He tackled the brother to the side, only managing to bring them to their knees even though Elliot had run at him with the same speed of a goddamn professional sprinter. He barely had enough time to recover from his own tackle to dodge the possessed knight before they tried putting a fist-sized hole in his chest. He tumbled from the fall, the exhaustion of having to deal with someone four times as heavy as him finally getting to him.

He groaned, annoyed at the constant chanting behind him. “You know, for the show you just put on you really aren’t helping much!” He shouted, briefly turning to Lidia before charging back at the knight. She had really only done a bit more than give her brother a headache, which unfortunately for Elliot it meant the guy who could kill him with one punch was really, really angry. “Bring us forward to salvation, for we have no other way to go than the just path… I’m exorcizing him, you idiot! Now keep him off me before I send you back to the void as well!”

Ah, that made a bit more sense. He jumped over the knight’s kick to his stomach, spinning the air to bring his foot down on their head. It barely fazed the possessed knight. “Do you see now, child of demons? She sees you as nothing more than a tool for her own use… Once you are through with me she will come after- Gah!” Elliot didn’t bother listening, knowing damn well that demons were even worse manipulators than even him.

He had jammed a fist directly into the knight’s neck, this time with his full demonic strength. “Shut up and get out of him already, man. I’m… not feeling good beating on an innocent person.” The demon grinned, the malicious expression looking quite terrifying when it towered over him. “Then stop fighting, child of demons. Elliot Dresmr…” That deserved another good kick in the throat.

He dodged to the right and went behind him, jumping onto his back and locking his legs around their head. “I’m. Not. A. Demon! Die!”He shouted in between punches. He tried giving one last good punch but his legs were grabbed, and he was thrown at Lidia. Just before he hit her, he released the blood in his body out like a hook, spearing it to the ground and stopping him moments before he hit her. Unfortunately, that meant he slammed face-first into the dirt.

He spat out the grass in his mouth. “Release your reign on this man’s life… How graceful, Elliot.” He groaned, picking himself up and taking a boxing stance. “Just… hurry the hell up, ok?” She nodded, “The spell is almost complete. The demon is near leaving the body. Just a few more moments before we… Watch out!” He turned in time to see a dagger the size and thickness of the end of a pickaxe tearing through the air at them. It had gone so fast that he barely had time to push Lidia out of the way. Time slowed down, the world almost stopped before him.

It still didn’t mean he could stop the dagger from piercing him. He was thrown alongside it, the thing piercing into the side of a tree and stabbing him in there with it. “GAA-aah?”He screamed in pain before he realized the pain really wasn’t as horrific as he’d imagined it. It was still on the level of a constant, numb burn… But nowhere near the pain, he thought a four-inch hole in his chest should be.

“Child of demons… you have met your end… We will experience life anew… living in…” The voice faded in and out as Elliot’s vision wavered. Was he dying or something? The whole scene was a bit too surreal for him not to think that. He saw the possessed knight reach for Lidia, the girl trying her best to finish the ritual. How strange, he thought. Despite everything, he’d never felt calmer in his life. In the blurry vision, as if he was watching a screen of someone else’s perspective, he saw himself pull the dagger out with little effort.

The thing, that weapon covered in his black blood, connected with his arm, making some sort of spear. Then everything went too fast for him to see clearly. He had lunged at the possessed knight, jamming his hand into their chest. Their armor screeched, and the dagger just managed to make a scratch on it before bouncing off. It was still enough to send the man flying, though. “Ellio… Don’t atta…” The voice was soft and fading, the vision becoming redder with time.

He got the message, though. Just before the dagger landed in the possessed knight’s neck, he willed it away, instead grabbing it and slamming the knight into the ground. “Demon, accept death. Come to me.” He instinctually uttered the words… He may not have known how to deal with demons, but his body sure did. The throat burned hot for a moment before the demon poured out of Frederick’s mouth.

It was weak thanks to the exorcism, the demon a pale grey wisp instead of the black, mocking cloud it was supposed to be. Barely a shell of its former self. He brought it to his mouth, shoving the struggling demon in and gnashing it in between his teeth. The taste was bitter and sickening, but the power surging inside him was so much he almost wished he’d had more to bite into. Well, he did, but he was sure Lidia would be mad if he started sinking his teeth into her brother.

His vision became clearer as the power surged through him, and for a moment he was brought back to his senses. The pain in his body was clear, significant, but in no ways unmanageable. Was this how all demons were? He checked the scar on his chest, looking down to see how bad-

There was a hole in his chest.

The wound was bigger than the dagger that had caused it, the throw goring through him and leaving a mangled tear in his body. A tear he could see through. He could see the bone and flesh inside through the black blood pouring out, pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat. …That wasn’t good. He looked over to Frederick and sighed in relief when he found the man passed out, happy to have no need to explain something like this.

“Dear gods, Elliot! Are you okay!?” Lidia crashed into him, checking the opened wound on his back. The same wound that went through his front. “I can… dear gods… I can see through you! Quick, let me cast a healing spell on…” They looked at each other for a moment, Elliot’s wraps were completely removed at this point, torn off in the heat of battle.

Her breath hitched, and for a moment she’d forgotten the demon in front of her. She’d forgotten the beautifully wicked face in front of her. She reached out to touch the face of the man who had come to save her. From someone as strong as her brother-

Elliot backed off, a worried look on his face. “W-wait! Isn’t healing magic harmful to demons!? I think I remember hearing about that. The magic is holy, right?” She looked at him in astonishment, her hand closing slowly into a tight, balled-up fist. “Yes… Healing magic is known to cause sickness in demonic beings…” Elliot grinned, knowing he was right. “Then… Maybe don’t get too close with that magic staff of yours- Hey, wait! What are you doing!?”

Lidia had raised her staff, the air around her rising again. “Oh, dear god. Lead this lamb to salvation, so that he may eat once more. Let this man experience-” He didn’t bother listening, turning to run in the opposite direction. He was sure she was just joking but when his life was on the line he couldn’t help but not find it humorous. He made it down the road just before the girl had finished, the spell still blasting him in the chest, causing him to hit the ground in a tumble. She… Hadn’t been joking?

________________________________________________________

“Blaurgh… Guh… Please… I just want to die…” He spewed his guts all over the floor, his back being consolingly rubbed by Lidia as if she’d done this a million times. “There, there… The sickness will pass eventually. You’ll feel much better afterward, the hole has already closed up.” She was right. The hole in his chest had magically reconnected once again, leaving nothing but the terrible sinking feeling in his stomach that he’d done something wrong, inhumane.

He hurled again. “Why… Oh, god… How the hell… did you even… even know that this would happen!?” She looked to her side, a look on her face that indicated she didn’t want to say. “It’s… a tactic. For capturing demonic beings. Once you have them near death, you heal them with all your mana, leaving them at their strongest and yet at their most vulnerable. They become easy to capture and tame, then.”

He looked at her like she’d told him she was about to skin him. “You… goddamnit… When the hell did you have time to capture demons!? I thought… urgh… I thought you said demons didn’t hang around here…” She scoffed. “Pure demons like you, sure. Demonic beings, however, are everywhere. We met about a dozen of them, remember? The goblins?The shade? Oh, there there… it’s ok…” Midway through her conversation, he’d started releasing the contents in his stomach again, and she rubbed his back consolingly… Her hands were warm on his back, making him feel more comfortable than he cared to say.

So he didn’t.“...What are we going to do about your brother? He doesn’t look like he’ll wake up any time soon. And can you explain to me just what the hell happened for him to turn like that?” He wiped the bile from his face, his stomach finally settling down. He was glad he wasn’t heaving every couple of seconds now. Lidia gave him a wry smile, looking over to the area where her brother had thrown the sword.

“My brother… he must have been… lonely, when looking for me. The demon fed on his feelings when he was isolated, and used the burst of emotions when he finally met me to… to take over.” Elliot stood, wiping his hands on his shirt. “I don’t get it. Wouldn’t the demon have gotten weaker when Frederick reunited with you?” She shook her head. “It only worsened it, I’m afraid. Some demons feed on all strong emotions. Most just tend to come from negativity. There are some that only feed on happy emotions, like Fairies and Pixies… but mostly they feed on simple, strong emotion to grow more powerful.”

She paused, before looking up with a red face. “Ah! But that is only certain demons! This shadowling was one of them. Most just consume food and drink to get by… uh… This wasn’t your fault, Elliot.” His eyes widened. How had she noticed? He was a demon, and all of a sudden a demon had attacked her brother, so of course, he’d have thought it was his fault. He was good at hiding that type of guilt, though… so how the hell did she?

“I… I’m sorry if you didn’t think that. You just seemed a bit sad, was all…” She grabbed him by the hand, giving him a warm and patient smile. “You’ve done nothing but help me… Thank you, Elliot.” Her grip tightened around his hand, and for a moment the sickness had all but faded. His stomach felt warm, his heart felt warm. He just felt warm in general. “Uh… thanks, Lidia. I couldn’t have done it without your… your… urgh.”

The moment had passed, and Elliot threw himself to the side to avoid spewing all over Lidia’s face. He didn’t notice the look on her face, gratitude mixed with an ungodly amount of frustration. He had no time to care even if he had, though, since Elliot had felt sicker than ever before.