"I have taken too much mental damage. The demons under me have tortured so many humans for eternity but if they are left in this kid's hands, who knows what will happen." The thought of that scenario gave shivers to Astaroth.
The reason why Astaroth was thinking like this was not because of all the whining that took place few seconds ago but was because of his unfortunate luck that the summoner was a kid. Since the kid are pure and have not seen the reality of world with the eyes of adults, they can be considered the most dangerous beings on Earth. Astaroth was afraid that this kid could generate a chaos if he wants but at the same time is reassured because of Haru's intelligence and his cheerful but calm gesture.
"Hey Asta, do you have the power to destroy this planet?" Haru asked Astaroth just for some reference.
But as soon as Astaroth heard those words, he threw all his reassurance out of the window.
"Well, what can I expect from a kid of his age? Although, he is dangerous in his own ways." Astaroth thought.
"It all depends on you. Where do you think I get the power to grant your wishes? Of course, I am a Duke Devil and I can destroy this giant ball, but all your wishes go down for some review purposes to the higher ups and then we execute it." Astaroth said with an arrogant attitude which seemed somewhat cute coming from that little mouth.
"Hmm, so if I am in some danger, I have to wait for your higher ups to stamp on my wished. And I thought you all would have some discipline system of administration. You people are just like us, just the place is different." Haru said with a long sigh and a disappointed face.
"Hey, you flunky. Don't just keep blabbering whatever comes in your mind? Do you even know how all this works?" Astaroth denied Haru's remarking with another absolute remark.
"Yeah, Yeah, I will listen to that later. But for now, go away." Haru shooed Astaroth with his hand.
"How dare you act so discourteous to me, you imbecile." Astaroth was angry since no one ever dared to disrespect him. He stood up on the bed and generated a black ball of flame in one of his hands.
"Oi, don't bring that fire all of a sudden. My new curtains will be burned up completely." Haru panicked.
"Heh, looks like I need to show you the terror of a devil." Astaroth said smiling.
"Don't try to fool me. I know you can't defy me. Just keep those flames away from my things." Haru shouted.
"Tch, I thought, he didn't know." Astaroth thought.
"Alright, alright. Don't shout like that. I will extinguish-"
-THUD!!!-
"What was that sound?" Haru was surprised.
"Hey kid, someone didn't see us, right?" Astaroth said with a smile and extinguished the flame.
"No, no, no, I forgot to close the door when I came back with the materials. How can I be so careless?" Haru said as he hurried to the door.
"Ah, the person ran away." Astaroth said while smiling.
"Don't enjoy this situation like a fool. What if someone has learnt about your existence and saw you performing your magic." Haru said, panicked.
"Hmm? I don't care. I mean I never meant to hide myself from you all. It's just that I was too lazy to go and tell everyone my identity. Plus, there's no danger for me here." Astaroth said while smiling and showing no surprise or any reaction to the situation.
"Heeeeh, not that we can find the person, even if we go running now. Well, we have to just tackle whatever happens next." Haru took a long and deep breath and then exhaled.
"I knew it. This kid is too mature for his age. A normal kid would have been shitting his pants right now, but this kid, he has piqued my curiosity." Astaroth thought.
*
A few moments ago,
"Hmm Hmm, I bet he will keep licking his fingers after eating my special dish."
As soon as she finished packing the lunch, Hina removed her apron and left the house.
—Haa, I wonder if he will like it.
—At this point, I have no recourse. Right now, Asami-san is in the mall, and Haru is probably coming home from school as well.
"Aaaah, whatever. I have some confidence in myself."
Putting out her finger, she reached towards the bell, but stopped.
—Wait! Maybe I can surprise him with the sudden intrusion.
—But what if he doesn't like it?!
—No, I am older than him, so it's not like he can say anything to me.
—Mmm! Let's go.
As she stepped inside silently, with the casserole, she began walking towards the stairs with great caution, as if she were on a surgical mission.
While trying to look in the living room with as much stealth as possible, she pushed herself against the wall.
"Phew, so he's not here."
She sprinted to the stairs and began to climb them slowly, stepping up without making a sound.
"What if I catch him while he is doing something stamped forbidden by our society?! No, no, no, let's move forward."
Shina moves upstairs while visualizing a wild scenario and blushing and chuckling in turn.
A black light flashes from behind Haru's door, caught in her attention.
"Eh? What is that?"
After stifling her spy instincts, she approached the door.
Her knees clenched under her weight as she took her first step toward the door, and something sent shivers down her spine.
"W-What is this eerie feeling? What is happening behind that door?"
After crawling toward the wall beside the door, she stood up.
Slowly, she turned the knob of the door to create a gap between the two sides.
As soon as the black light shined inside, it filled the gap abundantly, completely covering everything nearby.
Hina backed off a bit, but managed to prevent herself from falling again. Although she was scared, too scared, she turned the door a little more to get a clear view of what was inside since she didn't believe paranormal things existed.
It was evident that something paranormal was ascending. Haru stood in front of the right side of the room while something stared at him from above. The room was completely black.
Identifiably creepy are its large red eyes with spiral rings that divide the color variations and an irregular smile studded with spikes.
"…"
"H-…."
"I-..."
When she tried to open her mouth, it was impossible; she could not utter a single word.
Despite her best efforts, she was rendered immobile by her reflexes. With pin-drop silence, she trudged backwards, but hit a vase beside the gate while moving, causing it to fall and break into pieces.
As she was running through the stairs, chanting words into blank eyes, she threw the casserole down on the floor without thinking twice.
"It's just a delusion!"
"It's just a delusion!"
"It's just a delusion!"
As soon as she stepped outside, she bounced into her house, the house next to Haru, shutting all the doors and windows.
"W-W-What was that thing?!"
The events she witnessed just now were beyond comprehension.
"No, no, no, when all else fails, there's always a delusion."
She looked at the ceiling and took off the cross locket from her neck, hidden beneath the clothes.
"M-May the forces of e-evil become confused on the w-way to my home!"
She said while gripping the cross in her hand.
*
—How did she manage to see me, though?
Asta thought, while looking at Haru, who was astonished because of the sudden incident.