Chapter 17

Nathan stood on the roof of his school, waiting patiently for Hansel. When Hansel arrived, he held him close. "Can I get a kiss?" he asked.

'Why is he asking?' Hansel thought weirded out a bit, after all, whenever Nathan wanted a kiss, he would simply take it like an entitled child. "Just a little," he muttered.

Nathan grinned and kissed him softly all over his face, which Hansel was most definitely not expecting. He was expecting the normal one. This is entirely different and the worst part is... It tickles.

"S-stop," Hansel said trying to laugh. Nathan kisses his forehead. Hansel felt his heartbeat as he touched his forehead, he was currently unaware of how flustered he looked.

He didn't like how fast his heart was beating. 

Nathan liked how Hansel was reacting and gave him more kisses on the cheek. Now Hansel became angry. "I said stop you idiot," he said flipping him over his shoulder.

Nathan landed on his feet, spun Hansel around, and hugged his waist, putting his head on his shoulder. "You liked that," he said teasingly.

"No," Hansel denied angrily wanting to break out of Nathan's embrace, but he finds himself relaxing. Then Nathan began patting him gently. "What is this for?"

"Well if I ask why you are in a bad mood, you won't tell me," Nathan replied. "So this should help you get better."

Hansel smiled in his heart. "Okay you've had enough," he said, patting Nathan's arm. 'For someone who is feared and as powerful as a God, he does quite thoughtful of me' he thought. 'Come to think of it, he's always been thoughtful,' he thought thinking of his earlier memories with Nathan when they first met and he couldn't help but laugh softly.

"Why are you laughing?" Nathan asked in confusion.

"Nothing," Hansel replied. His memories of Nathan are a bit vague, but he remembers how the young child used to follow him to the dangerous forest where he lived and he had to, out of annoyance and frustration, return the boy to the safe village, trying to explain that it's not just the forest that is dangerous. He too was considered to be dangerous, the villagers didn't need to tell him this with hostile behavior.

His heart softened. 'How did this guy manage to fall in love with me?' he thought. He's not even being nice to him. He finds him annoying sometimes as well.

'I've initiated a kiss once, but that doesn't mean I like him,' Hansel thought. He pinched the bridge of his nose. 'I sound like those 'I'm not like other girls' girls in romance movies that end up falling in love with the bad boy,' he thought. 'But that isn't going to happen... Besides, he'll soon be tired of me.'

He nodded to himself, ignoring the tinge of sadness he felt when he thought of Nathan being tired of him and would probably leave him alone. 

'Why is doing that?' Nathan thought in confusion. "What are you thinking of?" he asked.

"Nothing that is of your concern!" Hansel exclaimed startled.

"Why are you yelling?" Nathan said acting hurt.

"Quit acting," Hansel replied sounding angry.

~~~~

Annabelle was on her way home when she was kidnapped. Her hands and legs were tied up. She wasn't gagged. She was in a room, dimly lit by a candle. She remembers this place, the last time she was here, she was tricked and was initiated in.

"You're welcome back..." An overly friendly voice said.

Annabelle recognized this voice. It belonged to Felix, the leader of this little cult. Felix came out of the shadow smiling and Annabelle felt all of the hair in her body stand from fear. Despite his casual attitude, she's always been afraid of this man.

"Gabrielle?" Felix said in a bit of confusion trying to get her name. "Mirabelle? Josephine?" he said, trying to get her name correct, but failed.

"Annabelle," she corrected him.

He snapped his fingers. "Right," he said. "I always forget your name... But to be honest you look like a Josephine with that look of yours."

Annabelle didn't say anything and neither did he. "Um-- Is that meant to be a compliment?" she asked.

They both looked at each other. "If you want to take it as one," Felix replied.

"Thanks," Annabelle said sounding a bit unsure. 'What is this man up to?' she thought. She noticed that she was the only one here. Something bumps into her.

"I should turn on the lights," Felix said. "It's difficult to see with such difficult lighting," he said then clapped twice

The room brightened up immediately. The light was blinding to Annabelle who had trouble adjusting her eyes to the light.

When she adjusted to the light, she saw different floating objects. "Sorry about the mess, was doing something before you came," Felix said. "You know the others want to kill you and your friends," he said taking a crystal ball and studying it. 'Ah it's mana has been drained,' he thought.

Annabelle pursed her lips. "Is this my execution?" she asked, glaring at him.

"Nope... I can't afford the Demon General after my head," Felix said lightheartedly. "He would actually kill me without hesitation this time," he said scratching the back of his neck.

"What do you want then?" she asked.

"The Demon General and the God Killer to kill each other," Felix said.

"God Killer? Do you mean the Golden Knight?" Annabelle asked confusion

"Who else?" Felix said.

"But it is well known that the Demon General was significantly weaker than the Golden Knight," she said struggling a bit.

"That's true," Felix replied. "But that's just his demon side... He's not half-human, half-demon," he said. "His mother is well-known in Himmel, which heaven if you want to know..."

"Angel?" Annabelle asked.

"Not quite," Felix replied. "But I'm not telling you anything about that... The unnecessary suspension on who his mother is would be ruined."

Annabelle made a face of confusion. "Anyway," he said walking towards her. "We're not executing you or your friends... That is if you cooperate with me."

She was very confused. "Why do you want me to cooperate with you?" she asked.

"Because you'll die if you don't?" Felix replied, his hands were placed on his waist. "Don't tell me you are one of those brain-dead teens I keep finding everywhere."

"No, I mean why me?"

'Not a brave idiot, I see,' Felix thought. "Well I want to use Jamie," he said.

Annabelle struggled a lot. "Leave Jamie alone, he's an innocent boy... He doesn't need to be involved in any of this," she said.

"He's the only one in the way of my plans," Felix said pouting. "I would kill him, but the Demon General has the tip of his blade on my neck."

This means if he tried to kill Jamie, he would not just be killed, his body would be diced and cooked way past well. He shivered at the thought. "No, I want to use him to get the Demon General to become Demon King."

"You see if the Demon General rises in ranks and becomes Demon King--"

"He becomes more powerful," Annabelle said.

"Even more powerful than his predecessor... As long as he fully unlocks his power," Felix said. "Then they would battle it out until one or both of them dies and we would have balance."

"Or you could just leave them both alone... They have a peaceful relationship and are nice, and I doubt they both have thoughts of doing anything bad," she suggested.

"That's true... But I don't care," Felix replied shrugging and sticking out his tongue. "Now would you like to shatter your teeth or clamp your teeth around a belt or cloth?"

"Huh?" Annabelle asked in confusion. "What for?"

"Well removing that familiar mark is going to be painful, as possessing your body as well without a proper contract is going to be quite uncomfortable," Felix explained.

Annabelle's face paled in fear. The familiar mark should be connected to Hansel, why isn't he coming to save her? "Don't worry, he isn't going to be coming here to save you... This room cancels out all dark magic and allows other types of magic to flourish like some sort of cheat code," he said preparing a piece of cloth. "Have you made your choice?"

"The cloth," Annabelle replied. Felix probably isn't lying when he says she's about to be in a lot of pain.

He smiled darkly. "Good girl."

The cloth was neatly stuffed into her mouth. "Now say your prayers 'cause I don't know if you'll live with your low pain tolerance," Felix said as he created a magic circle beneath her.

Annabelle's eyes widened. 'You mothe--'

The pain came down faster than an avalanche and her eyes blanked. "Separating a servant from the master is like skinning and burning someone alive," Felix said. "Don't worry... It's probably going to take merely thirty minutes *cough* a few hours *cough*"

If Annabelle's screams weren't being muffled, she would be screaming out in pain. But if she wasn't screaming, then she would be cursing out in five languages.

Felix would be laughing evilly, but that's too cliche, so he sat down, put on a pair of headphones took out the body's phones, and began watching animated movies.

How anti-climatic.