The Demon Lord Is An Angel
Chapter 459: Return To Chainsfree

Chapter 459: Return To Chainsfree

Anko passed through the split between places as she charged after Kir.

Or what was left of him, at least. She’d thought life on the streets revealed who a person was when they had nothing left, but now she felt she’d been proven wrong.

Kir... this version of him or whatever he was, truly had nothing. And yet he was kind. Fundamentally kind in a way that she barely remembered children could be.

The pain in her hand and arm kept her sharp as she followed the chaos left in his wake. She ran through the streets, feeling she might be too far behind if some part of him remembered how to escape. But she thanked the gods for the small mercy that he certainly didn’t know he could fly.

Near the end of the street, she had the choice of going right or left, and she went left, only to find Kiryu’s back facing her, his tail on the ground as he stared ahead at a market square.

Not wanting to collide with him, she leaped into the air. A somersault that brought her in front of him, where she hopped to a stop and held up her four hands, putting herself between him and the retreating crowd.

"It’s okay!" she said, trying to push down the pain of her slowly healing arm. Enhancing herself made it faster, but not fast enough that she didn’t bleed as her exertions pushed through seeps of blood where she’d scabbed over. "It’s okay..."

"Ah...nko...?" Kir said with tears in his yes.

"Yeah, that’s right, boss. It’s me. It’s-"

"Get back!" A voice suddenly shouted, and before she could protest, Anko felt herself tugged backward by an unseen force which threw her at the crowd of people who’d gathered opposite the commotion.

"Anko!" Kir said, but someone descended between him and her.

"Your opponent is me," a human man said. "Argot the Asher."

He was a mid-sized human with his hair patched in areas that showed burn scars, and he wore a red robe edged in black, flame-like patterns with billowing long sleeves and matching pants.

Before anyone had a chance to speak, Argot raised his arms, and clouds of smoke flew unnaturally towards Kir from within his sleeves, with orange-red sparks in uncountable numbers flying amidst the ashes. Every time one of them struck Kir, it exploded in a shock of magic.

"Wait! Stop!" Anko shouted.

"It’s too late. Anyone who attacks Chainsfree is my prey," Argot turned his head to look at her.

Two women landed nearby, drawing his attention away. One landed front and center to the crowd, while another landed on a rooftop. The first was a skinny dwarf with a shield the size of her body and a bit more. The second was an elf with a lyre on her hip and a bow on her back.

The scar across the elf’s face seemed to flush as she regarded the man. "Asher, what’s the situation?" the latter asked.

"Good of you to join us, Milady. " The last word came out a bit mocking. "I’ve got it under control."

"Not by the feel of it!" the dwarf shouted back even as she gestured for the crowd to retreat further, ignoring Anko as she tried to protest. "Stop messing around, Argot."

Anko tried to appeal to the newcomers. "Please stop, he’s not going to hurt anyone!" When the dwarf ignored her, Anko turned away and ran for Asher. She wanted to draw her daggers, but she could feel that all three of the people who’d arrived were much stronger than her, and it would quickly become three to one, if not more. So instead she shrieked with every bit of reinforcement she could give her body as she readied herself to tackle him. "Stop it!"

A sudden boom cracked the air as Kir appeared in front of Argot, punching him. For a second, Anko’s eyes didn’t register what had happened. Until she finally saw the cone of red that spread out from the human’s former location and into the market. The remains of flesh and bone and viscera strewn and dangling.

Kir stood unharmed except for the tiny flecks of iron that fell from him as they cooled, his face covered in tiny cuts that bled bluish purple and white. His eyes were blazing with the same rainbow of colors that surrounded his body.

The crowd redoubled their screams and fled faster.

"Argot!" the dwarf shouted, turning and bringing her shield to bear. Against the backdrop of her black and red plate armor, the shield was a fierce red face with spikes for horns and a chin. "You’ll pay for that!" She readied herself to charge-

"Mayvel stop!" A sudden bark issued from a side street, and Anko recognized the one who rushed towards them.

"Bardoulf!"

"Anko?" the wolfkin man sniffed a little. "What are you doing back? Did you bring that with you from the dungeon?"

"Please stop the attack! He won’t hurt anyone who doesn’t try to hurt him!" Anko shouted quickly. Ferro and Malz appeared at that moment, the latter with her wing exposed.

Bardoulf regarded them before his eyes fixed onto Malz’s wing. "I knew I smelled feathers," he narrowed his eyes at her. "Angel."

The elf leaped to Bardoulf’s side, tilting her head at Kir. "That demon killed Argot like he was nothing. Even weathered his Cloudfire spell."

"We should attack together. I think we can take him," Mayvel said as soon as she arrived next to Bardoulf.

"No one’s attacking him. Not if he’s content to stand there. Rose, Mayvel, let me take the lead on this one." The wolfkin looked at Anko. "You know this demon?"

"He’s not a demon. He’s a, uh, megathron," Anko said.

"Metatron," Malz corrected with a wince as Ferro finished working their way closer to Kir.

"Ferro. Malz." Kir smiled at them like he hadn’t just vaporized someone with his fist.

"Is something wrong with him?" the bard, Rose, asked, keeping her eyes on Kir and one hand ready to bring her bow to bear. "He seems... simple."

"He’s lost his memories," Anko said. "He didn’t mean to kill, um, Ash guy. He’s just like a child sometimes. Oh, and his name is Kir."

Kir turned at the sound of his name, looking guilty when he saw Anko’s still-healing arm.

"A demon without memories..." Bardoulf pondered.

"Not a demon. A metatron," Malz said. "The child of a high angel and a demon duke."

"Now that sounds like a story... Malz, was it?" Rose said with a suspicious yet intrigued voice. "I’ve heard three new arrivals were sent up the tower. But I don’t remember your name amongst them."

"Indeed. Explain yourself, ’Aiko’. How did you fool the truth teller?"

"I didn’t," Malz said. "I am Malzkael. I am also Aiko. If I told you my angelic name, would you have sheltered me?"

"A cheap trick!" Mayvel yelled.

Bardoulf was calmer. "As an angel? No. You would have been turned away before inviting Heaven’s wrath. But again, I ask, why are you three here now?"

"What do you mean?" Malz asked. "We’ve been gone for a month."

"You’ve been gone for three days," Bardoulf said. "I expected more from you."

Malz’s eyes widened. "It’s the time compression... if it’s that high, then a lot more time passed for us than for you."

"Just like the heart of the Duat," Ferro said.

Rose, the bard, raised an eyebrow. "You’ve been to the Mother Dungeon’s heart?" She gave Bardoulf a look, which he pointedly ignored.

"Did you make it to the top? What did you find?"

"We found a room full of stars," Anko said, having come around to help support Malz. "And Kir."

"And this," Ferro fished something out of his storage. A little triangle of leather that he tossed to Bardoulf.

"We sent them up four hours ago..." the wolfkin said with concern in the tilt of his ears.

"I don’t think they made it," Ferro said. "We didn’t meet, so I think the dungeon must have taken their things up, somehow. We found that in a room just before the highest floor. Thirty stories up."

"We need to take this to the Chapterhouse. The entire Council must be convened, and the other Swords called in," Bardoulf nodded to Rose.

"I’ll send the word," she said, before jumping away.

"What about Argot?" Mayvel asked, her eyes still fixed on Kir through a slot in her shield.

"If what Anko says is true, then this... metatron won’t be a problem. And Argot always was too hotheaded. He brought his death upon himself." Bardoulf said the last with a slight hint of regret. "This Kir is powerful enough to be felt across the city. If they can control him, I say we use that."

Kir, oblivious to the meaning of the words, had started looking around again. Even poking at things that were knocked over from before.

Right then, a group of blue sashes came around the corner, and Bardoulf waved down their commander. "Seize him, escort the rest to-"

"Wait!" Anko said. "He’s, um, on fire or something. It burns to touch him," she showed her arm.

"Malz is also on fire," Ferro reported. "We need to get her to a doctor."

"Sir..." the commander pointed at Kir, who was turning some of Argot’s blood into a gem of pure mana.

He put it in his mouth, then crunched.

"Blood magic!" Mayvel hissed.

"He doesn’t know what he’s doing!" Anko protested.

Kir made another gem, showing it to Ferro, Malz, and Anko as he made encouraging sounds at Malzkael.

He ate it, and then gestured with his open hands, bringing Anko’s forgotten gem to hover in front of Malz’s face with magic.

"Ah-ah." he encouraged.

"Malz," Ferro said hesitantly. Around them, everyone paused.

"I think... he’s trying to help," Anko said.

"Do you trust him? Even like this?" the angel asked.

"I do," Anko replied.

"Then let’s hope you’re right," Malz said, before surging forward and swallowing the gem.