Misinformation Can Be Deadly

Chapter 22: Demons Have Allergies Apparently

CW: itchy eyes and coughing, very mild though

"Okay," Virgil sighed, setting down the bag he had in his hand. "Let's see if this works."

"What's the sage for?" Roman asked with an amused smile.

Virgil sent him a glare. "You know exactly what it's for. I did promise to kill you, did I not?"

"Okay, okay." The demon nodded, holding a fist in front of his mouth to fight back laughter. "Let's see how well this works then."

The human squinted. "You're bluffing."

"Oh no, no I'm not. But go ahead, it might be funny."

Virgil glared at him. He grabbed a lighter that he had bought and pulled out some sage, putting it in a glass bowl. He lit the sage on fire and set it on his desk. "Okay fine, let's see how this goes then."

Roman held back a laugh. "Okay. Hey Remus was right! This will be entertaining."

Virgil sat down on his bed. "If this doesn't work, you know I'll find another way. Maybe I will go to church with Patton, and get some holy water."

"You're going to need a lot then. Holy water doesn't kill me, it just burns." Roman rubbed his eye, sitting on the other bed. "Dammit, I forgot how much sage itches!"

"Ha! It does affect you!"

"Yeah but it doesn't weaken or kill me anymore. I'm too strong for that, I'm a prince!" The demon blinked back tears with a small cough. "Nevermind, this was a mistake, I shouldn't have let you do this."

"I-I'll put it out-" Virgil got up and grabbed his water bottle.

"Wait! I gotta see it affect Remus!" Roman waved his hand around and his magic mixed with the smoke, sending it in Janus's room's direction.

They waited for a moment, and Virgil leaned back against his bed. Just when Virgil was going to tell Roman to give up, they heard it.

"Roman you asshat!" a voice shouted, followed by a cough.

The door opened and Virgil stifled a chuckle, but Roman started to laugh hard. Janus glared at the two of them as he walked over to the sage, snapping his fingers and making the small fire and cinders die out.

"Seriously? Sage?!" Janus shouted. He smacked Virgil on the back of his head, though that just made Virgil laugh harder. "That doesn't do anything but make them cough and itch!"

Roman laughed more, and ended up in a coughing fit, but seemed to already feel better.

"S-sorry, I had to try!" Virgil giggled. "But Roman was the one to send it to Remus! I was going to put it out the moment I realized it wasn't going to work."

Janus sent a glare at Roman. "I will murder you. Better yet, I'm going to help Virgil kill you." He turned to the human. "I'll get you an actual weapon that will kill him so that you can stop messing with my demon."

"Janny! I can't breathe!" they heard Remus complain. Though, his voice seemed normal now, and he was probably just complaining for attention.

Still, Janus sighed, "Virgil, you fucking owe me." He turned around and went back to his room.

"Whoops," Virgil laughed. "But hey! It did something! I'm gonna get an actual magic weapon, so that's cool. I wonder what it'll be."

"It'll probably be a knife, but that still means you gotta try to actually stab me."

"I could cheat and command you to stay still."

"You wouldn't dare!" Roman put a hand to his chest.

"Ah, you're right, that's too boring. Much better if you actually defend yourself, as long as you don't actually hurt me."

"You know I wouldn't want to do no such a thing. However, I hope you won't mind if I have to touch you, such as to grab your wrist to pull the knife away should I not be able to dodge."

Virgil shrugged. "That's fine. I mean, I am trying to kill you."

"I just wouldn't want to put you in an uncomfortable position."

"Well, I guess I should get rid of this." Virgil started to scrap the sage into the trash. "It was cool that Janus was able to put it out with only a snap. Witchcraft is kinda cool."

"Yes, but it takes a lot of energy out of the user. Being with your demon does help but only by so much."

"Yeah... I have too much to focus on without learning witchcraft. Plus, I'm not sure how much Patton would like to learn that his possible adoptive son is a witch. I-I mean, I don't know him that well, but he is religious."

"I don't think Logan is, but Patton definitely does believe in the Christian god. Though, he seemed to keep it out of your conversation yesterday."

"That's true. Hey, how do you fight by the way? Do you have a sword you can summon or...?"

Roman lifted his hands and flexed his fingers, the tips of them turning dark red sharp. "This, along with my magic. Though yes, I have several weapons I can summon. Of course, they disappear once they leave my hand so I wouldn't be able to give it to you."

"Can you show me one?"

The demon smiled at the interest that was sparkling in the human eyes. He let his claws melt away before summoning a sword. It was red and black, as if made from resin and mixed together. The handle was wrapped in black leather, and there was a sharp point on the hilt.

"This is the one I prefer to fight with. It used to be called Defender but... it was renamed to Avenger." Roman's eyes became sad. "It has helped me in... many fights. Though, I hope to never use it again."

Virgil frowned. "Why not?"

"I only use this sword to avenge a loved one's death." The human's blood went cold at the serious tone and look. "But I haven't used it in a long time." He dropped the sword and it disappeared in smoke. "And I don't plan on letting it be used again."

"Oh... Wh-why did you have to rename it?"

Roman quirked his eyebrow. "I... I eventually got a different weapon, one that was easier to defend with. A shield with spikes on it. Besides, my claws are good enough for me in a fight. Or anything else that I can find in my surroundings."

"I guess, you certainly can kill a human without anything. I assume."

"Oh yes, demons are far superior in strength than humans. No offense of course."

"I have the skinniest arms ever, I'm not offended." Virgil sat back down on his bed. "Maybe I shouldn't kill you until after I graduate though, keep you around to be my bodyguard. Something tells me Remus won't protect me if I kill you."

Roman shrugged. "He's unpredictable."

"Yeah... Well speaking of school we still have homework that we haven't finished yet." Virgil grabbed his backpack. "Help me out here smarty pants."

Roman rolled his eyes. "You know, if I give you all the answers you won't learn anything and you'll flunk the test."

"Then teach me! Math is stupid!"

"If you wish."