Eight
Crooked“Brat! Brat, where are you?!” Agumai roared, shoving off another guard of the newly made city and dodged the few weapons thrown his way. He bolted out the alley, ignoring the shrill screams of pedestrians that easily recognized the DoD by a quick look. The demon was worried, pissed, and annoyed at the same—not a good combination for a class as high as him.
“You goddamn—Get off of me!” He snarled at an animal-formed hybrid, chains throwing it off and soon strangling nearby officers. Some went down willingly, while others fought for their useless lives that could only piss of the demon further. “Brat! Where the hell are you?!” Agumai called over the cries of humans and hybrids dying from his wrath.
The flames were blazing on the buildings, taking down the city as they attempted to fight him. It was their own fault, instead of saving the people living here and trying to stop the fires. Humans… they’re complete es. In their own idiotic way—it’s impossible to not laugh at their stupidity.
“Awoo!”
He looked in the direction of where the cry came, snapping off any others trying to pin him down and ran to the one he lost. Everything else was a blur, Agumai solely focused on locating the other, only killing off others who were in the way or tried to stop him.
And it was quite a lot.
“Awoo! Awoo…” It was fading, very slowly but surely. His heart was beating fast, lungs begging for air but the owner could care less. The only reason for living was for that child, the one calling for the guardian, lost in the flames they both caused. “Brat! Where…”
It was silent.
Everything was silent. No screams from frightened faces, no cries from teary-eyed children. Nothing. He couldn’t hear his own breathing, only his heart pumping and searching. Ears straining to find the weakest whimper from the baby. He heard nothing.
“You , don’t do this to me—“ Agumai let out an enraged roar, venom pouring out of his panting mouth as he continued screaming. If he was gone, the demon would kill himself. His only objective is to care for the child in what seemed fine in his judgement. And this will not do.
He lowered to the floor, hitting his head on the ground until blood spilled. What was he to do? There is nothing. Why is he still living? Agumai clawed at his own fur, ripping out skin as a starting punishment, to die slowly. For carelessly letting the Child of Chaos be killed.
“You useless demon!” The wolf spat, chains tightening their hold around his body as guards slowly surrounded the oblivious monster. He was no longer okay. Why are they letting him still live? –Weak humans!
“AWOOO!” His head shot up, eyes wide and the hold loosened. “Guk! Brat, guide me!” He cried, voice hoarse as Agumai lunged at the closest officer and hurriedly killed them off with ten second-death body fluids. With them out of the way, he used his chains to latch onto the corners of brick housings, allowing him more speed.
They grew sharp dagger-like nails from Agumai’s aura.
“AWOOO! AGUUU!” The demon let out a snarl, hearing the terrified tone in the child’s voice as he cried. “Guk! Guk!” He skidded with a sharp turn, his nose picking up on the scent of the boy. Flames were in the way, people were in the way, everything was in the way.
“AWOO!” It was a screech, the ground shaking from the amount of emotions pouring out of him, and it set off the guardian. He didn’t care if his throat was scratchy, or that his lungs burned—Agumai screamed. The wolf sent out his own call, the venom on corpses floating into the air and condensing to form a familiar god.
Fenrir was on all fours, saliva of magma dripping out of his lips as he howled. The runes embedded into his flesh glowed a bright fiery red, which soon dimmed as he looked at Agumai with an unreadable expression. “Enough. Why was I called, after all this time?” He asked, nosing the other to silence him.
“The child. He’s in danger. Can you aid me in my search? Please, Fenrir.” The elder was quiet, but nodded meekly and his own shackles tightened before the evil god left the other. “AWOO!” Agumai felt his heart lurch—where the was the boy?!
It came from his current direction, so the demon could only run blindly as the cries grew louder and louder. “Fenrir, he is this way!” Agumai yelled, and only seconds after, the called god was at his side, allowing the other to guide him. From their high of class, one being an actual god himself, it didn’t take long to finally find the wailing child.
The CoC was in the hands of many guards, handling the royal without care that angered the guardian. “It is a demon boy. There is no such hybrid with these odd wings.” One of the officers said, pulling at one of the boy’s wings sharply, getting a weak glare from the owner.
“Guk… Thank Lucifer—let him go.” Agumai hissed, hearing Fenrir purr in excitement upon seeing the armed people. ‘Guk’ stopped crying immediately, smiling stupidly at the elder and making grabbing gestures at him. “He was calling another demon?!”
“Let him go, I said!” Agumai snarled coldly, taking a bold step which caused the humans to unsheathe their weapons. “My pupil, I shall take care of them. Do not let your focus sway. –I will return home after this, understand?” He nodded at his mentor, watching in awe as the elder lunged at the largest male from the entire group.
“Thank you, Fenrir the Unbound.”
Agumai used the distraction to easily push down the one who had the child, and began snapping his jaws to end the bastard’s life then and there. The human didn’t seem fond of it, as his hands pressed against the demon’s chest and begged for assistance. “You will never live to see the next sunrise!” He threatened the man, gathering poison in the back of his throat to provide a painful death to him.
“You there—help me!” The man yelled, grabbing a female’s leg and dragged her close. Worn down chains began curling around her leg, trying to keep her from his current objective. ‘Guk’ stopped crying long ago, in a pile of rags as he was thrown from the force Agumai used to pin down the male. Now, he was watching with a goofy smile and cheering.
--Sadistic little er, I tell you.
“W-What do you want me to do?!” She yelled, panicking as the feeling in her left leg was ebbing away from her. “Stop him! Anything will do—hurry now!” Agumai had enough venom in his throat, and he began using the liquid to lather all over his fangs before biting down on the sobbing man. The woman yelped, dropping her staff and supplies, all scattering around her feet.
“You deserve a slow death, for hurting royalty!”
Blood was flying around, all from the cause of Fenrir as he finished off whoever was in the way. “You damn—oh my god, is that…? Woman! Help me for God’s sake!” She nodded frantically, snatching the first item closest to her and suddenly smiling when it was a needle and string.
“I call upon the magic of all innocent creatures…”
Fenrir stopped the second she began speaking, trying to remember the spell and if it would do any harm.
“Give me your power to forever limit this demon of class…”
His fiery eyes widened, “Agumai! Move!” Said wolf turned to him in confusion.
“Of over Class Diamond!”
--See, this is where Agumai ed up.
The needle and string shined brightly, of all kinds of colors that were auras of different good beings. Before Agumai could understand what was happening, the two items flew straight at him, piercing his jaw and zipping through his skin with lightning fast skill.
He screamed in pain, trying to rip the thin thread but it only bounced off his own aura trying to cut it. And it continued, claiming his mouth with small X’s over his lips and made a round trip to the other side of him. Soon after, Agumai had his own mouth sewn shut with every power of S Class deities that aided the mage. Once the flimsy thread tied around the last knot, it tightened until he could no longer even twitch his own lips.
The venom oozed out of the puncture wounds, dripping on the ground and rendering it useless.
Agumai was silenced.
Fenrir turned to the girl with a war-cry, lunging at her and ripping her limb by limb for hurting his pupil. “Aguu…?” ‘Guk’ called for him, more or less worried that the guardian was eerily quiet. He said nothing in return and jabbed his claws into the man’s throat, very much angry at the man for getting him in this predicament.
The two wolves were covered in blood, both not caring about the burning city, but for each other. “Agumai, are you alright?” His pupil looked away, padding to the worried-looking child and nuzzled him to bring it comfort. “Can you use telepathy?” Fenrir questioned, moving to tower over the baby as well but side-eye the wolf.
Yes.
It is… just unnatural for me.
“You must bear with it, if you want to survive.” There was no answer in return, and Fenrir only sighed. “I’ll be off. I bid you good-bye, and good luck.” Again, silence. He didn’t say anything on the matter, closing his eyes and feeling his body turn to embers of a fire, then turning to nothing.
Agumai let out a pained whimper, tasting his own blood and nosing the boy to his feet. We must go. There is nothing here for us. ‘Guk’ gripped his fur, forced to walk on wobbly legs since Agumai could no longer carry him on the basket they had. It would only bring pain and the weak thing would rip from the thread.
Yongguk! Use your wings to balance, not me.
The child nodded obediently, spreading his small, red wings and flapping them softly if he tilted to one side.
We must go to the next village. This way.
Yongguk followed the wolf silently, smiling to himself.
“Awoo?” Agumai looked at the CoC, grunting in question. The boy pointed at a dirt road that was on the other side of the cliff they rested upon. He tugged the elder’s fur, jabbing his index finger at the path with a happy expression.
You want to follow it?
“Ne! N-ne!”
Alright. Get up.
Yongguk latched onto his front leg, climbing on Agumai until he sat on his back, laying down on his stomach and punching the other’s spine. Seemed that he was very excited, so the wolf didn’t say anything. But only jumped down the cliff with squeals of joy coming from the child.
The long fall made it hard for the demon to keep still, especially with a baby on his back. Somehow, he was able to successfully and landed right onto the ground perfectly. It wasn’t silent though.
From the way down, by how high up they were, it was a mighty fall that ended up leaving craters that cracked the cliff and made it collapse on itself. Yongguk giggled, sliding off the demon with a struggle until Agumai used a chain to drop him off.
Yah. Is this where you want to stay?
He nodded gleefully.
Agumai looked around, taking in the surroundings and found them suitable. It was near the forest, where the boy would be able to keep in touch with his demonic side daily, and the village was quite big. He knew what he wanted, that’s for sure.
Alright. But if I find the trash here unsuitable, I will not hesitate to kill them off.
Yongguk pouted.
Right when the guardian walked off, the child ran to catch up, gripping the fur softly with an innocent smile. Agumai didn’t snap at him, but began growling lowly when a sharp spike of pain came from his lower lip. Yongguk looked up at the other with worried eyes.
He ignored the boy, but unconsciously clawed the earth and leaving deep marks in his wake. And the younger didn’t dare push for an answer.
They ended up in front of the village, wooden pikes surrounding it and no gate to keep them out. To Agumai, it was clear that had been recently raided and were in the midst of rebuilding. It was very, very… olden times, per say? Sure, they were houses, but completely made of wood, even the roofing.
And every home had a small field of crops, all kinds that were most likely assigned to them so they could all earn coins. Agumai huffed, glaring at the ground when droplets of blood resurfaced from his new wounds. It didn’t seem too bad, and besides, maybe a more modern town would throw off the child on how exactly he was supposed to live.
(With that, he meant himself too.)
Luckily, there were no watchmen, so they could walk in and easily smite the village if Agumai ever felt like it. So, the wolf began walking again, stepping into the area like he owned the place with Yongguk giggling excitedly. He shushed him, warning the boy that they could be caught.
But Yongguk didn’t seem to care.
Now with a pained scowl, Agumai glanced at the many streets they could go to and saw some hybrids working alongside humans. That was a bonus, no real racism in this one. They casually stepped closer to the workers, but the second an eagle hybrid perked its head up, Agumai shoved Yongguk into the shadows, following after.
Hold on. I’ll just… form to a hybrid.
It had been centuries since he had done it. Then he wasn’t sure if the person he fused with was well, still intact inside of his soul. Hopefully, the man was. Yongguk was beyond ready to see, sitting down and bouncing while quietly clapping his hands.
Agumai closed his eyes, focusing on finding the male’s spirit in his body. It didn’t take long. The soul was actually waiting for him, the black light moving to him slowly, with an aura of joy radiating off of it. “C’mon, little Agu. Your kid needs a fake parent.”
Shut up, or I will not hesitate to kill you.
He scoffed.
Why he fused with him—he still doesn’t know to this day.
Agumai could feel his bones moving rapidly under his flesh, and with shifting paws, he dragged himself behind a building and held back the screams. It really had been too long, if the transformation was this painful. Yongguk waddled after him, plopping back down and silently watching.
"Awoo?"
“S-Shut up!”
Dammit, he didn’t mean to speak. His voice sounded so distorted and the stitches only gave him more pain to drown in. Agumai collapsed on the ground, watching as his fur be slowly into the new, tanned skin that surfaced over the hair.
He felt the chains shrinking smaller and smaller until they knotted around his neck, much like a choker and Agumai let out a shaky gasp. “F-fuh-!” There was a soft fabric covering his sore lips, which were now filled with the copper-like taste of human blood. With a grimace, he lowered the cloth and spit out as much as the demon could before closing his mouth.
“Awoo?”
Agumai nodded, lifting the scarf over his sewn lips and staring at his human hands.
It really had been too long. He forgot how much he adored this body. How much he adored the owner that resided inside of him peacefully. I’m Agumai, still. This is my hybrid form, see? Agumai winced as he reached for his chainless tail, lifting it to show the limb to Yongguk.
The CoC understoon instantly, rising to his feet and watching his hybrid guardian struggle to get up. “C-C-Clohs?” Agumai gritted his teeth, looking at the boy in confusion, “Wha—, my mouth!” Yongguk tugged on an article of clothing he shifted into, tilting his head.
Ah. These are the clothes I wore the last time I shifted. Well, what he was wearing when we fused.
Yongguk nodded.
After a few more moments of struggling, he finally stood up on trembling legs and fisted the midnight purple long-sleeve, frowning as he remembered the human’s past. C’mon. Take my hand, so we can go. The boy hesitantly did so, a chubby hand curling around three slim fingers.
They made their way out, the boy still taking in Agumai’s new look as the man led the way to the main street.
“Oi. You don’t look to familiar.”
--.
Your horrible luck never fails to surprise me.
Agumai stilled, turning around to face a fox hybrid with bright red hair and dark eyes. Those dark orbs narrowed, a frown on their face as he tapped his chin. “Nah. I don’t know you. But hey—nice skeleton jaw’s scarf.”
You should’ve told me it had that on there.
…But he didn’t recognize it.
“Thank you.”
“So, whatcha doin’ here?”
Agumai mentally cursed at his luck.
“Traveling. M-My son and I.” Yongguk waved at the worker, smiling widely. “I see. Well… have a nice day, one of wolf.” Dammit.
Agumai raked a hand through his ebony locks, letting the CoC lead them to the side of where residents stayed. It was exactly the same, but more people, both human and hybrid, were walking around. Even little brats were playing. Yongguk didn’t seem like he wanted to join, preferring to look around.
The duo soon found themselves leaving the place, with the boy staring with a longing look in his eyes. Agumai knew that he wanted to stay there, and he was willing to grant that.
He was sleeping, cuddled into his arms with a smile on his lips. The guardian stood up, cradling the boy and peering at the village. There were no lights on, meaning everyone was asleep and time for his departure. “Alright. It’s time.” Agumai murmured, jumping from the hill they stood on and felt the soles of his shoes shift.
So now, he was sliding down the slope, maneuvering past any obstacles and soon reached the flat ground.
Agumai walked to the village, absentmindedly playing with the hem of the boy’s shirt and sighed through his nose. When he entered, the first thing he did was teleport to a nearby rooftop. It was just in case, someone could still be up.
We are still watching him from afar, right?
Yes. We are his guardian. This is our duty, our reason for living.
The other didn’t ask anything else, so Agumai teleported to the resident’s side, running off the roof and landing to the next one, still holding Yongguk with one hand. After surveying the village, he hopped off silently and looked around. Now, it all relied on his luck.
Maybe I should choose, it would most likely benefit him more, Agumai.
Alright. You take the lead.
He let the owner of the body control him, feeling fingers touch his sore mouth over the scarf. They dropped, walking down the path and craning his neck every so often. Well? The man didn’t answer, rubbing his nose and sniffing the air softly.
Yeah, I got one.
I was searching for a family.
So he could just be another child, and not alone.
Your heart is as soft as ever.
They let out a breathy ‘ha’, ignoring the remark and stopping at the edge of the pathway. “This is the place. Agumai, I’m going to borrow some blood.” It’s still yours. Another airy laugh.
Fingers pulled down the fabric, opening his mouth and waiting for red to ooze down the thread. Until his fingers were lathered in crimson, he kneeled to put the CoC against the small stair that led to the door. Then in the wolf’s native tongue, he wrote out a message.
Make sure they hear you.
I know, Agumai. I know.
With the bloody hand, he flicked the door with two fingers, pressing his wolf ear against the wood for any sounds in response. Once there was small shuffling near the slab, they teleported to the roof. And… watched.
A petite man opened it, blinking sleepily and looking down. “Oh —“ We laughed into our hand. Two furry ears perked up in alarm, reading the message with wide eyes and soon he was glancing around. There he saw a boy, sleeping on the stairs and tilted his head.
“…Joon. Joon, come down here!” He called for his mate as the rabbit bent down to pick up Yongguk.
We didn’t stay for the rest.
I trusted my companion, and I knew that they took him under their wing.
That night, the soul kept me company in the cold as I slept.
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