The gargantuan doors opened slowly in front of them as they gazed through seeing an abundance of demons within the hideout.
There were lanterns latching from ropes on lighting up the place much more but it still felt quite a little austere. The place seemed to be built from the inner section of the mountain, it seemed to carved from inside and the precision of it made it seem as such there was no mountain but this was built with bricks.
"Welcome to The Demon's Hideout. A haven for us demons..." Declared Haru walking through as some demons holding the doors stared at them walking through.
"Are these new visitors, Haru?" The female voice spoke holding a compendium in her hands and Elliot's eye caught onto a picture of Haru's arm.
"Yes, Soo-Jin. However, Akio is back here."
"Ah, I see. Well, it's good to see you back here Akio," Soo-Jin responded with a smile, "Who are the other people though?"
"Good to see you too Soo-Jin. These are my proteges and we need them to see Korrapiti," answered Akio blocking a dwarf demon from coming near a fearful and shaking Elliot.
"Ah well, what's the demonic form because I only see one there..." She muttered confused a little.
"Ah, well they need help to change on command and I've begun teaching them but the only successful one was him..." He lied, quickly thinking, "They are quite slow learners. Especially the young boy, he's terribly idiotic."
"Hey!" Elliot said with a high voice, "I'm the smartest out of here!"
"You see? The boy is delirious! Must be why he can't become a demon!" Akio remarked.
"Oh well, what's this person's name?" She inquired ignoring the situation between Elliot and Akio. She looked over towards Mazoku grabbing his arm and inspected it.
He flustered due to it being so out of the blue. Soo-Jin had red scales covered around her body and she had long scarlet braids tied for her hair.
"Well?"
"Ankoku Mazoku," He replied as she snapped her hands to a smaller demon who held paintbrushes and pencils with a canvas behind them.
"I'm sorry Soo-Jin but we don't have time for this sadly," Akio spoke stopping her and took Mazoku with him.
"Yes, apologies..." Haru closed the conversation leaving with the group while Soo-Jin brushed away the demon who fell down on his back. She looked over to them with hesitance and suspicion.
"Need to stay away from Soo-Jin. She can be very intimidating and is very sceptical. So do as I say and follow my lead," Commanded Haru to Mazoku as Akio nodded in support of him.
They all looked around the place in awe. It looked so greatly built and even if the demons left an unnerving tone, the buildings looked incredible great with the precision of the carvings built and inspiring with the society built by them. There were stalls made by them and selling fruits and scarves. There was a certain stall selling capes.
"That looks pretty cool. Can I get that?" Mazoku asked walking over to the stall in defiance of Haru who couldn't speak before he interacted with the stall owner.
"Any bronze?" The demon, with a bare skull instead of a face, standing behind the stand, asked looking over to him, "If you have no bronze then it's time you scram off!"
The demon had a crooked face with eyes filled with contempt and a gloomy shadow laid above him like a cold wind whipping between them.
"I have some for you, An. How much are they?" Haru rescued him quickly walking to the demon, "Are there any other needs do you have?" He questioned Mazoku with intimidation.
"Oh well, Haru, I can let him have it on the house if he's your friend. It's all fine. Don't argue! I promise on my cursed soul that he will have this for free and I will not take no for an answer! You have been a great friend of mine so I owe my life to you! Especially for leading me to this place and giving me the chance to live on my feet!" Declared An proudly while Haru looked a Mazoku, very uncomfortable and quite annoyed.
An became a cheery and light-hearted demon as his smile brightened seeing his old friend. The dark undertones disappeared with his bright face
"Well, then I'll just take it then. Thank you very much An." Haru smiled taking a cape and waving as he grabbed Mazoku with him.
"An can look intimidating with his external skull but he's incredibly loyal. It's sad that he can't interact well even with other demons with his appearance as such."
"Oh. That's why he's so angry?" Mazoku asked
"A little. He just played the role that they portrayed him as." Haru answered him taking him to Akio, "Now stay with us. You can get in danger if you drag on to somewhere else where I can't help you at."
"I thought everyone likes you here?" Aldrif inquired towards him.
"Maybe in the main points but not in the much darker points. The slums and the alleys. I'm mistrusted over there because of my lineage. Sadly, to get to Korrapitit, we need to past there."
"What leader assigns himself with slums? I thought he'll stay closer to the better part of the Hideout." Elliot backchatted.
"It's more of a shield. They're certainly dangerous in there but this is able to deter some threats from him. It's also good for his ego to be seen as so much better near them..."
"I already don't like this Korrapiti now that much," Daichi commented as Mazoku handed her a cape to hide from any demons, "What's this for?"
"Aldrif has a helmet and Elliot has a hood to hide from any demons looking over for him. You don't have that so just wear that cape over you-" Mazoku replied before being cut off.
"I have a mask to hide from demons." She expressed firmly pulling a mask out of her satchel.
"Oh alright well that's good to know..." Mazoku said, a little crestfallen putting his cape behind him.
Aldrif took the cape from his hands grinning, "If you're not going to use that, then I'll use this instead then. If you don't mind of course?"
"Uh, no. No, I don't mind. But why would you need it though?" He obliviously said.
"In a place like this in a mountain and fully cramped really does make my helmet hot and it's seriously annoying to wear then." She replied, taking it off.
She swung her helmet off with ease as she handed it to a dumbfounded Mazoku. She had blonde, wavy hair with lime eyes and Mazoku stared at her a little too long.
Elliot kicked Mazoku looking at him while Aldrif turned to put on her cape. "Well done buddy. The first time you saw a girl like my sister?" He whispered seething.
"Well, not the first but technically one of the first after a while..." Mazoku whispered, shocked from the strength of Elliot's kick.
Aldrif turned wearing the cape above her head smiling to them with a radiant glow on her smile. "Thanks, Mazoku for this. Oh, are you alright? Elliot!"
"It's nothing, Aldrif. That's an answer to all of the statements you said."
"You sis. Nothing..." Elliot muttered looking at Mazoku with spite.
"Enough kid." Daichi dragged Elliot with her as everyone walked behind Haru who snapped his fingers to them.
"Give me that!" Elliot snapped taking the helmet from Mazoku's hands, "I wouldn't want a creep like you smelling it or something like it!"
"Elliot shut up!" Aldrif snapped back punching him in the face.
"SHUT IT ALL OF YOU!" Akio warned them with caution, "We're approaching the slums. Daichi goes with Haru, Elliot goes with me and Aldrif goes with Mazoku to stay safe from the demons there. Now stay quiet if you wish to continue living."
"Ah- but- Aldrif?" Elliot stuttered as he walked off with Akio.
Mazoku walked with Aldrif being cautious around the slums as demons scurried through the ground watching them.
"I'm sorry about my brother. He can be really defensive about things since we've travelled to Kamisugawa." She whispered to him as she walked, "You didn't mean that, didn't you?
"That's alright," He responded timidly, "Oh of course not! Oh it's- it's just- It's just I haven't seen someone with hair like yours!"
"Oh well thank you, I guess. I heard that you didn't see an actual girl for a while?" She chuckled a little.
"It's a long story but would you really want to talk to a demon, like me?"
"Well, the other demons have certainly differed from the viewpoint I've been told of..."
"Well after this I can tell you it all in my spare time."
"Thanks. It's hard sometimes being somewhere like this without someone helping. Elliot is great but I don't want him trying to help too much because of us being here in this strange - no offence - place. I thought Akari could be a help for us until he fell to his father. He was a scary man to be fair."
"Yes. It's all fine for you to need help. It's understandable and I know the feeling..."
"Oh, well maybe we can- AH!" She shrieked as a four-legged demon snatched her cape.
"A human!" It screeched crazily.
"Kill it! Eat it! Burn it!" They all screeched crazily as others appeared out.
"You'll have to go through me!" Elliot and Mazoku shouted in unison getting ready to battle them as the demons surrounded them.
"I guess we're fighting them then?" Elliot asked.
"I guess we are." Answered Mazoku leaping to them madly.