Confrontation

Under the watchful eyes of the people in the room, the three heroes of prophecy crowded together. They did not react, just watch.

“Something is wrong with him,” Iuria said. “That… it’s not my father.”

“There is nothing wrong with me,” King Flavis said, and his voice sounded all too sweet. “I am your father, but you and those villains have crept into my castle without my permission.” He tilted his head. “But I am glad you came. I had almost forgotten you existed.”

Tears welled up in Iuria. “I don’t believe you!”

He shrugged. “Believe what you want, child. But be aware that I am the one who holds all the power. And I will decide whether you will live or die.”

With those words, he turned towards Mikkah and Berus. “So, who are you?”

WIthout hesitation, Mikkah stepped forward.

“My name is Mikkah,” she declared as loudly as she could, “And I am ancient elven priestess of our Lady Lucine. Together with my holy knight I am here to rid this shard of the demons. We are here to fulfill the prophecy.”

For a moment, the whole room was silent. Then, the king let out a hearty laugh

“A holy knight? Don’t make me laugh. I’m too old for these kinds of jokes. That’s an ancient demonic automaton, ready for the scrap heap. And you’re no real elf yourself.”

As he laughed, they could see too much of the inside of his mouth. Not only his round, yellow teeth, but also how his tongue sloshed around as he spoke. It was thicker than it had any right to be, and of a deep, purple-red color, as if it was long rotten.

“I’ve lived a long life. Longer than you might think.” He winked at them. “There are no elves left. Not on this shard or any other. And just because a human decides to play dress up doesn’t make you one.”

“Th-that’s not…”

“But something about you seems… familiar. Aren’t you that little mechanic girl that we’ve been searching for?”

She flinched back. “No! I have no idea who you’re talking about.”

“Lies! All lies!” He slowly shook his head, before his too-pleasant smile returned. “You can’t deceive me. How great. What a wonderful day!”

He laughed, and opened his arms. “Not only did my long-lost daughter come back to me, so I can live on through her, but also the skilled mechanic came to offer her services to me! This will certainly further my standing in the Demon King’s army.”

Most of the demons around them started cheering, while the humans remained stiff in their seats, as if they were struggling.

“But why?” Iuria looked at him. “Who are you? Why did you ally yourself with the demons?”

“What do you think? I sold my soul to them, what else?” He laughed at her. “I’m stronger than ever before, and the Demon King finally acknowledges me. Years and years of hard work have finally paid off. And my influence will only grow, on this shard and the others. Yes, and you three will serve me well in that endeavor. Even that rusted machine.”

He looked at Mikkah. “It’s your little craft project, hm? When you serve me and swear your loyalty to me, I’ll provide you with many more of them, you have my word.”

“Never!”

“What, do you not like to tinker with machines? What a strange mechanic you are, girl.” He shrugged. “Then you will have to be content with developing new weapons for us. That should be fun, at least.”

“Don’t make me laugh,” Mikkah hissed back. “I’ll never do that! I won’t help a demon, ever!”

“Oh yes, you will.” He said it with such conviction, as if there was no other possibility. Berush shuddered at that.

They were outnumbered, and underpowered. No one here seemed to be impressed or scared by them. Instead, the king treated them as a mild inconvenience, if that. He got the impression that they had severely underestimated the situation.

Iuria stared ahead, her eyes full of confusion. That only amused the king more. His smile never faltered, even though there was no warmth to it. Berus quickly stood before Mikkah and Iuria, ready to protect them. He had to get them out of the castle, and quick.

“We need to escape,” he whispered at them.

“No! Let us kill that king,” Ki-Rai said. “His body is dying! He is no match for you!”

He didn’t answer her. If he attacked him, it would be a distraction for sure, but would it be enough? There were other guards around.

He had to try it, at least.

“Run!”

With those words he rushed forward and summoned his sword. He pointed it at the king, ready to use his [Twin Crescent Slash]. King Flavis didn’t even flinch. Worse, he looked… bored. Before he could even graze the king’s face, his whole body was seized by hands, grabbing him and dragging him back. Three swords were pointed right at his soul core. Behind him, he could feel the cold metal of the demon’s mask on his shoulder, and more than one mouth breathed down on him. Even if he wanted to move, he couldn’t. The demon’s hands were colder than they should be, and stronger than any human’s grip could ever be. Just because the limbs looked human didn’t mean they were.

The king leaned back, as if this was nothing more than a mildly entertaining stage play.

“What a silly, reckless little machine,” the demon, Gyria, hissed. “I want to play with it. Rip its little limbs off. Crush the metal. Break that core.”

The demon laughed, a cacophony of many mouths echoing through the throne room.

“Fine, fine. You deserve a little playtime.” The king waved his hand. “Just make sure the metal stays functional. Our little mechanic here can use it later on.”

“Gladly,” giggled the demon.

With those words, the demon pushed him back into the middle of the room. Her body undulated, and many hands looked as if they were ready to grab at him.

“Ooooh, what a bitch!” Ki-Rai giggled. “Show her what you can do! Lop those greedy hands off!”

“Try not to be too happy about this, okay?” He got ready to fight. “This might be harder than I previously thought it would be.”

Oh, I am so screwed, he thought.