Chapter 11: Eleven

As they got closer, Ardiane greeted them with a casual nod. His group of adventurers, ready for battle, stopped a few feet away from them.

The orcs were long gone, and their panicked shouts could be heard from behind, away in the camp.

"Maesron." Greeted Ardiane. "It's a surprise to find you here."

The knight seemed lost for words. Janilari looked around, and everyone on their side was. The only one not completely terrified was Rida, who stared at Ardiane with a distant, cold gaze.

"Why the silence?" Ardiane chuckled. "You must know I deal with these orcs every year, right? Were you trying to gain on me here?" He glanced at the orc camp. "Apparently, you made an awful job. Why don't you let me finish it for you, again?"

"No." Maesron, out of some outrageous excess of silly human bravery, took a step forward. "We already solved the issue."

"You have?" The other knight laughed. His black dragon armor had a strange glow under the sun. "And how did you manage that?"

"We... Are about to establish a peace treaty." Said Maesron, somehow keeping a steady tone. The rest of the adventurers looked at each other.

"A peace treaty." Ardiane repeated in a monotone. "No offense Maesron, but this... This is a new low for you. What's next? Are you going to make peace with goblins?"

"These orcs are not hostile! They just..."

"So what?" The knight's tone was ice cold. "A treaty is supposed to be beneficial to both parties, right? How is this beneficial to the kingdom?" He leaned forward. "There's only one way these orcs can help, and it's with their blood. So, if you are not going to make them useful, I will."

"We know what you did." Said Rida. There was pure hatred in her voice, and Ardiane's guards advanced a step, as if to shield him from her words. "We know what you did here for the last five years."

"You do?" The knight chuckled. "Well, what do you think, Maesron? It was pretty smart of me, right?" Ardiane turned to his party. "How many orcs have we slayed here? Thousands? Tens of thousands?" He looked back at Maesron. "They should be honored, frankly. In a way, they made much more for the kingdom than you ever will. So what do you think? Speak!"

"It has to stop." Maesron almost mumbled. Ardiane barked a laugh.

"Of course! You know, Maesron, it doesn't bother me that you and your useless party of women think they can get anything done without hurting a fly. It's funny, actually! You are hilarious, Maesron! But for your own good, you should stay that way. Just a source of entertainment." Suddenly, he drew his sword, raising it to stop his followers from doing the same. "What bothers me are your priorities. You are putting these orcs at our level. You would put a miserable goblin above a human, wouldn't you? The kingdom is better off if anything alive is either human or in a chain, like your fox over there should be! Tell me, what are you going to do when these orcs get hungry? They reproduce like rabbits, these foul creatures, without me they'll crowd this desert in just a couple of years. Do you think their hunger will care about treaties? They'll rampage through any farm they can get to!"

Ardiane advanced, pointing his sword directly at Maesron.

"But you didn't even think about that, right? Because you care more about these disgusting, inhuman creatures, than your own kind."

"You know that's not true." Maesron sighed, as if the fiery red sword wasn't inches away from his face. "We believe all lives have value!"

"And you are wrong." Ardiane glanced at the orcs. "But I'll let you stand up to your beliefs. Why don't you take your armor off, put some leather wraps on, and join them?" He chuckled, moving his sword away. "It's an open invitation actually, to all of you. I only slay two-fifths at a time, so three or four of you should survive, right? I mean, if you really care about these orcs... It would only be fair."

"Ardiane..."

"Do that, or leave." The dragon knight replied. "It's your choice. But if you leave, I won't be so understanding next time. Come on, choose."

Maesron looked back at them, sighed, and put on his helmet. His voice now muffled, he said: "I will not let you do this."

"Easy to say with your armor on." Ardiane spat out. He looked at the rest of the party. "Do your women speak for themselves?"

Pendi didn't miss a beat, taking a step to stand beside Maesron. "You are a monster." She replied, her voice full of venom. Ardiane snorted.

"And a murderer." Added Brunai, her axe ready.

Huddinli sighed, resigning himself to their demise, but still advanced to stand with them.

It was only Rida and Janilari left. The mage looked at the demon, who just shrugged and turned to Ardiane.

"I actually think you make some valid points!" She said, casually. Everyone turned to see her in bewilderment. "I mean... I can kinda see your point of view."

Ardiane scoffed. "Of course you do. I guess this is your cue to leave, then."

Rida looked at her in betrayal, and the demoness rolled her eyes and put a hand on the sorcerer's shoulder. "Not really, I have a compromise here." She smiled brightly at the knight with the dragon armor. "I'm sorry, but it seems like I have to stop you right now!"

Ardiane stared at her for a few seconds. "Excuse me?"

"... You are excused?" Janilari frowned, while making her way between Maesron and Pendi and walking forward to Ardiane. She smiled when they were face to face, the knight looking down on her. "... Yeah. This ends here."

She could almost hear the adventurers behind her relax a bit.

"You are funny." Ardiane deadpanned. "Do you want to be the first to die?"

Janilari had to suppress a laugh. "Not particularly, no. But there's no need for any of that." She said slowly. "Why don't we negotiate something, instead?"

Ardiane raised his sword again. The tip stopped an inch from her face. She could feel the heat from the red blade. Her smile didn't waver at all.

Ardiane tilted his head. "You have some misplaced confidence there. What makes you think you are in a position to negotiate?"

Janilari shrugged. "I have my reasons. But it doesn't matter." She regarded him with a sugary smile. "I think you can benefit from a deal."

"I'll benefit enough from your deaths." Ardiane replied, but then paused. "What do you propose?"

"Well, first of all, you leave and don't come back here." She shrugged. "Shouldn't be too hard for you. You'll have to rely more on the... Other places you've done this."

Ardiane didn't deny it, so she continued.

"You let Maesron over here continue with his delusions of peace..." She gestured at him without looking back. "And you watch him fail, of course. In two or three years, the kingdom begs you to return here and put an end to the orc problem." She laughed. "And then you are proven right! The entire kingdom will know of Maesron's failure and your success. So what do you think?"

"It's an interesting proposal." He replied, then pointed at the adventurers. "But after what they said, I think I prefer blood."

"... Why? Do words hurt you that much? Humans are complicated." She added the last part under her breath, but it was clear everyone heard. Oh well.

"You are bold." Ardiane said in a flat voice. "Too bold. How does a girl like you survive this long?"

"Well, I haven't been here for long." She laughed. The mages behind Ardiane started whispering to each other. The knight turned to them. "Either way, you can accept that deal, or accept that things will get a little messy here." Her smile widened as one of the mages advanced and whispered something directly into Ardiane's ear.

The knight looked at the mage, whispered something back, and then stared at the demon, who still displayed a wild smile.

"Messy, huh?" He replied. "That's one way to describe it."

"You won't have to worry about describing it." She stared directly at him. From beneath his helmet, she could almost sense his hesitation.

"Two or three years, you say?" Asked Ardiane. "I don't think you'll last that long. But sure. It'll be an interesting little experiment." He looked behind her. "You owe me, Maesron."

His voice was calm, but the way he quickly turned his horse around betrayed him. The other six weren't better, all turning around and leaving a bit faster than they got there.

As they disappeared over the hill, she felt Rida grab her shoulder and turn her around.

"What was that!?" The mage almost shouted, but her tone was one of shocked admiration.

"You... Might be the first person... Demon... Or whatever, that managed to intimidate Prince Ardiane." Said Huddinli. The demoness rolled her eyes.

"Pst, it's nothing, really." She watched over Rida from the corner of her eye, expecting her to disagree.

"That was amazing." Breathed Maesron instead. "But... Do you really think this will fail?"

His tone was so weak and hurt, that despite Janilari being a demon and all, she just didn't have the heart.

"Oh... No... Of course not!" She lied. "That was just me saying things!" She laughed nervously, and nobody seemed to believe her... Except for Maesron, of course, who let out a sigh of relief.

"Well. I'm glad that's over." Said Brunai, her voice trembling as she dropped her axe on the floor. Rida stared at the hill.

"It's not over." She replied. Janilari eyed her.

"Well..." She said with a mischievous smile. "If you want it to be over, Rida..." The mage looked at her, and the demon's smile widened. "... You only have to ask."

*

She found them half an hour later. Riding fast through the difficult terrain, getting away from the orc camp, and away from Rida and her group.

She waited for them, sitting on a rock. As they circled a massive boulder, they suddenly found her ahead of them. Ardiane, in the front, stopped his horse so fast that he almost fell to the ground. Behind him, the other six almost crashed against each other.

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Janilari smiled at the sight. Sighing, she stood up from the rock. It had been a long time.

This would be fun.

"Missed me already?" She laughed, approaching the adventurers at a slow pace. Their horses bucked before they forced them to stand their ground. She feigned offense. "Oh, Ardiane, I'm surprised! Is this your way to treat a lady?"

"What do you want?" He asked in a hostile tone. "We made a deal, didn't we?"

"Turns out, I kinda would prefer a more permanent solution." She giggled, standing just a few feet from them. The mage with the black robe raised his hand.

"Impure." He said in a deep voice. "She reeks of sulfur."

Janilari frowned and sniffed herself. "No, I don't!"

"It's figurative." Ardiane mumbled. "Means you are not from this world."

"Well, that I'm guilty of." She smiled.

"How?" The knight asked, a slight tremble in his voice. "How did they manage to summon a demon?"

"Jealous?"

"No chance." He grunted. "So much for their 'ideals', huh? They won't spill a drop of blood, but they'll risk the entire kingdom summoning you!?" He placed a hand on the hilt of his sword. "You shouldn't be here."

"Yet, I am!"

"Why? Why do they need a demon? Are you bound to their mage?"

"That doesn't matter." She dismissed him. "What matters is what happens now." She smiled at the way Ardiane almost recoiled. "I'll make things as simple as possible. To me, you are an obstacle. For what I'm here to do, you are just a hurdle in the way. That ends now. Right now, you'll stop being a problem." She grinned, slowly. "One way or another."

The mages whispered again, but this time Ardiane stopped them by raising his hand.

"So you are here to kill us." He laughed. "Do you think you are capable? I never slayed a demon before. Do you want to be the first?"

"You are an idiot." She replied, flatly. "You cannot kill a demon."

"I'll try." He drew his sword. Behind him, the rest did the same. The mages took a step back.

Janilari smiled. Human stupidity never failed to disappoint. "Well, then."

The mages made the first move. In an instant, the ground around Janilari burst into flames. She felt an invisible chain hold her in place as the fire caught on her imitation of human skin, burning and melting it.

She paused, the pain of fire was another thing she had forgotten. She fell to her knees as the invisible chain forced her down.

Then she saw Ardiane, riding with his sword pointing at her, the fire magically bending around him. His sword slashed across her chest, passing through clearly, and piercing the human lungs she made after being summoned. A searing pain filled her, the blade of the dragon knight burning more than the fire.

A glowing arrow reached her shoulder, tearing through the muscle. The chain dragged her through the ground, smashing her against a rock. A spear reached her in the stomach, piercing through the stone behind her.

The fire seeped into her bloodless wounds (blood was one human thing she didn't replicate in her body). It burned her inside out, her senses overwhelmed by the pain and the heat.

Ardiane charged again, slashing his sword over her head. She noticed she lost one of her eyes, and the other one was covered by melted skin. He had left his horse elsewhere, and standing on the ground attacked again, fueled by blind fury.

And then Janilari lost the game.

The game being, of course, "how long could she deal with human levels of pain".

Fights were boring without pain, after all. She had worked on making functioning nerves for herself for years, another effort on her part to replicate the human form. But even she had her limits! So right then, she stopped feeling pain, for the time being.

Ardiane kept hacking away at her body. The fire eventually subsided, but the knight kept going. Her mind partly separated from her mangled body, and she looked over with strange curiosity. Eventually Ardiane stopped the bloodless carnage, and panting stepped back, thinking he had won.

It took her a few seconds to reform her body the exact way it was before the fight. She had done so thousands of times. Once she opened her physical eyes again, she smiled at the seven humans in front of her, all still in a fighting stance, shocked at seeing her recovery.

"My turn?" She asked, shrugging.

Before the humans could react, the ground below them shook and cracked, making them lose their balance. The distraction allowed her to reach her first target: the soldier with the long sword, "Grendor" or whatever.

He reacted quickly and slashed her across her body, cutting it in half. But instantly she reattached herself, and laughing grabbed his helmet and pulled it off, a leather strap snapping away.

She threw away the enchanted piece of armor, and without its magical protection she reached for Grendor's brain. His horrified expression froze as he collapsed on the ground, unconscious.

Then the fire returned, another arrow hit her in the chest, and Ardiane approached her. She dodged his swing, dragging herself across the ground and then floating upwards to reach one of the mages. In a panic, the sorcerer used a dozen of spells at the same time, and none of them helped him as she removed his cute mage hat and made him sleep, too.

One by one the six adventures fell to the exact same trick, unable to fight her. It didn't take long. Ardiane was on her the whole time, trying and failing to even touch her. When the last of his friends were on the ground, immobile, he took a step back and tripped on one of the cracks in the floor.

"What have you done!?" He yelled. Janilari rolled her eyes.

"Calm down, they are just taking a nap."

Ardiane did not calm down. Standing with a jump, he swung again, and this time Janilari let that hit, just to instantly undo the damage.

With a laugh, she raised a hand to his helmet. He reacted instantly by cutting her hand off, but it was fruitless as it flew all the same to his helmet and removed it.

The knight tried to reach over to his lost piece of dragon-scale armor, but it was already far away. Her hand returned without the helmet, and she casually reattached it to the rest of her arm.

Ardiane retreated again, his sword ahead in a defensive gesture.

"Stop!" He yelled. His face was covered in sweat, his eyes had a wild look on them. "You won already, what do you want?"

"I told you what I want. I want you to stop being a problem."

"... Fine then!" He breathed out. "You have my word."

"Your word isn't worth anything to me." She sent him a sweet smile, then offered her hand. He stared at it with hatred. "I want you to shake my hand, and make a deal."

"Only an idiot would shake hands with a demon!"

"It's your only choice." She deadpanned. To her surprise, Ardiane swung again, failing to hit her.

"Then I'd rather die!" He exclaimed, while backing down into a canyon. She followed him slowly, as the canyon turned into an open cave.

As she got too close he attacked again and again, sometimes hitting, sometimes missing, pointless all the same.

"What's your plan here?" She asked, curiously, as Ardiane continued backing down into the cave. His face, desperate and hateful, revealed there was no plan.

He shouted wildly, attacking her once again. But his movement was uncoordinated, his sword flailing harmlessly. He tried again, this time falling to a knee as he swung. He frowned in confusion, his eyes darting around wildly, as if the world was playing a prank on him.

"What's wrong?" She laughed. The knight glared at her and tried standing up to charge her, but his feet failed him and he tripped in thin air. "Oh, poor thing! Do you need some help there?"

Ardiane coughed. "W-what have you d-done?" He stammered. Janilari shrugged.

"Rida said it could only be 'non-lethal'." She explained, enjoying the horror on Ardiane's face. "But as long as you don't die... Well. With your friends, I just very carefully changed the blood flow in their brains so they would fall unconscious. I've done it before, it's harmless!" She tilted her head. "With you? I'm trying something new. Cutting little parts of your brain, isolating them from each other. How does that feel?"

Ardiane babbled something from the ground, his tongue seemingly refusing to move how he wanted.

"Well said!" She taunted him. "So, this is the deal. Either you compromise yourself to not speak about this, about me, and to not hurt a single living thing in your life... And I mean, not a single fly." She leaned over him. "Or I make sure you can't. It will be hard for you to hurt anything if you can't even stand up, I'd imagine. Of course, I wouldn't just leave you here, drooling to death... I could take you to the orcs!" She laughed at her own idea. "They don't seem to hold grudges, maybe they'll keep you alive!"

The knight made a long sound of protest, about the extent he could manage as his own brain was disconnected from itself.

"It's not too late." She reminded him. "I can still leave your brain just as it was, maybe without permanent damage. But you better make a decision fast!"

The knight seemed to hesitate, literally and figuratively cornered. But then, he slowly raised a very shaky hand.

"Good choice." She smiled, as she raised her own hand and they closed the deal. "I told you that you would stop being a problem, one way or another." Sighing in annoyance, she added: "Now I have to shake hands with all your friends." 

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