The Duke's Passion

814  Kill it

Demons, devils, cursed beings, direct descendants of evil… those were just one among many names the Grimsbanne Clan was known for. They said even if no one had met any of them, their natural silver hairs and deep crimson eyes that looked like they could see the very depths of a person's soul made it easy for others to recognize them. The Grimsbanne Clan's family history dates back even before the establishment of the mainland. However, it was a rather short and vague one. A history that could be summarized in a short paragraph. They were beings who carried the blood of a demon, who once tried to conquer the world. This demon used to be a heavenly god who fell into darkness, and his unresolved issues were the root of his vileness. But alas, just like in any fable, if there was bad, there was also good. The devil failed in his conquest of domination and doom, but he left his two seeds to carry his will. Those two seeds were meant to reproduce until the time was ripe to complete the seven sins of the devil. That was all there is in the supposed long history of their cursed existence.

The reason even if they lived in seclusion or had gone far away from home, people had always been wary of them. To them, their existence alone was a sin, which, from history, was quite right. They were cursed. However, what Tilly found unbelievable was that those same people would resort to such wicked means to end their cursed lineage. "Demons and angels… they only appear in the fables. One can freely assume whether there was such an existence or a figment of one's imagination," whispered Law as he studied the gigantic thing hanging with chains attached to it. "I didn't know demons are colossal and fat."

"They feed with people's fears, agony, and negativity," Tilly answered with the same meek tone, eyes fixed on the demon. "The constant wars that are occurring all across the world… where do you think that countless blood goes?"

"To the ground…" Law trailed off, furrowing his brows before turning his head in Tilly's direction. But before he could raise a follow-up question to satisfy his curiosity, Tilly continued. "Just like how his blood is being sucked by the ground, the deaths of countless people on top of their everyday fears, anxiety, and negativity feed those who live underground." Her eyelashes fluttered ever so tenderly. "It is a cycle that no one could stop."

Tilly took a languid step forward without any trace of fear in her eyes. But when she was about to take another one, she halted.

"Tilly, it's dangerous!" Law panicked despite that their distance from the chained demon was huge. "Don't approach it!"

"It's dead."

"Pardon?"

Tilly looked back at Law and repeated, "he's dead."

"What…?" Deep lines appeared in between his brows, looking back at Tilly with puzzlement. What did she mean by dead? Like literally dead? Law glanced at the black creature, scanning it suspiciously. "He doesn't look dead to me," he blurted out, seeing that the demon still had this grin that revealed its razor-sharp teeth. "More like he was simply restrained."

"He is dead," she argued, resuming her steps forward. "A demon's blood was the most repulsive of all. However, some people wanted even just a drop of a demon's blood." — that was because regardless of the terrible taste, just drinking a drop of a demon's blood could give one power they would never consider reaching. Law kept his gaze on Tilly's back while the latter advanced in the demon's direction. He wanted to stop her and remind her it was dangerous one more time. But alas, his lips were parted but his voice was stuck in his throat. There was no point, he thought. If Tilly said it was dead, then it was dead. The last thing this woman wanted to do was engage in a fight. Tilly would lose for sure because it wouldn't be surprising if she fell asleep midway.

"Wait, Tilly. Just be careful, at least." Law jogged his way to follow her, creating soundless footsteps to display how cautious he was at the moment. "You talk as if this isn't the first time you've seen one."

"Because I've seen one before," said Tilly, stopping several feet from the demon. The demon looked far bigger up close, causing Tilly and Law to cock their head back just to look at it. "He gives me the creeps." Law rubbed his shoulders, feeling this wave of chill down his spine. "Where did you see one, Tilly? You don't even go out."

"We have one before as a pet."

"What?" Law scrunched his face, casting Tilly a look of doubt. "You had a demon before?"

"And also, the king of the mainland had caged one," she added, pointing a finger at the creature ahead. "He looks exactly like that one."

"That means their appearance wasn't uniform, huh?" — just like animals who looked the same but not quite. "So, does he look more abnormal than the rest? He's even fatter than Sunny."

"They look like each other," said Tilly. "However, it is like owning a pet. Even if another pet comes, you'd know they weren't the same.

"Ahh…" Law rocked his head in understanding, keeping his distance from the demon. "What happened to your pet then? Did you kill it?" n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"It was stolen."

"What?!"

"And found dead."

There was a minute of silence after her remarks. Law was already used at Tilly's strangeness. However, there were still times when he couldn't understand her. Unless it was necessary, there was no way Tilly would waste a breath. "So…" he cleared his throat, getting a bit comfortable despite the repulsive air in this room. "... what's our next plan, Tilly? I don't think everyone might be able to help tonight."

"We…" Tilly trailed off, keeping her gaze on the monster before them. As usual, her expression was almost the same, but her eyes were glowing in this darkness.

"... will kill it."