"I don't know what you're talking about." he said firmly. He was glaring.
"Was that demon who posed as your father your real father?"
"No."
"Don't lie!"
"What do you want me to say?" Korrozak suddenly burst, standing up abruptly. Shiro and Theo were surprised. "'Yes, I'm a demon', 'Yes, that imposter was my actual Father.' Who do you think I am?" Korrozak's voice shook. A desperate smile crept onto his face. "I'm not a monster." Shiro looked at him with a sad frown.
"Oh, Korro…" Shiro stood up and hugged him, tears starting to fall down his face. "Whether you are human or demon, I would never call you a monster." Korrozak cried into her embrace, Theo sitting on the couch, watching them without a word. After a moment of silence, Korrozak's tears dried up and he now had a tired expression on his face. "Are you feeling better now?" Korrozak nodded silently. They both sat down again. "Are you willing to tell me then?" Korrozak took a deep breath.
"My mother was human and my father was a demon. And… I'm also a demon." he admitted. "They were the best parents I could've asked for. Father taught me everything I needed to know to live as a demon in a human town. Mother always took care of us and helped us get through sticky situations. After Father passed away, rumors started to spread. It drove us both crazy, especially Mother. They honestly loved each other and me. To hear such awful things being said about him… even now, after years, it still makes my blood boil." he growled at the end.
"You knew he was a demon and you didn't report him?" Theo suddenly asked. A look of disgust mixed with horror crossed Korrozak's face.
"He was my Father." Korrozak breathed in disbelief. "He was my family. Even if I was human, I would never rat him out like that. And in doing so, that'd basically be like admitting I was a demon too."
"He was still a demon."
"...Yes. But he never acted like the vicious ones we've all heard about. Not once. He was always kind hearted and he would even let me play with his wings when no one was looking." he confessed with a fond smile. "Me and Mother both like him with our whole hearts. That's why she… when he… was…" Korrozak's smile faded and his eyes dulled.
"Is that why you hate talking about demons?" Shiro asked. A short chuckle escaped Korrozak with a flick of a smile.
"Of course. You all talk about them as if we're monsters. So why wouldn't I?" Korrozak's expression turned firm. "Demons are no different than humans. There are humans that are just as bad as demons are, if not worse than the average demon. So why do humans get to hunt us to extinction? Because humans should have an opportunity to redeem themselves? It's so typical of humanity to think they're greater than every other creature. I bet that if humans stopped hunting demons, less of us would be out for your heads." There was a long silence. They all sat there awkwardly.
"Soooooo…" Shiro started. "If you are a demon, that means you have them, right?" Korrozak tilted his head. Shiro leaned towards him and held up a hand to whisper. "Y'know. Wings?"
"Oh, yeah. Of course." Korrozak looked at her with a plain face.He could see she was trying, and failing, to hide her excitement. "Do you want to see?" Shiro let out an obnoxiously long gasp.
"YES."
"How many pairs?"
"YOU HAVE MORE THAN ONE PAIR OF WINGS?!" Shiro shouted, excitement shining in her eyes.
"Shh! You'll catch the neighbors attention." Korrozak hushed, holding a finger in front of his mouth. He then relaxed a little and leaned back into the chair. "Yes, I have more than one pair of wings. Two pairs, just like my Father."
"Both! I want to see both pairs!" Shiro demanded, quietly. Korrozak smiled a bit before standing up. He turned his back towards the others before releasing his wings for them to see. This time, he released two pairs of wings, the bat-like wings above the bird-like wings on his back. His eyes changed color again, and both his left wings were red. "Woah! You really do have two pairs of demon wings! Why are your left wings red and not black?"
"I honestly have no clue." Korrozak confessed. He flinched when he suddenly felt fingers stroking his wings.
"Why are they so soft?! I'd expect the feathers to be soft but what about the bat-like wings?"
"It's just the way demon wings are. They're all soft." Korrozak giggled. He then felt another set of fingers stroking his wings. Theo had joined Shiro. Shiro let out an excited squeal and hugged the bird wing to the right and rubbed her face against it. Korrozak smiled and lifted her up with his wing. She squealed even more, like a little kid at the fair. Korrozak giggled with her a little bit before setting her down. "Now as much fun as this is, it does feel weird to have people petting my wings." Korrozak admitted.
"Hey Korro? Can I have a feather?" Shiro asked, reaching for his wing.
"Wha-? Ouch! Hey! At least let me answer first." he turned to face his friends. "Grrrrrr! That hurt! Now my wing will be missing a feather forever." he whined, dramatically. Korrozak held the wing she took a feather from and started rubbing it lovingly. Shiro just laughed and Theo turned away to hide his face.
"Korro! You sounded like a vacuum! I can't..!" Shiro giggled.
"I what?" Korrozak burst, embarrassment and confusion written all over his face. Shiro twirled the feather between her fingers.
"Demon feathers look just like regular feathers." Shiro observed. "If you told me this feather was from a regular bird I would believe it."
"Demon feathers are still slightly different from regular bird feathers. Demon feathers have a high concentration of magic in them compared to birds. Even if you're human, you can kinda feel that there's something mystical about them, can't you?" Shiro nodded, continuing to stare at the feather.
"To think you were a demon this whole time." Theo said with wonder. "Kinda surprised you outright admitted it."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I would've expected the big reveal to take a lot more nagging. It does explain a lot of things though. You're fast, smart and have super sharp senses! I'm glad we were friends." Theo smiled. They sat there for a while, playing with Korrozak's wings. "Hey, if you're a demon, then you can use magic right? Can you show us?"
"Sure, but magic is dangerous and flashy sometimes. We'll have to move locations first." Korrozak warned. He then put on a smile. "It's really cool though." Shiro looked at him with utter admiration and excitement.
"Won't it be suspicious if we leave in the middle of the night?" Theo stated.
"Don't worry about that. Come here and hold my hand." Shiro and Theo did as he said. "Now, this might feel weird the first time but you just need to relax." Shiro and Theo nodded and he closed his eyes. A purple magic circle appeared underneath them and in an instant they all teleported out of the house.
~ * ~
"You have more than one pair of wings?" Syria was still awake in her apartment. She was calming herself down from the demon attack when she heard muffled voices from beneath her. Curious, she got out of her bed and laid her ear to the floor.
"Shh! You'll catch the attention of the neighbors! … Yes, I have more than one pair of wings. Two pairs, just like my Father." Korrozak?
"Both! I want to see both pairs! ... Woah! You really do have two pairs of demon wings!" Demon wings? "Why are your left wings red and not black?"
"I honestly have no clue."
"Why are they so soft?! I'd expect the feathers to be soft but what about the bat-like wings?"
"It's just the way demon wings are. They're all soft. ... Now as much fun as this is, it does feel weird to have people petting my wings."
"Hey Korro? Can I have a feather?"
"Wha-? Ouch! Hey! At least let me answer first! … Grrrrrrrr! That hurt! Now my wing will be missing a feather forever."
"Korro! You sounded like a vacuum! I can't..!"
"I what?"
"To think you were a demon this whole time. Kinda surprised you outright admitted it."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I would've expected the big reveal to take a lot more nagging. It does explain a lot of things though. You're fast, smart and have super sharp senses! I'm glad we were friends." Is Korrozak actually a demon? Syria frantically got dressed and left her apartment. She raced down the steps to the apartment doors and leaned against Korrozak's front door. "....ou show us?"
"Sure, but magic is dangerous and flashy sometimes. We'll have to move locations first." Magic? Dangerous?
"Won't it be suspicious if we leave in the middle of the night?"
"Don't worry about that. Come here and hold my hand." He's going to do it here? "Now, this might feel weird the first time but you just need to relax." Silence. Syria listened and listened but no more sound came through the door. The light was still on and she knew they didn't leave. Confused, she knocked on the door a few times and waited. No answer. She called Korrozak's name and waited. Still no answer. Syria began to panic. Syria pulled out her phone and prepared to call the DMA when she thought about what she would say. That she heard her neighbors talking about one of them having demon wings and then suddenly went quiet? That her neighbor was secretly a demon and that she knew because she heard him say so through the floorboards? She knew she wouldn't be able to convince them without solid proof so she put her phone away. She sat down outside of his door and waited for Korrozak to make a sound again. She waited so long, she eventually fell asleep right outside his door.
~ * ~
When Shiro and Theo opened their eyes again, they were in a clearing in the forest outside of the village. Shiro opened and closed her mouth several times but never said anything. Theo just looked around, confused.
"Um, where are we?" Theo asked.
"The middle of the forest." Korrozak smiled.
"The middle of the forest?" Shiro echoed, excited.
"Yes. Magic can be dangerous so I wanted to do it somewhere no one would be. Now, watch closely." He crouched down and held out his hand. Shiro and Theo crouched down next to him and stared at his hand. An orange magic circle started glowing in his hands and a tiny fire lit up. He then turned the fire into water and then into ice. Korrozak then stood up and raised his hands to the sky after canceling the magic. Blue magic circles appeared and small shards of ice appeared in the sky, hovering. He then held out a hand and a small ball of light appeared. He then threw the ball into the air and it burst with thousands of colors. The colors reflected off the magic crystals creating a gleaming masterpiece. The other two watched in amazement. Slowly, the light faded and the ice disintegrated.
"That was so pretty!" Shiro exclaimed, a wide smile across her face. Korrozak smiled and blushed a little.
"It can be, yeah." Korrozak looked up at the sky and saw the moon begin to sink below the tree tops. "It's getting late. We should get going." Korrozak held out his hands. He then teleported them back into his house.
"Magic is so cool! I can't believe that you can use magic like that!" Shiro exclaimed.
"Well you're going to have to say goodbye to magic and the demon me until night time tomorrow, ok?" Korrozak reminded them.
"Fine." Shiro grumbled. "But I will see demon Korro tomorrow or I'm going to strangle human Korro until I do!" she threatened playfully. Theo chuckled awkwardly.
"Oh no! I'm so worried! You are totally strong enough to strangle me, lunatic." Korrozak teased. "Shiro can have the bed. Theo, floor or couch?"
"Uh... the floor."
"Really? I would've gone for the couch no questions asked." Korrozak suddenly looked at the door. He made his wings disappear, put a finger to his mouth and slowly walked over to the door. "Hello?" he asked as he cracked the door open and peeked out, although no one was there. He closed the door and scratched his head in confusion.
"What was that?" Theo asked.
"I was pretty sure I heard someone by the door so I went to check. No one there though." he then leaned closer and whispered. "There was someone there though. I should be fine as long as they don't have enough evidence to report me but you can't tell anyone about my secret, ok? If I'm found out, it could be trouble for all of us." The others nodded and then got ready for the night. Shiro was helped into Korrozak's room and left with her crutches. Korrozak asked Theo if he wanted the couch one last time but he refused. So Theo settled on the floor and Korrozak settled on the couch. They had snagged blankets from Korrozak's room. Once Korrozak was fast asleep, Theo slipped out from under his blankets and felt around the floor in the dark, picking up the black feather that Shiro had plucked from Korrozak's wing. He then quietly left the apartment and walked up to the door that led to Syria's apartment and knocked on the door. He had to knock once more before Syria opened the door.
"I didn't see anything, I didn't... hear anything, I don't know about any demons downstairs, I don't-I'm not-I wasn't-" she burst.
"Syria, calm down. It's just me." Theo held out the feather. "This should be just enough evidence to prove he's a demon. Call the DMA as soon as I leave the apartment. Tell them that two people saw him using magic in the forest and send them a picture of the feather." he instructed her, handing her the feather. He then turned to walk back down the stairs.
"W-wait a moment!" she called. He turned back to her, one foot down the stairs. "Why are you doing this? He's your friend isn't he?" He gave her a serious look.
"I could never be friends with a monster like that." he spat. Theo then turned around and walked back towards Korrozak's apartment. Once he was back inside, he carefully walked into the bedroom. He picked up Shiro and carried her outside the apartment, dragging her crutches after him as quietly as he could. Syria saw him leave and called the DMA, then sent them a photo of the feather Theo gave her. Once all was said and done, she returned uneasily to her room.