Chapter 34 - Sliva's Love

Seto's body felt numb. He knew his demon level, whatever it was, was out of control. He could barely see straight, and the ring around his neck went from a burning sensation to a dull annoyance. His left knee was up to his chest, for he was still sitting down in the room. He just stared down at the floor before closing his eyes. "Dammit Abraxas...where are you? Did you just abandon me and find another human to get an afterlife from? You always admitted you didn't care whether I lived or died...I guess I shouldn't have trusted you after all."

"Wake up, human," a feminine voice ordered. Slowly opening his eyes, Seto raised his head and leaned against the wall, seeing the demon before him. It looked a lot like the demon that had attacked him, yet this female demon had long blue hair. He already deduced that this was the other twin that Abraxas had talked about.

"You already...got what you wanted," Seto stated, his voice weak. "Why...are you...keeping me here?"

"We need to use you as bait. We're looking for Abraxas even now, and I'm sure Satr will find him soon. Until then, you're with us."

He chuckled and said, "Afraid to ask, but...when you do find him?"

At this, the demon smirked and leaned forward. "Then we simply have no use for you. And if he doesn't show up sooner or later, we may just dispose of you anyway. There are millions, perhaps billions, of you humans to follow. He could have easily left you behind, and I'm not watching over you just for something to never happen."

"Well...can I get...this ring off?" Seto asked.

"No. I don't trust you at all. That ring doesn't come off until Abraxas is under our control." Seto slowly closed his eyes once more and sighed, realizing his chances of escaping just went down to zero. He was going to die here. Either Abraxas had left him behind, or when they finally found the bastard demon, they would kill Seto anyway. There would be no use for him anymore. "However..." the demon said after awhile. She walked up to Seto and sat down in front of him criss-crossed. She was wearing a red dress that split at the hips, revealing the sides of her gray legs. "What did Abraxas really do in the realm? Did he mention why he was so intrigued by the human realm?"

Seto looked up at her and said, "I already answered that... He said he...had an obsession with the humans."

The demon shook her head and asked, "No, I mean a reason. A reason for his obsession."

Recalling the conversations him and Abraxas had discussed, he nodded his head. "Yeah. He said that...he was curious about...the effects of the wars on the human realm."

"Why?"

"He didn't want this...the human realm...to be affected. He didn't want the humans to be dragged in."

"Is that all?"

Seto slowly nodded his head before letting his head hang, though he wasn't positive. His mind was starting to become as blurry as his vision. The demon looked quizzically at him and asked, "Why are you not answering the way you did when you first arrived."

"I'm being fucken...tortured... Of course I'm not...as strong as I...normally am."

"Weakling. Demons are always in full strength unless in death. Torture is almost pleasurable to us."

"Good for...fucking you."

"Your aura is extremely high in fyqam right now, I'll admit. But you should learn to deal with it. Oh, that's right, you're only human." Seto never thought he would hear that said in a mocking tone. "You humans are meaningless. You can't take anything; your feelings are so easily hurt, and you..." When she stopped, Seto raised his head with great difficulty to see her looking around in the room, as if suspicious of something, before turning her attention back to him to analyze him. Her expression went from suspicious to worried, almost fearful. "What would you do if Abraxas came back for you?"

"Why the change...in subject?"

"Just curious."

"I...I don't know."

"Did Abraxas care about you in the human realm?"

"I...I don't know," he repeated, though not on purpose.

"Abraxas is a good friend of mine. I don't want him to die over this issue, but if it must be done..."

"Die? Why would he...die?"

"His connection with you works both ways. If your spirit dies, he dies. Selling your afterlife has many effects on both creatures involved. Your death in your natural realm, the human realm, allows your spirit to pass directly to him. However, if your spirit dies in a foreign realm, such as this realm, then the connection fails, and he dies as well. I don't want him to die." At this, Sliva grabbed Seto's neck and whispered in his ear, "I'm going to continue to act as though I'm torturing you. I don't want Abraxas to die over this. I love that demon very much, yet I never told him. You're being dragged into this war for no reason. I want to take that ring off, trust me, but Brenjin will immediately sense it and come to investigate. I'm sorry about this, I really am. I know you're confused right now. I promise you you'll understand soon. He's coming for you; I already sensed his approach in our realm. Brenjin will be coming soon, for I can hear the battle outside. He'll need my help. I'm sure your help will arrive then."

Seto stared in confusion at the demon. "You said...you don't trust me. How do...I know...this change is...real?"

The demon smiled. "Because I won't let my brother or a stupid arrangement kill Abraxas. Not even Brenjin can hold me back."

"What are you doing to him?" a sudden voice asked. Both Seto and the demon looked over to see Brenjin in the doorway.

"He was misbehaving," the demon stated, quickly standing up. "I had to teach him a lesson."

"I see. Well, we need help outside. You're one of my most trained mages; report immediately outside."

"And what about the captive?"

"The prisoner? Ha! He's too weak to even move! Leave him." And with that, Seto watched the demon wink down at him before following her superior out the door. That's when the demon essence, the pain, and his own exhaustion became too much, and he fell unconscious.