Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Demon King
Ma'oz 's POV
I rarely ventured beyond my domain, and this would be my first time in centuries. Reluctantly dragging my closest advisor along, we decided to take a break by the Lubuk Tuna waterfall. It held a special place in my memory, for it was where my father and I had visited before he passed the kingdom's reins to me.
As we arrived through a portal, I stretched and yawned, feeling the weight of eight hundred years of toil for the Demon Kingdom. "I've been working and slaving away for far too long," I complained. Damon, my advisor, chimed in, "I told you it's high time to take a break. How do you feel now? Rejuvenated, huh?" He playfully poked my ribs.
"Hey! Show some respect," I rebuked him. Damon had always been a lazy bugger. If he weren't the second strongest demon after me, he would probably be wasting away in some hole.
"What? I used to do this all the time when we were kids. You know how much I respect you," Damon retorted.
"I mean respect yourself, my mighty General," I clarified.
"Whatever...let's go for a dip," Damon said, rushing ahead without a care.
While Damon eagerly rushed ahead, I lingered a bit longer to ensure no one escaped through the portal. The last time that happened, it caused a great commotion in the human world. Finally, I made my way toward the waterfall, only to spot a figure sitting by the pool. "Who is that? Shouldn't this place be empty at this time of year? Damon must have miscalculated again..." I was about to turn and leave when a captivating scent reached my nostrils. It was sweet and alluring, giving me a sense of peace, I hadn't felt in a long time. It tugged at my soul, calling out to me.
Curiosity overcame me, and I crept closer to see a human crying. Normally, I despised the weak who refused to fend for themselves, but there was something unusual about her. An aura, a multitude of colours, surrounded her, emanating from her heart.
Having witnessed every type of aura and power in existence throughout the heavens, multiverses, and even in hell, I approached her, intrigued to read her thoughts. Clear as day, I heard her whisper, "Gone forever, trapped in a loveless marriage to a cold, stone-hearted workaholic. Help..."
Oddly enough, I felt a pang of pity for her, something I hadn't experienced in a long time. It was a feeling I had pushed aside the moment I was chosen as the crown prince. In the demon world, any form of weakness meant certain death. It was suicide to feel anything other than ambition and strategize every waking moment.
In a strange way, I perhaps understood what she was feeling deep down, as if she was thinking and feeling on my behalf. Draping my arms around her, I hoped to lend her strength and fortitude to persevere. To my amusement, the human looked around and giggled. "Maybe I'm about to catch a flu with all this stress...right before the wedding. Ha! I wonder what they would think about that," she mused, her thoughts taking an odd turn.
She gazed at the pool of water lapping at her feet and thought, "Oh, whatever...I might as well have one last taste of freedom." Making sure no one was in sight, she started undressing, stripping down to her underwear and entering the water.
Her body appeared average in my eyes, passable at best. However, the aura that grew as her mind calmed and relaxed was the most beautiful thing I had witnessed in my thousand years of existence.
The aura beckoned me to comfort her, and so I heeded its call. Entering the cool water, I sat beside her for a moment, absorbing the serenity she exuded. As she fully submerged herself, I decided to take a swim, revelling in the wonderful feeling of letting go. The water in the Demon Kingdom was foul and toxic, capable of killing lesser demons. Although it posed no harm to me, I saw no reason to subject myself to such waste.
Suddenly, the human rushed out of the water, seemingly afraid or skittish. Had she seen me? I observed how she hurriedly put on her clothes, thinking to myself, "There's no way in fresh hell I would go near one of those creepy crawly things." Oh, my human, hell is not fresh at all. What an odd duck she is.
"Oh great! I forgot I'm still wet!" she exclaimed, struggling to squeeze out moisture from her clothes and hair. It amused me to watch her, reminiscent of a cat that had just leaped out of a bath. "A little wind would be great now..." she muttered sarcastically.
"Hm... very well. I shall grant you that," I said, flicking my finger to make the wind blow, instantly drying her. It was a trick I often used on myself.
"Weird...So..very...weird. GHOST! RUNNN!!! Like...was that truly just the wind? Could it have been supernatural...or maybe paranormal? If so, was it trying to frighten me? Play with me? ... Help me even? But come on. Think rationally. Why would any spirit, demon, or ghost help to dry me? It doesn't make any sense."
"What fun she is," I thought, finding myself more and more drawn to her like a moth to a flame. Demons were forbidden from consorting with humans, a law passed down from my father to maintain peace. "But I am not consorting. Merely studying," I reasoned to myself.
"I might as well check if my treasure is still behind the waterwall," I decided, swimming toward it and entering the cave. Everything remained as it was, untouched. I had expected some pesky human to have disturbed my hideout. "Glad to know they either know better or are too stupid to venture here."
Tapping on a few rocks on the ground, my secret stash was revealed—the coveted Ring of Solomon, my father's ring. We had hidden it here during our last visit, promising to return for it when he brought me to the human's world. It was too late for that now, but at least I still possessed something that truly belonged to him. He had once given this very ring to King Solomon, and it held a protective spell, granting its wearer the ability to see all types of spirits.
"Ma'oz, one day, you will find a worthy human to give it to. Protect this valuable treasure, my son." I remembered my father's words as I walked out of the cave, admiring the shine of the ring under the sun.
"Shit... I don't care if it's my imagination or not. I'm out of here!" Great... I frightened her. I ran after her to see if she could really see me. But then again, I have always been known for my good looks. It can't be that she saw me. Thank GOD! HELP! Hearing her scream for help, I rushed at super speed towards her. Is she alright? Why is she asking for help? I decided to follow her in the large vehicle.
"Is everything alright, miss?" The man in front asked.
"I'm totally fine. Could we just head back to the resort quickly?" She spoke hurriedly, her heartbeat thundering like galloping horses in the wild.
"Of course, miss. Is there anywhere you would like to stop by first?"
"No, no. I have everything I need back in my chalet."
"Ah! I see. Don't worry, miss. These seats are all leather. You can have my jacket to tie around your waist if you need." The man offered, and for some reason, I felt a pang of jealousy.
"Oh! Erm. That won't be necessary, thank you."
I couldn't suppress a chuckle. "He thinks you ran because of your monthly courses." Of course, she couldn't hear me. Or see me for that matter. That, I was sure of. Otherwise, her eyes would have gone wild when I spoke.
I continued to follow her as she ran towards a cluster of smaller houses. "You let her out in this heat? She doesn't have proper clothing. What if she gets dehydrated?" My super hearing detected a man's voice ahead.
"...Hi." The human said to the man I had just heard and an old human.
"Hi. Are you alright? Where did you run from?" The man ushered her to a chair and got a glass of water.
When she didn't respond, the man continued to demand in a tone that agitated me, "where did you go?"
"Just to Lubuk Tuna." The woman answered quietly.
"You went to the waterfall? Alone?!"
"No. I went with the concierge."
"Why ever do you want to go during low season? Don't you know it's dangerous? Not to mention the heat this time of the year!" The man raised his voice, and I was ready to smite him to ashes.
Saved by the bell, a sound rang out. He opened a small metal device and placed it to his ear. What manner of technology is this? Have the humans progressed so far that they now have fast-moving vehicles and long-distance communication devices?
I watched the man walk away while the woman continued muttering in her mind. "Wow...what a man! And I don't mean it in a good way. It seems like in every interaction we have, he is all domineering and demanding."
"Will you need me to help you, granny?" She asked the old human.
"Not at all, my dear. Robert will help me. You go now and freshen up as well before we leave."
"Yes, granny."
I moved to sit under the shade as I aimed to watch this woman's life unfold.
"Did it follow me? I hope not. No no no... Journee, think rationally. Not emotionally. Once we fly over the ocean, whatever this thing is will no longer follow us. Remember, mommy said they are bound to the laws of the spirit world. The sooner we leave, the better."
"So..you fear me. You are right to, human. But I won't hurt you." I told her. But naturally it fell on deaf ears.
"My Lord. Where are you?" Damon mind-linked me.
"I am... studying something." Or rather, someone.
"I'll join you."
"It is not necessary. Take this as a vacation well earned, Damon. We shall part ways for a week or two." I instructed.
"Wow! Who are you, and what have you done with Ma'oz?!"
"Very well then, report back to the Demon Kingdom and bring me...." Before I could finish, Damon's voice rang out in my mind again.
"Alright, alright. Thank you, my Lord. I shall see you in a week."
Turning my attention back to the scene before me, I watched another human man bring the luggage out, and the two human women followed.
Where is she going? I followed them from a distance until she entered a plane. "Wait...they now have planes? Since when have the humans used this demon invention? Surely, they do not have the brains to think this through!"
I knew this human woman, who I now know as Journee, was leaving this land. Entering another's area without first knowing where she is going is a risk. I could end up going to war with another denomination of beings.
Perhaps I should just leave her be and return to my kingdom. Those words tasted bitter in my mouth. Each word stabbed at my very being. "Why? What is this?"
As the plane took off, I found myself pulled along. A red string had attached itself to my heart. "Shit!"
My father had warned me never to grant wishes without using my head. Now, I am bonded to this little human. All because I dried her clothes with a little wind.
"Shit! Damn! Bloody fool! Blasted demon!" I cursed myself for this folly. "What am I going to do? My father died before he could tell me how bonds with humans work." This is something that had not happened for the past 10,000 eons. No one in the demon world truly knew how this worked. It was passed down from father to son since then, but I am now the first Demon King not to know the facts about it, not even the twisted partially inaccurate version. I have become Ma'oz, bonded to a human.
"How I wish..."
Not now, human!
"I wish for..."
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