Demonic System: Harem in Medieval World

11. Devon's Story

“Good morning, my human friends! I hope you had a good night!” greeted Arwen as she appeared at the cave entrance. With a yawn, Devon who just woke up waved a hand to acknowledge her arrival.

“It could be better, but it’s better than nothing,” remarked Francesca who already woke up way before Devon did. “I gritted my teeth and shivering all night long thanks to the natural air-conditioning.”

The night they spent in the cave was chilling to the bone. It became worse since they didn’t have anything to cover up their body to combat the freezing wind.

“Ahahaha, well, I’m sorry to hear that. I wish our village could be more tolerant and open-minded,” apologized Arwen half-heartedly.

“Don’t mind her, Arwen. I was being generous to offer the warmth of my body to her, but she abruptly turned it down,” said Devon. “It resulted in both of us suffering to the point of nearing hypothermia.”

“You think I didn’t know about your ulterior motive, you pervert? You just want to take advantage of the situation!” accused Francesca angrily.

“Hey, it was an emergency! As the saying goes, desperate time calls for desperate measures!” retorted Devon, equally furious. “Cuddling doesn’t only fight back the cold, but also beneficial to your health as well!”

“See? You just want to cuddle, right?” pointed Francesca out. “All men are the same, I suppose.”

Seeing those two in debate, the elf just stood there, paying attention to each and every information of humans she could extract from them.

“Oh I see, all human men are the same. Noted!” concluded Arwen with an excited expression.

“No, no, that’s not the point we’re talking about, Arwen!” stated Devon. “Nevermind, what’s that in your hand, Arwen?”

Devon’s attempt to shift the morning mood was met by the enthusiastic explanation from Arwen.

“Ah, I’m glad you asked! I figured that you two are not familiar with the surrounding, so I took the liberty of delivering you some foods from my village,” replied Arwen. “I also picked some fruits and mushrooms along the way here.”

“Thanks, Arwen! You’re so considerate, unlike certain someone,” praised Devon while peeking a glance at Francesca. The young huntress seemed to have enough of Devon’s antics, so she just scoffed and turned her face away from him to show her disinterest to continue the verbal conflict.

“So, uhh, Bro Devon? I heard slices of your stories before with Sis Francesca, but I want to know more,” uttered Arwen to Devon who was busy munching an apple. “Like, what kind of human are you two?”

“Me? A handsome one, as you can see,” answered Devon with his mouth full, winking to display his human charm to the elf race. Francesca shuddered to see that cringeful moment, eliminating her appetite in an instant.

“Bro Devon, I’m referring to your origin and what you used to do before you got here. I saw a few humans here, mostly travellers and traders, but you don’t seem to fit that criteria,” told Arwen innocently, trying to straighten the misunderstanding between them.

After swallowing what he chewed, Devon cleared his throat to prepare for his lengthy oral biography. He put on his most serious and charismatic look, but he looked more like a jester trying to please his audience.

“Attractive as I am, I am just a mere servant. A slave, you may say. I was born to a slave parent, thus inheriting the slave status,” Devon began the story with his deep voice.

“As a slave, I virtually have less rights than your regular human. That factor played quite an importat role to the death of my entire family, leaving me alone as the sole survivor of my master’s brutality,” continued Devon with a sudden change of expression. It’s getting gloomier and his eyes were stuck to the ground.

Francesca indeed wasn’t very fond of Devon, but she knew how it felt to lose a family. She could sympathize with Devon, and she showed it by not interrupting his speech. Even the cheerful Arwen went silent for a moment.

“Turned out the only reason they kept me alive was to use me as an offering for their satanic ritual. But instead of being sacrificed, I got possessed. Not one or two, but all seven of them at once! It saved me back then though, so they have my gratitude. But everything comes with a cost, it seems,” proceeded Devon along with his story.

Suddenly Arwen raised her right hand. She looked like she wanted to speak so bad.

“So, right now in your body, you host all those seven demons?” asked Arwen curiously.

“Yeah, I guess you could say so,” replied Devon.

“Does the pursuers before have something to do with your demons?” Francesca’s interest was piqued eventually by Devon’s narration.

“I don’t know about that, but one thing for sure. They are pissed and they blamed me for the failure of the ritual,” answered Devon. “Oh, and maybe also because of the fire I set to their mansion.”

“You poor thing, all you did was trying to save your life... Wait, you burned their mansion?” gawked Francesca. “No wonder they were after you!”

“It’s not like I could do anything. It was the demons’ indirect order through the system they created,” argued Devon. “It’s beneficial for me, so I thought why not? But recently they gave me more hassle than ever, trying to control me little by little.

“And after knowing that I went berserk back then in the village, I realized how dangerous I am and I got so depressed to know that, to the point that drove me suicidal. That’s why I asked you to take my life but they weren’t so happy about that. They threatened to murder you instead if you have the balls to eliminate me, and you know I can’t have that.”

Reminded once again of Devon’s hidden kindness, Francesca was torn in a deep swirl of mixed emotions. She did feel sorry for Devon’s tragic past and cruel fate, ending up as the demons’ playground. But in another hand, he was somehow responsible for the demise of her father, and although he was not entirely to blame, a whole village was reduced to dust by his demonic influence. Seeing Devon who devoured his breakfast, Francesca drowned even deeper into her dilemma.