The Sword Of Salvation
Ch. 1 — Human and Devil (2)
Not wanting to make the two men find Mariel's mother's navel, Lukhiel obliterated a part of the tree with the element of wind after being several hundred meters from the navel. Then he jumped off a cliff. Lukhiel converted his prana into wind to reduce the rate of fall. And about four minutes later, he landed elegantly on the riverbank.
If previously he was in the territory of the Neurocia Empire, now Lukhiel is in the territory of the Great Kingdom of Camelot— kingdom controlled by the king of the knights, Arthur IV Pendragon. Although the rules in this country are stricter than Neurocia, everyone here has equal rights before the law. At the very least, it was if someone who was entangled in trouble did not have demonic blood in his veins.
Lukhiel took Mariel along the riverbank.
It runs opposite the river. His goal was currently to search for the cave where Mariel rested. Then tomorrow morning they can go find a settlement. Lukhiel had set foot in this country once, but only in Pendragon (capital of Camelot). That wasn't long either. The Knights of the Round Table were quite troublesome to deal with. Lukhiel doesn't know much.
Lukhiel only discovered a cave that could be used after almost an hour and a half of walking. He laid Mariel unconscious on a pile of leaves. He sat in meditation next to the child. Eyes closed. Even so, Lukhiel did not fully fall asleep; he would instantly be aware if anyone approached.
Mata Lukhiel opened about four hours later— by then the day was rather bright. He found Mariel still unconscious. He's still pretty asleep. He probably wouldn't have woken up if he hadn't forced it. Did he hit her too hard? Or perhaps, what happened last night weighed on him enough that he fell asleep longer?
Hm, he's human, it makes sense that his mentality is burdened.
Deciding to let Mariel awake naturally, Lukhiel got up and stepped outside the cave. He would find some fish for them to eat. The devil does not need human food, and only the devil who has been freed from the constraints of the chain of hell can enjoy the taste of human food, but Lukhiel quite enjoy the activity called “makan”.
However, of course, he could not leave Mariel unattended. So, before actually leaving, he created eight wind spears and stuck them in front of the mouth of the cave. That way, no wild animals will enter and threaten the safety of the child. Then he stepped into the river.
As soon as the sound of the footsteps vanished from her hearing, Mariel's two eyes opened. He sat himself slowly. Actually, he was awake from now on. However, after reviewing what happened last night, he realized that the old man who helped him was a demon. His form is not creepy as normal is known, but his mother once said that high-level demons have the exact same appearance as humans.
There were only two things that distinguished between a human and a high-level demon. First, the nails. The devil's nails are dark black. Their nails also can not be colored with any dye – black color on their nails will always remove any nail dye. The second is the eyes. The eyes of the devil have pupils that are vertical like reptiles. And Lukhiel saw clearly that the old man's fingernails were black, the pupils were vertical.
He's a hundred percent demon.
Mariel had no idea what the devil's purpose was to hold her here. All he could think of was that if the demon wanted his soul, he would no longer be alive now. Therefore, he could conclude that whatever he wanted would not lead Mariel to his death. If so, did that demon want to make him a slave? Or, he wanted to present himself to another demon?
To be honest, Mariel doesn't really care. He wants to follow his mother. There's no point in her life without her mother on the side. Who would soothe him from a nightmare while he was awake in the middle of the night? Who will feed him when his stomach screams for fill? Who would give him a warm hug as his body shivered in the cold?
There aren't. None of them. Now Mariel is completely alone. He no longer has a place to lean. And so, he just wanted to die. At the very least, if he were to die, he would be able to meet his mother again. He was not afraid to become a demon after death; mariel was not a brat as in the stories.
However, Mariel also could not ignore the words of the mother. For the sake of his mother, he must continue to live—for her and for them as well. He has to be strong. Then he had to decide what life was like. That's what her mother wanted. They would be monitoring him from the other side of the world there, so he had to actually embody those words. Mariel must fulfill the mother's last wish.
Mariel tried hard to rack her brain. He thought of a way that could be used by weak humans like him. He can beat his mother in a game of chess, but for now Mariel has no solution. He could think of a way to escape, unfortunately he had no power to realize those ways.
Mariel eventually went back to sleep.
Nope. Not because he gave up and gave up. Not at all. It's like a chess game. If you can't win with just your pieces, you have to use your opponent's pieces to give you victory. Mariel has nothing here, so he will make full use of the devil. It will depend on the hope that the devil needs it to live. Of course Mariel knows this is a worthwhile bet, but this is also the option with the greatest chance of success.
Mariel closed both eyes and left despair at luck.
When Mariel's eyelids reopened, what greeted her gaze was the figure of the devil sitting before the small bonfire. Looking at it more clearly, Mariel found out that the demon was burning fish. Mariel didn't know if the upper level demons were normal food. However, if it wasn't the devil's food, did he prepare it for her?
“By the mouth of the cave there is water,” said the devil without turning an eye to him. “Wash your face. Then come here. We need to fill the stomach before proceeding on the journey.”
Mariel didn't think the devil would say such a friendly word. However, considering how he answered the questions he asked last night, his hospitality was not surprising either. And because of that, Mariel's belief that she didn't want her dead grew stronger. However, why be friendly if he will be made a slave?
“It looks like you've realized that I'm a demon.” The demon again said—and still without looking at him. “But don't worry. I won't kill you after bothering to save you. You look like a smart kid. Of course you understand what I mean, right?”
Mariel sits down. “Why are you being friendly?” he asked, eyes looking intensely at the devil. “You need me in good condition to be enslaved?”
The devil stopped arranging the position of the grilled fish, his face turned to look at the child.
“It seems you have mistaken,” said the demon after almost a minute of silent looking at Mariel. “I have no intention of making you a slave or selling you as a slave. But you better wash your face and then we eat. We can talk after we eat. After this we will make a long journey.”
Mariel looked at the demon suspiciously, but then she let out a long sigh and did as she asked. There is no point in thinking further. Anyway, it's still according to plan. Mariel washes her face and hair. After his hair was a little dry, then he approached the devil.
“Lukhiel. You can call me by that name.”
The devil introduced himself to coincide with Mariel sitting two steps to his right. “Mariel Allvar,” reply the child. “Devil Lukhiel can call me Mariel.”
“Devil Lukhiel…? That doesn't sound bad. However, it would be a problem if it was outside. Master, or Master Lukhiel. From now on you will call me that. Since I have decided to teach you my knowledge, calling me ‘Master’ is perfectly normal.”