Red marred the sacred light that fell inside the room. Keith's eyes widened as they looked up at the devil who was out to eat him alive.
"Tsk, what a headache. I thought I angered you enough not to make you come after me. But it seems I was mistaken. Now, how should I take care of you?"
Fenrir moved his wheelchair toward Keith slowly as he let the sheep go. That dead body landed on the ground, but it made noise.
Every circle of Fenrir's wheelchair made Keith's breath hitch until he looked up and saw Fenrir standing inches away from him.
"D-Don't kill me. Please, I am begging you. M-My mother has no one else but me to look after her. What would happen to her if I were to die as well? For her sake, let me live…"
Keith begged once his legs failed him. He could only look at the person walking toward him with wide eyes. His words failed him, and a single plea left his mouth.
It made Fenrir pause, but his eyes showed no hint of kindness.
"You want me to show you mercy? I don't see a point in doing it. As for your mother…she would be sad, but her sadness won't last long. I will make sure to take your place and make her forget all about you.
Now, it is time for you to go to sleep."
Keith felt a hand touch his head and was certain he was done for. He closed his eyes one last time, knowing that he wouldn't wake up again…
He might have fallen unconscious, but that did not mean that it was his death day.
Maybe because he had been born under a lucky star, or maybe because one of the priests had blessed him as a child, but Fenrir was not able to absorb his body.
His stomach felt full, and his human body was not able to take the strain of having too much of his power back.
In the end, Fenrir could only lament in agitation as he was forced to release his prey. The most he could do for now was remove any memories of this night from Keith's mind and make sure his secret was safe.
"Tsk, darn this body. I need to do something about being stuck in this tiny village. If only I had more power, I would be able to head out and hunt more efficiently."
No one was there to hear Fenrir complain, and that was for the best. Because anyone who knew his secret needed to be killed.
He was going to become the king of this empire and then the world. And a leader with too many secrets was not an attractive one.
...
*Sigh*
"One of my chickens is missing. I am sure it had been in its barn last night, but when I went to check up on it, it was no longer there. Do you think a wild animal took it?"
Sara asked as she walked beside Fenrir. She looked scared and agitated, an expression she often showed when she was uncertain about something.
"Don't worry so much. I am sure your chicken just ran away when you were looking away or something. There is no need for you to feel this scared. But if you are so worried, you can always ask Keith to keep watch over your cattle.
You will help Sara out, won't you, Keith?"
Fenrir's voice sounded light and innocent, but hearing him speak sent a shiver down Keith's back.
Keith looked up like a deer caught in the headlight and he tried to speak up in his defense. But when those golden eyes looked at him, words failed Keith. He could only look away with an annoyed expression on his face.
"D-Don't ask me such questions. It is not my job to help you out if you are losing your animals, so don't look at me. Ask someone else who can help you out."
With those final words, Keith stood up and walked away.
Sara's face looked red and her eyes looked ready to cry at the indifference she had been shown.
"T-That idiot! Just what does he…ugh, you don't have to listen to him, Fenrir. You are much better than that idiot, and you listen patiently to what I have to say. I would much rather spend time with you than with that idiot."
Keith had not gone too far away when Sara spoke these words. These words agitated him even more, causing him to lash out.
Luckily for him, his two followers caught him at the last second before dragging him away.
______
"Keith, wait for us. What is wrong with you today? Did you have a fight with your mother or something last night? You are in a terrible mood."
The taller bully asked Keith, but his voice sounded almost scared.
Hearing this tone made Keith want to punch something, but he held his desire inside and let out a frustrated sigh.
"It is nothing like that. Just leave me alone, and no one will get hurt."
Keith spoke in anger when his eyes fell on a small but well-dressed group heading to their village.
From the looks of it, they seemed like the nobles from the next village over decided to pay them a visit. And whenever that happened, there was only one reason for it.
"So, it's that time of the year again, huh? I wonder how many people they are looking to hire this time? Not that it matters. They say they are 'hiring' people, but anyone they hire does not come back.
It is obvious that they are into shady business. I want nothing to do with them."
The shorter bully shuddered as he looked at the noble party that stopped outside their village post.
They had seen this happen ever since they were younger, so it did not surprise them to see the officials there.
Keith looked at the officials, and he suddenly had a brilliant idea. He knew how to get rid of that cripple that bugged him.
"Excuse me, but are you looking for a good-looking servant? We have someone in this village you might be interested in."
Despite being given warnings about not showing their face in front of these people, Keith decided to head out and talk to these officials.
The officials did not expect a kid of bare age to come out and talk to them. They looked at him with conflicted expressions, not sure what to make of him.
Keith understood their hesitation. He would have thought twice before he decided to get a stranger's help on such a delicate topic.
"Who are you, kid?"
One of the officials finally categorized Keith as not harmful, and he quietly approached him. Hesitation still flashed in his eyes, but Keith flashed a harmless smile to show that he was not trying to scam these people.
"I am the local butcher's son, and I am here to help you out. Do you know that there is one kid in this village that never gets reported when you do? I thought you might be interested in knowing, so I decided to talk to you about it."
Keth's words interested these officers.
Not only was this kid telling them about a possible breach of information, but he was also telling them he would fix it for them.
However, if the village had not told them about this child, then there might be a reason behind it.
"Let's just say that I believe you and take this information, then what? Why should I even listen to you in the first place?"
The official asked, but Keith had one last trick up his sleeve.
"Well, whenever you come here, you ask for good-looking people, right? I assume you would take them if they are good-looking, even if they happened to be a cripple. I only want you to spare me and other kids when you take the cripple away."
The officer made an understanding expression.
Now, it made sense why he had not heard of this person in the village before. It was because the other person was a cripple.
Had it been any other lord, this would have become a problem. But for the purpose of their noble official, it did not matter if the person they dragged back was a cripple or not.
By now, even these villagers had realized that the person they took with them would never return.
In the eyes of these people, human lives had no value until it could benefit them.
"Well, it doesn't matter to us whether our sacrifice is a cripple or not. As long as he is good-looking and can quench the thirst of our miss, we don't care. Show us the way, and we will spare you and the other kids this time."
The officer agreed, and Keith let out a small laugh of relief.
Until now, he did not realize how scared he had been of being caught and being locked up by these people. But now that he had a guarantee, he did not fear these people anymore.
"If you go past that house, you will see a small cottage with the town's widow. She adopted that cripple, and she kept him hidden. You should hurry up before the widow catches wind of what you are planning and run away."
Keith warned the officers before he walked away.
He was in a cheerful mood after having 'taken care' of the cripple of the town. But little did he know that he was being watched by a bird with red-rimmed eyes.
On the other end of that connection stood Fenrir. He had an amused grin on his face as he considered what Keith was planning.
It was amusing how the kid thought he could outsmart a demon lord of hell. But little did he know that this was all happening under Fenrir's watchful eye.
'Hmm, those guards came at the right time. I can use them to get out of this village and find a new hunting spot. After all, this town will not survive for long since I am continuously feeding on their life force.'
It was an opportunity Fenrir had been waiting for. And since Keith had so graciously decided to present it to him, he would not decline it.
Fenrir would take this gift and leave this village. But not before he presented Keith with a last farewell gift.
"Hello! Fenrir, what are you thinking so deeply about? Did something happen? Or am I boring you?"
Sara asked as she waved her hand in front of Fenrir's eyes. He watched her hand move up and down in amusement before he caught her hand and held it closer to his face.
"How can I ever ignore you, Sara? You are a lovely girl, and I admire you a lot. Those other girls are fools to bully you just because you are much better looking than them and you have a much better temper. I really like you because of it."
Sara blushed at the praise she was being given and her cheeks looked even lovelier than before.
Her face had the look of a maiden in love but it was a given. She had fallen for Fenrir's charms the first time she had landed her eyes on him. He did not even need much magic to control her from that point.
"Oh, Fenrir! You are such a lovely person as well. God was so unfair to you for taking your legs away and leaving you to live such a damned life. But don't worry! I will condemn god in your place. I will be your hand and feet in your fight against the god and the cruality of this world.
All you have to do is say the word."
Sara almost begged Fenrir to give her the chance, but the devil could only smile at her in return.
After all, human hearts were the easiest things to charm, and their minds were the easiest things to manipulate. Just a little implication here and a little nudge there, and they fell for your words right away.