TAMING A DEMON

Sun Hayden had taken the hunting upon himself to make up for the trouble he caused the previous day. Using his Solar Sashes, he easily brought back three pheasants. They gathered around a campfire to grill the meat, crackling of the fire filling the air.

Clouds of smoke thrashed around in the wind, switching angles unpredictably. Marshall watched Sentinel Lichen blow the smoke away from her face using spiritual gale. He had been referring to her by title all this time, not knowing her name.

"Are you fine with me calling you Sentinel Lichen?"

"Sure, I'm fine," she turned to him, chuckling. "I earned that title, so I don't mind." But after a moment of thinking, she leaned her chin in her hand, "You don't know my name, do you?"

Before Marshall could respond, Sentinel Lichen clapped. "But I know your name! Shei Marshall—the only one with undefeated potential to fulfill the prophecy!" she recited, eagerly gesturing with her hands.

The disciple's eyebrows high-fived at the uncannily familiar movement. The way she acted struck him with a sense of déjà vu, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Anyway, my name's Gi Elysia. But you can call me whatever you like," the woman mentioned with a smile before turning to flip the meat.

Sun Hayden had been quiet until then, interjected, "I thought your name was Alice?"

"It's Elysia," she shot him an irked glare. "You should wash your ears."

Before the situation had any chance to escalate, a sinister cackling echoed behind the nearest stronghold wall. Having been waiting for some demons to show up nearby, Marshall jumped up.

"Finally!" he exclaimed, running towards the gate. "There's something I've been meaning to try!"

The disciple slipped through the gate, sneaking up on a large demon that emerged from the forest. The creature had a large lion mane, parts of it matted from a fight. Gi Elysia followed him with a curious glance, and Sun Hayden wasn't far behind. 

Marshall channeled his demonic energy while carefully reaching into his spiritual flow to intertwine the two. He pulled out the spiritual energy little by little to minimize the burning sensation.

The conflicting forces swirled into his hands, adopting the shape of a strange-looking arrow. Seeing the golden crackling swirling with sinister energy, the two spectators' eyes widened in surprise.

"Are you trying to merge your energies?" Gi Elysia inquired.

He nodded, his brows scrunched in concentration. "That's the plan."

Using spiritual energy again caused a struggle, but Marshall needed this to work. The demon snarled, but before it could do anything, he flicked the arrow towards it.

The demon's dark eyes flickered as the arrow hit it. Marshall relied on spiritual energy to get the demon to stay calm. It worked. Gradually, the vicious eyes dimmed to a serene sheen.

Exhaling in relief, he approached the creature, circling it with an intense expression. Keeping a grip on spiritual energy left him feeling like he was about to fold in half, but a sense of satisfaction built on top of the pain.

"Now, then," Marshall stopped behind the demon's back and gave a simple command, his demonic energy still binding them, "turn around."

The demon obediently moved to face him, unusually tame. Sun Hayden's face tensed in a mystified frown, as if he could tell something was unusual, but couldn't put his finger on it. "It looks so calm," he noted.

"Mhm," Marshall hummed in affirmation, leaning closer to examine the demon further. "But aside from the calm, is there any other difference?"

The demon opened its mouth with a blank expression. "Smar... ag...dine..."

Marshall's eyebrows shot up as he stared at the creature, waiting for it to continue.

"Lily..." it rasped, "...search."

"Search for Smaragdine Lily?" Marshall formed a sentence.

He could recall hearing Matriarch Lou mentioning it in the memories of the crystal Gi Gaia gave him in the cavern. Matriarch Lou tried to give it to Wyn's mother, but in the end, he wasn't sure who had it. 

The demon nodded with urgency in its eyes. "...My Lord."

"Is the Stygian Overlord searching for it?"

At the question, the demon bowed its head, the lion mane stirring. "True... My Lord."

Marshall tilted his head, furrowing his brows at the repeated words. There was a strange look of loyalty in the dark eyes. The disciple pointed at himself, asking, "Are you perhaps calling me your lord?"

The demon nodded again, its gaze fixed on him with utmost respect. Gi Elysia and Sun Hayden murmured something in amazement, stumbling closer to see what was going on.

It seemed that merging energies had achieved something beyond mere control—it had established a binding connection. Marshall scratched the back of his neck, trying to process the implications.

If this demon was referring to him as its lord, did it mean it would go against the Stygian Overlord if Marshall told it to? The disciple shook his head to focus on what mattered at the moment.

"What's the Smaragdine Lily?" he inquired. So far he knew Matriarch Lou said having it would put a person above others and allow them to outlive everyone. But he needed more information.

It seemed the creature had some difficulty speaking, its tongue twisting. "Cr... Crystal... heal... green..."

Marshall leaned to the side, trying to look into the demon's mouth to see whether there was something wrong. The creature's tongue seemed normal, but his eyes caught a glimpse of something shining in the mane on its cheek.

It seemed like a piece of a broken blade. He reached to pull it out, but the demon recoiled with a pained huff.

"Stand still," Marshall ordered. The creature listened, waiting for the sharp metal shard to be pulled out of its cheek.

He threw the metal piece away, watching the demon shake its head in discomfort at the open wound. However, demonic energy healed the gash within seconds, and its speech improved.

"My Lord is gracious," the creature bowed its head once more, expressing gratitude before explaining. "The Smaragdine Lily is a healing crystal."

Marshall scrunched his brows, trying to focus. "The..." his question faded from mind before he could ask it.

The clash between the divine and sinister energies was too much to handle. He was at his limit. The unpleasant buzzing in his ears had become distracting to the point he couldn't piece his thoughts together. Unwillingly, he reeled in his energies before they could tear him in half.

Marshall exhaled softly, feeling the alleviation as his spiritual energy slipped away, taking the torture away. He cautiously kept his gaze on the demon to see whether it would act out, yet it remained calm.

It seemed that the binding connection, once established, would not break even after withdrawing the controlling energies. Marshall turned to face Gi Elysia and Sun Hayden with delight, but was met with alert expressions that darkened within seconds.

"Behind you!"

A swoosh passed Marshall and he saw a claw flying past him at incredible speed.