"Take it," Kilis said quietly. "You have fulfilled everything I asked for."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small glass vial. Inside, a single strand of hair floated.
The Elder was quick to grab it, his eyes gleaming with triumph. He tucked it into his robes immediately.
"Let us never meet again," the Elder muttered. Without another word, he and his tribesmen turned and vanished into the darkness of the hills.
Kilis turned to the man with the eye patch—or the monster he had now become.
"You know you have achieved your goal," Kilis said. "Now, grant me mine."
"I know, I know," the man said, his voice echoing with raw power. "Don't worry. I will make him a puppet... a perfect little doll. And I will deliver him to you as a present."
The man smiled, a terrifying expression on his distorted face. Then, his body dissolved into a cloud of red mist and vanished into the night, heading toward the castle.
Silence returned to the grassy hill.
"Your plan went pretty well," a high-pitched voice chirped.
Beelzebub appeared next to Kilis, shrinking himself down into the form of a cute, small shadow figure sitting on a rock.
"You sacrificed a few soldiers to test the waters, sent the rest running away so they wouldn't die, and soon you will obtain the puppet of your beloved's father."
The demon let out a dramatic sigh. "This Empire is doomed. Even though that curse the tribesmen are casting on the King will probably be useless, anyway."
"The tribesmen don't need to know that," Kilis replied coldly. "I just needed their help to create the monster. I just want to see her again."
"Love is foolish," Beelzebub scoffed, kicking a pebble with his shadowy foot. "If you don't satisfy your Gluttony trait soon, you will go insane. You know that, right?"
"I wanted to kill the demon worshippers to satisfy my trait," Kilis admitted. "But it seems that won't be an option now. The situation has changed."
"Why didn't you kill the soldiers?" Beelzebub asked suddenly, his tone sharp. "They were right there. Helpless. Delicious."
Kilis paused for a long moment. He looked at his hands.
"I don't know."
"You are foolish, right down to your soul," Beelzebub hissed. "You will die with that attitude soon enough."
"Now, let's see how long it takes for that monster to bring the Duke to you," the demon continued. "Maybe you will go insane before he gets back. Let's see!"
Kilis ignored him. He collapsed onto the soft grass, exhausted, and looked up at the starry sky. The moon was shining bright and clear, indifferent to the horrors he had just committed.
"Why did you have to leave me?" he whispered to the stars, thinking of the girl from the deathmatch.
"I won't go insane," he vowed softly. "Not before I see her again."
"Man..." Beelzebub groaned, lying down on the grass next to him. "The Lower Realm has such big, messy conspiracies."
He let out a long, bored sigh.
"Everything is so complicated with you humans. Plots within plots within plots."
The demon turned his head to Kilis. "Just fight them! Kill them! It's really not that deep."
"Is fighting all you know how to do?" Kilis asked, annoyed.
"I was actually a pretty renowned person before coming to this shitty realm, you piece of shit!" Beelzebub snapped.
"Fuck off," Kilis muttered, closing his eyes.
"That's mean," the shadow pouted.
"Not even the Queen of Darkness dared to speak to me like that," Beelzebub huffed, crossing his tiny shadowy arms.
"What are you going to do about it?" Kilis asked, his eyes still closed. "Kill me?"
"Meh," the demon scoffed. "You are pathetic enough as it is. Maybe I'll just let that Demon Monarch kill you instead."
He continued, his high-pitched voice grating against Kilis's ears. "A Demon Monarch is feeble to me—an ant! But for you? For you, it means the end."
"No one can best me in the Hell Realm, except for a handful of ancients," Beelzebub bragged. "Even in the Heavenly Realm, I am feared! So understand this, boy: you are nothing but a grain of sand to me."
He stood up on the rock, puffing out his tiny, shadowy chest, trying to look majestic.
"Hahaha..." Kilis began to laugh. It was a dry, humorless sound.
Beelzebub's form turned a furious, glowing red. "There is nothing to laugh about!"
"You claim to be so mighty," Kilis said, wiping a tear from his eye. "And yet, here you stand before me—a miniature toy figure, bound to the soul of a 'grain of sand'."
"I will return to my full glory soon enough!" the demon shrieked.
"When I die," Kilis asked suddenly, his voice turning serious, "will you die as well?"
"Probably not," Beelzebub admitted, his glow fading back to black. "Even though I can't remember exactly why or how I came here... I am eternal. I will eventually return. But... without a host, it would probably take a very long time to reform."
"When I fulfill my wish... I will probably die," Kilis whispered to the stars. "I suppose I hoped that, in the end, I would do it with you. At least then I wouldn't be alone."
"Die alone, bitch," Beelzebub snapped rudely. "Or better yet, give me your body. I can actually find a use for it."
"Ha," Kilis let out a short breath.
Beelzebub looked up at the moon and let out a long, heavy sigh.
"It seems it will be a long time before I can kick some ass in the Hell Realm again."