Garion smirked and crossed his arms.
"Of course what I said is true," he said casually. "I'm a human. The kind demons think of as food."
He pointed at himself with his thumb.
"And yet," Garion continued, "I can beat demons easily."
The Vessel Demon stared at him, still trying to process that fact.
Garion's expression shifted, becoming more serious.
"But," he added, "if you want to become strong like that, there's a price."
He stepped closer.
"You'll have to train very hard," Garion said. "So hard that you'll feel like you're dying."
The Vessel Demon didn't step back.
Instead, it clenched its fists tightly. Its thin arms trembled, but not from fear.
"…My life is already hard," it said quietly. "Hard enough that it feels like dying every day."
It raised its head and looked Garion in the eyes.
"So no matter how painful the training is," the demon continued, voice steady, "I can handle it."
Garion paused.
Then he grinned.
