I learned something important that night. Watching a demon king deal with enemies is surprisingly educational. Also extremely unsettling.
The four guards stood frozen near the tunnel entrance, their torches casting long flickering shadows across the ruined temple walls. For a moment none of them moved. Then one of them spoke. "What… is that?" His voice shook. I couldn't blame him.
Mal stood in the center of the chamber like the darkness belonged to him. The faint glow of the ritual circle behind him cast sharp shadows across his face, making his completely black eyes look even more unnatural. He smiled politely. "Hello."
The guard nearest the front raised his sword. "Stay back!" Mal tilted his head slightly, studying the man the way someone might examine a curious insect. "Or what?" The guard lunged forward. The sword came down in a clean arc meant to split Mal's skull. Mal caught it. Not with both hands. Not even with effort. He caught the blade between two fingers. The metal stopped instantly. The guard's momentum nearly sent him crashing into Mal's chest.
For a second nobody moved. Then the sword shattered. The sound echoed through the temple as fragments of steel clattered across the floor.
I blinked. "Well," I muttered under my breath. "That's not terrifying at all." The guards looked significantly less confident now. One of them took a slow step backward. Another whispered, "What are you?" Mal looked mildly offended. "I already said hello."
The man who had attacked him tried to recover his composure. He drew a dagger from his belt and charged again with a shout that sounded far braver than he actually looked. Mal sighed. "You humans do enjoy repeating mistakes." He lifted one hand. The air in the room shifted.
It felt like pressure suddenly dropped on my chest. The temperature plunged so fast that I could see my breath. Black smoke curled around Mal's fingers like living shadows. The charging guard froze. Completely. Mid-step. His body locked in place like a statue. The dagger fell from his hand and hit the floor with a dull clink. The other guards stared. I stared.
"Did you just…" I began.
"Yes," Mal said calmly.
"What did you do?"
"Paused him."
"That's a thing?"
"For me." He nodded.
One of the remaining guards turned and bolted for the tunnel. Mal flicked his fingers. The man collapsed instantly. Not dead. Just unconscious. The last two guards dropped their weapons.
"Please," one of them stammered. "We didn't know" Mal glanced back at me. "These are the men hunting you."
"Yes," I said.
"Do you want them dead?" The question landed heavily in the silent chamber. Four men stared at me with wide, terrified eyes. For a moment I hesitated. Then I remembered the conversation I overheard in the prison corridor. The body burned. Orders from the palace. They hadn't questioned those orders. They hadn't cared whether I was innocent. But still…
I shook my head. "No."
Mal raised an eyebrow. "No?"
"No," I repeated. "But they're not chasing us anymore either."
He considered that. Then nodded once. "Very well." Mal snapped his fingers. The frozen guard collapsed. The other three followed seconds later. All four men lay unconscious on the temple floor.
I exhaled slowly. "That was… efficient."
"They will wake up later."
"And remember?"
Mal's smile turned sharp. "They will remember encountering something they should never speak about."
I stared at him. "Remind me never to argue with you."
He turned toward the tunnel entrance. "We should leave."
"For once we agree." I stepped carefully over one of the guards. Behind me, the ritual circle flickered faintly.
I had summoned a demon king. And somehow that was no longer the most surprising thing that had happened today