Chapter 2: Demon in a Formal Suit
In a small town, on a quiet road, stood an old supermarket. Inside, however, the store was desolate—shattered as if a hurricane had ripped through it. Blood marked the walls, and in the middle of the aisles, a police officer remained pinned to the floor by a black rod, his dead eyes wide open in horror.
"Ether, I love you. Spending those thousands of years without you was like torture," Azazel said, hugging Eri again and again.
She couldn't push him away or stop him. The sheer shock of witnessing something so horrific had paralyzed her; her brain simply couldn't register what was happening. But Azazel couldn't stop comforting her. She was his only anchor. All alone in the world, finding Ether made everything else stop mattering.
What would I do with all this power if Ether wasn't with me? In the last battle against the Ashen Hero, I almost died because of it. But not again. I'll never let go of her again, Azazel thought.
Soon, more police sirens wailed in the distance.
Officer Ozzie was on duty today when he got the news: one of his subordinates had been killed, and another was left gravely injured. Fearing the worst, he had requested a SWAT team from his seniors to help neutralize a highly dangerous criminal. Loaded with gear, he and his team made their way toward the small town. Within twenty-five minutes, they had circled the area, and Officer Ozzie stepped out of his police cruiser.
Ozzie was a man in his forties with broad shoulders, greenish hair, and blue eyes. He wore a formal suit, as he had planned to attend a party with his wife and kids today, but duty called.
"The burden of being a police chief. Sigh… let's roll, boys," Officer Ozzie shouted, pointing his finger at the small store.
Soon, thirty to forty police officers flooded inside, their guns pointed dead at Azazel and Eri.
Because Eri was entirely consumed by shock and couldn't stand, Azazel carried her in his arms like a princess.
Officer Ozzie screamed, "Stop, you criminal! You killed one of my officers and left another half-dead! Surrender right now, or the whole squad will open fire and kill you instantly! Put the girl down and put your hands above your head!"
Ozzie had expected to face a hulking brute, but what met his eyes was a malnourished, gaunt young man who looked no older than twenty-two. Wanting to neutralize the threat quickly but desperate not to let a civilian die, Ozzie tried to intimidate him.
Hearing the word "kill," Azazel looked at the police squad. His voice dropped to a chilling, deep timber that made the entire supermarket turn freezing cold. "Aren't you tired of fighting? Let me help you."
Ozzie felt shivers run down his spine. He quickly looked at his squad, making a hand sign for all of them to switch their weapons to automatic.
Azazel simply raised one hand toward the police squad.
Splash. Like the shadow of water hitting the ground, half of the police squad vanished, leaving behind nothing but a pool of blood and shredded flesh.
Ozzie stood frozen in shock. Half of his team was gone in a matter of seconds. He couldn't do anything to save those young men; they had died without even a reason.
Terrified, the remaining officers broke rank and opened fire while trying to run away. Seeing the officers firing, Azazel effortlessly dodged the bullets, but one stray round grazed Eri's hand. Ozzie tried to de-escalate the situation, but his panicked officers just kept shooting.
Eri couldn't understand what was happening. Wrapped in the embrace of this self-proclaimed husband, she watched the police open fire.
By pure chance, a bullet clipped her hand. Instantly, she felt a terrifying anger radiating from Azazel. He didn't scream or yell. He just looked at her wound, blew air gently over it, and the injury vanished. The second she was healed, he turned his hand toward the officers.
"Cleave!" he commanded through gritted, pearly white teeth.
Instantly, the officers and their guns were sliced apart.
Ozzie felt it hit him. He couldn't do anything to stop it. The last words he uttered were, "Well, that does it," before feeling his body being split apart by an unseen force. He could feel his cells tearing, the sheer agony of it, but it all happened in a matter of seconds. Before he could fully process the pain, he was gone. Ozzie died with a strange calm in his eyes, accepting his sudden end.
Unable to handle the gore and the sheer terror, Eri's stomach rebelled. She threw up right there in Azazel's embrace. He didn't mind; he just gently patted her shoulder and let her empty her stomach until her vision went dark and she lost consciousness.
When Eri finally woke up, she felt cold air rushing against her skin.
She was flying high in the air. Azazel had changed out of his rags, now wearing the civilian clothes of the officers he had slaughtered—he was dressed in a formal suit. Azazel looked down at the well-lit town below. As they flew, both Azazel and Eri could see the Hanabi fireworks bursting in the distance.
I wanted to enjoy the festival, but not like this, Eri thought miserably.
Then, Azazel asked her a question he deemed very important. "Uhhh, Ether, mind my asking, but do we have a castle or a place to hide? Flying in this cold air isn't good for you."
Eri felt an intense urgency to answer carefully. "Azazel… I've lost my memories. I understand you remember me, but I lost them years ago. I can hardly remember anything."
Azazel immediately started panicking. "So you don't remember me?!"
To save her own life, Eri lied through her teeth. "Yes, Azazel, I've lost all my memories… but I know it's you. I can feel our connection."
Azazel's contorted face visibly calmed down. "Thank god. I might have lost everything if I had lost you again. But Ether, where should we go? We need a place to talk this through thoroughly."
Eri felt the wind caressing her face, almost like it was patting her on the back for surviving. "Azazel, in this time, I'm called Eri. And I have parents here. I don't remember my old life, but I treasure my current life a lot."
Azazel stopped dead in mid-air and just hovered there. Terrified, Eri tried her hardest not to look down.
"Okay, Eri. Let's go to your new home. We'll talk about this there."
Now Eri faced a brand new dilemma. What the hell was she going to tell her parents? That Azazel was her boyfriend? A mass-murdering, flying demon could absolutely not be her boyfriend.
Aaahhhh, God! Why didn't you just kill me instead of dropping me into a minefield with landmines everywhere!
*** Author's Note:
Well, well, thanks for reading Chapter 2 of my newest book! You have my gratitude. Continue reading—the next chapter will be out real quick. I'll try to drop 3 chapters per week, maybe even 4, but yes, that's my limit. Anyways, if you feel something needs to be addressed and you want it fixed, DM me on Instagram at @veil.cosplay or Yatora Kami. Thank you again, and Yato out!