Second Chance in the Demon Kingdom

After following the demon king to the lounge room, Caro found herself sitting on a sofa across from the royal in question and his son, with some tea on the table for the three. A couple of guards were stationed by the doors, no doubt to prevent her from escaping should the situation ever calls for that. With them was the three-headed dog that was with Caro in the guest bedroom earlier, surprisingly sitting by the human’s side. Seeing the humanoid demons together, Caro couldn’t help but still see Ruby in them for some reason.

“Have you finally calmed yourself?” the king asked, taking a calm sip of his tea.

“Not enough to lower my guard,” she answered.

The prince was not at all amused with the answer and was about to call her out for it, only to be stopped by his father. It seemed the king understood her situation more than his son and simply let the matter pass.

“Now, as I’ve promised, I shall answer any questions you may have,” he said.

“Let’s start with ‘why am I still alive?’,” the girl said. “I know for sure your son was so intent on killing me. So how am I still here?”

“You have my pet to thank for that. Or rather… your companion now,” the king answered. “Just as my son unleashed his Demon Break onto you, the Shadow Cerberus sitting next to you emerged from your shadow and summoned up a multitude of shadows to act as a barrier to protect you from certain death.”

Caro raised a brow in confusion and turned to the beast. “You saved me? Why? And what does he mean by ‘my companion’? I’ve never met you before.”

“I understand your confusion, milady,” it, more specifically one of its three heads, spoke.

“It was quite a surprise for me as well when I reemerged from your shadow in this form,” said the other head.

“However, if you can look at me closely, you’ll know. It is I, milady,” said the other.

Her claim that Caro knew her only served to confuse the human even more, especially since the monster was treating her like she was her master of some sort.

“With all due respect, father, this is ridiculous,” the Demon Prince said. “The human is speaking to a monster. And we all know monsters don’t talk.”

That claim made her even more confused. ’Do they not hear this… this Cerberus talking?’ she wondered, for the beast clearly spoke, though it wasn’t moving any of its mouth.

“You forget, my son. Though it is true that it is impossible for one to speak to a monster, it is only possible if one has a contract with them,” the king spoke.

“True, but that’s only for summoners. And as far as I can see, this human doesn’t have enough mana to even be a mage,” the prince retorted.

“Though you are right, there is one other way for one to make a contract with a monster. And other species.”

It took a few seconds for the prince to realize what his father referred to. “Wait… You mean… this human?”

“You have seen her stats, haven’t you? Surely you noticed it there as well.”

“I did. But I thought it was empty.”

“For you to think that, you have ways to go if you wish to claim the throne with such a close mind.” When the king said that, the prince looked down in slight shame.

Caro didn’t like being kept in the dark like so, especially when they were talking about important matters involving her. “What are you talking about?” she asked.

“Human. I’d like for you to open your status box,” the king instructed. “The answer to your question will come. I just need you to do this one thing.”

Confused she may be, Caro did as told. “Appraisal.” Her status box appeared.

“Do you see where it says ‘contracts’ on your box?” the king asked.

Caro looked and saw the word at the bottom left corner. “Yeah, I see it. What about it?”

“I’d like for you to open that box.”

Like how one would do in a VRMMO game in her previous life, Caro selected the box. To her surprise, her status box suddenly came as empty, save for three words on it. Or rather, three names; Ruby, Velva and Kagero.

“You see a name on it, don’t you? Or perhaps a list of names,” the king asked her, noticing the surprised expression on her face. “I don’t know what you thought of ‘Contracts’ to be, or if you even noticed it this whole time, but ‘Contracts’ is something special to humans. You are aware of how human is the only race that is freely allowed to have names and give names, correct? There is a reason as to why that is. I assume you’ve heard of the saying, ‘names have power’. Well, that saying is true, especially in the case of a monster.”

Caro raised a brow. “What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I mean. You give a monster a name, and they will undergo an evolution, making them a far stronger species than their previous form. In the case of human-like races, however, it simply increases their stats tremendously, depending on their occupation. But of course, a name that gives power is not one that is given out nilly-willy. There are two conditions that must be met for a name to grant the bearer power. Three, if the bearer is humanoid. First, the human and the bearer of the name the human gave must have the same level of respect for one another. Second, the name must be thoughtful, for it would be disrespectful for the bearer if the human just gives off a random name to them or gives them a number as a name. And third, if the bearer is similar to a human, they must have some kind of occupation, such as a swordsman, an archer, or a fighter. This way, the name will give them a boost in certain stats needed for them based on their occupation. In rare cases, like with a monster’s species, it even reaches to a point where they are able to rank up to the next class. And once they have a name, the bearer remains loyal to their new master. And in the cases of monsters, the master is the only being who is able to understand what the bearer says. Rather, the master is able to communicate with them with their thoughts.”

Caro processed through what the king explained about the contracts and could only scoff, in which the prince saw. “What’s so funny?” he demanded.

“Nothing Just that your father got something wrong,” she corrected. “If what you say is true, if the same goes for half-humans, tell me… Why did Ruby betray me? To be loyal to one’s master means they won’t betray their master in any way. And yet she did…” Caro slowly thought back to the last she saw her ex-best friend and looked down. Once her eye caught sight of the ring around her wrist, she tore it off, stood on her feet, and threw it on the floor. Without so much as another glance, she then walked away.

“Hey!” The Demon Prince was about to stop her, when his father stopped him.

“Let her be. And let her pass,” he said, the last part referring to the guards at the door, allowing the girl to exit out of the room.

“M-Milady!” the Cerberus-like monster called, rushing after the human.

The prince sighed at the situation they were in. “I don’t know if you’ve gone too soft or too rusty, but to let a human run free? Questionable enough we let her live, but just what are you thinking, father?”

The king ignored his son, as he got up from his spot and picked up the ring on the floor. For some reason, the way he was handling it was so gentle, as though he feared it would break if he put too much force into it, despite how it was still in one piece from the throw earlier.

’This bracelet- No… This ring… I thought it looked familiar,’ he thought, as he looked at the inside of the ring, where engraved in it says, ‘To my howling soulmate. - LD’.

******

With Caro, she was walking down the halls, wanting to get away from it all. The lies told to her, the pain she went through, both physically and mentally, everything.

“Milady! Please wait!” Caro turned and saw the Shadow Cerberus rushing to her side.

“Why are you here?” she asked.

“What do you mean ‘why’? I am Kagero, the former Shadow Wolf in which you formed a contract with. Is it not normal for the contractor to be with their contractee?” the three-headed dog asked, each head giving out their say.

“If that’s how you’re going to start your betrayal, you can just leave and never show your faces to me again.”

Kagero’s six eyes widened when she heard Caro say that so harshly. “What are you saying? Didn’t you hear what the Demon King said back there? Lady Caro, the only reason why I am as I am now is because of you. And I promise you, I pledge my loyalty to you and only you.”

“Oh, you pledge your loyalty? Where was that loyalty when you popped out of nowhere and pampered up to that prince? Where was it when those people were accusing me of kidnapping you? You clearly showed whose side you’re on. Besides, you already have a name. You already have a home. You have everything here, for a monster of a dog. And clearly, I can not trust anyone or anything but myself.”

Kagero’s ears drooped at her words. “No… That’s far from the truth, milady. I admit, it was wrong of me to abandon you like so, but-”

“Just save it! What friends? What contract? What family?! In the end, it’s all the same! In the end… I’ll always be alone… You should never have saved me.”

The thought of being alone through betrayal was strong for Caro, as she ran off further down the halls, away from Kagero. The canine was shocked at the sudden leave and attempted to follow her.

“Milady!” she called.

“Just go away!” Caro shouted, stopping Kagero in her tracks.

The three-headed dog could only sadly watch as her master leaves.

******

After the little run, the human girl found herself on the castle rooftops. She sat on the tiles, looking down at the demon city below, watching the residents walk around, shopping for whatever needs and wants they sought for the day.

A certain pair of demons caught her sight. These demons were kids, going about their day play fighting with wooden swords. Watching them fight reminded her of when she and Ruby would train as kids.

Caro had her status box appear before her and selected the ‘contracts’ box, causing the list of the suppose contracted non-humans to appear before her. The human tapped on Ruby’s name, hoping that there was an option to cancel the contract or erase the name from the list. Instead, when she selected the name, another status box opened up, this one smaller and having Ruby’s information, though not as much as it did for Caro.

Listed on the box were the wolf half-human’s name, race, level, and one other thing that was quite foreign to the human. ’Exceptional Ability? Blood Boost?’ she read in confusion. She had never heard of this ability before and tapped on it.

“‘Blood Boost. A skill that activates when the user experiences strong feelings in battle. Through this ability, the user will gain a boost in whatever stat they excel in,’” she read. Reading that part, Caro couldn’t help but think that it was a useless skill for someone as kind-hearted as Ruby.

“Huh. So that’s how you got the upper hand on his highness,” came a voice behind her.

Caro turned and saw a guy’s face extremely close to her. The closeness surprised her to the point where she almost fell off the roof, had he not caught her.

“Whoa! Sorry about that,” the demon apologized, pulling her back in a comfortable sitting position. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Sure you didn’t,” Caro said, not at all believing in the demon. “Who and what are you? You look human, but last I check, I’m supposed to be the only human in this kingdom.”

Try to her words, the ‘demon’ before her had a very human-like appearance. His hair was brown and somewhat spiked, his eyes were also brown. He had on a beige shirt with a dark brown, short-sleeved jacket over it, as well as brown pants and black boots. Of what Caro could see, nothing about him defined demon.

“I may look human, but that’s only because I thought you’d be more comfortable speaking to one instead of a demon. Of course…” He suddenly glowed and turned into an otter, his clothes fusing into his fur. “If you prefer an animal, I can do that as well.”

Caro’s eye widened upon realizing what sort of demon he was. “You’re a shapeshifter?”

“One kind of them, but yeah,” the now talking otter answered. “To be exact, I’m a kushtaka, a shapeshifter from otter to human and back.”

“That so.”

The kushtaka noticed the unimpressed tone she used. “You seemed unusually calm for someone who sees a shapeshifter for the first time,” he noted.

“At this point, I doubt I can feel any sort of emotion. Period,” Caro told him, looking back at the demons down below. “If you’re going to kill me while my back is turned, you’ll only be doing me a favor.”

The otter scratched the back of his head in shock and confusion. “You really have no faith in anyone any more, do you?” he asked. “I practically heard everything in there. But still, the fact that you have a contract with the royal pet and that friend of yours should be enough to tell you. You can still trust them.”

“Have you ever been left behind by someone close to you? Someone who is family or similar to that?” Caro asked.

“Well… No. I can’t say that I have.”

“Then don’t talk to me about having faith in anyone. Mine died years ago.”

Despite what she said, the shapeshifter persisted. “Oh, come on. You can’t say you lost all faith in all races in general. That’s not fair to the ones you haven’t met yet.”

“Says the guy of a race that I actually saw for the first time just a few days ago, and yet was attacked on first sight. If not from the knights here, than from a few of what I assume are mercenaries. I think that speaks for all your race. Especially when the prince, instead of doing a proper execution, decided to toy with me in our so called ‘duel’, and attempted to end me with most of my own strength.”

This made the kushtaka sweat uncomfortably, knowing how true those claims were, especially when word travels fast in the small city.

“Why are you even bothering with me?” Caro then asked. “Like I said, if you want to make my life miserable, I’d rather you end it now.”

“I don’t think I remember saying I’d do any of those things,” the otter shapeshifter said. “I just thought you’d want a little cheer-up. Things have been quite hectic for you, especially when you’re just a normal human. Well… Don’t know if I should really call you ‘normal’.”

“Thanks. I feel so much better,” Caro sarcastically said.

“Especially… When you’re a more special kind of human.”

“Special? In what way am I considered special?”

“For one thing, you overpowered one of our Demon Breaks. Our Demon Breaks are said to be more powerful than humans’ Blade Bursts, especially when you used our weapon to use your skills. And yet, you not only managed to match his highness in terms of strength, but you also stopped one of his powerful Demon Break, with an ultimate rank Blade Burst no less, and still kept fighting. No human has ever done that before.”

A small smile almost formed on the human’s face, in which she quickly noticed and tried to suppress. “Yeah? Well, too bad this human doesn’t have much to live for any more.”

“I wouldn’t exactly say that. Especially not after that trial you went through.”

What the otter said piqued her interest. “‘Trial’? What trial?”

He scratched his head nervously. “I can’t really give you the full details, as it is something that the true leaders of each kingdom, each race is suppose to know, only. But what I can say is you, human, are a candidate for something big.”