeseen; it left a deep scar on her pride, especially since it cost a fellow comrade’s life.
“So,” the masked man called to the absent-minded Gremonita. “Are you starting to get it?”
She nodded reluctantly.
“Good. Now, let me explain further. First, we must take over this kingdom to create a dilemma between cases. This will create a distraction to allow me to find the missing eight.”
Gremonita looked puzzled. “All eight of them? But you don’t even know if any are still out there, especially Lucius, since he...he’s dead, died by Artorius’ hand.”
“When the hero defeated us at the castle, I planted an emergency teleport spell for them, which I never told. When I was killed, I triggered a self-destructing spell that destroyed the whole castle area, and that was when the teleport spell activated automatically. The Guardians have recorded eight of our remaining members as fugitives—including you – indicating that they are still on the loose. As for Lucius, he’s still alive.”
“Lucius is alive?!” Gremonita gasped.
“Inside a grimoire, that is. Lucius has the curse of Azazel – his heart exists within the book of the strength demon. And the key to his revival is me. The grimoire can be found deep inside a hidden tomb in the desert of Misr—and I planned to go there as soon as we established here.”
“Lucius is alive…” She felt relieved to hear her fellow was still alive. “And what comes next after that?”
“As for the second plan, after we retrieve all curses back together, we’ll find my other half.”
“Why don’t we just find your other half instead? Wouldn’t that be quicker?”
“I have no information whatsoever regarding my other half – who’s behind it or what they’re capable of. It would be prudent to proceed with caution, as my other half may not have awoken yet. Although I cannot fully sense it, I am certain that it is here in Santehna.”
With her hands on her hips, Gremonita let out a groan, realizing it was probably not the brightest plan. “I don’t get it, but I’m gonna trust your plan regardless. As you said before, ‘believe in the impossible’ thing.”
“Starting to get used to it, didn’t you?” he said, teasing her. “Hmm?”
The masked man started to feel that his consciousness was fading away. He felt a surge of something had arisen from within his body. He realized it was time for him to rest his soul inside the human body he possesses – switching souls.
“Gremonita,” he called, “I have one more thing to address. Remember I said I’m running out of time today?”
“Y-yeah, what about it?”
“It is time for me to switch places with him.”
“W-what are talking about?”
“Do me a favor and take care of the other half of this body. I have already explained the situation to him and informed him about who you are. Please treat him fairly. He will introduce himself to you.”
“Why don’t you tell me sooner?!” she demanded, her voice rising.
“See ya—”
“Hey! Wait!!”
The masked man closed his eyes, put his mask back, and fell from the sky.
“Where am I…?” he muttered as he slowly opened his eyes. He gazed at the blue sky and felt his clothes flapping. Not for long, he started to feel the rush of the wind through his body and then came back to his senses. Then he realized he was falling from the sky.
He screamed at the top of his lungs, not knowing what to do since he didn’t know how to cast a flight spell. He flailed his arms and legs, desperately trying to find a solution as he plummeted towards the ground. Suddenly, just before he hit the ground, he felt himself being caught by a small figure. He couldn’t help but wonder how this tiny being could have such strong arms that could hold someone of his size. Then, he tilts his head so he can see the figure that saves him.
“Yo,” he greeted. “You must be the demoness, Gremonita, right?”
“Yo?” Gremonita replied, her eyes narrowed in confusion. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s like saying ‘hello’—or just a greeting if you didn’t understand. Can you uh—put me down?”
“Sure.”
She let go of her grip, leaving the masked man to fall to the ground with a thud.
“Ow… maybe you could just drop me normally next time?” he said while he was prone to the ground.
“Whatever. Just get up and tell me your name, human.”
“Right.”
He stood up and offered his hand to her.
“What’s up? My name is—”