A Demon in the Modern World [ Errorink / Errink ]

Chapter 5 - Denial or Acceptance

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I took a deep breath, attempting to steady my nerves as Reaper turned the cards over to him. With a satisfied nod, he reached for his phone and snapped a picture of the laid-out cards, capturing the moment before quickly shuffling them back into the deck.

"Dude, you really had to take a photo of that?" Cris asked, leaning forward with a confused expression.

"Yeah?" Reaper replied, his attention still focused on his phone screen. "I need to post this on Twitter. How else will I attract clients?"

Ah, so he did it for work purposes. I thought to myself, then my next question popped up in my mind: How much does he make a year? To ask this at the moment wasn't ideal, so I decided to put it off for the future.

Error positioned himself at my side, a silent but palpable presence, clearly intent on being part of our upcoming conversation about him.

As Reaper cleared his throat to get our attention, I braced myself for what he might say next. "In my opinion," he began, and I listened intently, "I think you should consider accepting his offer to be his assistant. It might be the key to helping him pass on to the next life and freeing yourself from his influence."

Before I could even begin to respond, Error interjected, his voice laced with amusement. He was clearly having fun. "Tell this guy you're not dealing with a ghost."

I mentally sighed at how carefree Error was being. "He's... not a ghost," I confessed, earning bewildered looks from all three of them.

"He's not?" Reaper echoed his expression a mix of confusion and concern. "Then what is he?"

Error let out a snort and crossed his arms. "Tell them... I'm a demon."

"He's a demon," I admitted, the words feeling strange and unsettling as they left my lips. I wasn't sure if it made much of a difference whether he was a ghost, a demon, or even the tooth fairy! I just wanted him gone, away from me and out of my life! Like he's so annoying!!!

The atmosphere grew tense as the weight of Error's true nature settled upon us all. Reaper's brows furrowed in concern, while Eric and Cross exchanged worried glances. None of them seemed to know how to respond to this unexpected revelation.

So, I decided to be the first.

"What? Is it that bad??" I asked, feeling my nerves return once more, however, nullified because I was getting tired of being stressed out.

Reaper's expression softened as he met my gaze. "It's not necessarily 'bad' in the traditional sense," he explained gently. "But dealing with a demon can be...complicated."

Eric nodded in agreement. "Demons are powerful beings, and they often have their own agendas. It's important to be cautious around them if you ever make a deal... Did I say that correctly?"

"Spot on," Reaps remarked with a smirk, casually retrieving a gum wrapper from his pocket and starting to chew on the gum. He offered me some, but I declined with a shake of my head.

Cris sighed while rubbing the back of his neck. "We'll do our best to help you, Ian, right guys?" He looked at his buddies who nodded in agreement.

A small smile crept onto my lips. It was reassuring to know that even in dire situations, there were people willing to offer help..

"..right," I simply said. But still, what did I get myself into? Glancing at the towering skeleton beside me, I knew I had to accept his deal, even if I didn't want to..

Reaper's cough brought me back to reality. Apparently, I had been spacing out for too long. Oops. "Do you know his name? If we research his name, we might find some background information about him."