The rain had coated the entire Eastern Isle in dreary colors, everything lively now covered by a dull coat of gray as the elements raged in the aftermath of Satan's attack.

In a small hut, not far away from the village, sat a lone young woman, looking out through the window beside her with a comfy rug wrapped around her shoulders.

Green eyes saddened as they stared at the dreary scenery outside, the weather no doing much to impress her mood.

"I wonder how long this skirmish will continue," Noah muttered, reaching for a mug of steaming herbal tea as she continued looking outside.

The soft drumming of the rain was muffled by her thick roof, creating the same atmosphere as Noah would find in the early autumn instead of now, near the summer.

A soft smile played on her lips as she sipped at her tea, oblivious to the shadow moving out among the trees.


Chapter 2: The First Day, Human Meet Demon


In the middle of the forest, not far from the completely decimated battlefield, lay a large body.

The body of a demon, but not just any demon.

It was the body of Satan.

'Where... am I?'

A single thought sounded inside the mind of the Devil, echoing, repeating, again and again as he slowly came to.

His eyelids felt oh so heavy, almost as if they had been petrified in place, despite the constant stream of moisture colliding with his face. Slowly, ever so slowly, he forced his eyes to open, meeting nothing but darkness as he lay there at the bottom of the forest.

Slowly raising his torso off the ground, supported by shaky arms, he hissed when waves of exhaustion rolled over him, sending the Devil straight down to the ground once more.

"D-damn it!" he hissed, gritting his teeth as he fought the urge to let the pain take him away once more into the mysterious territory that was his subconsciousness.

Taking a deep breath he slowly sat up, this time making sure not to make any sudden movements until he was able to drag himself over towards the nearest tree trunk.

Glancing down behind him, he snarled wordlessly at the sight of the state his mantle was in.

Halfway dried blood and mud coated the front of his shirt, not to mention his skin where the cloth had been ripped either during the battle or when he crashed down in the middle of the forest.

His cape was little more than a few handfuls of tattered cloth, no longer the deep Bordeaux-red he had taken off in but what caught him the most was the state of his legs.

His hooves were chipped in more places than one, the hairs above them completely gone and revealing his bare skin, some places even revealing muscles. Muttering a silent swear, he cautiously dragged himself up along the tree without putting almost any support at all on his legs.

Slowly he tried placing a hoof down on the ground, putting a bit of weight on the leg and ignoring the slight pain radiating off the places where the hoof was chipped, and waited with baited breath.

...

...

...

Nothing happened.

He didn't collapse, oh no, he only felt the most excruciating pain he could imagine erupt in the middle of his abdomen. Gasping for breath, Satan slowly raised a hand to part the front of his tattered shirt, his lower lip brutally bitten into whenever waves of pain ran through his body.

His eyes widened as he stared at the mass of muscle, sinews and bones that peeked back at him.

Blood leaked from several places, drenching the ground below him a murky crimson, muscles had been either scratched or torn and the small pieces of bone he could see didn't exactly calm his already frayed nerves.

Impaled

He had been mortally wounded... by a mortal of all damn beings!

Impaled

This couldn't be happening! Not like this, he could not die like this!

Impaled

There was still so much to do, so many humans who all as one deserved to suffer the same way his people had been suffering for millenia!

Slowly reaching out with a shaking hand, Satan reached for the nearest tree, slowly moving his screaming—burning—legs forward, heading towards the next tree as quickly as he could, damage taken into account.

"I... won't lose! I... cannot lose!" he grunted, the edges of his vision darkening rapidly as he moved towards the next tree.

...

...

...

The pain always came when he last expected it, always surprising him with a sudden flash but at some point the pain just disappeared, evaporating and leaving his body numb instead.

...

...

...

He didn't know how long he walked, the seconds seemed to drag on as if they lasted years, but at some point he reached for a new tree to support his body with only to grasp at nothing but air.

Stumbling over his own feet, Satan felt his cheek collide with smooth, wooden planks.

The dark spots from earlier were back now, taunting him, jeering him, as the darkness closed in around him.


oOo


"This is wrong... this is so wrong! I... I can't be housing the Devil of all things in my house, this is ludicrous!"

Satan's eyes blinked slowly, his eyes blind for a few moments when light seared his eyeballs.

A soft, golden light enveloped the room he was lying in, probably from candles if he had to take a wild guess, and he appeared to be resting in a very soft, not to mention small, bed.

'How did I get here...? Did one of my soldiers find me?' he thought, his mind slow and not completely responsive as he slowly raised an arm

"He's alive?!" the voice screeched just as he snapped his head to the side, meeting eyes in every shade of green he could imagine.

Immediately Satan lunged out towards the woman who had spoken, his mouth twisted in a wordless snarl, before he violently collided with the girl, straddling her waist—ignoring the pain searing through his legs at that action—and locking her wrists above her head.

"Why...?" Satan snarled, leaning close to her face in order to make sure that she wouldn't be able to see anywhere but at him.

The young woman looked up into his fiery eyes, fear etched into her face, "What?"

"Why... did you take me to your house, woman? I am... a demon..." Satan snarled, his fangs glinting in the soft candlelight, and he watched as the woman swallowed heavily.

"Y-you were hurt and I... I didn't see who you were until a few moments ago..." the woman whimpered, unconsciously letting out a hiss when his grip on her wrists tightened.

"You saw I was hurt... yet you're... helping the Devil, Satan himself?" Satan mused, a devilish grin playing on his lips as he took in the scent of fear that permeated her entire body.

The women refused to meet his eyes, tears instead starting to form in the corners of her own despite no sobs coming from her mouth.

Satan frowned, slowly releasing the grip he had on her hands.

"You will... heal me... woman..." he grunted, leaning away from her face, "And I... will leave your village alone..."

The woman's eyes widened, surprise taking over the features that fear had ruled earlier, "What?" she whispered in shock.

"Heal me... from my wounds," Satan repeated, wincing when pain flared through his abdomen at the simple act of speaking, "And I... will make sure... that your village... is safe... from attacks... Will you accept... my offer?" he grunted, finally moving his body off the woman's much smaller one and instead leaning against the bed he had been lying in before.

...

...

...

"Deal..." the woman whispered, rubbing her wrists as she warily eyed her new patient.


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