The demon roared once more and charged at Beldo. Lusya scooped Ariya up and launched into a kick, connecting with the side of the demon’s head and sending it careening through the forest. Ariya whooped in excitement at the speed of the maneuver and groaned as Lusya set her down beside Beldo.
“At least watch Ariya,” Lusya said.
Beldo nodded. “I’ll protect her with my life.”
Lusya chased after the new demon. Fortunately, he was still finding his footing, literally and figuratively. Any seasoned fighter would have stood by now, if they hadn’t managed to land on their feet, but he was just groggily picking himself up off the ground when she arrived at where he had landed. He wobbled as he stood, staring at his feet as if not quite sure how they worked yet. Which, she supposed, he might not be.
“Have you calmed yet?” she asked.
There was no roar, but he directed a furious glare at her, teeth bared, eyes devoid of anything but rage. That would be a no, then.
He charged straight at her and threw a punch with no semblance of skill or strategy behind it. She raised a hand and caught the punch with ease, then countered with her own, to the belly. His eyes widened in surprise a moment before he went flying backward once more, crashing through trees and branches.
Once again, she gave chase. This time, he did manage to roll with his fall and spring to his feet, ready to fight again. It seemed this was going to take some doing. If she had wanted to kill the demon, this would have been over in an instant. Beating him into submission was going to be more of a process. And she did want to avoid killing him. Aside from the practical concerns and Beldo’s request, killing him mere minutes after birth was distasteful, so long as she had other options.
He charged at her with the same lack of care as before. She easily sidestepped his clumsy blow and threw a kick into his side, launching him away. Again, he stood, and again, they went through another fruitless exchange.
She didn’t know what to expect here. While she had been present for demon births before, she had never been responsible for subduing the newborn demon, nor had she ever studied what to do in such a situation in detail. It had never been a priority. She knew she was supposed to fight him until he calmed down and gained some sense, but beyond that, she wasn’t sure how this would play out.
So, she continued fighting him. Over and over he charged, and over and over she turned him away. She blocked blows or stopped his advance with motomancy barriers before countering. The new demon seemed to gain a handle on his body as they fought. He took her blows better, recovered faster, responded stronger. But his fundamental tactics never changed. All he did was run right at her and try to punch her.
It became rather dull in short order. Lusya was not one to enjoy battle, but she would seldom use the word “boring” to describe it. Except today. It was so repetitive. Charge, block, counter, recover, repeat. She didn’t want to go on the offensive for his sake. Given the gap in strength between them, she might hurt him more than she meant to. So she was stuck in this loop. Of course, her attention never faltered. She was capable of acknowledging she was experiencing boredom without letting it impact her behavior. It was a curious feeling.
They must have gone on like that for hours. The sun sank significantly toward the horizon in the time they were fighting. She was tempted to stop rather than waste more time on this, but now that she had started, she was committed to it. This new demon couldn’t have harmed her in her sleep, but she doubted he would just let her leave peacefully, and there was plenty he could do to cause trouble for her.
And so, they fought until the sky was dyed the vivid spectrum of violet and red of twilight. The demon panted as he stood from his latest failed attack, clearly exhausted. Lusya herself had barely expended any energy. She was probably getting it back quicker in the breaks between attacks than she was using it.
Once more, he ran at her. His movements, which had grown sharper and more refined over the course of the fight, were now sluggish and sloppy. Yet he attacked all the same, with that same simple punch. The blow slammed into an invisible wall to no effect. She reached out and shoved back on the demon’s chest, throwing him through the air. She created another wall behind him, stopping his flight when he crashed into it, then three more to close him in, and finally one above, trapping him in a box.
When he tried to charge at her again, he rebounded off the wall before him. Then he tried again. With his face pressed against the wall, he slammed his fists into it over and over, accomplishing nothing more than sending a series of loud bangs through the forest. It seemed the whole box had been unnecessary. He made no effort to go around or over the wall in front of him.
For several minutes, he snarled at her, pounding at his prison. She did not release him. If he was going to fight past the point of exhaustion, she was ending this for both their sakes.
Finally, he ceased his futile attempts at escape. He let sank to his knees, his palms still pressed against the wall, and sighed, hanging his head. Then, after a few seconds like that, he looked up at her with something resembling intelligence for the first time.
“Okay, I think I’m good now,” he said. “Think you can let me outta here?”
“That depends on what you intend to do if I do so,” she replied.
He sighed again. “I said I was good, didn’t I?”
“That is not an answer,” Lusya said. “I am sure you know that many demons would be happy to continue the fight.”
“Yeah, well I don’t have a death wish, lady,” he replied. “It’s obvious you’re way stronger than me. Whatever you are.”
“Due to present circumstances, I cannot release you if you intend to show hostility to anything in the area.”
The demon’s brow furrowed in equal parts anger and confusion. “Huh? Now that’s some bullshit. I might be rational now, but I’m still not gonna be satisfied until I rip something up.”
It was debatable whether or not that qualified as being rational.
“Here,” Beldo said before Lusya could respond. He came up to stand beside Lusya with Ariya in tow. In his free hand, he tossed a balled-up wad of paper. “Lusya, think you can let this through?”
Lusya moved the top wall up slightly, creating enough space for the ball to slip through but not for the demon to get out. “Throw it just above his head.”
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Beldo tossed the ball up and through the gap, letting it fall down onto the demon’s head, where it bounced off and landed on the ground. The demon flinched, though it was doubtful that had hurt, and picked up the paper. He uncrumpled it and frowned.
“This is a blank sheet of paper,” he said.
Beldo grinned. “Sure is. Go ahead, rip it up.”
The demon gave Beldo a skeptical scowl before tearing the paper in half. Then again, and again, until it was in the smallest pieces he could manage, at which point he released them and let them drift to the ground like snowflakes.
“Feel better?” Beldo asked.
“A little,” the demon grumbled, averting his eyes, as if it pained him to admit that.
“Great. I asked you earlier, but what’s your name, son? I’m Beldo, that’s Lusya, and—”
“I’m Ariya,” Ariya announced with a little hop. “Hi, Mister Demon.” She giggled. “You’re naked.”
“Yeah,” the demon replied. “I am.” His tone was irritated, as if he thought nothing of it, but there was a definite pink tinge in his cheeks, and he lowered on hand to cover his genitals. “Anyway, haven’t decided on a name yet. But maybe…Aboki.”
"Well, it’s got a nice ring to it,” Beldo said.
“It means ‘assassin’ in Okaryoan,” Lusya said. “That is not an encouraging response.”
The newly dubbed Aboki scoffed.
Beldo held up his hands in a placating gesture. “Now, now, I’m sure we can all manage to get along. Aboki, was it? I’m going to be honest with you. We don’t have the luxury of babysitting you for long. But we can take you to the closest town, help you find your footing. It shouldn’t be too hard. You’re…a little on the pale side, but you should be able to pass for a reltus pretty easily.”
“He is not ‘a little on the pale side,’” Lusya said. “His skin is white as paper.”
Beldo shrugged. “Okay, so he can pass for an albino reltus. Either way, he should be fine. People might talk, but they won’t pick a fight or run in terror. He’ll be able to get by.”
“That is likely true.”
Whether due to doubt or self-preservation, most mortals—save for actual relti—would be some level of civil with Aboki. They would be suspicious, and many would avoid him, but it was unlikely any business would turn him away or that anyone would try to run him out of town. He would be able to meet his needs and keep up a facade of being a reltus well enough.
“Can you get to the point?” Aboki said crossing his arms and tapping a finger against one as he glowered at them.
Beldo grinned and nodded. “The point is, all you have to do is hold off on being violent until we’re far away. I’d prefer if you hold off after that too, but there’s not much I can do about that. If you can’t even manage that much, though, I’m sure Lusya will be happy to cut your head off.”
“I will not be happy,” Lusya said. “But I will do it.”
“So, what do you say?” Beldo asked. He held out a hand to shake, then belatedly seemed to realize Aboki was in no position to do so and pulled it back. “Deal?”
Aboki frowned and looked him over. “This is probably rich coming from a guy who’s only been alive for a couple hours, but you’re weird.”
Beldo let out a hearty laugh in response. “I get that a lot!”
Aboki sighed. “Doesn’t seem like I have much of a choice, though. Fine, I won’t cause any trouble for you guys. No promises after that, though.”
“That’s all I can ask,” Beldo said. “Though, for what it’s worth, you’ll live longer and happier if you control yourself.”
Aboki’s only response was a wordless scoff.
“Now, why don’t I lend you some clothes? You can make yourself decent.”
“Do what you want.”
With a nod, Beldo fished a shirt and some pants out of his pack and tossed them into the cage. Aboki caught them all and quickly began dressing.
“There we go,” Beldo said. He frowned and looked to Lusya. “On that note, are you okay with Ariya seeing all…that?”
“It does not seem to be harming her,” Lusya said. “Are you well, Ariya?”
Ariya cocked her head and blinked. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“She is fine.”
Beldo glanced between them. “That’s not really…” He sighed. “Okay.”
Aboki finished dressing and knocked on the wall before him like a door. “All right, I’m dressed. Can I get out of here now?”
“Let it be known that I will kill you at any sign of hostility,” Lusya replied.
“Yeah, I got that. I swear I won’t try anything.”
That was about the best assurance she was going to get. At the very least, he didn’t seem stupid enough to provoke her wrath. She dispelled the walls holding him. He took a tentative step forward and nodded in satisfaction.
“So, where are we going?” he asked.
“Stonefield,” Beldo said. “It’s a village right by here.”
“Yeah. I know about it. Somehow.”
Beldo chuckled. “We’ll get you set up with some clothes of your own and other traveling supplies and send you on your way. Ideally, I’d like to guide you through your first couple weeks at least, but I already have a commitment with these two.”
Lusya did not see why those conflicted, but she had no particular desire to keep Aboki around, so she did not object.
“I don’t need your guidance,” Aboki snapped.
“It’s more for the people around you, anyway,” Beldo replied. “Although, like I said, it would be better for you too if you followed it.”
“Whatever,” Aboki said. “I’ll put up with you until I leave the village. We going right now?”
Beldo hummed in thought. “It is pretty late, and you seem tired…”
“We will press on for a bit longer,” Lusya said. “I will not lose most of a day’s travel for this detour.”
There was no completely compensating for the time spent here, but she wanted to do what she could. The situation had taken longer to resolve than she had anticipated, but there was still plenty of light to see by, and Ariya did not need to be in bed for another few hours. They would continue for as long as they could. There was no room for debate. Father’s revival would not be delayed any longer than absolutely necessary.
“It seems the decision has been made,” Beldo said. “But we definitely won’t be reaching the village tonight.”
Aboki nodded. “Doesn’t make much different to me. I can handle a little walking.”
“You go ahead,” Lusya said. “We will direct you.”
He rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to try to stab you in the back.”
“This will ensure that is the truth.”
Aboki sighed and looked to Beldo, who just gestured in the direction they needed to go. The younger demon let out another sigh and trudged onward as instructed. Lusya offered her hand to Ariya, and they and Beldo fell in behind Aboki.
“Are you truly a complete pacifist?” Lusya asked Beldo, low enough that Aboki likely could not make out her words.
Beldo hesitated. “Well, if push comes to shove, I will defend myself. But I mean defend. I won’t hit back. No matter what.”
“Why?”
He frowned. “Because I’m afraid I won’t stop.”
“I see,” she replied, turning her attention back to Aboki in front of them. “Do you think he will?”
“I don’t know,” Beldo said. “But I’d like to hope so. Maybe that’s just me being selfish though. I’m not totally unique, but I’d like to be less so than I am. It would be better for everyone involved. But I know the consequences if it doesn’t work out. I guess that makes me a bit of a hypocrite.”
“Perhaps.”
By not only allowing Aboki to live but helping him, Beldo was putting many mortal lives at risk. A demon like Aboki could kill dozens before he was stopped. Hundreds, even, if Aboki threw caution to the wind and went on a rampage in the right place. That mattered little to Lusya—if anything, it might make Father’s job easier when he returned—but she was sure Beldo was more concerned.
Beldo nodded. “But all I can do is try my best. Mortals have the same urges we do, you know. Violence and cruelty. We wouldn’t exist if they didn’t.”
“I am well aware,” Lusya said. She had encountered such behavior in mortals more than once.
“Most of them conquer those urges. Not completely, but they also don’t put much thought into it. They just know how to rein it in. I believe we all have that potential too, even if it’s harder. Not everyone needs to reach the same answer as me. In fact, I’m sure there’s a better one waiting for someone out there. But we need to try. It’s the only way forward for us…for this world.”
“It may not be that simple,” Lusya said. “Violence is in demons’ nature.”
“And it’s in mortals’ too, if a little less,” Beldo said. “They find a balance, and so can we. Acting in accordance with your nature isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But sometimes, defying it is the only way to grow.”
She couldn’t fault his reasoning. If it was possible for mortals, it was likely possible for demons as well. And if his goal was to spread that balance, to enable some kind of peaceful coexistence, then he had no choice but to balance the risk of mortals coming to harm with the need to advance his cause. Of course, it was all for naught, but there was no reason that he needed to know that.
“Then I suppose you will just have to wait,” she said, “until you find someone who is able to do so.”
He nodded, looking pensive. “Yeah. I guess I will.”