“I can see why you like this Demon, Theros. Very interesting. Your name was Kirasus, Chimera, right? And you demand the presents I bestowed upon another Demon? A fellow Demon whom I recognized as worthy of getting presents? You intrigue me. Go ahead. Tell me, what makes you worthy of presents from me, the ruler of Aver?” the Demon King spoke slowly as his face contorted to a maniacal grin.
“Isn’t it obvious? I am stronger than this child! I would kill her with a swipe of my claw. I would throw her into the air with a flap of my wings. I would eat her in one bite. And there is nothing she could do about it!.” Kirasus explained,
“Is that so?” Melchior said, twirling his hand in front of him, causing bubbles of blood to flow from his glass and dance around it, “I don’t see it that way.”
“Then you need to open your eyes! This, this, this thing is worthless! It can’t even speak up to defend itself!”, the Chimera retorted, opening up its wings in a majestic display.
At the exact moment when the Chimera's wings were completely open, the drops of blood rushed forward, ripping many tiny holes into the wings. Blood gushed out of it, coloring the originally white wings.
Kirasus screamed shocked at the sudden pain. Anger flared up in its eyes and it jumped forward attacking the Demon King, trying to reach his throat with his claws.
What happened next, was indescribable. Mid-jump, blood started to drip out of the Chimear's eyes, clouding its vision. With a swift step, almost unnoticeable, the Demon King evaded the swing by a mere width of a hair. Then the Chimera stopped in his tracks. A small dagger conjured out of its own blood rest on its neck waiting for any movement to slit to end the life of the chimera.
“You better teach him not to bark at his owner Theros. Otherwise, I will be forced to put a leash on this unruly pet,” Melchior spoke as he sat back down on his throne, sipping on his glass, “And you, Theros. Oh, your blood is not half bad Kirasus. It is rich in flavor.”
“Th..th...thank you,” was all the Chimera that had not moved due to fear was able to say.
“You are obscuring my view,” the King of Demos said as he kicked Kirasus next to the Minotaur, “Where have we been? Ah yes, like always Elvina will decide about the rest of the Larvae, I guess there is no dispute about that? Good, like expected. Oh look at that, our silly, little game took long enough for the servant to arrive!”
From a passage that had not been visible before, a Goblin walked up to the Demon King. With a tray in its hands, on which the items Melchior wanted rested, it moved slowly with a weird sense of dignity towards him.
When he finally reached the Demon King, he knelt and presented the items for him to inspect.
On the tray was a white robe spilling over the sides and what looked like just a rusty long curved stick.
Having both items taken from the tray, the Goblin hurried away again.
“This used to be a blade and is as old as our reign. It is long gone and has no use anymore, but it still holds value in itself. I hope you will give it the honor it deserves. And this is some transformative armor, when you transform into a dragon, it will become a small ornament on your claws. It will not hinder you at all,” the Demon King spoke as he threw the items over to Reli, who was barely able to catch them, “Put the robe on.”
As Reli fumbled to put on the robe that was way too big for her, she could hear Cho trying to hold in his laughter. When she finally had put on the robe it was way too big for her, the whole fabric was on the floor and her face was completely covered in the hood. She could not see anything out of it. The robe began to shine and began to shrink. Finally, it matched her perfectly, not disrupting her movement at all.
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Next to her, the still giggling Cho bowed towards the Demon King.
“We thank you from the deepest of our hearts for your generosity. We swear we will be worthy of these gifts and become a valuable asset to you,” the Oni said while pressing Reli into a bow on her own.
“Thank you,” Reli said as well.
“Good, I expect greatness. From all of you. Yes, even you Karisus. Your eagerness will be valuable when you learn to control it. Teach him well Theros. We will call for you when you are to resume your duties, till then, rest. With that, you all are dismissed,” Melchior ordered in a tone that left no room to argue.
Outside of the throneroom, Theros took Kirasus, who was feeling down from having been misnamed after his utter defeat and went on their way. The rest of the Heavenly Guards stayed and decided to spend their free time together, showing Reli around and letting her explore Chaya.
Their first trip was to the Colosseum, a building she had already seen but had not understood its meaning. It was a huge circular and open building. In the middle was an open space with lots of trenches and rock formations. Around it, higher and out of reach from the middle, were stands to watch what was happening on the ground.
The four of them attracted lots of attention. Especially Reli as she was the big unknown. Lots of people whispered and pointed at her. A beautiful and cute girl in a magnificent white robe which complimented her purple hair. Many wanted to know who she was, but all they got was Cho roaring that she was his and how cute she was in an never-ending loop. This was enough of an explanation for the Demons who already knew Cho’s antics, but still caused much laughter.
As the three entered the Colosseum, an employee approached them and explained that today there were just some light matches for experience happening. Since Reli was interested in them, they decided to watch some as well as to talk about the old times between the Heavenly Guards.
“Dear esteemed guests, our next fight will be an interesting one! From the Cereben Family, their youngest puppy and talent, ‘March’ is here to gain some experience! As you all know a fight needs to be challenging, so March will fight against 4, yes you heard it right, 4 Larvae to gain experience! Like always, if the Larvae win, they might evolve and gain the ability to live with us. Let us see an epic fight to the death!” the announcer, which her skill that functioned again said was a Hobgoblin, screamed.
Reli watched intently how the 4 Larvae got released out of the gates and wandered around aimlessly in the arena. On the other side of them, another gate opened up and a Hellpuppy jumped out. The Hellpuppy was as fast as the one that had attacked her.
It turned into a massacre. The Larvae were uncoordinated and slow. Way slower than she had been. They did not use their bodies efficiently and they were ripped apart one by one. Splashing their gray goo all over the arena ground. With each bite into them, the gray goo dripped more from the jaw of the Hellpuppy until he had eaten them all. Satisfied it howled loudly.
“Dear guests, the winner is ‘March’! The ones that bet on him may collect their money. Or double down? We have a proposal by one of our esteemed guests. A friendly fight, no deaths. Only honor is on the line. ‘March’ the newest pride of Cereben again ‘Reli’ the newest member of Sir Oni of the Heavenly Guards!” the Hobgoblin proclaimed.
Before Reli could react she was grabbed by Cho and thrown down into the arena. Falling flat onto the dusty arena floor, she could not believe what just happened. It had been a set-up by them to see how strong she was.
“I believe in you! Show them what you’re made off!” the Oni called out to her.
“You can do it, Reli,” Dux said loudly.
“Ssshow usss what you can do,” Selixa said.
Reli slowly rose to her feet again, clapping the dust off of her robe. She glanced towards the three Heavenly Guards and pointed at them.
“You will pay for this!” Reli proclaimed.
“You hear that dear guests? The contestant ‘Reli’ does not even have ‘March’ in her eyes! Is she that strong? Oh seems like the esteemed Heavenly Guards are having a different opinion, laughing over this proclamation. Will you accept this declaration of war ‘March’?” the announcer asked the Hellpuppy.
“I will rip her to shreds and use her dead body to level up,” the Hellpuppy barked, “She will beg for mercy.”
“So be it let the fight begin!”, the hobgoblin screamed as the audience cheered.
“Hey, don’t I get a say in this?” Reli tried to reason but her question was swallowed by the cheers, “Damn, seems like I have to fight.”