Chapter 136: Curator of Conflict
Demon World
[2 months since Bane left.]
"Clearly this is the shorter route, you stupid five eyed freak!" Zerynthia snapped as Bane pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Oh yes, the dark and haunting path looks so much better!" Elexis returned as sparks flew between the women.
Bane was getting annoyed.
While the women had stopped flirting with him, and trying to make moves to get in his pants, they had only become worse to each other. At first Bane didn't care, and just ignored them, but they had been stuck at this fork in the road for the last hour. He had tried everything to get them to move on, but they refused to budge an inch, and seemed determined to out stubborn each other.
"It is not haunted," Zerynthia growled.
"How do you know?" Elexis shot back. "The darkness might be hiding all the ghosts!"
"You are the only one scared of ghosts!"
"I am not scared of ghosts!"
"Oh? Then why don't you want to go through the forest?"
"Because there is a clear path the other way, you burning dodo!"
"You two have thirty seconds before I turn you both to black smoke and shove your remains into my storage box," Bane growled, but neither of the demon women were listening to him.
Bane was about to scream, but he heard the voice of a man come from behind him. "Good day, travelers!"
Bane turned to see a mostly human looking demon In a black suit with long brown hair and a pair of bullhorns sticking out of the sides of his head. Frowning at the demon, Bane narrowed his eyes. There had been no demons in the area just now, besides the girls, but this guy made it within fifteen feet of Bane without him noticing.
"How did you get so close to me?" Bane asked in a voice that leaked out danger, and made both girls stop arguing to see what was going on.
"Who? Me?" The demon asked with a grin.
At the same time, Bane closed the distance, and tried to grab the demon, but his hand veered to the side and he only grabbed air. Frowning, he tried to punch at him, but again, his fist narrowly missed again. In the next instant, Bane's arms multiplied, becoming a blur as he tried to hit the demon, but the demon just moved back, grinning the whole time.
"Hehehe," the demon laughed. "It seems you can't touch me, huh?"
"Who are you?" Zerynthia growled, moving to stand by Bane's side.
"Who me?" The demon laughed, pointing to himself with a smile. "Just call me a passing demon that finds your little group very interesting. You are also the first unfrozen demons I have seen since entering this frozen wasteland... Are you the cause of this?"
Bane narrowed his eyes, and crossed his arms, but there was a smile on his face. "Maybe. What is your name first?"
The demon bowed. "Agnar, I am a wandering demon who finds interest in interesting things, such as this wasteland, and the fact that there is a human in the Demon World."
The last part made Bane lift one eyebrow, his arms still crossed. "Really? A human in the Demon World? And where is this said human?"
Angar smiled. "Playing stupid? Typical human, but not in the typical way. Very few humans can come close to matching even a normal demon, but these three are anything but normal. Yet, they all follow you?"
Bane shrugged. "I guess they do. What makes you say that?"
"The two women keep shooting the other glares that would have killed them by now if they could, and yet, no one is dead. You are also so powerful you might as well be a demon yourself. That, and the fact that you are so casual about being in the Demon World. No, you are no ordinary human."
"Alright, sure. I am a human, and yes, I am a strong one, but what do you want, Agnar?" Bane asked in a dark voice.
"Company more than anything, and maybe a meal. Been awhile since I saw a demon that wasn't frozen," Agnar said with a smile.
Bane scratched his chin for a moment, eyeing the demon male, but it was Zerynthia that spoke up.
"You feel familiar. Like I have met you before," She said with a frown.
Agnar tilted his head, and then smiled. "Well, I have been around. Do you know the name of your tribe?"
Zerynthia frown deepened. "I have no clan or tribe. I am a phoenix, and the only one of my kind..." She said trailing off, trying to put a finger on where and when she had met this demon before, but was drawing nothing but blanks.
"Why would someone like you need my help to get a meal? On top of that, you are a demon, so how can I trust that you won't try to harm my group?" Bane asked, and then uncrossed his arms, holding one up to open and close his fist. "I was trying pretty hard there to hit you, but you actually seem better than me, making me wonder."
Bane had already tried to pull this demon apart with his demonic affinity, but he was at least as strong as Baaliniur, and nothing had happened. Even though he said the demon was stronger than him, Bane was just trying to lead the demon on until he decided what to do. Though, the laughter from Angar told him he wasn't fooling anyone.
"Better than you? Don't make me laugh, boy! I am just special, and what you experienced is what I call my Talking Technique. It has nothing to do with talking, other than it allows me to have conversations without the worry of interruptions. While I have no intent for conflict or a fight with a being, they cannot harm me. A bit of an essential skill as a Demon Wander in this world, and it allows me to force others to talk first,” He chuckled. “I love a good meal as much as the next demon, but I have no need for senseless violence."