Moonlight danced across the swaying deep blue fur as the creature ran across the field of grass. A mighty roar beckoned the attention of another beast not far from where it once stood: a fearsome monster cladded in midnight scales towering above everything beneath it.

The dragon let out a terrific cry of its own and rained down fire onto the coated beast. The werewolf easily evaded the incoming attack and rushed in closer, claws lit ablazed by a mysterious silver force. With a swipe of each razors, lines of energy shot forward and struck the dragon at its neck, a pained roar followed but it did not stop the werewolf's relentless attacks.

It continued to claw the iron-like scales, clangs and sparks echoing through the night with each precise strike. As if guided, the assaults landed on the dragon's weaknesses: the joints, the neck, the eyes. The bombardment of claws and fangs too meticulous to pass as instinctive attacks from a mere beast.

"Oh~ Not bad~" Perched on a nearby tree, Theodore let his legs sway back and forth as he rested his head on his opened palm, watching the fight between a werewolf and a dragon with great interest.

"Shut it Theo, I'm concentrating." Eugene replied in the form of nonsensical growls, but Theodore had no problem deciphering his friend's words. They had to be extra careful with the way they communicate since several drones hovered nearby, Eugene is a streamer, after all.

The dragon refused to sit still and quietly take hits, it roared yet again and attempted to squash the werewolf with its claws. However, being small and nimble, Eugene ducked beneath it and managed to strike back, this time the silver energy cleaving through the entire hand. An earthshaking cry erupted from the dragon, but it did not slow down at all, continuing to rain fire and razors upon the werewolf.

Eugene never stopped running, letting the momentum take him to the sky as he gathered more power within his hands. In a few frames, the werewolf's fearsome claws severed the dragon's head, its body following suit and landed on the ground with a heavy thud.

After recollecting his breath, Eugene turned towards the camera, letting out a howl of victory. Unexpectedly, the wolves in the woods responded back. He paid no mind to them though. "Alright guys, that concludes my hunt for the night." His voice sounded happy, with the face of a beast, it became hard to tell whether or not he had smiled.

[Kyaa~~ Master Eugene did so well tonight!]

[As expected from the new number one Beastman, a dragon is no match for him lol]

[Soloing an adult dragon in 2 hours bro, so cool.]

[Right?]

[Can't wait for the next stream~]

"Maybe next week," Eugene responded, waving to the cameras. "I'll post an announcement for the next stream later, for now…Goodnight guys!"

"How long have you stayed in your werewolf form?" Theodore appeared unannounced, manifesting from the shadows with his arms crossed. He wore his royal attire tonight, but adorned with the golden Chains of Destiny as usual.

Eugene turned to him, not surprised at all by the sudden intrusion. "Uh, I haven't turned back at all actually…It's more convenient this way since our clothes rip everytime we transform. Anyway, why are you here?"

"I'm just checking on you, that's all."

"Checking on me? Is there a reason?"

"I check on everyone, it's been a year since I came back so I wondered how things are going." Theodore responded with nonchalance.

"Well, it's going good," Eugene replied as he lowered himself to the floor, resting his back against the corpse of the dragon. "I'm still growing stronger ever since Artemis blessed me."

"Ah, it was like that back then too," Theodore recalled seeing Eugene covered in a god's aura sometime ago when they had fought against Ra and the World Serpent, though too caught up in the moment to question it until now. "Good for you, I would say you're around S rank by strength alone."

"Really? I don't feel that strong," Eugene sounded genuine, after all, monsters had gotten considerably weaker ever since Ra had been defeated, and even dragons no longer posed much of a threat unlike before.

"I can't see that headache-inducing screen anymore, but I can tell," Theodore shrugged. "Think of it as a god's intuition."

"I keep forgetting about that. You're a god now."

"Still hasn't sunk in yet for me," He sighed, gaze averting to the sky. A full moon beamed at him from above. "Everything feels like one continuous fever dream."

"I get it," Eugene eyed his friend, expression unreadable. Though, his voice held a sense of toughness. "When I discovered that I was a Beastman for the first time…I felt so overwhelmed, like I lost my humanity, and that I won't be able to hang out with my friends anymore if they find out."

"...Huh," Theodore stood for a moment, but ultimately decided to take his seat next to Eugene, using his cape as a blanket while he placed his arms over his held-up knees. "Can't relate, my only friend is Merlin."

"Oh yeah, you were a total cold prince back then."

"Cold prince?" Theodore scoffed, earning a laugh from Eugene.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"It's true! The girls back at Stella gave you that name. But I guess technically now you have become a 'Cold King'."

"Because I'm a demon king?"

"Heh. Yeah." Eugene responded after a huff. Even though his beast face held no distinguishable emotions, Theodore could still tell he was grinning from ear to ear. "Speaking of, how's it going with Asmodeus?"

"Asmo? Hm…" Theodore thought about it for a moment, but then suddenly Eugene spoke up.

"Asmo? ASMO? You call her by a nickname!?"

Theodore frowned. "What's wrong about that?"

"...It's unexpected from you. I thought you didn't like her."

"I kept my distance before since I was busy," Theodore responded calmly. "I didn't want personal things to get in the way. But now that things are over…I don't mind."

"So, what does that mean? You're both dating?"

Theodore gave Eugene a blank look. "Is Mister Famous jealous that he doesn't have a girlfriend?"

"Please don't say that with a straight face."

"Anyway, yes." Theodore took out his phone from inside his coat, feeling it vibrating against his chest. His eyes lit up as the screen's light flashed his face, but a smile that followed brightened his expression even more. "We are dating."

[Theo!!! >////< I miss you ♡︎]

“I’m not surprised.” Eugene’s perfect eyes caught a glimpse of the message on the phone, and he could not get the image out of his mind no matter how hard he tried. Silently cursing his unnecessary good senses at this moment, he continued. “But when did you two…you know? I thought us three hung out a lot.”

Theodore understood what Eugene meant. Along with Merlin, they often spend their freetime in the human world, doing random things that come to mind as if making up for the years they had lost to fighting and monsters. “You want me to tell you? I thought you hate love stories.”

“You don’t get to say that. And I don’t hate them, I just feel out of place when seeing those types of things.”

“Sure, I guess I could entertain you for a bit on this lonely night, since you’re a single man and all.”

“…You are getting unnecessary better at quips.”

…

"The human world is so bright!" Asmodeus shaded her eyes with a hand. Her gaze swept across the streets, interest piqued with each passing moment. She wore a simple white dress with a pastel-pink shawl draped over her shoulders. Her hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall, a braid wrapping around her head and decorated with flowers. Even though she didn't bother to hide her horns, tail, and wings, no one gave her any weird looks, after all, some were also humanoids walking among humans.

"Brighter than the last time we were here, right?" Theodore pulled her closer by the shoulder as a biker rushed past them. He wore casual clothing today, with a checkered vest over a white shirt, jeans and shoes. The golden chains hidden with a touch of magic. "Well? I promised you a date today, so where are we going?"

Asmodeus gave him a playful pout. "I appreciate you going along with me but I feel like you're not putting in effort into our relationship."

"Is that so?"

"Please don't say that with a straight face."

Theodore couldn’t help but smile, his hand grasping hers as he pulled her along with him. “I’m kidding…But I’m not good at coming up with these sorts of things. So will sight-seeing work for you?”

Asmodeus chuckled, returning his words with a bright grin of her own. She replied with a voice tinged with excitement. “Of course! This is the first time you take me out to the human world, this is already good enough!”

“You’re making me sound like I’m incompetent.”

“Oh, am I now?” She gave a snarky remark, her smile never faltered from her lips.

“Anyway,” Theodore changed the subject, the lingering comfort growing with each moment. He walked with her along the streets, but had no set destination at all. They simply strolled and loiter until they found themselves inside an empty park. “How’s the other demon kings?”

“We’re on a date and you want to talk about work?” Asmodeus scoffed, though she remained smiling. Her arm wrapped around his as she leaned most of her weight against him.

“This is why I let you initiate our conversations.” He replied coldly.

She spotted the subtle sarcasm in his voice and chuckled, squeezing his arm tight. “Those guys are doing well, I think. Haven’t heard much from Wrath and Gluttony but I kept in touch with Sloth. He’s doing a lot better than before.”

“That’s good,” Theodore’s sigh held pure relief. In his eyes, Belphegor had subtle similarities to Ian, he gave off a ‘little brother’ atmosphere when they had met, even though Sloth was several thousand years older than him. Perhaps his child-like appearance made it seem as such. “I hung out with Mammon the other day too.”

Asmodeus mused with a mumble. “Mammon? No wonder I haven’t seen that guy anywhere.”

Hubris lashed onto Theodore’s laughter. “He challenged me to an unofficial match last week, probably thinking that he could stand a chance when half of my powers got sealed by the Chains of Destiny. He went ‘dragon’ on me and still lost in a contest of strength.”

“Then he whined about it after?”

“It’s Mammon, of course he whined about it after.”

Both of them shared a chuckle. By then they had walked full circles around the park, and Theodore decided to take Asmodeus somewhere else. As they exited, the woman struck another topic. “Speaking of which, how’s your progress with the chain?”

“Progress? Ah—“ It took him a moment to realize what she had meant. Theodore’s gaze fixated on the road, never once met with Asmodeus’ during the entirety of the new conversation. The demon king had gotten the hang of reading his stoic expression. She could tell apart the annoyance on his face as he replied. “They truly are working me to the bones…Just thinking about it makes me mad…Really, Uriel once ditched me and I had to substitute as a judge, it was a disaster since I had no idea what I was doing.”

“Can he even do that?” Asmodeus sounded genuinely concerned. Her frowning brows accentuated her worries.

“Normally no, he would no doubt get punished for it.” Theodore shook his head. “But right now, my position isn’t just Executioner, it’s Errand Boy. They’re really taking advantage of my condition.”

“Thinking of it positively, it does mean you’re getting closer to clearing that debt, right?”

“I still need to work afterward, but at least I’ll be getting paid.”

“What can you even buy with that money?”

Theodore thought about his answer for a moment. “Anything. Artifacts, divine food, high-quality clothes. The Divine World is just a place where immortal beings can fulfill their earthly desires as they please.”

“It sounds better than Devildom.” Asmodeus smiled, but she could not hide her jealousy behind it.

He carefully interlocked his fingers around hers, smiling as he motioned with his chin to the scenery before them. “Before anything else though…I lied, I wanted to take you here.” In a rural area rid of any prying eyes, Theodore had led them towards the outskirts of town until they had arrived at the beach. The scent of salt traveled with the soft breeze and the waters shimmered under the sun’s brilliance. “The Divine World might sound better than the Demon Realm. I have seen so many beautiful landscapes that the place has to offer. But…I wouldn’t like to live there.”

“Why?” Asmodeus had a tinge of pink dabbed around her cheeks. Her eyes glimmered at the gorgeus sight of the ocean in front of her. Theodore released her hand and let her wander onto the beach, staring ahead into the horizon. It seemed that she had spoken without much thought, her mind captivated by the gentle waves washing against the shore.

“Well, because…” He came up behind her and wrapped something lean and small around her neck. Snapping out of her trance, Asmodeus glanced down to see a glistening silver necklace with a dark green emblem hanging from its chain. “You can’t be there with me, Asmodeus.”

“I never struck you as the romantic type.” Asmodeus grabbed his hand before he could pull it away, her neck craning to look him in the eyes. Her free fingers caressed the emerald pendant as she spoke with a smile. “…This is your scale, isn’t it?”

“Oh, you can tell?” Theodore did not sound surprised. “…I’ve ignored you all this time because I was scared. I thought…If I add another person to my side, they could get hurt in my dog fight.”

“I already got caught in it though.” She hummed playfully.

“Yeah, it was stupid. Maybe I was just finding an excuse to not give this a chance.” Theodore brought the back of her hand to his lips. “But I won’t run anymore, even if I’m awkward, too assertive, or too passive. I want you to be the one to tell me what I’m doing right, and what I’m doing wrong. Starting with this: do you like the necklace?”

Asmodeus beamed, brightening her expression even more than the sun already had. “How can I not? It’s so small yet so thoughtful.”

“And stings a little.”

“I won’t question how you acquired this scale.”

“Asmodeus.” The demon turned towards him when his voice suddenly went cold. Her smile faltered into a straight line for a moment, but as soon as she faced him, she felt a slight touch on her lips, realizing too late that Theodore had kissed her, even though it was short-lived. “For the past month…I just let you drag me around without giving you a clear answer. This is it. My true feelings.”

“…As temporary as that little peck?” She teased, but her face turned red the moment Theodore suddenly got flustered, his cheeks painted crimson the moment she spoke.

Without warning, he pulled her into another kiss, though it only lasted for a few more seconds than the former one. He did not bother to hide his embarrassment when they parted. His hands holding her by the arms, a gentle touch shaking with discomposure while he spoke, somehow his voice remained cold and steady as always. “My head’s a mess right now you have no idea…I’ve never been good with this…It’s…scary, but I want to try falling just this once.”

“I think you’ve already fallen.” Asmodeus chuckled.

“Perhaps…” Theodore’s shoulders relaxed. He did not even realize when he had become so tense, but seeing her composed smile calmed him down. “This time though, I don’t mind not getting back up.”