DON'T USE YOUR WEAPON!!
I yelled that to Asmodeus as he tried to attack an army of shamirs that is moving towards us.
Thankfully, they moved slow but we have to avoid any of their liquid discharges or else we might get melted to death.
That's a new way to die.
Yes. We're facing an army of them.
Earlier, Asmodeus used his combative magic spell, destroying the ground underneath the first shamir when its body exploded suddenly, making holes everywhere that many of its kind came out of the holes, much to our horror.
He attempted to fly away while carrying me when the shamir began spraying their saliva towards us. Their saliva can reach quite far and since there's many of them, Asmodeus decided that we are much safer on the ground fighting them.
He yelled back at me on what he is supposed to do if he can't fight them using his weapon or his combative type of magic.
I reminded him that he's an arch demon and he's suppose to have other kinds of magic too.
His face lit up as if he just realized what I said and tried to use fire magic attack against the shamir.
To my surprise, it wasn't effective at all. They are invulnerable to his fire magic.
I seemed to be missing something here....
Of course we cannot use weapons to attack the shamir or else it will spray its liquids everywhere.
The way the shamir looks seems more that they are pests rather than a predator or a prey.
Pests?
Of course!
I already have experience fighting with pests before but I don't have any salt with me. In fact, I don't have any salt at all.
Can I use the Buddhist staff instead?
But I'm not sure if it will be effective though in removing their armor like skin.
Asmodeus yelled at me if I have any ideas at all as the lance he used to hit the shamir is about to break.
I told him that I'll try to hit them with my Buddhist staff and see if it is effective in which he looked at me strangely.
Ignoring him, I tried to whack the shamir near me.
It stopped moving.
But it's still alive though.
Then I tried whacking another shamir near me.
The same thing happened.
Aha!
With renewed energy, I whacked the shamir like I'm playing whack-a-mole, hitting them everywhere that Asmodeus looked at me with amusement.
As I whacked them, I realized that the Buddhist staff somehow neutralized its destructive energy though it wasn't obvious at first.
They are not demons though, as I didn't chant any mantras and sutras, or even danced the holy dance of the monks.
Ah. Speaking of the holy dance, no wonder that Asmodeus, during the time he was in his fake form and also Subus, always tried to distance themselves from me whenever I tried to use the Buddhist staff.
I still can't understand why, as they are in another form. They don't have any souls but maybe because of their energy?
I have no idea.
Also, whenever they are in their fake forms, they also can't use their demon powers too but they still need... energy.. by having intercourse with other creatures or beings.
Hmmm..
I may have read a lot of fantasy books or novels but there is a limit on what I know.
And understand.
Not everything needs understanding or else I'll go mad. That's the reason why there's a saying when I used to be a medical student, that too much intelligence causes madness.
That's why I was stressed a lot, trying to overthink everything. Especially my current situation.
The result?
A lot of my previous thoughts turned out to be wrong.
I have no escape from my situation no matter what ideas I have so far. There's no other option but to accept it. The only thing left for me to do is to enjoy the rest of the time I have left before the demon king will take me away.
Well, time is not friendly to me anyways. Lion performed some sort of spell to extend my life and I'm grateful for it but somehow, I can feel weariness embracing me from time to time. I'm blessed for having lived far beyond what is expected of me and to have survived everything that almost destroyed my sanity.
I don't know how long I'm going to live anyway. Or how long Lion's spell would last.
.....
Asmodeus approached me while I was panting in exhaustion, glancing around at the sight of the unmoving shamir around us and gave a low whistle of surprise.
He grinned at me and gave a short bow, then told me that he is impressed.
Please don't mock me.
Raising his eyebrows, he exclaimed that he didn't mock me at all and yes, he can guess my thoughts based on my facial expression towards him.
He studied my Buddhist staff intently before murmuring that it is truly remarkable and that he hasn't seen this kind of power before.
With his finger, he touched it before grimacing in pain. He admitted that he was right that the thing I'm holding has some strange power and though he won't die from being exposed to it, he still feels pain.
A bit tolerable but uncomfortable.
After experimenting using all sorts of spells to destroy the shamir's armor, he finally succeeded then burned all of them.
He shuddered before murmuring that he hates looking at them.
I completely agree.
Then we continued our search for the rest of the pack.
.....
It didn't take us long to find Sly.
Correction. It didn't take us long to HEAR Sly.
He is on another rampage again on his dragon form, destroying everything in his path.
Asmodeus and I glanced at each other as we have no idea on what to do as there's no way we can approach him on that state.
I grumbled that he's supposed to be way older and more knowledgeable than me, that he should know what to do in this situation. Also, his life is not at risk too.
He retorted that he's not that old and is still learning, unlike the demons from my previous world. Also, even though he's not vulnerable compared to me, he can still feel pain and discomfort.
Of course I argued back that he's definitely more able than me obviously. Also, it's just pain on his body, not his life that will be affected.
Asmodeus thought for awhile before grinning as he told me that Sly is my mate, not his.
I can't argue with that.
With a sigh, I told him to carry me near Sly. Seeing the look on his face, I reminded him that I did all the work with the shamir as he just flew around watching me whacking them.
And of course, I don't want to walk towards Sly as he might accidentally squash me!
He obediently carried me and flew towards Sly while asking me what I'm planning to do.
I don't know.
His eyes widened as he reminded me that we are in a dangerous situation and....
Sly saw us!!!
I began to panic as I realized that Asmodeus is on his true form and Sly didn't know that Asmodeus is Deus' real identity.
Asmodeus told me to think about something or else he will feel threatened too and might change into his ultimate demon form.
No! I don't want to make the situation worse!
Oh my gosh! I don't know what to do!
In my panic, I told Asmodeus to toss me towards Sly.
Not surprisingly, he yelled at me and asked if I was out of my mind.
Um. Yes?
Sly is almost near us as Asmodeus kept scolding me on how he doesn't want to get in trouble with the demon king and...
He didn't finish his sentence as Sly ran fast towards us while roaring loudly in which I hurriedly told Asmodeus to go away and take Khamsin and Orm with him.
And to trust me blindly.
He mumbled that it's my call and threatened to kill Sly if he eats or kills me.
Then he tossed me towards Sly.
With my life on the line, I screamed on top of my lungs the name that I gave him.
EMBER!!!!!
....
His eyes widened upon recognizing me as he gave a cry while trying to catch me with his claws.
I'm going to die if he fails to catch me!!!
I closed my eyes in panic, feeling like death is coming to embrace me again when I landed on a whump on Sly's massive claw.
It's hard! It's not soft at all! And my body hurts because of the impact!
Sly made some sort of soft sounds as I grimaced in pain.
Oh.. I'm sure I will have bruises on my body..
Owww!
Mmmm..
It's not comfortable but surprisingly, it is so warm. I'm not surprised as Sly's body temperature is a bit higher than mine and it's one of the reasons why I love cuddling with him.
I don't need any blanket at all!
I slowly sat up, feeling my body shaking in discomfort and tried to look around....
Oh my gosh!
Instantly, I went back to lying down as my vision starts to spin fast.
Sly made some sort of whimpering sounds as he tried to nudge me in which I just caressed him on his nose.
I continued to caress his nose while murmuring Ember in a lingering way as he continued to watch me, holding me as if I am so fragile.
I AM fragile.
Softly, I asked him if there's something wrong and why is he on a rampage again.
With that, I gave him a look.
He looked at me sheepishly and made a sound that seems that he is laughing at me.
Then he stared at me sadly, as if there is something he wants to tell me but he can't.
Why?
I asked him if something prevented him from saying anything.
Obviously he can't talk!
So I told him to nod his head if yes and to shake his head if no.
He nodded his head.
I see.
Sighing, I asked him if he thinks that I'm a hallucination.
No.
Or if he's experiencing nightmares...
No.
But at this point, he looks like he is pondering about something.
Ah.
Are there unpleasant thoughts bothering him?
He nodded.
I see. So it's not limited to hallucinations and nightmares only.
A tear fell down from his eye as he looked at me sadly, in which I asked him if it has something to do with his past and if it still bothered him.
Yes and yes.
Oh.
I hugged his nose as I murmured all sorts of comfort towards him while thinking of the possible hurts that he might have buried inside his heart.
Like Orm.
Sly is too tenderhearted and generous most of the time but only to me though.
And he is extremely loyal to Lion and the rest of the pack, which is unusual for his kind. Especially when Aagon told me that dragons don't usually associate themselves with lesser creatures and beings.
They are the same, Orm and Sly. Both are bastard offsprings and are unwanted by their kind.
Unwanted and neglected.
However, Orm had some sort of a relationship with his father as he grew up but Sly had no one to depend on.
Is that why he's too attached to us?
I hope not.
Yet despite that, I reassured Sly that I'm here always and definitely not going anywhere.
True.. in a way..
As much as time will allow me, I'll continue to cherish him and make him feel wanted.
He looked happy upon hearing it in which I gave a small bite on his nose.
Oops. I hope he isn't angry at what...
He looked amused.
Then he started to nuzzle me intensely that I almost fell from his claws.
OH MY GOSH! I CAN FEEL MY SPIRIT COMING OUT OF MY BODY!
I panted out of relief while he looked apologetic towards me.
Of course, I knew that he didn't do it on purpose and he was just being too affectionate.
So i gave a tiny kiss on his nose and told him to place me on the ground.
....
It would be chaotic if he sees Asmodeus so I told Sly to close his eyes while I caressed his head. He gave me a gentle nudge before closing his eyes.
Then in an instant, he fell into a deep sleep.
He was placed inside a bubble just like Orm and Khamsin.
After everything was done, Asmodeus and I resumed our search.
We stayed silent for a little while until it got too boring.
This time, it's Asmodeus who is asking questions.
He asked me what I know about his counterpart as he wants to know his capabilities.
Before I answered his question, I asked him what else does he do during his spare time.
Besides having intercourse with creatures and beings of course.
He looked speechless then asked me if his counterpart is doing something else besides the usual expected activities.
Expected activities?
Ah. He meant besides doing some of the demon king's work, destroying stuff, getting souls, keeping some of their minions in line, intercourse....
Busy, busy, always busy.
He admitted that assuming someone's identity gave him a bit of break.
I asked him if he can still conjure up steeds.
Yes, he can but it would look different than the steeds we rode before. He grinned wickedly at me as he told me that after consuming the real prince's soul, he gained all of the prince's skills and abilities, including his appearance and other forms.
Seeing the curious look on my face, he told me that Subus' alternate appearance is a result of an experiment.
She is a succubus but was merged with a pixie in an attempt to create a new being.
So that's why she has several personalities!
Sadly, the real pixie's soul eventually will end up being absorbed by Subus.
Bubu is not the real name of the pixie either but a fake name in an attempt to not make me suspicious of Subus as some of her real personality had started to come out.
The serious Bubu.
Much to my sadness, since Subus' real appearance has finally appeared, it means that she has successfully absorbed the pixie's soul.
Oh... My friend... The silly Bubu...
I never knew her real name.
I'm sorry I didn't know. I'm sorry.