Horny pushed himself off the pillars of the inert Dungeon Heart, his heavy steps echoing in the dark dungeon. The scythe trailed on the floor, metal scratching on stone to create sparks. Over all, he would have made an impressive figure to behold for most people.
The Horned Reaper sneered at the girl standing between his old prison cell and the Dungeon Heart, looking at him up and down silently. This was to be his new Keeper? She looks frail, but that’s to be expected if she was a magic user. He looked her over. Hmm… No high-neck collar, acidic smell associated with lab work, nor faults in her facial structure. Definitely not an Underworld Warlock. But she seemed calm for someone being stared down by a Horned Reaper, even Heroes quake with fear just seeing one of his species in the battle field. This little girl is being stared down by the Legendary Horny!
Did that mean… She intended to come here? Yes, yes. That sounds like a likely explanation. But for what reason? Horny observed the girl closer to decipher her intentions.
The blonde girl looked around the age of 20. He didn’t know for sure, since humans were such fragile creatures. He’d sooner cut them down than ask if they’re a decade younger than the one next to him. Her hair is kept tidily flowing down her back from her ponytail, the only hair decoration she bothered with is the pointy violet wizard’s hat she wore. She also favoured a violet dress, kept closed by large sets of belts around her waist. A clean white shawl wrapped around her shoulders, and her legs are encased in long black stockings and boots.
He also noted that she was covered in a thin layer of ash, probably from a spell cast to send her here, that she brushed away from her skirt as she stood up. With the way she moved, he concludes that she’s a Goodly Wizard. Still…
“I am the Horned Reaper, Horny!” He told her, his hoarse voice scraping for attention. He pointed his scythe at the magician, expressing his ire at her presence. “Who are you and why are you here?!”
Lillet mentally rolled her eyes. Demons. She has seen more impressive demons than the one in front of her, in fact she commanded the same demons against the Archmage’s followers. This one is different from the ones under her thrall though. For one, he’s smaller. Sure, he’s towering, especially with her next to him, but her demons would be taller than him if they weren’t crouching. He also didn’t have those leathery bat wings her demons have, so he looks pretty-much ground-bound. He does have that scythe going for him though; they would deal much more damage than her demons’ claws could ever hope to deal.
“Your name is Horny?” She couldn’t help but ask. Who couldn’t? It was such an unfortunate name after all.
“Do you have a problem with that?” Horney scowled, showing his fangs longer than Lillet’s own fingers.
“Oh, no! I don’t.” Lillet smiled, a tiny bead of sweat rolling down the side of her cheek. Did she hit a sore spot there? “It’s just that I expected something else.”
With her Devil Professor being named Advocat, and an Archdemon called Grimlet, she expected this demon to have a more grandiose name. For it to be as… uh… simple as ‘Horny’? Devils were theatrical creatures in Lillet’s opinion, so the name is quite odd to her.
She nearly slapped herself when she remembered that this isn’t her world. She has never heard of a Horned Reaper before. The only Reaper she had heard of before was Charon, and he’s on her side! It was foolish to think that this was her world, just because she saw a demon that looked slightly like her own.
“You did not answer my question.” Lillet could actually feel the spite emitting from the demon. Yep, she better not get on the bad side of this demon. He’s less of Advocat and more of Grimlet, only without a pact with her.
Something warm touched her side, and her eyes shot to the bag strapped to her waist. She patted it down, encouraging the entity inside to settle down. The warmth faded, and a cat jumped from the bag down to Lillet’s side.
“I am Lillet Blan.” The magician told Horny honestly, before gesturing to the cat at her feet. “And this is Grimalkin.”
“Meow.” The cat purred, though to Lillet’s ears it was something like ‘A displeasure to meet you.’
Horny only spared the Grimalkin a glance before turning his attention back to Lillet, a brow raised. Lillet hummed, didn’t he understand the Familiar? Interesting, magic must work differently in this world.
“Well, Lillet Blan.” Horny said, measuring the name in his tongue. Why did every devil, demon, and other other-worldly creatures do that? She likes her name just fine, but the way this demon used it was just tasteless. “You will do something for me.”
Uh oh. A demon wants something from her? That’s never good. “What is it?”
The Reaper brought his scythe back, pointing towards the inactive structure behind him. “I want you to be my Keeper.”
A Keeper? Lillet wondered. The guardian and watcher of something? She wants to be the Demon’s keeper? That’s… pretty suspicious.
“And… Why do I-” She paused, remembering that this is a demon she is talking to. “Why do you want me to be your Keeper?”
“You have more use to me that way.” The Reaper shrugged, trying to look uninterested in her answer, but his body isn’t built for such an action. “Better than target practice anyway. Besides, the only way out of here is through that. The only way out of here is through that, and the sooner you do it, the faster we can get on with our lives.”
Lillet walked towards the structure, feeling the stone under her hand. It feels magical, like ancient Sorcery, but there is an underlying tension in the magic that she couldn’t read. She’s not sure what would happen once she released the seal on the structure, except that the ambient mana in the dungeon would activate.
Right now, she’s not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. She didn’t have enough magic in her to make another World Jump right now, and the structure might give her enough of a boost to her reserves if she taps into it. But with the way the Reaper is grinning…
“No.” Lillet said.
“What?!” Horny roared, steam billowing out of his nostrils. He lost his patience and reason with that one word and charged at Lillet with his scythe raised, ready to cut the audacious spell-caster down.
“Grimalkin!”
“Meow.” The cat purred, and suddenly Horny lurched forward. The cat raised one paw, and that was the last thing Horny witnessed before blackness took him.
The Horned Reaper made a dull thud when his body slammed into the ground, fast asleep. Lillet’s heart was beating fast in her chest. Trying to come into terms with the near-death experience. The demon’s temper was shorter than she expected. It was a good thing that he was susceptible to the Sleep spell.
“Thank you, Grimalkin.” Lillet said, breathing a sigh of relief. “Why don't you check to see if Amoretta's flask is okay?”
The cat meowed, before slipping back into the bag.
With the distractions out of the way, Lillet sat down in the middle of the stone circle and began meditating, trying to find a way to activate the Dungeon Heart without any undesirable effects.
“Hmm… Maybe if I bind it to something besides me?”
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(Posted Tue, 28 Jul 2015 04:20)
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