Alexander, in a state of confusion, looked at the man before him. Despite the seriousness in his words, there was something that made Alexander hesitate briefly.
"What?"
He closed his lips again, furrowing his brows as he bit his lower lip.
'What is this demon trying to do?' he thought. He felt trapped in his own thoughts.
'Since he's come this far, he must really want to die. I'm getting frustrated now. Who would've thought that a suicidal demon exists?'
"Won't you?" the devil in front of him asked. His eyes were still cold and emotionless as they fixed on Alexander. "If I kill everyone here, would you kill me?" Then, the devil's eyes, hidden in the shadows, glowed red. He looked threatening.
For some reason, Alexander found himself utterly furious. He clenched his brows as tightly as he could. "I can kill you right now," he growled. "You're a demon. I have no reason to keep you alive."
But first… Alexander thought inwardly, It would be great if I could just smell him…
The devil stood up, his tattered robe sliding down beneath his knees. He looked thin and weary. "Then kill me," he said. "I promise I won't ever fight back."
This time, Alexander sighed as he looked at the devil. 'I'm really losing my temper.' he muttered. 'A suicidal maniac.'
Alexander raised his hand and moved closer to touch the demon. 'It can't be helped,' he thought. 'Even if it's that person...'
"What are you doing?" the devil hissed. He pulled back as Alexander reached out, almost as if he were trying to avoid being touched.
"I'm killing you," Alexander replied, taking a step forward. But the demon quickly backed away. Alexander sped up angrily and continued cornering the devil.
"Weren't you supposed to be not fighting back?" he grunted, cornering the demon against a tree. "Stop running away."
The demon flinched. "Without touching me," he said. "You must kill me without touching me." He looked strangely frightened.
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Alexander growled. "I can't kill you any other way. Physical contact is necessary." He struggled to touch the demon again, but the demon slid down, sitting on his hips.
"No!" the demon shouted. "You must not touch me—" he hissed, clearly terrified.
Alexander took a step back and sighed deeply inside his mind. 'Really?' he muttered inwardly. 'As if him being suicidal wasn't enough...'
"I can't kill you without touching you," Alexander replied. "Actually, very few priests can do that..."
"So, whether you want to or not, I have to touch you to kill you."
The demon let his hair fall over his face to hide it. "Back off," he warned. Alexander tilted his head and looked at him through the mirror. "Why should I?" he asked.
The demon shouted louder, "Back off!" His voice startled Alexander a little.
"Alright, alright." Alexander took a step back. 'He is sensitive' he thought. 'Very sensitive.'
The demon slowly stood up, standing tall. He used his sharp teeth to remove his glove.
He sighed deeply and turned around, pausing for a second before touching a tree just inches behind him. "See for yourself why you mustn't touch me."
And then, he touched the tree. Immediately after making contact, the tree darkened as if a shadow had been cast upon it. As it began to break apart, it caught fire and spread to the ground.
The fire's light reflected off the demon's body, making him look more like a superior being than something to be feared. Alexander found himself affected, swallowing the lump in his throat and unable to look away from the demon's eyes.
"...This." Alexander attempted to talk. "Is this magic?" he asked. "No, it can't be magic… not this fast..."
The demon's eyes were cold. But in those cold eyes was chaos.
"Are you really a demon?" Alexander asked. "Because no demon can do this— Or—"
The demon tilted his head down again. His eyes were no longer visible. "I don't know," he muttered. "People always... called me a demon." He explained. "That's why you mustn't touch me." He looked at the tree he had just destroyed.
"Everything alive perishes in my hands."
Alexander brought his hands to his face, covering his lips. For a moment, he hesitated, but then an incredible smile spread across his face. 'This is incredible!' he thought inwardly. 'He is not a demon— Something else.' As he continued to think, his expression remained hidden from the demon.
'He's caught my attention. Really caught my attention. Damn it!'
Swallowing again, he reached out and pointed at the demon. "I'm Alexander," he began. "I'm both a priest and a demon hunter from the cathedral."
This time, the demon raised his head, pausing for a few seconds to look at Alexander.
"…"
As Alexander smiled widely, he pointed at the demon. "I'll kill you," he stated with certainty.
The demon tilted his head again, scrunching his face. "I don't want you to touch me," he muttered. "You'll die just like this tree... In my hands."
Alexander swallowed again and straightened his posture. "No problem," he clarified. "Even if I die, you won't be responsible for it… But I promise you, I'll try to find a way to kill you without touching you."
The demon's eyes widened, and his lips parted. "You..." he whispered. "Are you a masochist?"
Alexander staggered, looking at the demon in front of him. "What? Ma— What?" he said, confused. The demon furrowed his brows in confusion and pursed his lips.
He tried to explain with his hands. "Do you... enjoy pain or something? You just agreed to help a demon."
Alexander shrugged. "I wouldn't exactly call it help. After all, I'm going to kill you, right?" he said. "Also, I'm not a masotist." He clarified.
"Masochist," the demon corrected. "Not masotist. Masochist."
Alexander clenched his teeth, growing more annoyed. 'For some reason, I'm getting really mad.' he thought. "Anyway. Masotist or whatever."
"Masochist," the demon corrected again. "You know what? Forget it. I don't think that a human's brain can even comprehend this."
Alexander clenched his teeth again, filled with frustration. 'He's really getting on my nerves.'
He turned back to the demon and pointed to the church. "You should come with me to the church," he added. "It'll be much easier for you to die there. It's God's house. It'll probably hurt you."
The demon nodded as if agreeing. "But… there are people there," he warned. "I might accidentally kill them. I don't want that."
Alexander tilted his head as if thinking for a moment. "Well, you'll never be out of my sight. If you try to kill someone, I won't be the only one trying to kill you." he explained.
"Also, you were wearing gloves. They helped, didn't they? As long as you wear the gloves, you'll be safe."
"Just be careful not to make eye contact with the priests. They can be annoying sometimes."
As they approached the church, the demon furrowed his brows in the back. "You're a strange man," he added.
"You're devilish enough to trust a demon."
When they got closer to the church, Alexander suddenly stopped and turned to point at the demon. "By the way, what's your name?" he asked.
"I can't just keep calling you 'you,' can I?"
The demon stopped for a moment and looked into the priest's eyes. "I'm… Dáinn," he said. "They used to call me that."
As the demon looked at the priest, he suddenly remembered a child. His face was blurry, almost like a memory fading away.
"...I think."
Alexander smiled widely. "Alright, Dáinn. Let's get along from now on."
He winked at him.
As they walked toward the church, Dáinn held his robe's hood tighter than ever, as if trying to hide his face completely. His black hair already covered his face, but with the hood, he was engulfed in darkness.
"What are you doing?" Alexander asked. "If you hide your face like that, you'll draw more attention."
Dáinn flinched and let go of his hood. This time, he tried not to hold it. "I understand," he said. "I shouldn't draw attention."
Alexander sighed and stopped in front of a door. He quickly opened it and entered the room. "This is my room. Come in."
He stepped aside for Dáinn to enter and closed the door behind them. Inside, he turned his head toward the window, furrowing his brows slightly as he tilted his head.
"I feel like I forgot something," he whispered.
Meanwhile, the priests in the forest were shouting in fear.
"There's a fire!"