The Demon King's Guide To Not Getting Defeated By A Paladin-Chapter 49 - 48: Memories

Quinn’s hands molded into fists, his eyes lingering slowly on her figure, especially on the sliver of flesh on her too wide cleavage. Heat slowly burned into his cheeks like a sacred fire being ignited through unholy means. He hated that, but also couldn’t ignore the view.

The woman’s eyes shifted, their unnatural shades of crimson landing on Damien — but he gritted his teeth, knowing exactly what kind of danger loomed around her. She was always trouble, and just the mere sight of her left his insides tightening.

"And here I thought this place was restricted until the investigations were done?" She asked.

"You and I both know that you’re not the boss of me." Damien said, a hint of irritation clouding his judgement. "I can do whatever I want, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me. I’m a bloody Paladin."

"Oh sure you’re," the woman said. "But what about these little kids!? They shouldn’t be here and it’s not safe, you know that better than anyone."

‎"Well yes, I’m a bloody Paladin....and my authority extends to those that are around me...." Damien said, annoyance lingering in his accent.

‎The woman giggled, clearing the gap between them with her catwalk. Quinn stared at her, at the skin that revealed itself with every step she took, her shoulders straightened up, her mane of hair falling down her shoulders. For a splitting second, Quinn thought that she owned the way simply by the way she carried herself.

‎She stopped just in front of Damien, who hardly flinched in her presence. His silver eyes remained hard, with that ’don’t do anything funny or else’ look. But Quinn could have sworn she had him under her feet.

‎"Sometimes I feel sad for you, little Damien...." she said, her lips parting gently. Her tongue slicked past her lower lip, leaving it aglow. "... overstepping ok my turf just because you think you’re a bloody Paladin. Isn’t that amazing?"

‎Damien’s fists rolled into the tightest of fists. There was an urge inside of him, something that screamed to just punch her, to just throw her away with a single spell. But deep down, he knew he couldn’t. Not if he still wanted to remain on his position. "And here I thought you liked it when I overstepped..."

‎The woman’s brow cocked, a playful glint clearly visible in those scarlet eyes. She was nasty. "Of course I do. I feel happy really...." she touched his cheek, resting her hand there as if cupping his cheek. Her thumb slid beneath his lower lip, slowly. "....but you should always let me do the leading. I know you get jealous when someone else is winning, but remember, you can’t top me. You can never top me. I’m always at the top and we both know that....." she smirked further. "Wait, I had almost forgotten that you hate being second."

‎"I wouldn’t be saying things like that, not when I’m in the presence of my students." Damien said.

‎"Oh..." Her eyes slipped to Quinn and Emilia, before she looked back at him. She moved closer, the distance between the melting until an inch was left. "...let me guess." She was whispering now. "You’re afraid of your little students will grow to know that they’re beloved Damien Aniston likes it when I’m on top cause I’m better than him?"

‎‎’This is clearly not happening, not in front of your bloody eyes, Quinn!’ he thought, gritting his teeth and trying to ignore the obvious. He could feel his heartbeat race, sweat gathering in his palms. He thought Paladins were like, holy whatever.....not what he was seeing? This was insane, just beyond the word insane.

‎

‎[ Telepathy Activated ]

‎

‎Quinn took a deep breath, his eyes landing on the two of them. There was something he wasn’t understanding — something that was being hidden right in front of his eyes.

‎’I know you still fucking love me, Damie... it’d be a shame to pretend like you and I were never a thing just because you’re with these little idiots....’ It was her thoughts, the woman’s thoughts. Quinn took a step back, clearly not expecting to hear that. But, he just couldn’t help it. He wanted something, something that could help him get ahead on whatever this was all about.

‎’This isn’t happening...’ Emilia’s thoughts flared through the air, and she quickly screamed, "Can you two stop with all this I miss you act? There are kids here..."

‎"I don’t think there’s anything that you haven’t seen or done here." the woman snapped, taking a step away from Damien. ’You precious little noble.....’

‎’I really wish I could do that...with someone who strong and handsome....like Damien!’ Emilia’s thoughts were burning, and Quinn’s eyes shifted to her for a splitting second. This was just wrong, so damn wrong? Yes, Damien was strong and stuff...but that didn’t make him catch the eye of every girl. "Just don’t do your pervert thingy in our eyes, please. Its disgusting!"

‎"Disgusting if a very very strong word." the woman said. "but since you’re with Damien here, I’ll be making an exception!"

‎"An exception?" Quinn couldn’t hold himself back.

‎’If I’m going to let this slide, I’m gonna have to understand everything about them....’ She sighed, before holding back that cheerful smile that gave her an edgy look. "Yes. A exception. As much as I hate to admit this, I must. I’m glad Damien brought you along on whatever mission he had installed for you. But what I’m happy about is one simple thing about you both? You’re both resourceful."

‎"You don’t even know a single thing about them...." Damien growled bitterly. "...you hag!"

‎"That’s true, but if you brought them that means you trust they’re resourceful." she said again. ’...but the worst part, you’ll just use them...and once they’re done being your pawn, you’ll throw them away like you did every person that came under you..... Such cruelty, I love. But I really wish they knew what sort of a man you’re, Damie. How stupid of them?’

‎The woman stopped right in front of Quinn, her hand slowly cupping his cheeks. Quinn felt his blood boil in his veins, his eyes narrowing as he tried to hold down the heat pooling in his cheeks. She was more beautiful up close....and he hated that. Hated that a stranger was standing so dangerously close to him, whilst everyone watched. What if....what if he ended up getting a boner?

‎’What if she doing?’ Emilia thought.

‎"This is going to hurt, but I want you to bear with it..." the woman said. ’If you’re a strong one, I hope you won’t die.’

‎"Holdup!" Quinn said. "What do y—"

‎But she cut him short when her lips met his in a firm kiss. His eyes widened, her warm soft lips brushing against his. Heat exploded through every cell, and for a splitting moment, he felt as though he was stuck in the same position.

‎He couldn’t move.

‎He couldn’t breathe.

‎He couldn’t even feel his own limbs.

‎

‎*

‎

‎Something shattered, and he saw it, in his mind’s eye — something that exploded like glass. But it also gave way to memories he thought he was burying....or at least he told himself that.

‎They were clearly not pure, but they weren’t evil.

‎First, he was back there — back in Tokyo, back home with his step mother. He was sitting on the table, just him and her. And she served him a bowl full of salt before she exclaimed with a loud voice: "Eat!"

‎But he shook his head, "No! Its salt!"

‎"Do I look like I don’t know that?" She screamed at him, slamming her hand on the table so hard, it trembled.

‎The memory faded as quickly as it had begun. And without another word, he was dragged straight into the tomb he woke up in, the very first moment he stepped into this world. He gasped, staring at the interface for the first time. A small smirk tugged itself on his lips — and for a splitting second, he could have wished there was another way to end this war between demons and humans.

‎The memory melted down, and another one slipped into play. But it wasn’t his, it clearly wasn’t his own. But it was darker, much darker than he thought. But, for some reason, it was him, sitting on his throne—the Demon King’s and Morgana was there, standing at his side.

‎There was another demon that was dragging more and more humans, that were chained and shackled, beaten up and bleeding.

‎"P-Please....I have a family, I have kids!" one man cried, collapsing on his knees, his hands clutched as though in prayer. His eyes were pleading for mercy.

‎"Lucky you...." The King said—or he said it. "...but I have an entire kingdom. We both want what’s best for us, so I assume that you understand my intention? This is war, and someone always dies.... whether it’s me or you. But today, I’ll be the one to kill you...for the greater good of my kingdom."

‎"P-Please!" the man begged.

‎Morgana walked a little further, stopping just at the edge of raised dias. Her eyes were burning, a smirk tugged on her lips. "The king has spoken. Kill all the humans, and hang their bodies at the edges of the kingdom, so that the other realms can see the mercy of my king!"

‎As quickly as it had begun, it was all over. There was blood everywhere, bodies lying in thick pools, and there was laughter, joy? From the other demons... But mostly, there was a glint of mockery in the King’s eyes—in his eyes..

‎"We should do this more often, Morgana!" He said.

‎Morgana smirked. "Anything for you, my king."

‎Something exploded again, and Quinn felt as though a bucket of water had been splashed on his face. He gasped, stumbling backwards just in time to stare back at the people who were around him. Emilia was staring with widened eyes, her skin pale as she stared deeper into his eyes. And Damien, he was just holding his sword, as tight as he could. But for the woman, she was lying on the ground....blood pooling from her eyes, nose and ears.

‎"W-What happened?" Quinn asked.

‎