-Chapter II-

Even Demons Need Love

“I think that should do…” I tell myself as I look over the handful of Kobold Totems that I erected.

Over the past couple of days, I have been hard at work with trying to keep myself busy. Mostly just to keep my mind occupied and away from floating off and worrying about the boy that I saved and forced to mutate into a Fiend… He has finished healing and is now in the middle of changing. Any moment that I don’t spend occupying myself with something else, my brain instead tries to spend focusing on his progress like a kid watching a videogame install over shitty Wi-Fi.

It's very distracting. I often find myself trying to wander off towards his room and I am quite certain that if I didn’t stop myself, I would most likely end up spending all of my time just hovering around his bed, guarding him like a pissed off momma bird.

I need to keep myself away from him. It wouldn’t be healthy for me to be anywhere near him right now. Not while I am still so unstable. So quick to lash out with anger.

During this last couple of days, I have learned something else about my new changes. I have become a bit territorial…

Some part of me now considers the entirety of the area around the airport as mine… Getting pissed at any monsters that invades the arbitrary space that my subconscious has claimed as my property. Of course, it could simply be because I have something important to defend here…

Thankfully, I don’t seem to be reacting to the soldiers being here or to them being near my… Being around the boy. I would like to think that I haven’t gone completely feral yet and am capable of seeing that they are friends. But a small part of me is worried that I might actually see them as something else… pawns, servants… Someone beneath me and not worth being concerned about. That it is only natural that they would be tending to one of mine.

I shake my head and push aside those thoughts. I’m not about to go and become a Queen or anything. Even if my instincts want me to: I still remember the things I said that day. What matters is that regardless of what my instincts want; I don’t want to. Right now, all I want is to be happy with my family and hug my girlfriend. Not go and build a castle and fill it with demons.

Back to business, I have been busy with setting up more of those Kobold Totems around the airport. As I’ve been culling anything that wanders too close, I have managed to get a bit of a collection of monster heads to put on poles. The ones that I had built on the west side seem to still be scaring things away, so I figured that I should build them on the north and east side as well.

Although, we did have one monster come through the west side. The thing was practically all muscle and armor plating and no brain. So, I am beginning to think that the totems only work on creatures that have at least some level of intelligence to them, but might also not work against anything that is smart enough to realize that it is just a head on a pole and that they can just go around them… or things that are so stupid that they can’t even realize that a head on a pole means, ‘Danger, stay the hell away or die.’

Just further proof that some monsters are smarter than others, even if the vast majority of them are as dumb as a hungry brick.

Still, even if these things are only good for scaring away some monsters, it is still better than nothing.

Maybe I should go visit a Kobold village again and see about learning some more of their runes. I’m sure that a couple of monster corpses would be worth the trade for them. With Sky translating, I can even learn what it is that I have been writing on these things… Besides, I’m pretty sure that Sky would like to learn her people’s written language. Still a bit of a surprise that they only allow the elders of their villages to learn it.

I shrug, “Eh, nothing a bunch of monster meat won’t fix. I’m sure that they would be willing to bend the rules a bit for it. Those Kobolds really love that stuff…”

I turn to leave, to head over to another area and waste some time doing anything other than worrying about the boy’s mutations. My attention gets drawn to the side as I spot a couple of figures walking my way from the airport. They wave to me when they see me looking, probably messengers sent to come and get me.

Before they get too close, I make sure to reel in my Field and check to see that I am not influencing the area around me. The humans seem to… The others seem to be a bit sensitive to my influence on the mana around them. It scares them…

After some thinking, I had taken to calling the little motes of colored lights, mana, and to call my area of influence over the mana as a Field. I’ve read enough fantasy novels and watched enough anime that it only makes sense to call it what it is. I know an apple when I see an apple, and the shadow stuff I’ve been able to do is obviously magic. And magic means mana.

I may not be the smartest Imp -completely ignoring the fact that I am probably the only Imp on Earth…- but I am smart enough to use some common sense and be able to reason out what is right in front of me. I’m not going to be like one of those characters in a zombie movie that for some reason have no clue what a freaking zombie is! Magic is magic and mana is its fuel.

Nerd fueled rant aside, the soldiers are almost to me. It doesn’t take much for me to realize that they are nervous as they approach me. A lot of the soldiers have grown nervous around me ever since I tore apart that Doppelganger like a complete maniac. They probably worry that I might snap and kill someone at some point and don’t want to be the unlucky one that ends up being there when it happens.

Strangely enough, some of the soldiers have only grown more excited about being around me. Asking me to show off my shadow magic and stuff. Bunch of weirdos… Although I guess you have to be a bit of a weirdo to be willing to risk your life fighting monsters for a living.

Eventually they make their way over. They seem to relax a bit as they find that they don’t feel my Field pushing down on them, and I don’t move to bite them or whatever else it is they are afraid of. Arriving, they snap me a salute, which is weird because I don’t technically have a rank, and one of them says, “Ma’am, the Lieutenant Colonel has called for you. He would like for you to come see him in his office.”

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

I raise an eyebrow at that. I don’t think I’ve done anything worth his attention. Does he have a job for me maybe? It shouldn’t be about the boy, he’s still asleep…

I ask him, “Did he say why it is that he needs me?”

The soldier flinches a bit at my question, and I have to hold back a sigh. I’m not going to hurt you, chill…

“Uh, no. No Ma’am he didn’t. He only ordered us to find you and bring you to his office.”

“Oh, alright then. Lead the way. I was basically all finished up out here anyways, so it’s not like I have anything else to do.” I tell them with a shrug.

He pops me another salute, “Yes Ma’am. Right this way please.”

I move to follow behind them as they walk nervously in front of me. Occasionally they will send nervous glances my way, but I choose to just ignore them. It’s been like this for the last couple of days and if I draw attention to it, it will probably just make them worry even more. It has gotten to the point that I don’t even feel the urge to try and bully them for a laugh. I just want them to relax a bit…

After some time walking, we finally make our way back inside and over to Lieutenant Colonel Roberts’ office. One of the soldiers -who I am just now realizing that I had forgotten to ask the names of– knocks on the door and requests entry. A few seconds later we are called in.

Inside, LC Roberts is busily working away on stacks of paperwork that never seem to diminish whenever I come by. After a few moments of writing something out, he signs his name on the document and sets it aside. Taking a break from his paperwork, he finally addresses us. “Thank you for bringing her here, the two of you are dismissed.”

They quickly snap him a salute and walk out of the room. I don’t fail to catch how fast their footsteps are, seemingly like they want to run away and get some distance from this room, but refusing to move faster than a brisk walk, lest they get yelled at.

I choose to just ignore them and keep focused on my boss. After they leave, he turns to me and says, “Lain, thank you for coming.”

“Sir, did you need something of me? A job for me perhaps?” I ask.

“Hmm, yes and no. You are heading home in a couple of days. You will be charged with protecting Private Smith and the other injured as they are carried back to base.”

A burst of happiness goes through me as I hear that I will be going home, but it is tinged with a bit of worry. I ask him, “Am I in trouble? Because of what happened…?”

“No, you’re not in trouble. While this could be interpreted as a breach of your contract, I am choosing to look past that because your actions saved the life of one of my soldiers. No, you are being sent home because the terms for your mission here was to assist with the clearing and capture of this facility, as well as helping to protect it while we constructed our new Forward Operations here. In a couple of days, we are scheduled to receive our last major shipments from home base along with some more soldiers to replace our casualties. You are to assist with guarding our injured and ensuring that they all make it back home.”

“Uh… Yes Sir.”

“I figured you would be more excited to be going home?” He asks, an eyebrow lifted curiously.

“I am! It’s just… Will you guys be fine without me being here? The monsters are much more dangerous this far in…”

He just gives me a look, “Lain, you are powerful, yes. But we don’t need you here to hold our hands and make us feel safe all the time. We’re all big boys and girls that can wipe our own asses.”

I grimace at that, “I didn’t mean it like that…”

“I know. Regardless, there is a few other reasons that we are sending you home. For one, it has been observed that monster activity goes down drastically during the winter. We’ll be just fine out here without you until spring. Secondly, I am putting in a request that you be scheduled to meet with a therapist. I’m right to assume that you could use some aid in that department, correct?” He asks, his tone warranting no arguments.

“Ehhh… Yes… I’m not proud to admit it, but… I probably really should talk with one. I have issues…” I tell him, scratching at my horns.

He nods, “Which is why I want you to spend this winter working to sort things out and get yourself back under control. I understand that your recent changes are not entirely under your control, but we need you to be always in complete control of yourself. We can’t afford to have you losing your mind and snapping in a high stress situation. Far too many lives are on the line, and you are far too valuable of an asset to risk losing. So, I am ordering you to take care of yourself and seek professional aid.”

I give him a slow nod, looking down a bit, “Yes Sir.”

He continues, “Lastly. We need you to be on base for when Private Smith wakes up. If he is going to end up anything like you are, then I want you to be there to help him quickly get a grasp of his new body.”

“I, I’m not sure that it is safe for me to be around him, Sir… I can’t guaranty that I won’t do something crazy…”

He folds both of his hands in front of him and watches me for a moment. Slowly, he opens his mouth and speaks. “Lain. Is it safe to assume that things were confusing for you when you first mutated. Waking up in a new body and having no idea what to do about it? Do you want for him to go through the same thing?”

“To be fair. He will be waking up in a hospital bed, surrounded by people that want to help him. I woke up alone and covered in filth, my family already a hundred miles away and nothing but a letter telling me where to go. He doesn’t need me there. The researchers already know what I am capable of, they can just use what they learned from me and apply it to him.”

“And the connection you two share? What if he wakes up and you aren’t there? What if he wants to see you? What if your connection compels you to be there? Imagine how you would feel if the person that changed you refused to be there for you. To help you come to terms with your new existence.” He tells me.

I frown at him, “The thing that changed me was a fucking dog bite and me not wanting to die over a can of beef stew. I didn’t have someone to turn to because the thing that turned me is fucking dead! I stabbed it in the heart when it tried to kill me!” I growl out at him.

He ignores my raised temper, keeping a level face as he simply responds. “And unlike you, Private Smith actually does have someone that he can turn to. You made him into what he is becoming. You have a responsibility to him now.”

I stop in my tracks, ready to yell about it not being safe, but his last few words make me freeze. I grit my teeth as my anger fights against me, but I push it down. “Responsibility… I’m responsible…” I say to myself.

I take a long shuddering breath, “Fuck…”

“Responsibility is quite the burden, isn’t it? Having to do the thing we don’t want to do. Forcing ourselves to move forward and do what we must, despite wanting nothing more than to stop and rest. To finally give up…” He says in a tired voice.

I look up from the floor and to him, my shoulders sagging. I ask him, “Does it ever get easier? To keep going?”

“No. It never gets easier. But we do it anyways. End of the world or not…”

…

“… I understand. I, I’ll be there when he wakes up. I’ll help him learn about himself… But after that I am keeping my distance from him. It’s not safe for me to be around him.”

He nods, “That’s all I ask. You're dismissed now, prepare to leave in a day or two when the next group arrives.”

“Yes Sir.” I turn to leave, stopping as I reach the door. “Sir, I’m sorry that I lost my temper…”

“It’s alright Lain. I understand. Just be sure to have it under control for when we next meet.”

I take one last look over to him, my hand on the doorknob, “Thank you…”

He gives me a short nod and a rare smile. I open the door and leave, heading for my room to make sure that I have everything ready to go.

At least I finally get to go home. I can’t wait to hug Sky.