The Laughing Swordsman

Apollo stared at the burning red ash in his hands. Although the ash was searing hot, it only made Apollo's skin redden slightly.

He let the ashes fall down between the gaps of his fingers, then looked around.

"Did you do this, Maya?"

Layla walked up next to Apollo.

"What is friend doing here?"

Apollo furrowed his brows.

"I guess you could say I'm thinking about old friends."

Layla tilted her head to the side.

"Ah, friend had other friends?"

Apollo nodded slowly.

"I just wonder."

He stood up and looked towards the sky.

"What happened to her?"

As for the answer to that question, that would require a little backtracking.

...

"So, how were you able to partially transform into a demon?"

Lucifer stared at Maya with his empty blue eyes that seemed to look through her. There was no open sense of hostility, but it still made Maya afraid.

She didn't actually know how she transformed. As far as Maya was concerned, she was a normal human.

"I-"

Maya cringed with a little fear, hoping that Lucifer wouldn't be displeased by her response.

"I don't know."

For a few moments, it was silent. Beads of sweat formed on Maya's forehead, while the anxiety began to creep in.

Then, Lucifer simply nodded.

"Alright, then explain to me how you have lived your life up to this point."

To Maya's surprise, he didn't seem angry. At least, he didn't show any signs of such. Maya immediately began to panic as she thought of her past.

"W-Well"

"Do a brief summary of what happened before it began snowing, then tell me in more detail afterward."

Lucifer calmly said those words, prompting Maya to nod hastily.

"For my entire life, I've lived inside my village. But I did make several attempts to leave the village, but it was hard to get the courage to until..."

She continued to summarize how her life went. Lucifer would occasionally nod and give an encouraging look, prompting Maya to feel more comfortable sharing, almost like he was actually an old friend.

Eventually, Maya got lost in her own memories, describing the events as she relived them.

Then, she got to the unexpected early winter.

"The village was supposed to be prepared for the ten year winter as we would've prepared enough during the last year of summer. However, once it started snowing one year earlier than usual, everything changed."

Lucifer nodded.

"Say, where is your village?"

Maya blinked a few times in confusion. After all, it wasn't like she just had coordinates to pinpoint where it was.

Lucifer noticed this confusion and let out a small chuckle.

"Just tell me the general path you took from the village."

Maya nodded hastily.

"Um, I walked straight for a long time. Maybe... ten hours? Then made it to the city."

Lucifer leisurely rubbed his chin with his forefinger and thumb.

"What side of the city were you facing?"

Maya blinked a few times.

"Th-The entrance!"

Lucifer nodded, then pointed towards the gemstone in Maya's hand.

"Why do you hold onto that so tightly?"

Maya paused for a moment, trying to think of some kind of excuse.

Lucifer's eyes widened ever so slightly.

"Don't lie to me."

Maya flinched.

She didn't even speak yet! How did he know?

Maya was too intimidated and decided to just comply.

"I-It's the only way for me to gather mana."

Lucifer was rather disinterested hearing that and nodded.

But Maya continued, not realizing she could stop.

"And how I learned my spells."

Lucifer raised an eyebrow.

"...You can?"

Maya pressed her lips together.

"I-It shows me a picture that I can copy."

Lucifer reached out his hand with an empty stare. Maya brought the gemstone closer to her chest, understanding his intentions but not willing to give in to them.

Lucifer let out an unhurried voice.

"I simply wish to look at it. Then, it will be given back to you."

Maya hesitated, but ended up slowly bringing the gemstone over to Lucifer's outstretched hand. Her fingers slowly let go of the gemstone, like it was a meaningful memento.

Once it plopped into his hands, Lucifer gently brushed the edges.

"You see... a spell diagram?"

Maya curled up.

"Y-Yeah. I just touch it, then I see the diagram."

The corner of Lucifer's lip curled up ever so slightly.

"...Interesting."

Like he just forgot, Lucifer handed back the gemstone moved on.

"So, what made you leave the village?"

Maya grabbed the gemstone hastily, then looked down slowly.

"I wandered off a little and saw this boy named Apollo lying in the snow. He was next to the bodies of a few small demons and in the distance, there were countless demon corpses. Then I picked him up and-"

Maya froze.

She slowly looked up at Lucifer, who was looking at her the same as he always had been.

Yet, it was somehow different.

Maya wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but Lucifer seemed...

Mad.

Maya's voice got caught in her throat. A few moments of silence passed before Lucifer spoke up.

"Please continue. Describe who this boy is."

His tone was a little more flat than usual, sending chills down Maya's spine. However, she quickly regathered herself.

"Apollo has a wooden sword. Though he doesn't use any magic..."

Maya proceeded to describe what she knew about Apollo, but ended up stuttering and pausing every so often.

It was because Lucifer was staring at her intently, far too curious for the simple information she was giving. Soon, she came back to her story and described how she got to the city.

Maya neared the end of recounting her story. She was able to get through describing her father's death without so much as a sniffle. However, her hands began to tremble now.

"Apollo. H-He tried to fight against the people in the city."

A tear formed in the corner of Maya's eye.

"...And died."

Lucifer nodded absentmindedly.

Maya began to shiver uncontrollably, as though she had been putting up a facade.

"I hate them. I hate them so much."

Lucifer chuckled.

"Would you like to see them all die?"