A Demon Lord

Souma held one hand to his head, and the other out towards the small motionless bundle that lay in the debris from the exploded columns up ahead of him. The smoke stung his eyes, and made it hard to breathe. His skull throbbed and ached.

Now that Ami and the others were gone and he could focus on just this one thing, the monster had stopped moving entirely. At least for now. He didn't know exactly what he was doing, or how, but he knew inherently that if he tried to move too far or too soon, he wouldn't be able to keep doing it. This power that he had somehow stumbled into would stop working.

And then the monster would kill him.

Restrain.

A unique skill. Assuming that wasn't lip service, a power that only Souma possessed. He wasn't sure how he knew so instinctively how to control it, but given everything he'd seen in the last few minutes, he was willing to suspend disbelief for a little while longer. Right now he needed to concentrate on finding a way to escape without this monster tearing him in two.

The door that Ami and the others had escaped through was sealed shut, and he had a feeling they were no longer around. That left the other door; The one that this creature had probably come through.

Maybe I should kill it? While it's stuck like that?

The thought made him feel nauseous. How was he even supposed to do something like that? Bash its skull in? There was a lot of debris here and there, but nothing that big. And besides, he wasn't even sure he could do something like that. Better to focus on running away. He started edging backwards towards the smaller entrance to the hall.

"Gu! L-let me go, human! U-unhand me!"

Still facedown on the ground, and with much less of the growling and chaotic pomp than its arrival, a small, panicky voice came from monster.

Souma stopped moving, and stared at the tangled lump in front of him. When it had first appeared out of whatever explosion it had contrived to get into the tower to begin with, he could have sworn it sounded much more impressive. But the thing collapsed on the floor trying to wriggle out of his unique skill didn't sound anything like that at all. Or much like a monster. Or even that impressive. Actually, more than anything, it kind of sounded like...

Surely not.

Ignoring the rational part of his mind that was telling him to scram, Souma stopped edging backwards. He took one unsure step towards the monster.

"Who are you!" He demanded.

"Ah... Umm.... Y-you dare feign ignorance, human? Is... Does not my glorious c-coun...counterbalance strike f-fear into your heart...?"

Souma looked down at the thing butchering its words in front of him.

"Countenance," he corrected, and took another step forward.

"H-huh?"

Now that the smoke was clearing up and he could get a better look, Souma was starting to have mixed feelings about the monster. From where he stood, he could see the ragged cloak it had gotten tangled in when he had used Restrain to halt its path. A small dagger was lying on the floor nearby. The monster had probably been hoping to inflict some damage with that. Peaking out from the bottom of the cloak were two small brown boots. From the other end emerged a few slender, twitching fingertips, and some short strands of grey hair, as though the creature was already quite old.

And yet when it spoke, it sounded like a child.

"A gremlin?" Souma thought aloud.

"I-I am not a gremlin!" The bundle of dirty rags fumed.

"We'll see about that. Why did you attack us?"

"W-why? Well! Obviously! B-because... Well..."

"Well?"

The bundle of rags was silent. Maybe it was trying to figure out how much it could get away with goading him.

"Well?" Souma asked again, as he kept inching forward.

"B-Because..." The dirty cloak was much quieter now than it had been before, then it fairly shook with indignation. At least as much Souma's skill would let it. "W-who would ask such a stupid question anyway? Stupid human! Of c-course I attacked you! A-and as soon as I get free of your magic I'll kill you too! S-stupid human!"

"Is that so," Souma looked down at the monster. Despite what it was saying, he was starting to get the feeling that maybe it wasn't quite as ferocious or murderous as the drama from before had led him to imagine.

Still, I can't just let my guard down. Who knows how things work in this world.

"Is this just how wild gremlins are? They try to kill anything they see?"

"Stop calling me a gremlin!"

He needed to see what this monster actually looked like. Maybe if they talked face to face they could work something out. When it attacked them, it had been like a wild beast. On the other hand, the thing in front of him now was at least rational enough to hold a conversation. He had to at least try to talk his way out of this mess.

Souma kicked the dagger, sending it scuttling across the floor and out of range. Then he reached down with his free hand, and grabbed the monster's shoulder through its cloak.

"W-what are you doing!?" The creature yelped in a surprisingly high-pitched voice.

Preparing himself for whatever mix of fangs and horns and bug eyes this world was going to throw at him, Souma flipped over the talking cloak, stiff as a board from the effect of his skill. What was waiting for him was about the last thing he had been expecting.

It was just a girl.

Her hair was a dusty grey, like ash, cut short, so it fell around her shoulders. Her wide, darting eyes were a dark red. Her teeth, just barely poking out from her half open mouth, were definitely more pointed than he thought they should be. They absolutely weren't the sort of features you'd have run into anywhere in the world Souma came from.

But she was still unmistakably just a girl.

She was mostly wrapped in the dirty green cloak, but under that she was wearing a rudimentary tunic, and some collets over well-worn burgundy woolen stockings. Tied to her belt was a small leather pouch, and the empty scabbard for the dagger he'd just gotten rid of. She looked tiny, like she couldn't have been even halfway through junior high.

"W-what are you planning to do to me, human? Don't tell me... D-don't tell me you're going to have your way with me before you kill me!"

Souma flinched, and jerked his hand. For just a fleeting second, he was reminded of another face like this, one he'd seen a little more than two years ago.

Of course, she can't move, and I'm just towering over her like...

Souma scowled. He put a little distance between the two of them while making sure the girl could still see his face and crossed his arms over.

"What are you talking about, gremlin? I'd never do something like that."

"I'm not a gremlin..."

He did have to do something, though. His unique skill was reaching its limit. It felt too light, like holding an almost-empty bottle. He wasn't even sure he'd be able to cast it a second time if it came to that.

"Listen, gremlin, I'm going to let you go. I don't know how you managed to pull off all that crazy stuff before, but you try anything like it again, I'll freeze you and dump you out a window. Got it?" He bluffed.

Worst case, even if she had been a raging beast a little while ago, she didn't look like too much of a threat now. He could probably handle one small girl enough to get out of here in one piece. Anyway, it seemed like most of the fight had gone out of her. Maybe she was just as exhausted as he was.

"Got it."

"Just don't try to kill me, okay?"

Souma let whatever he'd been holding together slowly fall apart. The pressure that had built up in the back of his head eased away. Despite wanting to keep up an imposing presence, he crouched down and put his hands on the back of his neck. He still felt uneasy letting his guard down in front of this girl who just a few minutes ago had been a rampaging beast. But more than that, he felt relieved not to be using his unique skill anymore. The adrenaline had been enough to keep him from realizing it, but now things had calmed down he felt half dead.

Freed from the skill, the girl quickly shuffled backwards and hugged her knees, glaring at Souma.

"W-What are your intentions, human?" She said in what Souma supposed was her very best scary voice. It wasn't terribly scary. Somehow listening to her bravado just made him feel even more exhausted.

"Intentions?" Souma looked across the room at her. Was this just how everybody in this world spoke? He sighed and shook his head. "I don't know."

"You d-don't mean to kill me?"

"Kill you," Souma repeated again. "It might be a little late to ask, but can you tell me again why we're trying to kill one another?"

The girl looked at him, head tilted to one side. "You really don't know?"

Feeling the pounding in his head finally start to go away, Souma eased himself down off his heels and sat cross-legged. "Do I look like I know?"

She slunk a little lower down, her ruby colored irises barely peeking over her knees. "I suppose not... But what about your quest? That's why you were summoned here, isn't it? All you humans?"

"You know, you keep calling me a human, but aren't you a human too?"

Her back arched up and her eyes gleamed. "Ha! You dare to lump me together with you? To drag me down to your level? I'll have you know I am a proud-"

"Okay okay, whatever, got it." Souma waved off her enthusiasm. He didn't have the hit points for this kind of thing right now. "What do you mean quest? Are you talking about what was written on those screens?"

The girl narrowed her eyes, and pursed her lips together in thought. "I know not how your quest was conveyed to you, human. Be it via a divine missive, or a speech from your King, or... Some other thing, maybe. I know only that if you were summoned, and if the chamber over there opened for you, it means that you were sent here on a quest to cause trouble all over the world and slay the Demon Lord."

Souma leaned forward, resting his chin on one hand. "I suppose there was something like that. Kill the Demon Lord and everybody gets sent back home safe and sound. I mean, if you want to trust an anonymous letter. Not that it matters to me."

"B-but your quest?"

"I'm not about to risk my life on something like that. I didn't ask to come here, and I don't know who sent those messages. But there's something fishy about the whole thing. I mean, for one, if it's so important then where is everyone?"

Which was probably what had been bugging him from the start. If it was a mission to save the world, then what was with this half-assed reception? Shouldn't there at least be somebody waiting for them? Over the last few years Souma had developed a pretty good sense for when he was being manipulated into something, and this seemed to fit pretty well.

"And anyway, what's it to you, gremlin? Are you one of his minions or something?

"Geh!" The girl's face went red, and she leapt up to her feet. "Do you mean to say this whole time you didn't even know who I am!?"

"Evidently not."

She flashed her pointed teeth at him, grinning, and looked down with a sparkle in her eyes that made Souma believe he was about to regret not throwing her out the window when he had a chance.

"In that case, remember today well, human! For you are in the presence of greatness! Fall to your knees and grovel for mercy! Before you stands the one true descendant of Ziggurath Hellstorm! The rightful master of all those who draw breath! The steel-toed boot that crushes all who dare stand in her path! The dark flame that will consume the world!"

By now most of the smoke had cleared, and a warm breeze was coming in through the window, catching her hair and pulling on her cloak. The last of the day's light shone into the ancient tower, catching the dust that still hung heavy in the air, and casting her in a firey orange glow.

She put one hand over her face, red eyes peeking through her splayed fingers. She threw her other hand out dramatically behind her, sweeping her cloak back over her shoulder.

"Tremble! You stand in the presence of the Demon Lord! Selina Lorelei Zellin Doombringer!"