The Demon Lord Is An Angel
Chapter 83: Dungeon Fall

Chapter 83: Dungeon Fall

Kir woke for his shift to find the dungeon eerily dark.

Eery came to mind because of the way the petrified grey-white of the largest trunks glowed, like a simulacrum of moonlight. The one who woke him was Tad, a brown-haired human boy with lanky features.

Kir quickly tucked Stella into his collar, surprised she was still asleep but a little happy when he felt her stir a bit. Having slept in his armor, he had only to strap Kangetsu to his back and he was ready.

Arriving at the fireplace, Kir was surprised to see Lugh sitting cross-legged at the fire.

"Shifts need two people, d-..." Lugh said when Kir looked at him.

Now that Kir knew what his deal was, he could tell Lugh was actually trying not to be a dick. But the fact he’d seemed about to say "demk, demok, demkri, dolshta," or any of the numerous words that were pejorative for demonkin, told Kir that refraining was not entirely in his nature.

At least with Lugh that meant he was obviously racist. Kir knew he would likely get more indirect trouble from backbiters and people who were good at hiding their prejudice in his presence. In any case, it wasn’t Kir’s job to fix Lugh’s personality.

As soon as Tad had gone to his tent to lay down, Lugh said, "I’ll watch the edge. You watch the center. If you need to piss or something, do it now. There are flying things about, so don’t forget to look up."

Kir nodded. He’d remained standing, and so it took no effort walk away from the camp-

"Not where I can see you, de- dumbass!" Lugh called out after him.

Kir rolled his eyes at the darkness and walked further, until the camp was barely hidden by the crest of the lilypad.

He had just finished relieving himself when he heard Stella groan.

"Kir?" she said. "Where are we?"

"Still in the dungeon," he replied. "How are you holding up?"

"I don’t feel so good... Why are you all glowy?"

"Glowy?" Kir asked, pulling Stella into his hand to look at her. She looked normal... but there wasn’t just one way to look at things.

Closing his eyes, Kir drew mana into them before looking again. In manasight, Stella glowed. There was her usual pinkish-purple aura, but suffusing her body was something different. A sort of bluish-white glow that looked alien to her. In places, like little veins, the mana glow seemed etched into her. Looking down at his hands, his wrists, he saw that the same thing was happening to him too.

"Stella... we eat mana... so why aren’t there more demons in dungeons?" Kir asked.

"I... don’t know..." she groaned.

"You said you knew everything there was to know about demons!" Kir said, keeping his voice down.

"It’s hard to think... too much... mana... Can’t change back... tried..." She sounded delirious.

"Hold on. I’ll figure out something..." He looked around. Far into the darkness, on other lilypads, he saw a couple of fireplaces. Even if they were the camps of rival teams, if someone knew how to block mana, maybe they could-

"Mister Gale, out for a late-night walk?" The voice of Knight Commander Tul interrupted his thoughts. As Kir turned, his eyes fell on Stella. "Caught a critter, I see." The man was dressed in his usual armor and was standing with a small sack over one shoulder and his hand resting on the pommel of his sword.

"She’s my familiar, and she’s sick," Kir said quickly. "I think it’s the mana here. Do you know a way to help her?"

"Ah, mana poisoning. You should have said you have a familiar, and a spirit at that! Without proper tempering and a bond, creatures of mana often suffer in deeper dungeons... But it’s curious that she’s being affected at such a shallow layer... You must have a deep bond and affection for each other." He chuckled, as if Stella’s problem was minor. Kir was irked but he hoped things weren’t dire. "Fortunately for you, you have Professor Fayren. Come, I’ll walk you to him." He gestured with his sword hand.

"I’m supposed to be on watch," Kir said as he took one step forward.

"I’m sure you won’t be missed for five minutes. I’ve already said my hello to Fayren on the way here." He smiled reassuringly.

Kir was not reassured, but he decided that help from people he didn’t like was better than no help at all.

He followed.

They came upon Professor Fayren as he was urinating off the edge of the lilypad. He started at the sound of Knight Commander Tul’s clanking armor.

"My fucking life for a bit of privacy," he spat as he hurried to finish, adjusting his clothing. "Took you long enough, Tul."

"Oh hush, Harrkel. The boy is in distress. His familiar has mana sickness." Tul slapped Kir on the back, pushing him toward the mage.

"Did anyone see you?" Fayren asked.

Kir stiffened with alertness. Something was going on. He quickly put Stella on his collar and reached for-

With a heavy thud, pain and white light flashed into Kir’s vision as he staggered from a blow to the back of his head.

Before he could finish falling, something hard seemed to wrap around every part of him. His vision resolved into Professor Fayren’s pointed boots, and straining to look up, he saw the Professor with his hands aglow, channeling mana into the spell that was binding him.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Kir shouted, straining against his bonds.

"Quiet, wretch," Fayren spat.

Kir felt it as Commander Tul plucked Stella from Kir’s neck. "Stella! Run!" Kir shouted, only to have his mouth clamped shut by the same invisible force holding his body.

Stella was nonresponsive as Tul walked around Kir’s front, his grip just light enough not to crush her.

"Let her go!" Kir tried to shout, but the words died as muffled, groaning cries.

"You hear that?" Tul held Stella up to his ear, "It sounds like he wants me to let you go." His mocking smile stoked Kir’s rage.

Pushing mana into his body, Kir tried to force his way free. He felt his bonds shift, and right then Fayren growled, "Ask him your damn questions, Magrus. Quit wasting my time."

"Are you saying you can’t hold him?" The Knight Commander asked scornfully. "Does your angelic master not give you enough power? Oh wait, you’re still just a teacher, while I sit on the Council."

"At least I get to keep my soul. Can you say the same, human?" Fayren shot back as he clenched his hand, further tightening the magic holding Kir.

The Knight Commander, Magrus, held Stella in front of Kir’s face. "Stop struggling, or I’ll crush her skull with my thumb."

Kir stared at her. Sure, Stella was annoying and constantly horny and all sorts of intrusive. But she didn’t deserve to die. She’d shown restraint on his behalf, on behalf of their bond as mage and familiar. He didn’t want her to die.

He stopped struggling.

"Good demon. Now, I have one thing for you to do, before I let your little rodent here go." Magrus stood straighter. "Show me your wings."

Kir stared up at him. Suddenly the bind on his mouth disappeared. "I can’t. Not with this on me."

Magrus rolled his eyes. "Very well then," he drew a dagger from his belt, cutting Kir’s gambeson of its leather straps. The magic let his knife through, but even as Kir subtly tried to resist, he still couldn’t move.

The Knight Commander still had Stella in his hand. Kir didn’t dare risk anything stronger. When he was done, the human stood in front of Kir once more. "Get on with it."

Kir closed his eyes. He concentrated mana into the magical tattoo on his back, gritting his teeth through the pain imposed by his seals as the small amount required to release his wings emitted mana.

"Remarkable color..." Professor Fayren said. "A hybrid... you were right. Even with mana corruption, his wings are still..."

CRACK!

Kir screamed in pain as he felt Magrus’ sheathed sword break the twin bones at the center of his wings.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Professor Fayren asked.

"What my lord requires," Magrus said, before turning his head. "Oh don’t look at me like that. We agreed to help each other. Killing him gets him out of the school, just like your master demands."

"But why?! He could be useful." Fayren gestured at Kir’s wings.

"You mean you don’t know? And here I thought the Seraphim of the Knowing Choir had graced you." He laughed, a harsh, barking sound. Then in a singsong voice he said, "I know something you don’t know..."

"Tell me or the deal is off!" Fayren said. "I’ll expose you as Pride’s thrall."

"Don’t make threats you can’t deliver on, Harrkel. I’d take you down with me, at the very least. Ask your master about the ’hybrid’, if you don’t think Heaven wants the exact same thing I am giving Hell. Or if you want to die, ask them about hybrids." The Knight Commander growled back. With casual cruelty, as if to make his point, he tossed Stella over the edge.

"Stella!" Kir shouted, straining anew through the terrible pain in his body.

He didn’t care about the seals. Didn’t care that he was hurting himself as he burst out his mana and forced magic into every part of him that he could, pushing against the bonds until-

With a sensation like cracking stone, Kir broke free.

The Knight Commander reacted instantly, drawing his sword and stabbing Kir through the ribs as he tried to get past, stabbing so hard the tip of the sword buried itself in the lilypad.

Kir gagged, blood filling his mouth as he twisted away, his momentum taking the sword out of the Knight Commander’s grip as he rolled forward and off the side, falling towards the darkness and the tiny speck that was his familiar.

He tried to see her through the pain, his eyes full of tears as the wind tugged on his broken wing. Even half broken, his wings slowed him down, so he endured the pain of putting them away as he fell, and fell...

He caught Stella right above the shimmering edge of utter blackness where even the glowing trunks disappeared.

And he continued to fall.

Until even the darkness around him twisted... and he was gone.

Above, Kir’s assailants swore.

"Why the fuck did you let him go?" the Knight Commander demanded.

The Professor shouted back, "I didn’t! He just broke free. The seals must not have- He’s going to hit a dungeon wall with a broken wing and a sword. The chances of surviving that are practically none..."

"You better pray he’s dead. If he’s anything like an angel I can’t guarantee my sword did the job you fucking idiot!" The Knight Commander put his finger in Harrkel’s face.

"I’m not the one that needed him dead! This is your mess, Magrus."

"No. It’s our mess. And if he shows up again, Harrkel, you will help me clean this up. After that things can go back to normal, and we can see who’s on top after the war." He let out a frustrated huff. "I need to report to Pride that his spies were right and the deed is done. When we’re done with these children, you’re coming with me to the deep dungeon, just in case he landed there."

As they went their separate ways, neither of them saw the eyes of Lugh, straining in the darkness. Lugh waited with a hammering heart until they were out of sight, then retreated back to the camp.