The Short Demon King

Chapter 9

I stood there, stunned. These puny humans believed they could beat me! Me, of all demons? What absurdity. They weren't even fully grown. What could these pathetic children do to me?

While I was distracted, one of them managed to slash the side of my jaw with a small knife. I stumbled back from shock, tripping over my own feet. As another lunged towards my legs, I barely leapt out of the way.

I needed to stop this. How had I already gotten in a fight? I just got here! If I wanted to stay in the humans' good graces, resolving this conflict was essential. These boys weren't physical threats, but if this encounter turned violent, it could threaten my ability to stay here.

"Look, why don't I help you out with something as payment instead?" I tried. "I could help you attack other humans! Or, or I could just lure them to you! Wouldn't that be more helpful?"

"There's nothin' you could do for us that's worth anything! We don't need ya!" the leader shouted back.

But then he paused...

The others watched him, then turned to me, following his gaze. All five stared at my face. Well, close to it at least.

"What?"

"You're actually right. You can give us somethin'. Somethin' shiny. That looks like it'll be worth a pretty penny. Toss it over and we'll let ya go."

"Shiny? What shiny thing do you..." I reached for my ear.

They wanted my earring. Of course they did. The gem alone was probably worth a fortune, given how it danced in the light. But I would never let someone steal it from me.

"Ohhh, you're gonna regret that," I snarled. "I would never give this to anyone, and certainly not to someone like you."

The boy rolled his eyes. With the deal done for, the group swarmed me. But this time, I was ready.

I stepped to the side of my first attacker, forcing him to fall to his stomach as he lost balance. I spun around to kick the one beside him, causing this boy to fall down too. They seemed even less stable on their feet than I did earlier.

That first one pushed himself back up and slashed at me again. This time I dodged his attack seamlessly and jabbed my elbow into his stomach. He fell forward again, writhing in pain. I knew it, these humans were weak. Why did they even bother attacking me in the first place? Even in an unfamiliar body, defeating this group seemed way too easy. 

With two of his comrades already on the floor, a third underling charged at me. I reached out to grab him with my tail, completely forgetting it disappeared when I arrived here. Because of this mishap, the boy managed to scratch my side with another one of those tiny knives. While this hurt slightly, I'd dealt with far worse back home. I ripped the blade out of his hands with ease and chucked it down the alley. I had no use for such a pathetic weapon.

"What are you all doing?" their leader demanded. "This guy's scrawny, just knock him out!"

He shoved the one cowering behind him forward, forcing him to fight me. The boy squeezed his eyes shut and ran towards where I stood. This would be so funny, I thought as I stepped just out of his path. I watched him run down the alley, not sure if he would ever stop. His best option was to run from me anyway.

At this point, the others managed to get back on their feet, slowly recovering. With a sigh, I stalked towards the closest one, terror spreading across his face. These guys finally figured out they had no chance at beating me. Hands shaking, he slashed at me again, not getting anywhere close to me. 

The boy faltered after missing and I took advantage of the opportunity. I lunged my head forward and bit into the side of his neck, tasting the sweetness of his blood. I struggled to dig my teeth in further since they had shrunk significantly from the fangs I once had. The other two forced me off him.