“See that demon at the front? We’ve killed him three times, but he’s here again!” Warmaster Chamberlain pointed at a particularly burly demon, who was taking on the vanguard role for the fourth time. “Someone should tell him that it is generally a bad idea to stand in front of their enemies and try to boast.”

           As the words left his mouth, the sounds of multiple Straight Shots blared out, and the huge demon fell over, his head a fleshy mess yet again. The demons behind the dead one pulled the corpse into the crowd of demons wielding pointy implements, and soon, the body was out of sight.

           “Well, that’s it for the opening. After that, they’ll send out a messenger, and we’ll snark at each other for a few minutes, and then fight a short war a second later,” said the Warmaster.

           “What the hell kind of war is that?” Gemini asked. “Or is it a game to them?”

           “They respawn every time, so it’s very much a game to them. They protest vigorously when we take their corpses with us though,” replied the Warmaster. “We’ve confirmed a correlation between taking their corpses and extending their respawn timer.”

           “Respawn timer…” Gemini laughed out loud. “It feels like a game when you say that.”

           “One of those computer games, right?” Paragon Ortega, who was standing on the walls too, interrupted. “I imagine it must be something great. Octantis was moaning about them the whole time, to the point that the Human God got angry.”

           “There was such a thing?” Gemini asked. “No wonder he never spoke to any of us Constellations…”

           “I’m sure that there are more reasons to that, but that’s probably a key reason.” Paragon Ortega consulted his notes. “Apparently, Octantis wanted to play something called a MOBA, whatever that was.”

           “Huh.”

           “Something wrong, Gemini?”

           “Yeah, now that you say it. Did the Cardinal Champions ever say what year they came from? Because it sounds like they came from my time period too. I may not be able to fully remember my identity, but I can recall most of the cultural influences on my childhood too.”

           “It was possible that they didn’t all come from the same period, however.” Ortega flipped through the papers in his hand. “Solaris and Polaris didn’t understand what a computer game was, apparently. But at any rate, our records cannot be treated as absolute truth, and whether they actually understood or not is just based on our conjecture.”

           The demons stirred, and a smaller one emerged from the crowd.

           “We can continue this talk later,” said Ortega. “Let’s go talk to these demons.”

           His body rose into the air, as did Warmaster Chamberlain and Gemini, and the three of them landed in front of the demon. That particular demon was dressed in a flowy robe of gold and red, but even though his body was smaller, muscles perfect in both form and structure were visible even though his loose robes.

           “Oh? Tis a new face. And like all your fellows, he is deformed, lacking the Third Eye.” A trace of what seemed to be pity infused his words.

           Gemini looked at the demon dispassionately. Demons looked very much like humans, but they had a third eye in the middle of their forehead. He didn’t know how this affected their vision, but so far, Ark City…no, the Commonwealth had managed mislead the demons by making them think it was a hereditary deformity.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

           “We get by,” replied Gemini.

           “You should consider seeing a specialist. Maybe an Exemplar skilled in the medical arts might be able to do something for you.” The demon frowned. “I’m not in the mood to fight anymore. Just what was Brother thinking, bullying the needy like this?”

           “Huh?”

           “We should learn to get along with people who are different from us, right?” The demon sighed. “And maybe you shouldn’t shoot someone who wants to boast. Let him boast a bit, and we’ll be fine.”

           Gemini glanced at the dumbfounded Chamberlain and Ortega, whose jaws were probably on the verge of dislocating, and rubbed his nose. “So, we aren’t fighting anymore?”

           “Not until you guys get your third eye back.” The demon sighed. “You lot fight well, but we clearly have an advantage. There’s no point in fighting if your enemy isn’t challenging you at their strongest. Aii. The Demon God keeps going about how he could have been good friends with the, uh, Champions, if they weren’t too good at killing.”

   Best friends through what? Beating each other until both sides were black and blue? Gemini forced out a smile and said, “We’re a peaceful clan. We don’t really like fighting — eating is better!”

           “Eating?” The demon took out a piece of bread. “You like eating this? This…hard thing? You guys are odd.”

           “Look,” said Gemini, “your food sucks. If you learn to cook them, you’ll love eating. Even more than fighting. How about you come with us into the city? We’ll show you what real food is.”

           To his side, Warmaster Chamberlain whispered to Paragon Ortega. “Is this okay?”

           “Why are you asking me? You’re the Warmaster!”

           “A mad Magnus is scary,” replied the Warmaster. “How about you take responsibility?”

           “Never mind. Gemini’s the one who suggested it anyway, so the Campmaster’s just going to go after him, right?” Ortega stroked his chin.

   Did you really think that I couldn’t hear you, just because you two veiled your conversation? Gemini felt a vein twitch, and it was only by directing all his attention to making sure his face stayed straight did he manage to keep his expression neutral.

           “Can I really go in?” asked the demon.

           “So long as you don’t go killing or fighting inside the city. We love peace,” Gemini replied. “In fact, seeking peace was why we fled our old territory.”

           “Shucks. Looks like you guys must have been in the territory of the normal demons.” He looked at Gemini’s uncomprehending face. “The fellows who insist on burning, raping and dancing on our graveyards.”

   Graveyards? Demons don’t die…

           “If only Gramps was still here,” said the demon. “He loved eating more than fighting. He’d have been delighted to meet chums like you.”

           “What happened to him?” Gemini asked.

           “His Incense burnt out after his four hundred and fifty-third death. It should have lasted for another forty-seven, but…” The demon sighed. “Gramps waltzed into the battlefield, but he didn’t expect to meet a primal there, who stole whatever remained of his eternity.”

           There were so many illogical things that Gemini wanted to point out, but his desire to do so vanished when he looked at the two middle-aged Paragons whispering at each other.

           “My condolences,” said Gemini. “All the more then, that you should try our food. Your…grandpa would have wanted you to learn the joys of eating. Come on, let’s go. Your soldiers can return for now.”

           “Wait, you’re really inviting him in?” Ortega asked.

           “Yeah, you have a problem with that?” Gemini rolled his eyes.

           The Paragon looked at Gemini, worry in his glance. “Campmaster Magnus won’t like it.”

           “It’s okay. I’ll tell him that it was your suggestion, and it should be fine.”

           “What?”

           Ignoring Ortega’s outburst, Gemini motioned at the city. “Come on. Let’s get you nice and filled up.”

           The demon laughed heartily, and followed the Constellation as he took to the skies.