the halfling is a humanologist

Five out of six hunters signed the waiver, not by writing on it, but by cutting a finger so that a few droplets of blood fall would onto the paper. "Very well," said the demon lord. "Let it be known that those who don't sign—"

"Yadda yadda, we die," grumbled a boy barely older than Lev. "We know. Hurry up."

Needless to say, he was the one who refused to sign. While the hunters stood around the table where the contract was, Lev sat on what was either a couch or a giant beansack.

The demon lord clearly bit back a smile. According to local laws, the only way to kill without repercussion—for humans, demons, or anything else—was to engage in a duel to the death.

The demon lord's contracts were pointless. If he were that powerful, then, surely, he would be ruling this place instead of following its customs. To demons, only the weak yielded to others' laws. Neo-feudalism, conquering territories, asking for maiden sacrifices every month... didn't all of the strong ones do those things?

Reem jogged back from the hallway. Why she did that instead of walking was anyone's guess. "Elial said he'll be here in five minutes. Also, I'm almost done with the tea."

"Tea?" Inquired the demon lord.

"Yeah, the..." Reem trailed off. She'd brewed tea for the hunters without asking for permission from her master. "...bye."

"No. Come here."

The hunters exchanged glances. One of them laughed under his breath. A maid getting reprimanded by a demon. Hilarious! Not.

Reem approached him, slowly, hands gripping at her uniform. She'd probably brewed the tea without thinking... BECAUSE SHE WAS SLEEP DEPRIVED. What was the point of having two jobs when she couldn't even do one correctly? Now what? How did demons punish their servants, anyway? Workers had rights and whatnot these days, but...

Lev stood up. They all turned to look at him. All of them. "The hunters asked for it!" He told the demon. "For the, um, they asked her to brew some tea. She's been a little sick today, so she probably forgot to, uh, to ask you about it." Demon hunters and a demon lord stared at him. "Don't be harsh."

To which the demon responded, "Worrying about a human maid's well-being... how virtuous. Would you take the punishment in her stead?"

The demon lord knew what Lev was. He knew it wouldn't... hurt... as much...? His words dripped with irony, yet his tone and facial expression remained empty.

Lev nodded.

The hunters' sardonic cheering did not go unnoticed. Funny. Hilarious. Reem glanced at Lev. However, she said nothing. Not 'stop! It's not his fault!' or 'I'm sorry' or even a 'thank you'. Whatever.

The demon lord smirked. As he began to walk, he placed his hand on Reem's head, who squeaked. "So be it. I'll be back with you shortly. The rest of you, follow me. The human ambassador will join us soon."

With how much shit Lenna and Mahieu spoke about Elial, Lev had been itching to finally meet the guy. Save for him and Reem, the rest of those present left to the courtyard to fight.

The moment they did, Reem sighed, stretching. "So. Do you want tea?"

Lev almost glared at her. "Is that a joke?"

"Nah. Sionn always acts like that with strangers."

Like what? "Always? How would you even know that?"

Reem leaned against the table, as though it didn't hold a, quite literally, bloody contract. She shrugged. "He seems like that sort of person. I dunno. He won't actually punish you is what I'm saying. He just puts on a show in front of strangers. I keep trying to talk to him but he just replies with one-liners or leaves so I..." Yawn. "...guess that makes me a stranger now, too, but before the whole maid thing happened he talked a lot. I'm not sure why I'm telling you this. I guess it's because he's about to cut a girl's leg off and I'm trying not to think about it."

"Huh."

A lanky guy with a spiky, purple ponytail appeared from the hallway, yawning as well. Despite wearing glasses, he squinted. "Where did everyone go?"

"Outside," Reem said.

The bespectacled guy shook his head. "Seriously..." Then he headed back out. Unlike most humans in the region, his skin was light in color. He probably got sunburned a lot.

"Was that Elial?" Asked Lev.

"Mhm," replied Reem. "You know him?"

"...in a way, yeah. I heard the demon also gets along with him?"

"Not also. He is the only one Sionn talks to. Probably because Elial barely says anything in the first place, but anyway. Sionn doesn't even answer my bulletin board stuff. It's like he's scared of me ins—"

A scream. Reem winced, closing her eyes. Lev had smelled blood already, so he figured the duel had already begun, six to one, with Elial as a mediator. Since the screech was clearly feminine and there had only been one girl among the hunters, it didn't take long to connect two and two.

The duel had begun and ended in... what, a minute? And of course, the victor was clear, as was the outcome.

Lev's mouth watered. He swallowed, to no avail. 

He'd never tasted human meat before. Obviously. Half of him cringed in disgust as the thought. However, the other side...

"S-so, uh. Will you still tell him about the cure?"

Another scream, male this time. "I... guess?" replied Lev. 

A shot. Two. "...yeah. Thanks. I'll um. Tea?"

"Sure."

Reem fled. It was for the best. At any moment now, the demon lord would return to the manor. 

Had Sionn killed the boy who hadn't signed the contract? After all, failure to comply did mean a duel to the death...

Did the other hunters rebel after their loss?

Why did demons have to kill? 

Why did demons enjoy killing? 

Was it their nature, or was it the curse?

The demon lord walked in, blood dripping from his claw, splattered onto his coat, his face, his lips. 

Lev's words died in his throat. Because demons could smell fear, the demon lord stopped, glancing at him from the corners of his eyes. "What?" He asked. "Are you hungry, too?"

"...no..." 

"There's some left outside. Where is Reem?"

'Some.'

As though the hunters were things. 

Were they dead? Lev could barely hear anything. See anything. The scent of blood intoxicated half of him and sickened the other. 

Demons could survive on a single feeding for months. However, the more powerful they were, the stronger the hunger. After all, what gave them power, if not the black moon slowly corrupting them?

It was disgusting.

Meat was disgusting. 

The way it smelled.

Death.

Lev could almost taste it. 

Warm. 

Soft. 

Savory. 

Countless nights as a child spent crying due to hunger, with his human family right there, under the same roof as him, sleeping...

Glass shattered. 

Lev jumped.

The world was red, then pink, then technicolor. A cursory glance revealed a Reem who'd just dropped her tea tray, and how could she not? She'd almost crashed against a demon twice her size, covered in human blood.