Chapter 1

Being a demon can be such a pain sometimes. Sure, there’s the cool powers and moral freedom to do as you please, but stupid humans are always trying to meddle. Can’t they just leave a girl alone to eat her cake in peace! I sighed in annoyance at the Clunaics trying to approach me stealthily. Maybe to the average human they might seem inconspicuous, but I could sense their holy weapons as easily as spotting a beacon in the dark.

This was seriously unfortunate timing. I had just gotten to the Human Realm through a convenient dimension tear and was determined to eat something delicious. I know, it may not seem very evil, but I assure you, this devil’s chocolate cake is sinfully delicious. The food in the Demon Realm just couldn’t hold a candle to the wickedly clever concoctions of humans.

With another over dramatic sigh, I got up from my seat at the cozy bakery and headed for the back entrance. Now I know what you may be thinking, oh so she’s just going to run away? Of course not, why would you think such a thing! I just don’t want to have a fight inside what I already know will be my new favorite place in the Human Realm, Devil’s Delight. Even the name of the bakery is just begging me to stay.

The Clunaics started rushing after me, not wanting me to escape, so I decided I might as well make things entertaining for them by giving them a challenge. I started sprinting away from the small town, reveling in the breeze running through my hair and the sun warming my face. I could get used to this. This was what living should feel like. Not gagging on acrid air or squinting through shadows.

I heard the thudding of hoofbeats behind me and turned to see that the Clunaics were pursuing me on horseback. They started gaining on me as we left the town behind. But no matter, it might be nice to have some entertainment after all. With a grin I shed my human disguise, my body vibrating and shimmering as I shifted into my demonic form. Ram-like horns appeared on my head, protruding through my long dark hair, and I stretched out my bat wings, warming them in the sun. I turned, wanting to revel in the shocked expressions of the Clunaics as they got a load of what they were dealing with.

They’re reactions didn’t disappoint. Their faces were awash with surprise and fear and I could see their growing hesitancy to approach me now. However, out of the cluster of Clunaics, one man continued on boldly. At first I thought he was probably some stupid fool desparate to prove himself to his comrades, but as he neared I could see that wasn’t quite the case.

He wasn’t the largest or strongest looking man among the Clunaics, but he had a lean roughness to him that implied training and skill. His sandy blonde hair was tied back, though some rebellious strands still whipped across his face as he rode. As he raced towards me, green eyes blazing with determination despite his obvious fear, he drew his sword.

Despite knowing they were carrying holy weapons I couldn’t help but shudder reflexively at the deadly weapon. The blade shimmered with blue fire as he raised the sword and pointed it towards me. Every demon knows that holy fire is to be avoided at all costs. It’s instinctual knowledge ingrained upon our souls. So while I had never seen holy fire before there was no denying that what was before me was indeed my ultimate bane.

The man’s boldness rallied the other men until all of them were galloping at me with holy weapons drawn. Deciding that it might be about time to get some distance from them I extended my black wings and flapped powerfully. I quickly rose into the air and hovered to see what they would do.

Seeing I was now out of reach they reined in their horses and regrouped.

“Everyone, assume formation F!” the blonde haired man ordered. “Mages, prepare your long range attack spells!”

The men maneuvered their horses into what I assumed was formation F and some of the men raised their hands to summon their magic. This would be interesting. I’ve never seen human magic up close! I smiled in excitement waiting for them to start.

Various spells shot at me from below. Ice arrows, flame cannon balls, water spears, stone spikes, even a couple light daggers. But, as expected their magic did little more than sizzle out once they hit my shadow shield. Well, I guess I shouldn’t have expected much, they were just humans after all. Pretty much their only effective weapon against me was holy fire and with me up in the sky and not a holy fire arrow in sight, their efforts were essentially useless.

Deciding it was probably my turn to do something next I waved a hand, sending out my magic in twisting spirals of shadow. The men swatted at the dark smoke in fear, trying to disperse it. But just as soon as the smoke reached them it disappeared.

The men looked around in confusion, trying to gauge the result of the spell. Then the first one started screaming. Soon the group had devolved into panic and terror as the men began retreating as fast as possible. That is everyone except the blonde haired man. He stood his ground, looking up at me with narrowed eyes.

I looked into the man’s moss colored eyes and gave him my most wicked grin. But then the unexpected happened. Still staring intently at me the man conjured a ball of magic. But it wasn’t just any magic. It was pulsing blue flames. Before I could fully process what that meant the magic was flying towards me. With a violent hiss it shattered my shield and slammed into my shoulder.

Agony. I screamed in pain, my wings locking up as I plummeted to the earth. I crashed into the ground and I heard the snap of bones as my delicate wings took the brunt of the fall. But the throbbing in my wings was nothing compared to the blazing pain in my shoulder. I curled onto my side, praying for the torment to end. The burning subsided slightly as I looked up dazedly at the blonde man who was staring at me in shock from a few yards away.

“You’re still alive.” He murmured. “How can you still be alive?”

As if realizing that the fact that I was still alive meant that his job wasn’t done yet, he began walking toward me, but now with an uncertainty he hadn’t shown before. Knowing that letting him reach me would spell my doom I mustered all the strength I had left and shadow leaped away.

***

I woke with a start, dull pain filtering into my awareness. I groaned and opened my eyes to a beautiful, star filled sky peeking through the dark silhouettes of tree branches. I tried to sit up, but agony shot through my shoulder, forcing me back to the ground. How long had I been out? It must have been at least a couple of hours if it was night already.

I took stock of myself. Tentatively wiggling my fingers and toes and shifting my wings. My wings throbbed dully, but I could already tell that my quick regeneration was taking care of them. My shoulder, however, was an entirely different story. To be honest I was sort of surprised I was still alive. Getting hit with holy fire should have permanently eradicated me. At the very least I should have been vanquished back to the Demonic Realm. But somehow I was still in the Human Realm. Not that I wasn’t grateful for my good fortune.

I glanced around the forest, trying to discern why my magic took me here. My shadow leap magic came in pretty handy, but one major limitation was that I could only travel to locations I’d been to before. So how was I able to leap here?

An itching familiarity rubbed at the back of my mind as I looked around from my place on the ground. This location must be relatively close to where I battled those Clunaics since I was too weak to muster a long shadow leap in my condition.

Well, enough serious thought. It was time to start thinking about more important things. Namely, how hungry I was. Ugh, if only I’d had time to eat my cake before the Clunaics ruined everything! Their rudeness almost makes me angry enough to go back and kill them for revenge. But I know I won’t. Even if I didn’t have this pesky shoulder wound, I’d always been more of a prankster demon than a mutilate and torture kind of demon.

The Demonic Realm had no shortage of damned humans to play with, but every demon dreamed of coming to the Human Realm where there are so many humans not marred by the hopeless resignation of infernal souls. Though to be honest, my motives were a little less demonic than I’d like to admit.

With a shuddering breath I pushed myself up into a sitting position and shifted so my back was pressed up against a sturdy tree. I looked down to inspect my wound. It glistened red, blood sluggishly leaking from an angry looking wound. The top layer of skin seemed to have been burned off, leaving exposed, bloody flesh. I grimaced.

I’d had bad wounds before. Cifer’s training was no walk in the park and many sessions left me battered and bleeding. But those wounds usually healed within a couple of hours, maybe days if I was unlucky. The most time it had taken me to heal was a month, but that was only because my arm had been cut off at the elbow. An injury like this should have at least started healing, but the bleeding injury still seemed fresh.

I guess I’d have to try to fix this the old fashion way. Lesser demons didn’t possess the same fast regeneration as greater demons so they have to rely on good old fashioned bandages and time. What a pain. Literally.

I tore strips of fabric from my black cloak and used them to bind my shoulder. I really hoped it wouldn't get infected, but it was the best I could do under the current circumstances.

I sighed. This was not how I wanted to start my adventure in the Human Realm. When the tear had opened up I was determined to see the Human Realm for myself. Tales of human cities and towns as well as the beautiful landscapes had long captured my curiosity. Much to Cifer’s disgust. But hey, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Which was precisely why I conveniently forgot to tell him I was coming here.

Samara, focus on your training he would always chastise. But what was the point in training anyway? It’s not like anyone was powerful enough to even come close to beating me. Well, that is anyone except Cifer.

I needed to get out of my head. I still felt weak, but I could tell my magic power was slowly replenishing. I should have enough power to muster my human disguise. I'd have to choose a different one this time since the Clunaics already saw me last time. But if I was able to properly disguise myself, maybe I could find a human doctor who could see to my wound. Now that would be an interesting experience! Getting to see how humans work up close.

But that could wait till morning. First comes sleep. A demon needs her beauty rest after all. I casted a quick protection spell around the area so I’d be alerted if anyone got near. The spell would drain my energy for as long as I kept casting it, but it's a basic spell so it wouldn’t make much of a difference. With that I laid down among the dry leaves, careful not to aggravate my shoulder. I curled my wings around myself to stave off the crisp night air and slipped away from the world of wakefulness.

***

I woke with a start, my wards sending a warning shock of energy through me. I quickly jumped to my feet, my shoulder throbbing in protest at my sudden movement. I threw my magic out from me, using it to feel out the surrounding area. To my relief, I only sensed a deer nearby but nothing else. Just a false alarm. I calmed my racing heart, wincing at the pain in my shoulder as my adrenaline faded away. Well that was one way to wake up.

I guess I might as well start the day since I was already up. I followed the sound of water to a creek and washed my face with the cool water. I was already dreading the trip back to the town. I didn’t want to waste my energy shadow leaping in my already weakened state so I’d have to settle with walking. My feet already ached at the thought of the miles I’d have to cover today.

I had thought about waiting until I was closer to the town before donning my disguise, but I ultimately decided not to risk it since there were likely Clunaics out searching the countryside for me.

I took a deep breath and gathered my magic, pushing it out and encasing my body with it. I would need a different disguise from the blue-eyed blonde I’d used last time. Since my magic was still depleted I decided to go with an easier disguise. The more drastic the change from my true form, the more magic it took to maintain. So that being the case I tried to stick with minimal changes. I lightened my long dark black hair to a chestnut brown, leaving the length the same. For my eyes I adopted a honeyed brown rather than my natural golden hue. I removed my horns and wings but kept my height and build the same. I always felt an aching emptiness at the loss of my wings, but unfortunately they were far too incriminating.

Lastly, I transformed my essence to human. This was always the most uncomfortable part. It felt like putting on clothes that were a little too tight. Constrictive. Both a positive and negative to my transformation ability was that my changes went beyond just surface appearance. It wasn’t just a visual glamor to make me look different but rather a complete metamorphosis into my chosen form. That meant while in this human body I would only be able to perform human level abilities. No large reservoirs of magic at my disposal, no fancy demonic magic, no inhuman athleticism, just plain old human abilities. Not that I was a weak human by any means, but it was still a downgrade from my usual physical and magical prowess.

I sighed, shifting uncomfortably in my new form. There had better be cake in my future to make all this worth it. Despite my transformation, my shoulder wound was still very much present and aching painfully. Hopefully I could find a medic in the town who could treat my shoulder. I did a quick scan of my surroundings to get my bearings. My sense of direction was excellent and despite my location change from my shadow leap I was able to figure out the right direction with a quick mana scan. With thoughts of cake swirling through my pain addled brain, I set off toward the town.

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***

The walk was fairly peaceful at first. Birds chirped and squirrels chattered as I walked through the forest. I eventually reached the edge of the woods and was about to start out into the rolling hills and tall golden grass when an ear splitting shriek froze me in my tracks. The sound was coming from the forest behind me. I listened closer, catching the sounds of moaning and growling. This stupid human body! I would probably have heard the commotion way sooner if I didn’t have these incompetent human ears! I knew I should probably just keep going but alas, my curiosity was insatiable.

I stalked softly back into the forest toward the noise, keeping my magic at the ready. As I neared the source I realized what was going on. The smell alone was enough of a give away. The putrid scent of rotting flesh assaulted my nose. Well, I guess this was one time weak human senses actually came in useful. But while my weaker sense of smell definitely dulled the horrendous odor, it still made me feel slightly nauseous. Well, I might as well get this over with.

I arrived in a small clearing where there was a hideous humanoid figure. Its yellowed skin was stretched tight across its skeletal frame, puss and blood oozing from various places on its body. I grimaced in disgust. I hated mongrel demons.

The demon was looming over a bloodied wolf who seemed to be trying to defend her helpless pups. Unfortunately, it seemed she was fighting a pointless battle since all that was left of her pups were a pile of small crushed bodies. Yet still she defended them rather than fleeing the monster.

I quickly sent out a flash of power, mentally stabbing the demon with my magic. The demon crashed to the ground, paralyzed by my mind assault. I approached the crumpled demon, reaching into my dimension pocket to grab my sword. I quickly decapitated the demon to put it out of its misery. The head rolled a few inches away before the corpse started to dissolve.

I guess the mongrel demon probably came in through the same dimension tear as me. A mongrel demon was what I had disguised myself as to fit through the tear since I had too much magic power in my usual form to successfully pass through. I shuddered just thinking about having to take on that disgusting form, even if it was only briefly.

A growl interrupted my thoughts as I remembered the wolf was still there. I turned to see her eyeing my warrily, hackles still raised.

“Easy now, I don’t want to hurt you.” As I spoke the words I pushed my magic out, imparting my peaceful intentions into the wolf’s mind. I wasn’t mind controlling her, though I could have, but rather I was just communicating my emotions to her in a way she could understand. Mind magic was my main affinity, but many people failed to grasp the many avenues through which this type of magic could be used. Everyone was always quick to just jump to mind control, but there was so much more complexity to it.

The wolf paused, tilting her head to the side in consideration. She seemed to conclude I wasn’t a threat and turned to inspect her babies. She pushed at them with her nose whimpering, but the tiny bodies remained motionless. I approached slowly, not wanting to startle her. She looked over at me but didn’t growl again so I took that as an invitation.

“Mind if I take a look and see if anything can be done?” I ask, nearing the pups. The wolf remained tense but didn't attack as I inspected the pups. As I suspected they were all dead.

“Sorry, but it's too late for them.” I pushed comforting thoughts to the wolf, hoping to keep her calm. I reached out a hand towards the wolf, testing the waters to see if she’d let me touch her so I could try to heal her wounds. She backed up a step and I paused. We stared at each other for a minute and I started reaching out again. This time she allowed me to touch her and I began tentatively stroking her head. After a few strokes she relaxed, allowing me to inspect the nasty gash on her back.

I’m no master healer, but I at least understand the concept of using mana to heal wounds. I placed my hand on the wolf’s back and pushed raw mana directly from myself into her. After a few moments I stopped the flow of power. It won’t have been enough to completely heal the wound but it will at least help seal it. I was wary to give up any more magic since I was already depleted.

I started to pull back from the wolf when she turned her head and licked my hand in thanks.

“No problem! I hope you feel better.” I replied as she stared into my eyes.

There was something pure about her gaze. I had never seen an animal this close before. Animals didn’t exist in the demon realm. Whether because their souls were too simple and weak to survive there or because they weren’t prone to the corruption that human souls were I never really knew why. Maybe there was an innocence in just striving for survival and nothing more. Maybe too much intelligence was simply a recipe for destruction. Who knows? But after looking into the bright, intelligent eyes of the wolf I think it might just be that this is what life was meant to be. Humans, and demons as well, despite all their effort and struggling for power and pleasure are ultimately just striving away from the existence they were meant for.

I broke eye contact with the wolf and surveyed my surroundings for any sign of more mongrel demons. If one got through there was a pretty good chance more did too. I had been the first to slip through the dimension tear because I had been on the lookout for one to appear, but tears like that only get bigger the more demons that pass through it. Usually the Clunaics seal up the tears pretty quickly, which is why I knew I had to be quick to get through when one appeared, but not before a few of the lower level demons are able to get through.

Satisfied we weren’t in any immediate danger, I turned back to the wolf.

“Well, good luck to you.”

I turned to head back to the grasslands and the town but paused when the wolf yipped at me. I glanced over to see her trot up alongside me.

“Oh no you don’t” I warned. “The last thing I need is a wolf messing up my infiltration of the human town.”

The wolf clearly did not get the message because she kept pace with me as I walked away from the clearing. I decided to let her tag along to the edge of the forest before I looked down at her again.

“Alright, I think that’s far enough for you.” Pushing out my magic again I tried to impart the idea that the forest was safe and inviting. She stared at me intently and then sat down. I could have sworn she gave me a disappointed glare but when I walked a few steps farther away she stayed still. I walked a little farther and still she sat there.

Looked like she finally got the message. I made my way out into the open grassland, feeling the burning gaze of the wolf on my back. After walking a ways away from the forest I turned back to see if she was still there, but she was already gone. To be honest I was actually a little sad. Even though I was the one who convinced her to stay, I kind of enjoyed having non-hostile company. Especially since hostility seemed to be all I was getting since coming to this realm.

The walk through the windy grassland was peaceful. There were occasional clusters of trees, but for the most part the land was a vast ocean of waving grass. As I neared the town, still obscured by a hill, I felt my nerves rise. Last time I had been lazy, transforming just my appearance to human but not my essence. I hadn’t wanted to deal with the discomfort of being truly human. Unfortunately my assumption that a small town like this wouldn’t have much of a Clunaic presence was wildly incorrect. Hence the disaster that was yesterday.

Hopefully now that I had taken the proper precautions I wouldn’t have anything to worry about, but my still throbbing shoulder made me tread carefully. If I never saw holy fire again it would be too soon.

As I climbed the grassy hill I heard the faint sound of arguing. As I neared I started to make out their words.

“Please, you have to lower the wards so I can go look for my daughter!” a desperate female voice wailed.

“Sorry ma’am, we’re under lockdown so you’re not permitted to leave town.”

“But my daughter snuck out this morning to play before the barrier was raised and hasn’t come back. Please, you have to let me look for her. She’s only 6!”

“Well that’s not our fault, maybe you should have kept a better eye on her.”

“Please…”

“How about this. If she’s able to make it back here then we’ll let her in, but you’re not allowed to go out looking for her. Everytime we lower or raise the barrier it wastes mana so we're not going to just do it on a whim.”

Well, this might make things a little more complicated. The guards probably wouldn’t let some random stranger enter the town while it was on lockdown. I guessed the cause of the lockdown was probably the presence of demons, which meant there must still be some lurking about. I smirked as an idea sparked.

Pushing out my mana I did a deep scan of the area. Mana scan was a nifty little trick that allowed me to scope out the terrain as well as the presence and location of any living things. Most humans just relied on their affinity to do something similar to mana scan since it requires a lot of raw mana mastery outside of a specific affinity. Like maybe they would use an earth affinity type to sense the terrain or elevation, or air to sense movement or magnitude of objects, or water to sense the liquid in living organisms. Mana scan was more in depth than that, sensing the currents of mana that flowed through everything. While mana scan was seriously helpful it required a lot of training to learn so most people were too lazy to bother. I most definitely would have fallen into the ‘too lazy to bother’ group if I had any choice in the matter. But alas, Cifer had insisted it was an essential skill for battlefield awareness. Not that I had been on any battlefields for it to ever actually be used for that.

But now that I’d gone through all the work to learn it, you can bet I was going to use it. I closed my eyes to help better visualize the area. There! I found you! I opened my eyes excitedly, turning away from the town and heading off into the grasslands again.

After about a half hour of walking I stopped. The sun was starting to set, setting the fields ablaze with a fiery golden glow. Ok, now for the first part of the plan. Closing my eyes I stretched out my mana until I connected with the mind of a nearby mongrel demon. Digging my magic into his mind I projected the desire to go toward a cluster of trees within my view. The mongrel demon obediently began racing towards my designated destination.

I saw the nasty creature crest a hill to my left, heading straight for the trees. He was growling and moaning loudly, as per the norm for his type. Then came the high pitched scream. Bingo! I saw the frantic rustle of movement as a small girl desperately began climbing a tree. The mongrel demon, catching sight of potential prey, began rushing forward faster. Those monsters would do anything to try to satiate their hunger.

The girl had managed to get up onto a low branch, but seemed too paralyzed by fear to climb any higher. Looked like it was my cue.

“Hey, leave her alone!” I shouted, running towards the girl in her tree. The single minded demon paid me no mind having already fixated on his target. Having perfectly timed my entrance I reached the tree with the girl right before the demon did. I grabbed a stick from the ground and used my magic to light up the tip with fire. The demon paused for a moment confused by the sudden flames. But that didn’t deter him for long. He lunged forward, clawing at me viciously. I dodged him sloppily, narrowly missing his sharp fingers. I cried out in pain despite not being touched. I pushed out my flaming stick, touching it against the demon’s chest. I forced the fire to climb onto the demon while quickly stabbing his mind with magic to kill him. Though he was already dead I coaxed the flames to flare out and engulf the body. Then using the dead husk as a puppet, I made it fling one arm out toward my injured shoulder. Of course I didn’t let the flaming hand actually touch me, but I’m still pretty proud at how convincing my scream of agony was. With that I let the body collapse to the ground just as it was starting to disintegrate.

I turned to look up the tree at the child, clasping my shoulder and giving a pretty convincing grimace of pain. Maybe it was partly so easy because my shoulder still did legitimately hurt so it wasn’t all an act.

“Hey, are you ok?” I called up, meeting the terrified girl’s tear stained eyes. She nodded mutely.

“How about you come on down now so we get you somewhere safer. It’s even more dangerous now that it’s getting dark.” She quickly scurried down the tree and promptly wrapped her little arms around my waist, squeezing tight.

“What’s your name?” I asked gently, stroking her blonde hair.

“Kaylin.” She squeaked out. “I’m really sorry you got hurt” she continued before she devolved into heaving sobs.

“Hey now, there’s no need to cry, it will be alright. How about you ride on my back? That would be fun right?”

She nodded, her sobs momentarily forgotten.

“Alright, climb on board Kaylin. Just be careful not to touch my burn, okay?”

I crouched down to let her climb onto my back and then stood back up. She was lighter than I had expected, but it would still be a pain to have to carry her all the way back to the town. I was feeling even more drained after having to use my magic again. Especially since I had used fire magic which was definitely not my natural affinity so it drained me much faster. But alas, I needed to make my wound look believable.

We walked in silence in the growing dark, a symphony of crickets filling the quiet.

“What’s your name, miss?” Kaylin asked, startling me.

“Oh, that’s right, I forgot to tell you!” My mind raced as I tried to quickly come up with a name to use. The silence stretched awkwardly before I finally blurted out “Ara! You can call me Ara.” I hadn’t really planned to use something so close to my real name, but I had panicked. Plus, Ara was the nickname I had always imagined my friends calling me. That is if I ever had any friends. With Cifer it was always just training, not having fun together. And he always insisted on calling me Samara, even when I had suggested a nickname. And anyone else I saw was either a servant or a sparring partner Cifer had chosen for me.

“Ara?” Kaylin said. “I like it!” she giggled. “It’s pretty.”

Hearing her say the name out loud made me smile. Even though nobody had ever called me Ara, it somehow felt right. It felt like I was more than just Cifer’s good little warrior.

We reached the top of a hill, the lights of the town coming into view. The town was by no means a city, but it was still a fairly large settlement. There wasn’t a physical wall surrounding the town, but I could sense a mana barrier encircling it. We descended the slope, reaching the main entrance where two guards stood watch.

“Hey, who are you?” one called out suspiciously. I recognized the voice as one of the guards I had heard arguing before.

“Please, you have to help us!” I plead. “We were just attacked by a demon and barely escaped!”

“Where’s the demon now, it’s not following you is it?”

“No, Ara killed it.” Kaylin interjects.

“As if a skinny woman like you could take on a demon.” He laughed.

“Please, you have to help us, Ara is hurt!”

As if finally recognizing Kaylin, the other guard interrupts his laughing partner.

“Hey, it’s Kaylin!” He exclaimed. “Your mom is very worried about you. C’mon Calder, let’s hurry up and let them in before another demon comes along.”

Calder grumbled something incoherently, clearly annoyed but didn't protest. The other guard must outrank him. They walked up to a row of three long stones I hadn’t noticed before. I squinted to get a better look at them when it dawned on me that they must be angelite. They must be the mana source for the barrier around the town. There were probably other similar stones spread out along the border of the town.

“Well are you coming or not?” Calder asked, impatient.

“Yes.” I hurried forward, Kaylin still clinging to my back. Once we reached the stones, Calder pulled out the middle one and I could feel the barrier break there. I quickly stepped through and Calder put the stone back. I felt the zing of the barrier reconnecting to seal the opening once more.

Success! I was in! Looked like my plan worked out perfectly.