MAN & MONSTER

demon lord

"A dragon! A dragon is coming! Oh please, great hero, save us!"

A dull blue gaze followed the shrieking man, who continued on running down the road while shouting frantically for the 'great hero'. A great hero who had slain countless beasts, a great hero who had united the people—so on and so forth.

Abbott turned and looked at the ostentatious man standing, frozen, in his doorway.

"And that," said the great hero, striking a pose, "is my cue to leave!"

He cartwheeled out of view and Abbott sighed, massaging his forehead with his fingers and praying to whatever gods that existed for patience in these turbulent times.

...It was all a scam, really. If Savil hadn't been Abbott's childhood friend, he would've never let himself be dragged into it. But, if the moron got himself killed or worse, then Abbott could never in good faith accept his mother's home cooking again.

Savil may have been at the forefront, waving a sword and shouting heroically, but Abbott was the one cloaked in invisibility magic casting spells from the shadows while rolling his eyes at every heroic speech that Savil prattled off to his 'foes'.

"Get out here," Abbott said tiredly, prowling into the house.

"Just go take care of it, Abbott!" Savil replied frantically, hiding himself in the pantry. Abbott frowned at the closed door and Savil stubbornly held it shut when Abbott pulled on the handle. "I'm sick of all this hero stuff! Seriously! You're the hero, you can go take credit now, I'm sick of it for real."

Abbott's disinterested face twisted into a small snarl. "I don't want it either. Ugh. You're such a tool."

Leaving Savil to whine and hide, Abbott angrily cloaked himself in invisibility magics and disappeared.

-------------------------------

When he reappeared, he could hear the roars of the 'dragon' in question and lifted one of his hands as he gazed up at the threatening shape in the sky. Magic concentrated in his palm, gathering bright and powerful between his fingers.

Then a slender hand tapped him on the shoulder and he misfired, a screaming bullet of magic streaking harmlessly into the outer atmosphere and probably straight into space.

Gaping after his magic's trail, he whipped around.

He was still cloaked in invisibility, who could actually see him?!

When Abbott whipped around, his throat seized up as his breath wheezed from him in a hoarse, tiny gasp.

Retracting his hand, a smug smile on his lips, was a petite, small young man. His dark hair was fine, his ears sharply pointed, and eyes gazed up at Abbott with genuine amusement. The sclera of those eyes, however, was black, the rest red with that very familiar cat-like slit of a pupil. When his smile widened, canine teeth poked out over his lower lip and Abbott's flickering vision beheld the curved demons horns, and—and—

"D-didn't you die?" he whispered, swaying on his feet.

"Not quite," said the demon lord brightly, placing one hand upon his hip. His grin widened further, sharp teeth flashing and eyes never leaving Abbott's. "How nice to see you again, my rival, my killer. How fares the hunt lately? Do you like my dragon?"

Abbott had no words, really.

He hadn't ever actually wanted to kill the demon lord, he hadn't meant to and he'd had nightmares ever since. At the last moment, even though his friend lunged forward with sword raised and angrily defiant despite his human powerlessness, the demon lord had shifted his gaze and looked to Abbott.