The Prince of Demons

Grisbane Saleous Gaeas

My husband and I excitedly waited in the carriage bringing us to visit our daughter and her husband. We were excited to see our grandchildren: Nil, Ein, and Riva. They were about seven, five, and two currently. Nil’s birthday was in a few days, and he would officially turn seven. Any minute now we would arrive at the castle. As we pulled up, we could see some intense fighting in the courtyard. There was a small and a child appearing to be trying to kill each other. The kid did a series of rapidly pivoting kicks, each deflected by the baby .

“Do you see those pivots? His ribs have to be hating him right about now.” Surdel asked with a chuckle.

“Why is there a baby in the castle grounds?” I probed, watching as the two waged war against each other.

The became a beam of light, shooting to the ground, solidifying, and launching several beams at the kid. Before the beams moved, the kid was trying to sweep out the legs of the . For his efforts, he was awarded some paws planted into his chest. Unfortunately for the , the kid spun around the paw, and kicked the into the ground. It jumped back, formed a blade of light, and charged the kid. He materialized a sword, and they clashed. The swordsmanship was very rough around the edges, but the was quite well done. The was no slouch either, with very quick clean movements, focusing on a compact form for dealing with the rougher but substantially heavier blows from the kid. From the castle, a woman appeared, yelling at them.

“Again, you two?! The landscapers are not paid to fix the courtyard after each of your brawls! Why do you always act up when Luna is gone?! If you have this much energy, I clearly need to talk to Prince Nox and Nez so they can increase your lessons!” she yelled at the two of them. The two looked at each other, and immediately began to run.

“NOT AGAIN! WHY DO YOU TWO ALWAYS MAKE MY JOB HARDER?!” the woman screeched at them.

“Catch us if you can Helga!” the kid taunted as he hopped on the , who immediately bolted away full steam.

“CROWN PRINCE NIL, GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT! YOUR GRANDPARENTS ARE ARRIVING SOON!” Helga roared at them.

“Then catch us!” the taunted. She can speak surprisingly well.

“Oh my, our grandson seems to be quite a troublemaker.” Surdel observed, smiling.

“CROWN PRINCE NIL! THIS IS NOT THE TIME!” Helga ordered. She sighed and rubbed a ring on her hand.

“Long live the revolution!” Nil yelled back with a fist pump.

Senna materialized from nowhere and glared at her son. He and the froze in spot, and turned around to see a very, very angry Senna. The two sulked over, without her saying a word. At this point, we made our way over to hear what she had to say.

“How many times do I have to tell you, stop harassing Helga by making her try to catch you, and to stop with the ‘long live the revolution’ line? I know Luna has been gone for several weeks, but that is no excuse.” Senna scolded her son.

“What’s wrong with the ‘long live the revolution’ line?” Nil asked innocently.

“We are part of the Imperial Family; we are not allowed to joke about revolutions. Now, how many times do I have to say to stop tormenting Helga?” Senna answered with a sigh.

“But-” Nil started.

“We can find better ways for you to practice new than tormenting your caretaker. Why not practice with your uncles?” Senna checked, rustling his hair a little.

“They are too good. I can never win.” Nil pouted, which made Senna pet his head.

“Excuse me, Senna.” I interjected. She turned to face us, and her face lit up.

“Mom! Dad!” she said excitedly as she rushed to hug us. Nil looked at us, clearly trying to gauge us.

“Nil, these are your other grandparents! These are your grandparents from my side of the family!” Senna introduced us. He and his partner in crime stared us down, while tilting their heads back and forth slightly.

“And who is this little one?” Surdel asked, looking at the .

“This is Lux! She is my !” Nil replied excitedly. A as a ? How?!

“Hello.” Lux added. Her speaking was rough, but the words were clear. There was an odd sensation in the air, is there an nearby?

“Helga, you can take the rest of the day off, we will be taking care of Nil for the rest of the day.” Senna ordered. Helga nodded and left.

“So Nil, you have for ?” I asked him.

“Nope!” Nil replied quickly.

“Technically speaking, no he does not possess . If you want to continue this discussion, I insist inside a conference room.” Senna elaborated, gesturing for us to go inside.

“What are you talking about?” I asked. Nil was definitely using .

“Quick story, Nil is quite special.” Senna answered, trying to usher us inside. Nil and Lux were looking at each other, their heads bobbing back and forth.

What is so special about him? I asked Senna.

It is actually a secret we are trying to keep as secure as possible. Look, can we get inside the castle to one of the more secure rooms please to discuss this? Senna snapped. What could it be?

Alright. I didn’t know. I replied.

“What do you like to do for fun Nil?” Surdel asked.

“Practice ! It’s fun!” Nil answered happily.

Oh, does he love practicing and applying his . That, and fighting Lux. Those two love to ‘wrestle’ as they call it. Senna added on. She looked a tad annoyed as she explained.

That was a bit more than wrestling, that was a full-on fight. I pointed out. Senna looked exasperated.

They were still warming up. Nil hadn’t started to use or and Lux wasn’t using or . Helga got there quickly. Senna explained as we walked.

I thought you said his was not . And how much can those two use? I asked. Even now, I could feel how much they each had. Way more than usual for their age.

Technically speaking, he does not have . And the two of them constantly fight with each other and practice their and prepare for those fights, so quite a lot. Next week Nox formally begins Nil’s combat training, and a lot of his other lessons start as well. Especially etiquette. Oh, most certainly etiquette. Senna elaborated, rubbing her temples a bit.

He is a bit of a troublemaker. I pressed, wondering why she tolerated this.

You could say that. He has been on a revolution kick. It wouldn’t be so bad if Lux did not love to assist in his antics. Poor Helga and a lot of other staff have had a lot of raises in salary whenever Luna’s not around. The two of them tend to make messes in their fights. And so many upgrades to the kitchen. So, so many upgrades to the kitchen security. Senna explained. Who was Luna?

I bet. Why upgrades to kitchen security? I asked, trying to figure out how problematic my grandson was.

Because Lux loves fish, and she does not possess the needed to get into the kitchen. Nil does; he bribes her with it. Senna replied, giving Nil a light stare. Nil, in response, put on his best innocent face.

Why not feed her more fish? I inquired.

We tried, then she wanted a different food which Nil procured for her. The more we upgrade security the better his sneaking and procuring has gotten, like they are a challenge for him to overcome. We stopped trying when we began having to consider using to stop him. He has limited his pilfering though to once a week. Senna explained.

Why not punish him then? I mean he is stealing. I pressed more.

We do not want to discourage him using . And other than wanting to bribe Lux to help him, he is generally pretty well behaved. Senna said, looking at her son and his .

So, he and Lux like to fight each other, the two of them terrorize their caretaker, and Nil steals food for Lux, but he is still considered well behaved? I interrogated. In what world?

Nil and Lux are immensely talented when it comes to . It is difficult for the two of them to have an outlet for trying their other than each other. Helga is unfortunately their most available target to get practical experience. And honestly, the effort Nil put into securing the food was pretty impressive. The expert swore there was no way someone would steal another crumb. It took Nil less than three days to beat it. Senna elaborated, looking a bit proud at Nil.

Does Nil not have friends his age? I asked. I could feel Senna’s sadness.

Last year we tried getting him some friends. We obviously were wary of people trying to get close to him for his position and title, and started with close friends of ours, and quickly realized one thing: Nil is terrifying to kids his age. None of them could get past his aura of or his except Luna. Almost all of them were either in tears or starting to seize from terror after twenty minutes with him. Just being in the same room as him was too much. The only three exceptions are his brother, Julius who is Cesar’s son, and Luna. Even then Julius can only be around him so long before it gets to be too much. Luna for whatever reason is completely fine. Senna explained solemnly. I was getting curious as to who Luna was.

Oh. I replied. I looked at Nil, and lightly probed him.

His was immense for his age. The density and volume of his were incredibly impressive. Nil shot up within a second of my probe, and all the sudden I could feel nothing. What. How did Nil do that? He shot a gaze back at me, and I could see his nose twitch slightly in annoyance. That’s abnormal for a kid to be able to do.

“Nil dear, we are inside the castle. You can let your out entirely for your grandmother.” Senna told him. Something about her tone made me suspicious.

Nil closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened them, and there were chills running down my spine. Nil’s gaze was deadly, his gaze focusing on me. He took a calm step forward, and I felt my foot launch itself back. Nothing was escaping that gaze. Senna cleared her throat, and it all stopped. Nil was smiling smugly at me.

What on Tenebrae was that? I asked my daughter.

What Nil can do. Even when he tries to mask it, little bits leak out, which to kids, is pretty scary. Senna told me.

“What talent!” Surdel praised while ruffling Nil’s hair. Senna tolerating his little indiscretions made a lot more sense.

I am assuming his siblings are not as prodigious? I prodded.

No. As much as I hate to say it, I am glad they are not. His proficiency with is honestly problematic. Nil constantly needs lesson adjustments and changes, his growth alternates between incredibly steady and absolutely explosive. Senna explained.

I will see if I can think of something to help. I comforted.

Luna when she’s around for whatever reason is helpful. I would greatly appreciate a different method. Senna replied as we entered one of the studies.