Chapter 4: Fight for the Emerald
The trip to the shrine was pretty much backtracking to my castle and then trailing a plain northern path. In a short amount of passed time, we walked into view of a tall wooden shrine. For some reason, some demons loved old buildings. At least the stupid ones did. I kicked down the crusty wooden door and followed Gladius inside. It was dark except for the light that peeked through the cracks. The walk toward the back of the shrine seemed to drag on forever. In fact, it felt like we walked in place.
“Wait, Nawm,” Gladius said.
“Yeah?” I answered.
“Do you feel that strange energy? It feels like a spell.”
“That should explain why we aren’t progressing anywhere,” I said. “The demon is yet another coward.”
Out of nowhere, a voice yelled, “I am not a coward! I’m just….having a little fun.”
My eyes nearly popped out of my head. Demons sure didn’t act the way they used to. If Gladius’ face were visible, he probably would’ve looked the same as me. The demon giggled childishly. It sounded like a human girl’s giggle. The kind I disliked.
“Why are you in my shrine, my good friends?” Again, the voice was feminine.
“We want something back.” Gladius said.
“Oh really? What could you be after?”
Gladius mumbled something under his breath. He probably was disappointed on the count of how weak the demon presented itself.
“The emerald,” he growled.
“Oh this one?” Right before our eyes, a light-blue gemstone, the size of a lemon, appeared. Gladius reached for it but the stone vanished.
“Sorry, but I can’t just give this stone to you.” The demon creepily giggled. And if I said the giggle was creepy, then to anyone else, this would probably scare the hell out of them. “The hero promised to marry me if I guarded this stone from someone named Gladius.”
I bit my tongue to keep from laughing. Of all the tricks Adius have pulled, this one was somehow the most impressive, but also pathetic.
“But I’m not Gladius,” he obviously lied. “I’m the hero’s cousin, Tio.”
“His cousin you say?” The room rumbled. Sparks lit up in front of us. They formed into a brown-haired woman. She wore a black dress and carried a wand. She actually didn’t look bad at all. At least not, what I pictured anyway. I wondered what Adius’ relationship was with this demon. I almost laughed out loud thinking about it. Maybe his vampire half of his blood had something to do with the attraction.
“So you want the emerald, huh? Well since you’re his cousin, I’ll give it to you. But you’re going to have to fight for it!”
“Fine, that sounds reasonable,” I said. “I’ll make your death quick because I’ve got other things to do.”
“Oh silly, you won’t be fighting me. Instead, I’ll allow you to take on one of my pets.” The demon slowly rose into the air and waved her wand. A drop of water emerged from the tip and fell to the floor. This drop formed into a drega. A drega looked like an overgrown lizard that stood on two feet and had large claws. It was green with black stripes. Each of its teeth was pointed.
The drega roared, its roar sounded very low-pitched. Gladius pulled his sword from its sheath.
“And I hoped for a challenge. Stand back Nawm. Allow me to show you how I’m going to destroy the hero.”
I folded my arms and cleared his path. Gladius dashed toward the drega and dodged its swipe. He tilted his sword and hacked it through the drega’s head. The body fell to the ground, its last squeal faded. There wasn’t a single trail of blood on Gladius’ blade.
“Not bad,” I complimented. The demon looked petrified. Just what kind of demon was this? I guessed I could have safely said that not all demons were the same.
“Alright, you’ve passed the test. Only people related to the hero could only be this strong.”
She couldn’t be this stupid, yet the emerald appeared in Gladius’ hands as though nothing had happened.
“Tell Adius I said hi,” the demon called out as we turned our backs. Gladius inspected his emerald. He chanted something under his breath.
“Just as I thought,” he said. “The hero has put some kind of spell on my emerald.”
“Probably because he knew how idiotic this demon presented herself.”
“Hey you,” Gladius said as he turned to her. “Remove the spell from my emerald at once.”
The demon girl grinned.
“Well, you’ll have to fight more dregas if you want me to do that. Nothing is free in life.”
I could feel the anger burst off Gladius’ head.
“How about I fight you instead!” The demon sighed and shifted her gaze to me. That’s when she gasped.
“Hey, your eyes are the same color as Adius.”
“Yeah, and?”
“Hmm…how about this? You marry me and I’ll remove the spell.”
I laughed so hard, I thought I burst my insides.
“I’m serious!” She said.
“You sure have a thing for light-green yes,” I laughed. I never laughed so hard in my life. “Are you serious?” I continued as I charged some heat into my palms.
“If I marry someone with light-green eyes, the spell of this shrine will be destroyed. Then I can leave.”
I could tell Gladius had caught onto my plan because he chuckled.
“How about coming a little closer,” I said. “You’re bent on being my wife. How about proving it?”
“With a kiss?” she asked. Did good demons actually exist? Kissing would be the last thing a demon of evil statures would do. At least that was what the rumors about demons clarified.
“Yeah,” I said. Don’t ask me if I tortured imbeciles out of boredom. This is my business, not yours. After all, I’m telling this story.
The demon woman walked toward me, her carefree attitude disgusted me. The years she spent in here really drained her mind. I began to wonder how demon blood tasted, but threw away the thought because of the possibility of it killing me.
When she stood directly in front of me, I smirked. The heat in my palms burned so hot that if I held them by my sides any longer, my clothes would probably catch on fire or even my black cape.
“It’s been a while since I kissed anyone,” the demon said, “So I apologize for being rusty.” Now this was becoming stranger to me by the moment. She kissed someone before. The rumors of demons had to be completely wrong.
The demon slowly moved in for the kiss. Right when I thought the time was right, I aimed my hand at her and unleashed the fireball. However, she knocked it away! She grasped her arms around me tightly. “Was that a test to see if I was strong enough to claim your love?”
I was shocked. No one, other than that blasted hero, had ever knocked away my fireballs so easily. This demon was definitely no laughing matter. I had to find a way out of this; however, no one could stand up to my statures. There was no way a lousy demon was going to make me back away.
I chuckled. “Very impressive… No one had ever dodged my fireballs. There’s only one problem though.”
“What problem?”
I smirked. “You see, my friend there really need that spell removed. If you don’t corporate, you’re going die.”
“I am?” She sounded frightened.
I face palmed.
“I can’t take your stupidity any longer!” I yelled. I charged some heat into my palms and unleashed a fury of fireballs at her. Suddenly, she teleported (that’s the best way I can say it) behind me.
“Oh silly, your tests are no ma—” At that moment, Gladius’ sword bolted toward her body. The demon quickly placed her hands in the blade’s path, stopping it instantly. I almost fell from the shock of how powerful this demon was.
“Okay, your tests are starting to get a little scary. Can we kiss now?”
“Just what kind of a demon are you?” I said.
“There are kinds?” She said stupidly. My anger erupted through my veins like the roar of a volcano. She sickened me. She reminded me of a blonde-haired victim from the modern era.
Stupidity aggravated me a lot. I thought demons were supposed to be cunning and insidious. There’s no wonder why Adius tricked her so easily! How could a demon of no brains be so powerful? She even called something “scary.”
“Demons that looked like humans are said to be the most powerful,” Gladius, said. “She has the strength but lacks the brains.”
“Hrmph…. I could use the extra help –”
“What are you saying Nawm? You must have forgotten but she’s bound to this shrine. The only way to break that spell anyway is to marry her.”
I thought for a second. There were always two sides to a story. Therefore, there could also be another way to break an annoying spell. I slipped deeper into thought. If I was to destroy the spell and allowed an idiot to join me, every plan I create would fall into the drain. There was only one way out of this.
“Hey demon girl,” I said.
“My name is Claria.”
“Well, Claria, if you break the spell, I’ll marry you when I return to this shrine.”
“How long is that going to take?”
“Three days,” I said.
“Really?” Her face lit up.
“Yes.” Was I a good liar or what?
“Yes! Alright, bring me the emerald.” Gladius held the gem in front of her. The demon’s eyes glowed bright white for about a second. “Okay, the spell is gone.”
“Excellent,” I said. “I shall return in three days.”
“I’m not sure how long is that going to take but don’t forget me.”
I almost laughed. I had to admit, this took longer than I expected.
Gladius and I started for the exit.
“Wait!”
I turned. “What now?”
“I want you to have something in remembrance of me.”
“What?”
She flashed a small black shard gem shard in my hands. Strangely, this shard felt very familiar.
“What is this?”
“It’s a shard of the dark gem.” She answered.
“Wha…what?” I almost yelled. “No wonder why I couldn’t find it.”
“Well recently, or maybe a while ago, two powerful forces fought over the dark gem. One force killed the other and celebrated their victory. The excitement somehow overpowered the gem and caused it to shatter into eight shards. At least that’s what Adius told me when he gave me this shard.”
I wondered about the reason why Adius would sit and talk to a demon. His vampire half is cleverer than I thought.
“So now the eight shards are scattered across the world?” Gladius asked.
“That’s what he said.” Claria clarified.
“Let’s get going,” I told Gladius. When we were outside the shrine, Gladius chanted once again to his emerald. It shimmered as the winds grew. Gladius tossed the emerald into the air as it exploded. An enormous cloud of smoke formed into a giant orange serpent with a crested head and large claws.
“I’d like to introduce you to my pet, Zodius. I may be able to summon random dragons but this one I respect the most. It’s my most powerful beast.”
“I see; however, we’re going to need a plan to retrieve the shards.”
“Don’t worry about that, I already thought ahead,” Gladius said. “Have you ever heard of a witch named Adrian?”
“You mean that twenty-year-old woman with the experience of a witch that aged one thousand years?”
“Well, she’s a very good friend of mine,” Gladius continued. “With her psychic abilities and her magic, we’ll retrieve the shards at a faster pace. Yet, she lives in Isle town, as a human. I believe she was defeated by Adius and forced to change her life.”
I sighed. “This is exactly why we must eliminate that bastard before we begin anything.”
“Alright then, Isle town isn’t too far from here. Zodius will take us there.”
Just before we took another step, a voice shouted, “Halt! You aren’t going anywhere.”
I noticed the red-haired teen from Forest village. Three other teens trailed him with swords grasped in their hands. I charged heat into my palms.
When the redhead caught up, he panted. After catching his breath, he got into a fighting stance.
“No one humiliates me in front of everyone and gets away with it. My friends laugh at me and my future wife ignores me now.”
This kid was persistent. I’m not sure what made him suddenly have the guts to climb right into the jaws of death.
“You are a pathetic bunch of children. I’m not even going to waste my energy.”
I turned my back and followed Gladius.
“Oh, no you don’t!” I could feel the kid charging at me. When he was close in distance, I dodged the blade and grabbed the kid by his shirt collar.
“When we own this world, you wouldn’t even make a good servant. Death is too nice for you.” I could see his friends trembling. Two of them dropped their swords and ran. The other, that stayed, wore a mask that looked like a frog’s head. This mask was like a bag, so I couldn’t see his face or hair.
“Put him down.” He said.
“Let us go Nawm,” Gladius said. “Let’s not waste precious time with these kids.”
I threw the redhead at the masked teen. He sidestepped and at a blinding speed, the masked kid dashed at me. I dodged his swing and then kicked the sword out of his grasp. He pulled a pink ball from his pocket and pitched it toward me. The ball exploded the minute I swiped it. Pink gas emitted in every direction. The gas began to burn. This was definitely not a normal kid. Exactly what kind of kid was this?
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