The Prince of Demons

We nodded in understanding and walked to my afternoon lesson with my uncles. Lux made herself the size of a cat as she wrapped herself around the back of my neck. Despite her full size, her weight did not seem to change. According to my grandparent’s, were innately aligned with which allowed them to manipulate their size and weight to a degree. The added helped them remain quite light in general. I reached the study where my lessons were held where my uncles were waiting inside, glaring at me. They definitely at least heard the commotion I caused. Maybe Grandma has got my back. She might cover for me. I hoped at least. They looked pretty annoyed.

“So is it just you, or is Dad in on the private lessons for Nil here?” Uncle Nox probed in an annoyed toned.

“What makes you think I have been giving him private lessons?” Grandma asked coyly.

“The use of as he ran across that courtyard out that window. Neither of us taught him that, and I happen to remember the first three you taught Azzeck and I just so happen to contain .” Uncle Nox replied, gesturing at the courtyard directly outside the window.

“So what if I taught him ? I plan on teaching Ein as well, but he is not as precocious as his brother Nil when it comes to .” Grandma said calmly.

“I remember that one being the third, after and . You taught them to him knowing his propensity to cause trouble and love to try and sneak into the library at night instead of sleeping. How good at hiding is he?” Uncle Nox snapped at her.

“I will not be lectured by my own son, Nox. I did what I thought was correct, and it is not like Nil has been unable to keep up with all the lessons. Did you see how well he combined your lessons and ours? What is your take, son-in-law?” Grandma snarled at him.

“I just want to know when he learned to cast such a good ! The cast was well hidden, the form was exquisite, and it was so clean!” Nez praised me with his child voice.

“Do you always ignore the problematic part of the for what he does well?” Nox asked while shaking his head.

“Of course.” Nez replied with a smile.

“You know Nez, we need to work on that husband of yours. Always focusing on the wrong details.” Grandma stated with a smirk.

“I try. He just insists.” Nez teased. Nox just let out a long, deep sigh.

“Anyway, how does me giving him some private lessons affect your teaching?” Grandma asked.

“Because we now know he has been tired, exhausted, or holding back during our lessons and not adjusting them accordingly. We will just have to account for you and dad giving him lessons at night.” Nox sighed, realizing he was not winning this.

“How did I raise such a stick in the mud?" Grandma checked with a disapproving gaze.

“You raised us to be responsible; you should be proud. Nil should not torment poor Helga like that.” Nox retorted looking back at Grandma.

“Today’s lesson!” I interjected. I did find their ability to argue and have discussions without raising their voice whatsoever, oddly strange. Or constantly yelling at each other is the abnormal part.

“Well, we need to do some adjustments, and we are celebrating your brother’s birthday today, so we will be taking it easy today.” Nez informed me.

“I have a suggestion, since Nil and Lux want to practice running and evading, we should make it more practical.” Nox said with a wicked smile.

“I think that is an excellent idea!” Nez chimed with a wicked smile.

I feel we are about to need to run. I told Lux.

You start and I defend? Lux asked as her shoulders slumped.

We’ll start with that plan. Start recovering as much as possible. I replied, bracing for what was coming.

“Do not worry you two, we will recover your .” Grandma said with a sweet smile.

“You two look nervous, you should not be. We do not plan on punishing you, much.” Nez comforted the two of us.

“Innocent!” Lux snapped in our defense.

“Oh, you two found running from Helga fun, we just want you to play again with a slightly different opponent.” Nox replied as he glared at us.

My grandma put a hand on our shoulders, and after a few seconds, our were full. Lux and I were stretching, preparing for what was coming. Our eyes glanced between the adults, trying to determine which we were about to face as the adults kept shooting looks back and forth. They are talking mentally.

“Let’s see how well you two can run from me.” Nez said with a smile.

“Here are the rules: the outside of the castle is fair game, hiding inside the castle or outside the defensive wall is not allowed. You have to avoid Nez for twenty minutes and you will be getting lectured from now until the party on proper etiquette and not tormenting your protector. If he catches you, the punishment will be a bit more, on a different day.” Nox explained with a little joy in his voice.

“We do not stand a chance against Uncle Nez!” I whined at them.

“Do not worry, I will go only half as fast as Helga was to make this more fair.” Nez told us.

“You also get a one-minute head start. Use it wisely.” Grandma added as she made an hourglass appear, turning it over.

Lux and I instantly activated , I hopped on Lux, and she used to sprint away. I chained two , and a rock at the end of the second one to fake a third. Lux and I used to hide in a nook of the castle. We felt a chill run down our spines; Nez was on his way. Exactly one minute as promised.

His are and . Unfortunately, I am not familiar with what all he can do with . I told Lux as we made sure to hide.

What do we do if he finds us? Lux asked.

Nez can use to rapidly jam and mess with our , so escaping him through will likely be challenging. Our best bet to start is you to run while I fend off his attacks to try and get distance and see what works and does not against him. I explained, knowing this was an uphill battle.

What range can he use ? Lux checked with a hint of fear in her voice.

I am not sure, why? I replied.

As if on cue, a massive pulse of hit the castle. It took him less than two minutes to get to our general area. It hit hard, definitely messing with our . We saw Nez, and his head snapped to our location. That brief second was all he needed to find us. I hopped on Lux before we tore away from my uncle. He calmly walked towards us, hardly expending any effort. Nez quickly demonstrated why running was unnecessary for him. He appeared to melt for a second, and appeared right behind Lux. He can move to our shadows? That is going to make avoiding him pretty difficult. Within a second, Nez made a field of around us.

This is bad. Lux snapped at me.

I have an idea, but it is a bad one. I informed her as Nez closed in.

I made a tunnel of and snaked a through it. Nez smirked, but Lux quickly used the small opportunity to get us some distance. Right behind us, the made a horrific prison. That was way too close.

Lux, glow. If you are emanating light, he can’t teleport to our shadow. I instructed her.

We can’t hide if I am glowing. Lux retorted. I had the feeling we weren't hiding.

Between his and ability to make that I do not think hiding will work against Nez. I told her.

Then you focus on movement while I will keep Nez back. Lux ordered me.

Lux shrunk in size and perched on my shoulders, emanating enough light to dispel our shadows. Most of them at least as there was a slight one beneath me from Lux being on my shoulder. Nez looked at us and cracked a mischievous smile. Thankfully, he could not teleport to the small shadow. Unfortunately, we apparently made some nearby shadows a lot stronger, and he used those to launch chains at us from them. I leapt up and ran up into the air using to avoid them, as they easily got within the light Lux was emitting. Constant pressure, keep us in sight, no need to rush. What a brutally effective tactic.

I think in the air you can cut the light. I told Lux. Lux stopped glowing before we glared at my uncle. We had sixteen minutes left of this.

We are not going to last much longer at this rate; we are using too much to avoid him. What about going on the offensive? Lux asked as this was clearly not working.

If we go on the offensive and make a mistake we are as good as caught. We need to make time, get some distance, find a way to maintain them without consuming so much . I replied, wracking my brain.

Good point. We cannot afford to lose. I think his air strategy is going to be . Lux sighed, readying herself.

Nez unleashed my nail gatling at us. Lux made a shield of , deflecting the needles. I dodged to the side, forcing him to turn it. Unfortunately, Nez possessed immense skill in manipulating his , and the gatling followed us with ease. As soon as I got the rhythm of dodging the gatling, Nez added two more. Fifteen minutes and three seconds of these things? This was not going to last much longer. I activated my , hoping to see something, but there was way too much . Nez made a large amount of flow knowing it would make my eyes burn from trying to follow it. I need to get better at using this blasted . I ran a somewhat serpentine pattern, dodging and weaving around his streams of needles. Whichever I cut too close Lux deflected and swatted away to protect us. We continued the duck and weave, trying to get more distance between us and him. Nez effortlessly kept us at an optimal firing distance. Three minutes of the relentless dodging and moving was starting to take its toll. My body was getting exhausted from all this movement. There was over half the timer left; this was looking grim. I could tell Lux was starting to slow. This onslaught was difficult for me to dodge, and she could only deflect so much. I just needed time.

If we were to touch the ground, could you glow and run long enough to get me a break while I defend? I can’t maintain this much longer. I asked Lux as this was exhausting.

Maybe, I am feeling sluggish, it feels like I am moving through water instead of air. Lux answered, her exhaustion palpable.

Wait, for how long? I inquired.

When he made the extra set of needles. I think he is using something to attack me, or at least add resistance to my movements. Lux replied. Of course he was.

Nez had no intention of giving us a chance at winning. This was meant to teach us a lesson, and then lecture us for tormenting Helga. Maybe running from our protector like that to test our skills was a bit mean. We need something, a break. A way to make a gap and hide, give us time to come up with a plan. Just three seconds would be sufficient. I could feel my breathing getting heavy from all the activity. I felt an odd sensation. My was fluctuating. I flexed my hand and could feel something. What was this? I moved my fingers and could feel I was gripping something. My eyes were burning, there was an immense I was touching. What on Tenebrae did I accidentally get in line with?

Lux, I am feeling something, it might work, but act fast, as I have no idea how this will end. I told Lux.

This is a bit reckless but will be our final attempt. Lux snapped back.

I believe in you covering for me. It is definitely a boom or bust type of move, we cannot just simply lose. I replied, not wanting to accept defeat.

I felt the in my hand and got a grip on it. Whatever this is, just get me my three seconds. I activated the and fed it. The world went grayscale. It felt like everything turned to molasses. My body was creaking; there was an immense strain on my mind. It felt like everything was trying to rip it to shreds; when I was it wasn’t this intense. The strain of this was immense. I activated a to bring us to the ground. It felt like I moved Lux and I threw pure mud. It was incredibly difficult. Nez didn’t seem to react at all. Exactly three seconds after it started, everything returned to normal. Lux realized we were on the ground, activated and , and spirited away. I activated my , but my body felt unbelievably weak. Lux climbed up a story and hid us into a nook, this time one facing the sun, so we did not have shadows. I coughed up a cloud of blood. My vision was incredibly blurry while my eyes felt like someone tried to stab them out.

How did you do that? What was that? Are you okay? Lux checked. Her tone let me know how I looked.

No idea, no idea, and I am going to be regretting that decision for a while. I replied. My entire body hurt, and I had a soul crushing migraine.

Lux used some and began trying to heal me. She placed her paws directly on me to hide the usage as we held . After circulating some through me, my body felt a lot better, and the headache lessened. My was wiped, so Lux was powering both our . How much time had passed? I couldn’t tell. My brain felt so foggy. What all did I just combine? What did I do with my ? My eyes were burning pretty badly. What felt like eternity passed as Lux continued to hide us. This was different. It felt horrible, but my body didn’t feel broken, my mind was strained but fine, and my eyes hurt like all heck, yet I did not think I did any major damage. Just at the absolute edge of it.

“Lux! Nil! Time is up! You two won! Where are you?! Come on out!” Nez asked, his voice sounding oddly concerned.

Do you think it is a trap? Lux inquired.

I do not think he would pull a trick like that. I need to rest. I stated, struggling to stay awake. Lux immediately dropped the hiding, and my uncles and grandparents appeared in an instant. I couldn’t find the energy to even attempt to stand. When did my grandpa get here? They all looked quite concerned.

“What was that Nil?” my uncles asked in unison.

“I don’t know.” I gasped. My voice sounded incredibly weak, even to me.

My grandma was squatting down inspecting me. She ran her hands along my arms and legs, checking my . Grandpa and my uncles were looking back and forth at each other, their faces an odd combination of grimaces and scowls.

“As far as I can tell, he is fine; just drained himself heavily. Whatever he did, he was barely able to tolerate the . His eyes look super bloodshot; he might have used something with his , the near it seem super strained.” Grandma reported as she checked us.

“Explain the , Nez.” Grandpa ordered him.

“It was like but instantaneous. There was no delay, he went from one point to the next. No fluctuation, he simply was there. The instant Lux used they were gone. Absolutely no trace of the movement that got them to the ground. It broke my as well. It was the perfect from what I could tell, he truly went from one point to the other in the same instant.” Nez explained as he kept looking at us.

“That is not . I am not sure what that is.” Grandpa declared with a sigh.

“Can we nap? My eyes are burning.” I asked weakly. My family members looked at me and sighed.

“Let us talk about this later, and do not let his parents know about him using some bizarre , at least until we know what he cast or what happened. We need to restore his and help his body recover by tonight first and foremost.” Grandpa ordered.

Nez picked me up and positioned me so my head was resting on his shoulder. Lux hopped up on Nez’s shoulder and watched me. I closed my eyes, and just felt drained. After walking for a few minutes, I passed out.