Last Meal

     Siti and I took a stroll through the settlement, letting Andre rest for a bit as Siti assured me that he’d be fine. Had the settlement been as it was before we left, I would’ve agreed, but now the settlement looked nothing like it did before.

     Grass lined the once-barren roads, bushes filled the narrow alleys between buildings, mosses and ivies wrapped around each building, and I recognized these kinds of plants by their shapes, but their colors were completely foreign. Black. Unlike the verdant green that I remembered from the plants on Earth, each one was a sickly carbon black.

   Siti could tell I was looking at them and commented, “The Demon Realm isn’t as nice as where you or I come from. Low light, sparse water, nutrients that have shape but no substance. Had to adapt some.”

“It’s also quite. I don’t see any demons around.”

“Caedes came here after attacking Venia’s sanctuary. He thought you all died and reformed here, but when that wasn’t the case, he slaughtered everyone, leaving just empty buildings. That’s when he sent others to the middle strata to find you.”

“Wonder what he’ll do after learning that they found me, but all died.”

“Dunno! Maybe he’ll go down there himself? Maybe he’ll come here?”

“I can confirm: Caedes has already been to the library personally. I shared information on your return to the upper strata. He is likely to arrive here soon.”

“Ugh! I guess it was part of the plan for me to get captured, but couldn’t we have had some time to rest and relax?”

“No. Receiving false or absent knowledge from me would raise suspicions.”

     I couldn’t argue with that logic, but after that big battle and meeting with Siti again, I would’ve preferred some time to rest and reset my head.

“Hehe, that just means we should make the most of our time while we wait for him to arrive, maybe practice being surprised and prepare something for him?”

   I huffed and shrugged my shoulders, “I won’t argue with relaxing with the time we had. A little prank might be fun, but he could get preeeeeetty angry depending on what you have planned!”

“As long as he doesn’t get so angry that he kills you, it’ll be fine! Now come on, let’s get something yummy. I know you haven’t eaten since you fell into the middle strata.”

     With all that had happened, I had forgotten about the growing, creeping hunger within my belly. The suit did well to slow down my metabolism and save energy, but I was still just a human wearing a suit.

     She pulled me by the hand to where the gambling bar used to be which had had a bit of renovating. Multiple other Sitis dressed in maid outfits were attending what now resembled a cafe with only a single table for three in it. They brought out cups, plates, while I made silverware for us to use.

     A bowl of salad to start, with leafy vegetables I’d never seen and a dressing that seemed familiar, yet not quite like anything I’d tasted before. By the time the main dish arrived with cooked meats, sauces and sides, Andre had woken up, sped over, and taken his seat. Lastly, dessert, a sweet, cool parfait with more fruits and grains I didn’t recognize, but the taste was familiar enough.

     We chatted and ate, relaxing and practically forgetting that we were waiting for an enemy that certainly wanted us dead.

“Now that I think of it, shouldn’t we go get Libero? He’s also a part of this, isn’t he?”

“I’ve already alerted him to the plan, said he’d kill us if we killed Caedes or any of the Demon Gods before he gets there. Aside from that, he’s on his way, but waiting for the final location of where they’ll take you to open the portal.”

“I mean, we needed portals to travel any meaningful distances. Won’t it take too long for him to arrive?”

“He’s much faster when we’re not slowing him down, and he’s gotten even faster after eating quite a bit. I’m not worried.”

     Then a rumbling rolled through the ground beneath us. The rumbling grew stronger and stronger over the course of a minute.

“That would be Caedes. Seems he’s decided to burrow through the ground. Haaaah, must be nice to be a Demon King. It takes me so much time and effort to spread my roots everywhere and he just busts through the ground and air all he likes.”

     I chuckled as I rose to my feet. Even with the trembling ground, the impending enemy, and the growing feeling of pressure in my chest, Siti’s relaxed attitude helped me stay at ease.

     Caedes burst from the ground directly under where the castle once stood, breaking it upon exit and sending stone and debris in all directions as he hung in the air. I recognized him after only seeing him once, those four horns, those exposed muscles and organs, that flayed skin, and those sharp, lidless eyes.

“Here you are, Sero. You kept me waiting and will be punished severely.”

   After a brief moment of staring up at him and mustering my courage, I shouted, “I am not Sero!”

“What idiocy are you trying to-”

“I am James Cassidy, the human you’ve all been looking for from the beginning!”

     Caedes stared in silence, as if debating whether to hear more or kill me immediately. I took that moment to speak more.

“You sense Sero from me because he is trapped in the suit I wear, along with three other demons! If it wasn’t for this suit made of live demons, I would have died upon arrival!”

“Interesting, and plausible, I suppose. So then ‘human,’ why reveal yourself now?”

“After learning who I am up against, who is pursuing me, I have decided that resistance is meaningless! So, if I am to die here, in the Demon Realm, or to die on my home world, I would at least like to die in my home!”

“Hmmm, and did they tell you that doing so would doom your world? Your entire realm? Everyone you’ve ever known and loved?”

“Yes, but I was also told that even if I died, you all would not stop searching and it would only be a matter of time before you succeeded with or without me.”

     With that said, Caedes swiftly flew down in front of me, standing only a few steps away.

“Very well. But, I want proof. Show me your human form, just an arm will do. I know you humans don’t need all of your limbs to survive.”

     I clenched my teeth, but knew this was something that couldn’t be avoided. I held my hand in front of him and controlled the suit around my arm, commanding it to disconnect and peel back from my fingertips to my elbow.

     The pain struck me immediately. The dry air practically sucked the moisture from my skin. The heat caused it to turn red, burn, shrivel and crack. The pollution caused my skin to itch incessantly and create unsightly blotches of deep red as rashes seemed to form and immediately begin to bleed.

“Hoho, it’s true. Few other creatures are so frail that they would simply begin to die from merely being here. I’ve seen enough. Preserve yourself as best you can, for it is time to fulfill your purpose.”

     The suit snapped shut around my shriveled arm and the pain slowly subsided, but I could still feel that itching and burning inside. As I clutched my pained arm, Caedes waved his hand and projected floating, glowing symbols into a circle as a portal appeared. He tossed a glance to Siti and Andre, as if suspicious as to why they were simply sitting and watching in spite of all that was happening.

“Is it alright if I bring them too? I’m sure they’re no threat to you all.”

   Caedes looked down at me, then back at Siti and Andre, “Very well. It’s as you say: they are no threat.”

     And so, with Caedes going in last, we all stepped through the portal and towards the end of our long journey.