The Crow Demon

"Who are you?" said Adam curtly. He looked around to see nobody, and it was hard to pinpoint the voice because it projected equally outwards from every direction. "Or, more importantly, where even are you?"

"Raum…is that you?" said Leila. Her expression was one of recognition, but notably, her claws were out.

Guess familiarity did not mean friendliness, Adam noted.

The crows that Adam saw before squawked madly and fluttered away, dropping black feathers in their hurry. That is, all but one of the crows flew off, and that final crow glared at Adam with beady black eyes before it disappeared in a puff of black feathers and smoke.

From the smoke emerged another demoness.

She looked to be a tall woman, taller than Adam by a full head worth of height, with ghostly pale skin and a dead fish, red eyed stare lined with deep, dark bags that spoke of countless sleepless nights.

A pair of black rimmed glasses gave her the look of an intellectual which, coupled with her tired eyes, gave the impression of a scholar that was done with how dumb everyone around her was.

Yet her hot, active killing intent belied her seeming fatigue.

She was dressed in a formal black business suit with flared pants and a form fitting black vest over a white dress shirt with roughly rolled up sleeves. Notably, the clothes looked...off.

The black cloth seemed to shimmer and flicker like living darkness, and the white dress shirt had a glossy sheen to it like it was carved out of ice. This must have been the so-called royal clothing that Leila had said higher demons wore in Hell.

The demoness's hair was styled in a messy bob cut as two straight horns shot out from the sides of her head. Black crow's wings stretched out from her back, showcasing how distinctively inhuman she was.

Another thing that Adam noted was that she was a beauty too, and he was starting to suspect that maybe every demoness in Hell looked good. At the same time, if they could change their appearance, why wouldn't they just make themselves look good?

Adam saw the demon woman's red eyes flicker like two embers, and he felt a wave of numbing warmth rush over him. Almost as soon as it came, though, the warmth was doused off.

"Oh? He manages to withstand my Charm. Then again, though, casting Charm is certainly not my specialty," said Raum as she pushed her glasses to her eyes. "I suppose that meets the bare minimum of my requirements, yes."

She flipped out a notepad from her vest pocket and conjured a pen from darkness, writing down a note, probably about Adam.

"Raum…you're not here to steal my Bond, are you?" said Leila. She stepped in front of Adam, her sharp teeth visible and her long, black claws extended from her slender fingers. "Because even if you were my butler, I will not hesitate to tear you limb from limb if you are here to take what is mine."

"Nothing of that kind, princess," said Raum. She put the notepad back and pointed her pen at Adam like it was a weapon. "I am simply disappointed.

Princess, why would you lower yourself to Bonding with him? A lowly human like that?

Your mother has lined up countless suitors for you. Demons of mighty lineage and immense power. And even if the demons were not your type, there were countless others.

Vampire nobility, werewolf alphas, and even a millennial dragon.

Please, princess, stop this nonsense and return to Hell. A Bond is a powerful link, but if it is your mother Lilith we are talking about, then with time, she can sever it."

Leila's expression immediately darkened, and her pale skin rippled before it fully shifted away into its natural red shade. Her black, serrated horns grew fully out of her head, and her ears pointed as her eyes blazed with fire.

Adam did notice that Leila did not, however, manifest her tail and even took off her shoes so that her foot claws would not damage any of the things Adam had bought for her.

Black flames roared around Leila's hands as she stared at Raum with complete, visceral rage. "You want to sever my Bond with my darling? You would dare!?"

Leila swiped at the air, sending out claw streaks of black flame hurtling towards Raum.

Raum used her shadow pen to draw a circle in front of her at superspeed, creating a barrier of darkness that blocked the flames.

Adam's eyes turned red as he sensed what was happening.

Leila's flames were superior to Raum's barrier, eating away at the circle with ease, but Raum was completely unfazed as she stepped lightly backwards, escaping the grasp of the fire.

"Your Shadowflame is as destructive as ever," said Raum. She pointed her pen to Leila. Leila breathed heavily, the flames around her hands dying down already after one shot. "But being in this filthy, disgusting place that humans call home has drained your mana.

I see you have forged a Bond to anchor yourself to this world and grant you a sustainable source of mana, but that human of yours is far too weak to properly handle you.

He is not a mage of any merit, let alone worthy of being with a princess like yourself."

Raum sighed. "Come now, princess. I have spent so much time sending my crow familiars out to look for you, but now that I have found you, your vacation from Hell is over.

It is time for you to come back home. I understand you are attached to this human, likely as a pet of some sort, but I can put him down for you."

"Not another word, Raum," said Leila, the rage palpable in her voice. "Not. Another. Word.

I will still spare you for your past service to me, but any more, and I will not spare even you from a death of eternal agony."

"Leila, if what she's saying is true, that means you're still weakened," said Adam. "You sure you want to take this fight? Especially if I'm the one holding you back?"

When she noticed Adam's worried look, she explained. "Ah, darling, do not worry for me, my dear. You are not the source of my weakness.

Hell Demons like ourselves cannot stay in the human realm for long. It continually drains our energy, forcing us back to Hell eventually even if we hunt and feed on humans."

"I thought you've been here for two years," said Adam.

Leila nodded. "As a Royal Demon, I can stay in the Overworld for far longer." She gritted her fangs together. "But when I escaped Hell, telling my mother that I desired a husband I wished to choose, not one forced upon me, mother placed a curse on me.

It weakens me until I could find a husband I thought worthy. My mother probably thought that by making my search too hard, she would force me back to Hell, but I persevered and I found you, my darling.

That curse is now broken because of you, but I still need time to my full strength."

"Nonsense," said Raum. "You will never recover your power with a mere human as a Bond. A Bond is a two-way link. A weakling Bound to you will only drag you down, whereas a strong Bond will only lift you up.

Imagine if you had Demon Royalty by your side. One of the Dukes or Presidents.

Your power would be unfathomable by now."

Raum shook her head. "I am not doing this to hurt you, princess. This is for your own good. You must return to Hell and know your proper place instead of wasting further time here, among humans and other lowly creatures."

Adam had just about enough of Raum talking by now, and knowing that Leila was still weakened, he stepped in front of Leila, and her eyes widened.

"Darling?" asked Leila, surprised that Adam was going to fight. "You are not used to your new body yet. It will be dangerous-,"

"You think I'm just going to let the love of my life fight for me? Don't be silly, Leila," said Adam with a smile that quickly faded as he stared ahead at Raum. "And you have no idea what's good for her. I am not letting you take her back."

"Oh, and you know what is good for her, little mortal?" said Raum. She spun the pen around in her fingers as she narrowed her eyes, inspecting Adam.

"Yes, I do," said Adam. "I've only been with Leila for a day, but I can guarantee you I know what's good for her more than you ever did.

Leila likes when people appreciate what she does. She likes when she gets praised. She likes when she feels safe enough to hold someone's hand, to rely on that hand instead of waiting to be used by it.

None of you folks in Hell ever showed her that."

"Hm?" Raum raised a brow in confusion. "What nonsense is this? You are out of your depth, mortal. Leila is a princess of Hell. There are duties she must uphold. Things that are expected of a demon of her position. Princess-,"

Raum turned to Leila but paused when she saw that Leila was blushing like mad at Adam's words.

"You have corrupted her," said Raum in dismay.

"If by 'corrupting' you mean I've been the only one to appreciate who she is, then yeah," said Adam. He balled up a fist and stepped towards Raum. "Either way, you are not taking her."

"Foolishness," said Raum. She shook her head and sighed. "I had intended on making a case to spare your life, but perhaps not so anymore."

Raum used the pen to sketch a pointed arrow towards Adam and then tapped it. The arrow flew forwards, the point as sharp as any blade.

Adam barely had time to react before he put his hands in front of him. Instinctively, as his mind formed the thought of 'I need to protect myself!', his newfound mana arose from within him. He felt a soothing, comforting warmth flower out from his heart, spreading throughout his body, strengthening it in a thin aura of black.

Pitter. Patter.

The sound of blood dripping on the grass.

The arrow had embedded in Adam's right hand, but it had not pierced through. It certainly had the speed and mass to, and had Adam been a normal human, the arrow would have run straight through him and instantly killed him.

Adam took out the arrow of solidified darkness and tossed it on the ground. He did not feel pain, and the bleeding stopped in seconds, though the ugly wound itself would take much longer to regenerate.

"Hoh?" Raum took out her notepad and scribbled another note in it. "You are compatible with the princess's demonic blood to such a degree that you have nearly fully integrated it within yourself, turning yourself atleast into a half-demon.

An ordinary human would have disintegrated from intaking demonic blood and Hell energies.

Another bonus for you, but still not enough: you have not manifested any form of Shadow Magic that is necessary to be recognized as a Royal Demon."

Shadow magic, huh. Adam could use context clues to know what it was. It was Leila's dark flames and Raum's drawn constructs of darkness, but so far, he had no idea how to use it. If he had a part of Leila's heart in him, then he figured he should be able to use it.

Regardless of whether Adam could use the magic or not, when he saw Raum taking notes on him and realized that Raum had not actually given up on him.

She was still testing his worth.

If Adam could prove himself to her without Shadow Magic, then she would likely leave them. He himself could care less what she thought of him, but if it would get her to stop bothering this date, then he would try.

"How about this," said Adam, and Raum perked her head up. "I beat you one on one here and now. That will prove me worthy, right?"

Raum put the pen to her lips, thinking about it, and then nodded. "Perhaps. But that is simply an impossibility. To truly prove yourself worthy, you will have to fight me, one of the Seventy Two Great Royals of Hell."

"Just a few days ago, I thought it would be impossible for me to ever get a girlfriend. But lately, things I've thought were impossible have been seeming a lot more possible," said Adam. He rolled up his dress shirt sleeves, showing off his muscled, veined forearms.

He felt no fear. Not that he was some kind of spineless coward when he was a full human either. He had always been willing to fight when he needed to. But now, that fearlessness was ingrained into him.

Raum smiled, baring her own fangs. "So be it, then. If you lose your life over this, then do not blame me, mortal."

Raum addressed Leila. "Princess, step back. Your Bond has bravely decided to engage in single combat with me. You would not want to sully his honor by aiding him, would you?"

Leila put a hand on Adam's shoulder.

"Don't worry-," began Adam.

"I'm not," said Leila. Adam looked at her to find she was giving him a confident smile. "I gave my heart to you because I believed in your worth, even when I knew nothing of you.

You have potential, my beloved. Potential to become the king of Hell with I as your dear Queen. I made you my heart believing you would live up to this potential.

I believed in you then, so I will believe in you now. Oh, and-,"

Leila cupped Adam's face in her hands and drew it towards her, giving him one quick kiss, one that transferred some of her magical energy to Adam instead of draining it, before she threw a smug glance at Raum.

Raum's eye twitched in annoyance, and it was highly evident she was allergic to romantic displays. "Are you done, princess?"

"Don't blame me for the fact that you've never felt love, Raum. Blame your grumpy personality that drives away men left and right," said Leila.

She drew into Adam's ear and whispered a final tip. "Raum is strong. She is a Great Earl of Hell, one of the Seventy Two Great Demons, but though she might talk big, she is a complete and total virgin that knows nothing of lust.

And as far as I can tell, she knows not of your Lust Gene.

I, as the daughter of the Queen of Lust, have difficulty handling you. She, a demon too busy and tired to ever enjoy the pleasures of the flesh, will be utterly helpless before you if she catches even a hint of your scent."

"I get it," said Adam, understanding where Leila was going with this. "But are you okay with this? Wouldn't I basically be seducing her?"

"I am a Demon of Lust," said Leila in a matter of fact tone. "Using your charms to manipulate and defeat foes is something I can understand.

And you are my Bond.

My one and only bound to my heart. Nobody else can ever have you now, not in the way that I have you.

So do not worry much about me, my beloved, for I trust you. Show me how the future king of Hell does battle. "

With that Leila pulled back, leaving Adam to face Raum in a proper duel.

"Whatever the princess told you will not help you, mortal," said Raum as she adjusted her glasses.

"We'll see about that," said Adam as he inched forwards, meeting Raum's tired stare in a deadlock.