Chapter 55: The Joy of Playing with Toys

Yoshiki Ayaka often reflected that she was not a normal demon. Where other demons came into their powers randomly, suddenly struck by a glorious but all too terrifying transformation, she was forged to be one, made so by her parent's will. She still remembered the first time she heard their voices in her pod. It sounded like mumbling—incoherent babble that only conveyed emotions. Frustration, confusion, consternation, but most often, determination. She knew who they were long before she saw them, and when her pod and eyes finally opened, she understood why she mattered so much.

She looked a lot like them: her own long white hair, but the man's eyes and the woman's face. They gave her the name Ayaka and taught her of the glorious Serpent Dynasty, and the reign of demons that came long before it. They taught her what the world lost when it lost demonic supremacy and the tenuous grasp humanity had on it to this day. They told her that demons had to rule in this world again, and while they could never become demonic themselves, they could make a person who could. They did make her and passed on their great will. For sixteen years they trained her for that will, and when she gained Yoshiki Hanzo's power, she gained a permanent joy.

Then she became a cardinal, and the company of her peers only made that joy greater. Being a cardinal was fundamental, not just for the sect's operation but for the sake of Demon kind's future. So, she felt it when Miki fell; felt it like the loss of a friend and the loss of someone who would change the world. She wept openly for him, feeling his life and energy come apart, and the energy itself try to escape. So long as she could sense that energy she knew he wasn't fully dead, but what hope did she have to save him from here? What could she do if that energy escaped this domain?

She wept, and perhaps because of that, she didn’t notice the approaching interloper, until she heard his voice.

“I think I’d cry too, if I was in your position. It must have been a stressful night.” The words came from an elf, standing on a shroom above her.

She wiped her tears and glared up at him. “Who are you?”

“You can call me Danson.”

“Do you stand against us, Danson? Even though you are an elf?”

The elf sighed, “you would be the second person who asked that question today. The answer is the same as before.”

Ayaka’s heart ached. If another person asked then another person died. How many of their allies had these interlopers taken already? She clenched her fist as her brow furrowed.

“Then there’s no reason I have to be delicate here.”

The elf grinned. “Which means I don’t have to be delicate either. Before we get into this though, what are you guys planning anyway?”

“To return the world to demon kind.”

Danson shuddered. “I’ve heard elves say something similar before. That means this will only be settled when one of us is dead.” His hands danced up. “Aen sif Tanaes Sadant.” Ice birds came diving in.

Ayaka danced away from them, except for one she snatched from the air.

“Liwo eoda Nevas.” The elf called and it burst in her hand, but she held its mana together. “I don’t like that,” he said as he came down a slide with a sword in hand.

Her skin turned blue as the mana changed in her grasp, first into magyeon and then a lesser demon to embody it. From this demon she made a blade, parrying the elf as he arrived.

He spun around and came back at her, an ice skater maintaining his speed, slashing to cast and cut.

She did not block, but dodged his blade, knocking his mana aside with magyeon swings. He smiled and stabbed his sword into the ground. She jumped back and did the same.

“Aen sif Sisos,” came a wave, ripping life from the grass as it froze its way toward her.

“Rautri,” She named the lesser demon, “drop!” Her demand made it plummet, sending out its own wave in response.

The spells came together and built a wall between them. She felt the elf drawing on its mana and she took his lead, transmuting some and feeding it to Rautri.

“Aen sif Presi,” came the elf as arrows sprayed out of the wall.

Ayaka built another wall beneath herself, flinging herself high, finding the elf raising a bow as she came into sight.

“Aen sif Presi,” He cast again, spraying his next volley through the air.

“Rautri, shield!” The lesser demon stretched its arms and a curtain stopped the arrows in their tracks. “Rautri, skewer!” She demanded next and that curtain turned into a rain of spikes.

The elf slid away, sending a bird to sweep around her. She wasn't foolish enough to say he missed but didn't let one spell take her mind off the attack.

“Rautri, hunt!” She called, and the spikes turned into vipers that went snapping after him.

The elf kept fleeing, but not without casting another spell. “Aen sif Espet.”

The bird from before became a sword and ran her through. It froze her from the inside as she crashed to the ground. The elf could not seize the moment, however, as his sword danced to keep her vipers away. Rautri went to pull the sword out of her, and she transmuted the blade, giving more power to the demon.

Just in time, too, as Danson cut away from the viper and raised his fingers.

“Aen sif Efda.” He released, striking Rautri and knocking him into her.

The lesser demon froze to her chest, but she stopped the mana that spread from him. Another lesser demon came together, perching itself upon her shoulder.

“Routra, fire!” She commanded, and something like lightning spewed from its mouth.

The ground even froze as it hit the elf, but he remained unscathed behind a sudden shield. He smiled behind it too, dropping the shield as if she wouldn’t fire again.

“I’ve fought an ice demon before,” he said suddenly. “Ice demon? No, maybe its better to say he was a blizzard demon, since you guys are like living spells. Either way, he crushed me, and I never forgot what he said.”

“Why are you talking!?” She shot. “You’re my enemy and no witticisms or anecdotes is going to change this battle.”

Danson’s brow furrowed. “What is it with some of my opponents and interrupting me before I get to the good part. First that ghost kid, now you? Am I just unlucky like that?” He counted on his fingers. “Is every third opponent going to interrupt me?”

“Routra, fire! Rautri, skewer!” She attacked from them both, her ice-lightning missing, while a wall caught the spikes.

“Seriously.” Danson brought the wall down. “I’m getting to the good part. He told me I was too sure of myself. And I was. We were fighting in the snow, I had plenty of mana all around me. Despite my mom, dad, and sister saying otherwise, I didn’t think I was going to lose.”

Ayaka made a sword and came at him, meeting him in another dance. That at least shut his mouth as both her training and demonic strength gave him something else to focus on, leaving him little room to think about anything but cuts and arctic bites.

He gave her some distance, surely hopeful to finish his little monologue.

Routra was ready, its mouth almost burning with the power of its magic.

It struck his calf and froze up his body. She called Rautri in front of her.

“He told me,” Danson slid away as if the ice meant nothing, “that my mistake was thinking that’d ever overpower a demon. I’m drawing power toward me, he’s pushing it out of him. We’ll both get stronger but he’ll always be ahead.”

Ayaka watched him go and couldn’t understand. Routra had not missed. She could feel the magyeon clinging to the elf’s body. He should have been frozen in place but he slid on instead. What was she missing? How would this turn on her?

No, none of that mattered. Rautri spewed another rain of spikes and Routra fired another sharp beam. The elf dodged it all but the world around him froze. Regardless of his tricks, he couldn't save himself this time. She transmuted the magyeon of their attack and an abominable demon rose behind him. Its fist crashed down and ice erupted into a tower.

The elf went flying, wrapping himself in a ball before he smashed into the ground. It ate the impact for him, scattering into chunks as it immediately exploded.

The new demon stomped to Ayaka’s side and with the three, she knew this fight was hers.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“So…” Danson shook off some of the recoil. “I asked him how I’m supposed to win if he’d always be stronger. He said I never could because he’d always be better, but he did offer me a tip in case I ever fought another demon with ice powers.”

“Do you talk because you’re scared, elf!? Or can you not control your mouth!?” She barked, finding his irreverence far too insulting. Her friends and allies were dead, and this elf was joking as if this wasn’t a battle of life and death.

“Scared?” Danson cocked an eyebrow. “Why would I be scared when I’ve already won the fight?” He smirked. “You should really be listening, because that blizzard demon told me that in this realm, ice is ice. Doesn’t matter if a demon, spirit, or celestial made it. Ice is ice, and ice gives off water mana.” He grinned. “You transmute mana to magyeon, right? You might have beat me if you can do it in an area, but if it’s only the mana you touch, I got bad news for you.” He spread his arms. “Ice is ice. And we’re in a winter wonderland!”

"Rautri, Routra, Ruugolb!" Her three demons prepared. "Skewer, Fire, Crush!" Rautri launched his spikes, Routra spewed his breath, and Ruugolb threw himself through the air.

"Wys eoda Nevas," The elf cast, and a snowflake appeared on her chest. "Duast eoda Nevas," He spoke to it, and she felt it as it latched onto the water mana around her.

All too late she realized he was always trying to freeze her, and she could not transmute the mana fast enough. She wept, for the demons she failed and for failing her parents, then gasped as mana and magyeon stopped.

“How boring.” Another interloper appeared, his arrival alone sending her lesser demons hurtling behind her. They crashed like meteors, bodies shattering into particles.

This new interloper was lanky, with long night purple hair falling to his waist. His clothes were bright as if in obnoxious contrast, a pale pink shirt and lilac slacks. Butterfly wing stretched out from his body. Was he the elf’s ally? No. The horror on Danson’s face said otherwise.

“Aen sif Si—

“Shh.” The elf’s spell came with panic and hurry and disappeared from his lips as the fairy shushed him.

Ayaka started transmuting a new lesser demon, and his eyes on her were enough to freeze her in place.

"All so boring," The fae said again. "I thought a battle between a demon and an elf might be nostalgic. Neither of you are anything of note, but it could be like watching dolls play out greater moments." He snapped and her magyeon trapped her in ice. "But no. Of course you cannot change the state of this domain. Who would ever expect that from a doll?" Her head was still free, letting her hear his every word.

She might have been horrified by that alone if the elf’s silent fear wasn’t the loudest thing around. He could move his mouth but say no words. It looked like he wanted to run but he was just as rooted in place as her.

“But there is some fun to be had here.” The fae looked Danson’s way. “You’re one of Avad’s little toys, are you not, boy?”

Danson’s breathing came hard.

“I was not in the Fae Realm when his little get together led to your kind, but I heard the stories. That was a different kind of joy.” He approached him, placing a long thin finger on his forehead. “I am L’vay. Now, give me your name.”

Danson tried to keep his mouth shut but it moved despite him. It looked like he was trying to say something else, but the word came out despite him. "Dhanylo," it came shaky and horrified. It wasn't the name he had given her before. It struck Ayaka at that moment what L'vay was trying to do.

“You can’t! He’s your ally!” She protested.

L’vay’s eyes turned back on her. “Ally? Is that how you play nowadays? Pick toys from your box, line them up and say, “You are my greatest friend. You have stood at my side during my greatest battles.” Is that how far we take games of pretend?” He smiled then, and she wished he didn’t. “Or is that just what a toy needs to believe to feel like its more than it is? Is that what your creators did? Did they promise you some unique purpose, let you pretend you were not another doll and they do not have a replacement ready for when you break?” He laughed and each lilting rumble made her feel like he was tugging at frayed threads.

As subtly as she could she started working the magyeon that encased her, certain that this fae could not be allowed to be free. His very existence felt wrong, felt like it turned the entire world on its head. If he could bend mana and magyeon alike with so much ease then neither this elf's group nor the Yoshiki sect would be safe. And this elf? Even if he was her enemy, he didn't deserve what the fae was doing.

L’vay returned his attention to Danson and stepped forward, placing his hand against his chest. It sank in, and the elf clenched his jaw, fighting an internal battle he had no chance of winning. The fae touched his core and glowing lines ran up his body like breaks between puzzle pieces.

"Let's start by personalizing you a bit, shall we? That is what the fae did with Avad's toys, is it not? I like the skin tone, you can keep it, but how drab of his court to give you such basic features. Brown hair? Brown eyes…? Truly drab." Danson's hair began to glow. "First…how about you take on my color." It turned night purple. "And let's make that a little longer." It grew out, falling to his shoulders. "The eyes now…" They glowed bright white and then settled on L'vay's same iridescent blue. "Now one final touch…" Gold speared out from the point of Danson's ears and melted over them. "Finally, let us seal this in place." His fingers seemed to go deeper than before piercing Danson at an atomic level.

Ayaka wanted to close her eyes, but couldn't look away. She watched the travesty like something fresh out of a nightmare and gasped as the faeries arm froze up to his shoulder. Had Danson managed to mount a counterattack? The fae looked at the limb with annoyance.

“What is the meaning of this?” He searched the elf. Ayaka’s eyes followed his, settling on an earring dangling from his ear.

The ice fell from L’vay’s arm and he touched the earring, finding several sharp lines ruining his flesh. He sneered.

“Some manner of curse?”

Some manner of curse he couldn’t undo.

"Let us shut that down shall we." He twisted his fingers and flung mana away. Ayaka could still feel it working though, just slowed to a crawl. The fae couldn't truly break it, and that said there was a way to defeat him. She needed to touch the earring to truly know, but she could at least beat him back enough to get that close.

The ice upon her broke down and came together, forming a figure that stood taller than him and the fae alike. Its skin was blue and smooth, its eyes a deep black, its body looked stronger than any of them and white hair fell to its shoulder.

L'vay gave it an appreciative smile. "See, you understand the joy of playing with toys too. Look at you, throwing together magyeon as if you're the Maelstrom itself. Oh, how I would like to meet the demon who could do that so freely." Cruelty filled his eyes.

Ayaka settled her racing heart and named her creation, “Reugaan.” The demon came to attention. She looked at Danson and the fae. Did she kill them both, or had the elf suffered enough? What would the other cardinals say to her if she let him live? What of her parents? She felt pity for the poor boy but maybe he might prefer the gift of death. “Annihilate.” She commanded and it moved like an animal on the hunt.

L’vay didn’t react, even as black ice claws grew out from its hands. When they ripped around, leaving a trail of frost behind them he didn’t have to react, as Danson raised a sword, cutting the swipe short.

"My toy versus yours," the fae turned to her. "Let's see whose is better." He raised a hand to his mouth and chuckled behind it, fluttering backward as the elf kept swinging.

Reugaan proved to be much faster though, losing the first few swipes but finding purchase as it kept ripping at him. Flesh went frostbitten as they raked, going stiff as ice raced through his veins. Still, though, the elf kept attacking, flicking, and pulling new spells together, throwing them at her demon even as they proved ineffective. There was no beauty to the exchange, no belief in her heart that the elf would ever overcome it. Meanwhile, L’vay stood back, watching like an impassive spectator. She hated him for it, and that hate turned Reugaan on him.

“I would not.” He shook his finger, as Danson’s attention turned on her.

She went to move and he swung his hand up, throwing a wave at her. Reugaan got in the way, ripping it apart, and the elf slid past it, blade slicing for her neck.

“Aen sif Tanaes Sadant,” First wings erupted from him, and then each feather became a bird.

A swarm not a flock descended, angry birds swooping and diving, coming at her like a hail of a thousand arrows.

She escaped with a leap and Reugaan slashed the elf’s back. He didn’t even let out a cry as his eyes followed her, however, his fingers trailing her arc through the sky.

“Aen sif Presi,” from that finger came a barrage, sloppy and without aim landing everywhere around her. He swept his hand again and they became a hill, falling over her, trapping her within it.

Before her heart stopped she seized the mana and pushed it out. Reugaan swiped at Danson’s neck and the flesh went black, even as he drew on the scattering chunks again.

“You’re letting him die!” Ayaka shrieked at the fae.

“And you are killing him.” He sent it back. “Would you weep if your toy were to break?” His lips curled into a smile, and her jaw tightened. “Do not get distracted now.”

“Aen sif Espet.” The swords came from the chunk, running her through from all sides.

Reugaan rushed for her, tearing her free, letting her heal as it carried her way.

L’vay watched her go. Danson’s eyes followed. She set hers on the fae and her mind began to race. Her eyes went back to the elf and his earring. Would L’vay know what she was planning? Did it matter if he did?

She sent Reugaan after the fae this time, powerful steps pulverizing the ground. She descended upon Danson next with a sword in her hand, meeting his spell as he cast it, weakening it but doing little to keep it from piercing her and freezing her body. Her blade tore down and his rose to block it. They danced the same dance as before, except that she searched his eyes for any sign of self.

L'vay yawned theatrically as he fluttered away from Reugaan, threatened neither by its speed nor the lethality of its claws. It was enough of a distraction though, she hoped, as she stabbed her sword into the ground and took a page from the elf's book. She pulled magyeon back and threw it forward, trapping him in a pillar of ice. Springing toward him she grabbed his earring and shifted the structure of magyeon in her other hand to match the curse. She shared this structure with Reugaan who raised his hands to aim at L'vay.

“Reugaan…” She called, taking another page from the elf’s book, drawing on the scattered magyeon to make the spell more potent. “Crystalize,” she commanded. L’vay stretched his arms out as the spell drew in.

It made for a mocking sculpture as it settled, leaving a frozen figure to mock her in a land almost turned to ice. He didn't break free, however, pulling no other tricks from his sleeve. She turned to Danson again and Reugaan went after him, claws stabbing forward like a spear. Then it stopped, its arms dropping. Ayaka tried to command it again, but before it could even twitch, it was frozen too.

L’vay’s chuckle came like the plucked strings of a harp. She turned to him, eyes wide, and found him draped over the sculpture he should have been trapped inside.

“Did you think that the spell was what froze my arm?” His voice bounced. “Silly girl, it was the caster. But, what do toys know of the hands that play with them?”

She turned, raising her arms, and screamed as her veins froze and burst.

“You wield the power of a demon far greater than you and remind me what this world has lost. True battle. True beauty. A true chance to give energy lethal form.” He let out a sigh, an all too disappointed sigh, telling her that he had never put his mind into this battle. “What is worse is that it is not even my hand that defeats you. So much focus on what you fear that you forget your place in this world.”

“Aen…Aen… Aen… Aen…” Trapped in his pillar Danson murmured the words again and again and again. “Aen Suaga.” His face went pale cold as that new word left him, and Ayaka felt it erupt in her heart.

She healed and it erupted again, she tried to move and felt blood vessels break like delicate glass. Her mind raced for an escape, but it steadily slowed, her blood froze from her heart to her neck, to the vessels behind her eyes.

L’vay stepped forward and touched her cheek.

“Do not worry. Some version of you will take over from here. I am certain your makers have an even better homonculus waiting.” He grinned, and tears froze against her face as the ice finally claimed her body.

Reugaan came apart and L’vay blew the ice from Danson.

"Already breaking," He looked at the dying elf. "Fine," He waved his hand and healed him as if to dust the wounds away. "Now go to the center, Dhanylo. Let's see if there's a better performance awaiting you there."

Danson turned and started walking, no more able to resist the fae than he was able to reclaim his name…

[Chapter 55 ends…]