Behind the Mask

Loud banter can be heard from outside the pair of wooden doors. I've swung them open without a care in the world many times before, but my hand hesitates today. After all, the sun has fallen and everyone inside is drinking the night away.

Beyond these doors is a confrontation. Our previous meeting wasn't pleasant, but I managed to score a second chance to reach her. Should this fail, I would be lucky to be the only casualty.

"Alright…"

Delaying is pointless, so I push open the doors and allow myself to meet the bright lights of my usual tavern. Merry conversations are happening all around, and the corner has a musician playing a few songs on his flute. Nobody is aware of the danger that they're in.

How could anybody feel threatened by the short woman dressed with a wealthy flair. She sits alone at a bench in the middle of the commotion and silently sips away at what I could assume is ale. Of course, someone like her is probably drinking one with a higher price tag. Just like every other time, I'm greeted by the smell of lavender and an image that doesn't quite match with reality. This is her charm, and we're all falling for it.

"Fancy seeing you here, Ailith."

"Likewise, Rado."

Her speech is cordial. It always was, but this one feels much more forced. She isn't wearing her usual mask, but she definitely still came with one.

"Get me a drink, would you? Ale is fine."

After giving the waitress my order, I take a seat across the demonic beauty. She doesn't look me in the eye, simply staring at the foam of her beverage while we wait. Somebody has to break the barrier of ice surrounding her.

"I'm glad you came. I thought that I may never see you again."

"Is that so?"

She drops the conversation there, taking a reserved sip from the mug too large for her hands. The silence persists past when the waitress returns with my drink. This is going nowhere.

GULP GULP

Instead of holding my wits, I put back half of my drink and allow the alcohol to flow through my veins. I came here with this whole plan to be subtle and try to slowly press the information out of her. I was foolish for thinking something like that would work.

"You know, I was surprised!"

For the first time since I arrived, I felt her gaze. It may simply be disbelief, but I'll take it over nothing.

"They brought me along to hunt down a Demon Lord, but I just ended up dealing with a girl and a bunch of kids! How am I supposed to do my job if that's my target!?"

"So you were there to kill us…"

"Yeah, you'd better believe it! Never fought a day in my life and they expect me to deal with demons! Demons, I tell you!"

I slam down my mug and stare at the cute face in front of me. Even when her eyes glow red with demonic energy, I can't deny that she's cute.

"I expected some tall, hot guy with horns and too much hair for his age! Are you really the Demon Lord?"

"Ha! Demon Lord!"

Ailith must have grown tired of the tension as well. While not to my extent of drunkness, she lowers her shoulders and takes another sip. Her frown isn't gone, but those round eyes are no longer a glaring red.

"That guy has been dead for two hundred years. Still is."

Anger flares across her face for a moment.

"He promised to take over the world, just to let himself be killed by some lowly adventurers! We were so close and he ruined it all!"

"You knew him?"

"Who do you think helped him crawl out of that cave!? He wouldn't have had that crown had I not led the armies!"

It's Ailith's turn to slam the mug to the table. Her eyes are no longer focused on me, instead looking back through her own memories.

"We had conquered nearly the entire continent. Village after village, castle after castle, we slaughtered hundreds of thousands of lowly races! I began the siege to tear down the final walls of humanity, and was ready to finish the job. Only a few weeks, days even, and we would have won!"

Cracks appear in the wooden mug. The sheer force of her pain threatens to shower us in ale.

"What was I to do when word arrived that he had been slain? Our forces quickly fell apart and were being hunted by the counterattack. It took everything I had to save at least the men who were with me at the end!"

"So the demons with you, they are also survivors?"

"Yeah. They were young and seeking glory, but lost the opportunity when we lost the war. Most left to seek more battle, dying in the process. This bunch is all that's left."

"I see…"

I'm not sure how to feel about the story being told to me. This demon was responsible for more death than I could possibly imagine. Anybody in my position would call her a monster and swear to die before allowing her to live. However, I can't do that.

"I'm sorry. You truly have had it rough…"

"Huh!?"

She stands and slams her small hands onto the table. Despite her size, the impact nearly snaps the table in two.

"What are you saying!? I was the leading commander of the Demon Lord's forces! I've massacred entire populations of humans! Why are you apologising!?"

"A long-lived creature like you may worry about the past, but I don't have the liberty of taking on hundreds of years of grudges."

The pressure she emits is giving me a headache, but I remain calm and remember why I'm here.

"I don't care about who you were before my some number of great-grandparents were even born. All I see is a lady trying her best to keep her family together. How can I be mad at that?"

"What are you…"

"You see—"

I motion for her to sit back down as I take another big sip of ale. I'm going to need as much of this as I can take to handle this next part.

"I lived in a little village, not far from here. You could find ones like it anywhere, roughly built houses and land we toil every day. It was my home."

"..."

"A few days ago, it was attacked by demons. Burned to the ground with no survivors but myself. It was there where we first met."