Chapter 121: No Rest For The Attractive
Bane walked into the tunnel, and the temperature increased drastically.
'You know, I think that this is a trap,' Onyx said, but Bane ignored him and kept walking.
"You know? I think that this is all dumb. Why, you might ask?" Bane growled, and then held out his finger that was lit up. "First, the girls were taken from what we assumed to be the nest, right? The talking birds nest... yes?"
'From what we have assumed.'
Bane nodded. "Good, Good. So, why did the bird come to hide in a cave?" Bane asked, and then gestured around the small space of the tunnel with his lit finger. "This looks like a real pain in the ass to get in for a bird so big, right?"
Onyx was silent for a moment. 'It is possible that the Demon Phoenix could have transformed into a humanoid form, making passage much simpler.'
Bane nodded. "Exactly. I think it would be best if we prepared for that."
'Why?' Onyx asked, and Bane sighed.
"We will probably find the girls tied up, and the bird is going to use them as hostages. She is going to threaten their lives, and demand that I submit," Bane explained.
'That would make sense, yes,' Onyx replied.
"But then, you see, the Demon Phoenix will want to fight me, and I will kill her. The end, right?"
'Sure, that does sound about right,' Onyx replied, but then Bane snapped his fingers and stomped his foot down with an annoyed look.
"If this was a normal fucking world! There is no way this is going to be that damn easy! I have a feeling that there is a reason that bird picked this cave to hide in. There is going to be some trick to this, I can feel it in my bones!"
'Are you sure this is not just two lifetimes of bad luck and mistrust that are bringing you to this conclusion?' Onyx asked, and Bane rolled his eyes.
"If you don't have something helpful to say, then can it," Bane growled, and Onyx went quiet as Bane continued on down the tunnel.
---
"Return me to my master at once or if you are going to kill me, make sure my body is still intact so my master can defile it!" Elexis demanded as she was pushed into a cave with Nia.
"Quiet," the Demon Phoenix commanded and then changed from her bird form into a naked woman with white hair and red eyes.
"Whoa, she is hot," Nia breathed.
"Of course she is. She is a Demon Phoenix. Her beauty is said to be able to bring down even the most powerful of demons," Elexis boasted, and the Phoenix's head whipped towards the pair.
"Eeee, she is looking at us now! Don't you know how dangerous this creature is?!" Nia exclaimed, but then paused, and looked at Elexis. "How dangerous is this thing?"
"Her kind can manipulate the fire from their bodies in various ways, and they are said to be immune to fire. They can fly, and are said to have a very good sense of smell," Elexis explained, and Nia turned to the Phoenix.
"Oh, is that why you are taking us into a dark, dank cave? I mean, we were just walking by, and you had to attack us."
"I didn't attack you. I attacked the Demon King," the bird explained, and Elexis sighed.
"Bane is not the Demon King, and doesn't care about us. It is more than likely he is on his way to Onorousa right now to take the head of the Demon Emperor! Only then would he take the time to come back for us, if only to defile both our long dead corpses!" Elexis explained, becoming more animated with each word,
Nia put her hand up. "Just so you know, I am not with her."
"You will die here regardless, and the Demon King will come and be mine," the Phoenix said as she grabbed Nia by the throat.
"Bleh," Elexis stuck her tongue out, and blew a raspberry.
"What is wrong with you?!" Nia cried, and the Phoenix dropped her.
"You think that you can insult me? The great Demon Phoenix Zerynthia Nyx'Ashara? You have no idea the power I wield, mortal!" the Demon Phoenix exclaimed.
"I'm not mortal. I'm a demon," Nia replied, and the Phoenix snorted.
"What does your race matter, mortal? You die just the same as they do, and now I shall wait for the Demon King, and claim him," the Demon Phoenix cackled.
"Bleh," Elexis spat, and the Phoenix turned to her.
"You will die first, you insolent whore!" the Demon Phoenix growled, and the flames around her grew.
"You know, she has been saying that we are going to die, and she is going to kill us. Are you sure you are not a mortal? Because you don't seem to understand what 'dying' means," Elexis replied, and the Demon Phoenix screamed at them as the fire around her grew.
"You cannot hope to defeat the great Zerynthia Nyx'Ashara with just some weak insults! Even the Demon Emperor feared my power, and he is one of the strongest beings in this realm!"
"What? That old geezer is like, 10,000 years old. You are like 100 years old, max," Nia replied.
"100 years? I am over 100,000 years old! You have no idea how many times I have died and been reborn!" the Demon Phoenix exclaimed.
"See? You are the stupid one, and should shut up. Clearly your holes have either been abused too much or little for you to think that your age keeps going when you die" Elexis added.
The Demon Phoenix's face twisted in rage, and she took a step forward. "I am done with you."
"Well, then just kill me already! If you are going to kill me anyway, might as well speed up the process! Just no, like, mutilating my body, okay?" Elexis begged, and the Demon Phoenix froze at the sound of footsteps.