The Legend

Of course, though I told them shrine, I never said which shrine. I considered going all the way back to where I awoke, but it seemed like a ridiculously long trip to make. I knew they were going to leave me waiting awhile, but I wasn’t just going to sit around bored. Instead, I decided to stop and hang out at the one that was closer.

It was a much easier trip back to the ruins now that I was full and hydrated. I still felt the heat of my rage about my treatment lingering beneath the surface, but I was feeling more alive, so it was easier to turn my thoughts to other things. The village had turned out to be pretty crazy, so I wasn't looking forward to going back there anytime soon. But at least I had one other person I could interrogate. Maybe he would be easier to talk to. And maybe pigs could fly.

I was sweating by the time I reached the ruins. I cursed under my breath; so much for cleaning up. At least the tunic was lighter than my original clothing had been, making it much more bearable to move around in. I had no idea what they did with my old, torn-up clothing, but at least they left my shoes. I didn't even want to imagine how painful it would be to walk around without them.

Back in the ruins, I made my way straight back to where I last saw him. There was no guarantee that he'd still be there, but it seemed like a good place to start. If he had moved on, I hope he had left clues as to where he had gone.

Yes, Akari, cause he's totally going to leave you a note or something.

Fortunately for me, he was still there. He was crouched down in front of the onyx box, tapping on it lightly. His hair covered most of his back, but when he shifted, I could make out the faint outlines of markings forming on his shoulder. Huh, so there were tattoos. Wonder what that was all about.

“Welcome back, Miss Mage. I assume you’ve learned that much by now?” He didn’t bother to turn towards me as he spoke. He did at least pause in his poking to raise a hand in greeting.

“And you’re supposed to be the Demon Lord.” I folded my hands across my chest and stared down at him. He continued his prodding of the box a bit longer before he stood up and faced me. Standing this close to him, he towered over me, my head barely reaching his shoulder. Well, I was just a human girl while he was a demon. Based on what the villagers told me, he had been through this stupid legend tons of times. He had to be ancient in human years. Should I be respecting my elders or something?

He gave me a grin and patted my head. I snarled at him and smacked his hand away.

“Hey! Stop that!” I growled.

He just chuckled. He made his way back to the slab and his coffin, sitting down on top of it. He crossed his legs and leaned back. The position he was sitting in made it seem like he was looking down on me. He probably was.

He ran his fingers through his hair. “So, tell me how your visit to the village went.”

I scoffed. “I think you know exactly how it went. I don't get what their problem is.”

“Weeeell, considering the Mage usually kills a lot of them, can't blame them. But it's a bit harsh to start off like that.”

His feigned sympathy in his words didn't match the smug look on his face. I wanted to slug him, but I held my temper in check. First I had to figure out what was going on, then I could smack him around.

I folded my arms across my chest and sighed. “Can you at least explain this ‘legend’ to me? I only got a very brief summary before they chased me out.”

I decided to keep the fact that I almost lit one of them on fire to myself.

Agnar tilted his head to the side. “Hmmmmm…I can, but it's gonna cost ya.”

Of course. A demon is a demon no matter what world. Always some sort of damned price and contract. I hadn't the foggiest notion of what Agnar would want, but I knew it wouldn't be good.

“What's your price?” The words came out through gritted teeth.

“Simple!” He hopped off his box and came right up to me. He grabbed my chin with one hand and lifted my head up so I was forced to lock eyes with him.

“Just let me kill you now, and we can end this all right here.”

His eyes flickered for a moment, as if they were glowing. What a freaking asshole! I snarled and slapped his hand away. I felt that burning rage swirling up inside of me.

“What the actual hell!? You must be mad! Who would ever agree to that?” I screeched at him.

He just shrugged and started cleaning his ear. I wanted to wipe that smug look off of his face. For food.

Sure, this all started because I tried to off myself, but I wasn't about to let someone else do it for me. Especially an arrogant asshole like Agnar. I stopped holding my anger back.

Agnar was about to open his stupid mouth again, but I threw my hand towards his face. Angry red flames lanced from my fingers, smacking him in the mouth. My hand clamped down on his stupid face. I fed the fire right into him.

“Just shut the hell up!” I bristled. I felt my body growing hot. I wanted to shut him up forever. “Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!”

Agnar's eyes widened. I couldn't tell if that expression was shock or fear, perhaps a mix of both. Either way, I was loving it. I relished the way the fire burned him beneath my hand.

He reached up and with inhuman strength pried me off. He threw me back. I landed almost on the other side of the room with a hard thud. It knocked the wind out of me, and for the moment, my rage cooled and the fire subsided.

“Damn, girl!” Agnar spat out. He stuck his tongue out and held it out. Smoke still sizzled off of it, part of it now signed black. He waved his other hand over it, trying to cool it. As I wobbled back to my feet, I could see the blackened parts already turning pink again.

Tsk. So quick healing was also in this demon’s skill set. I was hoping he wouldn't be able to run his mouth anymore.

Agnar eyed me, that smug grin quickly returning. “That was hot, both literally and figuratively.”

He wiggled his eyebrows at me and let out a low whistle. Was this asshole…trying to flirt with me now? He really was insane.

“Okay, sicko, just don't.”

He feigned a pout. “Aw, too bad. I could have seduced you and killed you that way.”

I rolled my eyes. I guess he might be harder to deal with than the villagers after all. So much for that great idea. Everyone in this world was freaking insane!

I brushed myself off and turned my back towards him. “Whatever. I'll just be on me way then. You freak.”

I had never heard such venom roll off my tongue. It actually felt pretty good.

I felt his hand on my shoulder almost instantly. Did he have super speed too?

“Hey now, Miss Mage. No hard feelings! It's just the way things usually are. How about we have a little chat? I think you earned it with that little outburst of yours.”

I turned my head just enough to see his face. He was still grinning, but this time it wasn't that stupid smug smile. What, was he some sort of masochist of something?

I turned the rest of the way towards him, still scowling. “Fine. We can chat.”

He offered me his arm, but I ignored it. He chuckled and led me back towards the slab and sarcophagus. With one sweeping motion, he knocked the box off without even touching it. He motioned for me to take a seat on the now empty slab.

I rolled my eyes but did so anyways. It was better than sitting on the floor and I was tired of standing. He sat down next to me, folding his legs up beneath himself. He seated himself towards me, but I kept my feet over the side and only glanced towards him when absolutely necessary. I didn't trust him, but I wasn't sure there was anyone in this world I could trust.

“I'll tell you more about the legend, since you asked me so nicely, my spicy little Mage.” He grinned at me, rocking side to side. Yup, definitely a weirdo.

When I made no comment, he saw my silence as a sign to continue. “Okay, so, like thousands of years ago, even before my time, humans and demons lived together. Magic was prominent because of it, but as ya can imagine it caused all sorts of trouble. Constant fighting between both sides, magic being slung everywhere. Literally started killing the world.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Wait, is magic that dangerous? How could it kill the world?”

He slapped his forehead. “Sheesh, you don't even know how magic works? It draws power directly from the leylines. Normally, only little bits at a time are drawn so it has time to recover. But in case when tons of magic is used, especially by humans who don’t know how to control it, it gets used up faster than it can recover. And humans waste a lot while using it, as they don’t know how to channel it properly.”

He paused and gave me a strange look. “I expected ya to be a perfect example, but ya actually are channeling it pretty well. That’s unusual for a human, especially after all this time with no magic. Did you grow up around magic? There’s no way, right?”

I quickly shook my head. “No, first time every seeing it was after I got here. Mage from another world, remember? The only magic that exists in my world is all the fake crap you see on TV.”

“TV?” He squinted. “Well, whatever, didn’t think so. But gotta give ya respect for that channeling. Maybe you’re a natural.”

He stared at me for a moment before shrugging. “Well, anyways, to continue my little story, the demon leaders approached the human leaders and tried to get them to stop abusing magic. Even offered to teach them to properly use it. Somehow the humans misinterpreted this to be a hostile take over. So war breaks out. Was a lot of death, on both sides, and of course, even more magic wasted. It would have lasted centuries, but the demons finally had enough. They decided to split off, make their own plane safely away from the humans. Using one of the two major leylines in the land, they were able to do just that. As the demons fled, humans saw this as their victory, but it was short lived.

“’Cause the humans realized too late that the demons were the only reason they could harness magic the way they could. Without the demons, humans couldn’t even access the magic. This, of course, was exactly what the demons wanted. The land would be able to heal, and in time, they would return the leyline back to the land and once more return home. But of course, that never happened. Humans had to muck things up one last time.

“And this is where the legend starts by human standards. One human got the bright idea to trap a demon. This was the first so-called Mage. She went to the remaining of the major leylines and used it to contact the demon plane. She begged them to talk to her, to make one more chance at peace. The demons begrudgingly obliged, and the Demon Lord went himself to try and make amends. It didn’t end so well for the demons though; the Mage killed the Demon Lord when she tried to trap him. She used too much magic; it overwhelmed them both. The humans blamed the demons for all of it, even though it was their fault. They prayed to their gods, and a new Mage appeared, this time from another world. That was the only way a human could still harness the power of the land.

“The demons, on the other hand, vowed revenge. The Mage was powerful without the restrictions in place set by the demons, so much that an ordinary demon couldn’t stand against the Mage. So, the demons decided to do their own trial and forced the Demon Lord’s many offsprings to fight each other. The winner, and only survivor, was to be sent into battle with the Mage. The details aren’t important, and in the end, the winner was sent over to the human plane to defeat the Mage. From there on, it’s probably what you’ve already heard.”

I let him ramble on and stared at him blankly. There were several holes in his story, but I got the feeling he wouldn’t fill them even if I asked him. It did give me a bit more insight into the legend, though it still didn’t explain everything.

“How is the Mage picked? Do they always come from the same world?” I asked.

He rubbed his chin with a finger. “Hm, I don’t think so. They all show up dressed differently and talk differently. None of them ever know a lick about magic and they all just believe everything they are told. After some inadequate training, they come to fight me, and the end is always the same. They die but successfully seal me away, over and over again.”

Damn, I was hoping he would have more insight as to why I was chosen. It had been worth a shot, but his answer was too easy for him to be hiding anything. He was none the wiser. Still, he had a plethora of other information, from magic to this world and its history. That alone was enough to make me not want to kill him right off.

I bent my head into my cupped hands and started muttering to myself, trying to formulate a plan. All of that just gave me a crazy idea. I think I was starting to like crazy.