Demon Queen

Marcus suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine.

'...?'

No matter how much he looked around, there wasn't anything except the dungeons' darkness.

Naira was sound asleep.

Two hours passed before, out of nowhere, a sweet voice resonated.

"What an interesting child."

'...?'

The baby did his best not to react to the voice.

"Can you hear me, little Demon?"

Marcus sighed.

The baby's gaze moved in the direction from which the voice seemed to originate.

"Can you hear my voice, lowly brethren of mine?" 

'Yes, I can.' Marcus thought to himself.

What else could he do? Being less than 24 hours old, he didn't have any other way of responding.

"Can you hear me, formidable child?"

'Yes, I can hear you.' The baby thought with a frown.

"Can you hear my voice?"

Suddenly, piercing through the dungeons' darkness shone two lights.

"Ha… Crimson and Cerulean. I never thought I would live to see such a thing."

The baby's eyes shone brightly.

"Did I anger you, little Demon?"

'I don't like repeating myself.'

"Extraordinary…" The voice whispered. "Does my voice not have an effect on you?"

'An effect?'

"Does it not make you sleepy? Does it not make you want to follow my every wish and whim?"

Marcus' eyes narrowed, suspicions aroused.

'It does not.'

"How interesting… You shuddered earlier, didn't you?"

'I did?'

"Yes. The moment that I laid eyes on you, you felt my presence."

'Who are you anyways? Why can you hear my thoughts?'

"For a baby to converse with me… Your story didn't begin here, did it?"

The baby's eyes, which had started losing some of their light, shone brighter than ever.

"You don't like being ignored."

'Don't ask questions if you refuse to answer mine.'

"Hahahaha! Bold child! I like you already."

'...' The baby let out a sigh. 'My story didn't begin here… What did you mean by that?'

"Things I've heard, long ago." 

'Well, it was a pleasure conversing with you. If that's all you're going to say, then feel free to fuck off.'

"A Demonic temper."

'You called me a lowly brethren of mine.'

"I did, little Demon."

'That would make you the big Demon then.'

"I wouldn't go that far. Does my sweet voice not betray my form?"

'A sweet voice does give a nice impression… However, the voice can be betrayed by the body at times. Just like a nice ass can be betrayed by a hideous face.'

"Truly Demonic."

The baby let another sigh, which caused the voice to chuckle.

"I supposed big Demon is right, in a way. You are conversing with a Demon Queen after all."

'A Demon Queen… So Demons have Kingdoms.'

"They do. Although they are much different from Human Kingdoms. With you being born less than a day ago though, I doubt you know much about Human Kingdoms either."

'Your doubts are founded.'

"The Demon Realm is nothing like the Human Realm, you see. To begin with, your sweet mother wouldn't have suffered the humiliation she had to go through."

The Demon Queen's second sentence was loaded with something unpleasant that Marcus couldn't quite describe. In any case, he was convinced that it was supposed to elicit a reaction from him. Something that he was eager to refuse.

'The Demon Realm. That must be where you are right now.'

"Where I am?"

'That's right.' The baby's gaze moved away from the darkness of the dungeons and landed on the sleeping Naira. 'You're not here. Your voice reaches here though. No. More like, your voice reaches me somehow. Just like my thoughts reach you.'

"How can you be sure that I am not hiding in the darkness."

It was a good question. 

Marcus had no idea why he was so sure that the Demon Queen was there.

'It must have something to do with my eyes, isn't that right?'

A couple of silent seconds passed.

"A truly formidable child…" Through her voice, Marcus could tell that the Demon Queen's lips had curled up into a smile. "Since your mother, who holds the same Demon blood as you is fast asleep, having not felt my presence, it's clear that it isn't the Demon side of you that is reacting to my presence."

'My thought exactly.' Marcus turned away from his mother and towards the darkness once more. 'So what do you want?'

"To free you, of course."

The baby scratched his head with a sigh.

'As if I would believe that.'

"It's the truth! Demon brethren must stand together! I'm here to free you, as well as your mother."

'How kind of you. I can't help but notice that you're a bit late though.'

"Indeed, I couldn't make it in time. Those sons of bitches subjugated your sweet mother to such humiliation… It almost makes me cry."

'...'

"They made her an experimental subject. Forced through unnatural human ways to carry a child that carries their King's blood… How repugnant.'

'Unnatural Human ways?'

"Yes, can you believe it? They didn't even have the decency to bring on a pregnancy through natural means."

'Natural means… You mean chaining her down and taking her by force?'

"Exactly! Instead, they used strange science and foreign Magic to bring upon the pregnancy!"

'Yeah… I'll have to side with the Humans on this one. That sounds better than… The alternative you suggest.'

"In any case," The Demon Queen coughed. "What do you think about getting out of here?"

'What about her?'

"We will have to come back for her at a later date."

'Why is that?'

"Because she isn't reacting to me. Since she isn't, I can't use my Magic from the Demon Realm on her."

Marcus turned towards Naira for a moment. 

"I spoke about your sweet mother tenderly… But the truth is, you don't really care about her, do you?"

'...'

"If you don't, then say the word. Say yes and, a moment later, you will be out of this prison."

As he stared at his mother, a pained frown appeared on her face.

"Say yes, little Demon. Get out of this prison. Come with me."

The pain frown grew deeper and deeper. 

'What's happening to her?'

"Resonance." The Demon Queen noted. "She's starting to feel my presence. Though she can't quite hear me." She sighed. "The voices, she'll say."

'The voices…?'

"Those holding Demon blood are sometimes assaulted by them. Voices of Demons phasing through. Quickly. Answer me, child. I must leave, soon."

'Will you be back?' Marcus asked, his gaze glued to Naira's pained expression.

"As many times as it takes to take you away." Once again, a smile could be imagined through the Demon Queen's voice. "Here, a parting gift."

[System Initializing…]

"Until we meet again, little Demon."

[You have Acquired the Skill "Drain[A-Rank]".]

'Bye-bye, Demon queen.' Marcus answered absent-mindedly. 

He stared at the floating words.

'System… Finally.'